Mods and Save Files

[daofu]

This is part mod troubleshooting, part "general mod talk".

 

I've read on the Bethesda Skyrim forums that, if we want to play without a mod, we have to load a save made before the mod was activated. Are there issues with loading a save without the mods that were active when it was saved? Is it possible to continue playing with those save files while the mods are deactivated or uninstalled without any issues?

 

I ask because my Populated Cities mod currently exists as two files: an ESM and an ESP. The mod adds a plethora of actors, leveled actor and item lists, outfits, and places actor, furniture, xmarker, and idlemarker references throughout each city, along with a couple scripts and custom AI packages. I eventually want to combine the two into a single ESP, or rebuild it as a single ESP. I want to know if this can cause issues to save files created while using the ESM and ESP version.

[jet4571]

Well its suggested that you start a new game without any large overhaul mods activated like OOO. Populated cities on the other hand even being a large mod should be fine to just disable it. Any Vanilla NPC that was changed with it should go about doing vanilla stuff and everything that was new would just cease to exist. It may take saving and reloading for vanilla NPC's to revert and sometimes they wont if it was an inventory/outfit change unless you use the resurrect console command on them.

 

The scripts on the other hand may be an issue as sometimes they remain active even if the mod that uses them are not. So be sure to backup your savegames before disabling the mod.

 

*Edit,

 

Best way to see if it will ruin your save is test it out and see!

Edited March 13, 2012 by jet4571

[kromey]

My understanding (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) is that certain scripts, under certain conditions (and no, I don't know what these conditions are), will get saved into your saved games, continuing to be loaded and run even after you've deactivated or even deleted the mod (including the scripts!) that added them! I've also noticed that once a script is attached to a reference (directly to the reference or the base object; attaching via a quest alias I've not seen exhibit this behavior), that script remains on that reference and active until the reference respawns (sometimes disabling/enabling via the console can force this, other times it doesn't seem to have any affect).

 

I have also seen some interesting behavior with references "remembering" old data, for example a patrolling NPC completely ignoring a new patrol marker, or continuing to use a now-deleted one. Removing or adding references seems to work instantly with no "holdover" from saved games, though.

 

Often times saving and loading again will correct both of these issues, and in a lot of cases players won't even notice things being wrong -- it's the authors like you and me, who know in intimate detail what's supposed to happen, who can see things not working quite right.

 

As jet4571 says, the best way to find out what (if any) effects removing or restructuring your mod will have is to test it out.

[Triaxx2]

There's a difference between removing a mod, and updating a file that contains it. As long as all the things are the same, just merged into one file, it will probably complain about not having it, and then let you play without issue. All the message means it that the file isn't the same. I know from play testing my own mod.

[BrothaDesmund]

It's not always necessary, just make sure to backup your save file before deactivating or activating new mods and you should be fine to revert if some mod you added/removed corrupts your save file.