Is Vortex possessed? Freezing and forced minimising

[showler]

OBSE is a weird case.  Oblivion came out just as Steam introduced new DRM which made it impossible for the Script Extender to use a launcher without violating the DRM.  So Valve and Bethesda helped out by making the Steam launcher for the game automatically check for OBSE and load it if it exists.

Basically as long as OBSE is installed properly launching Oblivion through Steam will always load OBSE as well.

Edited October 21 by showler

[BlueSteelRanger]

3 minutes ago, showler said:

OBSE is a weird case.  Oblivion came out just as Steam introduced new DRM which made it impossible for the Script Extender to use a launcher without violating the DRM.  So Valve and Bethesda helped out by making the Steam launcher for the game automatically check for OBSE and load it if it exists.

Basically as long as OBSE is installed properly launching Oblivion through Steam will always load OBSE as well.

It will? Hmm. OBSE is one of those "I will never, ever remove it" bits, as I'm sure it is for a lot of us.

Will it pop up as it does in-game as "Now running OBSE version (whatever version you have)"? I get that in-game upon a new playthrough.
And, will it allow/run mods through the Steam launch?

[showler]

It should.  That workaround was implemented 18 years ago and has never had an issue.

If you check in Vortex's dashboard you'll notice that the OBSE launcher is NOT the "primary tool" for Oblivion, while the script extenders ARE the primary tool for all the other Bethesda games.

[vortexposer]

The Vortex Script Extender extension doesn't treat Oblivion any different than their other BGS games and definitely sets as primary launcher (registers after 1st reboot), so users will have to specifically "unset as primary" in order to launch standard launcher - which obse has always stated as its intended "loader" for Steam vs obse_loader.exe

 

Edited October 21 by vortexposer

[showler]

Well, I installed OBSE through Vortex, never changed the primary tool and mine defaults to the regular Oblivion launcher because no primary tool is set.

Can't tell you why, but haven't had an issue with OBSE for 18 years now through manual installs, BAIN, NMM and Vortex.

[vortexposer]

I can and have reproduced this behaviour (and even reported a few times) since before script extender ext. was added to its bundled extension. Is very easy to confirm; uninstall/delete xobse, reboot to follow auto-install ext. process, reboot again and it'll force xobse to be "set as primary". Then user is forced to take extra steps to have to unset xobse as primary in order to use the Oblivion.exe or oblivionlauncher.exe (custom).

 

Edited October 29 by vortexposer

[vortexposer]

Correction: extension sets primary before it even installs obse (via prompt) and doesn't need rebooted per se but won't fully register until UI is forced to refresh. E.g. Mods tab, rt click > refresh will allow dashboard/tools bar to display updated status.

 

 

Personally, I disable the extension and use local collection drafts to auto-install script extenders for all my BGS games
Versus manual set up - which requires using unpack (as-is) install and setting mod type every time it gets re-installed

And reminds me...

 

Extension sets incorrect metadata by forcing nexus ID copy to register as github page (breaks collection source)

Edited October 29 by vortexposer

[Nagev]

  

16 hours ago, BlueSteelRanger said:

I did actually try running Oblivion through the OBSE launcher in the Oblivion folder without opening Vortex. It straight-up didn't let me, popping up a message about "You're trying to run a Steam version..." So either I messed that up, or Vortex and OBSE want each other, pardon the odd wording.

  

16 hours ago, BlueSteelRanger said:

Update: It happened again tonight, twice in the same places in the Tutorial Dungeon. I'm starting to think it might be one of the mods in my list (Heavily disappointing if that's the case, as I've been wanting to run through one of those mods for a while now).

 

You basically have to make sure that Steam is started up and logged in with the user that owns the game and the "You're trying to run a Steam version..." error will go away when running obse directly.

But yes, having it crash at the exact same location does highlight a mod specific issue.

[BlueSteelRanger]

Quote

You basically have to make sure that Steam is started up and logged in with the user that owns the game and the "You're trying to run a Steam version..." error will go away when running obse directly.

Hmm. I *am* the owner of the game and associated Steam account. So I think i did something wrong. I managed to get through the tutorial dungeon despite the crashes/freezes. I think I'll be testing the mod exclusively tonight, to try and rule that out first. (If unaware, it's the Lost Spires mod. Yeah, I know, it's almost as old as the game itself, but I have been wanting to try it, haha).

My next test will likely be a run without that mod, because I THINK, if that mod IS the issue, then doing a run without it may prove it.

[BlueSteelRanger]

Update: @Nagev I tried running Oblivion through Steam alone -- Success! And no significant crashes! I open Vortex briefly to keep the thing up to date and running properly, but then close it.

OBSE and all my mods are working properly too! Thanks, y'all!

And once again, Nexus Denizens freaking rule.