How do you manage the compatibility between mods in Skyrim?
In Skyrim, there are lots of mods that influence other mods' functionality. To handle those side effects, lots of them are providing compatibility patches for other common mods.
Now let's get to the modder's perspective. If I target a perfectly pre-arranged mod list (such as STEP) and install them one-by-one from the beginning, it is possible to grab all of those patches by carefully navigating each of mod pages.
Unfortunately, when editing an existing mod list, it doesn't work because most patches are provided from only one of the mod pages. When installing an additional mod X, it is quite easy to overlook a patch between X and any of existing mods, unless it is provided on X's mod page. Similar thing happens when removing a mod. This becomes even worse when realizing that some of the patches are provided only within FOMOD installers, not even mentioned on the mod pages at all.
Is there a way to manage this task? Should I really build a database of mod pairs for every possible patches?
Best Answer
Use ModOrganizer - it will display the conflicts.
When you look at the conflicts you have a few choices. Quickest is to pick one mod to be the "winner" (usually by re-ordering your lists although there are more advanced mechanisms too). That's the most common decision because many conflicts will be things like a mod replacing an original Bethesda texture with something better. Another choice is to go look for compatibility patches. If there's no compatibility patch, another choice is to follow the ordering recommendations of the LOOT tool - but be aware that MO is one of the few tools that would allow the "loose" textures and scripts and other files to be in a different order than the LOOT driven plugin list of esps and esms.
And do what you're already doing - start with S.T.E.P. and think carefully about what you want to change.
And lastly - For stability, try to avoid removing or even upgrading stuff during a play-through. If you do, follow the "clean save" procedure on the S.T.E.P. troubleshooting page.
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Quick Answer about "How do you manage the compatibility between mods in Skyrim?"
How do you find out which mods are conflicting Skyrim?
The best rule-of-thumb indicator of whether two mods will conflict is to compare the list of . class files they contain. If there are no files which exist in both mods, chances are good that they'll work just fine together.How do I put Skyrim mods together?
The first thing you need to do is ensure which mod is taking priority over Mod A's textures.How To Mod Skyrim In 2022 Anniversary Edition\\Special Edition (Beginner's Guide)
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