SSE Updating mod to Nexus. Will it need to be used on a new game?

[cumbrianlad]

I'm not talking about an update that corrects a couple of things, here.

 

I used the original esp and expanded it to add new quests, cells, enchants, spells, armour, weapons, dialogue, scripts... bits of just about everything really.

 

After a couple of hundred hours I'm nearly through testing and bug-fixing.

 

It just suddenly occurred to me: if a player has already played my mod and finished the quests, or is part-way through and they decide to download the new version to get the extra goodies, will the game continue from where they left off? Or will it behave as if the mod had never been loaded, so that they have to start from scratch?

 

I haven't touched the original quests or scripts, I've simply expanded the mod. I did alter the appearance of the player horse and one of the book texts is edited to reflect that change. Not worried about the book text. That'll just update. The rest, I am concerned about.

 

I can and will upload it as a separate version. I'd just like the answer to this, so I can warn players who already have the mod, if necessary.

[maxarturo]

That depends on what your mod does and what the 'Updates' are.

Knowing what your mod is and what it does, more or less..., the player does not need to start a 'New Game'.

BUT

If you are adding stuff in references (like containers, no respawn) that the player has already open and their data exists in the player's save file, then they won't show up, or if you are deleting or moving an object in a cell that again, "the player has already....etc" then again they won't be moved.

The same principle applies for scripts.

If you are adding stuff that they don't touch anything from your original mod and or the player's save file, then the player can safely install the update while in the middle or if he/she has finish the mod.

Just an advice.

A good practice or advice to the player that is using your mod is to:

1) Go to a vanilla un-modded interior cell, and make a "new save". > exit game.

2) Unistall the mod.

3) Run the game and again make a 'new save'. > exit game.

3) With the "new save" make a "Clean Save". > run the game and overwrite that last 'new save'. > exit game.

4) Install the updated mod.

You are done.

This is highly recommended for the health of the "Save File".

Have a pleasant night.

Edited July 29, 2020 by maxarturo

[cumbrianlad]

Cheers, mate.

 

I'm pretty sure I haven't altered anything that could mess things up, and the expanded mod plays perfectly, but my memory isn't perfect and t will play on my machine with all the nifs, textures, scripts being loaded from scratch. I'll add that advice to the new version.

 

Since I'll be adding it as an extra file, rather than updating the original, that should be OK.

 

Cheers.

[IsharaMeradin]

Test it out. Back up your current work to a clean directory and create your 7z / zip / rar archive to install with your mod manager. But before installing the new version, download your mod as already released and install that. Start up a new game with the old version active and play around with the mod content for a bit. Then "update" the mod by installing the new version. See what happens. If something doesn't work correctly, then suggest users wait till they start a new game to update.