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Oblivion Mod Installation Tutorial & FAQ

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What is a Mod?

A mod, or a plug-in, is an addition to the game of Oblivion. Mods can add:

-Game play improvements
-New items such as ingredients, clothing, weapons, etc
-New Housing
-New Landmasses
-Creatures
-Mods can also replace existing items in game!

 

What Makes Up a Mod?

An important part of the installation process is understanding what a mod consists of. Mods have the potential to contain:

  • Meshes
  • Textures
  • A ESP or ESM
  • Sounds
  • Music
  • Shaders
  • LSData
  • DistantLOD
  • BSA
  • Archive Invalidation.txt
  • OMOD format and or OMOD conversion data
  • Video
  • A document file known frequently as a “Read Me”

Meshes are most simply put as the shapes you see in game. Architecture, clothing, items, creatures, weapons, and even the characters themselves are made from meshes. Most files found in the meshes folder are .nif format; however .kf files (animation files) are also present, most commonly in pose mods.

Textures are what make the world of Oblivion so lovely. The easiest way to think of textures and meshes is this: It is your friend’s birthday, and you wish to give them a present. You found a box, but it is just plain and unattractive. It needs something special to be added to it. So what do you do? You wrap it with paper. The mesh is the box that needs something special, and the texture is the picture that wraps around it making it beautiful to the eye. Texture files can 0.dds, and .tga but are most commonly .dds files. Normal maps are additional textures ending in _n and add additional details to textures and can be used with various alpha channels for different effects in lighting (referred to as specular maps). For the gift analogy, a normal map would be the satin sheen on the bow or maybe an embossed effect on the paper.

New Oblivion players who have previously played Morrowind may be confused by the lack of an Icon folder. Icons are what you see when an item is in your inventory, or when the curser is over an item. Icons are in .dds format. In Oblivion, icons are stored in the Textures/Menu folder.

There is indeed a difference between an ESM file (Elder Scrolls Master File) and a ESP (Elder Scrolls Plug-in File). Both files are the heart and soul of the mod you are installing. These files contain data that lets the game know what additional meshes, textures, icons, sounds, etc to use in game. An ESM is dependant only upon itself. An ESP however is dependant on an ESM, for example Oblivion is an ESM. Always check the ESM (or master) requirements for a mod you are installing by reading the readme. In addition, newer Oblivion mods may require certain game versions to play such as the latest patch. Always check on this. If you do not have the latest patch running, the mod will not show in game. If you install a mod which requires the expansion Shivering Isles, your game will most likely crash upon load.

Sounds are generally .wav or mp3files. Music files are generally mp3 files. I will not go into more detail on sounds and music, as I believe most people are familiar with their functions.

If you have Oblivion installed, you videos folder already contains some videos. As many mods do not add additional videos, I will not cover them.

A shader is a visual effect which causes the game to create various effects such as magical effects, particle effects, etc. I will not get into shaders much as a mod installation tutorial really does not need to cover them in much detail (and I'm horrible at explaining these.)

The LSData contains files which form lip synching for NPCs in game.

The DistantLOD folder contains files which are used by the engine to render low poly versions of trees, buildings, etc when seen from a distance. Often modders include these for new worldspaces or mods which change object view distance. While these files may occasionally be optional for houses or towns built in existing cells, install them for new worldspaces when provided.

BSA is short for "Bethesda Softworks Archive" and is a compression format developed by Bethesda Softworks. We will cover installation and extraction later.

The Archive Invalidation.txt is a text document which tells the game engine which bsa files to overwrite with files found in the Data directory.

OMOD is a format used by a common utility, the Oblivion Mod Manager. We will cover OMOD installation and OMOD ready archives later.

Most mods contain a document file commonly know as the “Read Me” file. These files contain information such as:

  • Installation Procedures
  • Bugs/Conflicts
  • Contact Information
  • Where to find the locations, items, etc.
  • Un installation procedures

I highly recommend taking a moment to read these files before giving up on installing or using a mod. All my readmes contain installation procedures, and I can always tell when someone did not read the readme.
  
 

7zip shortcut for Mod Installation

It's come to my attention that many similar tutorials out there exist for this method, but since I came up with on my own and have shared it with many people and I am constantly getting installation help requests, I feel compelled to share it..

