Prestep 1 - #4: 4. The most important thing is structure. For this reason, download/install MO2 into a folder that is easily accessible, be sure to not do it in your Program Files.
Great advice, but then you say this?
Prestep II - 2. Inside your Fallout 4 folder inside your Progam Files (you will see the Fallout4.exe), make a folder called FO4Edit and extract the FO4Edit package you downloaded from the guide in there.
Why install FO4Edit in Program Files?I don't install games or the utilities that mod them in that folder for obvious reasons.From the Tome of xEdit: " Install your Bethesda game and xEdit in the C:\Games folder. For example, C:\Games\steamapps\common\Skyrim. Which is not controlled by UAC and will prevent conflicts. (recommended)" ---------
Personally, I recommend 3 things at the very beginning in terms of nice clean organization: 1) Create a Steam Library to install all Steam games in their own directory - outside of C:\Program Files.Ex. C:\Games or C:\SteamGames, etc - if you want to isolate just your Steam games from any other game installations you might have.Personally, I install every game I have under C:\Games. 2) Create a Modding Tools directory inside that directory above - so the games and the tools that will be used on those games are in the same general directory.Ex. C:\Games\ModTools. 3) Prefix any mod utilities that are only designed to work on one game with that game name. i.e. I have separate instances of MO2 for each game: C:\Games\Modtools\FO4- MO2 C:\Games\Modtools\Skyrim - MO2 C:\Games\Modtools\SkyrimSSE - MO2
------------ Now I'm organized and ready to start. Games and the programs that will mod them are in their own directories outside of Program Files.
Would you be able to add some updates for the newest versions of BiRaitBec's guide? There's some stuff about FO4Edit and FO4 Configurator that are not accurate anymore and I experienced CTDs during the first 10 minutes of the game when I tried to use this guide + BiRaitBec. I'm currently starting from scratch to try and avoid making a single mistake, but I'm having to hew more closely to BiRaitBec than I'd like given his insistence on NMM over MO2 (still absolutely bizarre to me).
BiRaitBec's guide mentions nothing of FO4 Configurator or Church of the atom
your guide "Better Locational Damage… this part sucks a little, go to the right pane-plugins tab, rearrange the BLD-related .esp‘s like mentioned in the guide, then drag the CoA .esp‘s down to the right position" Biraitbec also says nothing about this i am assuming CoA.esps is church of atom ?
sugar0coated wrote: I've just spent over a week trying (and somewhat failing) to follow BiRaitBec's guide using the other MO2 guide on the nexus, and only JUST have a working game. While that other MO2 guide certainly wasn't useless, with the conjecture of jokes and glossing over certain subjects, the author does make it significantly harder to follow. BiRaitBec, though, was, in my opinion, very thorough, and with some better understanding of how to set up and add programs to MO2 (which it looks like your guide DOES provide), you do end up with a pretty thorough list of mods working well together, and a decent guide of what all the edits are actually doing. (Although being told to make my game survival from the get-go by setting it to difficulty 5 was both confusing and frustrating when I tried to test the game, only to not be able to save it.)
I do disagree slightly about the texture repack stage you wrote about. It is to me, in fact, the crown jewel of the whole list (okay, except for maybe some of the merged files). The workbase file was invaluable. Rebuilding those textures took a long-ass time (and I had to do it three times due to misunderstanding both guides...) but once I figured it out, the result was an amazing performance boost on my somewhat outdated machine. I didn't, however, overwrite the game's files in the data file, but instead, I made an empty mod in MO2 named 'Replacement Texture BA2s' and put the rebuilt ba2s in there. Did the same for the cleaned base game ESMs above it. Didn't save that 20GB, but instead cost myself an extra 28GB, mind, but I'm happy. I wouldn't call BiRaitBec's explanation 'horrendous', but maybe not totally beginner-friendly. I think they wrote their explanation with the expectation that someone trying to follow that guide would have a decent idea of how ba2 archives etc. work anyway.
Can I ask about Raider Overhaul? You mentioned in your guide that you recommend against it due to it being very buggy. Is there anything smallish you think that could be done with it to increase performance, such as a patch or a tweak in CK or FO4Edit? Or is it a mod that would need to be rebuilt to fix it and bring it up to date? I use it along with Uto's patch and guide (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/30685), Commonwealth Scavvers (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/10465) and Gunmetal Armor skins (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/35499), somehow all working together, without problems I can see? Maybe some FPS drop, but nothing totally drastic.
