Better Oblivion Sorting Software
A plugin load order optimizer for TES IV: Oblivion
Introduction
Setting the right load order for your mods is a crucial step to enjoying a stable modded game. BOSS is designed to assist mod users in
avoiding detrimental mod conflicts, by providing automated lord order sorting that's simple to use and fully customisable. While sorting,
BOSS checks for load order errors such as incompatibilities and missing requirements, and notifies you of any issues that it detects.
BOSS also provides thousands of plugin-specific messages, including usage notes, Bash Tag suggestions, requirements, incompatibilities,
bug warnings and installation mistake notifications. It supports the sorting of plugins ghosted by the Wrye *ash (Wrye Bash, Wrye Flash,
Wrye Flash NV, Wrye Smash) utilities, and has been translated into multiple languages.
Although BOSS recognizes tens of thousands of plugins, it is not a complete solution to load ordering issues, as there are many new mods
constantly being created. To properly place unrecognized plugins, a good working knowledge of mod load ordering is still necessary, for
which some documentation reading will go a long way. See the "Introduction To Load Orders" section of BOSS's readme for an overview.
Downloads
BOSS can be downloaded from its http://boss-developers.github.io/, or from http://www.theassimilationlab.com/forums/files/file/1251-boss.
BOSS uses a Master List text file to sort mods into the proper load order. Masterlist updates can be downloaded directly via the BOSS GUI.
Alternately, you can download the most recent masterlist files from http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45765 or from http://www.theassimilationlab.com/forums/files/file/1102-boss-masterlist-for-oblivion, and install manually.
Development & Maintenance
The BOSS Masterlist, BOSS Forum Thread, and Master List download pages are maintained by mhahn123. Current development for the BOSS
program itself is being undertaken by Deaths_Soul (aka VisceralMoonlight). DS has dedicated a huge amount of time getting BOSS updated.
The most recent version is 2.3.1. While BOSS is being actively updated there may be bugs to work out. Please report any bugs, or general odd
behavior you encounter. One development point to take note of is continued functionality when using Windows XP. Some library components
used internally by BOSS have begun to drop support for Windows XP with recent updates. As a result, future versions of BOSS will no longer
support Windows XP. We suggest upgrading to Windows 7 or later if you haven't already done so.
Contributions & Help
General discussion and questions should take place here in this forum thread. Unrecognized mods and unclean mod info can be posted here, or
on one of the Masterlist download sites referenced above. While we welcome mod submissions, we can only get them added into the Masterlist if
we get the following info.
Submitting Unrecognized Plugins:
- The correctly spelled .esm or .esp file name(s). REQUIRED. Submissions with no esm/esp name included will be ignored.
- A link to the download site is also helpful, but not strictly required.
- A brief description of what each mod does will also be helpful.
- Feel free to make load order suggestions.
Submitting Unclean Plugins (aka Dirty Mod Info):
- The correctly spelled .esm or .esp file name(s). REQUIRED.
- The number of Identical To Master records removed (the ITM count) as shown by TES4Edit/TES5Edit (not the number of records processed).
- The number of records undeleted (the UDR count) as shown by TES4Edit/TES5Edit (not the number of records processed).
- The CRC(s) of the unlcean ESP/ESM file name(s). Make sure that the CRCs are of the uncleaned files, not the files after cleaning.
- The CRC(s) may be calculated using BOSS, Wrye *ash or 7-zip, with other sources being unverified as correct.
- In the case of 7-zip, the "CRC checksum for data" is the one required.
License
See the ReadMe in the download for more information.
Previous Threads
Spoiler
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1540888-boss-for-oblivion-thread-50
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1515293-rel-boss-for-oblivion
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1498853-rel-boss-for-oblivion
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1434397-rel-boss-for-oblivion
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1404766-rel-boss-for-oblivion