Why Install One by One?

[Cremdogz]

Every time I uninstall and reinstall oblivion and whatever mods I have, it always takes a very long time. Yet it seems that the more mods I add, the less time I can spend playing the game before I get slowdown (many other mods have increased that time, thankfully, it's now at 2 hours instead of half an hour). I was told once to install them one at a time, now I'm a little unsure by this. Do you mean, install 1 mod, then install another, or install one mod, go into the game and save it, then get out and install another? Cause if it's the first one, I don't see any other way of installing, but if it's the second one, I don't know if anyone can have that amount of patience. Would this mean that for things like KOTN, that I should install KOTN, start the game, get out, then do Mage Tower, get in then out, then another expansion, etc. I really just want some clarification on this, I'd like Oblivion to run as smoothly as possible, as I intend on reinstalling Oblivion once my exams are finished.

[Riveon]

Well, in the past, when I've gone one big modding sprees, I've always regretted it. It's better to install mods individually, rather than installing them all at once. If you install them all at once, you will likely have problems with stability, and then what do you do? It's very annoying to have to go back and guess which mod/s are causing the problem, as you have so many installed. If you install them gradually, rather than numerous ones at a time, it's much easier to test the stability, and sort out any problems. I'm pretty sure it's the second one you mentioned. I wouldn't think you absolutely have to install them one by one, but installing only a few at a time would be a good idea. Just my perspective on the matter; I could be wrong. :tongue:

[bamspeedy]

When they say install mods 1 at a time they are not talking about the DLCs (like Knights), they mean the player created mods uploaded to sites like this one.

 

It's a good idea to install them one at a time, and just load the game up to briefly test to make sure that new mod doesn't crash your game and that it appears to work the way it is supposed to. Make use of console commands to teleport to places so you can check things quicker (rather than fighting through the tutorial dungeon everytime). Some mods will only take 1 minute to check (user interface, water mod, etc.), others may take 10 minutes, it depends how much of it you want to test (for example: just checking to see if that new castle is there vs. actually going inside to make sure all the rooms in the interior seem to be in order).

 

You don't want to install 20 or 50+ mods and then find one of them is crashing your game and have no idea which one it is that is doing it. It's most important to test the new mods that you are not familiar with.

 

If you have already played the mods before (and not playing a changed version of it), it's usually safe to assume that it is safe so you probably don't need to test it. Especially if you saved the downloaded mod somewhere so you are not downloading a new copy (which might be a new version).

If I am re-installing after only a week then I use my saved downloads, if I am re-installing after 6+ months then I will re-download in case there are updated versions/fixes.

[Pushkatu]

This is what I do. A very time consuming, but I aim for the best results so I can enojoy playing the game for long periods of time.

 

First I install Oblivion with all the stuff Bethesda made(SI + KOTN + the addons). Then I install the latest patch. I have all my mods sorted out in categories like you find them here at Nexus. Then I install the unofficial Oblivion patch then the unofficial Shivering Isles patch. I always install Wrye Bash and BOSS(Better Oblivion sorting software) next to help me with my load order right from the start. Next I go through my categories and look for the mods I want to install, depending on what type of character I want to play. When I install a mod for the first time I always go in game and test it out a little to see if it does not crash my game or if it doesn't conflict with my other mods. It takes a long time and sometimes it takes more than a day to get it all the way I want to and working to, but is well worth it in my opinion.

 

 

Cheers,

Pushkatu!

[bben46]

What I recommend is to make a backup of the data folder. First backup right after you have the vanilla game working - before adding any mods. Be sure to have the latest patch installed first. This will allow you to restore the original game without reinstalling.

 

Then, when you have a stable set of mods working the way you want. Make a separate backup (Do not overwrite the vanilla backup) of both the Data, the save games and the Oblivion.ini. This puts you back to a working game when a mod causes grief. Do this one every so often to have a resent backup. This one can take a while if you have a lot of mods or saves.

[David Brasher]

I think the installing mods one at a time is for new mods you have not tried before, or different combinations of mods than you have tried before. If you are installing exactly the same mod combination and load order you used and succeeded with in the past, then I would just install them all at once as fast as you can.

 

Now if you are trying out a brand-new mod, you should be very very cautious. I advise that you only install one at a time, and then play-test for at least an hour, or preferably for one evening before you move on and install the next mod. It just saves a lot of time knowing exactly which mod is causing the problem rather than having twenty new mods and not knowing which one ruined your game.