Need ESL Clarification (ESP with BA2?)

[NeuroticPixels]

Hi there.

 

After trying my hand at converting ESPs to ESLs through FO4Edit and the Creation Kit, I read something today that had me scratching my head.

 

On this page: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/35777?tab=posts

JimmyRJump states: "If the mod has BA2 files that come with the esp the BA2 will no longer be seen as belonging with the esl since the files require an esp to function."

 

Does this mean that we can't change ESPs that come with BA2s into ESLs?
This is pretty much exactly what I'm wanting to do with ESLs. :pinch:

Or does it mean that even though I converted the ESP into an ESL, I'll still have a plugin counted against me with the 254 available slots? (So there's really no point in the ESL conversion if that's the case for these types of mods, right?)

 

I've tried to message JimmyRJump, but saw he hasn't been on the Nexus in almost 2 weeks, so I figured I could reach out to the Nexus community as well.

 

Thank you for your time!

Edited March 16, 2019 by amber1019

[ladyaurora]

I have flagged multiple BA2 archive, esp reliant texture mods as esl and had no problems with them showing up in game. They don't count toward your total plugins.

[Glitchfinder]

I ended up removing the BA2 option from You And What Army? because it would not work with the esl I made for the mod, and it was the simplest way of handling it. I don't know specifically how the loading works, but I suspect that it ties into the file's extension as well as the type it's flagged as.

[Glass1411]

.Ba2 files are just archives, Bethesda's versions of zip files, and have no bearing on whether a mod can be converted to ESL format or not.

Mod users can use xEdit to convert mods that are safe for converting, it's recommended that the Mod Author make complex conversions.

Here is the link to the guide:

How to (Easily) convert ESP's to ESL's using xEdit

Edited May 26, 2019 by Glass1411

[pra]

I'm pretty sure "Foobar.esp" and "Foobar.esl" will both load "Foobar.ba2".

If loading a ba2 is all what you need, an esl should do the trick.

[NeuroticPixels]

Since I've posted this, I've gotten good at converting ESPs to ESLs via FO4Edit or the Creation Kit.

Thank you all to who responded, though.

 

Only issues I've encountered is when mods include scripts. Sometimes those scripts (like MCM scripts) have to be edited to reflect the mod now being an ESL.

[pra]

Ah, yes. If a script references a file by name, it will need adjustment.

[VIitS]

There is little point in changing the file extension. I recommend leaving the extension as .esp, and just using FO4Edit (xEdit) to add the flag. It's actually better to add the flag in xEdit than to convert with the CK, since the CK won't stop you from making a plugin a .esl when it has a new record with a formID >xxxFFF.

 

If you just add the flag, you shouldn't need to worry about a script that references the plugin by name*. Another thing to keep in mind if changing to the .esl extension: the game will treat any plugin with the .esl extension as having both the ESM and the ESL flags. If you just add the flag without touching file extension, you can have a .esp plugin, flagged as ESL, that has a regular .esp master. Changing the file extension forces them both to load with the ESMs, which can cause issues.

 

*also means you don't have to mess with patches to get them to work, unless you had to compact it, in which case you better have the patch loaded in xEdit when you compact the master plugin so it will change things appropriately