[Oblivion] I'd Like You To Play With My POOP.

[madkevin]

I installed Windows Vista 64 on the weekend, so I had to play with Trigger's POOP again. Everything went smashing until the Wyre Bash stuff, which didn't work - I never got the bash.esp or whatever showing up, and now Oblivion doesn't start anymore.

Anybody get this working under Vista 64?

[rrmorton]

Hmmm. You installed all the Python stuff for WB, right?

This might not help since it isn't 64-specific, but the Vista advice on the Wrye Bash page reads as follows:

Windows Vista

• On Windows Vista, the UAC (User Account Control) protects the Program Files directory (usually c:\Program Files) against write by regular users. This can be a problem for Bash and other mod editing and management tools (TESCS, TES4View, OBMM).

• Best Solution: Install Oblivion to somewhere other than under the Program Files directory. (E.g, install to c:\Games\Oblivion). Such an alternate directory is not subject to UAC control and won't have the same access and virtualization problems that the default install will have.

• Alternate Solutions: Alternatively, you might always run as admin, or turn off UAC – but both of those approaches are ill-advised. For more advice, see the Unofficial Help page at UESP.

[ElGuapo]

The real question is why you guys are actually doing the main quest at all. It's the worst part of the game and there are plenty of things you can do that are more fun.

. . . story about spellcaster fight . . .

P.S. One of these mods almost makes me an advocate of hunting random wildlife. I have never been more afraid of bears and cougars in my life. Those things rip me up.

Agreed on the main quest, but if you haven't played it through yet I think it's pretty fun. The Oblivion levels are pretty damn cool looking. Myself, I still have the Amulet of Kings in my inventory.

Do you remember which mod it was that made that unique enemy?


I actually have a mod, and I don't remember which one (maybe, the realistic prices one?) that makes hunting really worthwhile. All it really does it make pelts and meat worth a shiton more. Like 350 for a wolf pelt, 450 for a bear pelt, etc. That makes going hunting worthwhile. Add some archery mods and a nice sunny day (or snowy mountain trail) and it's a heck of a lot of fun to hunt. Even shooting deer and "skinning" them gets you 150 for the venison. Nice way to start out a new character.

[madkevin]

I installed it to C:\Oblivion, and I have UAC turned off. I wonder if there's a 64-bit Python install I have to do?

[Scrax]

Do you remember which mod it was that made that unique enemy?

Mmmm, it may have been Francesco's Optional Items/Monsters.

I remember it asking me several questions. One of which was to add 160 named enemies that are placed in the world. "blahblah the conjuror" was the first one I found. I think it was the same one that asked if I wanted the chance of mobs appearing in groups of 2/3 (difficulty adjusted) and the chance of boss mobs appearing at the end of a dungeon. I'm not at my home computer right now, so I can't be more helpful.

[ElGuapo]

Yeah, that makes sense. My version is from a year (few years? how long has Oblivion been out?) ago, so that might be a feature that came out after my install, or I didn't check it.

[rrmorton]

I installed it to C:\Oblivion, and I have UAC turned off. I wonder if there's a 64-bit Python install I have to do?

Another long shot, but Wrye Bash has been updated to v1.84 since POOP came out. Visit www.poopmods.com for the info and link.

I remember a while back triggercut had a problem with getting his bashed patch to appear. Maybe he can help.

[EvilIdler]

Oblivion is a little over two years old. It was out sometime in March 2006, and two painfully long weeks later in Europe. Bastards.

I had to run away from a bear with POOP installed. I love it - I actually have to think about what I want to go near :)

[triggercut]

If you can't get a Bashed Patch.esp to show up, do this:

1. Go to your Oblivion install directory.
2. Open the "Mopy" folder
3. Open the "Extras" subfolder
4. Rightclick the "Bashed Patch,0.esp" there and copy it to your Data folder

Now you can bash.

[Damien Neil]

Aha! I figured out what was causing my crashes.

For some reason, the giant additional content portion of Francesco's wasn't installed. Strangely, it isn't even in my POOP directory--I don't know if I accidentally deleted it or what. After downloading and installing it, all is good and crash-free.

Now I just need to figure out what to disable to get a decent framerate. Turning off AWS helped a lot, but things are still getting unacceptably jerky at times.

[godhugh]

Aha! I figured out what was causing my crashes.

For some reason, the giant additional content portion of Francesco's wasn't installed. Strangely, it isn't even in my POOP directory--I don't know if I accidentally deleted it or what. After downloading and installing it, all is good and crash-free.

