The Creation Kit just wiped out my Esp. What Now?

[nzukowski]

I don't know how but the ck just zeroed my esp. It now shows a .tes (I honestly don't know what that is), I tried renaming the .tes to an esp but nothing from the esp I was working on is there any more. Is there anything I can/should do? I've been working on this mod for months, I might have a back up of my esp on my my old laptop, but even then I'm losing at least two weeks of work.

 

Has this ever happened to anyone before?

[RaidersClamoring]

tes stands for The Elder Scrolls. So it basically converted to the most ancient format the framework is able to recognize (though that's all it can do, it can't edit it). Were you doing some type of editing that would pertain to metadata before this happened?

[ChuckYufarley]

Check the Backup folder in the game's main directory. It should have fairly recent backup copies of your .esp. Find the latest one, copy/paste it into your data folder, and rename it to eliminate everything that comes after .esp.

[RaidersClamoring]

One modder that also had this happen to him said this:

"I figured it out. I was running another program through MO2 at the the same time that was using the file. The CK couldn't write the file since it was in use."

Chat GPT had this to say:
"Make a Backup: Before attempting any fixes, make a backup of the .tes-file. This ensures you have a copy of the original file to work with in case anything goes wrong during the repair process.

Rename the File Extension: First, try simply renaming the .tes-file to .esp. Sometimes, the file extension might have been mistakenly changed, and this can be a quick fix to get the file working as intended.

Check for Plugins.txt: In your Fallout 4 directory (where the game is installed), check for a file named "plugins.txt." This file lists all the active plugins for the game. If you find the .tes-file listed there, change the file extension to .esp and save it.

Load in Creation Kit: Launch the Creation Kit again and attempt to load the .tes-file. Sometimes, the issue may have been temporary or related to a specific session of the editor. Reloading the file might resolve the problem.

TES5Edit/TES5VREdit Cleaning: If the .tes-file still doesn't load correctly, you can try using a third-party tool like TES5Edit (also known as TES5VREdit) to clean the file. TES5Edit is a tool for examining and modifying plugin files, and the cleaning process may help resolve any corruption or data issues in the file. Make sure to create a backup of the .tes-file before attempting this step.

Recreate the Plugin: If none of the above steps work, you might need to recreate the plugin from scratch in the Creation Kit. It's possible that the .tes-file is too corrupted to recover, and starting over is the best option.

Remember to always back up your files before attempting any fixes to avoid the risk of data loss.

If you encounter persistent issues with the Creation Kit or file corruption, consider seeking help from the Fallout 4 modding community or Bethesda's official forums, where experienced modders may have encountered and resolved similar issues."

As a side note, Bing bot is entirely useless.

[RaidersClamoring]

(TES5Edit/TES5VREdit should be FO4edit for your purposes of course)

[nzukowski]

I didn't realize there were backups (it worked and Im back to where I need to be) . You guys just saved me a ton of work and a nervous breakdown so thank you all. You're also quick, I barely had time to cry into my beer.

 

I've got no clue what caused it, but at the time it occurred I was working on getting a nif for a custom weapon to line up with the players hand in game would not closing something out in nifskope while the game was running screw something up?

 

In any case I think I've learned my lesson, always have back ups for progress you can't afford to lose.

 

This really had me on the brink, so again thank you.

[SKKmods]

CK doesnt want to save a file whilst it is loaded in a running game. It can be forced, but you risk getting what you got.

[84Cronos]

Since everything helpful for your current problem has already been said, let me add something regarding your future of modding, something you've probably already thought about: Always! I repeat always(!) back up your work manually. I personally create between 5-10 backups each day when I work on my mod for several hours, since I don't want to risk losing any work. It might be a little bit annoying doing it for the first time but you will get a hang of it quite quickly. Storing those backups on some kind of cloud service or external backup storage can also help. There is nothing more devastating to a modder than losing a lot of work.

[ChuckYufarley]

Glad it worked out for you. I've been down that road before and it's a real gut punch when you lose a bunch of work.

[Nazurdin88]

This post is the top search result when I type this issue into Google. So, hoping this advice will save someone else the heart attack I just went through.

If the above suggestions don't work and you have Steam, Steam regularly creates backups of your game files.

To utilize these backups:

1. Go to \Steam\steamapps\common\(Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starfield)\Backup
2. Remove the ".bak" extension from the plugin in question (ex. myplugin.esp.bak > myplugin.esp)
3. Replace the corrupt .esp file with the new one.