Using Profiles

[jbsheridan]

Hi there,

 

 

     I have a question about using MO profiles which kind of reflects my lack of understanding at the moment.

 

 

     1. How does making a different profile allow one to play Skyrim without breaking the game as the save games progress?

 

     2. In other words, can one create different profiles as the game progresses by adding mods and deselecting mods, then selecting and deselecting mods to create different profiles and essentially being able to try out different mod builds and different mods?

 

     3. How do people safely test out all kinds of mods  as their game progresses without breaking their game?

 

 

 

Thank you!

[DarkladyLexy]

i suggest you give Gamerpoets tutorials a watch

[TechAngel85]

1. How does making a different profile allow one to play Skyrim without breaking the game as the save games progress?

This is done by MO's use of a virtual file system (VFS) rather than placing the files directly into the game's Data folder like other mod managers do. The VFS allows one to create several different profiles with different mods installed in each profile without messing with anything in the actual game's folder structure. The VFS is presented to the game at launch and only the "winning" files are presented. Therefore, if you have two mods which both provide file "xyz.dds", only the file with the higher priority (lower on the mod list in the left pane) will be presented to the game at runtime.

 

2. In other words, can one create different profiles as the game progresses by adding mods and deselecting mods, then selecting and deselecting mods to create different profiles and essentially being able to try out different mod builds and different mods?

Yes, but doing so on the same save will still present issues just like it would with any other mod manager or manual installation. Each MO profile should have it's own, separate save (you can prevent cross contamination of saves by turning on "local savegames" so you will only see the saves for that profile). However, one way around this is to create a "vanilla" save. That vanilla save can be used across all profiles (keep "local savegames" off for this). For example, start a new game with only the mods stalled that would be basic to all your profiles which you would never uninstall (such as SKSE, USLEEP, UHRP, etc). Then play through the Helgen intro and save after the cave exit. This save would be able to be used on all profiles.

 

3. How do people safely test out all kinds of mods as their game progresses without breaking their game?

I think this is getting to the root of what you're asking.

 

When testing out a new mod on a play-through, you will create a new save before installing the mod. Then exit the game and install the new mod for testing. After installation, load the game up and play for a while to test the new mod. I wouldn't recommend doing anything that you will regret losing and causing you to play through an area again because if you decide you don't want to use the mod, then you'll lose all that work. If you decide you don't want to keep the mod you're testing, uninstall it and reload the save you created just before installing the new mod. This keeps your saves clean so you can continue playing as normal (it'll be like you never installed the mod).

 

Keep in mind, this is only necessary for mods which have plugins and scripts. Mods only containing meshes and/or textures can be installed and uninstalled at any time without doing any harm to your saves.

[jbsheridan]

Thank you so much for the comprehensive replies!

 

That clarifies things a lot.

 

I am about 1/3 the way through a play through, having installed all mods with MO. I want to uninstall some random mods with scripts and  make my game a less buggy and more beautiful.  I only have a ctd once in a while and a frozen load once in a while. Things really aren't all that bad at the moment and I am able to work around these little glitches just fine. My current save game is moderately stable.

 

1. I have been seeing references to a safe save or a clean save from which to change mods. Could you tell me a bit more about what this is in the context of using MO  to add and delete my mods? In other words, should I do a "safe or clean" save, and from there then begin to install mods in MO and select and deselect them and test them out?

 

2. And how do I do this kind of save?

[TechAngel85]

Cleaning a mod from a save or a "clean save" is done by doing the following:

1. Go to an interior which the mod doesn't affect and save the game (any interior which the mod being removed doesn't affect is fine). For example, if the mod is an overhaul for Breezehome, you wouldn't go to Breezehome to save.
2. Exit the game and uninstall the mod
3. If the mod has scripts, run Save Game Script Cleaner to remove these scripts from the save.
4. Relaunch the game and load the save from step 1; answering "yes" to any missing plugin warnings.
5. Once loaded, make another new save and exit the game again.
6. Your new save is cleaned from the removed mod.

From this point use the new save from step 5 to continue your playthrough. Keep in mind this is not a "fail proof" method. There's always a change to break or corrupt your save by removing plugins and scripts mid-game, but there's the information you requested. Use at your own risk. ::

[jbsheridan]

Thank you so much for the walk through.

 

That's the info I was looking for...and so clearly stated, too. Wonderful.

 

 

     So I see all of these youtube videos of people doing all kinds of mod reviews and testing and ENB testing.

 

     1. Are they doing it all from a simple MO base profile that is stable, so that the risk of breaking the game is minimal?

 

     2. Or can this be done from a more complex load profile? And is the risk of breaking the game thus greater?

 

     2. Or are they doing something else, and what is the protocol for that?

[TechAngel85]

Thank you so much for the walk through.

 

That's the info I was looking for...and so clearly stated, too. Wonderful.

 

 

     So I see all of these youtube videos of people doing all kinds of mod reviews and testing and ENB testing.

 

     1. Are they doing it all from a simple MO base profile that is stable, so that the risk of breaking the game is minimal?

 

     2. Or can this be done from a more complex load profile? And is the risk of breaking the game thus greater?

 

     2. Or are they doing something else, and what is the protocol for that?

Most people who do testing and reviews are not using saves from which they also play the game from. Take for example, STEP. When I do all the testing for new mods for STEP, I do so from a completed STEP install using a separate "STEP Extended" profile. This profile has all the mods from the Guide installed; however, all the saves are vanilla (as previously described above) and remain separate from my other saves. However, this is NOT the profile from which I actually play the game from. The profile from which I play the game is a separate profile entirely with it's own saves (you can easily created duplicate profiles in MO by copying them in the management menu). The saves from my testing profile and my playing profile do not cross because I don't wish to mess up my good saves from which I do all my actual playing on.

 

I hope that makes sense.

[jbsheridan]

Yes, that makes sense and I think I understand it now.

 

You have a base "game" which is your STEP installation. All mod testing is done with that profile and the saves dedicated to it.

 

Then you have the separate MO playing profile "game" which you do not change at all during the course of the play through. Right?

 

Other people may have their own base game, which may be STEP or may just be some stable configuration of mods they have come up with which may be MO based or not. (MO just being so easy to change profiles and saves). But they have a base save to revert to after each testing.

 

 

Right?

Edited March 31, 2017 by jbsheridan

[TechAngel85]

Right

[jbsheridan]

WOW...

 

     Clarity and nirvhana at last.

 

     Thank you so much for your patience. Putting all of this info in context and connecting the dots is just what I needed.

[TechAngel85]

You're welcome. ::