Hi, I've just go into adding mods to oblivion but I'm stuck! Now I've compiled I folder of mods I intend to use after I reinstall oblivion.

I now know how to use OBMM to deal with BSA/texture replacements (archive invalid thingy). I know how to run BOSS.

Here's the mods I want to use:

Shivering Isles and all other official DLC's + 1.2.0416 patch,
Unofficial patch + unofficial SI patch + unofficial DLC mod patch + unoffial patch supplemental,
ArchiveInvalidation Invalidated,
DarNified UI,
cyrodiil terrian map,
menu escape,
spell delete,
togglealbe quantity prompt,
dude wheres my horse,
MMM,
KseAliLeveling,
Enhanced Economy,
Reneer's gold mod,
quest award leveller,
Realistic Physics and Force Package,
deadly reflex 5,
realistic fatigue,
Thieves arsenal mission zero,
window entrances,
alternative start by Robert Evrae,
midas magic,
natural environments (WITHOUT natural weather),
all natural,
darker dungeons,
drop lit torches,
exterior actors have torches,
dungeon actors have torches,
Animated Window Lighting System,
cities alive at night,
better grass without tiling,
improved road signs,
harvest flora,
Landscape LOD Texture Replacement + Landscape LOD Texture border regions + normal map fix mipmap,
clocks of cyrodiil (no arcane uni),
zira medieval horse clothes,
bank of cyrodiil, vaults of cyrodiil, the lost spires, tears of the fiend, ruined tails tale,
cobl, hgec female body replacer, roberts male body replacer

A few questions:
1) Is the data provided by 'BOSS' all I need to automatically create the bashed patch in 'wrye bash'?
2) How do I use wrye bash to create a bashed patch or other things to make my mods work together?
3) I want to use 'cobl' (which gives 5 new races) with hgec female body replacer & roberts male body replacer,
can I make these work together?
4) can I install all the mods at once (after reinstalling & patching oblivion) or do I have to follow some sort of sequence to ensure they work?
5) any huge conflicts with the above list of mods?
6)anything else a noob might need to know (fight the urge for sarcasm pls! lol)

Sorry about the tome! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance (he types presumptuously!)

But... hang on a sec... I don't see any dancing. :shrug:

and i dont see any advice lol but if you insist......[dances vigorously to stayin alive] ; i do parties too but they keep throwing me out

1. The Bashed Patch is independent of BOSS. If you installed Wrye Bash correctly, the patch will be generated automatically the first time you run the program.
2. Assuming you installed Wrye correctly, the patch is waiting for you. Right-click, choose 'rebuild patch' and select the necessary options (the ones with mods listed in them).
3. Yes. Install cobl first, then hgec and roberts can safely over-ride any of the body materials.
4. For future reference, really big stuff like OOO and quest mods should be activated one at a time. But your LO is small enough that shouldn't be a problem. The only constant is to install the Unofficial Patches first (after the normal one of course).
5. Aside from the aforementioned body mods, none of the others should conflict. Install a few, activate them, then make a throw-away character and save. repeat as necessary.
6. If your hardware can support it, I recommend forgoing Natural Environments in favor of http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18305. Unlike NE, it's bug-free and provides a lot more options for shiny stuff Make sure you download the hotfix for Deadly Reflexes (bottom of the TESNexus page). No mod is too small for an OMOD. Cheers!

Thankyou for your valuable input.

tuppence worth from others more than welcome!

Yep. Modblivion is a looong dance of its own.
For best results check the tread in my signature - it gives you list and links to all the tools you might need playing advanced Oblivion.
This does not mean you can skip the readme for each individual tool or/and mod. To do so means to kill your game before you even started.
My tread will give a good machine 3-5 hours gaming without CTD. Which does not mean it will be a quick job. You have to digest and implement all steps with no exceptions.

Tomlong75210 here on the forum and Psymon are advocates for using mod through Wrye Bash BAIN - installing feature of the genius Wrye Bash which at the moment I am learning how to use.
It have the advantage to easily sorted mod conflicts due to overwriting each other.
This is where the future of advanced modded Oblivion playing lies, so my advice is to spend time and learn the things their way right from the beginning.

It is good that you are new to mods, it means you haven't developed bad habits yet. Try to avoid this.
It also means you are fresh and can learn to do the right things which took years of talented modders and players to find out on their own and share with us for better experience.
Don't give up. This is by far the best game I've ever played and is worth every penny and second you invest in it. (Personal opinion which others are free NOT to share.).
Modded Oblivion is a noble quest of its own right. You will find the answers of 99.999% of all the questions you could come to ask. (I myself asked a few thousand of the stupidest ones this forum has seen ).
Feel free to ask.
If you decide to install with OBMM, follow my 50 steps.
If you decide to instal using BAIN (I strongly recommend it), then find the treads of Tomlong75210 and Psymon.

Did you say lap-dance?

