el2mador

I'm currently in the middle of writing one and I'm hoping for more input from regular/active modders in the community. I've already sent some questions a couple of days ago via PM, and sent a few more today - I've sent around 50+ or so. But if you're a modder who hasn't received a pm, and are interested in providing input for the article, just send me a message with the heading - "modder input", with the body including some of the work you've done so far. I'll then reply with info on the article as well as interview questions. Thanks.

I'm currently in the middle of writing one and I'm hoping for more input from regular/active modders in the community. I've already sent some questions a couple of days ago via PM, and sent a few more today - I've sent around 50+ or so. But if you're a modder who hasn't received a pm, and are interested in providing input for the article, just send me a message with the heading - "modder input", with the body including some of the work you've done so far. I'll then reply with info on the article as well as interview questions. Thanks.

So essentially the best way to go about this is to use the first example for the playthrough - Minutemen, Railroad, BOS friendly. Minutemen focus to getting Nuclear Option. AFAIK - focusing on Railroad means X6 will remain a companion since you won't get banished (the trigger for X6 becoming hostile). Focusing on the Minutemen however will get you banished an a hostile X6. I'm guessing that example would mean that I need a mod to get X6 removed from the Institute faction and keep him as a companion to prevent him from going hostile. Danse/Deacon are totally fine.

Yeah my initial playthroughs often focused on a particular faction and thus lost 1-2 other companions at the time, hence I'm looking for a perfect (no companions killed) playthrough. I kinda took note from two posts I saw on Steam - but at the same time, I wanted to get feedback from others if these will work 100%. https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/496881136924853972/ https://steamcommunity.com/app/377160/discussions/0/135512305404827890/

Here's the thing though. I prefer to finish the main quest still even on this playthrough while keeping Danse, Deacon and X6 all alive and as followers - that's something I have not done before in previous playthroughs so this fourth one would mean essentially having a 'perfect run'.

^ Grounded was the one I'm looking for. Thank you.

I saw it on a video but I can't remember the name now. Basically it flattens the ground of settlements (or at least allows you to landscape them to look flatter or dug in). So if you wanted perfect placement of your roads/houses, or if you wanted to look like your settlement has a crater or cave-in, you can do that as well.

I would be against using mods for this particular instance, since there's a possibility that it may change their script or conflict with others that also change scripts. Using the console is fine if at the very least if it would close out a quest/dialogue and thus all related scripts to it from firing = less conflicts.

This is my fourth playthrough of the game and I've honestly forgotten how that was possible. I remember my first playthrough, I focused on the Minutemen and got X6 killed. On my second playthrough, I was Institute, which sorta meant everyone died. On my third playthrough, I know that Danse simply ended up as a settler. Now on my fourth playthrough, I'd like a good walkthrough on being able to keep all three, and I'm trying to remember the most important decisions: ---------------- Important: (1) Keeping X6-88: Do NOT get banished with the Institute on your first visit as that will make X6 hostile (since you've yet to recruit him). Later on, once you have X6, just keep him in a settlement if you're out there doing quests that tell you to kill Synths. You can even destroy the Institute while X6 is just chilling in your settlement and he'll remain a companion. (2) Keeping Danse: Complete Blind Betrayal and spare him, but do NOT ever speak to Kells to avoid any progress with the quest Tactical Thinking (makes Railroad immediately hostile). (3) Keeping Deacon: Pretty much just avoid anything that makes you hostile to the Railroad. ---------------- Please note: Right now I'm level 75 and about to do Dangerous Minds (lol yeah, I was exploring and grabbing custom companions, and doing custom quests in the mean time). These are the active quests I have for the major factions: - Minutemen = Old Guns; I have yet to speak to Ronnie Shaw to get the artillery up and running - BOS = Shadow of Steel; note that I already convinced Brandis to rejoin the BOS - Railroad = Tradecraft; I have yet to speak to Deacon to start his dialogue - Institute = Dangerous Minds (main quest), I guess --------------------- So with all this in mind - does anyone have a detailed list of the quest steps that you need to do in order to keep ALL THREE of them alive and as companions, while still being able to finish the game's main quest? Right now I'm avoiding going forward with any of those quests until I have a 100% guaranteed way to keep all three alive in the end. I've never had a playthrough where all three of them were alive in the ending so, yeah, time to get that done this time around. Thanks.

