[Laconic]

I'm not sure of the correct venue for this, so I'll post this thread in the General and the Tech Help forums.

I'm having a bug with the Cheydinhal recommendation quest. I've found the poor floater's body, triggered the ring, returned to Deetsan, and she's told me to go search Falcar's room. I did that, found the soul gems, but I get no quest update once I put them in my inventory, and the quest marker still points to his room. Deetsan just repeats the "You should go check in his room..." branch over and over, so I suspect that it could be a dialogue flag bug, but I'm really not sure. I've tried spawning additional copies into my inventory via console, no dice. I've tried waiting three days to see if time solved anything. I am using a ton of mods, so perhaps there's a conflict in one of them. I do have older saves but I foolishly relied on my quicksave for a while and it would be a PITA to revert to my last hard save (I know, I know, always save before accepting a quest). Is there any way to trip the dialogue or quest flag manually, through the TEC or otherwise? Anyone have any idea what's causing this or why it's goofing up? Any help would be appreciated.

Video of the event in question. Note I have the soul gems in my inventory, and that Deetsan repeats the same dialogue branch over and over:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=yCCJBr4Gt34

Active Mod Files:
•  00 Oblivion.esm
•  01 CyrodiilUpgradeResourcePack.esm 
•  02 Jog_X_Mod.esm 
•  03 Windfall.esm 
•  04 A_Bloody_Mess.esm 
•  05 UnnecessaryViolence.esm 
•  06 Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp [Version 3.2.0] 
•  07 RAEVWD New Sheoth.esp [Version 1.5] 
•  08 RAEVWD Cities.esp [Version 1.4] 
•  09 RAEVWD Imperial City.esp [Version 1.4] 
•  0A dyseso_Light_Ingred.esp 
•  0B dyseso_Alchemy_Potion_Perks.esp 
•  0C No psychic guards harder v1.1.esp 
•  0D LowRechargeCost.esp 
•  0E movablebodies.esp 
•  0F noreplicas.esp 
•  10 tag_NaturalWildlife.esp 
•  11 attack and hide v1.1.esp 
•  12 JADWhiteTower.esp 
•  13 DLCShiveringIsles.esp 
•  14 Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.esp [Version 1.4.0] 
•  15 StealthOverhaul.esp 
•  16 Knights.esp 
•  17 Living Economy - Items.esp 
•  18 thievery.esp 
•  19 White Tower v0.8.esp 
•  1A Knights - Unofficial Patch.esp [Version 1.0.9] 
•  1B QuestItemMessage.esp 
•  1C RealSleepExtended.esp [Version 2.1] 
•  1D BloodSpray.esp 
•  1E TheElderCouncil.esp 
•  1F PowerAttack Voicemod - The Shivering Isles.esp 
•  20 Castle_Seaview.esp 
•  21 100% Harvest Chance.esp 
•  22 bgBalancingEVCore.esp [Version 10.5EV-D] 
•  23 bgBalancingEVOptionalClasses.esp [Version 9.0EV-U] 
•  24 bgMagicEV.esp [Version 1.7EV] 
•  25 bgMagicEVStartspells.esp [Version 1.68EV] 
•  26 bgMagicItemSigil.esp [Version 1.68EV] 
•  27 bgMagicBonus.esp [Version 1.7EV] 
•  28 bgMagicEVShader.esp [Version 1.7EV] 
•  29 bgMagicSpellTomes_for_WryeBash.esp [Version 1.68EV] 
•  2A bgMagicShaderLifeDetect.esp [Version 1.68] 
•  2B bgBalancingEVOptionalFangs.esp [Version 10.0EV-D] 
•  2C bgMagicEVPaperChase.esp [Version 1.68EV] 
•  2D bgBalancingEVOptionalMoreEyes.esp [Version 10] 
•  2E bgMagicAlchemy.esp [Version 1.57] 
•  2F bgMagicEVAddEnVar.esp [Version 1.68EV] 
•  30 Living Economy - SI.esp 
•  31 bgMagicPotionNumberSoulGemValue.esp [Version 1.68UV] 
•  32 bgMagicLightningbolt.esp 
•  33 Harvest[Containers].esp 
•  34 Harvest[Containers] - Player Home Add-on.esp 
•  35 bgIntegrationEV.esp [Version 0.95] 
•  36 bgBalancingEVLAMEAddition.esp [Version 10.51EV-D] 
•  37 RTFemaleReplacerV12.esp 
•  38 MaleBodyReplacerV4.esp 
•  39 100% Harvest Chance Shivering Isles.esp 
•  3A A Bloody Mess - Arena Wash Basin.esp 
•  3B A Bloody Mess - Armor Shader Supression.esp 
•  3C A Bloody Mess - Bloody Fights.esp 
•  3D UnnecessaryViolence.esp 
•  3E Enhanced Grabbing.esp [Version 0.4] 
•  3F Enhanced Grabbing - Unnecessary Violence Liaison.esp [Version 0.4] 
•  40 Natural_Habitat_by_Max_Tael.esp 
•  41 Natural_Vegetation_by_Max_Tael.esp 
•  42 Natural_Water_by_Max_Tael.esp 
•  43 Natural_Weather_HDR_with_darker_Nights_by_Max_Tael.esp 
•  44 Cyrodiil transportation network 1.3.esp 
•  45 RshAlchemy.esp 
•  46 Windfall.esp 
•  47 MidasSpells.esp 
•  48 HTHAdvanced - Sinkpoint.esp 
•  49 Harvest [Flora].esp [Version 3.0.0] 
•  4A Harvest [Flora] - Shivering Isles.esp [Version 3.0.0] 
•  4B UnlimitedTraining+x5traincost.esp 
•  4C Advanced Mark & Recall.esp 
•  4D Borderless_Cyrodiil-3578.esp 
•  4E Cliff_Roleplayingcharacter.esp [Version 2.1] 
•  4F MM_NoMoreAnnoyingMessages.esp [Version 1.2]

