"Could Be Light"

[hlp]

Actually this is quite trivial for Vortex, LOOT is doing the important work here.

LOOT has a function to tell us if all the records in a plugin have ids below the threshold and thus could be converted without re-arranging the records.

We (Vortex) just set a flag in the header of the plugin when you convert.

 

The more involved/problematic case where records are "compactified" to stay below the threshold isn't support, that still requires xedit.

I would say using the CK should be the preferred method :)

[KatCut]

I know this thread is old but i got a question on this. Can i just turn any esp with that icon to light using vortex and my game will be fine or do i still have to check for esps that can't be made in to esl s?

[HadToRegister]

I know this thread is old but i got a question on this. Can i just turn any esp with that icon to light using vortex and my game will be fine or do i still have to check for esps that can't be made in to esl s?

 

 

Vortex will only suggest ESPs that can be turned into ESPfes, by putting a Feather Icon in the column

 

If there's no feather, that means you can't, and shouldn't convert the others because their contents are "Too Heavy" for an ESL/ESPfe conversion.

 

So, to answer your question, any mod that shows up as LIGHT, when you select the LIGHT option in the FLAGS Column dropdown, in the Plugins tab, is safe to have Vortex convert it to an ESPfe.

 

Just don't do it in the middle of a playthrough, as with ANY type of mod manipulation/installation/uninstallation etc.

 

 

[nt5raham]

I know this thread is old but i got a question on this. Can i just turn any esp with that icon to light using vortex and my game will be fine or do i still have to check for esps that can't be made in to esl s?

KatCut, thanks for resurrecting this one! I'm new to modding at this level and recently began using this concept manually with the ESLify instructions. This thread is exactly what I needed! The Knowledge Base article on User Interface Icons completely omits the empty feather icon.

 

If you want to understand what is going on, go to the Nexus Skyrim SE "mod" page for ESLify. It is not an actual mod, but rather instructions on how to manually and SAFELY set the ESL flag in certain .esp files. I've been doing this manually, not realizing all along that Vortex could do it in 3 mouse clicks. I've verified that either way ends with the same result. I checked every plugin in my load order that Vortex marked with an empty feather, and it was in fact a safe candidate according to the ESLify method. Numerous others in this thread with much more experience than I have verified it a year ago (I'm a late comer). I'm glad I learned it manually first to have the understanding, but this is going to be a real time saver!

 

In Vortex, the flag you are looking for at the top of the Vortex Plugins screen is "Could be light." This will show the .esp files that are not yet flagged as an ESL and have the empty feather icon. In this condition they are still being counted against your plugin limit of 255. These are the safe candidates for conversion to Light which will stop them from counting against that limit. You should not see any .esl files with this flag set.

 

 

If you choose the "Light" flag it will show you files that are already Light. That is what is shown in the image in post #53 by HadToRegister. Most of the plugins in his image are .esl files. This is NOT what you are looking for. You are looking for the .esp files (bottom of the list in his image). Those .esp files have been successfully flagged as an ESL, either by the mod author or by Vortex (or by some other method like SSE Edit), and they do not count against the plugin limit of 255.

[anjenthedog]

Whoa... I'm at limit on mods right now and keep having to uninstall mods so I can install some new one that peaks my interest.

 

Now I have to figure out which mod I can experiment with this on. I don't want to break anything.

 

Suggestions?

[Guest deleted34304850]

my only suggestion is dont do this to mods in an existing play through.

it might be okay, or, it might not be.

best to err on the side of caution.

[HellBoundJuggalo]

So I found this post after a bit of looking for info about this "could be light" option and I have decided to go right crazy with it on a new save I have 224 of my 357 "marked as light" so we will se what happens.

Edited November 21, 2020 by HellBoundJuggalo

[nt5raham]

@HellBoundJuggalo I've been using it for 6 months now and I have over 600 light plugins. No problems whatsoever. This is a stable solution.

 

Pay attention to the word of caution from @1ae0bfb8 right before your post. Changing a .esp to light will change the FormID for numerous things in your game. Results can be unpredictable. It is safest to do this in between play-throughs, just like installing or uninstalling mods.