Getting my game in order : IV

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:37 am

Ive been playing around with my new PC and copy of Oblivion and have finally figured out what combination of mods will give me the most enjoyment and satisfying play through, BUT im having some issues and keep bopping back here to post rather simple questions to just about every bug, so here's my attempt to get all my questions and concerns into one thread.

My Load Order

Spoiler

Active Mod Files:00  Oblivion.esm01  You Are Here.esm02  All Natural Base.esm  [Version 1.2.1]03  Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items Mod.esm  [Version 4.5bSI]04  Francesco's Optional New Items Add-On.esm  [Version 4.5bSI]05  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm  [Version 1.34]06  Mart's Monster Mod.esm  [Version 3.7b3p3]07  FCOM_Convergence.esm  [Version 0.9.9MB3]08  Armamentarium.esm  [Version 1.35]09  Kvatch Rebuilt.esm0A  Better Cities Resources.esm  [Version 4.9.0]0B  CLS-Craftybits.esm0C  CM Partners.esm0D  Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp  [Version 3.2.0]0E  DLCShiveringIsles.esp0F  Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp  [Version 1.4.0]10  Better Cities .esp11  Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Bosses.esp12  Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Enemies.esp13  Francesco's Optional Leveled Guards.esp++  FCOM_Francescos.esp  [Version 0.9.9]++  FCOM_FrancescosItemsAddOn.esp  [Version 0.9.9]14  FCOM_FrancescosNamedBosses.esp  [Version 0.9.9]15  All Natural.esp  [Version 1.2]16  All Natural - SI.esp  [Version 1.2.1]17  Immersive Interiors.esp  [Version 0.7]18  Immersive Interiors - Lights Addon.esp  [Version 0.7]19  WindowLightingSystem.esp1A  AmbientDungeons.esp  [Version 1.3]1B  Reznod_Mannequin.esp1C  Living Economy.esp1D  Living Economy - Items.esp1E  Cutthroat Merchants.esp1F  Immersive Travelers.esp20  Oblivion Graphics Extender Support.esp  [Version 0.3]21  ACCCGR SI.esp22  Drake Knight Armor and Weapons v1.0.esp23  SSA.esp  [Version 2.0]24  Bob's Armory Oblivion.esp25  Cheat Bob's Armory Oblivion.esp26  FCOM_BobsArmory.esp  [Version 0.9.9]27  Oblivion WarCry EV.esp  [Version 1.08a]28  FCOM_WarCryNoSpawn.esp  [Version 0.9.9]29  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp  [Version 1.34]++  OOO-Water_Weeds.esp  [Version 1.32.Final]++  ArmamentariumLLArmaVendor.esp  [Version 1.35]2A  Mart's Monster Mod - Additional Enemy NPC Vars.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]2B  FCOM_Convergence.esp  [Version 0.9.9Mb3]2C  FCOM_RealSwords.esp  [Version 0.9.9]2D  Mart's Monster Mod - More Wilderness Life.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - More Passive Wildlife.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]2E  Mart's Monster Mod - Extra Wounding.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Looting NPCs & Creatures.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]2F  Mart's Monster Mod - Zombies for Body Meshes.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]30  Mart's Monster Mod - Dungeons of MMM.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]31  Mart's Monster Mod - Gems & Gem Dust.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]32  Mart's Monster Mod - Hunting & Crafting.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]33  Mart's Monster Mod - Farm Animals.