Something I forgot to mention is to not be alarmed when, after having added more esp files after you converted a ton of esp to esl, NMM shows the amount of active plugins in red when you've exceeded the total of 255. NMM keeps showing this in the bottom notice bar, but to see how many actual plugins you have that count, you need to look at the bottom of the list in NMM's plugins tab. I now have 318 active plugins showing at the bottom of NMM's interface, but the plugins tab shows a total of 248 plugins, which is because I have 70 esl plugins.
The discrepancy between the two is because the amount of plugins that counts towards the limit of 255 is set by the plugins that receive an index number. Esl plugins don't get an index number and as such are not taken into account.
And for those who want to keep track of Nexus Mod Manager updates, you can get the latest versions at GitHUB, where the NMM developers have been working behind the scenes.
*EDIT*
Updted the download to v2.0 to reflect the changes made to the description.
For those who do not know, a game is limited to having 255 esm and/or esp plugins.
So, with the advent of the Creation Club and the worry that a lot of gamers were already at or near the plugin limit, the ESL was created. An esl is constructed in such a way that it doesn't count towards the totality of added plugins in a load list.
The total of esl plugins that can be added is a whopping 2048. An esl (Elder Scrolls Light) is a light master plugin. Light in the sense that it cannot be used for mods that have tons of items in them (maximum 2048 records); master because as such they are seen as a pinch above an esp but still lower than an esm and thus added above the former but below the latter in the load list.
The current 0.65.10 release on GitHub's releases page will not properly sort ESL flagged .esp files. In fact, depending on the file it may prevent you from modifying the sorting order at all in NMM.
A patch was already pushed up which DuskWeller merged, but a release build has not been provided on the normal releases page. There is a recompiled copy from the current snapshot (as of 2018-11-13) which includes the patch under GitHub Issue #654. It is a zip file on the 5th post down. Just run the installer .exe inside the zip file and install like normal.
It's a known issue ever since esl files were launched that has never been properly addressed and for which I've warned in many a reply. I forgot to add it to the tutorial, although I had a few heated discussions about the issue on the page of the SSE upload of this tutorial. That's also one of the main reasons why I'm not a particular fan of using xxEdit, because technically, the resulting files in xxEdit conversions are not always proper esl files...
Since this tutorial is about using the Creation Kit for the conversions, folks who follow the steps properly won't have to worry.
hmmm for some reason it made my mod a master and without realising i deleted said mod NOW the bloody kit wont open a file as it keeps saying missing master of that file which i no longer have aaaaargh!!!
I never used the CK for anything, so I don't know. All I know is that, when you try to convert an esp that contains more than 2048 Form IDs, the conversion overflows into esp Form ID territory and you'd get an error along these lines: Failed to merge Merge_xx_xx_2018, FormID [xxxxxxxx] belongs to a file that is not available as master to records in [xx] name_of_file.esp where the first set of Xes is the date, the second set is the Form ID number and the last pair is the index number for the file.
In other words, you'd get an error and the file wouldn't be converted to esl. But that's why I said to use "common sense" and don't try to convert a mod that adds a ton of items.
I use FO4Edit. Select the esp you want to check and click on the + sign in the far left column. Then highlight File Header. A window will open up on the right side of your screen. The second block of information down will be labeled HEDR - Header. In there, the Number of Records is listed.
SImple mods that make very little changes, or simple add new objects. Mods like Weapon/Armor packs, face and hair mods, quest and faction mods, mods that make big gameplay changes, player homes, environment/weather, AI/sandbox mods and all the mods with multiple ESPs are likely too big.
I would imagine mods that add a couple new objects into lists like Colored Leggings or GITS would be fine (especially since these two use AWKCR instead of Leveled List), but the large ones like MCAM or Pampas are a definite no.
Would anyone be interested in creating a list of most of the mods that should be converted to ESLs? I guess they could go through a few pages of the top mods. Would be super useful to most people who could just look at that list, observe what mods they have installed that are one that list and then convert those to ESLs.
I haven.t converted my mods yet just because I don't wanna ruin my load order and my save, but from what I've read you can do the conversion on standalone mods lets say armors or weapons that'd work.
Oke ignore what I said, I did not fully understand that you have to watch your plugin tab, not your active plugins. Water plants, Death-screen (You died) and Ion cannon can be converted without any trouble.
Why do you say in your tutorial that mods that depend on multiple masters should not be converted to ESL?
I have converted small weapon, clothing, armor, Power Armor, collectibles, workshop mods, some of them have all DLCs as masters (ESMs) and AWKCR (also ESM) and Armorsmith Extended (ESP file), then solve any possible conflict in a load order bottom Merged ESP with FO4Edit, and they seem to work just fine so far.
Depends on where those "masters" are loaded. The load order is Game/DLC esm first, then CC esl, then modded esm, then esl and then esp. That's how the game sorts things. Now, if you convert an esp that has another esp as master, then the first one will no longer work because as an esl, it will always be loaded before the file it depends on.
