Starfield 2024 Essential Modding Guide (WIP)

We're back for another installment in the lets mod tf out of a bethesda game. Like some of their other titles we will need to mod out of necessity because man the optimization is fried in this game. Currently there aren't a lot of mods that will actually handle this so this mod will be extremely WIP and will be updated as the modding community develops new tools and mods that will help make this game run smoother and will eventually include mods to replace textures, give us cool gameplay overhauls and possibly quest mods.

This Guide is for version 1.14.70.0 of the game with SFSE 0.2.13

Requirements

This guide is made for the steam version of the game and windows 10. Now that NMM has Starfield support the guide has been edited to Allow for MM options (FOR NMM USERS. Pick the MO2 option for any mods that have you pick between MO2 or Vortex in their option forms unless the mod calls for the other option.) Anything that doesn't call for a manual install can be installed with a mod manager.

You will need the game, an unzipping tool, a mod manager (unless you want to manually do it all) and a LO sorter. I use Winrar[www.win-rar.com] but many people prefer 7zip as usual use what you prefer. Now most people today will use Vortex or MO2. I personally cannot recommend either even if the general population rides it. I understand why people may want to use those other two managers specifically as they don't touch your data folder unlike NMM that actually installs the mods into your folder but I personally think that's where problems arise and if you know what you are doing you'll never need to worry about that. I have used Nexus Mod Manager[github.com] for nearly a decade on many games not just bethesda titles and with very little to no issues. I cannot say the same for the other two managers with my personal experiences. It is also a common misconception that NMM is abandoned as it gets community updates regularly (We just got Starfield support baby so all of manual instructions are out the window hello EZ modding boisss). Use what you prefer of course but I cannot help you troubleshoot very well if you use Vortex or MO2.

Alongside that stuff you may want to grab LOOT[loot.github.io] especially if your planning on heavy load orders. It is a automatic LO sorter. I generally will sort using loot and then manually move anything that needs to sit anywhere specifically. This tool works with all bethesda titles so its pretty damn useful. Use after finishing your load order and then move any specific esms as needed.

Finally you'll need a nexus account so you can download the mods on there. Nexus website for Starfield[www.nexusmods.com]

I'll do my best to keep this guide updated if any mod becomes outdated and i haven't tweaked feel free to notify me. Whenever you download a mod whether its from this guide or on your own volition check the requirements and make sure you meet them ahead of time as some of these essential mods require files that aren't on nexus but they will give you a download link.

You guys are always welcome to suggest new mods to this guide like any of my guides but due to how early on this guide is being written I implore discussion and suggestion of any new mods as I am one person and unlike the other guides I've written I haven't been perfecting a modlist from hundreds of mods.

1. SFSE + Data Folder Fix

SFSE is mandatory and needs to be installed manually.

You can download SFSE here[www.nexusmods.com]. Install it by unzipping the file and dragging the dll and exe files into your Starfield directory. It may not be the same location for everyone but here is a common location C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\starfield. You can always hit properties on steam and check the local files and it'll just take you straight there.

Once you have done that SFSE is installed and is good to go repeat the process whenever it gets updated. If you want to continue to launch your Starfield through steam and not through a MM or the sfse_loader.exe (like myself) take the exe called Starfield.exe rename it to StarfieldSFSE.exe and then take the exe called sfse_loader.exe and rename that to Starfield.exe afterwards you must create a folder called SFSE located in your data folder (main directory not documents data) You will then need to drop the SFSE.ini file into that SFSE folder. You can either download the ini file from here[www.nexusmods.com], grab it from my modding discord (it'll be labeled SFSE.ini) or create your own and paste the following into it.
[Loader]
RuntimeName=StarfieldSFSE.exe

you will now launch SFSE through steam.

Data Folder Fix
So by default for whatever dumb reason texture overrides now happen in C:\Users\(yourusername)\Documents\my games\Starfield\Data instead of typically being in ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Starfield\Data like most beth titles. We can rectify that by just straight up deleting that data folder located in the documents and grabbing Baka Disable My Games Folder[www.nexusmods.com]
It should drop files into your SFSE plugin folder that will basically automatically fix the pathing provided you deleted the original data file in documents. Section 8 has a alt perma method that does not require SFSE for those who rather not rely on plugins.

This will most likely make your LOOT think you do not have SFSE installed and its always going to bug you about it. Ignore that "error" its a false positive if you followed the steps above SFSE is installed and you are good to go.

