Striker879

Sorry I'm not clear on which route you're taking ... the CSExtender route or the using version 1.0 of the CS method.

Rebuilding your bashed patch (with or without the guide to bashed tags I posted) is a requirement of using Wrye Bash ... needs to be done any time you install/uninstall mods for example, otherwise your bashed patch can be what breaks your game. Certain pathways (like Wrye Bash) lead to powerful solutions to various problems, but like all powerful tools, needs to be understood to be truly useful. If rebuilding your bashed patch using just it's defaults didn't help I'm left thinking it's a still outstanding load order issue or install order issue. The other tried and true method in these cases is deactivating mods and testing. Some subscribe to the deactivate one at a time method, others to the deactivate a block of mods at a time method. Either will (in most cases) eventually locate the problem. The reason I say in most cases is that just deactivating a mod doesn't stop the game from loading it's resources ... it just doesn't apply any changes specified in the deactivated mod's esp. Mesh and texture resources (which would still be found in your Data folder even with the mod deactivated) can still wreak havoc (the most often touted advantage of BAIN installation of mods ... another Wrye Bash thing).

Not sure about your comfort level with bashed patch making ... I'm a non-Wrye guy myself so all I know comes from others (you could say that about most all I know). A while back MarkInMKUK posted this guide to bashed tags (quoted here as ripped from his post):

Did you rebuild your bashed patch after installing BOSS?

Err ... your game is working or do you mean BOSS is working but your game is still borked?

If there is anyone here who knows the ins and outs of dialogue it would be Emma (over 5000 lines of dialogue for her Companion Vilja mod if I recall correctly). She's busy getting to know Skyrim, but is still actively working on her Oblivion mods too. Her mods are all well documented ... you could try looking through her Vilja customization documents for pointers. Other than a few mentions related to dialogue in the CS Wiki articles for Simple Companion Tutorial, Race creation tutorial and A beginner's guide, lesson 6 (see the section called 'Two Problems' half way down the page) the only tutorial I recall seeing is Dialogue Tutorial ... not sure if you've already seen it or if it will help.

Gad ... I wish I had a truck full o' them coins and I'd sell 'em to you for $15 a pop!!

There's a limit to how many AI packages the game will process in the player's current cell. I don't recall exactly what that number is (maybe 15 ... memory's a bit fuzzy) but what happens is the NPCs who don't get processed just stand there. Is that what you're seeing?

I know it's tempting when you're 'just re-installing' your current mods to a new game install to just load up the whole bunch in one install session then jump in game to test, but as you're finding out, that doesn't give you any starting point for troubleshooting issues. Things like install order can be just as important as load order in some cases. The general mod install advice is get the vanilla game confirmed as working first. Run through the tutorial dungeon and make a save just before exiting (so you won't need to repeat the tutorial if you want to start a new character), make a save after you exit the sewers (useful as a baseline save for testing mods, especially if you use something like Muliple Oblivion Manager to create a mod testing 'install'). Go run around the IC Market District and confirm everything in the vanilla game is working. Then start adding mods, one or two at a time. For some, like your FCOM, you may need to install a group of related mods at the same time. Key thing is testing between install sessions. Look at it this way, if you install one mod and then your game is screwed up it's trivial to tell where to start your troubleshooting. Before you go wild and uninstall all your mods to start over, do you use BOSS to sort your load order (I see you have a bashed patch)?

Is the CM Partner you're creating also a custom race? As for editing things inside the vanilla bsa files, in general you don't do that. The way the game works is all the resources for the vanilla game are contained in the vanilla bsa files and Oblivion.esm tells the game engine where those resources should be, what they do, etc. As the player plays the game and changes that initial state the changes are recorded in the game's save files. Mods can also alter that initial game state. Those changes are recorded in the various esp files (an esp is just changes to it's listed master files). The final way that changes to the initial game state can be made is by replacing vanilla resources with modded ones (i.e. all the animation/armor/clothing replacers you see out there). If the replacer doesn't also add anything new to the game (e. g. doesn't add a female version of a ciurass that only has a male version in the vanilla game) it doesn't need an esp. Using exactly the same file names and folder structure as found in the vanilla bsa and something called archive invalidation the game will use the newer resources instead of those packed in the bsa. Back to your dialogue issue, any time I've created a new NPC they already have all the default dialogue for their race (but my own modding efforts have been rather modest, and I'm known for being a 'vanilla' kinda guy). David will undoubtedly be of far more help in the area of custom races and dialogue. As you may be able to tell, I read a lot, and I'm blessed/cursed with a pretty good memory of stuff I've read. That doesn't mean I understand it all. I agree with you on the whole dialogue/which CS to use issue. I've read through that more than once and I would still need to ask advice if I ever did voiced dialogue for an NPC that wasn't vanilla.

