SSE Mods using same resources

[b0bulat0r]

Hi

Completely n00bish, questions but I want to learn and improve my process.

 

I've heard that if mods use the same meshes and textures (Same resource paths) it can cause problems, However I'm unsure of the process to use to make custom paths for the content.

 

For example if there is a there following Skyrim>Data>Meshes>Folder>Mesh.nif and you copy this to Skyrim>Data>Meshes>mynewfolder>mesh.nif This copy in this folder then doesn't work in the CK if you create a new instance of the item (New ID) and point it to the new mesh location, (I assume because this copy doesn't know where to find its associated textures)

 

Even if you do the same process in the Textures folder.

 

either way the copies of assets with altered paths don't seem to work so I don't know how to do this process.

 

Is there a dummy guide (Idiots step by step please) on how to cleanly setup your folders and your resources so that they are mod independent and therefore won't conflict with other mods?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

[maxarturo]

"I've heard that if mods use the same meshes and textures (Same resource paths) it can cause problems"

It can only cause problem if those 2 mods uses the same path but the asset has been modified by one mod.

When you copy or add an asset to your folder then you need to create a 'New' object in CK and point that new object to your asset in your folder.

The same applies for the textures.

If your asset is using textures that are living in a different folder from the original, then open that asset in NifSkope and change all the asset's textures paths to your paths.

"Is there a dummy guide (Idiots step by step please) on how to cleanly setup your folders and your resources so that they are mod independent and therefore won't conflict with other mods? "

The only requirement is that you folder must live inside the corresponding vanilla folder, it should look something like this:

- data\ meshes \ MyMeshesFolder \ A Bunch of My Meshes Sub Folders

- data\ textures \ MyTexturesFolder \ A Bunch of My Textures Sub Folders

As long as all of your assets lives inside your UNIQUE NAMED FOLDER, even if the have the same exact name as other assets from the game or mods, it will never cause any conflict cause the have a unique folder address.

The unique folder structure applies only for meshes and texture, but not for things like Scripts, FaceGenerationData, FaceGeometry, Speach Audio Files, Seq.

In the case of 'Audio Fxs' files they can have their own folder structure, but NOT AUDIO DIALOGUE LINES.

[b0bulat0r]

thanks so much for your help

I've managed to get it sorted now, first time I tried years ago I didn't maintain the folder structure just copied stuff loose into a folder and then obviously it didn't work and quickly panicked and gave up, kept to using the vanilla structure.

 

so one question, you say mods only conflict if they use the same asset but one of them is modified? so does this only apply to loose files or archives, say for example 2 mods have a BSA archive that has CK objects that point to the same mesh path, do these not conflict? how does the game know which one to "unpack" or "read" or however it processes it?

 

"I've heard that if mods use the same meshes and textures (Same resource paths) it can cause problems"

It can only cause problem if those 2 mods uses the same path but the asset has been modified by one mod.

When you copy or add an asset to your folder then you need to create a 'New' object in CK and point that new object to your asset in your folder.

The same applies for the textures.

If your asset is using textures that are living in a different folder from the original, then open that asset in NifSkope and change all the asset's textures paths to your paths.

"Is there a dummy guide (Idiots step by step please) on how to cleanly setup your folders and your resources so that they are mod independent and therefore won't conflict with other mods? "

The only requirement is that you folder must live inside the corresponding vanilla folder, it should look something like this:

- data\ meshes \ MyMeshesFolder \ A Bunch of My Meshes Sub Folders

- data\ textures \ MyTexturesFolder \ A Bunch of My Textures Sub Folders

As long as all of your assets lives inside your UNIQUE NAMED FOLDER, even if the have the same exact name as other assets from the game or mods, it will never cause any conflict cause the have a unique folder address.

The unique folder structure applies only for meshes and texture, but not for things like Scripts, FaceGenerationData, FaceGeometry, Speach Audio Files, Seq.

In the case of 'Audio Fxs' files they can have their own folder structure, but NOT AUDIO DIALOGUE LINES.

 

[maxarturo]

Having assets in 2 BSAs from 2 mods to conflict is highly unlikely because each BSA needs to have the exact unique name as the esp/esm, so if you have 2 mods with the same name then the second will always overwrite the first when installing.

"so one question, you say mods only conflict if they use the same asset but one of them is modified?"

