For anyone having issues if they haven't updated their game, the new archive2 tool changes the version of the b2a's to 7 or 8. You have to manually change it back to version 1 so it works with the pre-update engine (the version number is quite literally the only thing that they changed). Here's a tool to do it: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/82114
Im happy to say that even with a ginormous boat load of high res textures, this solved the vast majority of my stuttering. Im super happy about it!
However, I have one small sticking point of confusion. Removing the textures folder causes Vortex to spaz out and ask me if I want to revert or save if I enable or disable ANY mod.
Since the textures folder is removed for the sake of forcing the game to check the ba2 files, I have no idea if I should "revert" or "save". I assumed i should "save" since I dont want it adding all the loose textures back to a textures folder. But when I do that, it seems to force me to disable all my plugins. Or at least it says they're all "redundant", for some reason. This seems to upset the load order because it gives me the brownface bug which is a result of having to have my face and body textures loaded in a certain order. When I go to manage rules, they're all gone at that point since it declared them all "redundant".
Any advice on what to do here? Restoring the textures folder, then making my tweaks, and then moving the textures folder again seems to allow me to make the change I need, but moving such large folders or even just renaming them is a bit of a hassle if all I want to do is just change whether a mod is enabled or not without confusing vortex. Is there an easier workaround?
Hello friend!!! Fellow Vortex user here. I also encountered that problem with Vortex before. Here's my workaround for it.
Keep your Textures folder where your mods are installed, rename it as "OriginalTextures" when running the game so it will reference your textures in your archived Ba2 files and not look for your texture folder.
Now this is important: before you run Vortex, rename your "OriginalTextures" back to Textures again, because Vortex will look for it each and every time you run it or install a new mod. Just don't forget to name it back to "OriginalTextures" after Vortex is done and before starting your game.
Another thing, whenever I decide to add a mod which involves textures (loose files), I let Vortex install the mod, I created a new empty Texture folder, where the texture folder of the new mod will be copied and pasted for use during the game. As a side note before downloading a new mod, I will rename the dummy texture folder to "AltTexture" and rename "OriginalTexture" back so Vortex won't have a fit about the missing/changed textures.
Any idea why I would get a brown head/back of neck bug (the face is fine) after doing this? If I put the texture folder back, the back of the neck and head are normal color again. Im sure its got something to do with the load order of the textures, but not sure how to manipulate that if they're all packed into a ba2.
Greetings, I´m relatively new with this process, main goal beat up the horrible stutters when loading textures, I want to ask what should I do when adding new textures lets say a new gun how should I convert that file and that file only?
That's a manual process of opening the mods archive (7z, rar etc) and checking how the mod has it's textures located.
* Are they loose (.dds) or already packed (.ba2)? * The structure of the folders matters * Take your time and always keep backups before any changes are made * A novice mistake a lot of people make is to use way too many custom textures without consideration of their GPU's VRAM and the engines limits
One extra doubt, accoding with the comments thread once the process is done you have to remove your "textures" folder, I didn´t do that, just rename it then when my game loaded all my custom stuff, Clothes, weapons and other things loaded without its textures, just the pruple layer, and theres also these "custom textures" inside the "textures" folder. there are a lot of things I don´t get.
So I've seen two of these guides... I like this one. But the other one mentioned renaming the original textures folder because it said the game would still source textures from the loose textures folder if you didnt remove/rename it. I had bad luck doing it the first time, some stock textures got lost even with all mods removed. I think I may have accidentally deleted something while adding the ba2's to the config file, but out of an abundance of caution, I'm reluctant to relabel it unless it's needed. However I'm still getting massive stuttering when loading new cells, so Im suspicious that it's necessary.
Edit: I just confirmed from one of your other responses - textures need to be backed up and removed I'll rename the folder! Thanks for the guide!
Hi again, I extracted several weapon mods into 1 mod and then re archived them into a big ba2 file in order to get around the ba2 limit that causes infinite load times on start up. I've done this multiple times with success so now I have almost 900 mods. But I archived a file bigger than the 4.2gb size limit( it came out around 4.9 gb), so I set the maxmium archive size around 4200 mb and now I have two files. One at 4.2 gb and another at around 600 mb I noticed that mods like luxors retextures mods and point lookout go above 4200mb in file size(some of luxors texture mods are 7gb). Should I load the file above 4.9 gb as one or with the game load both texture files? It comes out as MWIIM4 - Textures01 and MWIIM4 - Textures02. Will the game load either of these successfully?
