Cities: Skylines

Cities: Skylines

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Load Order Mod Guide
By LeonardMT and 2 collaborators
This guide will go over what the Mod Loader Order mod does, the tool, and why its the next big thing for ultra detailers, simple players with a few mods, mod developers, and everyone in between. Note: some things in this guide is incomplete and the information may not be 100% accurate since I'm not affiliated with the mod in any way. Well now I am but only because of this guide! This guide is also based on my understanding from the Load Order Mod wiki on GitHub which may not be accurate.
   
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What does it do, what does in come with, and why should I care?
What does it do?

Originally posted by Load Order Mod wiki:
Loading the game with LOM enabled will automatically sort mods in a deterministic manner (independent of sub order) that will put harmony first. This default load order solves load-order related bugs and minimizes the loading speed for most cases.
So to put it in basic terms it loads utility mods first like Harmony, and solves potential errors and improves loading times.

What does in come with?

LOM comes with the the ability to:
  • Log missing assets, outdated mods and assets, and missing dependencies.
  • Delete unsubscribed items on a click of a button or on startup.
  • Hide the ad panels on the main menu.
  • Improve the content manager (I didn't notice a difference)
  • Log loading asset times and per mod.
  • A few dev options
  • LOM also comes with a program More on that later
  • Adds more command line options to Cities: SkylinesMore on that later


Why should I care?
  1. Improved loading times.
  2. Improved mod compatibility.
  3. LOM has a powerful tool that allows you to disable/enable mods, hide mods and assets (no disabling or enabling assets) without going though the content manager.
  4. More command line options for faster play.
The tool: Where is it? How to get it to work? How to use it? What are profiles?
Where is it?

The tool is located at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\255710\2448824112\Tool

How do I get it to work?

It requires .NET Core 3.1 Runtime[dotnet.microsoft.com]

Never run it when Cities Skylines is open.

How do I use it?
Never run it when Cities Skylines is open.
After you get .NET Core 3.1 Runtime and follow my recommendations you will get something like this:

Lets go over the mod page first.
  • The first dropdown menu is for filtering included or excluded mods.More on included and excluded mods and assets later.
  • The second dropdown menu is for filtering enabled or disabled mods.
  • The third dropdown menu is for filtering local or workshop mods.
  • The filter box lets you search for mods.
  • Reset order: resets the load order of the mods to the game's default.
  • Sort By Harmony: Sorts mods in an order that makes sure that harmony and all of the mods dependent on it loads first solving potential errors.
  • Reverse Order: Reverses the load order of mods.
  • Randomize Order: Randomizes the load order of mods.
  • Include All: Includes all mods.
  • Exclude All: Excludes all mods.
  • Enable All: Enables all mods.
  • Disable All: Disables all mods.
  • Include toggle: Toggles whether the mod is included.
  • Enable: Toggles whether the mod is enabled.
  • Triple click on a a number in the order pane to manually set its load order.

The asset page
  • The first/second dropdown menu is for filtering included or excluded mods.More on included and excluded mods and assets later.
  • The second dropdown menu is for filtering local or workshop assets.
  • The third dropdown menu is for filtering a type of asset (for example, trees or props).
  • The filter box lets you search for assets.
  • Include All: Includes all assets.
  • Exclude All: Excludes all assets.
  • Include toggle: Toggles whether the asset is included.

The bottom buttons
  • Reload All: Reloads the mod and asset page.
  • Export Profile: Exports a profile.
  • Import Profile: Imports a profile.
  • Save To Game: Saves the Load Order, include and exclude toggles for mods and assets, and the mod status.
  • Auto-Save: Toggles the tool's auto save.

What are profiles?
Profiles are XML files that are by default stored here:
%LocalAppdata%\Local\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines\LOMProfiles
They are presets that that save enabled/disabled mods and included/excluded mods and assets.
What does Including/Excluding do?
Including/excluding mods and assets will make the game not find them; they will not show up in the content manager. It's like a more powerful --NoWorkshop.

