How do you merge plugins?

[Aki K]

I'm nearing the limit of allowable plugins, but the vast majority of them are just armor mods.  How do I merge them so that I can make room for new mods?  Is there a tool?  Is it done in TesEdit or CK?  Or is it just something I can do manually?  As it turns out, the "merging" I had been doing is just putting them in the same folder in MO and not actually merging them.  So the plugin count is at about 240, and I think if I properly merge them I can be below 150. (I have a lot of armor/clothing mods ^-^).

[secondcumming]

Basically this! It's a great tutorial.

 

I do a lot of merging, so if you're still stuck after watching that, message me and i'll explain it.

 

[coolfreaky]

you could use CK but it is not merging  it is re creating the (files).esp 

best is to use Xedit    ( when you have cloth or armour with no scripts in it , you just copy and past the contenant from one to another : and instead of multi (files).esp you keep just one . )

 

but it also needs a little tutorial and more experience (maybe not )  !  in case you do not have it already ( check the docs also ) : https://tes5edit.github.io/

[Aki K]

Can you save the new merged mods as a separate new mod to be installed rather than putting it directly into the game files?  Just as a time saver in case I need to reinstall?

[Camila]

If you used MergePlugins it will create a new ESP with the merged esps. You should then disable the original ESPs and just active this new merged one. But remember that you still need the original mod data files, like meshes, textures, etc, active.
In MO you can right click in a mod, click Information -> Optional ESPs, and move the ESP there. It will hide the ESP from showing in the availables ESPs to toggle active or not.

 

Alternatively, you can mark your weapons / armors mods as ESPFE using xEdit. Or openning it in CK and resaving them as ESL. The limit for those are much higher than normal ESPs. (This is for SE Only though)

[Swe-DivX]

22 minutes ago, Aki K said:

Can you save the new merged mods as a separate new mod to be installed rather than putting it directly into the game files?  Just as a time saver in case I need to reinstall?

You can save them as new mod with all files copied to the new merged folder. Dont do armor mod with quests ?

After you done merging, remove the bodyslide folder to save some space. Best is to create a new Profile and mod folder in MO and merge to your original mod folder.

[Varithina]

27 minutes ago, Aki K said:

Can you save the new merged mods as a separate new mod to be installed rather than putting it directly into the game files?  Just as a time saver in case I need to reinstall?

As you are using mo it should put the new esp into the overwrite folder, you would then need to create a new mod called what ever it is, then copy all the meshes/textures and what not for all the merged files into that one, then zip that up and it should be ok.

 

If the files you want to merge are all simply armor and or weapons mods there are both standalone https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/69905 and xedit scripts https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/37981 to do it, the standalone program is the most up to date but with both the script and the program if there are ANY errors in the mods being merged they will fail, it will seem to merge but they won't.  Both will also copy all the files required by the new merge.

[Varithina]

7 minutes ago, Camila said:

Alternatively, you can mark your weapons / armors mods as ESPFE using xEdit. Or openning it in CK and resaving them as ESL. The limit for those are much higher than normal ESPs.

Not in le you can not, and even if you can in se, if there are scripts in the mod, it can be somewhat iffy to esl them, as sometimes the scripts contain the esp filename in them.  Not seen many that do but had a couple pop up when I was merging my own mod list, and it took ages to figure out what the problem was with the new merge.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Varithina said:

Not in le you can not, and even if you can in se, if there are scripts in the mod, it can be somewhat iffy to esl them, as sometimes the scripts contain the esp filename in them.  Not seen many that do but had a couple pop up when I was merging my own mod list, and it took ages to figure out what the problem was with the new merge.

Can't you eslify the plugin without changing the name? At least in LE you can mark an esp as an esm in xEdit while keeping the .esp extension.

If you can't, you can just rename the plugin name in the compiled script, since the string table is still editable.

 

For merging, you can use Relinker, or with zMerge, it is built in. (Though the relinker in zMerge is bugged and doesn't work on formids)

[Aki K]

4 hours ago, Camila said:

If you used MergePlugins it will create a new ESP with the merged esps. You should then disable the original ESPs and just active this new merged one. But remember that you still need the original mod data files, like meshes, textures, etc, active.
In MO you can right click in a mod, click Information -> Optional ESPs, and move the ESP there. It will hide the ESP from showing in the availables ESPs to toggle active or not.

