Archive invalidation download nmm

Overview

If you aren't aware as yet, it's pretty much universally recognized that the default install location used by Steam (to the "C:\Program Files" folder tree) is a problem area due to the anti-malware security measures taken with it since the release of Windows Vista. Many unexplained problems are directly related to this location. Save yourself a lot of potential frustration and grief in the future by taking the time to move your Steam game (and really all games that did not come already installed) to a different location. The wiki article Installing Games on Windows Vista+ covers the reasons and procedure for moving Steam games.

If you are new to using "mods" with games on the PC, or just want some tips on how to quickly get using mods with "Fallout New Vegas" (or FNV as it is known) with the least amount of hassle, this is the place to start. This article broadly covers things you should know, and points you to more in-depth articles on particular subjects.

Just to clarify: "Fallout New Vegas" (2010) still uses the same "Gamebryo Engine" as "The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind" (2002), "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (2006), and "Fallout 3" (2008).

It is important to keep the distinctions between engines in mind when attempting to transfer "lessons learned" or tools from one game to another. The games based upon the Gamebryo engine tended to build upon prior knowledge from the older games, while games built upon the "Creation" engine tended to "go their own way" in important aspects.

Terminology

The game has 7 "official patches" from the game publisher which fix problems discovered or corrected since it's initial release. (Do not confuse these with "unofficial patches" released as "mods" by the game community.) Everyone assumes you have a full "officially patched" version by this date. (This is sometimes called your "patch level".) If you purchased any version of the game released after 2011 (e.g. "Ultimate", "Game of the Year", etc.), then you are fully patched to version 1.4.0.525.

• Determining your Official Patch level: Start the game, then in the Main Menu, select "Settings | Display" and look in the lower left corner. You may need to place your cursor over the "Vault Boy/Girl" head icon (if any) before it will display the version information.

A "mod" is a package (archive) of related files that make some change to the vanilla game (including official "Down Loadable Content" (DLC) expansions as delivered by the publisher). The "file extension", the characters after the last period (".") reading left to right in the filename, indicate which program was used to create the archive package. (You can use the site File-Extensions.org to look up those you are not familiar with.) The ones most commonly used for mods on the "Nexus Mods" site are ".7z" (created by the 7Zip program), and ".rar" (created by the WinRAR program. There are a number of alternative tools which can unpack those types of archive files, but each archive tool has mutiple "formats" in which it can compress a file. Some of these may be "proprietary" and exclusive to a particular program, while most are common among many programs. 7Zip is the most commonly used program as it can unpack the most common, non-proprietary ".rar" formats as well as ".zip" files (a predecessor format, now natively supported by Windows).

Within a "mod" package are a number of "asset files" which add to or replace the existing vanilla assets (meshes, textures, sounds, animations, XML files, etc.), and one or more "plugin files" that tell the game about the existence and use of the new assets and where they are placed in the game. The "plugin" files are the only ones that appear in the "load order" (see below). "Plugin" files have one of two possible file extensions: ESM and ESP. There is generally only one ESM file, but there may be any number of ESP files (including none). The ESM files are loaded first, and are considered "masters" to the ESP files that depend upon them. You should find all of your ESM files (vanilla, DLC, and mod) at the top of your "load order".

The archive package may also include some documentation file(s). These could have any extension typical of a "word processing" or "text" program such as ".txt", ".doc", ".rtf" or ".pdf". Some mod creators have adopted the practice of placing such into a "docs" folder under the game "Data" folder (e.g. "Data\docs") when the archive is unpacked. Others just leave them in the same folder as their other "assets" when "installed", depending upon the folder structure of the archive. Sometimes that means they are just placed in the "Data" folder. Examining the folder structure of the package "contents" with the appropriate archive tool will tell you where they will be located.

"Modding" refers to both the process of playing the game with mods installed, and to creating such mods. More properly we should distinguish between "mod users" and "mod creators", but most people rely upon the context in which the term is used rather than explicitly stating which is meant.

There are two important "orders" to which you must learn and understand the distinction because they are going to come up over and over again: "install order" and "load order".

• "Install Order" refers to the sequence in which mods are "installed" into the game "Data" folder. Later installed mods that have a file with the same folder path and filename will need to overwrite previously installed files in the same location. So the last installed "wins", as there can only be one file with a given name in a given folder. With mod managers, this can become less obvious than it would appear at first glance. Some mod managers allow you to "move" around the sequence of installed mods, and then resolve the new "winners". This is possible only if they have a copy of the "vanilla" files to restore from when needed. Read the documentation of your chosen mod manager carefully to see how (if at all) this is implemented. The "vanilla" files are typically all stored in ".BSA" extension archive files, but some "loose" files (not in a ".BSA" file but visible as individual files) may exist in folders under the "Data" folder. Therefor, best practice is to make a backup copy of the entire "Data" folder somewhere outside of the game folder. Then you will always have the original files and can compare the contents to see what has changed.

• "Load Order" refers to the sequence in which the game loads ".ESM" and ".ESP" (collectively called "plugin" files) when the game is launched. These two files in turn take care of loading the "assets" (sound, meshes, textures, etc.) from the mod into the game. Most of your problems with running mods will come down to problems with your "load order" because two (or more) mods are trying to modify the same "data record" in the vanilla files (both the original game and the DLC expansions. Similarly to the situation with "install order", the last loaded plugin "wins" out over all previous plugins that conflict by default, in an all or nothing manner. IF the other plugins make changes to other records that the "winner" doesn't touch, they still lose out and those changes do not take effect. This is known as "the rule of one", and is why "proper sorting" of your "load order" is so important. Those files that are "lower" (relative to the "Fallout.ESM" files; higher numbered) in your "load order" will be the "winners" of conflicts.
  • Fortunately there is a way to get around this "all or nothing" winner in "load order" by using a "merged patch" file that resolves conflicts on a "last modified record field" winner basis. This enables multiple mods to change a record as long as they are the only one changing a particular field within that record. In the case of record field conflicts, the same "rule of one" applies. More on this topic later in a linked article.

For the user, a mod package essentially has three "states": "downloaded", "installed", and "activated".

