none of my mods seem to work at all

[Thunderbreaker13]

I've downloaded about 25 different mods for the game, but none of them seem to be working at all. I've tried starting a new game, but that didn't work. anyone have any other ideas i can try to fix this?

[smr1957]

This is a long post, but I want to ensure that you have all the information.

 

Basically, regardless of what any mod author or anyone else says, DO NOT use a mod manager.

Mods need to be installed manually. Neither Vortex nor MO2 are properly set up as of yet to install mods.

So, none of the mod managers should be used, as of yet, for installing mods, as currently, none of them are designed to work with Starfield (and that includes Vortex). Until a manager is adapted to work with Starfield (and it is looking as if Mod Organizer 2 will be the first to be released that is adapted to how Starfield is set up), all mods should be installed manually,

And, the game is designed to have mods installed in the DATA folder located in the Documents folder here: ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield\Data

And NOT in the usual location in the game's root folder where the .exe file is. Anyone saying differently, is just wrong - even if they are getting the mods to work when they do so.

In fact, it is this change in location as to where and how mods are installed that is one of the problems as far as redesigning mod managers is concerned.

Furthermore, in the ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield folder you need to create and add an .ini file. Using notepad, copy and paste the following lines:

[Archive]

bInvalidateOlderFiles=1

sResourceDataDirsFinal=

then save as StarfieldCustom.ini (make sure that the file extension is .ini and NOT .txt)

Place that file in the indicated location (...\Documents\My Games\Starfield folder)

Also, no one should really be using any mods that have a plugin, as they can only be properly made and created using the Creation Kit and/or xEdit - neither of which are available yet. Any mod that contains an .esp/.esm is a broken game waiting to happen, as any .esp/.esm that is being uploaded is made by using hacks and workarounds.

And, as always when it comes to modding, there is The Golden Rule of Modding (from the PINNED TOPIC Helpful Links, References, and News, Modding the Game section):

"No matter how good a mod may look or sound, no matter how much you may really want a mod, if the mod does not work as it should, causes issues in your game, or even seems to have the potential to cause issues, dump the mod. A game that does not work is no game at all."

Long winded explanation, I know - but there is far too much misinformation floating around right now - some of it due to mod authors posting wrong info as to installation - so a detailed review is best.

Good luck!

[HeyYou]

 

This is a long post, but I want to ensure that you have all the information.

 

Basically, regardless of what any mod author or anyone else says, DO NOT use a mod manager.

Mods need to be installed manually. Neither Vortex nor MO2 are properly set up as of yet to install mods.

So, none of the mod managers should be used, as of yet, for installing mods, as currently, none of them are designed to work with Starfield (and that includes Vortex). Until a manager is adapted to work with Starfield (and it is looking as if Mod Organizer 2 will be the first to be released that is adapted to how Starfield is set up), all mods should be installed manually,

And, the game is designed to have mods installed in the DATA folder located in the Documents folder here: ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield\Data

And NOT in the usual location in the game's root folder where the .exe file is. Anyone saying differently, is just wrong - even if they are getting the mods to work when they do so.

In fact, it is this change in location as to where and how mods are installed that is one of the problems as far as redesigning mod managers is concerned.

Furthermore, in the ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield folder you need to create and add an .ini file. Using notepad, copy and paste the following lines:

[Archive]

bInvalidateOlderFiles=1

sResourceDataDirsFinal=

then save as StarfieldCustom.ini (make sure that the file extension is .ini and NOT .txt)

Place that file in the indicated location (...\Documents\My Games\Starfield folder)

Also, no one should really be using any mods that have a plugin, as they can only be properly made and created using the Creation Kit and/or xEdit - neither of which are available yet. Any mod that contains an .esp/.esm is a broken game waiting to happen, as any .esp/.esm that is being uploaded is made by using hacks and workarounds.

And, as always when it comes to modding, there is The Golden Rule of Modding (from the PINNED TOPIC Helpful Links, References, and News, Modding the Game section):

"No matter how good a mod may look or sound, no matter how much you may really want a mod, if the mod does not work as it should, causes issues in your game, or even seems to have the potential to cause issues, dump the mod. A game that does not work is no game at all."

Long winded explanation, I know - but there is far too much misinformation floating around right now - some of it due to mod authors posting wrong info as to installation - so a detailed review is best.

Good luck!

