Hello. New to The forums and Modding in general.

[CapNKirkland]

hi. so i recently got myself the ES Anthology which has every ES game and DLC in existance. but i've already played them all at one point or another. so i wanted to make a fresh experience with the games in modding before i even press play.

 

im starting off with oblivion for the nostalgic feels but, like in the topic. im new to modding.

 

where and how do i step my foot in the door?

for OBLIVION, i honestly want to keep it as vanilla as possible. (no added weapons, animations, nude NPC's and the like) so i only want environmental and character model improvements.

For Skyrim (in the future) ill want to improve the visuals and maybe put some lulz into the mix. but not before i get a handle on proper modding.

 

my rig is: (not even sure if this information is relevant to the topic)

Windows 7 Home Premium

Intel® I7-3770k CPU @ 3.50GHx 3.90 GHz

16.0GB RAM

64-Bit

NIVIDIA GTX670

 

i guess all i'm asking for is some recommendations on good looking/working mods and some helpful warnings from the more experienced community.

 

thanks.

[Lanceor]

This question gets asked so often that I have a standard copy/paste response:

 

Everyone has their individual preferences so it's hard to recommend particular mods without knowing what you like.

 

I'd start with the Unofficial Patches as they fix a lot of bugs and annoyances that Bethesda had missed.

• The Unofficial Oblivion Patch
• The Unofficial Oblivion Patch Supplemental
• The Unofficial Official Mods Patch
• The Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch

You'll need to have some way of sorting your load order:

• Better Oblivion Sorting Software - BOSS will auto-order most of the mods based on the collective experience of experienced mod users.

And to manually adjust the load order (pick one or more)...

• Nexus Mod Manager is the newest and allows automatic installation straight from Nexus. While this feature is handy, it is less reliable than manual installation.
• Oblivion mod manager is not as powerful as Wrye Bash (below), but is easier to use. It supports OMODs, a packaging method used by some mod authors.
• Wrye Bash is probably the most powerful load order manager and seems to be recommended by the most mod Authors.

Keep in mind that almost all complex mods require The Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) to function properly so make sure you have that installed if you download any mods that require it.

 

After that, browse around and pick whatever mods appeal to you. I'd suggest trying one or two simple mods first before attempting to install the mega-overhaul mods like OOO, UV or MMM (those acronyms will become familiar to you soon :wink:) Most mods have installation instructions that you should follow. You can check the Nexus Top 100 for the most popular mods, and filter it by category if you're after a particular type of mod.

 

If you haven't played through Oblivion though, many would suggest not adding new content until you've played Oblivion for a while and have an idea what would improve your gameplay the most.

 

Personal opinion: The only part of Oblivion that I think is "unplayably broken" is the default leveling system which forces you to play in odd ways if you don't want to permanently mess up your attributes. So IMHO, a mod that alters the levelling system is something that I would recommend right from the beginning.

• All +5 Attribute Modifier or Attribute Plus X lets you use the default system without worrying about how many attribute points you'll get on level-up.
• Realistic Leveling and nGCD let you simply play the game and your attributes will increase automatically based on skills leveled.
• Oblivion XP gives a classic CRPG style leveling system: earn enough experience points to level up and spend your attributes as you see fit.

Have fun with the mods!

 

BTW, welcome to Nexus!

 

http://static2.nexusmods.com/101/images/1547970-1378868288.jpg

[CapNKirkland]

for OBSE i cant figure out what version of oblivion i'm using. i tried to download the official 1.2.04.16 patch but it wouldn't work. "old file not found, However, a file of the same name was found, no update done since the file contents do not match"

 

how do i find out if i meet all the requirements to work the mods? after installing oblivion i couldn't even play it until after the 3rd reinstall, by then i figured out that ihad to select "Disable console composition" under Preferences>compatibality

[Striker879]

Your version of Oblivion will be displayed in the lower left corner of the game menu screen. The latest version is 1.2.0416.

 

- Edit - For a good description of choosing and installing mods that upgrade the game's graphics have a read through Noob up and running.

Edited December 4, 2013 by Striker879

[CapNKirkland]

downloaded the Unofficial Official mods patch and couldn't start the game anymore so i uninstalled it. i downloaded the OBSE but have no idea where or how to use it. it doesn't tell me.

 

this is all too complicated for me.

 

EDIT: i also cant figure out where to delete my saves are. a "saves" folder does not exist. id post a picture but i guess im only aloud to post URL's and not straight off my computer.

Edited December 5, 2013 by CapNKirkland

[3rdtryguy]

As I recall, you have to start OBSE first, and then launch Oblivion FROM it. That way, Oblivion is running inside of OBSE.

[Striker879]

Saves are located at Users\[username]\Documents\My Games\Oblivion\Saves.

 

If I'm not mistaken the ES Anthology is a disk version of the games that all require activation via Steam. There are two versions of Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE), one for the disk versions of Oblivion and one for the Steam version. Normally the Steam version would be diskless (i.e. downloaded from Steam) and you would use the Steam instructions for installing it (found in the file obse_readme.txt that comes with the OBSE download). In the case of the ES Anthology version of Oblivion I'm not sure which version of OBSE would apply (the disk version or the Steam version). When you start the Anthology version of Oblivion do you go through Steam or from a desktop shortcut while not connected to Steam?

Edited December 5, 2013 by Striker879

[CapNKirkland]

no i just click on the oblivion icon and it starts the game up..

 

not like any of this matters right now anyway, looks like nexus is in a shitstorm of fixes. half the time i cant even get into a page. takes 3 minutes then "no data received"

Edited December 5, 2013 by CapNKirkland

[Striker879]

If you are trying to use Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) on Oblivion be prepared for spotty results. Some mods will install fine using it and many will not. Most mods for Oblivion were made long before NMM and are packaged using folder structure it can't understand. The recommended methods for installing Oblivion mods are Wrye Bash's BAIN installer, OBMM or manual install. My advice is get used to reading install instructions on a mod's description page along with reading through the comments looking for things to avoid (either installation problems and their solutions or simply mods to avoid due to quality issues).

 

OBSE is a simple copy and paste installation. If what you say about the Anthology edition is correct then use the disk version install directions from obse_readme.txt.

[Nimboss]

Well there was a major movement on Monday, Dark0ne posted they DO have struggle to get some things right and that they are working on it hard.

ES Anthology? What distribution is that? Link? (I know about GOTY have some copies)

 

Oblivion is a game you can easily spend 1000 of hours in, adding mods and personalize it will get you even more need to go back and keep playing.

Sorry you have struggle to get OB up and running, but you should know OB is a picky old lady but there are lot of mods and add-ons that make it runnable!

 

Just let us know what you can't get running and rest assured, OB followers is a still living and a strong force to take into account for making your game work.

 

Looking at your rig specifications I would also try to convince you to run some ENB extension to really get a firework experience of OB, just to let you know.,