Now I just need to figure out what to disable to get a decent framerate. Turning off AWS helped a lot, but things are still getting unacceptably jerky at times.

You might try switching to Bloom from HDR. That helped my framerate significantly.

Here are a couple more tips I've used...

Upgrade to Streamline 3.1
Turn off Unique Landscapes Chorrol Hinterlands (great mod, but it really bogs down FPS around Chorrol)
Use High Reduction on QTP3 Redimized
Install Reduced QTP3 over the top of QTP Redimized
Switched to Texian's Window Lighting System from Illumination Within

[EvilIdler]

The normal maps and lightmaps seem to have most effect on my framerate. Reduce down from 2048, and it's hitting the VSync rate again.

[KieronGillen]

Wow, Trigger. How annoying.

Especially because I've just uploaded it to Gamershell on Friday and was about to write them a little story about it, so they could publicly link it.

Care to advise me what you want me to do? Either by PM or mail. kieron dot gillen at gmail dot com.

KG

[rrmorton]

I spent some time recently selecting all new choices for Oblivion's background music, so if any of you have grown tired of the original game's music (and also hate the way Battle music telegraphs a combat encounter before you even see the enemy) head over here for a POOP BM.

[Matt Bowyer]

I'm really glad I downloaded this when I did, as I've been gearing up to get back into Oblivion all week. If I'd done all that registry cleaning and uninstalling and installing to find out that the modders didn't want me to get their mods in a friendly fashion, I'd be pretty pissed.

I hope version 2 goes smoothly, Trigger. This package is fantastic.

[ElGuapo]

I spent some time recently selecting all new choices for Oblivion's background music, so if any of you have grown tired of the original game's music (and also hate the way Battle music telegraphs a combat encounter before you even see the enemy) head over here for a POOP BM.

I'll download it tonight, looks cool. I'm always looking for new Oblivion music.

One disagreement, though. While I respect and partially agree with your idea about no battle music (the spidey sense comment being a good point), it always pumps me up. I've heard their existing battle music 10 BILLION times so I like to vary it up with some taiko drums, Conan soundtrack, and other period specific battle music. Other than that, great! I like the idea of some silence in between, too.

[madkevin]

I can totally retcon the battle music. See, I'm a wood elf archer thief, right? So it would follow that I should be able to sense creatures even if I don't physically see them, right? Because I'm, you know, awesome.

[ElGuapo]

One mod I'd like to recommend for all your spellcasters out there is Midas Magic Spells/Aurum. Basically it makes a new spell altar type thing in the Arcane University. It changes the way you make these particular spells, too. Instead of using spell effects you use alchemical ingredients. There are two focuses, summoning spells and offensive spells. Most of them start with "A nugget of gold" thus the Midas reference. You cast them just like a normal spell, with the spell key, everything (the only disadvantage being all of the spells have the same generic purple icon ... I think that's the icon for scripts maybe).

Anyway, there are some really fun and cool spells. Blade golems, tornados, meteor storms, walls of spinning blades that do damage, freezing beams, a white tiger you can use as a mount, all kinds of crazy stuff. Some of the ingredients are really hard to find too, like Sigil stones or rare ingredients so it makes it fun to find them and be on the lookout.

One of my favorites to use in combat right now is called something like "Force Beam". It sends whatever you aim at FLYING back like 30 feet, all ragdolled. It doesn't hurt them unless they fall off a cliff or something but it knocks them down and pushes them away. Fun to use on mountaintops like the Jerall mountains. Great for an opponent charging you to get some relief and/or run away. I use it in combination with archery to cause some havok.

It's pretty balanced too with the requirements for how the spells are made and such, plus fairly high casting costs on most of the more powerful ones.

[rrmorton]

Yeah, with that Spidey Sense thing, it's true that hunter or ranger characters have a built-in excuse to explain away how the game alerts you to combat. But that's still a rationalization for a sloppy game mechanic. It reminds me of how the Tiger Woods PGA Tour commentators would always tell you that your ball is heading for the rough when it was at the top of its flight, still looking like a good drive. It totally kills the suspense. The other downside to Oblivion's battle music interruptions is that it means you'll almost always be listening to the beginnings of your various Exploring or Dungeon musical tracks and rarely hearing the middle or end.

