leetgamer Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 (edited) 11th November 2012 update: To celebrate Skyrim's first-year anniversary, I will be revising this ancient post. If you found a solution to a problem, post the solution and the problem here and I will add it! Oblivion useful tips -------------------- CONTENTS-------------------- 1.0 - How to ask for help 1.1 - How to request a mod 1.2 - Where to get useful modding information (links) 1.3 - How to install mods 1.4 - How to install save games 1.5 - Other useful information 1.6 - Mod FAQ1.7 - Does Oblivion work on Windows 7?1.8 - User contributions Please note that this post links to a lot of other articles. --------------------------------1.0 HOW TO ASK FOR HELP-------------------------------- First of all, I've noticed quite a lot of newbies asking in the utmost hated online-English slang. It's driving all of us crazy. Plus, they do not supply us enough information about their problem.ex: 'OMG my oblivion is not wrking becoz it says 'reason'. cud u plz help me plz plz !!!'. No ! That is NOT the way you should ask for help ! You must always give us enough information ! Furthermore, if you speak that way, people will not even bother helping a person who is too lazy to even browse a bit for the answers. The way you should properly ask for help is to do some research yourself and find out what's causing it, try to fix it yourself and if you can't , you ask the others, but in a correct mannerex: ''Please, can somebody help me. My Oblivion is not working, whenever I 'reason', it always 'cause'.''If you provide enough information, there is always a solution. Remember, there are thousands of causes, yet thousands of remedies. The more 'jucier' the information the higher the chance for the answer. In all seriousness this is a rather delicate matter, and while it seems ridiculous for me to be telling you how to ask for help, it's actually quite important to supply the useful information. ------------------------------------1.1 HOW TO REQUEST A MOD ------------------------------------ Here is another problem indeed. I find many, many users asking for the same thing, talking in the same English slang, and not providing enough information. First of all, you MUST search for the mod yourself, and see if it already exists. If you can't find the mod, try the Oblivion Mod Detectives. They will search for you, and if they can't find it, then you may only request it. How to request it: This is the most common online 'pest', so therefore I must stress the following: PROVIDE ENOUGH INFORMATION !!. After you do that: - Write a long, detailed description- Add screenshots (if required)- Check the spelling That's the most useful thing to do, however if you want a more detailed version, you can find it here. Furthermore, many users tend to ask for adult mods. Most modders are already busy with their own projects, or with their lives. Many users are sick of those requests, so the only thing I can say about it is for them to stop, which apparently won't happen. When it comes to requesting a mod, charisma and experience is the key. For example, if you're a total newbie whose first post is that of requesting a mod, the specific modder will immediately know it's something out of his/her's interest. There is a 78% chance that the newbie whose first post is that of requesting a mod, or a 22% chance that it is an experienced player, which has a 60% chance for his request to actually take place. Most people don't even know the true meaning of the File Request/Suggestions thread, 80% of it is spam and with pointless requests. 15% of those requests were never even answered to. So please people, before you request something, give it a thought. Analyze the chances of the request to be replied to, and to actually even be made. A good mod needs a good idea ! -------------------------------------------------------------1.2 WHERE TO GET USEFUL MODDING INFORMATION ------------------------------------------------------------- - Resources for 3D editing here- Making a quest here- How to create new re-textured items here- Item editing and basic navigation in the CS here These can be very useful if you have modding ambitions. My best advice : follow the instructions carefully. I myself would've become one, but it requires a lot of free time, which I don't have. There are even more tutorials out there, see the 'Article' subforum for all of them. --------------------------------1.3 HOW TO INSTALL MODS -------------------------------- It is very simple. First of all, you will need a program to extract the files (WinRar, 7zip, WinZip). Then, you download the file, use the program and extract the files to a temporary folder. Make whatever changes necessary and then copy/cut the files into the Oblivion/Data folder. After that, make sure you activate the .esp file from the Data Files in the launcher. Also, make sure you've read the instructions carefully. For a more thorough explication, visit this thread Many mods require different programs, like OBSE, OFEL etc. And most of these programs require the