I would like to inquire because there are many conflicts in the mod manager. Is the order correct? THX
1. Northbourne NPCs of Riverwood Full Version 2. Northbourne NPCs of Whiterun Hold - Full Version 3. Northbourne NPCs of Falkreath Hold - Full Version 4. Northbourne NPCs of The Rift - Full Version 5. Northbourne NPCs of Winterhold Full Version 6. Northbourne NPCs of Haafingar 7. Northbourne NPCs of Hjaalmarch 8. Northbourne NPCs Resources (This mod)
Riverwood NPCs are included in the whiterun hold NPCs so you don't need that release.
Other than that the overlap is just because each file contains some of the same assets. I'd say load the resources pack last, other than that it doesn't matter.
I managed to eslify all the northbourne esps, including the resource, with the ESPFE follower script. So far, no issues on a new save. If anyone who wants to try the script, remember that you cannot under any circumstances play on an old save with old northbourne esps unless you want something to go wrong.
On a purely gameplay level, there is no need for any of these mods to be full ESPs. I've personally been using ESLified version of the Northbourne NPCs mods for a while now as part of my rather eclectic NPC overhaul set-up using faces from at least a dozen modders.
There are no legacy compatibility issues to worry about either, especially since moving the face parts to a resource pack nixes compatibility with old patches. Any updated facelift mods using this pack will have different FormIDs for FaceParts, meaning that any patch based on an older version of said mod will no longer work with the updated version.
However, if the author intends to tinker with this resource pack, then keeping it as an ESP makes sense. It's a lot less of a hassle to update an ESP than an ESL. However, any facelift mod that is dependent on this mod, and only contains base game NPC records, can be turned into an ESL simply by adding the ESL tag in the file header. At this time that only means Northbourne Whiterun mod, but I assume that will change as the author updates their mods.
You can, of course, ESlify this resource pack for your own build if you are running short on ESP slots. It will work just fine. Do keep in mind, that if you do convert this pack yourself, you need to convert any mods that rely on it at the same time. Otherwise, you will be left with broken dependencies. You need to have all mods and patches depending on this resource pack loaded alongside it in TESEdit when you Compact FormIDs. This also means that updating any of the affected mods becomes iffy mid-play-though as you'd need to repeat the process after each update. Which will change the FormIDs and possibly break your save. And any patch provided by a third party will not work in your game. However, if you do the ESLifying only at the start of a fresh playthrough, and do it for all the mods and patches affected at the same time, then it's perfectly safe to do.
All in all, It would be best for the author to do this. And to do it ASAP, even though it makes updating PITA. As soon as we start getting City and AI overhaul patches and whatnots, turning this resource pack into an ESL becomes a lot harder. You will have all those patch legacy dependencies to worry about. All of them would need to be redone. Again.
It is for these sorts of reasons I've moved over to using template based edits for my custom NPC facelifts. That way I never have to worry about mod updates and managing my personal patch is super easy since it's just two entries on each of the NPC forms to copy over into a BASH in TESEdit. I can keep the actual faces and sculpts separate from the Actor entries and update and fiddle with the sculpts as I please, and never have to worry about Faceparts listed in a patch matching those in the FaceGen nifs.
Anyway, hopefully, this gets an official ESL version soon, along with the rest of the mods in the series.
This is quite possibly one of the best NPC overhauls I had the blessing to chance upon, if not the best and I wanted to say thank you!
I am a noob at working with NPC mods, so please kindly bear with me! I have been wondering if it is possible for your Northbourne Series to work perfectly with Vanilla Hair Remake (SMP)? I recently started serious modding after a long hiatus and though I have only just started testing my mod collection (and as such am at the very beginning of my playthrough), I noticed that Ralof does not have hair from VHR SMP, though Ulfric and the horse thief do. It might stand to reason that this issue might not be limited to just Ralof, but other NPCs and this will break immersion, seeing as many (or some) NPCs have VHR SMP while others might not.
