Mod Repair

[KainsChylde]

So lets say you found an interesting looking mod on Nexus, but found out that it had a bunch of dirty edits and such, and the author refused to fix it. Maybe even went so far as reporting and blocking anyone who criticized his dirty mod. Despite all this, the mod still looks cool and you want to try it out. How would you go about finding and fixing the problems so that you could try it out without totally botching your game install?

[zippy57]

It would require a thorough look at the mod via FNVEdit and possibly a trip or two into the GECK, as it's sometimes the only way to fix some of the horrible things these people do. What mod are you thinking about fixing up?

[KainsChylde]

I've played through the game so many times I'm sick of it. I was thinking of messing with Rockwell Decent.

[zippy57]

Hmm... Well, you don't need to go very far to find the problems because I made a list of them all myself a while back.

 

INGESTIBLE

-Dirty edit to "Stimpak (00015169)".

 

CELL

-Dirty edit to "RepconHQ03 (000E5A88)".

-Dirty edit to "HELIOSOneTower (000D7F7A)". Edits are also made to an elevator door (moving it and removing its NavMesh link).

-Dirty edit to "PrimmSheriffStation (0009A288)". Edits are also made to both dead NPCs, a VFX, and a sound within that cell (moving them).

-Dirty eidt to "Vault34b (00138AA0)". Edits are also made to every reference within this cell (duplicate their Refraction references).

-Dirty edit to "NVLucky38BasementFloorB2 (001221C4)". Dirty edits are also made to two references within that cell and a VFX is moved.

-A copy of HELIOSOneDeck has been made "HELIOSOneDeckDUPLICATE000 (xx015E3)".

-Dirty edit to "HooverDamIntIntakeTower04 (00134EC9)". A static object is also moved.

-Dirty edit to "2EOVault21GiftShop (00116592)". Also the vault entrance's Teleport destination was removed.

-Dirty edit to "Endgame (00161E98)". Also the Narrator and the trigger that starts the credits has been moved.

-Dirty edit to "MonteCarloSuitesInterior (000F33A8)". Two objects inside have been moved.

-Dirty edit to "GirderShadeSierraHouse (0002DEb4)" and four of its references.

-Dirty edit to "DummyMarkerCell (00013B1A9)" and one of its references.

-Dirty edit to "2ETopsBennysFloor (0010E429)" and the elevator has had its Teleport Destination removed.

-You have completely replaced "NCRPrisonBlockA (0008D0FA)" with your own cell "03RARM".

-Dirty edit to "SecuritronVault (0012428E)" and one of its references. A reference has also been moved.

-Dirty edit to "HELIOSOnePlant (000D7E48)" and one of its references.

-Dirty edit to "NellisHangar1 (000FFCAF)" and five of its references.

-You have completely replaced "GypsumAbandonedBuilding (0012B7FB)" with your own cell "0001MOD2".

-Dirty edit to "VikkiAndVance (000D7845)" and one of its references. An NPC has also been moved.

-Dirty edit to "Lucky38ControlRoom (0010F23B)" and a VFX within has been moved.

-Dirty edit to "FortificationHillWeatherStation (0012428F)" and one of tis references. Five placed objects have been deleted.

-You have completely replaced "HELIOSOneDeck (000D8052)" with your own cell "02ROCKMaintenance".

-Dirty edit to "SLSunkenBeachHouse01INT (00154828)" and a water reference has been moved.

-Dirty edit to "TOPSCasino (0010D2D4)" and two of its references.

-Dirty edit to "BlackMountainTreasure (000E60D0)" and one of its references.

-Dirty edit to "FreesideVanGraffWarehouse (00128F7C)" and one of its references.

-Dirty edit to "HooverDamIntODeckStairs (0013216B)". An Audio Maker and placed object have been moved.

-Dirty edit to "FreesideKingsHouse (0010E03B)" and three of its references.

-You have completely replaced "2EOVault21 (0010FDEB)" with your own cell "01SubLevels".

-Dirty edit to "SLRemnantsBunkerINT (001591D5)" and five of its references. Also a static and a sound have been moved.

 

CONTAINER

-You have added two items to every instance of "SubDresser01 (0009DEC6)" in the game, one of which is a quest item "GretIsRippedDiaryPage (xx05672)".

