ShadowDragon8685 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 Hoo boy... I ought to make clear: I have never once clicked "new game". Having been thoroughly convinced that the base game suffers from a tremendous case of Consoleitis (a deadly and terminal disease for which the only cure is extensive surgical modification), I'm really rather afraid to start an unmodified one. So far I've downloaded and installed the Oblivion Mod Manager, and Oblivion Script Extender. I've also downloaded the UoP for Oblivion and Shivering Isles, the oMod versions and the hotfix for the OUoP. I'm not sure they installed properly... I think I need to click on them in the mod manager and click activate, right?* The other things I'm thinking of getting are FCOM Convergance, the DarNified UI mod to cure the chronic consolitis, and HG's EyeCandy Body and the highres textures for it. *Actually I forked those up in the installation by not noticing menu options. Good thing I have that backup data folder. :) It seems that I'll need something called Wrye Bash, but I haven't yet been able to find a working link to it - probably just haven't looked hard enough. Ugh... This is a complicated mess, though probably not as hard as that time I somehow miraculously succeeded in merging four incompatable KotOR2 mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptbptb Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 I ought to make clear: I have never once clicked "new game". Having been thoroughly convinced that the base game suffers from a tremendous case of Consoleitis (a deadly and terminal disease for which the only cure is extensive surgical modification), I'm really rather afraid to start an unmodified one. Don't be - it won't explode. OK, most mods can be added after you start a game with no problems. There's no particular reason to try to get every mod installed before your character steps out of the Imperial Dungeon. Body replacers should probably be installed early - so you can see what they look like when selecting a race.e.g.* Robert's female bodies compendium* Robert's Male Body v5 Beta* Slof's Oblivion Better Beasts* Slof's Khajiit Retexture These you can probably add first before starting a new game.e.g.* Operation Optimization* Unofficial Oblivion Patch* Unofficial Oblivion Patch Hotfix v323a* Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch* Unofficial Official Mods Patch Mods that affect birthsigns should be installed before you get half-way out of the dungeon (e.g. before the Emperor asks your birthsign).e.g.* Birthsigns Expanded Most other mods can be added later with no problem. It seems that I'll need something called Wrye Bash, but I haven't yet been able to find a working link to it I doubt that you will need Wrye Bash. There aren't many BAIN enabled mods and I'm pretty sure they'll have omod versions anyway. Fixing things with Wrye Bash and doing 'bash patches' isn't usually unavoidable - and you can mess things up pretty easy if you are inexperienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowDragon8685 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 It's not that I'm afraid it'll explode so much as I'm afraid of getting sucked in by a good story and then scarred by bad gameplay/UI. As far as Wrye Bash goes, FCOM Convergance was quite explicit in that it needed Wrye Bash - sadly, but there you have it. I mean, I'd like to just go for the OOO, since it seems to be the largest and most comprehensive, but it, in and of itself, does not eliminate the abomination unto gaming that is auto-levelling enemies... That's a deal-breaker for me. I still remember Final Fantasy VIII. I still have the scars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptbptb Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 There are two easy ways to avoid auto-levelling enemies. 1. Don't level. :thumbsup: I just stuck all the sucky skills that I don't use into the 'major' skill slots so now I'll only be levelling if I want to. 2. Use a mod that 'fixes' levelling. For example: More Static Oblivion Beta. There's another mod somewhere that fixes the level of an area when you first enter it. (So if an area is too tough you can just go away and level a bit before coming back). I really wouldn't recommend trying FCOM Convergance as a 'newbie' to Oblivion. It's not going to touch my machine as the spec really isn't up to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowDragon8685 Posted December 31, 2009 Author Share Posted December 31, 2009 Does FCOM Convergance put a lot of strain on the system? My core's not that great - an Intel P4 2.8 Ghz CPU and 1.5Gb ram... Mmmmh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptbptb Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 Does FCOM Convergance put a lot of strain on the system? My core's not that great - an Intel P4 2.8 Ghz CPU and 1.5Gb ram... Mmmmh... I think you're more likely to need LowPoly Grass and Short Grass V3 than some big overhaul mod. There are plenty of mods that don't put a big strain on the computer system, but FCOM Convergence isn't one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megatarius Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Just to answer your question about which OBSE to get: If you're at all interested in the newest version of Better Music System, you'll need beta version 18. I haven't had any problems that I know of yet. No battle music...New playlists for factions and specific dungeon types....Custom playlists for certain places via spells... Okay, I'll stop plugging it now. :whistling: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowDragon8685 Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 Well... Here goes nothing. I've gotten a lot of good advice here, and I'm grateful for it. I've decided to be an arsehole and ignore the "test test test" advice. I know it's arseholish behavior, but quite frankly I'm a lazy, and quite possibly nervous git who's uite happy to own up to it in advance in the case this blows up in my face. What I finally decided to go with was the UOPs, Franscesco's, HG's Eyecandy mod, the Exter-based fix for Fran's custom items so they worked with the HG's eyecandy, birthsigns expanded, the Better Music System and the DarNified UI. Here's hoping, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptbptb Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 DarNified UI If you find you don't like DarNified then BTmod is a simpler, older, alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowDragon8685 Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 DarNified UI If you find you don't like DarNified then BTmod is a simpler, older, alternative. DarNified UI is actually quite wonderful. Took some getting used to, but what doesn't? My efforts seemed mostly successful, but I think I should never be made a plastic surgeon - that, or I royally cocked something up, because the faces - at least the female ones - are all very, very homely. It was an hours' effort to get my character's face remotely attractive, and then I had to resort to cranking up the HDR and applying a massive dynamic lightening effect to fully achieve attractiveness under normal lighting conditions - the side-effect being that she is literally radiant and glowy under bright light. Where the hell are the faces from all the screenies, eh? :) Other than that, the only confusion I'm having is with Birthsigns Expanded, which doesn't seem to be working properly - I was under the impression that The Steed would enhance my carrying capacity, but it seems this is not the case... Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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