The mod "Amazing Follower Tweaks" (by Dheuster) is something you'll always want to have whether it's your 1st playthrough or your 21st; whether you're only using vanilla followers, or downloaded several custom ones. (My old post) Link to the mod For those not aware, AFT is one of the most highly used and most stable companion system back in Skyrim. It’s iteration for Fallout 4 was uploaded back in September and many updates have been added since then. Here's the gang: https://imgur.com/a/OxKnD What it does: support for multiple followers (5 that take up a follower slot + Dogmeat)support for multiple saved outfits for companions (ie. combat outfit, casual outfit)set up a campsitehave companions scrap settlements for you (instead of doing it yourself)pose companionstweak companions so they do not take fall damage, have unlimited ammo, set essential or not, ignore friendly fire, enter/exit power armor, follow on weapon draw, stealth when you sneak, etcset companion aggressiveness and follow distanceset companion home location (even your current location or any internal cell)set or reverse companion likes and dislikesset number of random comments depending on the situationsculpt followers/change appearanceforce recruit an npc to be a companionscanning npcs to find their stats and traitslocates a managed companion; places a marker on them which disappears the moment you get close to them so you don't get a lot of clutterhas an extremely detailed readme/documentation on its Nexus page so you know everything there is to knowactive mod authorand tons of other featuresBasically, it makes a ton of mods obsolete since it can already offer you all the necessary features all in one esp. A couple of neat features to add: (1) Saving your spouse in the most immersive way possible If you recruit Curie and go to Vault 111 before the end of the game’s first act (before you kill Kellogg), Curie will remark that she can save him. Your spouse becomes a companion, suffering from amnesia, and has variable likes/dislikes based on how consistent your character acts.The game even remarks on how your spouse was frozen after the bullet hit him, and thus while he/she is alive, some neural damage was irreparable (hence memory loss, some dialogue feeling a bit odd, etc)You even get a perk and rekindle the romance once you get max affinity with your spouse(2) “Smart” companion recruitment Companions that take up a slot with automatically be managed by AFT the moment you recruit them (ie. ”Shall we go?” -> “Join me”)Custom companions that don’t take up a slot (ie. Heather Casdin, Wastelander Barb) are NOT added as managed companions so they avoid conflicts; the only way you can have conflicts is if you manually managed them using AFT (which you should not do)(3) Smart companion “control” There are certain quests that involve a companion being somewhere/not being with you; using other mods that allow multiple companions can cause problems - NOT with AFTExample - during a main quest, I had both Piper and Nick with me; AFT automatically had Piper dismissed to avoid conflicts while doing the quest; she was made available again after finishing that mission(4) Active fixes and support The mod is made by Dheuster (same guy who made AFT for Skyrim)Tons of fixes have been released for every update, and Dheuster regularly replies in the Nexus forumsTo give an example of how quick a fix was, I mentioned that Automatrons lost their “self-destruct” command when talking to them. The only way to remove them was to set them as killable via AFT, then shoot them. Dheuster found out what was causing the issue and released an update the next day.Updating is also fairly easy, just install and overwrite; no need to unmanage/dismiss all companions for every version--------------------- And of course, if we're on the subject of having a nice and hassle-free playthrough, the Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch is definitely a requisite: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/4598

I've seen the mod recommended fairly often but, at the moment, I'm using AFT's spouse revival feature. The mod also doesn't work for female player characters (or rather, it's designed for male player characters), so I'd run into issues if I use that. Still worth a try for those who use male characters; and it's also compatible with AFT.

I haven't gotten far with many of the Interesting Npcs in that mod, although I've met quite a few while exploring. In fact, I haven't gotten far yet with many of the custom quest mods I've installed since I'm still focused on the vanilla story and dlcs. I'd go ahead and grab them then. I assumed Storyteller was part of that mod as well so now I'm confused which mod he came from.

