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How I Deal with my Own Mod Issues - Part III


Psalam

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Now I'll try to put the material in the last two posts together into how I actually do it. You have likely figured most, if not all, of this out already from the other posts.

 

The hypothetical situation is this (it was an actual situation a couple of weeks ago). I got bored with the Skyrim game I was playing and decided to start a new game with different mods. My load order was entirely stable in the game I just finished. The first thing I did, because it is me, is I eliminated some mods. For me there are four main reasons for doing so: 1) it just didn't fit with what I wanted my new game to look like, 2) it didn't act as I wanted in the last game (it didn't live up to my expectations). 3) I found that I actually used it little or not at all (why make the modded game any more "bulky" than it has to be) or, and most commonly, 4) I've run across some mods that I want to try. I want to step aside for a minute for those of you who argue that they might want to have these mods ready at their fingertips. That's fine. Do remember that all your mod managers allow you the ability to build profiles so you can have different "styles" of modded Skyrim games at your fingertips at any time you like without having to cram them all into one game.

 

Next I updated existing mods that I intended to use. My guidelines for when to update mods is listed in a previous post and I won't repeat it here.

 

Next I added the new mods. Again, my recommendations on the number of mods (no more than 10 and possibly less) to add at any one time stands. If you add 40-50 mods and run across an issue you will find debugging to be a major problem.

 

As always, run LOOT and FNIS before starting. Correct any error that you find and be careful that you understand any FNIS warning before you ignore them. Run Bodyslide if you've added new material to wear (not just clothes and armor but most accessories are amenable to Bodyslide now). If you're not sure, then run it.

 

Now I come to the crux of the matter. I've started a new game and I have an issue. How do I find out what is causing it and how do I fix it?

 

For those who just can't stand reading more here is the brief and brutal approach:

Spoiler

Since you've only loaded a handful of mods which one(s) is causing your issue is likely to be intuitively obvious. So, turn it off and see if your problem is solved. If it is then you're done. If not, well, I guess you'll need to read some more.

 

One quick aside:

Spoiler

I am going to talk about the mod that's adversely impacted your stable load order as the culprit or the villain or some such other derogatory thing. I want to again stress that it is an unusual mod that messes things up all by itself (despite the fact that I'm going to use such a mod as my example). Most of the problems you will discover come from the interaction of mods. So, just because a mod does not fit well in your load order that doesn't make it a "bad" mod or one to be avoided at all costs. It is likely true that thousands of other people are using that mod without any issue. Nonetheless, it may not work well with the other mods that you are using and you may find that leaving it out of your game is your best approach.

 

1. Finding the source of the issue

 

I'm going to reiterate that the reason for limiting the number of mods added at any one time is to make this step much easier. It helps by making it much more likely that you can simply identify the mod that caused the issue because there is likely only one mod that you added that is likely to impact whatever is affected (remember CTDs are a separate and special case that was covered in the first two posts). Also, if it is not obvious it makes it simpler to remove mods one at a time and find the (a?) source of your problem.

 

So, here is the problem in my current game:

Spoiler

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If it is not glaringly obvious to you let me point out that Ulfberth has the dreaded "Dark face" bug. With the changes in my load order that I made there is only one mod I used that affected NPC looks "ks hair for npcs." So, I know to shut it off and see if my problem is solved, and it is (this is a known issue and I loaded it for demonstration purposes).

 

However, there is a second way in which I might have found the issue if my intuition is not working well. If you go back to Ulfberth's picture you will note that there is information which I highlighted in red. This is the last Base Change. To get here you need to open your console and click on the NPC or item you want to examine. If the person has not been impacted by a mod this line will not even be there. Also, if the issue involves your character you can still do this by going into 3rd person view and clicking on yourself. While it is true that the last mod to change an NPC may not be the cause of the issue with the NPC it is a really good place to start. In this case it would have taken you right to the mod that caused the issue.

 

2. Resolving the issue

 

While there are many variations on this I am likely to try one of three approaches:

 

     a. Simply remove the offending mod. This has the distinct advantage of being quick and easy. The down side is that you loaded all the mods that you did because you wanted them for one reason or another. I hope it is obvious that if you remove the mod you will not be able to use it. This may not be an issue for you. You may have added it because of curiosity or only mild interest and losing it is no big deal. If so, then dump it. Honestly, that's what I do most of the time.

 

     b. You can change your load order. If you have a good idea of what mods may be interacting you can change the order in which they occur. The mod lowest in your load order is going to overwrite any mod which comes before it where the mods conflict. So, changing them up may solve your problem. If you're not sure what other mod may be conflicting with the culprit you've discovered you can simply try moving it toward the bottom of your list. I recommend against putting it after ASLAL (Alternate Start - Live Another Life) or any patches.

 

     c. You can make your own patch. To do this effectively you really need to know which mods are interfering with each other. But, if you do, you can use TES5Edit or Wrye Bash to make a merged or bashed patch to smooth out the conflict. This is the most tedious solution but may be the only effective way to keep two mods both of which you want to use. Going into the details of how to do this is beyond the scope of this blog. Let me suggest you check out the internet for directions if you want to pick up these skills.

 

 

And, that's it. As of this moment I have no intention of adding any more posts to this blog. I will try to keep it updated as I learn new things. So. good luck and happy hunting!

 

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