Need completely blank (empty) ESM and ESP files (just file structure/headers)

[Darklocq]

Could someone on MS Windows please create and make available some empty/blank Morrowind ESM and ESP files? The ones provided at http://www.paulcarr.com.au/elderscrolls/ do not actually appear to be empty; I'm looking at the .esm one in OpenMW-CS, and it has stuff in it, like global variables, numerous objects, etc. Need files that Morrowind.exe and OpenMW will recognize as valid or "well formed" – with the right file structure and headers – but no content of any kind.

 

The need for this: to resolve dependencies that are, at the resource level, satisfied by a later version of something, but where a dependent mod has a hard-coded requirement on a specific, obsolete dependency filename.

 

Example: A modder produces something called, say, Monster_Island_1.0.esm, and later modders produce Monster_Island_Enhanced.esp and Return_to_Monster_Island.esp. The original author fixes a bug and releases Monster_Island_1.1.esm, and Monster_Island_Enhanced.esp works with it because its author also released an update, but Return_to_Monster_Island.esp does not due to the filename change, and no update for it is ever released. A blank ESM file named Monster_Island_1.0.esm loaded just before Monster_Island_1.1.esm would allow both re-mods to work with the new version of Monster Island (unless the original author changed something that caused Return to Monster Island to barf, which is unlikely with a minor .1 update). Due to the doubling problem, one cannot load both the real Monster_Island_1.0.esm and Monster_Island_1.1.esm back-to-back.

 

In my months of mod after mod playtesting for OpenMW (see https://wiki.openmw.org/index.php?title=User:Darklocq/Mod_testing_notes), this need has come up several times. The problem with Paul Carr (Thepal)'s "blank" files not really being blank is that they cause various serious problems, such as all shrines/altars being disabled (cannot use them for healing, or any quests that require activating one), and all Golden Saints show up unarmed and unarmored, among other issues. (No, this cannot be resolved by loading Thepal's not-really-blank files first; tried that already). Aside from the shrine/altar, Golden Saint, etc., problems with Thepal's files, the "fake dependency" trick works perfectly (in OpenMW 0.41 and 0.42, anyway).

 

I'm not in a position to make the truly blank files myself, as I'm on Mac OS, and OpenMW-CS does not write .esm or .esp files, only .owmaddon.

Edited August 12, 2017 by Darklocq