2. Bethini/Archive Invalidation + ini Tweaks

Once SFSE works and you know you game runs fine we can now grab our ole trusty Bethini Pie (Performance INI Editor)[www.nexusmods.com] This one is different from the other bethINIs so if you already have bethINI from the other games you will need to grab this one as it only works for FO4 and Starfield. A lot of the ini tweaks we would add manually below can be triggered through bethINI. I recommend you still do the settings below and then use bethINI afterwards as some of those settings below are tied to mods. But if you are only aiming for enabling loose files you can certainly rely on bethINI completely. I also suggest to go ahead and use the bethINI presets for your graphical settings as they usually run better than vanilla. The following instructions right below this paragraph are considered optional if you use bethini (unless you are planning to get neutral LUTs or Cleanfield in that case I'd do the steps below and then use bethINI.)

So we need to enable loose files (archive invalidation) for a decent amount of mods to work properly. Since we are going to be putting in some values in a ini file might as well add a couple of things other than loose file loading such as removing TAA, (I loathe TAA with such a passion that I rather deal with the jags of no AA screw that vaseline) FOV options, ini values that work hand in hand with certain mods such as Neutral LUTs - No Color Filters[www.nexusmods.com], Cleanfield - A No-Intro Videos And Clean Menu Fix[www.nexusmods.com], have the game running in the background when tabbing out, and minimizing load screen fade.

Go to ...\Documents\my games\Starfield
Make a ini file call StarfieldCustom.ini and paste the following values:

[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
[Display]
bTemporalAA_idTech7=0
sPhotoModeFolder=Photos
fDefaultFOV=90
fDefaultWorldFOV=90
fFPWorldFOV=90
fTPWorldFOV=90
fSpaceGlowBackgroundScale=0.0
fStarIntensity=6000.0
fStarSystemFarViewDistance=10000000000.0
fStarfieldBackgroundScale=35.0
fStarfieldStarBrightnessScale=10.0
fStarfieldStarCoordScale=10.0
fSunScale=1.0
[Camera]
fDefaultFOV=90
fDefaultWorldFOV=90
fFPWorldFOV=90
fTPWorldFOV=90
[FlightCamera]
fFlightCameraFOV=90
[General]
bAlwaysActive=1
bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0
fAutoDoorFadeSecs=0.0001
fFastTravelFadeSecs=0.0001
fLoadGameFadeSecs=0.0001
fNormalDoorFadeSecs=0.0001
fNormalDoorFadeWait=0.0001
fLoadGameFadeSecs=0.0001
sIntroSequence=0
uMainMenuDelayBeforeAllowSkip=0
[Interface]
fFadeToBlackFadeSeconds=0.0001
fMinSecjavascript-event-stripped0.0001
fSleepFaderTime=0.0001

If for whatever reason you don't want to copy paste these values the ini file is up on my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg]

3. Essential Mods + Performance

Currently there isn't much out there that really boosts performance. I did try a few mods and tbh they either did nothing or were so slight it wasn't worth the effort. Regardless I'll give you what I've got and here's hoping soon enough we will have some heavy hitting performance mods and/or a patch to optimize this game.

Starfield Performance Optimization[www.nexusmods.com]
Install by dropping the ini file into your main directory. I've tried about 3-4 different "performance mods" and this one seems to be the best one so far. Im actually able to get a decently stable 60 in New Atlantis (sadly using FSR at a greatly reduced res scale but hey I couldn't even get 60 before). On raw 4k Native its probably the best I've seen despite it still being unstableish (bounces between 45-52 in New Atlantis) so I recommend trying this mod out for those yearning for performance boosts. These values will override bethINI presets as well so if you are looking to use bethINI with this mod make sure you use bethINI then this mod.

Baka Achievement Enabler (SFSE)[www.nexusmods.com]
This mod allows you to earn achievements while modding your game.

Address Library for SFSE Plugins[www.nexusmods.com]
Dependency for discord rich presence (and most likely many more mods in the future.)

Starfield Community Patch[www.nexusmods.com]
Ahhhh The Unofficial patches are here. (Don't worry this guide won't be using USFP)

Optional Console Command Runner Updated[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows CCR based mods to work. I recommend grabbing this as non CCR versions of other mods usually require more work to be functional.