But this is a bit redundant as you get an error in the CK, warning that multiple masters have been detected and the action is aborted. I too have converted several mods that need some or all of the DLC and they all work, because the DLC esm are loaded before the esl. Most mods I tried to convert that have AWKCR as master give the aformentioned error in the CK. Doesn't matter that much to me. I had/have plenty of small mods that have no masters.
An esp with another esp as a master can probably be converted to an esl anyways. Convert the master (if possible) first, then convert the dependent. The Creation Kit will need to be configured in the ini to load multiple masters, but that isn't a problem. Would this work?
Interesting bbdoron770, so you imply that: when the esp (master) is converted first to esl and the patch esp after that is converted to an esl, they will actually work? What are your findings on this so far?
I don't think this will work as the "patch" is still requiring the ESP "master" version, which is a separate plugin from the ESL "master" version. You would have to change the dependencies of the Patch to the ESL master in FO4Edit, which can get messy. I personally don't like changing or removing dependencies as if anything that was required isn't substituted properly, like meshes that were required in the master plugin not being replaced with the same meshes in the new master or in the mod itself, you'll have a Broken mod. I tried this converting Odem's sword collection to Xbox, and since his mods had an ESM requirement, I tried to pull the content out into the ESPs and remove the dependency.... but it wouldn't work.
Fallout4.esm is Supposed to be active at all times. Every plugin after, from Fallout DLC to mods REQUIRES the master to be active. That's how it works. The Master has every necessary data - worldspaces, navmesh, collision boxes, EVERYTHING. Your mod will not work without it. And all content makes changes to it, but you don't edit master itself; the changes are made to the mods. It is pretty much impossible to create a plugin that does not require the main game as all plugins makes edits to the game - and therefore the ESM. And the CK doesn't apply these directly to Fallout4.esm, unless you somehow manually did so, which is not possible by simply converting ESP to a ESL or ESM. So no, you don't have to close the CK every time. You should always save the current plugin you edit, and cleaning it with FO4Edit is advisable. IF you have load crashes, its not simply because of not closing the CK. Your problem is likely a bad edit or deleted reference to a cell that was necessary, or a conflict that the game can't simply solve with a standard load overwrite; things that would Not be caused by simply switching from a plugin to another in CK.
If you convert using xEdit, Fallout4.esm is still loaded with in the background.
Would anyone know why doing this process would break some weapon mods and not others? For example, I did this for the VSV mod and it worked flawlessly, but I tried doing it for the MG42 mod and when I equip the weapon in-game, I equip my fists instead and the weapon is floating in the air. I can't fire or reload it either. Both mods are well below the record limit. Thanks.
This tutorial and the one for FO4Edit ( https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/35922 ) have totally MADE MY DAY. I'm ecstatic. Thank you. <3 <3 <3 Endorsed, and have a Kudo, too!
Hi how handy that you can convert these files, thanks for the tutorial. Is it a good idea to convert my castles and mansions into ESL files, I did not put any stuff I want to keep into containers in them yet anyway. I want to mod the game perfectly before getting to far into it :D
If those castles and mansions came with an esp, sure, go ahead
Converting esp files of built buildings won't affect stuff you've added inside said buildings before the conversion. Even if the buildings would disappear, the added items would still remain, unless the buildings have their own separate interior cell.
Aha that is good to know going to try it out now :D Also one more thing: I made "Water plants esp" into an esl, now I see it in my plugins list as an esl and I activated it. It works in game without the esp being active, I deleted that esp out of my data-folder. But now I still have the same amount of plugins as before, is there something I did wrong? (And I mean plugins that count towards the 255 limit).
If the mod has BA2 files that come with the esp the BA2 will no longer be seen as belonging with the esl since the files require an esp to function. Other than that things should work out fine. You always need to delete the esp after having made an esl. Replacing an esp with an esl will never decrease the total amount of plug-ins used since an esl is also a plug-in. What will show however is the amount of plug-ins counting towards the limit will have gone down.
In NMM you have two amounts for plug-ins: the total sum of installed plugs (showing at the bottom middle of the interface under Total Plugins/Active Plugins) and amount of plugs that count towards the limit of 256, shown in NMM's Plugins tab at the bottom of the list. Once over 256 total, the number at the bottom middle of the interface will show in red. Going over 256 in the plugins tab will give a warning that you're exceeding the allowed amount of plugs.
You are very helpful, thank you :D That helps. But my total active plugins did not go down even when the mods where in esl format and when I deleted the ESP's.. So confused. So I guess the BSA in the file did not allow me to make a viable esl in the first place, since it needs an esp, it will see the new esl as an esp, hence not lowering my active plugin limit although I have an esl in my plugin list.. Correct? Hmm.. Dragon Remains - BSA might not be a good mod to convert then, hmm..? Also I do not have to change anything in my Nexus Mod Manager AppData text right? Notice me senpai :P
Completely disregard the "Active Plugins". Only keep an eye on the number at the bottom of the list in NNM's Plugins tab: that's the number that counts and that should go down everytime you've converted an esp to esl and you deleted the original esp afterwards.
Total amount of plugins includes esl files, so, that number won't go down.
The Creation Kit is THE ultimate tool. And an official one at that. The CK is also free to download and use. For a more risky approach which until now hasn't given any negative results, check the link in the top sticky. It's a tutorial for the same thing but with xxEdit.
