So I am not entirely sure the instructions are clear, and I want to ask here before I go making any other decision.
I ran into the .BA2 limit, but I don't want to get rid of anything - and one of the solutions is to unpack any .BA2's that are too small and it'll free up space.
Now, the problem is how is regarding the:
$Searchpath
$Targetpath
I think I understand the $minsize part, since that means looks for any files # Mb's and lower.
But the Searchpath and Targetpath - what I can get from the main page is essentially "$searchpath looks for the directory on where to find the mods" and "$targetpath is where to put the finished work in".
But it mentions Mod Organizer - to which I don't intend to use.
So if I intend to do this without MO/MO2 - I would just have it search from the main FO4 directory and then put the finished, unpacked files back into the folder. Would it be something like this?
$modDirectory is where the mods are located. $targetDirectory is where the Pack into ba2 folder is located, so that you can run the tool to unpack the archives in bulk.
In the file "Scan for small BA2s.ps1" Powershell script, is the $searchpath path variable (the folder containing all the mods) meant to be:
the Vortex Mod Standing Folder = "C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Vortex\fallout4\mods\(Mod folders containing BA2 are here)"
OR the Steam Game Mod Folder = "C:\games\steam\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data\(Mods folders and BA2 are here)"
I understand the $targetPath path/folder variable should be something like = $targetPath = "C:\Games\FO4_Tools\Tools\Pack into BA2""
I'm unsure how ModOrganiser works, but I'd imagine it has a similar-ish type of staging vs deployment vs game root folder type set up. In your description it a little ambiguous to know which mod folder/path you'd like us to point towards.
Thanks for the great mod and help - greatly appreciated the work and any support provided
Seem to be having some trouble running both scripts for some reason, Every time I click "run with PowerShell" PowerShell opens for a split second closes then doesn't run anything. I've already read the description and I'm fairly certain everything's in the right place, even tested it with a small ba2 file and no dice. I'm not really good with this stuff so thanks in advance if your able to help me.
I'm having this same issue and have set up the file paths copy and pasted from file explorer. Sometimes the cmd prompt will display a paragraph or so of red text but it will disappear in half a second with no chance to read it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I thought the 255 limit is on .esps, as the counter that keeps track of them is an 8-bit word and the largest decimal that can be represented in binary is 255. Exceeding this causes arithmetic overflow and rolls the counter back to zero, causing the game to both think it has no plugins and 255 plugins at the same time and has a stroke.
The ba2s limit is theoretical, as in there is no hard code in place to artificially cap the number of archives but rather there is a limit to how many references the CK can handle and if all the archives total references break this limit, the game crashes.
At least, that's what I thought was going on.
But just a heads up, even if a mod doesn't "need" to be in an archive, they do load faster and the game prefers them to loose files. Not to mention, there is a phenomenon called archive invalidation invalidated, where the engine pulls an uno reverse and loads archives before loose on a mod basically making it not work.
I've had this happen most prevalently with sound mods, where in loose form, some of them worked and some were ignored, but packing them all into a .ba2 resulted in 100% of them working.
I also vaguely recall a limit on the amount of references an .esp can handle in total, kind of like how .esl can only handle records on a specific range of formids. There's always a limit on a limit on a limit.
I don't know coding, or a second thing regarding computers, so I can't understand what a subdirectory is or how to properly configure the script, which means it doesn't work for me. I copied the paths to the proper places in Notepad, but I don't know how else to configure anything else.
Yes this will find any small ba2 and move them into the directory you choose. Then use pack into ba2 to automate the packing for you. Read the descriptions carefully. Pack into ba2 is just extract and run, but this tool will need text editing to work.
Next time read things. The description clearly states that this moves the filtered folders to whatever folder you set in "target directory" so that you can run the Pack into ba2 script to automate packing/unpacking for you.
22 comments
I ran into the .BA2 limit, but I don't want to get rid of anything - and one of the solutions is to unpack any .BA2's that are too small and it'll free up space.
Now, the problem is how is regarding the:
I think I understand the $minsize part, since that means looks for any files # Mb's and lower.
But the Searchpath and Targetpath - what I can get from the main page is essentially "$searchpath looks for the directory on where to find the mods" and "$targetpath is where to put the finished work in".
But it mentions Mod Organizer - to which I don't intend to use.
So if I intend to do this without MO/MO2 - I would just have it search from the main FO4 directory and then put the finished, unpacked files back into the folder. Would it be something like this?
$searchPath = "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data"
$targetPath = "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Fallout 4\Data"
$fileType = "*.ba2"
$minSize = 20MB
Any and all help (save for toxicity) would be appreciated!
Thank you!
$targetDirectory is where the Pack into ba2 folder is located, so that you can run the tool to unpack the archives in bulk.
In the file "Scan for small BA2s.ps1" Powershell script, is the $searchpath path variable (the folder containing all the mods) meant to be:
I understand the $targetPath path/folder variable should be something like = $targetPath = "C:\Games\FO4_Tools\Tools\Pack into BA2""
I'm unsure how ModOrganiser works, but I'd imagine it has a similar-ish type of staging vs deployment vs game root folder type set up. In your description it a little ambiguous to know which mod folder/path you'd like us to point towards.
Thanks for the great mod and help - greatly appreciated the work and any support provided
I'm having this same issue and have set up the file paths copy and pasted from file explorer. Sometimes the cmd prompt will display a paragraph or so of red text but it will disappear in half a second with no chance to read it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
The ba2s limit is theoretical, as in there is no hard code in place to artificially cap the number of archives but rather there is a limit to how many references the CK can handle and if all the archives total references break this limit, the game crashes.
At least, that's what I thought was going on.
But just a heads up, even if a mod doesn't "need" to be in an archive, they do load faster and the game prefers them to loose files. Not to mention, there is a phenomenon called archive invalidation invalidated, where the engine pulls an uno reverse and loads archives before loose on a mod basically making it not work.
I've had this happen most prevalently with sound mods, where in loose form, some of them worked and some were ignored, but packing them all into a .ba2 resulted in 100% of them working.
I also vaguely recall a limit on the amount of references an .esp can handle in total, kind of like how .esl can only handle records on a specific range of formids. There's always a limit on a limit on a limit.
im old and not very familiar with these techniques:
I downloaded some new mods and my game wont launch.
i think i reached my BA2 limit.
I can use this tool to identify small BA2s and then merge them using zedit/zmerge?
Thanks, this combined with the Pack into BA2 went so fast and perfect mate