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When NOT to clean an ESP?


kvngreeley

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Hi, everyone. I am trying to better understand what to look for to know that I shouldnât clean a mod.

 

I know to check the readme txt file for that warning.

 

However, as part of testing mods, I have started examining the contents of the ESP files using TESPCD. In doing that, I am finding many strange things in some mods that donât seem to have a purpose.

 

I have been limiting my cleaning to when the Admin Comments on MWMH say it needs cleaning or MLOX indicates it.

 

However, I was just looking at a mod where neither MWMH or MLOX said it should be cleaned. But the mod contained 72 GMSTs for no apparent reason. It also had some Misc Item Entries, Static Entries, etc. that didnât seem like new content. I went ahead and cleaned the mod and all the GMSTs were removed as well as 7 other objects. Afterward, the ESP content was reduced by over half of the previous entries listed.

 

I tested the mod again after cleaning it and it worked the same.

 

I also just batch cleaned all my mods on my old computer and I think that was a mistake since some Companion mods were cleaned that have the warning about not cleaning.

 

So I am looking for some hints on what to look for in TESPCD or elsewhere that might indicate I can clean the mod to remove unnecessary content. I donât know if doing that will help reduce the number of reported conflicts when I run a conflict report on my full load list or if doing that will help with a very large load order or when looking to combine mods to conserve load order space.

 

I am still using TESTool for cleaning as I try to learn more about Enchanted Editor.

 

I am also curious why MLOX doesnât always say that a mod contains Evil GMSTs. I have the latest version of MLOX.

 

Thanks for any hints, guidance, or references you can offer!

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TESTool is a good cleaning program

I only use one function: Clean ESP/ESM files

Options:

Restricted dialog cleaning

Restricted cell cleaning

Some TT elements are not cleared, so I follow the new elements and remove superfluous elements from the Enchanted Editor.

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mlox uses a manually curated list of plugins (that'll be me, hello). It doesn't scan / parse plugin contents, just uses the file name. There's some peering into plugin headers (Description field mainly) but that's it.

 

Enabling the two Restricted options in TESTool that ZWolol mentions is safest. Not enabling them would only adversely affect <5% mods, IMO.

 

abot's got an excellent guide on his site (as well as a host of other fascinating articles) - http://abitoftaste.altervista.org/morrowind/index.php?option=content&Itemid=10&task=viewpost&id=53&-Morrowind-modding-for-smarties-part-3-tes3lint-tes3cmd-and-TESTool

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Thanks for these responses and thanks for that explanation on how MLOX does that piece! Thanks for that link. I will look more closely at that.

 

When I use TESTool to clean mods, my screen looks like the example from abot, meaning only those 2 boxes are checked.

 

When boxes are not checked, like the dialog box, that means it is enabled, right? I hope I havenât misunderstood that.

 

Thanks again!

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When those checkboxes are cleared it means that cell and dialogue cleaning are *not* restricted.

 

I'd like to change what I said above: "Not enabling them would only adversely affect <5% mods, IMO."

 

Thinking about it I'd say <1% of mods, the only one I can think of off the top of my head is ManaUser's Wanderers of Soltsheim, that uses a mod-added empty cell as a "garbage dump" for its NPCs.

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Just to throw in my two cents, I have been using tes3cmd to clean all my esp's/mods for a couple of years now that don't otherwise say 'Don't Clean', and I used to think it was superb. But lately I'm becoming suspicious that tes3cmd may be cleaning too much, particularly ' redundant CELL.WHGT: ' which I understand means water height. Does anybody have any comments about this, i'm just throwing it out there because I am curious.

BTW-Morrowind is STILL the best game IN THE WORLD:)

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