-You have removed two items and added two items to every instance of "Vault101Dresser (000AB33B)" in the game, one of which is a custom item "000MOA (xx000E73)".

-You have replaced the contents of every instance of "LootGunCasePlasmaRifleEnclave (000B02FE)" in the game with "000MOA (xx000E73)".

-You have changed the conntents of every instance of "VLootAmmoTier1BoxShotgunShells (001538C2)" in the game from "LootAmmoShotgunShell (0002FE77)" to "LootAmmoNVBullets100 (000CCF87)".

 

CREATURE

-You have changed the name of "FEVSubject (0004C67D)" from "Failed FEV Subject" to "Failed Tricocene Subject", removed the Respawn flag, and changed the faction from "SuperMutantFaction (0001D1EB)" to "PlayerFaction (0001B2A4)"

 

DIALOG

-You have decompiled the scripts attached to the following lines of dialogue: 001188F4, 0011F861, 00127A1F, 00127A55, 0011951A, 0011951B, 0011951C, 0011951D, 00127A6A, 0012909B, 00154434, 00154438, 0016000F, and 00160010.

-You have removed a condition from the following lines of dialogue: 0011F85D, 0011F85E, and 0011F8F5.

-You have deleted the following lines of dialogue: 0015E9D6, 0159E9D7, 0015E9D8, 0015E9D9, 0015E9DA, 0015E9DB, 0015E9DC, 0015E9DC, 0015E9DD, 0015E9DE, 0015E9DF, and 0015E9E0.

-You have created dirty edits to the following lines of dialogue: 00175434, 00049E16, 0004E5E3, 001751C5, 00177392, and 001751EA.

-You have created a dirty edit to the following topics: 000E88D2 and 0015D7F9.

-You have removed the Added Quest and changed the priority of 000E88D1.

 

DOOR

-You have changed the name of every instance of "HotelElevatorDoor01 (00061907)" in the game from "Elevator" to "Elevator down to".

-You have changed the name of every instance of "VHDUtlDoor01 (0014851D)" in the game from "Door" to "Elevator Up".

 

FACTION

-You have altered the faction relations of "FeralGhoulFaction (0001C6D3)".

 

MUSIC TYPE

-You have removed the music from "DefaultDeath (0008957F)" and "EndCredits (0016B000)".

 

NPC

-You have made a dirty edit to "PrimmDeadSheriffWife (000A59B0)".

 

AI PACKAGE

-You have changed the location settings for the following AI packages: "NCRCF ScramblerTravelPackage8x16 (000E2045)", "VVault21SarahTourTo03 (0011B638)", "VVault21SarahTourTo04 (0011B638)", "VVault21SarahTourTo01 (0011B63A)", "VVault21SarahTourTo05 (0011B63B)", "VVault21SarahTourTo02 (0011B63F)", "VVault21MartinaEat01 (0011E6CC)", "VVault21MartinaEat02 (0011E6CD)", "VVault21MartinaGamble1 (0011E6CE)", "VVault21MartinaWander01 (0011E6CF)", "VVault21MarintaSleep01 (0011E6D0)", "VVault21NCREat01 (0011EB96)", "VVault21NCREat02 (0011EB97)", "VVault21NCREat01b (0011EB98)", "VVault21NCREat02b (0011EB99)", "VVault21NCRGamble01 (0011EB9A)", "VVault21NCRGamble02 (0011EB9B)", "VVault21NCRWander01 (0011EB9C)", "VVault21NCRWander02 (0011EB9D)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler01 (0011EB9E)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler02 (0011EB9F)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler03 (0011EBA0"), "VVault21NCRSleep01 (0011EBA2)", "VVaultNCRSleep02 (0011EBA3)", "VVaultNCRSleep03 (0011EBA4)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler07 (0011F461)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler08 (0011F462)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler09 (0011F463)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler10 (0011F464)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler11 (0011F465)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler12 (0011F466)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler04 (0011F467)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler06 (0011F468)", "VVault21NCRFluffTraveler05 (0011F469)", "VVault21CarlitosEat01 (001258B5)", "VVault21CarlitosSleep01 (001258B6)", and "VVault21SarahTalkSexIntro (0017A649)".

-You have changed the target reference for "VMS03PythonPatrol (000E3636)".

