About .esl

[proletarianson]

deleted

 

 

[proletarianson]

If you are making your own mods to distribute, and doing so before you distribute, then converting to .esl may be a preferred option. This allows the file to load early in the ESM block. However, if you're dealing with other people's mods, and likely some that might also be used as masters, it may be preferred to use .esp with an ESL flag just to get the light slot and free up the load order slots without changing the filename. I and many others have done this with high success. Converting and renaming the files to .esl has 3 very specific impacts that may be undesired.

• .esl files are loaded into the ESM block area. Meaning they are forced high in the load order before normal .esp files.
• .esl files can only be sorted within the ESM block area with other .esm master files.
• .esl files should only have .esm or other .esl as masters. You should not use a .esp as a master. CreationKit dislikes trying to do this anyway.

Using a .esp with the ESL flag gives the benefit of rearranging your load order to facilitate override priorities as desired, while making the FormIDs load into the FE slot with other Light Masters.

 

To easily find and set your ESL flag ready .esp files the newer versions of xEdit from GitHub have a nifty command line argument -PseudoESL. When launching the tool with that, then loading up your entire load order. The FormID prefix shown will automatically change to FE for files that fit the criteria for being ESL "as-is". Meaning they have less than 2048 new forms, and all the current FormIDs for those forms are within the 0x800 - 0xFFF range. Basically the criteria that CreationKit checks before converting to Light Master using the available menu option. Then if you turn on the xEdit option to show the header flags and filter the visible plugins to "[FE" it will easily show you which files can just be flagged as ESL to load into light slots and which ones already have an ESL flag.

 

I originally went on a quest to change all my .esp that could be .esl to such. Then I realized that would screw with load order concerns. So I've opted to fall back on just setting the ESL flag on .esp files as desired.

 

Interesting foot note: 2 of the official Fallout 4 Workshop .esm DLCs can be flagged as ESL to free up slots as well. So check your .esm files as well.

 

Mr or Mz (as the case may be) BigAndFlabby,

 

Thank you for the great post, have been on the hunt for info regarding esl flagged esp or pseudo esl files. I am not up on all the tools and utilities for working with mods just yet. Is xEdit the same as FO4EDIT for instance.

 

Are there any tutorials, discussions on what types of mods are or or not suited for esl flagged esp stratagem, out there on the topic? A huge boon on the patch/compatibility front alone.

 

I can't recall if LOOT and WRYE...*, etc...been updated to handle these or not. Yesterday's google quest, urned into one of those 1000 tabs, which the hades is that ad coming from. staring bovine like at the monitor, while drooling in one's lap :wallbash:

 

Have a fresh install of FO4 on a very capable pc, just itching to get started, now that health has improved enough to spend the time :smile:

 

Was on the box till Beth slashed the cap to 150 and nerfed my game several months ago. :mad:

 

Thanks, again a great post on the subject