SSE .BSAs & INVALID .BSA Files/Folders

[iSkylight]

Simple question: What CAN'T be packed into a .BSA?

Where can I find a "definitive list" of files and folders which cannot be packed?

I've spent a few days looking through Google for the answer, but I don't seem to find anything definitive other than:

--SKSE folders

Obviously, I wouldn't pack an .ESP or something like that. I really hate to ask what seems like a common question, but nobody talks about anything other than "don't pack SKSE," which is good to know...but are there other things not to pack? Am I to assume that I can pack everything except SKSE, since everyone ONLY talks about not packing SKSE?

For example, nobody has ever talked about the Nemesis_Engine folder. It's not SKSE, so after reading what I have read on this topic, I'm led to believe "SURE PACK IT-- IT AIN'T SKSE!"
What about the "Interface" folder? Skyrim's got a .BSA for that, but I see that folder left out of .BSAs so often that it makes me ask "why?"

Any information regarding the .BSA format and what should not be a part of a .BSA would be highly appreciated!

If this specific question has already been asked and answered before, I'd love a link to it... or to any documentation that can educate me completely on the .BSA format.

[HadToRegister]

Just open up a BSA with a BSA extractor and look at what's in it.

You'll find texture, meshes, audio, bgsm, animations etc.

[IsharaMeradin]

There is nothing preventing the inclusion of any file within a BSA. However, by being inside a BSA said file(s) are limited to being used when the game runs. If the files are needed outside of the game for any reason, it tends to be best to not be part of a BSA.

 

It is probably more effective to look at the stock BSAs and see what was included by Bethesda and limit your BSAs to those types of content as well.

[iSkylight]

Let's see if I understand. A folder like Nemesis_Engine is not something to put inside of a .BSA, since it is needed by the Nemesis program itself which is used while the game is not running. At the same time, the "Interface" folder may be included in a .BSA, since that folder is only used by the game while it's running. SKSE is ran before the game is run, so it needs its files to be in an accessible format. Bug Fixes SSE, for example, has a folder called "NetScriptFramework" and this folder is also not to be included in a .BSA due to its reliance on a .DLL? :)

[IsharaMeradin]

Let's see if I understand. A folder like Nemesis_Engine is not something to put inside of a .BSA, since it is needed by the Nemesis program itself which is used while the game is not running. At the same time, the "Interface" folder may be included in a .BSA, since that folder is only used by the game while it's running. SKSE is ran before the game is run, so it needs its files to be in an accessible format. Bug Fixes SSE, for example, has a folder called "NetScriptFramework" and this folder is also not to be included in a .BSA due to its reliance on a .DLL? :smile:

Correct in your understanding so far.

[iSkylight]

Thanks a million!!