 

There are a couple different tricks to make mods work in the games data folder, (as opposed to the one in My Games...) All it takes is changing a few lines in the ini file, nuking the data folder in my games, and down the road you go. There is also an SFSE plugin that accomplishes the same thing, though I have no clue how that one works..... :) Installing mods to my operating system drive just isn't going to happen. That was an incredibly bad idea on beths part. I am sure it has some advantages..... (if you wanted to nuke all your mods... there they are.....) but, no. Just. No. I have a 2TB drive for my games, I have a 500gb drive for my O/S, filling that up with mods is just stupid.

 

Wonder how much of an effort it would require to simply move the 'my games' folder, to the games drive? That would work as well.... but, the community needs to decide on a single 'fix', so that everyone is on the same page.

[smr1957]

 

 

This is a long post, but I want to ensure that you have all the information.... - snip -

There are a couple different tricks to make mods work in the games data folder, (as opposed to the one in My Games...) All it takes is changing a few lines in the ini file, nuking the data folder in my games, and down the road you go. There is also an SFSE plugin that accomplishes the same thing, though I have no clue how that one works..... :smile: Installing mods to my operating system drive just isn't going to happen. That was an incredibly bad idea on beths part. I am sure it has some advantages..... (if you wanted to nuke all your mods... there they are.....) but, no. Just. No. I have a 2TB drive for my games, I have a 500gb drive for my O/S, filling that up with mods is just stupid.

 

Wonder how much of an effort it would require to simply move the 'my games' folder, to the games drive? That would work as well.... but, the community needs to decide on a single 'fix', so that everyone is on the same page.

 

But they are just that - tricks, workarounds, and hacks, meant to do something in a manner that is against the purposeful file structure which has been setup by Bethesda (with input from Microsoft, no doubt), for personal preferences that have nothing to do with actual and purely technical reasons - and which, down the road, could lead to potential issues. As such, it cannot and should not be recommended, as advice should be given in a "best practices" manner. If a person, for whatever reason, decides to do something other than what is advised according to best practices, then that is a purely personal decision which that individual should be making being fully aware of the possible consequence, and with the realization that the individual is accepting any and all adverse consequences, and that no help can be given in those situations should things go wrong.

 

The issue is NOT one of the community deciding where to place things according to non-technical opinions based upon likes and dislikes or personal preferences - the issue is, rather, that this is the way the game's file structure has been set up to function, and, as such, no matter how much people might prefer it to be different, unless that decision and change were to come from Bethesda (and, possibly, Microsoft), the community and individuals just needs to accustom themselves to it.

 

Anyway - further discussion should take place in another thread, so as not to derail Thunderbreaker's topic. (Though, under the circumstance, I have nothing to add - it is what it is, and likes or dislikes won't change it - only Bethesda and/or Microsoft can or should.)

[HeyYou]

 

 

 

This is a long post, but I want to ensure that you have all the information.... - snip -

There are a couple different tricks to make mods work in the games data folder, (as opposed to the one in My Games...) All it takes is changing a few lines in the ini file, nuking the data folder in my games, and down the road you go. There is also an SFSE plugin that accomplishes the same thing, though I have no clue how that one works..... :smile: Installing mods to my operating system drive just isn't going to happen. That was an incredibly bad idea on beths part. I am sure it has some advantages..... (if you wanted to nuke all your mods... there they are.....) but, no. Just. No. I have a 2TB drive for my games, I have a 500gb drive for my O/S, filling that up with mods is just stupid.

 

Wonder how much of an effort it would require to simply move the 'my games' folder, to the games drive? That would work as well.... but, the community needs to decide on a single 'fix', so that everyone is on the same page.

 

But they are just that - tricks, workarounds, and hacks, meant to do something in a manner that is against the purposeful file structure which has been setup by Bethesda (with input from Microsoft, no doubt), for personal preferences that have nothing to do with actual and purely technical reasons - and which, down the road, could lead to potential issues. As such, it cannot and should not be recommended, as advice should be given in a "best practices" manner. If a person, for whatever reason, decides to do something other than what is advised according to best practices, then that is a purely personal decision which that individual should be making being fully aware of the possible consequence, and with the realization that the individual is accepting any and all adverse consequences, and that no help can be given in those situations should things go wrong.

 

The issue is NOT one of the community deciding where to place things according to non-technical opinions based upon likes and dislikes or personal preferences - the issue is, rather, that this is the way the game's file structure has been set up to function, and, as such, no matter how much people might prefer it to be different, unless that decision and change were to come from Bethesda (and, possibly, Microsoft), the community and individuals just needs to accustom themselves to it.

 

Anyway - further discussion should take place in another thread, so as not to derail Thunderbreaker's topic. (Though, under the circumstance, I have nothing to add - it is what it is, and likes or dislikes won't change it - only Bethesda and/or Microsoft can or should.)