I already have a dozen Ba files around the 3-4gb file size And they worked just fine They got me from 60 weapon mods to around 150. And I don't need to add them to sResourceIndexFileList in the inithe game simply loads them as long has its named after an esp/esl/esm.
Find "sResourceIndexFileList" and then add your BA2 file(s) to the end (e.g. I added ", DeanomanCustomTextures01.ba2, DeanomanCustomTextures02.ba2, DeanomanCustomTextures03.ba2").
Save what change means? Like what Files are that supposed to be in the end , am I supposed to rewrite someting or add a name of a file that I dont know.
Edit 2: This process did not affect my load issues and I still get 8 minute start up times. Did I miss a step? Should I delete the textures folder in order for it to work?
Edit 3: My startup time increased to 9 minutes and most of the textures are now pink.
I've done that 3 years ago, the textures where working fine until I removed all 17gb texture files. Although I noticed in the ini that the names for LolcatCustomTexturesPatch04,5, and 6 were not in the ini even though I typed them in. Maybe because I pressed enter to lower their space.
I'm going to try one more time and see if it works.
Anyway the next best thing is to create ba2 files for individual mods right? Do I have to create a new esp for loading ba2 files for a mod or will the ba2 files work as long as the files have the same name as the esp? I actually don't know how to make esps/esl.
Edit 2: I actually did something wrong but the fixing it did not change the issues. Still have a 8 minute long startup time and pink textures. Well I noticed loading and exit times were alot faster but thats about it.
I followed your guide in packing my texture files totaling to 117gb, which was compressed to 52.7gb and resulted to 37 split up files of packed BA2s. Then added the 37 lists to the custom.ini because in the fallout.ini alone some of the textures are not being loaded.
My result for this project were reduced loading times, minimal stutter and almost fluid gameplay. However I noticed that some textures failed to load particularly for my weapon mods Pre-War Binoculars, MG-42 and the Deliverer pistol.
I would like to try your other option using a blank ESL plugin to load my BA2 files.
My question is since I have multiple BA2s, do I need to make 37 separate blank ESL plugins for each BA2 or just one?
Basing on your information below for the file structure (ref):
Mod Structure: Example.esl Example - Textures.ba2
I got confused because my BA2 appears like this: Archive - textures01.ba2 numbered accordingly for the rest of the 37 files. So if I do the mod structure, should it appear like this:
Archive.esl Archive - textures01.ba2
Which would be individual....
Or can I do it instead for all 37 BA2s with one plugin and then zip them up through Winrar then have it installed through Vortex (I'm using Vortex by the way).
Your guidance and advice will be highly appreciated.
117gb is a lot of textures so I'd recommend you making sure there's no duplicate data or redundant data in the archives.
You'll need only one ESL file and then numbered archives for the rest. Refer to the naming convention that Bethesda already uses for the game's texture BA2s (in Data folder) as a basis.
"all 37 BA2s with one plugin" is fine you'll just need to test that they actually apply after loading in game. In my experience there are edge cases where the game engine just "gives up" and won't load additional custom textures (be sure to test).
The game engine that Fallout 4 uses has limitations on how much data (in your case textures) it can load per cell so take that into account. The amount of GPU VRAM is also a consideration.
Going back to the topic at hand, I repacked my BA2 files when I encountered this discussion in Reddit. In fact the information contained within is already 5yrs old. Old as it may, certain information tends to be useful and helpful at the same time. So I read further.
The suggestion was provided by a User that goes by the name of Khugan, that suggested to base the BA2 file size of Bethesda for textures as a baseline (same with your suggestion as well).
So that's what I did. I repacked my files using your method but I renewed the size as per your recommendation of 1500mb to 2500mb, based off the vanilla Fallout - textures1.ba2.
After all the process and releasing the newly packed files in the DATA folder and adding the list to the FalloutCustom.ini, (by the way the number of files were reduced to 22 BA2s compared to 37 before).
I launched the game for testing and guess what my friend?
THE RESULTS WERE SO VERY SATISFACTORY that my testing phase ended up into playing the game for 3hrs, with improved performance, less to nothing stutters, 0 lags encountered and faster loading times in between cells and more importantly, no more pink or missing textures. Not to mention no CTDs, I believe it has been rectified altogether, but will take note in case it happens. Nevertheless, my project has been successful.
My Friend.....YOU'RE THE MAN!!! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us and in this way we learn after experiencing a failure. But perseverance really pays off in the end.
