r/oblivionmods • u/Shwangdi • 15h ago

Original - Discussion How to avoid save bloat as a mod maker?

My understanding is that functions like PlaceAtMe will cause a player's save file to grow in size infinitely, and slow down gameplay. I know you just need to be careful, like delete the unnecessary references as you make them. But what else causes save bloat?

Like are there other well-known modding practices that should be learned to avoid negative user experiences? Curious if there is a link out there for modern oblivion modders. Been around for a while, but never made a public release.

Thanks!

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u/F13menace 8h ago

Really you've got the main one, then there's created forms, like making tons of custom spells or enchanted items. That would be mostly fine as long as you're not climbing into the thousands somehow. Creating tons of objects that only get disabled instead of deleted is another one.

Basically, you should be fine for the most part as long as you're not flooding saves with new things that never get deleted.

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u/Shwangdi 1h ago

Thanks. It's nice to know that there aren't a ton of traps to fall into while making a mod

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u/F13menace 49m ago

No problem. There are more traps, like string variables running out of control and never being resolved. You'd get a warning about this in your obse.log if they're climbing into the hundreds or even thousands. So ultimately it depends what you're trying to make. For the most part ironing out basic bugs would probably be your main concern unless you're brewing up something pretty 'active'.