Arwen's Realm

[Arwen]

This thread is for discussing, suggesting, and promoting of MODs for Oblivion.

Note: once theses forums upgrade to phpBB 3.0 (Beta testing begins this week), I'll be able to set up Sub-Forums, like one just for Oblivion MODs

Recommended Oblivion MOD websites:

TES Nexus: One of the largest collection of OB MODS anywhere.

Arwen's Oblivion Journal - MODs Page: My recommended MOD list, with current links, sorted by catagory, reviewed, pluse my load order

Planet Elder Scrolls Recommended by Nethros

Pm me if you have other sites that you feel should be posted here.

[Myrrhte]

Arwen, I read that you rolplayed not being able to get the shackles off, this mod really makes it so, and more! Guards will arrest you on sight, responsable npcs will report you if they see your shackles and you get silenced by the iron shackles. It really adds a lot of immersion, especially for a thief character. Oh, and the jail penalties are also more severe, so escape really becomes an option. Linky

And this one is still in beta, but it certainly looks promising! NPC's do jail

[Myrrhte]

There is this mod that adds havok to normally static objects: Physical throwable crates'n chests. Now you can move boxes, stools and even beds and bookcase around.
I used it for a while, but strange things were happening. Sometimes things would bounce through the room, and bookcases just went mental every time I picked up a book out of them. I disabled it, but I missed my movable boxes. So I went in the folder and deleted all the things I thought shouldn't be movable. Like beds and bookcases etc. Now I can move crates, chairs and other stuff. When I'm sitting in my inn room at night for example, and I decide to read a book, I just move a candle over to the desk and tadaa: light.
It's fun. ^^

[Ryft]

That sounds like a great mod! What's the name of the folder that you accessed?

[Nethros]

Should be meshes. Be careful you dont remove anything else though.

[Ryft]

Some Mods I'm using are listed below. A nexus search will pop up any of these, though.

Anyone played around with the Better Cities mods? They look really attractive. Bananasplits Better Cities. You can get a merged mod, or individual ones for each city. Imperial Market and Arboreatum included. Customizable with removable components. Not recommended for low end systems.

Thievery in the Imperial City: adds a new fence, several thief quests.

TNR: Tamriel NPCs Revamped. Someone decided to redo the face of every NPC in the game, one at a time. Racial features are re-imagined for both consistency and variation between the races, with solid attention to the classic archetype for each race.

Harvest Containers: Like Harvest Flora, except with sacks, boxes, barrels, etc.

Tandem's Level Slow (4x version): name says it all

sr retroactive health: I don't use S.P.A.M. or similar like Arwen, but I still enjoy this mod. Keeps you from freaking out about your health score at early levels.

Vendor Freedom unlocks level limits on what is available for sale, which promotes consistency. A glass sword might be pricey, but you can be certain to see it for sale at level 1 anyways.

Rare Items v1.18: A mimimal mod that keeps every bandit from spawning in full daedric armor at high levels, and also modifies leveled loot containers. It's set up to not change the leveled creatures, but instead to change their gear. Steel is as high as most encounters go. Stuff up to Mithril might be found rarely on boss level encounters. Really high level monsters (wraiths, minotaur lords) might have as high as ebony, but even that's not assured. Daedra and other Dremora are largely unaffected, and are the only real source for daedric weapons.

Phitt's Worthwhile Thievery: alters the containers in civilian homes, to make breaking and entering worthwhile for more than the free food, clutter items, and a bounty on your head if you get caught. The level of item rarity is tweakable, as the mod archive come with different variations.

Faster Grass/ Faster Trees: make the plants sway a bit faster, as they will slow down noticeably if you alter the passage of time speed in the console.

No Quest Items: it's not that they don't exist, it's that they aren't quest items anymore. Drop whatever you want!

Quest Award Leveler: Quest rewards based on level will advance in powers when you level up, so don't worry about when/what order you do quests in. Includes the two unique spells you get through Mage's quests.

House Map Markers (only bought version): For those of us who aren't horribly offended by fast travel, this adds map pins to the houses you get to buy in game.

Crowded Roads: adds NPC travelers to roads. Use newest version, 2.0.

Modular Oblivion Enhanced: collected of neat mods. I use the unlocked content ones, for new hairstyles and such. Some of it is just quest add ons, and some of it is rubbish, but take the gems that you do see there.

[Ryft]

Lynges Thieves Highway: great for the Thievery mod listed above. Adds rooftop access to certain city areas, as well as rooftop access to certain buildings, even. Compatible with Better Cities if you use their fixed version.

