[Solved] Empty Chests in Bloodmoon. Morrowind Overhaul 3.0 issue?

[Error]

I installed Morrowind Overhaul 3.0 and I'm really loving the game. Most of the options I've kept default and I've kept all the mods that it installed enabled as well.

During my Tribunal mission, I got to the point where I needed to get Satchel charges, but for some reason they weren't in any of the chests. I only knew this because I got completely stuck and had to break my "no guides" rule for my first playthrough. I attributed it to a random glitch and used additem to give me the charges.

Now I'm playing the Bloodmoon expansion and an alarming number of locked chests are completely empty. I'm worried there is a bigger issue going on and I'm going to end up not having a critical item again. Has anyone else run into this problem?

[Error]

Update: I've been able to track down the source of the issue. From what I can tell, it is a problem with Morrowind Overhaul. Specifically, the MW Containers Animated mod that is included in the pack is what caused the issue. This caused the issue with the missing Satchel Charges in the Tribunal expansion and the empty chests in Bloodmoon (Solstheim).

It appears that the version included with Morrowind Overhaul is 0.9. I opened up the .esp file and compared it to the .esp file for the newest version 1.1. I found that the newest version had an entry for the satchel charges for Tribunal.

However, the release notes from 0.9 through v1.1 don't mention fixing this, so I simply don't trust the mod anymore and instead of upgrading I decided to remove it. After uninstalling it, even chests that were empty before now have the items that should have been in them in Bloodmoon. I'm going to miss some of the animated containers. It was a nice feature, though it made looting the urns really annoying.

Upgrading to the latest may do the trick: http://morrowind.nexusmods.com/mods/42238/

I didn't do any testing with the latest, so it may or may not solve the empty chests in Bloodmoon. I know it will solve the missing satchels in Tribunal based on my examination of the .esp file.

Unfortunately, uninstalling the mod isn't so easy. If you uncheck the mod from the launcher, any of the formerly animated containers simply won't work at all. Luckily, the latest version that I linked above also includes a tool to allow you to clean your Save game. I used that to remove any references from the save game and it worked perfectly. For those not comfortable with this, it may be best for you to simply upgrade to the latest and hope for the best.

Good luck.

[WhiteSnake]

that sucks, I had just got this game cheap and was looking forward to installing Morrowind Overhaul 3.0 but if it messes up the game then I'll just play it vanilla.

[Error]

No, no, it is only this one particular mod that caused the problem that Morrowind Overhaul 3.0 includes. The mod adds some animations for when you open chests, urns, desks, etc. to help with immersion. Since you are starting a brand-new game, you have a couple options:

1. After installing Morrowind Overhaul 3.0, in the launcher click on Data Files and scroll down until you find MW Containers Animated.esp and uncheck it. You won't have to go through the ellaborate removal steps I mentioned in my post because you are starting a brand-new game, which means there aren't any Save files yet.
2. After installing Morrowind Overhaul 3.0, download the latest version that I linked to and then install it overtop of the existing one. Like I said, this definitely fixes the Satchel Charge issue for the Tribunal. I just never confirmed it fixes the issues I was having with Bloodmoon.

An issue with this one mod of many should not be a reason to go without Morrowind Overhaul 3.0. I highly recommend it.

[WhiteSnake]

did you ever encounter any other issues? I've never modded any other elder scroll game and am pretty new to pc gaming. Always wondered what Morrowind would look like with great graphics though. I'll just not use the Animated Containers mod at all to save any trouble :)


some said some areas were missing or daedric shrines were missing?It was back from Oct back when Overhaul 3.0 came out on their forums I believe. I just want to complete the game and DLC with no problems :)

[Error]

The only other issue that I experienced that I'm aware of was that during the Bloodmoon DLC, I was unable to activate the door leading to the Lair of the Udyrfrykte (which is related to a side-quest). I saw the door on the mini-map and I was far enough in the story that I should have been able to activate it. I ran the following console command to proceed: CenterOnCell, "Solstheim, Lair of the Udyrfrykte"

However, I really don't know if this was caused by a mod in Morrowind Overhaul 3.0 or just a bug in Morrowind. I saw a few posts about it that never mentioned the mods they were using. Even if it was a bug introduced by Morrowind Overhaul 3.0, the bugs that it fixes in the vanilla version more than make up for it. You can see a list of fixes by examining the release notes for some of the individual mods and tools included.

As for other things missing.... I haven't noticed anything but I never played the vanilla version. The only way I'd know if something was missing is if I was sent on a quest and couldn't find it. So far that hasn't happened.

[Shiro]

Hello Shatter,

I'm experiencing the same issues you described in the OP during the Tribunal quest - the satchel charges are nowhere to be found.