• Downloaded: the mod package has been copied from a server on the Internet (i.e. The Nexus Mods website) to a location on your computer.
• Installed: the "downloaded" mod archive package has been "unpacked" and the package/archive contents "installed" into the same or a different folder (i.e. a "Mods" or the game "Data" folder) on your computer.
• Activated (aka "Enabled"): The game has been instructed to load the plugin as part of it's "load order". For FNV, this means it has had the "checkbox" enabled in the "Data" option of the first game menu. Mod Managers take care of this for you when the plugin is enabled/activated in their interface.

For some mod managers (i.e. "WB/WF" and "FOMM"; see under Mod Managers below), "installation" means the mod files have been copied into the game "Data" folder or sub-folders. This "install order" is independent of the "load order", and is considered the "traditional" form of installation. For others (i.e. "MO" and "NMM"), the "mod" or "install info" folder is separate from the game folders, and only "links" to the actual files are placed in the game "Data" folders, and that only when the mod plugins are "activated". In these mod managers, the "install order" initially equals the "load order", and changes when the "load order" of the plugins is re-sorted.

However, mods often include the previously mentioned "asset files" that are placed in sub-folders under "Data", which are used instead of vanilla versions of those files. Merely "deactivating" a mod plugin does not remove such added or restore replaced files, so the mod must be either uninstalled or it's unused/unwanted "asset" files manually removed from the "Data" folder path so the vanilla versions will be used. The game engine still loads every file it finds in the "Data" folder into memory and checks it's references for "master files", regardless of it's "active" state. This is why they count against your "plugin cap" (described later). If it fails to find any of such referenced masters, it causes a "missing master" CTD without warning. This is the primary reason you can't use a patch file designed for mods you do not have installed, as they will always be missing the "master" plugin of the absent mod and "mysteriously" crash.

Most mod packages are "simple" in structure and can be installed with any mod manager. They just need to have all their contents installed into the correct folders under the game "Data" folder, which is what all mod managers assume. They normally have any sub-folders already included in the archive. You should always "overwrite" any existing files they encounter with the same name. (This is why "install order" is significant. Last installed is the last to overwrite, and the only version of that filename to exist.) Note that some mods, such as Script Extender plugins and tools like FNVEdit, need to be placed elsewhere than under the "Data" folder, which is why they should not be installed with a mod manager.

Some mod packages are more complex, with optional files that need to be copied when other specific mod files are also found to already have been installed. The mod may have specific instructions in the provided documentation (aka "ReadMe.txt" files), or on the download page, or under "optional files" on the mod's "Files" page. But some have "scripts" or "wizards" which the manager will automatically execute (if it recognizes them) that will detect the files of the other mods they are designed to work with, and automatically install the correct components or offer you options to choose among. (This is especially true of FOMM mods.) However, these "scripts" are not "universal" in that they do not work will all mod managers. Such scripted mods will normally specify on the download page which mod manager they require to process their "wizard" (i.e. "install with FOMM").

It is not absolutely required that you use the mod manager a script is designed for, if you don't care about actually executing the script and know how to interpret it. The script itself is a text file with basic "if ... then ... else" style instructions you can follow manually or rewrite into a different scripting language if you have the skill set. But most will find it easier to simply use the manager the script is written for. However, mod managers generally only can "manage" mods they themselves install. They won't "know" about mods installed by other managers unless they happen to place them where expected. ("Management" in this case typically refers to "installing", "uninstalling", and "restoring" the previously existing mod components cleanly, as opposed to "activation". Depending upon how your manager works, it may be relatively easy to get it to "activate/deactivate" plugins from sources it did not manage.) So it normally is beneficial to plan ahead and use the mod manager suited to the majority of mods you plan to install.

There is an important consideration with "complex" structured mod packages (i.e. "Fallout Character Overhaul (FCO)" being a popular example of this). YOU need to know which "optional" components or "compatibility patches" are needed. (Often others than the original mod author will produce "compatibility patches" for additional mods. Be sure to seek them out by searching on both the "full name" and "nickname" of the primary mod, such as "Fallout Character Overhaul" and "FCO", as well as under the "optional files" of the secondary mod, like one for "Hair styles".) Installing package component files that are not needed can prevent the game from starting. (See the entry on Missing Masters below.) Do not install every optional file without a reason: pick and choose only those you know are needed. It is much easier to add a missing optional file later than it is to figure out which are not needed and are preventing the game from loading. Seek assistance on the Forums when in doubt.

"Post Processing" is used in the video and film industry to improve the quality of images once they have been processed. In real-time 3D games, they are applied to the rendered effects to supplement the game engine.

According to Wikipedia:

Instead of rendering 3D objects directly to the display, the scene is first rendered to a buffer in the memory of the video card. Pixel shaders and optionally Vertex shaders are then used to apply post-processing filters to the image buffer before displaying it to the screen. Some post-processing effects also require multiple-passes, gamma inputs, vertex manipulation and depth buffer access. Post-processing allows effects to be used that require awareness of the entire image (since normally each 3D object is rendered in isolation).

There is a whole host of effects that can be produced. See the sub-topic Post processing shaders if this interests you.

First Timer Advice

Bandwidth Considerations

Bandwidth refers to how much data (measured in bits) you can move between point A and point B in a given period of time. All Internet communications consume bandwidth. In the most general terms, the faster your connection speed ("bits per second" or "Mega bps" or "Giga bps"), the more bandwidth you have at any given moment. However, the amount of data you have to move has to be divided into "packets" that do not exceed your bandwidth. So, the more data you have to move over a given bandwidth, the longer it will take. This is called your "throughput data rate". For this reason you generally want to minimize the amount of data that has to use bandwidth to increase your "throughput data rate". Your "Internet Service Provider" (ISP) typically has a maximum amount of data transfer each month or given period called a "monthly data transfer cap", after which it charges you extra or "throttles down" your available bandwidth to a slower throughput rate.