After almost a year of struggling with the game's bugs, problems and whatnot, finally I can enjoy Fallout 4 as much as I have enjoyed Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries.
By the way my Friend, a little insight, I play in my old ASUS ROG G750JS laptop (Yes its almost a decade old but it can still manage somehow). I only play on the medium settings+TAA with HBAO+ all tweaked with the Bethini tool including the FO4 configuration tool kit by Bilago. It can only do 30FPS max, but I don't mind as long as the game's playable.
Well my Friend, it seems I won't be needing the empty plugin anymore, but will update you if anything else new is encountered relative to this project.
Thank you again my Friend, until then, stay safe and best regards.
are the custom textures supposed to be only 79 kb? what did i mess up lmao it says that the fallout 4 textures are being skipped as theyre not supported for this archive type.
64 comments
However, I have one small sticking point of confusion. Removing the textures folder causes Vortex to spaz out and ask me if I want to revert or save if I enable or disable ANY mod.
Since the textures folder is removed for the sake of forcing the game to check the ba2 files, I have no idea if I should "revert" or "save". I assumed i should "save" since I dont want it adding all the loose textures back to a textures folder. But when I do that, it seems to force me to disable all my plugins. Or at least it says they're all "redundant", for some reason. This seems to upset the load order because it gives me the brownface bug which is a result of having to have my face and body textures loaded in a certain order. When I go to manage rules, they're all gone at that point since it declared them all "redundant".
Any advice on what to do here? Restoring the textures folder, then making my tweaks, and then moving the textures folder again seems to allow me to make the change I need, but moving such large folders or even just renaming them is a bit of a hassle if all I want to do is just change whether a mod is enabled or not without confusing vortex. Is there an easier workaround?
It's been a while since I used Vortex but there may be a way to set it to "not track changes".
Best of luck!
Keep your Textures folder where your mods are installed, rename it as "OriginalTextures" when running the game so it will reference your textures in your archived Ba2 files and not look for your texture folder.
Now this is important: before you run Vortex, rename your "OriginalTextures" back to Textures again, because Vortex will look for it each and every time you run it or install a new mod. Just don't forget to name it back to "OriginalTextures" after Vortex is done and before starting your game.
Another thing, whenever I decide to add a mod which involves textures (loose files), I let Vortex install the mod, I created a new empty Texture folder, where the texture folder of the new mod will be copied and pasted for use during the game. As a side note before downloading a new mod, I will rename the dummy texture folder to "AltTexture" and rename "OriginalTexture" back so Vortex won't have a fit about the missing/changed textures.
Hope this helps.
* Are they loose (.dds) or already packed (.ba2)?
* The structure of the folders matters
* Take your time and always keep backups before any changes are made
* A novice mistake a lot of people make is to use way too many custom textures without consideration of their GPU's VRAM and the engines limits
You can use an empty ESL file (like: https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/44034) and then name it the same as your BA2.
That plugin (ESL) would then need to be activated in your plugin list.
Best of luck!
Carefully check that you haven't missed something.
Best of luck, I can't help you more from here on.
Edit: I just confirmed from one of your other responses - textures need to be backed up and removed I'll rename the folder! Thanks for the guide!
When I was modding Fallout 4 myself I tended to use the BA2 size limit of 2GB.
It's very easy to overburden the engine with heavy textures.
I'll try and see if they load properly.
In my understanding, downloading a new outfit or weapon mod which contains texture files I'll be required to repack a new set of texture.ba2s.
How about If I rearrange my load order in Vortex without installing new mods that involve textures, do I need to touch the repacked textures.ba2?
That's all. Thanks.
Best regards.
Edit: It says I have 6 errors
Skipped zero-length file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\textures\Emptyfolder.txt"Skipped zero-length file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\textures\Actors\Character\Hair\KSHairdos\psB8.tmp"Skipped zero-length file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\textures\Armor\Emptyfolder.txt"Skipped zero-length file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\textures\Armor\Raider02\Emptyfolder.txt"Skipped zero-length file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\textures\RaiderOverhaulTextures\Emptyfolder.txt"Skipped zero-length file "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\textures\weapons\SVT40\Tapes\ps2168.tmp"
Edit 2: This process did not affect my load issues and I still get 8 minute start up times. Did I miss a step? Should I delete the textures folder in order for it to work?
Edit 3: My startup time increased to 9 minutes and most of the textures are now pink.
A BA2 archive contains that folder and file structure in an optimized way for the engine to load up. This is considered as "packed" as it is archived.