-You have removed the NoSleep and NoWander flags from "DefaultSandboxCurrentLocation256NoSleepNoWander (00129114)".

 

QUESTS

-You have removed several waypoint markers and changed several conditions in "VMS03 (000E282D)".

-You have removed all references to "VMS21aCarlitosREF (0011F87A)" from "VMS21a (00110A65)".

-You have decompiled stage scripts, changed waypoint markers and conditions, and removed references in "VMS33 (001271EA)".

 

SCRIPTS

-You have decompiled the following scripts: "VHeliosAuxGeneratorSCRIPT (000E28B3"), "VHeliosMainframeSCRIPT (000E28B4)", "VHeliosPYTHONSCRIPT (000E3615)", "VMS03HeliosPythonEnableLink1xSCRIPT (000E4B4A)", "VVault21LightSwitch01 (0011B40E)", "VVault21RentedRoomScript (0011E6B2)", "VVault21MartinaBedScript (0011E6B3)", "Vvault21FluffNPCTriggerMove01 (0011F42F)", "VVault21FluffNPCTriggerMove01b (0011F431)", "VVault21FluffNPCTimeOn01 (0011F433)", "VMS21aCarlitosFSGreetTrigger (00127467)", "VMS21aOmertaAmbushThugSCRIPT (00127A2B)", "VMS21aSupportScript (00127A56", "VMS33QuestScript (00128F5A)", "VMS33OmertaThugTriggerScript (00128F5E)", "MartinaGroesbeckScript (0012909F)", and "SarahRoomSexScript (0017A639)".

-You have created a dirty edit of "VMS21aCarlitosFSAppearTrigger (00127466)".

 

SOUND

-You have changed many settings on "AMBRWarehouseCreaking02 (00095742)".

-You have changed the reverb on "OBJForcefieldShutdown (000B5EE4)".

 

TERMINAL

-You have decompiled an embedded script on "VHeliosMainframeTerminal (000E28B8)".

 

WEAPON

-You have changed the attack speed of "WeapNVFireaxe (0011A8B9)" and "WeapNVGrenadeFragHoly (0014EA5A)".

-You have made it impossible to drop "WeapNV127mmSubmachineGun (001429D1)" and "WeapNVBallisticFist (0015BA03)".

 

WORLDSPACE

-In "WastelandNV (000DA726)" cell 000846EA you have removed the teleport destination of a door, removed several navmesh references, and deleted a quest object.

-In Block -1, -1 Sub-Block -2, -2 you have created a dirty edit.

-In Block -1, -1 Sub-Block -2, -1 you have removed a door from the navmesh.

-You have made multiple dirty edits and deleted a large amount of placed objects, creatures, and NPCs in Block -1, 0 Sub-Block -3, 0.

-You have created a dirty edit of 000DAE82 in Block -1, 0 Sub-Block -3, 1.

-You have created a dirty edit of a placed creature in Block -1, 0 Sub-Block -2, 0.

-You have removed a door from the navmesh in Block 0, -1 Sub-Block 0, -1.

-You have removed a door from the navmesh in Block 0, 0 Sub-Block 1, 2.

 

Some of the fixes are incredibly easy. Other times, however, he altered vanilla data to work for him (so you have to not only restore the vanilla data but create NEW data so it works how he intended it) and he also did the old duplicate-vanilla-cell-and-then-edit-the-original-instead-of-the-copy trick (which is impossible to fix without starting the cell design over from scratch).

 

EDIT: Most recent conversation in the comments:

 

User: It's a good mod, but I had to uninstall it after completing the questline: it's causing issues with other mods. Large part of the Vault 21 has disappeared, and I was unable to continue playing. When I uninstalled this mod, everything went back to normal. It's a shame, because it's a really nice mod and I wish I could still use the items from it...

 

Mod creator: Yes, I thank you for your kind comments. Unfortunately as the Mod Maker I would have to agree that this quest is good for a one time playthrough - and then discard it

[KainsChylde]

How lazy is that? "Yeah, just play it once and dump it, I don't feel like making it work with other content."

 

And that list of fixes looks beyond my ability. Damn, if it worked properly this looks like it'd be a fun quest mod.

[zippy57]

353KB of that mod is dirty edits. Most of the errors stem from him copying vanilla cells but editing the original. He deleted NPCs and other references, which in turn removed them from packages, scripts, and quests, creating a domino effect of broken things.