Considering Overhaul is such a pain to mess around with... and I won't want to upgrade it (that would probably be a lot of work too), what course of action am I looking at here? What's the simplest, most straightforward way of disabling that particular animation mod while still preserving save file integrity?

[Error]

If you are sure that you found the chests that should have contained the Satchel Pack(s), then the immediate solution is to bring up the console ~ and enter: player->additem "dwemer_satchel00" 3
I entered 3 since there were a total of 3 that were supposed to be in all the chests down there.

As for upgrading it, that is actually eaiser than removing it since you would just be replacing the file. If you replace MW Containers Animated.esp located in Morrowind\Data Files with the MW Containers Animated.esp from the new version, then that is the extent of the upgrade process. It fixes the Satchel Charges (at least for new games, may or may not work with existing as I didn't test it). I'm not sure what it does for the Bloodmoon chests since I ended up removing it.

If you do want to remove it, then these are the steps I followed.

- Make a backup of all existing saves by copying them somewhere completely different just to be sure you have them. For me, they are found in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Morrowind\Saves
- Downloaded the latest version here: http://morrowind.nexusmods.com/mods/42238/ (This is because the latest version comes with an uninstall script that cleans your save file too)
- Inside that archive is a folder called Saves that contains 3 files: clean_MWCA_savegame.bat, delete_actn.pl, tes3cmd.exe. Extract all 3 of those files to the directory that has your Save files.
- Navigate to your Save game folder again and run clean_MWCA_savegames.bat. This cleans all of the save files there, which is why it was important to make backups to another folder completely just in case.
- Start Morrowind Launcher (what starts by default when you run it from Steam) and click Data to review the list of mods installed. Uncheck MW Containers Animated.esp
- Start your game normally and load your game. The first time you load it after disabling the .esp file will lead you to a warning about your plugins not matching or something similar.
- As long as you only get the 1 warning about the plugins or mods not matching, then you should be set. You can test it by going to loot something that would have been animated like a chest, urn, etc.
- If you get a series warnings about missing scripts, then you may not have selected the correct save file or something went wrong during the clensing. Choosing the incorrect save file is definitely a possibility because during the clean_MWCA_savegames.bat step, it automatically saves an extra version of the file in the same directory too. That means the Load screen basically doubles the number of saves you have.
- If something did go wrong, worst case scenario you could remove all the files from the Saves directory and replace them with the backup you already made and then try again.

I hope this helps. I know it isn't the simplest but cleaning your save game is the only way to allow for the safe removal of that mod.

[Shiro]

Originally posted by Shatter:

If you are sure that you found the chests that should have contained the Satchel Pack(s), then the immediate solution is to bring up the console ~ and enter: player->additem "dwemer_satchel00" 3
I entered 3 since there were a total of 3 that were supposed to be in all the chests down there.

As for upgrading it, that is actually eaiser than removing it since you would just be replacing the file. If you replace MW Containers Animated.esp located in Morrowind\Data Files with the MW Containers Animated.esp from the new version, then that is the extent of the upgrade process. It fixes the Satchel Charges (at least for new games, may or may not work with existing as I didn't test it). I'm not sure what it does for the Bloodmoon chests since I ended up removing it.

If you do want to remove it, then these are the steps I followed.

- Make a backup of all existing saves by copying them somewhere completely different just to be sure you have them. For me, they are found in: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Morrowind\Saves
- Downloaded the latest version here: http://morrowind.nexusmods.com/mods/42238/ (This is because the latest version comes with an uninstall script that cleans your save file too)
- Inside that archive is a folder called Saves that contains 3 files: clean_MWCA_savegame.bat, delete_actn.pl, tes3cmd.exe. Extract all 3 of those files to the directory that has your Save files.
- Navigate to your Save game folder again and run clean_MWCA_savegames.bat. This cleans all of the save files there, which is why it was important to make backups to another folder completely just in case.
- Start Morrowind Launcher (what starts by default when you run it from Steam) and click Data to review the list of mods installed. Uncheck MW Containers Animated.esp
- Start your game normally and load your game. The first time you load it after disabling the .esp file will lead you to a warning about your plugins not matching or something similar.
- As long as you only get the 1 warning about the plugins or mods not matching, then you should be set. You can test it by going to loot something that would have been animated like a chest, urn, etc.
- If you get a series warnings about missing scripts, then you may not have selected the correct save file or something went wrong during the clensing. Choosing the incorrect save file is definitely a possibility because during the clean_MWCA_savegames.bat step, it automatically saves an extra version of the file in the same directory too. That means the Load screen basically doubles the number of saves you have.
- If something did go wrong, worst case scenario you could remove all the files from the Saves directory and replace them with the backup you already made and then try again.