  • First, download & install 7z. If you haven't already, this tool is a MUST have for downloading and installing mods.
  • Once installed, find the archive you wish to install. For demonstration purposes we will use Shadowcrest Vineyard. Double click on it to open it with the 7zip file manager. (Little help on installation, if you want to set all 7zip files to open with the manager choose 7zFM not 7zG when setting that up in your windows options.)You should see the following:

    Data (folder)
    Shadowcrest_Vineyard_README.txt
  • Click on ALL files (holding down the alt key to select more than one or you can drag highlight with your mouse)
  • Once highlighted, click the Extract button (it should show as a blue minus sign)....right clicking and selecting copy to works just as well.
  • An options box will show up. You will want to set this to your Oblivion directory. Hit the box with "..." in it to open up the browse screen.
  • Navigate to your Oblivion directory. The typical Oblivion directory is as follows:

    *C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion
  • Once the proper directory is entered, hit OK and watch your files install!
  • Open the Oblivion Launcher (or OBMM) and enable the Shadowcrest Vineyard.esp by placing a checkmark next to it in the mod listing found under the "Data Files" menu.

For installing other mods this way, you don't have to type in or browse to your Oblivion install each time...just hit the down button. If you don't care to check the archive before you install it, you can bypass this by opening the archive by
right clicking it and selecting "Extract to" and then choosing your Oblivion folder destination. However, I don't recommend this unless you know what file structure the archive contains. I've made a mess this way before.

* It's recommended for Vista that you install Oblivion to a directory other than C:\Program Files so please check your Oblivion directory and adjust your path if need be before continuing.

  
 

How Do I Manually Install a Mod?


First extract the mod to a sub folder of your choosing. Installing mods manually is generally a simple task of putting things where they belong.

1) Lets begin with the meshes:

The Oblivion Data/Meshes folder contains sub folders. Some meshes need to be placed into these sub folders, while some need to be placed loosely in the directory.

If the mod contains its own sub folders (for example "H" or an "M" folder) and you do not have an "H" or an "M" sub folder inside of your Oblivion/Data/Meshes, simply cut and paste those folders from the mod’s meshes directory and paste them into the Data/Meshes directory.

If the relevant sub folders already do exist (for example multiple mods use sub folders inside the "armor" folder), open up one folder (i.e. "armor") and copy the files or sub folders. Then go to Oblivion/Data/Meshes/armor folder and paste the files or sub folders inside that folder. If the sub folder already exists, copy and paste the files inside the archive's sub folders (let's say the structure is Meshes/armor/NK) into Oblivion/Data/Meshes/armor/NK sub folder

NEVER choose to overwrite a folder in the meshes folder unless it is an update and/or the readme specifically tells you to overwrite these files. It is always best to add to those folders. Many mods may use the files from one folder. Removing meshes from a folder may cause errors to your mod files.

2) Textures:

Textures follow the same folder and sub folder guidelines as meshes. Pay attention to sub folders when installing textures and icons. Placing the icons in a folder besides Textures/Menus/Icons will not work.

4) The Read Me, Screenshots, Maps, etc.

ALWAYS READ THE READ ME!

These files can be printed, saved, or deleted...your choice as they are not essential for mod functioning.

10. Sounds, Dialogue, Video, etc.

All of these follow the same principle for installation and need to be copied to their respective folders.

5) The ESP or ESM

The esm or ESP file (identifiable by the knife Icon and the name of the mod) should be placed directly into your Oblivion/Data directory. Once placed there, the mod needs to be enabled as an active mod in the Oblivion Launcher or Oblivion Mod Manager before playing. To do this, open up Oblivion Launcher. Select “Data Files”. Locate the recently installed plug-in on the list and click on it. If the plug-in has a check mark in the box you have enabled it, and it will be part of your playing experience. ENJOY!

How Do I Install an OMOD?

If you're not familiar with Oblivion Mod Manager, it's a program I highly recommend. Plus, if you plan on using a mod that is only available for download in OMOD format you'll definitely want to run it...since it it is really not fun to attempt to convert an OMOD to a regular archive without OBMM assistance. You may download Oblivion Mod Manager here:

http://timeslip.chorrol.com/obmm_download.html

Installing an OMOD is one of the easiest mods you'll ever install. Simply double click the OMOD!

