Ok I have a pretty large mod, and I was using tes4gecko to merge other esp's into my esp, but it makes you rename the final product esp to something different. This creates new voice folders for the voice over files and I don't really like that. Should I use tes4gecko to make my primary esp an esm file, then merge the other mod I want to import to the master with the merge to master file?

How do I then add to my new master file? Just start a new esp and select a master file it is dependent on, and merge it when I feel like it?

Is there any drawback to converting my file to a master? Do all the files get locked and become uneditable or something?

Essentially I just want to merge another mod with my mod, but not rename my original mod.

Depends on the scope and type of mod.


yes, but you should try to merge them in the order of precedence so that you never have addition mods which touch on the same aspect. And should keep a running list of the order in which you have added files to the .esm incase you ever need to rebuild from an earlier version due to broken/dirty forms, or mistakes.


Yes, everything within the .esm can only be altered by means of a .esp, which would then need to be merged with the .esm in order for any of the parts added/changed by that .esp to be valid for any future additions/changes. If you are editing any vanilla forms, using a .esm format can occasionally create significant problems due to how those forms may be used by other mods. If your .esm changes ANY vanilla exterior cell, it will break ALL vanilla terrain regardless of what this change is. Finally, your .esm would need to be loaded in the 01 index (immediately after Oblivion.esm) in order for any landscape with trees and other VWD objects to show unless you manually unflag all these objects with TES4Edit.


If going the .esp route, you could always just hold off on adding voices until the end, or always re-name your mod before generating voices.