Pretty much as the title suggests, I'm pruning my mods list before installing it and enabling it. Keep in mind I'm completely new to Oblivion, and I have very little experience, only having successfully installed and ran FCOM and it's assorted mods, which are listed in my list below. Anywho, I've already gone through all my soon-to-be installed mods, taken some notes, and removed things I either thought I didn't need, want, or was willing to sacrifice. I'd just like it to be reviewed by more experienced eyes in hopes of further organizing/optimizing/thwarting inevitable incompatibilities, and perhaps suggestions for better mods that might remove some redundancies in my current one. My strategy to this whole ordeal contains 2 parts; firstly, pruning/optimizing the list as I'm doing now, and secondly the trial and error aspect. I may have gone straight for the trial and error part, but seeing as I would undoubtedly have started this thread regardless, I figured I'd do it now to possibly save some time.

I also have a few questions beside just to confirm some "gathered knowledge". I'd like to first confirm how using the bash patch works. I've obviously dealt with it seeing as I've had a successful FCOM installation, but I'm a little shaky on using tags and ticking the check-boxes for things like "Import Graphics" and such when rebuilding it. From what I've read, and from what common sense is whispering to me, you deactivate mods that absolutely do not need to be merged into the bashed patch first such as DR5, then you apply the appropriate tags for each mod that's being rebuilt into the patch, followed by ticking the appropriate boxes for whatever type of items there are, such as QTP3 and Koldorn's Cave Textures. Do I have the basic gist of it?

Lastly, just some useful information. I'm pretty sure I won't be using RAEVWD due to the amount of VRAM it eats up, but who knows... Also, I will be using TES4LODGen, and perhaps PyFFI if I really need it, but I'm rather certain I won't be using TES4Edit to clean the mods. Though it may increase compatibility, from what I've read it also has a chance to completely break the mod, even when using the automated feature, and I'd rather not introduce unnecessary variables into the equation. If it's a mod I absolutely must have, and troubleshooting the load order/installation order doesn't seem to work, then I'll consider it. Now to end this wall of text, let it be known I have the DLC Mods and won't be installing/activating them till very last, and that as I said above, this list is for the installation order and not the load order, I'll be letting BOSS take care of that. Here are my computer's specs:

Athlon X2 II 240 @ 3.5GHZ (Oc'ed)
2 GB DDR3 1333
Radeon 4850 1GB @ 690 mhz core clock and 1120 mhz mem clock (Oc'ed)
On-board sound
7200 RPM 320 GB Sata HDD

Keep in mind this is all completely prime95 stable and nowhere near hitting dangerous temps under load. I may declock the vid card, though. The last bit of info you need to know here is my coloring scheme for the mod list. If it's in red, it's a note about the preceeding mod, if it's in blue, it's either an upgrade or a patch for the preceding mod. I will greatly appreciate any help that may be given.

