OBLIVION Default launch ignores MO Profile INI and Saves

[Rebelweasel]

Hiya!

 

When I launch Oblivion through MO, it does not use the profile INI changes I made, nor will it save the game to the profile's save folder

 

I'll give as many details as I can below. I admit at the end I was just floundering around and trying everything I could think of, and following along any suggestions in forum posts here for issues that seemed similar to my problem. My deepest apologies for the Wall O Text, I just want to be sure to let you know what things I did try.

 

Details:

Win7x64 - UAC disabled, tested reinstallatons with all malware protection disabled also. Carefully checked that MO was trusted and such-like

 

Oblivion GOTY steam version, clean installation (now, but the problem started with an older install)

---installed to M:\steam\steamapps\common\oblivion

 

MO 1_3_4

---had established games and profiles with this version, running an OBSE executable with MO set to run scripted in settings>workarounds I have been using MO for Oblivion for over a year, was comfy with it, and it was stable.

---problem occurred literally 11 minutes apart between launches.

---I had removed OBSE files from oblivion\data directory, created a new profile called 'default' with no mods checkmarked because I was trying a complete new mod-installation using https://wiki.step-project.com/User:Hishutup/OblivionGuide . I was unhappy with changes some of the steps in the guide did to my main oblivion directory and data files. I'm not kidding, some external utilities Hishi recommended were very invasive. I spent hours picking registries and appdata files out of my computer's teeth! So I decided I wanted to start fresh, remove everything, and try over in a new profile and that's when I noticed MO was no longer using INI or LocalSaves

---saved this version of MO on a different hard drive for reference, and completely uninstalled Oblivion and MO

---uninstall included removing the \oblivion folder from steam so it had to re-make it, removing the \oblivion folder from mydocuments\mygames on the C drive. I also removed the Oblivion folder from C:\users\userprofile\appdata\local directory. In addition, I removed my Catalyst Control Center game profile for Oblivion.

 

MO 1_3_7

---decided to try with newest version of MO

---clean installed in completely new installation of Oblivion from steam into the \oblivion directory under default \Mod Organizer folder

---problem still persisted, and I noticed a very strange entry in the log at the end, "DEBUG (02:22:44.0496): create process (w) M:\Steam\steam.exe - "M:\Steam\steam.exe" -applaunch 22330 (in M:\Steam\steamapps\common\Oblivion) - NOT hooking"

---These are parameters for the OBSE steam launch executable I had set originally for running OBSE based Oblivion in my old version of MO, before I wiped it and reinstalled everything. This seems weird, that MO seems to be searching for a parameter which doesn't even exist in this new installation? This is the only clue I can find anywhere which stands out for me.

 

TMI

These are other things I have been sure to check

---tried making new profiles, with simple names, like "second"

---tried installing the exe installer for MO by running it as admin

---tried running MO as Admin

---tried installing MO to other locations, such as Desktop and L drive and running it from there

---was careful to run Oblivion through steam the first time to create ini files for MO to initialize before I ran MO the first time each time I installed it

---was careful to checkmark LocalGameSaves and Archive Invalidation in the Profiles settings windows

---I did click that Reset Dialog button several times

---this is running only the raw game, no patches, no mods, only the DLC's

---the ini changes I made were easy to verify in each game launch. I disabled the intro movie and menu movie, and I disabled automatic game saves, so it was very easy to establish each profile is not using my profile's ini settings, but the default ones in \mydocumentsetc

---I have saved games repeatedly each test trying to verify that they saved to the MO profile folder's saves and they haven't. I find them in the default save locations instead

---I have verified that the MO profile INI files are not checked for read-only

---I am launching the game using the default "Oblivion" executable (and the "run" button) from MO

---I have verified Full Control security settings for my steam folder

[GSDFan]

 

running an OBSE executable with MO set to run scripted in settings>workarounds I have been using MO for Oblivion for over a year, was comfy with it, and it was stable

If I remember correctly, Setting the load mechanism to script extender will set MO run as a script extender plugin.

 

The proper way to use MO in this way is to mod in MO and run the game from Steam. You can't run OBSE from MO and  it will not load if you run the game from MO. You have to run the game from Steam.

 

Unless something changed somewhere along the line, this will not use the MO profile ini files, but the game default configuration files. MO will also manage those saves in the My Games > Oblivion folder and there will not be any profile specific saves.

[Rebelweasel]

All that info, I probably wasn't too clear.

 

I had MO launching as a script extender, exactly as you mention it works. I had OBSE installed.

 

I removed OBSE, re-installed a completely vanilla version of the game, and completely fresh installation of MO, and wanted to launch without OBSE as a simple default launch with no frills, for benchmarking. The game launches this way fine, but MO itself doesn't function when launched that way. Has it always been that way? Does MO not function at all unless you install and run OBSE when you use it for Oblivion?

 

This is not a complete stopper or urgent. I installed OBSE again and set up the correct workaround executable and the game and MO run fine. I just wanted to try a benchmark through MO, using an MO profile, sans OBSE.

[DoubleYou]

If the load mechanism is Script Extender, you will have to use OBSE to see Mod Organizer mods, since it hooks OBSE then.

[Rebelweasel]

Thank you for your reply!

My load mechanism was not script extender, but MO.

I did not have OBSE installed at the time.

I did not have any script style executables created in MO aside from the two default Oblivion and Oblivion Launcher ones that first show up when you install MO.

That is actually my question, why MO was trying to launch as a script extender when it wasn't set to do so.