waxfruit Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I got the idea to move the 30 or so .esp files that wrye flash deactivated after merging them into my bashed patch into a "bashed mods" folder on my desktop so I'd still have ready access to them if I need to rebuild the bashed patch, but will it cause any problems if they're not present in the data folder? Since I found out deactivated mods still count towards the cap I've been trying to trim my load order as small as possible and I've got it down to around 135 total plugins, but I want to see if I can get it even lower. I've not had any luck with merged patches so this is about the only way I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubiousintent Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 (edited) Don't move them. WF actually renames the "deactivated" plugins by adding a ".ghost" extension to them so they do not get recognized or counted against the cap. This is called (surprisingly) "ghosting". If you move them, then they are not immediately available when you have to rebuild your BP as they are now. Different mod managers do things differently. WF actually removes files from the "Data" folder when it "uninstalls" them (and restores any replaced "loose" vanilla content if you have preserved each of those top-level sub-folders (Music, Sound, Shaders, and Video) in an archive before adding mods and placed those archives at the beginning of your "install order"), but the original mod is still present in your "Bash Installers" folder. It only "deactivates" when it "ghosts" mods, but that leaves the "asset" files intact (which are still needed). The "deactivated plugin contents" have been completely included in the BP, which is why they can be "ghosted" because the ESP file is no longer needed, freeing up a slot. (You might have noticed that the ESM files remain, because they contain "assets".) As for your problems with "merged plugins" (which are different than "merged patches") have you read the article "Merged Plugin Guidelines for Personal Use"? (Correct terminology is key to correct understanding.) -Dubious- Edited March 20, 2017 by dubiousintent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxfruit Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 Don't move them. WF actually renames the "deactivated" plugins by adding a ".ghost" extension to them so they do not get recognized or counted against the cap. This is called (surprisingly) "ghosting". If you move them, then they are not immediately available when you have to rebuild your BP as they are now. Different mod managers do things differently. WF actually removes files from the "Data" folder when it "uninstalls" them (and restores any replaced "loose" vanilla content if you have preserved each of those top-level sub-folders (Music, Sound, Shaders, and Video) in an archive before adding mods and placed those archives at the beginning of your "install order"), but the original mod is still present in your "Bash Installers" folder. It only "deactivates" when it "ghosts" mods, but that leaves the "asset" files intact (which are still needed). The "deactivated plugin contents" have been completely included in the BP, which is why they can be "ghosted" because the ESP file is no longer needed, freeing up a slot. (You might have noticed that the ESM files remain, because they contain "assets".) As for your problems with "merged plugins" (which are different than "merged patches") have you read the article "Merged Plugin Guidelines for Personal Use"? (Correct terminology is key to correct understanding.) -Dubious- I still see them all with the normal .esp extension after they're added to the bashed patch and they're still recognized in WF and NMM so I'm not sure whether the version of WF I'm using is out of date or something, but it shouldn't be since I just downloaded it from nexus last week when I decided to get back into NV. I was going to move the .esp files into a new folder then move them back to the data folder when I need to rebuild, I just wanted to know if moving the .esp files after I build the patch would cause any problems or not, I wasn't going to touch any resource files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubiousintent Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 If you are still seeing them after you have selected all the plugins (except for the BP), and then select the "mark mergable" context menu option prior to building the BP, then you haven't enabled "Auto Ghost" from that same context menu. You get the context menu on the "Mods" tab by right-clicking on the "File" column heading. There are many options available in the context menus that you have to manually enable, such as "BSA Redirection" (aka "ArchiveInvalidation") on the "Installers" tab. Strongly suggest you read the "Wrye Bash PIctorial Guide". I can't guarantee no problems if you move them out of the "Data" folder as I have never done (or heard) of that. If you do things correctly then there is no need. -Dubious- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waxfruit Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Oh, that's why I never saw the ghosting option. I was trying it individually instead of just mass selecting all of them.....sometimes it's the simple things that trip you up. That's got it sorted though, thanks a lot for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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