Tes5Edit Merged Patches and the various SkyProc Patchers

[Afromelon]

So, i consider myself a veteran mod user, i know most of the do's and don't's of modding, i know how to use boss to sort my load order, as well as make educated guesses on where to put mods in a load order that dont get auto sorted by boss. I also know how to make bashed patches, and configure mods like t3nd0's skyre reproccer, and ASIS to work with my particular combination of mods. There is one thing i have never really delved into before though. Merged Patches.

 

Now, i understand how to clean mods in tes5edit, and all my mods are cleaned, so now that thats all out of the way...

 

I need an advanced user to tell me this: I know i am not supposed to select my bashed patch when loading mods into tes5edit to make a merged patch, and from what i have heard, you are supposed to put your merged patch above your bashed patch, correct? If that is true, does that mean i also shouldnt load any of the mods that come after the bashed patch (e.g. skyproc patches like ASIS and the reproccer) into the merged patch?

 

In addition to those questions, once i create my merged patch, when i rebuild my bashed patch in the future, does the merged patch get integrated into the bashed patch and/or is there any extra step i should do regarding getting the merged patch to work well with the bashed patch?

 

Thank you SO much for your help.

 

P.S. here is my load order so you can tell me exactly what SHOULDNT be in the merged patch...

 

• Skyrim.esm
• Update.esm
• Dawnguard.esm
• Dragonborn.esm
• ClimatesOfTamriel.esm
• moonpath.esm
• SPIKE.esm
• SoS - The Dungeons.esp
• SoS - The Wilds.esp
• SoS - Civilization.esp
• HighResTexturePack01.esp
• HighResTexturePack02.esp
• HighResTexturePack03.esp
• Unofficial Skyrim Patch.esp
• Unofficial Dawnguard Patch.esp
• Unofficial Dragonborn Patch.esp
• Unofficial High Resolution Patch.esp
• Chesko_Frostfall.esp
• Better Dynamic Snow.esp
• RevampedExteriorFog.esp
• better_torches_brighter_torchlight.esp
• CLARALUX.esp
• CLARALUX-DG-Patch.esp
• StaticMeshImprovementMod.esp
• StaticMeshImprovementMod-DragonbornTernFix.esp
• Birdsclean.esp
• Birdsofskyrim.esp
• Bring Out Your Dead.esp
• Chesko_WearableLantern.esp
• Chesko_WearableLantern_Guards.esp
• Chesko_WearableLantern_Caravaner.esp
• Dual Sheath Redux.esp
• GuessDistance.esp
• Book Covers Skyrim.esp
• MVABasic.esp
• MVAIvarstead.esp
• PilgrimsDelight.esp
• Radiant and Unique Potions Poisons and Booze.esp
• Skyrim Immersive Creatures.esp
• Skyrim Immersive Creatures - DLC2.esp
• Skyrim Flora Overhaul.esp
• Convenient Horses.esp
• Convenient Horses - Unique Frost.esp
• Auto Unequip Ammo.esp
• Dragon Soul Relinquishment.esp
• Footprints.esp
• Footprints - Ash.esp
• IMAGINATOR - Visual Control for Skyrim.esp
• RaceMenu.esp
• RaceMenuPlugin.esp
• SkyUI.esp
• iHUD.esp
• IMAGINATOR - MCMenu.esp
• LessIntrusiveHUD.esp
• KWTelescope.esp
• Cloaks.esp
• Cloaks - Dawnguard.esp
• 1nivWICCloaksNoGuards.esp
• 1nivWICSkyCloaksPatch-NoGuards.esp
• DragonbornArmorFix.esp
• hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
• ImmersiveArmorsNPCs.esp
• DeadlyDragons.esp
• ERSO 03 - Slighty Mighty Dragons Unleveled DD.esp
  • ERSO 03.3 - Mighty Dawnguard Dragons.esp
• ERSO 03.4 - Super Mighty Dragonborn Dragons.esp
• DeadlyDragonsArmory.esp
• DeadlyMonsters.esp
• ERSO 03.5 - New Dragon Loots.esp
• ERSO 04 - Mighty Odahviing.esp
• ERSO 04.2 - Mighty Durnehviir.esp
• ERSO 05 - Dovah Holy Book.esp
• ERSO 06 - Wait More Time Dragon Encounter x3.0.esp
• ERSO 07 - Mighty Dragon Priests.esp
• SkyRe_Main.esp
• SkyRe_Combat.esp
• SkyRe_CraftingFix.esp
• SkyRe_EncounterZones.esp
• SkyRe_EnemyScaling.esp
• SkyRe_StandingStones.esp
• SkyRe_Survivalism.esp
• SkyRe_hothtrooper44_ArmorCompilation.esp
• Unique Uniques.esp
