Smart Mod People Needed--How to Install Oblivion Mods Correctly?

[Sirenexa]

Hello, everyone!! I'm Sirenexa and new to the Nexus community.

 

I'm new to Oblivion (a bit late to the game, I know, especially since I'm a 90s baby--but I finally just finished building my own gaming computer--yay!).

 

I have the Game of the Year Version of Oblivion from Steam which already has the Official Patch on it and all of the additional DLCs (?!)...I think...

 

I would love to mod my game, but I don't know where to start.

 

I've downloaded Wrye Bash and I cannot figure out how to use it. I've researched different mods for countless hours trying to figure out how to install them with not much luck.

 

So far, I've downloaded the Unofficial Oblivion Patch, and the QTP3 (!?) Compatibility Patch. This is where I'm starting.

 

I've read that I have to create an obmm file (or something like that?) for mods with many files and then drop them in the Data Folder. It was also suggested by some to download something called BOSS (why would I need that--I am the boss :tongue:). There was something about creating a new Oblivion folder on the side and then something about Archive Invalidation (what the what?!) ....which hurt my brain (I'm a teacher, but this stuff goes way past my head). Anyway, I've gotten as far as downloading a mod, then copying and pasting all of the NIF, CSP, and XYZ files into the the Data folder under Steam/ steamapps/ common/ Oblivion/ Data. I have no idea what I'm doing and I think I'm going about this all wrong.

 

My experience with downloading and installing mods only goes as far as The Sims 3, which was super simple and easy to do...just drag and drop... so I'm a complete NOOB with this.

 

All these acronyms are confusing, too....GOG, UOP, QTP...

 

Please help!! Let me Wombo with you!

 

Thanks! (;

[marob307]

Wow if it your real picture, Your are beautiful baby. Hope to share a common love for oblivion.

 

Serioustly, on my image's page on nexus you will have reviews for some mods. It is far to be finished

 

For tool: All srious modders most have

 

- wrye bash

- Tes4efit

- Rarely Tesmod manager (Just for Darnified UI)

- Boss to correctly order mods

- Construction set

 

Good author: Arthmoor, Vorian, Maskar, Lubronbron

 

For mods:

 

Graphic Mod: Go to Bevilex mod page. Oblivion can compete Skyrim with his setup.

 

For content mod: My load order could be a good begin. I am able to run together oblivion big fort overhauls with many other assets. (MOO+FCOM+WAC)

​

Nearly all compatible, Minor conflicts still need to be patched.

 

Active Mod Files:

 

00  Oblivion.esm
01  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm  [Version 1.5.5]
02  Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp  [Version 3.5.5]
03  DLCShiveringIsles.esp
04  Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp  [Version 1.5.9]
05  MigMiscellanea.esp  [Version 1.82]
06  JCapes!20.esp
07  Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp  [Version 1.5.5]
08  OOOCreatureAddons.esp
09  OOOEquipmentAddon.esp
0A  OOO Improvements and Tweaks.esp  [Version 2.2]
0B  Kvatch Rebuilt.esp  [Version 3.0]
0C  Kvatch Rebuilt - No More Burned Ground.esp
0D  Vampire Hunting - Order Of The Virtuous Blood.esp
0E  Knights.esp
0F  ReclaimSancreTor.esp  [Version 1.0.5]
10  ATakesAll.esp
11  Alternative Beginnings.esp  [Version 1.4.5]
12  RefScope.esp  [Version 2.1.2]
13  OOOShiveringIsles.esp
14  Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul.esp  [Version 4.9.1]
15  MOO MOBS Patch.esp  [Version 1.0]
16  MergedMaps.esp

 

If you need more advises or want to talk, just PM me. I can say if i recomand or not a mod.

[Striker879]

What is archive invalidation?

 

When the game is installed almost all of the assets it needs are found in the vanilla game BSA files (e.g. Oblivion - Meshes.bsa, Oblivion - Textures - Compressed.bsa etc). The BSA files are compressed archives (think ZIP with a slightly different format) and the game automatically decompresses and loads assets from them as it needs them.

 

Before archive invalidation was discovered and developed every mod needed to use an ESP file to make any changes to the vanilla game. For example if you wanted to change the green of the vanilla game Glass armor to red you needed to have an ESP just to change the colour. There is a limit to how many ESPs you can use at once in the vanilla game (255 plus Oblivion.esm for 256 total). Archive invalidation is a method to work around that limitation for simple replacer mods like the armor example.

