I got it working for saved games, but for new ones: not a chance. The mod fixer doesn't seem to have any influence on this, so you are probably correct that it isn't needed any more.
The mod manager fix is the automated version of the post from the moderator. It is basically chanding the mods files to include the correct game version. Even the latest mod manager seems to get this wrong, though again, it doesn't seem to make any difference for the behavior.
The mod manager I'm using is the one from laughing leader, and up to hotfix 6, it worked nicely.
At least I can now play again. Thanks for the suggestions.