Meshes - Marker_Error.NIF after UOP

[RangerTeamEcho]

Hi all,

 

i just encountered a Marker_Error.nif under Meshes, but it's on a clean oblivion install + the 3 x UOPs. it so happens i was already aware of this, so i took extra notice and it is confirmed this only appeared in meshes folder after i installed all 3 UOP through OBMM, launched through OBMM, and exited to desktop. it is 63kb size.

 

can i just delete this file.

Edited June 4, 2021 by RangerTeamEcho

[Striker879]

What is the full folder path to Marker_Error.nif ... I'm not having any luck finding it in the UOP extracted download.

[RangerTeamEcho]

it's in data\meshes

 

for me it's C:\TES\oblivion\Data\meshes

why does this occur? does it mean system does not know where to put the mesh, and it came from one of the UOP mods?

Edited June 4, 2021 by RangerTeamEcho

[Striker879]

LOL ... the one folder I didn't look in!

 

That is the mesh the game uses when displaying a missing mesh error. The vanilla game uses a giant exclamation mark ... the UOP replaces the exclamation mark with a big star that says "WTF!? I'm a missing Mesh!" (just so you get the idea I guess). If you delete it the game will just use it's exclamation mark.

[RangerTeamEcho]

oh for me under explorer it displays the OBMM "padlock" icon

 

so i can delete it? but what mesh is missing? i only have UOP installed so far. before i installed UOP, the file was not there.

 

EDIT

 

i removed it already, just to test. then i booted into a game twice, once through obse, once through obmm, but strangely system is not generating another one anymore. although nothing has been changed in my game.

why was this produced in the first place

Edited June 4, 2021 by RangerTeamEcho

[Striker879]

If you delete the UOP version of Marker_Error.nif the game will just use the one found in Oblivion - Meshes.bsa ... so you'll see the exclamation mark instead of the UOP star with the WTF message.

 

The error mesh is used any time you install a mod that uses an ESP to display a new mesh in the game but don't install all of the meshes that the ESP assigns in the game.

 

Let's say you download Joe's Really Cool Armor mod (that adds new armor to the game) and when you install it you mess up and forget to install the Data\Meshes\JoesReallyCoolArmor\JoesArmorContainer.nif (that JoesReallyCoolArmor.esp places in the IC Market District, along with 40,000 other mods that add armor to the game). You go to the Market District to get the armor from the chest and where the mod description says it's supposed to be you only see ... 1) a big yellow exclamation mark or 2) a big greyish star that says WTF!? I'm a missing Mesh!

 

In case one you either don't have the UOP installed or have deleted the file Oblivion\Data\Meshes\Marker_Error.nif after you installed the UOP ... in case two you have installed the UOP and then moved on to other things on your To Do list.

[RangerTeamEcho]

Aahh i understand what u mean by stars now. don't worry i still have it, i moved it away to another location to see if system would generate another. i'll move it back for now but all the same i hope to locate the missing mesh.

 

In that case i am able to isolate the cause, and i'm almost 100% certain, since this was a fresh install and i actually count the steps during operations. if u refer to one of the mail i sent u couple days ago, i listed a test order right? 0-5, 0 being x4 upscaled textures/improved meshes, 1 -3 being UOPs. tonight i reciprocated back on the same set of instructions. before this current oblivion install i was already monitoring this mesh error because i encountered it before. it occurred after step 1/2/3, which was a UOP installation, by way of OBMM. at step 0, i manually installed the x4 textures/improved meshes. that by itself- nothing wrong, i started up and exited, and confirmed i found no error. Therefore, it is logical to assume there is some incompatibility (only concerning 1 missing mesh mind you) between that upscaling mod with one of the UOP mods (generic/SI/DLC). Perhaps UOP series was designed to be executed on vanilla 1.2.0416 only.

 

It has to be, because i only took 2 actions, and it occurred after the second.

 

Is there a way to find out which mesh is missing, from the Marker_Error.nif? if not this file, is there any log in my oblivion directory i can look at?

