About to play for the first time - recommended mods?

[ptbptb]

OK, so I'm about three (four?) years late but I'm finally getting on the Oblivion wagon.

 

There are a _lot_ of mods (obviously) and also a lot of mod lists. I'll be looking at them, but I'm also interested in what recommendations people have.

 

It could use the information guide to create yet another mod list - the "First Time Player Mod List".

 

I think a five star rating system might be nice

 

5 Stars = Absolutely vital with no drawbacks.

4 Stars = Really good (may have minor issues).

3 Stars = Worth having (may be some problems to look out for).

2 Stars = Worth a look at.

1 Star = Most people won't think it worth the effort.

 

So, what do people think?

[LFact]

The only first time player mod -

Unofficial Oblivion Patch

Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch(only if you have SI)

Unofficial Official Mods Patch(only if you have official DLCs)

 

**Never try to install everything at once. There're so many goodies here, but if you're not careful about installing mods, it will give you huge frustration and headache.

[ptbptb]

**Never try to install everything at once. There're so many goodies here, but if you're not careful about installing mods, it will give you huge frustration and headache.

 

What I was planning on doing, if possible, was keeping a 'clean' copy installed and a 'trial' copy in a separate directory for adding mods to. That way I could get a quick feel of what changes each mod makes. I'm willing to put up with quite a bit of experimentation to get the best out of the first run through. I'll also be taking 'how to' notes and typing up how things go.

[SceneGG]

As LFact suggested, the unofficial patches are the ideal starting mods. I personally would play the game vanilla for a bit first to get used to the original environment, then maybe start adding in mods as you go. I found that I appreciated the custom mods more after I had played the vanilla game for a while.

 

Once you have a bit more confidence in installing mods, you could start implementing overhaul mods such as Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul and COBL. Another mod I would suggest later on would be Better Cities.

 

I would also suggest getting yourself Oblivion Mod Manager early on :)

[Jenrai]

Agree with GG... play it plain for a little while. And definately get Oblivion Mod Manager {or OBMM} (use your google fu, young grasshopper) as the unofficial patches (or UOPs) come as OMOD files designed specifically for use with OBMM which makes installing them, and a lot of the more complicated and larger patches & Mods, a breeze.

When you start installing mods, you'll likely also want OBSE (Oblivion Script Extender) and BOSS (don't remember what it stands for but it helps organise your precious load order) and this is really, really, really basic, but a lot of people don't always do it (myself included, which led to my first and only mod-related clean install, which was a pain in the ass after installing 140+ mods) read the readme files that usually come packaged with the mod... please please please... i've not been back on the modding scene for Oblivion long but on this site and the others I've seen people having issues and killing their games simply because they didn't take a couple of minutes to read a few lines of text.

As a side I'd also advise periodically backing up your data folders (just in case) and keeping a copy of any mods you've installed in case something goes horribly wrong. If these take up too much precious HDD space {I know THAT feeling} you can always zip em and burn em to a CD or DVD.

 

Jen

[ptbptb]

If these take up too much precious HDD space {I know THAT feeling} you can always zip em and burn em to a CD or DVD.

I've just got a sparkling new 320GB drive computer so I'm OK on that front at least. I take your point about reading the 'readme' - I'm usually quite good about that ;-)

[dezdimona]

roberts male body is a must,then a female body.I prefer Roberts female as well

the for me must haves are:

MMM

Bartholm

these make excellent starter and keeper mods.always install one mod at a time and verify in game that it works

also get OBMM( oblivion Mod Manager) for installing your mods

BOSS(Better Oblivion Sorting System) is good also but you will still need to manually sort as it relys heavily on whats stored in its files

Many mods also require Obse to function as was mentioned

[Omeletter]

Well, something nearly same with me, I just started Fallout 3. I usually take some realism mods. Like Unofficial Patches, Bottle that water, Repairment System Upgrade, Destruction, Sleeping Blanket, Rob Co aka Repair this robot...

Anyway, back to the topic, I would recommend you to take Shadowcrest Vineyard aka best house ever. Inebriation - Want to get drunk? Realistic Clutter Prices - Why is THIS broom cost 0?! Also some retextures like Quarls Texture Pack - Sadly I have computer like the Fallout's Terminal, so I can't tell you how good the graphics will be...

Remember, its best that you take only 5-20 mods until you complete main quest(s), or it could ruin the vanilla feeling! I remembered how I played vanilla, it was good for beginning, but when you complete it, take some mods and you'll get more epic game than using mods straight away.

[ptbptb]

roberts male body is a must,then a female body.I prefer Roberts female as well

 

Which would I need from

MaleBodyReplacerV4 http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14942

MaleFullbodySeamlessOblivion_V21zip http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7028

MaleFullbodyV37z http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8295

?

 

I presume that "Robert female bodies compendium" removes the need to install "Roberts Female Body v12" separately?

[alex2avs]

I also suggest using AutoBookPlacer , SpeedyDepositing/SpeedyDisrobe , ClaimInterior, Command Mount,House map markers.

 

Of course , there are many more which i recommend , but as it was mentioned above , they alter the vanilla-Oblivion flavor a lot ^^