About master files....

[Cliffworms]

Hail!

I currently need information about master files and how useful they can be in large projects.

In Oblivifall, some of the modules share or will share the same informations such as factions and dialogue options. For example, Losing My Religion adds 18 new factions for each religion and knightly orders, and placing existing NPCs and new NPCs in those factions instead of the Nine Divines. Then, the Better Inns module adds Priests and Knights from the various religions as patrons in taverns, and I would like them to be in the same faction ID as Losing My Religion for compatibility.

This got me to wonder: Should I create a master file (ESM) that would contain information shared by all of my modules? For now, it's mostly for sharing the same factions and dialog lines associated to them, avoiding conflicts.

[Arthmoor]

A master file with common resources is definitely the way to go. If only to help you keep your sanity about things that many modules need to use, otherwise you end up with mass duplication and that's never fun.

[StarX]

A master file with common resources is definitely the way to go. If only to help you keep your sanity about things that many modules need to use, otherwise you end up with mass duplication and that's never fun.

I completely agree! Using an esm. based structure is very convenient when you know you'll be using a shared database for your various plugins more than a few times.

[Cliffworms]

Thanks for the tips!

With TES4EDIT, I have tried copying Losing My Religion factions as new records or deep copy as override in a new plugin but I'm always told that the new file will have Losing My Religion as a master file.

Is there a way not to have LMR as master file? I've been able in the past to transfer references between plugins without having to have one be the master of the other.

[Arthmoor]

If your factions are defined in a new file of their own and your NPCs reference those, it's not going to let you move them to a new master file without some trickery. I've done stuff like what you need done before but I'm lousy at explaining processes that involve exotic procedures. This isn't a simple copy/paste operation.

[Cliffworms]

If your factions are defined in a new file of their own and your NPCs reference those, it's not going to let you move them to a new master file without some trickery. I've done stuff like what you need done before but I'm lousy at explaining processes that involve exotic procedures. This isn't a simple copy/paste operation.

Thanks Arthmoor. I'll simply re-do it by hand then. I was just looking for a faster way to do it. No matter.