BSA Question

[CyranGE]

Hi. . I want to ask several questions about using BSA, I cant seem to find the answers Im looking for in the google and other forums. . . I want to make BSA for my personal mods that Im using and want to clarify things before I do so

 

1. Difference of "Mod.bsa" and "Mod - Texture.bsa"? cant Mod.bsa have textures inside? I notice some mods have "- Texture.bsa" and some dont. . what is the case with that?

 

2. Do ESP need to have the same name sa BSA for the game to recognize whats inside the BSA? (I see some answers regarding this question but its not that exact and have different subject) because if the name is its basis, will it recognize names with "- Texture" in it?

 

3. Can multiple ESP share a single BSA?, i have 3 personal mods with names: cge_armors, cge_followers, cge_weapons,

do I need to make BSA for each? (Im planning to merge these mods anyway so I dont really need an answer for this but I will really appreciate if it is answered)

 

4. Are BSAs from oldrim usable in special edition? (I saw some in reddit posts that it is still usable depending on the content but I really want to know it clearly)

 

Thats all thank you :)

Edited June 9, 2020 by CyranGE

[IsharaMeradin]

1. Original Skyrim only supports one BSA file per mod. Special Edition supports two BSA files per mod: one for only textures and one for everything else. The texture BSA gets compressed while the other typically does not.

 

2. BSA files will not load unless they have the same name as their associated plugin. In the case of the textures BSA for SSE it has to follow the syntax "ModName - Textures.bsa"

 

3. Technically no, but also yes. You can while the files are loose set all three plugins to use the assets and then pack all those assets into a single BSA. As long as the plugin associated with that BSA is active then the others will see and use the files. It the plugin is not active and thus the BSA is not loaded the other plugins will not be able to use the assets and in-game issues / errors will be present.

 

4. Original Skyrim BSAs are not usable in SSE, they will cause the game to shut down / crash before it even gets a chance to reach the main menu.

[CyranGE]

Wow! thank you for the answers! I can now peacefully make BSAs without any worries. ..

 

Follow up question about "The texture BSA gets compressed while the other typically does not." Is it automatic, that the texture bsa will be compressed or should I compress it by myself. .. I havent use any tool to make BSA so Im not sure if theres an option there . .

 

Lastly, The tool I need to use is the Archive.exe in CK right? or are there other ways to make BSAs?

[IsharaMeradin]

Archive.exe tool that comes with the Creation Kit is the only way that I would make a BSA. I would not use any of the options inside the Creation Kit and I would not use any third party tools.

With the archive.exe tool, one needs to select the compression box for the textures BSA.

[CyranGE]

Thank you very much! I really appreciate the answers :)

[myztikrice]

Cathedral Assets Optimizer can also be used to create bsas. It will also convert and update LE meshes/textures/animations for SE

[CyranGE]

Cathedral Assets Optimizer can also be used to create bsas. It will also convert and update LE meshes/textures/animations for SE

Thank you! I'll look into it, I still have no access to my PC that has CK so I think I might use it for a while :) Thank you again :)

[IsharaMeradin]

I do remember using CAO to convert some BSAs and the end result was usable without issue in the game. I never used it to create a BSA from scratch tho. Cannot speak to its effectiveness in that regard.

[CyranGE]

I just finished playing for almost a day and I didnt encounter any problems with the CAO BSA from scratch :) I tried repacking other mods too to test it :) and thankfully there are no problems :) Thank you very much!!!