• ESFCompanions.esp
• ESFCompanions - VilkasProvingHonorNoShowFix.esp
• moonpath_questdata.esp
• PumpingIron.esp
• Run For Your Lives.esp
• The Paarthurnax Dilemma.esp
• Wyrmstooth.esp
• AchieveThat.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-Dawnguard.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-ESFCompanionsPatch.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-PaarDilemmaPatch.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-SkyRePatch.esp
• Guard Dialogue Overhaul.esp
• Headtracking.esp
• Immersive Weapons.espdD-No Twitching Dragon Death Animation.esp
• NonEssentialChildren.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-NECPatch.esp
• posesivecorpses.esp
• SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators.esp
• SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators-Dawnguard.esp
• SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators-Dragonborn.esp
• dD - Enhanced Blood Main.esp
• TheChoiceIsYours.esp
• TheChoiceIsYours_Dawnguard.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-TheChoiceIsYoursPatch.esp
• aMidianborn_Skyforge_Weapons.esp
• Helgen Reborn.esp
• RealisticRoomRental.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-PersidRRentalPatch.esp
• RRR_Dragonborn-Patch.esp
• RRR_Moonpath-Patch.esp
• SoundPropagationOverhaul.esp
• FootstepsSoundsOverhaul.esp
• ClimatesOfTamriel-Sound.esp
• skyBirds - Airborne Perching Birds.esp
• Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Dungeons.esp
• Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Dawnguard Interiors.esp
• Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Major City Exteriors.esp
• Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Major City Interiors.esp
• Realistic Lighting Overhaul - Minor Cities and Town Interiors.esp
• ClimatesOfTamriel-Dawnguard-Patch.esp
• ClimatesOfTamriel-Dragonborn-Patch.esp
• ClimatesOfTamriel-Nights-Level-3.esp
• SoS - The Dungeons-PatchSPO.esp
• SoS - The Dungeons-PatchRLODungeons.esp
• SoS - The Dungeons-PatchRLOMajorCityInteriors.esp
• SoS - The Wilds-PatchSPO.esp
• SoS - The Wilds-PatchCoTSounds.esp
• SoS - Civilization-PatchSPO.esp
• SoS - Civilization-PatchRLOMajorCityInteriors.esp
• SoS - Civilization-PatchRLOMinorCities.esp
• SoS - Civilization -PatchCoTSounds.esp
• dD - Realistic Ragdoll Force - Realistic.esp
• Predator Vision.esp
• Brevi_MoonlightTales.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-MoonlightPatch.esp
• WerewolfPerksExpanded_1.6.esp
• DragonbornAscendant.esp
• DragonbornAscendantDawnguardExpansion.esp
• DragonbornAscendantDragonbornDLCAddon.esp
• dovahkiinrelax.esp
• ForgottenMagic.esp
• Better Stealth AI for Followers.esp
• LockpickingOverhaul4.esp
• UltimateCombat.esp
• DragonCombatOverhaulDragonborn.esp
• Horsemen.esp
• Horsemen Combat Enhancement.esp
• The Dance of Death - Ultimate Edition.esp
• GDO_Plugin_SkyRe.esp
• dD-No Spinning Death Animation.esp
• vImmersiveBeds.esp
• WyldMenuPlugFemale.esp
• WyldMenuPlugMale.esp
• 3DNPC.esp
• RealisticNeedsandDiseases.esp
• RND_Dawnguard-Patch.esp
• RND_USKP-Patch.esp
• RND_Dragonborn-Patch.esp
• HothFollower.esp
• UFO - Ultimate Follower Overhaul.esp
• UFO - Dawnguard AddOn.esp
• SlavePackRiekling.esp
• Alternate Start - Live Another Life.esp
• BetterQuestObjectives-AlternateStartPatch.esp
• SkyRe_Races.esp
• ethereal_elven_overhaul.esp
• EEO patch.esp
• WATER.esp
• WATER Plants.esp
• WATER DB Waves.esp
• Dragonborn HD Ultra.esp
• Weathered Road Signs.esp
• Smoking Torches.esp
• RND_Water-Patch.esp
• DeazurainLoadout.esp
• Compass Marker Range 4000-12000.esp
• (Bashed Patch, 0.esp
• Automatic Variants.esp
• ASIS-Dependency.esp
• ASIS.esp
• SkyRe_EnemyAI.esp
• Dual Sheath Redux Patch.esp
• ReProccer.esp
• ReProccerNONPLAYERfix.esp
• ReProccerDragonborn.esp
• Warburg's 3D Paper World Map - Texture 3.esp)

