All right, well I think I've obtained more or less most of the mods I want... but don't want to feel as though I'm missing out, so if you guys could think of any mods that would be a perfect addition to my collection I'd very much be grateful!

My current mods are:

Unofficial Oblivion Patch V3.2.0
Unofficial SI Patch V1.4.0

Qarl's Texture Pack III V1.3 OMOD
Lanscape LOD Texture Replacement 1.1b (by Shaja)
DarkUId DarN 16 V11280 OMOD
Quick Start (skip dungeon)
Oblivion Stereo Sound Overhaul
Improved Signs Complete
Improved Amulets and Rings
Improved Trees and Flora
Natural Faces
Face Textures 2
VABetter Gold


Are there any other mods you think would be good? Or need updating?

Also, what order should I install all of these mods in, and, which load order should I have them so?

Thanks very much.

[EDIT] - Oh and also, what are these optimization programs and tweaks that I hear all the time? Are they actually necessary? Or just used for lower end systems or people who love to see high frames?

look at http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/intro it is very good made by Tomlong

also i think theres a mod called OOO (something oblivion overhaul) mod although i don't know what it does

Hmm, what about the install order of these mods?

Is there anyone who'd be able to tell me if the order for these matter?

The guide already linked to should help with that. The general idea is to get a working SI install with latest official patch (or simply GotY as is, IIRC,) then fundamentals like OBSE, OBMM if you're using that, Wrye Bash if you're using that, Streamline*, OSR*, etc.

The best order for Unofficial patches and QTP3 is given on those pages (guide to aesthetic overhauls section...?) - really, have a dig around there (more like, use the simple menu to the left) and you'll find things making more sense before long.

* These are two of the key optimisation / stability mods you will want, regardless, by the way. Nothing to do with hardware, or even "maxing frames", per se.

OSR and streamline are apparantly incompatible! so which one to use?

Most of the mods you mention are cosmetic changes. You should definitely consider mods that alter things like guard behaviour (No psychic guards, Reneers guards) and level scaling e.g Oscuro's Oblivion overhaul, Francesco's overhaul and Adventurers Oblivion.

Unofficial Oblivion Patch V3.2.0
Qarl's Texture Pack III V1.3 OMOD
UOP Hotfix if you don't already have it
QTP3 - UOP Patch - you need this one

For the rest the order is not very important with the possible exception Natural Faces and Face Textures 2, which I don't know.

For a detailed listing and some discussion of texture replacers, check out these two threads:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/957424-custom-bain-projects/page__p__13828698__fromsearch__1&#entry13828698
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1084204-bain-mod-installation-projects/page__st__40
With so few mods you don't really need how to use BAIN, but the listing of texture replacers is very thorough.

Not so.

http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/stabilization/streamline <-- This should shed some light on what might be claimed by some, out there in the wild wild webs.

ok but i'll only use one anyway so would streamline be good?

If using only one I'd definitely go for OSR. Streamline is much harder to set up correctly to get a good effect, and the effect from a correctly set up OSR is more noticeable anyway.

ok thanks, what do you mean by correctly set up? i thought you just extract into oblivion directory to install?

No, you have to adjust the ini file to your system. If not set up correctly it can make matters worse.

if you wouldn't mind could you explain how you can do this? sorry OP for interupting your thread

Please have a look at the link I posted in post #8 in this thread. The answers are there.

If you want to know how to edit an ini file, the easiest way is to just open it with Notepad, and save when done. You can set ini ini files to automatically open with Notepad (or whatever you prefer using) in the standard dialogue that comes up, should nothing currently be assigned.

thanks for the reply m8 but omg my head is about to explode, i think i'll just not use any!, lol but are there other mods where you have to change the ini stuff?

With most mods you can happily use to default ini file, but with OSR (which is not a mod as such) you really need to read the manual and test what works best for your system.

Not many. They'll tell you in the readme file(s) if so. But anyway, it's not that hard when you get used to it, like a lot of things I guess. For example, with ini files, if you can edit a simple txt or doc file, you're basically good to go. Often the ini files themselves will have advice and warnings about what to do and what not to do. Between that and the readmes that are almost always present, it's not like you're left in the dark. Then there are sites like Tomlong's, with further help.

But hey, there are quite a few mods that are "fire and forget" too, so long as you get the load order and installation order as right as can be, There's some leeway with these, but not too much. Best to decide up front what you want to get out of mods, and what you're willing to go through to get there.

If you find ini files is where you draw the line, no problem really - see where the final line gets drawn by continuing to explore and sound things out.

edit: And yes, I should've also said, OSR is (ideally) an "ini procedure" as well. It''ll probably work fine as is, but *not* with Streamline in its default config as well.

if it works fine with mods but then needs OSR later when more mods included, etc, will i be able to insall it then and mess with ini, etc?

Yes. I recommend installing all your other mods first, test the game by running from Bruma to Bravil and get a feel for how much stutter there is. Then install OSR and tweak untill you get the best result.

ok cheers.

http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/installmods <-- one of the most important pages on the site, don't know why people miss this...
http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/lists/mybainlist <-- explicit reference, (correct) BAIN package order reflects (correct) installation order