Made a mod that depends on another

[Kyubimark]

I made a spelltome and I gave it to an NPC I made as a race from another mod. When I go to play it in game the characters head is gone so im guessing you cant make a mod that depends on another. Is there anyway to merge the to or make it where the first mod is somehow required?

[grond]

Hi Kyubimark and welcome to the Alliance.

For merging mods I like to use TES4Gecko. A nice tool that does a lot of things.

I'm not familiar with the inner workings of race mods, but I suspect if you merged the tome mod with the race mod it should be okay.

Good luck.

[Kyubimark]

Im very new to mods so im not sure what to do I merged them but nothing really happened. Should I try making the mod mine depends on an esm file?

[Beana]

NPC's head is missing? Its very possible to make other mods depend on others... the character I play is a mash up of 5 other mods... 4 of them being race mods. The only time she was missing her head was when I was creating something that went on her head and I added it to the cs incorrectly. I can't see how a spelltome would do it.. have you tried taking the spelltome out? Is her/his head still missing? You may have already tried but its not mentioned so I am just grasping at straws

[Kyubimark]

Let me test a few things and get back to you because everytime I start over I have to recreate the npc

[Kyubimark]

It still doesnt work I dont know what to do

[greenwarden]

Here's a link to a tutorial about mod de-isolation (making esps that use information and assets from other esps). I think Wrye Bash, TESGecko or TES4Edit can all do the trick here.

[Kyubimark]

Okay I fixed it by making the mod an esm. But if you dont have the mod as an esm and an esp activated the game will crash. So how would I upload this file for other people to use?

[grond]

Simply state in your read me that both .esm and .esp must be activated. Use 7-zip or some other archive application to package the two files along with any other custom assets your mod needs.

Then upload here.

Or you might consider joining the Beta Testers Guild as a modder, and those kind folks will give great feedback.

[Kyubimark]

The mod has other meshes and textures that goes with it so do I also put those folders into the archive?

[grond]

If they belong to vanilla Oblivion there's no need to - we all have those. But if the meshes or textures were made by someone other than Bethesda, then you should package them in folders exactly as the modder made them.

[Kyubimark]

Good Deal. I appreciate the help.

[grond]

Thank you for shopping at TESA

Anything else you have problems with, don't hesitate to ask.

[InsanitySorrow]

TES4Files may help you package your mod, it helps package everything that's being used by your ESM/ESP

[StarX]

Okay I fixed it by making the mod an esm. But if you dont have the mod as an esm and an esp activated the game will crash. So how would I upload this file for other people to use?

The easiest way to go about this is by using Wrye Bash's ESMFY function. This allows you to make your esp dependent on other esp's. Simply ESMFY the race mod you're using to create the mod. Than ESPFY again to play the mod. Now you can simply make the race mod you're using a requirement for your own mod.

[Kyubimark]

I cant figure out how to Install Wrye Bash less then do that.

[StarX]

Have you looked at the installation instructions?

[Kyubimark]

Yeah and its installed but the the launcher is an explorer file and its nothing but codes or something. Please teach me lol

[grond]

Download the 'self-installer' here.

Extract it, and click the exe... (Trust Wrye the Monkey-god)

Investigate the folders you've installed. They'll be found in Oblivion, not Data. Updating them is simple now. Just download the higher number file and extract to Oblivion and click yes to overwrite.

Again, trust Wrye the Code Monkey. He hasn't thrown any feces at me yet.

Wrye Bash gives me a file not found error every time I open it, but then proceeds to open anyway, and it works wonderfully. I'm just about to install his Python Library to see if it helps.

[Kyubimark]

Eh I installed python and changed the wrye launcher to a pythonw.exe not it wont even open.

[speedyg869]

Im very new to mods so im not sure what to do I merged them but nothing really happened. Should I try making the mod mine depends on an esm file?

The Wrye Bash readme is long, but everything you need to know is there. If you need more help installing Wrye Bash, go to their support thread.

Also see this TES Alliance tutorial

As StarX says, You don't need an Esm. You can make an Esp dependent on another Esp. But each time you exit the Construction Set, the original dependency between the 2 mods will be broken. If you launch the game from Wrye Bash you need to re-add the other mod (esp) as a master again. Highlight the mod and r-click, then select add masters and choose the other mod (esp).

Hope this helps.

Edited June 18, 2010 by speedyg869

[Kyubimark]

When I made the other file a master file it messed up the first mod. When you go to an added location you fall through a brown space. It looks like im going to have to fix wrye bash somehow. I dont know how to do this at all.

[Kyubimark]

OH MY GOD. I installed it. I am the bees knees. Anyways. Now what do I do to make it where the esm is not needed lol

[Arion]

Okay here's how it works....

Mod A is your mod. You want it to be dependent on Mod B - correct?

Use BASH and right click on the mod B and tell it to ESM-ify self. This changes it to a master BUT DOES NOT change the extention.

Open the CS and make MOD A active - make any changes you want to Mod A. Save

Go back to BASH and reflip Mod B back to a plugin ESP-ify self

The rule is when the master (one you want your mod to be dependent on) had been changed to a master it can only be a master in the CS. It CAN NOT be played in the game that way.

After any editing you HAVE to go BACK to BASH and ESP-ify self to return it to plug in cinfiguration. You do this as much as it takes to finish your mod.

[Arion]

Its a pain but it works. Just remember that when you want to edit your mod that you take MOD B and make it a master. When you are finished and want to see the results of your editing , before you go in game you HAVE to change Mod B back to a plugin ESP-ify self.