BSA Max Size?

[llloyd]

So. I am trying to boost loading performance so I took the NMC HD Texture pack and extracted it out to a temp directory and packed the whole lot into a BSA and added a dummy ESP to load it. But I notice the BSA is like around 7gb big. How big of a BSA can I load up before I need to some how split it into smaller pieces? And if I do, how do I split it and load the pieces ?

[dubiousintent]

From the questions and answers on the BSArch mod comments page, the limit appears to be roughly 2GB for FNV. (Numbers from 1.8-2.1GB have been thrown around.)

 

You can use multiple BSA files with the same ESP "parent" filename, e.g.:

PluginName.ESP

PluginName - Textures.BSA

PluginName - Textures2.BSA

etc. The engine loads BSA files that match the "base name" (up to the first embedded space or punctuation mark, apparently)/

 

Also make sure to compress texture archives with the "-z" parameter if they contain only textures and nothing else. From the example presented by the "Fallout - Textures.bsa" and "Fallout - Textures2.bsa" files, I would create each BSA separately by selecting specific "textures\subfolders" instead of trying to "split" them all once combined into a single archive file. However, Zilav responded to a similar question with "Install any file manager like Double Commander which allows to copy files and calculate folders size conveniently." Personally, I do not read that as indicating the game engine can deal with a single archive file arbitrarily split after so many bytes. Rather I would try for combinations of complete folders that stay under the 2GB limit. Some experimentation seems in order.

 

-Dubious-

[llloyd]

Ok, but, as NMC contains meshes and textures it can't be compressed. Hmm...

 

Update, that wasn't *too* painful, just hope your right about the 2.1 GB, dungeons alone was a hair over 2gb, so let's see...

 

NMC HD - Textures.bsa - 1,812,573 KB

NMC HD - Textures2.bsa - 1,640,992 KB

NMC HD - Textures3.bsa - 1,655,883 KB

NMC HD - Textures4.bsa - 2,073,844 KB

 

with a dummy file I made, loaded up the GECK, did *not* load anything, just straight up saved a masterless plugin named NMC HD.esp . Only task left is to figure out how to compare two folders side by side. Even after uninstalling NMC the texture folder is over 5gb big so stuff didn't get removed, so I want to compare it to the directory where I extracted NMC to pack it up and delete anything that's in NMC. Don't need a loose file + packed BSA. Might be also why I am having lag spikes every time I walk around when it goes to load up new areas. 5 to 7 gb worth of loose files? Eww...

[dubiousintent]

Underscore the "significant" part of your filename: i.e. "NMC_HD". The first embedded space delimits the "significant" part, so it is not seeing any differences in the name once it parses past the "NMC" to the "HD" (I believe). My apologies if I did not make that clear previously.

 

You should separate your meshes from the textures files into their own "NMC_HD - Meshes.bsa" files. That's the way the original game BSAs are separated. The NMC meshes and textures come under separate folder trees anyway. Don't attempt to retain the structure of the NMC package itself. You are working towards a different structure (BSA) than merely distributing the package. It's the internal folder tree (below "DATA") which is significant to the game engine.

 

According to the GECKWiki page on "BSA Files", the GECK doesn't work with BSA files itself. It requires "loose files". (As that section reflects the BSArch tool, I believe it to be relatively recently updated. I regard BSArch as the "gold standard" because it has been constructed to work with ALL the Bethesda BSA formats, unlike older tools which tended to be developed for one game only. Skyrim SE introduced a new BSA2 structure with internal changes also used with FO4, so older tools produced corrupted files for those games.)

 

The empty ESP file you created is needed because VWD/LOD files normally are "loose" and do not have an ESP file, and only an ESP can be associated with a BSA. It WILL be empty. It is just a "dummy" to cause the BSA filename association needed by "ArchiveInvalidation". Add to a test "load order", toggle "ArchiveInvalidation", and then load into a "new game" and run around checking your "landscape".

 

For comparing folders, I suggest "WinMerge". It can compare both files and folders.

 

-Dubious-

[zilav]

2^31 = 2 147 483 648 bytes / 1024 = 2 097 152 KB / 1024 = 2048 MB

[llloyd]

I just wish BSArch had a GUI. >.< Ok, will redo the first BSA to have only textures and make a mesh one.

 

NMC_HD - Meshes.bsa - 5,401 KB

NMC_HD - Textures.bsa - 1,807,173 KB

NMC_HD - Textures2.bsa - 1,640,992 KB

NMC_HD - Textures3.bsa - 1,655,883 KB

NMC_HD - Textures4.bsa - 2,073,844 KB

NMC_HD.esp - 1 KB

[zilav]

You don't need to separate textures. This is not Fallout 4 which has it's own format for textures only archives.

[llloyd]

You don't need to separate textures. This is not Fallout 4 which has it's own format for textures only archives.

Well, yeah, the entire thing is over 7gb so I need to separate to get each one under 2gb.

[zilav]

I mean separating textures from everything else like meshes. The only separation you need is by size.

[llloyd]

I mean separating textures from everything else like meshes. The only separation you need is by size.

Oh! Well, Dubious said to and I noticed the TTW team did it in my 2.9.4 install. So...