Archive files Load Order
How does load order work in Cyberpunk?
Summary
Written & Published: Nov 22, 2023 by mana vortex
This page will explain to you what Load Order is and how it works, then tell you how to influence it.
TL;DR
In that case you may still influence.archive mods and REDmods. Tweak mods may conflict as well since tweakDB is a database of static values (e.g. two mods both edit the weapon stats of the Masamune).
For REDmods, see Conflicts and Load Order
For .archive mods, rename files in ASCII alphabetical order. Do not use any tools other than your mod manager to change mod load order, as they create more problems than they solve.
There currently is no tool to check tweak conflicts
Check Load order and Wolvenkit if you are making a mod
What is Load Order?
Unless two mods are changing the same file, you don't need to bother about this at all. Unfortunately, the moment you're using frameworks or anything body modding related, you will run into this scenario.
In Cyberpunk, conflicts inside .archive mods are one per-file basis, whatever mod modifies a file first will win – unlike e.g. Skyrim, where esps may overwrite each other.
Example
There are two mods that change boob size (and both mods modify the same file, e.g. a rig or mesh):
Since i_know_nothing_about_back_problems will load first, the conflicting file inside realistic_boobs_DDDDDDDDD_cup does nothing.
How are mods ordered?
The game loads mods in the following order (higher wins):
1. .archive mods
All .archive files in Cyberpunk 2077/archive/pc/mod in ASCII-alphabetical order.
Example: To load the conflicting file from realistic_boobs_DDDDDDDDD_cup.archive before i_know_nothing_about_back_problems.archive you could simply change the capitalisation. This will lead to the following order
If you change the load order by renaming a file, it is suggested to indicate said change in your mod manager, for example by also renaming the mod in the manager to reflect the change made. In this case if the mod is named "Backbreaker Boobs", you could change it's name in the manager to "Backbreaker Boobs - renamed to load before Backpain is a myth". This helps keep an overview about changed file names and load order and minimises confusion later on when adding more mods.
Note: If a file called modlist.txt is found inside archive/pc/mod then the game will load archives according to the order inside that file. If you don't want to readjust the order after every single new mod install delete this file.
2. REDmods
Folders in Cyberpunk 2077/mods are loaded strictly after /archive/pc/mod in ASCII-alphabetical order.
Load order: ASCII sort
The game reads mods in ASCII-alphabetical order (REDmods by folder name, .archive files by archive file name).
This is ASCII ordering:
Example
MyMod.archive
2
M comes before m
myMod.archive
3
!myMod.archive
1
! comes before A
How to use this?
You can re-name your folders and .archive files following the rules under Load order: ASCII sort to influence in which order the game will load your mods.
Prefixing your archive file names with non-alphanumeric characters works fine in case of Cyberpunk, but is a terrible habit that might break file paths in other games or operating systems.
Load order and Wolvenkit
By default, installing a mod with Wolvenkit will create an archive mod which is subject to the rules above (see Load order: ASCII sort). Unless you specifically need to overwrite other modded files, you can completely ignore this.
To re-name your packed files, use Project -> Configure (check also: Project naming and mod load order)
More Examples
If you are creating a compatibility mod (something that modifies the files of another installed mod), then yours needs to load first.
For example, if you want to do a custom recolour of the mod _ArchiveXL_Netrunner_Variants.archive, then your Wolvenkit project could be named _00_ArchiveXL_Netrunner_Variants, or _ArchiveXL_Netrunner_00_Recolour.
Last updated