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SR2 Community Patch

Yes. If a mod requires another mod, then you don't need to explicitly enable the dependency.

In fact, because the game handles it a bit weirdly, it may be that you can't explicitly enable the dependencies of some mods, because those mods override some of their parents' files. (This is explicitly the case with Rising Stars and the various Alternative Interface variants, for example.)

Thank you Dalo. My second paragraph in my OP should have told you that I am using other mods. I tried using both mods but all hell breaks loose when I do. Several mods tell me they are incompatible because of several conflicting files. Oddly, if I use JUST the CP, OR the MP mod, I get no such file conflicts.
So, if I am understanding you, it doesn't matter if I "Enable" a mod. It will still be used by the correct mods even if not enabled.

Okay, back up a bit. Are you using any other mods?

I would suggest subscribing to both the CP and the MP (for now, at least). However, if a mod requires either the CP or the MP, it will implicitly sort-of "enable" the right mod when you enable it. As such, the only reason you should be worried about not being able to enable them is if you're not using any other mods.

I did what you told me to do, like a good soldier, and I unsubscribed to CP and subscribed to MP. However, I can't get MP to "Enable" in the game. You know how the game will tell you why it won't enable ( on the right window), well, it won't tell me why it won't enable. But the Enable button is greyed out for this mod.
I am also getting the issue with some mods telling me they are not compatible with this version of SP. I can still Enable them though. 🤣 Oddly, they were compatible, but now they aren't when I unsubscribed to CP. They are not important mods to me, but they are "nice to have" mods. Do I subscribe to CP AND MP?

Right, so:

Some mods still require the CP as a dependency. This is not something we can control (... well, I am the author of the most prominent of these mods, but I haven't gotten around to updating it yet), but the official stance is that those mods are outdated.

The MP has more improvements than the CP does. Unlike the CP, the MP will also receive updates in the future. Unless one of your mods specifically requires the CP, you should use the MP.

Neither of the below issues have any bearing on your ability to play whatever mods you choose, on whatever SR2 installation you're using. (Except pirated and otherwise outdated copies of the game. I offer no guarantees on that front.)

Also: Both the CP and the MP are compatible with the OS version of the game. The only points of incompatibility so far are:

- Data incompatibility between non-CP/MP commercial players, and non-OpenSR OS players. This stems largely from the Bromma and Farum shipsets present in most non-OpenSR builds of the game, since these were never made available for the commercial version of the game. (Except through non-Workshop mods, and the MP just now. Within the context of OpenSR, the purpose of the MP is to soak up any data changes/fixes that would previously have been haphazardly dumped into the OS repositories, ensuring compatibility between unmodded OpenSR and unmodded Steam/GOG games.)
- Possible binary incompatibility between all OS clients and all commercial clients. This requires further examination, but should be resolved by the time OpenSR itself is released.

The Modpack is little more than a rebranding of the Community Patch. It's the same project, with two significant differences:

1) Historically, soloriens has not always been accessible, and while the CP repository has seen an abundance of changes since it was first published to the Workshop, the Workshop item has never been updated. This is why the CP's Workshop entry is being deprecated instead of rebranded, as Steam only allows the original author to update a mod.

2) The CP was created before the game was open-sourced. Although it was arguably in an ideal position to integrate itself into the development process of the OS version of the game - and to bridge the gap between the OS and commercial versions - this opportunity was ignored by all parties involved. The OpenSR project as a whole is intended to bring some semblance of order to the matter, and to set some standards for the future development of the game.

What's the difference here? One thing that's nice about this patch is that it keeps the game the game and mostly just fixes stuff. Is that going to be continued in this other thing or will it grow to be more heavily modded? RN this is the only mod I've got going on.

I'm also curious... why is the other one compatible with open source and steam, but this one is steam only?

Heads up, everyone - as of right now, the Community Patch is being deprecated in favor of the OpenSR Modpack:

https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2340626368

Further development on the Community Patch is being discontinued. All unreleased CP work has been transferred over to today's Modpack release. Be advised that Rising Stars and Shores of Infinity will continue to require the Community Patch until those mods can be updated. (The Rising Stars beta on GitHub has already made the leap, but I don't think I'm ready for a Workshop push just yet.)