Settler Clothing, Equipment, Looks and Job Reset

[conundrum]

I read a article about settler's respawning when FO4 version 1.6 was launched, but I never had it happen in my game. Now, it seems to have resurfaced in the latest FO4 update. If I give a settler a weapon, I can walk just out of conversation range, turn back and the settler has reacquired his/her original weapon, and the new one is either unequipped or, usually, gone from their inventory. This also happens with clothing, armor, basically anything. If I actually leave the cell, the settlers have not only lost all items I gave them, but have actually changed looks and/or gender. Also, settlers loose their job assignments and, in 3 cases so far, have lost their assignment to the settlement and have to be reassigned to the settlement and then reassigned to a job.

 

According to the article, written just after the release of version 1.6, Bethesda changed from storing settler data to respawning settlers to aid in memory problems with consoles, but also changed the pc version to do the same.

 

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Is it actually based on a change in settler processing and storage by the core game? Or, is it a problem caused by some mod?

 

Is there a mod or patch to fix this problem so settlers keep weapons, armor and clothing I give them?

 

The article said that named NPC's were not affected, but they too are reverting back to their starting load-out in my game.

[conundrum]

Follow-up: I'm not 100% certain, but I think I've traced the problem to a LL mod that implements prostitution and adds scripts that auto-strip the characters involved. This isn't like the HOTC mod here on Nexus, because it uses animations and not a black screen like HOTC. So, most people won't experience the problem. It seems the script has a problem with newer versions of FO4, since the author has quit modding for a while and hasn't updated recently. Consider the problem resolved, or at least explained and not likely to be resolved any time soon. Although, a solution is to roll back FO4 to the last supported version and then roll back any and all version dependent other mods you use to that same version. Frankly, I'll just dump the mod on my next play through. And no, I won't name the mod, because that would probably violate Nexus' terms and conditions, so don't ask.

 

According to what I've read, the Unofficial Patch fixed the base problem when it was introduced in FO4 1.6, but mods that contain scripts that auto-equip and auto-unequip items have the potential to cause the problem in some future FO4 update if Bethesda messes with the scripting. Another good reason to not allow auto-updates by Steam, especially if you don't use any Creation Club content, which is just about the only reason Bethesda releases updates now.