Fellan Cities of Cyrodiil: modifies a couple more areas of the Imperial City that Bananasplit's Better Cities doesn't.

[Myrrhte]

Roberts female body replacer Not a lot of support, but the best body mod I've ever seen! If your like realism that is...

[Ryft]

Seems that all the better body mods are female only... :-\

[Myrrhte]

What about this one? It's the only one you need really. You can even pich the body type!

[Arwen]

I just added the See You Sleep to my OB Journal's Mods Page. I've even posted screenshots.

See You Sleep does exactly what the Mod name says - you can now watch you character climb into bed, stretch out, and fall asleep. It also allow you to pick your sleep wear, which your character will then automatically change into - after all, who wants to sleep in armor, and boots? And I never could get comfortable with that quiver full of arrows on my back.

I also added two other mods:

Initial Glow, which replaces No_ persistent enchantment glow fix in my recommended mods

Brighter Drop Lit Torches With Weight, as an update to Drop Lit Torches

[Ryft]

I'm now using brighter drop torches with weight. Great find, and it makes me more self conscious about picking up every torch I happen across, now.

See You Sleep is giving me some strange errors. I think it's conflicting with something... possibly Real Sleep. Might need to use Vim and Vigor instead...

[Myrrhte]

A very sweet thing, especially for you, Arwen.

A journal mod Now you can keep track of a journal in game! The entries aren't available as text files in this version, but they will be in the next version. (is being worked on) It's very simple to use.

[Arwen]

I tried that journal mod and didn't like it. I found it was very slow to type anything in to it, and it had no real use for me. I miss MW's ingame journal, and ofen used it to write my journal. With OB I find it easier just to take notes outside of the game.

[Arwen]

Has anyone tried out any of Duke PArtick's mods? I've just recently discovered them, and have fell in love with a couple already. So far my favorite is "Magic You Can Believe In", which only changes the shaders used when casting spells - but it's very cool in the way that it's done. For more on this mod and a sequential screenshot of my Bosmer casting a Restoration Spell, see my Oblivion Journal's MODs Page.

I'm also giving his "SCA Combat" mod a try - so far it's great, except that I need to find a way to lessen the power that he gives bows - which are way too powerful in my opinion.

[Turpin]

Attack and Hide. I've used this mod since shortly after its release in 2006. If you attack a mob or npc and then hide out of sight, the npc will, instead of homing in on you, run toward the last location he/she/it saw you in and then proceed to look around for you, eventually giving up after a while. Meanwhile, if you're sneaking, you can perform another stealth attack. Brilliant and realistic. Most of the time I'm found, but sometimes I'm able to sit unmoving on sneak in a shaded corner and watch the mob run right by me looking for me. Sweet.

Retextured Orcs Pack. Darker, meaner looking orcs.

Seph Hand to Hand Animation Replacer. Changes the power punch animation to a kick instead. And you see the kick in either first person or third person. The effect makes hand to hand worth playing. There's a choice of different kick animations. All of them are extremely well done.

RPGBlackDagons LowTriPoly grass There are a number of low-poly grass mods out there. For me, this one seems to have made the biggest FPS difference. And people say it looks great for such low polys. I haven't stopped to look that close. I mean, do you notice the grass in real life?
(I actually do notice the little things in nature more than most people, but grass doesn't keep my interest for long)

Villages. Adds some villages to the game in scattered locations. I wouldn't have mentioned this except that they really do add a little life to the game. Fort Turjak in particular is one that has saved my life on a few occasions. The guards there are always on the lookout.

Abandoned Village of Lily Zombies!!! I love zombies. They have no earthly reason for walking around, but there they are, once fully functioning individuals, now mindless carnivorous things that have nothing better to do but hunt you down and bite through your skull to get to the yummy soft center. Mmm. This town fell to the zombie plague. Now it's just the most fun place to visit ever. Bring with you a good whacking stick.

What about this one? It's the only one (male body replacer) you need really. You can even pich the body type!

Awesome. Thanks. I used to use an earlier version of this one I think but I couldn't remember its name. Pretty straight forward.

Tandem's Level Slow (4x version): name says it all.

I'd be hesitant to put that in my game when I think Oscuro's is already slowing the levelling down by 4X, or am I remembering something wrong? (seriously, it does happen)

There are a bunch more I'd mention, but they're already in Arwen's recommended list. So I don't have to.

[Ryft]

It looks like someone has been busy tweaking her mods page...
Good show, Arwen!

