I like overhauls/compilations because they take a lot of mini mods that I use and incorporate it into a larger whole. So I found a couple of overhauls (magic, stealth, body) but I have a few questions about the ones I found, or about ones I'm looking for.

Vanilla Race Deluxe: (search for it on Tesnexus, not allowed to link it)
1. I saw VRD recently and loved the idea of it. I do have a question though: can I replace the HGEC female body with the TGND one? According to TGND, it is compatible with any HGEC textures, so I thought I could just swap them out. The reason I would like to try this is because I want to use the underwear version, but HGEC underwear gives females huge briasts, whereas TGND has a more modest. As a bonus, TGND also has armor changed for the body mesh (like EVE for HGEC).

2. Another question is regarding the beast races. I used Argonian Beautification and Khajiit Anatomical Transformation System before I found VRD, and both of those give the beast races awesome scripted legs. Seeing as VRD seems to be mainly a texture replacer I was hoping these two project would still be compatible.

Magic Overhauls:
3. I've looked at LAME and SM and I think lame is more conservative, and is more lore-friendly than the latter, but please correct me if I'm wrong here.Also, in the magic overhaul comparison thread, it mentions that there are newer overhauls since then, yet I have not found them.

Realism Overhaul/compilation:
4. PLEASE tell me one exists. I have seem small mods like Realistic Fatigue and Realistic Health, for example, but I was wondering if there was a single mod that combined the realistic stuff.http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=36399 does what I want, as it is a single mod with realistic swimming/training/willpower. However, it doesn't cover much. Will I have to settle with a bunch of small esps that give me all the realistic changes?

Population overhauls:
5. So I wanted Oblivion to feel more lived in, and I found several mods that seem to fit that idea. There is a mod that adds http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25232, one that adds http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4387. I wanted to try the crowded roads mod, but I've heard that it is unbalanced (one example was that if you kill certain npcs they have tons of money on them). I also found a cats and mouse mod which looks like it adds a bit of life, but I'm not sure if it's compatible with FCOM (there was some note mentioning an earlier version wasn't, was that fixed?)

On a final note, I'd like to thank the creator of Sneaking Detection Recalibrated for creating what I was looking for in a stealth overhaul :foodndrink: as well as the creator of LAME, VRD, and the other mods I'm looking at. Your mods are much appreciated

I play with LAME. I don't know SM. The main feature I like about LAME is that the duration of the spells are significantly longer, you need not to spam the buttons so often. Maybe SM does a bit of the same, as I say I don't know SM.

It is my understanding that LAME and SM can be used side by side, there are compatibility patches. I do know that the LAME readme speaks about same-time usage of SM.

As to the various "Crowded Roads Mods", you should lookout for http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20575. This one repairs the excessive loot and so on. http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4387 is another good one, adding merchants in the world.

What is VRD?
LAME can be played along SM, they work well together, never had problem
Crowded roads revisited, crowded cities, better cities and Integration the stranded light should give you meaningful NPCs around

haha. Forgot to give a link to Vanilla Races Deluxe (VRD). It's a high quality body replacer/compilation mod.

Sounds like Crowded Cities Revisited is much better than the original one I found, because both of you recommend it

1. Neat, it looks like VRD is a compilation of body and face textures for all races. I don't think the author ever posted a thread here. Anyways, I use TGND and have found a bunch of textures that work very well with it.

I don't know if VRD is compatible with TGND, but there is another high quality body mod that does work: search for inevoblivion on tesnexus
You will want to improve the faces as well. I strongly recommend http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5643 which adds improved facial textures for every point on the age slider bar.

Overwrite it with http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9534 to get your base face textures looking as good as possible.

You should ask someone else about the beast races, to be honest I've always sort of neglected them, although Skyrim's art team may have changed my mind on that matter.

2. I don't know, but you can always give it a try and report back!

3. I'm currently using LAME and it fits very well into the game, as well as adding the occasional bit of flavor through a secret quest and some npcs. If you are playing a magic oriented character, I would recommend trying out Midas Magic. It adds a whole new toolbox of magic effects.

4. I don't know if there is a larger overhaul, but COBL adds support for several hunger/thirst mods by adding dinner plates, water wells and a huge variety of food to all the taverns and towns in game. Quite a few of the village and house mods out there come with a COBL compatible esp too.

