Starting a new playthrough after a brief break. Looking for mod input.

[Hephalumph]

I got rid of AWKCR ages ago because of horror stories of it bloating the mod list and causing issues. I never noticed any problems specific to it, but I certainly have had random issues in many of my playthroughs, so some of them could have been due to AWKCR.

I switched to ECO, and I think I noticed a more stable game afterward, though it may also be me looking for/expecting a more stable game and just seeing that. Either way, I am not completely unhappy to have made the switch, even though it did make me search out a few alternatives to AWKCR-based mods I'd been using.

I am now seeing more and more features added to ECO, 80-90% of which I just don't care about or use. So now I am thinking I may be better off looking for a new alternative to ECO.

Also just wondering what other options for some of my other mods may now exist.

Here are the primary few things I am looking for:

• Wear armor with most/all clothes.
• Craft legendary weapons and armor - I am fine with only being able to move legendary effects from found items to new items, but kindof do enjoy being able to craft them from scratch with some resource cost.
• Good inventory sorting (with both subcategories/icons is a plus)
• The best SS2 experience!!

And here is my current loadout:

# Automatically generated by Vortex

*[SS2 Addon] SimSettlements SuperStructures.esp

*Automatron Helmets Fix.esp

*AzarPonytailHairstyles.esp

*BetterSettlers.esp

*BetterSettlersCCAPack2.0.esp

*BetterSettlersCleanFacePack.esp

*BetterSettlersNoLollygagging.esp

*BTA_ForceOpen.esp

*CBBE.esp

*CC2_OSPlanetX_SS2CityPlan.esl

*Crimsomrider's 1950s Feminine Outfits.esp

*CWPointLookoutFO4.esm

*DEF_WIDGETS_CORE.esm

*DiscreteFemaleSkeleton.esp

*ECO.esp

*Eli_Armour_Compendium.esp

*GavMan_CroupMar21_CityPlan.esl

*GrafsSecurityFences.esp

*HoloDisplay.esl

*HUDFramework.esm

*Journey.esp

*JunkTown-FENCES2.esp

*JunkTownTwo.esp

*Liberty_PA.esp

*LockedSafesLegendaryLoot.esp

*LongerPowerLinesInf.esp

*Look At Me RE.esp

*LooksMenu Customization Compendium.esp

*LooksMenu.esp

*Lots More Female Hairstyles.esp

*M8rDisablePipboyEffects.esp

*ModdableRobotSettlers.esp

*NoRandomMercer.esp

*ohSIM_Sim2_Settlements_Scrappers_Addon.esp

*R88_SimpleSorter.esp

*Raze My Settlement.esp

*Realistic_conversations.esp

*RecruitableSettlers.esp

*RecruitableSettlersFH.esp

*RecruitableSettlersLeaders2.esp

*RedRocketJunkDepot.esl

*RoundGlasses.esp

*Silver Shroud Scarf.esp

*SimHomestead2.esp

*SimSettlements2_AddOnPack_ApocalypticAdditions_SirLach.esp

*SlogFitness.esl

*SS2 XDI Perk Speech Checks.esp

*SS2_CityPlanPack_RiseOfTheCommonwealth.esp

*SS2_FDK_TinyLiving.esp

*SS2_NobodysLeaders2_Automatron.esp

*SS2_NobodysLeaders2_NukaWorld.esp

*SS2_NobodysLeaders2_VaultTecWorkshop.esp

*SS2_NobodysLeaders2.esp

*SS2_RobotMod.esp

*SS2_ruined_simsettlement_addonpack.esp

*SS2_SIMPDDDD.esp

*SS2_XDI Patch.esp

*SS2_XPAC_Chapter2.esm

*SS2-Jampads2.esp

*SS2-PraRandomAddon.esp

*SS2.esm

*SS2Addon_MS_BareEssentials.esp

*SS2AOP_VaultTecTools.esp

*SS2Extended.esp

*SS2WalledGardensAndMore.esp

*SS2WastelandVenturers.esp

*SS2WhisperPowerPlots.esp

*SS2WorkshopHUDOverride.esl

*SurvivalOptions.esp

*SwitchboxGenerator 30-1024.esp

*TaffingtonFishery.esp

*Tenpines Bluff - PinesVil.esl

*The Eyes Of Beauty.esp

*TheKite_Railroad_Handmaiden.esp

*Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch.esp

*W.A.T.Minutemen.esp

*WestTekTacticalOptics.esp

*WorkshopFramework.esm

*XDI.esm

*ZJ PerfPlan - Abernathy.esl

Any suggestions on tuning my mod list? Any notable mods (especially SS2 addons) I am missing? Is there a good alternative to ECO/AWKCR, or should I not worry about it?

 

[tempestbob]