The Steam Client has to be running in order to play a "Steam" game. As this (in "online mode") consumes bandwidth, if you have a slower connection speed or "low transfer cap" you will want to take steps to minimize how much throughput the Client requires. If this is a concern for you, please read one of the articles:

However, if you previously setup the "Steam Client" (under "Steam | Settings") by disabling (unchecking) the "Don't save account credentials on this computer" option at the bottom of the page so it will save your account data locally, then you can start the Client in "offline mode" and play the game even without an Internet connection after your very first session. You simply won't have any of the Client functionality like "Community" or tracking of the number of hours you have played or achievements reached until the next time you play in "online mode", whereupon it will update that information.

In either "offline" or "online" modes, you can close the Client interface window but must leave the Steam icon in the "system tray" on the end of the Windows taskbar (the one on the edge of your monitor with the "Start" button).

Correcting broken mod links

Link formats on web sites often change over time. Here's how to translate old ones into the current format (at least on the Nexus, though the general approach should work for other sites):

Suppose you have an old link to "Breezes New Vegas Males". (The old format doesn't actually matter; just the "mod id number".)

• Find any current active mod page on the site. Doesn't matter which game (with the appropriate adjustments), but simplest is a mod from the game you are playing. For example: FNV's mod "Type3 Body and Armor replacer" is currently found on Nexus at:

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/34825

• Copy out everything up to but not including the "Mod ID number" (i.e. excluding "34825" in this example). That is the "new link prefix" currently in use (e.g. "https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/").

• Now take the "Mod ID number" from the old, no longer functional link (which is the only part that uniquely IDs that mod within that game category) and add it to the end of the "new link prefix".
• That "rebuilt" link can now be pasted into your browser as a destination URL.

So, convert the broken "Breezes" link format (e.g. Mod ID "35451") to:

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/35451

If the rebuilt link fails to work, it is possible the mod no longer exists; but try searching on the keyword parts of the mod name first. However, sometimes a mod has been renamed so then you have to resort to searching through the appropriate Nexus "Category" instead.

Now you can fix any broken link yourself.

Do NOT accept the default install location

If you have already installed Steam to "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files(x86)", read the Installing Games on Windows Vista+ article which has a link to the official Steam guide to moving already installed Steam games. (Yes, you will need to "re-install" them so the Windows registry entries are correct, but you can still use your "saved game files".) As painful as this may sound, this one step will solve most "strange" problems not related to a mod conflict, and you will no longer need to run your games as an "administrator". It is never easier to do than now, and you don't need to move all your Steam games at once. DO NOT try to move or install to your "User\Documents" folder as that is also a "system protected" folder that does not allow "executables" to run (because it is a folder which every user is known to have "write" access to and "malware" liked to use).

Once you tell the "Steam Library" installer for the game where to start placing it's files, it (assuming Steam; GOG is very similar but uses it's own "GOG" names) will then create (or use if already existing) either a "Steam" or "SteamLibrary" "upper-level" folder under that location (only one location per "drive letter"), and then under that the ".\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas" folders. This "Fallout New Vegas" folder is referred to as "the game root folder" and is where you will find the EXEs to launch the game, and in it the "Data" folder which has all the plugins and sub-folders (such as "Meshes" and "Textures") used by the game.

So, the default location is "C:\Program Files(x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas", but you don't want this because of the many headaches it causes. If you were install from Steam to "C:\", it would then create "C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas" instead. This is not recommended because a new folder inherits it's "permissions" from it's parent, which in this instance is the "C:\" drive root. (See the "Installing Games on Windows Vista+" article referenced earlier.) Instead, create a new "top level" folder such as "C:\Games", setup the permissions on that new folder as desired for all subsequent games, and install to that folder. If you installed this game to "D:\Games" after installing others to "C:" drive, it would probably become "D:\Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas" because "SteamLibrary" is used whenever a "Steam" folder previously exists.

Remember: "Steam" (or "GOG") is a separate set of programs from the game. Each has it's own Client programs for managing the distribution of various games, and the games have already made their accommodations to work within that framework, but otherwise are independent of "Steam/GOG".

Maximizing use of memory

You need to be aware that FNV is a 32-bit game. As such, it can only address up to 2GB of RAM by default, even on a 64-bit system. A detailed explanation of the reasons behind this and some solutions around it if you have more than 3GB of system RAM can be found in the wiki article 2-4GB game memory limits and solutions. But for FNV Steam users (and now for GOG users as well with v1.4 or later) there is a tool called FNV 4GB Patcher that easily solves the problem for both the game and GECK. (Older versions of the tool are deprecated. The latest version (v1.4+) now supports the GOG version for auto loading NVSE, and the "NVSE_CONFIG.INI" file does not work for the GOG version without RoyBatty's patch. Revert to the backup copy created if you did run an older version.) Run the patcher once (as "Local Administrator" if necessary) and thereafter just use the default game FalloutNV.EXE or FalloutNVLauncher.EXE as a normal user. The patched game automatically detects and launches NVSE.

How can you tell if the 4GB Patch is working?

Look for the "Data\NVSE\NVSE_CONFIG.INI" file which for GOG users will otherwise will not get created without the "nvse_steam_loader". Check the "nvse_steam_loader.log" file (in the game root folder with the FalloutNV.EXE file) for errors.

The JIP LN NVSE Plugin has a function which can be run from the console: "GetIsLAA" (not case sensitive).

Possible return codes:

• 0=patch is not applied
• 1=patch was applied to the executable, but extra memory is not being allocated
• 2=successfully allocated extra memory from the patch and is fully working.

If "GetIsLAA" is returning code "1", try running the game from a "Local Administrator" account. If that is succesfull, you need to move the game install location out of the "C:\Program Files" folder tree, or correct the "permissions" on it's folder if you have moved it, as you are going to have other problems down the road. Please see the wiki "[url=http://wiki.tesnexus.com/index.php/Installing_Games_on_Windows_Vista%2B]Installing Games on Windows Vista+[/url]" article for details.

Alternatively: if the Windows "Task Manager" indicates the "FalloutNV.exe" program has more than 2GB (2,000,000KB) of "Memory (Private Working Set)", then the 4GB Patcher is in effect. However, to the contrary: less does not mean it is not working. The game simply hasn't needed that much memory as yet.

