Oblivion [warning: contains some spoilers]

[Ztalker]

Your list seems to be far more advanced then mine...

 

Mine only fixes the bandits...

Why don't you put yours on-line? I haven't seen any mod yet that also fixes the farmers, adventurers, and the rest...only bandits

 

I'm playing around with the editor to now...i'm trying to create a dungeon using up as much Havok-physics as possible! Swinging Axes, darts, spiky floors...i love it

[Darth333]

Good news for all PC users who have the frozen secondary animations problem: there is a way to unfreeze the animations!

 

See these posts in the official forums:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=476642&view=findpost&p=6882373

 

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=476642&view=findpost&p=6902303

 

Bad news: for now it requires hex editing the save and there isn't anything you can do if you're on xbox.

 

Bethesda is aware of the problem and I imagine they will fix it as this is a major bug that seems to have something to do with the timer, meaning everyone who plays the game for long enough will eventually run into it.

[Fuu]

Thanks for the tip D333! I appreciate the updates. Work has kept me MIA for a while now. Yargh!

 

Take my advice kiddies: Live off your parents as long as you possibly can. Responsibility sucks!

 

Anyhoo.... Something I’ve noticed: There are a few random places in the game where the pc will walk right off the "ground" plane and fall underneath. You can usually keep going and walk back up onto the "ground". I've only seen this twice in OB but encountered it a lot in MW. It now too big of a deal, although I will admit its odd looking up at the bottom of trees and buildings.

Weird!

 

Fuu

[stoffe]

Good news for all PC users who have the frozen secondary animations problem: there is a way to unfreeze the animations!

 

See these posts in the official forums:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=476642&view=findpost&p=6882373

 

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=476642&view=findpost&p=6902303

 

Bad news: for now it requires hex editing the save and there isn't anything you can do if you're on xbox.

 

I can't seem to get this fix to work, I'm having trouble locating the correct bytes to change. I've outlined the procedure I used below, from what I could understand of the thread you linked to. Am I doing things incorrectly somewhere?

 

1. Find the string "oblivion.esm" in file to use as starting point.
   
2. Read 2 bytes prior to that string to get number of strings.
   
3. Each string starts with the number of bytes contained in the string
   
4. Sum up the length of all the strings to get offset to the end of the plugin list
   
5. Add +28 to the offset
   
6. Add 1 byte to offset to get past the end of the section
   
7. The byte at the current offset is the record count for the next section
   
8. Each record is 8 bytes in size, new offset is thus (Offset + RecordCount * 8)
   
9. Add 1 byte to offset to get past the end of the section
   
10. The next 2 bytes is a WORD (little-endian) with the size of the next block in bytes, add to offset.
    
11. The offset should now be at a WORD, the second byte of the word is the one causing the bug and needs to be changed.
    

 

I can't seem to find any byte with value 49 at the specified location. The first clue that something is messed up is that the block size position in point (10) above has the value 00 00 in my savegame, which can't be right. Thus I must have calculated the offset wrong somewhere before that, but I can't see where the problem lies.

 

Can someone else see what I'm doing wrong?

[Darth333]

Unfortunately I didn't tried the procedure you posted yet. I wanted to look into this last evening to see if I could find but a better way to locate the bytes to change but we had a blackout

 

However, if I were you I wouldn't look for the 49 value as this value can change. The problem appears when the value of the byte is 49 or higher.

 

Something that may help you locate it and figure out how it works, is to download that savegame posted on the official forums: http://mx.home.mindspring.com/jim.zip The byte is located at address 2525C.

 

When I first experimented with this it was very late in the evening so I just compared three saves made at the same location (Skingrad house bedroom) and seconds apart.

 

I also tried to make the changes to a new game where the "faulty byte" had a value lesser than 49 and increased it to 49+ and the bug appeared.

[stoffe]

Something that may help you locate it and figure out how it works, is to download that savegame posted on the official forums: http://mx.home.mindspring.com/jim.zip The byte is located at address 2525C.

 

Thank you! That was very helpful, with that I manage to figure out what I was doing wrong. As usual it was a minor mental short circuit that made the whole thing break down. I added 28 to to offset in Step 5 in the above post, but apparently I should have added 0x28 (i.e. decimal vs hexadecimal confusion). Always annoying when you get stuck for hours banging your head against the wall due to something like that.

 

Now my little program seems to be able to reliably find the problematic byte in all the samegames I have tested it on. It should now be a simple matter (famous last words...) to make it change the value as well, so I won't have to do any more headache-inducing hex editing to fix the problem (since I bet Bethesda will take their sweet time to fix the problem permanently.)

