Heya and thanks for clickin' that link...

I've reinstalled Oblivion, and am working on a new mod build before I make my character. Here's what I have so far:

FCOM
Qarl's TP3
Frostcrag Reborn
Better Cities
Unique Landscapes
Lost Spires
Blood & Mud
Let the People Drink
TDA's Armory
Aegis of the North
Natural Environments
? ENB Series

Mods with a ? next to them have not yet been researched and downloaded.

I'd like to find more graphics-enhancing mods, quest mods, armor mods, perhaps body mods (if some exist that actually add to realism instead of detracting from it), more quest mods, and perhaps companions. Quest mods are probably what I need more of most (especially voiced ones), since they actually add to the length of the game. I'd like to use my old bashed patch for FCOM, and I'm hoping that BOSS and OBMM will handle the rest.


So, what is everyone else enjoying these days? How many mods can I hope to pile into this list before instability sets in? I'd rather have everything semi-finalized before making my new character.

Performance should be a nonissue, as this will be running with a Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4 GHz (overclockable if necessary), 4GB DDR3 memory, and a Radeon HD 5770 (1GB version) on a 1440x900 screen.

Unique Landscapes...all except Imperial Isle.

All Oblivifall mods...

Not sure what you mean with that but you definitely need to rebuild the Bashed Patch for your new install. Generally, you should rebuild it each time you update/add mods or change the load order. Also, update Wrye Bash to the latest version as it has new tags for the Bashed Patch that are tailor made for FCOM.

Use QTP3 Redimized as it saves a lot of VRAM.

EVE HGEC is a nice female body replacer which has support for FCOM and also is easy to install. For males I think Robert's is the only option really.

RAEVWD is wonderful - with your rig I'd definitely recommend it.

All Natural and Animated Window Lighting System and Chimneys are excellent as well.

Armamentarium gives an almost endless variety to weapons/armor ingame.

Here's a couple from off the top of my head:
Quest: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13714
Gates to Asegaard (http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13814 & http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21693)
Companions: http://www.tesnexus.com/modules/members/index.php?id=379462 are pretty well done (uses CM Partners).

While not a quest mod per se, this one will definitely help you get the most out of the loot you acquire while on your quests: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1093612-relz-enhanced-economy/ (that, and I was just giving it my "thumbs up" over in its thread, so it's fresh in my mind)! Besides the loot, it just helps the economy of Cyrodiil make a lot more sense. Check out the rest of TheNiceOne's mods as well.

Hope that helps,
veg

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28977 - a nice companion mod
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21176 - a nice quest mod
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18305 - a nice weather mod

I also second vegtabill's recommendation for Enhanced Economy, as well as anything else http://www.tesnexus.com/modules/members/index.php?id=956375 has done (especially Map Markers Overhaul). You may look at EE and think you don't need or want all it does, and it is entirely configurable. You can pick and choose exactly what you want.

Edit: Oh, and if you play in 3rd person, I would recommend http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24589, so your character actually looks around when you move the mouse rather than straight ahead all the time.

Nice selection there. Many things *I* would add, but it's all a matter of taste. As for ENB, it's pretty neat. However, I'm totally OBGE's beeyatch now. For a time, I was seeing, um using, both of them, but ENB and me, we had to part ways in the end.



For graphics enhancement, you're on the right track(s) already, IMO, but also check out LOD replacers if you've not already, and er, whatever else appeals. There's a big ol' registry of quest mods... somewhere... wish I could remember where. Armour... too many to list here. Bodies - check out The Girl Next Door (that's the mod's name) or maybe Robert's Female, or Bab's; they are all considered by some to be more "realistic" than, say, HGEC. Male bodies, there's only one name in town - Robert's, like it or lump it; however, the "Average" option for that might be suitable...?



RBP and LAME are musts for me. Cobl Races is a lighter alternative to RBP, where preferred. Naturally, Cobl itself, regardless. Oblivifall (everything!) too. Integration. Enhanced Daedric Invasion... Again, just way too many to list. Or, you know, remember.



Solid. :rock:

Integration, All Natural, RAEVWD, Heart of the Dead, and Auriel's Retreat have now been downloaded. I'm now working on QTP3 Redimized, Bomret's SI textures, and TES4LODGen.Probably COBL, too. I'm shying away from economy mods due to the problem I had with my last build: After every merchant's gold was all spent, there was no one left to sell items to. Realistic, well-made armor mods (non shiny) are always needed, but TDA's "neutral" armor set suits me fairly well. I'm not sure which Magic Enhancement mod would suit me best...

In combat, my character (Nord, Atronach birthsign) tends to use a modded-in sceptre to steal magicka from his foes, which he stores up and releases in the form of massive frost attacks. Mods to help with that would be fine, but Oblivion's standard mechanics work well enough.

If Robert's male and HGEC female are the only body mods supported by FCOM, then they'll have to do.

OBGEv2 looks amazing, and I'll definitely be using it.

Thanks for all the help you've given so far. folks! Additional suggestions are still very welcome, since I'm not even close to being finished yet!

