nervous about mods

[austin21]

hey i am nervous and scared that the mods my mess up and i got some ghost eyes floating around and no face i mean that stuff creeps me out so i am nervous about installing the mod cause it may mess up i read the redme files but i am not sure if i am gonna do it right :unsure:

[Khaos635]

if your scarred your gonna mess something up just make sure to back up all yoru oblivion data to another folder. apply the mod and if it works good. if it doesnt then you know you did somethign wrong, delete all the oblivion data and paste the backup data in its place back to normal. ive had problems and learned this the hard way after installing multiple mods and messing one up. lol. good luck =]

[Balakirev]

Also, start small. Don't try to install 30 mods at once, and avoid the complex mods to start with--things like Oscuro's, Martigens, or Francesco's. Find just a couple of mods you like whose results you can check speedily once installed to see how they went. For example, Exterior Actors have Torches. It's easy enough to see if you've got this installed correctly, because if so, and you fast travel at night to a city, you should see the inhabitants bearing torches. I'm not suggesting you install this mod, but things like it: things you can easily verify.

 

Remember to hand install your files. I never auto-install. That way lies madness. ;) Because modders have no standardized way of storing their directory trees, it's easy to get messed up on where mods are auto-placed. Instead, I look for the Data folder in a mod archive, then I double click on it. I click and drag the various folders and files (usually with names such as Meshes and Textures) onto my hard drive's Oblivion/Data subdirectory. When I'm asked to overwrite, I say yes to all. But as suggested above, be sure you backup your Data subdirectory, first. Just to be safe.

 

Good luck. Mods are great. :)

[bben46]

Here is the link to my article on Backing up Oblivion

http://www.tesnexus.com/articles/article.php?id=260

[Goliatron]

If you do it wrong, the world will not abruptly end. Uninstall the mod (a good mod should have clear uninstall instructions) and try again. There is help all over this site for new people. Start small and be smart.

 

Posts are difficult to read without punctuation.

[Megatarius]

I second everything in this thread. Including the punctuation thing. Sorry, but it's a big problem on a lot of boards.

 

 

As for the real topic, think of it this way:

 

There are a few little files that Oblivion installs to your computer called .bsa files. Bethesda Softworks Archive. Inside them, is a particular folder structure of the game files. This folder structure is the exact same folder structure that mods you download will encourage you to use when installing your mods. The way Oblivion works, to my knowledge, is that it checks the computer first, and if it sees nothing in the folders, it will turn to the .bsa files. If there are things in the folders, like mods, it will use them instead. I had this exact experience with a sound file. I have a strong dislike for the howling wind that plays during every storm. It makes me want to skip through the game whenever there's a storm. But putting a silent file with the correct name in the correct folder fixed that. Now rain is much, much different feeling, and way better.

 

You can do two things with this system:

 

1. The mod's .esp file, Elder Scrolls Plugin, will sometimes tell the game to look in a new folder for a file, like "Data/Meshes/Mystuff/newsword.nif", which is not in the .bsa.

 

2. You can, however, put a folder and file onto your harddrive that the game is programmed to look for already, like "Data/Meshes/Clothes/Lowerclass/f/03/shirt.nif. This file and folder structer is already in the .bsa, but if you put it on your computer, and your version of shirt.nif is buggy and shows up wrong in the game, that doesn't mean you broke the real shirt.nif, it's just looking at your buggy one instead. Just delete it, and it will go back to looking at the regular one in the .bsa file.

 

In both cases, nothing in the real game is broken. The only way you can really "break" the game is to save your game in a complicated mod-conflict scenario that results in your save files being corrupted, but that's not too easy to do.

 

You should know that if you ever see the message "This save file relies on Data that is no longer present. Some objects might not show up correctly.", you have nothing to worry about. That just means your save file is looking for a mod that has since been disabled. Nothing bad will happen in that save except a particular mod's effects will no longer be there. Corrupted save files are not common.

 

 

I hope that was clear enough. Basically this game was designed to be very easy to change, which is why I like it. Some changes are coded more deeply than others, but a huge amount of things are easily changed if you know how. Don't think of it as "this is a game that can be modded." Think of it is "this is a template that has a basic example of what to do with it already packaged, but is by no means the limit." I would have quit playing after a month if Vanilla Oblivion was all there is.

[Netwit2008]

Don't be scared! About 10 months ago, I had the exact same feeling. It was Bben and his article at the Storm Raven Library that taught me how. Dezdimona's tips on load order and getting OBMM helped me get my load order in decent shape and keep it that way.

 

Well...10 months later I'm running about 150 mods! I'm a mod junkie, lol I regularly look for mods and try to add something new at least once per week. So be warned, the worst that can happen is you'll get addicted, lol Plus, as you've already been advised--save, Save, SAVE!! The more mods you get, the more you're vulnerable to CTD (crash to desktop). I have a memory stick I save my latest games on, in addition to the one saved on my hard drive. That way if I mess something up, I can delete that save and copy the other one back in.

 

There are great articles pinned on using mods, as well as articles on it. Once you take the plunge, it will get easier and you'll even be able to troubleshoot when a mod doesn't perform as it should. (If it's not the mod itself, it's usually related to load order). Plus you can always come here and ask questions.

 

So take the plunge! You'll be so glad you did. It's almost like getting a new game! :thumbsup:

[Deleted518329User]

Also another tip, when first starting to use mods, make sure you only get ones that dont require other mods until your sure you know what to do.

What I mean is, read the mod description and check out the comments a little first, some mods that add clothing for example might require a body replacer mod for them to work correctly. If it does require this, id just save it to your favorites until your sure about the adding mods process.

If it doesnt require any other mods to run the mod you want, it will make it much easier for you to check its working correctly.

[ytsejam91]

The way Oblivion works, to my knowledge, is that it checks the computer first, and if it sees nothing in the folders, it will turn to the .bsa files. If there are things in the folders, like mods, it will use them instead.

 

Actually it is the opposite, otherwise why all the problems with archive invalidation? If the game tended to use external files rather than its own, why would we need OBMM to edit BSA's to invalidate certain files to force oblivion to use the mod added ones?

 

To tell the truth I've noticed this mainly with textures: installing Qarl's Texture Pack 3 without invalidating in some way the textures.bsa would result in seeing vanilla textures in most cases. So it seems that the two theories work even if they're contraddicting each other :D, what a mess...

[theuseless]

Hey, installing and playing mods is less daunting than you might think. It is actually somewhat easy. If you are hesitant to install mods with the save game you have now, back it up using bben46's reccomendation. If you are still hesitant, then install a mod then make a new character. This will help prevent the muddling of your existing save. I will sometimes start a new save game just to test out mods, make sure that they are working properly before applying them to my more precious save.

 

I second all the advice given thus far, especially to have fun! Don't worry and start small, slowly building up your collection. I personally suggest you download a castle or other player home as a beginner mod. You can visually tell if you installed it correctly and there is a whole lot less guess work.

 

Always follow the readme, it will rarely lead you astray. If you want a good place to start, check out my tutorials page (under construction):

Tutorials Abound!

 

There are some good tutorials there, I especially reccomend the one, Ben's Oblivion Support, written by bben46. It will point you in the right direction and get you started with downloading and playing mods in no time. I wish that I had read that one when I first started playing mods.

 

Hope this helps,

theuseless