Striker879

Yup ... GotY disk needs to be in the drive to play. Unless it's one of the really old original GotY disks it will install patched up to version 1.2.0416 (which is the latest) after you install the second disk with Shivering Isles on it. Good thing there's not any real multiplayer for Oblivion ... no fear of hearing how she's whooping *ss and takin' names at your expense. Which State? I can get there quicker than Ike (hope it's a nice warm state ... we have provinces up here and not a single one is warm right now).

LOL ... just about choked on my KD for supper Ike. Where are we havin' this party? My place, your place or are we meeting up at Spyder's? Better put on your big flippers if it's my place, and you might want your really heavy duty wetsuit ... that last 1000 km is bound to be a bit chilly (and all uphill too boot). I think those Steam moving instructions will get all your Steam games out from under UAC's grasp Spyder. I'm a non-Steamer like Ike but I've read them over and they seemed like a fairly straight forward deal. If you run into anything I'll see what we can figure out. BTW ... for this party, should I bring anything besides my PJs (warning I was born in these PJs, and I'm always wearing them no matter what's on the outside). LOL

The full meal deal, now I don't feel I've cheated method is waaaay more difficult, but possible. NPCs yield refined to get them in a "more cooperative mood". Give A Gift plus plenty of gold for the bribe option in the persuasion mini-game to get them up to and slightly over 100 disposition. Companion Vilja's "I'd like to introduce you to my partner" option to make them a follower (technically they're Vilja's follower at that point). Rinse and repeat until you run out of gold and gifts or have enough followers. - Edit - Might have an even simpler suggestion ... Fort Nikel has no Shadowbanish wine.

Crash on start-up is often a case of missing master. One of your mods needs another mod to work, and it can't find it. That required mod could be there and the load order got changed and now the "master" is below the ESP that requires it. We'd need a complete load order, preferably from Wrye Bash to tell.

Create a new folder on your C drive named Games (so that'll be C:\Games). When you run the installer navigate in the destination folder dialogue to that C:\Games folder and install there. You can also install Steam there and then you won't have any of the issues you have seen warned about (User Account Control (UAC) doesn't play nice with games, but it does protect your computer from all kinds of nasties so keep it activated). Have a look at Bben46's wiki article Oblivion reinstall procedure for a guide. Don't miss the link near the top of the page about moving your Steam install location and don't skip the registry cleaning and reboot steps ... they're important. Getting started on the right foot is better than backtracking after you've spent a bunch of time installing mods and then run into trouble. You're off to a great start. - Edit - And a bro fist back at you mate ... "It takes a team" I always say.

Backups are an invaluable tool when modding. Sometimes modding Oblivion is all about 2 or 3 steps forward and then 1 or 2 back (bad days are more like 3 or 4 back). I've got version 3.51 of the UOP right here in front of me (I think the latest is version 3.52 right now, but the differences are very slight). When you extract the download you'll have a folder named Docs ... that's where they have Unofficial Oblivion Patch Readme.html and the other file that outlines all the changes over all the versions of the UOP. Yes the way it's packaged is a bit confusing at first, especially if you haven't installed any mods that create any of those folders during their own installation. In the vanilla game with no mods installed you will have Oblivion\Data and in the Data folder there will only be files except for the folders Music, Shaders and Video (and the extracted UOP download doesn't have any of those folders). That's because the vanilla game has all those folders hidden away in those compressed archives (the BSA files). If you look inside one of those BSAs you'll see all that folder structure. The folder structure in the BSAs always starts one level below Data (so you won't see Data\Meshes or Data\Textures ... the folder paths will just start at Meshes or Textures). So in a way what you proposed was right, each of those folder will be copied to your game. I prefer the right mouse click's copy and paste over the drag and drop method myself. So for the UOP you will right click on the extracted download's Meshes folder and select Copy, then in a second Windows Explorer window that you already have open to your Oblivion\Data folder you will right click Data and select Paste. Do the same with the DistantLOD, Sound and Textures folders. If you have installed anything already (your Darnified UI for example) that has already created any of those folders inside your game's Data folder you will get that Windows warning that Ike spoke of ... and Yes to All is the answer. In fact, once you have installed a bunch of mods (or actually after you've installed the UOP) you can use that warning as an indication that you are pasting (or dropping) into the correct folder (i.e. if you don't get the warning you'd better go back and figure out what you've done wrong). The rule of thumb when copy/pasting folders is you always paste into one layer higher than you copied (so if you copy the Data folder it would paste into the Oblivion folder, if you copy Textures you would paste into Data ... always one level higher up). With individual files you paste into the folder you want it to wind up in (so if you copied the file skingradworld.cmp from the DistantLOD folder of the extracted download you would paste into the DistantLOD folder in your games Oblivion\Data folder ... and create it if it didn't exist already). Last thing to copy is the individual ESP files that you'll need (I'd suggest all four ESPs ... see the readme for more details on each). These are loose files so right click each and copy and then right click on your game's Data folder and select paste (ESPs always go into the game's Data folder). Finally activate the four ESPs in your launcher Data Files (or you could do it in the left hand pane of the OBMM window). At this stage of the game you don't need to worry about load order (what order the game loads things as it starts) ... in any case the UOP's four ESPs are dated to back in 2006 so they'll always be near or at the top of your load order (the game uses file date and time to determine load order).