[coburnw]

Hmm i dont think the mods would be the trouble if there
all installed right and your not gettin a ton of CTD's or
abnormal gameplay-FPS. Has a message come up when you
collect the two black soul gems, There is also another
pop up when you search all of his room thats the only thing
i can think of mate hopefully someone will help out with
your question.

Try lookin through the full room that may jus help.

...Wez

[Laconic]

My game's playable but I do get the odd CTD from time to time...not often enough to be much a nuisance, and probably less often than stock Fallout 3 does to me (heh).

I didn't get a message when I picked up the soul gems. I grabbed them, and then nothing. I've never had a problem with this quest in previous play-through's (though those games weren't nearly as heavily modded). I did some poking around with the TEC and it looks like I haven't even triggered the next set of dialogue from Deetsan...there should be another branch that says something like "Have you checked in his room yet?" but I'm just getting the primary "Oh, you're back, you should go check in the room" over and over. I did figure out how to trip quest conditions manually in the console, so I can do that if all else fails. Poking around even further in the TEC it also looks like to complete this quest I might need to finish the other recommendations as well, and I've still got a couple of rec's to go, so I'll try finishing those up first.

The only mod that I can think of that might conflict with this is the Harvest Containers mod that flags containers you've rifled through and changes the graphics to display it (drawers and chests stay open if you've searched them, barrels have their tops off, etc.) It could be that the "searched chest, got gems" condition is being interfered with by this mod.

In any case, thanks for the reply!

[Pronam]

Seeing your clip. Those soulgems are named differently. So they are changed by a mod..

See if adding the original soulgems will work out, the original code was: 3C7FC
so inside the console, using : player.additem 3C7FC 2
That should add 2 soulgems named: Black soulgem, instead of 2 seperate soulgems called falcar's black soulgem.

If that doesn't trigger the quest (it originally should when you have those soulgems in your inventory.)
Use the code: setstage MG02Alter 90
I checked and no problems should occur using 'setstage' here.

[Laconic]

You're right; apparently one of the mods I'm using alters the MG02 Black Soul Gem. In the original Oblivion.esm it's named correctly, just "Black Soul Gem." Using additem just adds more copies of the apparently broken soul gems; I'll snoop around in mods and see if I can find which one is doing the editing.

