Configuring a Fresh Creation Kit Install

It's been a while but I have a few mod ideas so I got the CK installed. There were a number of things to configure in the .ini files so I watched a Gamerpoets video for reminders. It only mentioned the Multiple Master Loads. Searching lead me to an aged, huge post so I summarized findings here:

1. Edit CreationKit.ini in the Game folder
2. Under [General] add/set 'bAllowMultipleMasterLoads=1'
3. All add/set 'bAllowMultipleMasterFiles=1'
4. Under [Archive] set the following three lines
5. SArchiveList=Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa, Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Update.bsa, Dawnguard.bsa, Dragonborn.bsa
6. SResourceArchiveList=Skyrim - Textures.bsa, Skyrim - Meshes.bsa, Skyrim - Animations.bsa, Skyrim - Voices.bsa, Skyrim - Interface.bsa, Skyrim - Misc.bsa, Skyrim - Sounds.bsa, Skyrim - VoicesExtra.bsa, update.bsa, Dawnguard.bsa, Dragonborn.bsa
7. SResourceArchiveList2=Skyrim - Shaders.bsa, Update.bsa, Dawnguard.bsa, HearthFires.bsa, Dragonborn.bsa
8. Edit Skyrim.ini in the Documents folder
9. Under [General] add 'sLanguage=ENGLISH'

There was definitely a lot of confusion about setting these config lines from 2013 onward. Even had someone post an educational mod about it. Pretty intense!

Ultimately I only did steps 1-3. The various archive settings were a bit different. I attribute this to Oldrim vs. Skyrim SE files since there are now files like 'Skyrim - Textures0.bsa' and 'Skyrim - Voices_en0.bsa' in the Data folder. In case I need these specified I will attempt to use the Oldrim pattern.

I also remember having extra steps once the DLCs came out. Someone listed the support process as:

You need a BSA-Extractor and then you have to extract following files from the DLC.bsa files:
[DLCName]_[your language].dlstrings
[DLCName]_[your language].ilstrings
[DLCName]_[your language].strings.
you have to do this for every DLC you want to load and then you have to place the extracted files into 
Skyrim\Data\Strings\

That seems about right. Yet I'm hoping that was an Oldrim issue that's handled better by SE. If not, at least I have a first step.

I fully intend to stick with SE for tinkering but some mods never got migrated. Eventually I'll get around to making sure my Oldrim is ready by using a fantastic guide I found over at STEP.

Mod Organizer Overwrite Mod

Loaded up Mod Organizer 2 and there was suddenly a red entry "Overwrite" at the bottom of the Mod List. The description was very terse so it wasn't immediately obvious what, if anything, needed to be fixed.

Google found me a reddit that explained what was going on. When MO2 is running, all new files are created on its virtual file system. I had downloaded two creations (the Railroad Skins were free) so MO routed them to its Overwrite folder ('AppData\Local\ModOrganizer\Fallout 4\overwrite').

So I needed to decide if those files should remain isolated in the MO2 virtual file system. Since those creation club files should be in all games, I moved those files into the regular Data folder. Would have been nice if the Right-Click menu allowed that to happen automatically.

Really like how MO2 keeps everything contained the way it does. Wonder if Vortex's Mod Profiles does something similar.

Please Stop Updating

Bethesda loves to push updates to Skyrim and Fallout unannounced. Keep forgetting how to lock it down so I can wait until the Script Extender folks have a change to update. Found the reddit post so keeping it here:

1. Be sure to go to your Steam Skyrim update settings and set automatic updates to only update when you launch it (from Steam, always launch from SKSE shortcut to prevent game update)
2. Press Windows + R
3. Input: steam://nav/console
4. In the console: download_depot 489830 489833 1298692161422189837
5. Check Steam Depot for the latest manifest ID! This is the last number in that command, and has probably changed if you're viewing this months later.
6. Navigate to Steam\SteamApps\content\app_489830\depot_489833
7. Cut or Copy the SkyrimSE.exe
8. Navigate to Steam\SteamApps\common\Skyrim Special Edition
9. Paste the SkyrimSE.exe, overwriting when prompted.

Today's reddit post author was kind enough to include the new IDs:

and the number you need to replace is the third one so like this:

download_depot 489830 489833 583541185188584076

Edit: to be clear. This is to go back to the previous patch (august 2018). If you still have the previous skse you need the version before this.

Sources: Original Community Post - Spawned Reddit - Today's Reddit

The Rep Walls are Falling

Exalted with Magni and the necklace--thanks to the Dark Moon Faire, the Human racial, and yesterday's Emissary quest.

I did buy the battle pet Azeriti since it looks unique. Decided to wait on the Azerite Puddle. It might have a fun interaction but it's still just a blob. *lol* None of the other available items were of interest since the Hunter already has good shoulders.