To be honest I don't really know how reliable OBMM's conflict detector is. OBMM itself hasn't been updated since before Steam took over the world as we know it. I do know that even if it's not "ticked" in Data Files the game will load Oblivion.esm when it starts up. After using it when I first started out to get HGEC and BBB working I've only used OBMM for two things ... I've used it's BSA Browser to extract assets I need for my own mods (either from the vanilla game BSAs or from mod added BSAs) and it's Archive Invalidation tool (which offers a nice segue into the next lesson, or rather a continuation of the last). On the right side of OBMM's window click on Utilities and then in the menu select Archive Invalidation. In the Archive Invalidation dialogue select BSA Redirection and then click on Reset BSA Timestamps (Steam in all their infinite wisdom changed the dates on all of the vanilla game BSA files, thus breaking archive invalidation for all their victims ... err, I mean users). Finally click on Update Now and close out the Archive Invalidation dialogue. BSA Redirection is a do once and forget about it solution. The older ways of archive invalidation all had problems, but before BSA Redirection came along they were the only game in town. In particular you will see BSA Alteration mentioned in some older mods. Ignore any advice suggesting that you should use BSA Alteration ... get BSA Redirection and you're good. Now I can't say that about the BSA timestamp problem ... I believe I've heard people talk about Steam doing an update and re-breaking things. Just redo the Reset BSA Timestamps if they get broken in the future.

Have you tried installing OBSE on your legit German version? According to what's in obse_readme.txt it may (quote from the readme ... "I have the english official patch v1.2.0.416. Localized versions with different executables or different patches may not work, but many have been successful."). A possible solution to the problem of mods changing your language to English can be found on How fix broken voices after installing some kind of mods, but it will take some work on your part. Talking about using cracked versions hasn't changed since 2011 ... it could still lead to the ban hammer.

For some it does, for others no. Mods fall into two broad categories, what I call replacers that simply replace the vanilla content of the game with new models etc (think body replacers like HGEC and Roberts Male, as well as animation replacers like NoMaaM and armor/clothes replacers) and mods that add new content to the game like Companion Vilja and Packdonkeys (and a vast myriad of armor and clothes mods that add new stuff to the game). The replacers for the most part don't use ESP files to get their new content recognized by the game ... they use something called Archive Invalidation. In it's original form Oblivion has all of it's assets (meshes, textures, animations, voices etc.) stored in compressed files ... those BSA files that Vilja and the donkeys also use. After you first install the game, if you look in the Oblivion\Data folder you won't see folders named Meshes or Textures, but there will be files named Oblivion - Meshes.bsa and Oblivion - Textures - Compressed.bsa (among others). If you install a mod that comes with an ESP like Companion Vilja the ESP file gives the base game instructions on how to use the new assets (and some of that is just telling the game to use stuff from the vanilla BSA files, like Vilja's outfit when you first meet her). If the game isn't instructed by an ESP on what to do it will default to looking in it's original BSA files and will ignore any newer files that are trying to replace the old stuff in the BSA (so instead of wearing a skimpy fur cuirass if you installed a replacer that replaced the vanilla fur cuirass with skimpy it would still put the vanilla fur cuirass on Vilja that it finds in Oblivion - Meshes.bsa). Archive Invalidation is the method developed to overcome that limitation. It gets the game to use any files it finds in the proper folder structure outside of the BSA files IF the file date is newer than the BSA file date. Now the trouble is there can only be one Data\Meshes\armor\fur\f\cuirass.nif (that's the exact path to the female fur cuirass mesh). If you install "Joe's Really Really Skimpy Fur Cuirass" today and then tomorrow decide to install "Fred's Total Female Armor Replacer" when you go to meet Vilja tomorrow night she'll be wearing the fur cuirass from Fred's mod and the one from Joe's will not exist in the game. The short answer ... with replacers install order matters, whatever you install last is what the game will use if both replacers try to replace the same thing. The better mods that require archive invalidation will tell you so in their mod description, but there are plenty of good mods out there from authors with poor skills in describing things. My advice is the same as what I do with any mods I'm considering ... read the mod description, then read the mod comments (at least the most recent few pages if there are lots of pages of comments). If a mod has problems chances are you'll read about it in the mod comments. As you learn more about modding you'll start to recognize when a mod author or people helping out have figured out the solution to those problems (most frequent problem with mods?? people don't follow instructions ... if they read them at all). Rule of thumb when starting out ... if you can't understand it move on to something you can get hold of until you learn enough to revisit those "tough to figure out" mods. And don't be afraid to ask questions ... we all started out knowing squat about modding.

