15) - 20)

22) Download and install Francescos Main Package. DO NOT install any of the addons unless they are stated below:
...
Living Economy [do NOT use the stand-alone version at the same time] (highly recommended)
...
Day Length Rescale (if you want to change this [I use a value of 12], do so in the console by typing the command set timescale to )

25) Exit OBMM and run BOSS, go back into OBMM.

31) Download and install the required FCOM Files:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12249
FCOM_Convergence.esm
FCOM_Francescos.esp
FCOM_FrancescosItemsAddOn.esp
FCOM_FrancescosNamedBosses.esp
FCOM_BobsArmory.esp
FCOM_WarCry.esp
FCOM_Convergence.esp
FCOM_RealSwords.esp

41) Download and install Natural Environments
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2536

73) Arthur Natural Environments v.2.9.7[not sure about this one, some have said it is buggy]
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13207

74) Download and install Qarls Texture Pack III Full v1_3_OMOD
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18498.

6) Download and install the BOSS Masterlist manager
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=29790

21) Once again, close OBMM and run BOSS, then load up OBMM again.

25) Exit OBMM and run BOSS, go back into OBMM.

28) Exit OBMM and run BOSS.

30) Exit OBMM and run BOSS.

32) Exit and run BOSS.

41) Download and install Natural Environments
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2536

43) Exit OBMM, run BOSS and then make run the game to test.

45) Exit OBMM, run BOSS and then run the game to test.

49) Exit OBMM, run BOSS and then run the game to test.

66) Enhanced Weather (EW):
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16544

73) Arthur Natural Environments v.2.9.7[not sure about this one, some have said it is buggy]
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13207

Make sure to clean mods using tes4edit, a list of some mods that definitely needs cleaning (though not all of them) is here: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/TES4Edit_Cleaning_Guide#Quick_List_of_What_.26_What_Not_to_Clean

Mart's Monster Mod - City Defences.esp (author says to not clean)
Mart's Monster Mod - Gems & Gem Dust.esp (author says to not clean)
Mart's Monster Mod - Hunting & Crafting.esp (author says to not clean)

BG2408's mods (LAME, RBP, Integration)

Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm
Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp

FCOM (None of the .esp/.esm files should be cleaned)

Many of the issues people have with QTP3 is actually caused when running out of video memory since when you run out of video memory textures now have to be swapped between the video memory and system memory regularily which causes the game to slow down and also cause extra strain on the system.

I've been pondering about that. I'm running CorePCs Vibrant now due to performance issues with QTP3R (heavily modded game), but even when I ran QTP3R I never really got above 600mb vram load, and I have a 1gb graphics card (5770). The difference in performance is quite major however now with Vibrant, where the load usually stays in the 200-300mark.

I found this out last time I played Oblivion which was not long after QTP3 came out and I was testing my game with it and during my testing I cam to the conclusion that the fps was unplayable because I didn't have enough video memory at the time.

So it is a balancing act and having FCOM with QTPIII (not in the BSAs) with Open Cities and 200 other mods - and you will not have a playable game. It will make you look fat and your booty mos definitely be sweating.

1) Install OBSE
- download from http://obse.silverlock.org/
- Copy obse_1_2_416.dll, obse_editor_1_2.dll, and obse_steam_loader.dll to your Oblivion directory. This is usually "C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\common\oblivion".
- Launch Oblivion via Steam or by running Oblivion.exe. OBSE will automatically be run along with Oblivion when launched. To disable this, rename or move obse_steam_loader.dll. You do not need to use obse_loader.exe unless you are running the editor.

2) Get obse_loader from http://media.steampo...obse_loader.zip, and extract the obse_loader.exe over the top of the one from the standard OBSE install in oblivion folder.

3) Run obse_loader.exe

So if you're acknowledging that actor overload is the real issue, then I fail to see why pointing the finger at non-actor generating mods is productive.

If you are starting a new savegame after installing FCOM, then you can skip steps #1, and #8. If you have a recent version of Wrye Bash, you can skip steps #4 and #5. The other steps are required.