As far as I know your saves will work. I'd back up my 'Saves' folder to a different directory (save games are found in 'Users\[username]\Documents\My Games\Oblivion' for Vista and Windows 7 or in 'Documents and Settings\[username]\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion' for WinXP). The only caveat on saves is that you will need all those same mods installed. Most of the time having a missing mod won't cause an issue beyond the game warning about missing content. The mods don't come in 'Steam flavour' or 'vanilla flavour' so you're good to go there. If you still have the downloaded archive it's just a matter of re-installing them. It would be a good idea to keep a record of your load order to refer to when installing, and with many mods install order makes a big difference as well. I'd make a couple of vanilla saves myself ... one just before exiting the sewers (so you don't need to redo the tutorial) and one just after exiting the sewers and making sure the vanilla game is working correctly. OBMM and Wrye Bash are like the mods in that they only come in one flavour. OBSE on the other hand has specific install instructions included with the download for the Steam version of the game. If you plan on using the Construction Set at some time it will also require specific OBSE/Steam installation. You'll want to do a proper and thorough uninstall, including a registry cleaning before installing the Steam version. This would also be a good time to get your current (or future) Steam installation outside of C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86). Oblivion was designed long before Microsoft dreamed up UAC. Maybe modern games work well with UAC ... Oblivion isn't on that list. Bben46's wiki article Oblivion reinstall procedure is a good source for re-installing ... don't miss the link near the top of the page about moving your Steam installation or the part about registry cleaning. Good luck!

I don't use DR6/UVII myself so I can't offer any guidance there about whether the Ragdoll skeleton works with them or not. I guess we can cross extra bouncy from the list of suspects (I had sort of come to that conclusion previously ... I'm known to go fishing on occasion, looking for things out of the usual list of suspects).

When I was using one of the 'earlier model, still being refined' versions of the BBB Ragdoll skeleton I do recall seeing something like what you're describing ... not all the time but occasionally. With the latest version of the Ragdoll skeleton I don't have that issue at all. Those later versions were all based off Growlf's universal skeleton. During my research into the problem I did run across a single mention of a somewhat similar problem in Growlf's mod comments, that was attributed by the poster (not Growlf) to something done in one of the later versions of the universal skeleton. I suspect your BBB DR6 UVII skeleton is based off one of his later skeletons, and has inherited some anomalies as a result. With the BBB Ragdoll skeleton the only on-going issue I have is the weapon freezing in mid air glitch ... seldom reported, so it may be localized to only a few mod/machine combinations. - Edit - I see you're using the HGEC Body with BBB v1dot12. I use v1dot11 of the same body, and at the time thought the problem may be related to using the H-cup verB (extra bouncy). Is that by any chance your particular body at the moment?

UAC + modding = various kinds of trouble ... or perhaps that was trouble squared. Do a search here on the Nexus for 'UAC' if you want to get an idea of the scope and spread of the situation (and I'm certain that that search will miss 75% of the related threads). If you have a re-install in your future here a link to Bben46's wiki article Oblivion reinstall procedure. If you use the Steam version of the game don't miss the link near the top of the page on moving your Steam install, and don't skimp-out and skip the registry cleaning step. It will help get you off to a good start on the right foot.

Your missing esp problem sounds like a UAC issue. Do you have the game installed in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) by any chance?

Concerning your non-moving lips ... have a look through this forum thread (or jump to DarkForther's post #9) and this mod description and you'll start to see what's up. - Edit - Also have a look at the description given under the CS version 1.0 download link on this page.

When I make a clone of anything in the CS I invariably name it MyJoesCoolSuperUberArmor or similar, but I'm known for my lack of imagination when naming things. Main thing is get a unique name for it in the 'ID' field of the edit dialogue for the item. The 'Name' field below that doesn't really matter except that is the name you'll see in-game. You could have ten pairs of boots all that come up as 'Joe's Cool Leather Boots' in your in-game inventory and it won't matter to the game as long as each has a unigue ID (i.e. JoesCoolBoots1, JoesCoolBoots2, JoesCoolBoots3 ...). It would be confusing as hell for your users, but the game is only concerned about the ID field. You'll know you've done it right when you click the 'OK' button on the edit dialogue and you get the prompt about creating a new object. Then you can chose to add to the overburden of mod added chests in the game (it's amazing how many chests can fit onto one Market District statue base and still be accessible), add it to the players inventory, add it to your CM Partner NPC's inventory or join the hoard of stuff just dropped on the ground (there are other options ... scripting for example, I'm just scratching the surface of the most common methods). Sounds to me like you may get some benefit from some Construction Set Wiki tutorials. Skim the stuff you know already and sink you teeth into the rest. The TES Alliance also has a modding school (see 'The Enclave' on the linked page).

