I'm curious what files are needed when uploading a mod. I'm assuming only thing I personally add are needed, meaning I don't have to include the source scripts for instance (unless I changed those I suppose), and I wouldn't need to technically include the dialogue views, as those only seem to affect the layout of the dialogue in CK, not how it actually plays out. I would also like to know if the

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim\Data\Sound\Voice\Processing

folder is needed with a mod, along with the strings folder.

I know I could test all this personally, but a quick response by anyone would save me the time.

Thanks everyone who has helped me, this forum has a great community going! Hopefully I can finally comfortably release the final version of my mod asap.

psc source files are not necessary, unless you want others to be able to view your code. the run-time engine only reads the compiled pex files.

the other stuff i dont think are necessary either (ive published mods without them and they work fine)

Okay, good. Wanted to be sure.

Thanks!

You should include facegen stuff though, shouldn't you?

To avoid the gray head syndrome

Any loose file that your mods creates, that is needed for the mod to run properly ingame.

Dialogue views shouldn't be needed, as that is indeed just an editor thing. You need LOD, scripts, Facegen, Voice files, the esp/esm itself, and any sfx, textures or meshes.

A README file and the source files for any script changes you make are mandatory from my perspective. In the very earliest days I was desperate enough to download a mod or two that didn't provide a readme or script sources, but on the script sources issue that was before the CK came out and people were creating scripts with HEX editors!

At this point, if you can't be troubled to write a decent readme or aren't willing to share your script source files then I can live without your mod. If the CK packs the file into the BSA for you then it should be included and it does pack .psc files.

So for those with more experience, what are the files that the CK won't add to the archive for you? That's the really interesting list for answering this question.

Is it possible to get the CK to build a .bsa file for your mod without choosing to upload to steam workshop?

I know there's a create archive option, and I've got it to list required files before, but I can't seem to get it to do that actual packing.

I haven't tried it yet myself, but I've heard that you can start the publish to steam, let it get through the part where it builds the archive, and then cancel instead of confirming the final upload.

Since the only mod I've packaged up so far needed script files that the CK missed I've used the stand-alone archive program where I had more control.

I implore folks to always pack them (via dragondropping into the archive window) even though they're not necessary as others can learn by studying the source code. This came up during the beta and some were afraid people would only pack the PEX files while, for previous Beth games, the source was encapsuled in the SCRIs and helped the community enormously as working examples were readily available. It's nice to wonder, 'how are they doing that?', and be able to dissect a specimen to see what it's made of.That does work, just to confirm.

DocClox, when I tried the Archive Option, I noticed that it does create the BSA when I click the "Pack" option, but the BSA is located in the directory ABOVE where I told it to create it.

So instead of \skyrim\data\myesp.BSA
check: \skyrim\myesp.BSA

Still, the BSA wasn't complete for me so I manually create it anyway.

The problem is, especially in gaming comunities, nerds (Not used in a derogatory fashion. Lets face it, everyone here enjoys donning their wizard hat and robe and casting spells in a virtual world, and there is nothing wrong with that.) tend to get this "elitist" complex where they think they are better than other people and want to keep it that way by preventing others from using their ideas. Yea, sometimes you get jerks that rip off your code, but who cares? If you are really good at modding, you will come up with creative and well functioning mods that have a level of originality that anyone ripping off your scripts will never reach, because if they have to rip off your code, then they aren't as creative as you are.

So the idea here is that by releasing your sources, you are helping the community as a whole and going miles further than just releasing a mod that a couple of kids will download and post on your page how much they like your mod. By including your source files, you are sharing what you learned with everyone else, and thus improving the mod community as a whole to a much greater extent.

And lets face it. You don't stand to lose anything if someone does steal all your scripts and say "look what I made." You aren't losing money, you aren't losing e-fame because anyone stealing a script will still not be able to compete with your mod, if other people can improve on your scripts and modify them to be better then they deserve to be able to do that anyways, and you probably aren't going to make a mod that is going to get you that dream job in video game development unless you can do MUCH more than just write useful scripts anyways.

Voice files.
FaceGen meshes and textures.

Are what I'm aware of. These are not automatically added to the bsa, but you can drag and drop them into the bsa file list so they will be included.

I have no problem with including the dialogue files, I just don't want to as it will add ~40Mb to the file size, making it the biggest part for me. Most dialogue can't be pretty easily reconstructed anyway (I already did it twice actually) since the tree is still intact, it is just all tossed on top of each-other and you just need to move stuff around until it is easy to comprehend.

I definitely agree any changes to source files damn well better be mentioned at the very least, but lucky for me I didn't touch those.

Also most of my code is pretty simple, and not something even worth hording to myself, so I see no point in keeping it secret. Honestly, after seeing some of the code Amethyst has post on these forums, I doubt that many of of could even be bothered to think our code was somehow better. And the scripting all has to be there for the mod to work anyway, so anyone who wanted to could find it anyway ;P



How do bsa files work and how are they any better than just loose folders?

Idk if there is a real benefit to using a bsa as opposed to loose files in terms of gameplay and I don't really know how they "work" other than them simply being a compressed file storage mechanism for the game.

However, since tools like Wyre Smash cannot yet read the contents of a bsa, so there is no control over what files get installed / loaded.

Bsa files are always bypassed when there are loose files of the same name.
Multiple bsa files are dependant on the load order of the mod that loads it.

So if ModA.bsa loads after ModB.bsa and they have the same files, ModA's files will appear in game.
With loose files and Wrye Smash, you could install ModB's files instead of ModA's.

The advantage to end users is being able to easily and cleanly un-install your mod by simply deleting yourmod.esp and yourmod.bsa rather than having to guess at which loose files are no longer required.

Of course nobody conceives of an end user wanting to remove their mod, right?

They can give tremendous performance boosts to the game, especially if they aren't actually compressed. But the benefits won't be noticeable if the BSA only has a dozen files.

Pros:

• Easier manual installation and uninstallation
  
• Faster game performance (and the more files in the archive the greater the improvement vs. loose files)

Cons:

• At least with prior games there was a limit to the combined number of ESM, ESP and BSA files you could use, so if every ESP comes with a BSA you've cut the number of mods you can use in half.
  
• Files in a BSA all have the same load order. And loose files override them. (That's not usually a problem, but it can be.

The benefits are a combination of factors relating to how Windows accesses files and folders. It's much more efficient for the program to access one archive than dozens or thousands of individual files.

That second problem is the important point people need to consider, but many well-designed mods won't have a problem being put in a BSA.

If your mod only adds new resources for the game and you name them in a way that doesn't conflict with other mods, then you won't have any problems with packaging it into a BSA.

If your mod replaces or modifies existing resources or you foolishly place your resources in places that other mods are also trying to use, then either your resources or those of other similar mods will get used and if your data is packed into a BSA then the mod management tools like Wrye Bash won't be able to help you sort out the mess.

So if you're creating a texture replacing mod or creating a mod with only two or three resource files, you may not want to use a BSA. If you're creating a normal mod using good naming conventions for your resources to avoid conflicts with other people then go ahead an pack things into a BSA.

If you're installing mods at all you should be using BAIN anyway. /opinion

I think what is neccessary for an actual upload was taken care of by others, but watch the way you actually pack your mod. Having something like:
Data
->meshes
->textures
->docs
-->Yourmod
--->Readme.txt
->yourmod.esp

is nice if you include a readme(oh my god why didn't s/he include a readme), since having a stupid amount of lose readme files all named readme.txt in your data folder is not optimal. The doc folder also seems to be fairly commonly used.