[b]Operation OptimizationBOSS 1.41OBMM 1.1.12OBSE 0.0.17.4Wrye PythonWrye Bash 275Unofficial Oblivion Patch 3.2Unofficial SI Patch 1.4Unofficial Mods Patch 15[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](No need to enable till installing DLC mods.)[/u][/color][b]Unofficial SI Patch MOBS-FCOM 1.4Francesco's Leveled Creatures Items 4.5Francesco's Optional New Items Creatures 4.5OOO 1.33 CompleteOOO 1.34 B5 PatchMMM 3.73 BSAMMM 3.73b3 FCOM Convergence b9.9UFCOMMart's Monster Mod - More Wilderness Life.espReneers Guard Overhaul 2.05LTD-Vampire Overhaul 1.1a[/b][u]([color="#FF0000"]CONSIDERING Hothead's Vampires 1.0 for the fact it reverses the way drinking blood works and it's effects, but that's only if it can be made compatible with LTD.[/color])[/u][b]Quest Award Leveller 2.1.0Less Annoying Magic Experience [English Version, 1.7]Oblivion XP 4.1.5Arcane Velocity 1.0Midas Magic Spells of Aurum 0992HTFpcb ExtendedOptimised Distant Land MAX 1.1[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Unsure of whether to use, depending on whether or not I use RAEVWD.[/color])[/u][b]Oblivion Stutter Remover 4.1Better Cities Resources 4.3[color="#0000FF"]BC Resources Update 4.32 to 4.42Better Cities 4.4[/color]OBC Resources 3.0[color="#0000FF"]OBC 3.1OBC ESM 3.1 Quickfix[/color][/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Minor issue: When starting a new game, if you have the unofficial patch ESP for Knights of the Nine, disable the ESP before you start the game. As soon as you can save your new game, it'll be okay to enable the KotN unofficial patch ESP again. Also, do not enable city defences, it's already in BC.)[/color][/u][b]Apachii Goddess Store 1.5 (Full, part 1)[color="#0000FF"]Apachii Goddess Store 1.5 (Full, Part 2)[/color]Tamriel NPCS Revamped v 1.0.6Emperor's Face RedoneSlof's Horses Base 2.0HGEC Body 1.21F-INevOblivion skinset for EC and HGEC 1.0[color="#0000FF"]Dremora Ears (Goes with F-INevOblivion)[/color]Roberts Feet for HGEC EC UVed 1.0Improved Facial Textures 2.1[color="#0000FF"]Facial Textures by Enayla 2.5[/color]Luchaires HGEC Body Seam Reducer 1.0Luchaires Neck Seam Concealer 1.2Beautiful People 2ch Edition - Flonnes Eye Resource 1.0aHGEC Underwear Version (An optional addon on the HGEC tesnexus page.)HGEC Underwear 1.0 (A standalone version by a different author.)Tona Clothes and Underwear for HGEC 2.1[color="#0000FF"]Tona Clothes and Underwear 2.0 to 2.1 Patch[/color]HG StockCloth Armor Replace 11norm ver2[color="#0000FF"]Aridale's moving briasts for normal hg11[/color][/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Needs to be used in conjuction with HG StockCloth, otherwise the clothing will move up and down, but the body texture won't.)[/u][/color][b]Corean Hair mod 1.8[color="#0000FF"]Corean Hair EGM Files[/color]Rens Beauty Pack 1.12ch Hair Explosion SetWhite Teeth 1.1Oblivion Stereo Sound Overhaul 0.9Symphony of Violence 0.5New Vampire Feeding Sound 1.0Quiet Feet 1.0Natural Environments 2.1.3Beaming Sunglare  1.01Water Reflection Blur 0.3[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Prevents the water ripples around your character from working.)[/u][/color][b]QTP 3 Redimized and Further Reduced OMOD 1.0Bomret's Texture Pack - Shivering Isles 1.0Improved Fruits Vegetables and Meats 1.1Improved Doors and Flora 1.1Improved Signs 1.2Improved Trees and Flora 1.0[color="#0000FF"]Improved Trees and Flora 2 1.1ITF 2 Update[/color]Book Jackets: Oblivion Standard Res 1.0 (High res version)CrazyChao Better Fog Color 1.0CaptNKILLs NonTiling Texture Mod 1.0[color="#0000FF"]Really Better Tiling Grass 1.1[/color]Koldorns LOD Noise Replacer 1.3Blade9722 4096x4096 LOD replacement 1.0[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](May downgrade depending on how it impacts performance.)[/u][/color][b]Darker Dungeons and Nights Mod Pack 1.0darker nights for shivering isles 1.0Real Lights 0.7.2Immersive Caves 1.4Animated Window Lighting System and Chimneys 5.1.7Real Lava 1.3Koldorns Cave Textures 1.1 [/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Might be redundant, needa check to see if any of my other mods have better looking cave textures.)[/color][/u][b]Frostcrag Reborn 3.0.6 [/b]([color="#FF0000"][u]UOP for Frostcrag must be disabled!)