Hello Oblivion, its been a while.


First let me say i searched the forums and mod sites for a couple days now and went through quite a few recommended mod guide's and read a lot of threads on recommended mods but didn't really find all the answer's i was looking for, plus i have nothing else to do while i download mods and drink coffee so i made a thread to pass the time and get some opinions.


My last playthrough was a couple years ago and i had ton's of mods ( close to 200 i think) pretty much everything i could get in it. Full Fcom+all ass on's and all recommended mods from the fcom site, Delte's immersion thread etc, all the large quest mods, all the villages/town/houses, every major dungeon mod, QTP3 as well as about 15 other texture packs to fill the gaps, every new feature and cool add on i could get etc etc... you can see i had mod fever bad, and on top of that this was a build up of mods over a LONG time ( year or so) so you can imagine the amount of things that were "messed up". It was still an amazing setup yet lacked stability obviously, but i managed to get several amazing playthrough's with it.


This time im going for a more minimalist install but still try to cover the 'whole Oblivion experience" as much as i can, focusing on fully featured mods that cover a large area rather than 10 smaller mods that do the same thing. I pretty much want to create a "realistic" fantasy world that feels real and alive generally has a great RP atmosphere. What i am looking for in this thread is feedback, opinions, and general tips on area's i may have overlooked or neglected and could be filled in easily, as well as recommendation on any area's i missed.

Also please point out any instability/compatibility issues i may have over looked or any outdated mods that have been replaced by others or mods that may cover a something i already have, but in a "better" way. Im going to make a list here of all the mods i have so far for my planed install as well as mods i consider a "core" for this playthrough and mods im not sure about, so far i have a vanilla install of the GOTY edition, i have all needed unofficial patches but just haven't started installing anything yet. I want to get the list finalized somewhat before i do anything, im mainly looking to get at least 2-3 mods in each section without going too overboard.

(wow i just noticed this has turned into a book and i haven't even started yet , sorry people haha) Anyway here goes)


(Core) I will start with what i would like to be my "core" overhaul mods and list other add on sections under it.

-T.I.E 1.48 (full)
-Alternate Beginnings
-Enhanced Economy
-SDR
-Unnecessary violence II
-B.I.E-vampires
-Companion Vilja + Red Rose Manor
-Reneer's Guard Overhaul
-CobL (full install)


(Weather) possible Core mod

-Weather- All natural

(Magic) Unsure but possible Core mods

-Supreme Magic Updated im leaning toward because it is listed to work with SDR as far as the magic sneak addition of SM goes.
-Midas Magic I would love to use this but its a huge mod and not sure how compatible it would be with my setup
-L.A.M.E+Supreme Magic could be a good combination


(Sound)

-Symphony of violence
-Sounds of Cyrodiil + Heart of the Dead/Knights of the nine Add on's
-Oblivion Stereo Overhaul
-Storms and Sound
-Atmospheric Oblivion


(Textures) i want to cover as much as i can with larger texture pack's rather than downloading 20 different mods, im sure i left a LOT of holes but this should be a decent base.

-The full line of Vibrant Texture mods
-Lush and Gaudy Florina Gloria
-Lush and Gaudy Interior's and exterior's (semi vanilla standalone version's)
-Enhanced Night Sky
-Animated window Lighting System
-RAEVWD


(Creatures) I was looking to get a small creature pack or 2 in without going as far as MMM

-Lore Creatures Expansion looks like a good choice and would fit well, but not sure about compatibility with T.I.E


(People) unsure

-I have left this section empty for the most part, so far Cobl is the only thing i have effecting races as far as i know, i don't plan to use any of the new body mods packs that require different armor or other things, but i am open to simple mods that make faces/skin/textures ( the only thing i really see on npc's) look better and goes with cobl races. ( i think cobl races covers hair/eyes as an option but haven't checked the newer versions)


(Player Progression) unsure

- this section is empty as well, i used nGCD with my last install, but was interested in Progress but it has been changed to Fundament and im not sure how it works so leveling is vanilla for now but open for recommendations.


(Quests) i have focused on large "fully featured" or "must have' quest mods that have Some Voice Acting but im sure i missed a lot, this is leaving out a lot of really amazing mods but i had to start somewhere as there are so many.

-Reclaiming Sancre Tor
-Verona House Bloodlines* added (SI fixed version)
-Heart of the dead
-Tears of the Fiend
-The Forgotten Shields
-Malevolent* added
-Blood and Mud (pending)
-Thievery in the Imperial City+Lynges Thieves Highway* removed-incompatibility's


(Towns/Villages etc) only have a couple so far and again im looking for mainly voice acting and RP that add's a lot to the games "real world feel" and i KNOW iv missed some real gems so please let me know of them.

-Bartholm
-Wellspring Vale
-AFK Weye


(Travel)

-Cyrodiil Travel Service


(New Environments)

-Unique Landscapes Compilation* added (still a 'maybe" depending on how many patches it needs when my list is final)


(Survival+Immersion)

- Basic Primary Needs* added
- Camping


(Crafting+Alchemy)

- I havent looked into these yet but im sure there are some fantastic mods for it, Red Rose Manor and Cobl could cover this section though.
-Tamrielic Ingredients


(Graphics)

-Haven't listed anything in this section yet as im still not sure what is out there but im very open to OBGE recommendations as well as others.


