LOOT - Creating a better error free Load Order

[NexusComa]

Hello, I've gone over this in a few threads but, figured I'd share this in it's own posting.

 

Long ago I stumbled across this little trick with LOOT that created a way better load order. It would seem LOOT don't consider what you already have in your load order when adding new mods to it.

Well, not as deeply as you would want it too. I'm not all to sure what the deal is here ... Anyways, here is a way to get a much better load order out of LOOT. Pulling out all load order errors.

 

#1.

Make sure you can see hidden files (this is windows 8.1)

 

http://i.imgur.com/o4sgFRd.png

 

#2.

Go to this folder location ... C:\Users\YOUR USER NAME\AppData\Local\Skyrim

There you will find the files: loadorder.txt and plugins.txt. Make backups if you wish, then delete these files.

 

#3.

Run LOOT as normal ... This will create the two files from scratch. You will notice the load order is different then it was. The mods will be in a much better order then they were.

 

#4.

Open the file called loadorder.txt and highlight everything but Skyrim.esm. Use Ctrl+C to copy what you have highlighted. Then paste that in the plugins.txt file Ctrl+V, overwriting whats there.

Or ... Delete the new plugins.txt and copy the new loadorder.txt renaming it to plugins.txt, then remove the 1st entree Skyrim.esm. Both ways work as well.

 

That's it Enjoy!

Edited July 25, 2016 by NexusComa

[LeddBate]

Interesting. I'll have to try this for my next play-through. This might be worthy of a pin.

[cdcooley]

I wouldn't recommend this if you're adding mods to an existing game. LOOT now attempts to make the smallest number of changes to your load order possible when you add mods. That was a change in response to problems people had with quirks appearing after sorting mods because of constantly shifting load orders and people like me who first manually arrange our load orders and then want LOOT to only shift things around enough to avoid mod conflicts.

 

If you're ready to start a brand new character I'm still not sure the "start from scratch" load order is actually better, but I suppose it could be.

[NexusComa]

I understand your concern but, I can assure you this works great. Backup the two files and give it a try ... you will never use LOOT the old way again, promise (would not have posted this unless I was 100% sure).

However some mods will restart/reinitialize. Not a problem (as in Melt Down Everything mod). The first time I did this, what happen was I messed up and deleted them two files (was mid game). I ran LOOT hoping it would still know the order

and was surprised to see they were all in a different order. I was having issues anyways before I deleted the files (crashing at times) even though LOOT had them in order. I was even more surprised when every issue I was having was 100% gone.

My Skyrim has been running like a dream for years and I do this every time I run LOOT now. I also create mods and noticed LOOT had a way of always putting them at the end of the list. When I use this trick It moves them in a spot I can see is right.

As in I have patch mods I know need to follow my mod and they were not ... After they were going in the right spots. I have tested this many times to be sure. Trust me when I say, my Skyrim is like gold to me. I'm sure other mod makers have noticed this too.

 

One other thing I do from time to time ... is run the console command PCB (purge cell buffer-command), then save, then reload, then save again. This helps keep your saves clean. Try to do this in a smaller cell (not outside).

 

Maybe someone else could come back and verify this works so you have more then one opinion ... A simple back up of the files and a test run will prove this works ...

[litewolf]

I tried your suggestion, it works very well on my pc. :thumbsup:

[cdcooley]

Just saving, quitting to desktop, and then restarting and saving again would accomplish the same as your PCB saving technique and do a better job of cleaning memory than PCB does.

[Freso]

#3.

Run LOOT as normal ... This will create the two files from scratch. You will notice the load order is different then it was. The mods will be in a much better order then they were.

As cdcooley said, LOOT aims to make the fewest amount of changes to the load order as possible, while still resolving all conflicts as well as it know how to. Your approach here may well result in the load order appearing more tidy, but that is not the same as better. Esp. if you're on an already running game.

 

#4.

Open the file called loadorder.txt and highlight everything but Skyrim.esm. Use Ctrl+C to copy what you have highlighted. Then paste that in the plugins.txt file Ctrl+V, overwriting whats there.

Or ... Delete the new plugins.txt and copy the new loadorder.txt renaming it to plugins.txt, then remove the 1st entree Skyrim.esm. Both ways work as well.

A lot of people will have "inactive" plugins. There are plugins that exist in Data/ but are not being loaded by the game, thus the game doesn't know about these at all. But modding tools, such as LOOT, still need to know about them, which is where the plugins.txt/loadorder.txt comes into the picture. plugins.txt are the plugins the game knows about and will load, while loadorder.txt will be all the plugins in the Data/ folder. Simply overwriting plugins.txt with loadorder.txt will not work for everybody, as they may have plugins in Data/ they do not necessarily want to actually enable. (Pre-Skyrim games and Fallout 4 do things slightly differently; LOOT's "Introduction to Load Orders" has more information.)