1. First, go to a safe location in the game, sleep/wait for respawn, and save your progress. This clears all loaded NPCs and creatures from active memory so they can be loaded with updated stats and gear next time you load that savegame. However, not all locations are safe to wait for respawn. For example, sleeping in your Imperial City Shack is not the best choice for getting a complete respawn -- nor are any of the vanilla player homes -- especially if you're experiencing problems with any NPCs nearby, such as guards. The cells adjacent to your home will not respawn while you rest there. It's much better to go into the wilderness (or anywhere you haven't been in a very long time) and wait there for respawn (then fast travel to some other location far away after the upgrade process is complete).

Or, if you want a completely safe location to wait for respawn, use the console command ~coc TestingHall and wait there (it's safe because it's not connected to anything). When you load the game back up after finishing the upgrade, you can again use the console to return to the normal world by doing ~cow Tamriel, 11,20 (takes you close to the starter dungeon exit) or go through the door to Hawkhaven and fast travel from there. You can use the Cell Grid Map to find other location codes.

But wait! Finish the rest of the upgrade steps before returning to the world!

2. The first actual step of the upgrade installation is to make sure you have installed Wrye Bash v118 or later. Older versions since 0.59 work, too, but the procedure is a bit different, so you'll have to look elsewhere for instructions about how to use older versions.

3. Once you have Wrye Bash installed, find the Bashed Patch, 0.esp that came with Wrye Bash and copy it into your \Oblivion\Data\ directory. Make sure it's set to load last in Wrye Bash (you may want to set it to have a date in the future, like the year 2011 or something, so no other plugins will ever load after it). The only known exception to this rule at present is the mod Deadly Reflex, which has some components that should load after the Bashed Patch (see the readme from Deadly Reflex for details).

4. If you use Wrye Bash 219 or later, it will automatically tag any Mergeable Patches for you when you start it. This feature is extremely useful if you want to keep your list of active mods as short as possible (to speed load times and/or avoid the max 254 plugins limit). If you don't want to use the Mergeable Patches feature in Wrye Bash at this point, you can skip down to Step 5. This great feature of Wrye Bash significantly reduces the number of patch plugins that you need to keep active by completely absorbing many patch plugins into your Bashed Patch. This means that several of the FCOM plugins no longer need to be active as long as they are used in the Bashed Patch.

Using this feature will add the {{BASH: Merge) tag to the description fields of all plugins that are mergeable (not all plugins are mergeable). The text on the Merge-tagged plugin filenames will turn green. You can leave all of these Merge-tagged plugins inactive and then "virtually activate" them in the Bashed Patch config. After you activate your Bashed Patch (we'll get to that shortly), these Merge-tagged plugins will get a special [+] mark to indicate that they are "virtually active", meaning they have been merged into the Bashed Patch. If the Bashed Patch is not active or you look at your load order in OBMM, etc., then you will see that these "virtually active" plugins do not show as being active, which helps to keep your plugin count as low as possible.

To start the Merge process in older versions of Wrye Bash, shift-select your entire mod list (except for the Bashed Patch itself), then right-click anywhere in the list and select Mark Mergeable.

5. If you have an older version of Wrye Bash, then you'll need to run the Mark Levelers command at least once before doing Rebuild Patch. If you have a recent version, it happens automatically and you can skip ahead to Step 6. To do it manually, shift-select your entire mod list (except for the Bashed Patch itself) in Wrye Bash, then right-click anywhere in the list and select Mark Levelers. This will add the proper Bash Relev/Delev tags to the description fields of your plugins. These tags tell Wrye Bash how to properly merge the plugins from various other mods (you can use this same procedure even if you don't use FCOM). The FCOM plugins are already marked properly, but doing this step is still a good idea.

The Mark Levelers command sets the new proper tags for most other mods that need tags. Most likely you'll find that only a few other plugins besides those from FCOM got marked as Levelers. This is normal and perfectly acceptable. You don't need to worry about manually marking any other plugins.

