» Sat Jul 30, 2011 2:06 pm A NEXT GENERATION MOD COMPILATION
ABOUT MYSELF
Let me first introduce myself by telling you in short, how I was previously involved with Oblivion modding. Three years ago I created a so-called map look replacer called http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15914. According to the comments on TES Nexus some people liked it quite a lot. Around the same time I wrote an in-depth http://www.multimediaxis.de/threads/105679-REL-Mein-Gesicht-in-Oblivion-Von-Gesichtsfotografien-zu-Eurem-digitalen-Alter-Ego (based on pre-existing instructions Gloomfrost posted previously) on how to make your avatar look exactly like yourself. This process involves taking pictures of yourself in the right way, letting FaceGen generate a 3D model and texture of your face and importing all of this into Oblivion. Doing it right can produce some really astonishing results! The guide was published on http://theelderscrolls.info/ and is only available in German. The download link seems to be broken, but I still have the PDF and could upload it anytime again. I then stopped being active for two years, returning to Oblivion modding last summer. I started the work on OBLIVION EVOLUTION shortly after, also getting involved with the work of other mod authors: I helped Skycaptain collecting bug reports as the beta version of Deadly Reflex 6 came out, evaluating and summarizing many hundreds of posts. The according http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1178924-relz-deadly-reflex-6-beta-the-official-release-and-bug-report-thread-4/page__hl__deadly+reflex proved to be very useful for installing DR6 as I discovered later (installing the mod by myself). Unfortunately Skycaptain seems to be busy with real-life and till now couldn`t get back to release a final version of DR6, but hope dies last. I also did some betatesting for a release of Oblivion XP Update and translated the mod carefully to German refering to the terminology I found in the original German manual to keep the translation as faithful to the game as possible. At good last I came up with one or two ideas for existing mods, which then were implemented by the mod authors.
ABOUT OBLIVION EVOLUTION
Now I`m finally ready to present a project to you I was working on for almost a year: OBLIVION EVOLUTION, a collection of some of the finest Oblivion mods, carefully crafted into an homogenous entity under the guideline of a well-thought design philosophy, fully customizable by the user and open to updates on a regular basis. But why did I name this project OBLIVION EVOLUTION? Because an evolution (in its general meaning) could be understood as a metaphor for the process of modding itself, for what happens to games, when they offer the possibility of being modified by a group of dedicated modders: they become somehow fluid, as their parts are set into motion, constantly challenged by concepts and visions, slowly evolving into something more advanced, polished and sophisticated. An evolution is a process, that has a beginning, but no end.
The following days after the release of this thread more than hundred people will get requests for a permission to feature their creations. I`m taking the legal stuff very serious and I`m ready to take a lot of trouble to be sure I have the permission for every mod I want to feature. To serve this purpose I`ve checked up every single readme I came across and gathered all the necessary information (contact data, legal info, and credits) for such an enormous undertaking. The result is a huge excel sheet with everything I need to keep track of. Please respect, that I won`t publish the definitive list of mods I plan to feature. The example screenshots you can find below do not reflect the final status of the mod setup! Now, before you judge too hastily, please give me an opportunity to introduce my project to you in detail. I`m sure you`ll like the concept and its realization, as I put a lot of thinking and effort in it.
THE DESIGN PHILOSOPHY OF OBLIVION EVOLUTION AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION
- USER-FRIENDLINESS: OBLIVION EVOLUTION is supposed to be installed as easy as possible, with only a few clicks needed to get everything ready. This way you can make people less experienced with computers and modding enjoy the wonderful mods this community developed over five years. My intention is to release OBLIVION EVOLUTION primarily as an installer, but there could be an optional archive version too, that allows a manual installation for those who are more experienced with Oblivion modding and know what they are doing. The user-friendliness doesn`t only apply to the installation process, but also how OBLIVION EVOLUTION provides the user customizability, documentation and overall transparency. Please read more about these aspects of Oblivion Evolution below.