 

Alternatively, you can mark your weapons / armors mods as ESPFE using xEdit. Or openning it in CK and resaving them as ESL. The limit for those are much higher than normal ESPs. (This is for SE Only though)

 

4 hours ago, Varithina said:

Not in le you can not, and even if you can in se, if there are scripts in the mod, it can be somewhat iffy to esl them, as sometimes the scripts contain the esp filename in them.  Not seen many that do but had a couple pop up when I was merging my own mod list, and it took ages to figure out what the problem was with the new merge.

 

4 hours ago, Targultoon said:

Can't you eslify the plugin without changing the name? At least in LE you can mark an esp as an esm in xEdit while keeping the .esp extension.

If you can't, you can just rename the plugin name in the compiled script, since the string table is still editable.

 

For merging, you can use Relinker, or with zMerge, it is built in. (Though the relinker in zMerge is bugged and doesn't work on formids)

You guys are losing me.  Too technical.

 

I'm only merging armor mods, so I don't think script is going to be too big an issue.  Here's what i want to do:

 

Let's say I have 10 armor mods by melodic.  I'd like to fully merge them into a single mod file, that I can then save and install like it is a single mod, assets/meshes/textures all included.  Can I do that?

 

 

And for reference, I use MO2 and play LE.

[Aki K]

How do I fix this error?  Same for the BSA thing on the bottom.  Which folder should be the manager path and which should be the mods path?  I can't seem to get it to accept the ones I'm choosing.  Same for the BSA thing.  Not sure what to put for that.  The Papyrus one is working at least.

 

 

Spoiler

 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, Aki K said:

I'm only merging armor mods, so I don't think script is going to be too big an issue.  Here's what i want to do:

 

Let's say I have 10 armor mods by melodic.  I'd like to fully merge them into a single mod file, that I can then save and install like it is a single mod, assets/meshes/textures all included.  Can I do that?

Just using Merge Plugins or zMerge works, and is pretty straightforward for mods that don't have soft dependencies.

 

I know zMerge also handles assets, it creates a new MO mod with the merged plugin and all meshes and textures, but Merge Plugins will probably also do this, otherwise you can just copy the assets over yourself anyways.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Aki K said:

How do I fix this error?  Same for the BSA thing on the bottom.  Which folder should be the manager path and which should be the mods path?  I can't seem to get it to accept the ones I'm choosing.  Same for the BSA thing.  Not sure what to put for that.  The Papyrus one is working at least.

 

 

  Hide contents

 

Merge Plugins isn't updated for MO2's file structure, I believe, so you'll probably have to disable MO integration and just dump it into overwrite, or edit the executable and set an output mod.

[Aki K]

9 minutes ago, Targultoon said:

Merge Plugins isn't updated for MO2's file structure, I believe, so you'll probably have to disable MO integration and just dump it into overwrite, or edit the executable and set an output mod.

I don't really understand what that last part means.  So let's assume I'm doing this manual then without MO.

 

What do I set for:

BSAopt path

Papyrus Champollion Decompiler path (that also wasn't detected)

BSAopt options

 

I don't know what any of these are or mean, but I imagine they are necessary.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Aki K said:

I don't really understand what that last part means.  So let's assume I'm doing this manual then without MO.

 

What do I set for:

BSAopt path

Papyrus Champollion Decompiler path (that also wasn't detected)

BSAopt options

 

I don't know what any of these are or mean, but I imagine they are necessary.

I don't believe those three are necessary.

 

But the old Mod Organiser used to have the program itself and the mods and stuff in one folder, while MO2 normally has the program itself and the mods in different places, unless you selected portable during setup.

But you can just disable the Mod Organiser integration, and it will put the merged plugin in MO2's overwrite folder, like any other program would.

 

As for merging itself, when starting Merge Plugins, select the plugins you want to merge, then when it has finished loading, simply select them and add them to a new merge.

[Aki K]

24 minutes ago, Targultoon said:

I don't believe those three are necessary.

 

But the old Mod Organiser used to have the program itself and the mods and stuff in one folder, while MO2 normally has the program itself and the mods in different places, unless you selected portable during setup.

But you can just disable the Mod Organiser integration, and it will put the merged plugin in MO2's overwrite folder, like any other program would.

 

As for merging itself, when starting Merge Plugins, select the plugins you want to merge, then when it has finished loading, simply select them and add them to a new merge.

Cool.  And I run it through MO still I assume.

 

I have a few other questions but they're more hypothetical.  Is it possible to use this program to merge mods that haven't yet been installed?  Like if I have manual copies on sitting on the desktop, can I merge them into a new mod and save it on the desktop?

