Hello.

What file extension for mods gives the most stability and easiness of use? Using only .exes? Or .omods and managing them with OBMM? I thought of downloading .exe global mods (OOO is what I am thinking of using) and .omod for the rest of the mods.

Thanks in advance.

I definately try to avoid any .exe installers if possible, for various reasons:

1. I know how an omod (or omod/bain ready archive) works, while an .exe file can be anything. For example, people have reported that by using some .exe installers to temporary folders changed the Oblivion installation path in the registry.

2. Omods are easy to fix if something's not right, while .exe files are locked. For OOO, the .exe installer is know to have problems under certain OS versions.

3. Using OBMM or BAIN to manage all your installs give you one place to have an overview of all your mods.

Thank you very much for the quick and excellent answer.

Cheers

I'd prefer a plain archive, e.g. .zip, .7z, or .rar. Since I don't use OBMM (I use BAIN), I can't use mods that are distributed only in omod format. Archives can be made in "omod-ready" format, containing an "omod conversion data" folder that OBMM can use to make an omod from it.

I'd say the ideal format for releasing a mod is a .zip or .7z that has the plugin file(s) in the archive's root directory, and that contains an "omod conversion data" folder. That format works well with OBMM, with BAIN, and with manual installation.

I haven't looked at BAIN in some time, but last time I looked it lacked the OBMM feature of install scripts. My mods use OBMM install scripts extensively to check requirements and advise and prompt the user for configurable settings. This makes installation more painless for end users, and avoids embedding configuration scripting in the mod itself (as is done with many older mods like AFLeveling). BAIN also seems more complicated to use than OBMM, but it does have nice bashed-patch mod merging support.

Because OBMM makes my mods so much easier to install, I generally advise people to use OBMM. I figure BAIN users are probably mod-savy enough to figure out the manual edits to my config files themselves, without the benefit of my install scripts to guide them.

However, if BAIN has grown some sort of install script support (and since it's all in Python it should be damn easy for it to support Python install scripts), then I'd be keen to add BAIN install scripts to my mods.

i too prefer a plain archive (.rar, .zip, .7z). I don't use OBMM or BAIN or anything like that.

BAIN doesn't have scripting support, and that's OK as far as I'm concerned since very few mods really need it, and I don't mind (actually prefer) editing config files myself.

BAIN "support" in a mod means archiving it with a directory structure that BAIN understands. Most mods fit BAIN's definition of a "simple" archive, with all the content (.esp/.esm, Textures and Meshes dirs, etc.) sitting in the root of the archive or a single subdirectory. Some mods come with unnecessary levels of directories inside the .zip (e.g. "Program Files\Oblivion\Data") and those can't be used with BAIN unless the user manually repacks them.

http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3409 is a good example of what I'd call a well-made mod archive. Everything's in the root so BAIN users can install it easily, it has omod conversion data for OBMM users, and it's straightforward and understandable to people who use neither tool and want to install manually.

BAIN also recognizes what it calls a "complex" archive format, with subdirectories for groups of files that can optionally be installed or not, independently of each other. Most mods don't need that; Cobl is a good example of one that does.

I agree. All my mods are .rar, with an omod conversion data folder, and either everything in the root directory, or in separate, optional folders suited for BAIN.

That's how all mods should be packed, IMHO.

I agree, except for the .rar part. .7z is the way to go IMO, as it makes for much smaller packages. Doesn't matter much for a single mod, of course, but in the long run you'll save a lot of hard drive space. My BAIN folder is almost 8 GB. The major archivers support .7z so I don't see a downside either.

exe's were in vogue in the Morrowind modding scene and I always disliked it, for the reasons stated above. Guess it's meant to make things easier, but I always end up "installing" them into a separate folder (if at all possible) so I could check out what the mod contained, so in practice it just takes more work and time IMO.

This.

A 7-zipped archive, with OMOD conversion data and in a format that works with BAIN nicely, is the way to go IMHO. 7-zip's compression ratio is noticeably better than .rar or .zip, and the archive manager for it covers pretty much every compressed archive format there is, so it's really the only program you need for that sort of thing, and the difference over a large number of mods compared o the other formats is pretty big.

Plus, 7-zip is free software, whereas WinRAR is shareware that gives you limited functionality unless you pay for it. Can't beat better and free.

What about the unnoficial patches (Oblivion's, Shivering Isles' and Official Mods')? Should they be installed as .exes or .omods?

I recommend try to install all of your mods with the same method, especially if you are new to using mods and the related utilities. The unofficial "official" patches are already OMOD ready, or available in OMOD-ready format. Create an OMOD, importing the archives, and you should be good to go. If you mean the DLCs themselves. I recommend installing them as executables and importing each one's BSA and plugin into a separate OMOD file. Afterward, uninstall the executable, and install the OMOD version in their stead. This way OBMM is taking care of all of you mod installation. It is easier to manage your data folder that way.

I was meaning the unnoficial bugfix patches. Either way, thank you for the help.

Cheers

BAIN is definitley the way to go, especially when using mods that add stuff like OOO and then ones that change those added items like EVE/eyecandy armours. BAIN will tell you what 'conflicts' with each other and what file 'wins' so when you uninstall something, the next underwritten file is re-added. In OBMM it just doesn't uninstall it if another mod uses it.

However, I'll always use OBMM for certain mods, i.e. shaders and especially those special OBSE/ini file using mods like Realistic levelling, enhanced economy, map marker overhaul etc. Not to mention obmm's BSA browser and maker too