I hate to be the one to break this to you Visvalor, but reading between the lines (well actually line) in AurianaValoria1's post I don't think you're getting hers. I do like your optimism though. :thumbsup:

Another issue that may be affecting you is the save game you're using to test. Some things are permanent in your save game (e.g. load door locations). Load an old save game and the door is in the old location ... start a new game and the door will be in it's new location.

What if you got permission from the mod author to include it in your mod (with proper credit of course). Use the method David outlined to outfit your CM Partner. You would need to include the required resources (meshes and textures) in the correct folders with your download (which would be no different than using a modder's resource at that point). - Edit - No matter which way you try to finagle it you will need the original mod author's permission before you can upload your CM Partner with someone else's armor.

I agree with wetblanket completely (see any of my posts about using enchanted clothing instead of armor). Mod authors are catering to the 'I'm bored with this character I created yesterday so I'll start a new one' crowd. Making their 'bikini armor' into heavy armor gives the impression of 'more protection' (to go along with 'the less it covers the more it protects' theory). Notice I said 'impression'. As wetblanket points out, you need skill in any weight of armor to get it's rated protection. For those unwilling or unable to grasp the subtilties of the vanilla armor system the word 'heavy' says it all for them.

You will also find yourself quite limited by your netbook CPU and Intel integrated graphics.

I was waiting until David had a chance to give you the 'right way' on the armor question (if you are already creating the NPC in the CS then that is without doubt the way to do it). For those times you'd like to give an NPC something but don't want all the fuss of the CS here's Striker's quick and dirty method (aka the Confessions of a Console Serial Killer). With the NPC in front of you in the game open the console (hit the tilde (~) key, just below the Esc key on standard keyboards). With the mouse single left click on the NPC. You should now have the NPC's name and referenceID (refID) displayed at the top of your screen. Type in 'kill' (without the quotes) and hit Enter. Close the console (hit tilde again) and the NPC will collapse in front of you. Loot anything you don't want them to have from their inventory and place anything you want them to have into their inventory. Keep in mind that their AI routines and game engine mechanics will determine whether or not they'll wear armor or clothes if they have both in their inventory. Those items can be anything that you have in your inventory, regardless of where you got them, excepting of course any quest items that you can't take out of your own inventory. Once you have them set up with the gear you want them to have reopen the console. The NPC's refID should still be at the top of the screen (if not click on them to get it there again). In the console type 'resurrect 1' (again without the quotes, and note that that's a number one at the end) and hit Enter. Close the console and they will stand up. Some NPCs will immediately resume their normal routines, others may need to wait for an AI package change before they'll get back up to speed. You can force a refresh of their AI by leaving the area (either going to an interior from an exterior or vice versa or going to a different cell if in the wilderness). You could also try toggling their AI off and then on using the console command 'tai' (make sure you have their refID shown at the top of the screen at the time) but I've never tested that myself. There are also console commands that can be used to add items to an NPC's inventory, but you need the baseID (not the same as the refID) of the item. Again get the NPC's refID up top and then it's 'additem <baseID> <quantity>' (no quotes or brackets). You can get the baseID for vanilla game items starting from the UESP Wiki Items page. For mod added items you would need to fire up the CS anyway, so David's method would be preferable as it won't thereafter require you to have 'Joe's Cool Armor Mod' installed (the additem method would require the source mod for as long as you wanted the NPC to have the item ... same situation with mod added items and my first Q & D method). I have a few mod added items distributed that way in my old guy's save games. There aren't any issues arising from giving away vanilla items that way.

Your other Steam games may be modern ones, designed from the start to work alongside UAC. Oblivion was designed back before UAC was even a dream in some Microsoft engineer's mind. If you know a way to install the Steam version of Oblivion in a directory such as C:\Games\Oblivion while leaving your Steam installation in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam then feel free to ignore my advice.

Is your Steam installation in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) and are you running either Vista or Windows 7? If so do yourself a favour and get Steam (and Oblivion) out of Program Files. Bben46's wiki article Oblivion reinstall procedure has a link near the top to instructions on moving your Steam installation.