 

Also if I added masters via Tesedit (like heel sounds) does that effect the merging process?

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Aki K said:

And I run it through MO still I assume.

Yep

 

5 minutes ago, Aki K said:

I have a few other questions but they're more hypothetical.  Is it possible to use this program to merge mods that haven't yet been installed?  Like if I have manual copies on sitting on the desktop, can I merge them into a new mod and save it on the desktop?

No, it needs to know what is in the master files in order to know if the plugin is actually valid and that kind of stuff. You can however make a new profile in MO and don't enable any mods except for the ones you want to merge.

 

7 minutes ago, Aki K said:

Also if I added masters via Tesedit (like heel sounds) does that effect the merging process?

Like any other master, it will simply add the masters of the separate plugins to the merged plugin (And of course the changes you made like the footstep sound will also be present in the merged plugin)

[Aki K]

34 minutes ago, Targultoon said:

 

No, it needs to know what is in the master files in order to know if the plugin is actually valid and that kind of stuff. You can however make a new profile in MO and don't enable any mods except for the ones you want to merge.

After the merge, could I then copy the files, and zip them, and install them as a mod?  I kind of what to group some of my favorite armors into packs.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Aki K said:

After the merge, could I then copy the files, and zip them, and install them as a mod?  I kind of what to group some of my favorite armors into packs.

Yeah, that should be fine.

[Aki K]

52 minutes ago, Targultoon said:

Yeah, that should be fine.

Cool.  I guess I'll just have to try and see.  ^-^  Just armor mods so no real risk of any damage.

[Aki K]

Well it seems to have worked except it didn't merge the assets (meshes, textures, bodyslide stuff) even though I had that option selected.  So it put the items in game but it still required the other mods technically be installed.  I want to make it a single mod.

 

EDIT:  I can add the necessary files manually.  Here's hoping it works.  If so, I guess I just have an extra step.  Weird that it doesn't handle all assets automatically.  Maybe I'm doing that part wrong.  But I could swear all I had to do was check a box.

 

EDIT 2:  Well it works.  But the merge has so many armors that the add item menu is very slow and laggy.  Is there anyway to make the additem menu separate into different sections but keep it as 1 esp file?  It works with choosing the main game in add item menu or any of the DLCs.  If I could make sections for specific outfits, it would really make things smoother.  Otherwise, I'll have to make smaller merges.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Aki K said:

Well it seems to have worked except it didn't merge the assets (meshes, textures, bodyslide stuff) even though I had that option selected.  So it put the items in game but it still required the other mods technically be installed.  I want to make it a single mod.

 

EDIT:  I can add the necessary files manually.  Here's hoping it works.  If so, I guess I just have an extra step.  Weird that it doesn't handle all assets automatically.  Maybe I'm doing that part wrong.  But I could swear all I had to do was check a box.

 

EDIT 2:  Well it works.  But the merge has so many armors that the add item menu is very slow and laggy.  Is there anyway to make the additem menu separate into different sections but keep it as 1 esp file?  It works with choosing the main game in add item menu or any of the DLCs.  If I could make sections for specific outfits, it would really make things smoother.  Otherwise, I'll have to make smaller merges.

I don't know about making specific sections, but to alleviate lag, I believe you can set the container size in the AddItemMenu ini

[Aki K]

36 minutes ago, Targultoon said:

I don't know about making specific sections, but to alleviate lag, I believe you can set the container size in the AddItemMenu ini

I see.  That would be very useful.  And I imagine it would separate them by alphabet the way it does for very large mods.  Thank you.

[Varithina]

17 hours ago, Aki K said:

How do I fix this error?  Same for the BSA thing on the bottom.  Which folder should be the manager path and which should be the mods path?  I can't seem to get it to accept the ones I'm choosing.  Same for the BSA thing.  Not sure what to put for that.  The Papyrus one is working at least.

 

 

Manually set the file paths for each of the missing items, that worked for me.

 

Spoiler

 

These are the settings for my asset handling and intergrations, though as I do not seem to be able to get it to register bsaopt as even being there, the extract and create bsa does not work even though it is ticked, it seems that bsaopt has to be installed into a specific location and the program will not let you choose where it is found unlike the other intergrations.  The seq/script fragments requires the compliers to be correctly installed, in my case they are not otherwise those options would be available to select in which case even scripts could be merged and the program would re-compile all the scripts based on the new esp and edid.