Trying to edit Quest in GECK

[Retsam]

FO3Edit 3.1.2, launched via FOSE (All files downloaded in past week)
Years ago when I messed around with modding apparently this wasn't a problem for me, but this time I can't seem to remember/figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Guess I really am getting old :tongue:
I'm trying to fix some mistakes in a downloaded mod.
Trying to do this by creating my own esp that will load after, and thus overwrite, the errors in original mod.
Open relevant data files in GECK, do not make one active. Click save and created new esp when prompted.
Re-open data files, making the new esp active.
Go to the Object and script I want to fix and make changes.
Save. Exit.
Check the esp in FO3Edit and the first indication of problem is when looking at my esp, it only shows one column, my esp. It is not showing a second column that should be the mod I was intending to overwrite.
Second indication of problem is when I reopen the same files in GECK, it is showing my edit as a duplicate. So I see something like:
OriginalQuest
OriginalQuestDUPLICATE000

As a side note something else it's doing that driving me batty is when I first open the data files in GECK, I get a stream of error messages coming from other mods or ESMs. I get the prompt yes, no, yes to all. The only thing I can do is yes to all. Selecting No and the program gives me the option to exit?! What I realized that GECK is doing is it is forcing it's own changes, that then get saved into my esp. So in other words when I look at my esp in FO3Edit, it is showing overwrites from random stuff that I never touched, like Wasteland cells. I can even create a new, blank, esp, do nothing at all except make it, look at it in FO3Edit, and it will show several random items overwriting the original ESM.

I'm also having trouble just trying to exit GECK. It keeps locking up.

Question: Why are my changes to a quest in Object Window being tagged as Duplicate, rather than overwrites?
And yes, I've gone through dozens of searches and tuts, just haven't found answer yet and getting annoyed. It's bound to be something simple and stupid I am overlooking.

 

Appreciate the patience and help.

[CarlCorey]

You can't just override things in another plug-in (esp) file. If I want to fix something for myself in a downloaded mod, and I'm pretty sure the original author is done with it, I'll just edit the esp file itself. I have a backup in the downloaded archive file and I make notes to myself to remind me of what I've done (you're not the only one getting old).

 

Another thing you can do is to create a blank esp file in GECK. Exit GECK, load the file and the file you want to override plus any masters that the other file needs into FO3Edit. Add the esp file you want to override as a master for your file (right click the file name and "Add masters..."), Go back to GECK and do your edits. Now GECK will do what you're expecting and override the record in the other file instead of creating a duplicate behind your back. When you save it GECK will throw away the master record for the other esp but now, if you put your file later in the load order, it will now win the conflict.

 

"Yes to all." Most of the warnings that you are saying "Yes to all" to are because GECK isn't finding textures and other artifacts for game content on the file system. They're in the BSA files so all is good; GECK just doesn't understand BSA files. I just click "Yes to all" without worry any more.

 

Wild edits. Usually if I find a modified wasteland cell in my mod I can remember "Oh, yeah, I looked at that cell for some reason, I must have moved something a millimeter when I clicked on the render window." And I just use FO3edit to remove the record. If you haven't clicked on the render window, I'm not sure why that's happening.

Edited January 18, 2016 by CarlCorey

[blove]

GECK will not save a ESP as a master to a ESP, but it will save a ESP flagged as a ESM as a master to a ESP.

[CarlCorey]

GECK will not save a ESP as a master to a ESP, but it will save a ESP flagged as a ESM as a master to a ESP.

Do you need to mark the parent ESP as a master to avoid problems? I created a dummy ESP that overrode another ESP to test out what I ended up posting above. I later forgot to disable the test ESP and suddenly I was getting a CTD every time I tried to save after loading a save that included that dummy. It might have been an issue with it loading after an FO3Edit generated merged patch (which I hadn't rebuilt) though. Eliminating my test ESP fixed the problem.

[blove]

You flag what needs to be a master, make your patch, then unflag it.

[Retsam]

....

 

Awesome. The trick of creating the esp worked.

Thanks for the reassurance about the error message being minor.

As for the random edits, it wasn't happening when I did not have some of the other mods loaded, so it was probably from that. No troubles when it was just my mod and the required masters.

I was able to modify the scripts. :smile:

Thanks