BA2/mod causing CTD in settlement workshop menu

[stoopid]

Back in 2018, I put together a crude mod mash-up of texture replacers for billboards, posters and stuff like that.  It was based around Sickotics billboard replacer mod and used his .esp.  I began adding a bunch of home-made textures and eventually bundled everything up into a -Textures.ba2 file.  It worked fine until I stopped playing later that year.

 

Recently I started back into FO4 and reinstalled the mod.  I discovered that while the mod is active, I get a CTD when in the settlement workshop menus.  I can open the structures and furniture menus and build stuff w/o problems.  But if I scroll farther right (to decorations or past) I get the CTD after a 1-2 sec delay.  Strangely, if I make a mod of the loose files only, it works just fine.

 

Since I'm not a modder (I'm an idiot with Gimp), I googled the problem of course, and could find only one post relating the same issue.  Unfortunately, there was no reason or solution offered other than to unpack the BA2

 

So far I have:

- uninstalled every mod except F4SE (the mod doesnt use it though)

- uninstalled the game, purged the data files, save game files and ini files (I think) and re-installed

- made a completely new .esp in CK and repackaged the loose files into a new BA2 with Archive2

- cleaned out any files other than texture files that replace vanilla files

- played a new game to the point where I'm standing in front of the Sanctuary work bench

- re-installed and un-installed the two forms of the mod using Vortex

- the problem is 100% reproducable

 

While the mod isnt so big I NEED to use the BA2, it's really a matter of principle now.  I really want to know what I've screwed up.

[Guest]

If the textures work fine as loose files put them in an uncompressed BA2 file. Try DDS and if that fails try general. Has to be a compression issue or when it placed in a BA2 file it's not winning out conflict resolution unless it as un-overwritten loose files. I am assuming your only replacing textures with said mod.

[stoopid]

19 hours ago, aghjax said:

If the textures work fine as loose files put them in an uncompressed BA2 file. Try DDS and if that fails try general. Has to be a compression issue or when it placed in a BA2 file it's not winning out conflict resolution unless it as un-overwritten loose files. I am assuming your only replacing textures with said mod.

 

That is correct, I am only replacing textures.  I will try this out.  Thanks.

[izzyknows]

Also remember the correct naming format or the ba2 wont load.

YourModName(space)-(space)Textures.ba2

And loose files always over ride ba2.

 

But ya prolly already knew that! LOL

[stoopid]

11 hours ago, izzyknows said:

Also remember the correct naming format or the ba2 wont load.

YourModName(space)-(space)Textures.ba2

And loose files always over ride ba2.

 

But ya prolly already knew that! LOL

 

Well, it's not safe to assume anything with me, but in this case I am aware.

However, in follow-up to aghjaxs' suggestion:  I never really got to text it.  The .esp form now causes an infinite loading screen (or at least more-than-the-time-it-takes-to-brew-a-pot-of-coffee screen).  It does this regardless of the compression and I suspect I am making some new and wonderful mistake.  I learned what little I know from Kinggaths tutorial video, so I will go back to that and see if I'm skipping a step or something.  I have no actual understanding of any of this; I just watch a tutorial and follow the steps as best I can and hope for the best.

 

At this point I got so frustrated that I threw in the towel.  I reloaded the loose files and some other mods so I could at least PLAY the game for a bit, and then found out that my mod conflicts with AWKCR causing the same CTD when both are loaded together (even if they are literally the only two mods loaded).  WTF.  I dont know why these mods would interact, let alone conflict.

 

Thanks anyway for the reply

[izzyknows]

2 hours ago, stoopid said:

even if they are literally the only two mods loaded

Open both in xEdit and see where the conflict is.
And don't discount a possible corrupted file. Probably not, but it does happen.