(Interface)

-Darnified UI* added
-Immersive Interface* removed-obsolete


(Tools)
-Wrye Bash
-Bain
-Boss
-OBmm
-TES4edit* added


(Other) these are mostly mods that are needed by other mods or ones that complement them

-Obse
-Obsr
-MenuQue
-NifSe 1.1
-HuD Status bars
-Enhanced Hotkeys
-AddActorValues
-elys uncapper
-Universal Silent Voice* added


Well so far this is what i have and im willing to add/remove things from any section, i know i have left some holes and missed some real "gems" and "must have's" but hopefully there are some helpfull people who don't mind leaving opinions, recommendations and general help filling in holes and avoiding conflicts or useing old mods that have been replaced or outdated, while focusing on "More from less is better", I.E 50-ish mods rather than 200+ =)


** I will edit the OP to reflect any added,removed or adjusted mods based on feedback and recommendations in the thread, and a BIG thank you to those who have and will soon add their own opinions and comments.

You will not have too many UL patches with the mods you listed. Worth having.

I was playing with a new install the other day (around IC) and noticed without UL Imperial Isle the trees from Lush and Gaudy are a bit disconnected from the ground in more places than if using the UL.

For realism try Basic Primary Needs.

For Leveling you might want to give Oblivion XP a try. Fundament and Bundlement are pretty good too once you figure these out. Or stick with nGCD and progress, you do not have to get the latest and greatest, as this is only leveling you are looking at

Ya i was reading about Fundament but (at least to me) it didn't really read like it was actually a leveling/progression overhaul but maybe i was just missing the finer points, i was pretty happy with nGCD but im not sure if i used it together with Progress but the combination does ring a bell. I will read into Oblivion XP and see how it looks and works and check compatibility, thank you for the recommendation.

It is actually Bundlement (comes with Fundament I think) that does the leveling. Un-comment some lines and you are good to go. The documentation is in the ini files and quite thorough if you can understand it.

Missing Integration: The Stranded Light in the quest category. It does a lot of things the best: choices, skill/race checks, multiple solutions, immersion, lore, romance, characters, dialogue, etc.

Doesn't require RBP or LAME and has no gameplay changes with the integrated version.

Also try the paladin mod The Hand of Arkay by Pimpskinny and the vampire hunting mod if you are into such thing. There are other mods that expands on Dark Brotherhood quests such as the Dark Brotherhood Chronicles if you play a stealthy/assasin type.

This is something i wanted to play a long while back but always have a different mod setup that conflicted with RBP and LAME and again i fine my self in the same situation, the no gameplay changes version is a good alternative for someone who really wants to play it without RBP/Lame, but it is highly recommended not too, it does work yes, but RBP/Lame were part of the core of the mod and lots of things are effected by not useing them , i feel it would not be worth it to play without them, but i will look into RBP/Lame and see if they interest me enough to make the switch, thank you.



The "Vampire Hunting" quest sounds good but looks to be very much a work in progress and also requires an alternate world space mod that is also very much WiP and im looking to focus ( if i can help it) on fully released mods for the most part.

The paladin mod looks great, i have never played as a 'holy" character as i tend to play the "shadowKnight" type , but this mod gives the holy type much interest. also i will look into the DB add on's and might add them, thank you very much for the recommendations.

You really like commas, don't you?

Thievery in the imperial city and Reclaiming Sancre Tor are incompatible. They both place a door in the same spot in the marketplace, although there may be other conflicts too.

Immersified Interface is obsolete at this point. Darnified UI or DarkDarn UI (just a darker version) does everything Immersive Interface does and more.

You didn't list TES4Edit in you list of tools. It is essential for cleaning dirty mods.
Info on mod cleaning:
http://tescosi.com/wiki/Oblivion:Basic_Plugin_Cleaning
http://cs.elderscrolls.com/index.php/TES4Edit_Cleaning_Guide

Sure do, , is > than . anyday





Thank you for letting me know, i removed the incompatible mod as noted and switched to Darn UI, also thank you very much for the mod cleaning tip, its something i never did "back in the day" and im really interested in learning hot to do it now.

You're also going to need Universal Silent Voice http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16622

This is something i am still debating, im thinking about amending my mod list slightly to focus purely on voiced mods if possible, it would lend more to the minimalist install and help keep immersion clean and RP solid, but it might force me to miss out on some of the most amazing quest mods if i do.

Vampire Hunting mod that I'm referring to is not WIP. It's compatible with the vanilla quest. Check it out here: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30568 and then when you're done with the vanilla main quest check this out: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14601.

Yes that's the one i was reading into, these are the things that led me to think it is still very much a WiP


"This mod is still being polished. Needs more play-testing, proofreading, and tuning. Some
parts of the mod are very old and highly-polished, but things have been revised and new content has been
created. New content means new bugs. There is always one more bug hiding somewhere."