- CUSTOMIZABILITY: OBLIVION EVOLUTION was created with the people in mind who know how to use mods and want to customize or even mess with their game, modders included. To guarantee a deep customizability and the possibility to get a look at the inner workings of OBLIVION EVOLUTION this mod collection is supposed to be released along with Wyre Bash, the most advanced mod manager ever conceived for a game. As there is an equivalent standalone version now that works perfectly there`s no need to separately install Python components anymore. As mentioned before one of the goals of OBLIVION EVOLUTION is to be user-friendly. There will be quite some assistance for people who are starting to use mods on their own after playing with OBLIVION EVOLUTION for a while. Opening up Wrye Bash and get a look at how mods are actually getting installed may work wonders for them, but this is not the assistance I am talking about. OBLIVION EVOLUTION will feature a database inside Wrye Bash itself containing detailed information on every single mod. This database will include several remarks regarding mod dependencies, necessity of rebuilding the Bashed Patch after installing or uninstalling the mod, availability of a Filter Patch, and much more. This should make it a lot easier for the user to customize his own personal Oblivion Evolution mod setup - or even delve deeper into Oblivion modding. The key areas OBLIVION EVOLUTION is focused on are fixes, interface improvements, graphic overhauls and gameplay tweaks and the installers appear in exactly that installation order: fixes on the top, gameplay changes on the bottom. Click http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/3143/categoriestopbottom.jpg to see what is meant by that. Now what`s the purpose of such an order? The basic idea is to offer the user a comprehensive spectrum of game-affecting changes, which allows to distinguish gradually how much mods change the overall feel of the game. At the top are mods whose necessity can`t be denied regardless of personal taste, like for example the Unofficial Patches. The more you get to the bottom the more mods appear that rely on personal liking and subjective preference. These last ones include major gameplay changes, but please note that there are not much of them, as Oblivion Evolution isn`t about redefining the gameplay experience (see the paragraph "Evolution, not revolution" below). However, the advantage of such an order is apparent: If a player wants to play exactly the game he knew before only with better graphics enabled he can easily spot the gameplay-affecting mods and deactivate them with a simple click!
- DOCUMENTATION: OBLIVION EVOLUTION comes with all mod data already made BAIN-ready. The folder structure of the mod data as found in the downloaded archives are preserved as much as possible to make manual updating easier. Where the folder structure had to be changed a logically consistent folder structuring system conceived by OBLIVION EVOLUTION was put to use. However, data that can be considered part of the documentation (even example screenshots or example spreadsheets) are stored in a separate subpackage that always comes last and is called "99 -- Docs --". Click http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/369/docsh.jpg to see how this looks. Every installer has such a folder (if a mod does not include any documentation OBLIVION EVOLUTION copied information from the download location into a TXT file and stored it in the appropriate folder). The path has the following folder structure and naming scheme: 99 -- Docs -- / Docs / Mod Title. This way OBLIVION EVOLUTION centralizes all the documentation provided by the mods and puts it into a single folder easy accessible by the user. One just needs to open the "Docs" folder under the Oblivion "Data" folder and there he will find all documentation sorted by the mod titles. Look http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/1451/docs2.jpg if you don`t know what I mean. Of course there will be a documentation for OBLIVION EVOLUTION as a whole too. A special part of this documentation will be a keyboard layout showing the old as well as a lot of new key bindings introduced by OBLIVION EVOLUTION. These new key bindings derive mostly from interface mods. I have looked through all their INIs and developed a streamlined key bindings system to assign every new function a key within easy reach and prevent overlapping of key functions. This keyboard layout along with its instructions on how to benefit from certain key combinations is going to be printer-friendly. But that`s still not everything that has to be said about the documentation features of OBLIVION EVOLUTION. As indicated in the previous paragraph OBLIVION EVOLUTION makes use of some kind of database. It does by taking advantage of the BAIN installer comments section. Every selected installer shows at least the following mod data to the user in the comments section: title, description, creators, download location and credits. Click on this http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/9872/commentsh.jpg to see how this looks in action. This way the user knows what the mod basically does, he immediately sees, who the author of the mod is and can look up other mods made by the listed user or he can copy and paste the internet address into his browser to see if there`s an update to the mod. But the database features even more information for the user as already mentioned in the previous paragraph (remarks regarding mod dependencies, etc). Last but not least the database features remarks on mod adjustments made by OBLIVION EVOLUTION.
