"Unable to load area" when starting a new game - possible mod issue

[theskymoves]

I'm still not convinced the issue lies with a simple mod conflict (i.e., two mods editing the same file), but by Andraste's fiery butt, that is a lot of mods. And far too many conflicting files for any level of comfort, to be honest.

I recommend starting over, and being more selective in terms of what is installed. DAO can tolerate and even play optimally with a large number of mods installed, but it doesn't handle file conflicts well. I'd also suggest keeping mods in discrete folders, rather than putting files loose in the override folder... troubleshooting issues is much simpler when the files for a mod are in a folder and easily identified as being from that mod. Also, if I understand DAO 'load order' (or really, just how the game gives priority to files), loose files have the lowest priority in terms of being used.

Edited to add that some duplicate files are perfectly okay, and won't cause any issues... for example, both Morrigan Restoration Patch and Zevran Dialogue Fix include identically named files that would appear to be in conflict, but since the files are identical, there's no issue with them both being installed. However, a conflict would arise if a third mod, like Improved Romance Scenes - Alistair includes different edits of the same files.  Likewise, a customizable mod like Dain's Fixes may intentionally include multiple copies of the same file, each in the folder of a different optional component. And something like a texture replacer for an armor mod (both in override, with the replacer given priority through its folder name) is unlikely to result in any conflict related issues (though the high resolution textures may be problematic).

[BlickJustice]

It certainly is quite a number, I've got fewer of them, that's for certain . That's one positive though - with this amount of mods and the fact that, as you admit, you installed many of them without a second thought - we're closer to the cause of the problem. 

But don't worry, we'll handle it somehow, just remember for the future not to install THAT many mods without keeping potential incompatibilities in mind, and well, DA:O engine sooner or later can reach its limit, the big retexture mods usually responsible. I think there may be an overload, it's safer to have just a few of such mods that cover different game textures. If you have a lot of 2k, 4k textures in the override - it really can be too much for the engine. I can suggest you a rextexture/upscale mod combination that works cleanly for me, and it would for you, if you want. 

DA:Origins was finished in 2009 as a 32-bit application, it's worth to keep that in mind as well.

Going through the duplicates...9345, impressive, but definitely too many to go through that route. 

I want to help you, so I don't back down from the proposition - write them down or show screenshots of the mod list - and I shall do what I can to find the source of the issue. And just as @theskymoves wrote while I was writing my response - keep a clean override with mods in seperate folders, so that you know what is where, putting hundreds of loose files - it can be a mess. And plan ahead which mods you want or need. You could start over as it has been suggested or I can sort the list out (253 mods), it's nothing compared to facing the Archdemon .

[theskymoves]

Just stumbled on some info regarding the recent GOG updating DAO as part of their Preservation Program, and it seems that their 'tinkering' broke the game. They've since made some alterations (looks like they rolled the installer back to an earlier version) in an attempt to remedy the issues, but from the feedback, it's still not 100% fixed. (And it ooks like they've also removed the 4GB prepatch from the files, so that's a thing in flux... I'd keep an eye on the patch notes on the DAO GOG store.)

Links:

GOG store - Dragon Age: Origins

Current plan for the issues with DA:O

Dragon Age: Origin...in GOG is broken.