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Load Order

Load Order can affect the results of Synthesis patches in a few ways

Patches Only Consider Mods Earlier in the Load Order

A patch being run will only consider the mods that come before it in the load order. Any mods that come after it are ignored and not seen or considered by the patchers when they are running.

For example: 

ModA.esp
Synthesis.esp
ModB.esp

If a patch pipeline for Synthesis.esp was run, ModA.esp's contents would be considered while ModB.esp would be ignored.

Patch Not On Load Order

If Group being run is not on the load order, then it is considered to be last and will consider everything on the load order.

Building On Previous Patches

Do patchers consider any other patcher's results when running?

Within a Group

Patchers within a group build on each other's contents. An earlier patcher's changes will affect a later patcher's results.

Patchers in a Group

In this scenario, Speed and Reach Fixes will run first. Any changes it makes will be seen and considered as Facefixer and AmmoTweaks run right after.

Similarly, FaceFixer's adjustments will be seen by AmmoTweaks which will make the final adjustments before exporting to Synthesis.esp

Occasionally, ordering will matter, as some patcher might want to act on the content that another creates.

Between Groups

Group interaction works slightly differently. Groups see previous Groups' results as if they were a normal mod on the load order. So the initial Load Order example takes effect.

For example: 

ModA.esp
Patch1.esp
Patch2.esp
ModB.esp

Patch1's run will consider ModA.esp when running, and nothing else.

Patch2's run will see ModA.esp and also the results of Patch1, as it is a "mod" before it in the load order.

ModB.esp will not be considered by either, as it is later in the load order.

Group Order Should Match Load Order

It is important to note that generally Groups should be run in the same order they appear on the load order.

Mismatched Order Leads to Bugs

Running patcher groups in a different order than they appear on the load order can result in inconsistent output

For example, if the Synthesis groups are listed: 

GroupA
GroupB
But are listed in your load order as: 
GroupB.esp
GroupA.esp
Then the following will occur:

  • GroupA will run first
  • GroupA will see GroupB's contents, but stale from the previous run
  • GroupB will run second, and perhaps change its contents

The result is that A has now built itself on an outdated understanding of B. This may or may not mean the results will not be as expected, and a 2nd run will suddenly "fix" the issue as now A will see B's new results.

Instead, it is recommended to keep the ordering in sync, unless you plan to run the groups independently in some special custom setup.