BSA Files - UnPack Or Not?

[DOHstep2013]

As the subject says.

 

When installing S.T.E.P. with Mod Organizer should the BSA files be Un-Packed?

 

Is there a rule regarding this?  Or does it depend on what is being installed?

 

Thank you for any assistance offered.

[EssArrBee]

Most people are for this, but I still think certain mods should be left alone. Stuff from the interface section for example but if something has textures in it then unpack so they can be optimized.

 

 

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[Octopuss]

I thought loose files always take priority over bsa, so I am supposed to unpack them every time.

[EssArrBee]

Well, they do take priority, but mods like SkyUI or Racemenu build their own framework and will not be overwritten. If you do unpack one of those, say Racemenu, then you go through optimizing the textures, then your body will be purple in game.

 

As with most things in life, there is no all or nothing truths. I know it says to unpack everything in the guide, but skipping the interface section is a good idea, and also the gameplay mods, those should be left alone.

[Octopuss]

I just checked the files and there doesn't seem a whole lot of stuff to unpack in the first place, because most of the mods are actually loose files anyway. And the rest I wouldn't want to mess with, lol.

Now I just have to go through the other mods that are not part of STEP, which kinda falls into the same category.

[oqhansoloqo]

Previously, there seemed to be a recommendation that all BSAs in mod be extracted in MO.  That is what I did before, as I installed the entire STEP list of mods...  Now it is said that it is not recommended, because it can mess up some mods.  Has anyone created a list of the STEP mods (Core and Extended) with BSAs that should not be extracted, so those people that already extracted everything can go back and reinstall only the ones that should not have been extracted?

 

I tried to follow the directions very carefully before (for 2.2.8, and partly into the beta 2.2.9), and it shoots a pain in my chest to think that I might have to reinstall every bleeping mod again just to make sure I didn't extract a BSA in one of them that shouldn't have been extracted.  I see that EssArrBee listed a couple, but is there a complete list somewhere that can be referred to?

[DoubleYou]

There really shouldn't be any problems with extracting them with MO 1.2.9, so I'd just leave it alone.

[TechAngel85]

The Unofficial patches were the main culprits in testing and discussion.

[oqhansoloqo]

I originally probably extracted them in 1.2.1 though, not 1.2.9.

 

So it's only SkyUI, Racemenu, and all the Unofficial Patch mods?

[DoubleYou]

Really, even they shouldn't necessarily need to be in a BSA with the MO 1.2.9 changes, although it is recommended.

[oqhansoloqo]

OK, so it sounds like I don't really have anything to worry about then.  Thank you for the feedback.

[Glanzer]

Oops, I had no idea you weren't supposed to unpack the official patches.  I've configured MO (version 1.2.1) to extract everything since that was the original recommendation 6 months ago.  So absolutely everything I've installed has been extracted.  I've never noticed a problem though, but maybe I don't notice it.  What would be the symptoms?  BTW I'm using the latest 2.05 versions of all the unofficial patches.  Should I upgrade to 1.2.9?

Edited July 13, 2014 by Glanzer

[EssArrBee]

The latest version of the STEP is pretty much designed around MO 1.2.9, so it's smart to update.

[Glanzer]

Thanks, I went ahead and upgraded to 1.2.9.