How to Mod Fallout 4 AND Set Load-Order (fixing crashes)

Channel:

RedMage

Subscribers:

2,700

Published on June 2, 2016 1:00:00 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mZnw3fIZ7o

Game:

Fallout 4 (2015)

Category:

Tutorial

Duration: 8:12

227,331 views

4,004

In this video RedMage covers how to get and install mods on PC, Playstation, and Xbox. He also covers general load order and best practices as well as troubleshooting for how to use mods with minimum headache.

Mods are great, but if used incorrectly can ruin your game experience with frequent crashes and even possibly save file corruption, so follow these instructions and you should have a reduced number of conflicts. Having a proper load-order can help your game to run better, reduce crashes, and minimize the chance of file corruption.

My categories are below for easy copy/paste use with some examples and clarifications, as well as some common problems.

1 Libraries
- (example: AWKCR, or various "framework" mods)
1.5 large mods (also includes world-space editing mods which add/modify locations)
- (example: new faction with new location and new quests)
2 bug fixes and patches
- (includes mods which make many changes to game functions, like patchs*)
3 settlement building mods
-(these mods change the way settlement rules work, or let you build new camps or settlements in new places that the original game did not intend)
4 gameplay tweaks
-(these mods change small pieces of gameplay, they can add new functions or edit existing ones, an example is changing perks)
-(Note: Radio station mods are generally low impact, and can pretty much go anywhere, but I put them here to find them easily)
5 npc and companion changes
-(any changes to companions or NPCs go here**)
6 visual improvements
-(this is where most of the texture / weather changing mods go)
7 settlement tweaks
-(here is where you want to put new construction assets)
8 item tweaks
-(any mod which introduces new generic items, or changes the way items function goes here)
9 pc body replacers
-(here is where changes to your physical character mesh go**)
10 weapons/armor/clothing mods
-(here is where the majority of the new items you add to your game will go)
11 new crafting
-(when new types of crafting or new base crafting types are added)
12 item mod mods
-(this is where modifications to mod item functions go, things like new weapon attachments, or new legendary effects)


Always remember for the best results make sure your mods flow logically. Try your best to set up your order so that you always create a new object before you edit it (load a new npc mod before you load a mod which changes the way it looks), In addition, one of the best ways to minimize conflicts is to make sure you don't have multiple mods which edit the same assets. If you have 4 different mods which change the BOS, there is a good chance you will have problems with the way the BOS is supposed to work.

* some mods, like the "Unofficial Patch" are written as ESM files, and will load before all other ESP file mods. This will force them to the top of your list. This is fine, just make sure that your ESM files follow a similar trickle-down logical load order, and avoid multiple mods which edit the same exact game assets.

** mods which edit character meshes/dimensions can conflict with armor/clothing mods if the armor/clothing mods are not built to work with the new bodies.

Also let me say that the "Unofficial Patch" is great and fixes many many many things, however, it changes so many things that it can cause problems with mods which are not built to work with it. Most mods are built to work with the base flawed game files, so keep that in mind when installing mods, and any form of patch or gameplay enhancement.

And as a final note, this game is not perfectly bug-free or stable to start with, so you can never really hope for a 100% bug-free experience. The more mods you have, the more potential problems can be introduced, so if you are running a large number of mods, expect there to be some amount of strange problems that you will have to accept, as some issues can only be fixed by getting rid of mods. Some mods have hard conflicts with other mods, meaning that no-matter the order the two (or more) mods will never be compatible with each other unless someone writes a compatibility patch for them.

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