MO2 question. Is it worth it?

[giulianross]

Hi guys,

I have the nedd to unistall starfield cause modding. Creations always ask me to update, many bugs etc.etc.

I'll reinstall starfield after shuttered space release and I decided to use MO2 with nexus mods and some creations (the only ones i can't find on nexus). Do u suggest me MO2 instead of vortex? How about sfse and address library? Are they update automatically with MO2?

Can you suggest a good tutorial to install MO2 on starfield?

Thanks in advance

[HeyYou]

So far as I know, MO2 doesn't update anything automatically...... you have premium account though... so, a definite 'maybe'. I've not used MO2, I've been using vortex for my games, so, no help there....

[giulianross]

So how is Vortex? Do u feel good with it? Do Vortex automatically update mods?

[HeyYou]

As a premium member, Vortex will indeed automagically update your mods. How effective it is at that though, I don't know. Never had the opportunity to try it. That said, Vortex works great for me. I have not had any issues with it. I use it for Skyrim, and FO4 as well.

[smr1957]

Neither of the managers will "automatically" update your downloaded or installed mods.  I believe that there may be an option to do so, but if so, it is definitely not selected by default.  The "auto update" feature was one of the major issues with Steam Workshop mods, and still is to a certain extent, for Bethesda mods as well, as if you are subscribed to them, they WILL update if the author updates them, and they will be removed, should the author choose to do so - thus potentially (and very likely) breaking your game.  That is one major reason why we often recommend against using the Bethesda mod site (or Steam Workshop, where applicable).

[HeyYou]

39 minutes ago, smr1957 said:

Neither of the managers will "automatically" update your downloaded or installed mods.  I believe that there may be an option to do so, but if so, it is definitely not selected by default.  The "auto update" feature was one of the major issues with Steam Workshop mods, and still is to a certain extent, for Bethesda mods as well, as if you are subscribed to them, they WILL update if the author updates them, and they will be removed, should the author choose to do so - thus potentially (and very likely) breaking your game.  That is one major reason why we often recommend against using the Bethesda mod site (or Steam Workshop, where applicable).

Quite right. Shoulda been a bit more clear. I believe there is a button to push to update mods.... I think......

[giulianross]

53 minutes ago, smr1957 said:

Neither of the managers will "automatically" update your downloaded or installed mods.  I believe that there may be an option to do so, but if so, it is definitely not selected by default.  The "auto update" feature was one of the major issues with Steam Workshop mods, and still is to a certain extent, for Bethesda mods as well, as if you are subscribed to them, they WILL update if the author updates them, and they will be removed, should the author choose to do so - thus potentially (and very likely) breaking your game.  That is one major reason why we often recommend against using the Bethesda mod site (or Steam Workshop, where applicable).

Thanks for your answer..so u suggest to use only nexus mod avoiding bethesda creations?

[AaronOfMpls]

2 hours ago, smr1957 said:

That is one major reason why we often recommend against using the Bethesda mod site (or Steam Workshop, where applicable).

Indeed, for Steam Workshop mods (there are a few games I use them with), I Favorite them to keep track of them, and only subscribe to them long enough to download before unsubscribing.  I might also move them to a different mod folder, if the game has a separate mod folder for Workshop mods (like House Flipper does).  I'll also keep backups of these mods, in case I have to revert an update. 

I have zero experience installing anything from Bethesda's creations site.

4 hours ago, giulianross said:

Do u suggest me MO2 instead of vortex?

I don't have Starfield myself.  And I've never used Vortex, in part because I already had large mod setups in another mod manager before it was created. 

But I've been using Mod Organizer in some form since 2013.  I used MO1 on my old computer for Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fallout NV.  And I have MO2 for these games on my current computer.  I'll likely use MO2 with Starfield too, if I ever get it. 

 

As for which to use, both have their strengths.  Both integrate well with the Nexus's "Download with manager" buttons, and both support installing mods from zip/7z/rar/etc files downloaded elsewhere.*  Vortex might be easier for a newbie to learn in some ways, and probably works more easily with Nexus collections.  And MO2 might work better in some ways with large load orders. 

They also add mods to the game in different ways.  Both keep your mods in their own folders outside the game.  But MO2 launches games (and other programs) in its own virtual file system, making your game think the files in your (active) MO2 mod folders are in your game's data or mod folders.  While Vortex uses filesystem wizardry to link its mod files into your game's folders (via symlinks or hardlinks) when deploying, essentially putting them in two places at once without having to copy them to both places.

 

Personally I prefer MO2, but that's partly from being so familiar with it.  For me, Vortex didn't seem to improve enough over MO to be worth the effort to switch.  That said, were I new to both, I might well have installed both and tried them out with a few games, to see which one I liked better.

 

* I actually download manually from the Nexus myself, because I've never set up "Download with manager" in my browser.  (I have a somewhat non-standard setup on Linux, that makes it possibly problematic.)  But I move the downloaded zip/7z/rar/etc files into the right game's MO2 download folder, and then right-click > Query Info on them in MO2.

[franebleu]

Do u suggest me MO2 instead of vortex?

 

Yes. Not only for the full virtualization (leaving your game folder intact), but also for his independent management of loose files (left panel) and esm plugins (right panel) load orders.

For mods including loose files like .swf (mods tweaking the User Interface) this really counts. And some mods can have only loose files and be load-order sensitive.

 

Concrete example : you have to associate StarUI with CharGenMenu with this UI mod that you like for something else. Each mod has a conflicting .swf with the other 2 mods but you want a combination of these 3 mods to work reliably.

With MO2, you can choose the load order of the loose files and decide which mod takes priority on the other (left panel).

With Vortex, you have to install mods A B and C sequentially to simulate that. Everytime you will uninstall mod C, you will have to repeat the sequestial installation of mod A and B, because Vortex just removes the .swf that is common to these 3 mods when you uninstall one of them.

So for complex modding games like Bethesda's titles, where you can even tweak the UI...etc. and where loose file load order is important, MO2's complete control is 100% the best choice.

 

All mod managers notify and manually update things correctly (manual update is the best way, as stated by other posts, and it just needs a click)

[smr1957]

7 hours ago, giulianross said:

Thanks for your answer..so u suggest to use only nexus mod avoiding bethesda creations?

If a mod is on Nexus (or some other reputable mod site such as AFK Mods) as well as Bethesda, always take the mod from the non-Bethesda site, if only to avoid any potential issue.  Personally, for myself, even though there are ways to protect your game from an unexpected mod update or removable should you use a mod from Bethesda, I prefer to avoid the issue altogether and just not use it.  It should be pointed out that this does not apply to purchased Creations, as those are considered to be official DLCs of the game, and will always be compatible with whatever game version you have (though they may not be compatible with other mods you may have installed).  But as regards free mods from Bethesda, that's a different story, and either precautions need to be taken, or just don't use them (in most cases, though, any free mod listed with Bethesda will likely be available on some other free mod site, such as Nexus or AFK Mods).