SSE Question about ESL-ifying my previously ESP mod

[taleden]

I've just recently returned to Skyrim modding so SSE and ESLs are new to me, but it looks like my mod could be FormID-compacted and ESL-flagged (only ~500 new records). However, it's a very script-heavy mod.

 

So my question is, what happens if I renumber the FormIDs and then reload a save that already had the mod loaded? I assume all the script properties in the save file will become invalid since they'd be linked to the wrong (non-existent) old FormIDs. Will the papyrus log just complain about them once and then proceed as if the mod were newly installed (starting fresh with no saved data on any of the scripts, since they're attached to FormIDs that didn't exist before)? Or will it complain on every reload about the invalid old script state data in the save file?

 

Will world object references added under previous FormIDs interfere with the ones now added under different FormIDs, or will the old ones just vanish from the save?

 

Are there other gotchas to FormID renumbering a plugin in the middle of a playthrough? Thanks all for your wisdom!

Edited January 30, 2021 by taleden

[Algabar]

Not exactly sure what happens, when formIDs adressed in scripts are missing. Depending on the the script, you might get a CTD.

 

Items usually simply vanish. If you had e.g. a sword on your character and the FormID of that weapon was changed, you simply won't have that sword any more.

 

In general, changing FormIDs during a playthrough is seen as a bad idea.

[Wolfar15]

Have you tried flagging the mod as ESL in SSE Edit? If that works you could avoid some of the pitfalls of fully converting the mod to ESL.