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Sim Settlements 2 in Fallout 4 VR Recommendations

This guide is a work in progress.

There are currently three Wabbajack mod lists for Fallout 4 VR (check Show non featured Lists to see all three) and all three of them now include SS2 and Daytripper 4, but usually only include base SS2 and an unofficial VR patch for SS2. Daytripper fixes a lot of compatibility issues with FO4VR, which has reignited my interest in FO4VR.

This is my recommendations for modifying these lists to better support SS2 content. There are two things to be aware of though if you do this.

  1. You may not be able to apply mod list updates to those lists because updating through Wabbajack overwrites most changes you make by default. You can preserve mods you've added by prefixing [NoDelete] to the start of of the mod name in MO2. But this guide also requires upgrading MO2 to 2.5.3b2, and the mod lists will downgrade it back to 2.5.2.
  2. For most mod list maintainers, modifying their list in anyway will make you ineligible to receive support from them. However, some of them also have discord channels specifically for discussing making unsupported changes.

If you aren't running one of these mod lists, just make sure you have the other essential FO4VR mods, such as F4SEVR, FRIK, Buffout 4 NG, and Daytripper 4.

Pre-Requisites

Upgrade MO2 to 2.5.3b2

Two of the lists currently include MO2 2.5.2, and one uses an older version, and these versions do not properly recognize ESL files. Many SS2 addon packs are ESLs or ESL-flagged ESPs, especially city plans. MO2 2.5.3b2 fixes this.

To upgrade MO2, you'll need to download the 2.5.3b2 version from the MO2 Discord server in the #dev-builds channel.

Download the Archive link and extract it in to the folder you installed your mod list too, letting it overwrite the MO2 files.

Configure Daytripper 4

While Daytripper 4 is already included in these lists, full ESL support isn't enabled by default. By default it can load ESL files, but does not load them in the ESL form id space, which is what allows the game to load ESL files outside of the default plugin limit.

To fix this:

  1. Close MO2 if it is open.
  2. Open the Daytripper 4 folder, which can be found at (mod list install folder)\mods\Daytripper 4\F4SE\Plugins.
  3. Rename Daytripper4.dll to falloutvresl.dll.
    This is because MO2 recognizes falloutvresl.dll as an ESL enabler, but does not recognize Daytripper4.dll yet.
  4. Open Daytripper4.toml in notepad or another text editor.
  5. Find the SmallFileLoader setting and change false to true.
  6. Save the file and reopen MO2.

MO2 should now allow you to enable ESL files in the Plugins pane.

If you are doing this in the middle of playthrough that you intend to continue with, this is a one-way trip. Once you save the game with SmallFileLoader enabled, it cannot be reverted back. If you change SmallFileLoader back to false, saves made with it enabled will then be broken or not load at all.

Update Workshop Framework & Sim Settlements 2

  1. Go to the Workshop Framework downloads page and download the latest version. Install it in MO2 and let it replace the existing version.
  2. Open the Workshop Framework folder and remove the F4SE folder. This is because the plugin is made for flat F4SE and not the VR version. If you try to load it, you'll get a popup saying it's not compatible.
  3. Go to the SS2 Chapter 3 downloads page and download the All Chapters Pack file and the SS2 Extended file. Install both in MO2 and let them replace the existing versions.

The Old Gen Replacers download for Workshop Framework can be skipped, as it only affects the F4SE plugins included in WSFW, which don't work in VR anyway. I have verified this with kinggath (creator of SS2).

These are mods that help improve SS2's usability in VR. Some might already be included in some lists. I'm listing them because they aren't in all three lists already.

Canary Save File Monitor

A simple tiny mod that alerts you when script data has been corrupted in your save. This is especially important for SS2 and other script-heavy mods that have added support for it.

Additional Official Patches for SS2

On the SS2 download page, you can find two optional files:

  • SS2 DLC Settlers Patch
    Improves SS2's compatibility with Far Harbor and Nuka-World settlers.
  • SS2 Extended Outfit Injection ESL
    Adds many of SS2's custom outfits to the random NPCs in the world.

TODO: Check if Workshop HUD override is needed, and if so, if it even works in VR. If it is needed and not compatible, I will look in to making a VR compatible version.

Fallout 4 VR Compatibility Patch for Sim Settlements 2

This mod fixes several SS2 issues specific to VR.

