So far I have only used a few mods and I'm planning to start a new game, this time with some big mods.

I'm wondering if this configuration will work. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! Especially any recommendations for better HD textures or facial mods for dark elf PC and which Magic mod is best (LAME or SM or something else?). Will there be problems using OBSE, Wrye Bash and the most recent patch from Steam?

I'm playing on a laptop with 1920x1080 resolution display, win7 64-bit, i7-820QM, 1GB HD5830 graphics card, 16GB 1333mHz RAM, Intel G2 SSDs in Raid0.

(I'm using Steam vanilla installation updated to the latest patch with the following currently installed: Vampire Aging Disabled 2XYoung.esp, DLC ThievesDen.esp, DLCFrostcrag.esp, DLCSpellTomes.esp, DLCHorseArmor.esp, DLCOrrery.esp, DLCVileLair.esp, DLCBattlehornCastle.esp, DLCMehrunesRazor.esp, Knights.esp, DLCShiveringIsles.esp)

(I'd like to keep the Knights of the Nine, MehrunesRazor, Frostcrag Spire, VampireAging Disabled 2XYoung and Spell Tomes installed)

Planned new mods:

MOST IMPORTANT MODS

Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul

NTCore 4GB Patch File v.1.0.0.1
http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php

FF Real Thirst v.1.6.0
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14214

REAL SLEEP EXTENDED (with portable bedrolls) v.2.3.4 (9/01/09)
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24649

REAL HUNGER, COBL v.1.6.1 (2/08/09)
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21106

SUPREME MAGICKA or LESS ANNOYING MAGIC EXPERIENCE
which one is best? PC will use magic as primary weapon.

LIVING ECONOMY v.3.7.0
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4432


ADDITIONAL MODS

OBSE

FCOM

Martigen's Monster Mod

Francesco's Leveled Creatures v.4.5.b
http://www.elricm.com/nuke/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=viewdownloaddetails&lid=3855

Unique Landscapes Compilation OMOD Version 1.6.0
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19370j

COMMON OBLIVION (COBL) v.1.72 (9/26/09)
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=21104

Bananasplit's Better Cities v.4.8.4
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16513

Better Oblivion Sorting Software v.1.65
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20516

Arthur Natural Environments v.2.9.7
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13207

Improved Trees and Flora 2
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11891

Qarl's Texture Pack III Full v1_3_OMOD
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18498

Oblivion Stereo Sound Overhaul (Jan 7 2008)
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5861

Symphony of Violence v.0.5
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13987

Natural_Faces_v95_OMOD
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1965

HGEC Body v.1.21
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15802

Atmospheric Oblivion
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7703

More Immersive Sound
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5487

Thievery in the Imperial City v1.2 by JOG
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5156

Lynge's Thieves Highway v1.0 by Martin Lynge
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10256

Less Food v. 0.2 by pingveen

Smokeable Pipe Mod
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11892

Hackdirt Abyss of the Deep Ones
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13952

Silgrad Tower v3.0
http://www.filefront.com/17642341/Silgrad-Tower-v3.0.7z/

Storms and Sound v3
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8711

Enhanced Weather (EW):
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16544

Animated Window Lighting System and Chimneys - AWLS
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19628

Everything else (AFAIK), yes. This, hell no. If you value your game and your sanity, stay well clear.

Also, given it's a laptop, QTP3 Full is not advised due to resource requirements. You'd be far better off going with QTP3 Redimized instead. The difference in visual quality is so small you won't notice but your laptop will and it will thank you for it.

As for Supreme Magicka vs LAME, they work perfectly fine together. The one loading last will overwrite settings from the other, but the new spells will still be added from both.

I also believe Improved Trees and Flora, while they look amazing, can be very taxing on your system.

Thanks very much to everyone for your advice!



Do you have a suggestion on which magic mod I should have load last?

What's already said. Also:

Improved Trees and Flora 2
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11891

Excellent, but also check out http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/totoworld.html.

Natural_Faces_v95_OMOD
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1965

Nothing wrong with it but there are alternatives. Personally, I like Improved Facial Textures for its ageing textures and overwrite the rest with F-IN evOblivion (google as link contains nvde pixels).

HGEC Body v.1.21
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15802

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24078 has an excellent installer and also conversions for FCOM armors.

I personally load LAME last, since I prefer the spell duration from LAME over SM. SM has the advantage of an ini file however so if you load that last there are some settings you can change via the ini. If you do load SM last and want to keep LAME's Conjuration settings, there's an extra esp with LAME that you can load after SM.

If you want to stay close to OOO's magic settings (as you're using FCOM) I'd recommend Supreme Magicka as it is very customizable via its ini and comes with OOO presets. LAME is quite different overall. Discussed a bit in http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1147875-which-magic-mod/. Perhaps best to try out both and decide for yourself.

Thanks for the heads up, Wrinkly!

Is there an alternative environments mod you would suggest?

I noticed there are 2 different options for the EVE HGEC, one for OMOD and one for Wrye Bash.

Does this mean I should make a choice between OMOD or Wrye Bash? Are these two incompatible? I don't understand exactly what they do.

wrinklyninja has an excellent list here: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?showtopic=960829



What some call micromanagement I call the very core of the magic system in Oblivion, together with the rate of magicka restoration. With long durations/fast magicka restoration there's really no strategy left IMO. Anyway, it's highly subjective so best to try it out as said.

I use BAIN (Wrye Bash) for installs generally, but in some cases I use OBMM. DarN's UI, AWLS and EVE HGEC comes to mind. The upside is that OMOD-scripts are more convenient in some cases IMO - the downside is that BAIN doesn't keep track on OBMM installs, but I've had no issues with it so far.

Actually just looked at my loadorder and noticed SM was loaded last, and I've been very happy with those settings while playing Not sure when I changed that...

Forgive me if this is a very stupid question, but how does Wrye Bash vs. OMOD or OBMM work?

I have to choose one or the other? Do either of them conflict with FCOM, with the latest patch or with the way that the Steam installation directory is organized?

Will I also need to install some of the unofficial patches:

Unofficial Oblivion Patch.
Unofficial Official Mods Patch.
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch.

As already said you can use both Wrye Bash and OBMM for installs. BAIN gives full control over installs but can seem daunting to use at first and also needs BAIN-ready archives for more complex mods. OBMM supports scripted installs so is nice to use with AWLS, for example, as you'll see screenshots of different options during installation etc. None of them conflict with mods/patches etc.

And, yes, the unofficial patches are highly recommended.