How to organize your mod folder

[Guest]

I know there was a treat somewhere, but i could not find it anymore.

 

Anyway, since i have Sims running (sims 4) i always kind of struggled with the method to organize my mods.

Since Maxis restricts how many subfolder you can have, it makes it sometimes quite a challenge.

I do not use a mod organizer, so i apply the manual method.

 

Here is how i do mine. I still have to add from where i got the mods. I probably will add that into the folder name.

 

Do you do it the same? Or differently?

 

in the beginning i just tossed everything into the mod folder, but that looked kind of bad after awhile. Now i named the mod folder after the creator. This helps me to find the mods on the web again, if i need to.

In the mod folder itself, the only files that are in the root folder are scripts or packages that really need to be there.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

[LittleRedSonja]

1 hour ago, wutpickel said:

I know there was a treat somewhere, but i could not find it anymore.

 

Anyway, since i have Sims running (sims 4) i always kind of struggled with the method to organize my mods.

Since Maxis restricts how many subfolder you can have, it makes it sometimes quite a challenge.

I do not use a mod organizer, so i apply the manual method.

 

Here is how i do mine. I still have to add from where i got the mods. I probably will add that into the folder name.

 

Do you do it the same? Or differently?

 

in the beginning i just tossed everything into the mod folder, but that looked kind of bad after awhile. Now i named the mod folder after the creator. This helps me to find the mods on the web again, if i need to.

In the mod folder itself, the only files that are in the root folder are scripts or packages that really need to be there.

 

Thank you

 

 

 

 

I have 1 separate folder for every script mod. Another folder for "building" objects, with subfolders for every different creator. And another folder for "CAS" content, with a subfolder for "genetics", one for "makeup" and another one for "clothing". In "genetics" i have separate subfolders for things like eyebrows, skin details...), in "makeup" separate subfolders for eyeliner, lipstick... and in "clothing" separate subfolders for shoes, bracelets...

I do not classify cas content for every author, but for categories, but many people separate custom CAS content per creator and it works perfectly fine too. 

The important thing is that you find a way that works for you, reduces the chances for duplicates, and lets you find what you are looking for fast and easy.

The only separate files i have directly inside the mods folder and not sub-folders are the "resource.cfg" and xmlinjector, rest goes into subfolders. 

[Scorpio]

1 hour ago, wutpickel said:

In the mod folder itself, the only files that are in the root folder are scripts or packages that really need to be there.

 

No they don't need to be there.

The rule is One folder deep inside Mods.

All your scripts belong with the rest of the mods.

The two TURBODRIVER files should be in their own folder named Wicked or WickedWhimsMod. 

 

You also have a .package file without a name and I'm not even sure if it will work that way anyhow.

 

You don't need separate folders for each animation creator either as they can all be combined in a folder named Wicked Animations.

Not a big deal tho if you want them by authors instead.

[Guest]

22 hours ago, Scorpio said:

No they don't need to be there.

The rule is One folder deep inside Mods.

All your scripts belong with the rest of the mods.

The two TURBODRIVER files should be in their own folder named Wicked or WickedWhimsMod. 

 

You also have a .package file without a name and I'm not even sure if it will work that way anyhow.

 

You don't need separate folders for each animation creator either as they can all be combined in a folder named Wicked Animations.

Not a big deal tho if you want them by authors instead.

Hey Scorpio. 
With Turbodriver i had a problem. It gave me an error as i had it in his folder. Thats why i put them in the mod root folder. Have to check if they need a specific folder. In haste i concluded that scripts are better in the root folder. So what your saying is, that the root folder is essentially empty. 

 

I do like it to sort it by mod authors. It helps me more to remember what i have to look for later on if i need to redownload.

Archives i do not keep usually with the exception of game altering mods.

This setup works for me actually pretty great. No errors so far, or lets say, no game breaking error.

 

Now that you mentioned. I am not sure what the empty package is. I will delete it and see what happens.

 

For a long time i organized everything around function and that had a lot of mods end up together with other mods. So i thought that this is not really good. Ideally, i would have more subfolders to distinguish between function and mod author. But thats not possible sadly.

