Hey all,

I just couple days ago found out this whole site, while trying to find tips how to obtain and keep certain items in Oblivion. I never knew such things as mods even existed for this game. I guess there is mods for everything that you play via computer nowadays. Naive as I am. <_<

So to speak: I have finished Oblivions main plot once and finished other story lines quite a few times with different charecters. After surfing on this site for some time I found out there is so much more you could have in this game, which sounds like awesome opportunity. This is one of my alltime favourite games, and chance to make it (obviously) alot better gaming experience... Well, I just had to stop here.

Few words of warning though, I am not very good with computers nor I know much of them. I am not very familiar with mods or what it requires to make them work. This was one of the reasons why I decided to make a post here (even though I tried to riffle through these threads many times). There is just so much stuff and information avaible, it makes it a bit hard to keep up. You know, what to download, where to install... All that.

I saw there was another topic about what mods to download, but I guess people won't shoot me if I'm asking abit about the same things. :unsure:

So heres the situation:

I'm downloading Obscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO) version 1.33. As I reckon that is what is a must have, and kinda like the baseline for the structure. I don't mind starting the game over again, but I prefer not to do it many times. So I'd preferably download as much stuff that makes the gaming experience better at once before I start playing itself.

So, what is my next move? What stuff should I download, and what mods fit together with OOO 1.33?

Seeking for advice. I might not know much, but I guess I'm fast to learn? :huh:

I have decent setup for playing the game itself, as it runs quite smoothly with decent settings. Good enough not to let it interrupt the gaming experience (but rarely little bit if having tons of action at once).

I would definately get http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=1757. It adds loads of new monsters and makes them behave a lot more realistically, such as running away and fighting each other. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5977 is a fantastic mod that makes gaurds much more realistic and fun to outwit. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18305 and http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19628 are two must haves if you love realism and they make the game look amazing. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19370 also makes the game look a lot better and makes exploring a lot more fun.

If you're going to get these I would recommend http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2097 to help you install them. It basicaly lets you install mods and all their content in one click. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20516 is another one click bit of software that sorts all your mods for, and so I would definetly download that too.

Someone is bound to mention this at some point... might as well be me! Check out Tomlong's site: http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/. It is a great ( I mean, really great ) source for step-by-step, "getting started w/ Oblivion mods" resources. Seriously, you can not go wrong there.

This forum is awesome for talking about mods, asking questions, and getting answers. But you have a lot to learn, so to speak, and as great as a list of suggested mods is, you really need some background on how mods work, the utilities that manipulate them, things to do, and things not to do. Go there, read, and learn. You'll have questions, for sure, and when you do, the forum is here! :foodndrink:

EDIT: Sorry, I only gave you one link, and you really need two. Tomlong is developing a new site (the link I gave you already), but some things are not quite ready there yet. You can probably get this from the new site, but for simplicity, here is the link to the http://sites.google.com/site/oblivionpoinfo/index.

First you should probably know that you can install almost all mods at any time while playing the game. So if you find a mod that you like while you already play the game it is not a problem. It often leads to a lot of problems if an unexperienced user installs 200 mods at once and then starts the game. Add the basics, then look for things that are missing in your game and add them one by one.

I would say an overhaul of the silly leveling system is a must have, but not OOO. It's a great mod for sure and it may or may not become a must have for you, but there are others. You may want to read http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/820948-scaling-overhaul-comparison/page__p__11934228__fromsearch__1&#entry11934228 thread for a comparison of the most popular overhauls. There is also http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/convergence.html, which combines most of the large overhauls into one, but is a bit harder to install than a regular mod.

Good sites from the same author are also http://knol.google.com/k/toql-the-oblivion-quest-list# for new quests and adventures and http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/obliviontextureoverhaul.html for graphic improvements if you have a good hardware.

OOO is anything but a must have... though I quite like it, personally. It's a fairly drastic (and, well, large) overhaul. It does a lot of things, some big and others little. You might want to read the PDF that explains what it is, what it does, what mods it incorporates partly or wholly, its "mission statement" / "design goals", etc.

If you do like OOO in the end, or even want to try it at all, then FCOM is the natural extension, or at least, it is for some. Like me! It's an unholy blending of OOO, Francesco's, MMM and Oblivion WarCry, essentially. Also, a more "hardcoe" experience even than just OOO.

