I was just wondering if I am subscribed to a mod, does it automatically update when the creator adds them, or must I unsubscribe and then subscribe again?

It's automatic. It you take al ook at the launcher, you'll see that Steam looks for updates each time you launch the game.

Right - damn, not good news - what if I like a mod a certain way, and he changes it - adds too much (I'm thinking about Danthegeeks Underground Hideout for Fallout 3 here - where he had it perfect, then started adding loads more to it that I really didn't like... so I stuck with his old version instead) is there any way to prevent automatic updates of mods?

Unsubscribe. It'll leave the files there, but will no longer update.

So unsubscribing doesn't make the mod inactive?

Last time I tried this (this morning), the game got stuck on the loading screen and CTDed...

One thing to keep in mind is that the mods update while you're in the Skyrim Launcher. If you launch the game directly through the Skyrim Scripting Extender or through other means then it won't check for mod updates.


I'm not sure. But if it does, all you have to do is open the data files and activate it again.

I see major flaws in this setup

sometimes mod updates require some extra tweak or change or something, and arent compatible with older versions

so auto updating programs such as NMM and steamworkshop can leave the users with broken games.

NMM doesn't auto update.

Being not compatible with an older version isn't a problem because the new version replaces the old version. It isn't run at the same time as the old version.

Explain how this could 'break your game'.

Some mods have special upgrade procedures, eg. cleaning out existing data when performing a major update. If SW updates the mod automatically, you might not get a chance to perform such steps. I don't know if that's the case though, I don't have Skyrim.

What is this 'cleaning out existing data' step that you speak of? You mean loading the game without the mod loaded and then loading the game with the new version loaded?

I don't know about cleaning out "existing data," but if a mod auto-updates before I can clean out loot from a container that is changed & lose my stuff then I would be mega-peeved ...

and I would be peeved if a mod deleted the entire ground I was standing on, but that doesn't sound like a flaw in the Steam Workshop.

*If* a mod auto-updates automatically without warning & leaves you no way to go back, then that might be problematic. I don't use Steam Workshop for other reasons so I am not saying that this is the case, just responding to what's been said in this thread...

Well, if you wanted to go back to an older version you would just to have to find it elsewhere at that point. That's all.

Not sure if this has been asked but i been thinking about this whole steam workshop thing (which I have no intention of using) but what if you download a mod and its updated but the update (like a lot of the bigger mods) require a clean save...what happens then seen as the download is automatic...?

You don't get a clean save and need to open up data files, de-select the mod' and launch the game just like you would if you had downloaded the mod from anywhere else. It makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. Mod authors could simply have an in-game message appear telling the player to create a clean save by exiting the game, de-selecting the mod, loading the game, exiting the game again and then reselecting the mod. It's hardly an end of the world scenario.

No it is not a "end of the world" scenario, but it also should not be necessary having to do it that way if it is needed in my opinion.

when you unsub a mod, does it or does it not uninstall that mod from the game? would be really bad if it didn't.

It should not be necessary? Then how, do you propose, it should be done?


It doesn't uninstall it. To uninstall it you open Data Files and select it and press 'delete'.

LoL you misunderstand.

If a mod requires a clean save then yeah we should do so...but Mod Authors and mod users should not be "Forced" by the way SW works to make a clean save that way. Maybe it is possible for Bathesda and Valve to see together if there is a way to first get a warning message for a mod that needs a clean save and then being able to first do that before allowing the update for that mod to start.

There is no way for a mod to even know that it needs a clean save. That is up to the author/user to decide. If something needs a clean save then it is already working contrary to the design, which is why a clean save is required in the first place. In a perfect world there would be no need for a clean save ever, however, since we live in reality we need to adapt to what is. If you want a clean save you need to launch the game without the mod enabled and save your game. That's what a clean save is. There's no way around it and Steam Workshop has absolutely nothing to do with it. Steam Workshop isn't going to do all of the thinking for you. The Steam Workshop isn't going to decide of a mod needs a clean save (because needing a clean save isn't something the game was designed to do) and the Steam Workshop isn't going to launch the game without that particular mod and then save your game for you and then relaunch it with the mod enabled. Sorry, but that whole idea is quite nuts.

It might be possible that Beth and Valve can find a way to add a option for mod authors to add a warning message, that pops up when SW finds an update for that particular mod. When that happens we should have the option to first exit again, do the clean save first and then allow the update.

And do not mention it is impossible, because if they can shove a pop up in our face with news and commercials that allows us to see the next commercial and to cancel it then it should be possible for them to do the same for the updates through SW.

You can do this already. It's called scripting. Create a script which makes a pop-up when the player loads their game telling them to perform a clean install. This isn't impossible. Whats impossible is for the Steam Workshop to know when a clean install is needed and to then proceed to load a player's save game without the mod, save the game and then reload it with the mod.