 

p.s. i moved the files to a folder. It seems to work. I am not sure why i did not before. Now the root folder is empty except for the resource.cfg file.

[Scorpio]

53 minutes ago, wutpickel said:

p.s. i moved the files to a folder. It seems to work. I am not sure why i did not before. Now the root folder is empty except for the resource.cfg file.

The main reason scripts should be kept with their other package files is for updates.

Everything is all in one place rather than 2 locations.

 

Second reason is for finding mod errors and conflicts.

Just remove the entire folder to desktop for testing.

 

Now the reason I like all my CC makeup in one folder.

I don't know what authors make what type of CC and I have 100 different CC authors for all CC.

That's 100 separate folders so it makes the Mods folder a bit over crowded.

 

But with CC the one subfolder deep rule does not apply.

 

So I could organize by Category/Author

Example:

Mods/Hairstyles/Anto 

Mods/Hairstyles/Curbs

etc.

But I just throw all my Hairstyles into three folders.

Mods/Hair Female A to K

Mods/Hair Female L to Z

Mods/Hair Female Child

 

The problem with makeup sliders and other sliders is you can end up with sliders that use the same resources/slots by 2 or more different authors.

In effect you have duplicates and cause strange problems like sims with invisible Tops/Torsos, (Been there done that).

Also some might be defaults and using multiple defaults can cause problems too.

 

Then you find CC that you downloaded with Custom Sims and they have Merged CC files you have no idea what they contain.

You might already have some of them so you get more duplicates that are hidden inside Merged files.

 

Sorry for the long winded details I just try to provide reasons and examples of the 'whys'.   

 

 

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, Scorpio said:

The main reason scripts should be kept with their other package files is for updates.

Everything is all in one place rather than 2 locations.

 

Second reason is for finding mod errors and conflicts.

Just remove the entire folder to desktop for testing.

 

Now the reason I like all my CC makeup in one folder.

I don't know what authors make what type of CC and I have 100 different CC authors for all CC.

That's 100 separate folders so it makes the Mods folder a bit over crowded.

 

But with CC the one subfolder deep rule does not apply.

 

So I could organize by Category/Author

Example:

Mods/Hairstyles/Anto 

Mods/Hairstyles/Curbs

etc.

But I just throw all my Hairstyles into three folders.

Mods/Hair Female A to K

Mods/Hair Female L to Z

Mods/Hair Female Child

 

The problem with makeup sliders and other sliders is you can end up with sliders that use the same resources/slots by 2 or more different authors.

In effect you have duplicates and cause strange problems like sims with invisible Tops/Torsos, (Been there done that).

Also some might be defaults and using multiple defaults can cause problems too.

 

Then you find CC that you downloaded with Custom Sims and they have Merged CC files you have no idea what they contain.

You might already have some of them so you get more duplicates that are hidden inside Merged files.

 

Sorry for the long winded details I just try to provide reasons and examples of the 'whys'.   

 

 

Well, there is some good new in that.

If CC can have subfolders, this makes it actually more reasonable.

 

So i tend still to have authors rather than function as my folder setup.

But i could envision something like this.

 

mods/makeup/author

mods/clothes/author.

 

For sliders, i do not have a lot besides the ones you mostly need. But i can see the problem. I ran recently a double file check and can say, there are no doubles so far.

The thing what make me not to organize it with function as in makeup, cloths or what not is that i rarely find the mod that maybe does not function. I see a picture in the menu but do not know what mod it is actually. So if you have a lot of files, it will be quite complicated.

So far, i do not have a lot of files because its so darn hard to download so many. Wait, click, wait, download. At least if i go on TSR.

What i am staying away from are files that require other files to function. Happend to hairs a lot.

 

I think all the explanations are very helpful, as i can learn from them on the why and how. I just try to make it better and learn from mistakes and are willing to apply what works best.

 

In the end, my main concern is always, how do i find the source of that file? So if i know the mod author, it makes it a little easier for me. I apply now the source to the author. Do not want to end up to bookmark every page where i download something.

[Scorpio]

1 minute ago, wutpickel said:

mods/makeup/author

mods/clothes/author.

