Oblivion: GOTY edition character creation screen is black.

[LenaLain54652]

ive been trying to mod my Oblivion (its the Game of the year edition ) for the last several days and i just cant seem to get it right at all. i will enclose my computers specs and the Nexus mod Manager's last crash. and also ill take a screen shot of my Nexus mod manager because i really just need help at this point which mods will work with which, and wont cause my game to have a black screen when i go to load/make a new game and get to the character creation mode.
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i really dont know what else to do ive been trying to fix the plugins/mods... but im not sure what i should be doing to fix the problem.

Edited January 14, 2014 by LenaLain54652

[Striker879]

Did the vanilla game with absolutely no mods or plugins run?

[LenaLain54652]

i should try that...
yes it does. but that's in a whole separate folder. because i....foolishly have two folders since the NMM wont run from the original folder. so i copied and moved all the files to the games folder.

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also i think i fixed it although i do not know how. take a look at the the plugins and mods lists im not sure what made it work again....


okay i was able to Make my character and everything was fine untill the game got to the first area in the tutorial section where the guards fight and the captain dies. but then the game stops.
i think im going to delete all the mods and then just redownload the ones i really want. :/
:(

Edited January 14, 2014 by LenaLain54652

[Striker879]

Rule #1 is always get the vanilla game to run. Go through the tutorial dungeon and make a save just before exiting the sewers, prior to the character finalization menu (when you see the sewer exit in the distance). That save will be used in the future if you want to start a new character but don't want to redo the tutorial. Exit the tutorial sewer and make another save (never overwriting any previous saves ... not a good habit). That save will be your mod testing save. Next go to the Imperial City Market District during the day time and check how the game runs. This will be your baseline for the game's performance on your hardware. Then start adding mods one at a time and use the outside the sewers save to test each one. When you add a mod that causes problems it will be child's play to figure out where to start troubleshooting. When you add 20 or 30 mods all at once you'll eventually break the game, and good luck figuring out where to start to get it unbroken.

 

Rule #2 is never install the game in the default location C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) if you are using Vista, Win 7 or Win 8. You'll spend more time trying to figure out if you installed something wrong or if it's UAC interfering than you will playing the game once you start adding mods.

 

Sounds to me like you're already started on a pretty messy install situation. If you're looking to get a proper fresh start you can use Bben46's Oblivion reinstall procedure to get things straightened out. Don't miss the link near the top of the page about moving your Steam install location if you use the Steam version of the game, and don't skip the registry cleaning step ... especially in your situation it's important.

[LenaLain54652]

alright that sounds like a good way to do this. ill just turn off all the plugins and then i will delete the other folder for my mods ill redirect the NMM to load from the oblivion folder in the other folder because i did reinstall the game but not in C: program files or C: program files (x86) and its not a steam game i have it in a physical cd form. i will let you know if all goes well.

[Striker879]

The other advice I can give is that Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) isn't the most reliable tool for installing Oblivion mods. It will work OK for most simple to install mods providing they are packaged in "standard" file and folder format, but most older mods that have different options to choose from will seldom work correctly (the mod description will usually recommend Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) or manual install on older mods). Guess you could say, rule #3 is read the mod install instructions and if you are determined to try NMM be prepared for some failures (unless those instructions say "Using NMM install this mod ...").

Edited January 14, 2014 by Striker879

[LenaLain54652]

okay so i uninstalled the game and then i cleared my registry and everything. i think i missed a few steps. im bone tired it took me nearly all night just to get that done. i guess i will make a copy of the games file folder and paste it some where else. and then delete the mods out of the old one that way the game can run without any problems.

[Striker879]

You can't just copy and paste the game folders and expect it to run. Yes you can backup your Data folder and either use that backup as a guide and re-install your mods or if there aren't too many conflicting mods in your backup Data folder you may be able to replace your fresh install's Data folder with your backup. For the game to run it needs registry entries that the game creates when you install it using setup.exe from the disk (autorun starts setup.exe). That's also the reason you need to uninstall the game correctly before you try to re-install (all of the steps in bben46's guide are required).

[LenaLain54652]

oooooooooooooooh! well i did do that

i use setup.exe and it did do that it runs fine normally no mods attached

i should clear the data of the mods then and just pick a few to start with ill redownload any i need later.@_____@

[Striker879]

By vanilla game with no mods installed I meant no mods at all in the game's Data folder. The reason is that even if a mod isn't ticked as active the game still reads everything in it's Data folder when it starts. Sure it won't load an unactivated mod into memory but all the meshes and textures that may have been included with that inactive mod do get loaded. Troubleshooting is starting from a known position and figuring a way out.

 

If the vanilla game runs then go through the tutorial dungeon. At the last part (where you can first see the sewer exit off in the distance) make a save. This save will be from just before you get the character finalization menus and will come in handy if you ever want to create a new character and don't want to redo the tutorial. Then after you have gone through character finalization exit the sewer. Make another save in a new save slot (overwriting saves is never a good idea). This save will be the one you use to test mods, but before you add any mods you need to be certain the game will run smoothly. Once you exit the sewer the game engine starts taxing your machine far more than it did in the tutorial. All the trees and grass and distant scenery will show whether you need to adjust any of your graphics settings. Next go to the Imperial City Market District during daylight hours when it's busy. All the NPCs and their AI packages will tax your CPU and show up any problems there. Now you can exit the game (no need to save) and start adding mods.

 

Start with mods that are relatively simple to install, preferably ones that have good clear mod install instructions in the mod description and/or readme. Get into the habit of reading through at least part of the mod comments looking for the type of problems that other users have reported. Eventually you'll understand more and will get a good feeling of whether a mod author has created a quality product and understands himself how it works.

 

Until you are a grizzled old experienced modder stick with adding a single mod at a time and test thoroughly in between. For the first bunch you'll probably use that outside the sewer exit "mod testing" save, but you will eventually want to venture far and wide and start completing quests. There's no reason to always go back to that mod testing save every time to test a mod. You can add a mod and continue from where you left off. If you run into a mod that is giving you problems you can try loading the mod testing save but chances are it will still give you grief (the longer your mod list gets the more likely you will run into a mod conflict, and even that first save will be affected by your current load list).

 

I use a utility called Multiple Oblivion Manager (MOM) to manage multiple characters as well as some testing profiles. If you installed MOM before adding any mods (first thing after you exit the sewer and make that outside the sewer save) then down the road if you run into a problem getting a mod to run you can switch profiles to that clean load order save profile outside the sewers and test the troublesome mod on your clean install. You can have as many profiles as you have hard drive space for and switching between them is dead simple.