Cassiopeia Papyrus Extender[www.nexusmods.com]
New native functions and events for the engine.

powerofthree's Tweaks SFSE[www.nexusmods.com]
Misc fixes and gameplay tweaks. Disabled by default can be enabled in po3_TweaksSF.ini (in Data/SFSE/Plugins)

Starfield Engine Fixes - SFSE[www.nexusmods.com]
It's in the name.

For now that's all we got but here's hoping this section will grow fast.

4. QOL mods

QOL mods to improve the game or overhaul mechanics.

Cleanfield - A No-Intro Videos And Clean Menu Fix[www.nexusmods.com]
Either use the Vortex/mo2 install (the vortex option will work with NMM) Or grab the manual install option and install by dragging the data folder of your choosing into your main directory. This mod basically sends you to the main menu instantly and removes MOTD for a cleaner looking main menu.

Neutral LUTs - No Color Filters[www.nexusmods.com]
Removes that terrible tint this game has. If you want space to look a little bit more realistic you can add these values to your StarfieldCustom.ini

[Display]
fSpaceGlowBackgroundScale=0.0
fStarIntensity=2500.0
fStarSystemFarViewDistance=10000000000.0
fStarfieldBackgroundScale=35.0
fStarfieldStarBrightnessScale=10.0
fStarfieldStarCoordScale=10.0
fSunScale=1.0

If you grabbed my StarfieldCustom.ini from the discord server or changed the values from section 2 already then you already have these values. This mod essentially gets rid of that really bad filter.

FOG REMOVER[www.nexusmods.com]
Removes most of the ingame fog to bring out the game's true colors.
Add the following values to your StarfieldCustom.ini if using the non CCR version of the mod otherwise just activate the CCR version in your mod manager and ignore the following ini values.

[Display]
bVolumetricLightingEnable=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableDistantScattering=1
bVolumetricLightingEnableNearSpatialFiltering=0
bVolumetricLightingEnableScatteringVolume=1
bVolumetricLightingFogMapUseWeatherSettings=0
bVolumetricLightingUseAreaLights=0
bVolumetricLightingUseDistanceCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseOcclusionCulling=1
bVolumetricLightingUseWeatherSettings=1
bVolumetricLigthingInLiteBrite=0
bVolumetricLigthingUseLightGobos=0
bEnableVolumetricLightingOnParticles=0

If you grabbed my StarfieldCustom.ini from the discord server then you already have these values provided you grabbed the non CCR variant.

DualSense - PS5 Icons[www.nexusmods.com]
Swaps xbox buttons for PS buttons.

Undelayed Menus[www.nexusmods.com]
Extremely snappier menus with minimal delay.

Currently Broken Discord Rich Presence (SFSE)[www.nexusmods.com]
Customizable discord rich presence. Needs update for current game version that this guide is supporting.

Spoken Hazard Alerts[www.nexusmods.com]
Install manually by selecting which variant you want and then dropping that data folder inside of your main directory. This mod gives me subnautica vibes with the whole warning AI voice. (Currently doesn't work with NMM idk where it dumps the file but it ain't in the soundbanks)

Easy Digipick (Lockpick)[www.nexusmods.com]
Easier lockpicking.

Item Sorter - Better Weapon and Armor Names - Improved Naming Scheme[www.nexusmods.com]
It's in the name.

Instant Scan[www.nexusmods.com]
Reduces flora & fauna scanning to 1 or 3.

Star UI Series
These mods are all catered around customizing the UI and making them more compact and ideal for PC users. They all have inis for tweaking but there is a configurator for those us of who want some sort of GUI for ease of use. NMM users select MO2 on the options form when installing.

StarUI HUD[www.nexusmods.com]
StarUI Inventory[www.nexusmods.com]
Enable "bInstantOpenCloseAnimation" in StarUI Inventory.ini to to make the inventory undelayed for undelayed menu users!
StarUI Workbench[www.nexusmods.com]
StarUI Outpost[www.nexusmods.com]
StarUI Ship Builder[www.nexusmods.com]
StarUI Configurator[www.nexusmods.com]
To use the configurator launch StarUI Configurator.hta located in your game data folder.

Richer Merchants[www.nexusmods.com]
Get these bummy merchants outta here.

Enhanced Dialogue Interface[www.nexusmods.com] & Enhanced Subtitles[www.nexusmods.com]
Customizable dialogue interfaces & subtitles! Grab a preset from here[www.nexusmods.com] if you don't want to customize yourself and/or wanted one of the presets.

