FCOM OOO and MMM overwriting

[Johny Obliv]

Hi, i recently started installing fcom, but i've already run into a problem. I install OOO and MMM via oblivion mod manager. First i installed OOO, that was overwriting files from Servant of the Dawn and Capes and Cloaks. Then i installed MMM and it was overwriting files from OOO. MMM was also overwriting some things from the Unofficial Oblivion Patch. Is this all normal? Should i deactivate mods like Capes and Cloaks and Servant of the Dawn, because some files were overwritten? All help would be appreciated. :thanks:

[dezdimona]

General Load-Order Guidelines

Here are the guidelines that I adhere to, personally.

 

~ Unofficial Oblivon Patch should always be first on the list. The fixes are great, but most aren't essential, so if a mod overwrites them its not a big deal, and the fixes have the potential for screwing up other mods if loaded later.

 

~ Offical Content (DLC's) should be loaded last, until you complete all quests associated with them (that includes buying all furniture for the houses and whatnot). Once they're complete, they can be safely moved up in the list. This is especially important for Knights of the Nine, which will have some fairly major problems unless loaded last (unless you get the UOP for KotN)

 

~ Major overhaul mods (OOO, Frans, MMM) should be loaded near the end. That gives you the most complete experience with any of those particular mods. It also lets you carefully choose which other mods to load afterwards... only move mods that you know will conflict and that you want the changes from. For example, I have Improved Soul Gems below OOO because I know that OOO changes the icons of some of the SG's, and ISG needs to be below to show through.

 

Some people will recommend putting larger mods first, but personally I disagree. There are a number of mods out there that make minor tweaks, and loading after a large mod will end up completely overwriting a chunk from one of the bigger mods because of the way conflicts work in Oblivion (even one minor change will take precedence over the entire record... for example, simply tweaking the speed of a weapon can cause every stat of that weapon to be retained to vanilla levels if loaded later).

 

So basically, it stacks up like this...

 

Oblivion.esm

Unofficial Oblivion Patch

<Minor Mods / DLC's (Post-Completion)>

<Major Overhaul Mod/Mods>

<Mods that specifically conflict with overhauls and need to take precedence>

<DLC's (Pre-Completion)>

 

 

 

Expanded Load-Order Guidelines

by dev_akm

 

I would extend this to include:

 

Oblivion.esm

Unofficial Oblivion Patch

<Weather/Environment/Sound Mods>

<Minor Mods/New Items/Houses/DLC's (Post-Completion)>

<Major Overhaul Mods>

<Mods that specifically conflict with overhauls and need to take precedence>

<DLC's (Pre-Completion)>

<Quests>

<Compatibility Patches/UOMP/Merged Leveled Lists>

 

And a special-case warning for Knights.esp (Knights of the Nine) -- you may not be able to move it earlier than some other mods (some people have had problems after moving it before OOO, for example).

 

That's basically the structure I use and I have 140+ mods working well together.

 

Another way of describing this (posted by DMan77):

....

Oblivion

unoffical patch

Deeper realism mods that add sights and sounds

added content like weapons/items

gameplay changes, like 'must eat and sleep'

The OOO type

the 'new begining' type mod..

................................................................................

.................

 

The mod last in your load order will take place over precedeing mods, its normal for some files to get over written

 

before adding any mod makesure you make a copy of your data folder if huge problems arise you have a backup

[bben46]

Any mod that changes something that already exists in the game will have to overwrite to get it into the game. If a mod changes something changed by another mod, the mod loaded last will overwrite the change made by a mod loaded before it.

 

The overwriting is only done in memory each time you start the game. the actual files on the hard drive are not changed at all.

 

A very simple example of how this works:

There are 2 mods that change the same thing, in this case mod Redrobe.esp changes the color of a vanilla robe from black to Red. If it is the only mod, it will overwrite the game black robe with red and a red robe will appear where a black one was.

 

Then you add bluerobe.esp. if it loads after redrobe then the same robe will now be blue in the game. If you want the robe to be red, you could change the load order so redrobe loads after bluerobe.

 

Then when the game starts, it will load the vanilla black robe, then bluerobe will overwrite that, and later, Redrobe will overwrite bluerobe so you get the red robe you wanted.

 

Of course, most mods change a lot more than just the color of a single object so it becomes a trade off as to which mod should control things.

