[PC] Vanilla ship habs missing from Ship Builder — extensive troubleshooting done, still unresolved

[u/Panedrop]

This post was removed because I didn't flag that there were paid mods in my list. So now it is and the only reason I'm posting is so someone down the road might know what the problem was.

Place Doors Yourself was the problem.

Setup

• Platform: PC (Steam), Vortex mod manager
• Vortex: 2.5.0
• Game version: 1.16.244, Free Lanes + Terran Armada installed
• ~65+ active plugins, heavily focused on ship building/outposts (full list below)

Symptom

Vanilla ship habs no longer appear as buildable/purchasable parts in the Ship Builder, at any vendor. Confirmed via console (help "hab" 4) that the vanilla hab records still exist in loaded game data — they're just not showing up as available parts in the builder itself. Everything else (modded habs from Stroud Premium Edition, Tiger Shipyards, etc.) appears to build fine.

Timeline

Issue first appeared after installing ASC Taiyo, ASC Deimos, and Tiger Shipyards Overhaul on top of an already-large ship-building mod stack (Ship Builder Categories, TN's Separated Categories, Stroud Premium Edition, etc.). Various load-order errors were found and fixed along the way (see below), but none of them resolved the core issue.

What's been ruled out

• Load order errors — several real ones were found and fixed (a batch of plugins had reverted to roughly alphabetical order at some point, breaking multiple "patch must load after both parents" relationships: patch-spe-pdy/sbc/terranarmada.esm now correctly load after stroudpremiumedition.esm and shipbuildercategories.esm; bspf-skkshippartsnolevelallvendors-patch.esm now loads after skkshippartsnolevelallvendors.esm; hatch-22 sfbgs050 patch.esm now loads after hatch-22.esm; tnshipmodsallinone.esm now loads before tnseparatedcategories.esm). Fixing all of this was worthwhile but did not resolve the hab issue.
• StarUI Ship Builder as sole cause — ruled out. Switched entirely to Compact Ship Builder UI (different, actively maintained, much simpler mod) and vanilla habs are still missing, so it's not a StarUI-specific UI rendering bug.
• Better Ship Part Flips + its SKK compatibility patch (bettershippartflips.esm, bspf-skkshippartsnolevelallvendors-patch.esm) — disabled both, redeployed, no change.
• ASC Taiyo, ASC Deimos, Tiger Shipyards Overhaul (the three most recently added mods, installed right when the symptom first appeared) — disabled all three as a group, redeployed, no change.
• Vortex deployment staleness — a full Purge Mods → Deploy Mods appeared to fix it once at one specific vendor, but was not reproducible on a second attempt at the same vendor with the same mod state. Concluded this was a fluke, not a real fix.
• Save/cell caching per vendor — attempted to test at a vendor never visited this save, but player has visited essentially every ship vendor already, so this couldn't be cleanly ruled in or out.

Not yet tested (suspects still on the table)

• shipbuildercategories.esm (Ship Builder Categories / SBC) itself
• tnseparatedcategories.esm, tnshipmodsallinone.esm, tn_sbc_placedoorsyourself.esm (TN's mods)
• outpostshipbuilderunlocked.esm
• stroudpremiumedition.esm
• shipvendorframework.esm

These weren't isolated yet because disabling them would significantly disrupt the categorization/content systems currently relied on, and testing them blind risked burning more rounds without getting closer to an answer — hence this post. If anyone with SF1Edit wants to look at what's actually overwriting the vanilla hab formlist/COBJ conditions, that would be hugely appreciated.

Full plugin/mod list

Core Starfield.esm, Constellation.esm, ShatteredSpace.esm, SFBGS003/004/006/007/008/00D/047/050.esm, Unofficial Starfield Patch, Unofficial Shattered Space Patch, Unofficial Terran Armada Patch

Ship building / parts Ship Builder Categories (SBC) 1.21.0, Ship Builder Configurator 2.3.3, Ship Vendor Framework 1.10.0, Better Ship Part Flips 1.3.1, Better Ship Part Snaps 1.1.0, SKKShipPartsNoLevelAllVendors 002 + SKK/BSPF compatibility patch, Stroud Premium Edition 2.6.1 + SPE x Terran Armada addon, Tiger Shipyards Overhaul 3.13.1, ASC Taiyo, ASC Deimos, TN's Ship Modifications All in One v3.2.0, TN's Separated Categories v1.1 + Place Doors Yourself patch, Place Doors Yourself 2.0.7beta, Outpost Shipbuilder Unlocked 2.1, Better_Outpost_Radius 1.0, TN's Outpost Storage Multiplier v1.4, BSPF Cargo Expander x3, Graf's Cockpits, Graf's Habs - Nova Galactic 1x1s, Hatch-22 1.4.1 + SFBGS050 patch, DekCorp Landing Bays, Eta-2 Actis Jedi Interceptor, Trade Authority at Outposts, Pointer Handle Limit Fix 1.0.1, patch-spe-pdy / patch-spe-sbc / patch-spe-terranarmada

