Do mod assets get loaded regardless if .esp is enabled?

[0Prime0]

When skyrim launches does it load all the asset files present in the Data/meshes and Data/textures regardless of whether the mod is enabled via the launcher? Or does it only pull in the files it needs as indicated by the .esp's as they load? As a result it is better to have a clean Data/.. dir to save on memory if everything is loaded?

[luthienanarion]

The game loads assets when they are needed, not all at once. If a loose file is an override of something loaded by another plugin from a BSA, it will be loaded instead of the archived file.

[0Prime0]

cool thanks.

[ripple]

As a result it is better to have a clean Data/.. dir to save on memory if everything is loaded?

 

It's better to remove unused files, not just textures and meshes but also esp's and esm's. They don't get loaded but they do get scanned, thus increasing (at least the game start) loading times. At worse, it leads to directory thrashing. An issue reported with Oblivion, not sure how relevant it is with Skyrim (keeping in mind that Skyrim's Creation Engine is basically just an enhanced version of Oblivion's).

[0Prime0]

Good to know!

[Deleted1308005User]

I can confirm this crash type on Skyrim as well.

 

I used to have around 20-30 gigas of not-in-use mod stuff in my Skyrim directory, game became unstable and so on. Removed the not-used meshes, textures and scripts and game became much more stable.