Publishing ESL for existing ESP mods

[SKKmods]

I have had requests to publish some of my existing mods in ESL format which looks fine to compact and build ... but, given the mods already exist in ESP format, and compacting will change the form IDs before saving as ESL:

 

 

1. During development do you test against the dev ESP and then "saveas" ESL, unload the ESP, load the ESL and test that with a clean save file ? Given a policy of never releasing any untested files even if its "just" a new format.

 

 

2. Will existing mod users need to remove the existing ESP based mod before installing the new ESL version ?

 

 

Simple isn't always easy.

 

 

[JonathanOstrus]

1) Yea that's pretty much it.

2) Yes. Otherwise they'll get duplicate items if it adds things. Or just duplicate overrides for things it doesn't.

 

Users who currently use the ESP mod will need to risk breaking things by removing the ESP and installing the ESL; revert to older saves; or start a new game to be safe. The renumbering in this situation is irrelevant since the game will see the ESL as a new mod and the ESP as a missing mod.

 

A big concern to keep in mind is that when you do the compact forms it will renumber the ESP and instantly save it. Needless to say that will be required for the ESL. But then updates becomes an issue. If you were to restore a backup (pre renumber) ESP and edit that to keep your ESP users safe. Upon trying to export to ESL again you'll need to re-compact. This will renumber again. And you're not guaranteed that previous forms will get the same numbers they had.

 

So doing the compaction after the fact is problematic in some cases. If however the mod is in final form and will receive no further edits, then go for it.

Edited February 22, 2018 by BigAndFlabby

[SKKmods]

If however the mod is in final form and will receive no further edits, then go for it.

 

You have hit my nail squarely with your hammer. My mods are never in final form as there are *always* improvements and enhancements (yes, sometimes even fixes) to be made based on user feedback and my own power on hours.

 

Given that I am also far to lazy to run separate ESP and ESL trees, if I cut over existing users will need to remove ESP (my mods are always stoppable & cleanly removable) and reinstall as ESL.

 

The principle issue I see is bethesda.net users where the pub/sub process doesn't provide an uninstall/reinstall mechanism or notification, so ESLs would need to be published as new new mods rather than updates, which is likely to cause mass audience confusion.

 

Summary: ESL new mods, not existing updates.