latest v1.2.0416 patch. There can be many different problems in installing it, see 'Other Useful Information' to see how it's installed and what problems might interfere. Visit the how to install mods/plugins for more info --------------------------------------- 1.4 HOW TO INSTALL SAVEGAMES --------------------------------------- This is even easier than installing a mod. First of all, make sure you read the instructions carefully, install whatever mods the savegame has, otherwise the savegame will load improperly and will cause errors. Download the savegame and copy it to: C:\Documents and Settings\USER\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion. Start Oblivion and load it. --------------------------------------1.5 OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION-------------------------------------- - Minimum System Requirements :Windows XP512MB System RAM2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor8x DVD-ROM Drive4.6 GB free hard disk spaceDirectX 9.0c (included)128MB Direct3D Compatible Video card and DirectX 9.0 compatible driverDirectX 8.1 Compatible Sound CardKeyboard, Mouse - Recommended System Requirements : 3.0 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor1 GB System RAMATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series,or higher video card - How to take screenshots : 1. Find Oblivion.ini in C:\Documents and Settings\USER\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion\Oblivion.ini2. Find bAllowScreenShot=03. Change to bAllowScreenShot=14. Exit and save In game press 'Print Screen' to take the screenshot. If you want the HUD gone press ` and type 'tm'. I'd also recommend a mod called Actors In Charge, which allows you to do a lot of emotes and poses which we see on NPC's (Non Player Characters). - How to check what game version you're running Your game version will appear at the lower-left corner of the screen. - How to fix corrupted saves : The link to the answer is here If you hard shut your PC (Not shutting it down from the 'Turn Off Computer' button or if it crashes then your save games will become corrupted and unloadable. This is caused by the fact that Windows doesn't have enough time to save the changes you've made. - How to apply Oblivion v1.2.0416 patch : The official download site. Download the patch and allow 20 minutes for it to install. Things that might go wrong : ~ It might say that it's an 'Old File', well, here's the answer : If you get an error message about "Old file not found", first check that you downloaded the correct version of the patch (Shivering Isles and vanilla Oblivion have two different patches). The other reason for this error message is that you previously installed one of the Shivering Isles beta patches. Any PC users who installed the first Shivering Isles beta patch (version 1.2.0410) need to uninstall and reinstall Oblivion in order to install the final version of this patch. This problem also occurs if you are using the Direct2Drive version of Shivering Isles as the current patch is not compatible with it. ~ It might say that there's an error, and once you press 'Ok' it will cancel the installer. Answer : You dummy ! You already have a more recent patch than it/already installed it ! Even my grandma is better at installing Oblivion patches than you ! - OBMM & OMOD's ~ What are they?? OBMM (Oblivion Mod Manager), is a more advanced utility of the Data Files which you see in the Oblivion launcer. OBMM is perhaps the easiest way to install mods. It also lets you uninstall mods and all their related files very easily. If you already have an OMOD, all you have to do is select it in OBMM and then click the Activate button. If the mod isn't available in OMOD format (most mods are not, unfortunately), then you'll need to create an OMOD for it yourself unless you want to install it manually. I never personally use OBMM, the life of manual installation suits me just fine !There is an excellent omod tutorial here, made by LHammonds. Consult it for a more detailed description on how to convert OMOD's to OMOD-Ready and viceversa.Most would recommend OBMM for newbies, but I don't really like it as it can cause complications. ------------------1.6 FAQ'S ------------------ FAQ FAQs for mod beginners. ------------------1.7 DOES OBLIVION WORK ON WINDOWS 7?------------------ The answers is yes, it does. However, Windows 7 wasn't thoroughly designed to work with older games, so you might come across some issues. I personally am using Windows 7 x64, and sometimes when I exit oblivion it just crashes. Thankfully, the savegames are preserved, but it's just annoying. I also experience random crashes when loading the game, but these are less frequent. -------------------1.8 USER CONTRIBUTIONS -------------------- - Journeyman I hope someone finds this useful, I learned part of this trick from mrbubblesort. So if you want to use the Construction set without it crashing or you running into problems. Allot of mods out there use OBSE, so you'll need that installed, but also you might be running vista or windows seven; which naturally