Nothing wrong with that method.

 

Over the years I've gathered quite a bit of CC a bit here and a bit there.

It's not somethings I can do for hours or days on end.

I just search for Makeup and go through most of the newer ones to see if anything new shows up I like.

 

But since I have a pretty good collection now I don't need to look much anymore.

I tend to use most of the same makeup on sims so I don't need 50 different Lipsticks.

A couple is all I need since they have many colors to pick from.

 

CC Hairstyles is what I need most to make sims not all look the same.

And CC Clothing too although I mix a few EA clothes on sims here and there.

(I could still use more CC Clothing myself as some outfit categories are lacking).

 

I use the high-poly Alpha Hairs mostly and they are quite large in size.

Try to avoid recolors as most need the original meshes unless they are Maxis Match(MM).

You might find some Maxis Match CC from here:

https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/Navigation

[LittleRedSonja]

1 hour ago, Scorpio said:

CC Hairstyles is what I need most to make sims not all look the same.

And CC Clothing too although I mix a few EA clothes on sims here and there.

(I could still use more CC Clothing myself as some outfit categories are lacking).

 

I use the high-poly Alpha Hairs mostly and they are quite large in size.

Try to avoid recolors as most need the original meshes unless they are Maxis Match(MM).

You might find some Maxis Match CC from here:

https://maxismatchccworld.tumblr.com/Navigation

If you find a recolor that you like you can simply add it to the original hair in sims4studio, as long as it is for personal use only. Same for clothes. That is what i do, otherwise i would have 5-6 different packages and items in CAS instead of only one. 

[Scorpio]

7 minutes ago, babuchas said:

If you find a recolor that you like you can simply add it to the original hair in sims4studio, as long as it is for personal use only. Same for clothes. That is what i do, otherwise i would have 5-6 different packages and items in CAS instead of only one. 

Never thought of doing that but I only have a couple as most Alpha Hairstyles I have include many color swatches.

I kind of avoid using recolors myself.

And Maxis Match I'm a bit more fussy about which ones I pick as I don't use them as much.

[Guest]

[Scorpio]

@wutpickel Much Better

 

 

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, Scorpio said:

@wutpickel Much Better

 

 

Thanks. I think it improves things much. Now i am including some jpg for each of the mods i have possibly with a link. 

I still lag a lot of makeup mods and masks. For example i tried to create Koreans and i have to say that is actually very hard. Vanilla looks ok, but rather cartoonish so i like to change it to a more realistic look. Every detail matters. So i need to download much more. And thats where the folder structure really helps.

[Guest]

I like to share my folder structure to anyone who is interested. 
As always, this may not be the best structure. For me, i found out that it takes too much work to distinguish between individual functions of CC. Like blush, eyeliner etc... i just make one folder for that that i call makeup. At least for now.

 

The other thing maybe a no-no, but i had not seen any impact. Putting compressed files in some cases in the folder as well. If this is not good, let me know.

 

Sims 4 folder structure.txt

[Scorpio]

27 minutes ago, wutpickel said:

I like to share my folder structure to anyone who is interested. 
As always, this may not be the best structure. For me, i found out that it takes too much work to distinguish between individual functions of CC. Like blush, eyeliner etc... i just make one folder for that that i call makeup. At least for now.

 

The other thing maybe a no-no, but i had not seen any impact. Putting compressed files in some cases in the folder as well. If this is not good, let me know.

 

Sims 4 folder structure.txt 78.5 kB · 1 download

WW_Azmodan22_Animations_Gold_Normal.zip
WW_Azmodan22_Animations_Gold_Rough.zip

 

Can't have any .zip files in mods as they will wreck your game saves.

Discord help channel will scold you for having zip files in your Mods.

 

Azmodan22 animations you should only use either Rough or Normal but not both together.

Only difference is the sounds as they are identical animations.

So in effect you have duplicates with different file names.

 

I have one mod installed as a zip but it's required to be installed that way to work.

 

Keep all your Mods Zip files in the Downloads folder organized the same way as your Mods.

Or keep them on another drive or folder. 

