Redundantly Renaming Mods

[Tanuithscthais]

Yes I realize that im probably the olny one who does this but Im definatly that autistic.

 

I like to rename mods I install despite the redundancy of doing so, to put it as blunt as possible When I do that to a mod with Ba2 files it breaks.

 

I looked up to see if anyone ever did this but it looks like its just me, beeing completely green when it comes to fallout 4 mod editing/making im just wondering if anyone knows how change the names of these and make them work.

[MissingMeshTV]

You need to rename the BA2 to match the name of the .esp, following a specific and consistent naming convention. For example:

 

If you have the .esp and rename it: MyCoolMod.esp

 

The BA2s need to be:

MyCoolMod - Main.BA2

MyCoolMod - Textures.BA2

 

After the "MyCoolMod" (the actual name of the .esp) you need to use: space, the "dash," then another space, then the BA2 file extension. Just look at the naming structure of the mods you download, or vanilla files in your Data folder and you'll see what I mean.

 

As info, you should never rename an .esp if you have already been using it and have it as part of a game save. If you do, the game doesn't know its actually the same mod and will report it as "missing," and anything put into your game by the mod will be missing from your game when you load the save.

[montky]

an excellent question, Tanuithscthais.

 

it's not 'redundant' to want to organize stuff, nor necessarily OCD or Autistic hehe.

you like to organize your mods and use the categories in the NMM interface, so it speeds up finding stuff and troubleshooting etc.

there's nothing wrong with that, especially for Gaming-Bars and LAN Club network managers etc.

you try trying to figure out why the LAN Party is not working, when everyone has partial mod install lists and multiple conflicts hehe.

 

that's part of the awesome which is what NMM is all about - making mods and gaming more awesome hehe.

self-deprecating 'humor' aside,

there are some frameworks emerging for that.

 

the short answer is - 'add notes to the mod metadata'. It's a kludge that should do the job.

Method:

rightclick mod -> properties -> add notes/author data -> name you'd rather refer to mod as.

in NMM left-hand menu,

rightclick the XY axis white field bar -> add new field -> "notes/metadata field for the mod you appended"

kludge complete.

 

 

 

the problem you describe with some mod's path being broken

that's proving an interesting stumbling block for GameModul's "mod load order checker" project.

ie how can we check to see if a partial dummy mod-list will be compatible with those known in the fault-database,

if people are changing the 'counts-as' name of all the dang'd files?!

 

you'll have to use in the meantime,

the 'notes' category for the files in your mod, just as you would for images and for music, or for Astrophysics and astronomical charts...

I prefer the |Year| |alphabetical index category| |initials| format, so I can quickly quantify what percentage of what mods are for which game per year - very handy for a "make me one with the lot" style install where users have over 1000 mods and merged mods...

 

and in the left-hand list for the mods installed, add a new field in the NMM user interface (there are threads on how to do this in the "Open Beta: Feedback, FAQs and suggestions" thread in NMM General)

add the field which will only display notes.

It will need to have a buffer eventually and an 'update'/'refresh' button, because at present if you make changes while in the NMM studio, it will need you to quit out and alter it again etc.

BEWARE of hyperdefinition stuff too, if your naming / fling system is trying to be AGIXML compatible hehe.

 

this way, you are not technically 'renaming' the mod, just adding a note-field to it.

this works for the moment,

until we get some pathing-name changer feature emerge.

I think that's how we'll solve 2 birds with the 1 stone...

 

pathing name conflicts are a potential source of unintentional mod conflict,

as Ethreon has spoken about in the past.

that's why standards are forming in mods, like the KeywordFrameworks and guides etc,

to help reduce the risk of that.

 

 

 

I hope this helps gives some ideas,

and good luck and happy modding!

Edited July 17, 2017 by montky