[/u][/color][b]Let the People Drink 2.5 2nd to 1st Person 1.5Keychain 5.0[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Ignore slowdown warning with Darn UI, not meant for this version.)[/u][/color][b]Real Days and Months 1.0DarkUID Darn 1.6[color="#0000FF"]DarkUI DarN Recolored - Black and Blood Red 1.0[/color]Elven Map Redux 2.0Elven Map For Shivering Isles 1.0TigerLilly Loading Screens 2.0DesuChans Indigo Armor Recoloured 2.0DesuChans Stealth Gear 1.0DesuChans Macabre Dancer 1.0New Hentai Compilation FINAL[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Clipping in some poses.)[/u][/color][b]Tona Compilation 1.0Bravil Sea Domes 1.1Alive Waters 0.6[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](This MUST be extracted AFTER Bravil Sea Domes.)[/u][/color][b]Cyrodiil Transportation Network 1.31[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](This may not work with OBC/BC, unsure, due to the edit on ship spaces.)[/u][/color][b]Rise of a Samurai 1.0SNG Clocks of Cyrodiil Retextures 1.0Drow Race v3.1 Complete XP2 Omod Install FINALRace Balancing Project 10.5 - Installation Files Complete[color="#0000FF"]Race Balancing Project 10.5 [EV - English Version][/color]Companion Share and Recruit 3.26Sensual Walks Animations v2-4[color="#0000FF"]Sensual Walks for Female NPCS v4[/color][/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Occasional mod conflict that prevents Oblivion loading your game. Usually caused by mod variations or load order issues, just reorder/troubleshoot till fixed.)[/u][/color][b]sixywalks by Mur_Zik FINALSlof's Manly Stride 1.0Personality Idles4[color="#0000FF"]p4finalfixes2_ns[/color][/b][b]Pose Thumbnail Poses 1.1Talk with your hands 1 (Personality Idles4 Compatibile version)[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Needs to be loaded after personality idles.)[/color][/u][b]1-2HandIdle Repackaged 1.1Immersive Wait 0.9B[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Powers/spells don't properly cool down while using this.)[/u][/color][b]Hotkey Casting updated 3.5Helm Toggle 1.0Qarl and Timeslips Depth of Field omod 1.0[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](There seem to be problems using this when also using both HDR and AA with an ATi x1000 series or nvidia 8000 series graphics card. If the entire screen blurs, you will have to disable either AA or HDR, or deactivate this mod. If you get a solid coloured screen with this mod enabled, try the sm2 version of the shader.)[/color][/u][b]OBGE Subtle Motion Blur 1.6[/b][color="#FF0000"][u](Might not use this, depending on how it looks in game/compatibility with Qarl and Timeslip's DoF.)[/u][/color][b]See You Sleep 1.5.1[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Minor issues that aren't game breaking, but may break immersion, such as NPCS sleeping in the same spot as you, PC sleeping on sides of the bed that are normally disabled, etc.)[/color][/u][b]Enhanced Economy 3.3.4[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Don't save while in a barter menu.)[/color][/u][b]Akatosh Mount By Saiden Storm R19[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Each file requires individual placement to ensure being properly installed.)[/color][/u][b]Deadly Reflex Combat Moves 5[/b][u][color="#FF0000"](Pose/idle animations may cause problems with combat animations. If you run into a situation where your mouse and/or keyboard appear to be stuck, hit Esc to enter the menu, and then hit esc again to return. Also, the load order should go: "All other ESM's">Horse Combat Master.esm>"All other ESP's">(Not using timed block)>DR5 - Combat Moves.esp.)[/color][/u][b]Unique Landscapes Compilation OMOD 1.5.2[/b][b][color="#0000FF"]UL Total Patch Compilation OMOD 3.36[/color][/b][b]The Lost Province of Zedar  1.0[color="#0000FF"]The Lost Province of Zedar- 1.0 to 1.1 update[/color][/b][u][color="#FF0000"](The ZEDAR.ESM must be loaded immediately after the Oblivion.esm.This is especially important when other ESM's are loaded besides GTAesgaard_HB.esm.The ZEDAR.ESP should be loaded as close to last as possible for testing.)[/color][/u][b]Enhanced Water 2.0Oblivion Sound Sets 2.6DLC Addons