- MOD ADJUSTMENT: Almost every mod OBLIVION EVOLUTION features is customized to serve the purpose of creating a well-tempered whole. An example was given above for the key bindings. But mod authors don`t like to see their content touched at all, right? Well, OBLIVION EVOLUTION does not really alter any mod content. Every mod OBLIVION EVOLUTION contains is preserved 100% as in the downloaded archive. But how`s that possible? To be able to make adjustments to the mods while not touching their content at all OBLIVION EVOLUTION takes advantage of Wrye Bash`s subpackage system, adding adjusted mod data as an additional subpackage on top of the other subpackages already provided by the mod. See http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/593/oblivionevolutionsubpac.jpg how this looks. There are three main types of OBLIVION EVOLUTION mod adjustments: content selection, INI setups, and plugin modifications. What does the first type of mod adjustments called "content selection" mean? Some mods make it necessary to choose between equal content of the same category by not explicitly expressing a preference (for example AWLS). OBLIVION EVOLUTION has to make a choice then. But in other cases OBLIVION EVOLUTION makes a decision based on preference, not taking over the complete content of the mod by not checking the according subpackages. However, in both cases there will be a remark in the database to emphasize that there is room for further customization by the player. Click this http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5486/contentselection.jpg to see how this looks. The next type of mod adjustments are "INI setups". I guess this is pretty self-explanatory. Please note that every single INI setting made by OBLIVION EVOLUTION is well-documented in the adjusted INI itself. Click on this http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/356/inisettings.jpg to see how these adjustments are shown in the adujsted INI. Additionally the user can find a synopsis of the most significant INI settings made by OBLIVION EVOLUTION in the database under the according remark. Click on this http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7315/inisettings2.jpg to see an example. The third and last type of mod adjustments are "plugin modifications", which are trivial in most cases: some minor changes to scripts to prevent message spam at the start of a new game or an ESP with dirty edits was cleaned (so this is already taken care of). However, all these adjustments are well-documented too. The adjusted scripts are listed in the database under the according remark to make quick comparisons possible. Click on this http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/2060/oblivionevolutionplugin.jpg to see an example. As you can expect the mod content is not modified, but adjusted, for most mod users a standard procedure that takes place every time they install a new mod to make it work like they want. But all these adjustments are well-documented and can be made undone easily by simply unchecking the box of the OBLIVION EVOLUTION subpackage.
- TRANSPARENCY: To let the user know that and what OBLIVION EVOLUTION adjusts is one of its highest priorities. I already emphasized in the previous paragraph that every single adjustment made by OBLIVION EVOLUTION is documented in the database under the according remark. On top of that there are three remarks highlighting that a mod was adjusted by OBLIVION EVOLUTION. It can`t be overlooked by someone who opens Wrye Bash and looks under the Installers tab! The first one appears right at the end of the mod title in the Wrye Bash installer window. Click http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/3195/remark.jpg to see what I mean. This way you can spot very easily, which mods are adjusted by OBLIVION EVOLUTION and make a quick check in the database what exactly is adjusted. The second remark appears in the subpackages section. The extra subpackage that is provided by OBLIVION EVOLUTION and contains the actual mod adjustments is separated by the other packages with four additional lines and called "Oblivion Evolution". Click http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/3195/remark.jpg to see an example. Very easy to spot too, right? A third remark of course appears in the database of OBLIVION EVOLUTION. Click http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5486/contentselection.jpg to see what I mean.
- EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION: Now let`s get to the actual content of OBLIVION EVOLUTION. The goal of OBLIVION EVOLUTION is to cautiously improve aspects of Oblivion, while trying to stay true to its original design. Most of all OBLIVION EVOLUTION is not about completely changing the basic gameplay, as gameplay changes affect the game as much as nothing else. OBLIVION EVOLUTION is not about redefining, but refining the experience. Bethesda after all has done a tremendous job with this game! As already mentioned the key areas OBLIVION EVOLUTION are fixes, interface improvements, graphic overhauls and gameplay tweaks. However, Oblivion Evolution is very, very careful with the last category.
- CHALLENGING GAMEPLAY: However, is there some kind of a vision for the existing gameplay changes? There is. The primarily goals of OBLIVION EVOLUTION are to provide a challenging, more skill-based gameplay experience and an extended leveling duration. The first goal is achieved by removing the most notorious exploits like simply kiting the enemies by running backwards or stacking overpowered spell effects like Resist Magic to get immunity to damage. I`m saying "the most notorious exploits". Of course Oblivion never won`t be free of potential to be exploited, but it doesn`t need to point you right at exploits just by letting you play, right? The second goal is achieved by a mod, that alters the leveling system and helps to structure the level and skill progression, making it not just a lot more desirable, but necessary to level beyond level 20.
- LESS IS MORE: Neither is OBLIVION EVOLUTION about hitting the ESP limit, nor about featuring every existing new content for the game. Its goal is to assemble mods, which in a subtle, but significant way improve our beloved game. Mods, which most people would call "must-haves", regardless of personal taste. Of course, those who have played through the game several times and know all the content inside out are free to add quest mods or new races, but this is a question of subjective preference a mod collection never won`t be able to answer satisfyingly. In any case if something should be avoided then the feel of an heterogenous conglomerate of mods where nothing fits together. OBLIVION EVOLUTION instead aims to form an unity out of the mods it features. Mod adjustments are one strategy, but having not more mods than needed definitely helps too.
- REGULAR UPDATES: OBLIVION EVOLUTION is supposed to be updated regularly to keep up with the release of the latest mod versions. As time goes by older mods will be replaced by newer ones or completely new mods will be added. I could even think of mods, which add new content to the game. There is already a subcategory for new content implemented.
MY CONTRIBUTIONS TO OBLIVION EVOLUTION
I`ve spent a lot of time in the seemingly bottomless pit of TES Nexus and in the "Oblivion Mods" forum the last twelve months. Primarily out of interest, but also to acquire the knowledge to able to pick the right mods for such a project. At the end there are almost a hundred of them (at least for now). To come up with the above concepts took a lot of time too, mostly lost to trial and error. But putting everything together turned to be out the real timesink. It included making all the mods BAIN-ready, adjusting them (I`ve studied every single INI the mods come up to not miss somehting and be sure everything is adjusted right, that is true to the overall vision of OBLIVION EVOLUTION), collecting the right data from over a hundred readmes, feeding the database with all the information it needed, writing remarks for every single mod including the documentation regarding the adjustments I made. Needless to say I endorsed every mod I want to see featured. But apart from coming up and actually realizing such a crazy project I have some "real" contributions in terms of mods to offer specifically made for OBLIVION EVOLUTION. I`m proud to present them to you now after such a long time of keeping them back.
OBLIVION EVOLUTION: THE GLORY OF CYRODIIL
"Oblivion Evolution: The Glory of Cyrodiil" is a successor to the main menu background video replacer I made three years ago, but this time it`s made specifically for OBLIVION EVOLUTION as you`ll notice after seeing the title screen. You`ll see the awakening of Cyrodiil in the dawn, Lake Rumare shimmering in the morning sun, rays of light falling through golden leaves in the Great Forest, the sun wandering above the Imperial City, blooming meadows with colorful plants peacefully swaying in the wind, a shining moon floating in the skies and finally the sun disappearing behind the mountains of the Colovian Highlands. All that in stunning Full HD (1920x1080) with graphical enhancements from several mods enabled.