That leaves three more. Many turtles will have to make it to the water for the Tortollan... *sigh*

Leveling Triggers

Decided some of my pre-patch boredom is going to be consumed by leveling a Void Elf Warlock. Currently have two 110 boosts and two 100 boosts, but I opted for the pain.

Every spec in Warlock is currently performing well. I'm fine with Affliction and Destruction but Demonology remains awkward. So might as well learn from the ground up plus get a pretty Void Elf along with heritage armor.

I mix in some questing but it gets boring fast. The only ones I do consistently are dailys and pet battles so running dungeons are a mainstay. In between queues I stay busy with work, researching, Netflix, etc

The people you meet in random dungeons certainly run the gamut. The most enjoyable are the old hands like me, that have seen them all, done them all, tear shit up. The other end of the spectrum has the new people, either to the instance, their role, or MMOs in general. I admit I get impatient. Usually I can calm myself with thoughts like "It's just this one instance, then you can spin the wheel and get a whole new set of people." Doesn't always work.

Sometimes I get lippy. Or I pull extras. Good tanks handle it with no problem. And my lip either amuses people or they ignore me. But sometimes it all goes wrong. Like the Vortex Pinnacle group I was just in.

I got bored so I pulled once. I asked a pointed question. Before each boss we sat there for 25-30sec doing nothing. Nobody moved, said anything, did anything. I swear the tank would wait until my 5 shards reset to 3 and all my Demonic Core and Demonic Calling procs expired. So I started watching Silence of the Lambs to keep myself awake.

Not sure what ended up offended who but the fuckers waited until the final boss. They were doing another 30sec pause, so I said, "la la la" then did the /sleep emote. Then I was booted from the group. Which denied me both the quest and completion experience. *sigh*

Normally I'm tanking so it doesn't matter. But late night queues for DPS take anywhere from 20-45 minutes. Unfortunately I don't have meters up for leveling, so I didn't have the group list. The priest healer was awful and silent. Don't recall the other DPS. But the monk said something and the tank set a few targets.

Sadly the default interface only allows you to ignore characters that are on your server. You have to right click them if they're from another server. Was able to tag the monk and got the tank to respond to a whisper:

Hoping that having them on ignore will keep them out of future group but I don't know if that functionality still exists. Those types of mechanics are kept quiet and out of patch notes. Still typing all this helped un-trigger me and now I'm ready for another pug!

No Longer In There, Here!

Been playing around in the SSE Creation Kit off and on for the last week. Relearning the render window alone has been amusing/frustrating. Hit my first real wall (bug?) last night.

Decided to recreate a looting mod I wrote for Oldrim. Not too difficult but gets me back into the innards. Had to create a hidden cell, copy magic effects and a spell. The first magic effect required a script and the CK absolutely refused to create one.

The extension specified was the default 'activemagiceffect' which absolutely has to exist. Then I remembered that SKSE places a 'activemagiceffect.pex' that maybe the CK was rejecting. After a quick google search I realized it wasn't the .pex at all. The CK needs the source! It doesn't want to decompile the .pex! Of course.

The Data folder has a Scripts.zip that, when initially prompted, I hadn't unpacked. So I opened it up and noticed the folder structure was wrong. Went to over to Data\Scripts and manually created a Source folder to drop everything in to.

Still didn't work.

What?!

Opened up ActiveMagicEffect.psc and everything was fine. Closed down the CK to ensure it hadn't cached an incorrect lack of source files. Still nothing. Had to google the full "The extends script does not exist, please pick one that does." to find this, which didn't really help but got the mental cogs turning. Then found this, which finally made things click.

That "incorrect folder structure" I had immediately noticed in the official Scripts.zip is now what the CK expects!! Yes, the compiled scripts are in Data\Scripts. And for almost a decade the source for those scripts has been in Data\Scripts\Source. But now, for whatever goddamn reason, SSE CK requires source files to be in Data\Source\Scripts. *sigh*

Welcome back to moddding with Bethesda, indeed.

The Saddle

It's been a very long time since I've done any modding in the Bethesda realms. It took so long for the Fallout 4 Creation Kit to be released I'd never even downloaded it. Yet the recent Creation Club drama got me thinking about it. Been bored in Warcraft waiting on a new content patch so I decided it's time to poke around again.

With fresh installs I naturally got an error immediately. Since I tried to use all the DLCs in Skyrim, the CK wouldn't cooperate. It's always seemed strange that by default the official tool used to create both Skyrim and Fallout doesn't support multiple masters.

Figured relearning the ins-and-outs of modding again will give me something to write about. So my first entry is about how to make the CK work the way it should. Which boils down to adding one entry to the [General] section of CreationKit.ini:

bAllowMultipleMasterLoads=1

Barely worth posting but I did have to look it up. What will be next?