would love some help getting me mods working

[bottomFeeding]

hiyer guys.

im a total computer noob, and i was just wondering. i have oblivion 5th anniversary (non steam version), i wanna get it working with a few mods. but so far i have a whole load of things i am unsure of. il just list them and see what you think.

ok so, first up i am using nexus mod manager, i did hear that this was actually the worst choice for oblivion, that it doesn't work very well and many oblivion mods don't work well with it. i am open to trying some of the other mod managers, but im completely noobish as i say.

the mods i am interested in are as follows. the unofficial patches for standard oblivion, shivering isles and knights of the nine. Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, as well as OOO Shivering Isles, and OOO extended (which features extra creatures and weapons)

the Unique Landscapes Compilation mod sounds good. Kvach rebuilt is a must. anyway. yesterday i tried to get all of this going and came across many a uncertainty. ok so for starters oscuros oblivion overhaul requires oblivion script extender, there isn't the option to download it using nexus mod manager and so i read that it has to be manually downloaded and then all the relevant parts copied and pasted straight into oblivions main folder. so far so good, but how will it work when using OOO in nexus mod manager. is nmm able to detect the presence of obse and run the mods through it or what, it seems doubtful. funnily enough i found another mod called obse tester or something, to test if obse is working properly, but i couldn't get the tester to work, ha.

another thing im wondering about, when installing the mods, i download them and am able to activate them, but lets take OOO for example. when you first download it you go to files, the top one Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul BSA seems to be the main thing although i dunno what BSA stands for but anyway, i get it to nmm activate it and it starts saying there is a newer version of the mod or something. im directed back to the page i downloaded OOO from, there are many files, but im guessing the one i need is the next file down, the one that gets it up to version 1.5.8, i download it and activate it in nmm but it doesn't like connect up with the first OOO mod like i was hoping, so i have no idea if it has worked or not, there doesn't seem to be a way of checking what version of the mod is the one being used in nmm. i mean there probably is but im so noobish as i say. so if anyone can advise me on any of this or even some of this i would be most grateful.

oh yeah one other thing. i was curious to know if there is some trusted place i can get oblivions other bits of official added content for free. frostcrag spire, thieves den, vile lair etc. the 5th anniversary edition i have only has knights of the nine and shivering isle, and im greedy. what can i say. nexus doesnt appear to have them.

anyway, thanks again for any help. and sorry to anyone that loves proper grammar and punctuation.
cheers.

Edited June 19, 2018 by bottomFeeding

[balkanobeasti]

I'll be honest Oblivion's a pain in the ass to mod compared to FO:NV, Skyrim, and FO4.

 

Use Wrye Bash or Oblivion Mod Manager for mod management. Yes... It auto-detects the script extender if it's copy-pasted into the game directory. If you continued using NMM there's a little arrow you use to get it to let you switch between Oblivion, OBSE, etc.

 

You can't always believe if there's a newer version or not from NMM. Firstly because it can't even count right... You can have V4 or something of a mod. It'll show V4.000/V3.999. It'll act like V3.999 is the new version you need to get potentially. You have to know which version you need yourself. Rule of thumb is the top one with the most recent upload date and numbers. If you need patches get those too.

For mod specifics, you need to follow the instructions for each mod.

 

Nexus doesn't carry dlc content. The only way you can get that is by having it included in your version or by buying them or *redacted*.

 

 

We don't suggest crimes here. --Drake

[bottomFeeding]

thanks balkanobesti for your very helpful response. i decided to go with Oblivion mod manager, i have managed to reinstall the unofficial patches and stuff and i tried the start from anvil by ship mod just to make sure i have grasped the basics of getting this thing working. so far so good.

 

this tutorial was most helpful for that.

 

i am still somewhat confused about some things though. lets take the OOO example again.

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/46199?tab=files

 

ok so as you can see the two main files there, i downloaded them both, i guessed the first is the main bulk of the mod judging by the size of the file and the second is a few tweaks added later. ok so once ive gone through all the palaver with 7-zip and actually converted them onto omm and activated them i noticed that upon activation the large mod seems to add nothing to the left hand box on omm, once the smaller mod is also activated i few things are added. leading me to think maybe i am doing something wrong.

upon actually firing up the game the unofficial patches announce themselves in game but there is nothing about Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, so its really hard to know if it is working properly or not.

also, i have oblivion script extender installed correctly so far as i can tell which Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul is dependent on. any ideas for if and what i am doing wrong? i thought maybe there is some way of merging the two mods together to make sure they are both working together as they should be.

thanks again for your response

cheers.

Edited June 20, 2018 by bottomFeeding

[DrakeTheDragon]

There's nothing wrong with what happened when you installed OOO's files.

They're both needed to go together, or nothing will work.

 

The first is only the resources, just a BSA archive file, only the second has the plugins and masterfiles.

The second won't work without the first, and the first won't do a thing without the second.

And only the second contains files which will show up inside the left hand box, as you noticed.

 

The right box is for the mods themselves, the left is only for plugins or masterfiles. Not every mod has these, so not every mod will add something into there.