The Gang's All Here - Multiple Companions and Crew[www.nexusmods.com]
No longer must you choose between which waifu to hang out with.

Ship Builder Categories[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows mods to have catagories in the ship builder.

Ultimate Shipyards Unlocked[www.nexusmods.com]
Unlocks all ship modules. Don't forget the SBC patch.

(Needs Update) TGs Galactic Colonies Expanse[www.nexusmods.com]
Massive overhaul to the outpost system. Needs to updated for latest version but kinda still works.

Starfield HD Reworked Project[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes Starfield more pretty.

Show Star Names[www.nexusmods.com]
Always show star names on the map.

Summoning of Ship - Ship Remote Control - Land - Take off - Set gravity[www.nexusmods.com]
You can now call your ship to you.

Show More Points of Interest[www.nexusmods.com]
Increases scanner distance for POI.

Shades Immersive Looting (strip and loot equipped armor)[www.nexusmods.com]
Lootable armor plus it actually strips the body.

Increased Crew Capacity[www.nexusmods.com]
adds ship modules to increase crew members on ship.

The Eyes of Beauty - Starfield Edition[www.nexusmods.com]
Install by dropping the data folder inside your main game directory (unless you did not do the Data folder fix otherwise drop that data folder into your documents data.) Or use the installer route where you can pick and choose and only need to put the file path ie. C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Starfield\Data\Textures\actors\human\faces\eyes (this is for data folder fix users otherwise those files will be in your documents data.) That goated eye mod is back.

ZBB - ZoNEs Beautiful Body[www.nexusmods.com] W/ STARQUEEN - Starfield Female Skin Textures[www.nexusmods.com]
This is the closest thing we've got to CBBE.

Shades Added Skills (More Skills More Perks)[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds some more skills.

XP and Leveling Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
Leveling up in this game is kinda slow especially once you hit a certain threshold. I recommend the CCR version. (If using this mod do not ever quit to main menu. quit to desktop or close it by other means.)

Perk Up - Quality of Life Improvements (ESM)[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes a few perks better. Only get the more is more version if you are using the previous mod as it will most likely clash with the xp editing.

5. QOL mods part 2

Better Outpost Generators[www.nexusmods.com]
Vanilla generators produce a laughable amount of electricity. This gives us a decent amount so half of our base isn't solar panels.

Weightless Junk (Weightless Misc and Resources)[www.nexusmods.com]
For us hoarders that don't want to die in the process.

Flat Perk Tree - Pick Any Perks[www.nexusmods.com]
You can now go for any perk in a tree without having to put points in a lower tier.

Ignore Skill Challenge Cheat[www.nexusmods.com]
You can now level up any skill without having to grind challenges.

Spicy Clean Ship HUD[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows you to reduce ship hud to your desire.

Short Temple Puzzles[www.nexusmods.com]
Shortens temple puzzles to 1 or 3 rings.

Dark Universe - Crossfire[www.nexusmods.com]
More space encounters. Requires Real Time Form Patcher (SFSE)[www.nexusmods.com]

Sit To Add Ship to Fleet[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows you to claim ships without having to make them your homeship.

Choose Your Variant Universe[www.nexusmods.com]
This mod essentially lets you choose which variant of the universe you want upon entering unity. Very nice mod considering some people don't even see variations until their 5+ ng run.

High Price to Pay - Choose your companion[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows you to choose the companions during short sided instead of it being affinity based.

TN's Modular Starborn Suits[www.nexusmods.com]
Allow's you to turn starborn suits in modular 3 pieces and add upgrades as well.

TN's Ship Modifications All in One[www.nexusmods.com]
AIO of TN's ship modules.

TN's Class M (and Starborn Guardian) Ship Building[www.nexusmods.com]
This mod does a few things but we are grabbing it mainly for the ability to work on starborn ships.
Dont forget the ship modifications AIO patch.

SFSE Save Unfinished Ships (No ship limits)[www.nexusmods.com]
Honestly you might want to grab this if using the previous mod so that you can save those modified starborn ships.

Amazon Crew[www.nexusmods.com]
For those that want the amazon lily experience.

Dark Mode for Terminals[www.nexusmods.com]
I would have this in essential but I know not everybody shares my sentiment on dark mode.

Shades Vehicle Tuner[www.nexusmods.com]
Allows you to "tune" your vehicle.

