Recommendations: Bugfix Mods (2024)

Introduction

While the Unofficial Patches for Kenshi targets a number of in-game issues, there are still many bugs within the game. Plenty of mods attempt to address these issues in their own ways, many of which are not utilized by the UPK for various reasons. In order to help promote some of the good work I have come across, I decided it would be best to create a guide for what mods I can recommend to run alongside the UPK, and how they should be installed based on what info I do have.

Before modding Kenshi, read the following article:Proper Load Order & You by Atlas

Consider the link above as required reading before modding the game. Failing to do so may result in frequent crashes and poor optimization for gameplay. This is especially true if you plan on using many mods and/or overhaul mods.

Modding Guide: Bugfixes

The following mods listed below are in install order, I have tried to keep it as streamlined as possible to help improve your modding experience. Make sure to read each mods page description, as there are specific install instructions for many of these and/or known bug/compatibility issues that you might encounter. It is also strongly recommended to test one mod at a time for a while to see if you encounter any issues before installing the next mod on the list.

1) RE_Kenshi by BFrizzleFoShizzle
Basically this is one big game engine hack for Kenshi. This mod fixes Kenshi's random number generator bug that causes NPCs to only spawn at specific locations, and adds a configurable menu in-game to adjust game-speed, squad and faction sizes, and attack slots. This mod also provides options to reduce game load times and load screen times, caching shaders which should reduce load screen times, and creating emergency saves if Kenshi is about to crash.

2) Simple Map Fixes by Undernier
The only known mod that actually addresses Kenshi's terrain heightmap. Fixes glaring issues such as reducing height and smoothing areas where terrain appears to be bugged and not intentionally mapped that way by the devs.

If you use RE_Kenshi, install Simple Map Fixes by following BFrizzelFoShizzle's guide on Github. Place the mod you will be making under[Ui, Graphics, Performance].

3) Realistic Weather by Ruhadre
Realistic Weather is a complete weather overhaul mod for Kenshi, intended to fix audio inconsistencies, simulate realistic weather patterns, fix missing weather patterns, etc. This mod will adjust rainfall in fertile areas to be less, as well as fix non-acidic ground in other regions, so you may find gameplay more difficult.Place this under[Ui, Graphics, Performance].

If you don't like how many changes this mod makes to weather, or perhaps the sudden uptick in difficulty in certain regions due to the environment, then I recommend using mods like Windy World's End by FaustandWinds for Stormy Deadlands by nidareninstead.

4) Basic UI by RadarTruck
Fixes a number of odd little bugs with the UI. May not be compatible with other UI overhaul mods unless someone is willing to create a patch.Place this under[Ui, Graphics, Performance].

5)Naming Fixes Project by Endless Serpent
Fixes a number of spelling issues with character names. Place this under[Faction edits, simple additions].

6)Scraphouse Fixes (Dagnabbit Quin) by SpaceFiddle
This mod targets multiple issues with the Scraphouse location in Kenshi, but primarily it fixes an issue where the characters, Dack and Quin, keep disappearing. Just like this mod, the UPK designates these characters as unique, but aside from this overlap there is no conflict with this mod. Place this under[Faction edits, simple additions].

7)Bugfix: Restored Honor - Personality Fix by SpaceFiddle
Fixes an issue where the Honorable personality trait doesn't trigger correctly for characters, and fixes dialogue that otherwise either would not play or only play in specific instances.Place this under[Faction edits, simple additions].

8) Better Building System by SCARaw
A complete overhaul of the interior base building system, fixes multiple issues with placing furniture and objects inside all buildings. Place this under [Buildings].

9)Building Collision Fix by SCARaw
Completely rebuilds a number of collision nodes for several buildings that are notoriously buggy in Kenshi. This should allow for better object placement and characters getting stuck less often.Place this under [Buildings].

10)Vanilla Interior Fix by Flandre Mayor
Cleans up the interiors of multiple buildings and organizes furniture, no more OCD-inducing designs or clipping of objects. Should also help keep characters from getting stuck in strange locations a bit.Place this under[Buildings].

11) Better Floor Models by Forks
Replaces multiple in-game dropped models for armour and clothing, since the UPK already utilizes some of the meshes from this mod, there should be no compatiblity issues if you choose to use this.Place this under[Armor/Weapons].

12)Engine Mesh Updater by SCARaw
Kenshi's meshes were originally created using an older version of Ogre3D, the rendering engine that Kenshi is built off of. Because of this, there are a number of warnings and errors that pop up within the game that get recorded to Kenshi's log file. Between the number of warning and errors within the game engine slowing things down and how many logs get generated as a result, Kenshi is very prone to crashes. Engine Mesh Updater was the first mod SCARaw released that addressed these issues, before ElgarL and SCARaw would later release Kenshi Performance Fix which includes much of the core code from Engine Mesh Updater.

The reason I have Engine Mesh Updater listed here in Bugfixes is because SCARaw also built a function within the application to optimize meshes in mods using UpdateSteamMesh.bat. I strongly recommend only running this once you have a completed modlist for gameplay, as it can take some time for the program to process every file.

Modding Guide: Linux Users

This section is for Linux users only. Windows users will likely not experience these bugs and will receive no benefits in downloading these mods, you may even break your game doing so.

1) Wine/Proton Building interior terrain clipping fix by Frost Monster
Fixes some rendering issues inside buildings where outside terrain is clipping. Recommended for Linux users if you are having this issue. Place this under[Ui, Graphics, Performance].

Modding Guide: Install/Run/Uninstall

This section is for bugfix mods that are designed to be downloaded to fix specific issues that, once resolved, can then be removed. These are very specific and situational bugs that occur, so the vast majority of you reading this will likely never experience these issues. Load order shouldn't matter for these mods, just place them at the very bottom and remove them when you are done.

1) Thieves Guild Fix by Shidan
There is a rare bug in Kenshi where, if you've managed to raise relations with the Shinobi Thieves to be considered allied without having joined them, you will not be able to later join even if the dialogue is completed. The way you can tell you are experiencing this bug is you will not lose c.10,000 upon dialogue completion.

2) No UC Biomes by Shidan
Sometimes with the United Cities raids when Eyegore is leader, there are a few rare circ*mstances that can cause the raid event to get stuck. This mod turns off UC owned biomes temporarily in order to fix this issue. It is strongly recommended that you only leave this mod enabled until you can confirm the raid is no longer stuck, then save and remove this mod. Leaving the mod enabled too long can break your game.

3) Non-Unique Agnu by Shidan
There are a few cases where Agnu won't spawn at the tower like she should, so this mod bypasses that bug by marking Agnu as non-unique in order to force the character to spawn. You will need to import your save after downloading this mod in order for the gameplay changes to take effect. Not uninstalling this mod can cause you to have multiple duplicates of Agnu, as well as possibly break certain lines of dialogue.

4) Non-Unique Yayoi by Shidan
Same as Non-Unique Agnu but with Yayoi. This mod is useful if Yayoi somehow dies during her reinforcement event.