I’ve noticed this from time to time, but in my current project I’m dealing with it again 
so decided to post about it:
When one builds a patch using standalone VCV, the Audio module and the MIDI module are interfacing with hardware sources/destinations directly. So for example, in my case, the Audio module shows “ASIO Hammerfall DSP” on my RME systems (when I’m in Windows; in Linux I use Jack to interface with my RME cards, but basically the same story), and the MIDI module shows “Keylab mkII 61”, and so on.
Now, as I save a patch like this, perhaps using VCV as a playable instrument, this data is saved with the patch. If I then, at some point, want to use VCV like an instrument inside a DAW project, using the plugin instrument version, and load the patch, the Audio module conveniently defaults to “DAW”, piping material into the DAW instead of trying to open a direct connection with the hardware interface.
The MIDI module, however, still tries to establish a direct connection to the actual MIDI controller, and doesn’t work. When ever loading a patch like this inside the plugin instrument version, this needs to be changed manually to “DAW”, to receive the data from the DAW [and to be able to sequence using the DAW timeline, etc etc]. And this needs to be done… every… single… time, unless you want to save a separate version of the patch.
Which brings me to the second point: when saving a patch within the plugin version of VCV, with “DAW” selected for both modules, if I then later load the patch in the standalone version, it will have lost the standalone chosen MIDI and audio interfaces completely. Loading a patch like that, you now need to choose both manually again.
So, two suggestions, first the easy one for the first point: going from a standalone saved patch, to using it within a DAW, the easy addition would be defaulting “DAW” for the MIDI module, too (at least as an option).
The more general fix, for the second point: the patch file should store the standalone chosen interface settings separately from the ones used in the plugin version. When working standalone, with some hardware interfacing selected, loading that patch inside a DAW should default to “DAW” for both audio and MIDI (like it already does just for audio), and in any case store the selected interfacing within a DAW as separate settings. Saving the patch while working in a DAW would save those, and the standalone hardware connections would still be remembered as you chose them, standalone, when you again load the patch in standalone VCV.
(If really pushing this 
, the standalone version of VCV could have an actual default MIDI and Audio device settings/preferences section, and the MIDI and Audio modules would be able to default to these if the interfaces stored in the patch aren’t available. Maybe even have a setting for “always default”, “default only if device not present”, “never default”, heh. So when loading a patch from anyone, saved on any system, you could have your audio and midi devices defaulting the way you wish, no matter what is stored in the patch - and also override this behavior if required.)
