Custom CM Companions not showing up...

[RandomArt]

I recently made four dwarves as CM companions and placed them on the stairs of the Bruma Cathedral, but when I got there to pick them up and move them over to a house mod I have, they weren't there...

 

Any idea what may have caused this?

[Herculine]

What did you put in their AI list? If their AI tells them to be at a specific place performing a specific action during a specific time period they should be doing just that. If it's not an AI problem, it could be some kind of load order problem. Maybe another NPC's AI is conflicting with their schedules. When I first tried to play with Talitha, the Ainmhi CM by Divine Avenger (which has no bugs that I could find -- well-done and thank you, DA!), I could never find her in the Wawnet Inn & Tavern where she was supposed to be. As it turns out, another CM from another mod apparently was hogging up her space so she simply wasn't there. I don't pretend to understand why Oblivion does some of the things that it does, but when I changed my load order I was then able to meet Talitha. Maybe your problem is similar?

[mimada]

If you're using a custom race, then the race file should be an esm instead of an esp.

[Herculine]

I'm a newbie so I certainly don't intend to contradict the advice of other more experienced modders, but I would like to elaborate upon it if I may. I've created a few custom race CM Partners companions and even submitted one to the TESNexus now, and I've found that it's okay for your custom race to be an esp as long as your CM is created withint that same esp. If you keep those two aspects separated, however, then you will likely need to go the esm route. :whistling:

[RandomArt]

Fair enough. Can I make a .esp a .esm with OBMM? Or do I need Wyre Bash or something else entirely?

[mimada]

Integrating the race into a companion esp is untidy. Let's say that you create a Cute Elf with its race merged within the esp. Another modder does the same. A novice downloads both esps but also has the Cute Elves installed as a playable race. If you and the other modder forget to uncheck the playable race option, the novice will have three different instances of Cute Elves when they create a new player. Even if everyone who creates a custom race companion remembers to make their instance of the race non-playable, every custom race companion installed will use more system resources than if the companion was designed to use a single esm.

 

It gets more confusing if the custom race comes with its own resources. You run the risk of overwriting or duplicating the resource files (meshes, textures, etc.). If the novice installs two Cute Elf companions, both will come with resources for hair, eyes, ears, etc. Uninstalling one may remove the resources for the other especially if they are packaged as OMODs.

[mimada]

Fair enough. Can I make a .esp a .esm with OBMM? Or do I need Wyre Bash or something else entirely?

Wrye Bash has the capability to change an esp to an esm or an esm to an esp but you can also use TES4Gecko. I like Gecko just because it loads faster.

 

You can also use Gecko to merge the files if you want to go in that direction.

[Herculine]

Integrating the race into a companion esp is untidy. Let's say that you create a Cute Elf with its race merged within the esp. Another modder does the same. A novice downloads both esps but also has the Cute Elves installed as a playable race. If you and the other modder forget to uncheck the playable race option, the novice will have three different instances of Cute Elves when they create a new player. Even if everyone who creates a custom race companion remembers to make their instance of the race non-playable, every custom race companion installed will use more system resources than if the companion was designed to use a single esm.

 

It gets more confusing if the custom race comes with its own resources. You run the risk of overwriting or duplicating the resource files (meshes, textures, etc.). If the novice installs two Cute Elf companions, both will come with resources for hair, eyes, ears, etc. Uninstalling one may remove the resources for the other especially if they are packaged as OMODs.

 

I hadn't thought of that, but you are certainly right. I guess you would have to know enough about it all to use TES4Gecko or something like that to merge all the esp files and clean up any redundancies that it renames as duplicates. I've actually had to do that with mods I downloaded before I got up the courage to become a member. :biggrin:

[Guest Salmacis1968]

I hadn't thought of that, but you are certainly right. I guess you would have to know enough about it all to use TES4Gecko or something like that to merge all the esp files and clean up any redundancies that it renames as duplicates. I've actually had to do that with mods I downloaded before I got up the courage to become a member. :biggrin:

 

Putting your custom races into an esm. file is also especially helpful if you're creating a large number of companions of more than one custom race. That's what I'm currently doing with my ongoing CM Partners companions mod, which also adds a large interior worldspace and integrates (or will in its next version) Midas Magic spells for the companions to use. I found that, to get the spells to stay in their spell lists and to get the companions to show up in the interior, I had to make the interior and the spells all part of an esm.