Is a tes5edit merged patch recommended?

[Brandon007]

I've been doing a few read ups about this 'merged patch' made by Tes5edit. Not exactly sure if I need it or not.

 

I have approximately 90 mods installed for skyrim, and I was wondering if I should make one to make my game more stable...

 

Anyone got any advice?

[ZeroKing]

For that number of mods, not really. If you start going into the high 100s or reaching the 255 .esp/.esm limit, then yes.

 

Merging mods doesn't necessarily mean the game is going to be more stable. Some mod authors do not encourage mod merging because of script functions that their mods may have.

[Nystel]

I agree with Zero. For players with less than 100 mods, not really. However, it would not hurt. But anything over 100, then it is a must. Also, look into bash patching too. It allows you to select different settings and it will let you turn some .esp off in the load order while still being used. In my opinion, a bash patch is more important than a merge patch.

[alginwe]

I think Brandon007 refers to a merged patch, not to merging mods. --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtLolEgVMTg

Creating a merged patch means actually putting another additional .esp in your load order.

 

I've beeen pondering the question if I need a merged patch too, since I am using around 170 different mods in conjunction. I have no problems or issues w. stability or playability, I just wonder if there are some things I miss in a few mods due to editing the same thing.

 

As far as I understood, a merged patch compares the different edits of two or more mods that edit the same thing in different variables and reflects the changes of both mods instead of letting the mod lower in the load order just overwrite the settings of the mod above?

 

I would second a clarification if creating a merged patch makes sense for heavier modded games or if i am just introducing problems to the setup?

 

 

EDIT: Found the answer myself by just trying out and looking through the conflicts in TES5Edit. Guess a merged patch is pretty useful ;) Found the info on the NV Edit Manual from FONV Nexus.

Edited November 6, 2015 by alginwe

[Nephenee13]

I would suggest a Mator Smash Smashed Patch over a merge patched, personally.

 

http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1513199-wip-mator-smash/

 

Its much more powerful and useful. Whether or not you need a merged (or smashed) patch has less to do with the number of mods than what those mods do. These tools can allow otherwise conflicting mods to work together seemlessly, but they do require at least some understanding of how mods work to get the most out of them

 

Mator will (soon) be releasing a standalone utility to make the Smashed Patch, but for now the TESEdit script I linked above, using the default settings, can take care of the vast majority of conflicts, assuming a proper loadorder is used as well.

[lofgren]

Whether you need a bashed or mator smash patch depends on the types of mods you have installed, not their number. Generally if you run one of those programs and they do not find anything to merge, they will create an empty mod file which obviously does not need to be activated.

 

If you have more than one mod that changes the same leveled lists then you probably want either a bashed or smash patch. If you have more than one mod that changes other items then you probably want a mator smash patch.

 

If you didn't understand the last two sentences then you should just run the programs and they will tell you if you need them.

[alginwe]

@Nephenee13, @ Iofgren

 

Thanks for the input, but I guess I skip this til its finished and not using the 0.9.xx of the file. But I think this will be a handy tool when the Standalone is finished and it has been thoroughly tested. The Threads about the tool seem to be full of anticipation...

 

@Brandon007

 

Look for the FONV Edit Manual here. U will find lots of input there, at least I did. Got a lot of new questions already, but it aint exactly rocket science, so I guess it can be figured out.

[lofgren]

Wrye Bash is well out of beta now and can handle the most common issues (leveled lists) with a couple of clicks. If you find mator Smash daunting (and who could blame you), try Wrye instead.

[alginwe]

@ Iofgren

 

Im using WB for the bashed patch, I was just wondering if I should use the merged patch to resolve some issues with mod functionality and just create leveled lists w. WB.

 

I have been looking into TES5Edit this whole evening and I am quite confident that i understand what a merged patch does and how it handles records and how i can improve on the automatic merged patch and resolve conflicts the patch cant automatically.

 

However, as I wrote, thousand new questions turned up now... I checked all my mods for errors in TES5Edit and found a lot of stuff I dont understand as of now, as well as I find information very lacking on the net how to clean these errors (and i dont mean ITM or UDR).

 

EDIT:

 

To round this up and maybe help someone with a similar question:

 

After about a week of trial and error and lots of reading I can totally encourage everyone to make a merged patch. I am by no means a versed mod user (I just came back from a long skyrim break since 2012), but the process is totally manageable, though very time consuming and requires use of brain.exe

 

-Set up your load order with LOOT or whatever you are using

-Create a merged patch in TES5Edit as in tutorial video above. Dont forget to delete the leveled lists entries once the merged patch has been created!

-Go through conflicting records, learn what they do (CreationKit.com // uesp.net) and fix what is necessary. Not every conflict needs to be fixed!

 

I found the following posts helpful, maybe someone does also:

1 - reddit merged patch guide by Dave-C

2 - afkmods.iguanadons.net info on records that merge at runtime by Arthmoor

3 - S.T.E.P.-Forums info on records that dont need conflict patches by keithinhanoi

4 - reddit practical advice on fixing mod conflicts by The_Meowntain

5 - ElminsterAU on S.T.E.P.-Forums about staged conflict resolution

6 - reddit post on TES5Edit ModGroups by somagaze

7 - another post by ElminsterAU on afkmods.iguanadons.net on using TES5Edit ModGroups with download link to basic modgroups files (Dropbox)

8 - gamesas.com post on deleted references by No suckers In Here (was particularly helpful to me and is a very basic information, not necessarily of use here, but i thought I link it anyways since it has helped me while cleaning up an old mod I had from back in 2012 which is no longer maintained...)

 

Even if you dont go through the records and resolve conflicts manually but just create a merged patch and take it as it is (without the leveled lists of course) u should see a benefit from using TES5EditMergedPatch.

- Create your Bashed Patch with WB.

 

Understanding this procedure as far as I have has helped me a lot. My game was stable before, but not all changes by all the mods I have installed showed up, there have been some conflicts preventing certain things to function correctly. This could (as of now) all be fixed by creating a merged patch. Skyrim better than ever.

 

If I should have been mistaken on any of the aforementioned points, please feel free to correct me. I am still learning myself. Just be gentle :smile:

 

I hope someone finds this helpful, thanks to all the people that invest so much time and energy in making this game so incredible and have built such a great and informative community.

Edited November 14, 2015 by alginwe