[Laconic]

The Unofficial Oblivion Patch is the one that's doing it...it's changing the name, anyways, I don't know if it's actually breaking the item. The only difference in the original and the edited item (other than the name) is the Count value; the original is "0" and the edited is "0*". I'm not sure what that means or if it's the culprit or if there's something else at fault, but given that the UOP is a pretty popular mod, and given that several google searches yielded nothing resembling this problem, I want to say it's something else. In any case, I'll probably just brute-force the quest using the console. Thanks for the help.

[dezdimona]

putting the UOP first under your esm's will solve that problem also!

[Pronam]

Already guessed it should have been some help thing. To evade confusion with other quests.
There are a lot of black soulgems around, strangely enough it showed 2 separate gems in yours.
that shouldn't be that troublesome, as you only need 1 to continue the quest...
Anyway, try the brutal way. It should work.
---
Or dezi's way ...that one is probably better.

[Laconic]

dezdimona, on Jul 19 2009, 04:14 PM, said:

putting the UOP first under your esm's will solve that problem also!

It is, it's the very first thing that loads in Wrye Bash. Eh. At this point I'm just hoping that this is an isolated bug with this particular quest item and not a larger dialogue/container bug that may recur in other quests. Thanks for all the help.

[dezdimona]

this load order will cure a loat of things and keep other problems from arising also!

General Load-Order Guidelines
Here are the guidelines that I adhere to, personally.

~ Unofficial Oblivon Patch should always be first on the list. The fixes are great, but most aren't essential, so if a mod overwrites them its not a big deal, and the fixes have the potential for screwing up other mods if loaded later.

~ Offical Content (DLC's) should be loaded last, until you complete all quests associated with them (that includes buying all furniture for the houses and whatnot). Once they're complete, they can be safely moved up in the list. This is especially important for Knights of the Nine, which will have some fairly major problems unless loaded last (unless you get the UOP for KotN)

~ Major overhaul mods (OOO, Frans, MMM) should be loaded near the end. That gives you the most complete experience with any of those particular mods. It also lets you carefully choose which other mods to load afterwards... only move mods that you know will conflict and that you want the changes from. For example, I have Improved Soul Gems below OOO because I know that OOO changes the icons of some of the SG's, and ISG needs to be below to show through.

Some people will recommend putting larger mods first, but personally I disagree. There are a number of mods out there that make minor tweaks, and loading after a large mod will end up completely overwriting a chunk from one of the bigger mods because of the way conflicts work in Oblivion (even one minor change will take precedence over the entire record... for example, simply tweaking the speed of a weapon can cause every stat of that weapon to be retained to vanilla levels if loaded later).

So basically, it stacks up like this...

Oblivion.esm
Unofficial Oblivion Patch
<Minor Mods / DLC's (Post-Completion)>
<Major Overhaul Mod/Mods>
<Mods that specifically conflict with overhauls and need to take precedence>
<DLC's (Pre-Completion)>
Note: If using Mayu's Overhaul Mod. I recommend loading it after OOO or MMM


Expanded Load-Order Guidelines
by dev_akm

I would extend this to include:

Oblivion.esm
Unofficial Oblivion Patch
<Weather/Environment/Sound Mods>
<Minor Mods/New Items/Houses/DLC's (Post-Completion)>
<Major Overhaul Mods>
<Mods that specifically conflict with overhauls and need to take precedence>
<DLC's (Pre-Completion)>
<Quests>
<Compatibility Patches/UOMP/Merged Leveled Lists>

And a special-case warning for Knights.esp (Knights of the Nine) -- you may not be able to move it earlier than some other mods (some people have had problems after moving it before OOO, for example).

That's basically the structure I use and I have 140+ mods working well together.

Another way of describing this (posted by DMan77):
....
Oblivion
unoffical patch
Deeper realism mods that add sights and sounds
added content like weapons/items
gameplay changes, like 'must eat and sleep'
The OOO type
the 'new begining' type mod..
................................................................................
.................