Excellent advice thank you. From what I've read Wrye Bash is the way to go but OBMM seems much more user freindly to a mod newbie (such as myself). I would like to 852learn more about Wyre Bash but most things I've looked at seems overwhelming for the uninitiated. Are there any step by step minimal jargon hand holding tutorials for the basics (bashed patch, importing graphics etc)? (I've done this the wrong way around!, I havent looked at your links yet! no shouting pls, I'm now going to!)

Feel free to chip in with more advice......[dances furiously]

oh and no lap-dances!.......unless there's advice AND food

http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/

'Cause "stayin' alive" must be worth at least a link.

Thanks Paladin! Just the sort of hand holdy thing I'm after but having said that I'm a complete dumb*** so any more links ala noob or more advice would'nt go amiss!

Oh and thanks to the modders! You lot have turned my big mac into a fillet steak! (I like big macs but I like steak better!)

I seem to be on a bit of a dancing and food theme!?! (probably that paint thinner I drank)

Keep it coming peeps! (ps can i stop dancing now my legs hurt XD)

Advice from another noob:

Your list isnt really big. If you dont have plans for install much more mods you dont need to use Bain. Very cool software but you will need some time for you can use it and you dont need for such a list of mods. OBMM is really easy and, in my opinion, enough for this. You can check load order and, if something goes wrong you came here again for advice.

Some *very basic* advice/comments regarding use of BOSS and Wyre (which I did not see set forth above) -- do the following in the order set forth below:

1. Install BOSS pursuant to its readme and install Wyre Bash pursuant to its documentation.

2. Install the mods you want to use according to the instructions in the readme for each mod.

3. Run BOSS in order to set the *recommended* load order for your mods (which is the primary function of BOSS).

(I say "recommended" because the load order and comments contained in BOSS are the results of the combined wisdom and experience of the modding community as to the best order in which to load thousands of popular mods. Once you are MUCH more experienced, you might choose to tweak the BOSS load order in order to suit your personal tastes.)

4. "Rebuild" the bashed patch in order make the mods you have installed work together smoothly (which is the primary function of Wyre Bash).

5. Play the game.



Some notes on what the bashed patch is and what it does: The bashed patch is in reality its own mod or plugin, generated by the Wyre Bash software and tailored specifically to the mods (and the load order of those mods) you are using at the time you rebuild your bashed patch -- which is why you should run BOSS and then rebuild the bashed patch each time you add new or remove old mods or reorder the mods you are using. Wyre Bash builds its bashed patch by attempting to reconcile inconsistencies or conflicts between your other mods based on rule sets Wyre (and others who have worked on Wyre Bash) felt were most likely to preserve as many changes as possible from each of your chosen mods and do so in a manner that will create a stable modded game. Since the bashed patch appears near the end of your load order, its changes to vanilla Oblivion override conflicting changes made by your other mods. Once I understood the basics of what the bashed patch does and how and why it works (and realized it was not some mysterious magical balm :wink_smile: ), the entire process of building highly modded Oblivion games became easier and made more sense to me.

Hope this helps...

Regards,

Hem

so the muddy water is getting clearer! I think I'm starting to wrap my head around this. So if I use OMOD install's this won't be detrimental to the bashed patch then?

Thanks for all your advice guys,

Im using only OMODs for install, or simple mods I drop directly, and manage everything with wyre, like OBMM or BOSS. I dont use Bain. Im lazy.

But from time to time you should update the timestamps on the tex and mesh folders, dont know why,
but ArchiveInvaldationInvalidateMeWhatsoEver! didnt use some nif/ kfs until I updated the timestamps.

Would I have alter timestamps on just the folders or all the files (AARRRGGG!) or have one of you fine techy types made a tool to do this automatically (seems familiar I might have read about such a thing).

The more I flick through this site and TESnexus the more mods I want! I haven't even reinstalled Oblivion yet because I keep finding more cool mods! Some of these mods are simply amazing (and that's just from what I've read!, can't wait to play, its going to be a whole new game!). A BIG thank you to you guys on the forum for helping me and a HUGE thank you to the guys 'n' gals that make all these mods, you lot should be working for software companies! awesome stuff!

You shouldn't have to alter the timestamps on the textures/meshes folder. At least, I've never had to. Just run BSA Redirection either via OBMM, Wrye Bash, UOP or with the standalone Archive Invalidation Invalidated. With OBMM as you are using it: Utilities > Archive invalidation > Chech BSA redirection > Update now. You only have to do it once.

I noticed that you have Deadly Reflex in your load order so you need to make sure that you have OBSE installed corectly and that you use it to launch your game or you will ctd :goodjob:

Ahh I thought I had read about timestamps (part of BSA thingy for archiveinvalidation). So you can launch the game using obse?! sigh. I have deadly reflex and obse on my current install and it 'appears' to work correctly (using obmm to launch game)?

Here's my final (really, really final this time ) list of mods (this is not an LO just a list). Please look at them, Do I have any mods that I don't need (ie covered by OOO or whatever) or any huge conflicts; or anything else a noob should be aware of? (I will all the read the readme's but tbh some things just go over my head!). As always your advice is most welcome.

