Hi all,

I made the transition to Skyrim on a PC just a couple months ago and am gradually getting together the kind of game I like. I've changed the lighting, added some overhauls, etc. etc. I think pretty simple stuff, only about 15 mods.

However, now it's getting hard to remember which mods I've actually installed versus simply considered and researched. For example, the Nexus tracking facility doesn't seem to say whether you downloaded a mod or not. I'm often browsing mods on a different machine than the one I play on so I can't check, I just have to remember. Did I actually install Realistic Needs and Diseases or just read about it?

Also, mods often list dependencies (version such-and-such of mod XYZ or conflicts with mods that do things...) and I really haven't been compiling that type of detailed information. Do you put together a log or record that you can reference for these types of issues? I'm pretty sure you'd have to do it manually unless the NMM puts out some sort of report (does it?).

I plan to keep adding mods but any suggestions you have that help keeps things organized would be a big help.

Thanks!

If you use a mod manager you can easily see what you have installed vs. what you've tracked, and you shouldn't be installing mods without their dependencies, so you don't really need to keep track of that information.

I keep an organized folder on a backup drive where I have stored all the mods I have downloaded. I download a lot of mods that I may not use for years because you never know when you might want to use them and mods don't stay up forever. For various reasons mods tend to disappear over time, so if there is something you think you might want to use, you may want to download it and store it on a backup drive just in case it disappears from the web.

I also keep a copy of my load order handy, so I can check what I am currently using at any time, although I pretty much have my load order memorized at this point, since I have been working on it for over a year.

I use Wrye Bash, and it will tell you what a mods dependencies are by clicking on it in the mods tab. As far as motes about specific conflicts or other information, I tent to type up my own notes if I come across information like that and store it in a simple text file in the same folder where I store the copy of the downloaded mod on my backup drive. I may also put it in my Skyrim docs folder as a readme if it contains information that is not in the mods readme, and if a mod does not have a readme, I may create one at the time I install it, with any important notes I need to use the mod or install/uninstall it or any conflict information about using it with other mods.

Of course half the time I am too lazy to do any of this. But that is how I do it when I feel energetic. There is unfortunately no central depository containing all the information you need about installation/uninstallation, conflicts, stability, bugs, versions and other compatibility issues of every mod. There is just too much information out there and much of it resides only in various threads on various sites like this site, nexus forums, reddit, etc. so it cannot be gathered easily by a mod manager, plus half of the information you find on the discussions in various mod sites is inaccurate. A central repository for such information with some testing for accuracy would be nice but it would be a herculean undertaking. The new and somewhat controversial site "mod picker" aims to address this issue somewhat.

I install all of my mods manually and I download them first into a dedicated mod folder on a different drive. I read all of the readmes very carefully, if there are any. I install one mod at a time. I open the mod in the Creation Kit and poke around. I read the comments section for the mod to get a feel for the types of problems, if any, I may need to look for. I go into the game with a fresh test character and look for conflicts or things I may want to change. If I need to make a change to the mod I do it at this stage.

When I'm satisfied that I want to use a mod and that it doesn't conflict with my other mods I move on to the next mod and repeat the process. Little by little I build up a (hopefully) relatively stable list of mods. By the time I have integrated a mod into a current mod list I am usually pretty familiar with what it does.

I like the idea of archiving the mods (either for future use or as a backup to the Nexus) but I've been relying on NMM. If I want to create such an archive do I need to download the mods manually? Otherwise, I'm not sure what NMM does.

I think I'll check out Wrye Bash - NMM is pretty user-friendly but definitely leaves a lot to be desired (I'm tired of constantly re-sizing the same columns or opening the same tabs - it never remembers any of these changes). Is there a danger of corruption/conflicts if you use two different mod managers? Is some sort of migration required if I switch?

Thanks for you very helpful feedback!

+1 for Wrye. The profiles feature doesn't work for Skyrim as well as it did for Oblivion, but it still helps a lot.

I also maintain a separate installs folder and move things over to the Bash Installers folder only when I decide to use them. A lot of times, I'll extract only a piece of a mod and build my own subset of it. E.g. an outfit with 20 variants, but I only want to use one. I always download manually; the idea of having a mod manager decide if I want a newer version or not puts me off.

I have never used NMM, so I cannot advise about it. I download all my mods manually.

I think you can just switch to Wrye Bash. Wrye Bash can manage mods that were installed manually or with another mod manager, as long as that mod manager is not installing into virtual folders, like MO -- does NMM do that now? If you are using a mod manager that installs into virtual folders, then you would need to start over to switch to a different manager.

However, Wrye Bash can only detect file conflicts for files that have been installed with Wrye Bash, so you might want to reinstall a mod that you have installed manually or with NMM using Wrye Bash. There is no problem with installing the same mod over top of itself, it will just rewrite the same files. If a mod only consists of an esp file I may just install it manually, but if it has hundreds of asset files, I am going to install it with Wrye Bash.

I prefer Wrye Bash because I like to have control over everything and I like to do things as manually as possible without actually doing it manually. The problem with a manual install is if you accidentally click on the wrong folder, which I do frequently since I am a clutz, or if you just change your mind, it may take several hours to undo what you just did, depending on how many files you just moved. With the Wrye Bash install tab, you can install, uninstall, and change install order with a couple clicks, and you can see what files from what mod are replacing each other. In the mods tab, you can change load order, check the for a mods dependencies, and a bunch of other stuff.

I use NMM... but still download all my mod's Manually. I make a copy of each, before I move it to NMM lists and move that to a different drive. I also have about 65 pages of "tracked" mod's.. some I will never download or use... I need to go through it but... I also keep a written list of what I have downloaded.. I get my "download" list from Nexus.. it does have Tracked and downloaded... but as I have some mod's from other sites, I have all of them written down on a note pad, which I have copies of in my purse....and an email that's archived so I can pull it up anytime.

I do as Areial does. And yes, the latest versions of NMM use a Virtual Install setup. I haven't had any issues at all with NMM remembering how I like it to work, so not sure why that's giving you fits kami....

I have redundant backups of redundant backups of every mod I've ever used - even some houses from prior to the CK! I'm a packrat - I have every file I've ever downloaded since 1984 when I got my first computer, and every email I've ever sent and received since I first got online, whenever that was.... 1987? You can never have too many backups....