I'll give Better Cities a try at some point - but first I think I want to check out open cities.

http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index ... 41133&st=0

Open Better Cities is now available!*

*yeah, there's still no open Imperial City...

Note that this isn't perfect... it won't work seemlessly without starting a new game, so I wouldn't expect everyone to just drop whatever they are doing in the game and start playing with this immediately. I myself am trying to get through the main quest for the first time, and don't really feel like starting over. Still, it's an interesting collision of two (I assume) great mods.

I've not tried Open Cities yet, but even though Better Cities has killed my in-town framerate I can't seem to make myself live without them! I've had to lower my graphics settings because of it, and I've even looked into overclocking my processor. It's truly a mod that needs to be experienced to be appreciated, as it turns out. I removed them earlier today to see what impact they were having on my framerate, and while looking around smoothed out noticeably all I could think about is how empty and awful Bruma and Leyawiin looked without them installed... while the vision the various authors had for each city is perhaps not how I would have done things, the core element of what makes a good city... which is apparently the density of its many cluttered elements, is perhaps so important for immersion that I can no longer suspend my disbelief without them.

So far there's the patch for Unique Landscapes compatibility. I'm assuming the patch for Illumination Within would still work, but I've not tested this yet. There's a similar lighting mod that works perfectly, though, loccated at http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7055 that could be a viable replacement. The customization options from the original Better Cities are largely still available (toggle wine barrels, wall archers, or gore elements). And you can still use the original IC BC mods (marketplace and arboretum) with it, of course. There only looks to be one major bug (Fire and Steel, in Chorrol) and it promises to be fixed with the next update.

I'll be watching this thread very closely in the future for using with my next character, for certain...

[Pancakes]

Has anyone here been able to play as a ranger (or an archer)? As in, properly? You know, relying primarily on the bow and arrow, and resorting to the short sword/dagger for the last few hits, rather than using the bow as an opener, and then relying on a longsword to take off chunks of an enemy's health?

I'm really concerned by the fact that Oblivion becomes uuber hard and almost unplayable without reverting to the warrior/mage archetypes. I'm trying to specialise as an archer/ranger, but all I end up doing is pulling out swords and summoning creatures to fight. Not my style really.

I'm currently trying out 'The Complete Ranger' mod. Supposedly this will make my ranger experience a blast. Does anyone know whether this mod lives up to what it promises to be? Or should I just go back to the sewers and be a knight, mage, or even a battlemage?

[Myrrhte]

Try the SCA combat mod. It makes bows really deadly. The rest of the combat as well though...
And a balancing patch is made for the bow, to make it less overpowered. (On Arwen's request actually )

[Arwen]

I'm working with Duke Partick the new bow mod, which has grown considerably and is not even dependant on his combat mod (but is better with it). This mod makes using a bow much more realistic (and much harder). If your marksman skill is low, you'll often miss your target and if your strength is low your arrows won't do as much damage. And the materials are now closer tied to lore in their weights, damages, and durability.

Plus the NPCs will now dodge and even block arrows (based on their skill level). And you are now penalized for shooting a bow while running (you miss a lot).

This mod is nearly done and I'll post a link here when it is released.

[Ryft]

If you get your stealth high enough, you can almost always use a bow for a whole fight, as enemies never manage to see you. Less effective in the daylight or at close range, of course.

This means training your stealth to 75+ early on, though, which is a poor option for qualifying your need for a strong primary archery attack. There are a couple solutions for this:

1) Use a stealth overhaul mod that makes hiding after an attack more likely at low levels. Stealth Overhaul or Attack and Hide are probably the best ones, here.

2) Use a mod that makes archery stronger. Eagle Eye Realistic Archery is an alright choice, or perhaps the one Arwen is trying out.

3) Use poison, hope that the poison drops the thing before you have to pull out the melee weapon.

[Pancakes]

@Myrrhte: SCA sounds really good, I might give that a go. Is there any conflict with OOO?

@Arwen: Sounds like a really really good mod for realism. Although I'm sure I'll need to have a good read about it before using it, because it sounds like it will make starting out very hard.

@Ryft: I've currently got stealth overhaul installed, but I suppose since I've only just started I haven't been able to see how much it differs to vanilla stealth mechanics. And the poison!! I used to use that when playing vanilla, but applying poison was a pain!! Come to think of it, is it possible to hotkey poison? I didn't try it because I hadn't thought of it, and also because I never had more than 1 or 2 bottles on me due to poor alchemy and lack of ingredients.