I've stumbled upon a cool mod that seems like it combines Crowded Roads and Crowded Cities. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30827 Anyone else heard of this? I think I'm going to try it out and see how well it works.

I've also found an alternative to http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37088,which requires you to eat, drink and sleep. It's called http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37088. I haven't tried either of these in my game yet (still figuring out my mod set up) so I was wondering if those who've tried these have any input. Back to my quest to find realism mods...

Might want to edit your links, guys. Linking to nudity is a no-no here.


1. Any textures made for HGEC will work for TGND, so yes, VRD is compatible with TGND.

2. The important thing is to install them in the right order. That would be VRD first, then the beast race stuff, so they get body textures that are compatible with their new feet.

3. I use SM and I think it's fairly conservative and lore-friendly. It even adds spells that were in previous games, like Levitation, Divine/Daedric Intervention, Mark & Recall and such. Like with LAME, it increases the duration of most support spells. It also tweaks vanilla spells. I'm pretty sure both are compatible and can be used together without major balance issues.

4. If one exists, I don't know about it. For eating/drinking/sleeping, http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37088 is a nice comprehensive one.

5. I don't feel the need to use those since I'm a TIE user. It adds many more NPCs everywhere. Private guards, traveling merchants, thieves, heroes, etc. I think it has its own version of Tamriel Travellers built in. I don't find they unbalance the game, but then I don't RP highwaymen. I heard Phitt's http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=32747 and http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4805 are nice. Haven't tried them though.

Nah, never heard of ORE before. Apparently one of the plugins has a bug that makes fast-traveling impossible, so be wary of that.

I've heard of TIE, though after all the effort to figure out FCOM, I'm not sure I want to try it.
Also, it looks like I was editting my last post while you wrote yours. I found something similar to Basic Primary Needs. I'll have to read up on both more before I figure that one out, I'm sure...

Spiffy, while I have not personally played with TIE it is my understanding that TIE itself only uses Vanilla resources and is a small download only (1 .esp only). Not entirely sure if I have that correct, but in any case a TIE installation is on a much smaller scale than FCOM.

If you want to combine TIE with other overhauls some things have to be observed though in order not to run into incompatibilities. At least this is what I gather from following the forums. So in these cases, you may want to ask for details.

@WyndChyme
I thought that Croweded Roads Revamped was the one with the excessive loot? But maybe they revamped the Revamped and it is resolved. In any case Spiffy, try one, and if it's not what you like, try the other. IIRC these are small installs, can be changed easily if needed.
There is also Wandering Encounters, also on Tesnexus. Don't have the link right now.

Er, I think you're right. Revamped is the one with the excessive loot. I meant Advanced.

Yes, that is correct. TIE is just a single ESP file for the overhaul itself, plus one filter mod for weapon and armor compatibility with other mods.

If used with Frans, there's another additional small patch file for NPC inventories.

Spiffyman-

there is no unified realism overhaul - it is all piecemeal. But some are more compatible than others. Vim and vigor is highly incompatible for example.

My findings for crowded roads is that most are heavy handed and the travelers rarely have any dialogue or purpose. Exceptions for Phitt's mod and Tamriel Travelers.

LAME is lighter and more lore based. SM though has an ini that allows for tweaking of things. I always play with both. I'd avoid mighty magicka. There are other takes on magic though not full overhauls like LAME and SM ... Chargeable Spells, Combat Magic, Fearsome Magic, Midas, etc.

I have yet to meet a race mod that can dissuade me from use Race Balancing Project.

Thanks Psymon, looks like vim&vigor is out then....

I read the whole TIE thread, and I'm annoyed because that mod sounds great, but I've spent so much time figuring out FCOM, that my whole mod setup revolved around that. My current FCOM setup:
1. Frans
2. OOO
3. Warcry
4. Bob's armory
5. Loth's blunt weapons
6. Armamentarium
7. Artifacts
8. MMM
9. Cobl
10. FCOM+ufcom
10b. all the various fcom centric settings for the above mods
Would I scrap all of that and just replace it with
1. Frans
2. Bob's armory
3. Loth's Blunt weapons
4. Armamentarium
5. Artifacts
6. Cobl
7. TIE
?
Also of note is that I use Dynamic Leveled Lists, so that should help with some incompatibility I think...

