New to the DAO Modding Scene

[DoriSai]

TL;DR version: Newbie to DAO modding, asking for some good mod suggestions before diving in head first.

 

Hey, as usual when I join a new modding community I'm immediately overwhelmed by the amount of mods I can find and have no idea where to begin. I know the basics of how modding might work and how certain mods can disable or break or otherwise interfere with eachother, so I know it's better to start slow by now. My last major modding experience was with Fable... and I have no intention of re-installing DA and everything with it a dozen times like I had to do with Fable TLC a while back lol.

 

For now, I'd like to know if anyone has suggestions for foundation or early mods to get me started. The kinds of mods that are likely to affect or be affected by other mods, and would be better off installed first before I incorporate these others. Off the top of my head a good example that I've seen in here would be Awakening in the OC (a mod I definitely intend to install early on).

 

Other good suggestions would include standalone tools, fixes, tweaks, and such. Like the Universal Dye Kit, or the Ancient Elven Boots fix, the various Rune fixes and mods, and The Winter Forge (again, all mods I plan to include already). Standalone weapons that don't interfere with other mods could also be convenient (though I'm likely to want to tweak any abilities I think are overpowered, and deciding on each mod mostly hinges on the aesthetic value of the gear for me).

 

For the record, one mod I probably will not incorporate is the Weapon Replacement mod (I forget the exact title) that replaces the original sword designs with realistic models. I rather like the sword designs that are already in the game, particularly the Dalish swords (I remember I went to the endgame of DAO on my 360 with specifically a Viridium armor set for the color, I forget exactly what though since it was not an actual set but stuff I liked together, and a pair of Dalish swords (probably tier7) equipped to my DWRoguePC).

 

Hmm... now random stuff I've seen that I might incorporate... The Adoption mod looked interesting, I'm looking at the various Console mods and additions (such as the one that puts Console commands into your Codex for easy access, and the AddItem mods, and the visible console mod), I've considered the Respec mod (the one with the Raven NPC) but if I'm going to be using Awakening in the OC I can probably just respec with a tome that way... The Relic Upgrade mod looks very useful (no more raging at the loss of a cool sword in late game), Jake Zahn's mods overall look good so I'll likely include several, same with Xelte's mods...

 

Things I'm also looking for: Mods that mimic gear from other games, such as Skyrim. Note I'm not looking for PORTS, simply imitations. I know ports are not allowed here, but if I can find some imitation designs for certain items then I'd be happy. I'd port stuff myself for personal use (once I get the hang of DAO on the PC), but my computer can't handle Skyrim so there's little point in getting it for PC. Still, if anyone knows of a LEGAL imitation of the Nightingale Armor or Blade of Woe, or knows of a way I can LEGALLY set up a way to port these designs (NOTE: I do own Skyrim on the PS3, but that fact doesn't help me much in this department) please let me know.

 

Final Note: If any portion of this post infringes on the rules please let me know. By my understanding of them I have not done so, but since I'm new here I may have misunderstood something somewhere. I do not intend to endorse any illegal activity, however I lack the resources and skills to design certain mods myself at this time.

[LadyHonor]

I'm not sure I'm getting what you're asking here but I'll give it a shot. With any mod it's really a matter of personal taste as to which ones you want to add to enhance your game experience. That is if you're talking about other people's mods. As for making your own thats personal preference too but it all depends on what exactly it is that you want to do. About standalones....I'm not 100% certain on this but I think so long as they are in the add-ins folder for your mod they shouldn't interfere with other mods. At least I havent had any problems...yet...with mine interfereing with others. Then again most of the mods I use are my own. Basically tho if you're speaking of creating your own mods and have no experience with the toolset and scripting I would recommend you start out small. I got started with head morphs. Then I started making my own item sets. Like I love the heavy dwarven armor but hate the boots. I liked the ceremonial boots and gloves. So I made my own sets combining those.

[Thandal]

If you're new to the Dragon Age scene, then I recommend starting with this article: Using Dragon Age Mods for Dummies. As it explains, there are many different types of DA mods, and they each have their own ways of being handled to get working properly.

Then take a look at this topic: Good Mods - Opinions. It hasn't been updated recently, but there really haven't been that many new "must haves" in quite a while. Just additional facemorphs and items, mostly.