For those who still have problems trying to run the game directly from the "Steam Library", check out the mod SteamLauncher for NVSE and FNV4GB and ModOrganizer. Note that the "SteamLauncher" runs the "FalloutNVLauncher.exe" program and WILL replace your "Users" folder INI files from the "Fallout_default.INI" file in the "game root folder" each time. This mod also is designed to work with the original "Loader" version of FNV4GB (4GB Fallout New Vegas Updated) rather than the "Patcher" version. See the Game INI files section for more details.

Those anticipating or encountering problems with textures consuming too much video memory should read the S.T.E.P. ENBoost page. This a separate component of the ENB "post-processor" which increases available video memory by up to 4GB without the graphic effects of the main ENB tool.

Adding third-party tools to mod managers

Most mod managers have a method of adding "third-party" tools like NVSE, FNVEdit, and FNV4GB to their launch options. This is not required for FNV4GB, which normally is run from the desktop shortcut instead of inside a manager. However, as some NMM users have had trouble discovering about it, here are specific instructions on how to do so. Supposedly the equivalent will be added to the "launch list" in the top left corner where the FNV and NVSE launchers are currently located in the "next release" after April 2015. The instructions are presented here in a generalized form as a guide to adding other "third-party" tools to the NMM launcher:

1. Install the tool according to instructions, paying particular note as to the correct location.
2. In NMM open "Settings" (looks like a pair of gears):
   • Open the "Fallout: New Vegas" tab.
   • Locate "Custom Launch Command".
   • Enter the explicit path to your tool "exe" file in the "Command:" field

   (Ex.: "C:\Games\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas\fnv4gb.exe" without the quotes.)

3. Open the "drop list" window for the "Launch" button in NMM.
4. Choose "Launch Custom Fallout: New Vegas".

First Rule - Install one mod at a time

First rule of playing with mods is: install and TEST one mod at a time. This is the only way you are going to know if you have made a mistake in installation or if the mod is going to conflict with others before getting many hours into the game before a fatal problem shows itself and you have to start over.

In turn that means you need to prioritize what is most important to you. You don't want something that is "nice to have" dictating that you can't use something you consider essential. This takes time, but if you don't force this discipline upon yourself, you are going to spend a lot of frustration and even more time ripping your game apart trying to figure out why it crashes or won't work right. There are no shortcuts. A guide by somebody else is not guaranteed to work on your system because they don't have the exact same setup as you; nor do they necessarily consider the same things as "important".

Second Rule - Make it playable first

Second rule is: "pretty" does not beat out "playable". Improved graphics come at a cost, usually in terms of "frames per second" (FPS). Add your graphics overhauls after you have a stable game built that runs fast enough to keep you happy. Nobody has a system new enough or fast enough to play with every mod they might want. The game engine is too old to accommodate that. It was written for single processor 32-bit systems. All your multi-core processors are going to be ignored. So there WILL be limits.

Third Rule - The Rule of One

Third rule is called "The Rule of One". What this means is that when two plugins attempt to modify the same record in the vanilla game, only the last plugin loaded (determined by the "load order") "wins"; totally and completely. (This is described in the Terminology section, under "Load Order". This rule also applies to "Install Order".) The way around this is to use a "bashed" or "merged" patch file, which enables "record level" conflict resolution among all the plugins instead of the default "one plugin winner takes all" approach. The subject of how to create either a "bashed" or "merged" patch file is covered in the S.T.E.P. Project "Fear and Loathing" guide linked under the sub-topic Merge Patch File below. You don't really need either one until you have settled on your basic mod lineup, which should be before approaching the plugin limit described elsewhere in this document.

Fourth Rule - Reloading save game files

The rule is simple: ALWAYS "quit to the desktop" before reloading a "save game" file of any nature during a game session: quick, auto, checkpoint, manual, triggered, whatever. (This rule applies to all Bethesda games thru the latest. It is the only guaranteed way to avoid corrupting save games.)

By this is meant "closing the game session" (where starting the game and then exiting to the desktop is considered "one game session") between opening one save and then another (even the same save file). As in:

1. Start the game up. (Start of session #1.)
2. Load any save and play.
3. Quit the game back to the desktop (not just the "main menu"). (End of session #1.)
4. Start the game up again. (Start of session #2.)
5. Load a save game (either the same one or a different one), and play.

While this practice is annoying, it is necessary because there is now a difference in the state of the game "in memory" and "as saved". At the beginning of a game session it loads a bunch of background material about your location's "worldspace" (or "interior cell") and "other stuff" about the state of the environment and current quest line(s). Then as you interact with the game, you can cause changes to that "environment" in memory that are not included in your subsequent "save game" file. Unless you quit to the desktop, the "in memory" state of the game persists with only portions getting overwritten from the save file.

As an example, say you've been blown up by a mine, reload from a quick/auto save ten yards away from where you were blown up, and then go in search of that mine ... only to find it is no longer there. That's because "in memory" that mine has already blown up and no longer exists. (You can easily test this for yourself.) It was not something that was included in the save. (Saves are primarily about your character and it's status, inventory, and certain "state" variables such as quests; not the entire rendered world. Things that are different than the default game state.) Quitting to the desktop will put the world state back in time to the way it was before you triggered the mine. Now imagine things like scripts and their flags being triggered, then "oops: not triggered", depending on states in memory. Complex corruption of the game thereafter if you don't quit to the desktop so the world "in memory" gets synced/reset to the state at the time of the save.

There's an even simpler way than the "mine trick" to prove that reloading a save from the menu doesn't revert the game back fully: save the game, play a facial expression on a character, reload the save game (without exiting to the desktop), and that expression is still there. Now "exit to the desktop" and start the game again with the same save file. The character's facial expression reverted to it's default.

For similar reasons, completely disable all manner of automatic saving in the game options. See the paragraph about "auto-saves" in the Essentials for Getting Started section.

Essentials for Getting Started

There is an excellent set of advice for those new to modding: see the "Fallout: New Vegas Mod Troubleshooting" sub-forum Fallout New Vegas Beginners Guide to modding thread ("sticky" at the top) which covers the essential tools you will need, such as LOOT for sorting your "load order" (LO). Consider this article a supplement to that thread.