deny the construction set privileges.If you want to allow programs inside of your oblivion folder privileges to run-save-read-write information you'll have give them privileges. You can do this by going to your bethesda softworks folder, right clicking the Oblivion folder inside it, going to properties and then going to security. After you go to security, go down to the button in the middle of the box, it will say "Edit..." click this button, a new dialogue will open up with a bunch of check boxes under "Allow" and "Deny", check the box under "Allow" across from "Modify". This will check all boxes under that, this is okay. Now hit okay, and wait for it to edit the privileges of everything inside oblivion. Great, now all your programs in oblivion are free to save and read info without vista/7 interfering. Next, if you want to actually edit some mods or make your own mods allong side these mods, you'll need to learn to launch CS (Construction Set) with OBSE enabled. do this by opening "Run" under accessories in the windows menu, then typeing in (depending on your OS) "C:\Program Files (x86)\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\obse_loader.exe -editor" without quotation marks.(this is for windows 7 64bit, you can find out what it is for your OS by right clicking obse_loader.exe and opening control panel and checking its directory) If you typed it in correctly based on your OS or layout, this will launch the CS with OBSE enabled, now you can edit/mod indiscriminately! Hope this is useful. Edited November 11, 2012 by leetgamer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Raven Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Very good, now lets hope someone sticks this someplace with neon lights, so it will be read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leetgamer Posted February 16, 2008 Author Share Posted February 16, 2008 Mine's not the best out there, but I'm trying to help out ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samroski Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 ex: 'OMG my oblivion is not wrking becoz it says 'reason'. cud u plz help me plz plz !!!'.Too funny :)Thanks for the tips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bben46 Posted February 16, 2008 Share Posted February 16, 2008 Excellent post. Unfortunately, I think you are probably preaching to the choir. The people who need this need it because they didn't read posts like this. Hopefully some of them will read it and learn something useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leetgamer Posted February 17, 2008 Author Share Posted February 17, 2008 Updated it, added 'How to install the latest Oblivion patch and things that might go wrong'. Will add how to install KotN and SI soon. EDIT: Added versions as well, and 2 downloads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Povuholo Posted February 17, 2008 Share Posted February 17, 2008 I'm sorry, the moderator package doesn't come with neon lights. How about a sticky? (Not the fishy kind, the other one) Chingun: Maybe you can link to the How To Install Plugins/mods thread as a part of the how to install mods section? And maybe some information about OMODS? Just an idea. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leetgamer Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 You're right, I will ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyameBoi Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 ~ It might say that it's an 'Old File', well, here's the answer : If you get an error message about "Old file not found", first check that you downloaded the correct version of the patch (Shivering Isles and vanilla Oblivion have two different patches). The other reason for this error message is that you previously installed one of the Shivering Isles beta patches. Any PC users who installed the first Shivering Isles beta patch (version 1.2.0410) need to uninstall and reinstall Oblivion in order to install the final version of this patch. This problem also occurs if you are using the Direct2Drive version of Shivering Isles as the current patch is not compatible with it. Ok, I'm running Oblivion GOTY version. I've been trying to install and load mods with no sucess. I decided to try installing the Shivering Isles patch and recieved the "old file" error that was mentioned. So twice I unistalled and reinstalled my game, and still no change. I don't know how to tell if my version of Oblivion is already patched or not, but as of yet I am having issues installing and using mods. I need help! As of yet I have not found a thread that directly applies to my situation, so I'm looking to the rest of you for help. Thanks John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GenghisKhanIT Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 ... I don't know how to tell if my version of Oblivion is already patched or not, ... You have to look at the lower left part of the main menu, version is shown there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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