another question about merging

[l0new0lf331]

i screwed up with too many large quest mods.so i have to re install as my game crashes too much.oh well im getting good at it.can i(after making a backup of course)merge say gameplay tweaks(animation,combat,magic,etc.)to the oblivion matsre file or is that ill advised?especially those that are just .esp's.im not talking the fcom set up at all.but that body mods,i use unneccessary violence,deadly reflex,and the dmc stylish,midas magic.minus the mergables in wrye bash.i was wondering if some of the gameplay changes could be used with the main file.

[Hanaisse]

If you mean permanently merge a mod into oblivion.esm using TES4Gecko, no, never. That's a guaranteed way to mess up your install. You also never want to try to merge together large gameplay changing mods such as DR6, midas magic, etc. It will not help.

A Wrye Bash bashed patch will take care of integrating the necessary elements of all your mods together for smooth gameplay. You only really want to merge mods that are similar in nature (such as new armor or weapons) and it's only necessary if you're near the 255 limit.

If you're having frequent crashes you'll want to find out the cause, not mask it. While it's tempting to install many many mods at once, it's best to install large mods one at a time, with plenty of testing gameplay time in between so you can know if you're game is stable or if said mod is causing problems.

[Arthmoor]

Also, if you're installing a lot of large mods, keep an eye on your file count. The Data folder cannot support more than 400 ESM+ESP+BSA files before it causes the game to become unstable and lead to crashes. 400 is a hard limit too, some people start having trouble with it after hitting 300 files, with lots of people ranging between 300 and 400.

Wyre Bash's ghosting feature helps here, as does unpacking BSA files that only contain a small amount of files.

And just so it's very clear, NEVER touch your Oblivion.esm file.