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How organized are your mods folders?

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I have a sudden urge to organize everything, I guess it's just the New Years vibe kicking in. How deep or complex are your mods folders?

I'm thinking of getting really specific for my folders. Is this too much? Anything you reccommend to make it less confusing or complicated. Also, how deep can I go with folders? I heard that it's roughly 5-6 folders deep.

Mods:
  • Gameplay (MCC, etc)
  • Traits
  • Careers
  • Customizations (CAS background, lighting, etc)

CC:
  • Female, and then age (Toddler, Child, Teen+) , and then category (Clothing, Hair, Accessories, Makeup)
  • Male, and then age (Toddler, Child, Teen+) , and then category (Clothing, Hair, Accessories, Makeup)
  • Defaults (Skins, eyes)
  • Overlays

Am I missing anything? I have 920 mods to sort through, but I haven't changed the names of anything, so it won't be hard. Then I'll use S4TI to figure out anything that I'm missing.

Comments

  • UtauIAUtauIA Posts: 28 Member
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    Figured out what works the best! :P
  • ZaszZasz Posts: 806 Member
    I went a more detailed path. Makes it easier to identify faulty CC or mods.
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  • bshag4lvbshag4lv Posts: 9,374 Member
    I should do this...but the last thing I heard was anything deeper than one folder and it doesn't show up. To my benefit, I go through all 1.5 G all the time so I pretty much know what I have in my mods folder. But the organization you guys have is awesome and inspiring. :)
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  • UtauIAUtauIA Posts: 28 Member
    Zasz wrote: »
    I went a more detailed path. Makes it easier to identify faulty CC or mods.
    34761776cf.jpg

    That's really good! I got a little lazy while organizing, and I didn't want to click around in folders. I also found that a lot of creators don't really label toddler, child, and other ages. I had to use S4TI a couple times. Total respect for your organization!
  • UtauIAUtauIA Posts: 28 Member
    bshag4lv wrote: »
    I should do this...but the last thing I heard was anything deeper than one folder and it doesn't show up. To my benefit, I go through all 1.5 G all the time so I pretty much know what I have in my mods folder. But the organization you guys have is awesome and inspiring. :)

    I'm currently two folders deep, and I'm pretty sure everything is still in my game. I didn't even know you could use folders until the morning I made the post. Maybe it's worth a try to find out how deep you can go...
  • MakoSimsMakoSims Posts: 284 Member
    Mine used to be organized into categories, but I had a situation where a bad bit of CC was messing up my game & it was annoying trying to find all the recently added stuff as it was mixed with everything else, so now I put them in folders named with the date I downloaded them on.

    The plan is that once they've been in the game for a while and I've seen no problems, I'll organize them then but in reality there's no way I'm gonna get round to it. I download too much CC to keep up. :D
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  • StormkeepStormkeep Posts: 7,632 Member
    edited January 2019
    @UtaulA, @Bshag4lv, as far as I am aware, the "anything more than x folders deep" rule only applies to script mods. Basically, "some" script mods allegedly won't work if you go more than like 1 or 2 folders in. Everything else is fine deeper than that as long as your resource.cfg file is setup accordingly.

    Keeping with the theme of not wanting script files to be too deep in subfolders, I organize my cc such that mods are all 1 deep, in folders with named for what their source is, to make it easy to quickly go to the right folders when updating.
    "Mods-MCCC"
    "Mods-LittleMsSams"
    "Mods-Bienchen"
    "Mods-MTS"
    "Mods-TFMNSA"

    All of my other CC is in subfolders off of main folders named "CC-CAS" or CC-BB". From there, the subfolders are named for what type of cc they are, "Hair", "Clothes", "Accessories", etc. I also have one subfolder named "new additions" where any new CC goes for a few days until the game runs fine a few times. It gets sorted to the appropriate directory only after it's been cleared for long-term usage.