I hope this helps. I know it isn't the simplest but cleaning your save game is the only way to allow for the safe removal of that mod.

Man, thanks for the lenghty reply, but I JUST got it to work by using the save file cleaner you mentioned in your second post. Came here to say that...

All I did was download the file from the link you posted (had to register on those forums... is this 1999?), extract the files to my morrowind folder and run the save file cleaner. When I next played Morrowind and loaded my last save, I got a warning for the files being different etc... but everything is working fine so far!

The chests are still animated and I managed to find the satchel charges.

Thank you very, very much for the help.

[Error]

You're welcome - I'm glad it has worked out so far. You actually performed an upgrade since you extracted all the files and didn't unselect MW Containers Animated.esp. However, it is a reasonable assumption that if they fixed the Satchel Charges in Mournhold, then they fixed the empty chests in the Bloodmoon expansion. The animations are definitely a nice feature and I know the new version also sped up some of the ones that were too slow like the urn.

[ZOMBUSTER[bL0u3]d°ç°b]

Originally posted by Shatter:

Update: I've been able to track down the source of the issue. From what I can tell, it is a problem with Morrowind Overhaul. Specifically, the MW Containers Animated mod that is included in the pack is what caused the issue. This caused the issue with the missing Satchel Charges in the Tribunal expansion and the empty chests in Bloodmoon (Solstheim).

It appears that the version included with Morrowind Overhaul is 0.9. I opened up the .esp file and compared it to the .esp file for the newest version 1.1. I found that the newest version had an entry for the satchel charges for Tribunal.

However, the release notes from 0.9 through v1.1 don't mention fixing this, so I simply don't trust the mod anymore and instead of upgrading I decided to remove it. After uninstalling it, even chests that were empty before now have the items that should have been in them in Bloodmoon. I'm going to miss some of the animated containers. It was a nice feature, though it made looting the urns really annoying.

Upgrading to the latest may do the trick: http://morrowind.nexusmods.com/mods/42238/

I didn't do any testing with the latest, so it may or may not solve the empty chests in Bloodmoon. I know it will solve the missing satchels in Tribunal based on my examination of the .esp file.

Unfortunately, uninstalling the mod isn't so easy. If you uncheck the mod from the launcher, any of the formerly animated containers simply won't work at all. Luckily, the latest version that I linked above also includes a tool to allow you to clean your Save game. I used that to remove any references from the save game and it worked perfectly. For those not comfortable with this, it may be best for you to simply upgrade to the latest and hope for the best.

Good luck.

Hi Shatter, thanks for your help, i downloaded the file but i can't find any tool to clean my saved game like you said : "Luckily, the latest version that I linked above also includes a tool to allow you to clean your Save game. I used that to remove any references from the save game and it worked perfectly. " Is it "uninstall MW Containers Animated.bat " ?
I replaced all the old files from the overhaul 3.0 with the ones of your Nexus link but when i open the chest the game crashes...So i want to clean my game saves after replacing the mod files, any idea how?

[Error]

I don't have the game installed anymore, but I'll help as much as I can. After reviewing the download for the updated version, I found what I believe you need to do.

In the latest version that I linked, there is a directory called "Saves" that contains tes3cmd.exe, delete_actn.pl, and clean_MWCA_savegames.bat. Extracting all of those to the directory you have your game saves and running the .BAT file should do the trick. Be sure to back up any of your existing saves in case something goes wrong.

[ZOMBUSTER[bL0u3]d°ç°b]

I'm sorry, maybe I'm slow, but are you talking about this link? http://morrowind.nexusmods.com/mods/42238/
because I can't find any folder called "saves" inside /:

[Error]

I see where the confusion is now. The version I had was v1.1, which was the latest version as of my post in May 2013. Looks like they released v1.2 in July 2013 according to the date in the Files section of the mod.

If I had to guess, I think you'd find what you are looking for in the MWCA extras folder. See if there are files with the same name I specified.

[ZOMBUSTER[bL0u3]d°ç°b]

Sorry to disappoint you but those files are nowhere to be found in this archive...Maybe you could point me in the right direction to find this famous "saves cleaner" ?
Here's what is in "MWCA extras" folder : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10863997/Not%20there.jpg (DELETED sorry)
I used the "TCL" command to continu the quest, but I wish we could resolve this problem nonetheless.

[Error]

I just downloaded v1.2 and you're right they no longer include the Saves cleaner. They must have a reason for removing it, but I don't know what it might be.

I uploaded the "Saves" folder from v1.1 here. Use it at your own risk, of course. Not sure why they removed it and I highly suggest keeping a backup of your savees. It worked great for me. http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/486546/Saves-zip.html I don't have/use Dropbox, so I just found a random file host.