Many mods come with OMOD ready data. You may, if you choose, create an OMOD out of any mod...the OMOD ready data simplifies this process for you. While I'm not going to cover the specifics, here's a wonderful tutorial:

http://lhammonds.game-host.org/obmm/tutorial_convert_omodready_to_omod.asp

 

How Do I Install a Mod with BSAs?

To install a mod with bsa archives, copy or extract the bsa archives from the original mods archives to your Oblivion/Data directory. Do the same with any Esm or Esp included in the mods archives. Don't forget to enable the mod in the launcher or mod management program of choice!

I've been asked a few times how to access the BSAs. You can view and extract their contents using Oblivion Mod Manager.

 

How do I make an Archive Invalidation.txt?

Oblivion is programmed to search your Data folder for meshes, textures, etc and to check the time/date stamp on files with the same names as files placed in the original bsa archives. The game will register and use those newer files. However, there's a bug that seems to occur with this system. I personally don't use a manual Archive Invalidation.txt and have never had an issue except ones caused by modder or self error. In the past I have used Oblivion Mod Manager's Archive Invalidation tools with great success and I personally do not recommend using a manually entered archive invalidation document instead of programs. There are several programs available which can aid in the archive invalidation process. In this case, the best method is to refer you to a wonderful site which can guide you and answer your questions much better than I can:

http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/archiveinvalidation.html

 

Mod Users Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I believe I have installed the mod correctly, but it's not in game! What's gone wrong?

A. I see this question allot. Oblivion's engine will not show a mod in game if the player's game is not at least the same version of the game as the modders CS used.

In other words, if I make a mod requiring Oblivion Patch 1.2.0.214 and you are running Oblivion straight out of the box with no patches, the mod will not show in your game at all. You will need to update or decide if the mod is really for you (though really I suggest that update...)

Q. I installed a mod, and now my game crashes on load, however others report the mod as working perfect. What's happened?

A. More often than not, this is caused by either poor documentation in the readme or a lack of reading the readme. !It's always important to read the readme! Why do I say this?

This problem is often caused by the game trying to load an esp which is relying on an esm which is not installed. I have seen this question quite often with people trying to run a COBL version of one of my houses without the COBL esm installed.

I do understand that sometimes you forget (I do all the time) and sometimes it's been ages since you've played. There's several utilities out there which can view esps and their masters list. My favorite being Wrye Bash.

http://wrye.ufrealms.net/Wrye%20Bash.html

You can check for Masters and remove them. NOTE: Only remove them if you know the content of the mod and are 100% sure that the master dependency is not needed. Back up your files! If you're new to removing masters, I recommend Tes4Edit, as it will only remove masters if the esp is not using material from them.


Q. I keep getting annoying yellow boxes and purple and black objects! What are these?

A. Either you installed the mod wrong, files where misplaced in the packaging of the mod, or your download was incomplete. No matter what the situation, you are missing those files.

A yellow box of doom is a missing mesh marker. A purple or black object is a messing texture for that object.

If the missing object or texture is caused by a recently installed mod, check the archive and reinstall the mod if need be. If you're recently installed a replacer check your archiveinvalidation.txt. If the mesh or texture is listed there, back up the text and delete the lines of text which pertain to the missing files. Often times this fixes the problem.

Q. How do I uninstall a mod?

A. Open up your Morrowind launcher, and double click the mod so that it no longer has a check mark in the box next to it. The mod is now disabled.

If you wish to delete associated files, you can either use a program designed for this, or do it the old fashioned way:

1. Re download the mod.
2. "Reinstall" the mod...only select "Yes to All" on replacing files.
3. Once your extraction program has placed the files, they will be highlighted. You may delete these files.
4. Delete the ESP or ESM for the mod

Remember that some mods may share files. If hard drive space permits, making a backup of your Data directory is ideal, however this isn't always probable. Be prepared to reinstall some mods if they shared a common folder.

Many modders intentionally choose to not use common folders to avoid such issues, and many modders will include instructions for un installation of a mod in their readmes.

You will be given error messages upon loading your saved game. Select "yes" and resave.

Q. I installed a clothing/armor mod, but when I equip it my skin turns all blotchy and odd. What's wrong?

A. The outfit or articles you've equipped have body parts which use textures from a different body mod which you have installed. If you are running HGEC, make sure that the article you equipped was designed for HGEC and not UFF or Robert's Female. Or vice versa.

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Thanks for the amazing people at TES Adventures for giving this a trial run and looking this over for me before I added it to the site. You guys are awesome!

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