I'm using Amazing Follower Tweaks which is easily the best companion management/controller/overhaul mod in the game. It has all the essential functions of several other mods, and even adds its own take on settlement building, outfit saving, dialogue, and yes, even a means for you to 'immersively' revive your own spouse. That being said, here are some companion mods I'm using for my playthrough. Note that I won't be listing down any mods that just change a vanilla companion's appearance; just the ones that add actual new companions. --------------------------------------- My top picks: (1) Heather Casdin - What else can be said about this mod? Perfect. Made by llamaRCA; no bugs/no issues. Independent of the vanilla follower system. Has a ton of sidequests. Has her own main quest. Custom voice. Multiple interjections. Affinity, romance, perks. Is even a vendor with her own type of items. She just feels smarter than any vanilla companion, more complete even. It's an amazing companion mod that totally beats out anything Bethesda has come up with. (2) Ellen the Cartographer - Another companion that's also amazingly done; made by u/guicool138. Has her own affinity/romance/perk, and her own quest, with a very disturbing twist. Voiced by Potasticpanda (you may know her as Recorder/Ambriel from Skyrim; as well as mXr's special ladyfriend). (3) Mollie the Cheerleader - Made by vault75; I find this mod quite hilarious due to how much of a dumb bimbo Mollie can be when she talks; the voice acting and quips are very fun to hear in the game. Also with affinity/romance/perk. (4) The Storyteller - from New Vegas/Youtube fame; another welcome addition as a companion due to his narration/voice acting; strangely enough, I don't recall which mod I had that got him installed. I'm assuming it's from Atomic Radio/Tales from the Commonwealth; also would like to add The Wasteland Codex as a fun addition to the game, with all entries voiced by Storyteller himself. --------------------------------------- More Awesome Companions: Wastelander Barb and Shei Wolf Ally - both are independent of the vanilla system (like Heather) and don't take up a companion slot; managed by MCM as well Randompanser - fully voice acted, has her own quest/affinity/romance/worldspace/custom armor Synth06 - fully voice acted, also has her own quest/affinity/romance/worldspace/custom armor, and yes, a new pair of synth eyes Athena - also fully voice acted but does not have an affinity system; she sings though Blood Rose - custom voice (a lower pitch of Piper's), has her affinity/romance/perk system Eppie - voiced by a South African DJ; made by vault75, the same author as Mollie; unfortunately she doesn't have her affinity/romance/perk system Vault Girls Laura and Jasmine - originally made by vault75 (this guy makes really cool custom companions); he's since given permission for another author to continue updating the mod; the latest versions have made tons of fixes; the new author will also add Laura's sister, Jasmine, as a recruitable companion --------------------------------------- Notable Mentions: Ada2Human - I know I wasn't supposed to add mods that only changed a companion's appearance; but hell, this one completely turns Ada into a human; I did encounter some issues when using it alongside AFT so I did a workaround that worked fine for me (check AFT's list of compatible mods for the info) Wintermute also made by the same author as Ada2human (Lazygirl); creates cyborg companions that are fully customizable; it also has issues with AFT so I also had a workaround for it (check AFT's list of compatible mods for the info) There are also other mods in the Nexus that are worth mentioning such as T0-r1 Victoria; Vex the Knife-fighter; and Revy; these are basic custom follower mods - no affinity systems/perks, just the basic commands you can do for followers, but they sure look cool. --------------------------------------- All right. These are mine. There may be some more custom companions from quest mods. I have several installed but I've yet to start those quests so I'll probably add more of them as I encounter them. Who are your custom companions/what are your recommendations?

