Re: Where Does Vortex Store Mods
Eduviges Gearlds
Then I went to the folder where Vortex is installed and deleted ITS Skyrim folder--about 50GB of stuff. I now wonder how Vortex handles downloads. Are some installed in one place, others in another? Or does Vortex download mods into its own folder, then install those mods in a game, keeping the original "copy" of the mod in its (Vortex's) folder? Or are some stored in the Vortex folder and others in Skyrim's folder?
It then uses a "staging folder" to extract the mod from the archive, following the instructions of any installer options that might be included (this would include things like which plugins to install and which assets to install.)
It then "deploys" the mods to the Data folder by creating a hardlink. This is a special link that tells windows that a file that's in one folder is actually in another folder. When it does this it chooses which link files to create by following the rules you set regarding any conflicting files.
The files are not really in the Data folder, so you can't delete the ones from the staging folder. And you have no reason to because the 50gb of "stuff" in the data folder doesn't actually exist. Windows reports the size of the actual files in the staging folder, but the hardlinks take up no real space on your drive. There is no duplication of files or waste of storage space.
Having said all that, NEVER uninstall a game or delete the game's installation folders without using the "purge" option in Vortex to remove the hardlinks first (or straight up uninstalling all your mods in Vortex). It will confuse things since Vortex has no ability to keep track of what you are doing outside of the program.
Hi guys.
Didn't have this issue with Skyrim not FO4 but having it now with Starfield.
In Vortex I selected the game folder on my F: drive (F:\games\starfield) with the assumption the game will install all mods into the Data folder there, but instead, all my mods go into C:\Users\topeira\AppData\Roaming\Vortex\starfield\mods\ therefor - do NOT work in game.
I can't seem to convince the game to extract the mod content into the game folder. and I would also like the archived mods to be on my F: drive and not my C: drive.
What should I do?
When you add mods to Vortex you need to install them (they should then be marked green in the mods tab) and then deploy them (there will be a brief moment where Vortex shows itself processing the mods). Once deployed you should be able to see the mods in the game folder, but they will actually be virtual links, not the files themselves.
I watched about 4 vortex tutorials, all rather short (about 4 minutes each) and all explained to do exactly what I did and none said anything about Deploying, none about changing the settings->mods folders etc.
And even though I dont know what's happening behind the scenes, I do know that the mods don't work. and when I click the tiny arrow on the mod line in the mods tab, and then click the option "show in file manager" than I expect to see the mod in the game folder (in data, for example) and it isn't there. my folder structure for better HUD, for examples looks like F:\Vortex Mods\starfield\BetterHUD - Disable Enemy Health and Hit Marker-214-0-3-1693581306
i can place the files manually inside the game Data folder (and in the interface folder, with the HUD mod) and it works fine. but with Vortex - it doesnt. So I really wish to figure out the Vortex issue before I have 200 mods that I will never know how to manage manually :P
The 'Interface' tab on that same settings has several options under 'Automation'. I only use the one that deploys 'Mods when Enabled'. That allows me to d/l mods in anticipation of using them in a later playthrough, or at some other time. I usually use the 'Enable' option to install a mod, anyway.
However, in my Starfield\data\Interface folder there is no such "file" or "link". If the "__folder_managed_by_vortex" thingy implies that vortex is linked into that folder, than it is linked to folders that i dont have vortex mods for, and it doesnt like to mods that I DID download mods for.
Once Vortex is installed, there are a few steps to be taken in order to set it up to manage and download mods for Skyrim Special Edition. There are also some things that you might (optionally) want to customise to your liking.
Once installed, start up Vortex via the shortcut on your Desktop. Upon initialising, Vortex will automatically associate itself with Nexus Mods download links and inform you of that via a notification in the top right corner:
Vortex is capable of managing mods for dozens of different games. That being said, Vortex does not just automatically take over mod management for a particular game - in case you would rather manage it yourself or with another tool. Therefore, in order to use Vortex the first thing we want to do after installation is to tell it to actively manage Skyrim Special Edition.
This is the folder where Vortex stages your mods i.e. unpacks them to. Due to how the Bethesda games work (including Skyrim and Skyrim Special Edition), the Mod Staging Folder must be on the same partition as the game.
You can change both your Download Folder as well as your Mod Staging Folder at a later point in time and even when you have already downloaded and installed mods. Depending on the amount of mods you have downloaded and/or installed, it will take a while for Vortex to move your folder(s). Please make sure that enough disk space is available and remain patient, as your mods will be copied over.
If you followed the steps outlined above, your plugin list in Vortex (Sidemenu / navigation area > Plugins) should now look like this:
Congratulations! You have just successfully installed your first mod.
Sky UI is a mod that primarily overhauls the interface for Skyrim Special Edition, but more than that it is required for many other mods and adds a user-friendly mod menu (MCM - Mod Configuration Menu) to the game. It is, therefore, highly recommended. In order to install Sky UI, you will have to download and install SKSE64 (Skyrim Script Extender 64) the script extender for Skyrim Special Edition. These steps will walk you through downloading, installing, and setting up both Sky UI and SKSE64.
The only thing left to do now is to set Vortex to run Skyrim Special Edition via the SKSE64 launcher, which is also required in order to use the features SKSE64 introduces (and which many mods, including Sky UI, rely on).
Vortex will indicate a tool that has been set as primary by adding a little banner next to its icon on the starter dashlet.
Setting SKSE64 as primary will instruct Vortex to always run SKSE64 whenever you launch the game via Vortex from the play button in the top left corner:
Note that SKSE64, while correctly installed, will not appear either in the plugins list nor the mod list. This is because we have installed SKSE64 manually by extracting its contents directly into the game folder, rather than using Vortex to do that. While it is possible to use Vortex to install SKKSE64 (or other script extenders) it requires a few extra steps and is only recommended for intermediate modders.
Whether it is safe to enable all plugins on a given mod or not, cannot be answered in general. Some mods will provide several plugins in order to give players options. For example, a grass mod might come with a plugin for long grass, one for medium grass, and one for short grass. In that case, you will want to only pick one plugin to enable.
If you have followed the guide to this point properly, you should be able to see the Immersive Armors configurations menu ingame now. Start the game via the play button on the Skyrim SE tile in the top left. Load up a save or start a new game.
Your newly added MCM (Mod Configuration Menu, thanks to Sky UI) will pick up on the menu that Immersive Armors is adding to the game and Immersive armors will start configuring. Since Immersive Armors is a large mod, this will take a while, so, please, give it up to 60 seconds.
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Go to the page for A Quality World Map on the website: While you can download the mod the same way you downloaded the others (via the Download: Vortex button in the top right) note that this will grab the main file which the author has set as the main Vortex file. The mod A Quality World Map, however, has several options for the world map, be it a paper version, or a version with flat roads.
There are already several Starfield mods available to download on NexusMods, allowing you to change the appearance and function of menus, make graphical changes, restore achievements to modded saves, and plenty more. These mods are currently only available to players on PC.
If you don't want to use a mod manager, or have tried installing a mod using a mod manager but have been unsuccessful, mods can also be installed manually. The precise instructions will be specific to each mod, but will involve unzipping the downloaded file and placing its contents in your Starfield game folders.
As explained in a NexusMods article by user Hex0x0, there are issues that can arise when you are using the Steam path to modify your game data. This may be because the Documents directory has priority over the Steam directory and any images in the Documents directory will prevent images (texture mods, etc) from being loaded from the Steam directory. Here's how to fix this:
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