Vanilla or Mod : IV - Oblivion

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 4:21 pm

I do prefer mods, but it has been a terrible PITA to install / reinstall them. Granted, my video-card is not appropriate for O, which is why I am not playing it, but when I think what I have to dl to 'enjoy' that extra content.... SI Patch, UnOP, SI UnOP, (and guess what, an EXTRA UnP...), OBSE, OMM - Then start with the so called mods, like DarNified UI (God, how terrible O's UI is....), but not before reading if I need Wrye Bash (or whatever it's called), run conflict reports, etc.... This has seriously brought me doubts about whether I'd reinstall O *again*, even with the right equipment, it's just too f** much work...

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:59 pm

I use mods, I create mods. But I would never play any game without a run-through of the unmodded version to find out what changes are needed.

How far that needs to go will vary from game to game, but for Oblivion, I'd added body mods, textures mods, unofficial patches etc. before I'd got out of the Tutorial Dungeon. There are so many mods that don't change the way the game plays, but enhance the experience of doing so, that it's pointless not to use them. And then there are mods that do change the way the game plays, for the developer choices you disagree with. The quantity of mods available, and the way the game is made to welcome them, mean that Oblivion without mods is just self-denial.

My "unmodified" setup, that I use for testing my own mods, has about thirty mods in it that I now consider part of the basic game!

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:17 am

mods all the way.i enjoyed the vanilla experience for a while on PS3,then i got it on PC and discovered modding.been playing it like that since.for a long time i was pure console player,this has been my first outing into PC gaming and i cant imagine playing oblivion without mods now.ive got the full FCOM set-up going on,with many visual and aural improving mods,midas magic with LAME,Deadly reflex(wont put ver.6 in until the next reinstall)mixed with unneccessary violence and DMC stylish for combat.my long term character is a race added by mods,an elf,her name is arwynn,and she dominates cyrodiil.im not sure i can remember the vanilla weapons and armors now,as i havent used them in a while.mods definately add life to the game.and longetivity.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:13 pm

Vanilla. :liplick:

Sure, I'd mod if I had a PC, but Im perfectly happy with the game as it is.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:24 am

for Oblivion, I'd added body mods, textures mods, unofficial patches etc. before I'd got out of the Tutorial Dungeon.

That sounds familiar. Before Oblivion came out my partner, Brash, and I made a solemn vow that we would play at least the main quest without using mods. We couldn't do it. We just couldn't do it. Within days she had to mod the game to remove those horrible, constantly spammed messages on the screen informing her whenever she entered a new cell. What was Bethesda thinking? They go to all the trouble to create the illusion of an open world and then they destroy it with on-screen messages.

After that, the floodgates were open for us. Within two weeks of the game's release both of us were running at least 15 mods. There were just too many annoying things that needed to be changed.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:10 pm

Mods all the way. It just adds so much that Bethesda left out. The realism mods available make the game so much more immersive.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:09 pm

I use quite a few mods. Oblivion would have lasted maybe 100 hours for me without mods. With them, I'm still playing after 3 years. Even if you prefer the game in it's original spirit, there are mods that merely enhance and don't change the feel of the game.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:22 am

I'm still playing after over two years without so much as glancing at a mod and I'm very happy with the game as it is. I don't have much of a choice, as I don't have a decent PC to use for gaming, but even if given the ability to mod, I don't believe that I would. Oblivion, as created by Bethesda Game Studios (including KotN and SI), is my favorite game of all time.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:06 am

I played the Vanilla game for many years, on the Xbox and the Ps3. Now though I have a PC capable of actually running it on max, and already I've compiled a list of some 200 mods, many of which major and game changing. From what I've seen so far it's like an entirely different game.
Everything looks better, visually. People and places are much more diverse.
Landscapes are changed and unique landmarks are everywhere.
Many more enemies and bosses, quests to explore, treasures to find...
Plus overhaul mods like OOO and MMM make the game play differently, with Enhanced Economy and (maybe) Deadly Reflex later on, it's like I'm playing Elder Scrolls V already...

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 2:01 am

Within days she had to mod the game to remove those horrible, constantly spammed messages on the screen informing her whenever she entered a new cell. What was Bethesda thinking? They go to all the trouble to create the illusion of an open world and then they destroy it with on-screen messages.

Loading Area...

Yeah that was pretty awful.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:26 pm

After playing Morrowind, I can't stand seeing every bandits and marauders in Glass and Ebony/Daedric armor.

So I use some mods yes.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 3:41 am

Mods for me. I played for a long time on the Console vanilla style, but after a year, and having done everything. I decided it was best to venture into the world of Mods.

