Hello everyone, I am new to these forums and am relatively new to Oblivion (though I'm not new to TES) ... my first character (vanilla oblivion) was a Bosmer assassin ... I got my character to level 35 fairly quickly and was finding myself getting bored rather quickly. So, I began looking for mods and came across OOO. A more in depth, slower moving game is more what I am interested in. I've installed it with no problem and have it running and everything (I used the stand alone installer, because I couldn't find the 7z file).

From what I have read and been able to see, everything seems to be functioning correctly. The only thing that seems like it may not be functioning correctly is the harvest bundle (nothing seems to be disappearing when I harvest it), but I am not too concerned with this. Since it is hard to find a lot of information on OOO, and since some links to threads on these forums seem to be broken, I was hoping some of you out there would help me with a couple of things.

First, I am unsure of my character build and it's survivability in OOO. I am a male Bosmer custom class (though it is almost exactly the same as an assassin). My 7 majors are the same (alchemy, blade, light, marksman, sneak, security, acrobatics). The changes that I made were I chose speed and agility as the main attributes and I left intelligence out. For my birthsign, I chose the Steed, but considered of course the thief, or also the warrior. Can anyone say whether or not I will be able to put up a fighting chance in OOO with this build? It has seemed ok, as long as I have enough poisons and potions brewed, then I can handle most encounters I have come across. But, I do seem a little on the weak side, and don't want to continue this build if progression is going to be impossible. Challenging, I don't mind at all, and in fact hope for. But seeing as how I am only level 1, I don't know what the future holds.

Also, I know that mods are a personal preference, but I was hoping to get some suggestions on mods that will go well with OOO, make the game more enjoyable, and provide more depth to this game. I feel that vanilla Oblivion was somewhat lacking. Any input would be appreciated!

The more specific you can be about what you like and/or dislike, want and/or don't want, the more helpful you'll probably find people will be, and in some cases, want to be.

Anyway, if you continue to use OOO, make sure you have the latest update for it (3.45b, I'm fairly sure that still is) and grab the latest version of the Harvest Flora mod, and install it after OOO. Preferably, install OOO without the Harvest Flora option to begin with. Also ensure you have the latest official update, and the latest Unofficial Patch (as well as those for Shivering Isle and DLCs, if you have those things installed) - for UOP, that would be 3.2.6, I believe.

Another mod you might like is T.I.E. (Tamriel Immersive Experience) - very well suited to stealthy types, and to - what seem to me - your preferred style of play in general.

I suggest scanning the last, say, 5 or 6 pages (or so) of threads, finding the most recent ones dedicated to each mod you're interested in finding out more about (e.g., OOO or Wrye Bash) and posting questions there.


edit: May I also suggest installing and familiarising yourself with Wrye Bash? If adding many more mods, you might also find BOSS to be a great help.

edit2: Oh, and TIE is really more an alternative to OOO, as things stand. Just thought it might appeal, is all.

Welcome!

Good choice with OOO! Your build looks fine as long as you don't do that major is minor stuff. You should be good. Just play to your characters strengths. I tend to do most of my builds with stealth. Or magic. Personally, I'd replace acrobatics with Illusion but that's just my personal play choice. I tend to level acrobatics awful fast because I do some crazy stuff like jumping off of high rocks for fun or trying like heck to get to unreachable places. Birthsign is so-so. You'd probably do all right with it. (Keep in mind I'm no master character builder. I just build what works for me an have fun.)

Mods .. again a personal choice based on what you like. I use things like All Natural Weather. Uhm, attack and hide. That makes sneaking a bit more to my liking and plausible. Let's you re-hide instead of once spotted they follow you into Oblivion. I also use Race Balancing Project which makes each race very different from each other instead of all ending up being the same thing in the end. Bosmer/Wood Elves are much different than Bretons, etc. Also adds some cosmetic goodies like hairs in with it. I use a portable campsite for camping out when I can't get home as I don't use fast travel. I also use a magic overhaul system called LAME that makes my magic much more enjoyable. That is not to say overpowered because I don't like that. I just like choices that makes more sense. Self spells last longer than 15 seconds, stuff like that.

Hoped that helped you out some and you can find any one of those mods I mentioned on the TESNexus site. :dance:

Wow! Thanks for the replies, I didn't think that the boards would still be quite so active. Glad that they are though! Sorry for the double post .... :/

#2. Well, I prefer the stealth based parts of the game more, or I tend to. Also, I really enjoy the marksman skill, I love using the bows. I just wish that there were a throwing knife mod similar to the one that existed for Morrowind. I also love alchemy and the potions and poisons. I don't like any of the guides that tell you exactly how to make potions, I prefer to find out on my own by experimenting. As far as the mini-games go, I really enjoy the lock-picking mini game, but don't care much for the persuasion one. The one thing I do not like about OOO so far is that I can't attempt to open locks beyond my level. If there was a really hard lock in vanilla, I would spend about 5 lock-picks or so trying to open it, and if I failed, I would come back to the lock at another time, or walk away from it completely. Anyway, thanks for the tips! I will make sure I am fully updated, and check out TIE!

