Can't get starfield mods to work through Vortex

[cnnolet8]

Hi. I am new to mods, gaming on PC's, and PC's in general. I am having a lot of trouble getting mods to work for starfield. I made sure the .ini file was correct and I read the instructions for each mod I downloaded. I also included a Plugins.txt document with the # as the first line and an * before each .esm name. I found that some mods need to be able to be in the root file of the game and I changed the type for those mods accordingly. The only mods that are working at the moment are all the user interface mods, but that makes me feel like the hyperlink must be to the right area on the computer because some are connecting with the game. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong or if there is something up with Vortex, but I am very lost. Please help. Thanks so much! 

[HeyYou]

You need the plugins.txt enabler mod, along with Starfield Script Extender for things to work. I also use the mod that disables the data folder in My Games\Starfield. That's just a stupid idea..... (my games are installed on a separate physical drive....) So, for me, all mods get installed to the Game install directory. Works great.

Of course, I also ONLY do manual installs. Vortex doesn't seem to have figured out Starfield yet. Mod Organizer 2 seems to have it dialed in though.

[aurreth]

28 minutes ago, HeyYou said:

You need the plugins.txt enabler mod, along with Starfield Script Extender for things to work. I also use the mod that disables the data folder in My Games\Starfield. That's just a stupid idea..... (my games are installed on a separate physical drive....) So, for me, all mods get installed to the Game install directory. Works great.

Of course, I also ONLY do manual installs. Vortex doesn't seem to have figured out Starfield yet. Mod Organizer 2 seems to have it dialed in though.

The latest Starfield extension for Vortex will remove the My Games\Starfield\Data folder and replace it with a symbolic link to the actual Data directory, so you don't need the Baka mod to disable it anymore.

Makes me laugh, I did that I think two days after the game came out, when I realized having two different Data directories was a stupid idea.

[HeyYou]

4 minutes ago, aurreth said:

The latest Starfield extension for Vortex will remove the My Games\Starfield\Data folder and replace it with a symbolic link to the actual Data directory, so you don't need the Baka mod to disable it anymore.

Makes me laugh, I did that I think two days after the game came out, when I realized having two different Data directories was a stupid idea.

Really? Cool. I may do a reinstall at some point, probably some time after Beth starts supporting mods, and releases the CK...... Right now, I have steam running offline, so the game won't update until I actually WANT to. Of course, that means it doesn't track hours played, etc.... And that strikes me as rather strange too..... Just because steam is offline, why would it stop tracking that? (not that I really want to know.... I likely spend FAR too much time playing. )

[aurreth]

2 hours ago, HeyYou said:

Really? Cool. I may do a reinstall at some point, probably some time after Beth starts supporting mods, and releases the CK...... Right now, I have steam running offline, so the game won't update until I actually WANT to. Of course, that means it doesn't track hours played, etc.... And that strikes me as rather strange too..... Just because steam is offline, why would it stop tracking that? (not that I really want to know.... I likely spend FAR too much time playing. )

Because hours played is a data point that Steam can use to rank games and make money decisions.  It's not there for you, it's there for them.

[ZMD78]

Incase this helps anyone with issues : This is how i went about things after the recent upates..

Make a backup first if you are not sure..

Disable the mods from vortex that are still in the my games folder, remove the 'vortex mananged' file in that folder.

Manually switch all the data from the my games starfield folder (move it) over to program files86/steam/steamapps/common/starfiled if you have not already.

Install most mods manually by copying the files in to the correct folder, textures to textures, meshes to meshes etc..place esm files into the data folder.

Copy the esm mod file name into your plugins text document like so :

*

*starfiled.esm

*mymod.esm

if you have not already enable windows hidden folders and select "show know extenstions for file types...  (check the plugin.txt does not have the .txt extension twice like plugin.txt.txt.

Update the game first

Update vortex.

Update sfse and any other mods that need it.

Make sure you have the latest version of sfse and copy the files from that directly into the data folder (/Starfield/Data/) programs86 folder stated above..

the only mod i am using that still needs updating the latest sfse is 'chargenmenu'..sure it'll be updated soon though.

 

Only use vortex for mods that are updated to use the new system structure.

I only use it for 5  mods at the moment the rest (most) I install manually as there is less chance of errors if the mods folder structures are not set up to function with the new updates to vortex and game  then you have no choice but to install them manually, it's very easy once you Familiarise yourself with starfield folder structure. and you'll be able to swap out texture or mesh mods yourself without vortex issues in a matter of seconds.

 

Hope that helps..

Backup your folders first incase you make a mess..

Mod managers are ok but they do cause issues regardless sometimes so understadning a games folder and file structure is best.

Then You can easily solve and understand issues as they occur...and correct them manually yourself without involving a mod manager.

Manul installation or moving renaming files etc is just part of modding any game imo.