Mods folder size and merging cc

Hope this is the right thread to ask this question.

I have read in several places that before merging cc you need to rename the files by removing characters like space, _ , - etc. to improve performance instead of merging the original files.

Also what's the most important thing regarding performance, the size of the mods folder or the number of packs (EPs, GPs) installed?

Thanks.

cadak5 wrote:Hope this is the right thread to ask this question.

I have read in several places that before merging cc you need to rename the files by removing characters like space, _ , - etc. to improve performance instead of merging the original files.

Also what's the most important thing regarding performance, the size of the mods folder or the number of packs (EPs, GPs) installed?

Thanks.

Hello again,

If we're talking in purely practical terms, the size of your Mods-folder or rather the number of your custom content items is going to be the primary focal point. There are only "so many" DLCs, but there is a gigantic multitude of third-party/fan-made custom content that can be installed potentially.

I was helping a user over TeamViewer years ago; she had only the base game installed, but was an avid hoarder and user of CC. The game took FOREVER to even start up, because of the sheer size (of the Mods-folder).

But here is the catch now: the original question can be seen as somewhat moot. Why? Because the correct way of going about things is to add custom content in small batches only. So split your CC in multiple groups, and add them to the Mods-folder slowly over time. This way, troubleshooting will become easier compared to adding a ton of custom content at once, and then trying to find the "needle in the haystack" if you notice there is a problem with your game.

The thing with removing special characters from CC filenames before merging them is new to me, but then again, I don't really play TS4 anymore, so I'm not really keeping up with CC and related stuff either. I can tag @grieralexander, though, maybe he can give further input on the issue.

The_gh0stm4n wrote:

cadak5 wrote:Hope this is the right thread to ask this question.

I have read in several places that before merging cc you need to rename the files by removing characters like space, _ , - etc. to improve performance instead of merging the original files.

Also what's the most important thing regarding performance, the size of the mods folder or the number of packs (EPs, GPs) installed?

Thanks.

Hello again,

If we're talking in purely practical terms, the size of your Mods-folder or rather the number of your custom content items is going to be the primary focal point. There are only "so many" DLCs, but there is a gigantic multitude of third-party/fan-made custom content that can be installed potentially.

I was helping a user over TeamViewer years ago; she had only the base game installed, but was an avid hoarder and user of CC. The game took FOREVER to even start up, because of the sheer size (of the Mods-folder).

But here is the catch now: the original question can be seen as somewhat moot. Why? Because the correct way of going about things is to add custom content in small batches only. So split your CC in multiple groups, and add them to the Mods-folder slowly over time. This way, troubleshooting will become easier compared to adding a ton of custom content at once, and then trying to find the "needle in the haystack" if you notice there is a problem with your game.

The thing with removing special characters from CC filenames before merging them is new to me, but then again, I don't really play TS4 anymore, so I'm not really keeping up with CC and related stuff either. I can tag @grieralexander, though, maybe he can give further input on the issue.

This is true, many people that merge packages take the special characters out as they say that the system not the game takes longer to read such characters. I have tested this theory and besides being a lot of work, it really did not improve loading time significantly for me to go through the extra work. I have a huge amount of CC, to give you an example: My Vanilla game loads in 2 minutes max. ; when I place my mods folder, it takes the game 5 minutes or more to load. However, I do not have lags during game play at all.
This is what I do. I merge all my CC except for scripts, tuning and animation files. After all my packs are merged and place in a CAS, Build buy, etc, subfolder I right click on it and then click on Properties, a new window will pop up and under General, I click on Advance. A new window will open and I click on 2 boxes only. The one that allows the content to be indexed and the one that compacts that content. It will ask if I want to do this to all and subfolders and I click yes. In this way the system, not the game indexes everything, which once is open, it will run faster. I hope this explanation helps, if you still have some doubts, let us know.

Thanks to @The_gh0stm4n and @grieralexander for the all the suggestions.

cadak5 wrote:Thanks to @The_gh0stm4n and @grieralexander for the all the suggestions.

You are welcome