Hi, I'm from 2007. I've read up, but still need mod recs and lots of advice. To start with, what's the best mod out there to fix all the freakishly ugly NPCs?

I half-remember something about not being able to run multiple race/eye/hair mods at once, even if they alter different races. Is that right? If so, can someone link me a good explanation of the right way to merge these mods? I'm especially worried because part of COBL is a combined cosmetics mod, and other mods rely on COBL, but I want to play a custom race. And relatedly, do body replacers require clothing to use some bizarre new set of slots like Better Bodies in Morrowind (where my character becomes topless if I try to equip vanilla boots), or do clothing mods continue to use the same system as vanilla Oblivion gear?

I'm completely confused by the relationship between HGEC and Eshme's EyeCandy. Some mods are made for one, some for the other, and at least one mod I want to use requires one of the two but doesn't care which. And they have the same name. Help?

Any mods that get my character out of all those skirts and into something she can fight in would be much appreciated. I had Clothing Freedom, but it was incomplete and won't work with body and clothing replacers. Any other recs of clothing mods that look like they belong in the game would be great, too.

And finally! What are some quest mods with good voice acting, and your favorite inventive and visually appealing dungeons?

Thanks.

Tamriel NPCs Revamped is my favorite, and it definitely covers the most NPCs, but there are other options if you're looking just to beautify females. Also, if you like anime-style stuff, check out XEO. I personally don't know too much about that, though. Read my discussion and watch my video of TNR in action http://matthewkaine.blogspot.com/2011/03/tamriel-npcs-revamped.html.


Using a Bashed Patch with Wrye Bash should fix most incompatibilities between cosmetic mods, provided you installed everything in the right order and the plugin files are pre-marked with the appropriate Bash tags (they probably are). You can find Wrye Bash and incredibly detailed instructions on how to install at http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22368.


That one is more accurate. Oblivion clothing should be completely compatible with any body replacer you use. It might look weird if skin is exposed, though, since the original clothing/armor will still be using the default body as a base. Most body replacers come included or have multiple versions of an equipment replacer, though.


If you want to use one of those, I recommend HGEC. It's most current, therefore more widely supported. The reason why there's confusion between the two is because HGEC is capable of using Eyecandy's textures. That's a good thing, though, so if you find some clothing mod that requires EyeCandy, it won't look too weird being worn by your HGEC character. They are two different body shapes, though HGEC has several different options in terms of customizing the look. The easiest method of getting HGEC is through http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24078, which comes with its own clothing/armor replacer.



Though I've never personally used this, you could get http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=37451, which would be compatible with the body replacer I mentioned above and would get rid of skirts with clothing. It says it includes a new Iron lower body, but there aren't any screenshots of it. Just be sure to install this one after EVE.



Other people will have better suggestions for this one, but the largest mod to have both of those things is a Total Conversion mod by the name of Nehrim. It's obviously incompatible with a lot of the stuff I've already mentioned, but you still might be interested. A lot of people have said it was what Oblivion should have been like. I personally prefer just modding Oblivion, but there are others that don't care as much about the lore and such. You can find more about that http://nehrim.de/indexEV.html.

Hope I helped, and welcome back!

For more believable female armour, for the HGEC body ("EBE" shape in particular) the better option on TESNexus would be http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=34242. Again, install after, for example, EVE HGEC as linked above.

The Wrye Bash Pictorial Guide is THE way to start with, well, Wrye Bash. Search the Nexus for that - if it wasn't linked in the previous post, that is.

Otherwise, and as well, be sure to peruse and make use of http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/. It's a gem.

I recommend either the Race Balancing Project (full version, with resources for graphics and stuff) or Cobl Races (with the Cosmetic pack, for graphics) - either will give you a good range of races, plus fix up the vanilla ones. And yes, you can add other races in the mix, no problem at all. They mightn't be perfectly balanced with the others, but frankly, who cares.

I strongly suggest using something like OOO (Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul). There are alternatives, but that's the classic way to start, and is good enough to stick with, if you end up preferring it.

Getting to know how to use Advanced Search at tesnexus.com is VERY useful, as is browsing categories and sorting the resulting lists in a way that helps. In fact, sorting is just handy, no matter how you are using the Nexus at any given time. Partial words are picked up in searches, by the way - worth remembering.

Anyhow, all that is quite relevant, if you're after quests, for instance. Another place worth looking at is http://tesalliance.org/forums/ - some mods there don't get posted at the Nexus, and there's some really good stuff. Also, nice people.

These questions sure get answered a lot but it's nice to see them come up from time to time.

Just checked Matthew_Kaine's blog about the skeleton diversity mod (nice mod btw!)
Talking about the body mods, is there any incompatibility with the skeleton / zombie diversity mods?

Thanks for all the answers, guys. (And the welcome back.) I'm going to look at all the mods and sites you mentioned. I have bookmarked that Nehrim thing and will definitely play it, if probably not for a while yet. It sounds amazing.

From the answers here and from looking at guides, I get the idea Oblivion mods are like Morrowind mods, only way less confusing and without those GMSTs. So that's nice. I am used to the Nexus since I've been using it for Morrowind a lot, but I hadn't really noticed TESA before. And here I thought my modlist was mostly done growing for now.

I suppose I gave the impression I might only care about female NPCs because I was asking about EyeCandy? That was just because I'm not confused about male replacers. Everyone should look their best in my game. Still debating between HGEC and Exnem's. I like that HGEC comes in different shapes, but Exnem's is the only one clearly stating it has an underwear version. I'm not after replacers for the nudity. Many races and clothes just require them. But if arms and ankles showing through armor are actually part of the armor mesh, and HGEC/Exnem textures are interchangeable, I should pretty much be able to use whichever I want, right?

And yeah, this stuff must get asked a lot. I did skim through some stickies and the last two or three "I'm coming back to Oblivion, and..." posts. You should see the stuff I was going to ask about before I did that. Also your sig has saved me having to Google that thing, thanks.

Keep 'em coming.

If you really want to catch up, I suggest reading http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/?page=guides_mod_installation&subpage=complete_installation_guide. It'll help you know the latest and greatest developments since 2007 (a long time ago), but is not meant for mod recommendations, just getting a modded setup right. Or else, you'll have no fun troubleshooting your crashes. :grad:

PS: Ninja'ed by Breton Paladin. Same website he linked (Tomlong's excellent guide).

Like I said earlier about face improvements, Tamriel NPCs Revamped is your best option when it comes to both genders. Some NPCs will still look a bit funny, but it's a massive improvement in terms of beautification in comparison to original Oblivion. http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22787 focuses a lot more on making everyone as beautiful as possible, but just keep in mind that the look is very anime-style. Does that help clarify?


Correct. HGEC definitely comes with an underwear version, and there are multiple sizes for the underwear versions as well. When you install EVE through the Oblivion Mod Manager, it will ask you which version you would prefer. The nvde version is never required for clothing and armor mods, it just is more realistic for your character to not be wearing underwear under some of the super revealing stuff. I would give examples, but you probably can use your imagination.


The skeletons and zombies from both my mod and Zombie Diversity use their own models and are set up as creatures, so there shouldn't be any incompatibility, no. I run them with no issues with Robert's Male and Female.

I understood about TNR and XEO.

I'll probably end up with HGEC, then. And I know exactly the errors you're talking about with underwear versions. I've edited my own custom Better Bodies textures before just to stop having that problem in Morrowind.

I have three "TESIV:POSI..." tabs open right now.