Wyre Bash,

[sepheroth479]

Ok so i know what obmm boss obse do. However i have no clue as to what Wyre bash does. I don't know how to use it where i couldnt find legit answers to it on what it does and how to use it. I've been reading things about Bash patch and stuff like that. I'm confused on it. I downloaded the exe and installed it to Oblivion directory. I have obse. I dowloaded the mod all natural weather. and created the omod for it. So do i just activate the mod and run oblivion and it works? Ive read something about a bash patch but i dont know what that is. Can anyone take the time to explain to me what wyre bash is or send me to a site regarding exactly how to use it.

[Hickory]

When you install Wrye Bash it puts a full help file in your Oblivion\mopy\ folder called Wrye Bash.html .

[BlackCompany]

When you install Wrye Bash it puts a full help file in your Oblivion\mopy\ folder called Wrye Bash.html .

 

From someone who has spent a great deal of time using and researching Wrye Bash, namely, myself:

 

-Wrye does come with a huge read-me file. If you do not read it, you WILL, I PROMISE, absolutely wreck your game. Permanently in many cases. Be prepared to read, and re-read, the readme file. That said, Wrye is a great tool. Here is a little of what it can do - and more importantly, what it cannot do.

 

 

It can:

 

-Import leveled lists. Normally, if two mods change the same leveled list, the last one loaded "wins." You only get the changes from the last one loaded. Wrye fixes this, allowing changes to these lists to be "merged" together in a BashedPatch, 0.esp plugin. This way multiple mods can change leveled loot, spells, creatures, etc, and all of these changes show in game.

 

 

-Import stats/inventory/scripts. This means one mod can change a creature or NPC's stats, while another adds something to their inventory and yet a third attaches a script to that same character. Normally, the last mod to make a change to this character "wins" and erases all of the other changes made to the character from your game. ALL of these changes can be imported and merged together using Wrye Bash.

 

 

-Import Graphics. Body mods overwrite the graphics for character bodies. Wrye can import these, making sure that body mod changes show up in your game despite later loading mods which might prevent this by changing race/other vital info.

 

 

-Import race data. Race Balancing Project changes race data. So too does Blood and Mud. Because Blood and Mud is a city mod, it needs to load later than RBP, overwriting RBP's race data. Allegedly, Wrye can then import race data from RBP (but NOT from Blood and Mud) and you will see RBP's race data in your game, since the bashedpatch.esp file loads AFTER both mods. There is still some doubt in my mind as to whether this one works completely, however, as I have personally seen evidence that it is not to be entirely trusted.

 

-Tweak some basic game settings. Change crime alarm distance, running speed, jumping, fix 0-reach bows (causes crashing) and many other relatively minor game tweaks WITHOUT opening the CS. Nifty little tweaks some of them; others enable cheating but then so does modding in general.

 

 

What Wrye Bash DOES NOT do (some of this may be contrary to the "Myth of Wrye Bash" you will shortly begin hearing):

 

-Make two incompatible mods compatible. You will here people swear that even though both their mods move the same object to different places in the game, or edit the same script in two different ways, or make the same object do two different things, all you need is a bashed/merged patch to "fix" the incompatibility. Others will claim that their mod "makes tons of changes, just be sure to bash for compatibility."

 

Both claims are false and potentially game wrecking. There is a word for two mods which: Adjust land height differently in the same area, move the same object to two different places, change the stats of the same spells in two different ways, edit the same script with different purposes, or other similar acts. That word: INCOMPATIBLE. No amount of bashing or merging will fix these issues. When the script is called in your game you will find the last mod loaded has "won out" and you get those changes. Land height is a similar issue; making two mods which edit land in the same area work together requires a land height patch, period.

 

So long as you do not buy into the legend of bashing/merging (ie, that it fixes anything) you will be fine. Some tips for avoiding this pitfall.

 

-Read the Wrye Bash read-me. Make a good dinner, get some coffee, sit down, read and take notes.

 

-When you've finished step one above, do it again.

 

-Do it again

 

-When someone tells you "just bash/merge and you will be fine" ask them, "How does bashing/merging make things better?" or, "How does a merged/bashed patch fix these incompatibilities between your mod and mod X." If they reply with things like, "Trust me it does" or "Everyone else does it and no one complains" then move on. They do not actually know how it "fixes" the issue or even if it does.

 

 

If a modder cannot tell you EVERY SINGLE CHANGE their mod makes, and how a merged or bashed patch affects their changes, DO NOT believe them when they tell you to use one. Wrye Bash has become a case of the blind leading the blind of late and it saddens me that this powerful tool has become so misunderstood.

 

Thanks to Wrye for the power of his great tool (wow that's never coming out quite right, :) but here is to hoping that no equivalent tool is available in TES 5. This way, we can focus on working together to make our mods work together - as opposed to simply telling people to "bash the problem away." Wrye Bash is like a knife: Use it wisely and you can slice your food and feed yourself. Hold it by the wrong end and your loved ones will need to cut your food up for you. Replace food with "Save Game" and you have a good picture of what not reading the read-me file (twice) can do.