Crusader Kings 2 + Vortex: Mods not recognised in game launcher.

[TempestValdyr]

Hello there!

As the title suggests, I am attempting to get Vortex to install mods for Crusader Kings 2 so that I can hopefully figure out which mods are causing me problems in one way or another. To do this, I have followed the tutorial for "Creating a game extension for Vortex" as per the wiki on it.

My Progress: The game is recognized and can be launched by Vortex. Mods can be dropped into Vortex and the mod shortcuts end up in the mod file they are supposed to be in (which I moved from Documents to the same drive as the game). Said file is NOT the one with the dummy.txt in it.

My Problem: Although mods installed through Vortex appear as they should in the mod folder as shortcuts, they are NOT recognized by the game or game launcher. The Mods tab in the launcher does not even activate as if a mod has been dropped into the mod folder manually.

My Troubleshooting: Because it is such a niche search, a 2 hour Google search has turned up nothing. Dropping a CK2 mod and its folder into the mod folder allows it to function perfectly as it should, but again I cannot seem to figure out which mods are conflicting without Vortex. I also attempted to set up the Mod Installation Pattern properly for the .mod files in case that was the problem.

Anyone know a way to get Crusader Kings 2 to recognize mods in the form of shortcuts or otherwise solve my problem?

Does CK2 simply not recognize the shortcuts Vortex makes?

Vortex Version: 1.2.20
Game: Crusader Kings 2

[Pickysaurus]

Are you seeing your files deployed as symlinks (usually identified by the .symlink extension)?

 

If so CK2 may not support loading files via symlink. To change this you need to ensure your mod staging folder is on the same HDD as the folder mods are being installed to (Settings -> Mods -> Mod Staging Folder). Once that is done, change the deployment type to "hardlink" and see if that works. In Vortex 1.3+ you'll be able to define in your extension if symlinks are compatible or not.

[TempestValdyr]

Yes they were deploying as .symlink extensions.

And just like that, the hardlink change fixed it. I was surprised that I could actually change the Hardlink deployment; I could not previously change it though that might have been before I moved the folder a while back.

Thank you so much Pickysaurus for your precise and successful aid in this endeavor!

Edited August 13, 2020 by TempestValdyr

[Pickysaurus]

To prepare for 1.3 you may want to add this inside registerGame:

compatible: {
      symlinks: false
    },

This will ensure that Vortex doesn't offer the user symlinks when it evaluates which deployment methods it can use.

[TempestValdyr]

Done and thank you very much once more!