After keeping this baby back since last fall I`m very happy to finally present this mod to you. You can watch it on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o245FzwpUc (including artifacts and overall bluriness, that comes with YouTube compression) or download the video (in the original quality) http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TFYGFGKJ. Here`s some additional info on the mod:
- The name of the mod comes from the song used: "The Glory of Cyrodiil", composed by Jeremy Soule, who is responsible for all the beautiful music of "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion".
- You see a lot of mods in action while watching this video, especially these ones: "Fintilgin`s ForeverView", "Beaming Sunglare", "Enhanced Vegetation", "Water Reflection Blur", "Deathb0rns Modified Qarls LOD Normal Maps", and "Really AEVWD".
- The video you see comes in two parts like the one from the original game. You will be able to skip the dawn scene and jump right to the title screen when you start up the game. Or you jump to the title screen by simply pressing Escape.
Unfortunately I found that the main menu doesn`t seem to support BIK files in a higher resolution than 720p. The video seems to get downscaled by the game, but nevertheless looks beautiful. If you find a way to make the game show BIK files in a larger resolution, please let me know.
OBLIVION EVOLUTION: INTERFACE TWEAKS AND SETTINGS
I worked really hard on this one. It builds upon "DarNified UI" and its purpose is to make the interface even more subtle and immersive. Some of the outstanding features are:
- A new standard font for DarNified UI. A lot of XMLs needed to be adjusted for this. See example screenshots of the new font in action: http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/2051/13582842.jpg, http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/725/12350931.jpg, http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/7493/98418645.jpg, http://img808.imageshack.us/img808/6691/96462840.jpg, http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7041/92539609.jpg, http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5245/80753195.jpg, http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/913/77517146.jpg, http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4397/15926519.jpg, http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/9561/56017007.jpg, http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/3651/54531002.jpg, http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7274/89458203.jpg, http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/4586/72894960.jpg.
- A new visual appearance of dialog text (click http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/3807/45259634.jpg for an example screenshot) and info moved to top of the screen to prevent screen clutter (click http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2489/71467413.jpg for an example screenshot)
- A streamlined HUD inspired by "Immersive Interface" by h4rfleur (click http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/6228/interfacegb.jpg for an example screenshot)
- A subtle, barely noticeable crosshair to further enhance immersion (click http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8834/62706137.jpg for an example screenshot)
OBLIVION EVOLUTION: LOADING SCREEN TEXTS
I always liked the idea of being to able to read useful hints while loading. This mod features over a hundred new loading screen texts specifically for use with OBLIVION EVOLUTION. The mod contains:
- Corrections to hints from the original game that were proven to be wrong
- Adjustments to old loading screen texts to fit the changes made by mods
- Hints to unique features of mods that are part of OBLIVION EVOLUTION
- Additional hints to almost every key binding, especially those who are introduced by mods that are part of OBLIVION EVOLUTION
- Additional hints to gameplay mechanics, mostly taken from UESP Wiki
All the information the user gets through the loading screens are 100% correct now, but he also learns more than ever before on the core mechanics of the game.
Please note that all of these mod contributions are going to be released as standalone packages for those people who don`t want to use OBLIVION EVOLUTION.
PROGRESSION STATUS
OBLIVION EVOLUTION is finished to 90%. Now, what`s left to do?
- Getting permissions for the mods I plan to feature
- There are some minor bugs left to fix
- I need to figure out how to make an installer out of all the data and how to be able to create separate installation routines for people who use the retail and Steam version of Oblivion and have or don`t have Shivering Isles and the additional DLCs
- Writing a short documentation on Oblivion Evolution itself explaining its features and how the mod setup can be customized
- Creating a printer-friendly keyboard layout with instructions on key bindings
- Creating a separate documentation including all the contributing mod authors and their mods (data basically copied from the OBLIVION EVOLUTION database)
- Betatesting the game itself
LAST WORDS
Now it`s your turn to ask questions, make suggestions or wishes. You can reply in this thread, send me a PM or write an e-mail to: oblivion.evolution at gmail.com.
As I started this project Skyrim wasn`t announced, but I guess there will be even more interest in such a project now. It could attract more people than ever before to Oblivion modding.
