Yagisan
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Hi folks, Yagisan from the SS2 City Plan Contest here.
In this post I want to briefly talk about removing mods, and why you should not do it.
(This PSA was last updated 7 August 2023, with more details)
Bethesda games are designed to be expandable. It is how Bethesda adds DLC and CC Content to the game. It is also how mods are added to the game.
However - the system, as-designed by Bethesda, does not support removing mods - at all.
Bethesda themselves confirm this in the below screenshot. Smkviper is the Bethesda employee that created Papyrus (something that almost every Fallout 4 mod uses). They absolutely know what they are talking about.
Once you remove a mod from a save, it's not longer valid. As modders, we can not help fix bugs when the save file is no longer valid.
Sometimes the failure is obvious - like the game crashing on load. Sometimes it isn't immediately obvious.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
The picture below is an example of what you see, if you run Workshop Framework, and remove a Settlement or Quest mod with a workshop.
This is NOT an error with SimSettlements or Workshop Framework. It is telling you it found an error.
There are several ways that this can happen (this is not an exhaustive list).
A correctly working Workshops Array is vital for SimSettlements, given the nature of the mod, but it's also needed to complete the main vanilla quest, for building the Molecular Relay as an example.
The picture below is an example of what you see, if you run Canary Save File Monitor, and something unexpected is removed.
This is NOT an error with Canary Save File Monitor. It is telling you it found an error.
How can you fix this?
If you removed a mod:
Re-install that mod, and load a save from before you removed it.
If you don't want to re-install that mod, you need to start a new game.
If you are using a Nexus Collection:
Please contact the Nexus Collection author. Their collection is broken. We can't help you fix that.
If you are using a Wabbajack List:
Please contact the Wabbajack List author. Their list is broken. We can't help you fix that.
Whatever you do - do not continue playing that save file if you have one of these messages.
What about "clean" saves?
No such thing exists. Saving the game, after removing a mod is just baking the damage into your save file.
What about XYZ mod ?
This PSA is by its nature generic advice. These are the messages that display when your save file is unable to run SimSettlements (and workshops in general) correctly. We simply can't tell you if every mod is "safe" to remove.
A simple texture replacer would not be noticed if it was added or removed. If it's only .dds files, it isn't even part of the ESM/ESP/ESL loading system.
Mods that use scripting, that depends on how the scripts were written. Safest to assume that they can't be removed.
Mods that change the workshops. Can't be removed under any circumstance without breaking the game, and triggering the above message.
TL;DR - Do not remove mods from your save. You will break it.
In this post I want to briefly talk about removing mods, and why you should not do it.
(This PSA was last updated 7 August 2023, with more details)
Bethesda games are designed to be expandable. It is how Bethesda adds DLC and CC Content to the game. It is also how mods are added to the game.
However - the system, as-designed by Bethesda, does not support removing mods - at all.
Bethesda themselves confirm this in the below screenshot. Smkviper is the Bethesda employee that created Papyrus (something that almost every Fallout 4 mod uses). They absolutely know what they are talking about.
Sometimes the failure is obvious - like the game crashing on load. Sometimes it isn't immediately obvious.
Examples include, but are not limited to:
- Gradual slowdowns from broken papyrus scripts.
- Settlements returning invalid data, like wrong settler, food, water and/or power values.
- NPCs spawning as radroaches.
- Wrong items spawning.
- Quests getting "stuck".
- Invisible objects.
- Hall of mirrors effects.
- Falling through terrain.
The picture below is an example of what you see, if you run Workshop Framework, and remove a Settlement or Quest mod with a workshop.
This is NOT an error with SimSettlements or Workshop Framework. It is telling you it found an error.
There are several ways that this can happen (this is not an exhaustive list).
- Removing a settlement mod / creation club content.
- Removing a player home mod / creation club content.
- Removing a quest mod / creation club content that has a settlement or player home.
- Changing a settlement mod from ESP to ESL (light) version.
- Changing a player home from ESP to ESL (light) version.
- Changing a quest mod that has a settlement or player home from ESP to ESL (light) version.
A correctly working Workshops Array is vital for SimSettlements, given the nature of the mod, but it's also needed to complete the main vanilla quest, for building the Molecular Relay as an example.
The picture below is an example of what you see, if you run Canary Save File Monitor, and something unexpected is removed.
This is NOT an error with Canary Save File Monitor. It is telling you it found an error.
How can you fix this?
If you removed a mod:
Re-install that mod, and load a save from before you removed it.
If you don't want to re-install that mod, you need to start a new game.
If you are using a Nexus Collection:
Please contact the Nexus Collection author. Their collection is broken. We can't help you fix that.
If you are using a Wabbajack List:
Please contact the Wabbajack List author. Their list is broken. We can't help you fix that.
Whatever you do - do not continue playing that save file if you have one of these messages.
What about "clean" saves?
No such thing exists. Saving the game, after removing a mod is just baking the damage into your save file.
What about XYZ mod ?
This PSA is by its nature generic advice. These are the messages that display when your save file is unable to run SimSettlements (and workshops in general) correctly. We simply can't tell you if every mod is "safe" to remove.
A simple texture replacer would not be noticed if it was added or removed. If it's only .dds files, it isn't even part of the ESM/ESP/ESL loading system.
Mods that use scripting, that depends on how the scripts were written. Safest to assume that they can't be removed.
Mods that change the workshops. Can't be removed under any circumstance without breaking the game, and triggering the above message.
TL;DR - Do not remove mods from your save. You will break it.
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