"Part of the issues stem from merging what amounts
to five mods and trying to be compatible with several others."


"Incomplete portions of the mod:
One new Kendrel quest (Work suspended at this time.)
Caldera Update - two new locations to be added (Work suspended at this time.)"


Im sure the mod is fully woorking and playable but to me it still sounds like something that needs a lot of fine tuning, but i could be wrong so im going to check it out. Thank you very much for reminding me about Bloodlines it is very good and i almost overlooked it.

That's true; a lot of the major quests are not fully voice acted (and, frankly, I'm not a big fan of some of the voice acting that is available.) It doesn't hurt to install Elys' Universal Silent Voice; it only gets used if a given line of dialogue is missing an MP3 file.

The incomplete parts are rather minor, there's a whole lot of quests that are working perfectly. I would recommend the mod as well.

You don't miss out on too much, the new races are still there, you can still choose from the new races, about all that's really missing in terms of directly quest related content is LAME's spells. There's one situation where a LAME spell is the primary solution to a side quest, but in that case there's still a scroll of the spell in question that you can use.

But if you are considering COBL races it's worth noting that COBL races is pretty much an outdated version of RBP,Though, I believe COBL races has a cosmetics only option, which is probably what you were going for.. Also LAME works great with Supreme Magicka.

Yes that is a good point, iv been reading them all and it looks like Integration+RBP+LAME would work well with my planed install. but it leaves me at a difficult fork in the road when it comes to voice or no voice. I know not all of the mods with voice acting even do a good job at it , that why i try to focus on one's i know are considered "AAA" , but i also know some of the best mod's ever made done have voice acting. ( i don't even remember if every npc in vanilla is voiced )

The question is, should i trim my list down and try to stick with the few "AAA" voiced mods and go for a smaller more streamlined playthrough and attempt to make the mods i choose feel like they were a part of the game its self (going from 95% voiced to no voice can be jarring) OR should i go for more content and add some of the amazing deep mods with no voice.


I would like to say i LOVE reading, and have no problem with none voiced mods at all as they can be some of the best but my original plan was to get a quick minimal install that cover's as much area as possible and try to create a living breathing RP world while at the same time sticking to the original quality and feel of the game , i only bring voice up because its one of the most jarring things you run into aside from visual oddity's.


P.S- Something i just thought about, many people feel very strongly that voice can actually be a bad thing and consider turning voices fully off to be the best way to go for full RP and immersion, so maybe that would be the absolute best way to go, but i almost feel i would miss out of some situation when i cant hear NPC's talking .

I updates the OP and im coming close to a final list for now, but i would still like some of the empty area's looked at and any more incompatibility's taken care of before Monday when i play to start installing everything , so if you bored and feel like helping drop me some comments !!

Since you're going to be good enough to install and use UVII (no comments about the quality voice acting ) I'll try and make a point of uploading my fix for the first person stuff tonight. It removes a lot of nasty dependancies and stops it making your first person game look strange - basically removes all the "third person animations in first person" stuff that I never liked. I've not touched oblivion since skyrim came out but i'm going to change that tonight once I"ve had my dinner.

HeX

Thank you very much that would be awesome, i do plan to play mostly in First person view so this would help me greatly.

I have also been playing Skyrim pretty much non stop since release and it is an amazing game, i cant count the number of times i have said "wow i used to have to mob Oblivion to do that". I think that is really what got me wanting to come back to Oblivion to see what amazing mods have been released and i figured by the time i get through a really good playthrough the CK will be out and there will be some great skyrim mods released.

I'm sure you know the anti-voices arguments: beggars with two voices, mod characters with two voices(one for mod dialogue, and the default ones for combat and random comments in most cases), a world inhabited by a total of like 5 different voices and that's it, less dialogue in mods, etc.

Personally I don't care either way. I almost never notice it whether the person I'm talking to is saying things or not... I guess maybe because I automatically imagine a voice for them, or maybe because Oblivion's voice acting and dialogue svcks so bad that I usually just speed read and click through everything (if a mod has good dialogue I usually read it slower and imagine a voice if it doesn't have voice acting. to each their own I guess The only difference I ever notice between voice acted and not voice acted, is usually when it's voice acted the person seems less real because they basically just say: " Hi i'm blank, here's a little about me, go do this for me!" Like having actual dialogue is more of an afterthought and a chore than something that is supposed to engross you in the story, get to know people, and feel like you're actually interacting with a real person. I guess if I had to describe it simply it's like either talking to an interesting mute person, or a parakeet. I prefer the mute person.
I do have voice acting on and I do use plenty of voice acted mods, it's just as I'm playing them I always have this feeling like: "Okay this is quest giver guy, that's villain guy, that's comic relief guy, and that's sultry lady" instead of: "Hey, what's up Frank, Bill, Jack, and Mandy?"

Also Verona House bloodlines is only like 50% voice acted. Also, maybe get Malevolent. It's fully voice acted. Depending on your good/evilness ratio there's also Dremora companion, and Servant of the Dawn which I believe are fully voice acted.