The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Modding Help

[Zeema]

Hello, people of the escapist community. i Beseech for your

i wish to download some Mods for the game mainly graphical, Character Customization wise, general improvements, bug fixes, Cool and awesome mods.

i went on the Nexus and i was a bit overwhelmed with all the mods and how they conflict, i also screwed up my Skyrim game with mods.

but i do like the modding community and i like what i saw on the Nexus.

Can anyone provide some advice for what mods should i use?
How to install said mods?

i have the Collectors Edition of Oblivion

thank you for you're help

 

[Dragoon]

Here are some tips, firstly I would use the Nexus Mod Manager to install mods, it downloads them from the site and then installs them in the correct place. Now secondly make sure you test that the game starts up and looks like it should every time you install a new mod, this way you can catch any conflicts and remove that mod before you get too bogged down. Also you need to check that your load order is correct, look for a tool called BOSS that does this for you (it works for all Bethesda games so you can use it to help with Skyrim as well, it will highlight conflicting or broken mods for you).

When looking at mods check their descriptions, they usually list other mods they have conflicts with so make sure to check every time. As for the mods you should get just go for the top rated ones on Nexus, they're top rated for a reason, good luck

 

[Chromatic Aberration]

Since I answered that question twice already I'll just quote myself,

Wait...I made a post about this a year or so ago...let me check....

There it is!

Seconding most of the stuff the people have already said. Heres a quick summary of what I'd recommend:

Tools You Need

BOSS (Better Oblivion Sorting Software)
Wrye Bash
OBMM (Oblivion Mod Manager)
OBSE (Oblivion Script Extender)

Better Graphics/Performance

OBGE (Oblivion Graphics Extender)
Darnified UI
Streamline
Qarl's Texture Pack

Gameplay Mods

Unique Landscapes Compilation
Better Cities
Deadly Reflex
Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul
Frostcrag Reborn
Windfall
Elsweyr Anequina
Malevolent + Tears Of The Fiend

Where to go to get that stuff: TESNexus [http://www.tesnexus.com]

Also, always remember to read the README files that come with your mods to check for compatibility issues....

In terms of story you'd want to check out Tears of the Fiend and Malevolent. They are very well done and try to get some interesting aspects into the storyline. Windfall is, in essence, like a second expansion for the game giving you the whole island of windfall to explore along with a faction-based storyline.

I personally used the whole F-com mod which couples a host of distinct gameplay mods into one huge pile. Worked great, though. It is, however, one big pain in the ass to set up properly. Hence, the smartest choice would be OOO. Deadly Reflex is a nice addition to the combat and makes it more interesting adding kicks, throwing torches and other stuff - just don't expect a quantum leap.

When talking about general graphics stuff or world-stuff the Shaders, Textures and Unique Landscapes plus Better Cities is your go to goal. Unique landscapes and Better Cities improve the feeling of Cyrodiil as a unique place by a vast amount and the Shaders plus textures make them look awesome. I'd heavily recommend them.

EDIT: Also use that Nexus Mod Manager [http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/modmanager], it makes life much easier.

Also if you are out to try a completely new (and decidedly better than vanilla oblivion) game try Nehrim [http://www.nehrim.de/] - its a stand-alone complete overhaul introducing its own world, story and even has an xp system. Haven't beaten it yet but it seems to have a very good storyline and has a much more explorative appeal to it than Oblivion ever had. Note that this is completely independent from the main-game and any mods you might have installed there.

You might also want to compare this post of mine [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/538.394447-Applying-Mods-to-Fallout-3#15984544] about modding Fallout 3 that tackles the issue of modding a gamebryo-engine game a bit more generally.

Also because Furries, take a look at these race-mods: Chihurai Race [http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/31465/?], Vexend Race [http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/19373/?] and the IAJOT race replacer [http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/40284/?].

EDIT: Also before I forget it, you might not need to concern yourself with Wrye Bash or BOSS as in in you need to install them. Wrye Bash is more an expert tool for advanced stuffs that you probably don't need and BOSS is integrated in the Nexus Mod Manager I think. You do need to start the latter manually from the program if I'm not mistaken though.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Also if you are out to try a completely new (and decidedly better than vanilla oblivion) game try Nehrim [http://www.nehrim.de/] - its a stand-alone complete overhaul introducing its own world, story and even has an xp system. Haven't beaten it yet but it seems to have a very good storyline and has a much more explorative appeal to it than Oblivion ever had. Note that this is completely independent from the main-game and any mods you might have installed there.