Neon Vertigo - A Neon Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
Turn Neon into a true cyberpunk cityscape.

Expanded Cities[www.nexusmods.com]
City expansion for New Atlantis & Neon. Must load after any mods that touch cities (i.e Neon Vertigo) Pairs well with Star Wars conversion mods.

6. Extras

Bonus mods that work with this current configuration.

Mass Effect - N7 Armor (v5.0)[www.nexusmods.com]
Adds a craftable N7 armor that is not a replacer and looks peak!

Sarah with make up[www.nexusmods.com]
Face mod for Sarah that gives her makeup. Pick the option that you like.

Thicc Sarah[www.nexusmods.com]
Give's Sarah some more "Assets"

Rebel Sarah Outfit[www.nexusmods.com]
Dope outfit replacer for Sarah with a few different variants.

Make up for Andreja (Goth look with and without moles)[www.nexusmods.com]
Face mod for Andreja that allows you to change her make up and remove her moles if you desire.

Thicc Andreja[www.nexusmods.com]
This with the previous mod and we've basically got space Rhea Ripley.

7. Star Wars Conversion Mods

Decided to make this it's own section because its a decent amount of mods and frankly only SW fans would really want these mods.

Galactic Empire Era Name Replacement[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars friendly name replacer.

Galactic Stormtrooper Voice Lines For UC Security[www.nexusmods.com]
Install by dropping the data folder inside your main game directory (unless you did not do the Data folder fix otherwise drop that data folder into your documents data.)
AI voice replacement that references SW lore.

Galactic Empire Flag[www.nexusmods.com]
Install by dropping the data folder inside your main game directory Then go into the variants folder pick the variant you want and drop that file in ...\common\Starfield\Data\Textures\setdressing\signage (unless you did not do the Data folder fix otherwise drop that data folder into your documents data.)
Changes UC flags to galactic empire flags. (Currently not working with NMM)

Weapon Conversion Collection
All of these mods together replaces a good amount of the weapons into SW weapons. No lightsabers just yet.

Rebel Armaments - Star Wars Weapon Replacer[www.nexusmods.com]
Arms of Mandalore - Star Wars Weapon Replacer[www.nexusmods.com]
Outer Rim Artillery - Star Wars Weapon Replacer[www.nexusmods.com]
Crimson Fleet Arsenal - Star Wars Weapon Replacer[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars Melee Weapon Replacer[www.nexusmods.com]
Imperial Armaments - Star Wars Weapon Replacer[www.nexusmods.com]
Galactic NPC Blaster Symphony[www.nexusmods.com]

Faction/world space conversions
Makes the game feel like we are in a galaxy far far away.

Star Wars - NASA Conversion[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars Holocron snow globes[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars - Environmental Immersion Project[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars Aliens[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars Armor Pack (The Sniper9)[www.nexusmods.com]
Freestar Rebels[www.nexusmods.com]
Mandalorian Conversion - Clone Wars Era[www.nexusmods.com]
Shadow Collective - Mandalorian Crimson Fleet Conversion[www.nexusmods.com]
UC Empire[www.nexusmods.com]
Coruscant Police Uniform (Neon and Ryujin Security Replacer)[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars Spacer Overhaul[www.nexusmods.com]
Star Wars - Neo Crusader Spacesuit Replacement Pack for Spacers and Disciples[www.nexusmods.com]
Aurebesh - Star Wars Conversion[www.nexusmods.com]

8. Replaced/Unused Mods/Fixes

This section is for mods I have replaced due to finding an alternative. Or a fix that has been replaced with an easier or better method.

Replaced Bypassing Achievements Disabling[fearlessrevolution.com]
Shout out to u/ddwmk2002 on nexus for commenting about this mod on the main achievement mod page. Download the dxgi.zip file from the site and after unzipping drop that file into your main directory. This will interfere with reshade but I don't use reshade so not an issue for me.

Replaced Starfield Performance BOOST[www.nexusmods.com]
Manually install by dropping all the provided inis into your main directory. Original files are included with the mod if you ever want to switch back without having to reinstall the game or verify files. Once installed change your in-game settings back and forth to ensure the changes are overwritten properly.
I ended up using the All In One Performance Plus variant of the mod. So using this mod on native 4k I'm able to get mid 40s-50s in some areas of New Atlantis (the place to go to test your frames basically) on low settings. With CAS I can hit 60 but it's not consistent. (Yes that's how bad this game is optimized to the point those results are actually an improvement to the original performance.) This mod is mainly for weaker/older PCs so anyone with a solid rig may see little to no results but hey a handful of frames is better than none.