Tyrone42 wrote: Thank you for your review. Yeah I will probably remove half the cynism and salt in a next version of the guide... I also did not really explain that in MO2 you do not unpack mods, so why would you need 7zip, and so on...
I am more disappointed in how BiRaitBec is as you said not really beginner friendly and the other MO2 guide aleviates that exponentially and makes it an absolutely frustrating experience overall. Of course, BiRaitBec can not help you then because it is aimed at NMM.
If you had a performance increase, that is nice to hear, I will include the success story. But I still firmly stand on my stance I described in the guide, which is to first load it into MO2, then experiment and find a configuration you like, and only THEN sink the 10 hours repack time into it. You mention yourself how you had to repack multiple times. Of course, then calculating in the performance increase becomes troublesome, but I think all the performance decrease from the other mods balances that out again.
(EDIT: Also, I think actually replacing the texture files in your case would not change anything for you, just backup the original files in some removable storage, once you are that far there is no reason to give up that drive-space)
The next thing is, many people do not really like the choice of textures in there, so I would find it nice if there was a general program that could repack textures after you have settled on something, not only for this specific guide.
The problem with Raider Overhaul is that due to the nature of the game engine, mods that were entirely made inside FO4Edit (which Raider Overhaul and Super Mutant Redux are) cause some hiccups during loading times, I think that is individual from setup to setup. That is the reason I included that, I consider it risky installing this mod, nothing more, I should maybe clarify that.
ferrousaemyr wrote: If you don't mind me asking a couple of questions --
a) Why did you 'install' your Replacement Textures in MO2 as a mod instead of rewriting the original files? Doesn't that mean it still loads all of the originals, part of what BiRaitBec is trying to avoid?
b) What made you have to rebuild the textures three times? Hoping I can avoid similar misunderstandings...
Thanks <3
You are asking two different people here in one post.
In the guide I simply recommended the most comfortable solution. You will not be able to determine what you exactly want just from looking at the options in the install-prompt. So it is better to install it as a mod so you can change it up fast until you like it. Afterwards I made a hint (after the update clarified this more) that once you know what you exactly want, you can run the builder, remove the mod and replace the textures as per the BiRaitBec guide.
Which is most likely the exact reason the user had to rebuild so often. That or they had trouble with the guide as it is still quite complex.
Sorry, that wasn't my intention.
I was mostly hoping to avoid mistakes and glean some more information on it - thanks for commenting! If I have space to do so, I will; MO2 Mods + FO4 + Textures are all on a dedicated 115gb SSD, but I'm concerned that might get over-filled anyway...
Definitely will be, I had trouble on my 500GB SSD (have a few other games on there). I have installed like 15 mods additionally to the list and my MO-folder is currently 102GB big. On the other hand, I still have my downloads in there like I described in the guide.
I've just spent over a week trying (and somewhat failing) to follow BiRaitBec's guide using the other MO2 guide on the nexus, and only JUST have a working game. While that other MO2 guide certainly wasn't useless, with the conjecture of jokes and glossing over certain subjects, the author does make it significantly harder to follow. BiRaitBec, though, was, in my opinion, very thorough, and with some better understanding of how to set up and add programs to MO2 (which it looks like your guide DOES provide), you do end up with a pretty thorough list of mods working well together, and a decent guide of what all the edits are actually doing. (Although being told to make my game survival from the get-go by setting it to difficulty 5 was both confusing and frustrating when I tried to test the game, only to not be able to save it.)
I do disagree slightly about the texture repack stage you wrote about. It is to me, in fact, the crown jewel of the whole list (okay, except for maybe some of the merged files). The workbase file was invaluable. Rebuilding those textures took a long-ass time (and I had to do it three times due to misunderstanding both guides...) but once I figured it out, the result was an amazing performance boost on my somewhat outdated machine. I didn't, however, overwrite the game's files in the data file, but instead, I made an empty mod in MO2 named 'Replacement Texture BA2s' and put the rebuilt ba2s in there. Did the same for the cleaned base game ESMs above it. Didn't save that 20GB, but instead cost myself an extra 28GB, mind, but I'm happy. I wouldn't call BiRaitBec's explanation 'horrendous', but maybe not totally beginner-friendly. I think they wrote their explanation with the expectation that someone trying to follow that guide would have a decent idea of how ba2 archives etc. work anyway.