Most things fit fine with OOO, or have compatibility patches available where they don't. Check the latest Oscuro's thread, if you're still keen.

As for "must have mods", there are simply too many, in my book (er, on my hard drive) and it's totally subjective. Figure out what you like and don't like about the vanilla game, and maybe go from there.

Hey vegtabill,

You certainly have a valid point there. But I may have exaggerated a bit of what I ment. I consider myself as fairly veteran Oblivion player, and can consider myself what kind of add ons I would like to have to boost my gaming experience. Like I said I also am fairly fast to learn and follow instructions. If instructions are clear, I'm fairly certain I will manage.

Point being this forum is so full of different kind of mods, and each of them saying is better than other, I just kind of want to hear more opinions which are the best of the avaible options. I might sound like I'm in a rush or something... But hey, if I can avoid it, I rather not try every single mod myself to find out which one is better than another. Of course that probably might be the optional view to the things. But I just don't have enough time in my life to put dozens and dozens of hours finding out what small parts are different within each mod.

That being said I still agree with you. I suppose there is millions of things to learn, and the way I put it here is maybe not the best one. But I guess it's better than trying everything myself and most likely messing it up at some point. And I will look up to that site you adressed me to.

I guess I'm just a bit too impatient to get all the awesome updates, and get the game running. :whistling:

EDIT: PS @Curate: That's one of the reasons it caught my attention. I have played Oblivion enough so I could have use for bigger changes. The game itself is just becoming a tad boring at times. So being drastic change is not a problem here. (well we'll see of course after I've checked it). :unsure:

No worries... but bear this in mind: impatience is a killer in this arena. Your best bet is to try to understand things before you dive in. But hey, everyone learns their own way!

You mean "Breton Paladin", or one of the other "Curates"?

Either way... there are alternatives - like TIE, especially if you favour sneaky characters (though that emphasis is lessened in the most recent version, I hear). Or Fran's, by itself (as opposed to in an FCOM arrangement). Or there is the (these days) oft-overlooked path of simply adding mod after mod, until you have your own "overhaul"...

Of course, I tend to do both (i.e., FCOM + hundreds of other things - not exaggerating, either). bliviongate:

Here's a few I would recommend.
Bite the bullet and learn to use Wrye Bash. You will be happier in the long run if you do so early on.

Reading the readme's are essential to installing mods.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22368
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20516
http://obse.silverlock.org/
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22282

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16282
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26389
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16513
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21104
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26220
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27730
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3002
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16640
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10763

Before you even begin installing any mods, read this guide - will save you tons of headaches and frustration later (due to game crashes that happen with improper installation):
http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/

No, a game usually requires an editor in order to create any mods for them. There's plenty of titles that don't provide one. Occasionally someone manages to hack an editor for a game that doesn't have one, but that's fairly rare. So it's pretty much only those games where the producer provides the community with the tools it needs in order for people to create their own stuff. The editors Bethesda provided for Oblivion and Fallout are fairly good and relatively easy to use, which is why you'll find so many mods for both of those titles.

Might as well update OOO to http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1099204-relz-oscuros-oblivion-overhaul-133/ right from the start. It's the most stable release yet - and also required if you decide to add MMM or FCOM.

OOO is my favorite mod for Oblivion so I'd definitely recommend it but it does make the game way more challenging, esp. at lower levels. Just so you know.

MMM is already mentioned. It's the perfect companion to OOO IMO.

The site is not just for newbies, it is also about this:

Tuning Oblivion - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=tuning_oblivion
Stabilization and Optimization Mods - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=stabilization_and_optimization_mods <-- I also think you should get Fast Exit 2, and only add WeOCPs if necessary
Oblivion.ini Tweaks - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=oblivion_ini_tweaks
I just realized that the information in the thread is more current than what is on the site for PyFFI. I will have to do something about that. If you are rebuilding, that is something you should at least have a look at:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1091580-tesivpositive-performance-optimiation-stabilization-information/page__view__findpost__p__15926027 <-- near the ...middle?


Edit: I've got a specific recommendation, for quests. The quests are not long, but they are top quality. Gates to Aesgaard Episode I and II.
Downloading Mods - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=downloading_mods#Quests <-- You can find both here