#3. Thanks for all of the suggestions! I will be sure to check out all of the specific mods you listed, as it seems that I would also be interested in them, especially the re-hide and the campsite, as I am anti-fast travel also!!

Also, since I am not very far into my new start, would I be better off just uninstalling and reinstalling everything with all the final mods so that I don't run into problems?

Thanks!

Unique Landscapes will give you a thrill when you travel across the land...instead of the boring Vanilla landscapes.

Will - click on the Options in your inventory. I think you can change the lock picking thing for OOO.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18914 < linky for you. Three ESP's come with that, I use the hard one so things are not too easy.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5684 < nother linky. This is the one I use, two ESP's I think, one where you buy the stuff, one where it just appears in the inventory. I use the one you buy. It's not expensive and should be able to afford it fresh out of jail once you sell your loot. The only thing is, when you use it and click on the bedroll to sleep, it gives you a menu. For some odd reason, if I use that menu, my screen goes crazy after I sleep. I have to use the choice "Use default menu". Then I have no problems. Could be just my hubby's system doesn't like their sleep menu *shrugs*.

And I'm not a master at installation. I typically just add stuff and all works out. But I also use BOSS and Wrye Bash so my stuff is sorted right.

One of the strongest modding communities around, and full of great people!


Yeah, that's just OOO. A bit harder at first, but the stuff you have to run away from now won't level up with you like in Vanilla, so you'll have the satisfaction of coming back later to kick its ass.


Well, I'd be remiss in my duties as a guy who's kinda proud of his work if I didn't point you to the first link in my signature. You especially might want to try a level advancement overhaul: my own nGCD, or Realistic Leveling, or for a completely different experience, Oblivion XP.

Oh, and if you don't yet have The Unofficial Oblivion Patch, that should be your #1 priority.


Persuasion Overhaul fixes that up nicely.


Get OBMM, Wrye Bash, or both: they make managing your installed mods, and uninstalling mods with additional resouces, much much easier. In most situations, adding a mod to an existing game won't hurt anything. Worst case should be starting a new character, though, not a full wipe-and-reinstall!

Get a leveling mod, for sure. Oblivion's level-up system is horribly broken, even with a mod like OOO to help fix it. I'd suggest either S.P.A.M. or nGCD. (Hehe, the creator of nGCD happens to be here. ;P)

You see, in Vanilla Oblivion, one has to train and train to get their Attribute increases to +3 or higher just to stay on-par with enemies who level up with you. The biggest problem is, with all the Vanilla classes, it's impossible to raise both favored attributes by +5, because by the time you get one of them up high enough, you've already leveled up.

OOO gets rid of enemy leveling, so when you get stronger you really do get stronger.

Leveling mods help you actually get better in what your class skills are.




EDIT: Oh yeah, Kvatch mods can be fun too. I've played a few, and Kvatch Rebuilt is fairly nice. It's not the best I've seen, but if you don't speak German I think you're out of luck with others.

Wow! Thanks to everyone for all of the replies! I am working now but I will post a more thorough follow-up when I am done! Thanks again! :thumbsup:

tejon's http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14304 is an excellent way to control skill leveling speed. Requires OBSE, but so does many brilliant mods.

Thanks for all of the posts and help guys!

#5. I will definitely try to get to that, right now I am more concerned with game-play mods. Thanks for the tip though; I will definitely look into it once the game operates how I want it to.

#6. I am having trouble finding the options menu in my inventory that you speak of to change the lock-picking option. I have however installed both the hide and re-hide mod and portable campsite mod and like them both a lot!

#7. I did download nGCD, but haven't had enough time to play it to find out more about it, but I am looking forward to it! I also made a small donation to the pay-pal link, it's not much but regardless don't spend it all in one place! :dance: I do have the latest unofficial Oblivion patch, and OBMM.

#8. Thanks for the info!

#9. Ok, I also got progress in addition to nGCD. Is there going to be a conflict here?

Thanks again to everyone!

They're companion mods and very much intended to work together. Progress sets skill increase rates without touching attributes; nGCD sets how attributes are derived from skills, without touching the skills themselves.

You'll need Cobl and OOO 1.32-Cobl.esp to have access to the menu. You can do it via the console otherwise:

If you need help with OBMM and/or Wrye Bash:

Oblivion Mod Manager - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/prep/obmm
OMOD Installation - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/installmods/obmm-installation
Wrye Bash - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/prep/wrye-bash
Load Ordering - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/finishinstall/loadorder <-- BOSS is a very nice friend to have (will save you hours of manual tweaking and frustration.)

Preparing for Mods - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/prep <-- This pages covers installing and configuring a number of utilities. The pages specific to the utilities are much more detailed, of course.
Programs & Utilities - http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/lists/utilities <-- With OBMM AND Wrye Bash, you will have covered most of your mod managing needs, but there are a number of other utilities worth mentioning.