Got a marauder problem? Need someone to help bash a few heads? Well just up the road from Fort Nikel at the top of the hill is Yellow Tick Cave. Now Yellow Tick is a conjurer haven. Marauders don't like conjurers, and bandits don't care for them either and it just so happens that Fort Nikel has both marauders and bandits. Would you like to instigate a little three way battle? Console commands may be a way to temporarily bolster your "army". Go to Yellow Tick and as you encounter any conjurers open the console and mouse click on them to get their refID displayed at the top of the screen. If that particular conjurer has already spotted you and is in combat mode start with "stopcombat" (no quote marks and hit Enter after each command). Next is "moddisposition 14 125" followed by "addscriptpackage 9828a". That individual NPC is now your friend and is following you. Gather up as many as you think you'll need (the game engine will limit you to 5 or 6 ... can't recall exactly how many). Now head back down the hill with your "army" and go into Fort Nikel. Once you get close enough to the main battle area (I suggest you try taking the center path first) and your new conjurer friends spot some marauders or bandits it's game on. You can either sit back and let things sort themselves out or dive in and dish out your own share of whoop-ass. Note - at times this type of follower won't follow through doors. Write down all the refIDs and once you go through a door use the console to help them through ("prid ffxxxxxx" replacing the x's with the numbers/letters from their refID to select them and then "moveto player" to warp them to you). Usually when you need to do that they'll "forget" their follow package so immediately after that, with their refID still displayed up top just "addscriptpackage 9828a" again. Nice thing about recruiting conjurers is they conjurer up allies themselves, stirring the pot even harder.

Give Maskars Oblivion Overhaul a look. It adds a lot of new stuff to the game and is totally configurable via the INI files. Better yet, compatibility is one of it's key design principles.

Give it a whirl re-installing the OCO v2 Roberts Male compatibility patch ... in the land of replacers he who is installed last wins.

I've never had any issues that I could attribute to using console commands (well beyond the situations I'd get into when using a bunch of moveto player on a bunch of various bandits, marauders and other assorted bad guys that don't like each other to create little "wars" ... we do have little on the side mini-games). One of the people who were active helping out when I got started was adamant that console commands could screw up your game though. NifSkope isn't anything like Blender for being tough to figure out, wasn't particularly difficult to install, and is an invaluable troubleshooting tool. Get it on your To Do list and move it near the top. Not sure why the extracted BSA would be smaller ... BSA is a Bethsoft compressed file format similar to 7z or ZIP so it should be larger after extraction. Are you sure you Extracted All before clicking on anything in the list (wondering if you somehow excluded part of the BSA).

You will not find better than Vilja, and I wouldn't even consider playing without Emma's Packdonkeys (but it was likely me you saw touting their praises, so you know that). Both are as easy as it gets for cutting your teeth on modding. Download them to a folder you create on your hard drive by clicking on either the words "download manually" or the name of the download beside the magnifying glass (Emma has made life much easier for you by disabling the Download with Manager green button you'll find on many mods ... that's for Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) something that isn't recommended for Oblivion, but works well for Skyrim). After you go through the Nexus dialogue about getting the files ready you'll be presented with a standard Windows "Save As" dialogue. Click on the Create folder button (or whatever it's named in Win 7) and then use the dropdown box to navigate to where on your machine you want to create the folder. I have a top level folder I created with Windows Explorer named Oblivion_Downloads and then save to sub-folders inside that (so my Companion Vilja is saved in Oblivion_Downloads\Companion_Vilja and Packdonkeys is in Oblivion_Downloads\Packdonkeys). With Companion Vilja you'll see from reading the mod description Installing & Upgrading section that you need both the ESP download and the BSA download (recommended to read mod descriptions and install instructions for all mods before starting). Both can be saved to the same folder. The downloads both come as compressed files that use 7-Zip to extract. When you're done you'll have two files, 1em_Vilja.esp and 1em_Vilja.bsa (you may not see the file name extensions .esp and .bsa in Windows Explorer, in which case you'll just see two files named 1em_Vilja ... it's not a problem, just a setting in the viewing properties for Windows Explorer that can be changed if you want). To install all you need to do is right mouse click on the first file and then select Copy from the right click menu. Either change your view in Windows Explorer to show your game install's Data folder or use a second instance of Windows Explorer open to your game's Oblivion\Data folder (that's how I do it ... option two is just easier after you've gotten the hang of it). Right mouse click on the Data folder and select Paste from the right click menu. Do the same thing with the second file. When done you should have two files in your game's Oblivion\Data folder named 1em_Vilja (the ESP and the BSA). Now open the vanilla game launcher (the one that has Data Files listed right below Play). Click on Data Files and in the dialogue that opens you'll see 1em_Vilja.esp listed. Single left click on the empty box beside the ESP and you'll get an X. Click on OK and then when you're back at the game launcher click Play. Either load a save that has your character close to or in the Imperial City or in your current save make your way to the Bloated Float in the IC Waterfront District. Vija will be hanging out in the restaurant. Packdonkeys installs exactly the same way except the download is a single download that extracts to both files (the ESP and the BSA).