 

Yea, you really have to pay attention and hit pause a lot with KG's videos. But.. imo he's the top mod author... period! I worked for him as an alpha tester from SS 1.01 to 4.0, so I might be a little biased. LOL

[stoopid]

1 hour ago, izzyknows said:

Open both in xEdit and see where the conflict is.
And don't discount a possible corrupted file. Probably not, but it does happen.

 

Yea, you really have to pay attention and hit pause a lot with KG's videos. But.. imo he's the top mod author... period! I worked for him as an alpha tester from SS 1.01 to 4.0, so I might be a little biased. LOL

 

Well, this would be another piece of software I would have to learn from scratch.  It didnt even see my mod when I loaded it up.  I guess since it's just a bunch of dds files w/o an associated esp.  I stuck an empty esp onto it.  This let me generate a very colorful display with information I have no idea how to interpret about conflicts that I dont think involve my mod since they were about things like quests and ambient lighting.  FO4edit is not what I would call intuitive or even friendly.  I generally only use software that wants me to use it...

[izzyknows]

43 minutes ago, stoopid said:

w/o an associated esp.

Well there's why a ba2 wont work!

Open the CK and click Save, name your mod.. (example: YourMod.esp) exit.
Pack the textures into  ba2 and save as
YourMod - Textures.ba2

Enable YourMod.esp and load the game. They "should" work. As long as you don't have a corrupt texture or wrong file path....

 

xEdit is "Right Click" friendly... really friendly!

[stoopid]

1 hour ago, izzyknows said:

Well there's why a ba2 wont work!

Open the CK and click Save, name your mod.. (example: YourMod.esp) exit.
Pack the textures into  ba2 and save as
YourMod - Textures.ba2

Enable YourMod.esp and load the game. They "should" work. As long as you don't have a corrupt texture or wrong file path....

 

xEdit is "Right Click" friendly... really friendly!

 

I should have been more clear.  I have 2 versions of the mod.  One with an empty esp and the ba2 files.  Another with just the loose files.  The first yielded a deluge of inscrutable information about conflicts between FO4 and its DLCs.  The second didnt show up on the xEdit list. 

 

By right-click friendly, I assume you mean a message such as "The command you chose isn't available anymore.  You cant actually use it.  But we keep it on the menu to troll nubs like you.  It's been replaced by function X that isn't in this menu.  Or anywhere for that matter.  Have a nice day!"   I cant even figure out how to go back to list of mods.  I have to close xEdit and re-open it every time I want to try something.  All I wanted was to cover the Commonwealth with pictures of boobies.  Is that so much to ask for?

 

[Guest]

Sickotics billboard replacer .esp (assuming your using it as a base) likely needs to be cleaned for conflicts in FO4edit. Load just that .esp look at the masters it should only be FO4 & the DLC's if* it touches billboards in those dlc's and then right click in the left pane apply filter to show conflicts and see what the hell is conflicting. Should only be entries related to changing the billboards textures.

[stoopid]

11 hours ago, aghjax said:

Sickotics billboard replacer .esp (assuming your using it as a base) likely needs to be cleaned for conflicts in FO4edit. Load just that .esp look at the masters it should only be FO4 & the DLC's if* it touches billboards in those dlc's and then right click in the left pane apply filter to show conflicts and see what the hell is conflicting. Should only be entries related to changing the billboards textures.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.  If there was is conflict, I was unable to identify it, though I am worried this has more to do with me having no clue how xEdit works.  The Autoclean function also didn't find a problem.  

 

In regards to your previous suggestion, it does seem that creating the archive w/o compression causes an infinite load screen when loading a save (the game loads fine)

 

As additional information, my mod contains some of sickotics files but it contains alot of others I made.  It definitely includes files from automatron, far harbor and nuka world.  I'm pretty sure I made the .esp (by opening CK and just immediately saving and closing) since I have tried to simplify things by removing the unique buildable paintings that came with original mod.  At this point, pretty much everything in the original mod has been replaced/altered.  I worry that I may have removed something important without realizing it.  I may go back to the original and insert my new textures and see if that works...