The last 10 that i have underlined are the ones in question. Should none of them at all be included in the merged patch?

[prod80]

ReProccer and it's patches should always be loaded last, with merged/bashed patches above them... everything that need to be loaded after ReProccer must be added to it's blocklist.

 

Not that clear on the bashed patch thing... I dont use them since it only seems to support levelled lists in Skyrim and I use levelled list patches so I never needed... Reproccer itself does not touch levelled lists yet so in all honesty I would even think you can savely load a bashed patch containing only levelled lists after Reproccer.

 

In regards to the Merged patch in combination with a bashed one you should make sure the merged patch is not containing the levelled list data (wouldnt make sense would it).

 

Come to think of it... if you anyway wanna use merged patches, why even bother making a bashed patch? Merged patches seem to be able to do whatever a bashed patch is doing and more. Unless I am mistaking ...?

[Afromelon]

No, merged patches and bashed patches are completely different. while im not as familiar on what a merged patch exactly does as i am with a bashed patch, bashed patches are absolutely required if you are running more than one mod that adds items to the leveled lists, because a bashed patch merges leveled lists automatically. Merged patches dont do that, so you need both. Honestly what i really need to know is: do i put the merged patch at the bottom, or before the bashed patch? i know im not supposed to import the bashed patch into the merged patch, so does that also mean i dont import any mods that come after the bashed patch as well (such as the reproccer, etc)?

[Dienes]

A tes5edit merged patch will include leveled lists automatically, please don't spread the misinformation that it doesn't. Wrye Bash will give you more control over the leveled lists using bash tags, but I find for most load orders ted5edit is just fine. If you do use both you have to manually delete the leveled lists from the merged patch. So long as you do that it doesn't matter which is first in your load order.

 

Both bashed patches and merged patches must come before any skyproc patches. Do not try and include skyproc patches in a merged patch. And remember any time you change your load order you need to rebuild the bashed/ merged patch first and then rebuild your skyproc patches.

[Afromelon]

^ thank you so much dienes. Sorry for spreading false information, this is what i was told by Sharlikran in his videos, there are no subsitutes for a bashed patch, and you should be using BOTH...but now i know not to include skyproc patches in the merged patch, which is good news...How do i delete the leveled lists from the merged patch? I mean i know i do it with tes5edit and open up the file, but which section do i just entirely delete? Also do i still need to do that even if i put the merged patch before the bashed patch?

[CrispyWalrus]

^ thank you so much dienes. Sorry for spreading false information, this is what i was told by Sharlikran in his videos, there are no subsitutes for a bashed patch, and you should be using BOTH...