 

I understand your concern but, I can assure you this works great. […] (would not have posted this unless I was 100% sure).

However some mods will restart/reinitialize. Not a problem (as in Melt Down Everything mod). The first time I did this, what happen was I messed up and deleted them two files (was mid game).

So first you say you "can assure [us] this works great", and then you admit to it causing problems?

 

I ran LOOT hoping it would still know the order and was surprised to see they were all in a different order.

LOOT, like all other modding utilities, reads the load order from plugins.txt and loadorder.txt. If you change the order in those files, that's the order LOOT will see.

 

I also create mods and noticed LOOT had a way of always putting them at the end of the list. When I use this trick It moves them in a spot I can see is right.

As in I have patch mods I know need to follow my mod and they were not ... After they were going in the right spots. I have tested this many times to be sure. Trust me when I say, my Skyrim is like gold to me. I'm sure other mod makers have noticed this too.

The solution to this is to 1) add local, custom metadata for the plugins you're making/developing yourself, 2) once you're happy with your plugins and you decide to make them public, contribute the metadata for your plugin to LOOT so everybody else benefits as well.

 

Disclaimer: I'm an active member of the LOOT team.

[Freso]

Just saving, quitting to desktop, and then restarting and saving again would accomplish the same as your PCB saving technique and do a better job of cleaning memory than PCB does.

I'll admit to having used `pcb` myself when I was playing Skyrim. Sure, quitting to desktop will do a better job, but it's also more disruptive than just firing off the `pcb` command in the console every now and again. (I didn't do the whole save-load-save-load-save-… dance though, I just continued playing.) … But I feel this is off-topic for the topic at hand. :smile:

[NexusComa]

@Freso ... You sure went to a lot of trouble to debunk something that works very well ... So, let me match your zeal ... I'll go box by box.

 

#1. "Loot aims to make the fewest amounts of changes" ... Not looking for fewest. I'm looking for best possible outcome.

#2. "A lot of people have inactive plugins" ... I don't keep plugins/mods around I don't use and if I did adding hold folder isn't that hard.

#3. "first you say you can assure [us] this works great, and then you admit to it causing problems?" ... Kind of reaching here aren't you. The line goes on to say "not a problem", as it really isn't.

#4. "LOOT, like all other modding utilities, reads the load order from plugins.txt and loadorder.txt. If you change the order in those files, that's the order LOOT will see." ... Think you missed my point here.

#5. "The solution to this is to one* add local, custom metadata for the plugins you're making" ... Clearly it was putting things in a better order without even knowing the mod. Was talking about patch mods like graphical fixes while editing the mod.

#6. "(I didn't do the whole save-load-save-load-save-… dance though, I just continued playing.) … But I feel this is off-topic for the topic at hand." ... A. It's my topic. B. Speculation without testing is just speculation.

You may have not noticed the "One other thing" start of that sentence ... This also clears up the error message "some mods are missing do you wish to continue loading"

 

Side Note: "Disclaimer: I'm an active member of the LOOT team." ... Well then, maybe suggest a "start from scratch" option that removes or clears then rebuilds the files (win/win).

Meanwhile ... lightwolf: "I tried your suggestion, it works very well on my pc. :thumbsup: " ... Pretty sure this will be the case with anyone who tries this ... Note the use of the word "very".

 

My aim here was not to shame a program I truly love, but more to show yet another way to remove errors in Skyrim ... So that people can play a more error free Skyrim.

I'm sorry if somehow you took this post as insulating as I thank the LOOT team for coming up with an incredible program for the players to enjoy Skyrim a bit more.

Also, did you even try this before posting here or did you skip that "dance" as well? I've been doing this for years (even mid game) and have never had a problem (zero errors rocks).

 

Disclaimer: Avid Skyrim modder (from release) / LOOT user.

Edited July 28, 2016 by NexusComa

[NexusComa]

If you backup the two files mentioned and give this a test without saving in game, there is no way you will break any of your current progress or the game itself.

If the game is set to auto save you can always remove a save by hovering over the save and pressing X from the load or save screen. If so, would you please

leave a comment here as to your findings so there is more then a few opinions on this ... I would hate to see this dismissed as not working when

I know full well it's a real game changer ... thank you for your time.

Edited July 28, 2016 by NexusComa