 

It's theoretically possible to fix, but in essence you'd be recreating his mod from scratch. Now if someone wants to fix it, I say go ahead and fix it and upload it here. In my opinion, the "moral obligation" regarding permissions doesn't apply to a modder who has demonstrated that he is totally unwilling to fix what he broke.

 

EDIT: Might as well add the cleaned .esp. Only removed the dirty edits. Can't do much about the wild edits.

[astymma]

An example of the author's "caring attitude"...

@Astymma,

 

And I suppose the world is going to explode and destroy the universe as well? I am aware of the VMS21 bug... as I've stated before.

You cannot stand here and preach to me the woes of this mod when you are using a Highly Experimental program to make them apparent to you? It's like hiring a four year old to defuse an atomic bomb for heavens sake.

 

And even if this 'experimental third-party so called bug-sniffer' told you there are problems. Why aren't they happening?

 

Now I highly appreciate you carrying this message to me - But you must realize that just because there is evidence, does not mean a crime is present.

 

The way you conduct yourself up there on that pedestal of yours makes me think you are a Saboteur. Perhaps you should be more respectful and PM me; maybe even lend a hand, instead of preaching doomsday to the populace.

 

Respectfully

SJW,

The highly experimental program he's mentioning is FNVEdit...and I tried to help him but he simply refused to listen and still, to this day, has not corrected his broken mod. He simply moved on to another project and stated he won't support Rockwell Descent. I'd have to agree with zippy... this mod author doesn't exactly warrant much respectful treatment.

[zippy57]

I have to point this out: FNVEdit does call itself EXPERIMENTAL. So I can see how an incredibly inexperienced modder could think that.

 

EDIT: Also, he moved from "if these problems are here, why aren't they happening" to "yeah, I know it's busted, just deactivate the mod" fairly quickly.

[astymma]

I have to point this out: FNVEdit does call itself EXPERIMENTAL. So I can see how an incredibly inexperienced modder could think that.

 

Oh, there's no doubt about it being experimental. I had no issue about that. The issue was his attitude of head in the sand.

[zippy57]

To be honest, I've always wondered why FNVEdit is labelled experimental. It's like how every single release of NVSE is a beta, to the point where 3b2 is actually a beta version of a beta version. At some point it has to leave beta, and it's not like FNVEdit is incredibly unstable or anything.

[KainsChylde]

NVSE is still considered beta because they are still developing and improving it. How many mods here on lovers lab are still considered beta even though they're fully functional because the maker is still adding to them?

 

As for FNVEdit still being "experimental", no idea.

[zippy57]

I'm not convinced they're still actively developing NVSE, but I think I see your point.

[iron_jack]

I think of "beta" and "experimental" (within modding communities) as sort of weasel words - it gives the authors a bit of leeway, or at least a sense of it, in case of things exploding, causing cancer, killing pets, etc. "Hey, it's in beta, you should know things like this could happen."

 

Not that I blame them. At all. Users have no place to demand perfection from unpaid modders putting in hours and hours of work, but they often do.

[astymma]

I think of "beta" and "experimental" (within modding communities) as sort of weasel words - it gives the authors a bit of leeway' date=' or at least a sense of it, in case of things exploding, causing cancer, killing pets, etc. "Hey, it's in [b']beta[/b], you should know things like this could happen."

 

Not that I blame them. At all. Users have no place to demand perfection from unpaid modders putting in hours and hours of work, but they often do.

 

Well... "beta" or "experimental" or "whateverbuzzwordispopulartoday" to refer to something as being in an unfinished but functional state, the fact remains that FNVEdit is one of the most useful tools available to FONV modders. We've gotten off topic slightly and are debating the tools and not the OP's desire to fix something. The major problem with the mod is the mod author copied major portions of a few locations into his mod and then made an extremely fatal error. He put the original cells in HIS mod and put the copies where the original vanilla cells were. This immediately disconnects every single reference to these locations breaking quests, invalidating compiled bytecode (thus breaking scripts), disconnecting door teleport destinations and many other problems. There is NO easy fix for this... the only solution (after cleaning dirty edits as zippy did) is to rebuild the copied sections from scratch and move the mod's pieces over to the newly rebuilt copies and then delete all vanilla overrides.