Hello!

[CalJames]

Hey guys! I'm new to modding and NMM and Skyrim in general, this is not a massively important post or anything like that, I'm just here to ask for a bit of help with general terms and technicalities and things behind modding/using NMM and such.

 

Like, what is a load order? Wyre Bash? BOSS?

 

I know like, almost NOTHING.

 

I'm, at the moment, a 1 month supporter, hoping to go lifetime if I get to grips with PC gaming. Would it be a good idea to post my PC's spec? Maybe you guys could let me know what I can hope to run without CTD?

 

Looking forward to a few replies and thanks in advance!

 

Cal :biggrin:

[Xorp]

Welcome to the world of modded Skyrim.

 

From my own experience, I always install all mods with NMM, when I am ready with installing mods I will run BOSS. BOSS will create try to create the best load order possible. (Load order is the order in which skyrim launches the mods on start up. If several mods are dependent on eachother they have to be in the correct order. Or mods that have a small overlap in functionality. I always use Wrye Bash after this and make a batched patch, everytime you add a mod, launch Wrye Bash and rebuild the patch.

 

One thing that is extremely important: ALWAYS!! read the mod description, installation details and compatibility issue's. Several mods just won't work together. If you follow the instruction on the mod description page you shouldn't run into many problems.

 

Have fun modding.

[CalJames]

Thanks for the speedy reply!

 

Do you have a safe link to BOSS and Wyre Bash please?

[Xorp]

Here they are, was eating dinner.

 

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1840/

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/6

[bben46]

The way mods work is they make temporary changes in the game when they are loaded - they are temporary as they do not make any permanent changes to the actual game files stored on your hard drive. Each time you start the game, a part of the game program reads the list of mods that you have installed and enabled and installs them for that time only. When you exit the game, the actual game files remain unchanged. - The effects of the mods are stored in the save games though so it doesn't really forget them.

 

All changes to things like adding mods, removing mods and setting the load order are done outside of the game. Once a load order has been established it will remember to use that same list each time you play until you change it. So, if you install a mod that only changes the color (texture) of an armor that already exists in the game to bright pink, then play the game for several sessions with that pink armor it will always be there when you play - then if you decide that bright pink just doesn't suit your character and remove that mod - the next time you play, the armor will revert to its original color. But if you install a mod that adds a new object into the game - such as a new sword, then later remove that mod, the object (sword) will no longer be available in the game.

 

The load order is the order in which the game loads mods when it starts each time - This can be important with some mods as if a mod loads early , and another mod loading later makes a change to the same thing, then that second mod will take preference and parts of the second mod will overwrite the same things in the first mod (not the entire mod). Then, if there is something else in that first mod that relies on whatever was over written - it can crash the game - sometimes just changing which one loads first can fix a problem where an item from a mod does not show up, or the game crashes when it tries to do something and doesn't find an object that was overwritten by a later mod.

 

Wrye Bash is a mod manager - much more technical than Nexus Mod Manager - and has features that are handy, but more difficult for a neophyte to use. It is not incompatible and can be used along side of NMM and BOSS

 

BOSS is a program that attempts to use crowd sourcing to set the load order of as many mods as it can. It can change the load order for you - it is not infallible though. And currently it is several months behind due to lots of mods being released for Skyrim. It works with any mod manager.

 

NMM is the Nexus Mod Manager and is fairly new. It can make downloading and installing mods found on the Nexus sites as easy as a couple of mouse clicks.

 

NMM, Wrye Bash and BOSS all work on multiple games - Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout3 and Fallout: New Vegas.