If I unsubscribe from this mod with some things excluded will they come back?

No. When unsubscribing from this mod ALWAYS make sure that you have everything included.
New command line options.
LOM adds new command line options to Cities: Skylines. They are great for mod debugging, advanced users, modders, and asset creators.

Originally posted by Load Order Mod wiki:
command line options:
command-line options are case-sensitive. it's recommended to put them last.

-noAssets: does not load any custom assets including local assets.
-phased: Depth-first-load. load mods in a phased manner: load dlls -> GetExportedTypes -> Instantiate UserMods -> OnEnable (each phase is performed for all mods before moving to the next phase). this can help to solve load order issues.
-poke: Breadth-first-load. Poke mods to find out load order issues.
-sman: Ignore CS completely and go straight into Subscription manager.

#### Auto lunch:
-newGame => start a random new game (good for testing new mods on empty maps if you are too lazy to type map name)
--newGame=mapName => load a game from this map
--newGame="Path\To\Map.crp" => load game from this file
-game/--game= is same as -newGame/--newGame

-loadSave or -continuelastsave => continue last save
--loadSave="Path\To\Save.crp" => load game this file
--loadSave=savedName => load this save
-save/--save= is same as -loadSave --loadSave=

-LHT (left hand drive)
-editor => asset editor.

New command line table:
Command line
Effect
-noAssets
Does not load any custom assets.
-phased
Depth-first-load. Load mods in a phased manner.
-poke
Breadth-first-load. Pokes mods to find out load order issues.
-newGame
Starts a random new game.
--newGame=mapName
Loads a game from this map.
--newGame="Path\To\Map.crp"
Loads game from this file.
-game/--game=
Same as -newGame/--newGame.
-loadSave
Continue last save.
-continuelastsave
Continue last save.
--loadSave="Path\To\Save.crp"
Loads game from this file.
--loadSave=savedName
Loads this save.
-save/--save=
Same as -loadSave --loadSave=
-LHT
Left hand drive.
-editor
Asset editor.


More Command line options here:
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=466981085
And here[github.com]
Diving deeper into XML profiles.
This part is for advanced users that want to modify the XML profiles produced by the LOM tool without needing to put up with the LOM tool.

Reminder: The profiles are stored here:
%LocalAppdata%\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines\LOMProfiles
You can also modify the current profile in use, though I do not recommend it because it could have some unknown side effects.
%LocalAppdata%\Colossal Order\Cities_Skylines\LoadOrderConfig.xml

The XML profiles can be easily modified do to their simplicity.

Lets breakdown a snip-it of code from one of these profiles:
<?xml version="1.0"?> <LoadOrderProfile xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"> <Mods> <Mod> <IncludedPath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\255710\2040656402</IncludedPath> <IsEnabled>true</IsEnabled> <IsIncluded>true</IsIncluded> <LoadOrder>0</LoadOrder> <DisplayText>2040656402: Harmony 2.0.4-3 (CitiesHarmony.dll)</DisplayText> </Mod> </Mods> <Assets> <Asset> <IncludedPath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\255710\1040854450\PineTree_giant.crp</IncludedPath> <IsIncluded>true</IsIncluded> <DisplayText>1040854450: PineTree_giant</DisplayText> </Asset> </Assets> </LoadOrderProfile>

So the only things that we care about are:
<Mod> <IncludedPath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\255710\2040656402</IncludedPath> <IsEnabled>true</IsEnabled> <IsIncluded>true</IsIncluded> <LoadOrder>0</LoadOrder> <DisplayText>2040656402: Harmony 2.0.4-3 (CitiesHarmony.dll)</DisplayText> </Mod>

Decoding the stuff that we care about.

<IsEnabled>true</IsEnabled>
If the mod is enabled the value can be true or false.
<IsIncluded>true</IsIncluded>
If the mod or asset is included the value can be true or false.
<LoadOrder>0</LoadOrder>
What load order value should the mod have? Lower means it loads sooner. 0 is the the lowest possible value. Modify with care if this value is the same for another mod entry as bad things can happen.