Can I ask about Raider Overhaul? You mentioned in your guide that you recommend against it due to it being very buggy. Is there anything smallish you think that could be done with it to increase performance, such as a patch or a tweak in CK or FO4Edit? Or is it a mod that would need to be rebuilt to fix it and bring it up to date? I use it along with Uto's patch and guide (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/30685), Commonwealth Scavvers (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/10465) and Gunmetal Armor skins (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/35499), somehow all working together, without problems I can see? Maybe some FPS drop, but nothing totally drastic.
Thank you for your review. Yeah I will probably remove half the cynism and salt in a next version of the guide... I also did not really explain that in MO2 you do not unpack mods, so why would you need 7zip, and so on...
I am more disappointed in how BiRaitBec is as you said not really beginner friendly and the other MO2 guide aleviates that exponentially and makes it an absolutely frustrating experience overall. Of course, BiRaitBec can not help you then because it is aimed at NMM.
If you had a performance increase, that is nice to hear, I will include the success story. But I still firmly stand on my stance I described in the guide, which is to first load it into MO2, then experiment and find a configuration you like, and only THEN sink the 10 hours repack time into it. You mention yourself how you had to repack multiple times. Of course, then calculating in the performance increase becomes troublesome, but I think all the performance decrease from the other mods balances that out again.
(EDIT: Also, I think actually replacing the texture files in your case would not change anything for you, just backup the original files in some removable storage, once you are that far there is no reason to give up that drive-space)
The next thing is, many people do not really like the choice of textures in there, so I would find it nice if there was a general program that could repack textures after you have settled on something, not only for this specific guide.
The problem with Raider Overhaul is that due to the nature of the game engine, mods that were entirely made inside FO4Edit (which Raider Overhaul and Super Mutant Redux are) cause some hiccups during loading times, I think that is individual from setup to setup. That is the reason I included that, I consider it risky installing this mod, nothing more, I should maybe clarify that.
If you don't mind me asking a couple of questions --
a) Why did you 'install' your Replacement Textures in MO2 as a mod instead of rewriting the original files? Doesn't that mean it still loads all of the originals, part of what BiRaitBec is trying to avoid?
b) What made you have to rebuild the textures three times? Hoping I can avoid similar misunderstandings...
You are asking two different people here in one post.
In the guide I simply recommended the most comfortable solution. You will not be able to determine what you exactly want just from looking at the options in the install-prompt. So it is better to install it as a mod so you can change it up fast until you like it. Afterwards I made a hint (after the update clarified this more) that once you know what you exactly want, you can run the builder, remove the mod and replace the textures as per the BiRaitBec guide.
Which is most likely the exact reason the user had to rebuild so often. That or they had trouble with the guide as it is still quite complex.
13 comments
4. The most important thing is structure. For this reason, download/install MO2 into a folder that is easily accessible, be sure to not do it in your Program Files.
Great advice, but then you say this?
Prestep II -
2. Inside your Fallout 4 folder inside your Progam Files (you will see the Fallout4.exe), make a folder called FO4Edit and extract the FO4Edit package you downloaded from the guide in there.
Why install FO4Edit in Program Files?I don't install games or the utilities that mod them in that folder for obvious reasons.From the Tome of xEdit:
" Install your Bethesda game and xEdit in the C:\Games folder. For example, C:\Games\steamapps\common\Skyrim. Which is not controlled by UAC and will prevent conflicts. (recommended)"
---------
Personally, I recommend 3 things at the very beginning in terms of nice clean organization:
1) Create a Steam Library to install all Steam games in their own directory - outside of C:\Program Files.Ex. C:\Games or C:\SteamGames, etc - if you want to isolate just your Steam games from any other game installations you might have.Personally, I install every game I have under C:\Games.
2) Create a Modding Tools directory inside that directory above - so the games and the tools that will be used on those games are in the same general directory.Ex. C:\Games\ModTools.