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]34  Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse WaterLife.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3f]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Slof Horses Complete.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Runeskulls Loot G&GD.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  Mart's Monster Mod - Shivering Isles.esp  [Version 3.7b3p3]++  ArmamentariumLL4OOO.esp  [Version 2.01]++  ArmamentariumLLMagicOOO.esp  [Version 1.35]35  OOO-WaterFish.esp  [Version 1.34]36  Imperial Furniture Renovated.esp37  GoldenCrest.esp38  JSRandomTasks.esp  [Version 1.1a]39  Kvatch Rebuilt.esp++  Kvatch Rebuilt - OOO Compatibility.esp3A  Scribe Supplies.esp3B  VaultsofCyrodiilBC.esp3C  Knights.esp3D  The Lost Spires.esp3E  SoT_TheOrderofNibenay.esp3F  HoarfrostCastle.esp++  FCOM_Knights.esp  [Version 0.9.9Mb3]40  xuldarkforest.esp  [Version 1.0.5]41  xulStendarrValley.esp  [Version 1.2.2]42  xulTheHeath.esp43  XulEntiusGorge.esp44  xulFallenleafEverglade.esp  [Version 1.3.1]45  xulColovianHighlands_EV.esp  [Version 1.2.1]46  xulChorrolHinterland.esp  [Version 1.2.2]47  xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp  [Version 1.6.4]48  xulBravilBarrowfields.esp  [Version 1.3.2]49  xulLushWoodlands.esp  [Version 1.3.1]4A  xulAncientYews.esp  [Version 1.4.3]4B  xulAncientRedwoods.esp  [Version 1.6]4C  xulCloudtopMountains.esp  [Version 1.0.3]4D  xulArriusCreek.esp  [Version 1.1.3]4E  xulPatch_AY_AC.esp  [Version 1.1]4F  xulRollingHills_EV.esp  [Version 1.3.3]50  xulPantherRiver.esp51  xulRiverEthe.esp  [Version 1.0.2]52  xulBrenaRiverRavine.esp  [Version 1.1]53  xulImperialIsle.esp  [Version 1.6.6]54  xulBlackwoodForest.esp  [Version 1.1.0]55  xulCheydinhalFalls.esp  [Version 1.0.1]56  xulAspenWood.esp  [Version 1.0.2]57  xulSkingradOutskirts.esp  [Version 1.0.1]58  xulSnowdale.esp  [Version 1.0.2]59  xulCliffsOfAnvil.esp5A  DecoratorAssistant with OBSE v1.1.esp5B  CLS-Craftybits.esp  [Version 6]5C  Alternative Start by Robert Evrae.esp5D  RealHungerv1.4.esp5E  RealisticHealth.esp5F  RealSleepExtended.esp  [Version 2.5]60  Wizard's Vengeance Spells.esp61  MidasSpells.esp62  actors_in_charge.esp63  CM Partners.esp64  CM Partners Special NPCs.esp65  CM Partners NPC.esp66  CM Partners More NPCs.esp67  CM Partners Marker NPCs.esp68  CM Partners Extra NPCs.esp69  bgMagicEV.esp  [Version 1.7EV]++  bgMagicEVStartspells.esp  [Version 1.68EV]6A  bgMagicBonus.esp  [Version 1.7EV]6B  bgMagicEVPaperChase.esp  [Version 1.68EV]6C  bgMagicAlchemy.esp  [Version 1.57]6D  Better Cities Full.esp  [Version 4.9.0]6E  Better Cities - VWD of the IC.esp  [Version 4.7.0]6F  Better Imperial City.esp  [Version 4.9.0]70  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Barrowfields.esp  [Version 4.7.0]71  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Chorrol Hinterland.esp  [Version 4.8.4]72  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Cheydinhal Falls.esp  [Version 4.8.1]73  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Skingrad Outskirts.esp  [Version 4.8.1]74  Better Cities - The Lost Spires.esp  [Version 4.9.0]75  Better Cities - Unique Landscape Imperial Isle.esp  [Version 4.8.1]**  bgMagicEVShader.esp  [Version 1.7EV]76  bgMagicLightningbolt.esp**  FCOM_Archery.esp  [Version 0.9.9]**  All Natural - Indoor Weather Filter For Mods.esp  [Version 1.2]77  Bashed Patch, 0.esp