Like most automated tools, LOOT is not 100% accurate; yet it is infinitely better at determining a correct load order for a large number of mods than anything other than manually examining each mod in an editor like FNVEdit (a generic tool called 'xEdit' which is renamed for working with specific games) and building such an order by hand (each time you add or remove a mod). (There is the Tome of xEdit current online manual for all games and the PDF FNVEdit Training Manual specific to both FO3 and FNV.) LOOT works by examining the file header of each plugin and working out all the records each modifies, and determines the relationships between those mods. LOOT's decisions are based in part upon user feedback about known conflicts (in it's "masterlist"). For the beginning mod user, it is essential to resolve most fatal mod conflict problems quickly and easily.

On the other hand, within certain limits as to dependency LOOT doesn't much care as to the order if it does not know about or detect a conflict. Consequently it has been found useful to rearrange some mods (especially recently added ones) by moving them to the top (low numbered position below the ESMs) and see which plugins it sorts them below. From there you can pretty much always move them to a lower (higher numbered) position in the LO without problems. This is helpful when attempting to arrange groups of "contiguously adjacent" plugins to be merged into "merge plugin files" in order to reduce your overall "active" plugin count. (See the Smaller Plugin Cap section.) This also gets you a reasonably stable "sort" sequence even when adding new mods later.

LOOT does provide the "metadata" mechanism that allows you to customize it's sorting to preserve such adjustments as you determine necessary. Read it's documentation to exploit all of it's capabilities.

The "Tale of Two Wastelands (TTW)" site (which has ported Fallout 3 to the FNV game engine enabling you to seamlessly move between both game worlds) has A Guide for NOT using LOOT for those interested in learning how to manually manage their "load order" for themselves; or see the wiki article "Load order and you" for another such approach to FNV.

Also recommended is the S.T.E.P. Project "Fear and Loathing" guide for FNV (linked below under the Mod Managers sub-topic). While oriented around using "Mod Organizer" (MO), it can be used with other mod managers as well, with appropriate changes for their peculiarities.

Save-game files

Your "save game" files are stored under the "C:\Users\<YourAccountName>\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV\Saves" folder. They have the extension ".fos", and if you have NVSE installed it also saves the same filename with the extension of ".nvse". You can have up to 999 saved game "*.fos" files displayed in the "load game" menu. (More may exist, but only the first 999, based on their date of creation, will be displayed.) They are named either "autosave <number>" by the game engine, or "<CharacterName> - Save <number>" for manual saves. Note however, that the number included in the filename is a simple increment to the name portion. If you are getting close to the 999 file display limit, you can delete older saves and the game will let you keep saving files with further incremental numbers beyond 999.

The Steam version of the game (GOG Galaxy v1.2 has a similar feature) automatically has "Cloud Sync" of save game files enabled.

You can check a specific game's sync status by seeing the Steam Library <game> "Properties" (right click), and then under the "Updates" tab there's a "Steam Cloud" section that indicates the bytes stored in Steam Cloud Sync. That is where you can disable it. See the Steam Support article Steam Cloud for more details. Note that the cloud is not automatically updated with your last "current save". It apparently only does so periodically. People have been caught with no saves in the cloud simply because they assumed the sync was working. Also note that if you delete a "local" save game file (to make room for newer ones) from your "Users" folder, "Cloud Sync" will automatically restore it if enabled and in "online mode", making your latest saves unavailable because you have exceeded the display limit of 999 files. (The files are still there; you just can't scroll to them in the game menu until you get under the limit. It counts from the oldest date.)

"Autosaves" are dangerous because they are seldom able to tell when the game is in the middle of doing something else critical. Also, they are by default limited to only so many (configurable up to 10) before they overwrite previous versions of the same filename. This may eventually lead to problems with corrupted files. (This has been demonstrated time and again with the game's builtin mechanism.)

There are mods designed to supplement or replace the builtin game save file mechanism. These follow the same principle but use slightly different conventions for the filename portion.

Most importantly, completely disable all manner of autosaves in the game options. The CASM with MCM (recommended) and CASM_NV mods attempt to provide more control over such situations. Simple Saves provides timed interval "full saves" without all the features of CASM, but only keeps 5 versions before it starts overwriting older files after the 5th save. They are all better than the built-in mechanism, but don't rely upon any auto-save exclusively. Manual "full saves" after waiting about four-five seconds with nothing happening are still safest. Also, you can use Clean Quick Saves to create a new "quick save" file every time, which is safer than overwriting an existing older version file. You will need to periodically clean old ones out (they count against the 999 save file limit). And always remember the Fourth Rule when loading any save.

Regardless of behavior experienced in other games, the mod author IStewieAI has examined the code and reports that all FNV "save game" files (Manual, Auto, and Quick) are created exactly the same way. The only difference is that saves with "autosave" at the start of their name can be created while in a (non-VATS) menu.

Should you Clean the game master files

The internet is full of mixed advice, and it varies over time. We know more now than back in 2010. The current argument is that it should be the responsibility of the mod author to "clean" a plugin, as they presumably know what needs to be there for their mod to work correctly. By the time of FO3 and FNV, the "dirty edits" and ITMs/UDRs in mods were well known to be an issue. Any present in the Fallout games and DLCs presumably are either necessary or harmless. So, as a general rule the advice is to leave the vanilla and DLC master files for both games alone unless you have very specific reasons for doing otherwise. BOSS and LOOT numbers are based on user reports of what they found. The mere fact that ITM/UDR records exist is no longer a reason to clean them out. Guidance varies by game and edition of the xEdit tool.

The "Tales of Two Wastelands" (TTW) team has had to look into the matter in order to get FO3 to run on the FNV game engine. Their FAQ page has the following:

 » I read everywhere that we should clean Skyrim core files (.esm & .esp), so by association I decided to do the same to my Fallout games, did I do the right thing? «

I am sorry, but you did the wrong thing. Fallout is not Skyrim, and so not everything that works for one also works for the other, they don't even use the same game engine. If you clean the Fallout 3 and/or Fallout New Vegas and/or their DLC's you will break your game since you are removing things that are necessary things that fix things in other things and make things run properly.

(See the TES5Edit Mod Cleaning Tutorial article for details about cleaning your own mods, and the associated terminology.)

