Problems with Cobl omod

[Ziljan]

I just installed the latest Cobl omod file (using OBMM) onto a fairly clean and new install of Oblivion. Things run fine actually, with a singular and rather large exception. When I exit the tutorial sewer grate (the one where you have your last chance to edit race, class, birthsign), if I have any part of the Cobl omod activated, the game crashes as soon as I try to "accept" a change to my race, class, or birthsign. If I disable the omod file in OBMM, then I can change anything about the character with no problems, so I know the issue is Cobl. I have the .esm and esp files set up in the same order as Arwen's site suggests. The base mods (without Cobl) are in the following load order:

 

Oblivion.esm

Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm

Knights.esp

DLCShiveringIsles.esp

Deadly Reflex 5 - Timed Block with no damage or durability changes.esp

Harvest [Flora].esp

Harvest [Flora] - Shivering Isles.esp

Living Economy.esp

Living Economy - Items.esp

Cutthroat Merchants.esp

Let There Be Darkness - Cyrodiil + SI.esp

Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp

OOO-Map_Markers_Stock.esp

kuerteeInventoryIsABackpack.esp

RealisticFatigue.esp

RealSleepExtended.esp

Duke Patricks - Combat Archery.esp

DeadlyReflex 5 - Combat Moves.esp

 

Is there something obvious I'm missing here? Like a required plugin or mod file? Racial meshes maybe? Or Wrye Bash?

[Zetsuboketti]

I don't see Horse CombatMaster.esm which is required to run deadly reflex. The esm does not do anything itself but it should be active if you are going to use deadly reflex.

[Nightwolfhunter]

My suggestion is to not use cobl. i had the same problem and basically gave up. I know that it caused the exact same3 problems that you are describing. I even ran one game file for a little bit to see any changes, and there were none. it is a waste of a mod for me, mostly because of this glitch.

[Ziljan]

I'm 100% certain the problem is with my installion of Cobl. However simply abandoning Cobl would mean missing out on alot of highly rated mods. Since so many people are using mods with alt races and have successfully installed Cobl, I have to assume I'm doing something wrong here...

 

Wrye Bash seems a little intimidating, and I have no idea if installing and using that tool would solve or multiply my problems. I'm smart enough that I'm sure I would eventually figure it out, but before I sink too much time, I'd appreciate an endorsement from an experienced wrye bash user.

[Hickory]

Wrye Bash is a must if you use Cobl. There are parts of the Cobl installation that are filters only, and have to be disabled. A Bashed Patch, combined with the correct load order (BOSS) WILL solve your problem. Cobl does not cause CTDs if it is used as per instructions.

[Ziljan]

Interesting, I found the instructions at wrye musings. They explicitly say that you don't need wrye bash for cobl. Perhaps you need the extra race meshes installed even if you opt out of all the racial changes in cobl? Even with the racial mods included, the game works fine when cobl is added after leaving the sewer tutorial dungeon. The only thing that reliably crashes the game is any kind of character creation screen. I noticed the options for the new races and hairstyles/ eyes are there even with racial mods aren't loaded. I'm guessing that the character creation screen referencing altered (or non-existant) racial files would be enough to CTD...??

[Hickory]

Technically speaking, Wrye Bash is not a requirement, but without it, Cobl is one of those mods that is going to cause conflicts and CTDs, unless you know exactly what you're doing. If you read past the section where it says that Wrye Bash is not required, I'm sure you would have seen the things that it does for Cobl, including race/face merging. Without meaning to be impolite, and with all due respect, I find it odd that so many people are reluctant to use what is probably the single most useful tool in the Oblivion arsenal, because it takes a bit of thought to get to grips with it properly, and yet they spend just as much time, if not more, struggling to 'fix' things that wouldn't be 'broken' if they used it.

[Ziljan]

Thank you for the insight and advice! It is exactly why I posted here. I am actually interested in using wrye bash, I just want to make sure that it's the solution to the particular problem I'm having. I think there is either a race/birthsign conflict between OOO and cobl, or there are just missing mesh/texture files from the "optional" cosmetics mod. OBMM says that these are definite conflicts between cobl and several mods (including OOO and SI), and that sounds like a job for Wrye Bash.

[Hickory]

I use both Cobl and OOO, and I also use TNR (I don't like the Cobl revamps). In addition, I also have many race mods and I have absolutely no conflicts whatsoever. Why? Wrye Bash!

[Ziljan]

Well, I've got my Bash Patch set up. I think it needs some tweaking though. I can run the game OK with good stability when I start with a brand new character. Still get the same crash if I try to change anything at the exit grate. One thing is for sure though, the AI has dramatically improved. Those "basic" bandits across the lake from the sewer grate are now extremely slippery and cunning. Three attempts and the best I could do was to kill two before getting pwned by the third. IMO, the game just got 10x more interesting. ;)

 

thanks again Hickory for pushing me to install Wrye Bash.