Is there a list of great mods for new players? : IV

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:56 am

I'm getting back into Oblivion after a long break, and since I wiped all my old mods I'm going to be starting completely fresh. I noticed this great thread for Morrowind mods, http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1060141-mod-recommendations-for-new-players/, and was wondering if there's anything like that for Oblivion; a kind of comprehensive list of all the best mods, sorted by category.

I'm terrible at searching so sorry if there is something like this on the forum and I just didn't spot it.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:30 pm

There are several lists offering mod suggestions, but most of them are subjective based upon the author's preferences for game play. It might help if people knew more about your preferences or what exactly it is that you are looking for in order to tailor a response. I am a big fan of FCOM and its component mods particularly the big three - OOO, MMM, and Frans. I also like playing as an archer / thief character, so I like archery and stealth mods. One of my favorites is Retro's Fletching and Imbueing as it allows me to poison my errors. I am also a big alchemy fiend, so I love mods like Harvet Flora and Gather Ye Rosebuds. I think BTMod and Darnified do wonders for the UI and OBSE is critical for dozens of reasons, not the least of which is that it allows the denock arrow mod to work. Again, which mods to use oftentimes depend on you, so tell us what you are interested in and you will likely receive a better response.

Cheers

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:49 am

copy/pate:

GENERIC:
If you want the most help possible it helps to give as much information, and uniqueness as possible.

Here's my generic written thing for these topics. if you want something specific give more details. I ask some questions in the below text as a small guide line. You can answer them if you wish:

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://tescosi.com/wiki/Main_Page/
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/index.php?/topic/1147875-which-magic-mod/page__view__findpost__p__16778426
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/index.php?/topic/1153076-mods/page__view__findpost__p__16875944

---
As far as new comers go the usual "don't change stuff" recommendations go something like:

unofficial patch
*insert body mod choice here*
*insert graphic enhancements here*
*insert utilities here*
*insert leveling mod choice here*
*insert personal opinion here*

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:52 am

It all depends on what you want from the game. I've never been very interested in the large-scale overhauls like OOO or FCOM or whatever, and with the exception of Oblivion XP (about a bajillion times better t han the default leveling scheme) I've done very little to the vanilla gameplay. But I still have about a hundred loaded mods.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 6:26 am

Funny you should mention this, I posted something about creating (and maintaining) such a list the other day but it didn't generate much interest. Mainly because others disagreed wtih my basic premise that "even though there's disagreement on which categories of mods are needed, there's widespread consensus on what mods within a category are needed".

Anyway, maybe it'll generate a little more interest here:

Maybe we should create a "recommended mods" sticky thread or wiki page (UESP?) for all the new guys. Although there's a lot of disagreement on what categories of mods are essential, it seems to me that there's a high degree of consensus amongst the longtime community members on what is essential within a given category (UI overhauls, lore-friendly quest additions, item graphics replacers, etc.)

That same thread/wiki page should also state where the most recent version of a given mod can be found, what thread to go to for help or bug reports, and the development status of the mod. (It would be a "mod index" of sorts.) For example, who else knew that Robert's Female 1.3 and Male 5.2 just came out a few days ago? How can a newbie know what OOO and MMM do, that they are still under development, and that Kragenir's Death Quest 2.12 just came out even though its thread title says 2.1 is the last version? How can a newbie wade through the 4 or 6 different versions of MMM, MOBS, etc. posted on TESNexus+Planet Elder Scrolls+TESAlliance+custom sites like Slof's and find the "right" one?

