help with mods

[bearhead]

ok so, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get any body replacer mods to work. Specifically I'd like to use TGND, but I've tried Robert's body and HGEC as well and still no luck -- when I start Oblivion all I see are the vanilla models. I'm not very experienced with modding oblivion, but I've done a ton of Morrowind modding, so I was working under the assumption that it wouldn't be that different than what I'm used to?

Even more strangely, I can't even replace the vanilla body texture...

The only other mods I'm using are the unofficial patches. I'm running the GoTY deluxe addition.

I figured all I needed to do is install the .nif and .dds files in the correct locations and then toggle on any .esps (as is done in morrowind), what am I missing?

[Lobo de hielo]

Give a link to which mods you are trying to use.
Usually you should back-up folders, such as data/meshes/characters/_male.
Download mod, unzip, read instructions carefully. Usually just entails copy and paste folders and allow to overwrite.
If not sure still, have a thought about using Wrye Bash. Very easy.
How to install Wrye Bash, less than 3 minute video,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYAEFk5QmLQ

How to install mods with Wrye Bash. Just over 4 minutes long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6e03XoIh_Y

[bearhead]

well I think I've figured out the issue, but I don't know what the solution would be...

I'm pretty sure the problem is that the default .bsa files (Oblivion - Textures - Compressed.bsa, and Oblivion - Meshes.bsa) have a last modified date of 2017, while most mods are going to have a last modified date earlier than that. I confirmed this was the problem by opening a .dds file and the re-saving it to set the last modified date to 2022 - and it showed up in game.

Mods that add new files (as opposed to acting as replacers) work without issue, further confirming this is indeed the problem.

However, I'm not sure how to fix this issue. I cannot manually edit every modified texture and mesh file to get a more recent date. Is there anyway to backdate the last modified date of the default bsa files? or a way to mass-update the dates of mod files?

[Lobo de hielo]

Check out Wrye Bash links I gave you. It should do that automatically.

[BigRowdy]

Yep that guy is good in teaching. HOWEVER, he goes really fast so have your finger on the pause button.

[bearhead]

Thanks for the replies - I ended up using OBMM, it seemed a little easier to use for just the purpose of back-dating the default bsas.

So for now I have things set up to where I want them... I will keep wyre bash in mind if I get in to more intensive modding at some point.

[Timmeh]

Originally posted by bearhead:

Thanks for the replies - I ended up using OBMM, it seemed a little easier to use for just the purpose of back-dating the default bsas.

So for now I have things set up to where I want them... I will keep wyre bash in mind if I get in to more intensive modding at some point.

I recommend you use Vortex to manage your mods.
It's integrated into nexus for downloading mods and it sorts everything way more efficiently that wrye, so much easier and robust. OBMM is last-last-gen tech, don't give yourself a headache with this.

[arottweiler]

OBMM works perfectly for me and I run 100+ mods together without problems. Sometimes simple utilities are the best option before moving on to more featured mod managers like Wyre Bash which I've never used but have never needed to. Most important is how the mod is unpacked and installed and the manual way has always worked for me. I prefer not to rely on mod managers too much so if something goes wrong I know what it is rather than trying to patch it up which can snowball.

[Lobo de hielo]

Originally posted by arottweiler:

OBMM works perfectly for me and I run 100+ mods together without problems. Sometimes simple utilities are the best option before moving on to more featured mod managers like Wyre Bash which I've never used but have never needed to. Most important is how the mod is unpacked and installed and the manual way has always worked for me. I prefer not to rely on mod managers too much so if something goes wrong I know what it is rather than trying to patch it up which can snowball.

+1

Because something is new, does not mean it is better.
OBMM and Wrye Bash/ Mash are mature products = they work and work well. They are not going to have huge updates which mess up things.
I have always used Wrye Bash and tools that are linked, xEdit, Loot, editors etc. Never, ever had a save game go bad on me that I could not fix.
p.s I also use OBMM, purely because some of my "old" mods are omods, too lazy to convert or find a bain package and OBMM works perfectly well.

[Timmeh]

Originally posted by arottweiler:

I prefer not to rely on mod managers too much so if something goes wrong I know what it is rather than trying to patch it up which can snowball.

From my experience that is EXACTLY where a good mod manager makes life easier.
If you've been mixing conflicting mods and have to revert changes or debug a mod that is causing problems you can save hours with a good mod manager.
Vortex even redeploys your files way faster and in fewer clicks than using Wrye and also has a much more developed interface with better features for sorting and searching and solving conflicts.

[arottweiler]

For someone who is new to modding the most basic mod manager is the best option to learn how it works because debugging and fixing conflicts is the last thing someone new to modding should be thinking about. It should be adding a few small mods at a time before moving on to the big mods and OBMM works fine for that. It's not about the tools it's about the process and I run a lot of mods and have a very stable game. Crashing and freezing is almost unheard of with fast loading and all the mods work fine. The official and unofficial patches, OBSE and Engine Bug Fixes are needed to make a solid foundation to add mods to.

[bearhead]

Originally posted by arottweiler:

...adding a few small mods at a time before moving on to the big mods and OBMM works fine for that.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm doing. I've only used OBMM to backdate the original BSAs and have installed all my mods manually. No errors so far, which is more than I can say for morrowind -haha (my Oblivion copy is from the other site if you're wondering why Steam says I don't own it).

[Lobo de hielo]

Originally posted by bearhead:

Originally posted by arottweiler:

...adding a few small mods at a time before moving on to the big mods and OBMM works fine for that.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm doing. I've only used OBMM to backdate the original BSAs and have installed all my mods manually. No errors so far, which is more than I can say for morrowind -haha (my Oblivion copy is from the other site if you're wondering why Steam says I don't own it).

Played for years from iso of original disk. PC went bad last week but luckily some nice person had an unused key for GOG.
Did not take long to get it up and going. Pain in the ass though to get my in game hours to show, since I use OBSE.