rinoaff33

I am attempting to install the latest version of the Morrowind Overhaul onto a fresh install of Morrowind Steam GOTY Edition. As the title suggests, using a modded version of Morrowind.exe causes the game to crash. By "crash", I mean the game launches to a black screen, hangs for a few seconds, and closes. Both the launcher and the game then refuse to close their process, requiring me to restart the computer. This seems to be a complex issue, and I have tried many possible solutions with no positive results, so I'm going to organize the post into sections. I would appreciate any help on the subject. I should mention that the game was previously working with Morrowind Overhaul 2.0, but I have now only encountered issues with the newest version (3.0). System Specs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Intel Core i7 860 @ 2.8 GHz AMD Radeon HD 6850 8 GB of RAM Things That Trigger the Crash - Using the Morrowind Code Patcher - Using the EXE optimizer (exeOpt.exe) Scenarios In Which the Game Works - Vanilla installation - Morrowind Overhaul assets installed without a modified Morrowind.exe, all data files enabled, MGE enabled Errors Encountered - Game instantly crashes upon clicking Play in launcher, both game and launcher freeze and require computer restart - Game crashes with "Application Error 5:[random numbers]" and again requires computer restart to close - EXE optimizer sometimes gives error about "sse.exe" being in use by another process Things I Have Tried - Reinstalling the game, verifying integrity of the game cache (multiple times) - Launching Steam.exe, Morrowind.exe, and Morrowind Launcher.exe as administrator - Launching Morrowind in compatibility mode - Launching Morrowind with the Morrowind FPS Optimizer running - Launching Morrowind by directly opening Morrowind.exe - Disabling the Steam overlay - Disabling all non-essential data files (aka all except Morrowind, Bloodmoon, and Tribunal) - Installing game patches outside of Steam (resulted in game requiring disk) - Running the Code Patcher and not the EXE optimizer, and vice versa - Installing Morrowind into a different folder - Running the Code Patcher and EXE Optimizer on the Morrowind.exe outside of its normal folder and copying the updated exe back into the Morrowind installation folder

Does this method help? http://www.modwiki.net/wiki/Start_a_Specular_map_with_a_Normal_map

I too have a huge number of issues with it, not to mention that it takes forever to load. But the main two problems I have that just make me not ever want to mod things are: random crashes all over the place, and bugginess while editing NPC's faces that prevents you from modifying most of their face tints. The Skyrim NPC Editor program doesn't like to work properly with non-vanilla races, and the Creation Kit barely supports them. I really have absolutely no idea how there are so many custom NPC companion mods. In regards to previewing models, I've found that I can usually just place an object/NPC into the gameworld to preview it while editing.

You could try these mods: Custom Races - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/8720 Creates races identical to the vanilla races but with their own separate folders (mods will require manual installation into these new folders). Alternatively, you could use a custom race that has its own separate folder (like the Ashen or Succubus races). PC Exclusive Animation Path - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/14871 Requires FNIS 3.1 - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/11811 Makes it so that only the player will have custom animations, but it only works while playing as a custom race and causes a few minor glitches while playing as a vanilla race with it installed. PC Exclusive Armor Path - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/16815 Makes it so that armor replacer mods only affect the armor the player wears by creating two version of each piece of vanilla armor and swapping them based on who is wearing them.

Whats the 4gb limit? also I am play through steam will that be a problem? I would hope playing through Steam wouldn't be a problem given that legitimate copies of Skyrim on PC are only available through Steam :wink: The "4 GB limit" refers to the fact that Skyrim is a 32-bit application and can only use approximately 4GB of RAM. Previously, it could only use 2GB until a certain patch, which as you can imagine was a very low cap for a modded game, or even simply a game running at maximum vanilla settings.

If it's a normal map (with the purple coloration), increase the transparency - objects that are not glossy generally have nearly invisible normal maps. Make sure to export the file in a compression format that supports transparency (generally would use "BC3 / DXT5") if it's a normal map, otherwise it will be at 100% glossiness. If it's a specular map (which in Skyrim is grayscale), reduce the brightness. Also, make sure you're naming the file correctly: normal maps end with "_n" and specular maps end with "_s". The rest of the file name must match the diffuse texture it is being attached to. There are two other areas the problem can lie in: NIF settings and ENB settings. To my knowledge, there's a value in NIF files called "glossiness," which shouldn't be set too high. Definitely don't set it too high on body meshes unless you want characters that look exactly like plastic dolls. I know this affected meshes in Oblivion, not sure about Skyrim. Specular lighting can be affected by ENB settings. If you're using an ENB configuration, reduce the "SpecularAmountMultiplier" (affects overall amount) and "SpecularPowerMultiplier" (appears to exponentially increase shininess) settings in enbseries.ini.

