upgrading a BIG Quest Mod...the correct way?

[ericjmz]

9/1

 

I wish to upgrading a BIG Quest Mod the right way...and NOT create a corrupted baked-in save

So I have Legacy of The Drgaonborn

I have not yet entered its land, and not started any quest

However in some respects my saves know 'its there', as I am often picking up items that come right out of the mod (for example various cards)

 

Now today I see there is a new version...Legacy of the Dragonborn-11802-5-3-3-1597779914.

The one I installed a month ago via Vortex is the prior version

 

Here is my question...I am guessing your answer would apply to any upgraded mod, but Ill ask for this one

 

Which is the best course?

 

1 don't upgrade; stick with what you have

2 disable the current (older) Legacy, DON'T delete the archive, then install the new one

3; disable AND DELETE the archive of the old one, then install the new one

4. any other order of steps to do I haven't thought of?

 

thanks for your answer forthcoming

 

ericjmz

[IsharaMeradin]

icecreamassassin the author of LotD is very particular about posting upgrade instructions. Please check all documentation and sticky posts on the mod page.

[ericjmz]

9/2

 

thank you for answering.

Although I admit I did not read all 1,700+ posts on the Legacy page, i DID look at all FAQs and other key areas and saw no answer to my question...

so I will post the inquiry on their forum

 

I had hoped there might be a generic answer to this...as to what to do with a newly revised mod (my 3 choices above...don't risk wrecking anything so don't update...vs. disable but don't delete before reinstall...vs. disable but DELETE before reinstall)

...but if the answer is different with every mod, or you just don't know it, I respect that

 

If you DO know the answer it would be nice to have the answer

I would think the answer would be valuable to every Skyrim SSE mod user...your audience here...as the issue comes up all the time, correct?

 

thank you again for your time

 

ericjmz

[IsharaMeradin]

In LotD's Full Guide article you can find the following information:

 

Updating

V5 has the following versioning convention: (Generational version).(Major patch).(Minor Patch) ex: 5.1.6

All updates for Legacy of the Dragonborn V5 will be provided as complete core packages and we will not be providing any updates in the form of patches on the official page. Some optional add-ons and 3rd party fix patches may be available on their own page but for ease of installation and preventing any mistakes and confusion with upgrading, we are only providing full package updates. We realize this can be difficult for people with slow, poor, or metered internet service, but repeated occurrences of people failing to follow upgrade directions properly has resulted in this measure and we will not entertain any appeal to host torrents, or incremental update patches of any kind. We appreciate your understanding.

Generational Versions: These CANNOT be upgraded to from previous generations of the mod. These updates REQUIRE a new game and have security measures to prevent users from trying to update a save in progress since upgrading to these new versions will break saves. (ex: V4.16 to V5.0.24)

Major Patches: These versions may require some script cleaning or special console commands after updating a game in progress from another major version. Download the new version and replace the old one, then follow any instructions in the changelogs. (ex: Upgrading from 5.1.2 to 5.2)

Minor Patches: You can update to these minor version changes within the same major version number without any special actions in most cases. Just download and install (ex: upgrading from 5.1.4 to 5.1.7). Review the changelogs for any special instructions (rare cases).

Note: In all instances, please review the changelogs of ALL versions that have been released after your current version up to and including the new version you are updating to. You should follow any instructions for EACH changelog in ascending order to ensure a proper upgrade, as all updates to the mod are cumulative.

If you are starting a new game after an update, obviously all update instructions can be ignored since you starting fresh.

 

This means that each update will replace the previous.

If using Mod Organizer 2 to manage your load order, you can either choose:

A) replace the current

or

B) make a new mod folder along side the old then deactivate / remove the old after activating the new.

 

Option B is probably the safest as you can keep the old on hand in case something horrible wrong takes place.

 

Either way, don't forgot to do what it says in the quote above: Check the change logs for specific instructions regarding script files that need to be cleaned. Personally, if I update LotD, I start a whole new game. Makes it easier.

 

If using Vortex, I have no clue what to do there.

[ericjmz]

as to: "Personally, if I update LotD, I start a whole new game..."

 

I thought about it more- and 100% agree; great advice; thank you

It just seems to risky