Where do I start

[Cowboy10uk]

hi guys, I'm sure you are all fed up with answering questions like this but please bear with me.

 

I have decided to reinstall Oblivion deluxe after quite a long time away, to get me back in the elder scrolls world ready for Skyrim. While doing that I thought I would have a look and see if there are any mods. Wow I wasn't expecting so many.

 

Can someone please tell me where to start......

 

I have searched through many different threads for best mods to install, but it seems that every single post has a different list. I think I'm more confused now than before I started.

 

What I'm after, is the best looking, most realistic experience I can get.

 

Is there a all in one patch that does this. I did find poop but that seems to have died.

 

If not then what do I need to install and in what order please.

 

All I have is Oblivion deluxe installed from steam at mo.

 

I know this is a lot to ask for, but please help, my head is spinning with all the options.

 

Cowboy10uk

[rinoaff33]

Start off small. Installing lots of mods at one time will 1. be annoying to find/install and 2. likely crash your game. You don't have to get everything - there are TONS of mods for Oblivion. In fact, the modding scene for Oblivion is likely one of the largest ever. I won't be able to provide any links to what I'm about to suggest, sadly; Google is your friend! Most of these mods can be found on TESNexus, luckily. I'm going to post this in a series of edits. Note that this list is basically my personal opinion of great/useful mods. Cherry pick as you please. I know these lists may be daunting - I personally have collected mods over a long period of time. The problems with trying to release a "patch" that contains a large amount of big mods are numerous, not the least of which is the fact that each mod has its own requirements for installation.

 

Before installing any kind of mods, you'll want to update your Oblivion to the latest official patch.

 

 

Installers/Mod Handling Programs/Performance:

 

First off, download Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM). It'll save you a LOT of trouble. Some would also recommend Wyre Bash, but you can go without it for most mods. Wyre Bash takes more than a little bit of time to install.

 

Next up, you'll probably need Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE). Unfortunately, I'm not entirely certain if it'll work with your version of Oblivion.

 

Operation Optimization is a project that optimizes meshes in Oblivion and greatly helps with frame rates.

 

Streamline is a mod that has a variety of uses, but its main one is keeping your RAM cache clear, speeding up your game and alleviating some crashes.

 

Oblivion Stutter Remover is a mod that also attempts to help out performance. Apparently it works wonders for some people.

 

The Unofficial Oblivion Patch is highly recommended by most people, as it fixes numerous bugs. There are also similar Unofficial Patches for expansions and DLC.

 

 

 

Eyecandy/Immersion:

 

Here's the first and perhaps best eyecandy mod in this list: the Oblivion Graphics Extender (OBGE). You'll want both the core files and the shader files. It's somewhat annoying to install, but it looks quite nice and makes the game look not-so-dated.

 

If you want high-quality textures, there's a texture pack called QTP3. It'll likely take forever to download, though, but it's worth it if your rig can handle it.

 

Next, if you want good-looking characters, you'll want Natural Faces, as well as some sort of body mod. Robert's Male Body (for male characters, obviously), and HGEC Body (for females) are the most popular. Note that these mods contain nudity (I know HGEC has a non-nude variant, but I'm not sure about Robert's). If you use a body mod, you'll need a stock armor/clothes replacer, like EVE HGEC Body Selector and Stock Equipment Replacer.

 

If you want to replace the default interface (which I HIGHLY recommend), find a UI mod like DarkUI'd DarN.

 

If you want improved weather and much better interiors (the lighting indoors changes based on the time of day, and you can see/hear weather effects while indoors), get All Natural. It will require Wyre Bash. There are some other mods that are recommended to be downloaded alongside it, mainly Enhanced Vegetation and Natural Environments. Note that these mods have ESPs which conflict, but I believe the readme tells you which ones to use.

