Just wondering, why hasn't there been a save reader made for OBSE, where it could read the face morph, race, hair, eyes, name, diseases, and factions? I was thinking that something like this would add new possibilities, like if the character isn't being played a plugin would load it in as a recruitable companion for another player character...

sounds awesome! dunno if its posasible though. i'm quite sure it is for me!

"Why" is a kind of silly question - because the following three qualities have yet to coincide within one person: 1. having this idea, 2. liking it enough to do it, and 3. having the time and skills to make it happen. It's an interesting idea, and the save file is pretty well-documented, so it probably won't be super hard, but you'll have to find someone who can and is willing to. I have far too much on my plate personally, for example, to even contemplate it.

I was under the impression the ESS file format was still mostly a mystery to most (heh). Do you have a link to the documentation ?

Didn't Wrye spend like a kajillion hours figuring it all out? Anyway, to the best of my knowledge, the documentation's http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Tes4Mod:Save_File_Format.

The basic structure has been decoded, but the formats of the individual change records generally have not.

Finding the records for the player shouldn't be hard, since all you have to look up NPC_ 0x00000007 and ACHR 0x00000014 to gather bits of information, although which bits I don't know. Now how to handle appearance/race records from other mods might just have to be a searching process since the ID records often change due to the load lists...

Now, another question here is how player-created items in the save should be handled if desired to be brought into another save game - Right now it would be a "skip" process, but in the future it might be nice optional goal to take that information and be able to include it into a plugin file.

So I noticed at the top of the page; thought it'd gotten further along than that. Oh well.

I really think it did get a little further, but it was just never added to the documentation... After all, what I'd like to know is how http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7808 is possible without said documentation - His findings would've really helped out if he had documented them. Maybe take a look at the OFF file that's generated wit this and get an idea what is what from that?

ziitch: This http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1157376-relz-here-take-this/page__view__findpost__p__16954995 may also be of interest to you.

I'm pretty sure that's limited to the ESP by writing new formIDs for the deposited items using Pluggy, so it's likely that it actually doesn't use the savegame data.

Secondly, it wouldn't work well for PC race/character data, we're talking not having to keep a text file that requires you to play the save so it can gather data, but instead have direct (or semi-direct) access to getting save information and then be able to use it in scripts, opening up greater possibilities such as a dynamic PC-to-NPC companion mod where PCs-turned-companions can gain levels and skills in-game and yet retain them (perhaps even have them start off where you last left them!) when you pick their save.