[size=9]IMPORTANT: This version of Mod Organizer is old. Newer versions are available on skyrimnexus and they should be compatible with Oblivion.[/size]

Mod Organizer v0.9.3

Description:
------------

Mod Organizer (MO) is a tool for managing mod collections of arbitrary size. It is specifically designed for people who like
to experiment with mods and thus need an easy and reliable way to get to install and uninstall them.

MO has several unique features not found in any other comparable tool.

Features:
---------

• Mods are kept completely isolated from each other -> no more messy data directory (1)
• Profiles (2)
• Drag&Drop load order AND installation order management
• Nexus integration for easy download, installation and update of mods
• GUI support for manual installers
• partial (?) compatibility with BAIN installers and ini tweaks
• Savegame viewer
• active required mods from save game
• Archive Invalidation
• Categorize mods for better overview (customizable)
• easy overview of file conflicts
• complete help system
• Supports Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout NV and Skyrim
• no installation, no dependencies. Just unpack and go
• localization (currently: german & spanish)
• automtic self-updates
  

ToDo:
-----

• better handling of files created by external tools
• improved ini editor
• resume support for the download manager
• omod and fomod support
• speed up savegame viewer
• more localizations (if you're interested in helping, please contact me!)
  

Mod Isolation (1):
------------------

What mod isolation means is that each mod is installed into its own directory outside the actual data directory.
Through some magic MO then shows the game (and any other 3rd party tool that works on the data directory) a "virtual"
data directory that is a merger of the actual data directory and all the mod directories.
This way no file ever get overwritten when you install a mod and your data directory can remain in a vanilla state.
You can simply change the "installation order" of mods from the gui and deinstall or temporarily deactivate one
without breaking other mods.

Profiles (2):
-------------

With MO, you can have different mods active in different playthroughs. You can consider the installed mods as a pool
of mods and for each profile you can have a different set of them active. Disabled mods will not be visible to the game,
as far as the game is concerned, they are not there at all.
As an additional gimmick, you can set up a save game filter for each profile so that when started with that profile,
only save games of the specified character are displayed in-game.
NOTE: this save game filter is experimental. It may cause the game to create save-games with save-numbers that have already
been used, but as far as I can see, that has no negative impact.

Installation:
-------------

Just drop the directory contained in the archive into your game folder (or in any subdirectory of your game folder).
When you first start MO you need to set up your first profile.
IMPORTANT: If you run Skyrim, you will also have to change the load mechanism from the settings dialog:

If you are upgrading from omo, you can move mods and profiles from your omo directory to the ModOrganizer directory. For
the Fallout variants, rename "omo_mods" to "mods".

Load Mechanism:
---------------

To work its magic, a part of MO needs to be active while the game is running. To achieve this, you can start
the game from the MO User Interface. The GUI also offers the option to create shortcuts that will activate MO
and immediately run the game (or related tools).
HOWEVER, this mechanism may not work in all setups! Notably, the Steam version of Oblivion
MO offers two alternative methods:
- Script Extender: If you have a Script Extender installed for the game (obse for Oblivion, fose for Fallout 3, nvse for
New Vegas or skse for Skyrim), you can have that activate Mod Organizer.
NOTE: at the time of writing, skse has not yet been released.
- Proxy DLL: In this mode, Mod Organizer replaces a dll that is part of the game by one that loads the original dll and
activates MO. Currently I use the steam_api.dll for this. Please note that I have only tested this with Skyrim and New Vegas.
If you use this last method, please deactivate it from the MO Interface if you want to uninstall MO.

If you load MO through either Script Extender or the proxy dll, you can still but do not have to run the game through the User Interface.

Compatibility:
--------------

The Mod Organizer works with almost any tool I've tried so far. What this means is that they can be made to work on the
"virtual" data tree.
Among the tested applications are: obmm, fomm, TES Construction Set, GECK, TES4LODGen, TES4Edit, FO3Edit,
BOSS, Fake Fullscreen (Oblivion and Fallout), Skyrim 4GB.
Wrye Bash and Fallout Variants of it are a bit more difficult. They only work if you're using a 32-bit python or the standalone
version.

