2020 fresh start, vortex, and mods

[gajackson]

So I'm looking at 2 weeks of lockdown, and feel like it is time to restart a clean, fresh, 200-mod (my rig handles it fine) go of original Skyrim ( NOT LE or SSE, but I do have all 3 DLCs). I've wiped out all the old mods/plugins, cleaned/reset the game installation, installed Vortex, dusted off my Nexus login & pw.

TES5Edit, Wrye, LOOT, FNIS are still on deck; SKSE to be re-acquired.

It *seems* like it (Vortex-based installing) will be a bit easier than all of the old fiddling I did in 2018 to make everything work together without CTDs. I'm humbly asking for any help or advice here in terms of additional tools, mod install order, etc. Either throw it here, or please point me to current info that I can work my way through. I'm capable, just rusty/dusty, and not aware of the current state of things otherwise (despite 400+ hours in game)

Warm regards from a Texan in Malaysia!

[Vengyr]

Uninstall Vortex, get Mod Organizer. Vortex is known to corrupt mods and not advised for serious modding.
Use LOOT for sorting mods, although apply common sense aswell (e.g. if you want mod 1 to replace assets from mod 2, put mod 1 lower in the load order).

@Frostbite
I am not an OP, but I've just reinstalled Skyrim.
I despise base Skyrim, never reached even level 10 without mods, that's how bad the vanilla game is. But with mods this game can get pretty good.

[rallicknom]

Originally posted by Frostbite:

One question, its filled with purest of good intentions;

Why do you have to disrespect your own precious free time by playing this shallow at best barely mediocre game?

Not a troll or anything, i just deeply desire to understand the mindset of Skyrim fans. Forgive me if it comes off rude to you or anything. Its just a curiosity.

You would do well to try to understand the term "personal preference" it applies to almost everything in life; the food we eat, the people we find attractive, or not, and even the games we play.

As you mature you will come to understand that because you do not enjoy something does not make it "bad" or "shallow" it merely means that you do not enjoy it.

Most of us outgrow the ice cream "good", spinach "bad" way of thinking and come to understand that those items are not "good" or "bad" in and of themselves but only in relation to the individual judging them.

[Frostbite]

Originally posted by rallicknom:

Originally posted by Frostbite:

One question, its filled with purest of good intentions;

Why do you have to disrespect your own precious free time by playing this shallow at best barely mediocre game?

Not a troll or anything, i just deeply desire to understand the mindset of Skyrim fans. Forgive me if it comes off rude to you or anything. Its just a curiosity.

You would do well to try to understand the term "personal preference" it applies to almost everything in life; the food we eat, the people we find attractive, or not, and even the games we play.

As you mature you will come to understand that because you do not enjoy something does not make it "bad" or "shallow" it merely means that you do not enjoy it.

Most of us outgrow the ice cream "good", spinach "bad" way of thinking and come to understand that those items are not "good" or "bad" in and of themselves but only in relation to the individual judging them.

No but preference of something that can not be ''better'' contextually(like colors, they are all same, so you prefer one of them as your favorite)is not what im talking about. Games have designes, you see. And design is a hybrid of Art and Science. Artistic bit comes from the music placements and choices, story implementation, and general dominant ''style'' of the game, which is open to preferences(for example, i dont like horror setups, but you might love them). And then there is the scientific bit of the design, which is mostly everything else and a bunch of ratios that has been tested throughout years and deemed to be the ''best way of making a game''(such as tps camera for action brawl/hack and slash games, or too many quick time events, or too many mini games for everything that your character do, these things are objective and deemed bad). So in the light of these informations, you can in fact, categorize games as ''bad ones'' and ''good ones'' similar to scientific hypotheses.

So, a game can indeed, be bad or good. But a person could like or hate a game, whether it is bad or good, that is irrelevant. Neither loving a bad game would turn it into a good game, nor hating a good game would turn it into a bad game. I was merely asking, why would he play Skyrim, when there are objectively far better alternatives in other genres(or same even, however limited), or if we simplify it ''Why do you like Skyrim'', in the pursuit of understanding the mindset of Skyrim fans, as i have expressed in my first comment so clearly.

Seeing past my point(or missing it completely, wouldnt surprise) and hastily attempting to insult me with the ''as you mature...'', shows that who really requires said maturity.

