On the Mods page, the list is the load order. A mod loads after the ones above it. When you apply, the panel also moves any mod that sits before a mod it needs. You usually only have to add the mods.
Why order matters
Often it does not. The game’s own wiki says load order does not matter when no two mods change the same thing. It matters in two cases.
- Two mods ship a file with the same path. The mod loaded last, lower in the list, wins.
- A mod needs another mod. A mod’s
mod.infofile can sayrequire=another mod, orloadModAfter=orloadModBefore=a list of mods. The mod must load after what it needs.
A mod can also say incompatible= for mods it cannot run beside. If two of those are on your list, the panel refuses to apply.
Maps are different. Map mods load first and the game’s own map, Muldraugh, KY, always loads last. Two map mods that use the same part of the world clash, and no order fixes that.
Change the order
- Open the Mods page and the On this server tab.
- Drag a row up or down, or type a new number on the row.
- Choose Sort by what each needs to let the panel do it. It says “Sorted: every mod now loads after the mods it needs.”
- Choose Apply and restart while the server runs, or Apply when it is stopped.
- Loads too early
- Sort by what each needs
Box 1 is the warning on the row. Box 2 sorts the list.
Nothing is written until you apply. The bar at the bottom of the page says “a new order”.
What the order check does
At apply, the panel reads the mod.info of every mod. It puts each mod after the mods it needs and follows loadModAfter and loadModBefore. Where no rule applies, your order stays.
If it moved anything, the page lists it: “The order check moves 2 mod(s) so each loads after what it needs:” and then a line for each, such as Trailers loads before Late: Late asks to load after it. The last line of the box shows “Maps, in load order:” with the maps from your mods first and Muldraugh, KY last.
A row can warn you before you apply: “Loads before …, which it needs. Drag it lower, or sort by what each needs.”
If it does not work
- “Needs …, which is not on the list.” Add the missing mod. The row has an “Add” button for it.
- “These mods’ order rules contradict each other.” Two mods each ask to load after the other. Take one off.
- ”… cannot load together with …”. Take one of the two off.
- A mod misbehaves although the order looks right. Open Crashes and read the findings. See mod errors.
- Two maps break each other. Reordering does not fix maps that share part of the world. Take one off.
Next: add Workshop mods and maps.
Sources: pzwiki.net: Load order, pz-wiki-modding.github.io: Modinfo.html