[/b]

(I managed to find an HGEC stock clothing/armor replacer finally, but still no luck with the male armors. I have more things to make the females look pretty than I probably need, but couldn't find anything that wasn't a rehash of in game armor, looked to be enough above average, and was for males.)

As to your bashed patch question: Run BOSS before building your patch. It will apply tags automatically. Then, choose options from the 'rebuild bashed patch' menus. You don't have to activate/deactivate mods in your modlist first. Everything, active or not at the moment, will appear in the bashed patch lists.

gothemasticator

Ahh... Didn't realize BOSS did that as well. So then I'll only need to check tags of the mods which are unrecognized by BOSS then, in theory. Good news! ;D

Be sure to have the latest version of the BOSS masterlist. It updates daily, http://code.google.com/p/better-oblivion-sorting-software/source/browse/masterlist.txt.

Yeap, I have it favorited already, shoulda mentioned that.

As you got into BOSS here, just dropping a quickie... Is it impossible to get BOSS to be extracted to my oblivion data folder when using windows vista.

Because I was pretty sure it was working, and now i'm gettin messages saying it wasn't extracted to the right location.

@Crowwgrim
Did you install Oblivion to the program files folder? If so, you shouldn't have. From what little I've read, most places seem to suggest putting it in the MyDocuments folder for Vista, which is what I did seeing as I use Vista, and it worked fine for me.

Ah jeez, seriously that's troublesome news... well I've screwd the game up already so I guess I'll just reinstall and start from scratch.

Thanks for the info though.

Yes; if you install Oblivion anywhere in program files you must run all of the applications "As Administrator", and then it gets confusing as some stuff winds up being saved under documents and some under Program Files. I personally have almost all of my games installed to a separate folder "C:\Users\\Game Installations", as you don't get administrative crap that way

CC

Gotta love vista, It says I can't delete the oblivion folder because it is open in another program... hey guess what there are no programs open.

I'm not asking for miracles here.

Bump.

What do you still need to know?

BTW, could you edit your codebox text in the first post so that it doesn't break the forum width?

gothemasticator

If you're wanting to prune your list, consider merging the one-armor-stuck-in-a-chest addition mods you've got. Merging those shouldn't be too difficult, and if you don't like the results, you're not out anything, since you can always remove the merge and return to the originals. TES4Gecko would be the tool to use.

I was wanting someone to review my list to see if there was anything I missed(which I probably did). I did edit it because of forum width, guess it's a moniter size issue. ;( I'll go back and shorten the width more.

...so you're saying you don't want recommendations for merging mods, so as to prune the active number you've got? Then I'd say what others have, that BOSS can help get rid of old versions of things, and is very useful.

Never said I didn't want recommendations for merging mods, but as I stated in the OP, I also wanted peoples input on things that would be blaringly incompatible, things that were redundant due to other mods doing the same sort of thing, etc. I'm thankful for the input, but no one has really touched upon the main question I had in mind, and that was what mods wouldn't be compatible no matter what. Maybe I shoulda made that more apparent, so I guess that's my fault.

I suspect you are going to run into a number of problems with all the race/body/clothing/hair/feet/faces/beauty mods. Those things can get tricky, and you've got a whole mess of 'em.

You might look into using All Natural instead of Natural Environments and Real Lights.

The OBGE shaders can cause quite a slowdown. I've been playing around with the shaders, but I don't run any of them while playing the game.