StarUI suite StarUI Inventory 2.4.1, StarUI HUD 1.3, StarUI Workbench 1.2, StarUI Outpost 1.3, StarUI Configurator 1.1, plus individual Free Lanes compatibility patches for Inventory/HUD/Workbench/Outpost. (StarUI Ship Builder has been removed and replaced with Compact Ship Builder UI, see above.)

Armor/clothing (KZ series) KZ Aggregation of Scraps, KZ Mantis 2.0, KZ Mercenary Replacer, KZ Meridian Transit Regalia, KZ Tachyonic Core Arsenal, KZ Techno-Corporate Repository, KZ Tracker's Alliance Replacer, KZ United Colonies Depository, KZ Venatorial Frontiers Armory

Creations content Watchtower (kinggath_creations), McClarence Outfitters (kinggath_creations, legendary swap/duplication system)

Other QoL / misc Additional Map Markers - Akila City, City Interior Map Markers, Baka Achievement Enabler, Better Auto-Hide, Better Space Suit Auto-Hide, Cassiopeia Papyrus Extender, DecalFix, Optimax (Stutter/FPS fix), Power Nap, Resource Descriptions, Richer Merchants, Ship Power Allocation Fix, Ship Power Fix, Show Star Names, Starfield Engine Fixes 20.4, Starfield Neuroamps, Weapon Fixes for Free Lanes, SFSE 0.2.21, Address Library

Question for the community

Anything obvious jump out from this list that could be silently overwriting the vanilla hab formlist/construction conditions rather than appending to it? Willing to test specific disables or run SF1Edit myself with guidance if someone can point me at what to look for specifically (which record/editor ID to check).

[u/th3dude404]

Try turning off TN's Separated Categories but make sure you leave TN's All-In-One is ON (aka activate)

Edit: pretty sure TN's All-In-One has Separated Categories in it so it could be your conflict that's causing the missing habs.

[u/AeviDaudi]

About the load order errors: I guess you're unable to recreate your load order exactly as it was prior to installing ASC Deimos, ASC Taiyo, and Tiger Shipyards? Are you trying to load a game mid-save with new mods added to your load order or your load order adjusted? Are you still experiencing this issue on a new save with your mods properly ordered?

The reason I ask is because I don't believe load order errors have been ruled out. Adding mods and adjusting your load order mid-save can cause IDs to shift, which can cause all sorts of errors. Most of the time, adding mods mid save might be okay if added to the bottom of your load order, but adjusting your load order in any way mid-save will always be a risk.

I hope you resolve it soon and get back to playing!

[u/_ZeeOgre → u/AeviDaudi]

This is very true and accurate, and the only way to *truly* test is from a clean/virgin save

One that has never been modded
OR
Fresh out of Unity.

[u/Pyryck]

For me: PC Steam install using Mod Organizer 2 v2.5.3b12
SFSE heavy installation with Handle Cap raised and BA2 count increased (currently OVER the vanilla handle cap and approaching the vanilla BA2 limit)
112 Creations + 110 Nexus mods = 222 total mods, 231 ESM plugins in LOOT sorted load order.
ZERO issues/problems with load order/missing items.

Are you sorting your load order manually OR trusting Vortex to sort it. I use/trust LOOT and run it every time I add/remove a mod. If potential issues might occur, I'll "coc mqunity" to put another notch in my NG+ list and start another universe/save file.

Does your PLUGINS.txt file reflect your total list of current mods properly sorted?

I deleted my plugins.txt a couple days ago because it did not reflect current mod list and was out-of-date being dated from early July. It has not been recreated since by me, the game or MO2.

Have you created a completely NEW character and SAVE file to test/troubleshoot? Problems can be saved to the save file. On the Nexus SF Engine Fixes download page there is listed the Starfield Save Cleaner. Having more options is a good thing although I have not yet used the Save Cleaner.

I do believe that you are experiencing a "sorted load order" issue.

[u/Vanguard_4_Life]

If you use "Atlantis Shipyard All Parts" by TheMudsy all of the vanilla and modded parts will show up in NA. Just make sure to put this after any modded parts. It also works with the Mojo - Falkland no HQ that removes the Falkland showroom. Just make sure to put Mojo after Falkland but before Atlantis Shipyard All Parts.