Yes! Nehrim is absolutely amazing. I'm someone that has an overall meh opinion of vanilla Oblivion, but I still would rate Nehrim as one of my favorite RPGs of all time. It just improves from Oblivion in so many ways (including the awful inventory interface), and has a bunch of stuff that makes in unique. And while it's still really obvious that it's a mod for Oblivion, you will quickly stop caring. A couple of things you should know, though, all of the voice acting is in German, so unless you are fluent in German, you're going to be reading a lot of subtitles (I don't personally care, but I know it's an issue for some). Also, it's kind of a pain to play alongside Oblivion proper, because you have to enable and disable all of your mods every time you switch.

 

[Terraniux]

I use the Oblivion Character Overhaul [http://oblivion.nexusmods.com/mods/43612//?] to make NPC faces much less eye-searing to look at without making them 'pretty.' They look like people now, with peoples' heads instead of the horrible heads in vanilla. The new Khajiit heads aren't that good looking in my opinion, but they're still a slight improvement, and all the elves look so much better.

Spoiler

 

[A Weakgeek]

I suggest the various sex mods, nude mods, skimpy costume mods and jiggle physics mods. Also, if you're not too concerned with balanced difficulty, you could also try the fearsome dildo crossbow. Also for a more eastern taste, there are some tentacle monsters with unique animations that will make you want to learn how to play the game one handed.

 

[Asita]

You might want to look into something to fix the leveling system. I've been trying to go through Oblivion for the first time and the way it approaches stats and leveling is absolutely killing my interest in the game.

Spoiler: The reasoning behind that suggestion

To clarify that: Oblivion's system has you decide on seven "major skills", through which your leveling is tracked. These skills start off at apprentice level and each correspond to a given stat. Anytime you gain 10 levels across your major skills, you gain a level. Sounds good right? WRONG. See, stats in Oblivion only advance when you level up, and only then based on what skills had been leveled up (so if you want to level up your endurance you need to train an endurance skill), and then only to a maximum of 15 points (11 if you choose to boost luck) total, with only 5 in each stat (1 in the case of luck). To maximize your levels and make sure that the game doesn't become face grindingly difficult, you have to plan ahead and try to get the most out of every level. This means you want to make sure that you focus on skills with the stats you want, make sure that those only level up to a specific point, and only then do you level up. Making matters even less intuitive, you need to make sure that your major skills are things you won't use often (NEVER PUT RESTORATION AS A MAJOR SKILL).

Let me go ahead and illustrate that. Let's say you're starting with a 5/5/1 level up. (pretty much the only thing that will let you get max stats in the game). That means that at level up you're increasing two stats by five points and luck by one point. For the sake of example, we'll say you're trying to max strength (melee damage, carrying capacity) and endurance (hp gained per level, so it's really priority one), via 'blade' weapons and 'heavy' armor, respectively. You can run around a bit acting like a warrior, but you'll keep a close eye on your skills and make sure that they only reach 10 levels apiece. After that, spam a major skill you don't care about (let's say acrobatics because speed's arguably the least important stat you get) until you level. Voila. You maximized your level up by opening the door for 5 points in strength, 5 points in endurance and either 5 points in speed or 1 point in luck. Now you might be asking yourself..."what happens if I just spam my major skill of acrobatics without leveling up any other skill?" The answer is quite simple: You get far less out of your level. In that case you can only either put 5 points in speed or 1 point in luck, effectively you get 1/3 of a level up instead of a full level up[footnote]And no, you can't train your minor skills afterwards. Once you get the notice that you're ready to level up, your skillpoint gain is locked in[/footnote]. Why's this bad? Everything is level scaled and assumes you don't screw up like that when you're leveling. To that end, the general strategy is either grind your skills or circumvent the problem through a low-level playthrough, ignoring level ups to keep the enemies at a similarly low level.

Seriously, if you decide not to seek a mod that tweaks the leveling system, at least do yourself the favor of making sure you're intimately familiar with it so you don't shoot yourself in the foot while leveling up.

EDIT: Also use that Nexus Mod Manager [http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/modmanager], it makes life much easier.

It's my understanding that the Nexus Mod Manager is kinda hit and miss as far as Oblivion Mods are concerned, simply because the mods were generally made with Oblivion Mod Manager in mind

 

[Muspelheim]

As have been suggested, the Oblivion Mod Manager is wonderful. If you are worried about conflicting mods, I believe you can let it search for conflicts. Not to mention, load order is everything, and the OMM is a lot more helpful in sorting it out than the vanilla data window.

Of course, always mod sensibly. There's only so much data that the rather rickety Bethesda engines are able to handle until things begin to get glitchy. Make new characters for really big mods, and save often in safe locations.

Oh, and chalk up another shoutout for Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul. It adds much of the depth that Oblivion were sadly lacking in.