New to Oblivion - Looking for a couple mod suggestions.

[Arromir]

So I've had the Oblivion GOTY Edition for quite some time now, but haven't had the time to play it. Yesterday I finally installed just the original game, without Knights of the Nine or Shivering Isles. I'm not looking to go too heavy on mods on my first play through, but there are a couple things that are annoying enough to change right away. The first thing is the level scaling. I'm guessing there are mod(s) that deal with this issue, and would greatly appreciate being pointed in the right direction. The second issue comes down to me being somewhat of a graphics angel - I find the facial graphics to be rather horrible. Is there any single mod that fixes that issue, or at least improves it? Thanks to those that take the time to reply.

[Rifler]

http://thenexusforums.com/index.php?showtopic=192093

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzZHmHqEE7k

[bben46]

For some obscure reason Bethsoft combined the Oblivion patch with the SI patch on the GOTY. You MUST install the SI for the Oblivion patch to be applied. As many mods require the patch to work. Go ahead and install the SI, and just leave SI disabled in the data until you are ready for it. :thumbsup:

 

You will need OBSE, as some mods will not work without it. I highly recommend OBMM, as it makes working with mods so much easier. Be sure to read the instructions as these are not mods but utility programs and do not install like mods.

 

Link to Bben's Mod Advice

http://www.tesnexus....cle.php?id=342.

[Megatarius]

Allow me to present my top 25 Oblivion fix mods. These are mods that improve the game itself, make changes that should have been there in the first place, and might have been, if they hadn't rushed it for the XBOX 360 launch date.

 

I'm not going to mention the really popular stuff, because people will do that anyway.

 

 

1. Better Music System http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26892

The crown jewel of Oblivion mods. People say Deadly Reflex, with very good reason, but this is something much more subtle and awesome. Music is so important. The quality of the music in the game is very good. But whoever programmed it.... If you haven't gotten it, get it. The first thing it does is vastly improve how battle music works. Do we really need epic trumpets and battle drums for every f'ing wolf in the forest and crab on the beach? Really? Do we actually even need battle music at all? How can it not get annoying and immersion breaking after a while? Well, now you can completely disable it!! It's such an improvement. You can add music to other locations as well. Each different kind of ruin. Each guild. Inns, Homes, Castles. I think it's a travesty that the namesake of the game, the Oblivion Realm, gets the standard dungeon music. :rolleyes: Not anymore. This mod changes the game in ways not obvious at first glance.

 

2. Automatic Difficulty Increaser http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28589

This little gem forces the difficulty slider to remain in a certain position that changes as you level up. Customizable in an .ini, but no longer can you break immersion by divinely affecting how strong everyone else is. Those Orc vampires in the Azura Shrine Quest are some bad-ass Samuel L. Jackson m---f---ers. Where's the satisfaction in defeating them if you weren't actually scared to death to face them? Also, 100 hits for a mudcrab just so you can farm your blade skill? Come on. Just use the console to raise your skill at the start if you're character was already a bad-ass before getting arrested. There's no shame in it then.

 

3. Dark Dungeons http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8802

Torches practically burn forever, they're all over the place and free, and you never even need them! Maybe for Namira's Shrine, but I wouldn't know because I was already using this mod before that. It's just plain more fun when everything you find has a real purpose, you know?

 

4. Actors have Torches http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11169

This also adds a lot to dungeons.

 

5. Enhanced Quest Roleplaying http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12828

Doesn't affect every quest, but basically you have more options now. No longer will your Thieve's Guild character who wants nothing more than to be the Gray Fox jump at the opportunity to help the nice honest working shopkeeps get rid of Thoronir. Now you can select "Maybe Later", instead of "Start from the beginning!", like you actually care :rolleyes: . It's a dog eat dog world you guys. Deal. This is just one example. It makes a lot of difference if you like role playing.

 

6. Stolen Horse Ownership http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4243

Stealing a horse in Chorrol, riding it to Cheydinhal, getting off in front of the stable and guards, changing your mind, and getting back on, will no longer result in everyone psychically knowing you stole it.

 

7. Merchants Buy Stolen Goods http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7983

You probably know about it, but here it is just in case. One of the most unrealistic parts of the game, merchants somehow knowing that you stole something.

 

8. Actors Can Miss Now http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17706

Just a nice little mod that makes anyone shooting at you actually miss sometimes.

 

9. Denock Arrows http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9670

Canceling your bow attack? Oh yeah, of course you'd be able to do that! It makes so much sense! This seems to be a German version, but it doesn't matter. It's just pressing the grab key. Nothing to read.

 

10. Reneer's Name Mod http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=26369

The man who fixed the guards also fixed NPC interaction in a very nice way. I can't remember the last time I knew a stranger's name before actually speaking to the person.