Thanks a lot everyone!! =D

[Myrrhte]

The SCA mod will probably work with OOO if you load it last. Perhaps you even need to use a bashed patch, but I'm not sure...

And there is this sweet mod, called the poison equipper, that lets you equip poisons with a keypress, also skipping the confirmation message. It also has an option to be able to use poisons multiple times (I have it set to 3, it seems realistic to me if you only dip your arrow in it) It also has a couple of other functions, like combining poisons, but I haven't tried those yet.

[Arwen]

Thanks Myrrhte for the Poison Equipper mod - I've got to give that one a try.

SCA works fine with OOO (without a patch), but you do have to load it last. All of Duke Patrick’s mods must be loaded near the very bottom of the load order in order to work correctly – and they have to each be loaded in a specific order as well.

The new Bow Mechanics mod that I’m testing is also compatible with OOO. The only thing that is OOO's custom weapons have not yet been changed to match the stats of vanilla weapons (but there are plans to add a future OOO bow/arrow patch).

If you use bows and feel that it’s just wrong for a low-level character to be able to hit an enemy at 100 yards, you’ll love this new mod. Now your character’s strength is factored into the force of your arrows - and their marksman skill is factored into their chances of hitting a target, as well as how fast you can shoot arrows (you'll no longer be able to fire off an arrow every 3 seconds). Going up against an enemy (especially an archer) is now a real challenge, as they can now dodge and block your arrows (which is based on their level). And running while shooting arrows greatly increases your chances of missing. Do NOT go up against an enemy archer with just 20 arrows, because you'll likely run out in a hurry.

And it is now totally worth paying extra for better arrows (and bows) - such as buying steel instead of iron (as steel is faster, lighter, and does more damage).

This mod is a lot of fun, but you’re going to die a LOT until you learn how to fight with a bow. And low level characters are going to have to run from (or avoid) a LOT of fights (especially from archers), until they become skilled and can afford (or find) higher grade bows and arrows.

I just received the 3rd final beta this morning - so expect a release of this new mod in the next day or so.

[Ryft]

Pancakes:

I use poison constantly. It is a little bit of a hassle to use, but the results justify it to me. It counteracts troll or clanfear regeneration very nicely, and at higher alchemy levels it's absolutely brutal. Poisons with two or three types of damage plus silence can eliminate enemies of all kinds with very little hassle.

The key is to train alchemy constantly. Make it a minor skill, and buy and collect ingredients as often as possible. My rogue characters used to break into houses and raid food pantries to create restore fatigue potions, just to train alchemy faster. My currect character is more noble, but I spend a lot of money buying ingredients from every inn, tavern, and restaurant in town to feed my habit. And I sell as many of the useless potions I make as I can back to the vendors to help offset some of the cost.

Making damage health poisons becomes easier with a few basic principles:

1) if exploring Oblivion gates, collecting the plant ingredients found there can give you large amounts of harrada and spiddal stick.
2) higher levels of alchemy make common ingredients like strawberries and onions do damage health as an effect.
3) drinking several fortify luck potions before a session of creating alchemy will make your poisons more effective. Try to get your luck just over 100 for best results.

Otherwise, the key is to know what to look for (sacred lotus, harvested in the imperial city, is one of them) and collect mass quantities of it before making batches of potions and poisons.

At 50+ alchemy and only level 6 I can run through an Oblivion gate, swinging at any creature just once, and continuing with my run. They chase me for around 20 seconds and then drop dead. A great time saver!

[Pancakes]

Thanks for the poison mod!! Now I actually have initiative to go out and farm and do alchemy. Wheee~

Quick question for Arwen, the combat mod effects apply to NPCs too, right? So that would mean fair fights, as far as inherent mechanics go?

[Arwen]

Quick question for Arwen, the combat mod effects apply to NPCs too, right? So that would mean fair fights, as far as inherent mechanics go?

Yes, it affects NPCs, based on their skill levels and on what weapons they are using. Iron arrows are now heavy and really slow - they don't travel very far at all unless you have a lot of strength and one of the better bows. If an NPC is using an iron bow and shooting iron arrows I can usually dodge their arrows - if I see them shoot in time. But arrows are now very deadly and can kill an unarmored character in one shot. The better the armor, the more arrows it will take to kill a character.

I'm currently testing a couple of new additions to the bow mod = one which I suggested, allows the player to adjust the speed that NPCs can dodge arrow (sort of a dificulty setting, as it can get really frustrating to miss all the time). Also added is a denock arrow, and bow sideways smack, when you are hit with damage - like when in close combat with an NPC.

