Documentation and Instructions for Heartland Redux 1.0+, Wabbajack 3.5.0.1+

Welcome to Heartland Redux! This modlist is a fork of Heartland, originally created by Sam, which in turn was based off Bevilex's Modlist for Oblivion. Heartland has seen many changes through the years (it was one of the first Wabbajack modlists at launch!), but at its core it has remained a comprehensive graphical overhaul for The Elder Scrolls Oblivion. Redux was created by Drazden to be streamlined, sustainable, and simple.

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Installation

Prerequisites:

• A vanilla copy of Oblivion in the English language with at least the Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles DLCs, obtained from Steam or GOG, and installed outside of C:\Program Files.
• Ensure that your Oblivion copy is unmodified. You may have files leftover from old modlists that you need to delete (especially ENB).
• Default Oblivion configuration files. To generate them, first ensure that the Documents/MyGames/Oblivion folder has been wiped, then launch the game once in vanilla.
• Around 75GB free storage space.
  • 6 GB for Oblivion itself.
  • 22 GB for the mod downloads.
  • 47 GB for the modlist installation.
• A Nexus Premium account, or a lot of time to download the mods manually!

Using the Wabbajack Autoinstaller

1. Download the latest version of Wabbajack from the Wabbajack Github, and place the Wabbajack.exe file to a new directory called Wabbajack, as close to the root of your drive as possible (e.g. C:\Wabbajack or C:\Modding\Wabbajack).
2. Create a new folder for the modlist installation, and call it Heartland, placing it close to the root of your drive once again, but not within the Wabbajack folder (e.g. C:\Heartland or C:\Modding\Heartland). Ensure you have at least 75GB of hard drive space.
3. Launch Wabbajack.exe from within the Wabbajack folder. Click Browse Modlists, and enable Show Unofficial Lists. Locate the Heartland modlist in the gallery and click the Download and Install button in the corner.
   • Alternatively, the modlist can be downloaded manually from the Releases tab. If installing manually, place the modlist file in the Wabbajack directory, and select Install from Disk.
4. Under Installation Location, select the Heartland folder you created in step 2. If Wabbajack hasn't done so already, set the Download Location to Heartland\downloads (e.g. C:\Heartland\download or C:\Modding\Heartland\downloads).
5. Click Begin.
6. Wabbajack will open a browser and ask for Nexus authorisation. Log in and then hit Authorise. (If you get an error on authorisation, download and install .Net Framework 4.8 and run the installer again)
7. Wabbajack will now download and install the mods specified in the installer. The download size is approximately 22 GB so this may take a little while. The installer should keep you informed of progress.
8. After the installation complete message appears, close the installer.

Game Folder Files

Within the Heartland folder, copy the contents of the Game Folder Files folder to your root Oblivion directory (e.g. C:\Steam\steamapps\common\Oblivion).

Steam and Retail Users

Only applicable if you have a Steam or retail copy of Oblivion. GOG users can skip this step.

• A file named '4gb patch.exe' should have been copied with the Game Folder Files
• Target both the Oblivion.exe and OblivionLauncher.exe executables in your root Oblivion directory. Both executables will now have been patched to improve the memory that can be allocated to their processes.

BSA Decompression

This step is not strictly required, but may improve your performance.

1. In your Heartland installation, navigate to the Tools folder and then the Oblivion BSA Decompressor folder.
2. Run Oblivion BSA Decompressor.exe.
3. Point it to your Oblivion installation and let it run .

Typically this will reduce stuttering and load times by removing outdated 2006 zlib compression. This may mean your Oblivion installation will take up slightly more storage space.

Post Installation

Running the Game

1. If you use Steam, ensure it is running.
2. To play the game, select Oblivion in the MO2 executable dropdown and hit Run. You do not need to add OBSE to MO2. MO2 will automatically load OBSE when selecting Oblivion.
3. You're ready to go! Check the optional steps below if you would like to further enhance your experience.

Profiles

The Heartland modlist overhauls visuals and stability, leaving the gameplay systems (questing, levelling, level scaling, combat) in a vanilla state. Certain mods that may be considered 'visual' have also been omitted. Mods that replace vanilla assets or modify vanilla locations (like Better Cities) will typically need to be patched in the same way gameplay mods are.

• The Lite profile is designed to be as compatible as possible. Beyond bug fixes, very little of the base game data has been modified.
• The Full profile has more features but is less compatible with new mods. You will need to patch additional mods you add as NPCs, weathers, weapons, and more have been modified. This profile also requires the deluxe edition DLC (Horse Armor and player homes).

Extra Notes

• Due to the way MO2 loads Oblivion and OBSE, the Steam overlay and screenshot functionality cannot be used. Use F11 to take screenshots using Oblivion Reloaded.

Troubleshooting

1. Wabbajack says "download X failed", what now?
   • For vanilla game files such as 'Oblivion - Meshes.bsa', ensure that your game is unmodified and in English.
   • For other files, restart Wabbajack (or your PC) and attempt installing the modlist again.
   • If it still fails, check in with the [Heartland Modlist Support] server.
2. Wabbajack says "Hashes for BSA don't match after extraction, mods\Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch\DLCShiveringIsles - Faces.bsa", what gives?
   • Wabbajack has issues with this file sometimes. Try restarting the application.
3. I can’t run the Oblivion executable from MO2 - I get an application error.
   • If you bought the game through Steam, it needs to be running in the background for you to play the game. Boot up Steam and give it another try.
4. When I run Oblivion, a new window opens and I can hear the main menu audio, but all I get is a blank/black screen.
   • MO2 is failing to load the OBSE libraries when running Oblivion leading to issues with the mods installed. To correct, click the executable dropdown in MO2, select Edit, and then check the Oblivion.exe entry. Ensure that Force Load Libraries is ticked, and click Configure Libraries. Ensure that Oblivion.exe is set to load the library obse_1_2_416.dll in your Oblivion game directory.
5. Following the above instructions, there is no obse_1_2_416.dll.
   • Make sure you have copied the contents of Game Folder Files to your Oblivion game directory. The OBSE files should be present in this folder.
6. Characters in my game are bald, or their hair is transparent.
   • This is an occasional error with Oblivion Reloaded Combined and certain graphics cards. In MO2, navigate to Oblivion Reloaded Combined (ORC) under the Oblivion Reloaded Separator. Delete the Extra Shaders folder in Shaders/ORC

Credits

• Bevilex for their fantastic visual overhaul and guide
• Sam for the original port of Bevilex's guide and subsequently Heartland
• Halgari for the innovative Wabbajack tool
• Foxman for this handy readme template and his help with testing
• jdsmith2816 and WOJO the OG Wabbajack Oblivion modders
• My good friend, TDarkShadow, for stewarding this list despite having no knowledge of Oblivion
• iam5 for relentless dedication to support for this list
• 1Mac and Dispensation for compiling helpful information in their modding guides
• Aerialvas, Peria, and Mr.Vanato for their useful optimisation tips and troubleshooting assistance in the heartland-support channel
• All the testers and users who have taken time to provide feedback: Seear, Aronax, epixxor, Duriel, Foxman, Aerialvas, Peria, ShadowFyre, Mr.Vanato, Nazo, Stormline, MrG, carl, KatieLW19, KarmasLives22, ELDYLO, Severance, Zierry, Gatonegro, Bartun, b e e g y o s h i, Epic, NaterOfTheWired and more!