After Merging in SR:LE: Am I doing it right?

[Blick]

OK, SO I merged Bathing In Skyrim, and just unchecked the .esps in the right pane. Then I saw it seems all the files in the main Mods are in the merged one (though I didn't check thoroughly yet), and figured I could disable the main source Mods for the merged ones.

 

Even Better Quest Objectives seems a bit more complex situation, and wasn't too sure about it anymore. These are just the patches, so should I leave the main mod active or move the .esp that isn't merged into the merged Mod? What about the Patch mod (to 1.5.6.1, I think I should leave this active), and the Cutting room Floor Update (I also think I should leave it active)?

 

That's as far as I've gotten, but what I am figuring is just leave everything active in the left pane and disable (uncheck) the individual .esps on the right as I merge. Is this right, or at least acceptable? Hell, do I even need to merge at all? I don't need to free up slots for .esms. If I add on it won't be much.

 

[Blick]

Bah, I don't think I was doing it right. OK, so here's where I am.

 

Bathing In Skyrim: I deactivated the original mod and the CACO Soaps mod, activated the merged mod

 

Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul: Left main CACO mod active, deactivated the CACO - Patches mod and the mod for the downloaded CACO SIC WT Comb Patch, activated the merged mod.

 

Even Better Quest Objectives: Still not 100% on this one: I moved BetterQuestObjectives.esp from the main mod to the merged mod, deactivated the main mod. Activated the merged mod, left the EBQO - Patch to 1.5.6.1 active, and left the Cutting Room Floor update active.

 

Farmhouse Chimneys: Deactivated main mod and activated merged mod.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Blick

[Dusty]

I'm hoping to get some clarity on merging as well please.

I hope this doesn't come down to me not reading properly somewhere...

 

When installing the various mods, some of them come along with patches/optional files to be installed.

These then give the option to be merged into the main mod/replace it?/or to be installed separately...

 

Now the problem I have, is that beyond not knowing when to do which of the above, is that some of them have been merged into main mods, possible due to me merging the optional files into the main files where I shouldn't have.

 

If I look at the "Mod Merges" guide, we are told to "Uncheck the source mods in the left pane of Mod Organizer..." after merging with Merge Plugins Standalone, but now some of them have been merged into main mods. This thus makes it impossible for me to uncheck them on the left pane, due to them being included in a main mod for instance?

 

I hope this makes sense and would appreciate some clarity on how to approach this matter! :)

[paul666root]

Bah, I don't think I was doing it right. OK, so here's where I am.

 

Bathing In Skyrim: I deactivated the original mod and the CACO Soaps mod, activated the merged mod

 

Complete Alchemy and Cooking Overhaul: Left main CACO mod active, deactivated the CACO - Patches mod and the mod for the downloaded CACO SIC WT Comb Patch, activated the merged mod.

 

Even Better Quest Objectives: Still not 100% on this one: I moved BetterQuestObjectives.esp from the main mod to the merged mod, deactivated the main mod. Activated the merged mod, left the EBQO - Patch to 1.5.6.1 active, and left the Cutting Room Floor update active.

 

Farmhouse Chimneys: Deactivated main mod and activated merged mod.

When you install mods that need later to be merged it is better that when the mod need to install patches or updates to select merge in MO and not to install them in separate folders.

 

For Even Better Quest Objectives should be just one mod Even Better Quest Objectives Merged and move there the esp from the main mod.

 

The rest i think you did ok.

[shaunlewis]

Dusty, 

 

To answer the implicit question, when I am installing optional and patches downloaded with a main mod, I almost always chose "merge" when MO asks, rather than install as a separate mod, to avoid my left Mo pane from becoming too unwieldy. There are a few exceptions - the Embers HD addons come to mind (Lava craters, fireplaces etc), mainly because the addons are often updated independently to the main mod and are effectively treated as a mod in its own right.  

 

If you have configured Merge Plugins correctly according to the guide, the assets of the merged mod are copied into the new merged plugin. The operative statement in the guide is the bold bit: If there are other plugin files in those mods not included the merge they must be manually copied to the new merged mod.

 

So, for example, with Even Better Quest Objectives, the "BetterQuestObjectives.esp" is not included in the files to merge, so I copy that manually to to the "----- Even Better Quest Objectives Merged" mod, and deactive the source EBQO mod. I can't think of any in the base SRLE off the top of my head, but if there are mods with optional or patch esps that are not including in a merge, you would do the same. I simply right click both mods -> "open in explorer" and copy the ESPs/ESM across.  

 

Blick; an alternative to disabling the merged plugins on the right hand pane, if you are set against disabling the the source mods, is to move the ESPs included in the merge from  "Available ESPs" to "Optional ESPs" on the "optional esps" tab of the mod information window in MO. This will achieve the same thing without cluttering up your right pane with mods that shouldn't be activated. 

Edited March 24, 2016 by shaunlewis

[Dusty]

Okay, that clears it up for me.

Thank you for taking the time, much appreciated!

[Blick]

OK, you did shed some light on the subject for me. Thanks for the help.

 

Another question: Is it necessary to merge the mods for the guide to work right? I see NSUTR needs to be for the conflict resolution D/L patch to work, but what about the rest?

[paul666root]

Fewer esps is better