Clarification on Mod Limit

[Omegacron]

I know there's a limit of 255 on mods, but is that on mods in general or just loaded ESP/ESM files?

 

For instance, let's say I have 200 mods showing in NMM, but half of them are just textures with no ESP file. In the load order, I'm showing 100 ESP or ESM files selected. So, as far as the 255-limit is concerned, am I currently at 200 mods, or only 100?

 

As a bonus question, what typically happens when you hit that 255 limit? Game crashes, visual glitches, mods don't load, etc?

Edited May 19, 2017 by Omegacron

[Skagens]

When people say mod limit, it's the limit in terms of esp's and esm's. You could have as many as 500 texture mods if you so wished, provided your computer could handle it. Once you exceed that limit, I think Fallout will start experiencing memory problems which doesn't necessarily mean you can't play the game, but that crashes when entering or leaving a building for example, becomes more frequent. I'm not 100% sure though so I could be wrong.

[Omegacron]

When people say mod limit, it's the limit in terms of esp's and esm's. You could have as many as 500 texture mods if you so wished, provided your computer could handle it. Once you exceed that limit, I think Fallout will start experiencing memory problems which doesn't necessarily mean you can't play the game, but that crashes when entering or leaving a building for example, becomes more frequent. I'm not 100% sure though so I could be wrong.

That's more or less the impression I got, so I think you're right. Thanks!

[tomomi1922]

 

When people say mod limit, it's the limit in terms of esp's and esm's. You could have as many as 500 texture mods if you so wished, provided your computer could handle it. Once you exceed that limit, I think Fallout will start experiencing memory problems which doesn't necessarily mean you can't play the game, but that crashes when entering or leaving a building for example, becomes more frequent. I'm not 100% sure though so I could be wrong.

That's more or less the impression I got, so I think you're right. Thanks!

 

If you use NMM, there is a way to watch yourself of your mod limit. My NMM status bar reads:

 

Total Plugins: 379 | Active Plugins: 246 | Total Mods: 2571 | Installed Mods: 742 | Active Mods: 623

 

The only things you should pay attention to is the "Active Plugins". It is all the esp and esm you installed. Your max is 255 (or is it 256?). Total Mods? Probably just every single file I ever downloaded. Some mods have like 10 different files. Diskspace is cheap, so I see a mod I potentially need, I would download it, in case the authors decide to pull the mods. All the texture/mesh mods just overwrite each other. Nothing to worry about.

 

Tip: I used to be so stressed out about whether a mod has an esp or just replacers, most mod authors are mighty ambiguous about it. I went as far as downloading via NMM and another copy as manual download just to check out the file. But now all you need to do is to look at that Active Plugins. If a mod has esp. the Active Plugin count will go up. And I can switch over to Plugin tab, there it is, a new .esp on the list. If I don't approve, I just uninstall the mod.

[chucksteel]

OK guys it's 255 max .esp's and .esm's! This is due to Form ID's! There is only so many the game can support. The Form ID's are in Hexadecimals and once you get to 256 plugins the game will get confused. This includes the vanilla game and all DLC so if you have the season pass it's 7 vanilla (Game + DLC) and 248 mods.

 

When you use the console to look up or cheat in an item, we use xx753f3ad (example only) the "xx" is the first two characters of the Hexadecimal code depending on load order. When you look at NMM it will show what the "xx" is in the first column after the name.

 

Texture mods or mesh replacers without an .esp/.esm don't count and as said above are only depended on the amount of disc space you have available.

[Priqrade]

I have modded skyrim to the maximum mods before, on fallout 4 it shouldn't be a huge problem. Merge armor mods and merge other mods.

[bajs11]

I have modded skyrim to the maximum mods before, on fallout 4 it shouldn't be a huge problem. Merge armor mods and merge other mods.

 

I remember using something called FNV plugin to merge ESP files when I was playing Fallout New Vegas.

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39655/

Is there a similar tool for FO4??

FNVplugin was so easy to use and I managed to merge like 20 esps, mostly armors and outifts into one esp

Edited December 3, 2017 by bajs11

[mac2636]

 

I have modded skyrim to the maximum mods before, on fallout 4 it shouldn't be a huge problem. Merge armor mods and merge other mods.

Â

I remember using something called FNV plugin to merge ESP files when I was playing Fallout New Vegas.

https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/39655/

Is there a similar tool for FO4??

FNVplugin was so easy to use and I managed to merge like 20 esps, mostly armors and outifts into one esp

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/69905

[SirTwist]

To bypass the mods limit, you can either look for mods that happen to put all the ones you want into one merged mod; or you can merge them yourself. Cal at Dirty Weasel Media goes through how to use the Merge Plugin for Xedit, and for the Merge Plugin Standalone. He uses Mod Organizer, and I do encourage you to try MO 2. It is far more capable than NMM for mods,and even merging. You can merge armor, weapons, settlements, etc. Just be sure of what you are doing, and pay attention to what you are doing. Some mods, though, have a problem with merge plugins, well vice versa. I should warn you all of that. So, you don't bang your head too much. My general advice is this, use the standalone first to merge plugins. What you can't merge, easily, close out the program, go into Mod Organizer, rearrange things, then go in, and try again. The ones that don't play nice with the standalone, you can always try the one you put into xedit. I know this isn't clear, exactly, but if you need more help, I'll rewrite things so you all understand better.

[JimmyRJump]

It's actually 256 because the counting starts at zero, not at one, but that amount has been reduced with one because the last remaining plug-in slot should never be taken for reasons I've meanwhile forgotten and don't feel like looking up again right now.