Please HELP! Mods won't work at all.

[DashingKnight]

Hello fellow gamers, I'm in desperate need for help. I recently downloaded the latest Game of the Year edition of Oblivion from Steam. I also downloaded Nexus Mod Manager. I used the Nexus Mod Manager to download some Mods and they all installed perfectly in the Manager. I made absolutely sure all the boxes were checked and everything was ready to go. I fired up the game in Steam and not a single Mod was working.

 

Here is a list of all the Mods I installed in the order they appear in Nexus Mod Manager:

 

Female EyeCandy - Body Replacer (Nude) Version 1.0 by: Exnem

God Mod - God Version 4.0 by: Dante

Illumination Within Version 1.0 by: Slap & ModMan

Kvatch Rebuilt Version 2.1.2 by: Kvatch Rebuilt Team and DeltaStrium

Official Oblivion 12416 Patch by: Bethesda

Rens Beauty Pack Version 1.1

Vibrant Textures Weather DistantLOD Vanilla Enhancements Version 1.6.5 by: Corepc

 

Here is some extra information... I used Nexus Mod Manager with a downloaded copy of Skyrim from Steam. All the Mods worked beautifully, so I can't understand why Nexus Mod Manager isn't working with Oblivion.

 

Please help, if at all possible. I've done all matters of searches and only got confused. What seems to work fine for others hasn't worked for me. Thanks in advance for any and all technical support.

Edited October 7, 2012 by DashingKnight

[Hickory]

Some -- quite a lot, actually -- mods are simply not Nexus Mod Manager friendly, and simply won't work if installed (if they install at all) that way. HGEC is an OMOD, for example; Illumination Within contains two conflicting plugins; Rens Beauty Pack is totally incompatible with NMM -- it contains two archives within an archive, etc. I think this is where your problem lies.

[DashingKnight]

Thank you very much for your prompt reply. Is there a better and sure fire way I can add mods without using Nexus Mod Manager? I have no idea which Mods are compatable or conflict one another, load order etc... All in all you can say I'm a complete noob at Modding Oblivion. I need all the help I can get in the form that even a child could understand. Lol!

 

Also, I'm very sorry about the double topic posts. I wasn't really sure where to post this. I can assure you it won't happen again.

[Hickory]

There is no one sure-fire way for all mods. If a mod states it is NMM ready, then you can use NMM without any worry or hassle, if a mod is in OMOD format you should use Oblivion Mod Manager Extended, but above all, you should read the installation instructions on the mod page, and/or in the downloaded archive. Some mods can ONLY be installed manually, because they are packed in a very unconventional way. Sometimes this is because the mod has various install options. Even this can be overcome by authors, if only they took the time to package their mods in BAIN (Wrye Bash's format) or OMOD with install scripts. Of course, not all modders are scripters, so...

 

Bottom line: do not expect NMM to install every single mod on the Nexus. It won't.

[DashingKnight]

Thanks again for all of your help.

 

I've tried using everything, but still can't get anything to work. I must be doing things very wrong... I've almost lost all hope.

Edited October 8, 2012 by DashingKnight

[Hickory]

Thanks again for all of your help.

 

I've tried using everything, but still can't get anything to work. I must be doing things very wrong... I've almost lost all hope.

 

There's not a lot I can say to that, except 'keep trying'.

[DashingKnight]

Thank you for your words of encouragement. You have been most kind and I appreciate it.

 

I'll keep tinkering with things. I wonder if there are any Nexus Mod Manager friendly Mods that are similar to the ones I listed above that will work? I'm almost dependant on the Manager, because I can't really do it manually. Everytime I try things on my own I just make a mess and get confused. The only Mods I'm really after are mainly ones that make my female more attractive and nude. That and textures to make the game more pleasing to the eye.

[bben46]

As I have been running Oblivion using OBMM a lot longer than NMM, I use OBMM and not NMM for Oblivion. I do use NMM for Skyrim and it works fine.

 

Your mods

Female EyeCandy - Body Replacer (Nude) Version 1.0 by: Exnem - this is a texture replacer - the results may not be immediately obvious if you have not played the vanilla game (without mods) it changes the Bodies of all females - Player & NPC - NOT the face. The change may be too subtle to notice while they are dressed.

 

God Mod - God Version 4.0 by: Dante - unfamiliar with this one

 

Illumination Within Version 1.0 by: Slap & ModMan - Haven't tried this one

 

Kvatch Rebuilt Version 2.1.2 by: Kvatch Rebuilt Team and DeltaStrium - this one does not start until after you have finished the Kvatch quest where you go into the burning city. There is a delay after finishing that before rebuilding starts.

