Merging leveled list

[Nope]

So this is the first time I actually deal with many mod with leveled list and I have few questions:
- What is the best way to find which mod to merge (aside reading every single mod description)? Currently I just use SSEedit to sort by leveled list/NPC/spell then use mator smash to merge those with conflicted leveled list

- Does immersive armor (and probably immersive weapons too) need merging? Mod description said no need because it's distributed by script but xEdit show conflict in some leveled list record. Apocalypse spell also do that but didn't have conflict so I didn't merge it

- Do I just merge all mod with conflicted leveled list or follow mod author advices (if there is any)?

Edit: does anyone know Nemesis engine? If yes the help me a bit too, thank in advance
I read that they have their own PCEA but how exactly do you use them? And do you need FNIS active then overwrite it with NE's generated FNIS.esp?

[alexander_dougherty]

Originally posted by Nope:

- Do I just merge all mod with conflicted leveled list or follow mod author advices (if there is any)?

There are guides to SSEedit in the pinned topics, they cover an introduction to merging mods. I say an introduction because at some point you will get to the point were the guides run out.

But the rule of thumb is to follow the mod author's advice, unless you know of a specific reason not to.

[Vomit Heart]

I smash nearly everything My patch has 96 masters, it works fine

[smr1957]

The best thing to do for items not appearing in the Bashed Patch, is to manually drag and drop the records into the Bashed Patch. Any other method is likely to leave things out.

Also, DO NOT merge mods into the Bashed Patch. It should solely be used just to handle leveled lists, and then checked to see if manual editing is needed.

Use of a Smashed Patch for merging of mods or to accommodate conflicts is not recommended except for simpler load orders, as it may omit things, or carry over the wrong records.

If you need to merge mods to stay under the plugin limit, use Merge Plugin standalone, or the merge plugin script for xEdit. But, if doing so, you must first ensure that you have a completely stable build, and all conflicts have been resolved. Only recommended for advanced and experienced users of xEdit. And, of course, always check for errors both before merging, and after.

[Nope]

Originally posted by smr1957:

The best thing to do for items not appearing in the Bashed Patch, is to manually drag and drop the records into the Bashed Patch. Any other method is likely to leave things out.

Also, DO NOT merge mods into the Bashed Patch. It should solely be used just to handle leveled lists, and then checked to see if manual editing is needed.

Use of a Smashed Patch for merging of mods or to accommodate conflicts is not recommended except for simpler load orders, as it may omit things, or carry over the wrong records.

If you need to merge mods to stay under the plugin limit, use Merge Plugin standalone, or the merge plugin script for xEdit. But, if doing so, you must first ensure that you have a completely stable build, and all conflicts have been resolved. Only recommended for advanced and experienced users of xEdit. And, of course, always check for errors both before merging, and after.

Yeah I only merge mod with leveled list
I sort them first with LOOT then merge, and I check the record of the merge plugin in xEdit, most of them are leveled like I wanted, while other like armors records are the same as the last plugin that overwrite those. Beside those that involve with items, there are barely any record of other mod in the merge plugin, those are mostly overwritten by their respected patch
So what kind of wrong records should I look for?

For merging plugin I use xEdit script, although to be safe I only merge armors/weapons/spells that only place those to somewhere fixed in the world or in crafting list. And how about followers? I'm currently stay away from them because I afraid of breaking their faces, or just simply break them entirely

[smr1957]

The records you would need to check are ones that should be included but are being overwritten. These will appear as red. You need to drag and drop into Bashed Patch. Most of these will be listed under the categories Containers and Leveled List. As long as all the records that should be present are, you are fine, but Wrye Bash misses some, hence the need to check. What I do is go through every mod, checking the two categories mentioned above and dragging the records manually to include in the Bashed. Each time you recreate the Bash, you need to do this.

As far as using the scrip (which is what I use), you can literally merge any mods together, though I usually keep similar types together as it is easier for organizational purposes - though I do have some merges that contain several different types.

As to followers, there is no problem merging them, but you need to check that no other mod being placed after changes the facegen data - or you may get black face. You can get some idea of what can go into a merged plugin by looking at the larger SSE build that is linked on my profile page.

Of course, the more mods you have the easier it is to overlook something, so it is possible you may see a black face bug due to that. But it is easily corrected by just finding that NPC's record in xEdit and editing the offending file.

As I'm sure you are already aware, there is a LOT that goes into this. Since you seem to have the knowledge already, and come across as being fairly comfortable in using xEdit, the best thing I can tell you is don't be afraid of making mistakes - just make sure that you back up any .esps before editing them, and save to a separate location on your PC. In fact, once you have done editing and know it all works, copy all your .esp files that way.

Mistakes are just another way of learning, of course.

One more thing, test after each merge, if only to be sure there are no major errors. It will not be possible to test for everything, but at least you can assure yourself there are no critical errors. The minor ones you can fix along the way (provided, of course, the fix does not involve removing records - which would require going back to an earlier save or a new game, just as if you removed a mod).

There are undoubtedly things I left out or did not cover as to your questions, but really don't want this response to be the size of War and Peace, lol! It's long enough as it is!

[Nope]

So I recheck the merge patch. Look like there is a lot of empty entries, so the next step is just drag and drop the missing entries into the merge patch in xEdit correct?

Also I just found out that there is a bash option in mator smash for leveled list only, turn out I merge everything that is conflicted in:
Ammunation
Armor Addon
Armor
Cell
Container
Leveled Items
Leveled NPC
Misc.Items
Non-Player Character (Actor) 3 record
Weapon
Those beside the leveled list are stats change are from MLU, Weapons Armors Clothes & Clutter fixes and Immersive Jewelry. And a missing entry from cutting room floor in the only 1 record of Cell and Container

Should I redo the patch with only leveled list option or I can just keep the current merge patch?

[Sinsling]

Only use the level list option. When using the merge function, you risk pulling mods out of their correct load order. At best you won't notice any issues that can cause, but it can cause mods to overwrite others that are suppose to be compatibility mods. The list of things that can cause are far too long to list.

[smr1957]

If the record in the Bashed is empty, and the mod record to the left of the empty record is red, (meaning it is being overwritten, then yes, you drag And drop into the Bashed Patch - but first make sure that they actually are not included by checking the records in the Bash. Sometimes the records may be there, but are offset, so the original record will show red to the left of the Bash records, but is in fact included - just not in the same line.

Use just Wrye Bash for handling leveled lists, and manually edit it - nothing else.

Also, as I stated in post #3, do not merge mods into the Bash. Only use it for leveled lists.

As Sinsling pointed out, it can mess with the load order requirements. A perfect example of this is when using Tiwa Miniskirts and the mod Respectable Elders. Tiwa gives miniskirts to all female NPCs and is usually higher in the load order, at any rate above Respectable Elders (which ensures that NPCs marked as Elder wear "respectable" clothing - nothing skimpy for example). When making the Bashed Patch, Tiwa is one of the mods that it will include in the Patch if you allow it. Since the Bashed Patch is placed last or nearly last (certainly below Respectable Elders), you will have Tiwa records overwriting Respectable Elders records, resulting in miniskirted Elders.

There are, of course other examples, that is just the most obvious one.

So, yes, best thing is to redo the patch with just the leveled list function and do not have it merge any mods.