Take as example retexture mods, they edit / modify the same file with its 'vanilla file name' in its default 'vanilla folder', so if you install 2 mods that retextures snowberries the second mod will always ovrwrite the first.

It's not actually a conflict, but from a modders point of view it is, well at least from mine...

[b0bulat0r]

Thanks for explaining things.

 

I've caused a major problem with whatever i've done to my data folder, and i need to cleanly re-install skyrim but i'm worried about losing files that i need for my mods to work, so i'm trying to tidy up my resources and then re-pack everything so i can back it up before then,

 

At the moment the problem i've caused is that I CTD whenever I hit or break a spiderweb (in any cell) which is really odd :S but it happened after I unpacked a BSA into loose files (though i don't know what files specifically) so i'm going to have to do a purge and start again.

 

 

Having assets in 2 BSAs from 2 mods to conflict is highly unlikely because each BSA needs to have the exact unique name as the esp/esm, so if you have 2 mods with the same name then the second will always overwrite the first when installing.

"so one question, you say mods only conflict if they use the same asset but one of them is modified?"

Take as example retexture mods, they edit / modify the same file with its 'vanilla file name' in its default 'vanilla folder', so if you install 2 mods that retextures snowberries the second mod will always ovrwrite the first.

It's not actually a conflict, but from a modders point of view it is, well at least from mine...

 

[maxarturo]

Little piece of advice.

Never unpack a BSA directly into the game's folder, especially if you don't know what's in there... Whenever i need to unpack a mod i always do it on an unrelated folder, like a folder on your desktop, i inspect what is in there and then i do what i may need, it's a tedious process especially if you intend on unpacking a bunch of mods, but it's the only way to be sure.

Plus, i always inspect those nifs in search for any corrupted ones, so many issues and ctds are caused by corrupted or wrongly constructed nifs.

Have a nice weekend.

[b0bulat0r]

Sorry to keep asking n00bish questions

 

if mod 1 uses resources A and B and mod 2 uses resources B and C, mod 1 is unpacked as loose files and mod 2 is a BSA how does the game know to use the bsa for mod 2? or does it just see that B is unpacked assume the mod is unpacked ignore the bsa and then you get the ! for resource C?

 

are you generally supposed to use bsa or loose files? what are the benefits of one over the other.

 

the main reason i've unpacked to loose files is that the CK doesn't view the bsa and you just get the red ! everywhere which makes editing virtually impossible.

 

i've got 5 mods that i've made since my start of modding that i'm painfully going through trying to amend every reference to a non-shared location and its taking forever, i need those 5 mods to work when i reinstall but don't want to copy over any files i don't need into the game directory and clutter it up with crap again which has caused the ctd issues in the first place.

 

 

 

Thanks for explaining things.

 

I've caused a major problem with whatever i've done to my data folder, and i need to cleanly re-install skyrim but i'm worried about losing files that i need for my mods to work, so i'm trying to tidy up my resources and then re-pack everything so i can back it up before then,

 

At the moment the problem i've caused is that I CTD whenever I hit or break a spiderweb (in any cell) which is really odd :S but it happened after I unpacked a BSA into loose files (though i don't know what files specifically) so i'm going to have to do a purge and start again.

 

 

Having assets in 2 BSAs from 2 mods to conflict is highly unlikely because each BSA needs to have the exact unique name as the esp/esm, so if you have 2 mods with the same name then the second will always overwrite the first when installing.

"so one question, you say mods only conflict if they use the same asset but one of them is modified?"

Take as example retexture mods, they edit / modify the same file with its 'vanilla file name' in its default 'vanilla folder', so if you install 2 mods that retextures snowberries the second mod will always ovrwrite the first.

It's not actually a conflict, but from a modders point of view it is, well at least from mine...

 

 

[NexBeth]

Yes, the first mod I made, resources were just placed in the Meshes and Textures folder. Discovered what a mess that is when using a lot of resources. Now I create a subfolder in those directories and place added resources there.

 

The other problem comes when you use vanilla textures paths in other creative ways (altering textures). Users who use texture mods can either run into trouble with that (probably rarely) or the re-textures used by the tex mod does not look right in your mod (since those take presence over textures in a bsa.)

 

Ideally, you won't place assets in a bsa until you mod is finished and ready to upload. That will avoid the CK issue with displaying custom resources. If you use the sub-directory method I mention above, then it is very easy to add and remove your custom sub-folder from Meshes and Textures directories.

Edited November 18, 2020 by NexBeth