97 comments
All thanks to you folks. You have my sincere gratitude
The discrepancy between the two is because the amount of plugins that counts towards the limit of 255 is set by the plugins that receive an index number. Esl plugins don't get an index number and as such are not taken into account.
And for those who want to keep track of Nexus Mod Manager updates, you can get the latest versions at GitHUB, where the NMM developers have been working behind the scenes.
*EDIT*
Updted the download to v2.0 to reflect the changes made to the description.
So, with the advent of the Creation Club and the worry that a lot of gamers were already at or near the plugin limit, the ESL was created. An esl is constructed in such a way that it doesn't count towards the totality of added plugins in a load list.
The total of esl plugins that can be added is a whopping 2048. An esl (Elder Scrolls Light) is a light master plugin. Light in the sense that it cannot be used for mods that have tons of items in them (maximum 2048 records); master because as such they are seen as a pinch above an esp but still lower than an esm and thus added above the former but below the latter in the load list.
If you want to know the how, what and why, check Arthmoor's explanations at afkmods.
The current 0.65.10 release on GitHub's releases page will not properly sort ESL flagged .esp files. In fact, depending on the file it may prevent you from modifying the sorting order at all in NMM.
A patch was already pushed up which DuskWeller merged, but a release build has not been provided on the normal releases page. There is a recompiled copy from the current snapshot (as of 2018-11-13) which includes the patch under GitHub Issue #654. It is a zip file on the 5th post down. Just run the installer .exe inside the zip file and install like normal.
Credit: BigandFlabby
Since this tutorial is about using the Creation Kit for the conversions, folks who follow the steps properly won't have to worry.
In other words, you'd get an error and the file wouldn't be converted to esl. But that's why I said to use "common sense" and don't try to convert a mod that adds a ton of items.
I would imagine mods that add a couple new objects into lists like Colored Leggings or GITS would be fine (especially since these two use AWKCR instead of Leveled List), but the large ones like MCAM or Pampas are a definite no.
I have converted small weapon, clothing, armor, Power Armor, collectibles, workshop mods, some of them have all DLCs as masters (ESMs) and AWKCR (also ESM) and Armorsmith Extended (ESP file), then solve any possible conflict in a load order bottom Merged ESP with FO4Edit, and they seem to work just fine so far.
Congratulation on your tutorial!
But this is a bit redundant as you get an error in the CK, warning that multiple masters have been detected and the action is aborted. I too have converted several mods that need some or all of the DLC and they all work, because the DLC esm are loaded before the esl. Most mods I tried to convert that have AWKCR as master give the aformentioned error in the CK. Doesn't matter that much to me. I had/have plenty of small mods that have no masters.
https://bethesda.net/community/topic/3015/how-to-load-multiple-master-files-into-the-creation-kit-for-pc
Hope this info helps you to complete your tutorial.
Would this work?
What are your findings on this so far?
So no, you don't have to close the CK every time. You should always save the current plugin you edit, and cleaning it with FO4Edit is advisable. IF you have load crashes, its not simply because of not closing the CK. Your problem is likely a bad edit or deleted reference to a cell that was necessary, or a conflict that the game can't simply solve with a standard load overwrite; things that would Not be caused by simply switching from a plugin to another in CK.
If you convert using xEdit, Fallout4.esm is still loaded with in the background.
I'm ecstatic.
Thank you. <3 <3 <3
Endorsed, and have a Kudo, too!
Converting esp files of built buildings won't affect stuff you've added inside said buildings before the conversion. Even if the buildings would disappear, the added items would still remain, unless the buildings have their own separate interior cell.
Also one more thing: I made "Water plants esp" into an esl, now I see it in my plugins list as an esl and I activated it. It works in game without the esp being active, I deleted that esp out of my data-folder. But now I still have the same amount of plugins as before, is there something I did wrong? (And I mean plugins that count towards the 255 limit).
You always need to delete the esp after having made an esl.
Replacing an esp with an esl will never decrease the total amount of plug-ins used since an esl is also a plug-in. What will show however is the amount of plug-ins counting towards the limit will have gone down.
In NMM you have two amounts for plug-ins: the total sum of installed plugs (showing at the bottom middle of the interface under Total Plugins/Active Plugins) and amount of plugs that count towards the limit of 256, shown in NMM's Plugins tab at the bottom of the list. Once over 256 total, the number at the bottom middle of the interface will show in red. Going over 256 in the plugins tab will give a warning that you're exceeding the allowed amount of plugs.
But my total active plugins did not go down even when the mods where in esl format and when I deleted the ESP's.. So confused.
So I guess the BSA in the file did not allow me to make a viable esl in the first place, since it needs an esp, it will see the new esl as an esp, hence not lowering my active plugin limit although I have an esl in my plugin list.. Correct?
Hmm.. Dragon Remains - BSA might not be a good mod to convert then, hmm..?
Also I do not have to change anything in my Nexus Mod Manager AppData text right?
Notice me senpai :P
Total amount of plugins includes esl files, so, that number won't go down.
If I had to find out about this by myself it might have taken me days!
Love it, thanks man.