Oh no ... another RAID0 person. I had to re-install after one drive in my Games drive RAID0 went south. Fortunately I had some fast WD Raptors "in stock" but decided to forgo RAID0 this time (second RAID0 failure I've had, but that's spread out over quite a few years). Use NifSkope to find out what textures go missing and then try the extract from BSA trick. - Edit - Another alternative is just extract all the files and then install the extracted BSA as though it were a mod (minus the ESP of course, as it's already installed).

Bookmarked ... you da man!!

Ah ... there's the likely culprit. The game has trouble handling a large number of NPCs all at once. Do a test starting out at half the NPCs and keep adding them until you find the limit (or subtracting until you find the limit).

Didn't know there's a book on it ... next time I'm in Toronto I'll be visiting The Worlds Biggest BookStore (that's it's name, really).

I used OBMM for the extracting myself. If I recall correctly it's Uitlities -> BSA Browser -> open the BSA and find your problematic texture, highlight it and Extract to Folder (if memory serves). I found it best to create the folder you are going to extract to ahead of time, as OBMM's menus didn't do a good job of letting me create the target folder at extraction time. Can't remember if it preserves the folder structure or not, so take note of the file's exact folder structure in the BSA Browser before you close that out. I don't have any experience with BSA Commander (I think that's it's name). Defragging is something that should be done periodically on all machines with hard drives ... machines equipped with SSDs (solid state drives) should not be defragged. Over time with adding and deleting files from your hard drive things start getting spread all over and large files like BSAs aren't even in one contiguous block (bits of that one file get stored in any available space that Windows decides to use). The defrag utility that comes with Windows does a fairly decent job of getting all the files stored in their own contiguous block. Depending on your Windows version it will be found somewhere like System Tools or Computer Management (in WinXP it's found in Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Storage -> Disk Deframenter but I'm sure Microsoft would have found better ways to hide it in Win7/8/8.1). You'll probably need to be logged in using an administrator account (on XP you do) and you may find that it's set to automatically defrag on a schedule. Doesn't hurt to give a good old manual defrag sometime you're not going to be using your machine for a while (and I do mean a while ... depending on how large the hard drive, how full it is and how badly fragmented it can take hours). I often do my 1TB Data disk overnight.

Hey Ike ... didn't you catch my drift when I said NOOBish in all things NifSkopery and Blenderish. Heck I'll be doing a ride along. You gave me the day's first chuckle in xENJAJVEx's thread (available for free everywhere ... neck seams are sold). I'm still holding out hope that a combination of Seam Mender and Blockhead applied body normal maps and textures combined with age texture maps can get as close as we've ever been to banishing the bugger. That's what got me to make my first not very successful foray into the Forest of Blender (where there's so many trees I can't see the forest).

The recommended method of archive invalidation is BSA Redirection, easily done using OBMM (Utilities -> Archive Invalidation -> BSA Redirection selected, Reset BSA Timestamps clicked if you use Steam and then Update Now) or Wrye Bash (Installers tab right click menu -> BSA Redirection). All older methods such as BSA Alteration are fraught with problems.

Thought so Ike. I'm still pretty noobish on all this NifSkopery Blenderization stuff, but I've been trying to pay attention.

In the Land of Replacers install order is King. You must get all of the body replacer stuff fully finalized before installing OCO v2 and then the applicable compatibility patches. It is possible, I've done it and thousands of others too. Won't ever be perfect, so get the basics and then tweak one thing at a time (while you play). - Edit - Ninjaed by the Ike ... big wave from across the Big Pond.

No problem. If plan A doesn't pan out then here's a plan B ... RobertMaleBodyReplacerV52

The replacers are included with the version 5.2 Roberts Male body ... not sure about the earlier versions as I have no reason to use an outdated version.