This is just to show you what Ive got running at the moment, any suggestions on what i need to patch/update,reinstall or remove.

Bugs

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58887748@N08/5622638426/in/photostream#/photos/58887748@N08/5622638426/in/photostream/lightbox/- Not sure whats causing this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58887748@N08/5622050061/in/photostream/#/photos/58887748@N08/5622050061/in/photostream/lightbox/- Not sure if this sky texture is normal even when running Weather All Natural, and if that streaking is caused by Godrays

Also in Better Cities- IC Trade District there was a floating skeleton holding a bottle of wine, wondering whats thats all about

Wrye Bash/Bashed Patch

Im having some issues where even after deselecting the renaming options and sorting options found in Wrye Bash im finding weird potion names, lock-picks are named .Lockpick, etc. Just wondering whats causing that

Recommended Mods

-My NPC's are turning up rather ugly, is it better to use Natural Faces or Cobl Races? Right now im liking Natural Faces for its simplicity but I may get better results with Cobl
- Should i use Darker Night and Darker Dungeons if im using Weather All Natural and Ambient Dungeons

After viewing my load order are there any mods that will make my game more beautiful that I' m missing? IIl post the list here so that you dont have to go back and check OBGE, Ambient Dungeons, Better Cities, Weather All Natural, Quarl's Texture Pack, OBGE Shaders, Unique Landscapes, MMM. Im guess thats all but i wouldnt mind some more beauty

Lastly, even if i spend hours focusing on cleaning up my game and trying to get it to work 110% will i still encounter the occasional CTD and bug?

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:16 am

-The water bug looks like two mods are mismatching the cell water heights. We'll need Cell coordinates to pinpoint the problem there.

-The sky bug looks like a Godrays problem. Make sure you have the latest version. If you do, report that in the OBGE thread.

Also in Better Cities- IC Trade District there was a floating skeleton holding a bottle of wine, wondering whats thats all about

*waits for Vorians to explode*

Go and update BBC. It's on version 4.9.7 now.

Bashed Patch:

-Deselect everything in the "Tweak Names" option.

Recommended Mods:

-Natural Faces and COBL Races do not change the same things. COBL Races adds cosmetic resources and new races to the game. Natural Faces replaces the facial textures. COBL Races will not help you with the NPC facial textures at all.

-Please read some readmes, as you seem to be neglecting to do so here. Do not anger the ninja. :toughninja:

And yes, you will still CTD occasionally even with a stable load order. Combat seems to be a rather susceptible part of the game for me, because although my current LO is rock-solid, I do occasionally (but rarely) CTD when in combat.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:50 pm

Hi,
I never see anyone mention Improved Facial Textures (IFT)? Been in my load order from the begining. 2006?..works well !

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=1507

IF looking for mods to improve the Look of just about Everything in the game of Oblivion I recomend starting here>>>http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/obliviontextureoverhaul.html

Edit:...Ohh and isn't that skeleton an MMM thing?
Also..just found out that this....++ Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Runeskulls Loot G&GD.esp [Version 3.7b3p3] does NOT belong in an FCOM install...Replace with ....Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Runeskulls Loot OOO.esp That is From CorePC himself! Not sure what the differance is but i just changed this myself.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:23 am

Hi,
I never see anyone mention Improved Facial Textures (IFT)? Been in my load order from the begining. 2006?..works well !

But only if you want to play a female or have your guys look like Boy George! :wink:

IMO the best all around would be Natural Faces.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:58 pm

Hi,
I never see anyone mention Improved Facial Textures (IFT)? Been in my load order from the begining. 2006?..works well !

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=1507

IF looking for mods to improve the Look of just about Everything in the game of Oblivion I recomend starting here>>>http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/obliviontextureoverhaul.html

Edit:...Ohh and isn't that skeleton an MMM thing?
Also..just found out that this....++ Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Runeskulls Loot G&GD.esp [Version 3.7b3p3] does NOT belong in an FCOM install...Replace with ....Mart's Monster Mod - Diverse Runeskulls Loot OOO.esp That is From CorePC himself! Not sure what the differance is but i just changed this myself.

The skeleton is from Warcry. Vorians provided a blank replacer mesh in the BBC archive to get rid of it, as well, which means that either Hunter did not install BBC correctly or it is the fault of his version being way out of date.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:40 am

But only if you want to play a female or have your guys look like Boy George! :wink:

IMO the best all around would be Natural Faces.

