MarkInMKUK

Question 1 - can you take a sword, and a torch/gem, and script the torch/gem to mimic the actions of the sword as it is used? Question 2 - can you turn the torch/gem into a rod shape and still have it emit light, and still do #1? Question 3 - can you delete the sword blade mesh/texture while still being able to use it as a weapon (invisible blade effect), and move the rod-shaped torch/gem into the place the sword blade would have been, while still doing #1 and #2? Question 4 - can you use a script to turn the torch/gem on and off, ideally using an animated mesh to get the "grow from handle" effect?

Run the game from the launcher on the desktop and, assuming it reaches the point where you get the first menu, check the Data files settings. Make sure that the Unofficial Patch for mods has NOT got any ticks for mods you do not have installed - if you don't HAVE the horse armor mod, for instance, the patch will cause a crash when it tries to modify the non-existant mod. If you can't get that far (and probably also even if you can), it's possible that you've fallen foul of User Account Control by installing to the default location, i.e. a subfolder of c:\Program Files. The attempted installation of the unofficial patches may have only partially installed as Windows thinks anything other than a registered installation program trying to write to that location is an attack, and blocks it. Keep the downloads for the patches (obviously), uninstall Oblivion from where it is, and reinstall JUST Oblivion at C:\Games\Oblivion. Run it to test it works ok. Then install Shivering isles and Knights of the Nine, and retest. Once THAT is behaving, then apply the unofficial patches, testing after each one. That will REALLY pay dividends if you want to add any other mods later, too.

Keep an eye on the thread that is running concerning "Proper" Khajit and Argonian bodyshapes/animations - that seems to be the most actively involved in working on feline races. Any new feline race is going to require a fair bit of work - a revised head mesh and new body textures to suit SEVERAL body types is a must unless you want to restrict its appeal to users of only one pair of body types. The mane hairstyle would need to be scripted to only be available for male characters, and a suitable set of female alternatives need to be decided upon. The question is - which bits can YOU bring to your own mod? You are far more likely to get your mod made if you can do at least some of the work, be it scripting, texturing or 3D modelling.

They can be obtained from one of three sources: (1) Downloaded from the Bethesda web page (2) Downloaded via Steam if you purchased the Deluxe edition (3) Purchased on the original Knights of the Nine expansion CD (NOT included in the Game of the Year edition)

I'd like a large but derelict castle or manor house, or maybe a monastery for a paladin, with outbuildings to be renovated as money allows. As work progresses, finding staff would be a series of mini-quests. Castel to be probably expanded Norman style - keep plus enclosed area, walls, corner towers and drawbridge, probably a moat. House to be in something close to 15th/16th century English style (think Skakespearean stuff - half-timbers and two or at most three stories, bayed wooden construction, etc. Facilities (once restored) should include (either on-site or in a nearby village) a chapel with resident priest (plus associated graveyard and crypt(s) ), a forge with blacksmith, a carpenter and workshop, and wood store, a stonemason (maybe itinerant - needed to work on restoration), herbal garden, gardener, Stable block and groomsman/men, barracks with guardsmen and officers including off-duty, sleeping and training areas, laundry, kitchen, dairy, food store including an ice house and dried food store, heated orangery or greenhouse for exotic plants, and servant's quarters. Sewerage or at least SOME thought about realistic water supply and effluent disposal should be provided ... a cess pit would be sensible as I don't wish to wash raw sewerage into a mountain stream). Staff (once acquired) should have daily routines, including meal breaks and seasonal variations. Main accommodation should include: Sleeping accommodation - sufficient bedrooms for up to 6 non-staff couples and 4 singles, including the Master suite, all with wardrobes for clothing/outfit storage/control. En-suite lavatorial facilities (water closets would be nice, guarderobes if not - whichever way some poor sod has to be a gongscourer to keep the piles of excreta low). There's a horse-drawn wagon resource which could be used to transport such stuff "away". Bathing facilities - a Roman-style bath house would be nice, but each room should have a wash-stand and water jug/bowl/cloths for washing, and each bedroom should have a fireside bath. Entrance hall Ballroom - large enough to host a formal dance for 8 couples, plus a musician's area for a quartet of players or thereabouts. Dining room - meals to be provided at regular times, and served at the table, and cleared afterwards. Scripting to provide one meal per non-staff member in residence, up to maximum of 16 places. Library - suitable for both research (so large table and massed information storage) and private reading (fireplace with two comfortable chairs nearby and small chair-side tables). Storage for (mostly) books, and a small rack for scrolls. Drinks cabinet. (used glasses to be removed by household staff at intervals, and replaced with clean ones in the drinks cabinet) Living rooms - at least two, one possibly more feminine in decoration. Conference room for those "councils of war" and the like. Alchemy lab / mage altar area - I suggest away from the centre of the building as alchemy has traditionally involved the occasional bang, and rebuilding the whole house gets expensive. Storage area - chests for general loot, wardrobes in each accommodation room for clothing, staff clothing area for loot to be deposited and thus added via script appropriately to staff wardrobes. Looted artworks to be used to replace existing similar artworks, which are then placed into an "artwork storage" room for re-use or later sale. Priority of display given to higher-value items. Should be companion-friendly - beds should allow two people per bed. Clothing choice scripts should be used to ensure npc's cycled through clothing with at least ONE change per week (for staff) and up to three per day for visiting npc's to suit time of day and activity. Secret passages. Every castle or grand house should have them. Excape routes to the local village or cave system; smugglers accesses; some quest with a mysterious secret using them,; and if all else fails, a hidden entrance to something dark, nasty and evil which requires dealing with.

The mod you suggest has two sections, which require two different sets of skills. On the one hand, there is the scripting and related work for the characters. On the other there is the 3D modelling, and village placement, including checking compatibility with major mods such as Better Cities and Unique Landscapes. You also need to integrate it with the rest of Cyrodiil - what bounty would you get on your head if you kill a count? Sooner or later someone will demand a reckoning if you are traceable. Pick whichever of these you are less certain about, and start with a more simple project in that area alone, just to get the feel of it. If you want a relatively scripting based idea, I have one up my sleeve - using two or three existing characters from the Imperial City, and a Daedric Prince or two.

The bigger the mod, the more essential it is to read the readme file and do what it says EXACTLY - or you can find yourself with a borked, unplayable Oblivion. FCOM is a kind of "glue mod" and is almost essential IF you want to run OOO and MMM together, and becomes even more so if you add Francesco's and Warcry to the mix. Research your installation, find a step-by-step walkthrough, and don't be tempted to cut corners. Better Cities now incorporates many of the parts of Open Cities, but not all - research carefully and choose one or the other. I'd recommend that, if you are also looking at Unique Landscapes, go for Better Cities and use the myriad patches to ensure they play nicely together. I haver no personal experience of Open Cities so someone else may be able to advise you better if you want to try that instead.

OK - double-check time - you HAVE set Windows so that you can see the extension on known file types, i.e. fred.doc shows up as "fred.doc" not just "fred"? If not, correct that, and check the files are called "filename.esp" and not just "filename"

More recent Lego images though... maybe only THREE years old :)

I'm going to take ONE segment, and try to apply a little common sense to reduce it down. Don't assume I've got this correct, work through it and check as I'm working on notepad at 6am :( - check the code still does the same as you expect it to. Now, what jumps out at me in your code generally is that you repeat LOTS of REPEATED messageboxes, so try splitting the messageboxes away from the menu codes:- In that particular code segment the difference is next to nothing, other than in readability. But when you hit one of your "Select a chunk of armor" sections, you'll lose nine or ten lines of code. ALWAYS comment the splits in the code so that when you come back to it you'll remember WHY you did it. See if that approach helps you EDIT: BTW, which text format tags are you using to post indented code? I tried "Code" and it screwed up the carriage returns and put the lot on one line

Plan your software rather than just starting at the top and ploughing through. That's why programmers do flow charts and state diagrams - so they can simplify the code before they write it. First, take the whole code, and break it into chunks. Draw a flowchart with each Asian in a box. Look for things you do more than once, on different paths. That's a sign you may be able to simplify the code. Next, look at each section on its own. draw a flow chart. Look at it. If you have lots of reasons to avoid doing something, and only one reason you DO do it, then write the code to pick the one reason and do it, rather than all the reasons MOT to . Finally, go get a book or two on "how to program" and actually learn - not a specific language, but how to plan programming. It WILL pay off in the end.

If you want to try Nehrim without borking your existing Oblivion setup, use mTES4 Manager to clone Oblivion, then set up Nehrim using the clone

Thanks Telyn - might well be useful.

I like the concept, but I have an addition (which may not even be do-able - if so, so be it). The addition is to be able to write on those odd crumpled bits of paper you come across, to create a "crumpled note". Ideally this, in turn, would lead to the notes being able to be used in quests - to be sent to NPCs or companion NPCs.

There's a guy who is requesting help with African tribal costumes - might be worth keeping tabs on his work in case you want similar items in your mod

Pure coincidence - my omniscience is vastly overstated!

If you download mTES4 Manager, you can set up a separate copy of Oblivion running Nehrim, and leave your main copy running your existing setup.

Ahh - a modding expert - Drake has forgotten more about meshes and textures than I'll probably ever know

Obvious question, but ... you DID use the "Steam" method of use for OBSE not the "Normal" one? The normal one WILL give an error if you try to use the OBSE_Launcher. Read the readme again if you did that. The first stage is get Oblivion with SI working. Add all the unofficial patches. Add OBSE. Test, test, and test again. THEN backup. Now add ONE mod at a time, and retest after each mod. I very strongly suggest Fast Exit and Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System (weOCPS) - they both use OBSE so will test whether it works, without mucking other stuff about. Don't just drop a shedload of mods on at once ... that way lies a heap more forum posts. Add one at a time, and test

If it is working fine until you add DR6, then don't. I've no idea why DR6 might be causing a problem, but if you don't have the "unknown version" problem until that point, then something you are installing is changing Oblivion.exe and according to what you posted, that something is DR6. If I had a £10 for every post on here from people having problems with DR6, I could afford an extra holiday this year. No idea why, but it seems to be tricky to get to behave.

ok - so tomorrow about 8pm your time I'll try and get organised with TeamViewer to help you out

I'm a tad tied up this evening - but I am probably free tomorrow from about 7pm uk time

http://www.saber-scorpion.com/lego/elderscrolls.php - updated link