First off, let me clarify that I'm not an expert on this, and I've received quite a bit of help from others from Reddit/Nexus forums on how to properly merge ESP files. With all that help, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on how merging can be done, even as a total newbie. This is my 4th playthrough of the game, and the first time I'm attempting to do merges so I can have more mods active. I currently have 240 mods, with 16 merged ESPs (all armor/clothing mods). Had I not done a merge, I would have exceeded the limit (ie. probably gone up to 500+, haha). I am only focused on merging armor/clothing mods. I've yet to merge weapons or power armor mods. Merging is ideal for when you're starting a new playthrough as you can decide and arrange your mods properly before you begin. Anyway, here are some tips... -------------------------------------------------------- Programs Required: Nexus Mod ManagerRequired: FO4EditRequired: Merge Plugins ScriptRequired: WinrarOptional: Pra's FO4 Edit ScriptsOptional: Archiver (you can get this from the FO4 Creation Kit)The required files are of course needed. I also use NMM so, yep... I've no clue about Mod Organizer so nevermind. The optional Pra's FO4 Edit Scripts would only be needed if you plan on making certain mods compatible with Valdacil's Item Sorting (VIS), Horizon, or AWCKR. The optional Archive would be needed if you end up with BSA/archived downloads and wish to unpack them into loose files. -------------------------------------------------------- BSA/Archived? Loose Files? Wut??? After you download a mod, open it (no need to extract yet) via Winrar to see if it has Loose Files, or BSA/Archived files. (1) Loose Files - have multiple folders like textures, meshes, scripts, etc. (2) BSA or archived files - are those you see that have something like "Mod Name - Main.bsa" and "Mod Name - Textures.bsa" Differences: BSA's allow for faster load times compared to Loose filesHowever, Loose files are needed if you want to edit an armor piece using BodyslideMerging directly with mods that use BSA files can lead to texture problemsThat pretty much means that Loose Files > BSA filesIdeal Scenario: Download loose files for armor modsBuild using Bodyslide; never change it againTurn the loose files into BSA filesCreate a new/merged espThat's ideal. However, it can also be a bit confusing/time-consuming, so I took the simplest route, focusing on merging mods with Loose Files and not bothering to turn most of them into BSA files later on. -------------------------------------------------------- Before you merge: Make sure you're downloading LOOSE FILE versions instead of BA2/Archive versionsMake notes of the armor/clothing mods you've downloadedThink of which ones you want to merge as a batch whether because they have the same theme (ie. clothing from other video game characters); or because they're from the same author (ie. Niero, Elianora, Derpsdale, etc)Install the mods and any patches/bodyslide configs they may haveMake sure the ones you want to merge are all arranged consecutively/one after another on NMM's plugins panelExample: I want to merge several mods by DeserterX. Use NMM to download and install them, plus any optional files you may want.In the NMM plugins list, make sure they are arranged one after the other with no random mod in between -kinda like this. -------------------------------------------------------- Merging Time! On NMM, click on the Supported Tools icon, and open FO4EditYou'll see your plugins list; right click; Select None (to remove all check marks)Check only the mods you want to merge (remember, they have to be consecutive/one after the other)Hit OK and wait for it to loadYou'll then see this once the program loads it upNEVER check Fallout.esm or Fallout.exe during the entire process!Select all the mods/ESP files; right click and Check for ErrorsIf there are NO errors: Make sure the ESP files are still selected; right click; Apply ScriptSelect Merge Plugins v1.9 (which comes from the merge plugins script download above)A pop-up will ask you to choose which mods you want to merge; check the Options iconMake sure you have these settings; disregard the asset directory (make some new folder, doesn't really matter)Hit OK, name your new merged ESP file; it should then appear in your Fallout 4 Data Folder (not in that asset directory)What to do with that Merged ESP file: In the Data Folder, right click on that merged esp you created; Cut it and paste it somewhere else (like a new folder in your desktop)Then, right click on it, select Add to Archive to make a .RAR fileOn NMM, click the green PLUS icon, add that RAR file you made; install itYou should then have the Merged ESP pop up in your NMM plugins listUncheck the previously separate ESPs in your plugins list; just keep that Merged ESP active -------------------------------------------------------- But what if there ARE errors? If you "Check for Errors" and an error does pop up, just remove that mod from the list you plan on merging.If you initially did not encounter an error when checking, but something pops up when you do the merge, an error would look like this: "Some files were not included due to bla bla bla..." - so, just to be on the safe side, do another merge but do not include that mod as well.Let's say you have 10 armor mods you want to merge. 2 of them had an error. Do a merge but don't include those two. When you're done with the merge: activate the new merged espuncheck the 8 mods that were included in that mergekeep active the 2 mods that were not included in that mergeHey, at least you still save some space, right? -------------------------------------------------------- Some questions: (1) What happens if I end up merging multiple BA2 files? A - You won't be able to edit them using Bodyslide B - You might encounter issues with the textures Use the Archiver (from the Creation Kit)Unpack these files to show up as textures/meshes foldersSelect these folders plus their esp and Add to Archive (Winrar), to create a RAR fileAdd that RAR file on NMM, install it, overwrite if askedEdit via BodyslideIf you want to add it to a merge, repeat the same steps as above (2) Some people suggest creating a folder and copy-pasting all the contents of multiple mods there, and then merging afterwards. Do I need to do this? Nope, not really. Just install via NMM; select via FO4Edit; merge and go. The only time you'll need to unpack content is IF you downloaded BSA/BA2 versions; they need to be Loose files first as mentioned above. (3) What if I want to make these mods compatible with certain others like VIS, Horizon, AWCKR? Use Pra's FO4 Edit scripts linked above and choose those commands via Apply script (4) Are you not turning them into BSA/Archived files? Only for some merges if I feel like it; many others I've just kept as loose files. I'm not experiencing massive slowdowns or long loading times anyway. (5) What's your load order? https://pastebin.com/3KjKTtUQ 243 plugins; multiple merges. I guess I have all the mods that truly matter a lot and then some. Before merging, my armor/clothing mods alone were up to 350+ files total. Some mods had errors when attempting to merge so I did not include them; they're activated separately. I've also yet to merge weapon mods or power armor mods - I'll get to that when I'm almost out of room. I can probably cut it back down to 200-220 if need be. (6) What issues have you encountered? Taboolicious Street Brawler clothing had no textures, but that was because I screwed up the merge (didn't realize it had an error); so I made a new merge without it; now it's fine if activated separatelyLes Sucettes Clothing also had no textures but this was because it was a BA2 mod which I forgot to unpack first before merging; I got this fixedWasteland Pionerka had no textures, but that was because I screwed up the download; I got the correct download eventuallyThose are the ONLY errors I've encountered with my merged armor esps and these were because of my carelessness. -------------------------------------------------------- Final Tips (1) Check Armorsmith Extended - the optional files have several merged esps already. All you need to do is download those armor/clothing mods, install them, uncheck the old esps and just activate the merged one. (2) The same goes for Weaponsmith Extended which has a TON of weapons already included. Instructions are also included in the main page, namely - "REQUIRED WEAPON MODS TO DOWNLOAD SEPARATELY." - the mods below that should be downloaded separately, installed, and then have their plugins unchecked. (3) Download ESL files if they are available for a mod. ESL files don't count towards the 255 mod limit but will require the game's version to be 1.10.40 or higher, as well as NMM version 0.63.17. Certain mod authors like Derpsdale have ESL versions of their mods. download the main file and install the moddownload and install the ESLuncheck the ESP and just have the ESL activated -------------------------------------------------------- TL;DR Download mod Loose Files versions via NMM; install via NMMIf only BSA files are available, unpack first using Archiver; turn all folders + esp into RAR file; install via NMMMerge via FO4Edit; don't include esp's that have errorsTurn new Merged ESP file into RAR fileAdd and install it via NMM; keep it activated, and uncheck the old esps for the mods that you included in the mergeHope this helps. Cheers!