Replaced Starfield Configuration Tool - By Bilago[www.nexusmods.com]
Install by dragging the files into a dedicated folder. This is the closest thing to BethINI atm. It's not automatic like bethINI but you can change ini settings really easily with this tool.

Replaced Baka NPCs Always Drop Their Equipped Armor[www.nexusmods.com]
Makes npcs always drop their armor on death instead of a 10% chance. Sometimes it will dupe the armor. You will have to run the command "bat AlwaysDropArmor" to enable. To have this run automatically you can add the following command to your StarfieldCustom.ini (or grab my premade one off of the discord) and it'll always activate on its own.

[General]
sStartingConsoleCommand=bat AlwaysDropArmor

user u/V01DdotEXE on nexus brings up the point that if you edit the value from 1 to 2 inside the txt file they will also drop their outfit.

Replaced Galactic Civil War Conversion[www.nexusmods.com]
Replaces UC Police with stormtroopers. I can see this mod being a massive conversion in the future.

Replaced Galactic Civil War Conversion Gray To Black Stoormtrooper Undersuits[www.nexusmods.com]
Allow it to override all textures from the GCW conversion.

Replaced N7 Armor ( Mass Effect Retextures of Starborn Armor and Mantis Armor Replacer)[www.nexusmods.com]
The legendary N7 Armor is here! The mantis replacer sadly doesn't look that good yet but the regular one is dope.

Replaced Choose Your Own Adventure - a New Game Plus mod[www.nexusmods.com]
Install manually by dropping all the files into the main game directory. Currently doesn't work with NMM as it'll drop the files into the data folder. This mod essentially lets you choose which variant of the universe you want upon entering unity. Very nice mod considering some people don't even see variations until their 5+ ng run. Instructions on how to use are on the mod page and in the readme.txt

Obsolete Plugins.txt Enabler[www.nexusmods.com]
Restores plugins.txt functionality as in previous beth titles. No longer needed after v 1.12.30

Starfield Save Previews[www.nexusmods.com]
Install manually by dropping data folder inside of your main directory. Brings back the photo that would be alongside your save file that beth used to do. This mod is still very early in development.

Replaced No Bras in Space[www.nexusmods.com] w/ VBB (Voluptuous Body for Beauties) - New Proportions for Female Characters[www.nexusmods.com]
This is the closest thing we've got to CBBE.

Data Folder Fix (I suggest using the plugin method in section 1 unless you want a method that will never break as SFSE must be working for the plugin to work.)
So by default for whatever dumb reason texture overrides now happen in C:\Users\(yourusername)\Documents\my games\Starfield\Data instead of typically being in ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Starfield\Data like most beth titles. We can rectify that by just straight up deleting that data folder located in the documents, adding the following line to our starfieldcustom.ini (which you should have already provided you followed the steps above)

[Display]
sPhotoModeFolder=Photos

[General]
bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0

and ensuring archive invalidation is on. Most people will want to do this to minimize messing up when modding and for storage purposes as most people don't want to have mod textures on their main OS drive (some mods will also require this fix.) For further in depth instructions you can look to the Original article with the instructions[www.nexusmods.com]

9. FAQ

Q: I need further 1 on 1 help and this comment section won't cut it.

A: The random FRs are killing me so here is my YT/Modding Discord[discord.gg] I will be able to help you out much further if the situation is beyond comments and if you gotta upload photos for better support.

Q: Dude why does this game run so bad?

A: I'll be honest its a little surprising IMO. Some of their titles do have issues on launch but man I've never seen one of their games run this bad. Like I seriously cannot get 60 fps at all even with everything low on 4k with a 3090, 10900kf and 64gb of ram. I'm convinced they really just cared about getting it stable on xbox as they targeted 30 fps and on PC I have no issues going above 30 fps the problem is trying to get to 60 and having pretty hot temperatures. I only hope day 1 we get a crazy optimization patch that blesses us and then drop CK so the modders can get to work on both performance fixes and super dope mods. We have SFSE before the game is officially even out so that's a really good sign that this will be the fastest turnabout yet when it comes to modding a beth title.

Q: My weapons say look up failed.