These are the collection of mods I use with every character.

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.

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. I modify it with one of Luchaire's re-colorings, either http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16387 or http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16897 I also use http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14822 by WillieSea and http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19063 by Badmagic to enliven the map with color and to replace what I consider to be ugly map markers with more aesthetically pleasing X's.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14065 by tejon, 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.

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

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11237 by tejon. Willpower again has an affect on the player's vulnerability to magic, as in previous ES games.

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.

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.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2037 by Quarn and Dejunai.
Removes flowers from plants after you have picked them. This is a great little visual aid when picking many plants very close together.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1840 by Woodman, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=21 by Tandem, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5138 by Soor, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5919 by b3w4r3, http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=129 by Talonhoff and http://morrowind4kids.com/pseronwyrd/PWRunSpeed.zip by Pseron Wyrd are a collection of small tweak mods that I cannot bear to play without. Chase Camera Mod is essential to me because I play exclusively in third person and will quickly become nauseous without it; Bethesda went to great lengths to create the illusion of a seamless worl when they made Oblivion and then went and ruined it by spamming messages onto the player's screen everytime they enter a new cell, and No Load gets rid of that; Initial Glow gets rid of what I consider to be a very ugly 'plastic wrap' enchantment effect; Sleep Rest Wait Any Time, because no game has any business telling me when I can sleep, or where; No Psychic Guards tones down guards' clairvoyance a little bit; Run Speed Tweak slows down the base running/walking speed of the game to Morrowind's running/walking speeds.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16005 by mmmpld'
A fun little 'immersion' mod that allows the player to see their character use the same getting-into and getting-out-of bed animations used by NPCs.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11449 by RamyEnfant.
Adds a collection of new jump animations. The characters execute a cool Night-Elf-style forward roll with weapons sheathed and a variety of other jumps with different weapons drawn. I often jump just to watch these animations. I'm easily pleased.

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. To this I add http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20575 by LazyAltmer. These two mods do a lot to make Cyrodiil a lot less lonely when travelling the roads. They also help fight, too, which has saved my character's life more than once when playing all these overhaul mods.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16513 by Bananasplit, Wolfslady, Reckless, SilentResident, Nernie, Vorians and 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. When I'm not using Better Cities I use Arthmoor's http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1019807, which tranfers the vanilla cities into the Cyrodiil worldspace, ala Morrowind. Wonderful for those of us who love to ride horses through town.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2536 by Max Tael.
This is one plugin in Max Tael's Natural Environments suite of mods. It adds several non-hostile flying animals such as birds and butterflies.

http://morrowind4kids.com/pseronwyrd/PW_MorrowindFog.zip by Pseron Wyrd.
Oblivion's near-infinite view distance is ugly, in my opinion, and it also makes Cyrodiil feel much smaller than it ought to. This is my attempt to simulate Morrowind's fog. Combined with Run Speed Tweak, Cyrodiil feels as large and wonderfully mysterious as Vvardenfell once did.

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=942911 by Arthmoor.
Adds Morrowind-style transport to the game. A nicely immersive touch.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13099 by WillieSea.
This little mod adds spectators (and tweaks their animations and clothes), allows the player to loot equipment, adds a bone clock, new posters and keeps the place open all night. I added a smith in my version, the only thing the mod lacked.

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=984109 by XMarksTheSpot, Brumbek & Ismelda.
Another mod I can't play without anymore. It adds windows that turn off and on in synch with day/night cycles and also, optionally, smoke from chimneys. Comes with a nice variety of window color tints too.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28977 by Emma.
An Alchemist-oriented companion with a mind of her own (and, as a bonus, dialog voiced by Emma herself). Soon to be released in a version 2.0!

http://oblivion.brashendeavors.net/bows/ by Brash.
A wonderful mod for anyone who loves light, ranger-ish amror and slightly more natural, non-fantasy-type bows. I also love the ranger camp just outside Weye (conflicts with Weye TICS, but not AFK Weye).

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22828 by afk_dwip - or - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9514 by TamaraVico.
I tend to alternate these two mods, as I love them both. I absolutely and without equivocation adore Tamara's Weye mod - but it does come with a framerate hit. I just love her cramped medieval-looking alleys and its attention to detail. It is quite possibly my favorite town expansion mod for either Morrowind or Oblivion. The area occupied by dwip's mod is smaller and, thus, conflicts with fewer mods and also does not hurt framerates quite as much (in my experience). It comes with some interesting quests though and is also nicely-laid out.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21562 and http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=30000 by Arthmoor.
Faregyl is a nice little farm south of the Imperial City. Feldscar is a wonderful village north of the Frostcrag area. Both are excellently crafted.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22401 by The Tamriel Rebuilt Team.
Stirk is a small but highly detailed island in the Abecean Sea west of Anvil. Anyone who has seen what the multi-talented folks at Tamriel Rebuilt have done for Morrowind will know this is high-quality modding with an eye towards accuracy in matters of lore.