 

11. Spell Delete and Item Remove http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23069

Get rid of those unwanted old spells and quest items just cluttering up your inventory.

 

12. Nirnroot Quest Mod http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2322

Changes the standard Nirnroot quest reward into something much more interesting.

 

13. Rowboats http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6690

Actually use the rowboats on the shore. It's a little clunky. Maybe could have been done better, but it's still very nice. But why use them though, when you can just swim across the bay with all your heavy armor?

 

14. No Encumbered Swimming http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3331

I love this mod. It unfortunately does not affect NPC's, but it's still leagues better. Water is almost like lava now, to certain characters. Now you have to locate a rowboat to get across, or even better, use a walk on water spell that actually means something now. Changing the value is kind of a pain, but I posted in the comments section how to do it. The readme is misleading.

 

15. More Staffs at Rendir http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16716

You know that shop in IC Market that sells staffs? Me neither.

 

16. A Bloody Mess http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11182

I'm guessing you're aware of it. But it bears mentioning just in case. Really adds to the game. Also, the cleaning rags are very hard to find. They aren't at nearly enough vendors. Just so you know.

 

17. Keychain http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3409

Just something nice to reduce inventory clutter.

 

18. Natural Rings Limit http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8635

Of course you don't want to wear all rings and become a god, but only one on each hand?

 

19. Third Person Animations in First Person View http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18617

One of my favorites. I grew up with Doom and Duke Nukem 3D and all those old 3D games had way better first person. Oblivion's first person looks like a floating camera with a sword and shield glued to it. Combine that with the crosshair and I feel like I'm in an editor, not the game. Does not work with Deadly Reflex because the Shield Bash move breaks the skeleton, and the duck move makes the camera go below the ground. None of these are a problem if you fight in 3rd person. Why use this mod then? Well, for all the times you do want first person, it still makes a world of difference.

 

20. Improved No Crosshair http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2260

If you turn off the crosshair, you can't see the other icons. This keeps those icons, but gets rid of the immersion breaking crosshair. I don't need it to aim a bow, and I certainly don't need it when walking around town or using a sword. It works with DARNified UI and Immersive Interface as long as you load this crosshair after installing those.

 

21. Hand to Hand Idle Stance http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24587

Ever get tired of seeing your dainty female mage in an elegant silk dress putting up her dukes in the menu like she's spoiling for a bar brawl? This mod fixes the hand to hand "weapon drawn" pose to be the regular idle so you don't roll your eyes every time you press tab. As for actual hand to hand combat, small price to pay.

 

22. Perfect Working No Quest Markers http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8680

The simplest of the No Quest Marker mods. Just a straight file replacer. It gets rid of the purple custom marker too, which is kind of a pain, but in a good way I think. There are other mods, but this is the one I use. The less .esp's the better. Now God will no longer tell you where to go.

 

23. Running Revised http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7484

Nice little mod that allows you to sprint for short periods, as well as modify how the fatigue bar reacts to all running. I've tested it with two different fatigue mods, Tejon's Fatigue Effects, and Loup Sombre's Fatigue and Sleeping.

 

24. Side's Backpacks http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=29120

Another very nice addition. It should have been in the game already, even though some may disagree. From the maker of Better Music System himself, no less. I haven't had any big problems yet. One little nigling one, but it's alright. If you drop the backpack while it's equiped, it sometimes stays showing on your back, but this can be gotten around very easily by unequiping it first. Another problem you'll run into is, if you set the ini to make you not be able to run when you reach a certain weight (but still not your encumbrance limit) unless you're wearing the backpack, you'll find that you still don't run, even with the backpack on. To get around this, press the backpack hotkey, leave that screen, and then quickly unequip and reequip the backpack. If all that sounded confusing now, you'll know what I mean after playing with the mod settings for a while.

 

25. Cancel Attack http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=25316

Press Block in the middle of your attack animation to cancel it. It's of course realistic that you're wide open and defenseless while attacking, but combine that with Besthesda's oftentimes laughably slow attack animations and what do you get? Crappy fights, that's what. Well, no longer! Works with Deadly Reflex!

[LFact]

Go ahead and install the SI, and just leave SI disabled in the data until you are ready for it. :thumbsup:

 

Shivering Isles plugin is dummy plugin for loading SI resources. Disabling it does not prevent SI main quest to start at all(bacause Oblivion.esm itself is modified by installing SI), rather cause trouble with any mods that use SI resources.

 

For faces, search for some better facial textures:

- Natural Faces or Improved Facial Textures: Install either one. Both have better age map for vanilla races.

- Enayla's Face Textures: Install this or any other hi-res facial texture over Natural Faces or IFT.

 

Even changing texture will make difference.

[kl055]

I have the perfect mod for you : I'ts called "Dragon Age: Origins" :teehee: