frustrating ... disabling objects on a large scale ... there has to be a way

[Dillenger69]

I created Barren Wasteland and did it by deleting references of static objects. I've since been informed that this is a no-no and can cause crashes. It's kind of a niche mod. I don't expect many people to be attracted to it, but I find it fun. Nobody has reported crashes yet.

To do things better, maybe not the right way yet, I started over and zero scaled all the nifs I didn't want to see and switched them to river rocks (the smallest nif I could find in bytes). To get rid of ghost trees on the horizon I had to remove precombination and pre-vis from every cell. World LOD generation was flawless at that point. So, I redid the precombination for Far Harbor, Nuka World, the main map, and the other cells I'd stripped it from ... pretty much everything. That left me with 15.1 gigs of precombined meshes and my mod weighs in at 9.2 gigs compressed! way too big! I might download a 9.2 gig mod that only removes things, but I'm not so sure who else will. It's basically unacceptable.

 

Is there a better way to do this? There has to be. I'm pretty sure I can modify my FO4edit script to only hit the cells I'm having precombination trouble in. That leaves the rest of the commonwealth to strip things from. Is there a f04edit script anywhere that can disable individual objects in a cell?

 

Here's what I want to do

1. load cell

2. iterate though the cell for objects in a predefined list of forms, static objects in this case. Trees, shrubs, annoying ground cover, trash, etc.

3. Set "Initially disabled" on those static objects when they match one in the list.

 

There seems to be a wealth of scripts out there for working with objects, but not by scanning a cell for them, and not static objects. I also don't know the scripting language well enough to get items from cells myself. I can load the cell, but all I ever get in it is landscape. Even for cells I know should have more. So I'm obviously looking at the wrong object to iterate through.

 

Sadly the base forms don't contain the "initially disabled" flag. If I tried to do this in the creation kit it would take months. I'd have to click in to each cell and click initially disabled on each object I don't want to see. I might as well just hit delete at that point for it. Hence my initial approach of deleting references.

 

Does anyone out there know fo4edit well enough to point me in the right direction to disable static objects en mass?

[Lisselli]

Are you wanting to delete all statics in the area?

[VIitS]

Take your copy where you deleted everything using the CK, then use the "Undelete and disable references" feature* of FO4Edit. Don't edit any base records if you are just trying to remove the placed references (you can delete the record in the CK so it will delete all the placed references, but you should then remove the "deleted" base records from your plugin using FO4Edit).

 

As for mod size, don't bother remaking previs/precombineds for most cells. It will have negligible impact, especially since you are removing most of the clutter. You should probably either remake previs/precombineds or make use of occlusion planes (placed, invisible objects that act in the same manner to previs, except not automated) for particularly "busy" cells (like the ones in/near the city).

 

I haven't messed around with it yet, but if you can get previs to work without remaking precombineds that's probably the best way to do it. 99% of your mod size is the precombined meshes (most of which are identical to pre-existing ones, but I'm not sure if you can have it use those. if you can, that would be even better).

 

You will definitely want to either remake the previs (or learn how to use room bounds and portals) for interior cells, or you'll definitely have occlusion issues (items that disappear/reappear from view, and glimpses of the Void).

 

*

1) Right click in left section -> Apply Filter for Cleaning (wait for it to finish)

2) Right click on your mod -> Undelete and disable references (wait for it to finish)

3) Remove any non-worldspace/cell categories (Statics, Furniture, Flora, etc...), as there is no reason to actually delete the base records (and it will increase mod conflicts, and greatly increase chance of a crash)

[Dillenger69]

Are you wanting to delete all statics in the area?

That would be far easier I'm guessing. No, what I want to do is remove trees and clutter, just certain statics within the cell. But I want to do it in bulk. The CK is too clicky.

