Mod Limit Help/Bashed & Merged files

[Loki110]

G'day all
So I have been playing FO4 recently and my mod list has grown exponentially, to the point where it NMM has a warning about not being able to run the game (Over the 255 limit)
I have dabbled around with FO4Edit and Wryebash following a guide on steam, attempting to merge/bash some patches
A couple of quick questions

1. Can you have more then one merged/bashed patch? If so what load order should they go in?
2. With NMM and checked plugins, do the bashed/merged patches have to be selected as well? Or just the merged/bashed patches?

3. Any recommendations or whether to merge/bash?

I've got about 300+ mods at this stage and I just wanted to know if it is doable
Cheers!

[battlebrother13]

It's definitely doable :) I've not used Wyrebash, but I've done a fair amount of fiddling with FO4Edit to reduce my load order so I'll offer what wisdom I can:

 

1) Yes, as the merged ESPs just replace the ESPs they were merged from. As for load order, you effectively need to treat each merged patch as if it was the two ESPs it replaced, and load them in the order the originals would have appeared in. That said, if you have two merged ESPs which modify the same records, you'd be better off merging them into one anyway.

2) You only need to have the merged ESPs active; otherwise there'd been no benefit from merging. Merged ESPs contain all of the records present in both of the original ESPs (with only one "copy" of records which are in conflict of course).

3) Afraid I can't say on this one, I've only merged with FO4Edit.

 

I would also say as general tips around compacting your ESPs:

• Target mods which you know aren't being updated or haven't been updated for a long time - if the mod is updated you have to start over with the merges.
• Look through your mod list for mods which are likely to contain minimal records to merge to keep things simple if something goes wrong.
• Check the downloaded archive files in your nexus folder for Fallout 4 for those which ONLY contain ESPs (or "preview contents" on the nexus) - if they do, you can merge the ESPs and they get rid of the mod entirely to keep things simpler (as long as you are happy keeping track).
• You can always merge merged ESPs again if you are out of space in your load order, but the more you have in one ESP the harder it is to rectify if something goes wrong (or if a mod is updated) so proceed with caution unless you know what you are doing.
• Learning how FO4Edit works can be a great help to manage your active plugin list. I now know enough about how the ESPs, records and load orders work to troubleshoot compatibility and integrate minor fixes and updates into my old bulk "personal mod" that sits at the bottom of my load order. It takes some doing to get your head around it all, but if you are spending a lot of time fiddling with mods it can be worth the investment.

[Loki110]

Aaaah thank you so much for clarifying that for me! :laugh: I thought it was the case however I was unsure. I thought that FO4Edit was the best thing to mod on though I did try to make a bashed patch etc.

So as you use up the ESP's in the merged patch, is it safe to delete the un-merged patch files as they are no longer needed? Or just deactivate them?

Thank you so much for your help! I really do appreciate it :thumbsup:

[battlebrother13]

No problem :)

 

IF the mod was an ESP-only mod (as I said, you can check the downloaded mod archive to be sure) you can deactivate / delete the original. If not, you are better off just un-checking the original ESP in case you need to go back to it later.

[Loki110]

Ah gotcha, makes sense! So essentially you are just packaging the esps into one small compact files instead of lots of small plugins/esps?
Only a couple more questions so I don't drive you insane :laugh:
So for instance I have a 3D Scopes mod (Ref: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/9476) which contains standalone esps for standalone weapons, is it possible to merge all of these plugins into one patch (I.e. See-through combat scopes) rather then all the little esps?

And when creating merged patches should you stick to Nexus catagories (I.e. texures, models, weapons etc) ?

I do apologise for all the questions, just trying to get a really solid grasp on the concepts behind modding :confused:
Thanks again for your help!

[Loki110]

And just a quick follow up to that-- PUT DOWN THE GUN I SWEAR I AM ALMOST OUT OF QUESTION! D: :laugh:

So if there are other weapons for instance I'd like to add to the game, can I add them to the already merged patch? Or would I need to create another?

Seriously thanks for your help! You've been a gem :D

[battlebrother13]

No worries I know it's a bit intimidating to start modding the mods :P

 

Personally I've built all my "little tweaks to mods" ESPs (VIS tags, compatability with AE and the like) into one mod of my own... in theory, you could take every single mod in your load order and merge them all into one file. I wouldn't recommend it though.

 

The scopes mod addon - definitely, that's an ideal candidate for compiling into one mod.

 

If you add in new mods you can of course merge the ESPs into existing ones. Just follow the guidelines I've mentioned above - don't do it for things which are still being updated, and be careful of mods which will alter the same records, as unless you go in using FO4Edit and understand how they work you can easily break something.