The key is, whatever form such a page takes, it needs to be updateable and monitored constantly by the community as a whole. That way, it won't become outdated like so many "must-have-mod" webpages have. I'd also recommend that we establish some ground rules on how to determine when to add (or remove) a mod. Something like this:
1. The community "votes" for 10 to 50 well-established mod authors - like kivan, Arthmoor, TheNiceOne, CorePC, etc. Each of them would become voters for the "recommended mods" list (provided they're willing, of course). (Alternatively, we could give everyone with a Disciple rank or higher on this board, or the equivalent on PES and TESAlliance, a vote.)
2. All the possible "categories" a mod can fall into would be defined by this group. (I could take a shot at this too.)
3. Depending on the size of each category, the mod authors would have 1 to 10 mods they could recommend as "essential" for that category. There would also be five extra "floating" votes they could apply to any category. And they would be able to veto one mod if desired.
4. The PRIMARY mod author cannot vote for their own mods. TheNiceOne can't vote on Useful Houses, sorry
5. The top voted mods would be added to the page. It would need to be a SHORT list - say, no more than 50 mods. The general community could update information about those mods, but could not add/remove entries from the list. (This would, of course, have to be monitored if it's on a wiki page.)

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:08 am

Maybe we should create a "recommended mods" sticky thread or wiki page (UESP?) for all the new guys. Although there's a lot of disagreement on what categories of mods are essential, it seems to me that there's a high degree of consensus amongst the longtime community members on what is essential within a given category (UI overhauls, lore-friendly quest additions, item graphics replacers, etc.)
....

BFG, I finally get round to read your post more thoroughly.

The 1st "problem" is where to put the info or rather, which one to update. There is a "Thread" or a "Wiki". Thread is essentially bad idea because old threads get purged, and Beth Forums is reluctant to make any thread a sticky.

I would love to see a sticky named with a catchy name "New to modding? Look here first" or "Community Recommded Mods" or something. Maybe one of the stickies could get a rename. The most suited candidate would be the *** FAQ *** thread. This one could include a prominent link to whatever other new / revamped resource we provide.

OK... then WHAT or where that other resouce???

Because there is UESP, Tes4Mods, Oblivion Mod Wiki, and also Tomlong's Tescosi, plus probably more I am missing. I think the Mod Wiki would be the most intuitive to look for recommended mods. It's table of contents already has a Recommended Mods section.

Could these things be be agreed upon in the community? We would also need the help of the moderators to edit / update any of the stickies, if that would be deemed necessary.

Edit: Just read a bit on OB Mod Wiki and UESP. Their hurdles to become a contributor I do not find very inviting. While I understand they want to avoid crap posters and postings, I personally find e.g. absence of 3 months from posting in the UESP Wiki as a reason for immediate "firing" of that editor not very encouraging. OB Mod Wiki is no longer updated anyway. So I don't know if these are indeed the right vehicles. The FAQ thread could need a brush-up as well. Even the related "FAQ improvement suggestions" got purged.

Maybe Tomlong and her site could be involved. Though I understand she has limited time - like all of us, myself very much included.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:07 pm

The tricky part here is that it is very subjective. You could always say "go search tes nexus for the top voted", but you could end up with a file last updated in 2007 that is outdated and is outdone by a more recent mod that very few people know about. As an example, the best lock picking mod I've come across just got released last month, and almost no one knows about it. Also, not every mod is on TES Nexus, although it is a good starting point.

Organization of the data would be the key to its usefulness. But again, that would be subjective as well.

I'd be willing to host a recommended mods wiki, but other than provide some input on design and orgabization, someone else would have to admin it. I just don't have the time. Plus, I don't have a whole lot of experience with wikis other than updating them.

Personally I think there should be a "recommendation/submission" system. Someone can create an entry (description, tags with categories, positive/negative effects of mod), but someone would have to sign off on it before allowing it to be added. Every mod has its pros and cons, and that information should be included.

I like the idea of not only tagging by category, but also my concept. For example:
"Gameplay changes, stealth oriented characters, high fantasy, not lore friendly" could apply to a mod that grants the user some crazy powerful insta-kill ability called "ninja quivering palm" or whatever..

That kind of "tagging" would be essential to help a new modder decide what kind of game they want to play, and which mods are recommended to help make that happen.

But you still have the core problem of deciding which mods should get listed, and who approves the list. Is it a team of people, and who gets to decide who is on the team? Number of posts should not be a qualifier btw. Some of the most experienced / knowledgable modders are still only curates (not referring to myself)..