Looking to get back into Oblivion, need some help : IV

» Thu May 19, 2011 10:09 am

Hello,

It's been a loooooong time since I've traversed these lands. I left the modding scene here many moons ago and went to NWN2. For Oblivion I created Anvil Bay Expansion, Windspear Tower, Dragon Invasion and docks of Bravil along with some other areas. I went to NWN2 to create the online persistant world, Baldur's Gate: The Sword Coast Chronicles. I left from there after a couple of years and after a break from games in general I really would like to travel these lands once again.

My problem is I am completely lost. I remember using mod managers etc but I've forgotten pretty much everything at this point. I'm looking for some that shows me how to load what and when on a fresh install. My new PC should be able to handle about anything and I love a heavily modded Oblivion so the more mods the merrier.

Anyone know of a website/websites dedicated to this sort of thing? I went to the Nexus but its so overwhelming at this point I almost decided not to even try. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

» Thu May 19, 2011 9:55 am

Generic copy/paste for topics like this. The first bunch of links includes a link to TESIV Positive which is something that often gets linked to in these topics, I would say check the stickies, but they're bound to be rather outdated. Main utilities are the same as it was a few years back except now theres BOSS to sort your load order, Bain as an alternative to OBMM, and.... that's about it.

EDIT: edited the generic copy/paste a bit, and added some more general utility site links.

Spoiler

Lists and resources for finding many popular mods, and some good mods:
(note the distinction between the two, don't just follow mindless peer pressure, try and make your own opinions and find what you'll like)

List of lists:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?showtopic=1010109
Top 100
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/top/alltime.php
Files of the months:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/filesofthemonth.php
Hall of fame:
http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=oblivionmods.HOF
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/categories.php, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/tags/search.php, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/advancedsearch.php

General help in terms of installing, utilities, workshops, etc.:

http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/
http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/Main_Page
http://tesalliance.org/forums/ (Check The Enclave forum, the Oblivion forum, or the Voice actor forum depending on your pursuits)
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/forum/87-iv-oblivion/ (Hardware/software for non mod related issues, Mods for mod users, Construction set for making mods.)

List of topics exactly like ~~yours~~ generic pleadings for "Any mods?" that have already been answered:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1072579-the-any-mods-list-of-topics/
Read the AZERessential topics to get the basic "get wryebash, OBMM, OBSE, start slow" basic advice for starters recommendations

If you want any further help I suggest you tell us about yourself; what you like and what you're looking for... Here's some questions to get you started:

Have you played Oblivion already?
What sort of things interest you?
What type of Character do you usually play? (good/evil, theif/mage, roleplayer/random-no-story-hack-and-slasher?)
Are there specific types of mods you think would interest you? (Quests, graphic mods, gameplay mods, overhauls, etc.)
When did you leave?
What did you not like about Oblivion? What did Oblivion not have or need more of?
Male or female character?

For the occasional "What are your must haves?"

Mostly quest mods: http://kno.li/i

My favorite quests are:
http://theelderscrolls.info/?go=dlfile&fileid=349 (my most favorite)
http://www.tesnexus.com/modules/members/index.php?id=125368
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21989
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17448
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6977
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6855
Ihttp://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19591

[b]Gameplay mods:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25462
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25835
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22894
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25844
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25844
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26196
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18442
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3409
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21862(good for troubleshooting)
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20736
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20807
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20371 (Needed for Integration)
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22124 (Needed for Integration)

I'm mostly a quest mod player and I recently posted a big rundown for most of them that I've playedhttp://thenexusforums.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=157600&view=findpost&p=1349075 and http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=924363&topic=51137901.

(Some of these are probably outdated by now)
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?act=findpost&pid=15598757
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1073167&view=findpost&p=15603156
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1073167&view=findpost&p=15602927 (Don't really want a lot top 10's or simple lists but I'm desperate for cop/pastes at the moment)
http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1075680&view=findpost&p=15650213

» Thu May 19, 2011 12:08 am

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20516 (Better Oblivion Sorting Software) is a utility which will automatically take care of the majority of mod load order sorting you will need to do. Along with that you should read up on http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22368 which has a whole host of features but most importantly allows the creation of a Bashed Patch which is a plugin loaded last in your load order that allows multiple mods to all work together even when making changes to the same items, NPC's, ect. There is a pictorial guide http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35230 to Wrye Bash that will give you a quick start on how to do several things including how to create a Bashed Patch.

» Thu May 19, 2011 3:13 am

You might grab some ideas from http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1195615-starting-from-scratch/ [it's me being completely noob and reinstalling the game for the nth time].