[Falro the Great]

Originally posted by Vengyr:

Uninstall Vortex, get Mod Organizer. Vortex is known to corrupt mods and not advised for serious modding.

You're thinking of the old Nexus Mod Manager. Vortex does not corrupt mods and is perfectly suitable for even the heaviest of mod lists.

[Vengyr]

Originally posted by Falro the Great:

Originally posted by Vengyr:

Uninstall Vortex, get Mod Organizer. Vortex is known to corrupt mods and not advised for serious modding.

You're thinking of the old Nexus Mod Manager. Vortex does not corrupt mods and is perfectly suitable for even the heaviest of mod lists.

Google "vortex mod corruption".

Maybe for most people it does not, but I'd rather not take a risk.

[Falro the Great]

Originally posted by Vengyr:

Originally posted by Falro the Great:

You're thinking of the old Nexus Mod Manager. Vortex does not corrupt mods and is perfectly suitable for even the heaviest of mod lists.

Google "vortex mod corruption".

Maybe for most people it does not, but I'd rather not take a risk.

I did, and every single thread I found on the first page had an issue that was either caused by obvious user error or was about problems importing mods that NMM had corrupted. Not to mention that there were zero threads from this year.

There's a lot of misinformation out there about Vortex, either from people who try to treat it like NMM and then are surprised it works differently, or people who don't actually know anything about Vortex but assume that because it's different it must be bad.

[jeffy]

i just started playing this in quratine

level 13 and incredibly boord i got ♥♥♥♥♥♥ internet and cant download games

[smr1957]

Hi, gajackson! Hope that you are doing well, and staying safe and healthy (as I do for everyone). I would suggest that you start by scanning through the pinned topic Helpful Links and References - https://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/1482109512314623696/

Since you have previously modded the game, just check for any topics you may need information on or which seem like they may be interesting or helpful, or which you may just want to check to refresh your memory. And, if you still have any questions or want people's thoughts, ask again in the forums, and we'll all do what we can.

Hope that all goes well - for you and for everyone else!

[Vlad 254]

Vortex is 100% fine. better than fine. it's excellent!

I use it error free with over 500 mods on SE and right now I'm playing a 225 mod setup on LE error free

yes, lots of bad information out there.

MO2 is an excellent manager

Vortex is an excellent manager and a tad easier (user friendly)

[Vlad 254]

Originally posted by Vengyr:

Originally posted by Falro the Great:

You're thinking of the old Nexus Mod Manager. Vortex does not corrupt mods and is perfectly suitable for even the heaviest of mod lists.

Google "vortex mod corruption".

Maybe for most people it does not, but I'd rather not take a risk.

That's you. But don't force you on others.

Vortex has been out of Beta for some time now and it's smooth as silk

[Gamefever]

Most of the long time mod authors and mod users wont know how to help you with Vortex.

That alone would be good reason not to use it but hey whatever, you just hate the preferred mod manager that long time modders like to use.

[Vlad 254]

(you obviously missed the part where I said MO2 is an excellent mod manager)

The best and longest time modders made Vortex. What is it with people who just repeat what they hear. Just like the news, you hear it so it must be true. I'm constantly in the forums and what you say is not true. The only time a modder won't help with Vortex is if he never used Vortex because that is what a responsible person does. They don't need to sound like they know everything about everything.

Basically there are 3 very popular mod managers out there right now. They are, in alphabetical order, MO2, Vortex and Wrye Bash. There are a couple of others but those are the big 3. And Nexus made Vortex the Official Mod Manager for Nexus Mods.

Vortex is built by the guy who originated Mod Organizer.

It all comes down to personal preference.

[gajackson]

@smr1957 - thanks for this; it is getting worse here, but I'm in an almost 0-risk area. I did take the time to look through the pins first, but a lot of them are outdated; more recent posts are for specific issues. I decided to opt for a new thread here instead. But I DID find the list of 'old hands' and that I am sure will be a handy reference.