The error messages you show seems ignorable as they list temp and text files.
I don't know your level of technical knowledge so I'll just say that I recommend that you backup all your loose textures to another known folder.
After a successful BA2 archive creation the loose folder (that is already backed up somewhere else) should be removed.
For the pink textures issue see this info.
I'm going to try one more time and see if it works.
Anyway the next best thing is to create ba2 files for individual mods right? Do I have to create a new esp for loading ba2 files for a mod or will the ba2 files work as long as the files have the same name as the esp? I actually don't know how to make esps/esl.
Edit 2: I actually did something wrong but the fixing it did not change the issues. Still have a 8 minute long startup time and pink textures. Well I noticed loading and exit times were alot faster but thats about it.
https://www.nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/44034
You can try to create BA2 files for individual mods.
Mod Structure:
Example.esl
Example - Textures.ba2
I followed your guide in packing my texture files totaling to 117gb, which was compressed to 52.7gb and resulted to 37 split up files of packed BA2s. Then added the 37 lists to the custom.ini because in the fallout.ini alone some of the textures are not being loaded.
My result for this project were reduced loading times, minimal stutter and almost fluid gameplay. However I noticed that some textures failed to load particularly for my weapon mods Pre-War Binoculars, MG-42 and the Deliverer pistol.
I would like to try your other option using a blank ESL plugin to load my BA2 files.
My question is since I have multiple BA2s, do I need to make 37 separate blank ESL plugins for each BA2 or just one?
Basing on your information below for the file structure (ref):
Mod Structure:
Example.esl
Example - Textures.ba2
I got confused because my BA2 appears like this: Archive - textures01.ba2 numbered accordingly for the rest of the 37 files. So if I do the mod structure, should it appear like this:
Archive.esl
Archive - textures01.ba2
Which would be individual....
Or can I do it instead for all 37 BA2s with one plugin and then zip them up through Winrar then have it installed through Vortex (I'm using Vortex by the way).
Your guidance and advice will be highly appreciated.
Many thanks and best regards.
You'll need only one ESL file and then numbered archives for the rest. Refer to the naming convention that Bethesda already uses for the game's texture BA2s (in Data folder) as a basis.
"all 37 BA2s with one plugin" is fine you'll just need to test that they actually apply after loading in game. In my experience there are edge cases where the game engine just "gives up" and won't load additional custom textures (be sure to test).
The game engine that Fallout 4 uses has limitations on how much data (in your case textures) it can load per cell so take that into account. The amount of GPU VRAM is also a consideration.
Best of Luck!
Thank you for your quick reply, much appreciated.
Going back to the topic at hand, I repacked my BA2 files when I encountered this discussion in Reddit. In fact the information contained within is already 5yrs old. Old as it may, certain information tends to be useful and helpful at the same time. So I read further.
The suggestion was provided by a User that goes by the name of Khugan, that suggested to base the BA2 file size of Bethesda for textures as a baseline (same with your suggestion as well).
So that's what I did. I repacked my files using your method but I renewed the size as per your recommendation of 1500mb to 2500mb, based off the vanilla Fallout - textures1.ba2.
After all the process and releasing the newly packed files in the DATA folder and adding the list to the FalloutCustom.ini, (by the way the number of files were reduced to 22 BA2s compared to 37 before).
I launched the game for testing and guess what my friend?
THE RESULTS WERE SO VERY SATISFACTORY that my testing phase ended up into playing the game for 3hrs, with improved performance, less to nothing stutters, 0 lags encountered and faster loading times in between cells and more importantly, no more pink or missing textures. Not to mention no CTDs, I believe it has been rectified altogether, but will take note in case it happens. Nevertheless, my project has been successful.
My Friend.....YOU'RE THE MAN!!! Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with us and in this way we learn after experiencing a failure. But perseverance really pays off in the end.
After almost a year of struggling with the game's bugs, problems and whatnot, finally I can enjoy Fallout 4 as much as I have enjoyed Mechwarrior 5 Mercenaries.
By the way my Friend, a little insight, I play in my old ASUS ROG G750JS laptop (Yes its almost a decade old but it can still manage somehow). I only play on the medium settings+TAA with HBAO+ all tweaked with the Bethini tool including the FO4 configuration tool kit by Bilago. It can only do 30FPS max, but I don't mind as long as the game's playable.
Well my Friend, it seems I won't be needing the empty plugin anymore, but will update you if anything else new is encountered relative to this project.
Thank you again my Friend, until then, stay safe and best regards.