??? F & L Noob Asks... What Issues to expect IF moving Quest/Area mods to end of LO ???

[GirlzRockk]

**** What issues should I expect to deal with if I decided to move the quest and area addition mods, incl. NV Uncut, toward the very end... both install and load order? ****

 

I am going to venture into the STEP world (but I am not a modding noob) and learn more than ever before.  I am looking for feedback and guidance regarding the pitfalls of moving the quest mods towards the end.  Note:  I know I will need to move the appropriate patches as well.

 

Below I tried to provide information you might need to know about me and my experiences modding as well as my ultimate goals to enable the best possible advice.  (It is VERY long and by no means a necessary read if you want to offer advice in any form... I am a F & L Noob so jump in without reading my modding resume first if you want.)  It's an appendix for those wanting more info.

 

Please help me understand the best way to approach what I am looking to accomplish. Including whether there is another option or way to do what I want than moving the quest/area mods toward the end.  BESIDES the obvious back up save all game files and/or create a vanilla base build option. 

 

I also welcome any STEP advanced tips and tricks, links, videos, threads, and/or thoughts for a F & L Noob.

 

Why change the load and install order? 

 

I find that most issues with new quest and area mods are the use of NPC's and cells in an overlapping manner.  So most issues in compatibility are not readily corrected with a quick merge patch in FNVEdit.  I can toggle clip mode and use command line fixes but that breaks immersion so I usually just isolate the conflict with FNVEdit and uninstall/untick the mod interfering with the current quest issue at hand. 

 

Why again since you can just untick or do a quick fix the same as before especially using MO???

 

I love to randomly grab quick little untested new mods and run them just for fun especially the really funny and the even downright "bad" ones.  It's just an awesome interactive B Movie bonanza out there... So usually Wild Wasteland, quest and new companion mods!  I then uninstall them, and reinstall (actually install all over again if I am worried about overwrites) related to any conflicts from my "base" build area (AWOP, NV Interiors) or quest mods I need to keep like NVB, casinos & homes.   But I am also a greedy little tweak and fixes modder.  I like to run right at the mod limit so if I can run and be done without too much drama the more the better.  I like to keep my immersion in game as much as possible.

 

I can not just reinstall those bigger higher impact quest and area mods if they are sandwiched in between other mods that also conflict especially any that require patches, whether existing or ones I end up manually tweaking.  Trust me I tried it already and it really FBARs and destabilizes the build.  I also go back to the prior save after the little add on quest is completed and removed.  The easier my "roll-back" the better.

 

What was your load order before?

 

Actually it ended up really close to STEP F & L but I modified two other load order suggestion lists.  Last time I used https://community.gophersvids.com/topic/3649-an-updated-fallout-new-vegas-modding-guide-12-february-2017/ combined with https://www.gamingboulevard.com/2015/11/special-lets-mod-fallout-new-vegas-with-100-mods/ as my basis (more emphasis on Gopher's list) because STEP made my brain hurt. I used only two texture replacements, one lighting mod, only NCO for any NPC, race or body changes and an eye model replacer.  So those mods are going to follow this F & L list and several categories of mods will be entirely new to me, esp. body model changes, animation, sound and weather enhancements.

 

I had a stable build (only crashed or acted stupid if I loaded a new mod-- usually quests) with ~137 plug ins before, with a base install of ~128 which allowed me to just quickly untick one quest mod over another as needed, remove ones I completed and no longer needed, etc.  I also like to tick and untick small minor mods, both innocuous and troublesome, like Casino unbanner, unlimited companions, transponder mods, etc. as needed.. and so forth.

 

Now I am more experienced and want to build a stable base build that I can use with more greedy mod use by merging etc.  I am so excited to see a lot of Yuki's tweak mods merged and some of the new stuff out there, especially all the ones in this list not found in my other go to lists.

 

I have to create a new base build because I do not have a choice but also... Ultimately it was time to put a new modded build together.  My stable build was nearly a year old, super customized and I am ready to start a new character.  I want to be able to use more mods, add body models this time, etc. as well as get ones I love updated.  Plus I found some other kind souls hard work I want to use to cover some of the customization I created but currently can not access.

 

What HAVE you done??? Besides downloading, installing mods and simple merge patches??

 

I used NMM, FNVEdit, made many many ini changes and have done very simple merge patching and sometimes small merging and where needed prioritizing of small/medium mods, by hand in FNVEdit.  However, I have created my own set of personally balanced perks, traits, custom weapons & armor, companion items, ammo, food, drink recipes and economy addins, even an expanded garden at the SchoolHouse but sadly I never bothered to make any of my own private edits into plug ins.

 

I have the ability to drill down and troubleshoot quite well.  So I am not scared of a little debugging time by doing this, I just want to know what to look out for.  I also know that I am in the "know just enough to be dangerous" category versus being any kind of expert modder.

 

I "needes" my NV fix ASAP.  It is my favorite game of all time. 

 

I realize I could just build a profile that is very core and does not add any content to run these interactive bonanza B movie mods but then I would not have all the new pretties and the experience would be altered.  Not to mention I would not be able to use my very carefully created character.  I want to be able to play those mods as my RP character.  I am not a blogger or tester or reviewer. 

 

I had to spend alot of time unplugged while in recovery from major injuries over the last couple years (I have XB1 and Steam).  I do play other games (mainly RPG and FPS). 

 

But... NV in particular has allowed me to RP with heavy immersion and customization of experience with fun, humor, wackadoodle elements and quests while having just the right leveled combat, difficulty and realism.  I play HC with NV always.  The combo for me is just perfect to keep me engaged and inject some light and joy into some very hard times personally.  In ways that have kept me sane.  My portable hard drive backups of my fancy personal edits is packed up in another state and I am super ready to start a new experience and PLAY.   However, I am also really looking forward to sinking my teeth into some more complicated modding and STEP F & L will help me do so with a decent safety net.

 

Please help me understand the best way to approach what I am looking to accomplish. Including whether there is another option or way to do what I want than moving the quest/area mods toward the end.  I may simply be able to just "untick" any conflicting mods as I did before without any ill effects using MO instead of NMM.  However, I get nervous just thinking about it because I am used to just reinstalling everything affected after uninstalling the conflicting mod including any other "dependencies," patches, and subsequent mods in my LO.  When I did not follow the "uninstall - reinstall - prior save" protocol I ended up with a rapidly destabilizing build, CTDs, and bungled/corrupted save files. Starting over with a fresh game file and reinstall the entire list before took about 2 hours, because it was just with pretty simple mods and a quick merge patch, this looks like a solid 6-8 hours or more process even with everything already downloaded so I would like to avoid that at all costs.

 

Optionally I could just do a backup of everything before hand but that takes so much time and space.  If it comes down to being the best choice after I finish installing, testing and creating my first F& L modded build and character I will do just that. I am a backup horder too LOL.  So if needed I will eventually end up with crap ton of dead useless total FNV game backups taking up space because of course I will want the current "me" in the NV world to do whatever it is I downloaded for her.  I might have to go back to X save if things go to Hell in a Handbasket after X, Y & Z bonanza downloads.  LOL

 

Thank you for all your hard work.  It may make my brain hurt sometimes but it is SOOOOOOOOO awesome.  You all Rockk and thanks for any advice or help.

Edited April 10, 2017 by GirlzRockk