What Mods Can Give Me the Most* And Will They Even Work?

[manye657]

Hey Yall,

 

New to the forum so I'll do a little introduction. Name's Mikael.Just recently turned 21, I'm a musician/actor/artist, a student studying wildlife conservation, and of course, a medieval/renaissance obsess-or. So it's pretty obvious why I love Oblivion/Skyrim.

 

 

Anyways, I just bought oblivion on PC (have it on xbox, needed more) and I'm wondering what my current laptop specs CAN, in fact, Run.

 

Here's a general specs list:

 

Dell Inspiron 15R

 

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

 

2nd generation Intel Core i3-2310M processor 2.10 GHz

 

6GB,DDR3,2 DIMM

 

Intel HD Graphics/HD Graphics 3000 with up to 1.6GB Dynamic Video Memory

 

500GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive

 

High Definition Audio 2.0 with SRS Premium Sound (don't know if that matters)

 

Now, the Mods I'm mostly interested in are in the ascetics area. Not really looking for crazy quests or anything, just want a beautiful bug free Cyrodill.

 

Will they run smoothly on my PC?

Are some not compatible with others?

Are some way out of my league?

Can they all run together or will that slow everything down?

AND if my PC is complete s*** and can't play any mods, what can I buy to upgrade it so it can. (I'd rather not buy something because I'm a poor student but who knows maybe down the line)

 

I've compiled a list of some of the Mods that interested me:

 

Unofficial Oblivion Patch http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/5296

Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/10739

Unofficial Official Mods Patch (what is this for?) http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/9969

 

Deadly Reflex http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/8273

 

Natural Environments http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/2536

 

DarNified UI http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/10763

 

ImpeREAL City - Unique Districts http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/19589

Unique Landscapes http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/19370

 

Immersive Interiors http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/34199

 

Enhanced Water v20 http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/8011

 

Enhanced Vegetation OR Oblivion Grass Overhaul

http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/23783 ; http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/42400

 

SonicEthers Beaming Sunglare http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/16533

Qarl’s Texture Pack III http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=2363

[Hickory]

Your laptop is way above the original specs for Oblivion (an old game), but going heavily modded with shared video memory (DVM) is ultimately going to cause a bottleneck, particularly with graphic intensive mods like Quarl's Texture pack, and to a lesser degree Unique Landscapes. Were I you, I would go ahead with all but Quarls to start with. But keep in mind that certain areas of UL tend to tax the system more than others (Bravil outskirts and the Dark Forest come to mind), so check out the areas around major towns. If you have no issues with those, only then consider adding Quarls.

[manye657]

thanks hickory

 

I kinda assumed the textures would be too much.

 

I've also heard that curtain mods should be installed before others. is this true? and if so, whats a general rule of thumb for the order of particular mods?

[Hickory]

Yes, it's very true -- the more mods you have, the more important it becomes. There is no hard and fast 'rule of thumb' -- well there is... sort of, but it becomes very complicated. That's where BOSS (Better Oblivion Sorting Software) comes in. It takes any guesswork and hassle away, and does the job for you. As your mod list grows, you will also come to need Wrye Bash for it's Bashed Patch. Wrye Bash can be daunting for some people to start with, but it is THE most versatile and valuable tool for Oblivion, bar none.

[mhahn123]

The Unofficial Official Mods Patch repairs glitches/bugs found in all the Official Bethesda Released DLC expansions other than Shivering Isles. If you plan to use any of them it's a must have. Most of what you listed looks OK for laptop use...Qarls would be the stumbling block of course. Just keep in mind it is somewhat modular so you can pick and choose which parts work for your pc without overtaxing it.

 

I had trouble running most of the "outdoor" textures since I use an extensive load order and visible when distant packages. What I ended up doing was using the interior textures from Qarls such as dungeons, sewers, caves, along with a very few hand selected outdoor textures. So was able to get some visual improvements and still keep my game playable.

[manye657]

thanks guys. I downloaded everything besides textures like you said. and everything works fine. I might give qarls a shot in the way mhan said it with just interiors

[theuseless]

I would add some variety as well. If you can use the boss utility with Wrye Bash, then you should be able to combine leveled lists with the bashed patch. If not, then only install one of these armor mods:

 

Bob's Armory

Armamentarium

 

Both of these add extensive amounts of armors to the world through leveled lists. It makes it worth while to kill the random bandits, etc. If you have no idea what a leveled list or a bashed patch is, then use only one of them. Armamentarium is a little more complicated to install, but has far more weapons and armors than Bob's.

 

If you are looking for other cool weapons and armors, I have hundreds added to my mod, though I don't touch the leveled lists (shameless plug). Other cool weapons and armors are added in mass by the following mods:

 

Armory of the Silver Dragon

Nico's Complete

 

There are many amazing mods which add whole new worlds to explore, complete with new weapons and armors:

 

TOQL (top oblivion quests link)

Deserts of Aniquia

Knights of the Nine

 

And then there is Midas Magic. I never play without it!

 

All the mods listed above are compatible with the exception of some from the toql and the first armory mods (Bob's and Armamentarium need to have lists merged) I hope this gets you started in a good direction. Most of these mods are simple to install and use, while adding needed depth to the environment.