Recommended Mods for an Oblivion Newbie? [2011]

[PsalmLove]

@Jager, thanks, I was looking at that. I wonder how it'll work with All Natural.

 

@LFact, I figured as much - while browsing through the mod lists I saw OMOD only mods and I was wondering how I would go about installing them.

[Smooth613]

For mods that don't offer an archive version you can extract the OMOD archive to folders if you prefer. Either way keep OBMM around, it's not going to hurt anything. I prefer to have all my mods in BAIN ready archives and only install via BAIN; due to the vast amount of information Wrye Bash provides regarding overrides, underrides, and various other essential information when installing mods that share resources. You can alter your install order as well to adjust these overrides much like you alter your Load Order to avoid conflicts. This is not possible with OBMM without completely uninstalling and reinstalling the mods. Whereas with BAIN you simply move the mods around and use the Anneal function, viola! Not to mention that BAIN will rewind your installation so to speak, whereas OBMM just deletes the files.

 

For Example: Mod A and Mod B both replace ThatSword.dds, (This is a texture file, for appearance) so the last one installed "wins" and is the one you see in game. Lets just say Mod B is installed last so that's the texture you're seeing in game. Now lets say you decide to uninstall Mod B and keep Mod A. With OBMM when you uninstall Mod B it's going to remove the ThatSword.dds texture and now Mod A is missing a resource and you now have a bright purple sword in-game. However BAIN would have handled that same scenario differently. When you uninstall Mod B, BAIN "rewinds" the installation to the previous. Meaning it replaces Mod A's ThatSword.dds texture so you have the proper resource restored and the proper appearance for the sword according to Mod A. Instead of just removing the file resulting in a missing texture. Make sense?

 

Here is some more information in this article I wrote and it also links you to even more information about BAIN. The article is titled BAIN, An Understanding. It was originally a response to a forum question so it's not necessarily the best formatted or worded article but it contains valuable information.

 

You should avoid the weather system of Natural Environments, Natural Weather. All other components are safe to use, and compatible with All Natural and other mods, but Natural Weather is notoriously buggy and should be avoided. There are much better alternatives anyway. Weather - All Natural is by far the best and most advanced weather mod available. Plus it's under constant development and is maintained by a collection of well known and very experienced authors. Also, it includes all weather types from other weather mods including Natural Weather. So you get the same weather effects you would get from Natural Weather but without the bugs. If for whatever unfathomable reason you decide against Weather - All Natural then I suggest Enhanced Weather.

 

There are also alternatives for all other components of Natural Environments except Natural Habitat, which can be used as a standalone. Enhanced Water (Plus the SI Add-on and HDMI variation) and Enhanced Vegetation (also Darker Trunks for Enhanced Vegetation is nice.) are better alternatives in my opinion. Especially Enhanced Vegetation as it has options that allow you to scale the vegetation to different sizes of your liking.

 

But remember not to get ahead of yourself here. Take it slow and just play the game for a while at first before slapping all these mods on it. And just soak up as much information as you possibly can. Otherwise you will not know exactly what each mod is doing and that limits your troubleshooting abilities when, not if, a problem occurs. Also remember to install mods one at a time and test the game in that aspect thoroughly before adding another. I suggest a minimum of an hour of gameplay after adding mods to be safe.

 

Damn it. I meant for that to be a quick response to why you should not use Natural Environments and look what I've gone and done...

[PsalmLove]

I am reading your post and I want to email you cake.

 

Currently downloading Enhanced Water & Enhanced Veg. I hope I'm not getting ahead of myself as you say. I don't want to change the game too much, just give it enough oomph to start with.

 

So far I have the following:

 

Official Patch

Unofficial Patch

Unofficial Official Mods Patch

Unofficial Patch Supplementals

Unofficial SI Patch

 

Wrye Bash

BOSS

OBMM

Script Extender

Graphics Extender

Stutter Remover

Streamline

Fast Exit 2

DarNified UI

 

Improved Facial Textures

Corean Hair

Facial Textures by Enayla

All Natural

 

Again, thanks for your input. Your detailed posts are always appreciated. I'm currently reading TES:POSItive in order to get started off on the right foot. Hope someone links to and develops this thread into something that can help other newbies like me =]

Edited January 12, 2011 by PsalmLove

[Smooth613]

I know you were asking about graphics mods earlier and none have really been linked yet. That's because there's just so many available it's all about preference. So I'm going to suggest you simply look around for what you like. I like and use many of the "Improved" or "Enhanced" textures. Just search for those key words, grab a coke, a snack, and kick back. You'll be there for a while. Vibrant is another term that will get you some good search results. Anyway, my real reason for this post...

 

Just to show some of the capabilities of OBGE, some eye candy if you will, I've recently posted THIS in the Official Thread. It's in relation to a previous user posting THIS about local contrast effects. The shots I've posted are very early tweaking and I'm sure I can improve upon them. Actually I already have, but more room is there for further adjustments. Either way I think you'll notice a drastic difference in the comparison shots. Take special note of small details like wood grain, tree bark, etc... The contrast effect seems to pull the detail out and add more depth to the scene. Plus it just looks sharper, at least in my opinion. This is only scratching the surface of what OBGE is capable of. There are tons of shaders and configurations available.

[skorpeon]

Hi I am also in the same boat so following this topic avidly. I am trying to install the Oblivion Graphics Extender (OBGE). Where should this be installed? Also the file extension for the supplementals is also giving me some problems. any quick answers there?

 

I have played Oblivion many times so really looking at a good overhaul and a change. I am interested in changing the leveling system (XP?). I was surprised to little on the web after 2006 until I found this site. I am working thru the patches currently and will start adding a few mods or possibly just plunge into OOO.

[axhed]

nice! this is the exact thread i came here to make, ha ha ha. well... except for the boss system specs...

 

vanilla looks surprisingly good on my laptop, i think i'll just go with bug and menu fixes to start out with... maybe add natural environments before i get home and connect to my big monitor.

 

thanks dudes!

[Zane522]

Im a cheater but, lemme give you a few useful cheats. my first cheat was a good one its called coc testinghall it gives you full access to all the item in the game, if you know witch door to open :biggrin: . Next is tcl this enables you to fly and go through walls. Player.additem 0000000f "put amount of money wanted here" gives you any amount of money you want. Finally theres movetoqt witch takes you to your quest destination.

[Jermungand]

Check out Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul. I'd never play without it, and neither would a lot of other people.

[PsalmLove]

I've been looking at OOO myself. Should I play the vanilla first before installing? Or is it worth installing from the get-go?

[Kjkirimi]

Thanks for the additional suggestions! I like the hair and face mods

 

Any suggested texture mods for the environment / architecture? Cheers =]

 

 

You may also want to try Unique Landscapes.