Skip the optional Book Fix file as Daytripper 4 already includes a better fix. If the mod list you're using has VRCP's book fix, disable it.

SS2 Clipboard for VR

SS2 uses HUDFramework to display a lot of important information in settlements and HQ. But HUDFramework doesn't work in VR, so I created this craftable Clipboard item that will display that information in popups.

While VRCP for SS2 does this a little by adding some extra info at a city planner's desk, I wanted something more portable and made this as a chem that can be added to your favorites wheel. It also displays more info, such as HQ stats when in HQ, and battle reports after Ch3's battles.

Some Things to Be Aware Of...

Be Aware of Plugin Limits

You can check the number of ESP and ESL plugins in MO2 by hovering your mouse over the number in the top-right corner of the Plugins pane. If ESMs+ESPs is over 255, you've gone over the limit and the game will not load. ESLs can go up to at least 2048 plugins supposedly, possibly 4096.

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If you are using the F4FEVR list, which has the lowest number of included mods out of the three lists, then you have plenty of room to add nearly as much as you want.

If you are using Mad God's Overhaul or Essentials Overhaul, you might not have as much room to work with due to ESP limits. ESL'd files won't have issues, but not all addon packs have ESL versions. So I will make note of ESPs that provide tons of content to get the most out of those valuable ESP slots. Also, enabling SmallFileLoader in the previous Daytripper instructions will free up lots of ESP slots.

Also Be Aware of BA2 Limits

There is a limit to the number of BA2 (archive) files that the game can load. Information on the exact number is inconsistent. Usually you'll know if you've hit the limit if the game crashes on the main menu. You can extract BA2 files to loose files in their mod folder and then remove the BA2s to help get around this limit. This is generally safe to do with SS2 addon packs.

City Plans

If you're like GingasVR, maintainer of the Essentials Overhaul list, and you're only in it for the settlement pre-build/pre-population feature added in SS2 3.5.0, then try these out. SS2 only comes with one basic plan per settlement and they do not level up.

City plans also usually do not include BA2s and are ESL'd, so they are very limit-friendly.

  • Rise of the Commonwealth
    36 city plans in one ESP
    This is a collection of city plans that were created for SS1 by the SS team and then ported to SS2. It recently got a substantial update to bring it "up-to-code" and fix old issues. It's not ESL'd but it does come with 36 city plans, which makes it worth an ESP slot.
  • City Plan Contest Mega Pack
    164 city plans in individual ESLs
    A collection of city plans created by the SS2 community for previous city plan contests. The contestants were not allowed to require mods outside of SS2, so there should be no compatibility issues. Each plan is its own ESL plugin, but we have plenty of ESL slots to work with. You can also choose to pick only the ones you want instead of all of them.

There are lots of other city plans that I haven't personally tested. Some require many other mods outside of the SS2 ecosystem, such as mods that add custom settlements or mods that add new workshop items.

You can see a list of addon packs with more city plans here: https://samutz.com/ss2db/addons?terms=&sort=city_plans&order=desc

Or search for city plans for specific settlements here: https://samutz.com/ss2db/city_plans

Building Plans

SS2 comes with about 200 building plans, but there are over 1600 more available from the community. This is a list of ones I've personally used in flat FO4 playthroughs before. Most of these are also included in the official Vortex collections created by kinggath.

ESL-flagged ESPs have a feather icon 🪶 next to their plugin file name on SS2 Catalog. Some of these aren't ESL'd because they literally can't fit their content in to a single ESL file, but are still worth an ESP slot because they have tons of content.

Many of these also include other SS2 content, such as furniture, building skins, settlement flags, etc.

I could keep going. There are so many addon packs that have been around since the SS1 days from trusted creators. You can find more here: https://samutz.com/ss2db/addons?sort=building_plans&order=desc

City Leaders

There's a setting in SS2 that lets you assign anyone as leader of a settlement, but City Leaders cards apply strengths and weaknesses to them that then apply bonuses to the settlement they are leading. Here are some addon packs that add these traits to existing named settlers from vanilla and SS2.

