GUIDE Wrye Bash Guide

[z929669]

The Beta Wrye Bash Guide to STEP Installation is available

on THE WIKI

 

Based on the advice I received from users here, I will be asking TC to host on his site if he wishes. I will also host right here on the STEP wiki site when final. It is not yet final, but I will make it so once we have a fully compatible BOSS-Wrye Bash implementation to support Skyrim v1.5.

[z929669]

can you post the exact changes you made to bash.ini?

[Asimov]

General]

;--sOblivionMods is the Alternate root directory for installers, etc.

 

; It is strongly recommended that you do NOT put it anywhere under the

; game install directory itself, because Oblivion.exe will search through

; every directory under the install directory.

; This "directory thrashing" can then cause performance problems during gameplay.

; sOblivionMods is defined specifically to circumvent this bug by storing files elsewhere.

sOblivionMods=..\Skyrim Mods

 

;--sInstallersData is the directory containing data about which installers

; are installed by Wrye Bash. This is where 'Installers.dat' and 'Converters.dat'

; are stored. Only change this for advanced configuration, such as when using

; mTES4 Manager or MOM to manage multiple Oblivion installs. In those cases,

; it is recommended to set this to a subdirectory of either "My Games/Oblivion"

; or "Oblivion/Mopy", so mTES4 Manager/MOM will move these files when changing

; clones/images.

sInstallersData=..\Skyrim Mods\Bash Installers\Bash

 

;--sBashModData is the directory containing data about your mods, ini edits, etc.

; Only change this for advanced configuration, such as when using mTES4 Manager

; or MOM to manage multiple Oblivion installs. In those cases, it is recommended

; to set this to a subdirectory of either "My Games/Oblivion" or "Oblivion/Mopy",

; so mTES4 Manager/MOM will move these files when changing clones/images.

sBashModData=..\Skyrim Mods\Bash Mod Data

---

Also when I get to Fig 9 and 10. My create window doesn't look like that it asks me to open a file where the rest of the mods are located.

---

I was able to get them all in order though, not sure how but after I tried to package them together they all went in order. I didn't created 6 packages though :-/

---

Ok I think I am done. So since Boss isn't updated yet and your link send me to the thread which says it still isn't ready, is there some place to get the new

loadorder.txt or should I just stick with Boss for now cause I suck at this lol?

 

 

Also real quick, I installed them all and some of the boxes are yellow are those the ones I need to reinstall per the heirarchy or is it going to be the yellow line?

---

Oh and 1 last thing. Now that I have installed these in the order needed I now need to download the rest and just get them installed correct?

---

Alright sorry another question, when I go to the mods tab, I have multiple files but not all the mods, am I safe to assume I screwed something up. Are they all suppose to be Bashed together into that 1 bashed patch file? Thanks for all the help guys. I am slowly starting to get through it.

[z929669]

General]

;--sOblivionMods is the Alternate root directory for installers, etc.

 

; It is strongly recommended that you do NOT put it anywhere under the

; game install directory itself, because Oblivion.exe will search through

; every directory under the install directory.

; This "directory thrashing" can then cause performance problems during gameplay.

; sOblivionMods is defined specifically to circumvent this bug by storing files elsewhere.

sOblivionMods=..\Skyrim Mods

 

;--sInstallersData is the directory containing data about which installers

; are installed by Wrye Bash. This is where 'Installers.dat' and 'Converters.dat'

; are stored. Only change this for advanced configuration, such as when using

; mTES4 Manager or MOM to manage multiple Oblivion installs. In those cases,

; it is recommended to set this to a subdirectory of either "My Games/Oblivion"

; or "Oblivion/Mopy", so mTES4 Manager/MOM will move these files when changing

; clones/images.

sInstallersData=..\Skyrim Mods\Bash Installers\Bash

 

;--sBashModData is the directory containing data about your mods, ini edits, etc.

; Only change this for advanced configuration, such as when using mTES4 Manager

; or MOM to manage multiple Oblivion installs. In those cases, it is recommended

; to set this to a subdirectory of either "My Games/Oblivion" or "Oblivion/Mopy",

; so mTES4 Manager/MOM will move these files when changing clones/images.

sBashModData=..\Skyrim Mods\Bash Mod Data

---

 

OK, not sure exactly what Steam Mover does, but as long as your relative Skyrim-Steam directory structure remain the same, this should be fine (Skyrim Mods/ should be beside Skyrim/ and that is all that matters).

 

Also when I get to Fig 9 and 10. My create window doesn't look like that it asks me to open a file where the rest of the mods are located.

---

I was able to get them all in order though, not sure how but after I tried to package them together they all went in order. I didn't created 6 packages though :-/

---

Ok I think I am done. So since Boss isn't updated yet and your link send me to the thread which says it still isn't ready, is there some place to get the new

loadorder.txt or should I just stick with Boss for now cause I suck at this lol?

 

 

Also real quick, I installed them all and some of the boxes are yellow are those the ones I need to reinstall per the heirarchy or is it going to be the yellow line?