 

Official Oblivion 12416 Patch by: Bethesda - You don't need this as it is already included in the GOTY version

 

Rens Beauty Pack Version 1.1 This is a very old mod - the upload date is Jan 7, 2008 - it may have problems with the mod manager as it was made long before the mod manager - the author expected it to be downloaded and installed manually. Use only One of the two esps from the download in the game. If the NMM puts both on the page, disable (uncheck) one of them.

 

Vibrant Textures Weather DistantLOD Vanilla Enhancements Version 1.6.5 by: Corepc - unfamiliar with this one.

 

The old way - before any mod managers were available was manually downloading and manually installing each mod.

First, create a folder just for downloading to - I use C:\Games\Downloads\Oblivion downloads

instead of 'download with manager', click on 'Manual download' for large downloads it will ask you to pick a site to download from - smaller mods will skip this -

When it asks where you want to download to - navigate to the folder you created and click it - it will download there

 

To manually install

You will need a program to unzip files installed first - I prefer the FREE 7-zip - available right here on The Nexus http://oblivion.nexu....com/mods/15579

Download and run the installer. This can unzip nearly any kind of zipped files - when you click on a zipped file, it will automatically run to allow you to unzip

 

go to where you downloaded ( I prefer to create a new sub folder for each mod to keep them separated )

So under the oblivion downloads folder I will create a new folder for that mod - So a new folder named Kavatch Rebuilt under Oblivion Downloads

click on the zip file (or rar or whatever brand of compressed file it is) - the 7-zip will open it and ask where you want to unzip it to.

 

The simplest thing to do is navigate to the Oblivion data folder (Oblivion\data) and unzip it there.

Now start the game - there is a 'data' selection on the game menu. click on that

Your mod should show there with an empty block to the left click on that block to activate the mod.

 

Compare that to the NMM install

1. Click on 'Download with Manager'

2. open the manager, go to the Mods tab

3. click on the mod

done :thumbsup:

 

No need to use the game menu for activating the mod as NMM takes care of that for you.

NMM takes care of unzipping, where to save the mod, and all of the other steps automatically.

[DashingKnight]

Thank you so much for your help! You guys have gotten my spirits up and I will keep trying.

[Striker879]

What I'm going to suggest is that for Oblivion you change to using Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) to start, with an eye towards learning how to manually install and then use Wrye Bash's BAIN installer down the road.

 

Rule number one ... install one mod at a time and test thoroughly in between mods. It may appear at the outset that you can save time by installing a bunch of mods and then jump into the game to enjoy them, but time and time again you'll find examples here in these forums how often this isn't the case. The time it takes to sort out conflicts and installation errors increases exponentially with the number of mods added at once.

 

Rule number two ... take the time to read mod descriptions, readmes (when available) and most importantly mod comments. There are lots of mods that look good on paper but will never make it onto my hard drive based on the types of comments from users (opinion also modified by who those comments are made by and what their mod installing skill level is ... read enough mod's comments and you'll get a feel for what I'm talking about). You'll also get a feel for how well supported a mod is by it's author, and when they were last actively supporting the mod. You'll get the added benefit of learning who the premiere modders are.

 

Rule number three (well not a rule but a suggestion) ... don't forget to play the game and enjoy it! The added benefit here is you'll have a better idea of what the vanilla game (or only slightly modded game) runs and looks like on your machine. There is no such thing as beautiful in a world without some ugliness.

 

So to begin download Oblivion Mod Manager. Note that in the description it says you'll need Microsoft's .NET 2.0 installed. The self installer version of OBMM will detect if you have .NET 2.0 installed ... I suggest that version for you to download and install (under Main Files it's the top selection 'obmm1_1_12 full installer' ... just click on those words or the words 'download manually').

 

The trick with downloading manually is knowing where you are saving the download. While some may suggest downloading to your desktop (a default option in most versions of Windows) I suggest you create a folder to keep your downloads in. It will have benefits later when you learn to manually install mods. With smaller sized mods like OBMM you will be brought directly to a standard Windows 'Save As' dialogue box (it may take a moment for the servers to get the download organized and ready for your machine to start downloading). Using the drop down box in the Save As dialogue change where it will save to your C drive (you may need to navigate in that drop down box to get C: to show below the 'My Computer' icon). Once you have it showing 'Local Disk (C:)' in the 'Save In' field at the top, click on the button that creates a new folder (if you hover your mouse pointer over the buttons for a second or two a tool tip will come up telling you what the button does). The default name 'New folder' will be highlighted so right after clicking the create new folder button type in 'Oblivion Downloads' (without the quotes) and hit Enter. You will now see a folder called Oblivion Downloads in the lower part of the Save As dialogue. Double click on that folder and you'll see the Save In line at the top change to Oblivion Downloads. Now click the Create New Folder button again and call this folder Oblivion Mod Manager. In the lower part of the Save As dialogue double click the folder Oblivion Mod Manager so you see it in the Save In line at the top. Now you can click the Save button (whew ... seemed a big hassle but subsequent downloads will be a bit simpler because you will already have the base 'Oblivion Downloads' folder).

