Hi all. I understand this kind of question gets asked a lot around here... but I'm wanting to play with some mods, and need some advice.

After hearing about OOO and MMM (is there a GGG?) I think that FCOM will be good for me. I take it this mod is recommended?

So that leaves me with finding a mod for improving the gfx. Any suggestions?

Are there any other must haves that are not included in the above? I'm not going to be using many mods, as I just want to play and not have to read through endless threads finding out about compatibility issues.

Many thanks

My "Top Ten":

1. http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=3953 by Oscuro, dev_akm, MadCat221. Not just a 'creature-adding' mod, not just a 'difficulty' mod, not just a 'gameplay-tweaking' mod, Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul is actually one of the finest finest roleplaying mods around. http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=1757 by Martigen, Corepc Dev_Akm Shadowborn is the perfect complement to Oscuro, adding much-needed spontaneity to Oscuro's static world. Crank Martigen's mod all the way up and Oblivion will feel as wonderfully unpredictable as an MMO. These mods are so inseparable to me I count them as one.

2. http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=2764 by, of course, DarN.
This essential mod goes a long way toward making Oblivion's consolized interface useable. Configurable from within the game via a menu.

3. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14065 by tej?n, or http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13879 bu ABO.
Two excellent character-levelling mods that do away with stat management, excel spreadsheets, visits to Wiki pages, etc, to research "builds". With these mods a player can just play and let a mod handle leveling seamlessly and invisibly in the background. I tend to prefer RL but I am using nGCD in my current game and am very impressed.

4. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14304 by tej?n.
This mod allows the player to control the speed of advancement of each skill. Easily configurable via an .ini.

5. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11237 by tej?n. (I tell you, I believe my games would be practically unplayable without tej?n.)
Willpower again has an affect on the player's vulnerabilty to magic, as in previous ES games.

6. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7484 by Deathless Aphrodite.
Makes the player lose fatigue when running. When the player's fatigue hits 0 he starts to walk. Also allows the player to sprint for a brief time.

7. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25078 by TheNiceOne.
Using this mod merchants' gold goes up and down with each trade. Also does away with the haggle slider (what a relief!) Allows the player to specify how much gold they recive from looting containers, enemies, as quest rewards, etc. All configurable via .ini.

8. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4387 by CorePC. Adds much-needed life to Cyrodiil's roads. The merchants are great if you like to spend extended time away from cities as I do.

9. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16513 by Bananasplit, Wolfslady, Reckless, SilentResident, Nernie, Vorians and last but not least, Ismelda.
The way the cities of Tamriel should have looked. Spend hours wandering around like a tourist, awestruck at how different (and gorgeous) everything looks. Comes in modular form - you can choose to redo all of Cyrodiil's cities or just one. It's your choice.

10. http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25023 by Iliana.
An ambitious project whose aim is to recreate the province of Elseweyr, home to Khajiits and, of course, Moon Sugar.

For the graphics, look at http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/obliviontextureoverhaul.html.

Thanks guys. What about the unofficial patch?

It seems there are a heap of cool mods out there, but this is when I start to get the dread feeling. How do I make sure mod x doesn't break the game with Mob Y installed?

I'd take a look at this thread: http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1004123

You dont have to do everything in it, but it will get you started out. I'm currently working my way through it. I've modded the game before, but it's been a long time since so I'm starting from scratch again.

Yes, that statement is very true, lol. I personally think that if you follow every step in that guide, your headache will greatly increase.

My advice,

Get Oblivion Mod Manager
Get the Unofficial Oblivion Patch
Get OOO 1.33 Omod version, and OOO 1.34 beta5

Play the game for ten or twenty hours then think about expanding your mod list.

After that, perhaps add a quest mod.

Believe me, with OOO you will see profound changes in the gameplay, as well as plenty of added content.

I recommend thinking very hard against adding FCOM if you have a headache right now. Aside from being the biggest mod out there in terms of how much is needed for it to work, it's also the biggest headache for many people. At least when I trying to figure out what I wanted in my game.
I also don't recommend installing OOO without playing vanilla for a bit. I personally think it's better to know what you're changing before you change it. OOO is great, don't get me wrong, but it's a overhaul in the truest sense. Instead of things leveling around you so that the game is always kind of challenging(vanilla leveling of NPCs and equipment), it makes it so the world is more static, but less focused on the player(further away from a town you go, tougher the dungeons get, save for one dungeon right near the IC). Many people love it, I found it to be a bit too insane for my tastes.
While it contains many good functions that I wish I could get elsewhere(gem magic, gold clutter), I find it to be not worth my pitiful mind.

No it's not actually, at least not for people who are new to mods. It's quite complex when it comes to installation and not recommended for anyone who doesn't already have a fairly good knowledge of mods. If all you really want is OOO and MMM, there's really no reason why you can't use both. MMM has patches that allow it to work with OOO.

And also, there's the http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=820948&hl= if you want to look at the other scaling overhauls.

Greetings http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1072579&hl=.

I'd have to agree with those saying avoid FCOM for now.Much better to start out slow with small, isolated, non conflicting mods that are stable and made by "trusted members of the community". With FCOM you can screw things up many waysand you might not like some ofthe changes.

Really it's best to fine tune your modding to what You want, sooo.... what do you want? (Check post number 4 of the topic I linked to and answer all those questions.)

If you want a headache, take a look at my mod list.

How to install Oblivion properly: http://www.tesnexus.com/articles/article.php?id=124

Do not install FCOM, OOO, PUD, or LICKME. Start slow. Work your way up from there. Those mods are very complicated on every level. Instead take a look at a list of easily installable mods that I deem worthy IMHO.

Go to http://www.sulteric.com and go to the Oblivion Mods link at the top. Also has links to my companions.

Thanks all. Probably should've said at the start, I played Oblivion a lot back in the day. I've also tried a few mods already, such as OOO (older version).