1.3.11 Mo Trying to learn it

[redneck1st]

Ok some things for which I'm curious about and hopefully can get an answer here.

 

1 Which paned left or the right does mods get loaded by? The reason for which I ask this is some mods in the Left pane have a very different number then that for which is in the right pane.

 

2. Is there any way at all to have all your mods in the left pain not showing any Lightning bolt or +/- Flags?

 

3. Is there a way to test the Load order once in game to make sure the it won't crash before you spend dozens of hours in the game.

 

 

Thanks for the help.

[Quinnbeast]

Both panes cover different aspects of mods, although the right side is what people refer to as load order - i.e. plugins or esp/ems files. Not all mods have plugins, sometimes they're just a simple texture that modifies or adds to an existing component without the need for further data.

 

The left can be considered "installation order", and primarily covers textures and meshes that overwrite other files that are further up the list (i.e. lower priority). There is no need to get rid of - / + signs, in fact, it's impossible and unnecessary while modding. What is important, is whether files are being overwritten as intended. For example, when you install some new landscape textures, they will always overwrite (with a +) the vanilla textures (with a -). A further mod might overwrite certain parts of the first mod, but not all. The little lighting bolt means a file has been completely overwritten as is technically redundant.

 

When follow STEP Core/Ext, the order of the guide should match your installation order on the left. Certain files overwrite other files to achieve the correct result. Mod files on the left can and should be in a different order to the plugins on the right if the guides are followed correctly.

 

Load order (i.e. plugins on right) is a little more complicated, but is largely dealt with by LOOT, with some occasional intervention.

 

For the most part, the only way to test the game, is to play it. This is perhaps the most frustrating part of large-scale modding. It can take time for bugs to become known. But, there should be plenty of advice on offer as-and-when you have issues (which are to be expected if you're just starting out).

Edited September 10, 2015 by Quinnbeast

[GrantSP]

Many hours have been put into providing a wiki that serves as MO's help documentation.

Along with video tutorials by Gamerpoet and others that serve as the official instruction source for MO.