Other SS2 Content

  • New Power Rising
    218 HQ rooms
    If you like Ch2's HQ mechanics, Pesky's got you covered. I haven't engaged with the HQ system much in my flat playthroughs and haven't gotten that far in a VR playthrough yet, but I have no reason to believe these will cause any issues.
  • Cross Dimensional Flags
    62 settlement flags
  • 200 PET Names
    SS2 pet stores let you buy pets that can be assigned to a settlement or taken with you as a companion (like Dogmeat). You can then rename your pets and this addon adds more names to choose from.
  • Wasteland Reconstruction Kit
    Adds thousands of items to the workshop menu to build. It's not technically an addon pack, but it's maintained by the SS2 team.
  • Extended Territory Bonuses
    This is a late-game thing, specifically SS2 Chapter 3. You'll be asked to capture territories as part of the SS2 story, and some of them give bonuses to nearby settlements, but a lot of them don't give anything. This addon adds new bonuses that cover nearly all territories, even ones from mod added areas, such as Misery Island.
  • MS More Storage Containers
    SS2 has a settlement resource system where you need storage containers in the settlements to store their resources, such as building materials. This addon adds more buildable storage objects.
  • Sim Settlements 2 Automatron Mod
    This mod lets you customize your robots' SPECIAL stats. It's great if you build a lot of robots to work in settlements.

Of course, you check SS2 Catalog for more addon packs and search for addon packs that meet your specific criteria.

You can also check the SS2 category on Nexus for more SS2-related mods that aren't technically addon packs, as SS2 Catalog doesn't cover every single thing. Just be aware that any that require F4SE or HUDFramework probably won't work in VR.

SS2 Issues in VR

SS2 isn't perfect, even in flat FO4, and can have issues. I recommend making frequent manual saves, especially when starting SS2 quests or getting ready to do major objectives in them.

Workshop Plus

Workshop Plus is another workshop mod from kinggath that adds several quality of life features to the game, and to me is essential in a flat FO4 playthrough, however I have found two major issues with it in VR and recommend not using it.

  • With WS+ installed, settlers cannot be manually assigned to plot. According to mith077, creator of VRCP-SS2, this is because anything that adds alternate activation to the workshop objects will prevent anyone from being assigned to them.
  • Fly mode breaks Virtual Holsters when leaving workshop mode. I also had a few crashes after doing this. You can disable fly mode in WS+ settings, but the assignment issue was enough to make me stop using WS+.

SS2 Quest Issues

I'm still mid-playthrough at the time of writing this and will be updating it as I find issues and workarounds. I'm also considering creating a patch to try to fix some of these for VR and am using this to document what I find so that I can look in to them later.

Ch1: Hub of the Problem

Save before entering the basement via the hidden trap door. There's a holotape in it that needs to be activated at one point to progress the quest. However, some players have reported that the tape simply isn't there. In my case, when I reached for the tape, it fell through the bottom of the safe it's sitting in and I couldn't reach it anymore.

Ch1: Vim and Vigor

Save before collecting the Vitomatic. In flat FO4, collecting it plays a brief animation in which your character drops it on the floor. In VR the game will freeze your character for a bit while it attempts to run the animation. In most cases the freeze lasts as long as the animation normally would. The first two times I did this, it never seemed to unfreeze my character. On the third attempt it eventually let me go, but I don't know what was different.

Ch1: Where There's Smoke

As noted on the SS2 wiki, this quest has a lot of issues. Make a backup save before reaching the north-east quest marker when you go to search for the source of the radio signal.

There's a bit of jank where the quest will teleport you and freeze you in place for a scene when you approach the north-east marker. Try not have a gun equipped when this happens. On one attempt it never unfroze me and I was stuck. The only difference is that during that attempt I had my gun out.

The second issue happens at the end of the battle. During the battle kill the hostiles, but try to leave a few for Jake, Aiden, and your companions to finish off. Try not to have a weapon equipped when the last hostile is killed. You'll know it's over when the battle music finishes. At this time go talk to Aiden. If a new scene/dialog doesn't start, you will have to reload and try again. This took me four tries to get it to work. By then I had a sense of how long the fight would take and spent the last half of it hiding in one of the nearby huts and waiting for the others to finish off the hostiles.

Ch1: Picking Up the Pieces

Save before returning to the hardware store after dropping the 3rd beacon. I had consistent crashes every time I entered the room. The Buffout crash log points to an audio corruption issue. I suspect that there might be an issue with the audio file that Aiden is meant to use when he starts talking to you. There are many threads about this on the SS2 forums, but no set solution.

What worked for me was disabling MemoryManager in Buffout4.toml. You can set it false, progress the quest a bit, and then set back to true and continue.

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