For most of the rest of the responders here, I've done modding before, but generally easy front-end loaders (think WoW, Dragon Age, etc.) that did NOT require a bunch of tinkering to make everything play nicely together without issues. I've done Skyrim via MO and NMM both, and then got into the entrails of using all the other tools for edits, load order, etc. I finally got a 200+ mod load working with no issues (as far as I had gotten exploring and playing for 200+ hours), before real-life took away my gaming time. It's been nearly 2 years, I realize things have changed a lot, and even B is seemingly abandoning the original in favor of the re-release. I was asking/hoping for nudges from those who still play in a similar style of heavy mods on the original game, knowing what they know now, and how they'd approach it with a do-over today. I appreciate all of your input in this regard, although don't like to see the bashing (no pun intended).

@Frostbite - as I missed the original brouhaha; let me address your original question and posts, as I hae time free just now (lazy Fri afternoon for me heading into a martial law lockdown weekend here at the house in the jungle). I have a semi-active ESO account (8 charas, different races 7 classes, all maxed out), and play a lot of games. I've been gaming since my first Atari 2600, and then swapping diskettes on a Commodore 64, both PC and consoles. I consider it a hobby. I have something of a fixer mentality. Just to my left is a lamp I had salvaged from someone's throwaway. Nice design, sturdy. The shade had a stain, and the cord switch didn't work properly. So, I dyed the shade into a uniform color, and got a new DIY switch for it. I'm happy with it, even though a few people have commented on the fat i very easily could have just left it , gone to the store, and damned well bought a new one, no muss, no fuss.

I didn't see the lamp for what it was, but what it could be.

When Skyrim came out, I didn't jump on the bandwagon - I had plenty of games, and a very active social life. But several of my friends had it & loved it, and I wound up being gifted a copy for Xmas one year. I tried true vanilla, found it not to my liking, and started looking at tweaks. And that is where it all began. My 200+ personally curated version was beautiful for me when done; I have an epson HD projector, and play on my entire wall in my bedroom. i think the game looks and runs great properly managed.

But, more importantly - it is quite literally my game. It's a sandbox world. Unlike ESO, there is no RP-breaking chat, none of the things/issues I have that bother me about wanting to run my MMO sometimes as a single player experience. I'm a bit of a so-called ambivert in that sense. Skyrim gives me a demi-gawdlike experience in my own sandbox, with an amount of content that very, very few games in the world can match, in any genre.

I'm a freeware/abandonware/GOG/Humble Bundle fan. I'll suddenly remember a title like No One Lives Forever from lazy days gone by, dig it up, tweak and mod it, and replay it, just for nostalgia. I am truly grateful we live in a time where that is possible. Take a copy of Tribes and run a virtual LAN party with old gaming buds from decades gone by. I'm passionately lobbying execs at Rockstar to bring ALL their old titles online (State of Emergency Warriors, etc.)

it's not so much different from my house, my SUV, my muscle car & motorcycle, my funky wardrobe, my music (record) and book library, my rescue pets, my friends & lovers who made it through divorces and child abuse and rehab.

Is Skyrim a good or bad game? shrug YMMV

Does a high-end rig and modding make a difference over vanilla? I'd argue yes, and don't think there is a lot to counter that statement.

Why play this old broken thing, wasting time and effort, when there is better stuff out there all around? At the end, I have to chalk it up to personal preference.

I hope this makes sense, and I wish you well.

[smr1957]

Glad to hear you are doing well. As to the dates on a lot of those topics in the pinned threads (at least Iljs's, my Helpful Links and reference, and Arthmoor's USLEEP thread, those dates are irrelevant as the threads are actively maintained and updated, as well as the ones linked to (as necessary of course - there is really nothing new to be said about the Unofficial Patch). But, it is always best to start your own thread about something, if only to avoid confusion.

And it would seem that you are experienced enough to know how to fo about modding, with just maybe a brushup as regards some of the latest info. Anyway, we are here to help as we can if you should need any! Good luck, and keep us informed as to how everything goes - we always like to know how someone's game is tuning out - especially when it is good news!

And, most importantly, stay safe and stay healthy!

[gajackson]

Thankees - I'm in a semi-martial law situ a.t.m. - fortunately, I still have a job (work/lecturing from home), but it is at least 2 more weeks in house lockdown - and likely through until May.

I'm starting the re-build tonight, and will let you all know how it is getting on.

I have been signing off with the same thing for everyone everywhere no reason to break tradition here!

Stay safe, healthy, and (as) sane (as possible)!

Warm regards from sunny Malaysia

Glen