I need help with mod installation

[ADK38]

I recently installed this mod : http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=2512#Files

it is a JB catsuit mode , and problem is that this mode contains textures and meshes file and i've already got textures and meshes file in my oblivion data because i used other mods too. And when I wan't to copy and paste textures and meshes file from catsuit mod it will replace textures and meshes file from other mod and it will ruin my other mode, because it will replace other mode files. That is why I decided to rename textures and meshes from catsuit mode to textures1 and meshes1, but now that mod won't appear in game. And when I rename textures and meshes data from other mode my mystic elf character gets purple. That happens to other mods too. What should I do?? :(

[whalecakes]

Pretty sure the catsuit mod isn't using the same textures as your character's race.

[ADK38]

Pretty sure the catsuit mod isn't using the same textures as your character's race.

Does that means that nothing will happen if I overwrite mystic elf textures with catsuit textures nothin will happen and i will be able to play game normally

[Striker879]

The renamed folders won't be found by Oblivion. The only time you lose any actual files from one of your currently installed mods is when the exact file structure is the same. Example ... if right now you have the Dark Glass Extra Set mod installed you will have the following file structure on the meshes side ... Oblivion\Data\meshes\Armor\glass\darkglass\f and Oblivion\Data\meshes\Armor\glass\darkglass\m. Inside the darkglass\f directory you'll find five files, cuirass.nif, cuirass_gnd.nif, gauntlets.nif, greaves.nif & greaves_gnd.nif. If you wanted to install Clear Glass Armor (which is a replacer for vanilla glass armor) you would see the following file structure from the extracted archive ... meshes\armor\glass\f and meshes\armor\glass\m. Inside the meshes\armor\glass\f you will again find five files, cuirass.nif, cuirass_gnd.nif, gauntlets.nif, greaves.nif & greaves_gnd.nif (notice, all named identically to my Dark Glass example). To install the Clear Glass mod you would copy the meshes folder (and it's contents) to your Oblivion install Data folder. When you do that you'll get a Windows prompt about there already being a folder named meshes, and do you want to overwrite it (and you answer 'Yes'). When Windows overwrites folders with the same name it adds the contents of the folder to what's already there. In this case Clear Glass adds the armor folder (and it's contents). Again the folder names are the same so it asks if you want to overwrite, and again it adds the contents to your Oblivion install, this time adding the glass folder to the armor folder. If we look again at our Dark Glass example we'll see that inside the glass folder it adds a 'darkglass' folder with an 'f' and 'm' folder inside that. Our Clear Glass wants to add an 'f' and 'm' folder directly to the 'glass' folder, so in this case even though the files cuirass.nif, cuirass_gnd.nif, gauntlets.nif, greaves.nif & greaves_gnd.nif are named the same they aren't located in the same directories and the Clear Glass mod will not disturb my Dark Glass mod. In game everyone who would have worn glass armor will now have clear glass armor and only me and my companions will have the option of wearing the Dark Glass armor (after I've purchased it from Maro Rufus).

 

When you examine the file structure for your catsuit mod what you are looking for is where files that have identical names also have identical directory structure. In that case, the files themselves will be overwritten and you will lose your old mod's content. Your option then is to use Blender to change the file path for your new mod, but that's beyond my personal experience (I have read about it though :biggrin: ).

Edited March 8, 2011 by Striker879

[whalecakes]

Pretty sure the catsuit mod isn't using the same textures as your character's race.

Does that means that nothing will happen if I overwrite mystic elf textures with catsuit textures nothin will happen and i will be able to play game normally

 

That means that you're not going to be overwriting the textures in the first place.

If you look at the confirmation prompt, it says "If the files in the existing folder have the same name as files in the folder you are moving or copying, they will be replaced."

It's not replacing entire folders.

Edited March 8, 2011 by whalecakes

[bben46]

If you still don't understand, If you answer YES when it asks to overwrite, It does NOT actually overwrite - it appends (adds) the new meshes and textures to the folder without removing the older ones.

[ADK38]

Ok