    There is no such thing as being "too organized" when it comes to your mods and CC, @UtaulA. You'll be glad to be hyper-organized the day some CC causes problems and you need to quickly identify and resolve it.
    This post will be edited by StormKeep at some point.
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  • bshag4lvbshag4lv Posts: 9,374 Member
    edited January 2019
    Love your ideas guys! Yes I have some work to do. I used to do this for all my mods in Sims 3 but I now have a super-duper computer that can handle more than 800-900mb without drastically affecting the game, and gone just a little nuts. :D Thanks for all the great ideas!
    In my house, dog hair sticks to everything but the dog.
  • UtauIAUtauIA Posts: 28 Member
    Stormkeep wrote: »
    @UtaulA, @Bshag4lv, as far as I am aware, the "anything more than x folders deep" rule only applies to script mods. Basically, "some" script mods allegedly won't work if you go more than like 1 or 2 folders in. Everything else is fine deeper than that as long as your resource.cfg file is setup accordingly.

    Keeping with the theme of not wanting script files to be too deep in subfolders, I organize my cc such that mods are all 1 deep, in folders with named for what their source is, to make it easy to quickly go to the right folders when updating.
    "Mods-MCCC"
    "Mods-LittleMsSams"
    "Mods-Bienchen"
    "Mods-MTS"
    "Mods-TFMNSA"

    All of my other CC is in subfolders off of main folders named "CC-CAS" or CC-BB". From there, the subfolders are named for what type of cc they are, "Hair", "Clothes", "Accessories", etc. I also have one subfolder named "new additions" where any new CC goes for a few days until the game runs fine a few times. It gets sorted to the appropriate directory only after it's been cleared for long-term usage.

    There is no such thing as being "too organized" when it comes to your mods and CC, @UtaulA. You'll be glad to be hyper-organized the day some CC causes problems and you need to quickly identify and resolve it.

    That's a really good idea for those scenarios of corrupted files or CC. I wanted to start organizing because a while ago, the Cats and Dogs update didn't work well with my older CC to the point where I couldn't even create a sim. At the time I had roughly 2000 alpha mods (I've since moved to Maxis Match starting a month ago). I had to do the half-half trick and load the game up a million times. I'll definitely begin to isolate MCCC and new mods.
  • CupidCupid Posts: 3,623 Member
    edited January 2019
    Mine is pretty simple. I merge my packages by category so those packages just sit in the main folder. Then I have one folder for gameplay mods (I only use a handful, so there's no need to further subcategorize them) and one folder called "testing" in which I put new files. Once a month or so I go into that "testing" folder and merge the stuff I want to keep in with the main packages. The stuff I didn't like gets deleted.
    UmDtZG4.png

    If I were the type of person to have a ton of CC and mods, and download more every day, then this method would be terrible. But since I'm not that type of person this works perfectly for me :p
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    (◡‿◡✿)
  • UtauIAUtauIA Posts: 28 Member
    Cupid wrote: »
    Mine is pretty simple. I merge my packages by category so those packages just sit in the main folder. Then I have one folder for gameplay mods (I only use a handful, so there's no need to further subcategorize them) and one folder called "testing" in which I put new files. Once a month or so I go into that "testing" folder and merge the stuff I want to keep in with the main packages. The stuff I didn't like gets deleted.
    UmDtZG4.png

    If I were the type of person to have a ton of CC and mods, and download more every day, then this method would be terrible. But since I'm not that type of person this works perfectly for me :p

    Wow. I don't even know how to package my files like that, but it sounds really nice and organized. Do you ever have problems with corrupt CC? Do you have an extra folder somewhere to find each file separately or is there a way to sort out something within a package file? I don't know how any of this works haha
  • CupidCupid Posts: 3,623 Member
    UtauIA wrote: »
    Cupid wrote: »
    Mine is pretty simple. I merge my packages by category so those packages just sit in the main folder. Then I have one folder for gameplay mods (I only use a handful, so there's no need to further subcategorize them) and one folder called "testing" in which I put new files. Once a month or so I go into that "testing" folder and merge the stuff I want to keep in with the main packages. The stuff I didn't like gets deleted.
    UmDtZG4.png

    If I were the type of person to have a ton of CC and mods, and download more every day, then this method would be terrible. But since I'm not that type of person this works perfectly for me :p

    Wow. I don't even know how to package my files like that, but it sounds really nice and organized. Do you ever have problems with corrupt CC? Do you have an extra folder somewhere to find each file separately or is there a way to sort out something within a package file? I don't know how any of this works haha

    I don't typically run into issues with bad CC since I test everything out for quite a while before deciding to merge them in with the other stuff. Still, it's inevitable that patches will sometimes break things, in which case I can just remove the problem files and remerge. This is all done with Sims 4 Studio. I keep an unmerged mods folder on my desktop so that if I ever run into an issue, I don't have to unmerge everything just to remerge them again.