[stoffe]

It should now be a simple matter (famous last words...) to make it change the value as well, so I won't have to do any more headache-inducing hex editing to fix the problem.

 

As an update, it seems to work fixing the problem in the savegames I have tested it on now.

 

If someone else wants to test this small fix application you can get it here for now. I'd be interested in hearing if it works for others too or just with the savegames I had at my disposal.

 

The only thing it does is to locate the problematic byte and change it to 45 from whatever value it originally had (usually 49, at least it was in all my broken savegames).

[Darth333]

If someone else wants to test this small fix application you can get it here for now. I'd be interested in hearing if it works for others too or just with the savegames I had at my disposal.

Thanks! I tried it on a few saves and it works fine for me too

 

Edit:

It assumes that "oblivion.esm" is first in the list of resources, backs up 2 bytes to get the total string count and then adds the length of all the strings to the offset. Perhaps a dangerous assumption, but it has worked fine on any save game I have tested with it so far.

I believe oblivion.esm is always first in that list unless someone has another .esm file older than the oblivion.esm file in their data folder....and that would lead to other problems.

[stoffe]

Thanks! I tried it on a few saves and it works fine for me too

 

Thanks, good to know. Though it appears to have been unnessecary work since it seems like someone else already has put together a fix tool and posted it at the elderscrolls forums. Hardly surprising since I tend to be good at reinventing the wheel and doing needless work. At least mine has a GUI, and I dislike console applications.

[Darth333]

I would call that an improvement rather than just "reinventing the wheel" . I definitely prefer your application as not only it has GUI but there is no need to rename any file.

[TheOssusKeeper]

I downloaded and installed the new 1.1.511 patch for the game and ever since I've been having random game crashes, the game goes down and the little error window asking if I want to send an error report comes up... Has anyone else been having this problem, or is it just my klunker of a pc?

[ChAiNz.2da]

Mine hasn't crashed (yet) however I have noticed little snippets of code left in certain scripts that can cause problems in the game...

 

One of the problems recently found was that the scripts on the Dark Brotherhood Ancient Door & the DB Well have a snippet of code that calls a console code.. resulting in you can't re-save the scripts if you alter it.

 

Since the scripts can't activate console code functions, the script becomes 'invalid' basically not letting any "new" DB initiates enter to join the faction..

Begin Onload
pcb
End

^^^ located in:

DarkSanctuaryDoorScript

DarkSancLadderScript

 

You'll either need to delete that block or comment it out, re-save and voila.. it's fixed...

 

Source Thread

[stoffe]

I downloaded and installed the new 1.1.511 patch for the game and ever since I've been having random game crashes, the game goes down and the little error window asking if I want to send an error report comes up... Has anyone else been having this problem, or is it just my klunker of a pc?

 

I haven't experienced any more crashes since patching. The game rarely ever crashes during play for me, usually just happens if I've played several hours without pause (seeing how the game leaks memory like crazy that's hardly surprising though). The only time it crashes regularily is when exiting the game, but it did that before the patch too.

 

I did notice that I got worse performance after patching though, 2-3 FPS lower on average in most areas. I guess that's the price to pay for getting rid of some bugs. Most patches introduce as many new bugs as they fix old ones, nowadays.

 

You may want to check the settings for the game to see if something has been changed from how you had it configured before. I noticed that the update messed with the INI file and changed a lot of values around (including movement controls for some unfathomable reason).

 

If you use mods you may also want to switch them off one at a time to see if they may be causing the crashes. Something in the game might have changed to causes problems with certain mods.

 

If you haven't done so also already, also change the file dates of your plugins and other data files so they are later than the standard game data. The game loads resources in date order, and since the patch updated some files their dates might have become later than the change date of some of your Mod files.

[ChAiNz.2da]

^^^

 

That's a great point stoffe

 

I tend to forget about that since I use Wrye Bash to 'physically' lock the load order. Since I patched the game, Wrye Bash automatically rolled the date back on my Oblivion.esm...

 

I'd highly suggest any Oblivion Mod user to use this program.. it's saved my arse many times

 

Wrye Bash:

http://wrye.ufrealms.net/#Oblivion

[TheOssusKeeper]

thanks for the tips, I'll check out the .ini files to see if any thing was messed up\changed... I've been using the obmm (Oblivion Mod Manager) for sorting my plugins so they'll be in the right order (date-wise)...

 

yeah, I get crashes at game shut down also, but most of the random crashes.. er well like i said are random, but I noticed it happening at auto saves, in and out of buildings and towns mostly... some just ruin romping... some strolling through the woods... some cave diving... etc, etc...