Intresting i was under the impression this mod..IFT dealt with the Age maps and the normal maps?...from the readme...

THis version adds much improved eyebrows. There are updated age textures, and new normal maps. There is a new compression meathod which will allow you to use the mod with increased preformance and no quality loss.

What i see in my game is better age variances , increased lines (wrinkles) and better "old looking people" Does this come from some other MOD? Like Cobl Races?

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:53 pm

My Load Order
...

02 All Natural Base.esm [Version 1.2.1]

Update to version 1.3

0D Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp [Version 3.2.0]

Update to version 3.3.5 . http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27710

0F Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp [Version 1.4.0]
3C Knights.esp

Update these in the same place as above. Knights has an unofficial patch as well.

1C Living Economy.esp
1D Living Economy - Items.esp

Update to http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25078

Recommended Mods

-My NPC's are turning up rather ugly, is it better to use Natural Faces or Cobl Races? Right now im liking Natural Faces for its simplicity but I may get better results with Cobl

Both (perhaps)
COBL races adds a few races, plus eyes and hairs to NPCs, things like that. It doesn't change the facial textures.
Use mods like Natural faces and IFT (mentioned by others above), both do some different things to faces. There are a few others as well. I have never found what I consider to be the perfect mix though.

- Should i use Darker Night and Darker Dungeons if im using Weather All Natural and Ambient Dungeons

I wouldn't bother with Darker Nights; just adjust the All Natural.ini to do the same job.
And for the dungeons I would recommend http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35099 instead.

Lastly, even if i spend hours focusing on cleaning up my game and trying to get it to work 110% will i still encounter the occasional CTD and bug?

Yes. But it should be significantly reduced.

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:59 pm

Thanks for all the help I appreciate the polite and helpful responses despite most of my troubles coming from my own stupitidy. What's the recommended way to go about updating? Should I just abandon my old save game and reinstall the whole game or is following each mods upgrade procedure the way to go?

» Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:43 pm

If you are still using OBMM, start using BAIN as soon as possible. Updating and installing mods using BAIN is faster, and you do not have to worry about meshes and textures being overwritten and lost with BAIN. Use the first and last links in my signature for a better understanding of BAIN and Wrye Bash in general.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:29 am

I second the Wrye Bash BAIN suggestion, that makes it far simpler to change things around without total restarts.

In most cases it is pretty easy to just replace the old version with the new of each mod, following the limited instructions of each. You may or mat not have to remove the old mod first (if the old one has files that you no longer need then you will.) And you may or may not have to do a "clean install" which means removing the old mod, loading up and saving your game ("clean" of any version of the mod in question), then installing the new one.
Once again BAIN makes this trivially easy.

In most cases you won't have to reinstall the whole game, and in many you won't even have to abandon you current save game either.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:20 am

Ive been installing all my mods using OBMM, and have downloaded most of my mods in OMOD format, will BAIN recognize that format and how do i go about switching from OBMM to BAIN

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 3:39 am

You can use OBMM to turn an OMOD back into an Archive.
The Wrye Bash readme covers installing mods with BAIN, and TESIV:Positive has examples of how to make mods BAIN ready, and links to some of them that have already been converted to BAIN.
BAIN uses simple Archives, where all of the resouces are in a single folder-
Meshes
Textures
esp file
LOD
readme.txt
BAIN also uses complex Archives, for example- LAME is already set up for BAIN- Cobl is also BAIN ready.
BAIN can also install OBSE plugins- at least with version 291 of Wrye Bash.
At3rn1ties Pictoral Guides are a good reference source. Use the links in my signature. This Forum has a lot of information about using BAIN. Many mods like AWLS are even using Wizard scripts to make activation simple.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 2:52 am

But only if you want to play a female or have your guys look like Boy George! :wink:

IMO the best all around would be Natural Faces.

Beg to differ. IFT has better ageing maps than NF IMO so NPCs actually look less like Boy George when using it. IFT plus f-inev are my favourites.

» Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:41 am

+1 for IFT. It's not very popular but it looks perfectly fine to me. Certainly better than vanilla.