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1073491 by onra.
If you like to explore, this is the mod series for you. Replaces the 'placeholder' landscape of Valenwood and Elseweyre, Summerset Isles and Black Marsh with fully-realized, detailed terrain with pathgrids, ready to be modded. Which goes perfectly with:

http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1072969 by Side777.
Adds seven ships of varying sizes you can pilot around all this new coastline.

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. Compatible with Tamriel Heightmaps.



If I plan to do the main quest I add Enhanced Daedric Invasion and Kvatch Rebuilt to this list. Any other mod I use is tailored to a specific character.

Glenvar Castle - 2 long quests and a nice place to live
Reznods mannequins

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1029913-relz-robert-female-for-mods-relz has well has FCOM support, Armamentarium and Artifacts has well.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1090851-relz-wipz-tejons-thread-o-mods/. Check 'em out, see what tickles your fancy.

Actually, Enhanced Economy should keep this from happening; all merchants start each day with new gold. Even if I try really hard, I can't empty out all of the vendors pockets in every city before they start refilling them. Plus, with some thoughtful buying and selling, you can finally get close to receiving the actual value of some of your more expensive items (no more vendors staying stuck at 500 gold even though you just handed them 3000 for that sword you've been wanting). It is completely configurable (really, to the nth degree), and I can no longer imagine playing without it! At the very least, check out what it offers and then decide. You might change your mind!

Also, I think Arthmoor's RAEVWD, Feldscar and Feragyl have been mentioned already. Also check out his http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1064849-relz-new-roads-bridges-revised-thread-no3/page__p__15470255__fromsearch__1&#entry15470255 mod. Getting around in Cyrodiil has never been easier!

veg

That's a fair argument and a fine point; I'll add EE to the build.

Are there any more recommendations out there?

Even since I finished the first quest of the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15412 I can't play Oblivion without it and the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4387 is another mod I must have. I also suggest that you get the http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=1546 along with the http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25912, http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10533 and http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5296, which are recommended (required) for most mods today. You can also use http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23979 with the Map Marker Overhaul mod.

Don't forget to check out http://lovkullen.net/Emma/index.htm for both Morrowind & Oblivion mods.

Surprised nobody's said http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13398 yet, seems like that was the Only sword I used in Morrowind, and generally use at Least half way through Oblivion, Before I found this mod, I suppose it Is a tad overpowered though...

Just the player? My http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25475 covers NPCs as well.

I'm taking another crack at this load order... Does anyone know how to get Integration to run without running RBP? I don't mind dumping the resources into their proper folders, but I really dislike the race/birthsign changes.

Edit: I was about to start bashing, when Wrye noticed the lack of BRP and LAME...

I love RBP, but have you tried snipping out the vanilla races with TES4Edit? You could also create a quick, mergeable patch with the vanilla or whichever mod's racial powers an birthsigns to load late in your load order. You'd create that with TES4Edit as well. That is really not a be all, end all issue.


Your list has changed. ^___^ (but I guess that is not your top ten list.)


http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=stabilization_and_optimization_mods

I haven't done any modding in the last couple of years, but will attempt to give it a go. Thanks!

The mod on your linked page that combats save game bloat... That's just plain brilliant. Since I routinely rack up thousands of saves (hopefully not this time), the size of each file is very important.

I have not created mods, but I have spent plenty of time in TES4Edit. It is really user friendly, once you have spent some time with it, definitely the best tool for making quick patches. You are basically doing something like the following, just not with faces: http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=tutorial_creating_patch_for_existing_npc_face

That mod you pointed out, really only cleans up dead guys and trash data. If you are a compulsive save (like me) then Streamline's autosave feature should be a good friend. An alternative is Kuertee's Auto-save and time. The purpose is to have nice-sized save cycles so that you have time to archive or remove already used saves or simply to have lots of backups. I, for one, rarely delete saves, even though I save over the same save file many times, but also I cycle through certain saves even in my compulsion (i.e., t, ti, tii, tiii, tiv, t, s, si, ti ...) ^____^

That was definitely easier than expected; thanks. Today's progress: OBGE v2, Robert's v4, LAME, BRP, Integration, and EE have been installed and configured successfully. A separate .esp will reset the stats for the Nord race and Atronach birthsign to their vanilla values. I think I'm ready to bash.

Edit: Wrye Bash is showing green blocks across the board now. Commencing bashing research.

Rename the OBGEv2 DLL OBGE.dll, so that mods that depend on the OBGE.dll can find it. Did you see Robert's v5 body? What part of Bash do you need help with, the patch?

Finishing the Installation - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=finishing_the_installation


Edit: Two more...

The Bashed Patch - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=bashed_patch
Bash Plugin Colors Quick Reference - http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/index.php?page=bash_plugin_colors_quick_reference

Bashed. Time to launch!

Sorry, a bit late on the bashin' tips. Wouldn't renaming OBGEv2 mess up the plug-ins that depend on v2? I'm using a lot of those, and none (that I know of) from v1.

Loaded Oblivion as far as the main menu successfully. Upon exiting, it crashed. I'm installing weOCPS to attempt a fix.

Edit: weOCPS seems to have done the trick. It's character creation time!