Note about Mod Manangers:
Mod managers are being worked on and may automate all or some parts of the information listed here for those who choose to use them once they release.
To load loose files you need to use or make a StarfieldCustom.ini with the following settings:
[Archive]
bInvalidateOlderFiles=1
sResourceDataDirsFinal=
You can find an example of this ini packaged into the Base StarfieldCustom.ini to Enable Loose File Mods mod. You must install this in Documents\My Games\Starfield.
Below we will present two possible ways to start this process of setting up the ini filea.
This is the recommended one since Bethini will accurately create & update your inis.
This should setup all ini files properly and you will now have a good base for adding future ini value mods.
Documents\My Games\StarfieldStarfieldPrefs.ini and click copyStarfieldPrefs - Copy.iniStarfieldCustom.ini and clear all values out of itInitial Setup of the ini filesYou should now have a clean ini with only the 3 lines needed for loose file loading
Note about Windows file extensions:
If you created your own .ini and are running into issues, the first thing to check will be the file extension. Double and triple check it is.iniand not.ini.txtSome Windows setups will protect known file extensions like .txt and prevent you from changing them.
Note about invisible characters:
Sometimes when copying/pasting text stuff from web pages it can result in non-printable invisible characters. It is recommended to type .ini values in yourself if you're unsure how to navigate and deal with these.
Starfield brought with it a rather interesting change up to loading loose file mods to compared to past games you can now load loose files from either of the following directories:
Documents\My Games\Starfield\Datasteamapps\common\Starfield\DataYou can not use both at the same time. There are some issues if you try to make use of the Steam path as the documents path gets top level control over loading when loose files are present in both and stuff in Steam path will then not load.
There are special issues you need to be aware when you try to use the Steam path. Below is a list of those issues and some explanation.
The MOTD image will prevent you from loading any loose file mods from data/textures in steam path you will have to delete this generated image and add this to your StarfieldCustom.ini to prevent the image from returning every relaunch and messing your loading up again.
Add the below setting to your StarfieldCustom.ini:
[General]
bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0
Photo mode writes to a data/texture path in documents as well so any use of photo mode will also break your ability to load texture mods via Steam path. This path can not really be changed without breaking stuff as parts of it are hard coded so that the game can read from this path and use the photos to make ingame loading screens and so you can view your photos ingame.