 

When the download is complete open Windows Explorer (click on the Start button, select 'All Programs' then 'Accessories' and pick 'Windows Explorer' from the list ... you could right click on it and then select 'Send To' and then 'Desktop (create a shortcut)' so that you don't need to navigate the Start button every time). In Windows Explorer navigate until you have your C:\Oblivion Downloads\Oblivion Mod Manager folder open and you can see the file obmm_1_1_12_full_installer-2097.zip (if you don't see the file extension '.zip' it's OK as there will only be one file in the folder at this point ... you can change the option to 'Hide extensions for known file types' by unticking it in Windows Explorer's 'Folder Options' View tab). I'll assume you are running either Windows 7 or Vista so you can just double click on obmm_1_1_12_full_installer-2097.zip and it will extract. Make sure you use the folder list to change the folder to your C:\Oblivion Downloads\Oblivion Mod Manager folder after you hit the Extract button, and make sure 'Extract All' is selected (that may be slightly different if you are using Vista or Win 7 ... I'm an old Windows XP dinosaur so I have to use WinZip, which is a bit dated to say the least). Now double click on the file 'obmm_setup.exe' in Windows Explorer and follow any prompts and instructions.

 

Next up is getting you those pretty bodies of the feminine persuasion (wearing the same outfit they came into the world wearing). Download EVE HGEC Eyecandy Variants Expansion (I suggest the top selection in the Files tab 'EVE_HGEC_Bodystock and clothing OMOD'). You'll want to save it to it's own subfolder. When the Save As dialogue pops up (which will be after you have gone through the server selection dialogue from this site) click on the 'Up one level' button or use the drop down box to select your Oblivion Downloads folder. Create a new folder called 'EVE HGEC Eyecandy Variants' and then make sure you have that new folder displayed in the Save In field. When it's done downloading (and this one will take considerably longer than OBMM) you'll find the file 'EVE_HGEC_Bodystock and clothing OMOD-24078.omod' (again you may or may not see the '.omod' extension). Right mouse click on that file and select 'Copy' from the right click menu. Now navigate in Windows Explorer to your game's install folder (hopefully not C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion if you are running Vista or Win 7, but if that's the case we'll deal with that as a next step). Inside the 'Oblivion' folder you should see one named 'obmm'. Open that folder and you'll see a folder named 'mods'. Right click on that folder and select 'Paste' from the right click menu. That puts the OMOD for EVE in the right folder.

 

You can close out all your Windows Explorer windows (I use one window to copy and then a second window to paste ... just my weird work habits) and then open Oblivion Mod Manager. It may have put a shortcut on your desktop during installation, if not use the Start button All Programs to start it. In the right hand pane of OBMM you should see 'EVE_HGEC_Bodystock and clothing OMOD-24078' with a green box to it's left. You can either double click on it or single left click and then select the 'Activate' button at the bottom of OBMM's window. This will start the installation script that is included as part of EVE which will walk you through the myriad of options of nude or underwear, cup size etc. At some point in time take the time to read through the OBMM help (accessed via the 'Help' button, oddly enough).

 

Even though OBMM has a button that will launch Oblivion I prefer to close it and start the game myself (I am a singularly crusty old codger who looks for the least convenient way of doing things ... in this case I like OBMM to finish it's work, which happens when you close the program with the 'X', well plus I want total control). Start the game and make your way through the tutorial dungeon. Just before you exit the sewers (when you can see the sewer exit in the distance before the character finalization menus come up) would be a good time to make a save using the save option from the game's Esc menu (never use quicksave, it's a known corrupter of save files). It will be a good save to back up somewhere safe as it will give you a save you can use to create a new character without needing to redo the entire tutorial again (and never overwrite saves either, make a new one each time ... gives you a fall back position when you run into trouble down the road). Exit the sewer and head across the water to Vilverin. The bandits outside are normally female for low level characters. Crack their heads and loot all their gear. If everything went according to Hoyle you should see them in all their splendor.

 

Get through this and we'll get you set up with bouncy bodies and all the extras.

 

- Edit - Ninjaed by Bben46 ... but look at my word count ... hehe!!

Edited October 8, 2012 by Striker879