 

Well that's just it though. There aren't any known 'best practices' for starfield yet. And a fair bit of the time, 'best practices' are simply a matter of opinion. Every previous game on this engine would load from the data folder in the game install directory. It worked perfectly, and did not clutter up your O/S drive with gigabytes of mods. If you only have one drive, then all well and good, but, for the folks that have a separate drive for their games, installing mods to the user profile folders defeats the primary purpose of having that second drive.

 

The game works perfectly loading from the data directory in the game install location, which doesn't come as a surprise at all. Quite honestly, I expect the game simply doesn't care where that directory is, and moving it to the user profile was someones' "bright idea", that was not based on any technical reasoning. More than likely, there WASN'T a technical reason for doing so, the programmer was simply told: "Put the mods directory here." and that was it. The game loads ALL of it's other assets from there, why are mods different? Looking at all the previous games, I can't see ANY technical advantage/reasoning for putting them elsewhere, aside from make it REAL easy to simply remove ALL of your mods, without blowing away the entire game/data folder.

[PhredOblivion]

must be your end....i have 141 mods working thru vortex just fine..... make sure you launch with the sfse loader, not the vanilla .exe. might be your on the xbox version? It wont work woth 90% of the mods, get steam ver.

Edited October 6, 2023 by PhredOblivion

[Thunderbreaker13]

If I need to manually install the mods, I could use some help with that. I've never done that, I've always used vortex.

[smr1957]

If I need to manually install the mods, I could use some help with that. I've never done that, I've always used vortex.

Before doing anything, you need to create a StarfieldCustom.ini file and place it in the ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield folder. Using notepad, paste the following lines:

[Archive]

bInvalidateOlderFiles=1

sResourceDataDirsFinal=

then save as StarfieldCustom.ini (make sure that the file extension is .ini and NOT .txt)

Place that file in the indicated location (...\Documents\My Games\Starfield folder)

Next, the mods themselves.

1 -For manual install, first, set up a folder somewhere on your PC - name it something like Starfield Mods (I usually create the folder on my desktop).

2 - download the mod from Nexus using the manual button for the file. When asked where to download, have it download to the folder you created.

3 - once the file is downloaded, unzip the file in the folder. I usually create a subfolder for the mod and name it after the mod, and then move the zipped file into that subfolder, where I unzip it. Just makes things easier when you have multiple mods.

4 - A) Once the file has been unzipped, if it is a Data folder, drag and drop it into the following location ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield\

(If there is already a Data folder in that location from a previous installed mod, the content will just be added to it.)

- B) if the unzipped downloaded file is not packed in a Data folder, but is just a texture folder, then drag and drop that folder into ...\Documents\My Games\Starfield\Data

5 - As to any mods which contain plugins, they should not be used at this point, as they are created using hacks, workaround, and unsupported programs. Mods that have plugins can onlu properly be made using the Creation Kit along with xEdit. The way they currently are being made, they are a broken game waiting to happen. No help should be expected should someone choose to use them - it is a purely use at own risk.

6 - once a mod is installed, launch the game to ensure that all is as it should be. If there are no problems, then you are good to go.

Good luck!

(Of course, installing manually is only something that should be done until the updated versions of Vortex and Mod Organizer 2 that are being designed to work with Starfield, are released. Once they have been, then - as is always the best practice - mods should be installed with a manager. But until those Starfield compatible managers have been released, manual install is how it should be done and is the current best practice.)

[Thunderbreaker13]

thank you. do we know when the mod managers will be ready?

[smr1957]

thank you. do we know when the mod managers will be ready?

Mod Organizer 2 seems like it will be first up, as they are actively beta testing. As news of each new update to the Beta version is released, news will be posted in the pinned topic Helpful Links, References, and News. The last update was posted here. Vortex will likely take a little longer - for two reasons. First is because Nexus is releasing a new manager to replace Vortex (it is currently being worked on, now), so that may influence how much time they spend in updating the current manager for compatibility, if at all. And second, because Vortex (or its replacement) needs to be able to work for all Nexus games, while Mod Organizer 2 only needs to work with a limited number of games - mostly Bethesda's.

 

So, unfortunately, until one of them is released, we are all pretty much back to doing things the old fashioned way. As always, however, should you need any help or have any questions, just ask. There are plenty of knowledgeable people around to help. But be assured, that as soon as a manager is ready for use with Starfield, that information will be posted in Helpful Links, References, and News.

 

Good luck, Thunderbreaker!