It may be an unpopular opinion but...

[AaronOfMpls]

Meanwhile I've been using Mod Organizer in some form for over a decade (MO1 on my old PC, MO2 on my current one).  I'm pretty familiar with it, I like its features, and it does what I need it to do -- even running in my games' Wine/Proton setups on Linux.

That said, yah, use what mod manager works for you!  Only difference to me is I can't help as much with the ones I haven't used.

 

(And heck, before I had MO, I used to manage my Skyrim mods semi-manually.  Aside from SKSE dll's and a few early mods, I'd pack most mods' loose files in bsa's, and keep multiple descriptively-named copies of plugins.txt for different mod set-ups.)

[greyday01]

I haven't really used Vortex, but for someone making a mod as opposed from people just using mods in their game, which is easier for separating out YOUR assets for adding, removing, changing and finally packaging all your assets for uploading?

[scorrp10]

It is really about your methodology.   I prefer to put files directly under SSE structure when working, but in subdirectories clearly for my mod.  And include mod descriptor in any scripts.

However, in Vortex, you can setup your mod in its staging area and work there, just deploy before testing.

P.S.   One thing I would like to see in Vortex is a kind of a file database browser.    Where I could essentially open game's folder in a special window,  and browse its subdirectories, and it would write next to each file it is a vanilla or is added by a mod.    With some color coding for vanilla, single mod-owned, or conflicted between multiple mods.    Right now, if I want to find out which mod owns a particular file in the structure,   I have to rename the file, and then deploy mods, at which point Vortex gives me a warning about the file that got  changed.

[AaronOfMpls]

On 7/23/2024 at 9:17 AM, greyday01 said:

but for someone making a mod as opposed from people just using mods in their game, which is easier for separating out YOUR assets for adding, removing, changing and finally packaging all your assets for uploading?

Yah, in my case, MO2 keeps each mod in a separate folder (.../mods/<mod name>/) in its own folder structure.  Then presents it all to the game in a virtual file system, so the game thinks it's all in the game's Data folder.  This kind of mod isolation has been a core feature since before I used MO1.

For some mods, I'll have multiple relatedly-named mod folders for different versions (e.g. ModName 2 and ModName 3, or ModName original and ModName modified), or for different optional plugins or different settings files.  I also have a RaceMenu presets folder alongside RaceMenu itself.  MO2 sees all of these as separate mods in the left pane.

My own mods (both finished and work-in-progress) have their own folders among this.  Any new files created by the CK (esp's, scripts, facegen exports, etc) or from the game itself (settings files, RaceMenu presets, etc) will end up in MO's Overwrite folder, and from there I can move them to whatever mod folder I want them in.

And yah, this makes it relatively easy to pack my own mods up in zip or 7z files for the Nexus.  Each folder has files for only one mod in it, with nothing else there but a metadata file for MO2's info.

Edited July 27 by AaronOfMpls
editing mistake (had part of a sentence duplicated)

[anjenthedog]

On 7/23/2024 at 10:17 AM, greyday01 said:

I haven't really used Vortex, but for someone making a mod as opposed from people just using mods in their game, which is easier for separating out YOUR assets for adding, removing, changing and finally packaging all your assets for uploading?

If you're creating a mod, then you should know the target folders for any (you-authored-this) mod content that will be distributed within the Skyrim folder structure, so I don't think it really matters which you use while developing a mod, at least in that respect. You're still gong to need to assemble them into an archive file so they can be installed on someone else's system, using whichever manager the end-user (ie person who downloads said mod) employs on their system.

[crimson2018]

Agree to disagree.

First. NMM and Vortex are corporate tools, while MO1 and MO2 are Community Tools. This is the perception, and it's actually real. There is a story here that it pretty similar with the story and rivalry between the Bethesda CC Creations and the Free Modding Community.  I'm not telling it here, though.

Second. Vortex is really not as featured as the MO2, it has a very simplistic interface, and a crude and childish overall design that seem to aim an either young or lazy target audience, which is managing very small mod lists (under 100). It does not uses a virtual file system, or it didn't when i've last checked and a bunch of other features like conflicts resolution, large files management, etc. Perhaps it got better over time, i don't know and i don't care, i'm not a user of Vortex.

But what i do care ... is this:

Third. The Mod topics being invaded by entitled Vortex users asking or demanding support from the mod authors (which are 90% MO2 Users themselves). The support, if it is being offered, it is for the game, not why a mod doesn't work properly with the mod manager of choice. Shouldn't the Tool Developers offer this support instead? MO2 topic (now moved to Discord) is full of MO2 users asking for support. Isn't this fair? Even today there are plenty of Vortex users asking for support from modders, not as many as in the past, when they were cluttering entire pages with Vortex related-issues. My guess is that many switched to MO2 by now, or perhaps Vortex improve a lot. This is disrespectful for both mod authors and for other participants, who can't get the support they want related to the game and the mod itself.

This is my complaint with the Vortex users, i have no complaint with the the tool itself other than is not as powerful as MO2 and it doesn't aim to be (otherwise the dev which actually created the first MO, would had implemented the same VFS). Just don't be so entitled, and if you made your mod manager choice, be resposible and live with your own choice. Like i said, in the past i was very annoyed by these Vortex error discussions', how is the Mod Author able to help you, if he doesn't even uses Vortex, and his mod runs perfectly fine and clean in MO2? 

Edited August 16 by crimson2018

[Karna5]

3 minutes ago, crimson2018 said:

Even today there are plenty of Vortex users asking for support from modders

Keep in mind that if Nexus Mods is over 50 million users, and if most of its users use Vortex, then the small number of Vortex users asking for help in the wrong place isn't any more than NMMCE or MO2 users asking for help. There are simply far many more Vortex users.

Also, if you're right that Vortex is designed for lazy users, then Vortex is well designed as it should be as user friendly as possible.

Nexus Mods has a thread dedicated to helping Vortex users. If you post a mod where someone asks you for Vortex help, just tell them to check the Vortex thread. In the last several years I had a few Vortex users ask for help in my mod, and I simply replied, "I'm sorry, I don't use Vortex. You'll have to check with someone who uses it." And they all politely thanked me and asked the right people. It was never an issue to me, and I'm puzzled why it would be an issue to anyone else.

[7531Leonidas]

Well, I am managing over 1500 mods in Vortex, conflicts are revealed upon installation, giving the user the end choice of how to resolve them.  It is my understanding that Vortex does use a VFS (links to mods are in the data folder), just not in the exact same way as MO (which I used for a time in Skyrim LE).  The VFS in Vortex allows for mods to be run w/o having Vortex running in the background upon game launch.  As far as Vortex errors, I seem to remember a LOT of mods that had to change to be used in MO, especially wrt its use of the overwrite folder, and how the mods were packaged.  You are just coming in on the tail end of those changes.

[showler]

Vortex uses a windows native virtual file system.  It is far better than using one that relies on MO2 being open all the time.  That's why it was used since the beginning.

Vortex is pretty much MO3 since Nexus Mods hired the MO2 developer and told him to start from scratch.  The two programs are very similar in terms of features and goals.

Almost every time someone says one is significantly better than the other it is because they never took the time to learn to use the other one.  They just expected it to behave exactly the same way.

[SirCadsimar]

34 minutes ago, showler said:

Almost every time someone says one is significantly better than the other it is because they never took the time to learn to use the other one.  They just expected it to behave exactly the same way.

Okay yes this is definitely true in my case.  My previous negative opinion about Vortex is changing, though I still won't use it yet.