Talk:Combine your SI and non-SI mods into one (OBSE, Patch v1.1, Other mods too)

Obscure bug

Not sure what's causing this, but just thought I should mention it in case anybody else has seen anything similar.

I've been using the example code from "How to tell if the player is using OBSE" (with suitably renamed quests etc, of course) and it works as described, which is fab and groovy. However, if I rebuild a Bashed Patch with my mod ticked (it has no merge flags, but Bash gives it the once-over anyway to rename books, armour etc; this may or may not be relevant) it all goes horribly wrong, and Oblivion crashes on launch, both with and without obse_loader.

I've spent the last few hours tracking down the problem and have discovered that it doesn't seem to like the script part having three shorts declared: less than three is fine, an extra one stuck on the end is fine, but it really doesn't like three of them. Whether it's a data-alignment issue, an odd memory bug on my computer, or maybe Bash is just a big fan of the Holy Hand Grenade sketch, I've no idea. But it's rather disconcerting.

Anybody have any ideas? If not, I'll just leave this here anyway in case something similar bites anybody else.

For the record, I'm using Bash 266 and OBSE 16. --cbh 03:44, 17 May 2009 (EDT) Edit: (probably) fixed using TES4Gecko; see below if interested. --cbh 09:56, 20 May 2009 (EDT)

Changing the number of variables in a script and then loading a saved game that was saved with the old version of the script running can lead to truly bizarre bugs and crashing. Have you tested this on a New Game?

Dragoon Wraith TALK 21:56, 17 May 2009 (EDT)

You have a point: I was about to indignantly say "but I was loading from a saved game where my mod wasn't active!"... but Bashed Patch was. And although the version I'd saved with was built without my mod... well, maybe that's the point. Before going any further, I guess I should try going back and, as you say, starting a new game. Annoying, since I know why it causes problems, but sometimes the obvious fails to be, especially when it's staring you right in the face! --cbh 23:52, 17 May 2009 (EDT)

No... that shouldn't have done it. Adding a new script to an existing mod, or even adding a new variable (to the bottom of the list) to an existing script, should not cause the bugs I'm talking about. You see, Oblivion compiles variables as "the third short variable" or whatever, it doesn't actually use the variable name during execution. If you insert a new short variable at the top of the list, though, the "third short" is now the fourth - but the existing values in the variables do not always get converted correctly.

But that's not your problem here. I don't really know. As usual, the Forums are your best bet, unfortunately. Unfortunate, just because this is a reasonable question for the Wiki and I wish the answer were here. Well, assuming it is specific to this article, which it may or may not be.

Dragoon Wraith TALK 02:33, 18 May 2009 (EDT)

I just realised I'd missed the point anyway--I should know better than to post when I'm half asleep; the variable positions within the script would've been irrelevant in this case since it wasn't a crash when loading a savegame, but when starting up Oblivion: it doesn't even get to the main menu.

It is a weirdy, but I guess unless an OBSE-type familiar with the problem happens upon this discussion it may have to remain a mystery... Thanks for the comments, though. --cbh 17:05, 18 May 2009 (EDT)

Failing to reach the Main Menu almost always occurs because you're loading a .esp the depends on a .esm that you're not loading. Check your dependencies.

Dragoon Wraith TALK 15:00, 19 May 2009 (EDT)

<--------- unindent

It's definitely not that: I've checked with Bash and there's no hanging mod dependencies there (well, kind of; bits of COBL have unresolved dependencies, due to their wide-ranging compatibility, but they shouldn't have any impact since they're only filtered into Bash and were never active. I'm not completely ruling them out, but they shouldn't be doing anything bad as Bashed Patch doesn't list the non-existent masters as dependencies) and I've used BOSS to check the load order. It's rather puzzling altogether, especially as adding that extra, unused short to an otherwise identical config averts the problem. It could be a word-alignment issue, or it may just be something peculiar to my particular configuration. It's now at the stage where I wonder if I should run Orthos or something of that ilk to check my memory's functioning correctly, even though it's actually underclocked. Er anyway, I must apologise for appropriating the discussion page as my personal help section! --cbh 16:55, 19 May 2009 (EDT)

Sigh... cleaning it with TES4Gecko appears to have fixed it; can't be certain since other things have also changed since then, but it seems likely. I swear, even if I tattooed "essential modding tips to remember" on the inside of my eyelids I'd still forget them. :( --cbh 09:53, 20 May 2009 (EDT)