 

Unique Landscapes Compilation is a large mod pack that greatly improves various locales around Cyrodiil and adds new ones. Better Cities is a similar mod pack, but for cities. Note that these two mods are both large and very, very hard on your computer (I can't use the latter, even with a gaming rig, mostly due to the way Oblivion doesn't support multicore processors).

 

Open Cities makes it so that the cities are like they are in Morrowind - they aren't separate cells, they're part of the worldspace, which means you can just walk right on in without a separate load screen.

 

Initial Glow is a small mod that removes the annoying "membrane" effect from positive enchantments and spells.

 

Get Wet (despite the...unfortunate name) is also a small mod that makes it so that when characters swim or stand in rain, you can see droplets on them.

 

If you would prefer that characters hold their shields and/or 1-handed weapons on their back while not in combat, first get Shield on Back, then get Addon for Shield on Back, which makes it automatic.

 

If you want skimpy armor mods, the only one I will mention here is Apachii Goddess Store. There are FAR, FAR too many to list here. There is also a large number of race mods, most of them female-only. One of the better (and most popular) ones is Moonshadow Elves.

 

Ren's Beauty Pack adds a new race and a whole lot of hairstyles. It's required for a lot of race mods.

 

Visually Enchanted adds, well, visual effects to weapon enchantments.

 

 

Gameplay/Etc:

 

If playing in third person suits your fancy, but you really don't like the default Oblivion 3rd person view, get Ultimate 3rd Person Camera. Note that it replaces the 1st person camera until you uninstall it.

 

Enhanced Hotkeys will make using hotkeys much easier. It's practically required if you want to play a spellcaster.

 

If you want an overall playing experience, you might want to consider looking up FCOM. I don't personally use it, but it's a HUGE mod pack that balances gameplay and adds tons to the game. If you want something that's similar and don't want too much headache with installation, get Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO). OOO is part of the FCOM pack, but it's still pretty good just by itself.

 

Enhanced Economy makes buying/selling more realistic, although I would recommend not using the "realistic" settings unless you enjoy not being rich ever. I had to bump up the amount of money all merchants have just so I can actually sell some gear once I hit higher levels.

 

Realistic Fatigue is an attempt to make fatigue more important and more immersive. It also makes encumbrance make more sense.

 

I HIGHLY recommend that you get Realistic Leveling - it removes the "get 10 major skills, sleep, and all enemies are now stronger than you" frustration by making it so that your skill increases automatically correlate to attribute increases, rather than choosing a few upon level up; others might recommend Oblivion XP (not sure if they're compatible).

 

Supreme Magicka is a pretty good mod that adds new spells and makes magic in general - but especially Mysticism - more dangerous/useful. Midas Magic is a similar mod, but I believe it's incompatible with OOO, and it's also quite unbalancing.

 

Deadly Reflex and Unnecessary Violence are two very popular mods that make combat more visceral and fast-paced, but they're a pain to install.

 

If you don't like how fast travel makes the game world so much smaller, but you dread having to walk everywhere, get Cyrodiil Transportation Network. It changes the fast travel to be more like the kind in Morrowind - purchasable fast travel between cities.

 

CM Partners is a great mod if you want to have party members, although I personally don't like using them due to Oblivion's poor handling of group combat and AI. One of the more popular addon characters for it is Feria.

 

Dude Wheres My Horse puts a map marker on your horse so you won't lose track of it.

Edited August 1, 2011 by rinoaff33

[Deleted1848331User]

Also, the OBGE Liquid Water mod is very good for water. For body mods, the most popular are Robert's Male Body and I think HGEC for females (I use Robert's Female Body, personally.)

[Cowboy10uk]

Wow quick response, Thankyou guys for your in depth answers. That certainly helps me out a lot. To be honest I love the sound of everything that has been mentioned by you both, so at least I now know what to start downloading later when I get up after sleeping off nights. I'm sure Oblivion will look great after these.

 

Again thanks for taking the time to help me. I know you all must be fed up getting asked the same question over and over again.

 

 

Cowboy0uk