    The reason why I have everything merged isn't so much for organization though. Merging them offers quite a significant boost in loading times and performance in general so for me it's worth the extra bit of hassle.
    HdLHa3j.png
    (◡‿◡✿)
  • stilljustme2stilljustme2 Posts: 25,082 Member
    edited January 2019
    Since I don't use CC (yet -- waiting for the game to be finished and no more patches) I pretty much have my mods organized as follows: wor
    • MCCC (plus the one we can't talk about that starts with W) in its own folder.
    • UI Cheats Extension in its own folder.
    • If I have a lot of mods from a single developer they get put in their own folder -- right now I have folders for coolspear1, littlemssam, and the work from home mods from NoelleBellefleur.
    • All others just sit loose in the mods folder along with the resource.cfg file.
    bshag4lv wrote: »
    I should do this...but the last thing I heard was anything deeper than one folder and it doesn't show up. To my benefit, I go through all 1.5 G all the time so I pretty much know what I have in my mods folder. But the organization you guys have is awesome and inspiring. :)

    If you modify the resource.cfg folder, you can set it for several folders deep. I use the one that coolspear1 at Sims Asylum set up, and it works great. (You'll need to register but it's an easy task -- http://simsasylum.com/tfm/ then look for Coolspear1 in the Creators category.) Just backup your original resource.cfg file (move it to another folder on your computer or to an external drive, even a flash drive -- I also back up my mc_settings file when I make major adjustments to them) before messing with it.
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  • CheetahAlyssaCheetahAlyssa Posts: 345 Member
    I need to organize it, but right now I just throw everything in. It's a complete mess.
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  • ZelexPower2PCZelexPower2PC Posts: 60 Member
    I am still trying to organize my CC Here a rough draft. Gameplay, Cas and Sims.Gameplay by theme, improve mechanics, Mc commander, etc. CAS by alpha and Maxis Match, then my hair types, tops,bottoms,etc.(too many to post) And Sims by the Sim then the CC that is required for them.
  • UtauIAUtauIA Posts: 28 Member
    I need to organize it, but right now I just throw everything in. It's a complete mess.

    It took me about 2-3 hours to reorganize everything. I hadn't cleaned out my folders since 2015. It's also good to go in game and get rid of any broken CC. 3 hours sounds like a long time, but it's actually not that bad, it actually was a little fun :p
  • CandyDragonOriCandyDragonOri Posts: 9 New Member
    I've got about 10 sub categories, but my biggest problem is I have one folder listed as "test". I place all my new CC in here, so that if it breaks my game, I can easily find it. Seemed like a good plan at first, until I go on a shopping spree, put 30 or so items into the folder, and then play the game. Next time I go to play the game, I go shopping for more CC first thing like always, and place that into test.
    Rince and repeat.
    At no point do I take out the CC from the test folder and put it into the relevant folders. So when I eventually do remember to do this, I've got so much content to organise I spend what was intended to be a sims play session instead being a sims organising files session.
  • ChelleJoChelleJo Posts: 7,087 Member
    edited January 2019
    Script mods can only be one deep. So inside my mods folder I have a separate folder for each of my main mods (MCCC, LMS, Beinshen, CycleLegs, etc). I group my mods by creator if I use more than one of their mods, it makes it easier for updating.

    And then I have a General Use Mods folder, where I put random mods I download (smaller pixel, Hide Head Lot FX, etc), I have a Bug Fix folder. All bug fixes go in there, makes for easy removal when or if EA ever fixes the issue.