Edited June 4, 2021 by RangerTeamEcho

[Striker879]

OK ... maybe I was missing your point. I thought you were just referring to the Marker_Error.nif (which will only display if you in fact have an ESP that references a particular mesh but the game can't find it).

 

So are you saying that you are seeing either the vanilla giant exclamation mark or the UOP's star with the WTF text in game?

 

RefScope can be used to track down the culprit mod.

 

I've never used it myself as I just open the console and then click on the base of the error mesh (can sometimes take a little clicking around to find the right spot). The referenceID of the object will be displayed at the top of the console screen, and the first two digits of that correspond to the originating mod's spot in the load order (displayed as hexadecimal, which is a pita to convert to decimal ... I just look in Wrye Bash on the Mods tab and each active mod's load order hex number is displayed along with the ESP name).

[RangerTeamEcho]

no no, in-game now i see nothing wrong at all. i am aware of the stars thing cos once long ago i mucked up a skybox mod and i saw cartoonish drawings across the sky with 'WTF', so i assume, there must be a star somewhere inside the game now, corresponding to my current error marker, but i have not actually come across it.

 

-> At my C:\TES\oblivion\Data\meshes, i see the physical file "Meshes - Marker_Error.NIF".

 

This file came about AFTER i installed, activated UOP (the 3 main ones), launched game, exited to desktop. i found it there, in meshes folder. it has a padlock icon on it.

 

i'm askling, if i open or view this using some tool, can i locate what mesh is really missing. it's now 64kb size.

[Striker879]

Marker.Error.nif is what the game uses when it can't find the mesh it was expecting. If you use OBMM to browse Oblivion - Meshes.bsa you'll find it in the file path Meshes\Marker_Error.nif (same as if you download the UOP to a folder and then extract the download you will find it's replacement for the vanilla game Marker_Error.nif in the extracted download's Meshes\Marker_Error.nif ... it works as a simple replacer same as HGEC or Roberts Male, or countless other replacer mods).

 

Marker_Error.nif doesn't cause the missing mesh, it is the error indication that the game uses to tell you that you have a missing mesh in one of your mods.

 

Marker_Error.nif can't tell you which mod is missing a mesh, just that one of your mods is missing a mesh. I don't know this for certain, but I think that if the game didn't have something to display instead of the missing mesh it would just crash (and you'd be stuck scratching your head trying to figure out why).

 

An example of a fairly common situation that happens when the game has no way to signal an error ... if you install a UI replacer mod and then uninstall it (but don't follow the instructions on fixing your Oblivion.ini) when you try to start the game after unistalling the UI mod it will just crash. It crashes because it is missing fonts for the menus that it is looking for (they are defined in Oblivion.ini, which the UI mod installation changed to match the fonts it uses, but then when you uninstalled the UI mod it removed the fonts). The game developers never considered the possibility of UI replacers, and so never developed an error code for missing menu fonts so that the game could gracefully inform you of the problem.

 

Marker_Error.nif is the error code for a missing mesh, black or invisible texture is the error code for missing normal map, pinkish purple texture for missing colour maps, parts extending to infinity for missing bone weights/rigging (though that one may not be an actual intended error code, and could be just the game engine doing the best it can with a bad situation).

 

RefScope (that I linked above) is one tool for finding out which mod has the missing mesh, another possble tool is FormID Finder.

 

Where you see the missing mesh error code can also be a clue (example, if it's only out in the forests then I'd start troubleshooting with any mods you have that affect trees/bushes/shrubs etc).

 

Just an FYI ... the version of the Marker_Error.nif mesh that comes included with the UOP is 64KB in size ... the one that is in Oblivion - Meshes.bsa is 4KB in size. The one from the UOP has a whole bunch of information telling you what it is, the one from the vanilla game is just a big exclamation mark. You can use BSA unpacker to extract Marker_Error.nif from Oblivion - Meshes.bsa (it is the same tool as you have incorporated into OBMM ... just pulled out to act as a standalone utility). You can use NifSkope to view those and other mesh NIFs.