The reason I'd take the trouble is because it adds all those npcs around (making the world look more alive) and it includes various other small mods I'd use so it's a pretty inclusive of what I wanted. I'm also hoping it might help performance as I've heard FCOM is pretty intensive? Not to mention that I seem to use almost all the other mods Arthmoor has in his sig so maybe it would lead to a more integrated game :thumbsup:

On another note, seeing as how TIE makes the combat harder, is there a mod that makes the economy much harder as well? I'm talking
modhttp://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1212558-btbs-game-improvements-the-sorority-vampire-cannibal-vixen-topic/ level of hard. If you are familiar with that, it basically killed item prices so that finding that one top level weapon in a dungeon isn't going to make you an instant millionaire. I make the comparison because I want it to be hard to make money and rise to the top.
Enhanced Economy doesn't reach that difficulty I don't think (though it could make houses incredibly expensive).

If you must have TIE (simply must) then use the BOSS userlist and bury it early in the load order so that all the other FCOM parts get their day in the sun and the NPCs will be there. But trust me an FCOM world is very populated. You will meet plenty of adventurers, guards, psychos, etc.

You could try the recently updated http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=40679 ( <- that is the update). I've not used it so can't comment.

TIE is unlelved ... FCOM is uber leveled. They have very different approaches.

Just how crowded do you need the world anyway? All that is going to chip off a good 30 fps in most populated areas.

Multiple overhauls mean multiple playthroughs,

Enhanced Economy can be adjusted to be very rough.

[edit] the more you add the more we will see your threads.

lol. you're very right with that edit comment

When I first got Oblivion ( a week ago?) I just wanted a quick way to start the game with really good mods. I found out it's not that easy, so I started learning. Next thing you know I'm looking at all the mods on TESNEXUS and complicated my mod list exponentially. I think I'll leave TIE until I look through all my mod readmes. If it turns out that there are less major conflicts with TIE than FCOM, I'll look into that. For now I'll settle with FCOM and continue to figure out the other overhaul stuff. I think I'm going to have to write a small guide after I'm done for anyone looking into a modded game like mine. That way all these hours of figuring out conflicts and such might help someone...

If FCOM is you goal, do also read this:

http://tescosi.com/wiki/Oblivion:FCOM_Installation_Guide

Acutally the who website / Wiki is full of good stuff to know.

Be warned though that for somebody who got his edition of OB just last week it is DEFINITELY NOT the installation to pursue... FCOM in many respects is the pinnacle of modding your game. It really is not suited for a (OB modding) newby. I don't mean no disrespect, it really is a matter of experience and being on and off the forums for quite a while... You heard me. :yes: :no:

That was the guide I looked at for FCOM That and some youtube videos that were VERY helpful in making sure I didn't miss something important. While I haven't gotten far enough in any game to see if my mods worked well(I just hop in game to test if anything obvious is broken), I believe I have FCOM set up correctly (hope I didn't just jinx it). Essentially, the week (probably closer to two weeks I think) was nearly entirely devoted to figuring out FCOM and discovering my preference to BAIN over OBMM (or NMM). Now I'm trying to see what else exists in the Oblivion world

One thing that I REALLY want to find is a skyrim-like Argonian and Khajiit mod. Skyrim's versions look 10x better...

Alright, fair enough. I imagin FCOM team sure wished everybody was as diligent and careful as you are... If you have not yet done so, I would definitely post your (FCOM) modlist load order in the official FCOM thread to check if something was amiss or any outdated versions or anything. If you found the MMM-Cobl.esp version 1.73, I think you found everything...

It was more out of necessity really. My first attempts ended in failure, so I decided to dive into it a bit more to understand what I was doing. Had I read up on TIE at that time, I probably would have gone that route since the mod sounds fantastic to me. I'll take your suggestion and post my fcom modlist in that thread just in case

In some ways TIE is more compatible. Many actually. As it is there is only one overhaul mod that I'm aware of in Oblivion that uses the script extender and that is ROM. TIE doesn't and neither does FCOM group of mods.