I would love a mod that lets you write your own in-game journal. It would make roleplaying much more interesting.

Are you using an ENB configuration? If so, try lowering the SpecularAmountMultiplier and SpecularPowerMultiplier entries in enbseries.ini. Also try lowering LenzReflectionIntensity and increasing LensReflectionPower. Lowering bloom and direct lighting could help too if those don't help. If you are not using ENBseries, what other graphics mods are you using that could be causing such an issue?

I think I can help, as I recently found out how to do the same but for the player only. 1. Create a custom voice type and give it a unique editor ID. 2. Set your follower to use this voice type. 3. Add the custom voice type to the "VoicesCommonCombatant", "VoicesCommonAdult", and "DefaultNPCVoiceTypes" form lists. If they will use shouts, add it to the "VoicePowerVoicesListNoDraugr", "VoicePowerVoicesListwithTsun", and "VoicePowerVoicesList" form lists as well. 4. Create the folder "Data/Sound/Voice/skyrim.esm". 5. Create a folder within this new folder that has the exact same name as the editor ID of your custom voice type. 6. Place the files from the voice mod into this new voice type folder. If it is originally intended to replace a default voice type (like "femaleeventoned" or "femaleelfhaughty"), then it should work fine. However, they won't have any taunts or such. The purpose of using "skyrim.esm" and a mod that is supposed to overwrite default files is because the Creation Kit automatically assigns lines to the new voice once it is added to the correct form lists, and it searches in the "skyrim.esm/voicenamehere" folder for specifically named files. Otherwise, you would need to manually add the sound files for every line in the Dialogue and VoicePowers quest forms. Forgot to add you should probably also add the voice type to "VoicesFollowerAll". Most likely you'll also need to create some voice-less lines for the companion to talk to them. Or you could either create your own voice sounds or extract sounds from Skyrim to use.

sorry but you may as well give up! as this has been asked many times by myself and others over the months without a single reply from anyone who has done it. at this stage i think its impossible I just figured it out after 6 hours of trial and error. Here is a quick tutorial I posted on a different forum: You can transplant the files from any mod that is based on replacing a default voice type (like femaleeventoned) into the new folder.

I'm completely stumped. I've been trying my hardest to add even one custom NPC to the game, both using vanilla races and custom races. So, the first part of my problem regarding vanilla NPCs: I have successfully created a follower NPC, evading the gray face bug, and everything works great...except for one major issue. The textures on the character's face are glitched really badly. Changing any of the face textures like make-up or facepaint doesn't work - it just adds a big red splotch to their forehead. I chalked this up to a goof of the editor until I saw that it occurred in-game too. So basically, adjusting any face textures except skin color is impossible. I've tried using the Skyrim NPC Editor program but that doesn't seem to fix it. The second part of my problem that is much more severe: I am simply completely unable to add an NPC who is of a custom race. The race in particular is the Oriental/Ashen race. I'm fairly certain that the issue is that the race uses its own face and body textures rather than the shared vanilla ones. One time, I managed to get the NPC to spawn, sans all of its skin, but I don't know how. Any help at all would be very appreciated.

Most modders don't have any fancy degrees in computing - either that, or they're currently earning said fancy degree (more than a few modders are in college). That said, modding is just something you pick up over time. I started out with the CS Wiki and, with it, learned how to create my first custom dungeon (which was surprisingly easy). As I started using more and more mods, I had to learn more tricks, like how to use the utilities of OBMM and Wrye Bash. Eventually, when I started using more cosmetic mods, I started learning to use GIMP to customize them. For example, I didn't like the giant orange crosshair options Ultimate 3rd Person Camera offered, so I made some quick and easy edits in GIMP to make the crosshair smaller and monochrome. I filtered and edited the textures on the armor and weapons I used. I recently have started using Blender and NifSkope to edit armor to my own tastes. I'm not a full-on modder (haven't done anything large enough to release on the Nexus), but I think my experience is similar to those of many others. Hopefully, by the time Skyrim rolls around, I will be competent enough with Blender (I reallllyyy need a tablet for GIMP...) to join the ranks of modders. :) There are other similar classes, but Computer Science is indeed a general computer course that teaches advanced aspects of computing (like programming) as well as mathematics. It's also the major I hope to take :) . Often, those who take a major in a computer course will be required to take multiple media courses. That way, you get the full deal of coding, texturing, modeling, etc. Plus, some of those media skills are useful in non-gaming fields - like television or Hollywood (although I don't recommend becoming a CGI artist for movies - VERY underpaid job). There wouldn't be a college class for "modding," seeing as modding is just an extension of creating a game/program...