[bottomFeeding]

hello everyone. thanks for all the help so far, its coming on leaps and bounds thanks to you good people.

however today i was in obmm and got this message while trying to get OOO shivering isles ESPs and optional files to work.

 

 

could some kind soul go into a bit more detail as to what they are asking of me here.

Edited June 23, 2018 by bottomFeeding

[DrakeTheDragon]

Well, the OBMM supports scripted installs, that is entirely bogus directory structures only made sense of by included scripts copying, moving and renaming files and folders around according to your choices to create the final version to go into your game.

 

What this message says is, there's subdirectories inside the archive you're trying to turn into an OMOD which also contain ESPs, that is optional/alternate versions to be moved up into the data folder according to your install options.

 

The OOO Shivering Isles mod is packaged as a BAIN archive. Installing it "as is" through OBMM will not have any effect. All plugins are inside sub-folders, thus will not go into your Data folder.

The "00 Core" folder contains all mandatory core files. These must go directly into your Data folder. Every other "0X" folder following afterwards contains "optional" files, also to be moved into your Data folder. (If there's identically numbered folders, you'll have to choose only 1 of them, but in this archive there aren't.)

 

So for this mod to be turned into an OMOD for install through OBMM, you'll have to restructure and repackage everything first. Unless you're able to write an OMOD install script yourself, of course.

 

So do it like a manual install. Create a temporary folder somewhere outside of your game. Install everything from inside this archive following the manual install instructions, but into this folder instead of your Data.

 

The folder you're going to end up with will basically look like this:

OOOShiveringIsles.esp
OOOSI-EyeDisabler.esp    --    only if you intend to use this option (refer to the instructions as for what it is for)
textures    --    only if you intend to use the Sheogorath Regalia Unreplacer (whatever it is, read instructions)
    ZU
        AmberMadness
            Clothes
                Sheogorath
                    kikai-pants.dds
                    kikai-pants_n.dds
                    kikai-shirt.dds
                    kikai-shirt_n.dds

Meshes    --    only if you intend to use this (whatever it is, looks like clothing/armor compatibility for Exnem bodies, but for there only to be Exnem would be a little... odd)
    ZU
        AmberMadness
            ArmorAmber
                f
                    cuirass.nif
            ArmorFemDark
                f
                    armor.nif
            ArmorFemSaint
                f
                    armor.nif
            Clothes
                SylDress
                    SylDressF.nif
                wizard
                    Shirt.nif
OOOSIArcheryPatch.esp    --    if you intend to use the Archery Patch (read instructions as to what it is/when it should be used)
OOOShiveringIslesReadme.txt

Once you got this temporary folder combined from the options you chose, package it up into a ZIP or something and convert it into an OMOD like you attempted before. This time there'll be no warning, and this time the files and folders will go where they belong.

 

(Welcome to the world of restructuring and repackaging mods from/for different managers!)

[bottomFeeding]

Drake the dragon, thanks for that very in depth explanation.

the only trouble is im very noobish with all of this and really am finding it hard to follow what you mean. youll have to explain it like you are explaining to a 5 year old with me im afraid, every little step with nothing to the imagination.

let me ask you, was this mod made with wyre bash in mind? maybe it would be easier for me to simply install everything on that mod manager instead?

[DrakeTheDragon]

You will never be able to ever install "everything" with any one manager instead. There's way too many way too different packages available for a vast number of different managers by now. Some managers will understand some other's formats, some won't. At one point or another you'll either have to restructure and repackage, or use multiple managers at once, while the latter isn't exactly an advisable idea.

 

I know you can turn OMODs into ZIP archives, so these can always more or less simply be "converted".

I haven't yet found a way to convert Wrye Bash's BAIN archives, though, or to get Wrye Bash to install into a temporary folder instead of into the game.

 

Wrye Bash's BAIN has always been the hardest to convert to another's format for me, too, due to that.

But it's actually rather simple, too.

 

Like I said, in BAIN there's multiple different folders starting with a number and most often an explanatory name. The numbers are important, the name's not so much.

Each of these folders contains an entire excerpt of the Data folder. Some will only add onto previous numbers, but some will also "replace" files or folders from previous numbers.

 

You will have to go from the top down to the bottom, always starting with the "00" folder first. Copy&paste everything you find inside there 1:1 into the temporary folder.

Then continue to do so with every other numbered folder afterwards, provided you want to use the assets found inside. As every numbered folder after the main is either an optional part of the mod or an alternate version of another with the same number.

Always choose only 1, if there's more of the same number, and always allow it to overwrite existing files and folders when asked.

 

You definitely will need to know which folder contains what and which of the folders you'll need to install according to your choices and needs. Without an adequate install instruction explaining all this to you, you will be completely lost when it comes to BAINs.

I can't help you much with that last part, as it will be different for every BAIN mod you install.

[bottomFeeding]

Drake the dragon - i really appreciate all the time you are putting into these replies, when i said about using wrye bash, i meant literelly uninstalling obmm and installing everything on wrye bash.

other than that the explanation you gave is far too technical for me. i cant understand how or why a popular mod like OOO has a fault with it that you have to be edward fcin snowdon to get it working. it makes no sense. and why the shivering isles part. the main mod and the weapon + creature mod seems to go off without a hitch.

