OLD saves with NEW mods?

[slickricknasty]

I use a few nexus mods and have mod manager and LOOT.
Just got a few new mods.
Do I need to start the game from scratch to make sure i dont mess up my game?
Or can I just pick up where I left off?
I played for about an hour and havent experienced any issues

[beans]

Adding mods is usually safe, but if they change a lot of records (i.e. civil war overhaul or requiem), you're probably better off starting from scratch.

[Ilja]

I recommend using a separate profile (for NMM or MO) to test mod compatibiltiy, before adding them to your main game. Otherwise you may end up deleting several saves to get back to point before you installed a mod that caused a conflict.

That said, if there are no conflicts and load order is minded, then adding mods to game is relatively safe. You do not need to start a new game for that, unless it is a big overhaul and/or mod author tells you to do so in the description page.

[slickricknasty]

I use LOOT to make sure the order is good, I also only added a few small mods and one slightly bigger one, I added the invisibilty eye glitch fix, I also added apocolypse spells (extra spells and scrolls) But no big overhauls or anything like that

[Rektum]

Their is still chance it will wreck your game, same as if you uninstall mods mid playthrough, it's better off to have them all installed / uninstalled before hand, so your game dosnt break.

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Rektum:

Their is still chance it will wreck your game, same as if you uninstall mods mid playthrough, it's better off to have them all installed / uninstalled before hand, so your game dosnt break.

Well, yes and no. As I said, I recommend testing stuff in a separate profile first, before adding them. I haven't used Apocalypse, but Indivisibility eye glitch fix is perfectly safe.

The matter how saves can be broken is due to Skyrim baking script data to save files. There is no way to make them 100% clean - if with tools -, so basically only way to clear scripted mod out of your game is to back to save prior of installing the mod after uninstalling it - or to start completely a new game.

Adding mods does not remove any scripts from save files, so it can not be compared to process of removing mods. The compatibility is the key here. If mods are compatible and managed correctly, then there is no problem, if player knows that he/she wants to play with the mod.

Nazenn has a list of mods that you should avoid installing any way. Note that it goes deeper than the first post.

Masterlist : Dangerous, Outdated and Superseded Mods by Nazenn
http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/523890681422555089/

[Rektum]

Originally posted by Ilja:

Originally posted by Rektum:

Their is still chance it will wreck your game, same as if you uninstall mods mid playthrough, it's better off to have them all installed / uninstalled before hand, so your game dosnt break.

Well, yes and no. As I said, I recommend testing stuff in a separate profile first, before adding them. I haven't used Apocalypse, but Indivisibility eye glitch fix is perfectly safe.

The matter how saves can be broken is due to Skyrim baking script data to save files. There is no way to make them 100% clean - if with tools -, so basically only way to clear scripted mod out of your game is to back to save prior of installing the mod after uninstalling it - or to start completely a new game.

Adding mods does not remove any scripts from save files, so it can not be compared to process of removing mods. The compatibility is the key here. If mods are compatible and managed correctly, then there is no problem, if player knows that he/she wants to play with the mod.

Nazenn has a list of mods that you should avoid installing any way. Note that it goes deeper than the first post.

Masterlist : Dangerous, Outdated and Superseded Mods by Nazenn
http://steamcommunity.com/app/72850/discussions/0/523890681422555089/

I know this

[Ilja]

Originally posted by Rektum:

I know this

Now others know as well. That's the point here, isn't it? :)

[kdodds]

I'd just like to add that adding a new mod, if you do the research beforehand, is almost infinitely improbable to "break your game". First, follow Ilja's test profile recommendation and copy (not move, copy) the save you want to use over and test, with saving.

The research is the most important part. Mods that are put together well will include compatibility lists for obviously questionable mods and incompatibility lists as well. These are extremely import to read. Also, if a mod needs to be enabled at a certain point (from start, after point X), you should adhere to these requirements.

The second most important part is not taking shortcuts. Don't download and run (unless you really know what you're doing). Following the otherwise necessary procedures when adding any mod to any profile. LOOT, Wrye Bash, LOOT, ReProc, LOOT. Depending on you ReProc(s) recommendations, you may need to move those steps around, but you NEED to do them BEFORE testing.

Following these processes, the only thing that can "break your game" is you. I suppose these processes are a bit easier for coders (by vocation or avocation) to adhere to, as they should be very similar to steps taken (separate incremental backups, test environment, etc.) in any quality code work.