A bit of a background - I started a new game with a ton of mods, this time around I'm learning how to merge them all properly. So far, so good. Got 210+ mods running and many armor mods were merged up and working fine. ----------- One of the mods I had been using was [same Sex Couples and LGBT](https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/25254?tab=description) - heh, don't judge. I'm playing as Nora so it would be weird for me to be attached to a male spouse. I also had [Amazing Follower Tweaks](https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/26976/?tab=4&&navtag=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Ffallout4%2Fajax%2Fcomments%2F%3Fmod_id%3D26976%26page%3D1%26sort%3DDESC%26pid%3D0%26thread_id%3D6014643&pUp=1) which has an immersive feature to revive your spouse. SSLGBT also has a compatibility patch for AFT. This means I'll have a female character (Nora), a female spouse (automatically named Natalie), whom I can revive later on as I move forward with the game. ----------------- So I went ahead with my new game. Merged a ton of armor and weapon mods. Put them all ready in my lockboxes in Sanctuary, then saved. Next up, I went ahead and installed a few more mods for some extra features like Quests, Power Armors, and Gameplay Changes. Sorted everything via LOOT. Loaded my save.... And Nora suddenly turned to Nate! -------------- Now here's the weird thing - I used the sexchange command. So if I was playing as a male character, using sexchange would turn him female, but he would still have a male voice. This time around, sexchange turned Nate into Natalie... with a female voice! I went back inside Vault 111 and found Nora in the Cryopod! So yeah - for some reason - maybe a mod, or just changing the load order, also switched my character's gender and identity! --------------- Now the issue is that I do need to have the load orders changed because AFT is expected to be placed at the bottom of the load order (and below that is the Compatibility Patch for SSLGBT). I put SSLGBT > AFT > Compatibility Patch - as the last three esps I have. And still it did not work. -------------- Now I'm not so sure how to fix it. Hours of spawning my merged armor pieces and organizing them, down the drain. I obviously cannot continue the game further because it might cause more bugs. Anyone else had a similar issue?