Other things we care about but we don't want to modify.

<IncludedPath>C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\255710\1040854450\PineTree_giant.crp</IncludedPath>
This is where the mod or asset is located. This is useful for finding the mod/asset you want to play with offline.
<DisplayText>2040656402: Harmony 2.0.4-3 (CitiesHarmony.dll)</DisplayText>
The first string of numbers is the asset/mod's ID. After is the asset/mod's name. Next is the asset/mod's main file(.dll or .crp)
<Asset> </Asset> And <Mod> </Mod>
Tells wether the entry is a mod or an asset. The / means the entry is over.
44 Comments
LeonardMT  [author] 10 Sep, 2022 @ 7:16pm 
Yeah you can't mass subscribe using LOM's XML profiles. The best thing you can do with it is rip the Workshop ids in the XML file. As for the issues with doing the bulk ids you may need to restart your game a few times or create a new game a few times.
Catdroid 10 Sep, 2022 @ 2:19pm 
@LeonardMT Nope. I'm talking about the Open Profile window. If I go to Import, and then load an XML file. At the bottom of the window are buttons for "Subscribe to Missing is CS", "Subscribe To all in CS", then a dropdown selection for "Mods, Assets, DLCS, Skip file", followed by "Reload", "Replace", "Append" and "Cancel".

I can click on the ID for every entry, which takes me to the workshop page for it, and manually subscribe to them. But the buttons for doing so in bulk only launch Steam and the Paradox launcher. I see no indication that anything is getting subscribed to, let alone downloaded.

I can select all of the IDs in the column, copy and paste them into a text editor, close the Open Profile window, then copy and paste into the Mass Subscribe window, but it does literally the same thing as the other two subscribe buttons: Open Steam, Load up the Paradox launcher and then nothing.
LeonardMT  [author] 10 Sep, 2022 @ 1:02pm 
@Catdroid Are you talking about the mass subscribe button?
Catdroid 10 Sep, 2022 @ 12:24pm 
I'm trying to use a youtuber's posted XML profile, but when I click either Subscribe button, Steam boots up, starts the Paradox launcher, then nothing happens. Did I do something wrong?
codewitch 12 May, 2022 @ 8:11am 
Load order mod temp fix will give you in the report what's used and not used. You could copy those to mass disable or enable.
LeonardMT  [author] 4 May, 2022 @ 11:11am 
@Shane_UK10 Unfortunately as far as I know that can't be done. You could try to include/exclude you want and save it to a profile, but I know that this is far from ideal.
Shane_UK10 4 May, 2022 @ 8:04am 
@leonardmt - It's so nearly what I want but then again, it's not. I can switch it on and only the required assets load in the game, but I need a way to get the used assets into the Load Order Tool so I can make an Export of them for the next game. e.g. I have a mature city that uses about half of the things I am subscribed to. I'd like to export those assets for the next city.
Shane_UK10 4 May, 2022 @ 1:18am 
@LeonardMT - You sir are a star! I was rapidly reaching the point of frustration and it's so simple. Thank you for explaining.
LeonardMT  [author] 3 May, 2022 @ 3:20pm 
@Shane_UK10 This guide is a little outdated as it was written when the mod was still in alpha. Anyways the LSM tab integrates with the loading screen mod and when you check "load used" but not "load enabled" it will only load the assets required for your city.
Shane_UK10 3 May, 2022 @ 7:02am 
What does the LSM tab do and is there any way to remove all the items not used in my current city? I have thousands of assets that are unnecessary and I would like to automatically remove the whole lot without manually searching for each one. At the moment I look at the LSM report and find the section "The following enabled assets are currently unnecessary (not used in this city)" and click on each link and then copy the asset number into the Load Order Tool. It's okay for a few but I have about 2000!