You already should, by default, start with the minor healing spell. If all else fails, buy a healing spell and make a custom weaker one at the Arcane University. Also, slightly unrelated to the topic, but using leveling mods to fix the system and then choosing major skills you won't use defeats the purpose.

Yes, modding Oblivion is a pain. I end up spending the same amount of time modding Oblivion as I do playing it - more, perhaps. Oblivion is a complex - albeit rushed, buggy, and poorly optimized without patches and mods - but versatile game. No, not every mod or tool is perfect or has great instructions. "Cleaning" mods isn't 100% necessary. If Wrye Bash is too complex, stick to the Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) unless a specific mod explicitly requires Wyre Bash. Most of the checkboxes for Wyre Bash are just for either tweaking small settings or combining ESP files. Basically, the Bashed Patch is there to reduce the number of ESPs you have to use, which speeds up the game and prevents you from hitting the 255 ESP cap. It has some fancier features, but the only mods I can think of that really use them are COBL and All Natural. Here's a great guide for getting started with Wrye Bash: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35230 Also, trying using Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS). What mods in particular are you installing that are causing frustration?

Can you paste your entire mod list? Does this only happen while in combat or does it happen when you're swinging at air? Does it only happen in 3rd or 1st person? Try turning off blood decals. Also try turning off your sound entirely in the Oblivion.ini file. Edit: Try turning off Seph's hand-to-hand animations as well. One of the comments on the page specifically mentions the game will crash if you continually use the moves from it.

My funniest death was similar: While running around with the fast-but-not-abnormal speed of 103, one of my buff spells wore off, which for some reason caused my character to flop around as if I'd been killed/drained of fatigue. This strange ragdolling has happened before when feather/strength spells wore off, but this time was different...I was currently heading down the ramp from the entrance to the Imperial City (with Unique Landscapes on, so it was more like a cliff with walkways down). I ended up flying off of the edge of the cliff and faceplanted on the bridge several dozen meters away. Needless to say, the fall killed me.

Yep, for some reason, even the most starved of vampire NPCs are completely immune to sunlight in Morrowind/Oblivion. I have a big WTF moment: I was walking along the Waterfront, minding my own business. I got up to the really tall tower in the center - the one with the ring-shaped walkway around it that you go onto when you enter the Waterfront - and saw a slaughterfish flopping around. I decided to hit it with a fire spell. After a more few seconds of flopping (while on fire), it proceeded to catapult in a perfect slow arc (while on fire) into the bay. It didn't die, by the way.

Just a question...when you create the BSA for the optimized files, are you supposed to compress it?

You might want to try Realistic Leveling. You don't have to bother with spending attribute points gained by leveling skills at all - they will go up based on the skills you increase automatically.

Unfortunately, the best kind of processor to have for Oblivion is a very powerful single-core, which are being phased out in favor of multi-core. This means that an older computer can probably run it better.

The Council of Mages is or rather was: Edit: Added the spoiler thing. Really? That's it? Why is the Mages' Guild so small? I expected there to be an entire Congress-esque council in the background story, plus a meeting room of some sort...not just a small clique of old people guiding what barely counts as a university.

I believe you're looking for bDoTallGrassEffect. Also, increase the value for iMinGrassSize to something around 100-120 and turn off bShadowsOnGrass. Changing fGrassWindMagnitudeMax and fGrassWindMagnitudeMin may help as well.