A: Delete or rename Starfield_en.STRINGS in strings folder inside of your game data.

Q: I play on steam deck where would I locate ...\Documents\my games\Starfield?

A: User BaLeFullPlayEr24 has given us the file path which is .../home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/compatdata/1716740/pfx/drive_c/users/steamuser/Documents/My Games/Starfield/

Q: This game sucks why don't you go play BG3?

A: Yeah I have BG3 and while its a pretty good game it has its fair share of optimization issues (low key runs hotter than this game ironically but the frames are way better) & some pacing problems. I don't think its fair to put BG3 on a pedestal while trashing this game when both games have their own problems. Also BG3 is a cRPG I don't think it should be compared at all to regular RPGs. They are way too different. Either way we are here to discuss mods and stuff related to the game at hand. Go trash talk on the forum if you really wanna feel like a big boi.

Q: How long before this guide is like your other guides?

A: If you mean fleshed out and ready to roll easily over a year could take a few years. The biggest thing is the modders need to make the mods. And then myself and the rest of the community need to put lots of hours into testing said mods and seeing if they work with X. I threw this guide up as a WIP mainly so I can document the modding process I'm currently going through and to try and help you guys out at the same time. So bear with this guide its not going to be a big beef like the others for quite some time. Expect changes as time goes on and patches roll out.

Q: Why is every mod currently a manual installation?

A: The game isn't even officially out give it some time lol. NMM has yet to add support for this game and pretty much almost all the mods are designed for manual installs anyways. If you don't want to deal with it I suggest you return in a few weeks or months.

Q: NMM sucks use MO2

A: You couldn't pay me to use MO2

Q: LOOT does not work

A: LOOT does work just use it as intended.

Q: How can I launch via Steam and/or have steam track my hours when using SFSE ?

A:See section 1 again or use the following instructions.
Take the exe called Starfield.exe rename it to StarfieldSFSE.exe and then take the exe called sfse_loader.exe and rename that to Starfield.exe afterwards you must create a folder called SFSE located in your data folder (main directory not documents data) You will then need to drop the SFSE.ini file into that SFSE folder. You can either download the ini file from here[www.nexusmods.com], grab it from my modding discord (it'll be labeled SFSE.ini) or create your own and paste the following into it.
[Loader]
RuntimeName=StarfieldSFSE.exe

Q: Why do I need to do so much work to play this game. This is ridiculous

A: Technically you only need to do sections 1-3 for the game to work just fine. That does not take a long time. Its not a lot of work. You know what is a lot of work. Figuring out what mods work together, testing mod combinations for hours to make sure they work together and troubleshooting to fix any issues. Or better yet the people that actually sat down to create these mods and the tools to use them. It is a privilege to mod our games and it is very nice of the creators of these mods to not only make these mods for free (as some of them eventually start to gate their mods through paywalls) but to maintain these mods, update them, and keep working on them to make them better and reduce bugs on their own time. So no I wouldn't call it so much work.

Q: Why are there "Sex mods" in this guide?

A: There are zero sex mods in this guide nudity does not equate "sex". You need full blown animations for that and this guide does not have this. This is a rated M title so if you are "afraid" of nudity or just don't like it you can just not get the mod wow I know right? Don't need a whole paragraph on why some pixels on a screen enrage you.

Q: Can I update mods mid save/playthrough ?

A: I've done it so many times with no issues (recently I did brick a skyrim save tho) but you always risk ruining a save file so only do it knowing the risk that it may work out, you might have bugs later or you may lose the file.

Q: Can I remove mods or add mods mid save/playthrough?

A: See previous question. Certain mods though are safe for removal mid run and the mod author will make note of that. YMMV at the end of the day.

Q: This guide helped me how I can show my thanks?

A: Leaving feedback and a Thank you is more than enough for me. I made these guides to help people so by leaving feedback you make the guide more visible to more people that could use the help. And if that's not enough for you I do make content on YT checking out a video would mean a lot to me but do not feel obligated to do so. As I said before feedback and a thank you is already more than enough.

Q: Can you make a modding guide for X game?

A: If there is demand for it and I have experience modding the game. Yes I will. Just bear in mind these guides are a massive time sink and helping people troubleshoot does take a lot of time so you guys gotta let me know. Put the demand into it. You want a modding guide for a game please comment, let me know on the discord etc. The more demand it has the higher it will go on.