6. Now you'll need to actually create the patch. To do this, simply right-click on the Bashed Patch, 0.esp and select Rebuild Patch. This will give you a menu with a bunch of patch options. Configure any options you want. All of the necessary FCOM files will be correctly configured in the Leveled Lists section without any further action required. Just make sure you activate the Leveled Lists section of the Bashed Patch config by placing a checkmark next to Leveled Lists (if it doesn't have one already). If you're in a hurry, you can just click OK at this point, then let it process for a bit and you're almost done!

If you want to spend a bit more time configuring the other great Bashed Patch options such as the Mergeable Patches from Step 4, then do that before clicking OK. FCOM plugins that are not active and have not been marked as Mergeable will not be processed, so it's usually a good idea to spend a few minutes tweaking the various configuration options before you click OK.

At a minimum, the Leveled Lists section of the config should show the following plugins (assuming you used all the base FCOM options):

FCOM_Francescos.esp
FCOM_BobsArmory.esp
FCOM_WarCry.esp
FCOM_Convergence.esp

You'll also see most of the MMM spawn options you picked here, such as No Giants, No Spiders, etc. You will not see any plugins that just add new content since that type of mod doesn't need to be handled as a Leveler.

Unlike earlier versions of Wrye Bash, you do not need to worry much about whether all the correct plugins are listed here as long as you followed the Mark Levelers instructions in Step 5. For example, if you are using an expanded load order, then the Leveled Lists section of the config will probably be much longer. It may look more like this (an example based on a configuration for Shivering Isles):

Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items Mod.esm
Francesco's Optional New Items Add-On.esm
Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp
Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Bosses.esp
Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Enemies.esp
Francesco's Optional Chance of More Enemies.esp
Francesco's Optional Leveled Guards.esp
FCOM_Francescos.esp
DLCSpellTomes.esp
Oblivion WarCry EV.esp
FCOM_WarCry.esp
Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp
FCOM_Convergence.esp
FCOM_SpawnRatesReduced.esp
FCOM_SaferRoads.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - No xxx.esp

Things you will typically see listed here include the MMM optional plugins for Spawn Rates - Reduced (SRR), Spawn Rates - Reduced Reduced (SRRR), and Spawn Rates - Increased (SRI), No Giants, No Spiders, Safer Roads, and No Werewolves.

The end result of all this work with Levelers is that you will now be able to find enemies and items -- such as Spell Tomes, etc. -- that just wouldn't show up before when using one of the major overhauls.

Once the Bashed Patch has been generated, you'll get a complete report of everything that was merged into it. You can double-check this report to make sure everything worked the way you want it to.

7. Activate your new Bashed Patch! If you used the Mergeable Patches feature from Step 3, then as soon as you activate the Bashed Patch you'll see the special [+] marks next to all of your "virtually active" patch plugins.

8. If you want to use an existing savegame, then you must update your savegame using Update NPC Levels. See "Update Your Savegame" section below.

9. Launch the game and play.

If you get a Crash to Desktop (CTD) during the initial launch, then you almost certainly forgot to install one of the required master files. See the FCOM Setup FAQ for details on this. You'll have to either install the missing files or remove any FCOM options that require the missing files and then repeat the Bashed Patch process. Fortunately, it gets a lot easier after the first few times.

As you continue adding other mods or updates in the future, it's usually a good idea to repeat the Rebuild Patch process (just Step 6) so that any necessary merges will be updated. Also, you'll want to make sure your Bashed Patch continues to be the very last plugin in your load order after adding new stuff (OBMM, for example, will automatically add new plugins to the end of the load order unless you set a config option to keep it from doing this).

If other new mods or FCOM updates make significant changes to NPC levels, then it's a good idea to Update NPC Levels again after rebuilding your patch.

Regarding the bashed patch, here is my problem:

Tthe instructions for creating the bashed patch indicate that I need to access a file called Bashed Patch, 0.esp and copy it to the oblivion/data folder etc., however, I have absolutely no idea where this file is placed after running the Wrye Bash installer.exe. What seems to happen is that a sub-directory is created in the Data folder called "bashed patches" and inside are several .csv files, but no Bashed Patch, 0.esp files anywhere to be found.

...Oblivion\Mopy\Extras\Bashed Patch, 0.esp
Just copy that over to the Data folder with the other esps