Would you or anyone here be able to offer your kind (and patient) guidance?
Very nice work! I really like the realistic style you put into the series. Would you by any chance make a patch to switch the KS Hairdos used in this series to HDT SMP version?
69 comments
Is the order correct? THX
1. Northbourne NPCs of Riverwood Full Version
2. Northbourne NPCs of Whiterun Hold - Full Version
3. Northbourne NPCs of Falkreath Hold - Full Version
4. Northbourne NPCs of The Rift - Full Version
5. Northbourne NPCs of Winterhold Full Version
6. Northbourne NPCs of Haafingar
7. Northbourne NPCs of Hjaalmarch
8. Northbourne NPCs Resources (This mod)
Other than that the overlap is just because each file contains some of the same assets. I'd say load the resources pack last, other than that it doesn't matter.
There are no legacy compatibility issues to worry about either, especially since moving the face parts to a resource pack nixes compatibility with old patches. Any updated facelift mods using this pack will have different FormIDs for FaceParts, meaning that any patch based on an older version of said mod will no longer work with the updated version.
However, if the author intends to tinker with this resource pack, then keeping it as an ESP makes sense. It's a lot less of a hassle to update an ESP than an ESL. However, any facelift mod that is dependent on this mod, and only contains base game NPC records, can be turned into an ESL simply by adding the ESL tag in the file header. At this time that only means Northbourne Whiterun mod, but I assume that will change as the author updates their mods.
You can, of course, ESlify this resource pack for your own build if you are running short on ESP slots. It will work just fine. Do keep in mind, that if you do convert this pack yourself, you need to convert any mods that rely on it at the same time. Otherwise, you will be left with broken dependencies. You need to have all mods and patches depending on this resource pack loaded alongside it in TESEdit when you Compact FormIDs. This also means that updating any of the affected mods becomes iffy mid-play-though as you'd need to repeat the process after each update. Which will change the FormIDs and possibly break your save. And any patch provided by a third party will not work in your game. However, if you do the ESLifying only at the start of a fresh playthrough, and do it for all the mods and patches affected at the same time, then it's perfectly safe to do.
All in all, It would be best for the author to do this. And to do it ASAP, even though it makes updating PITA. As soon as we start getting City and AI overhaul patches and whatnots, turning this resource pack into an ESL becomes a lot harder. You will have all those patch legacy dependencies to worry about. All of them would need to be redone. Again.
It is for these sorts of reasons I've moved over to using template based edits for my custom NPC facelifts. That way I never have to worry about mod updates and managing my personal patch is super easy since it's just two entries on each of the NPC forms to copy over into a BASH in TESEdit. I can keep the actual faces and sculpts separate from the Actor entries and update and fiddle with the sculpts as I please, and never have to worry about Faceparts listed in a patch matching those in the FaceGen nifs.
Anyway, hopefully, this gets an official ESL version soon, along with the rest of the mods in the series.
First time poster here!
This is quite possibly one of the best NPC overhauls I had the blessing to chance upon, if not the best and I wanted to say thank you!
I am a noob at working with NPC mods, so please kindly bear with me! I have been wondering if it is possible for your Northbourne Series to work perfectly with Vanilla Hair Remake (SMP)? I recently started serious modding after a long hiatus and though I have only just started testing my mod collection (and as such am at the very beginning of my playthrough), I noticed that Ralof does not have hair from VHR SMP, though Ulfric and the horse thief do. It might stand to reason that this issue might not be limited to just Ralof, but other NPCs and this will break immersion, seeing as many (or some) NPCs have VHR SMP while others might not.
Would you or anyone here be able to offer your kind (and patient) guidance?
Thanks a million! This community rocks!
Lol, cant wait to see the new spiritual successor soon!
Alternatively, ever thought about an All-In-One version/FOMOD of your overhauls?
Thing is that I'm running out of ESP slots...