In order to have both OOO and MMM installed at the same time you need to use FCOM. Since you are new at this I would play the game with OOO first before you take the huge step to FCOM. On OBSE there is file called obse_loader that you have to use to launch your game. If you don't the parts of the plugins that use OBSE will not work properly.

OBMM detects and launches OBSE automatically, but I suggest you make a shortcut to the OBSE launcher (and get into the habit of using it to launch the game, so that you do not have to worry about secondary applications not closing on launch.)

Post Your Load Order - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/troubleshooting/postlo <-- This would give us more information, in addition to the list of mods lacking ESPs

Popular Outdated Mods - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/stabilization/outdatedmods <-- remove or trade up

drop lit torches, <--- make sure this is the OBSE version because, otherwise, OOO already includes this features\

ArchiveInvalidation Invalidated, <-- OBMM already has this feature. Remove it. Set BSA redirection in OBMM (Utilities > Archive invalidation)

This mod list of yours is full of overlap. You will need to be very purposeful with your installation order. I suggest you follow the MMMforOOO installation guide on my site to make sure you have that combination setup properly. A number of those mods have special support (requirements) with Darnified UI. You will also have to take an extra step in setting up Darnified UI with Immersive Interface, but I expect that to be explained somewhere in the Read Me (as it is in Dark UI's Read Me.) I do not recognize your leveling mod either. That may have special menu requirements too. Read all of these mods' Read Mes. You have quite a project on your hands. Do not skimp out on the reading if you want that setup to run.

What are your system specs?


Edit: MMM+OOO does not require FCOM. That is what the MMMforOOO setup is for...

That's not the case. You can run OOO and MMM w/o FCOM.

I haven't installed most of the list yet (I'm going to uninstall, defrag, reinstall then pimp that svcker with the mods) so I can't post a load order yet. This is the main reason for my post really. I would like to know what will be problematic and as I'm fully prepared to drop mods from my list under your advice. They are just mods I liked the sound of. My goal is to create a stable build with mods doing what they are supposed to.

My specs are : Athlon 64 dual core 3800+, 2gb ram, 9800gt 512mb (cheap one though, made by sparkle), realtek onboard sound, Win XP sp3.

Ah tomlong you seem to be a bit of a legend around here! and after looking at your site I see why! I was going to follow your directions for a full reinstall anyhow!

Cheers for the assistance, the more the better for me at the moment! :goodjob:

That mod list is certainly runable. Trade Natural Vegetation for Enhanced Vegetation and IWR for AWLS or AWLS and All Natural (which would require you to drop Natural Weather as well.) I have most of those mods (or some version of them) in my package list, hosted on the site, and there are two MMMforOOO LO's in the Real Load Orders database on the site. (Actually, one, Agiel's, is only linked, but Albetine's is there.) You can check your list and your LO against those sources, as a sanity check. Post your final LO here for a review, if you think you need it.

I've dropped Natural Environments for enhanced vegetation. I have AWLS and All Natural on my list. What is IWR?

You do not have IWR. I guess I mixed up this thread with another one, sorry... I am not sure that that window entrances mod is compatible with AWLS. If it changes meshes at all, then I doubt it. That 9800gt is going to eat dust with huge texture replacers and REAVWD installed. You'll probably want to drop the VWD mod, but you can try it out if you want. Just keep an eye on your VRAM (console command: sdt 13). Stay away from QTP3 while using REAVWD.

As far as I remember from the description on tesnexus window entrances the creator(s) said that they used a collision box mesh as a door. They placed a box on the outside of a building, then one on the inside.
Then linked them to teleport inside/outside. (unfortunately they didn't do Leyawiin, Skingrad or the Imperial City which is a shame because I feel this would be a real immersion boon for thieves/assassins especially when combined with the thieves arsenal mission zero mod (rope arrow!)). The mod only has an esp so I don't know if that would alter textures or would the require replacement textures with the mod. Yeah I think I'll drop the LOD textures for fps sake.

Just deleted and uninstalled Oblivion, tools 'n' mods and now starting defrag 'sigh' lol.

Oh and about the levelling mod its made by 'KseAli'
MOD DESCRIPTION
[spoiler]
This is character leveling mod. It does nothing with creatures, NPC, loot leveling.

This mod may be interesting to those who wants more freedom in selection which attributes to increase. Using this mod you will level up as in default Oblivion leveling system after increasing ten major skills, but in level up screen you will have all modifiers set to 1 and therefore can increase by 1 three attributes of your choice. Few seconds after that you will be presented with series of 7 dialogs which allow you additionally increase by 1 attribute of your choice. Which attributes you can increase doesn’t depend on skills you have trained. This means that with every level up you have 10 attribute points which you can distribute as you wish (you can’t put more than 8 points into one attribute because of in the standard level up screen you forced to select 3 different attribute). Also with this mod you can increase attributes ABOVE 100.

Additional feature (optional) which I implemented in this mod is that you get extra bonus attribute point every time when you have closed oblivion gate (quest or random).
[spoiler]

I wanted this because I HAVE to get max multipliers in oblivion (I don't why!). This gets very boring very quickly so I wanted something that would steer me away from worrying about multipliers. Though any ideas on this front would be handy.