Some mods refuse to work with a BSA file, Unsolvable or what?

[chambcra]

I always make my own BSA file for quest mods if it doesn't come with one. They usually work but maybe one out of twenty cause missing meshes and/or textures when the meshes and textures are indeed present in the loose file structure. It's the most intriguing problem that defies reason. I've searched and searched and often the problem is solved but the solution is never what is causing my problem. If anyone has the answer to my latest particular puzzle I will be forever in your debt.

The mod is "Path of the Skull Bearer" It's a cool mod.
( http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/39923/ )
This one almost works but there are just a few textures that are missing in the game which of course work fine if they are inserted as loose files into your data folder. It could be played with just a little purple here and there until you get to the ice cave which has unique textures that default to purple which makes navigating the cave very difficult.

I used to think that when only a few textures don't work maybe the path string or the file name is too long but I can't see how that could be the case here.

"\textures\architecture\el\icecavern\cave01.dds" does not work. Almost everything else does work. How can that be?

I have tried BSACommander, BSAOpt, and OBMM. The BSACommander and OBMM BSA files created are identical by the way. I checked with a hex editor that has a compare function. As an aside, I have never found a problem with a BSACommander file that was fixed with a different BSA tool, for what it's worth. I've probably only made 30-50 BSA files that worked fine.

Maybe someone knows this is an age old problem that will never be solved? Or, better yet the answer. I know this could be one of those "D'oh" moments but it won't be the first times it's happened to me.

Thanks

[DrakeTheDragon]

There's a couple things to check in this regard.

 

For one, BSA files are only automatically loaded when their file names and the plugin's match. That is the BSA you're creating has to be named something like "PathoftheSkullBearer - meshes.bsa" or "PathoftheSkullBearer - textures.bsa" or maybe even only "PathoftheSkullBearer.bsa", but the first 20 letters need to be "identical", or you'll have to insert the BSA(s) into your Oblivion.ini's "sArchiveList" entry instead for them to even load.

 

But as it's only selective files missing here and not the entire thing, I'd wager a guess and say that's not it.

 

 

For two, in Oblivion BSA files know no load order, that is it is completely unpredictable mostly "which" file will be used, when there's more than 1 BSA containing the same, including the game's own ones of course.

 

But again, that's unlikely to be it here, just something to keep in mind in hindsight as a source for yet more issues.

 

 

And for three, and that's one of the real possible culprits, "Archive Invalidation", which is required to be used for the "retail" version to use loose file "textures" instead of BSA ones, and with the "Steam" version to use just about "any" kind of loose files over BSA contents, did have several different approaches in the past, of which one, using an "Archive Invalidation.txt" file to list the loose files which shall be used over ones from BSAs, is especially known to be able to "produce" missing texture errors, simply by leaving the file in place, with now-erroneous entries inside, while at the same time using the one and only advisable approach to go about it that is "BSA Redirection", as said left-over "Archive Invalidation.txt" files will still tell the game to use loose file X over BSA file X from inside a now-empty dummy BSA, and this will cause multiple random texture issues.

 

Especially when there's a list of such files shipping with the mod you mentioned and the files you're missing now are inside the BSA, not inside the folders as loose files, but "still" inside an "Archive Invalidation.txt" file found anywhere inside your game folders, as this will attempt to force the game to use a file which doesn't exist over the one inside the BSA, thus "forcing" the missing texture error erroneously.

 

Worth a check.

 

 

Apart from that, you "did" open the BSA and look inside and found the file that's reported to be missing? Chances always are the tools messed something up when packaging the BSA and the file's actually not inside it to begin with.

 

 

edit: Another thing I just remembered, in Oblivion the BSAs also have a maximum size that must not be exceeded (among other limits). I don't exactly know "what" the game will do when a BSA is too large, but I wouldn't really be all too surprised, if it will just be missing certain files from it either.

[chambcra]

Thanks for the quick reply Drake.

This BSA is being loaded by identical esp name association. Like you say it's mostly working so that seems unlikely to be the problem.

"BSA files know no load order" - That's interesting but in this case it seems that nothing is being loaded for certain textures. Maybe if there is a cave01.dds texture in the original game, and there might be, that texture doesn't get loaded from the BSA file. The rock meshes in this cave are custom too and have path strings to the bsa file unique path which aren't loaded maybe?

I'm not sure if I ever really understood archive invalidation so at the moment I don't fully understand what you're saying about that. I'll have to do some reading on that and look at what you're saying again. It's been a long but I think in the beginning I was following what I thought was the ultimate advice and I have an "ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated!.bsa" file and do not have an "Archive Invalidation.txt" file. I'll have to do some more studying on that point. There wasn't a list of files shipped with the mod.

I did open the bsa with BSACommander and the missing textures are indeed in there.

I've dealt with the size limit before. I'm thinking it's 2GB. The Apache Goddess store is too big. It can always be broken up though just like you said which is something I haven't tried and maybe it's worth a try but I'd bet a $100 it wouldn't help.

When you're dealing with a game that requires an amateur mod to even shut down reliably it may not be worth much more head banging on this.

I have to take back the "cool mod" statement and say it has some very cool new world spaces and has good creativity but towards the end it's pretty much bugged I think.

Thanks again. I'll post back if I figure anything out.

[DrakeTheDragon]

If you're having a "ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated!.bsa", then you're using the stand-alone mod "ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated!", which is basically doing the same as the "BSA Redirection" approach I was talking of. That's the right choice, the only advisable approach to use.

 

If you don't have "any" (and I can't repeat it often enough that certain instructions and/or mod managers in the past have put this file in different places inside your game folders even!) "Archive Invalidation.txt" file left inside your folders, then you should be good to go and this again shouldn't be the cause here.

[chambcra]

Okay, thanks a lot for your help. I'll search my game computer for Archive Invalidation.txt later today. It doesn't exist on my work computer which is pretty much the same.