TIE attempts only to change what is in the game already that is its scope. All the FCOM mods change what is there and then add more content (encounters, loot, quests, stuff). The main mod is FCOM is OOO - really much of FCOM is getting Frans, Warcry, and MMM to behave like OOO. It has been posted before that frans role in FCOM is only to provide supporting new material and that otherwise its leveling scheme and other available tweaks are not even used.

So with new material also comes new balancing of stats for loot. This means that when adding new loot from yet another mod they too must be balanced that way. Also with FCOM the vanilla scaling is gone - and replaced with very intricate leveled lists - which are then not going to be as easily bashed with other mods without patches. So with these factors - patches and more patches.

TIE is simpler. The leveled lists are mostly to unlevel everything -- anything can be encountered/attained from level 1 up. Makes for an exceedingly dangerous game. Then further the weapons and combat are made even more upped than FCOM. There is http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=39914 for the weapon stats though. So while it may play nicer with other leveled list mods it may conflict more with mods that alter combat/realism/etc. Not so many patches there.

Speaking of ... Vanilla Race Deluxe looks mostly to be a beauty mod. Again I recommend http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22124 which contains - rebalancing the original races with abilities and stats that make sense and are lore based. New races that also make sense and are lore based. Plugins to add those new races as people you encounter (FCOM plugins as well), A pretty thorough beautification compilation. The downside of it being that it adds hair to races that shouldn't get them (argoniains with supermodel hair). The beauty assignments are random though and rebashing the patch gets you different results.

Drake the Dragon has made the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15469 mod. It has options for scripted argonian feet. Combine with http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13444 heads. Both can be used with most race mods.

[edit] also - I wish I had your patience with Morrowind. It always looks inciting and appears to have a good story - I can spend hour mapping out mod boundaries with it ... but an hour of playing and I just ask myself "why am I doing this ... Oblivion is more fun, any newer game is more fun ... skyrim is here." So I never finish modding an install of it.

Gonna hijack this topic instead of creating a new topic looking at how TIE and FCOM is discussed here.

If I'm using OOO and MMM, and decided to use TIE just for the increase of NPCS, do I just load it early in my load order? Anything else I should do, I know that TIE is not really compatible with OOO and MMM as I had played TIE with MMM last time and the leveled list goes back to the default vanilla, so should I just click "remove" TIE at the Leveled List Bashed Patch?

Amazingly, I couldn't figure out Argonian Beautification. The bain package options aren't very clear to me, and the readme didn't help at all....
As for VRD, i tried it out with TGND. It worked just fine, but after running through my mods over and over thinking about TIE, I think I'm going to have to let that one go. According to the mod it uses ~400MB Vram, which is a bit high for my computer If I'm going to be using other graphics mod. I'll miss those amazing argonian eyes though..

Artemis; I could be wrong, but I believe OOO isn't very compatible with TIE. From what I could tell MMM could be if you use Bash. I believe you'd put TIE after either if you were to try it. Could be wrong, i'm not exactly an authority on this topic

The bashed patch is a wonderous thing. Whatever Wrye Mash is ... Wrye Bash is that times 100.

So if you merge leveled list mods into a bashed patch it does not merge all changes and adjustments to load orders as if they were equal. Load order matters. So if TIE is loaded early then yes the LL changes will be there but in every instance where an FCOM overhaul or other overhaul is loaded later in the load order they will have their changes take precedence.

Same with things like weapon stats ... the earlier mod is overwritten by the later loading mod.

This is overcome with bashed patch tags - where a tagged mod will have its record (that is tagged) win even if it loads earlier. But again - as I understand it - if two mods have the same tag then again the later loading mod wins (unless there is more than one records and they both can win.

That which is not overwritten will be present in the game. So while FCOM mods may touch every weapon stat they don't touch NPCs added by TIE so they will show up - but not as often as FCOM ones do.

To get the full TIE with FCOM you would need the new TIE integration linked above.

Yes TIE and OOO have very different approaches.

TIE does work great with FRANS and WAC.

looked at tie integration to see if I could keep some of the great tie things while keeping fcom. So it seems I can keep alchemy changes, npc faces, and tamrielic traders. Not sure what it means by harder thievery as that is very vague. I would like to know if it keeps its secret city entrances? I think I'll use it myself. It mentions patches from an older version (integration Revised) still working. So I'd assume those would replace the originals (bob's armory esp etc).