 

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, Scorpio said:

WW_Azmodan22_Animations_Gold_Normal.zip
WW_Azmodan22_Animations_Gold_Rough.zip

 

Can't have any .zip files in mods as they will wreck your game saves.

Discord help channel will scold you for having zip files in your Mods.

 

Azmodan22 animations you should only use either Rough or Normal but not both together.

Only difference is the sounds as they are identical animations.

So in effect you have duplicates with different file names.

 

I have one mod installed as a zip but it's required to be installed that way to work.

 

Keep all your Mods Zip files in the Downloads folder organized the same way as your Mods.

Or keep them on another drive or folder. 

 

So Sims 4 is able to actually read zip files? This is bad of course. Well, no Biggy. I will move them separately.

 

As for Asmodan22, bummer. I thought they are different animations. Well, there is no point of having the same. Will fix that as well.

 

Thanks again.

Sims 4 folder structure.txt

[Gambit]

I use MO2, a python script for folder synchronisation and virtual links.

 

It's a bit complex but efficient. Okay, it's not rocket science, but it's not so easy to explain it. But I'll try.

 

Basically :

 

1) I can have several game profiles.

 

I have two game "profiles", one for testing, one for playing. Each profiles contains the equivalent "The Sims 4" folder under"Electronic Arts" folder.

 

When i want to use the profile of my choice I create a link name "The Sims 4" attached to it. So no file transferts etc...

 

Save, tray, and mods are unique for each profile. Handy.

 

 

2) I have a clear and organized list of mods.

 

MO2 helps me to list, archives and manage my mod. I have two profile too, mirroring my game profiles folders.

It helps me a little to track version for a very few mods downloaded from nexus. But most of my mods come from different sites.

 

When I want to synchronize one of my MO2 profile with the current game profile, I run a python script (launched by MO2), which will synchronize the virtual folder created by MO2 with "The Sims 4" folder.

 

This python script checks files update and avoid unnecessary file writing.

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Gambit said:

I use MO2, a python script for folder synchronisation and virtual links.

 

It's a bit complex but efficient. Okay, it's not rocket science, but it's not so easy to explain it. But I'll try.

 

Basically :

 

1) I can have several game profiles.

 

I have two game "profiles", one for testing, one for playing. Each profiles contains the equivalent "The Sims 4" folder under"Electronic Arts" folder.

 

When i want to use the profile of my choice I create a link name "The Sims 4" attached to it. So no file transferts etc...

 

Save, tray, and mods are unique for each profile. Handy.

 

 

2) I have a clear and organized list of mods.

 

MO2 helps me to list, archives and manage my mod. I have two profile too, mirroring my game profiles folders.

It helps me a little to track version for a very few mods downloaded from nexus. But most of my mods come from different sites.

 

When I want to synchronize one of my MO2 profile with the current game profile, I run a python script (launched by MO2), which will synchronize the virtual folder created by MO2 with "The Sims 4" folder.

 

This python script checks files update and avoid unnecessary file writing.

 

---

 

 

 

 

 

Thats a great idea as well.

Other than FO4, i do not play differently with Sims. So even though it is tempting for me to have several profiles i rather do it manually. At least for now.

What i do, is using FreeFileSync (opensource) to sync my stuff to an external hard drive. That way i can backup different setups for the future, if i may need it.

But i will keep that in mind with MO2.

[B10HAZARD.]

@wutpickel You don't need a mod manager for this game, it's far easier to mod than any other game out there.

Don't put zip files in your Mods folder, no it won't read them.

Only put package files and script files in the Mods folder.

 

Another tip for you =

Use S4S to merge package files if you have a large amount of cc, i do this with the hair folder and some clothes. (remember to backup the folders before merging them)

S4S is a good tool to have, you can edit and change cc using it.

 

 

 

[Scorpio]

40 minutes ago, B10HAZARD. said:

Use S4S to merge package files if you have a large amount of cc, i do this with the hair folder and some clothes.

Did that before and downloaded duplicates, lol.

Finally got smart and checked my unmerged folders first before downloading.

[B10HAZARD.]

