Sarinia Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hello, wax2k. First, I wanted to say that I am very grateful for the information you've provided here. As one of the people that said I would read a tutorial from you on this subject if you chose to write one, I was very happy to see that you graciously took your free time to do so. My apologies if my question should be posted somewhere else, as it is not specifically about the settlement building mods, but more in general. I am about to start a new game and since there was a recent patch, I decided to do everything fresh from scratch. After backing up copies of my save games, ini files, prior mods, etc. I wiped and reloaded the game from steam, and allowed it to create a new set of associated docs: the three .ini files in the my docs folder plus the three files in the AppData folder (DLCList, loadorder, and plugins). I have installed the most recent version of the Fallout 4 Script extender and spent the last day or so downloading the most recent versions of the mods I wish to use. I have been referencing Gambit77's excellent example of his load order (thanks, Gambit77!) since I first saw it (Jan 20) and it has greatly helped me with manually adjusting my load order to minimize issues that are not immediately apparent. I already check for file dependencies, compatibility issues, up-to-date patches, and always install all mods that use one of the two keywords set first, then overwrite with the latest version of the keywords from the actual keywords mod page after so that I know I don't accidentally have an older version of the keywords. I am now ready to start loading the mods, and this is where my question comes in. Do you (or any of the other very helpful posters who reply to this sort of question on a regular basis such as Ethreon) have some suggestions on the order to add mods when starting with a new NMM profile? One reason I download all the mods before installing is to make sure I have all the patches, etc. ready to go and then I create my own custom categories so I can install the mods in groups (usually one or two associated mods at a time and then run the game to test and make sure there are no CTDs or issues). I feel fairly comfortable with troubleshooting issues when they come up, but I feel that I might be able to better optimize things if I had a clearer idea of what mods should be installed first (i.e. bug fixes, settlement expansions, hi-res textures, etc.) or if the initial install order even makes a difference apart from those mods that overwrite a similar texture, mesh, file, etc. from another mod. Thank you so much for any advice you can offer. It is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreon Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Hello, wax2k. First, I wanted to say that I am very grateful for the information you've provided here. As one of the people that said I would read a tutorial from you on this subject if you chose to write one, I was very happy to see that you graciously took your free time to do so. My apologies if my question should be posted somewhere else, as it is not specifically about the settlement building mods, but more in general. I am about to start a new game and since there was a recent patch, I decided to do everything fresh from scratch. After backing up copies of my save games, ini files, prior mods, etc. I wiped and reloaded the game from steam, and allowed it to create a new set of associated docs: the three .ini files in the my docs folder plus the three files in the AppData folder (DLCList, loadorder, and plugins). I have installed the most recent version of the Fallout 4 Script extender and spent the last day or so downloading the most recent versions of the mods I wish to use. I have been referencing Gambit77's excellent example of his load order (thanks, Gambit77!) since I first saw it (Jan 20) and it has greatly helped me with manually adjusting my load order to minimize issues that are not immediately apparent. I already check for file dependencies, compatibility issues, up-to-date patches, and always install all mods that use one of the two keywords set first, then overwrite with the latest version of the keywords from the actual keywords mod page after so that I know I don't accidentally have an older version of the keywords. I am now ready to start loading the mods, and this is where my question comes in. Do you (or any of the other very helpful posters who reply to this sort of question on a regular basis such as Ethreon) have some suggestions on the order to add mods when starting with a new NMM profile? One reason I download all the mods before installing is to make sure I have all the patches, etc. ready to go and then I create my own custom categories so I can install the mods in groups (usually one or two associated mods at a time and then run the game to test and make sure there are no CTDs or issues). I feel fairly comfortable with troubleshooting issues when they come up, but I feel that I might be able to better optimize things if I had a clearer idea of what mods should be installed first (i.e. bug fixes, settlement expansions, hi-res textures, etc.) or if the initial install order even makes a difference apart from those mods that overwrite a similar texture, mesh, file, etc. from another mod. Thank you so much for any advice you can offer. It is much appreciated.Depends on whether they have any files overwriting or not. If they do, you will have to install the mod you want overwritten first, then the overwriting file. If there's no overwrites, you can install the mods in the same order the plugins should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarinia Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Thanks for the quick response. To summarize, this means as long as I keep in mind what files may overwrite others and always make sure that required patches are installed for mods before testing them in game, it shouldn't matter if I install game bug fixes before or after high res textures or building mods? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreon Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Thanks for the quick response. To summarize, this means as long as I keep in mind what files may overwrite others and always make sure that required patches are installed for mods before testing them in game, it shouldn't matter if I install game bug fixes before or after high res textures or building mods?As long as you keep those in mind, it should be all good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wax2k Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) @Sarinia: There's not the one right way or order to do that. Even with mods overwriting each others files, you can always choose to not allow a mod to overwrite a certain file. But you have to know, what they are for and which files you want to keep. There's not a general rule for that unfortunately. I personally have done (or am doing) the same with the new patch, this time aiming for a more or less maxed out but working mod setup. Kind of a proof-of-concept. :wink: I chose to start with retexture-only mods, since troubleshooting CTDs due to them would be more difficult later on (not that I ever had any). The next batch of mods was everything visual and environment related (like True Storms, Darker Nights, Lighting tweaks and so on). After making sure, they didn't introduce any immediate issues, I went for everything that is armor, weapon and crafting. Again checked, if everything was working as intended. Tweaked some textures, meshes and materials to my personal liking. And the last part was and is everything workshop and settlement related which is what I'm working on at the moment. But the overall chronology doesn't matter that much. Just know what you want, know what your mods do and how they influence each other and know what to try and do when issues arise, and you're most probably good to go. And even without knowing you, just judging from what I read from you this time and last time, I am pretty confident, that you'll get it to work. And if not, you know where to look and how to ask. Something that unfortunately a lot of others can't honestly say about themselves. :wink: Edited February 8, 2016 by wax2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethreon Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 There are cases (not applicable here) where order matters a lot - installing HUD mods for TTW (tale of two wastelands). Order of install matters, unless you want a broken hud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wax2k Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) Sure, exceptions confirm the rule. But as I wrote: if you know, what each file is for and which ones to keep, the order does not matter, only the outcome :wink: Edited February 7, 2016 by wax2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac2636 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I have another rule for you to add. 11. If you're still hitting the formlist cap after following these steps, I have a quick fix that will lower your category footprint by a lot. The Homemaker SK integration patch uses deletion overrides on the Homemaker menu category keywords. Those deletion overrides will break if you'd still be over the cap after they'd apply. So for people that are using a lot of mods that add menu category keywords the Homemaker SK integration patch may not function properly for you in regards to lowering the menu category keyword footprint. There is a fix for this though. Open the Homemaker.esm and Homemaker - SK Integration Patch.esp in FO4Edit. Remove the entire Keyword sections from both plugins and save. And presto, you have a always functional fix to remove Homemaker's menu category keyword footprint. I've mentioned the fix on the Homemaker page a couple times. Hopefully NovaCoru will start packaging the SK Integration patch like this in the future, as the people that are most likely to need this (novice modders with no comprehension of the limits of the game engine) are the ones least likely to fix this themselves.This was the only way I could get OCD into my build. It seems to work splendidly, though I'm sure what I should be checking to make sure I deleted the keywords correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battousai124 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 If anyone wants the Homemaker plugin with the SK patch integrated, PM me, did the work and i have no issues whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faylar001 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Hey Everyone, I'd like to add a couple troubleshooting things that really helped me (Specifically)I was having a CTD in Misc Decor, and it turned out to be Buildable Campfires did not have it's Meshes moved over, so I moved them, and then combed through all of my mods in order to find all the missing Meshes files... I was missing them for AWKR, two DDP ones, and Alternate Settlements did not update properly. So I moved them all over from the .zips into the Data/Meshes Directory, and... voila! no more menu CTDs.Prior to that I was getting a build menu ctd when entering it, that happened to be a load order issue. I had to move Homemaker below Snap N' Build.My advice is that when you load up mods, load only 3-5 at a time, thoroughly test them by combing through each menu, and then move on to 3-5 more. Spend an evening doing this, and it will save you many more evenings of troubleshooting.Also, a weird one I found after deleting all mods and reinstalling everything, I changed my graphics modes from low and then back to medium before applying texture mods. This solved a weeklong issue I had with missing textures, and one which no online help forum seemed to address.I hope these help, I am no modder... yet, but I am starting to get pretty versed at mod troubleshooting. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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