---

Oh and 1 last thing. Now that I have installed these in the order needed I now need to download the rest and just get them installed correct?

---

Alright sorry another question, when I go to the mods tab, I have multiple files but not all the mods, am I safe to assume I screwed something up. Are they all suppose to be Bashed together into that 1 bashed patch file? Thanks for all the help guys. I am slowly starting to get through it.

 

I will need to address the rest later, as I need to leave work now ;)

[Asimov]

I am doing the same sir! 6am - 5pm is enough for me >_< time to try to make it work and if not play some SC2!

[z929669]

Also when I get to Fig 9 and 10. My create window doesn't look like that it asks me to open a file where the rest of the mods are located.

 

When you right click on the source mod(s) and select Converters>Create, the window that pops up should open up an explorer window that you should use to navigate to the result BAIN archive you created. It doesn't matter where it is located. The Explorer window that opens should point to Bash Installers, but if it does not, just navigate to the directory of interest & WB should remember that choice for the next time.

 

was able to get them all in order though, not sure how but after I tried to package them together they all went in order. I didn't created 6 packages though :-/

 

Not sure what you are asking here. BAIN remembers the order that you place new packages into Bash Installers/ ...?

 

Ok I think I am done. So since Boss isn't updated yet and your link send me to the thread which says it still isn't ready, is there some place to get the new

loadorder.txt or should I just stick with Boss for now cause I suck at this lol?

 

Use BOSS, but use it separately outside of WB (just close WB if you want). Once you have your BOSS order presented, you can go into WB>Mods tab and order all of the plugins as they are ordered in BOSS (use the same method of ordering mods as you used for ordering packages... i.e., "Move To" method). Then check all of the plugins. Don't worry about checking the Bashed Patch yet, as we are not using it yet in the WB guide (although it is still useful, it is not a requirement yet).

 

Also real quick, I installed them all and some of the boxes are yellow are those the ones I need to reinstall per the heirarchy or is it going to be the yellow line?

 

If a package in BAIN ihas a '+', then it is installed. If the box is yellow, then it means that one of the files has been overwritten by a higher package, which is fine. Just to be safe, right click the BAIN header and select 'Anneal All'.

 

Oh and 1 last thing. Now that I have installed these in the order needed I now need to download the rest and just get them installed correct?

 

Yep, use the same exact techniques and apply to the new mods. There should be no difference, and TheCompiler has instructions. Some of those later mods are a bit tricky, like SkyUI maybe and a couple of others, but just ask someone in the forums or on the nexus thread if you need help (I will not be able to give you mod-specific help, since I have not modded now for about a month, and am behind the curve). Farlo knows the scooby, and his blog usually has that info too.

 

Alright sorry another question, when I go to the mods tab, I have multiple files but not all the mods, am I safe to assume I screwed something up. Are they all suppose to be Bashed together into that 1 bashed patch file? Thanks for all the help guys. I am slowly starting to get through it.

 

See my previous comment above. "Nothing is ****ed here, Dude" --Walter Sobchak

[MadWizard25]

Had a read through and I would like to say this is excellent work! Have plenty of experience using WB, cant see anything wrong with your guide.

 

One question though, what are the advantages of creating a BAIN format archive with a BCF over manually reorganizing the badly structured archive into the classic format, i.e. picking and choosing the textures you want and adding them to a data folder which can the be re-archived by WB? In your complex example with the SRO mod, I would just have placed the core textures files under a data folder, then followed The Compilers advise if given, resulting in a classic archive structure.

 

I understand why, if you would like to easily switch between different customizations of the same mod. I see it being useful if you have a very large mod, Skyrim 2k or similar, but for most mods in STEP it would be much easier to just repack them normally in a non BAIN format. But maybe im misunderstanding the point.

[frihyland]

Had a read through and I would like to say this is excellent work! Have plenty of experience using WB, cant see anything wrong with your guide.

 

One question though, what are the advantages of creating a BAIN format archive with a BCF over manually reorganizing the badly structured archive into the classic format, i.e. picking and choosing the textures you want and adding them to a data folder which can the be re-archived by WB? In your complex example with the SRO mod, I would just have placed the core textures files under a data folder, then followed The Compilers advise if given, resulting in a classic archive structure.

 

I understand why, if you would like to easily switch between different customizations of the same mod. I see it being useful if you have a very large mod, Skyrim 2k or similar, but for most mods in STEP it would be much easier to just repack them normally in a non BAIN format. But maybe im misunderstanding the point.

 

I think what you are referring to is a complex BAIN package and you are right they are not for everyone, but a simple BAIN package is just an easy commonsense step.

 

Both are covered fully in the tutorial, it might be helpful if you could point out where we went wrong with the differentiation so we could clarify it.

[MadWizard25]

After re-reading my post I realize that it is not very clear what I meant, sorry about that!