 

The earliest methods developed for archive invalidation all came with complications and upkeep challenges. Then it was discovered that the game only really cared about the first BSA listed in a certain section of Oblivion.ini and BSA Redirection was born. It has proved to be the most robust and trouble free method to date. It uses a dummy BSA with a single file listed as the first BSA in the proper section of Oblivion.ini and relies on file dates to insure that the vanilla game will automatically use resources that are newer than the assets found in the vanilla BSA files.

 

Therein lies a complication for Steam users ... Steam has redated the vanilla game BSA files to a modern date, not year 2006 like they should be, and has broken BSA Redirection for it's users. Fortunately simply redating those BSAs to year 2006 fixes things back up.

 

One method is to use Oblivion Mod Manager's (OBMM) Utilities to Reset BSA Timestamps.

 

It sounds to me like you are starting out on the preferred path of learning to use Wrye Bash (WB). I believe that it will also automatically redate the vanilla game BSA files when used alongside BOSS (Better Oblivion Sorting Software) ... the reason I say 'I believe' is that I use the disk version of the game and have zero experience with Steam thus have no way of knowing for certain if it will redate the BSAs (i.e. that isn't documented anywhere I've seen).

 

On the subject of documentation ... almost everything I know about using Wrye Bash I've learned from studying the two readmes, Wrye Bash General Readme.html and Wrye Bash Advanced Readme.html (both found in the Oblivion\Data\Mopy\Docs folder after you have installed WB). You will also notice a link top left of the page that the BOSS link opens that will open the BOSS readme.

 

If you decide to stick with WB installing mods is as simple as your SIMs ... download the mod to a folder and then copy the downloaded ZIP/7z archive and paste it into the Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion Mods\Bash Installers folder. You may need to first start WB and open the Installers tab once for that folder to appear. After your copy/paste into the Bash Installers folder you will find the mod listed in the WB Installers tab. Simple mods will only come with a single ESP that will show in the pane to the far right when you highlight it in the list, others will have a list of optional subpackages listed (if it is structured specifically for WB's BAIN installation they will be numbered ... where more than one subpackage has the same number, example more than one 010 subpackage each with a descriptive name, you will need to select just one of those 010 subpackages).

 

Some mods are designed for BAIN installation and will come with a wizard to walk you through their options (look for the magic wand beside them in the list).

 

Once you get the hang of it WB is the installer of choice for Oblivion (well unless you are a manual install dinosaur like me). Wrye Bash will automatically take care of tracking which files are overwritten by which mod and will restore a previous version when using WB to uninstall one of those overwriting mods (something a manual installer needs to take care of themselves ... I do use WB to install certain mods for that reason).

 

Something to note about the Installers tab ... the order from top of the list to the bottom is the mod's install order and details regarding overwrites etc are reported in the panes to the right.

 

Modding Oblivion is overwhelming at first. It was for me, and I doubt there are many to can just dive in and never choke on a single errant splash. Stick with it, ask for help when needed, and you will learn to swim in the waters of modded Oblivion.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Striker879

[DrakeTheDragon]

You can install Oblivion mods quite fine manually, the old traditional way, but it's nothing I'd suggest to a newcomer. Nowadays there's more than enough helpful mod managers available to help you keep track of your installs, automate most of the processes involved, and make installation, and uninstallation later, quick and easy without messing up your game.

 

 

- The Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) and its OMOD proprietary archive file format are one elegant way to go about it. An OMOD is basically a ZIP, but with additional data inside, such as a script for guided installs and stuff. There's lots of mods available for download which come only in OMOD archives, or many more in regular ZIPs but with so-called OMOD-conversion-data attached, so they can be easily turned into an OMOD without you entering any details manually.

 

 

- Then there's Wyre Bash and it's Bash Installer (BAIN), which many people prefer. Wrye Bash has a little steeper learning curve, but its ease of use and superior way of managing installed files will beat the confusion rather quickly.

For example, when you install a mod A with one of the other mod managers, then install a mod B with a few files from mod A in common, overwriting mod A's files in the process, then later uninstall mod B, the files from mod A mod B replaced will still be gone. Mod A will have to be reinstalled before it'll work again. Whereas with BAIN uninstalling mod B will automatically reinstall mod A's files which mod B replaced.

 

edit: Ninja'd by Striker. :ninja: His reply's more detailed.

 

Additional to what Striker already mentioned, here's a link a lot of people found helpful regarding learning about using Wrye Bash, and are still asking for it today: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/35230

 

 

- The Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) can't really be advised to be used for Oblivion modding to newcomers either. Most Oblivion mods have been released long before it even was an idea, with completely alien archive folder structures the NMM cannot understand, and haven't been re-structured or re-released ever since, due to their authors also being gone for a long time now.