Vanilla Load Order

In general, make sure all your ESM files are loaded first, with the game ESM (FalloutNV.ESM) as the very first file and those of the DLC next in the order they were released for the PC.

• FalloutNV.ESM - (Oct 2010)
• DeadMoney - (Feb 2011)
• HonestHearts - (May 2011)
• OldWorldBlues - (Jul 2011)
• LonesomeRoad - (Sep 2011)
• GunRunnersArsenal - (Sep 2011)

and then the "pre-order packs" of exclusive equipment to make the earlier stages of the game easier; later combined and released as the "Courier's Stash" pack (Sep 2011). As these "inject" records into the vanilla game, their load order is not important other than being up top with the other ESM files:

• ClassicPack
• MercenaryPack
• TribalPack
• CaravanPack

These are all included in the "Ultimate Edition" of FNV.

Mod EMS files should follow.

Note in particular the "First Rule" to install one mod at a time and test it thoroughly before the next mod. This, and that you install your Steam games to some folder OTHER than the default of "C:\Program Files", are pretty much universal for a solid, stable game.

Game INI files

The game has three INI files: the general "Fallout_default.INI" in the "game root folder" ("<steam install path>\steamapps\common\Fallout New Vegas") which only gets used to recreate the other two when they are not found; and the two specific to you in "C:\Users\<YourAccountName>\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV" folder ("Fallout.INI" and "FalloutPrefs.INI"). The two in the "Users" folder get created when you first run through the vanilla "FalloutNVLauncher.exe", which is necessary the first time in order for the engine to determine your hardware configuration. This information gets preserved in the "FalloutPrefs.INI" once you exit from the "Main Menu".

First make a backup of the original 'Fallout_default.INI' and 'FalloutPrefs.INI' files as a precaution. With these in a safe place as an appropriate backup, it is better to edit the "default" file as well the others with tweaks you know you intend to keep, so it will rebuild the "User" files as you expect when necessary. When experimenting with INI changes, only the "Users" files should be changed as they are what the game actually uses. Once happy with the chosen tweak, remember to change it in all three files: otherwise you tend to lose track of which you actually changed if you have to "verify files" or re-install later.

If you launch FNV from the Steam "Library" panel, it will replace your "Users" folder INI files with the "Fallout_default.INI" file from the "game root folder". It may also first set the "default" INI file to be "Read Only"; as might Windows if it is under the "C:\Program Files" folder tree. This replacement does not happen if you launch the game in "offline mode" (see the second paragraph under Bandwidth Considerations) from a desktop link and have moved the game out of the "Program Files" tree as described in the wiki Installing Games on Windows Vista+ article.

Where there are the same settings in more than one INI file, then you want each of them with those settings to be the same (after you have created a backup copy of the original "vanilla" version). It's not clear which INI file the game engine reads from in all instances, but there is evidence that when there are differences between the three ... "strange results occur"; enough to make it a standard practice (with the precautions indicated). This is usually expressed as "make the same change to all three INI files".

Restoring to Vanilla

It is often useful to have a copy of the original, unmodified game for testing purposes with a saved game just after you have created a basic character, or if a mod conflict forces you to "start over".

In addition, if something unexpected happens that forces you to reinstall the game, having a backup means you can reinstall (even to a "new" location) and then copy everything from the backup folder into the new game folder and pickup from where you left off.

Sometimes, if you didn't plan ahead for this, you want to restore the game to the original "vanilla" state, for instance to restore an original file. The following "verify files" procedure will NOT remove any mod plugins or asset files it finds in the game "Data" folder, nor any files in the "Users" folder, but will restore any files in the game root folder with the same name as vanilla ones that do not match the originals on the Steam server. This can break a mod that intentionally replaced a vanilla file, so it is best to re-install mods after you "verify" (or copy them from a backup).

If you made any changes to any of the game INI files, remember to change it in all three files. (See the Game INI files section.) Otherwise you tend to lose track of which you actually changed if you have to "verify files" or re-install.

• For Steam versions, to see a visual "image guide" to the same "verify files" process presented below, click here.

• Start the "Steam Client",
• Navigate to the "Library" tab,
• Right-click on "Fallout: New Vegas" in your list of purchased games,
• Select "Properties",

• Then in the "Properties" window, Select the "Local Files" tab.
• Click on "Verify Integrity of Game Cache".

• For GOG versions installed from their Galaxy service, it's basically the same as with Steam. Look under "More | Manage Installation | Verify/Repair".

• If you installed manually from the GOG "Offline Backup Game Installer" location, then you can completely ignore everything that refers to the "verify local files" or "Steam Client" as you don't have anything equivalent. Just "reinstall" from the download files as normal.

• "Verifying" files will not affect your "saved game files".
• Rename both the INI files in the "C:\Users\<YourAccountName>\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV" folder, and let the game rebuild them by launching the "vanilla" launcher "FalloutNVLauncher.exe", configuring the hardware options and exiting when you get to the Main Menu of the game. Rename the INI files to anything you choose. I usually just add to the extension: from "<filename>.ini" to "<filename>.ini.old". The purpose is to be able to examine the old files for things you want to be able to replicate in the new versions of the same file.
• If you used the FNV 4GB Patcher to enable the use of more than 2GB of RAM, you will need to re-run it after verifying files.

To completely uninstall the game in order to get a "clean start" without any mods installed, you should click on "Delete Local Game Content" in the game "Properties" | "Local Files" tab. This will NOT always remove all game related files and folders added by mods. You need to also check for and delete loose files and any remaining folders to finish removing the last remnants. Then reboot the system to flush out any DLL or driver files still running in memory.

