How many mods is too many?

[tomomi1922]

I have downloaded about 90+ mods, from small (simple replacement of an outfit) to large like (Zephyr's F4 Power Armor Overhaul which is HUGE in both download size and the amount of items it adds). I wonder, is there a point where the game will simply refuse to load the mods due to either the amount of item counts (actual unique items, weapon/armor mods, settlement items, junks, chems, etc...) or the sheer amount of texture.

 

Another word, which one is hurting FO4 more: mods with few items that uses TONS of large textures (dont care about mesh, its up to my computer to handle), or mods with about 1000+ items (standalone clone of existing game items maybe)?

I am so tempted to download Homemaker, which one of the user did question (in post) that the mod added 800+ items into the game. So I am afraid certain mods will fail to load. I downloaded Flags of different nations .... a mod adding standalone flags as decoration to settlement, some 120+ flags, and I felt some other mods did not load properly (it's not that easy to tell).

 

I hope someone can give some good input on this.

[Ethreon]

The only real limits are the plugins - you can have a theoretical 255 running at once. Practically, that limit revolved around 120-140 for Skyrim/New Vegas, though maybe it's more for FO4, who knows. Depends on every individual installment of the game.

 

Workshop wise, there's a limit in the number of keywords (menu categories) which can be added to the game, revolving around 210-220. However, Homemaker alone covers around 75 so no worries. But the more workshop mods you get, the less free keywords. You get the idea.

 

Doesn't matter how many textures you add, the game doesn't have to load them all at once, instead it loads them as needed. Just remember that mods modifying same textures will conflict, and the conflict loser will have its texture replaced by the winning mod.

 

Lastly, what other can hurt your game(and saves) are bad mods - mods that edit fields yet undecoded by the FO4Edit team, mods that have bad edits etc. Corrupt saves are easy to get, fixing the issues isn't. Try to avoid overhauls that are too massive in scope until CK is out and modders can see what they're actually changing.

[tomomi1922]

Thank you for your inputs.

Your answer is somewhat along the line if how I guess things would work. But I just wanted to throw it out there to be corrected. It's more important to be corrected than to think I am right :)

For plugins, I should look into mods (or versions) that have all in one plugins (like Great Actors, doing overhaul faces of all companions and notable NPC, about 12 of them total) instead of individual plugins (same mod, with individual Cait.esp, Piper.esp, Danse.esp).

 

When you mention keywords, do you mean ... the items put on menu to be made/modded? Say I downloaded a mod with 30 new mods for my rifle, they count against this 210 total keywords? And this Combat Armor mods that add about 100+ camo/material for Combat Armor (the name is "Craftable Combat Armor) then this counts against the keywords too, right? Or they are different? You mean 210 keywords PER menu, or 210 keywords for the entire game, that includes all weapon and armor mods + settlement items?

How about mods adding new weapons (like a Lightsaber, or a standalone version of an overpowered minigun) .... we can have unlimited amount of these right? Providing we do not go over 255 plugins total?

[Ethreon]

Keywords are used by the game to define categories (Wood, Metal, Fences etc. are categories). I am rather uncertain if mods other than workshop count towards that, but the workshop ones (such as Homemaker or Alternate Settlements) do, and the more you have, the less space (not to mention compatibility issues). Also, the 210-220 is just a guess at the moment, nobody knows for sure and might even variate with each computer.

 

As it stands now, I saw plenty of mods coming as all-in-one package, but still installing all the separate plugins.. so you might wanna learn how to use FO4Edit and merge plugins yourself if you're going to heavily mod the game and reduce the plugin entries.

 

You can have as many mods as you want, as long as they add no plugins (.esp or .esm files). Textures usually are like that, but a mod adding a standalone weapon is going to be a plugin due to how it works.

[tomomi1922]

I am aware of the re-texture. Like CBBE, they don't technically add anything into the game system. Just mesh/texture replacers. Same with all these replacers (like better gun texture, etc...) I did ask this question at first to make sure if this will also affect how the game load as well. You never know, anything can go wrong with software in general.

You are right, I must learn to combine plugins of the same mod into an All-In-One package. Hope this doesn't take too much efforts, because once the author updates the mod, I will have to combine again.

About all these compilation mods, I think it is a lost cause unless the author of the compilation really actively update all their mods as soon as individual mod authors update them. And how long can they really keep up? I see anything "compilation" is only a place to find links to new mods (like those youtube review videos) instead of a lazy way to get All-in-one mod of .... everything with a press of button.

 

So when you mention keywords .... you totally mean things that come out of settlement menu? Workbenches do not count? Or workbenches have their own counts as well? Because I do like my customization for Combat armor and Power armor, although I only use about 10% of them ... Hello Kitty texture, Bright pink paint? I never use them. I really hope they do not count toward anything, otherwise I will have to pressure/suggest/beg the authors to remove those options.

[Ethreon]

So far we suspect only workshop building blocks, not other crafting benches. At least that's what mod makers think.. I'm not a mod maker, I just know some more things than the average mod user. Try not to pressure mod authors into anything, they'll just get pissed at you and eventually ban you from their mod/forums.

 

I saw successful mod compilations for New Vegas, but they require a lot of work and time, and in the end they fall through and end up being outdated. But good to keep track of some, can lead to some nice finds.

 

Usually, mod combination/patching requires merging FormIDs together.

[tomomi1922]

This is my current glaring problem now. With all the mods going on, Piper's face has gone dark. Well, same with Cait too, but I was able to fix Cait with Great Actors mod. With Piper, no amount of Piper redesign mod helps. So weird. I also made sure to load Piper mod last, no go.

Here is the link of the screenshot ... NSFW! And the reason is, I was also testing Unique Follower as well. I have standard Vanilla body on all NPCs, so that screenshot shows Unique followers works. Because it had not been working for a while: spent 8 hours figuring out, still no idea, but it mysteriously works. Thus this prompted my question about the mods.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=597501245

I just downloaded Homemaker.... Can't stand building with holes in the ceiling anymore. wish me luck.

[Ethreon]

That's an issue I haven't seen in a while.. since last time playing NV. Yea, bad actor edits. Can't help, not using any NPC changing mods. Too many unknown factors.

[tomomi1922]

That's an issue I haven't seen in a while.. since last time playing NV. Yea, bad actor edits. Can't help, not using any NPC changing mods. Too many unknown factors.

Actually I didn't use any NPC changing mod beside Unique Followers. FO4 was bug free (something I would never imagined) until FO4 patch 1.2.37 and NMM patch updated about the same time .... then ... this. Great Actors was meant to help me fix the glitch (by placing a bandage/new face on top). But Piper is just too arrogant to accept a bandage :sad:

 

For now I am moving on, just learned how to edit and save DDS, fixed my own character skin, fixed a few problems with 2pac's Skimpy armors (I used about 3-4 of them, converted to my own bodyshape). And now dealing with some Combat Armor issue.

 

And I just realize, modding and fixing problem is my gameplay for FO4 now. :(

Edited January 11, 2016 by tomomi1922

[Ethreon]

Welcome to modding Beth games! I'm trying to find a way to learn how to add snap points to building blocks so I can make my own mods complementing vanilla system. So far no success :)