Hey man thanks a lot for your patience. Regarding TheKite/Niero: I have the Swimsuit.esp disabled but it is being loaded by the merged.esp so no problems. What screwed it up earlier was that I didn't realize the swimsuit mod didn't have loose files. I downloaded that and did a new merge. It still (for some reason) created the ba2 files. But I guess as long as the swimsuit.esp is disabled, it probably wouldn't cause an issue. I looked it up on the console and only found 1 set of id anyway (form id starts with the merged esp's load order number). --------------- Regarding Karna5: I finally realized what the problem had been. Before I mentioned that FO4Edit was being screwy in that I couldn't ctrl+click multiples in order to merge them. Apparently it was just a problem with my keyboard (wow... yeah). So anyway: All the Karna armors are loose files. I had no idea why the merge kept failing when using the Merge Plugins program itself. So what I did was go back to FO4Edit and use the Merge plugins 1.9 script. None of the individual esps had errors; they were all arranged properly. Got the process working when suddenly I thought something went wrong - - the tutorial video says that I should be seeing the new merged files popping up in a folder I specified... but the files weren't there. Apparently what had simply happened was FO4Edit created a merged esp in the Fallout 4 data folder itself. I grabbed that, archived it, installed via NMM, then loaded up a save (with the 9 Karna plugins unticked)... and it worked perfectly, including bodyslide. ---------------- Next up would be a ton of Cross (non Kite) armors, Crimsonrider, and pretty much everything else I have. Cheers!

After quite a bit of trial and error for the Niero/The Kite sets - which worked fine for the most part, I thought merging would be smooth-sailing afterwards. Turns out there's another snag. This time with the Karna armor sets - 9 plugins, all with loose files so it should've been no worries. https://imgur.com/a/AzrkA For some reason, even though the Merge Plugins program tells me it's all green, no errors, the moment I build the merge I would either get: - belongs to a file that is not a master to it (no idea what this means, I practically just followed what I did for the Niero merge) - <merge name>.esp exists already in my Fallout Data folder (even though there's no esp like that in my data folder)

Thanks for those tips. I got it to work. I had the Swimsuit ba2 files unpacked using the BA Extractor and plopped them in the merged folder. This is what my merge folder looks like: https://imgur.com/a/wVPzZ All the Kite armors are in those meshes/textures folders, including Taboolicious Streetbrawler and the Cross Swimsuit. I only have Niero_TheKite.esp activated on NMM. I don't have that separate CrossSwimsuit.esp activated, but the armor set is present. -------------- I would mention that I made a mistake earlier when I said that the Taboolicious Streetbrawler set was working - apparently that was because I had the separate plugin still activated (and thus I had the items from that esp). When I included it in the merge, the textures weren't appearing/armor was invisible. It does not have ba2 files at all, they were all loose texture/meshes files and I had them included in the merged folder already. This was also properly configured and built via bodyslide. The Merge Plugins program also did not spot any errors. I'm not sure what might have caused the issue in that case. Anyway, for now, this is the fourth time I've tried the Kiteset to perfectly work as a merge, I'm okay with this result. 9 armors merged, 1 esp (Taboolicious Streetbrawler) separate. Saves up a lot of space. ------------------- I do have a couple more questions: (1) From what I've been doing so far, it does seem a bit time consuming. - I would install the mods via NMM - I'd use the Merge Plugins program to merge the esps I want - Once I have them in a merged folder, along with a merged esp, I would double check which ones have ba2 files - If there are any (ie. Cross Swimsuit), I would then use the BAE (ba2 extractor) to plop those loose files and place them in the merge folder - Then, I would use Winrar to archive them all - make a merged .rar file - install that using NMM and test Is there a faster method of merging esps? Something like - just download them, merge them, get them in one folder, and get that merged esp activated without any further issues or using another program to address ba2 file issues? --------------- (2) Is it safe to delete the old/separate rar files? In the past when I played Skyrim and FO4, once I've installed and activated a mod, I kept the rar files in my drive. Now, because I'm doing merges, I'm running out of disk space as well. Is it okay to delete like 9 original rar files once I've merged them all, or will NMM cause issues when it tries to detect them?

Thanks for those tips, much appreciated. Right now I'm doing a beginner's approach for it. -------- The first test I had (after that mishap with the Archiver): - It was to follow the Weaponsmith Extended installation tutorial to the letter - extracting loose files, putting them in one folder, then creating a textures/main ba2 for them. - It worked nicely, so that's awesome! ----------- Next up, I realized that my plugin count had reached 230+ already. I needed space. So I tried this for the Niero/The Kite armor pieces. I chose 9 plugins - Vault Tec Slave Suit, Health Care Division, Scoopdigger, Taboolicious Brawler, Charred Vault Suit, etc. I followed this tutorial by Gamerpoets using Merge Plugin - (around 17:00 to 22:00). Now it was going well for the most part, except I encountered something odd towards the end. I built a merged pack and for some reason it was "Niero Kiteset.esp.save" - not just plainly .esp. So I did a noobie guess and just removed the last part so it's plainly a .esp file. I loaded up a save and found that 7 out of the 9 armor sets were working fine. Bodyslide was still okay, no worries; I could still add them via console. I've yet to check the workbenches to see if some errors are there (hopefully none). Unfortunately, two of the armor sets - Tactical Swimsuit and Taboolicious Brawler - had invisible clothing. I'm not sure if it was a problem with the textures or meshes -but- when I did build the merge pack, all the errors had been fixed. ----------- I'm giving it another try to see if the textures would get sorted out. --------- EDIT: Taboolicious Street Brawler is fixed, no problems. It's only just the Tactical Swimsuit that's causing the issue. I noticed that when I merged esps this time around, a Cross-Swimsuit.Main and Textures ba2 files were created as well. I had these (as well as the other folders in the merged pack) archived, and then activated the rar via NMM. For some reason the Swimsuit ba2 files aren't being "detected"? I guess? The outfit is showing up on bodyslide so it's probably an issue with the esp itself not pointing to the proper assets? Well I'm a newbie so I've no idea. If in any case, I'll probably have the Tactical Swimsuit activated as a separate esp.

The Tracer Face Preset - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/28909?tab=description - mentions that an armor piece comes from Shino Clothes - https://rd.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/27596/ Cross Courser Recall has a mini-teleportation thing going for it - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/23308/ And of course, what you'll be dropping around to make enemies go BOOM? Remote Explosives - https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/22444?tab=files

Amazing Follower Tweaks - Every possible companion option you'll ever need, including tons of extra features like changing scales, cleaning up settlements, camping, notes about companion info and affinities, smart management, spouse revival, etc. - You will never need any other companion management mod, or those that improve their AI, give ammo, etc. because all these features are already part of the mod

Hi all. Just looking for some tips on merging esps - particularly armor and weapon packs. I was looking through some videos and understood a bit of what to do, but I wanted to be certain about other things as well. ---------- For instance, I would like to merge three armor mods into one esp: Ashara - Steampunk Lady: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/17329?tab=files Ashara - Under Armors: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/11879?tab=files Ashara - Cyborg Armor: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/23855?tab=files --------------- (1) Do I need to have all three installed and activated using NMM first? Or is it okay to just put all three in a folder, unpack, merge them using FO4Edit, and make an esp WITHOUT installing/activating them? (2) Let's say for example that some files have updates or patches, how do I go about that? - Do I install the main file > then patch it (overwrite) > and then merge them all afterwards? - Or do I just put the main .rar file, and the patch .rar file in one folder, unpack them, merge, make esp WITHOUT needing to install? (3) If I have bodyslide files for armor pieces, will batch build still work even if I'm using a merged esp? (4) When checking the Weaponsmith Extended page, I saw a video where the authors were using the Archive Extractor from the Creation Kit. Is this better to use than FO4Edit? (5) Finally, I've heard of a program called Wryebash. I don't exactly know what it does but players who tend to make merged esps seemed to have used it a lot before. Would I ever need it? Thank you! ----------- ADD: It seems CTRL + Left clicking does nothing to be able to select multiple records. I'm trying to combine 10 Niero/The Kite armors into one esp. https://imgur.com/a/DtWVr

I'm using Amazing Follower Tweaks which is an awesome companion management mod. It also had a built-in method of reviving your spouse which is quite immersive and lore-friendly. Here's the thing though: I'm playing a female character, and the spouse is of course male. I'd like to switch up my spouse to female as well (wink, wink!) The sexchange console command does that, however, it keeps the voice to the male one. I'm looking for a mod, or perhaps any other method, that would allow me to switch up and use the female voice for the spouse instead (yes, I'm fine with both my player character and newly-changed-to-female-spouse sounding the same).

This mod: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/15420/?tab=description&navtag=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Ffallout4%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D15420&pUp=1 Due to personal issues, the author hasn't updated or replied to the mod for over a year. I'm now looking for a way to fix it in my game. --------- https://imgur.com/a/Mq08D The issue is that the companion uses a custom body. I'm using CBBE Physics Slim. The author mentioned that you'll be able to change it to something you like by copying the texture files of your character (basefemalebody/head/hands) to the GALEJRO folder (which has 06's textures). Well I already did that however this problem occurs... LEFT SCREENSHOT - her chest becomes smushed up completely when trying to equip other outfits (ie. Gits Suit, Sirius Exoskeleton) and "body-type" outfits (ie. Fortaleza Synth, FV20 Synth, Rogue Prototype Maintenance Mode) ------------- To try to find something that worked, I used the "One Ring to Nude Them All" - which replaces the bodysuit/outfit with a nudified version of the body texture you're using. This allowed 06 to have the CBBE Physics Slim body. However - when equipping her with the 06 Holo Armor... RIGHT SCREENSHOT - not only does her chest get smudged up, her hips become wider as well (she goes from a size 06, to a size 10). The Holo Armor - DOES NOT - replace the "One Ring to Nude Them All" 'outfit' - but it does change the scale of the companion's hips, thighs, and buttocks. ------------ To undo the problems, I would have to close the game and restart it. I've also tried to copy the meshes as well but that also did not fix anything. ---------- So (1) - how do I go about fixing the body parts of a companion with a custom body? (2) How do I go about fixing the Holo Armor so that it does not change anything with the companion's body? ---------- I've had the mod for a long time and I've just had the companion join now. I'd like to edit her to make her look cooler/mecha-looking. I also like the eyes part (for use with other synth companions - once I get Wintermute or Ada2Human back up and running). But, primarily, the Holo Armor is what I'm going for since it's unique and no other mod has it.

I've no idea but for the past couple of days, the textures in my game have suddenly become low res. https://imgur.com/a/zDzZQ - the Institute patch on the jacket looks smudged - the flowers look a bit blurred - the trees look like they're made of paper - the walls look terribly low res I have my game set to Ultra since I started playing and haven't had issues like this in the past before. ------------ I did note that my save game file size increased from the usual 10 mb (a month ago), to 23 mb (for the past week). I'm assuming this is due to the number of active mods I have - for instance I have several companions with custom armor pieces running around; I also have built up Sanctuary, Graygarden, The Castle, and Oberland Station using a ton of stuff. I was using a mod called Settlements Expanded (which allowed unlimited building). I'm guessing that my game's save is bloating due to those settlements also being loaded by the game world automatically. Would this mean that I should avoid having multiple fully built outdoor settlements? ----------------- The last straw is after I picked up a custom companion called 06-Synth. I had the mod active, and have seen the npc before in Diamond City, but it's only now that I just picked her up. No problems occurred at first - I did a couple of quests with her and a couple of other companions (using AFT for multiple followers). I got back to Sanctuary and was changing her armors. Because there was something wrong with her texture (I don't think it's compatible with the CBBE preset I had - slim physics - her body looked smudged when I was making edits). I loaded up an earlier save before I made those edits and... it took 20 minutes for the game to load. I closed the game, launched it again - and once more, it took 20 minutes to load. The game is now crawling at a snail's pace. The latest save I had before getting her was around 2+ hours ago worth of a playthrough, so I loaded that one up and had no issues. Is it possible for one companion to suddenly slow the game down? I honestly cannot remember anything else I did after getting 06-Synth except doing two radiant settlement quests. I did not build any settlements further. All I did was try to edit her appearance and clothing. --------------------