SCOL Models, Paths and Reuse in other mods.

[DaveDelorean]

I have a complicated problem that is driving me nuts.

 

For my player home mods I've build several custom static collections in a separate mod I call "The Warehouse". This mod is solely meant to prebuild things I will use in all my other mods. Workbenches, Static clutter, filled closets, custom containers, machines etc.

 

This makes things a lot quicker to build as the above mentioned objects are already done.

 

The problem is the following;

 

Since the path of the static collections is always linked to the "warehouse" mod. So as soon as I load them into a new mod I'm working on, the path is lost and CK can't find the model leaving me with the big red exclamation marks.

 

To solve this I turned the "warehouse" mod into a Masterfile. This works well however now anyone who wants to download my mods NEEDS to also install the Masterfile. Not everyone likes to have two mods installed only for one player home. This makes my mods less accessible to people and I don't like that.

 

A second option would be to use the "warehouse" as a template and always build my new mods in that one. One problem with that is that I will always have to delete any former cells I've build in with xedit to have a "fresh start".

With this method I'm worried that the objects I created will start causing conflicts but I'm not sure. For example, I have turned all food objects into static forms and named them DD_Food_Stake (example). Now let's say someone installs 3 of my player homes, that's 3 times the reference DD_Food_Stake in there. Will that cause conflicts?

 

The main question is, is there a way to somehow copy the scols into a new mod without losing the path of the model? The model would have to be copied including all the parts that make up the scol. Many parts had to be renamed for me to be able to change the colors etc.

 

Since my mods have to be compatible for all consoles and pc's I can't use external assets which means no separate folder.

 

I hope someone can help me with this.

[DieFeM]

In FO4Edit I use the option "Copy as new record into..." and it works just fine. Note that if you use a custom material swap in the static collection you will need to copy the record of the material swap too, and therefore point the swap of the collection to the copied one. The same happens if your static collection contains an static form that you created, you would need to copy it to the new mod and then set the copied static collection to use the copied form. Then use the option "Clean Masters" to remove any master dependencies from your main mod.

Edited May 3, 2019 by DieFeM

[payl0ad]

The NIF you get when baking the SCOL (which you find in Meshes\SCOL\Warehouse.esp\) can be reused as a static object NIF in any other mod, just so you know. You can just bake the objects when having Warehouse.esp open, find the Nifs, copy the file and make new objects in the mod you want to use them in.

 

The beauty of this is that you get to skip thinking of ESP structures completely. :wink:

Edited May 3, 2019 by payl0ad

[DaveDelorean]

In FO4Edit I use the option "Copy as new record into..." and it works just fine. Note that if you use a custom material swap in the static collection you will need to copy the record of the material swap too, and therefore point the swap of the collection to the copied one. The same happens if your static collection contains an static form that you created, you would need to copy it to the new mod and then set the copied static collection to use the copied form. Then use the option "Clean Masters" to remove any master dependencies from your main mod.

 

If I use "Copy as new record into.." xedit tells me that the Masterfile (the warehouse) needs to be incorporated. This gives me the exact same issue. Maybe I understand you wrong?

 

To make it more clear:

 

I have created a completely custom workbench using in-game assets. Renamed every object as I changed it with custom meshes. The scol path points to the warehouse mod.

Edited May 3, 2019 by DaveDelorean

[DaveDelorean]

The NIF you get when baking the SCOL (which you find in Meshes\SCOL\Warehouse.esp\) can be reused as a static object NIF in any other mod, just so you know. You can just bake the objects when having Warehouse.esp open, find the Nifs, copy the file and make new objects in the mod you want to use them in.

 

The beauty of this is that you get to skip thinking of ESP structures completely. :wink:

 

I have tried this. However as I mentioned this mod is for all platforms. I play on ps4 myself until I have a game computer. Doing this creates an external folder and blocks me from uploading it to Bethesda for the ps4. No external assets allowed. That is the root of the problem I have here.

[DieFeM]

I have created a completely custom workbench using in-game assets. Renamed every object as I changed it with custom meshes. The scol path points to the warehouse mod.

 

 

So you must copy also the renamed objects to the new plugin and edit the scol to point to the copied objects, so you can use "Clean Masters" to get rid of Warehouse mod from the masters list.

If your copied scol is pointing to the objects in the warehouse mod it will need the warehouse mod as master, but if you copy also the objects and edit the scol to point to the copied objects the plugin doesn't need warehouse mod as master.

[DaveDelorean]

 

I have created a completely custom workbench using in-game assets. Renamed every object as I changed it with custom meshes. The scol path points to the warehouse mod.

 

 

So you must copy also the renamed objects to the new plugin and edit the scol to point to the copied objects, so you can use "Clean Masters" to get rid of Warehouse mod from the masters list.

If your copied scol is pointing to the objects in the warehouse mod it will need the warehouse mod as master, but if you copy also the objects and edit the scol to point to the copied objects the plugin doesn't need warehouse mod as master.

 

 

Ok, that's clear thank you. However this concerns a few hundred objects. That will take me months to do for all of the objects I've made and if I have to do that with every player home I made it will literally take me years to do that. I will have to just use the second option or have people download the Masterfile too. It's just the way it is. thank you for your advice.

[Deleted49413338User]

I use a different method of copy as new. I just make a new esp in xedit, Add combined objects tab, add a new combined object or whatever its called (scol) then select that , hold ctrl and select the record or your other mod you want to copy. Select compare records and drag and drop everything from the original to the new.

 

This way, no master is needed and no cleaning step needed.

 

I thought simple things could be copied as new and then master reference removed but I had a mod that made world placements of vanilla records (places a teddy bear in cell X) and copying that worldspace placement as new record required the master. Cleaning did not remove the dependency. But making a new Worldspace record in my new mod and comparing/ dragging and dropping the original into the new required no master as they are all vanilla assets.

 

I think older versions of xedit would remove masters like this but now it doesn't.. Perhaps its their contribution to help stop mod theft, idk