I made a mod that doesn't add any new textures or models, only one simple script i needed to write. When I published to steam the creation kit decided to "pack" this script, making a few more files in my data folder that share the same name as my .esp but with different file extensions

My question is:

If I want to mirror my upload onto a site such as nexus, do I need to put all of these files in a .rar or .zip? Or are they exta files needed for the steam workshop, and all I in fact need to upload is only my MyMod.esp file?

- Hypno

You just need your_mod.esp and your_mod.bsa, that's all

Cheers for the reply.

I had it in my head that all I would need was the MyMod.esp file. It seems a bit of an overkill making a .bsa for one lonely little script. Before I uploaded to the workshop all that was in my data folder was the .esp and it still ran when I tested it in game. During the uploading process, does the creation kit do something to my .esp that makes it dependant on the .bsa? After reading these forums, it seems there are a percentage of people who do not like .bsa's cluttering up their data folders, and I don't want to narrow down the target audience if I don't have to

- Hypno

If your mod doesn't work as intended without the script then your users need that script too.
If the script is not needed and you just made it for testing purposes, then good practice is to remove such stuff before releasing a mod.

If your mod requires the script, then you either need to provide a bsa with the script or the script itself with the folder, so that your users don't need to guess where to put it. When you want to upload to the Steam Workshop you need to use the BSA, as you can't upload loose files.

IMO thousands of files in hundreds of folders are more clutter than one BSA per ESP, but that may be just me. Most of the BSA-hate you'll see in the forums is irrational and based on hearsay and half-knowledge. There are downsides when using BSAs, but they only apply to mods that replace files from Skyrim or other mods (e.g. texture replacers)

Cheers for the quick responses guys, you've answered all my questions (even ones I never got round to asking!)

Thanks again,
- Hypno