[VIitS]

If your original plugin (with everything you want gone deleted in the CK) is complete, I'd just use the "Undelete and Disable references function on it (instructions above). For doing it from scratch:


I was just re-reading Bethesda's post on previs/precombineds, you should be able to generate new previs without making new precombineds. It won't be as optimized as it would with re-generated precombineds, but the file size would be tiny compared to what it is now.

I'm pretty sure that marking the base record as "deleted" in the CK will make it delete all Placed Object references that use that base record. Then just clean it as I said above (i.e. "Undelete and disable references", and remove the base object records from the plugin), and it should be fine. I'm not 100% certain it would work that way (I'm basing this off of what I have seen some WIP mods), you might have to load the cells.


Actually, I just thought of a way you could do it purely in FO4Edit.

1) Load up your mod (and just your mod, plus whatever masters it requires)
2) right click (in the left area, where the mods are listed) -> Other -> Build Reference Info
3) Select Fallout4.esm and hit OK (it should take probably 1-2 minutes, depending on your computer)
4) Once it is done building the reference info, find the base object you want to remove.
5) At the bottom, there should be a "Referenced By" tab. Click on that.
6) Select all the REFR records (first sort by Signature)
7) Right click -> Copy as Disabled Override into* -> Select your mod
8] Repeat for each base object you want to get rid of.

If you only want to do it for some cells, using a new plugin (i.e. just load Fallout4.esm/whatever DLC you might be editing):
1) Load each cell in the CK and "edit" one record so the cell is added to the plugin
2) Save the plugin, exit the CK, and Load it in FO4Edit with your plugin
3) Right click Fallout4.esm -> Hidden
4) Expand the Worldspace category for your mod, and Remove any cells that have a white background (the ones you "marked" in the CK should have a green or yellow background to the text), this will keep all the disabled references for the cells you want to affect, without having to do it manually.

*This only marks the records as disabled, whereas "Undelete and disable references" will also Set Enable State Opposite to Player (which, from what I can tell, is to ensure the references will stay gone even if it is a persistent record whose enabled/disabled state is stored in your save, or something else tries to enable it) and moves it to -30000 z by default (which, with everything else, I assume is to make it easier to edit the cell in the CK, as you won't have those disabled references getting in the way). You can edit the z coordinates it drops them to in the options. So it might be better to instead:

7) right click -> Copy as Override into -> Your mod
8] select one of the copied references -> Right click the "Record Flags" field -> edit -> Deleted
9) Select all the copied references, making sure to select the one you "Deleted" last -> Right click the "Record Flags" field -> Copy to selected records - OK
10) Repeat for each base object you want gone
11) Use "Undelete and disable references" on that plugin

[Dillenger69]

Thanks to everyone's help. "Undelete and disable references" worked perfectly(along with all the other steps and then some). I no longer suffer from deleted references.

 

Now I just need to tackle the ghost trees in the LOD.

 

I have a fo4edit scipt that removes the VISI, RVIS, PCMB, and XCRI nodes from the cells of my choosing.

I've got two ways I can do this.

1. Hit only cells north of -26, that way I know I'm getting some of them. (avoiding cells that show up with explicit EDID if any)

2. remove precombination/pre-vis from every cell not given an explicit EDID

3. Skip that and rip the LOD from my 9.2 gig behemoth. It already works.

 

I tried #2 and it failed. miserably. Some of the disabled cells were too clode to civilization and every cell edge looked like a drop into the ocean. Don't try this at home.

 

starting over from undelete and disable, then I'll use the good LOD I've already got.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Dillenger69

[iamthebigyeti]

hi im trying to remove everything apart from quest markers and anything important from croup manor and add everything from this other mod that i am using called the slog new town its a settlement mod basically a villa with gated walls/shields is their any advice you can give to make sure it works perfectly with no problems as im new to creation kit and fo4edit can you explain step by step aswell as simple as you can aswell please thanks :smile: also any videos that help and are straight to the point with my issue would be awesome if you can

Edited August 29, 2020 by iamthebigyeti