Q: Wabbajack?

A: Don't know how to use or create anything with wabbajack. Not looking to learn how to use wabbajack either as a mod manager is already more than enough for me in terms of "assisting tools". If somebody wants to make a wabbajack with this modding guide feel free to do so. I will gladly add a link to it in the guide for those that don't want to actually learn how to mod but want to reap the rewards and credit you provided it has the full LO. Obviously I will not be able to give any support on this matter with any bugs or issues if someone actually were to do this.

Wrap Up

And thats about it for now at least. May add or remove things as time goes on. But mods don't get installed properly sometimes or more often than not another mod that a person has from their own order can clash. Having a bad load order can cause issues. Or even just missing one little step can sometimes cause a bug.

So if you do run into issues feel free to drop a comment I'll do my best to help troubleshooting but if you are not using NMM there won't be much I can do unless its a simple fix as these MMs work differently and can cause different issues. Thanks for reading everyone and I hope this helped your Starfield. Whether you came here for the whole enchilada or 1 small piece of information or mod thats enough for me knowing I helped you out just a little.


As I write up more mod guides I will link them below:

Morrowind 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Oblivion 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout 3 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout New Vegas 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Fallout 4 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Skyrim SE 2024 Essential Modding Guide

Baldur's Gate 3 2024 Modding Guide (WIP)

The Witcher 3 2024 Modding Guide

Cyberpunk 2077 Modding Guide

[Kweeb]

That way you don't even have to rename anything and you can launch it directly from steam and it will automatically open mod organizer and start the game.
Make sure that the actual shortcut is of starfield and not the script extender loader because it crashes even before the main menu if it is the script extender loader.

[Kweeb]

You can create a mod organizer 2 shortcut of the EXE.on your desktop buy clicking on the shortcut dropdown menu and selecting desktop,
then right click on the desktop shortcut, select copy as path then paste it into steams launch option and then add " %command%" at the end.

[Drake Platinum THE WORLD]

I thought about using the mod until I saw its like 15 parts that are like 4 gigs each. I'm sure the textures warrant the size but the game already looks really good and I'm still waiting on optimizations from bethesda (and mods to give us further performance boosts) Once those dominos are in play I will probably look into using the mod. I don't see why it wouldn't work if you want to use it with this mod list. I would def try to install it early on since any other texture replacers will probably get overwritten by it.

[kamyFC]

Awesome job, Drake, as usual!
Do you think it makes sense to add the highly rated - Starfield HD Overhaul to this list?

[Drake Platinum THE WORLD]

I just updated the guide like this week. I also see you have mods that are not in my guide they may or may not mix well with the mods here. Sounds like you just installed a bunch of mods and tried to run the game. I suggest you grab a starter save and add mods in batches while you test. Then you will find out what is causing the ctd.

[Steed]

I have no idea how up to date this is, but I'm getting a CTD on trying to start a new game.

I have the following installed

*Immersive Digipick.esm
*Item Sorter.esm
*StarfieldCommunityPatch.esm
*InstantScan.esm
*Richer Merchants - Ammo.esm
*Richer Merchants - Credits.esm
*Richer Merchants - Resources.esm
*TheGangsAllHere.esm
*USU.esm
*TankGirlsPlayerHome.esm
*Ship Remote Control.esm
*ShowMorePOI.esm
*Shades_Immersive_Looting.esm
*IncreasedCrewCapacity.esm
*SpartanArmorCollection.esm
*All_Trilogy_Lightsabers.esm

[Drake Platinum THE WORLD]

Yeah that method was originally used in this guide and has been moved to section 5. Still works and that method isn't prone to breaking like the SFSE plugin but I decided to use the plugin method for now.

[RadStorm04]

Apparently disabling MoTD by adding "bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0" inside StarfieldCustom.ini fixes the data folder problem

[General]
SIntroSequence=0
uMainMenuDelayBeforeAllowSkip=0
bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0

Move all the mod files from the my games data folder to the game install location data folder then delete the my games data folder

Unfortunately, this will also break photo mode, so you need to add "sPhotoModeFolder=Photos" to your Starfield.ini in the [Display] section to move the photo mode save location

[Display]
sPhotoModeFolder=Photos

I found out about this in the install instructions of the mod "Stellar LUT"

[Drake Platinum THE WORLD]

You gotta be more specific man if you want me to help.

[Lilith]

mine wont load mods at all