Limits

[CreeperDaReeper]

I have found that the limit of ESMs/ESPs that can be used at one time is supposed to be 225, what I don't know is what that limit is based off of, and when that limit is accurate too, (as of when?).

 

Other limits, just how much stuff can one ESM, ESP, or ESM/ESP combo do?

 

What is the maximum number of ESMs/ESPs that can be active at once before the game starts acting funny, (not just incompatibilities between them)?

What is the maximum number of ESMs/ESPs that can be active at once as of July 31^st?

[bben46]

The 256 mod limit is based on the size of the storage location reserved for mods. It is an 8 bit (or 8 digits) location, with a maximum value of (binary) 1111 1111 so the next binary number would be 1 0000 0000 or 9 digits which will not fit in the storage location. That cannot be changed without a major change in the game engine.

 

Real world experience has confirmed that your game will crash if you have more than 255 mods.

 

Oblivion.esm takes up one slot so that leaves 255 in the base game. That is the maximum number of esp/esm files allowed. Every DLC adds at least one.

 

There is another lesser known limit and that is the total number of esp/esm files whether active or not in the data folder. That number is well over 400 so not many people see it. If you think you are getting close, just move some of the unused files out of the Oblivion folder. Or use Wrye Bash ghosting which hides unused esp/esm files from the game engine.

 

The date is not relevant to the max number of mods as it was the same in Morrowind which uses an earlier version of the same game engine. And is the same in Fallout 3 which uses a newer version.

[CreeperDaReeper]

Thanks a bunch.

[David Brasher]

I keep about 60 mods in the directory and activated at a time. I download the dungeon or quest mod, play it and then usually remove it the next time I am hunting down a mod conflict.

[ub3rman123]

I have about 8 mods, and 6 of those are called Copy (2) of Copy of Copy of SunderedKeep.esp. The others are.. SI and whatever other mod I happen to be testing, I think.

 

I don't think there's a limit to the things a .esp can do within the game. For example, the Oblivion.esm is over 300 megabytes (Standard mods are between a few kilobytes and 1 mb, the biggest I've seen is Midas Magic at 5 megabytes. So having a huge filesize on the .esp/esm can cause some lag, but it's usually not noticeable.