Anybody still use NMM for mods?

[Daft Punk]

are there someone out there like me, who still use NMM? i read many forums seems people abandoning it, but personally i refused to migrate from NMM. maybe because i just familiar with NMM from modding in oldrim, and i always think other mod manager are same thing functionality. are other mod manager have advantage from NMM i should know about?

[Ilja]

I think the biggest reasons why people walked away from NMM were clean(er) Data folders and ability to solve resource priority conflicts correctly.

Vortex and MO2 do not actually install any files in to your Data folder. NMM does install them in to Data folder and you need to keep managing resource priorities (mod priorities) by order of installation.

Vortex uses hard links to mods and has a conflict resolution system for resource priorities. Mod Organizer 2 uses virtual Data folder and allows freehand sorting of mods from left panel. In either case, your Data folder is free from actual mod files (except for SKSE, if you are using it with MO2 - Vortex handles it as standard mod file.)

Big advantage of MO2 is that it allows you to directly see all potential conflicts from left panel, which is why I am using it. Vortex does not allow same direct view, but it shows conflicts between files if asked. NMM does none of this. Solving conflicts requires reinstalling files, while you can just move them freely in MO2 or try to troubleshoot them with Vortex.

NMM community version is maintained, sure. It is not under constant feature development, like MO2. Vortex is still getting feature updates as well, but Nexus is already working with it's successor.

[Skumboni]

Vortex replaced NMN it works well, small learning curve from NMN, and has a tutorial that will show how it works, It also has LOOT built in to sort your load order.

[isomorphic_projection]

I would go with MO2, much easier to use. Also more user friendly for people with OCD.
No conflicts, just overwrites.

[Blake]

Originally posted by Ilja:

Vortex and MO2 do not actually install any files in to your Data folder.

Actually Vortex does...

[SpeedFreak1972]

I don't use it anymore it killed several game instances for me due to wonky uninstall, etc

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Blake:

Originally posted by Ilja:

Vortex and MO2 do not actually install any files in to your Data folder.

Actually Vortex does...

Actually Vortex creates links in to mods to Data folder, instead of installing them there.

Edit: Well, that might be seen as "installing something there." Point is that Vortex does not move any mods there directly. What is visible in folder are indeed links to mods, based on which profile Vortex is currently loading.

[Blake]

Originally posted by Ilja:

What is visible in folder are indeed links to mods, based on which profile Vortex is currently loading.

No you are incorrect. There are files in there, I can see them.

My skyrim folder size is currently 50gb.

Explain why I have multiple modded install folders that I rename and can instantly switch to different mod orders without even touching Vortex and Profiles...

When a mod is downloaded it is stored outside of the skyrim folder but when that mod is installed it is copied into the skyrim folder structure

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Blake:

Originally posted by Ilja:

What is visible in folder are indeed links to mods, based on which profile Vortex is currently loading.

No you are incorrect. There are files in there, I can see them.

My skyrim folder size is currently 50gb.

Explain why I have multiple modded install folders that I rename and can instantly switch to different mod orders without even touching Vortex and Profiles...

I was in the alpha team testing Vortex, before it came out for public. I know how it works.

I do not know what files you would have them. If they look like mods installed by Vortex, those are links to files, not files themselves. Inspect their properties in Windows. If they are real files, then something in your installation has gone wrong.

You can check Vortex release notes and tutorials about how it should work and how those links are being managed. At least Gopher's tutorials should still be linked to pinned topics. They are getting old, but basic functions have not changed.

[mikk011]

My last NMM-modded game profile was a Fallout: New Vegas setup in 2019, which still works BTW. Once I learned how to use it I vastly preferred MO2's conflict detection and resolution features and individual file-level controls. It's just a much more versatile tool and as others have pointed out it doesn't make a mess of your game folder.

[exiledangel420]

My preference is mo2 I never actually tried nmm, and vortex left me more confused then when I first started modding skyrim manually on linux. I feel mo2 has less of learning curve then vortex and is more user friendly. That being said mo2 is not yet capable to install collections like vortex. so if your doing collections vortex is the one you need to use.