[Johny Obliv]

Ok thanks for clarifying that :)

 

But i have another question.

 

On the devnull.devakm page for installing FCOM, at the chapter of Installing Francesco's, this recommendation is given.

 

"During installation of Fran's base mod, we recommend the following options:

 

Shivering Isles version(Optional)

MOBS

Hardcore Loot

Separate files (Required! CRITICAL!)

Living Economy(Optional; Never use at the same time as standalone LE!)

Optional items add-on(Recommended! Requires separate BSA download!)

Optional chance of more enemies (Only if you picked SI option)

Optional chance of stronger bosses (Required)

Optional chance of stronger enemies (Required)

Optional leveled guards(Only if you picked SI option)

 

NOTE: The files marked required above must be installed even for a non-SI setup!

 

You can also use the day-length timer and respawn timer options from Fran's or from OOO, but it's probably better to set these options in your Bashed Patch.

 

Do NOT use ANY other Fran files except these."

 

 

But i still don't realy understand wich options i should choose and wich not. I'm installing francesco's with the self installer version. I'm now at the part where i should choose what mods i want and what mods i don't want, by marking the squares. Should i install all of the optional files for FCOM to work? Optional files 1,2,3 and 4. And should i not use: New third party items/creatures?

 

What is meant by Seperate Files? What files?

[Johny Obliv]

Better Oblivion Software Sorting says that i should choose seperate files when the choice is presented, but the choice is never prestented. So what should i chosse instead. I use the self installer version.

[Germandeathkittiez]

I'm not sure of anything with Oblivion because the effects I get from experimenting with OBMM in the actual game are so subtle and hard to tell what exactly changed it (plus large mods take forever to install) So I'm using FCOM I encountered the same thing with those 3 mods; MMM, OOO and UOP. My advice is to overwrite (physically, not in load order) the files in UOP with whichever dominant features you want from either of the other two mods (OOO or MMM). I still get missing cuirass and other armor meshes, though, but I haven't tried overwriting OOO with MMM cause MMM is so **** hard to reinstall. Another suggestion is just to use one of the 3 (or more) leave FCOM alone because it's easier and saves a headache.

[Johny Obliv]

Ahh i found it, seperate files means just that i shouldn't choose merge files. Pretty stupid.

 

So i just installed FCOM, but i'm not sure if everything is working. I don't get missing meshes, that's a good thing. But doesn't OOO make NPC's in-game stronger? With FCOM activated, i just slaughtered everyone in Bravil, and i am lvl 33. Even the guards weren't that hard to kill. The regular NPC's were killed in two hits with a weapon with an attack power of 36. Is this normal? Because i thought that OOO would make the game a bigger challenge.

 

And i've been into the wilderness briefly, but i didn't find hordes of creatures that i thought would be added by MMM.

[Johny Obliv]

Ahh i found it, seperate files means just that i shouldn't choose merge files. Pretty stupid.

 

So i just installed FCOM, but i'm not sure if everything is working. I don't get missing meshes, that's a good thing. But doesn't OOO make NPC's in-game stronger? With FCOM activated, i just slaughtered everyone in Bravil, and i am lvl 33. Even the guards weren't that hard to kill. The regular NPC's were killed in two hits with a weapon with an attack power of 36. Is this normal? Because i thought that OOO would make the game a bigger challenge.

 

And i've been into the wilderness briefly, but i didn't find hordes of creatures that i thought would be added by MMM.

 

Can someone just answer this simple question?

[dezdimona]

if OOO is last in your load order,you will have some of MMM overwritten,I know you already know this.Place MMM last and that should help!

[Johny Obliv]

I use Better Oblivion Sorting Software to take care of my load order, so that shouldn't be the problem. I just wanna know if this is normal.

 

So i just installed FCOM, but i'm not sure if everything is working. I don't get missing meshes, that's a good thing. But doesn't OOO make NPC's in-game stronger? With FCOM activated, i just slaughtered everyone in Bravil, and i am lvl 33. Even the guards weren't that hard to kill. The regular NPC's were killed in two hits with a weapon with an attack power of 36. Is this normal? Because i thought that OOO would make the game a bigger challenge.

 

And i've been into the wilderness briefly, but i didn't find hordes of creatures that i thought would be added by MMM.