[Tupac Amaru]

Well, I hope it is o.k. if I ask a few questions about how to mod in this thread. I have been trying to make my own vampire feed power that works on awake targets. Is there some way to check if the food is wearing a light or heavy armour? (Kotor terms: GetBaseItemType(GetItemInSlot(INVENTORY_SLOT_BODY/HEAD)))

 

I would like to have Shady Sam sell a few vials of human blood, but I am pretty clueless as to how I can find his "shop" in the editor. He's standing outside of the Imperial City with no visible chests nearby.

[stoffe]

Well, I hope it is o.k. if I ask a few questions about how to mod in this thread. I have been trying to make my own vampire feed power that works on awake targets. Is there some way to check if the food is wearing a light or heavy armour?

 

The GetArmorRatingUpperBody scripting function should let you do this. It returns 0 if the NPC wears no armor, 1 if the NPC wears light armor and 2 if the NPC wear heavy armor. If I remember correctly you run it like a method off an NPC reference, like

if ( myNPC.GetArmorRatingUpperBody == 1 )

 

I would like to have Shady Sam sell a few vials of human blood, but I am pretty clueless as to how I can find his "shop" in the editor. He's standing outside of the Imperial City with no visible chests nearby.

 

His merchant chest is below the ground near where he stands, named "ShadySamChest". For some reason Bethesda placed most merchants containers in unreachable locations in Oblivion. Perhaps they thought it too exploitable if you could steal back things you've just sold to a merchant.

[Tupac Amaru]

That did it. Thanks a lot for your help.

[Jason Skywalker]

Hey, can anyone tell me where can i get more Nirnroots? I got one i don't know where and then i talked to Siderion and found 3 more Nirnroots on Shadeleaf Copse.

[Tupac Amaru]

Hey, can anyone tell me where can i get more Nirnroots? I got one i don't know where and then i talked to Siderion and found 3 more Nirnroots on Shadeleaf Copse.

They grow near water. The best places to look are the Niben Bay, Lake Rumare and the Gold Coast. They are often a bit hidden behind obstacles like boulders. You can also sometimes find a lonely plant in a Mage Guidhall or the houses of wealthy people.

[ChAiNz.2da]

Hey, can anyone tell me where can i get more Nirnroots? I got one i don't know where and then i talked to Siderion and found 3 more Nirnroots on Shadeleaf Copse.

If you're looking for specific spots (Tupac's are the best places to go searching)...

 

Trek down to Leyawin and do a "perimeter" around the city walls.. there's tons of them down there

[stoffe]

You can also find them indoors in caves and ruins which contain water. If you keep your eyes open any time you are near a body of water you'll find lots of Nirnroot by the water's edge. There are over 200 of them scattered throughout the game. If you keep your ears open you can hear them as well if you are near, since they emit a faint noise.

[Darth333]

Next time you travel from the Imperial City to Leyawin, follow the river instead of the road and look around the rocks: you should be able to collect several of them. You can also find a potted plant of Nirnroot in several upper class houses and castles, most of the time in the bedrooms.

 

 

Btw, here's another modding question: anyone knows if there a way I can make my PC wait/sleep for several days instead of hours? or some way to advance the date? (like when you go to jail for x days - unfortunately most of the prison stuff seems to be hardcoded ) I want to fake a travel that takes x days and after those x days, spawn the PC at the destination point. There's the SetPCSleepHour function that does something similar but it's not quite appropriate for 5-10 days waiting periods: http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/SetPCSleepHours

[stoffe]

Anyone knows if there a way I can make my PC wait/sleep for several days instead of hours? Or something that advances the date? I want to fake a travel that takes x days and after those x days, spawn the PC at the destination point.

 

I don't think there's an easy way of doing that. Here are some random ideas, all of them entirely untested: Have you tried changing the GameDay and GameDaysPassed globals? They probably only have the value of the current day set into them and won't do anything if modified, but it may be worth trying at least.

 

Failing that you could try to briefly set the TimeScale global to some insanely high number (cap is probably 32767 though) which would make in-game time zip by at lightning speed, and then set it back to the original TimeScale value when you have arrived at the desired game day.

[TheOssusKeeper]

here's an idea, maybe you can find a way to restart the SetPCSleepHour function so that it repeats several times to get the effect of 5-10 days?

 

Side note: I got my oblivion working like it's supposed to (knock on wood)... I un-installed the game then re-installed it, then installed the newest (1.1.511) patch and edited the .ini file the way I like and so far it's not crashed once, even on quiting the game...