Where do I start?

[MetalFingers87]

Hey all! I just recently got done modding Morrowind and was now looking at what is around for Oblivion. I'm curious to know what body and head mods are mostly recommended nowadays, along with clothing and armour mods to suit them. Also wanted to install the enhanced 1st person camera view mod, and wondering if any animation mods are compatible? I've been looking at Oblivion Reloaded for a graphical update, and also at a few patches.

 

Which patches are recommended for download? The dates and amount of them throw me off a little when browsing through them, so just seeking confirmation! What are the 'must have' downloads? I'm thinking the unofficial patches, 4GB patch (if there is one), and OBSE to get myself started. Sound like a good start? Is Oblivion Mod Manager a 'must have'?

 

Sorry for the string of questions! I find myself thinking of one thing then being lead on to another thing I want to add etc. I appreciate any answers that can be given! :) Please let me know if I need to go about installing mods different than with Morrowind too. I did all of that manually as per instruction and honestly, it was pretty simple. Having said that, I am not informed enough to know if the packaging of files etc is totally different across games.

[1Mac]

You definitely need some kind of mod manager. I recommend TESMM, which is basically the current version of Oblivion Mod Manager. TESMM will also install OBSE for you. Some people use Wrye Bash exclusively for mod management, but others find it's less intuitive than TESMM. You should download it anyway because some mods require it, and because it has features that TESMM doesn't.

 

You should also install BOSS, which is essential for making sure your mods load in the proper order. You can run BOSS on its own or through TESMM after you install it. After installing new mods and before playing, you should run BOSS, redirect BSA's (especially if the mod replaces textures and the like), and rebuild the bashed patch in Wrye Bash (especially if the mod changes leveled lists, i.e. adds items and such to the game).

 

For stability and speed, the Unofficial Patches and Oblivion Stutter Remover are must-haves. I also recommend Engine Bug Fixes, ENBoost (with these ini files), MoreHeap, New Vegas Anti Crash, Fast Exit, plus the 4gb patch. I'd also clean the DLCs with TES4Edit.

 

Qarl’s Texture Pack III Redimized (with the compatibility patch for the Unofficial Patch) and Bromet’s Texture Pack for Shivering Isles are essential texture replacers. DarNified UI is a popular interface update. For characters, install Blockhead, then Oblivion Character Overhaul, then the "idiot" version of Seamless OCOv2 Edition (which includes body replacers from Robert's Male and HGEC Female). Oblivion Reloaded has a lot of great visual tweaks, but other features are a little controversial, so check the readme and disable anything you don't want in the ini file.

 

Some simple gameplay tweaks: DLC Delayers keep the DLC "missions" from being dumped on you near the start of the game, which is otherwise pretty annoying. Another annoying issue in Oblivion is how enemies and monsters level up with you. To address this, you could try something simple like Leveling Quick Fix, or Francesco's Creatures and Items, which is a lot more feature-rich. I like this post for answering the question of what other gameplay mods you might want.

 

This is just the stuff I've tried and liked, but there's a lot more out there. Some mod lists to investigate:

Bevilex’s mod list

Dizzy’s Modding Guide

Some or all of FCOM, for a more radically reinvented Oblivion.

[MetalFingers87]

Thank you so very much for your reply!

 

I have gone through and started downloading the files and placing them in a folder. Once I read through the links you posted properly I will get started... Be warned, I'm likely to come back with more questions too! :P

 

I do have one already, and I am unsure if it is answered in any of the links. I installed a fair few mods for Fallout NV and I used FOMM. I recall just loading the zip files and it basically did the rest... Is that the correct way to use most mod managers, or should I be unzipping the files first and directing to the unzipped folder? I only ask because it seemed both methods worked, but I haven't seen reference to that anywhere before. I believe the term is 'good modding hygiene' and that is something I am trying to learn.

[1Mac]

You're welcome! I'm pretty new to modding myself but I'll do what I can to help.

 

To answer your question, an unopened archive usually works fine for mod managers. Some mods, like DarNified UI, will give you more particular instructions that you should follow. Just check the readmes of whatever you're installing.

[MetalFingers87]

Well, your post was helpful none the less.

 

I have a question about cleaning the DLC's. I read the guide to using TES4Edit but it made absolutely ZERO sense to me. Even the directions for navigating the program don't seem to work... I try opening the Knights of the Nine esm or Oblivion.esm and it just says error. The game is freshly installed, no unofficial patches or anything so I don't know if it's because there is nothing to check for yet? Again, the guide didn't really help me understand what the process involves. Very confused on what they mean by ONLY CLEANING LAST MOD IN LOAD ORDER... Wouldn't you have to uninstall and delete any subsequent mods should you need to clean an earlier one? Can you just disable mods below it in the manager? What do you do if you need to clean a mod in the middle of your load order?

