I bought Oblivion off of Steam a few days ago because it was 66% off, and I've spent days trying to figure out how to get mods like OOO and MMM to work. I've looked at so many guides and they all seem to be way too vague for a beginner. I've installed Wrye Bash, OBMM and tried different approaches, only to mess up my Oblivion game and have to re-download it countless times because Steam is [censored]. I've basically been trying to install OOO 1.35 and MMM 3.8. They are also the newest versions, so I haven't been able to find very good instructions since most instructions on the internet are for older versions with different file types. I thought I almost had it this time but then I read something about Bashed Patches or something and I tried to do that and it completely messed everything up. I've spent so much time on this and I'm not willing to give up, but if someone could please write up some instructions for me I would be very very grateful. I have to re-download my Oblivion though right now since it won't even start up from all the crap I've done to it.

Well first off... welcome to the Oblivion Modding Community!!! First things first let's make sure your vanilla (non-modded0 game is functional. This means that the game is installed outside of the default directory C:\programs especially for Win 7 and Vista. If that's the case, very good... let's go to next step. If it is installed in the default directory, we would recommend you to move it elsewhere as this is one of the major causes of the mods not being working correctly. That being said, if this is first time for you to start modding Oblivion, start with a simple mod such as adding a house or armor etc etc. When you are confident enough, learn to use Wrye Bash. Trust me when most of us recommend Wrye Bash over any other mod manager out there. And in order to install OOO or MMM successfully you need Wrye Bash available. Read this guide here to start off: http://tescosi.com/wiki/Main_Page.%C2%A0 and http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/43471//?.%C2%A0 for tips on alternatives for Living Economy and the Level Rate esp's.

Another question. I'm following the Abigail's readme and also the Wrye Bash pictorial guide. There is an option on my Wrye Bash that says it can automatically apply embedded BCF's. Does that mean I don't have to apply the conversion? Because when I select all 5 archives in the installers tab and try to go to apply the conversion, it's grey and I can't click it even though I've followed the instructions exactly.

BCFs are typically provided by a third-party, which means you have to locate and download them and put them into the '\Oblivion Mods\Bash Installers\Bain Converters' folder. Check out these links in addition to the "http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/users/1031341/?tb=mods&pUp=1":

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/37983

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/34414

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/31062

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/36461

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/22170

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/43557

(You don't need to unpack them; they work fine as archives.) Apply a BCF only to the single mod it is designed for. Generally that is one BCF for one archive. Also they are specific to particular mod versions. They may or may not work with a later version of the mod if the author retained the same folder structure, but no guarantees.

However, it's not normally too difficult to unpack a mod and restructure it to a folder structure that is BAIN ready. Check out http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084204-bain-mod-installation-projects and http://www.gamesas.com/topic/957424-custom-bain-projects thread and http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/34271 link.

-Dubious-

I've managed to install OOO and MMM, but when I start a new game, right after when the rats attack you and the skeleton is lying by the chest, there is a big yellow thing saying there's a missing mesh. What is the easiest way to figure out what's causing it? Should I just backtrack and uninstall MMM and try it again?

Just follow http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1395325-relz-martigens-monster-mod-38/:

yes i did that, i just don't know what else there is to change. i've tried it a couple times and theres not much else i can really try. ill see what i can do in the morning

Post your load order via Wrye Bash: right-click File > List mods... > paste into post.

Looks good as far as I can tell. It sounded like you had missing resources from MMM, as rusty items comes from MMM when using it, but that shouldn't be the case if you have renamed the bsa correctly. So your issue is a bit weird. You could check the missing mesh with http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/16704/? to find out which mod it comes from (note that you'll need OBSE for it, but OBSE is a good idea anyway - lots of excellent mods require it).

But did you rename the BSA to Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.bsa

?

I used something similar to FormID but I forget the name. The missing mesh was just floating on top of a root hanging from the ceiling and when I aimed at it, there was nothing from any mods. It said it was just from the original Oblivion, unless I did it wrong.

I have renamed the BSA. I am going to go through the whole cave/sewer and see if there are any missing meshes throughout the world. Maybe it's just a one time thing?

Weird. Can't seen anything in your current mod list that would affect something like that.

I just went past the first missing mesh and one of the goblins sword mesh was missing. Is there any supplemental mod that I'm missing that MMM requires? Because it's only when I install MMM that I see missing meshes.

maybe I should try installing MMM with OBMM and get the OMOD installer thing that was made for it.

I'd still guess it's caused by a wrongly named bsa. If it's a rusty weapon, it would mean missing resources from MMM, which would indicate a wrongly named bsa. That's almost the only weapons that MMM affects - but that would be my guess w/o knowing more.

Ok, so what I did was extract the BSA into the data folder, then renamed it to MMM for OOO instead of just mmm. Is there a special way to rename it because maybe I did it wrong

Ok, so what I did was extract the BSA into the data folder, then renamed it to MMM for OOO instead of just mmm. Is there a special way to rename it because maybe I did it wrong

Rename it exactly this: Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.bsa

The point is for the name to match the name of an ESP in your load order.

And, just to be sure, check to see that your OOO BSA file is present also.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2rrlx5z.png

not sure if you can click that. its my list of files in the Data folder.

Okay, to review:

You're not installed in Program Files.
You've renamed the BSA correctly.
Your load order seems to be correct. [Wait - why is ** Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.esp [Version 0.9.9MB8b1] not simply active in your load order. And why is it listed as "ghost" in the pic of your data files?]

OOO's BSA is present.

What is your bashed patch configuration?

Do you get the same error if you start a new game?

EDIT: Do you mind answering the two questions above plus the bolded questions above that?

I really hope we can help you get this sorted. Soon.

Cheers.

I have no idea why it's ghost. it says its imported into the bash patch so I assumed I didn't need to load it? In my wrye bash load order, I don't understand the files that are merged into the bash patch. theres the files you click and they have a green check mark, then theres the files with a cross, then that one file you mentioned had a dot in it. do I need to check all of them? every time I load oblivion i start a new game to see if my changes made a difference. I'll post a picture of it in a second

http://i41.tinypic.com/143ov4n.png

also, the description for Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.esp is:

MMM for OOO plugin

nowhere in any readme does it say that it requires an older version of MMM. I thought 3.8 was a full version

edit: well by activating Mart's Monster Mod for OOO.esp, the missing meshes seem to be fixed. is there anything I should be worried about though with it being ghosted? I'm finally going to start playing now lol.