NikaCola Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 I'm finally at a point of completion with the companion story mod I've been working on, where I need to essentially start over clean and do it again the "right" way. When I first started modding I had no idea what I was doing, and the earlier parts of the mod itself are, I'm sure, a total mess from a scripting/best practice perspective. So I wanted to make sure this time I do it right. I've heard that it can be a really bad thing to modify things in the vanilla game world, even just adding containers/quest items/etc. So is there a guide anywhere that can tell me things to be sure I'm doing or not doing? Or does anyone here have any advice along those lines? The mod I made is basically done and I'm proud of that, but I want to be super sure that it plays nicely with other mods and the game world itself, so I will really appreciate any help or perspective. Thank you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VIitS Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 Adding things is fine, it's moving (some) existing things that can cause problems. If you want to know if anything you have moved will cause a problem, look at your mod in FO4Edit. If there are any Placed Object references (in any Worldspace or interior cells) with [] around Placed Object (i.e. [Placed Object] ), then previs and precombineds will be disabled for each cell with one. This is usually fine for exterior cells, though it can have a slight impact on performance (which can become more significant if the cell is in/near the city). If you have any interior cells (i.e. under the Cell category rather than Worldspace) with a [Placed Object]*, that will most likely cause problems. *[Placed Object] indicates a reference that is part of a precombined mesh. Placed Object indicates a reference that is not a part of a precombined mesh, and can be modified without fear of affecting previs/precombineds. As far as quests/scripts goes, I haven't done anything with those myself but I would say making new ones is always better than editing existing ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikaCola Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 This is usually fine for exterior cells, though it can have a slight impact on performance (which can become more significant if the cell is in/near the city). If you have any interior cells (i.e. under the Cell category rather than Worldspace) with a [Placed Object]*, that will most likely cause problems. So I really shouldn't add any quest items, etc. to vanilla game cells? =( Aw man, there are several locations I need to do that in. Unless I'm not understanding what you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VIitS Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 You aren't understanding what I meant at all. Add whatever you want. As long as you don't move, delete, or in any other way modify existing records, you won't have a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NikaCola Posted March 28, 2017 Author Share Posted March 28, 2017 You aren't understanding what I meant at all. Add whatever you want. As long as you don't move, delete, or in any other way modify existing records, you won't have a problem. Sorry about that. I'm still fairly new at this. But thank you for your help! I feel better knowing I'm not going to break the game for everyone. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve40 Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Well, if you add things to vanilla game cells using CK, it will conflict/override any items that other mods add to those very same cells. It's best to add such items via script if you can. Otherwise you will probably have to make a gazillion compatibility patches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VIitS Posted March 28, 2017 Share Posted March 28, 2017 Well, if you add things to vanilla game cells using CK, it will conflict/override any items that other mods add to those very same cells. It's best to add such items via script if you can. Otherwise you will probably have to make a gazillion compatibility patches.It will only conflict if he makes new previs/precombineds, the other mod makes new previs precombineds, or they put things in the exact same spot. If he is just adding a few small things, and it's not in the exact same spot as anyone else, there will be no problem, as long as the mod is properly cleaned. If if he is careful in the CK and doesn't select anything he won't even need to clean it. If he isn't planning on changing any vanilla items, cleaning is as simple as opening the mod in FO4Edit, and removing any Placed Object references that are from vanilla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve40 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 No, if two mods add references to the same vanilla cell, one mod will overwrite the changes made by the other, no matter where the objects are placed in the cell. Unless you merge both mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrivener07 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 That sounds awful. Is this precombine thing new to the bethesda series? I have not done any render window work so my knowledge is weak. That is total s*** if the "Rule of One" applies to entire cells now :sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VIitS Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 No, if two mods add references to the same vanilla cell, one mod will overwrite the changes made by the other, no matter where the objects are placed in the cell. Unless you merge both mods.Only if the changes are in the Cell record itself (CELL type), and not placed objects (REFR). If you make new previs/precombineds, and another mod makes new previs/precombineds, only one of those will be applied (last mod to load), but even then it won't stop the other mod's placed objects from loading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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