drworm73 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I posted this on Beth.net but got no answer, so I am hoping I can get an answer here. Can a load order guide (one that uses catagories of mods rather than specifics) that has worked well for me with SSE (XB1) be expected to work just as well for FO4? I have a guide that has stabilized my SSE game and I am thinking of applying it to FO4. It is different from the order I have been using for a few months, but I am still getting more crashes than I'd like in Fallout. Beth.net in game mod menu is such a pain on console so before I totally rearrange thing is was hoping I could find out if this is a good idea or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXenite Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Load Order depends more on what is present in the load order more than the categories the mods may be in. It's about balancing dependencies and conflicts between each mod present in the load order. With that said, you should probably share the guide you're referring to if you want people to make more specific comments about the load order sorting method you are curious about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drworm73 Posted January 5, 2017 Author Share Posted January 5, 2017 Fair point. This is the guide I have had most success with for SSE. In part it was due to the pretty thorough examples of where the most popular mods would go in the list, but it also reduced my crashes quite a bit. I really like it, but the downside is that there are things like settlement building which are specific to FO4 that have no obvious analog in SSE. For FO4 I am not sure where I got my load order a few months ago, but it is similar to this: Quote Master Files (These mods will normally move themselves to the very top section of your L/O.) New Quests, Landmasses and Factions Bug Fixes, Unofficial Patches Settlement Building Mods (Things that add to your menu not including sorting mods) Game play Changes and Tweaks New Companion mods Radio mods Visual, texture, Atmospheric improvements Lighting Settlements Changes and tweaks Sorting and menu changes Character model replacers Retexture or alter an existing companion Pip-boy and Map mods New weapons, armor, clothing, etc. Craft your own (Anything you can craft in chemistry station) Weapon and Armor Modifications Everything that says to place at the bottom (Does not work higher in L/O) That is from VagorDacil on Beth.net. My current load order works okay, I just feel like it could be better (I do not expect perfection). The advantage to this one is that it is quite specific to FO4. I honestly feel a bit silly about asking since I could just do it and find out, but the in game mod menu is just such a pain- at least with a controller it is. It is manageable when you are just re-ordering some mods that you update, but for an overhaul it sucks eggs- especially if you are experimenting and may need to just put it all back again. It is also a bit of a pain to record your current list if you want to revert to it. (I generally am a Bethesda defender, but the in game mod menu functionality and their crap-ass website(s) really steam my monkey) The bigger question is: Is load order for two different games by the same studio, on the same engine, going to be basically the same? I am a newb to mods, and have never used them on PC since i get by with old laptops. I don't have the hardware to make them myself (though it sounds really fascinating), so I don't have a firm grasp on the specifics of the assets, elements, and game structure that serves to inform "why's" of load order. I know the very basics (loads top down so lower mod will get precedent) and through reading and trial and error some basic reasons why different kinds of mods play nicer with others when they are in different positions on the LO, but that is about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iXenite Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 The general principles of Load Order will remain the same. However, how your Load Order must be sorted is not really dependent on what game you're playing so much as it is what mods you're using at that given time. It's primarily the more complex mods that you really need to concern yourself with load order, as those mods can cause serious issues if not sorted properly. Others are slightly less important - but important none-the-less. I can only suggest looking into the mod descriptions and see if the Mod Author offers any tips on Load Order or potential compatibility issues. If they don't, then it is generally safe to assume the order those mods are sorted in do not matter too much. If you want to learn more about Load Order, I suggest watching the video I link in this post. Now this is an older video that is very much PC oriented. It is not a console video, it was made before modding like this was available to console. However, it does go into Load Order and what it is and how to manage it. Hopefully it helps you wrap your head around the whole load order thing - and perhaps help you make some logical guesses on how to sort your own. Load Order #1 - What is it? Reveal hidden contents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drworm73 Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 On 1/6/2017 at 6:03 AM, DaddyDirection said: The general principles of Load Order will remain the same. However, how your Load Order must be sorted is not really dependent on what game you're playing so much as it is what mods you're using at that given time. It's primarily the more complex mods that you really need to concern yourself with load order, as those mods can cause serious issues if not sorted properly. Others are slightly less important - but important none-the-less. I can only suggest looking into the mod descriptions and see if the Mod Author offers any tips on Load Order or potential compatibility issues. If they don't, then it is generally safe to assume the order those mods are sorted in do not matter too much. If you want to learn more about Load Order, I suggest watching the video I link in this post. Now this is an older video that is very much PC oriented. It is not a console video, it was made before modding like this was available to console. However, it does go into Load Order and what it is and how to manage it. Hopefully it helps you wrap your head around the whole load order thing - and perhaps help you make some logical guesses on how to sort your own. Load Order #1 - What is it? Reveal hidden contents Thanks. I did watch that video several months ago, and it did help me understand the basics. What keeps eluding me is that I don't know enough about how mods are made and what parts of the game they are sometimes altering. That is why I liked the link I posted so much because it provided examples of what mods go with other mods- many of which I was also using. I think I am going to try and reorganize me LO and extrapolate what FO4 mods do similar things. That said, you answered my broad question about whether it is largely game dependent. That helps. I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damanding Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 On 1/5/2017 at 8:55 PM, drworm73 said: Quote Master Files (These mods will normally move themselves to the very top section of your L/O.) New Quests, Landmasses and Factions Bug Fixes, Unofficial Patches Settlement Building Mods (Things that add to your menu not including sorting mods) Game play Changes and Tweaks New Companion mods Radio mods Visual, texture, Atmospheric improvements Lighting Settlements Changes and tweaks Sorting and menu changes Character model replacers Retexture or alter an existing companion Pip-boy and Map mods New weapons, armor, clothing, etc. Craft your own (Anything you can craft in chemistry station) Weapon and Armor Modifications Everything that says to place at the bottom (Does not work higher in L/O) One additional note, the Unofficial Patch needs to go right after the fallout4.esm and DLC esm files, before all other mod related esm files. Aside from that those general rules of thumb look pretty good. For me personally the only things I particularly care about in terms of load order are the top/bottom, location changes and any mods I know will overwrite another one. Everything else has never seemed all that important in the greater scheme of things. Top means the Unofficial patch, mods which require an esm file, major overhaul mods of factions, quests, new landmasses, etc. Bottom refers to mods like Scrap Everything (which you can't get on console) and any other mods where the mod author specifically says to place it at the bottom. Major location change mods I like to keep near the low end of my load order so that mods which make very minor location changes (such as placing a magazine or other item) that may unknowingly affect precombined meshes and previs don't end up overwriting more significant location change mods which will also affect precombined meshes and previs. This way if an armor mod adds a magazine to a location and another mod makes drastic changes to that same location, the drastic changes mod needs to get loaded after the armor mod. Finally you do need to know a little something about which mods will overwrite another one. Assuming it's a soft conflict such as two mods changing the same texture, then its just a matter of whichever gets installed last wins, so you need to know which one you want to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drworm73 Posted January 7, 2017 Author Share Posted January 7, 2017 Sorry, I may not have been clear enough- this is XB1 so we don't see and have have no way to alter the actual game .esm files. So for all intents and purposes UFO4P is the top of the list. There are some mods that change multiple categories that I have to make judgment calls on, though most of the time I put them in the lowest category that is changed. I just did the reorg on paper, now I need to implement it and see if I have screwed things up. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts