Max number of .esps and .esms combined before running into problems!

[LordPalpatine2020]

I've heard it's like 100 max before problems occurs, while others say it's safe to go to the absolute 255 max on the number of .esps and .esms!!! So which is it?

[iXenite]

The maximum number of plugins allowed is 255. How stable your game may be really depends on the sort of mods your using and other variables. In general, just add a little bit of mods at a time and continuously check stability.

[LordPalpatine2020]

The maximum number of plugins allowed is 255. How stable your game may be really depends on the sort of mods your using and other variables. In general, just add a little bit of mods at a time and continuously check stability.

Most of my mods are land mods, landscape mods, as well as quest mods and mods that add dungeons, etc.!

[bobbyskel78]

if they're that simplistic, just use Gecko to combine them.

this seems promising: mod limit fix

[beldaran1224]

Eh, landscape and land mods are actually incredibly taxing on the system. Unique Landscapes is notorious for its hits to performance, despite how amazing it can be. Quest mods generally aren't too bad, but you get too many adding new NPCs and you can run into issues there, too.

 

As for the "limit" fix, it is really niche and ghosting in Wrye Bash works for most people with the same issue.

[bobbyskel78]

fo real, the guy said he's running 100 something mods and your dissing a 255 fix ... get f'ing real ... this isn't the case. i was just answering that damn mod max bs.

landscape mods are in entirety taxing, ermmm not the ones that consolidate, low poly grass, the lod texture reduction ... among many others that aren't noticeable unless your playing on some wide screen tv. too many npc's, unless ... unless anything is in the renderable range, it shouldn't affect fps.

Edited June 18, 2020 by bobbyskel78

[beldaran1224]

100 is nowhere near 255. Adding annuntested mod to your load order for no good reason is stupid. It won't "fix" anything because OP isn't having the issue it fixes.

 

The only mods you qualify as land or landscape mods that aren't hard on performance (especially in aggregate) are texture replacers. Anything like HESU/UL, Elsweyr/Valenwood, etc will have significant impacts on performance and stability.

 

Additional NPCs are a huge concern for the game, because the game will not take advantage of modern CPU advances and simply cannot handle but so much in that arena. Every single NPC has AI packages to run through and adds to the load.

 

If you don't like my (completely standard, we'll supported advice), that's fine. Give your own. Fighting with me about it is weird.

[leonardo2]

The maximum number of plugins allowed is 255.

That also includes BSA (Bethesda Softworks Archive), so BSA, esm, and esp together cannot be higher than 255 without using the bashed patch in Wrye Bash.

 

Also, as beldaren pointed out the bashed patch in Wrye Bash makes it possible to install 300-350 mods at the same time. Provided that mods can be merged into the bashed patch.

[beldaran1224]

Yes, but I was referring to Wrye Bash's GHOSTING feature, not the bashed patch. The issue is that when there are so many files in the data file, even when they're not active, it can cause issue. Its why ghosting exists. However, the limit fix was supposedly made because for some people ghosting didn't work. Still, if you only have 100 plugins, you should be nowhere near the 255 limit with bsas, either. There just aren't that many mods that come with bsas, and they even less rarely have multiples.

 

That said, neither of those has anything to do with game stability. Having so many mods will always cause problems. It is unavoidable.

[DrakeTheDragon]

Just a little correction, but there are 2 unrelated limits at play:

 

The 255 max. number of plugins + master files is "not" including BSAs. It's simply the maximum address range the game has for FormIDs from plugins and itself, so there cannot be more than 255 plugins/master files "active" at the same time.

 

And then there's indeed another limit at play, the number of maximum so-called data files, that is ESP, ESM and BSA in your Data folder. I don't recall the exact number on this one anymore, it wasn't 255 though. This is what ghosting in Wrye Bash can fix, and WB will also complain when you are above this limit with un-ghosted files.

 

The fix mod brought up does a lot of other supposedly very useful things, and maybe it also fixes the "2nd" limit (didn't check). The particular issue of people not getting even close to the 255 hard limit on active plugins I myself, or others I know, haven't ever encountered so far. But maybe others have and the fix fixes it for them. Going by its description and words of its creator alone though, the fix is about everything else but what its title says. Didn't yet get around to give it a try though, as is the case with almost every new mod I wanted to try, so I'll stand back from stating anything definitely.