The :rock:, it is too much!

What mods are there that remove those large, ugly rocks (okay, okay, hi-res wonders of QTP-world; whatever ) from populated areas (in particular, at least)...? It just doesn't seem right, that all these industrious types would've ignored them. I mean, they're pretty darn obvious, they get in the way...

Alternatively, how hard would it be to do that myself, having almost zero experience with the CS/CSE?

Or, failing that, what are the odds of someone doing this, simply because I, a random forumite, complained about it. :laugh:

Probably not hard, and may even be a good way to get your feet wet with the CS a bit. Fundamentally all you have to do is point the CS at the cities, find the rocks, click on them, then hit delete. Don't really know why you'd want to though, you'll be surprised how much they do for the landscaping when they're gone. Some of them are likely also hiding ugly blemished Bethesda covered up.

Okay, I'll have a bash at it.

You're probably right (I'd lay a bet on that, even ) about things they might be hiding, and so forth. It's just a logic thing, or my brand of it anyway. Doesn't look "right", to me.

Time to go a learnin' then... :toughninja:

Isn't it safer to sink them below ground rather than delete them? That way if other mods down his load order edit these rocks for any reason they don't throw a hissy fit upon realizing they're gone?

I could be totally wrong here but don't some of those rocks cover inactive oblivion gates?

Yes. They should be disabled and moved (very, very far) below ground, not deleted. This is a big enough deal that Wrye Bash even has a function to find deleted records, undelete them, and disable/bury them and the http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/TES4Edit_Cleaning_Guide specifically recommends using it to help prevent CTDs.

Guys, it is perfectly safe to delete something in the Construction Set, just remember to use TES4Edit to undelete and disable them when you are done.

It is also a lot faster to just hit the delete key than it is to double-click the rock, type in -30000 for the Z position coordinates, check the Initially Disabled box, and exit.

I repeat, it is perfectly fine to delete objects in the Construction Set because you can undelete them later. It's called being logically efficient.

Why would you tell someone to simply delete a vanilla reference? You of all people should know that this can cause problems with the game, especially if they later add a mod that makes an edit on that reference. The safest way to have something not appear in the game is to simply check the Initially Disabled box. The object will still be in the game but it won't be rendered during gameplay. Either that or bury it beneath the surface where it can't be seen. Simply deleting something from the game is a recipe for crashes and other problems.



You don't have to do both, either method will work. If an object is disabled, it simply won't be rendered into the game. And it's really not a hassle to click on the "Initially Disabled" box when you're in the CS. It's certainly less work than deleting the reference, and afterwards using Wrye Bash or TES4Edit to "Undelete Reference and Disable"



Again, you don't have to do both. Checking the Initially Disabled box is all you need to do and is certainly the easiest way to do it. The only drawback with that approach is that the object will still be visible in the CS, and if you're trying to change something in that space it might get in your way. In the case of those large rocks though, that shouldn't be an issue. It would be however if your were trying to do something like unboarding a building to add an interior. In that case it would be more convenient to bury the boards so you can get at the door behind them.



No, all Oblivion gates are Initially Disabled, and activated by means of a script at a certain point in the game. There maybe a few rocks though have a gate sitting on top of them, so you don't want to disable those. Unless you really like the idea of having an Oblivion gate hovering in mid air. Besides, you can see all that in the CS so you just need to avoid those particular rocks.

True, but most modders prefer to do so anyway as insurance. Besides, it saves half a second and requires two less button presses to just hit the delete button.

However, I will say this, do not ever delete or move something if it is a persistent reference. Bad things happen if you do. Only ever disable persistent references.

Anyways, I just prefer to delete things I don't want when I'm modding simply because I know that I will be cleaning the mod when I'm done thanks to other bugs in the Construction Set, so I know I'll be dealing with any deleted refs while I am there.

However, if I can help it, I prefer to just move vanilla objects around to actually removing them. If I can find a new home for something, I will always move it there.

And do you seriously think that when I'm working in the CS I take the extra time to click the disabled button and edit the Z value too? Nope. I hit delete. While working that's perfectly safe (except on persistent refs, BAD BAD BAD). I generally leave the deletes in place until I'm sure I'm done, then run tes4edit. Nobody is the wiser that way and I save myself who knows now many mouse clicks and keystrokes.

BTW, it's also less work to click a ref, hit delete vs double click a ref, check initially disabled, then click ok. Just saying

Also not sure why everyone jumped to the conclusion that BP is looking to delete every rock, he specifically mentioned populated areas. So I don't think Oblivion gates are an issue here, and there's no persistent rocks in cities either.

Well as I've mentioned, you don't need to do both. One or the other works just fine.



Fair enough, but you never mentioned anything about cleaning things up afterwards. The OP obviously knows very little about modding so he wouldn't know to do that.



Just as long you remember to run the mod through TES4Edit or Wrye Bash afterwards. Personally I think it takes less time overall to disable the object myself the first time through, though I guess that would depend on how many objects you're dealing with.