 

My question was less of a critique of your guide and more of a general questions as to why I should repackage certain files into complex BAIN package. Personally im wondering if I have been doing something wrong, or have been missing out on something.

 

In pretty much all cases where i repackage an unrecognized archive, I skip step 3b. under the Repack Unrecognized Archives into BAIN Format part of your guide. I always create a simple package, never a complex, even if conflicting options are present. I just pick from each option what i want after reading the readme and create a simple package structure.

In any case, it may be because i prefer having as much simplicity as possible when having many mods that i do it this way. The wording for me personally may be too rigid in step 3b. Instead of "Otherwise, pack as complex[...]" it could be "Otherwise, you may want to pack as complex[...]". You could also add some words to the same 3b. step that indicate you could make a simple package from conflicting options by manually picking which combo of textures/ meshes you want. This is really nitpicking though, not essential to the guide. Your description is still clear and will result in BAIN friendly packages anyways :happy:

[stoppingby4now]

One reason to go through the extra steps in packaging to a complex archive is to provide an easy means of switching between textures and/or features when mods provide multiple resolutions or optionals. For example, you may install all of STEP using the higher res textures, but decide that you want to improve performance. Having the multiple textures in the archive allows you to very quickly switch to the lower res textures on select mods to tweak the install.

[MontyMM]

For myself, I never use the complex packages - I prefer to create a selection of simple packages if I want multiple options. Mainly personal preference - the simple archives give me a clear picture of overwrites, and have the benefit of being very easy to use manually or with other managers.

[stoppingby4now]

Other managers? Blasphemy! Separating them out does afford you the opportunity to see everything available at a quick glance. I just hate having multiple archives sitting around in the list that aren't getting installed. The list is long enough of as it is.

 

I may look at overwrites in a different way, but what are you gaining from simple vs complex packages? I'm still able to view conflicts.

[GraPhiXJuNkiE]

Just started using the guide and good so far. One suggestion though. The part that says:

 

"Be certain to global replace the ‘/Oblivion’ directory references to ‘/Skyrim’ and

DO NOT simply do a global replace of ‘Oblivion’ with ‘Skyrim’ or you

will break the INI, since certain variable names must remain unchanged

even in Skyrim: e.g., ‘sOblivion=’)."

 

Should be:

 

Be certain to global replace the ‘\Oblivion’ directory references to ‘\Skyrim’ and

DO NOT simply do a global replace of ‘Oblivion’ with ‘Skyrim’ or you

will break the INI, since certain variable names must remain unchanged

even in Skyrim: e.g., ‘sOblivion=’).

 

I used forward slashes like it said without even thinking about it and then wondered why none of my mods showed up under the Installers tab. Should be edited IMO. Thanks for site, guide and future help this site will bring!

[Bealdwine]

Good to see you onboard at last Graph I'm sure you'll have plenty of input for us :)

[GraPhiXJuNkiE]

Aww shucks guys... *smiles*

 

If you call nagging "input" I guess...lol

[Faitmaker]

 

General]

;--sOblivionMods is the Alternate root directory for installers, etc.

 

; It is strongly recommended that you do NOT put it anywhere under the

; game install directory itself, because Oblivion.exe will search through

; every directory under the install directory.

; This "directory thrashing" can then cause performance problems during gameplay.

; sOblivionMods is defined specifically to circumvent this bug by storing files elsewhere.

sOblivionMods=..\Skyrim Mods

 

;--sInstallersData is the directory containing data about which installers

; are installed by Wrye Bash. This is where 'Installers.dat' and 'Converters.dat'

; are stored. Only change this for advanced configuration, such as when using

; mTES4 Manager or MOM to manage multiple Oblivion installs. In those cases,

; it is recommended to set this to a subdirectory of either "My Games/Oblivion"

; or "Oblivion/Mopy", so mTES4 Manager/MOM will move these files when changing

; clones/images.

sInstallersData=..\Skyrim Mods\Bash Installers\Bash

 

;--sBashModData is the directory containing data about your mods, ini edits, etc.

; Only change this for advanced configuration, such as when using mTES4 Manager

; or MOM to manage multiple Oblivion installs. In those cases, it is recommended

; to set this to a subdirectory of either "My Games/Oblivion" or "Oblivion/Mopy",

; so mTES4 Manager/MOM will move these files when changing clones/images.

sBashModData=..\Skyrim Mods\Bash Mod Data

---

 

OK, not sure exactly what Steam Mover does, but as long as your relative Skyrim-Steam directory structure remain the same, this should be fine (Skyrim Mods/ should be beside Skyrim/ and that is all that matters).

 

 

 

Steam Mover moves all your skyrim files (or any steam game) to a place of your choosing and uses symbolic links to fool steam. My files exist in C:\Games\Skyrim but if you go to C:\Program Files\ETC, you will still find them under the steam folder. It is a nice clean way for a user not familiar with SL to be able to use them to move their Steam files.. In this case, he moved them to his very fast SSD but Steam still thinks they are on the system drive.