» Sat May 28, 2011 2:48 am Hope that a heavily modded oblivion can be crash free for an hour or two (that's all we need really).
So, like most of you, I like quite a few mods, I absolutely need QTP3, a VWD + LODGEN mod is a unrealistic dream, and most of the gameplay mods for magic and combat are a must.
Most of the time, I keep filling up my load list, TESEDIT'ing my files, and optimizing the meshes. But the simple fact is, nomatter how perfectly you do this, eventually a mod will slip through that will just stump you.
So what is the solution? There is no definite solution, but you really need to do a few simple things
+ Understand which mods you absolutely need, and which mods you will likely never use. Don't ever install the mods you won't use simply because it's nice having oblivion 2.0. This will only lead to pain.
+ Weapon/Armor mods absolutely guarantee game crashes, even if you TESEDIT them, they are a sure reason for a crash. Install the ones that best fit into FCOM or that item interchange/fcom like (major ones), and don't install the stand alone ones. EVER. Optimizing meshes rarely helps.
+ Gameplay code conflicts seem less crash inducing than weapon conflicts, if you install "mighty magic reborn" UV, stealth overhaul, etc etc. Thea ovverides of one script can cause stutter on a non-OSR install, but they will cause crashes less. Stutter is always better than crashes.
+ Landscape changes, such as UL COMP, are extremely sensitive. Most additional landscape changes don't have UL compatibility, and installing comp patching for all the correct "castles, caves, etc" can take days, weeks. Install either UL, or "castles, additions" not both.
+ You can install island additions in combination with UL, most of the time it's minor at best. (such as castles that are on islands etc)
+ Major quest mods are surprisingly conflicty (invented word), ones such as hentai mania provide repackaged meshes found in other mods, and contain quests, items, etc etc. If you install too many major quest/weapon mods. You will end up staring at a fresh install.
+ Remember to run Boss, from the bash menu, before creating a bashed patch, every time. And read the list carefully, make sure you follow every little detail.
+ Item Interchange is great, but also can cause crashes, I can't live without it, but be warned. Don't install lots of stand alone weapon addons and Item Interchange. Crash land.
+ Remember to patch your oblivion.exe with the memory optimizing guide on this page, and follow the steps to getting more memory in oblivion
+ Always check you BOSS.bat readout, and make sure you have the requirements. Sometimes if there is a OOO version of something, you only need that esp active. Sometimes, you need both the OOO version and the original ESP active. Make sure you get this right.
+ Always back up your meshes folder as a .rar before optimizing meshes. Always.
+ Always. ALWAYS. Use oblivion stutter remover. ALWAYS. And keep that framerate capped at 30.
+ Use tweakoblivion, but don't increase the threads, threads usage, full tree lod, external memory stuff. Keep it all vanilla. Remember, the more memory oblivion uses, the more chance of a crash. We upped the memory before because OSR did not exist. Now it does. Don't up anything.
+ Don't overload the bash patch. 8mb is a safe limit, don't think just because bashing is a great system that it will avoid all conflicts. If anything, it will create lots more. But it does make everything work together better. Keep that baby small. Always run boss from wyne bash beforehand and check for errors etc. All the additional "green" fcom, etc etc patches that you can merge, keep them limited, delete all the ones you don't directly need. These just bloat oblivions limited ability to read mods.
+ Remember to always enable ghosting in wyne bash.
+ Remember to totally and completely dedicate yourself to finding the most up to date versions of things (FCOM updates, OOO 1.34, MMM 3.7b, these cannot be overlooked) even entropic order, etc etc.
+ Avoid mods that add a [censored]load of meshes to the existing world. If they are in a new world space, or a continued world space, ok. Dragon caption stuff is risky. Very risky.
Install everything you can with wyne bash installer, because when it uninstalls a mod, it replaces them with the files that are now missing.
+ The order you install things is important, it should be something like this, Oblivion, shivering isles, addons, QTP3, OOO, MMM, Bobs, Warcry, then OOO optimized meshes, QTP3 meshes, and finally, the Unofficial oblivion patches, so they dont get overwritten at the start.
Just remember, it's all worth it in the end. Because you get the absolute best rpg ever. Oblivion 1.5