Never looked back, my game looks and plays so much better; it's made my favourite game of all time, perfect. I've still yet to try complete overhauls like FCOM, but I have experienced a lot of mods, from new locations to graphic enhancers; and there are a few that I have grown to not be able to play without.
^_^

My favourite weapon in the Vanilla game was definitley Goldbrand, and my favoruite armour was Daedric; which I still use a fair bit in my modded games.
I just love that there is so much variety, you can almost do anything.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:23 am

Only ever played it on PS3, clocked up over 600 hours on vanilla.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:11 am

Mods - I wouldn't touch the game without them, unless it's while installing the first mod.

currently, these are my most important mods: (Spoiler tags for the length of the list)

Spoiler

No permanent enchant glow
Burning Kvatch
Darker Nights
All Natural (weather mod)
All Natural Real Lights
Alternate Start Revamped
Bob's Armory
Chase Camera Mod (removes the camera-delay in 3rd person)
Darker Dungeons
DLC's + unofficial pathes (all of them)
Dungeon Actors have Torches
FCOM (Francesco's, WarCry, Oscuro's Overhaul, Marts Monster Mod)
FCOM Archery overhaul
FCOM Realswords addon
Frans lvl 30 items
Harvest (shows which plants / containers you harvested / opened, included in ooo but also available stand-alone)
Immersive Interiors
Jov's Mage Gloves
Living Economy
MMM Dungeons addon
MMM Gems and Gemdust addon
MMM Hunting and crafting addon
Merchants always buy stolen items (How the heck should they know how i acquired things?)
Natural Rings Limit (I have more than 2 fingers.)
Unofficial Oblivion Patch, Citadel Door Fix and Vampire Aging
Reznod's Manequins
Waterfish addon (adds passive fish to the game)
Shorter Grass v3
Sleep / Rest / Wait anytime
Stealth Overhaul (great mod, one of the effects is making daggers much more effective when sneak-attacking. After all, how hard is it to cut a sleeping person's throat!?)
Toggleable Quantity Prompt (allows selling/taking 1 or all by using control or shift while clicking - must have)
Clearer underwater
Visual Enchantments (adds fire / frost / shock effects to weapons, much nicer than vanilla)
OBSE, plus a batched patch with various tweaks
Different texture replacers

I've got a whole lot more thats not mentioned here.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:24 pm

Vanilla, only expansions...

Even if I had PC I wouldn't mod. Truly, I tried it with Morrowind, but I continuously went back to vanilla. I guess I'm just weird like that.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 11:20 pm

I'm still playing after over two years without so much as glancing at a mod and I'm very happy with the game as it is. I don't have much of a choice, as I don't have a decent PC to use for gaming, but even if given the ability to mod, I don't believe that I would. Oblivion, as created by Bethesda Game Studios (including KotN and SI), is my favorite game of all time.

You're like me. A friend of mine told me when he got oblivion first that there's many annoying things in it that will force even me to mod (I played vanilla morrowind for years). I told him not a chance but he swore I would. Years later and I'm still playing vanilla. I have a pretty good computer as well. I can mod to my heart's content. I just choose not too.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:39 pm

Well maybe I'm weird, but I've never used mods in my life, and I'm a PC user. I think it has something to do with me feeling that mods will feel out of place and shabby since they've been created by someone random out there, or perhaps it's about the game not feeling like 'a game' and more like a reckless network of attachments and stuff. It feels kind of like cheating to me.
I dunno, I'm weird. :S

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 1:40 am

Well maybe I'm weird, but I've never used mods in my life, and I'm a PC user. I think it has something to do with me feeling that mods will feel out of place and shabby since they've been created by someone random out there, or perhaps it's about the game not feeling like 'a game' and more like a reckless network of attachments and stuff. It feels kind of like cheating to me.
I dunno, I'm weird. :S

Not too weird. I like being able to enjoy a game as the devs envisioned or designed it, pure and unadvlterated. Just keep in mind though, a lot of the mods out there enhance visuals, sound, and streamline some gameplay stuff rather than flat out cheat. I am playing on a 360 so it's strictly vanilla for me, that is, until I get my new computer. Sadly, my computer was outdated when Oblivion was released (the main reason I never looked into buying it), and it's only now that I'm replacing it. So, I'll be playing several characters through on the unmodded 360 version and then I'll go back and mess around with the PC version and mods galore. Plan on doing the same with FO3.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 10:59 pm

Its Vanilla for me even though I have Oblivion for PC and 360.

My favorite weapon is Umbra and my Favorite Armor would have to be either The Dark Seducers Armor Set or the Glass Armor Set.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:58 am

Mods right from the start for landscape reasons. Call me shallow but the mid to distant grass and vegetation mods that came out shortly after the game's release really improved the look of the landscape imo. I wasn't happy with the vanilla look of those areas. Then the landscape mods got more extensive over the years some of which I use.

Ok, I should add that an official patch made those areas look better. But..too late, I got hooked on mods that went way beyond landscapes. So here I am with the game all clogged up with over a hundred mods many of which I just had to have like the no borders (no invisible walls), natural weather, houses, houses in the sky, etc.

» Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:15 am

Vanilla, im playing on PS3 with GOTY, Platinum.

» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:27 pm

Mods all the way, been playing oblivion since it came out, and before that morrowind. I love to play the game standard at first, but after that it's non-stop mods. It can add depth to parts of the game that where lacking before, and with such brilliant overhaul mods like ooo just add a level of playability that renews the game.
Although yes some mods may be built poorly or not work at all, there are thousands of good mods that work and look professional. Also all the unofficial patches are made by modders and they fix soooo many bugs and glitches that the devs left untouched.