3) Prefix any mod utilities that are only designed to work on one game with that game name. i.e. I have separate instances of MO2 for each game:
C:\Games\Modtools\FO4- MO2
C:\Games\Modtools\Skyrim - MO2
C:\Games\Modtools\SkyrimSSE - MO2
------------
Now I'm organized and ready to start. Games and the programs that will mod them are in their own directories outside of Program Files.
your guide "Better Locational Damage… this part sucks a little, go to the right pane-plugins tab, rearrange the
BLD-related .esp‘s like mentioned in the guide, then drag the CoA .esp‘s down to the right position" Biraitbec also says nothing about this i am assuming CoA.esps is church of atom ?
Sorry, that wasn't my intention.
I was mostly hoping to avoid mistakes and glean some more information on it - thanks for commenting! If I have space to do so, I will; MO2 Mods + FO4 + Textures are all on a dedicated 115gb SSD, but I'm concerned that might get over-filled anyway...
I do disagree slightly about the texture repack stage you wrote about. It is to me, in fact, the crown jewel of the whole list (okay, except for maybe some of the merged files). The workbase file was invaluable. Rebuilding those textures took a long-ass time (and I had to do it three times due to misunderstanding both guides...) but once I figured it out, the result was an amazing performance boost on my somewhat outdated machine. I didn't, however, overwrite the game's files in the data file, but instead, I made an empty mod in MO2 named 'Replacement Texture BA2s' and put the rebuilt ba2s in there. Did the same for the cleaned base game ESMs above it. Didn't save that 20GB, but instead cost myself an extra 28GB, mind, but I'm happy. I wouldn't call BiRaitBec's explanation 'horrendous', but maybe not totally beginner-friendly. I think they wrote their explanation with the expectation that someone trying to follow that guide would have a decent idea of how ba2 archives etc. work anyway.
Can I ask about Raider Overhaul? You mentioned in your guide that you recommend against it due to it being very buggy. Is there anything smallish you think that could be done with it to increase performance, such as a patch or a tweak in CK or FO4Edit? Or is it a mod that would need to be rebuilt to fix it and bring it up to date? I use it along with Uto's patch and guide (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/30685), Commonwealth Scavvers (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/10465) and Gunmetal Armor skins (https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/35499), somehow all working together, without problems I can see? Maybe some FPS drop, but nothing totally drastic.
I am more disappointed in how BiRaitBec is as you said not really beginner friendly and the other MO2 guide aleviates that exponentially and makes it an absolutely frustrating experience overall. Of course, BiRaitBec can not help you then because it is aimed at NMM.
If you had a performance increase, that is nice to hear, I will include the success story. But I still firmly stand on my stance I described in the guide, which is to first load it into MO2, then experiment and find a configuration you like, and only THEN sink the 10 hours repack time into it. You mention yourself how you had to repack multiple times. Of course, then calculating in the performance increase becomes troublesome, but I think all the performance decrease from the other mods balances that out again.
(EDIT: Also, I think actually replacing the texture files in your case would not change anything for you, just backup the original files in some removable storage, once you are that far there is no reason to give up that drive-space)
The next thing is, many people do not really like the choice of textures in there, so I would find it nice if there was a general program that could repack textures after you have settled on something, not only for this specific guide.
The problem with Raider Overhaul is that due to the nature of the game engine, mods that were entirely made inside FO4Edit (which Raider Overhaul and Super Mutant Redux are) cause some hiccups during loading times, I think that is individual from setup to setup. That is the reason I included that, I consider it risky installing this mod, nothing more, I should maybe clarify that.
a) Why did you 'install' your Replacement Textures in MO2 as a mod instead of rewriting the original files? Doesn't that mean it still loads all of the originals, part of what BiRaitBec is trying to avoid?
b) What made you have to rebuild the textures three times? Hoping I can avoid similar misunderstandings...
Thanks <3
In the guide I simply recommended the most comfortable solution. You will not be able to determine what you exactly want just from looking at the options in the install-prompt. So it is better to install it as a mod so you can change it up fast until you like it. Afterwards I made a hint (after the update clarified this more) that once you know what you exactly want, you can run the builder, remove the mod and replace the textures as per the BiRaitBec guide.
Which is most likely the exact reason the user had to rebuild so often. That or they had trouble with the guide as it is still quite complex.