Please note that these tools will write to the actual data directory (i.e. fomm installing a mod, GECK saving a plugin).
These file are then not under the control of MO.

MO is compatible to Script Extenders insofar as they work alongside each other. However, since *se works very similar to Mod Organizer, its impossible to guarantee MO becomes active before *se. As a consequence, *se plugins managed through MO may not work. This will also depend on the load mechanism. I'd be very happy to hear about your experiences with this.

FAQ:
----

Q: Which load mechanism should I use
A: If you have a script extender (obse, fose, nvse or skse depending on the game) installed, best load through "Script Extender"
If not, use "Mod Organizer" as the load mechanism and start the game from the MO UI or from shortcuts created by MO. Only if
these don't work for some reason, use proxy-dll and if you do, do not manually temper with the steam_api-files unless following
a FAQ entry here! Also, keep in mind that when using proxy-dll you have to start MO at least once after every game update!
If you load through script extender, you need to update it after a game update.

Q: I installed a mod and it's not working
A: How do you know it's not working? The only reliable indicator is the game! The skyrim launcher does not show mods installed
through MO. The data directory does not contain new files. After installing a mod, start the game and see if the mod did what
it said. If you did and the mod is really not working, please verify that the directory structure is correct. Many mods
are not packaged for easy installation so you may have to shift files around (either during installation or after).

Q: How do I find out if MO is working
A: Install a mod with a visible impact! Also, check that modorganizer.log get created

Q: I'm using the proxy-dll loading mechanism and now MO/Skyrim doesn't work anymore.
A: I don't know how this happens but it's easy to fix. Follow the following steps closely:
- First, deactivate proxy-dll loading in MO then close it.
- See what size the steam_api.dll in your skyrim-folder has. If it's around 116 kb, delete steam_api_orig.dll
- If steam_api.dll is ~11kb, you delete steam_api.dll instead. Then you rename steam_api_orig.dll to steam_api.dll
- In both cases you end up with a steam_api.dll that is around 116 kb and no other file called steam_api
- Now start MO again and re-activate "proxy-dll"

Q: I want to uninstall MO, what do I do
A: First, inside MO, go to settings and select "Mod Organizer" for the load mechanism. Close MO and then just stop using it.
You can delete the ModOrganizer directory if you're sure you need nothing from it anymore (like mod archives). Beyond that,
no uninstallation is necessary. MO does not write to the registry or into any directory besides its own.

Q: I want to report a bug
A: Very good, but please provide as much information as possible. Keep in mind that I use MO constantly and unless your bug
is very new, I did not encounter it yet, so you'll have to help me reproduce your situation.

Contact:
--------

If you want to contact me, for example to report a bug, please send an eMail to sherb at gmx.net

Thanks:
-------

- pndrev for the german translation
- David (DaWul) for the spanish translation
- everyone who provided me with feedback and bug reports
- Robin Scott for the Nexus Network
- Bethesda for their wonderful games

License:
--------

Uses Qt licensed under the LGPL
Uses 7-zip by Igor Wiktorowitsch Pawlow licensed under the LGPL (unrar restrictions apply)
Uses Icons from the Tango Desktop Project
omo_archive.dll is released under the same license as 7-zip. For source code, please send an eMail
The rest of omo is freeware

Changelog:
----------

- 0.9.0: added support for bain installers and ini tweaks. customizable categories. self-updater. MO can now handle nxm links in external browsers. bugfixes
- 0.8.3: more options to modify mods (rename, delete individual files, ...), version information for manual downloads, bugfixes
- 0.8.2: nexus browser now supports tabs and navigating to mods directly. installation dialog will warn if a mod doesn't seem to be installed correctly. bugfixes
- 0.8.1: bugfix release
- 0.8: Nexus browser, download manager, update check, german translation, bugfixes
- 0.7.1: bugfix release
- 0.7: initial release with Skyrim support. UI cleaned up, save game filter, additional load mechanisms, performance improvements, bugfixes