[Daft Punk]

Originally posted by Ilja:

I think the biggest reasons why people walked away from NMM were clean(er) Data folders and ability to solve resource priority conflicts correctly.

Vortex and MO2 do not actually install any files in to your Data folder. NMM does install them in to Data folder and you need to keep managing resource priorities (mod priorities) by order of installation.

Vortex uses hard links to mods and has a conflict resolution system for resource priorities. Mod Organizer 2 uses virtual Data folder and allows freehand sorting of mods from left panel. In either case, your Data folder is free from actual mod files (except for SKSE, if you are using it with MO2 - Vortex handles it as standard mod file.)

Big advantage of MO2 is that it allows you to directly see all potential conflicts from left panel, which is why I am using it. Vortex does not allow same direct view, but it shows conflicts between files if asked. NMM does none of this. Solving conflicts requires reinstalling files, while you can just move them freely in MO2 or try to troubleshoot them with Vortex.

NMM community version is maintained, sure. It is not under constant feature development, like MO2. Vortex is still getting feature updates as well, but Nexus is already working with it's successor.

So if vortex not install mod directly to game data, does it mean vortex techinally make mod size more bloated because using "virtual install"?

In a sense nmm extract and install mods to game data, the same as if you just paste the mods directly there yourself. Or its other way around?

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Daft Punk:

So if vortex not install mod directly to game data, does it mean vortex techinally make mod size more bloated because using "virtual install"?

In a sense nmm extract and install mods to game data, the same as if you just paste the mods directly there yourself. Or its other way around?

What appears in Data folder are just links to mods, not mods themselves. It does not count the size of mod more than once: from the location it was installed.

As an outcome, there is no real difference between installing files manually or with NMM. Mod manager just makes both installing and uninstalling far easier: files are physically in your Data folder.

Vortex and MO2 will install mods outside the Data folder. Load order and resource priorities are managed by profiles. Vortex deploys hard links based on profile selections, while MO2 gathers and runs them from virtual Data folder.

[Daft Punk]

Originally posted by Ilja:

Originally posted by Daft Punk:

So if vortex not install mod directly to game data, does it mean vortex techinally make mod size more bloated because using "virtual install"?

In a sense nmm extract and install mods to game data, the same as if you just paste the mods directly there yourself. Or its other way around?

What appears in Data folder are just links to mods, not mods themselves. It does not count the size of mod more than once: from the location it was installed.

As an outcome, there is no real difference between installing files manually or with NMM. Mod manager just makes both installing and uninstalling far easier: files are physically in your Data folder.

Vortex and MO2 will install mods outside the Data folder. Load order and resource priorities are managed by profiles. Vortex deploys hard links based on profile selections, while MO2 gathers and runs them from virtual Data folder.

Thanks for detailed comparisson. These other mod manager seems have advantage over, i might be will try one of them in my next playthrough, i dont think i want to test them now and reinstall all my mod list, seems like hassle.

[Ilja]

If you have ongoing game with NMM, just stick with it. There is no reason to start fiddling with mods and installations, until you decide to go with another game.

Have fun.

[Death Approaches]

Vortex finally has a truly Virtual version, but it's non-standard as of yet, if you don't want that then MO2 is your only option, which is your best option, too... but if you're resistant to change from NMMCE, it's fine... if you're happy, we're happy. if you're not happy, we're all going to suggest MO2 or Vortex. I've used NMMCE to see how it's going and such, but for day-in day-out mod use, nothing but nothing tops the virtual filesystem overlay method with instancing... if a game is supported by MO2 or easy enough to make your own mappings for, MO2 is my go-to for the foreseeable future.

the whole point of mod managers is to mitigate that hassle, btw, and MO2, with a couple plugins that are available for it, becomes a "game" in it's own right - it's does a lot of stuff, and a learning curve, but once you get comfortable with it, you can make your mods do anything you can conceive of. it's worth learning. maybe get comfortable using it with a game you don't really care about or ever used mods with before, and leave your skyrim alone for now? then there's no stress of a broken game while figuring stuff out... just a thought.