Help me get started? :]

[PurpleOblivion]

Nevermind

Edited July 1, 2016 by PurpleOblivion

[Surilindur]

I have not used OBMM for years, so I cannot help with that. The trick with it is, if I remember correctly, that each mod needs to be packed in an OMOD archive, and OBMM is used to install those OMOD archives into the game. Even simple mods with a few files would need to be packed in an OMOD (using the "create from folder/archive/something" option). From what I remember, it was tedious, unclear, messy and an all-round unpleasant experience, and the tool was pretty counter-intuitive and I never felt like I had much control over what happens with the mods and all that. But maybe it is just me, since lots of people seem to love it. I just use it to extract OMODs so I can install them with another manager. :tongue:

 

If you have Wrye Bash, and would like to try that one, you can see this if it helps: http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/35230

 

With Wrye Bash, each of your mods will be in its own folder, inside the folder where WB keeps the mods (called "installers" occasionally, I think). The folders (mods) will be listed in the Installers tab. Some mods come with optional packages and/or customisation options, and the mod folder may contain subfolders like "00 Core", "01 Optional", and those will need to be ticked in the right hand side panel of the Installers tab before installing. To install a simple mod (without a BAIN wizard) you need to right-click the mod, and select install. To install a mod that has a BAIN wizard, you need to right-click and select the wizard option. The installers tab supports drag-and-drop install order management, and when you change install order, remember to right-click a mod (if it says "needs annealing" or such) and select "Anneal", to make sure your Data folder contains the appropriate files (according to your install order).

 

The Mods tab will list all your plugins (esp/esm files), and also supports drag-and-drop order management. The last to load is the last plugin in the list (lowest, unless the order can be swapped). Here you need to sort the mods so that their masters are before each mod, and in the right order. Green means everything is great, orange means out-of-order masters, and red means a missing master. When you are finished, rebuild your Bashed Patch by right-clicking it and selecting rebuild. Some mods need to be placed below Bashed Patch, such as Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul, for example, if you use it. If you use Weather - All Natural, the filter plugin's cells need to be imported when rebuilding Bashed Patch, but the plugin itself should not be activated.

 

You will also need to activate Archive Invalidation (to make the game use loose files if there are any) in case it is not automatically enabled. Go to Wrye Bash installers tab, right-click on the heading somewhere, and make sure "BSA Redirection" is enabled/checked (it might be by default). If that does not work by itself, you need to somehow "date back BSAs" or such, as in, change the timestamps on the vanilla BSA archives to something older (2006 or older) because the Steam version BSA archives use too recent dates, which can cause your replacer mods to not work. I am not sure if Wrye Bash has that option, but OBMM should have it in the Archive Invalidation menu somewhere - but DO NOT DO ANY ARCHIVE INVALIDATION THROUGH OBMM, if you did it via Wrye Bash. Just date back the BSA archives.

 

Hopefully that helps a little. I am sure Striker will chime in if yo have some tedious issues, he is better at explaining things than I am. :blush:

 

As for the Xbox controller, no idea, never used one. There are mods for it, though, I think, like this: http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45646. You can use the search feature of the Nexus (or just Google) to find more.

 

Edit: Since you will be installing Wrye Bash somewhere inside/under the game folder, you will probably want to move the mod repository somewhere else (by default it would be somewhere inside your game folder). For that, you have to go to your Mopy folder (where WB resides), copy "bash_default.ini", rename it to "bash.ini" and define the new paths to your mod repository in that one. The ini should have some explanations in it to help you change the paths.

 

Edit 2: And all that ONLY IF YOU USE WRYE BASH. If you want to use OBMM, you are probably better off waiting for Striker to potentially explain something, in case he has the time for it. It is summer, and people can be busy. I hope I did not confuse you too much, apologies if I did. :)

Edited July 1, 2016 by Contrathetix

[Striker879]

I believe Contra got the OBMM part correct except the option will be named Add Archive, though like Contra I haven't used OBMM to install mods in years and while I'm away for the summer I don't have any way to confirm/discover the exact terminology OBMM uses.

 

Basically when using OBMM to install mods there are two ways ... one for mods that are already in OBMM's format (mods that when downloaded or extracted that have the file extension OMOD like JoesCoolArmorMod.omod) and those that are distributed as simple archives (like your Dark Khajiit Race-1867.rar). The common simple archive formats used here on Nexus are .7z (extracted using 7-Zip), .rar and .zip (both of which can also be extracted by 7-Zip or alternatively by later versions of Windows natively).

 

To install a mod with the Add Archive option (if that is the correct term) you do not need to extract the archive though. Using your Dark Khajiit Race-1867.rar as an example you would download it from the Oblivion Nexus page to a folder on your hard drive, and then in OBMM use Add Archive and in the dialogue boxes that then open navigate to where you downloaded the mod to and select Dark Khajiit Race-1867.rar.

 

I have a folder I created on my Data drive (my own machines always include a separate physical hard drive just for downloads etc) named Oblivion_Downloads. In this case I would create a sub-folder for the mod, so it would be downloaded to Oblivion_Downloads\Dark_Khajiit_Race\Dark Khajiit Race-1867.rar on whichever drive you choose to use for downloads. That is the folder you would navigate to using OBMM's Add Archive.

 

You will find some mods that say in their mod description that they are distributed in an OMOD ready format. Others will just say to use OBMM to install, without any further mention of how the download is organised. I like to know stuff beforehand so I always extract the download to see how the extracted download is structured. If I remember correctly the OMOD ready format will extract starting at the next level down from Data (so the highest level folders will be Meshes or Textures and any ESPs will be loose in your download folder above those). I'm stuck with just an Android tablet for the summer so I can't say what your Dark Khajiit Race-1876.rar will extract like.

 

Mods that either download as OMODs or that extract to an OMOD are the simplest to install with OBMM. After you have OBMM installed you just download the mod and once you see the file with the OMOD extension just double left click it. OBMM will start and install the mod (the OMOD file extension is registered to OBMM when it installs).

 

As usual for me, another rather lengthy post, and a lot is dredged up from memory (and remember I'm no longer a young guy).

 

- Edit - Just to be clear ... if you do extract the download to examine it's structure before installing with the Add Archive option you will still navigate in OBMM to the downloaded archive, not the extracted files and folders (so in your Dark Khajiit you will select Dark Khajiit Race-1867.rar from the Add Archive dialogues even if you have already extracted the archive to your download folder). Most of what I know about OBMM I've learned from it's help file (opened by it's Help menu or by double clicking the Help.chm file ... if I'm remembering the help file name and extension correctly).

 

Big wave to Contra from across the pond, hope your summer course is going well. Rainy Canada Day here, but's supposed to clear up in the afternoon (if you can believe the "weather lies from the weather guys").

Edited July 1, 2016 by Striker879