 

Sorry, it just felt that guide simply listed some jargon and then threw it all at me lol.

[MetalFingers87]

Well that didn't go well... Installed the 4GB patch (Or so I think? Can't find '4GB patch' anywhere here, just '4GB RAM patcher') and OBSE and now the game won't load at all lol. No idea how these failed given I followed the instructions to the letter. Anyone have a link for both in case I grabbed the wrong ones?

[Striker879]

Here's the one I used myself. My own tests indicated that until I ran it on both obse_loader.exe and Oblivion.exe it didn't make any difference in the reported memory usage in Task manager (i.e. when I ran it on Oblivion.exe alone it made no difference when running the game via obse_loader.exe).

 

Note that I run the disk version of the GotY ... can't say for certain how that would translate to other versions such as Steam or GOG.

[MetalFingers87]

Ok something is going very wrong right from the start, and I can't figure out what...

 

I installed TESMM and opened it. 'Imported' the Unofficial Patch, the DLC one, and the Shivering Isles one. I created an omod for each one, as well as the QTP/UOP compatibility patch. I then 'Activated' them, each of them going smoothly beside the WTP/UOP patch. I believe I clicked on the option to replace the Unofficial Patches files with the QTP patch files, which I believe would be the point of the patch? I then tried to launch the game; opening the Oblivion Launcher via TESMM and clicking 'Launch'. The game starts to run but instantly crashes to desktop.

 

I have the Steam version, with Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles. TESMM says OBSE is installed even though I never told it to do so, or did so manually. I haven't even done the 4GB patch at all this time. I seriously cannot understand why I am having a problem so soon! Is it required I have QTP installed perhaps? I wouldn't of imagined the compatibility patch would stop it from launching... If it even IS that.

[1Mac]

Ok something is going very wrong right from the start, and I can't figure out what...

 

I installed TESMM and opened it. 'Imported' the Unofficial Patch, the DLC one, and the Shivering Isles one. I created an omod for each one, as well as the QTP/UOP compatibility patch. I then 'Activated' them, each of them going smoothly beside the WTP/UOP patch. I believe I clicked on the option to replace the Unofficial Patches files with the QTP patch files, which I believe would be the point of the patch? I then tried to launch the game; opening the Oblivion Launcher via TESMM and clicking 'Launch'. The game starts to run but instantly crashes to desktop.

 

I have the Steam version, with Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles. TESMM says OBSE is installed even though I never told it to do so, or did so manually. I haven't even done the 4GB patch at all this time. I seriously cannot understand why I am having a problem so soon! Is it required I have QTP installed perhaps? I wouldn't of imagined the compatibility patch would stop it from launching... If it even IS that.

 

Yep, you need to install QTP before installing the compatibility patch, but after installing the unofficial patches. Also, you need to launch the game through Steam, not via TESMM or opening obse_loader.exe or any other method. It's all part of Steam's DRM, which is of course a pain, and why I'm looking forward to the game going on sale at GOG.

 

The guide for cleaning the DLCs is pretty exhaustive. Here are the very basic instructions:

 

-Launch TES4Edit. Right-click the "Master-Plugin Selection" dialog that opens and click “Select none.”

-Select Oblivion.esm and the DLC plugin you are cleaning. Click Okay.

-When they load, right-click the DLC and pick “Add Filter.”

-Uncheck every option except “Conflict status inherited by parent.” Click Okay.

-Right-click the DLC again and select “Remove ‘Identical to Master’ records.” Wait two seconds, then click Yes.

-Close (don’t quit) the TES4Edit window. Click Okay for the dialog to backup the edited plugin.

-Repeat for other DLCs. All DLCs except Shivering Isles should be cleaned.

 

Run BOSS and check to make sure there are no more dirty edits messages. Clean any mods you missed.

[MetalFingers87]

Ok, so any idea how I can fix this? Is it fixable? I am going to try importing and activating QTP and then reactivating the QTP patch. I hope that works!

 

Thanks once more for that much better tutorial :tongue:

 

Update: Nope, didn't work. Guess I will need to uninstall and download the game again. What am I meant to be doing when TESMM shows me a conflict? For QTP, I clicked on the Unofficial patch and hit 'OK' and then for the compatibility patch I clicked on QTP and clicked 'OK'.

 

Update 2: I fixed it! I was misunderstanding what TESMM wanted me to do. Rather than selecting the file to prioritize, I was selecting the ones that needed replacing. I thought I was instead directing it to the mod it needed to replace instead. My bad! Just a teething pain with this mod manager I think :D

Edited December 3, 2017 by MetalFingers87