If that doesn't seem to be working for you, you can manually delete the game with the following steps:

• Exit the Steam Client.
• Navigate to "C:\Users\<YourAccountName>\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV" folder.
• Backup any save games you wish to keep to another location. You might want to rename any INI files to something different (i.e. "<filename>.ini" to "<filename>.ini.old") before backing them up. It's better to make manual changes to new versions of the INI files instead of trying to use old ones that may have become corrupted.
• Delete the "C:\Users\<YourAccountName>\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV" folder.
• Use Windows "Control Panel | Programs | Uninstall a program" control to uninstall the game.
• Navigate to the "<Steam install path>\steamapps\common" folder and check that the "Fallout New Vegas" folder is empty or deleted. If it isn't, manually delete the "Fallout New Vegas" folder and any contents remaining there.
• You may need to run a registry cleaner app to verify that all the game related registry entries have been removed. Be sure to backup the registry (such as running a Windows restore checkpoint) before letting such a tool remove anything, as a broken registry can turn your system into an inert brick.
• "Restart" your system. If you use the "hibernation" power option then you need to "power cycle" or "cold boot" your system (power off, wait 30 seconds, and then power on again) in order to ensure all DLLs and drivers are removed from memory and the hibernation file.

To reinstall the game once you have deleted the previous version:

• Prepare a "games" folder where you will install the game this time as described in Solution for Steam Games.
• Start the Steam Client.
• Navigate to the "Library" tab,
• Right-click on "Fallout: New Vegas" in your list of purchased games,
• Select "Play Game". Steam should now recognize the game does not exist on your computer and start downloading it again. DO NOT let it install itself under "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files(x86)". Point it to the games folder you prepared instead.

• Once the game has been reinstalled, run the "vanilla" launcher "FalloutNVLauncher.exe", configuring the hardware options and exiting when you get to the Main Menu of the game.
• If you used the FNV 4GB Patcher to enable the use of more than 2GB of RAM, you will need to re-run it after re-installing files.
• Now you can restore your backed up "save game" files to the "C:\Users\<YourAccountName>\Documents\My Games\FalloutNV" folder.
• However, before loading any previously saved game, start a "new" test game to verify the vanilla game is working correctly. That way you will know that any subsequent problems that immediately show up are embedded in your old save files.

Mod Managers

While a "mod manager" is not required it does make organizing your modded game much more manageable if you have more than a dozen files. This is especially true when trying to keep the "install order" (which deals with overwriting files of the same name) separate from the "load order" (which relates to the order in which the game reads in mod plugins). You should only need to learn and use one manager, but some mod archives are formatted for use with a particular manager. You can learn how to "repackage" them to work with your preferred choice, but sometimes it is easier to simply use the manager the mod is formatted to work with. Just remember that mods installed through a different mod manager will not be "known" by your preferred manager. The impact of this varies by the manager. But the "exceptions" are generally easier to keep track of.

There are several choices of mod managers such as:

• NMM is still technically in "beta" status but is fully functional. Moreover the primary author of "Mod Organizer" (below) has now been hired full-time by the Nexus site management to redesign & rewrite "NMM" (called "Vortex", currently in available in "beta" release) from scratch. So the current "beta" will not be further improved and NMM is "end-of-line" without official support (community support is provided on GitHub Wiki and Issues page); and the future fate of MO is uncertain at the moment though support continues from the community.
• NMM Manual. Note that NMM MUST be installed to the same drive as the games it is managing.
• NMM Video tutorial by Gopher.
• NMM Video tutorial by GamerPoets.
• NMM Open Beta forum.

• The new "official" Nexus site mod manager.
• VORTEX - Beginner's Guide #1 (of 4) video tutorial series by Gopher.
• Install NVSE for use with Vortex forum thread.
• Nexus VORTEX Category Wiki articles on various aspects of the manager.
• Note that Vortex is now (30 Jul 2019) an official "production quality" Vortex 1.0 Release, meaning it's in a state where it is both stable, “feature complete”, and essentially "bug free" (as much as any released product ever is for the majority of users). That's not to say that they won't be adding plenty of new features and "bug fixes" to Vortex in the coming years, but the Vortex of today is one that will be a more than able mod management tool for the vast majority of mod users. Please see the link for more details, and report problems to the Vortex Forum.

• Wrye Flash (WF) is the FNV version of "Wrye Bash" (WB) and creates the "Bashed Patch" mentioned. It is most similar to the old (now considered obsolete) WB version 298.

FOMOD organized packages need to be installed with FOMM. Mods installed by one manager are not "managed" by another, though the files so installed are still used by the game. The advantage of FOMM is that it has extensive scripting capability not present in the others. If a mod says "install with FOMM", then you should ... unless you are competent enough to read and interpret the script files (often called "wizards") in order to repackage them for your preferred manager. Most of the time this is easily accomplished, but some FOMOD scripts deal with edits to files other than those involved just in installing the package. Most other managers don't have any scripting capability, and none are as extensive as FOMM's. When in doubt, check the comments on the mod download page.

ArchiveInvalidation

The subject of "ArchiveInvalidation" in mod managers always comes up when discussing "texture replacements". The topic is described in the TESTG Troubleshooting section. (When you have questions about "meshes" and "textures" and their replacements, this site is a good starting point to understanding the subject.) The basics of turning "ArchiveInvalidation" on and off are described in the the wiki article Fallout NV Mod Conflict Troubleshooting "Checklist" section.

Very briefly: "ArchiveInvalidation" (AI) tells the game engine to use the "loose files" it finds in the folders under "Data" instead of the ones it uses by preference in the BSA files. When you "toggle" that feature in your mod manager, it causes the game engine to determine just which files in the BSAs exist (or no longer do) as "loose files" in the folders in order to use them instead. The engine does not do so automatically unless it cannot find the specific file in question inside a BSA file (which is usually the case when a mod has added a new one). Most mod managers do not automatically "toggle" AI when adding or removing loose files. You only need to "toggle" once between game sessions no matter how many "loose files" are added or removed.

The current AI technique employed is called "BSA Redirection" and each mod manager uses it's own arbitrary "AI BSA" file name for this purpose, which is why using multiple different managers to handle AI doesn't work correctly. Choose only one manager to handle AI if you have multiple installed.

NOTE: For Vortex, this is initially a two-step process. It is outlined here due to the many reports of confusion about it (with thanks to browniefox).

• Download Vortex, choose options (ignore the "failure to validate" part at the start; just tick the box and choose your preferred skins) and enable.
• Go to Settings, click workarounds and click BSA Redirection/Archive Invalidation to "On" (so it goes green).

( Now this is typically where people start having issues. This adds a MOD. It doesn't do the "archive invalidation" check automatically.)

