Combining mods (FO4Edit question)

[JuJooGuppy]

Hello,

I am currently trying to merge a couple of mods (personal usage only, to cut down on total number of mods) via FO4Edit.The issue I am having, is if I try to copy data from a mod into my new plugin, it always wants to list the previous mod as a master file, which would defeat the purpose. What am I missing / doing wrong here? Appreciate the help!

[Ethreon]

copy as new record instead of copy as deep override.

[JuJooGuppy]

I did that, but it still lists it as having a master of the original when I do so?

Edit: I have tried it a few diff ways, I selected a single object, right clicked copy as new record, selected a new .esp. When doing a single record I changed the editor ID to have a TD after it. When it was all said and done, it said it would need to add the original file as a master.

Bulk selecting the entire mod, I added a suffix of TD, but still same result, it wanted to add the original mod as a master.



I imagine I am missing something obvious, but I am not seeing it..

Edited January 24, 2016 by JuJooGuppy

[JuJooGuppy]

I mean, if I copy the entire record over, every bit of it, I should be able to just remove the master file listing, correct? if so, I am good to go. But I was concerned that I can't just do that, since it seems determined to make it a master..

[Ethreon]

If you copy as new record the master dependency is removed. If there's still a master dependency, you can remove all references to that master, then select Clean masters to remove it.

[JuJooGuppy]

Well. That sorta worked. I am trying to merge some of the weapon mods into a single mod.. I could find them in the game console, and them to inventory, etc.. but they were now invisible heh.

(this was by copying all the mod info via new record, then deleting the original mod from being the 'master', and removing the old .esp's from the data folder. I left the models / textures in place, but for some reason the new merged mod did not load them.


Edit: Well, I understand what you are wanting me to do, aside from what references I could be looking for that would refer to the old file.. so far as I can tell, it should be all self contained since its a direct copy ( I didn't add/ remove any prefix / suffix in this case, should I be? Seems if I do add a suffix for example, then a lot of things would need redone as they wouldnt be matched up.)

I am not sure what could possibly be referenced back to the original file w/ a copy like this, but something must be since it wont let me do a clean masters (only force-removed like I did above, resulting in invisa-guns.)


I appreciate the replies, I really am new to using xxEdit, I have figured out some of the stuff on my own and understand how bits of it all works, but obviously not enough yet heh.



Edit 2: ACtually, I may have figured out what I was missing. Give me a few to tweak it all.

Edited January 24, 2016 by JuJooGuppy

[JuJooGuppy]

So, I think this may be at least part of my issue.. when I copy the data over into a new .esp, the referrences within the mod no longer line up correctly... for example, in the original mod, COBJ 1 (ID 0300082A) creates an OMOD of 03000822. But once its copied over, its FormID is now 06000800 (I know the first two slots are based on load order, is it safe to assume this will change dynamically since load orders get shuffled?), which is already different, but of course it now referrences creating an OMOD of 03000822, when the OMOD is actually 06000833. Obviously, this doesn't work, lol.

So my questions would be..

A) if I load it as it is, will it update all the 03's to 06 (or wherever the mod is position wise) automatically, or is there a way to do this?

and B, most importantly.. Is there a way to either copy the FormID's EXACTLY, so that they stay matching aside from the modslot, or must they be completely manually updated to the appropriate FormID's once copied over?

If it has to be done manually, I understand how to do that, just tedious lol.

[Ethreon]

Instead of copying record by record, you can just copy entire categories following same routine as you do for records. Makes your life easier. As for merging those plugins, you need to copy everything from the original mod(s). Otherwise you'll lose data which leads to either CTDs or missing things in game.

[JuJooGuppy]

Yeah, I am copying entire categories, but it still changes the FormID's, which results in the content still refering back to the original mod, which is why it lists as a master. With your help, I understand what the issue is, and even how to fix it.. but my question now is if there is a way, when copying the categories or records over, to make sure they still use the same FormID (Besides the modslot portion of course)? When I copy categories, it automatically re-works the FormID's to start at the 800 mark, regardless of what the FormID is from the mod.


Is this something I can change, so it does a direct copy instead of renumbering the FormID? If not, just means a lot of editing to be sure all the references line back up. That seems odd that there would be no way to copy the formID's exactly, though?

[JuJooGuppy]

Thanks for all the help, I answered my own question. Will let ya know if I need more help!

Off to mess around with stuff. Thanks again!

Edited January 24, 2016 by JuJooGuppy