Ten rules to get a mod setup with a lot of workshop & crafting mods to work

[wax2k]

@ResidentAlien: if you did everything exactly as you described it, there should be no reason for that CTD. But to make sure, double-check for this:


The \%InstallDir%\Fallout 4\data folder should look like this:

\Strings
\Video
DLCRobot - Geometry.csg (only if you have the Automatron DLC)
DLCRobot - Main.ba2 (only if you have the Automatron DLC)
DLCRobot - Textures.ba2 (only if you have the Automatron DLC)
DLCRobot - Voices_en.ba2 (only if you have the Automatron DLC)
DLCRobot.cdx (only if you have the Automatron DLC)
DLCRobot.esm (only if you have the Automatron DLC)
Fallout4 - Animations.ba2
Fallout4 - Geometry.csg
Fallout4 - Interface.ba2
Fallout4 - Materials.ba2
Fallout4 - Meshes.ba2
Fallout4 - MeshesExtra.ba2
Fallout4 - Misc.ba2
Fallout4 - Nvflex.ba2
Fallout4 - Shaders.ba2
Fallout4 - Sounds.ba2
Fallout4 - Startup.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures1.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures2.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures3.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures4.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures5.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures6.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures7.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures8.ba2
Fallout4 - Textures9.ba2
Fallout4 - Voices.ba2
Fallout4.cdx
Fallout4.esm

Nothing more, nothing less.


Your \%AppData%\Local\Fallout4\plugins.txt should only contain this:

Fallout4.esm

And your \%AppData%\Local\Fallout4 folder should only contain the plugins.txt and the DLCList.txt (the latter containing the DLCRobot.esm if you have the Automatron DLC or nothing if you don't have it).


Your \%UserData%\Documents\My Games\Fallout4\Fallout4Custom.ini should only contain this:

[Display]
iLocation X=0
iLocation Y=0

And your \%UserData%\Documents\My Games\Fallout4\Fallout4.ini should have the line:

sResourceDataDirsFinal=STRINGS\

and not have any of these lines:

sResourceDataDirsFinal=
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1

in the [Archive] section.


This should guarantee a vanilla state of your game. But to be even more on the safe side, you should verify the game cache in Steam once after double-checking the above. Then launch the game from Steam, choose "New Game" and bee-line through the tutorial and to Sanctuary and open the Workshop menu there. Do not load a savegame for this test. Do not launch it from another application (like F4SE or NMM). Do not use any additional programs (like ENB/ReShade, F4SE, CheatEngine or whatever).

If it still crashes after this, the cause for your issue is probably outside of the game. Might be a driver issue or even related to failing hardware (harddrive, graphics card, RAM).

Edited April 3, 2016 by wax2k

[ResidentAlien]

Outstanding info and response speed! Thanks a lot for that, I hadn't found a complete file list anywhere and that saves a great deal of time trying to troubleshoot.

 

I do have a vanilla install, as I thought. There are some differences from your list which are related to the DLC: the appdata folder contains a DLCList.txt file and the DLC is not listed in the plugins.txt; and the games/data folder includes three DLCRobot files in addition to the ones you list. I doubt any of this is relevant and only mention them here for completeness.

 

I still have the CTD at the workshop bench and none of the others, and need to explore further, as you suggest. That information should be pinned somewhere if it's not already. Thanks again.

 

 

[wax2k]

Since I don't have the DLC myself, it might well be that I didn't list all related files. Mind posting the filenames (I'd guess, it's a DLCRobot.cdx, a DLCRobot - Geometry.csg and a DLCRobot.ba2) and the contents of the DLCList.txt (I'd guess, it's just the DLCRobot.esm), so I can edit them in to make the above post complete for future reference?

 

Edit: nevermind, googled them and edited them in. You might want to double-check, since you only mention 3 DLC files, but according to my information, there should be 6 in total, so that might also be related to your issue.

 

Also it might be worth a try to test it without the DLC once, just to see if it's somehow related to that.

 

Also: are you opted in for the beta and using the latest Survival Mode beta patch? If so, opting out and reverting back to the latest retail patch (by again verifying game cache in Steam after opting out) is worth a try.

Edited April 3, 2016 by wax2k

[ResidentAlien]

Thanks for your help, since I had a copy of the Saves folder, I decided to wipe the whole thing and reinstall it one last time.

 

This time, it appears to work. I have the workshop menu again, not yet proceeded to build anything but it all looks fine. I have absolutely no idea why the same install failed before and will put it down to gremlins for want of a better explanation. If it was a file corruption that survived two previous reinstalls, it will never be known and doesn't seem to make sense but there you go. All is well.

 

I will proceed with mods cautiously and with backups of the vanilla files where I can, a little older and wiser.

 

You're correct, there are six robot files. I never was good at math.

 

Thanks again, I hope the information you gave me will be useful for others, too.

[ZoSar]

hey there, thanks for that nice guide.

I'm not new to modding Bethesda games, and (just for the food planters) did everything correctly, but I got a really strange issue:
The game crashes at the very same moment i hit the "E" key to enter the building mode (the same for the shortcut).
I tried everything, but even when I deactivate ALL mods, and try it again, it still crashes.
I just found out that it also do crash, after a clear start, when i go to the first workbench in Sanctuary with the only option to "search" that workbench. What's happening here?
Do i have to reinstall?

[wax2k]

@ZoSar:

 

The most common cause for that kind of CTD is an interface mod (which wouldn't be listed in your load order, since it's not an .esm/.esp based mod). Go look for a Workshop.swf or similar in \%InstallDir%\Fallout 4\data\interface and remove it in case or try and rename the whole folder for testing purposes.

Edited April 12, 2016 by wax2k

[teamster]

I apologize ahead of time. I would rather straight up ask then search thru 100 pages of useful information on this site. I recently added my 33rd 34th 35th mod. Ever since, I have been getting the dreaded stuttering issue, mostly outdoors, making the game almost unplayable. I tried trouble shooting by uninstalling the mods one by one using NMM. I get CTD instead of the loading screen. So I re-installed them and the game runs, but the stuttering still exists. I was just wondering if their is such a thing as "too many" mods that would cause this sudden FPS drop. The game was running fine with around 30 mods.

Edited April 15, 2016 by teamster

[Ethreon]

Too many visual mods in a somewhat non-optimized game will definitely cause stutter. Since we don't have F4SR yet, better limit yourself on how many visual mods you use (imho, enbs are killing it). Get some of the texture optimization, and for Todd's sake, reduce shadow draw to 3000 and shadow quality to 2048.

 

There's also too many mods, but depends on what they do and how many plugins. Theoretical limit is 255 plugins.

[teamster]

Too many visual mods in a somewhat non-optimized game will definitely cause stutter. Since we don't have F4SR yet, better limit yourself on how many visual mods you use (imho, enbs are killing it). Get some of the texture optimization, and for Todd's sake, reduce shadow draw to 3000 and shadow quality to 2048.

 

There's also too many mods, but depends on what they do and how many plugins. Theoretical limit is 255 plugins.

Thanks for the speedy response. Makes sense. The last 3 mods i installed were all "cosmetic" stuff. Better Settlers, Better looking raiders, and the pony tail mod. I am sure those are not easy on the textures. Would you know why I get CTD after uninstalling those via NMM?

[wax2k]

@teamster: I can only guess, but the most common cause for a CTD right at startup / main menu is missing master files or wrong load order (master files below the referring files). So most probably you uninstalled at least one .esm/.esp file which is referred to by another still active .esp file.