As far as the specific likes and dislikes you mentioned, I only know of three mods that make such radical changes to your game that they can actually "break" it; "Improved Atmosphere", "The Universal Dye Kit", and "NV4". In all three cases, the problem is that they (can) add things (materials, model assignments) that don't exist in the vanilla game. If you use them then later want to play without them, you may not be able to load the saves made whilst they were installed. (And in the case of IA, there are known conflicts with many other mods. I had it installed for a short while and regretted it for that very reason.)

But in general, simply delete DA mods and they're gone!

One final observation: If you haven't already played the game, every single experienced player I've ever seen mention the subject (myself included) recommends playing through the first time without any mods at al!. The game is spectacular straight out-of-the-box, and by doing so you'll have a much better understanding of the changes you might want to make, and exactly what the mods you chose are doing for you.

And DAO is also one of the best games for re-playability I've ever encountered!

Happy Modded Gaming! :thumbsup:

[DoriSai]

I have played the vanilla game before. In fact I've beaten the Origins Campaign more times then I care to count. It got to the point where I started spending hours early game reloading for a specific item (In fact, the earliest I can remember was killing the Howe Knight in the Human Nobel origin... simply for the Executioner's Helm) just for appearance reasons. It got quite boring once I played it more then a half dozen times... Though the Human Noble origin is still my favorite... And my second fav is the Dalish Elf one. I've also beaten Darkspawn Chronicles, Leliana's Song, and Golems of Amgarrak (or however it's spelled, I can never remember if that's right). I have NOT played Awakening or Witch Hunt yet... because when I finally got Awakening on the 360 I spent weeks trying to get my "perfect playthrough" for story and personal flavor reasons to continue into Awakening... Unfortunately I never finished that perfect playthrough and wound up having to pawn my 360 and everything with it. I'm just glad I can afford the game on my computer (and that my computer can RUN it, I was VERY surprised when it ran, I bought the game with a gamestop gift card fully expecting it wouldn't run at all lol).

 

I will definitely be taking a look at those links you provided for me, I'm sure they'll prove helpful. As for mods breaking the game if I try to remove them... I doubt I'll be doing much about removing mods that mostly just tweak appearance. In fact the only mods I can imagine wanting to specifically remove at some point would be items. That is of course assuming every mod I install actually works properly for me and doesn't create unexpected side effects in game.

 

Are there any experienced modders in here that are able to create custom equipment and might do so as a request? Specifically ones that also play Skyrim would be convenient, since they would know exactly what I'm talking about when I ask for assistance.

[theskymoves]

I've blogged quite a bit about my preferred mods, and have a categorized list at @ kinlochhold mods her game. (I use lots of mods to enhance aesthetics, and many standalone armour and weapon mods - with tweaking of the usually over-powered stats down to something akin to vanilla items via The Winter Forge - as well as a host of gameplay changes, difficulty enhancers, and fixes/tweaks. And I try to make note on my list of any compatibility issues that a mod may have.)

Edited March 28, 2013 by theskymoves

[Thandal]

DoriSai, on 27 Mar 2013 - 15:24, said:

DoriSai, on 27 Mar 2013 - 15:24, said:

 

... once I played it more then a half dozen times...

And how many RPGs keep you interested enough to play them more than twice? ;D

 

I've done the full run through DAO (including TSP, WK, and RtO), DAA, GoA, and WH with at least half-a-dozen different Wardens. Plus multiple times through LS, just for fun. (As far as "The DLC Which Must Not Be Named"... only once. And only because it came with the UE. :P )

 

Currently have about 1.5GB of mods installed (out of over 5GB downloaded and tried at various times.) My core list is at the third post in that topic I linked.

[DoriSai]

Yeah, some games I have trouble completing, because I get distracted by something else XD

 

I remember the original Fable game I played that thing for a good 6 months straight (at the time I was no school no job no nothing, just bump on a couch, there was a reason for this though). I lost count how many times I beat it. I also wrote two guides on it (they were pretty short ones, and never submitted anywhere... one was an experiment more so than a guide but either way, they just gather cyber dust on my computer lol). And after a while when I got my computer again, I played through and beat it a few more times, modding the entire time. Spent another year or so (while working this time) playing damn near nothing but Fable TLC.

 

Out of games that have captivated my attention and HELD them, I count two. Fable TLC, and Dragon Age Origins.