Start off small. Installing lots of mods at one time will 1. be annoying to find/install and 2. likely crash your game. You don't have to get everything - there are TONS of mods for Oblivion. In fact, the modding scene for Oblivion is likely one of the largest ever. I won't be able to provide any links to what I'm about to suggest, sadly; Google is your friend! Most of these mods can be found on TESNexus, luckily. I'm going to post this in a series of edits. Note that this list is basically my personal opinion of great/useful mods. Cherry pick as you please. I know these lists may be daunting - I personally have collected mods over a long period of time. The problems with trying to release a "patch" that contains a large amount of big mods are numerous, not the least of which is the fact that each mod has its own requirements for installation. Before installing any kind of mods, you'll want to update your Oblivion to the latest official patch. Installers/Mod Handling Programs/Performance: First off, download Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM). It'll save you a LOT of trouble. Some would also recommend Wyre Bash, but you can go without it for most mods. Wyre Bash takes more than a little bit of time to install. Next up, you'll probably need Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE). Unfortunately, I'm not entirely certain if it'll work with your version of Oblivion. Operation Optimization is a project that optimizes meshes in Oblivion and greatly helps with frame rates. Streamline is a mod that has a variety of uses, but its main one is keeping your RAM cache clear, speeding up your game and alleviating some crashes. Oblivion Stutter Remover is a mod that also attempts to help out performance. Apparently it works wonders for some people. The Unofficial Oblivion Patch is highly recommended by most people, as it fixes numerous bugs. There are also similar Unofficial Patches for expansions and DLC. Eyecandy/Immersion: Here's the first and perhaps best eyecandy mod in this list: the Oblivion Graphics Extender (OBGE). You'll want both the core files and the shader files. It's somewhat annoying to install, but it looks quite nice and makes the game look not-so-dated. If you want high-quality textures, there's a texture pack called QTP3. It'll likely take forever to download, though, but it's worth it if your rig can handle it. Next, if you want good-looking characters, you'll want Natural Faces, as well as some sort of body mod. Robert's Male Body (for male characters, obviously), and HGEC Body (for females) are the most popular. Note that these mods contain nudity (I know HGEC has a non-nude variant, but I'm not sure about Robert's). If you use a body mod, you'll need a stock armor/clothes replacer, like EVE HGEC Body Selector and Stock Equipment Replacer. If you want to replace the default interface (which I HIGHLY recommend), find a UI mod like DarkUI'd DarN. If you want improved weather and much better interiors (the lighting indoors changes based on the time of day, and you can see/hear weather effects while indoors), get All Natural. It will require Wyre Bash. There are some other mods that are recommended to be downloaded alongside it, mainly Enhanced Vegetation and Natural Environments. Note that these mods have ESPs which conflict, but I believe the readme tells you which ones to use. Unique Landscapes Compilation is a large mod pack that greatly improves various locales around Cyrodiil and adds new ones. Better Cities is a similar mod pack, but for cities. Note that these two mods are both large and very, very hard on your computer (I can't use the latter, even with a gaming rig, mostly due to the way Oblivion doesn't support multicore processors). Open Cities makes it so that the cities are like they are in Morrowind - they aren't separate cells, they're part of the worldspace, which means you can just walk right on in without a separate load screen. Initial Glow is a small mod that removes the annoying "membrane" effect from positive enchantments and spells. Get Wet (despite the...unfortunate name) is also a small mod that makes it so that when characters swim or stand in rain, you can see droplets on them. If you would prefer that characters hold their shields and/or 1-handed weapons on their back while not in combat, first get Shield on Back, then get Addon for Shield on Back, which makes it automatic. If you want skimpy armor mods, the only one I will mention here is Apachii Goddess Store. There are FAR, FAR too many to list here. There is also a large number of race mods, most of them female-only. One of the better (and most popular) ones is Moonshadow Elves. Ren's Beauty Pack adds a new race and a whole lot of hairstyles. It's required for a lot of race mods. Visually Enchanted adds, well, visual effects to weapon enchantments. Gameplay/Etc: If playing in third person suits your fancy, but you really don't like the default Oblivion 3rd person view, get Ultimate 3rd Person Camera. Note that it replaces the 1st person camera until you uninstall it. Enhanced Hotkeys will make using hotkeys much easier. It's practically required if you want to play a spellcaster. If you want an overall playing experience, you might want to consider looking up FCOM. I don't personally use it, but it's a HUGE mod pack that balances gameplay and adds tons to the game. If you want something that's similar and don't want too much headache with installation, get Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO). OOO is part of the FCOM pack, but it's still pretty good just by itself. Enhanced Economy makes buying/selling more realistic, although I would recommend not using the "realistic" settings unless you enjoy not being rich ever. I had to bump up the amount of money all merchants have just so I can actually sell some gear once I hit higher levels. Realistic Fatigue is an attempt to make fatigue more important and more immersive. It also makes encumbrance make more sense. I HIGHLY recommend that you get Realistic Leveling - it removes the "get 10 major skills, sleep, and all enemies are now stronger than you" frustration by making it so that your skill increases automatically correlate to attribute increases, rather than choosing a few upon level up; others might recommend Oblivion XP (not sure if they're compatible). Supreme Magicka is a pretty good mod that adds new spells and makes magic in general - but especially Mysticism - more dangerous/useful. Midas Magic is a similar mod, but I believe it's incompatible with OOO, and it's also quite unbalancing. Deadly Reflex and Unnecessary Violence are two very popular mods that make combat more visceral and fast-paced, but they're a pain to install. If you don't like how fast travel makes the game world so much smaller, but you dread having to walk everywhere, get Cyrodiil Transportation Network. It changes the fast travel to be more like the kind in Morrowind - purchasable fast travel between cities. CM Partners is a great mod if you want to have party members, although I personally don't like using them due to Oblivion's poor handling of group combat and AI. One of the more popular addon characters for it is Feria. Dude Wheres My Horse puts a map marker on your horse so you won't lose track of it.