5 minutes ago, Scorpio said:

Did that before and downloaded duplicates, lol.

Finally got smart and checked my unmerged folders first before downloading.

yep gotta make a backup before the merge! lol.

 

Another thing some may not know, you can use "Sims4 Tray Importer" to check for duplicate files.

(I know you will already know this though).  

[Scorpio]

34 minutes ago, B10HAZARD. said:

yep gotta make a backup before the merge! lol.

Made the mistake of deleting my old backup folder for Short Hairstyles and one with Clothing.

 

I had merged them so long before I couldn't get anything to unmerge them as they were two + years old.

 

Later I found them on another Drive in an old Sims 4 version folder I had saved with all my mods before I had merged them.

Luckily I found all the cc I was missing and deleted the dupes.

 

Of course 90% of my sims were missing clothing and some were bald and I had already fixed them with replacements.

That whole ordeal was a nightmare.

 

So I don't merge anything now, too chicken

 

[Gambit]

2 hours ago, B10HAZARD. said:

@wutpickel You don't need a mod manager for this game, it's far easier to mod than any other game out there.

Don't put zip files in your Mods folder, no it won't read them.

Only put package files and script files in the Mods folder.

 

Another tip for you =

Use S4S to merge package files if you have a large amount of cc, i do this with the hair folder and some clothes. (remember to backup the folders before merging them)

S4S is a good tool to have, you can edit and change cc using it.

 

 

 

 

By this same principle you don't need mod manager for skyrim too.

Using mod manager like MO2 make a lot of things easier. Less chance to delete mod you want temporary out. With on click I "remove" a mod and can put it back as easily.

 

I'll try to make a more user friendly  TS4 plugins for MO2.

 

 

[Guest]

These are all good ideas.

I am not to familiar with merging. Though i think i have S4S as in Studio. I even have the tray importer. Very useful for saving my creations.

 

I have to make myself more knowledgeable about these kind of options.

I removed the zip file with a bleeding heart.  And my folders are relatively clean. I just need to organize more as i got more item through one of the mods that came with CC.

 

And yes, i do it manually. Its pretty easy. Though mistakes happen. As it happened to me yesterday. If one tiny mod creates errors for the whole game.

 

Another lesson i learned is to read ("read) the requirements of some of the mods from TSR. This is sometimes really painful.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Gambit said:

 

By this same principle you don't need mod manager for skyrim too.

Using mod manager like MO2 make a lot of things easier. Less chance to delete mod you want temporary out. With on click I "remove" a mod and can put it back as easily.

 

I'll try to make a more user friendly  TS4 plugins for MO2.

 

 

Well, i am not nitpicking but the difference between Skyrim and Sims is that Sims has a dedicated folder which does not interfere with the main game. As far as i remember, if you add mods to Skyrim, you need to place it in the game to work.

 

But you have valid point of course. Profiles.

[B10HAZARD.]

18 hours ago, Gambit said:

 

By this same principle you don't need mod manager for skyrim too.

Using mod manager like MO2 make a lot of things easier. Less chance to delete mod you want temporary out. With on click I "remove" a mod and can put it back as easily.

 

I'll try to make a more user friendly  TS4 plugins for MO2.

 

 

No not at all.

 

I drag a mod to desktop, delete the localthumbcache.package = it's removed

I drag the mod back into Mods folder, delete the localthumbcache.package = It's added.

Easy, Peasy, Lemmon squeezy.  

 

Skyrim is a very different ball game, not like TS4 at all.

TS4 is very easy to mod, you don't need a script extender/loot/nothing.  just script/package files into the Mods folder, that's it. no need for a mod manager.

I have not known of anyone who's been modding TS2 TS3 TS4 ever use any type of mod manager.

Unless they are very young and new to modding, and don't read anything, and don't know any better!

 

I do use MO2 for Skyrim/FONV/FO3/FO4

I used NMM for years, then switched to MO2 a while ago.

like i said the games don't compare. Skyrim is a total different ball game.

 

so to sum it up -

The Sims 4 = Don't need to use a mod manager, not recommended.

Skyrim = Strongly recommended to use a mod manager.