How to set an ESP as a master?

[SovietSailor]

I'm trying to make a mod for personal use, and I want it to have Horizon as a master to reduce incompatibility. Obviously, though, ESPs can't be set as master files, yet I see files with them anyway. How is that done?

[chucksteel]

You'll have to,

 

1. open Up Horizon in FO4Edit
2. In the File Header set the master flag (Make a backup of the original .esp or you'll later have to convert it back from .esm)
3. Exit and Save
4. Change it's extension to .esm
5. create your mod that requires Horizon
6. Open your new mod that requires Horizon in FO4Edit
7. In the file header right click on the Horizon.esm and change it to Horizon.esp
8. exit and save
9. If you don't have a back up from step 2 then open Horizon.esm in FO4edit
10. in the file header remove the master flag
11. change it's extension back to .esp

For mods that I tend to make patches for I like to keep both an .esp and .esm version (the .esm version is only used in the Creation Kit for making or updating patches.)

 

Edit: If you don't know how to set the master flag, (and if you do I mean no offense)

1. Open any mod in FO4Edit
2. once fully loaded select the file header
3. Int the right side window (4th down from the top) You'll See "Record Flags"
4. Right click in the space next to it
5. You get a warning about editing the mod
6. Click Yes and contine
7. Next you get a new window with .esm at the top and a lot of empty check boxes.
8. click the .esm check box and close the window
9. Exit and save
10. remember to change the file extension to .esm

[SovietSailor]

Thank you for the prompt reply! I'll be sure to put it to good use!

[LX6R]

How do I change the name? When I right click on the master file I do not have the option to

 

 

 

1. In the file header right click on the Horizon.esm and change it to Horizon.esp

[Tinuvia]

 

How do I change the name? When I right click on the master file I do not have the option to

 

To do this in later versions of xEdit (4.0+) you need to start xEdit with certain command line parameters - you can read about it in xEdit, under the tab "What's new" 4.0.0 section. But you don't need to, you can actually skip a lot of these steps since the creation kit now allows an esm flagged esp as a master. So you would just follow the instructions above until step 3 and then load the esm flagged esp in the ck and create a new mod (your patch esp).

 

(You can only do this for a patch that hasn't been loaded with the esm flagged esp with a changed file extension (esm).)

 

EDIT: make sure you have the latest version of the ck.

[StormWolf01]

 

 

How do I change the name? When I right click on the master file I do not have the option to

 

To do this in later versions of xEdit (4.0+) you need to start xEdit with certain command line parameters - you can read about it in xEdit, under the tab "What's new" 4.0.0 section. But you don't need to, you can actually skip a lot of these steps since the creation kit now allows an esm flagged esp as a master. So you would just follow the instructions above until step 3 and then load the esm flagged esp in the ck and create a new mod (your patch esp).

 

(You can only do this for a patch that hasn't been loaded with the esm flagged esp with a changed file extension (esm).)

 

EDIT: make sure you have the latest version of the ck.

 

While I am by no means trying to contradict such really good advice.... I just want to add that if you are using an older version of the game, and update just the CK, that you're going to have a new issue.

The new version of the CK writes header version 1.000000 which is not usable by game version .138 or earlier. You will have to go in and manually set the headers for version 0.950000 in Xedit for anything that you make for your older game with the newer version of the CK.

 

Or use this mod https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/42497 which bypasses the game's version checker. But also requires f4se if you don't already have it, or... don't want to use it.

[GEvans1487]

On 12/27/2017 at 12:07 PM, chucksteel said:

Edit: If you don't know how to set the master flag, (and if you do I mean no offense)

1. Open any mod in FO4Edit
2. once fully loaded select the file header
3. Int the right side window (4th down from the top) You'll See "Record Flags"
4. Right click in the space next to it
5. You get a warning about editing the mod
6. Click Yes and contine
7. Next you get a new window with .esm at the top and a lot of empty check boxes.
8. click the .esm check box and close the window
9. Exit and save
10. remember to change the file extension to .esm

I realize this is an old post. . .  But. . .  Why in the world would anyone take offense to detailed instructions on how to do something?   Most tutorials that I come across lack that very thing!    THANK YOU for the detail!  I've been looking for how to do this for ages!  (I'm embarrassed to tell you how I had been doing this, but it involved extracting archives copying things to the data folder, and then creating new item records and adding them to my plugin. . . . .    You just saved me TON of tedious work!)   So, thanks again!