When Bethesda put the adoring fan into the game. I mean, wtf Bethesda? I think he does his job (being annoying and being entertaining to kill) quite well.

I found a non-random Daedric Claymore in one of the dead drop locations for the Dark Brotherhood (I think). The section of the dungeon was called "Hold-your-breath" and was heavily flooded. I can't remember the full name, though, sadly... Also, there's one Ayleid ruin that, with OOO installed, has a meteorite weapon hidden on a small ledge in a hallway. I only saw it because the gem on it glowed in the darkness. I'll look the names of the places up... Also, most people probably know this, but Vilverin has an Ayleid statue in it. Said statue is part of a long quest. If you sell one of them, a servant will eventually walk up to you and initiate the quest. There's also a similar questline that starts in the inn right across the bridge from the Imperial City. The innkeeper asks you to find 6 bottles of Shadowbanish wine, which is found in fort ruins. I found one location, will post the name shortly. Edit: The Ayleid ruin I mentioned earlier is Nornal, east of the Imperial City and south of Cheydinhal. It's one of the dead drop locations for the Dark Brotherhood. Walk down the stairs and turn left (to the right in the water is the dead drop location) into the bigger room with the elevator. Turn right and look behind the crate to press a switch that opens a wall. Go through the new opening in said wall. The meteorite mace will be on one of the small ledges (the one closest and to your left) just above your head in the 4-way spot of the hallway - you'll have to jump and grab it. The only enemies in the first part of the dungeon are critters. Nornalhorst is an unrelated Ayleid ruin full of vampires, southeast of Skingrad. It's part of a quest in OOO (you can pick it up by reading a certain book on vampires [An Extended History of Vampires in Tamriel, Volume 2, I think], one of which can be found on a table after the boss of Crowhaven, the place where the Grey Prince/Grand Champion sends you). Of note is the massive amount of rare OOO loot the place has - blood leather, dark elven armor, and lots of other expensive goodies. Of particular note is a meteoric fire staff that can be found in a coffin in the second area of the dungeon, in the long room full of pedestals with welkynd stones. However, I would recommend not coming here unless you're quite strong, as nearly every enemy is a high level vampire (and the final boss is just nasty with chameleon, dispel, high damage, too much health, spell absorption, and very high resistance to fire [which sucks because vampires are weak vs fire], although he has some unique loot). I tried clearing the place at level 23 and couldn't finish the second part. Nenyond Twill is an Ayleid ruin (starting to see a pattern here) that is part of a Mages' Guild quest. It's near the road, south of the Imperial City and east of Skingrad - sort of at a right angle between them. It is FULL of awesome leveled loot, especially if you have OOO - there's a high chance of getting a meteoric weapon and other assorted goodies. In the room with the little walkway across the water, there is a switch in the water you can press to get a varla stone (if memory serves correctly). I couldn't find the other two dungeons I mentioned before the edit, but oh well.