2.3 Installing a collection - ChrisDKN/Amethyst-Mod-Manager GitHub Wiki

Installing a collection

The manager has the ability to install Nexus collections via the API. This is how it works.

Only available to premium members as free members would have to manually install every mod and the system would need a lot of work to allow this.
The manager downloads mods from a collection by Modid and fileid set by the collection author
It downloads them in size order largest first (This can be changed in the settings menu)
It then installs them in size order, Smallest first (This can also be changed)
Downloads are cached in the .config folder and cleared once the install has finished. There is a clear cache button in the settings menu in case any don't get removed
Collections (by default) are added as a new profile that is separate from other profiles, allowing you to add multiple collections and switch between them
You can pick a collection revision incase you need to install an earlier version of a collection
Bundled assets are also included, these are mods provided by a collection that don't have a dedicated mod page
Off site mods are listed and must be installed manually
If the manager is closed before a collection is complete, the manager skips over any already downloaded or installed mods when you try to install it again. It also re-downloads any mods that were partially downloaded.

How do download a collection

Log into nexus via the nexus > settings window
If you are premium a collections button will appear in the top bar
It will show the top collections for the game, select one
You can also search for a collection with the search bar
If you find a collection on the nexus site you can paste it's url with the url button to go to that collection
You can also click "Add collection" on the nexus site, it will say you need vortex but it will open the collection in Amethyst instead
You will see a list of mods in the collection, here you can change revision and see any off site mods if any exist.
Press install collection
If the collection has optional mods, a panel will open where you can untick any you don't want.
It will ask if you want to install as a new profile or append to an existing profile. Some collections are small bundles that you may want to quickly insert into another profile.
The manager will first download all the mods and then install them. Don't close the manager until it is complete.
Some collections may contain very large files, These can take a while to extract so if it looks like nothing is happening, it's probably just extracting
You may also get some Fomod windows that you need to manually complete. Collection authors can provide preset fomod options and these ones will be automatically skipped with the options applied.
Once complete the manager will sort the mods into the authors intended load order.

What to do if the application crashes during install

This happens because the sytem ran out of memory while extracting a file. There are multiple checks in place to make sure this does not happen but if it does here's what to do

Make sure any memory intensive applications are closed first to free up memory.
Switch to the profile in the manager that the collection is installing into
Press the collections button and press Open current.
This will take you back to the install window for that collection
Press install collection again, It will skip any already installed and already downloaded mods.
Wost case scenario, you may need to manually install the mod instead but this should be rare.

Resetting load order

If you want to reset the load order back to the collections load order do the following

Press the collections button
Click open current
Press reset load order, This will redownload the manifest for the collection and apply the load order.

Issues and limitations

There are some quirks that may appear with collections. Some collection authors may include mods that need to be disabled such script extenders or other frameworks like bepinex. These are usally installed manually into the game folder and cant be installed by adding it as a mod. You may need to check for these types of mods after a collection has complete.

Some collections may have mods that require things like vcredist or .net framework to be installed. You'll need to install these via the Proton button if required

It's always worth viewing the collection page to see if the collection author has any post install steps. Some collections can also contain outdated mods that do not work the current version of whatever game it is. Make sure the collection you are trying to install works with your game version first.

There may be some mods provided by collections that do not get installed correctly by Amethysts game handlers. I installed a lot of collections to make sure the handlers were working correctly but if anything doesn't work as expected, report it as an issue and I'll see if it can be fixed.