 

However, I cannot blatantly state the NMM would be completely unusable for Oblivion modding without lying, as I installed 100% of my quite comprehensive Oblivion mod list through it myself so far. But I for one know perfectly well what needs to be done to the mentioned problematically structured archives of old in order to make them understandable by the NMM, simply re-structured all incompatible ones so they worked, and where needed added a FOMOD install file (from Fallout Mod Manager, the program the NMM was initially based on and the format of installers it currently uses) for guided installs myself. Most of the time though, I admit, I just stripped all options but the one I wanted from the multiple-choice structured archives, to make them work with the NMM.

 

It's definitely more work that way, but as a member of staff I need to know the NMM in and out, or at least I feel like I do. (I personally would prefer Wrye Bash's BAIN also, by past experience, if it weren't for that.)

 

 

- Then there's also Mod Organizer (MO), but it doesn't work inside my virtual machine I use for running Windows on my Mac and I know literally zero about it.

 

 

(Keep in mind, OMODs or OMOD-ready archives cannot be installed with the Nexus Mod Manager (NMM), if you so choose, unless the omod-conversion-data folder gets removed, and the archive possibly restructured, especially where it was multiple choices inside.)

 

 

And if you install mods manually, by all means "don't" just take individual files and put them into Data! I've run across people in the past who said they did everything correctly, but somehow mysteriously managed to have all files from inside all subfolders all ending up at top level inside Data... I don't even see an easy way to achieve that, if you're willingly trying to, yet somehow they managed to do it accidentally.

 

Of course mods' files need to be exactly where they are inside their respective subfolders, also after having been installed into your Data folder. The mod's archive always is an extract/subset of your game's Data folder, meant to merge into existing folders and replace existing files. Never shift mods' files around inside the folders, else the plugins (ESP) or masterfiles (ESM) won't find them anymore afterwards, and you'll get countless missing-whatever error indicators inside your game as a result.

 

 

The Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS) is quite an invaluable tool for modding Oblivion for newcomers, as the masterlist it uses is like the combined knowledge of hundreds, if not thousands, of users and authors collected over the years about which plugin/masterfile has to go where inside your load order for the least conflicts.

 

And Wrye Bash's Bashed Patch feature will become inevitable as soon as you're using more than 1 plugin with conflicting/overriding contents at the same time. So even if you don't decide to use WB's BAIN for installing and managing your mods, its other features will be a godsend for you regardless.

 

 

Archive Invalidation and why/what it's needed for was thoroughly covered by Striker already, so no need to add onto it by me right now.

 

 

And if you're confused by all the acronyms people throw around without also giving you the long terms to go along with them, here's a topic which should cover most of them quite adequately, in case you're getting lost and need to read up about some: https://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/707465-mod-acronyms-wtf/ Especially this one for Oblivion: http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Tes4Mod:Acronyms as linked to in the first one.

[Striker879]

Honest Drake ... my :ninja: mask is way back in the bottom drawer of my dresser, never once considered getting it out. Actually when I started my post you where looking at something else according to the mouse hover popup.

 

I don't often tout this, but I consider manually installing one of the prime tools I used to learn what I know today. By using that install method with the knowledge freely shared when I first arrived by the likes of Hickory and you Drake I slowly began to understand the 'whys' as well as the 'whats' of modding. My explanation of archive invalidation has your fingerprints all over it ... I will always read a post by DrakeTheDragon, sometime even if it's for a game I don't play (and you already know about my DrakesTips text file, copy and pasted from your various answers to people's problems).

 

To Sirenexa ... everyone learns the baby steps before learning the leaps and bounds. Even I was frustrated by the acronyms and seemingly unfathomable install instructions (and I'm a long time computer geek, cut my teeth on DOS 3.0). I had to use OBMM to install my first mods. Until I could see the folder/file structure of a working mod none of the install instructions clicked for me.

 

Keep in mind that what works well for one person isn't necessarily what will work best for you. We each have our individual comfort level ... finding the tools that allow you to work at your comfort level is job one.

 

- Edit - GOG = Good Old Games ... one of the newest officially sanctioned download sources for the game

 

UOP = Unofficial Oblivion Patch ... along with it's associated unofficial patches for Shivering Isles and the other DLCs some consider it a must have for all the fixes it offers

 

QTP = Qarls Texture Pak ... a widely used texture replacer for many of the game's textures (also available in reduced resolution versions for people with machines that can't handle the full meal deal)

Edited January 16, 2018 by Striker879

[Moktah]

EDIT: Went overboard and was way too long. Shortened up a bit.... errr a LOT now that I'm in my right mind.

