xEdit Guide
Description:
XEdit, or sseedit (they are the same thing), is a tool to identify and browse everything that you have done in an esp/plugin; it tracks your ‘edits’. The tool takes into account what you tell it to load. So, for example, you load Skywind.esm and Zix_Navmesh_0.9.9.9.esp. In this example, XEdit will load all the data for the esm, as well as your data for the esp. It will then compare the two files for edits, overrides, and conflicts.
So with this tool, a navmesher (or anyone else) can load an esp against the esm to check for what work has been done. Or, a navmesher can load an esp against another esp to check for conflicts. A quick install guide and tutorial is explained below. xEdit is now included in the Skywind build so you should already have it installed. If you do not, installation and basic instructions can be found below.
Reviewing Plugin prior to Merge
1. Open your plugin in xEdit
2. Alt-Left Click the plus sign next to your plugin to expand all rows. Any record in your plugin should only be edited by Skywind.esm and your plugin.
3. Check CELL records
a. Ensure only CELLs that you edited are listed. Remove any CELL records you did not intend to edit.
b. Click the first record in the cell you edited.
c. In the right pane, right click and choose Hide No Conflict And Empty Rows
d. If the row is green, it is ITM and can be deleted. (Don't delete the entire cell though even if it's green! Only the subrecords like navmesh or room markers)
e. Make sure you do not have unintended edits. Review every single row manually. Delete records that should not be there
- Generally you should only have navmesh, room markers, room portals, or occlusion planes. If you finalized a cell, you may have the door records there since they link to a navmesh.
f. If you deleted something because it was wrong, that is fine, but do NOT run xEdit QAC (Quick Auto Clean) because it will Undelete the record (setting it to initially disabled, opposite to player) which you do not want.
4. No need to check NAVI (Navmesh Info Map) records, that is generated by the CK. Do NOT edit NAVI in xEdit.
5. Check Worldspace records
a. Ensure cells that you have edited are present. and that there are no unintended edits.
b. Cells that are immediately adjacent may have edits and can stay if you had to move vertices on the border or had to refinalize your cell. In these cases, you can tell by looking in the right pane since only those few changes will be visible.
c. If an adjacent cell has lots of edits that you don't think you did, you may have accidentally had that cell active when you generate cover or clicked finalize in the CK. If that happens or you are worried that happened, delete that cell from your plugin, save and exit xEdit. Open your plugin in the CK, navigate to the cell you actually edited and refinalize that cell. Check the neighboring cell again in xEdit.
d. If a cell that is not adjacent to your cell is edited, that should be removed.
6. Save and exit.
Installation and Basic xEdit Usage
1. Download SSEEdit:
- You should manual download it from nexus and extract the files to a new folder in your SSE directory. If you put it anywhere else and try to run it, XEdit will not be able to find the data folder.
2. Run Options:
- If you use Mod Organizer 2 to load your SKSE/Skywind build, then you can add the executable to the list of programs via the Edit button. Otherwise you will just run it from the exe in the extracted folder.
3. Running SSEEdit:
- Upon opening the tool, you are greeted by two separate windows. The window that is forced on top is where you will select which esm and/or esp to load for comparison. The window underneath is the master window that all other work will be done.
4. Opening Modules:
- For Skywind work, you will usually choose to load Skyrim.esm, Skywind.esm, and your esp in question. In this example, I will load Zix_ArvelManor_0.9.9.16.esp. Select your modules and press ‘Ok’.
5. Browsing Edits:
- Once the modules are finished loading, they will appear on the left-hand side of the screen, listed in the appropriate load order. The two that are important are Skywind.esm and Zix_ArvelManor_0.9.9.16.esp.
- Pressing the small + buttons next to each module will expand the data within it. Skywind.esm will include all data for the master file, while Zix’s esp will show only the data that has been edited from the esm.
6. Browsing for Navmesh Edits:
- Navmesh edits are located in two areas:
Interior Navmesh: …Cell\Block\Sub-block\”Cell Name”
Exterior Navmesh: …Worldspace\Block\Sub-Block\”Cell Coordinates”
- This example only includes exterior navmesh, so I will only show that here.
- This bit of information will show you which cells you have edited in your plugin. The green color indicates an edit.
7. Removing Unwanted Edits:
- Using the example above, let’s say that my assignment was only four cells:
(4, -11)
(4, -12)
(5, -11)
(5, -12)
- In addition to these cells, there are edits in several other cells. We might want to delete these edits, depending on what it is. If another team member is working in cell (6, -11), our esp will conflict with theirs at the next merge; that is, unless we remove that edit from our esp.
- To remove an edit, simply right click the edit in question and select ‘Remove’. This will erase anything you have done in that cell, reverting it back to how it was in Skywind.esm. So now, there is no worry of conflicts with another esp.
- After cleaning up your esp, you may save it by clicking the drop-down in the top-right and pressing ‘Save’.
- You can also check in Creation Kit to prove that the edits you’ve made have been removed.
- **It is generally recommended that before you save, you should make a backup of your existing esp.**
8. Checking for Conflicts:
- In addition to browsing edits to the esm, SSEEdit can also identify conflicts between two or more esp. To do this, you will load Skyrim.esm, Skywind.esm, and then the two (or more) esp you would like to check for conflicts. In this example, I will load Zix_ArvelManor_0.9.9.16.esp and Zix_DrenPlantation_0.9.9.16.esp. These two locations are right next to each other in-game, so we want to make sure that we do not conflict.
- Just by browsing edits, you can already see that we have some conflicting cells. But there is a much easier way to see exactly what is conflicting.
8. Applying a Filter for Conflicts:
- Filters can be applied to the loaded modules in order to more accurately depict the nature of the edits made and how they interact with one another. Here, we will apply a filter for conflicts to better highlight what exactly is conflicting between these esp.
- To do so, right click anywhere in the left-hand pane, and select ‘Apply Filter to Show Conflicts’. You will select the multiple esp in question.
- The above window shows the exact conflicts that occur between the two esp. Conflicts will appear as red and/or orange (depending on load order).
- In this example, not only is there redundant navmesh in the cell (as shown in step 8), there is a load door that has been linked to the navmesh in each of the esp. The load door canot possibly have two different links, so the conflict will have to be removed from one of the esp – full navmesh for the cell included. Do so by following the same process outlined in step 8.
Conclusion:
These are the basics of using XEdit/SSEEdit to check for conflicting navmesh. This is typically done by merge personnel at the time of merging esp into the esm, but it should first be the responsibility of the navmesher to ensure that work is not overlapping and/or conflicting. That said, this should be a last resort as there are easier ways of accounting for who is doing what work. However, if you are in serious doubt, this guide should help you.