Find My Mod's Ref ID "Prefix"

Before you can use the console effectively to obtain what you need in the Cheaters Guild sections of the Cheating the Rings article, you first need to figure out the 2-character alpha-numeric prefix pertaining to the Ref ID for this mod (as it relates to your individualized installation).  If you are not familiar (or familiar enough) with using the console, please stop here and take a look at my other article, Learning to Use the Developer Console.  Then head back here and continue on...

If you look up pretty much anything on the Skyrim or Fallout Wikis, you'll often find a summary box in the top right of the page.  One item listed in that summary box is usually the Ref ID, and it's always 8 characters (e.g., 001E5FB4).  These 8 characters are alpha-numeric because they are actually a group of 4 hexadecimal 2-digit groupings.  In the example just given 001E5FB4 is actually 4 hex groupings combined:  00-1E-5F-B4.  The first hex number represents the plugins loaded by the game at run time, including the vanilla game and DLC masters (e.g., Fallout4.esm) and is many times referred to unofficially as the Ref ID "prefix".

If a mod you have installed just lays down some textures, meshes, and other "loose" files and does NOT include plugins (one or more files ending in .ESP or .ESM), then you can ignore anything we talk about here.  There often is a general "mod" limit not related to plugins that varies based on the mod organizer used, the game you're playing, and the performance capabilities of your computer.

But, if your mod DOES have one or more files ending in .ESP or .ESM, then as soon as you install that mod, those .ESP files which show up at the end of your plugin list.  This is where load order becomes the topic of the day, but we're going to avoid that topic like the plague right now.  Just know that this "plugin list" is what people talk about when discussing "load order" and discussing the "plugin limit".

So, what about the HC Glowing Rings mod?  Well, because I have to create objects and records that are added to the game to alter its functionality, it requires at least one plugin (in addition to the "loose" textures, meshes, and materials that I also use).  In this case, if you look at the root of your Fallout 4 Data folder, or if you look at the plugin list in NMM or MO, you'll notice a file named HCGlowingRings.esp.  That's my mod.

Now, we need to find out it's position in the plugin load order (in other words, where does it fall in that range of 1 to 254.  To do this, look at the plugins section of NMM or MO and you'll see an Index number associated with each plugin file.  Search through that list, find HCGlowingRings.esp, and make a note of the Index number.

Here's where things get a little tricky:

• First, we need to determine the REAL decimal value.  Most of us are trained in school to think of a base 10 numbering system as starting with "1" and ending with "10" - remember, count to 10?  Most of us WRONGLY counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.  Ahhh... the good ol' USA (yes, even as a US resident, I'll admit we sometimes have our head up our ***).  Thankfully, other cultures recognized that this was incorrect and properly teach that a base 10 number system starts counting from 0 and goes from 0 to 9 (not 1 to 10).  So, once you find the Index number of HCGlowingRings.esp, subtract 1 from it to get the real decimal value that we need.
• Next, we need to convert our new decimal value to hex notation.  Unless you are currently in school dealing with base numbering systems, have a fantastic memory, or are a math genius, just use a simple calculator to save yourself some time.  Windows Calculator will do, or you can use an online site like http://www.binaryhexconverter.com/hex-to-decimal-converter.