Recently added Mutant Menagerie, Damn Apocalypse, and Advanced Needs 76 to my list, recommend all of that.
Mutant Menagerie makes the world much more interesting, with new animals everywhere. Different creatures have different hides and resources. Oil, Nuclear Material, Adhesive, whatever you need. Damn Apocalypse makes loot more varied and slightly more scarce, and Advanced Needs works as a lightweight Survival system replacer.
With all three of them together, you can hunt, scavenge, and chop wood out in the wilderness to aid in setting up your early settlements. (Just use the No Harvest patch for Damn Apocalypse. DA removes the ability to loot non-vanilla animals unless they have a DA patch and you're using a hunting kit otherwise. There's no MM patch for DA to my knowledge.)

I also got rid of Eli's Armor Compendium not too long ago, replaced it with More Clothes and Textures and Grease Rat Garbs. Together with Raider Overhaul (No AWKCR), they all work great alongside ECO and are very vanilla friendly. I'd suggest keep ECO and just accept that you don't have to use the parts you don't need to benefit from the parts of it you do like. It works alongside other things too well to risk upsetting everything else. haha

I think IDEK's Logistics Stations for SS2 adds a caravan travel option that can replace Journey. I never use it, but I think there's an option to fast travel from one caravan post to another. Plus it's just a nicer caravan plot imo. The central stash option is great.

Longer Power Lines is an option in GCM, and that's totally worth having anyway if you want to customise anything about how the game runs.

My other recommendations would be Ketaros Treasures, and Perk Magazines Drop From Bosses, mainly because I love collectibles and hate that there's only one of each magazine in vanilla. These two work together to not only add a whole bunch of other perk magazines, but also make them drop completely randomly from Deathclaws, Mirelurk Queens, Behemoths, etc. You might get multiples of some magazines, but they also won't be quest/location locked anymore. (They'll still be in the original spots, they'll just drop from bosses too)

As for sorting, I started using FallUI and FIS recently. It's a bit of a prick to get looking like vanilla again, but it's super customisable, and works well with complex sorter and all the above clothing and item mods.

 

[yaugie]

The "use a Caravan Plot to access pseudo fast travel" functionality is actually built into SS2 itself, as long as the plot is level 2 (or 3). Since you basically have to put a Caravan Plot in every settlement anyway to get SS2's more advanced functions working, it's not that big a deal.

If there was any one mod I'd recommend though, it'd be "Uncapped Settlement Surplus". Output from SS2 plots does still conform to the vanilla 'caps' on Food/Water/Junk production. (I still say WSFW should have toggles for that built into it too, but apparently nobody else agrees)

 

[tempestbob]

The "use a Caravan Plot to access pseudo fast travel" functionality is actually built into SS2 itself, as long as the plot is level 2 (or 3). Since you basically have to put a Caravan Plot in every settlement anyway to get SS2's more advanced functions working, it's not that big a deal.

Ah yeah, that's it. Knew there was something about it, but I always just fast travel normally. haha
How have I not known about the Uncapped Surplus til now? Gonna use it just to reduce the amount of "Settlement is under attack" notifications the damn game is giving me lol
Cheers for the heads up on that one!

Oh, also Yagisan's Better Caravans because I hate stupid caravan Brahmin being in the way all the damn time!
Idek's caravan plots don't have brahmin harnesses or feed troughs in them, so they go better with the logistics bot caravans