ESP to ESL conversion questions

[Skinjack]

So I'm late to the game in converting the mods that I have to ESL's to save a little space. I've run the SSEEDIT script that can identify them and have changed those that can be done simply by replacing the tag in the header. But I have a few questions about the process before I progress any further. I'm sorry if any of these questions have already been answered before. I'm just seeing conflicting answers on certain things across the internet and I wanted to make sure.

 

• Since ESL's load before ESP's, I have left the extension alone, doing just the header. Is that correct, or should I also change the extension? I just didn't want to screw with the load order (too much) since I finally have a pretty stable game with 400+ mods.
• Concerning the above, is that why I am seeing ESPFE, ESPLite, etc all over the place. Are they all just ESL's or has the community come up with an agreed upon nomenclature for "true" ESL's (in header and extension) as compared to just a header change?
• On the convert-able ESP's that can be done in the Creation Kit with formID renumbering, is this a safe practice? Can "bigger" mods (like Bijin, WACCF, Dialog/Combat Overhauls, Etc) safely be done with this if it says they can be changed? I know better than to mess with any mods that have masters, and have adopted a don't-mess-with attitude towards anything related to mods that have them.
• Does changing the ESP to an ESL "reset" the mod in game, ie if you have an armor quest will you now have to re-do it, etc?
• Can an ESP be changed to an ESL mid-game, or is it suggested to start a new game?

 

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions. I'd just like to know from people who have done it and what their experiences/issues were before I commit to the expenditure of time.

 

EDIT: OK, answered one question. JimmyRJump says to stay away from big mods in his "mod" online about how to convert to ESL's, so unless that has changed since he posted I'll stay away from mods that change/add lots of records. I knew I had that link to his instructions saved somewhere for future use.

Edited May 30, 2019 by Skinjack

[Skinjack]

I found GamerPoet's very well done XEdit video for ESL plugins and it answered a lot of my questions. I have a tendency to forget YouTube when I'm searching. Really need to remember them. However, I'm still not sure about the resetting of quests for armor and such that I may do with this, but I suppose I can experiment a little.

 

Which brings up another question. It says not to mess with mods that have interior cell overrides, I'm assuming unless they are new records. So could we do something like Provincial Courier Service that adds a new building or some other mod like it? Or is not messing with interior cells a general rule to follow, even if they are new?

[ezpkns34]

https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/21618 may help

[Skinjack]

I bookmarked and read that the other day, but thank you for the link. I'm just trying to figure out what a "safe" record range to convert is inside the 2048 limit. For example, Provincial Courier Service comes in at 444 records, but SSEEdit flagged one of them as being unconverted in the process. I think I may need to compress the formids with that one, so that may be my problem. Either that or it is outside the range expected (I don't remember that hexidecimal-looking number off the top of my head, but I guess I need to write it down). Is there a script for SSEEdit that identifies mods with that number in them? It would make eliminating mods you can't mess with easier. (I guess I should clarify... Just look for those numbers in a mod. I've used the script that identifies which mods can have the header record changed, formids, etc).

 

I've gone through SSEEdit and written down the number of records for each mod that does not act as a master file for patches. Can the patches themselves be made into ESL's if the number is relatively low? Right now I have given myself an artificial limit of 500 records. We'll see how that works out once I start trying to convert them in earnest.

 

Somebody needs to start a list of mods that can be safely converted to ESLs. :smile: Probably minimize the number of people like me asking stupid questions.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Skinjack