What happens if a mod has form 43?

[258789553873]

I've noticed that wrye bash keeps telling me some of my mods have the wrong form ID. I changed one through the creation kit, but I've never had issues with any of these mods its listing. I've literally been using some of them for years!

So, why do you need to convert an esp file to form 44? It doesn't seem to make any difference. All the mods work fine without issue. As for converting them, one of them is a master file, so I have no way to re-save it in the creation kit. So either way, I'm stuck with at least one form 43 mod for the time being.

[marstinson]

Form 43 is the form for Oldrim. Skyrim SE needs Form 44. If that's the only problem, open the mod in the Creation Kit (you'll need to download it from bethesda.net; the version under Steam's Tools is for Oldrim), save, and exit. Some folks say that you need to change something (like making a Battleaxe a Battleax) and then undo that change before saving, but it looks like just saving and exiting is enough to change the form to 44 if SSEEdit is to be believed.

[smr1957]

The on;ly problem MAY occur if the mod has certain specific records that due to the form, give a critical error message. While it is commonly accepted that this may cause issues, I must disagree with the accepted wisdom that it is always necessary to change the form to 44. With over 300 mods ported to my game, and NEVER having changed the form - just corrected the critical error in xEdit by changing to a null message (placing a 0 in the record). In over 500 hours in a build consisting of over 1100 plugins (merged down to meet the plugin limit) I have NEVER - NOT ONCE, encountered a problem. And, in most cases of others having issues, it was traced back to some other factor such as mod conflict.

But, I am not going to fight about it. I know what works for me,and what I have personally extensively tested on builds far larger than anyone else's. Others may do as they please.

[smr1957]

And yes, you do not have to change anything in order for the CK to fix the form. When opened in xEdit before and after the form change, IF the mod has records that produce that critical error message before, after running through the CK by just saving, the records have been fixed.

A LOT of misinformation floats around about this topic.

Oh, one more thing - certain mods that I did change form - (very, very few to be sure) were broken by having their form changed and had to be repaired again through xEdit

[lemort]

This is a very old thread i know but..., the fix in CK is great for esp's but esm's do not work. So if anyone can tell me how to confer form 43 esm's that would be great.

[mikk011]

Originally posted by lemort:

This is a very old thread i know but..., the fix in CK is great for esp's but esm's do not work. So if anyone can tell me how to confer form 43 esm's that would be great.

Convert your .esm to an .esp using xedit or Wrye Bash, port to 44, save, revert .esp back to an .esm, save. See
https://steamcommunity.com/app/489830/discussions/0/1698294337766839951/
If you need further instruction beyond this thread, run an internet search on converting esm to esp, or how to port a Skyrim esm.

There are other pitfalls in porting mods from Oldrim formats to SSE. If you don't know what they are, there are guides for porting mods linked in the pinned topic "Helpful Links and References.

Apologies to Blackwolf for assisting in this thread's resurrection.

[ralphtobybob]

I have over a dozen mods that generate that warning in Wrye Bash/Mash whatever it is this week. They're mostly mods that were converted from Oldrim. The instructions for those mods point out that you'll get a form warning, but not to update it because it will break other stuff. Never had a problem with them. Best to check the mod author's notes in the mod's forum on Nexusmods.

[smr1957]

Originally posted by ralphtobybob:

I have over a dozen mods that generate that warning in Wrye Bash/Mash whatever it is this week. They're mostly mods that were converted from Oldrim. The instructions for those mods point out that you'll get a form warning, but not to update it because it will break other stuff. Never had a problem with them. Best to check the mod author's notes in the mod's forum on Nexusmods.

This. As I also stated in post #2, three years ago - though now it is over 1600 plugins and over 1400 hours without an issue.

[Synopse]

There is a good essay investigating the effects of Form 43 on SSE.
https://davidjcobb.github.io/skyrim-writings/articles/form-versions-43-and-44.html

[smr1957]

Originally posted by Synopse:

There is a good essay investigating the effects of Form 43 on SSE.
https://davidjcobb.github.io/skyrim-writings/articles/form-versions-43-and-44.html

Yes, that's an excellent article! Basically sums up everything