Least I think I'm in my right mind. Haven't eat breakfast yet, so we'll see what happens muahahaha.

Though Its not answering the op question, hope it gives some good advice for someone new

 

 

 

Backup your computer with a drive imaging program.

I've found myself reloading images once I don't like a mod

rather than uninstalling the mod.

There are lost of mods that replace files and uninstalling

don't put the originals back.

 

Don't install your game in the default location

Put the game directly on the C drive or what ever

just not the default My Programs

I put mine in C:/Oblivion

 

Here's a list of tweaks you can do to your ini file.

C:\Users\InsertYourNameHere\Documents\My Games\Oblivion

You can open the file in Notepad

 

If you don't want to see all the Logo's pop up when you start the game

find the entry: SIntroSequence= and delete everthing to the right of the equals sign

Default: bethesda softworks HD720p.bik,2k games.bik,game studios.bik,Oblivion Legal.bik

 

If you want to skip the main movie at the beginning... then edit.

SMainMenuMovieIntro= Oblivion iv logo.bik

erase Oblivion iv logo.bik

 

 

When you start up Oblivion and you are on the main menu.

There is a map scrolling in the background.

I'm not one that gets sea sickness, but that movie inflicts some serious nausea for me

SMainMenuMovie= Map loop.bik

 

you guessed it... remove Map loop.bik

OR you can replace the bik file for a different look

so you can try out

SMainMenuMovie= Oblivion iv logo.bik

 

I also prefer to have my local map a bit more colorful so I disable the sepia coloring shader.

bLocalMapShader= 1 <<< default gives the sepia shader

bLocalMapShader= 0 <<< color map

 

 

You can also tweak the horse jump setting

fHorseRunGravity=

 

lower values and your horse will leap higher and longer

 

My last notes I had wrote down I was trying out 2.5

 

When you run to the EDGE of the world

you will run into an invisible wall

total buzz kill in my opinion

 

bBorderRegionsEnabled= 1 << default

bBorderRegionsEnabled= 0 << no invisible wall

 

 

OF PATCHES and CONFUSION THEREOF

 

Since you have the Game of the Year version (as I do)

NEVER NEVER EVER do the OFFICIAL

important word there O F F I C I A L

SHIVERING ISLES PATCH v1.2.0416

 

Disaster will befall you!!!

 

There are some UNofficial patches you will want to use though.

Edited January 17, 2018 by Moktah

[lubronbrons]

oh my too long !

 

LOL

 

why don't you all just suggest this ---> https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/47591/

 

it's all in one :)

[Moktah]

haha Yup.... way too long

Sorry bout that

 

Thats a nice How To guide you linked to

(hmm wonder if I can still edit my post so its a bit more readable.....

I can take out a bunch considering that guide)

[DrakeTheDragon]

Yes, it is a mighty fine list of mods and instructions going along to make it all work together, but marob already mentioned it.

 

I'm not one for recommending any mods. Pre-compiled lists will never entirely fit anybody's interests, and adding to or removing from said lists might get more difficult than to one's own individual mod collection.

 

But there's been questions inside the OP, and I just -love- answering questions, if I know the answers or where to get them from. Recommendations can, and will, be made by others, I'll rather just close knowledge gaps. :sweat:

 

 

Oh, and, concerning Bevilex' list... I myself am currently trying it out myself, now that I got a remarkably better system than what I had before as a sort-of late birthday present this month and finally can. I had to skip and replace a few parts already, because they either weren't to my taste, or didn't make sense in my game in my eyes. And even then I'm currently only at Step 3 of the list, although I had to take on steps 11 and 12 earlier, 10 also by now, as it makes no sense in my eyes to have them last, unless you go about installing the entire list first, then testing for the first time... not a really bright idea by any means.

 

I mean, how are you meant to know how your current setup will perform inside Oblivion Reloaded, if Oblivion Reloaded is installed last? What do you do, if up to the last point your FPS always was quite fine, but then all of a sudden this now longer applies to when inside OR? There's a vast difference between how your setup will perform inside the original render pipeline to inside OR's after all. It's whole worlds of technological advancement between the two.

 

...and still, there's one hell of more steps left to go. o_O Only take on entire lists of mods once you got the hang of installing individual ones or smaller packs yourself, or it will quickly overwhelm you... It's too much for 'me' right now, and I consider myself a pro. But that's primarily due to my still ongoing lack of free time rather, and my need to check out, decide for and cherry-pick each mod individually. :happy: