Help A Noob With Mods Please!

[favaromf12]

I purchased the Bioshock/Oblivion combo and I'm not sure what version I have. It says 1.1.425 on the Readme. Do I have the two expansions?

 

 

I LOVE the look and feel of the game. I haven't even passed level one as I've been too busy with another mmo. The graphics are absolutley stunning.

 

Here's where I need help.

 

 

1) Should I play the game without mods before I choose to mod?

( I find the character selection very dry even though it has a lot of customizations)

 

2) These are things I'd like to be able to do...

 

The absolute BEST graphics on everything possible. My GPU should be able to support it.

 

Better Character/Race Customization

 

Skip Tutorial

 

More Animals/Mobs

 

Anything else that will make the main questline more enjoyable for the first time around. After I finish that, then I'll add more.

 

Any HELP would be great...on anything.

 

Oh and I have Oblivion Mod Manager and 7ZIP installed...no Idea what to do with them

[yeldarb]

You definitely need to update your game to 1.20416 to run most mods.The patches are available for free from Bethesda Softworks,remember to download the Construction Set(CS) while you are on the site.Play with a vanilla character through the tutorial and Make a Saved Game before you activate the Sewer exit. This Save is probably the most important saved game to have because you can edit your race/birthsign and class without (usually) any crash. If you are using Windows Vista or 7, You should install any games you plan on modding to a new folder like C:Games\Oblivion and avoid UAC issues. 7-zip allows you to unpack a download from TESNexus and install the files onto Oblivion.OBMM is a program that allows you to use OMOD's and adjust your load order to fix conflicts. Learn how to install any download as an OMOD,If you do not like the mod you can simply deactivate it using OBMM. This is simpler than removing many files by hand. Most files like meshes,textures,bsa's,esp's,sounds and voices wiil go into Oblivion\Data some programs like the Construction Set go into the Oblivion folder itself. Read the pinned Topics and they will definitely give you more and better information to enjoy this game without making mistakes.Just remember not to go overboard and install a bunch of different mods at the same time.