GeorgeLeroyTirebiter

Don't edit the original data files! EVER! Instead use FOMMs ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated! toggle. Most of the mods you are going to be using will simply require you to extract them to the Data folder. The only reason to make bsa files is that they are easier to handle when it comes to installation and uninstallation. As noted earlier, as a mod user you do not need to convert the meshes/textures/sounds of a mod into a bsa file. In fact, the easiest way to install and uninstall mods with custom meshes/textures/sounds is to enable ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated! and convert the mod to a FOMOD, using FOMMs package manager. There is a tutorial here. If you are a mod maker, you may want to distribute your meshes/textures/sounds as bsa files. In this case, you make a folder somewhere and copy the meshes/textures/sounds you edited into that folder (keeping the folder structure). Then you open the bsa creator, press Add folder, and browse to your folder. Once it has finished looking at the contents, you press create and wait for it to finish. For the game to find the bsa file (so it can look for resources there), the prefix of the bsa needs to be the same as the esp (or esm) that uses those resources. I hope that was understandable :) Just had to find it worded the right way (just like you did)..."just toggle that ArchiveInvalidated Invalidate". Knew it must be something that was so obvious to everyone they figured I'd just figure it out on my own before they could post. Damn. Thanks man.

Sep 7 2009, 08:47 AM The problem you are probably having is that FOMM's BSA (it's my prefered program too) is not very user friendly. You say your files are in the BSA but they proabably are not stored with the pathing info. I solved this problem as follows (There is likely an easier way but this way works for me): Lets call out mod "MyUniqueMod". I name my mod file "MyUniqueMod.esp". Then in the data folder I create a folder called "MyUniqueMod-BSAbuild". I then go about building the assets for my mod and placing them into the proper spots in the data folder as I need them. After I have tested the asset I put it into my "-BSAbuild" folder I created in the same file structure it would be if it was in my normal data files. (Okay, but since the original data files are already in BSA format...at what point did he unpack the files so that he could place the assets in the data file? I tried adding mods that involve texture/mesh/sound files with FOMM but it just added it to the Data file without changing the orginal bsa files). Lets say I made a new texture for a laser pistol. I have tested it and it works in game and in the GECK. In my Fallout 3 data folder the texture file I made is located at "textures\weapons\1handpistol\FlamingPinkLaserPistol.dds". I place that into my "MyUniqueMod-BSAbuild" folder with a path of "MyUniqueMod-BSAbuild\data\textures\weapons\1handpistol\FlamingPinkLaserPistol.dds". Now that it is in my "-BSAbuild" folder I open up FOMM and launch the BSA Creator. I click the "Add Folder(s)" button and then navigate to the "MyUniqueMod-BSAbuild" folder and select the "data" folder inside. The BSA Creator then packages up my BSA for me with the correct pathing info, and I save it as "MyUniqueMod.bsa". I put the "MyUniqueMod.bsa" file into my Fallout 3 data directory and delete the file that is now contained in the bsa from my Fallout 3 data folder (but not the copy that is left in my "MyUniqueMod-BSAbuild" folder. I now test the BSA file. If it works I move on to the next asset. Wash - rinse - repeat. Eventually your "MyUniqueMod-BSAbuild" folder contains all the meshes, textures, etc that you want and because the assets are not only packed in the BSA but stashed away in this folder, updating (should you find a problem with one of your assets is as simple as fixing the one asset and repackaging the BSA. Hope this helps. -Alaric_ :wallbash: So, does that mean I'm creating a bsa file to replace the original or a bsa that I can add to the data file without altering the original???? It seems like I'd have to edit the original to institute the changes the mod is supposed to make. Is this a reading comprehension issue (distinct possibility) or are these instructions missing a key detail? Shouldn't I unpack the bsa files and then edit them...and then create a NEW bsa file by repacking the edited orginal? Do I have to do this EVERY time I want to use a mod that changes texture/mesh/sound???

The PC version comes with the BSA archives. If you want to extract them, you have to use FOMM or FO3ArchiveUtility. If you want to use replacers, you have to install ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated. FOMM can do that for you. I'm not sure that you can't mod Steam games. As long as you keep away from editing the files that were installed, automatic updates should not be a problem for you either. Okay, I'll just go ahead and save you the trouble of calling me a moron by admitting I am one ahead of time. How do I use FOMM to change texture, meshes, and sound files that are now stored as bsa's??? Is it as easy as unpacking the bsa's? I really wish this was a pinned topic or included in the FAQ's...that way the forum's best minds could be occupied dealing with issues that aren't noob questions. I don't actually make mods, I just use them...so I never learned how to edit bsa's when I was playing Oblivion. Thanks ahead of time. This was so much easier before the version change...I'm guessing it's still pretty easy?

We should well remember that driving licenses and professional licenses are privileges. You don't get a right to drive or a right to practice medicine, you get a privilege. Such is what a license entitles. A license cannot lawfully revoke a person's right. Tell me now, would you want your government to dictate how many children you are allowed to have? As Purplelizard's post stated above, democratic governments do have a system in place to support victims of child abuse. It's not easy to keep people away from guns, cars, or other things that already require licenses...what would you do with children born to people with no license? Anyways, many people who would turn out to be unsuitable licensees would initially be able to reproduce... Be careful what you ask for. A government that would administer reproductive rights according to its whims wouldn't be content to only trample people's right to reproduce with impunity. A Brave New World or a New World Order might not be what people envision as the ideal future.

I'm guessing what you are referring to is the lack of variety in the sort of customization that modders and modfans demand. I would say Growlf's mod is the best in this regard because, if the pics are accurate, his models are more womanly than some of the more petit, small-busted models that seem to be more popular. I'd actually like to see the NPC's, companions, and other female characters with broader hips and more realistic variations of proportions. I guess the skinny girls have some appeal, but they're not exactly my ideal...and I can't believe that models based on jailbait are really the only option players seek. Not me, anyways.

Now that my Steam game is "updated" (which is Steam-speak for "screwed") it's damn hard to mod. All my sound, texture, and mesh files are bsa's...which mean it's either really time-consuming to mod or pretty limited. esm's and esp's work well enough...but anyting else is just a waste of time.

I guess the one thing you have to make sure you do when you buy FO3 from Steam is make sure you turn off the update function or crap like this happens: all the data files that were previously compatible with almost all of the mods are now bsa files, making it a huge hassle to mod the game. If I'm wrong, pls let me know. Just started to have a good time with it, but I really wanted to add some extra sound, texture, and mesh files to keep it interesting. I'm guessing Steam is a modder's nightmare and the updates do little more than intrude upon my right to do whatever I please with what I paid for. Man, I'd have so much to whine about if I wasn't already banned from the Valve forums. Jerks.