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Preliminary Actions for mod Issue Notices
PAIN is a document written for No Man's Sky mod users experiencing issues related to modding.
It is written to:
- Lay out basic troubleshooting procedures to resolve the most common issues;
- Display instructions to acquire and send commonly required information for outside diagnosis;
- Provide resources to tools and required codebase
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. USING MOD TOOLS
- Using AMUMSS
- Using NMSMB
2. COMMON SELF-DIAGNOSIS / MOD ISSUE SOLUTIONS
- Using the correct MODS folder
- DISABLEMODS.txt
- Reading the Mod Description / Sticky Posts
- “Flushing the system”
- Install .NET 6 Desktop Runtime
- BINARY SEARCH 101
3. CRUCIAL INFORMATION FOR ISSUE REPORT
- In-game Behaviour
- MODS Folder
USING MOD TOOLS
Using AMUMSSUsers experiencing issues with mods that provide .lua files provided should use the .lua files of all their mods that provide them in conjunction with AMUMSS before making a report.
Go to AMUMSS's Nexus page or GitHub page to download AMUMSS.
Read How to use AMUMSS (pdf) to learn how to use AMUMSS.
If AMUMSS does not function correctly, try re-downloading, re-installing, and re-updating AMUMSS.
AMUMSS is a tool that processes instruction files (in lua), applies the instructed changes to your game's vanilla files, and generates an up-to-date .pak mod file for use in-game. In addition to generating up-to-date mods, it also merges different mods when the .lua files are run together.
Using NMSMBUsers experiencing issues with mods that provide .cs files provided should use the .cs file of all their mods that provide them in conjunction with NMSMB before making a report.
Go to NMSMB's GitHub page to download NMSMB.
Read How to use NMSMB (pdf) to learn how to use NMSMB.
NMSMB is a tool that processes instruction files (in C#), applies the instructed changes to your game's vanilla files, and generates an up-to-date .pak mod file for use in-game. In addition to generating up-to-date mods, it also merges different mods when the .cs files are run together.
COMMON SELF-DIAGNOSIS / MOD ISSUE SOLUTIONS
Before reporting your issue to a mod's author, use the methods below to diagnose and resolve common issues.Using the correct MODS folder
While much of the No Man's Sky modding community recommends installing manually, many users install their mods to the incorrect directory.
Read how to install mods manually.
The correct directory to install .pak files is [Install Path]\No Man's Sky\GAMEDATA\PCBANKS\MODS, if the MODS folder does not exist, create it.
There are MODS folders under [Install Path]\No Man's Sky and [Install Path]\No Man's Sky\GAMEDATA, THEY ARE IMPOSTER FOLDERS PLACED BY HELLO GAMES AND WILL NOT LOAD ANY MODS INSTALLED WITHIN.
DISABLEMODS.txt
- Go to your No Man's Sky folder, and go to \GAMEDATA\PCBANKS
- Make sure DISABLEMODS.TXT does not exist, if it does, delete it
- Be aware that NMS updates or game file verification checks can recreate the file
This ensures the MODS folder is actually being used.
Reading the Mod Description / Sticky PostsMost mods are intuitive to install even manually, but some mod pages provide additional instructions for required procedures inside or outside the game to ensure their mod works as intended. They can be under:
- Description tab on the mod page
- Sticky posts under the Posts tab on the mod page
“Flushing the system”“Flushing the system” is a tried and true method to easily resolve any crashing of instabilities at the mode select screen or initial loading screen.
- Run the game a few times and let the game crash until it not longer crashes
To completely “flush” the system, follow the following steps instead:
- Uninstall all mods
- Run the game and start a new save (to make sure your other saves are not affected by the uninstallation)
- Close the game and run the game again with the new save, repeat several times
- Reinstall the mods
- Repeat 2 & 3
If crashing persists, consult “BINARY SEARCH 101”.
It is frequently observed that No Man’s Sky would crash when the files within MODS folder are changed in any way. Some have hypothesised that No Man’s Sky has a cached list of modded files and needs to be rebuilt when those files are changed.
Install .NET 6 Desktop Runtime
Download the installer from Microsoft.
Majority of No Man's Sky modding tools require .NET 6 Desktop Runtime, NO OTHER MAJOR VERSION WILL WORK.
MBINCompiler versions released prior to 17/Jul/2023 require .NET 5 instead.
Download the .NET 5 installer from Microsoft.
Even older versions may require .NET 4 instead.
Download the .NET 4 installer from Microsoft.
BINARY SEARCH 101This is a method to (relatively) quickly narrow down the mod causing issues.
Read BINARY SEARCH 101.
CRUCIAL INFORMATION FOR ISSUE REPORT
When reporting your issue, include the below information to ensure your issue can actually be diagnosed.In-game BehaviourInformation on how the issue is encountered is important to replicate the issue and make sure it is a global issue (and that it can be fixed).
Try to include:
- At which stage in the game did the issue occur? (game boot, mode select, loading screen, on-planet, in-space, on button press/mouse click, etc)
- How did you get to the point where is issue occurred? (warping, landing/taking off, flying from freighter to Nexus, building a base object and then another, etc.)
- What exactly is the issue? (freezing, crash-to-desktop (CTD), lag, invisible things, etc)
- Pictures/videos before and of the issue occurring (moments leading up to a crash, location where invisible objects should be, etc)
- Are you using AMUMSS/NMSMB to generate fresh mod files?
- Did you read this article (PAIN) and carried out self-diagnosis before reporting (DON'T REPORT BEFORE SELF-DIAGNOSIS, but confirming that you have done so will help move on to actual diagnosis, saving time)
MODS Folder- Go to your MODS folder
- Capture a screenshot, with its directory visible, and files sorted by date
- upload the screenshot to an image hosting site such as Imgur
- Embed or link the image in your report
This allows anyone diagnosing any issues to ensure the mods are in the correct directory, the correct files are installed, and all files are up-to-date.
This article is updated to include any additional useful information.
Last updated: 28/Feb/2024
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