[DrakeTheDragon]

Well, I don't know what in my previous explanation could even be called technical to begin with, but let's see if we can't get this all a little bit more detailed down and step-by-step-ish.

I must say I'm quite a little disappointed by the lack of explanation and instructions inside this particular mod OOO SI, as it doesn't even anywhere give a hint as to what each numbered folder is for. Not even if you used BAIN, would you be able to make the right choices that way.

 

So, let's start step-by-step.

 

1) Create a new folder, say, on your Desktop and name it, say "TempData" for simplicity's sake. That is, right-click anywhere on your Desktop and go "New > Folder", then you'll get a new empty folder with a placeholder as name and the cursor inside to edit it to your like. So just enter "TempData" (case doesn't matter, heck, the name of the folder itself does't matter here, but we should be settling on one, or we'll just get confused) to name the new folder appropriately.

2) Open this new folder in one Explorer window, so you can drag&drop stuff into it.

 

3) Extract the archive coming from this mod OOO SI, usually by double-clicking it and following the instructions. If you're asked about where, let's just put it onto your Desktop, too, to make things easy. This should create another folder, with all the numbered folders inside.

4) Open this one in another Explorer window, so you have 2 Explorer windows next to each other, one showing the contents of "TempData" and the other the contents of "ESPs and optional files-46508-1-71" or whatever it'll be named.

 

5) Go into "00 Core", select all files inside (there's just 1) and copy&paste it over into "TempData". This is usually done by either right-clicking "OOOShiveringIsles.esp" and clicking "copy" from the popup menu, then right-clicking the empty space inside "TempData" and clicking "paste" (or what it'll be named in English Windows versions), or simply drag "OOOShiveringIsles.esp" and while holding down <CTRL> drop it into "TempData" instead. Both will do the same, copy&paste the file."

 

6) Now let's see. You most likely won't need the Eye Disabler, as it's only provided for when you encounter bugs with the eyes later on, but it won't hurt having it inside your new mod archive either, as you can always just leave it unchecked inside your game.

7) So do as above but with "OOOSI-EyeDisabler.esp" from inside "03 Eye Disabler".

 

8 ) Next, you most certainly won't be interested in using the Sheogorath Regalia Unreplacer, as there isn't even any trail of a hint as to what it does. So let's just simply skip this folder "04 Sheogorath Regalia Unreplacer".

 

9) It's quite a safe bet you're not using the old Exnem bodies but rather one of the more recent ones, like HGEC, or if any at all. So we can also skip the "05 Exnem Meshes" folder as well.

 

10) Now, the Archery Patch +20% damage thing sounds like it might come in handy in different situations, so again it'd be a plugin worth keeping available, even if you're never going to actually activate it.

11) So, again, do like before but with "OOOSIArcheryPatch.esp" from inside "06 Archery Patch +20% damage".

 

11) And last but not least let's not forget the readme. Do as before with "OOOShiveringIslesReadme.txt".

 

12) You should now have a simple folder with only a few files and no folders inside:

OOOShiveringIsles.esp
OOOShiveringIslesReadme.txt
OOOSI-EyeDisabler.esp
OOOSIArcheryPatch.esp

13) Now, select everything inside "TempData", either by <Shift>-clicking one by one or with left-dragging a selection rectangle around them all, then right-click it and go "Send to > ZIP" or what it's called in your language and OS version. If you have other packaging apps on shortcut, you can also use these. The goal is to create a ZIP or other format archive of all files and folders inside "TempData". Name it "OOOSI" for simplicity's sake. But any name will do.

 

14) Once this is done, you can add this new archive "OOOSI.zip" (if you chose to go for a ZIP) into the OBMM. Open OBMM, click on "Create" under your mods list, inside the "omod creator" popping up enter a suitable name (let's use "OOO-SI" for now), version, author, email, website is all insignificant, leave anything about "compression" at its defaults, click "Add archive" and browse to "TempData.zip" on your Desktop. Once this got imported, check the "Relative path" column so that every file there doesn't have a folder in front (no "/<any random folder>/OOOShiveringIsles.esp" but only "OOOShiveringIsles.esp"), just in case, and then click "Create omod" and let it do its thing.

 

15) Now do as you did before with OMODs with the newly created OMOD "OOO-SI" in the right hand list of mods, and you should be done already. It should install as usual.

 

16) At last just make sure to un-check "OOOSI-EyeDisabler.esp" and/or "OOOSIArcheryPatch.esp" inside the left-hand plugins list, if you don't need or intend to use any of these.

 

 

You can dispose of the "TempData" folder on your Desktop later at any point. We only needed it to create the new archive. The other folder "ESPs and optional files-46508-1-71" can be removed as well at your will. I would keep the newly created archive "OOOSI.zip" somewhere safe, just in case you need to reinstall it later. But your Desktop is certainly not the right place for that. I hope this will do the trick. Let me know, if any part of it is still unclear.

 

Oh, and simply "Drake" is completely fine. I'm among friends here. (Drake the Dragon is only a story character of mine.)