You might want to rewatch Sharlikran's video on making a merged patch. As Dienes notes a merged patch contains leveled lists. Sharlikran does recommend merged along with bashed patches but makes sure to delete the NPC and Item leveled lists from his merged patch stating that he wants WB to handle leveled lists. See 20:38 in his merge vid.

[Afromelon]

Ah thanks...so i don't have a leveled npc's entry, is that alright? Also i have a weapons entry, and i use skyre...should i still include that? I see on some weapons, in the merged patch its giving it two material entries i.e. the nightingale bow has the material ebony, AND daedric...daedric being from the update.esm/dlc/unofficial patches (i forget which one) and ebony being from skyre...in skyre it doesnt list the bow as having the material daedric. is any of this stuff i need to worry about?

[CrispyWalrus]

After I made my merge patch I just right-clicked and removed Leveled Item and Leveled NPC from it. If you don't get one with merging then no worry as nothing to remove I guess. Weapons and Armor are what the ReProccer acts on, and hehe... funny thing is that I had the same question about multiple material types. I was asking qotsafan earlier today that very exact same thing.

 

I don't really know myself. I've run SkyRe for a while and always just used a bashed patch and things worked fine. Now after updating my video card and reinstalling with new mod additions I am unstable around Riverwood. I also just started watching Gopher's FNVEdit video, which I saw recommended in the comments on Sharlikran's as a more newb-friendly one.

 

Gopher has a real knack for tutorials imo. His voice is well-paced and articulated and I think he must really outline his plan of what he is trying to convey ahead of time so there is little rambling off on tangents. For example his video does a quick fade while FNVEdit processes all his plugins so there is no wait and losing track of the intended knowledge transfer. It was his video I used way back when I first converted my game to SkyRe.

 

As far as your original questions my understanding is the same as well. Merge patches do not include bashed or skyproc patches. Merge patches load last after all your mods but before the bashed patch, which itself loads before the skyproc ones. I have always run BOSS, then WB deselecting my skyproc plugins and making a Bashed patch, then I retick my skyproc patches and rerun SUM. This has always worked fine until I hugely increased my mods so now I am hoping adding a merged patch in helps with that.

 

I had started my own thread in this forum about conflicting mods and the only recommendation I've gotten is that I drop SkyTEST, which I am really loathe to do as it is a huge immersion boost. I see you run it too, but I only have the SkyTEST-RealisticAnimals&Predators.esp in my files while you have esps for Dawnguard and Dragonborn. What version are you running? I am running 1.34c. Are those later esps just from the optional files?

Edited May 27, 2013 by CrispyWalrus

[Afromelon]

Running 1.34c as well, http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/10175/?tab=2&navtag=%2Fajax%2Fmodfiles%2F%3Fid%3D10175&pUp=1

 

Optional files section, yeah.

 

 

Weird about riverwood though, i dont seem to get any problem like that around there, but who knows, i may eventually. I'm only level 6 at the moment.

 

My guess about your freezes around riverwood - theres some mod, or some combination of mods whos scripts are just entirely bugging out and causing that massive freeze...could be SkyTEST...could be some random MCM mod... i dunno. Whats your processor?

[CrispyWalrus]

Only an Athlon II x2 2.8GHz with 4GB RAM. I've been eyeballing a Phenom II x4 3.2 GHz (965) upgrade but I really don't have the $90 or so right now. :P

 

My vid card is my strongest component since I just upgraded to a Radeon HD7750. Reviews have it running Skyrim much better than I can so I know I am CPU bound. I run at only 1280x720p with 2xMSAA, 8xAF, and RCRN FXAA and keep shadows at lowres though medium quality and distances.

 

If I load my game with just HD textures and no plugin mods I can start at Helgen run to Whiterun and back without issue so it has got to be a mod (or a couple) conflicting in the mix. Frustrating as hell since played ten levels and no issue in the Reach first hehe.

 

I wish I knew the CK to take a look but I have no clue. Just getting into TES5Edit lately. I did fire up the CK once last month to confirm a script for Kettlewitch of KWTelescope when I was having an odd issue, but that's the whole of my experience with it.

Edited May 27, 2013 by CrispyWalrus