Open Better Cities can cause quite a performance slowdown by itself, and you're also looking at running FCOM. I have to forgo Better Cities, choosing instead FCOM, and I have quite a decent rig.

Slof's Horses is, I believe, integrated into the latest version of MMM.

Make sure you get compatibility patches for the UL mods and for Let the People Drink.

gothemasticator

Yeah. ;( I'm kinda counting on the bash patch to be my ace card here.

I'll definitely look at it and see what it's about.

I might not go with subtle motion blur, but I'd prefer to keep the DoF to make the far away land look a bit better.

Well I've read a few posts about the forums, some people with similar rigs to my own, and they could run two of either FCOM, Better Cities, or RAEVWD, and I'm kinda hoping since I have an overly kick ass OC it'll run smoothly under the 30 FPS cap I plan on setting.

Going to look into this. The horses still seemed to look glossy when I was using MMM in my FCOM setup.

I think I might have DL'ed it, let me check to see whatsup.

The far away land looks actually the best when hidden by Streamline fog. For anything up to uGridDistance of 15 or whatever you decide your rig can bear, I would recommend a few of the RAEVWD submodules.

MMM Manual - "Slof Horse Complete: Do not use with Slof Horses.esp or Extra.esp has these plugins features have been intergrated into MMM version which bring compatiblity between to and adds fixes many compatiblity problem that existed between the two. Faction, inventory items, and much more. See Creature Section for more details on Slof Horse in MMM."
So that answers that question. I'm assuming I'll still need to install the textures/meshes.

UL Total Patch Compilation OMOD - Update Log
"- Updated script support for New Roads and Bridges Revised - Let the People Drink - Imperial Isle Patch"
"- Added script support for Open Cities Outer Districts + New Roads & Bridges + Let the People Drink - Imperial Isle Patch"
And hopefully this answers the other question. I'll scroll through some comments later to further check.

@Tommy_H
Also, I was actually considering the fog thing, but wasn't sure. I'll take your word for it.

You need not. http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1046403&view=findpost&p=15634959 . Starting from there going forward, we put up a few screenies. Give the fog a try, or consider the way Arthmoor does it (it's in there).

Beautiful. I also checked out AN for myself, and it seems you were right gothemasticator, it does combine NE, so I'll be going with that instead.

Don't know if you came to post #116, otherwise here it is:
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1046403&view=findpost&p=15641834
There you can see the differences very clearly.

Ah, and if you like the landscape textures, these are Bomrets improved vanilla textures plus Vibrant textures from Corepc installed on top of them. Gives you nice graphics without performance hit, unlike QTP3.

I believe I'll be going with Arthmoor's method over Streamline. I like the idea of fog in the mountains, but I can't see installing Streamline and disabling all the features just for that. I might consider it later when I don't have a mountain of mods I need to get working. Lots o' good info in those posts though, thanks. ;D I believe it's time to move unto the trial and error now, so I need to go grab some food to munch on and a drink, cuz it's going to be a long night! >.> I'll post back here when I'm truly stuck on something and could use experienced help.

Let me just say: You're pretty ambitious for a newbie.

I run FCOM, OBC, QTP3R (all the stuff), and OBC... I would recommend going up to 3GB RAM if you're going to use them all. With 2 GB, you will probably experience lower FPS around the cities (to the tune of about 10-15). I'm using 3GB, along with an Radeon 9500 (512 MB) video card, and I can get decent FPS (mid-teens to 20s) in most of the exterior worldspaces, even 30+ sometimes (interiors are way higher, for obvious reasons). For me, as long as the game isn't stuttering, I'm fine with it. OSR helps a bit with smoothing things out, especially during combats.

About the only male replacer you'll find is Robert's male - HGEC is female only.

AFAICT, nothing you have touches cave textures besides Koldorn's (and his is the best one for that anyway). I'd also recommend his sewer textures.