    Then I have a separate folder for my Skins and Skin Details, Lashes, Presets, Lighting mods, Poses, My created CC, and then I have two main Sub Folders of CC.

    I have a Merged CC and an unmerged CC. Inside Merged is basic folders (Clothes and Shoes, Furniture and Clutter, Hair and Makeup, Misc, and Sets).

    In Unmerged I have thing a bit more detailed (Alpha Hair, MM hair, Alpha Clothes, MM Clothes, Furniture Sets, Clutter Sets, Shoes, Toddler CC, Curtains, Wallpapers, ETC)

    My unmerged is where I really get into detail with my folders, cause that's how I determine what is getting merged together. And then when I merge them (say, Nightcrawler hairs), I name them appropriately and then go in the simple Hair and Clothes Merged folder.
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  • sunblondsunblond Posts: 1,035 Member
    One strategy is to have one folder for "new stuff" where you place all the recently DL ones till you can test them out in the game. Once you know you want to keep the CC or mod, you can move it to a permanent folder. I have been doing this a while, it saved me a lot of headaches.
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  • QueenofMyshunoQueenofMyshuno Posts: 1,506 Member
    edited January 2019
    What is your folder system for organizing your mods? I'm asking because mine is semi-organized, but it could use improvement.

    The first folder is by site and subject. If I need to, I'll have additional subject subfolders. For example, I have the following for food clutter from The Sims Resource:
    First Folder: TSRClutter; Folder inside of that folder: Food

    I'm interested to see how other people do it.
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  • So_MoneySo_Money Posts: 2,536 Member
    I don’t have enough to necessitate a super-complicated structure, so I just group them into Clothes, Hair, Skins, Accesories, Building, MCCC, and Gameplay Mods.
  • HopeyStarrHopeyStarr Posts: 1,276 Member
    First, I use colour to differentiate between major gameplay mods, custom content, and mods that enhance base game features. Then I group them again based on similarity, like custom careers, custom events, mods by the same people, etc.

    I prefer to have my mods be as identifiable as possible just in case one of them starts messing up my game and doing so has saved me time in the past. As a result of this I have a lot of sub folders in my Mods folder.
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  • metalfenix_Rafmetalfenix_Raf Posts: 536 Member
    edited January 2019
    Certainly I need to rethink a bit my folder organization. I'll use the code to show it better.
    
    Basemental (for basemental mod)
    CAS
         Acc
         Beards
         Bottoms
         Eyes
         Hair
         Hats
         My Pojects (for my CAS CC projects)
         Shoes
         swimwear
         tattoos
         tops
         underwear
         Various (I put here things that does not go elsewhere, but it's getting cluttered)
    MODS (for a couple of script mods that does not need their own folder)
    mtsfoodgroup_drinks-custom-interactions_LatestVersion (for a beer mod)
    Objects (I put all objects here. Is getting cluttered and probably needs subfolders soon)
    Wall (for CC wall textures)
    
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  • 0xx_Simmer_xx00xx_Simmer_xx0 Posts: 196 Member
    I just name my folders the dates I downloaded them and then divide it into subcategories.
  • ChelleJoChelleJo Posts: 7,087 Member
    edited January 2019
    Example of how my mods are set up...
    THEME/GROUP
             SECTION
                     SPECIFIC ITEM
                             
    Very rarely do I go deeper than 3. 
    
    So in my mods folder, I have these types of folders and folder examples how deep it goes. 
    
    CASBackground
    CycleLegs
    FanArtMaps
    Icemunmun
    LMS
    MyGameMods
    Merged CC
              Clothes and Shoes
              Hair and Makeup
              Sets
    MyCreatedCC
    UnmergedCC
             Access
                    Earrings
                    Necklaces
                    Nails
                    Otherpiercings
             Alpha CC
                      Clothes
                       Hair  
    Skins and Eyes
    PresetMods...
    

    (There are lots more, so this is just an example)

    Once any one folder in Unmerged gets large enough to merge, I'll merge it accordingly and then move it to my merged folder and where it belongs there.
    p8L4V6v.png
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