How do I pack textures into a .ba2?

[shaggy08251993]

I have been trying to find a guide now on how to use the CK to pack ONLY texture files for like an hour, and the results are few and far between. The ones that I do find are also not JUST textures...they are guides on packing up new items and whatnot.

 

I've downloaded like 6 graphics overhaul mods from the nexus which total like 5.5gb in size, spliced them all together, and want to pack it into a .ba2 file...but I can't figure out how. Halp meh plz

Edited May 25, 2017 by shaggy08251993

[vkz89q]

Not sure if this works but worth a try:

 

Make new .esp.

 

Then, go to ck and pack the archive, manually select all textures you want and rename the ba2 correctly and enable the .esp in game. Don't forget to delete/move the loose texture files out of data folder.

 

But yeah, I just pulled that out of my ass, so I don't know if it works or not, sorry. Atleast back up your textures before trying that.

[BlahBlahDEEBlahBlah]

Should be able to do the regular way and just ignore the "main" ba2.

Textures are always added to a texture only ba2 ( - textures.ba2).

[chucksteel]

Should be able to do the regular way and just ignore the "main" ba2.

Textures are always added to a texture only ba2 ( - textures.ba2).

This is true but as vkz89q said their still going to need a blank .esp to enable the .ba2 in game. (you may be able to add the archive to the .ini but I've heard of people having issues trying to do it that way)

 

so,

 

1. open Ckit, and load the FO.esm
2. save "My Texture Mod.esp"
3. go to create archive
4. In the window select "Add Files"
5. locate all the files you want packed in your archive
6. Click pack
7. name the archive "My Texture Mod - Textures.ba2" (Note the space before and after the hyphen are important! If missing the game will not read the archive.)
8. quit ckit
9. Remove textures from your data folder
10. Enable the mod in your normal fashion
11. enjoy your packed texture mod.

Hope that helps and Just an FYI this is basically how you would go about packing a texture or mesh replacer for the XB1 because the XB1 can't use loose files.

[kevkiev]

Kudo to you chucksteel, used those steps to make my first texture ba2. Good stuff to know.

[DontBlnkBadWolf]

What happens when CK CTD after clicking the first file to add in the archive? I'm now trying it for the 3rd time. Following the steps to the letter.

 

 

3rd attempt, same CTD

[demonofsarila]

What happens when CK CTD after clicking the first file to add in the archive? I'm now trying it for the 3rd time. Following the steps to the letter.

 

 

3rd attempt, same CTD

 

I just archived some nif/material/dds files related to a mod of mine without any CK crashing. I also clicked Add to try to put in a random texture file from a random other mod without any crashing.

 

Could there be something wrong with the texture files? What happens if you try to pack just a single small texture file from something else? Either vanilla or from another mod.

 

Uninstall/reinstall CK? Or at least repair it?

 

How much file space are we talking for these textures? Does the ba2 file size have any type of limit to what it can take? I doubt this is the problem, but idk what else to suggest.

 

EDIT: Ok, might be a dumb question, but the texture files are in the data/textures folder in the first place, right?

Edited November 18, 2017 by demonofsarila

[madmedic446]

Should be able to do the regular way and just ignore the "main" ba2.

Textures are always added to a texture only ba2 ( - textures.ba2).

Quoted the wrong post...sorry

Edited January 20, 2018 by madmedic446

[madmedic446]

 

Should be able to do the regular way and just ignore the "main" ba2.

Textures are always added to a texture only ba2 ( - textures.ba2).

This is true but as vkz89q said their still going to need a blank .esp to enable the .ba2 in game. (you may be able to add the archive to the .ini but I've heard of people having issues trying to do it that way)

 

so,

 

1. open Ckit, and load the FO.esm
2. save "My Texture Mod.esp"
3. go to create archive
4. In the window select "Add Files"
5. locate all the files you want packed in your archive
6. Click pack
7. name the archive "My Texture Mod - Textures.ba2" (Note the space before and after the hyphen are important! If missing the game will not read the archive.)
8. quit ckit
9. Remove textures from your data folder
10. Enable the mod in your normal fashion
11. enjoy your packed texture mod.

Hope that helps and Just an FYI this is basically how you would go about packing a texture or mesh replacer for the XB1 because the XB1 can't use loose files.

 

When I try to do this...The "create archive" window does not give me an option to "add files".

There is a tab that says "file", but nothing happens when I click on it.

[Yulliah]

WAIT! If you are trying to pack a texture replacer mod into a BA2 file, I really don't think that is actually going to do anything... As texture replacers HAVE to be in the actual path in your data folder that will overwrite the original ba2 file...