Tes4Mod:Wrye Bash/Balo

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Bash Auto Load Ordering (aka Balo) is feature of Wrye Bash that automatically orders mods based on the group they they've been assigned to.

While it's possible to use this feature with any user defined set of groups, a "canonical" set of groups is also provided (Balo Groups). By using these groups, it's hoped that users will end up with a fairly standard organization of files -- and so with a shared body of knowledge.

[edit] Groups Types and Ordering

There are two types of groups:
- Base groups are named by mod type (e.g. Root, Clothing, Weapon, Tweak). The canonical group set defines specific base groups and their relative order.
- Offset groups (e.g. Tweak-1, Tweak+1, Overhaul+1) are simply groups that are "offset" from base groups. E.g. the Tweak is followed by Tweak+1, which is followed in turn by Tweak+2. Conversely, Tweak is preceded by Tweak-1, which is preceded by Tweak-2, etc.
Most mods will go into their corresponding base group. E.g. a clothing mod will go into the Clothing group.
However, if a mod needs to be specifically ordered before or after another mod or set of mods, but the base grouping won't guarantee this, then the mod should be put into an offset group. Some examples:
- Mods from Frans usually need to load before mods from other overhauls. So Frans mods are usually put into "Overhaul-1" rather than "Overhaul".
- A mod that patches a quest mod needs to load after the quest mod. So it would be put into "Quest+1".
- A quest mod that that needs to load before a particular Place mod might be put into Place-1. Or, the place mod might be put into Quest+1.
Order Inside Groups
- Within groups, order of mods is alphabetical. This factor can be used a something of a cheat -- mods can be named so that they will automatically sort into correct order.
  - E.g. if Knights.esp and Knights Patch.esp are in the same group, then Knights Patch will automatically be sorted after Knights.
  - Note that the ".esp" is ignored while sorting. "Knights" is shorter than "Knights Patch" so it comes first.

[edit] Full Balo

Bash will later have a "Full Balo" mode which automates ordering a little bit more.
Relative dates of Balo groups will be checked to make sure that they don't overlap.
Groups that have not been assigned to any group will be moved to a special "Unsorted" group which will come between the Last groups and all other groups. (I.e. Root, Library, ..., Unsorted, Last-1, Last, Last+1). Mods within the Unsorted group will not be alphabetically sorted, but instead will be freely reordered (within the Unsorted group).
Again, Full Balo is not yet implemented!

[edit] Balo Groups

The canonical Balo groups are shown here. For a list of mods and their suggested Balo grouping, see Balo Groups.

Root: Oblivion.esm and a very few other root esms/esps that will sort correctly.
Library: Mods that are intentionally designed to act as libraries for other mods.
Cosmetic: Race and face tweaking mods.
Clothing: Clothing mods.
Weapon: Weapon mods.
Tweaks: Mods that tweak existing aspects of gameplay. Tweaks are differentiated from overhauls by focussing on one specific factor of gameplay (e.g. Vampirism).
Overhaul: Overhauls are essentially super-tweaks.
Misc.: Mods that introduce miscellaneous new elements into gameplay.
Magic: Magic Overhauls.
NPC: Mods that add companions, npcs to cities, roads, etc.
Home: House mods for the player.
Place: Villages, towns, landscape altering modes.
Quest: Quest mods.
Last: Last base group is exclusively for Bashed Patch mods. Offset groups are for mods that need to load lastish, but before or after the Bashed Patch.