• Go back to your Mods tab. Find Vortex Archive Invalidation. Disable and then Enable it. (Or vice versa. Just make sure you toggle it "off and on again"). It should be "On" when you are done.
• You're done. You just did the "archive invalidation" step. In the top right a blue box should come up that whizzs through all your mods (this is the AI process).
• Hereafter, you should only need to toggle Vortex Archive Invalidation on the Mods tab whenever you add or remove mods that provide "art assets" (meshes, textures, animations, etc.) as "loose files" from a particular profile "load order".

About your choice of mod manager

Things change over time.

In the short term, FOMM is designed for FO3 and FNV, and works; but development has stopped. Wrye Flash works as well, and is an old fork of "Wrye Bash" (WB). However it is from before the current WB "300 series" version, which is just finishing a 5 year rewrite of the interface code (retaining essentially the same look and features) to become a more easily updated and general game manager compatible with Bethesda games (including Skyrim and FO4), but has not yet started work on retro-fitting/updating older Gamebryo engine game patching. Looking forward, "Wrye Flash/Bash" appears to have more potential in the long run. But it is currently limited in the games it works with, and is not where the team would like. It's "all active files in the Data folder all the time" approach is simple to understand, but more disk space intensive if you want to use multiple "profiles".

Now that "Vortex" is in full release people are finding it less intuitive than they would like, most especially if they are coming from NMM or MO/MO2. The similarity in "empty Data folder" design approach is not enough. There is no getting away from reading the documentation, but in fairness that IS said about any mod manager (old or new). Video tutorials cover the highlights but tend to miss the details that trip people up. However, once you have it up and working, it can deal with most mods for any game on the Nexus.

Much like with your favorite text/word editor: what you spend time and effort learning in the first place, tends to become your "favorite" as long as it still meets your needs. If you are choosing your first mod manager, expect to spend time learning about it and to have some problems initially. Locating good support will then become the key distinguishing feature.

Smaller Plugin Cap

Be aware that there is a limit to the number of mod plugins (ESM and ESP files) you can have active at the same time. ("Active" meaning the file is present in the game "Data" folder with an ESM/ESP file extension, and "activated" in the game for loading.) Merely being present in the "Data" folder, even if not "activated", plugins count against the effective limit the game can cope with. The game loads all that it sees in that folder before determining if they are part of the "load order". As a result, even "Inactive" plugins can cause a hidden "Missing Master" error. This is common for Gamebryo engine games, but the cap is much smaller for FNV than players of other Bethesda games are used to. The patched game has a cap anywhere between approximately 130-140 "active plugins" depending upon your system. "Strange things" happen when you exceed this cap, such as textures suddenly looking weird (missing, or solid or "wrong" surface colors) and the game crashes where previously things were fine.

Remove any unused plugins (ESM or ESP extensions) from the "Data" folder, especially "optional files" which shouldn't have been installed in the first place. Again, installing and testing one mod at a time, especially as you near or exceed 130-140 active mods, is the best way to tell where this limit is for your situation.

There are ways to get around this limitation: by "merging" plugins, and by placing only the "activated" plugin in the "Data" folder (which some Mod Managers do) for instance. See the wiki article Merged Plugin Guidelines for Personal Use for a description of the "merging" process.

DLC expansions

There are two types of "downloadable content" (DLC) available for FNV: four expansion addons to the game world, and "item packs". There are four "pre-order item packs" originally only available through certain retailers for pre-ordering the game, which contain custom items available to the starting character. Later the "pre-order packs" were made available combined in the "Courier's Stash" package. The fifth expansion "Gun Runners Arsenal" (GRA) is also an "item pack" with primarily additional unique weapons, weapon mods, and new powerful ammunition types and ammo recipes; along with some additional Steam "Achievements and trophies". All five expansions and the "Courier's Stash" packs are bundled in the "Ultimate Edition" of the game.

The "pre-order packs" and GRA have no impact upon the main plot line. The other four expansions provide additional background motivational material on some of the characters in the main plot, as well as additional world spaces, unique weapons and chems, and new challenges to explore. You can safely ignore them without harming the main plot progression if you wish.

The community has generally recommended that you play the four world expansion DLCs in this order. Note that it is not strictly in release date order. Some feel strict release order sequence is the development team's design:

• Honest Hearts (Happy Trails Expedition - accessed via the Northern Passage). Target: level unspecified. (Suggested before Level 10, and after the "Volare!" quest from the Nellis Airbase "Boomers" faction, which is unrelated but does get you a "rebreather" and is a way of judging how ready you are).
• Old WorldBlues (Midnight Sci-Fi Feature! - accessed via the Mojave Drive-In). Target: level 15+. Recommended before level 20 and Dead Money. (Suggested before the "Brotherhood of Steel" (BoS) quests as well.)
• Dead Money (Sierra Madre Grand Opening! - accessed via the Abandoned BoS Bunker). Target: level 20+. (Suggested before level 20, just after BoS quests.)
• Lonesome Road (The Reunion - accessed via the Canyon Wreckage). Target: level 25+. (Suggested last, before the 2nd Battle of Hoover Dam climax of the main plot. Be prepared for lots of Deathclaws and SentryBots).

All the DLC worldspaces (except for Dead Money) can be returned to upon completion of their quest. In addition, only Lonesome Road can be left at any time before you complete it's main questline. Companions are not allowed to enter any of the DLC expansions. They must be dismissed ("part ways") or will be dismissed for you prior to the actual activation of the specific add-on quest. Some companions can be acquired during the DLC quests, but will not be able to leave that worldspace at the end of the questline.

If you don't want to play with some of the DLC, you may find that simply not activating them is not enough; they still load anyway. This is due to the presence of a "<DLCName>.nam" file for each. These force the game (and the Construction Set "G.E.C.K.") to load them automatically. You will need to move those ".nam" files out of the "Data" folder, or rename them with a different extension before you can successfully deactivate the DLC.

Script Extenders

Mod creators are always wanting additional script capabilities the native game "construction set"/editor doesn't provide. These are generally provided by mods/tools called "Script Extenders" and are created by talented programming members of the community. In general, there is only one such tool that the community settles around and possibly additional supplemental extenders that "hook" into that primary one.