But you're right, it's a trade-off going without battle music. I just played an archer for about 40 hours with battle music and it made sense for that character and was plenty fun. But now I'm playing a mage who has none of those outdoor skills, so I like that he can get caught with his pants down. It's a choice of how you want your heart rate to go up; from vigorous strings and timpani drums or getting really startled and fumbling to recover.

It's certainly easy enough to just copy my POOP BM folders into your Oblivion\Data\Music folder, then copy your original Battle music folder in there as well. Or pick your own battle music and share with the rest of us!

[ElGuapo]

So if you don't have any music in your battle folder what happens when you are in a battle?

[rrmorton]

The Explore or Dungeon music keeps playing uninterrupted.

[madkevin]

Yeah, with that Spidey Sense thing, it's true that hunter or ranger characters have a built-in excuse to explain away how the game alerts you to combat. But that's still a rationalization for a sloppy game mechanic.

This is getting off-topic, but: it's Oblivion. My entire in-game style is to come up with rationalizations for its sloppy game mechanics. Like you know how there's only about ten different voices for the NPCs? I rationalize that by figuring, to an elf, all those assholes sound alike anyway.

[rrmorton]

Laff out loud. Exactly.

Which is why the mod community is such a godsend for this game... partly for adding cool new ideas but primarily for fixing the mountain of work Bethesda left unfinished.

[Matt Bowyer]

I finally got this started up over the weekend, so triggercut, let me say thanks again for putting this all together. Not only does all the work the modders have done make Oblivion to be remarkably more fun, but the documentation for the installation was wonderful. The only crash I had was my fault.

Doing all that by myself, learning it from scratch, just wouldn't have happened; I'd have gone and played Crackdown instead, or wasted more time on Lost Odyssey. Having Word docs to follow start to finish, including the load order at the very end, made the game work flawlessly for me.

This package is absolutely fantastic.

[rrmorton]

That's great, Kid Socrates. Glad you're enjoying it.

Remember to visit www.poopmods.com for triggercut's updates and a few corrections to some of the stuff included in POOP V1.

[triggercut]

I finally got this started up over the weekend, so triggercut, let me say thanks again for putting this all together. Not only does all the work the modders have done make Oblivion to be remarkably more fun, but the documentation for the installation was wonderful. The only crash I had was my fault.

Doing all that by myself, learning it from scratch, just wouldn't have happened; I'd have gone and played Crackdown instead, or wasted more time on Lost Odyssey. Having Word docs to follow start to finish, including the load order at the very end, made the game work flawlessly for me.

This package is absolutely fantastic.

Wow, thanks! Appreciate the feedback.

One thing that I think could sell this idea to reluctant modders is that you can take a person who knows very little about Oblivion modding and have them follow the POOP docs and by the time you get it all installed, I *think* that same know-nothing is going to have more knowledge about how mods work with the game and with each other than an awful lot of the people who ever played the game.

That was always one of the side-effects I hoped to create by making this a step-by-step process; once you've got POOP installed, you should know enough that you can jump into the mod community with both feet. You'll know how to make simple install omods, you'll know how to troubleshoot load orders and whatnot...the goal was really to leave things off so that folks could "personalize" the game once they got a pretty good overhaul of graphics and gameplay.

[Damien Neil]

I spent pretty much the entire weekend playing Oblivion, and it's entirely thanks to POOP. In the past, every time I've thought about going back to Oblivion, I was overcome by choice paralysis while trying to figure out what mods to install--and I'd never have figured out what do with OMM and Wrye's Bash.

So, yeah: I am a fan of triggercut's POOP, and I encourage modders everywhere to support him. Go, triggercut!

Oh, and a general recommendation for a non-POOP mod: MD Saddle Bags. Adds saddle bags to your horse, which gives a nice place to stash your extra stuff while dungeon crawling. (Because, man does it suck to be deep in a ruin and leaving loot on the ground that you can't carry.)

[Moore]

So, this is totally dead right? I mean, if you missed it, out of luck?

I literally just re-bought oblivion (3rd time!) for my new pc for POOP, because I didnt keep up with this thread enough to know about the hissy fit. (and yes I've worked on mods, distribution is GOOD, these people are dumbfucks. Game mags never asked us if we wanted our mods on their discs, we didnt care)

[Peter Olafson]

So, this is totally dead right? I mean, if you missed it, out of luck?

Triggercut mentioned some ways back that a second version (with updated mods and permissions) is planned.

Peter

[Freezer-TPF-]

You can also check out triggercut's POOP site and get such useful things as a set of install docs that could help you get started while you wait for the next big POOP to drop.