TES5Edit: How do essential NPCs not have essential flags?

[NNS10]

I was thinking of using TES5Edit to make a mod to make all essential NPCs killable (in preparation for USLEEP replacing USKP and making all such existing mods incompatible).

 

However, when I checked a list of essential NPCs (see this list)  in TES5Edit, I see inconsistency. Some essential NPCs don't have an essential flag (e.g. Aela, Balgruruf, Danica Purespring) while others do (e.g. Falk Firebeard, Dengeir)

 

Anyone understand what is going on and why this is?

 

 

[TheDriedFinger]

There are three methods through which NPCs are commonly made effectively essential in-game.

1) Through checking the Essential flag in their Actor Form (which you no doubt noticed)

2) Through filling them into a Reference Alias in a Quest which has its Essential flag checked

3) Through a script

 

This is the order of how common each technique is from most common to least. It also is the order of most easily detectable to least so when you go to determine the cause of their being essential.

[NNS10]

Is there a way to have TES5Edit throw all my new edits into a new plugin?

 

I'd like to use a flag changer script to remove the essential flags from the ESMs and unofficial patches and throw them into a new plugin.

[Killing Joke]

Is there a way to have TES5Edit throw all my new edits into a new plugin?

 

I'd like to use a flag changer script to remove the essential flags from the ESMs and unofficial patches and throw them into a new plugin.

 

Load esp/esm files you want to edit in tes5edit, go to the entry you want to edit, then in the right pane right click on the esp name and choose "copy as override into" and create a new file, now you can edit safely edit values that will override your other mods. Or just use the CK which cannot edit esm files anyway and will automatically ask you to create a new file when you will wanna save your edits.

[NNS10]

 

Is there a way to have TES5Edit throw all my new edits into a new plugin?

 

I'd like to use a flag changer script to remove the essential flags from the ESMs and unofficial patches and throw them into a new plugin.

 

Load esp/esm files you want to edit in tes5edit, go to the entry you want to edit, then in the right pane right click on the esp name and choose "copy as override into" and create a new file, now you can edit safely edit values that will override your other mods. Or just use the CK which cannot edit esm files anyway and will automatically ask you to create a new file when you will wanna save your edits.

 

 

I'm not looking to copy every record, and I'm not modifying records manually either.

 

What I'm doing is using an automation script on the NPC records in the ESMs and USKPs to make flag changes. I'm looking for an automated way (or at least a smart way) to copy those changes into a new plugin.

 

I thought maybe I could use a filter to look for overrides, but the UKSP records are all overrides so that doesn't help.

[NNS10]

Attempting this again. I solved the first problem by first copying all NPC records as overrides into a new esp and running the script.

 

The problem I'm having now is removing the unnecessary records. Removing grayed out records is easy via the "Remove ITM" cleaning feature.

 

HOWEVER, the next part is what I can't figure out. I need to be able to identify records that are identical between my ESP and the next lowest ESP that touches the record. In other words, this is finding the records in my ESP that are merely carrying over the USKP changes.

 

However, the filters seem to look across all ESPs at once so I haven't had much luck with this comparison. Anyone well versed in TES5Edit that can see a way to do this? Or if there's a way for the filter to only compare on certain fields (e.g. NPC flags), that would help too as that'd make a manual solution more doable.

 

 

Short version of problem: I copied the NPC records from the ESMs and unofficial patches into a new ESP and ran a script to modify NPC flags on certain records. Now I have a bunch of ITM records, but b/c there are multiple masters many of them are not being detected as ITM dirty edits (e.g. USKP makes an edit, and my ESP simply carries that edit forward unchanged but b/c it's different from Skyrim.esm, it's not being detected as an ITM).

 

If there's a way to limit the filter comparison to the NPC ACBS flags, I would then be able to have a list that should be short enough to manually parse through.

[Kestatwala]

Run the "Remove dentical to previous override records" script.

[NNS10]

Run the "Remove dentical to previous override records" script.

 

Thanks, awesome first post!

 

I didn't know about that script. Updated TES5Edit to get the new script and it's exactly what I was looking for.