Will MarkForDelete on NPC corpses decrease gamesave size?

[Oomo]

Remember the dispose of corpse option in Morrowind?

 

I am wondering if when you use MarkForDelete on an NPC corpse, will it decrease the size of gamesave files? [in past Tes games the body would disappear on a reload]

 

I am hearing that corpses increase save file size, which could be a problem with a current mod that sets respawns to 999 days, yes? So am thinking of making a mod where you "Cast" a destroy corpse spell [Really is just a sound effect and MarkForDelete on the corpse] I imagine this could be dangerous if you cast it on quests npcs or other plot critical world items.

 

Lastly, would MarkForDelete on a corpse destroy it's respawn timer/override a 999 day respawn mod to default?

 

Thanks!

Edited January 6, 2012 by Oomo

[Sunnie]

It would, but the reduction would be pretty negligible as the game generally cleans up corpses after 3 days. There are some cases where ash piles and Nirnroot light sources don't get cleaned up properly, but they really don't impact the savegame file size as severely as people think. Ther4e was also an issue with dragon corpses sometimes not getting cleaned up but that was fixed in the 1.3.0.x patch.

 

Also, corpses don't respawn, so deleting corpses won't effect normal respawning.

[Oomo]

But what about if you are using something like the 999 day respawn mod? Won't that mean the corpses will lay around for 999 days too? I thought a respawn cleans up it's last corpse. Edited January 6, 2012 by Oomo

[Sunnie]

I am not 100% sure (95% maybe), but I believe corpse cleanup is not tied to the respawn system as most respawns are 7 and 30 days, and corpse cleanup generally happens at the 3 day point. There are other events where corpses are cleaned up almost immediately by script, but those are tied to events. I regularly see corpses gone from areas/dungeons long before respawns normally happen.