The bow mod is not quite finished but the SCA Combat mod can be downloaded HERE.

[Ryft]

Can't wait to see all of this at work!

[Arwen]

You won't have very long to wait . . . Spookyfx (aka Duke Patrick) is now planning on a Friday release. The biggist thing left to do is writing the ReadMe. So you should be able to have the bow mod by this weekend.

[Ryft]

The mod sounds like it would make the end of the main quest absolutely impossible, what with getting attacked by a dozen guys at a time.

[Arwen]

Hopefully your character will be skilled enough by then - and you'll have the better bows and arrows. Remember, this mod affects the NPCs as well - so it's all about balance.

I've already gotten to the point that my level 1 character can take on two archers and a warrior at once. It just requires a different type of strategy - and I'm also using a fatigue mod that prevents me from running for very long. This mod does take some getting used to, but I'm really starting to enjoy it. But, having said all that, it is certainly not for everyone (but few mods are).

[Arwen]

"Duke Patricks SCA Combat Archery Mod" has just been released! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have already.

To better understand exactly what this mod does, go the the ES Forums OB MODs Release Thread

Which is much easier than me trying to explain all that it does.

[Ryft]

The new version of Open Better Cities will not require a new game for people who have been using either Better Cities or Open Cities of Cyrodiil to begin with.

They've released two cities so far. Huzzah!

[Arwen]

The new version of Open Better Cities will not require a new game for people who have been using either Better Cities or Open Cities of Cyrodiil to begin with.

They've released two cities so far. Huzzah!

I am now using Better Cities, but am not ready to switch over to Open Better Cities yet. Better Cities is still being updated fairly regularly and is still releasing compatability patches. I've finally have Better Citties working well with all my other mods - and I'm getting decent frame rates, so I'm not about to mess things up.

As a side note (and a bit of a commercial):

My new Oblivion MODs Pages are now finally online (but I'm still working on them).
This is a major overhaul of what was formerly just a single page. Now there are three large main pages (plus an archive page) - and now cover over 90 mods.

I've put a huge amount of effort into this - so please check it out and let me know what you think about it.

[Ryft]

Nice work on the mod list, Arwen. Just when I think I'm finished modding my game, you come along and show me more good tidbits to pick up.

By the way, how many hours a day do you spend researching these mods?

[Arwen]

Thanks! I'm glad that you found some more mods there to try. That's what my mod pages are for.

Well, as far as hours/day: not many at all right now, as I tested most of these mods a while ago - but lately I keep getting involved in play testing new mods - and that takes some time.

Most of my time right now (which is considerable) is spent at updating my site. Adding and indexing all those mods took FOREVER!

But it gives me something to do, as I still am very limited physically, until my leg gets better.

[Ryft]

Hey, Arwen. How is the leg healing?

Also: when is chapter 16 coming out? It's been a while since you hinted that it was going to arrive... mid May, wasn't it?

Not that there is any rush. I have Gooch's journal to start reading in the meanwhile.

[Arwen]

Hey, Arwen. How is the leg healing?

It's slowly getting better, thanks for asking. I'm still limping and sore, but am now walking 2 to 2.5 miles most days and was able to kayak for 1-1/2 hours yesterday by myself (although carrying my 16 foot kayak to and from the lake was a bit much for me).

Also: when is chapter 16 coming out? It's been a while since you hinted that it was going to arrive... mid May, wasn't it?

I had a major problem and had to do a new install of the game (I never uninstalled it quite right - should have deleted the Oblivion directory) - but the good news is that I've finally been able to get Wyre Bash working. So now I'm reinstalling all my mods (which takes a while - but I'm nearly done).

Then I'll have to finish updating my mod pages. Then I'll have to have time to play until I catch up with my last chapter (and make some minor chapter edits to correct for my new mods). And then I can start writing Chapter 16.

Plus summer break is when I have to catch up on all regular doctor exams and stuff, which has been keeping me busy lately. I probably won't be able to complete Chapter 16 until at least late next week (that's my current adjusted goal).

[Ryft]

Yay! That goal is plenty fast enough, given your circumstances. I'm not complaining.

I'm the meanwhile, Gooches journal is... really really... journal like...

[Mikael]

I would like a mod that makes magic more unpredictable. I don't like that you cast for example a 5% shield for 30 seconds spell and you know exactly whats gonna happen. I would rather have a more unpredictable magic system where the power of spells is not a set amount but it can vary to a certain limit.

I'd like my character to have less control over exactly how much energy (I guess I should call it mana) he spends when casting, especially at lower levels. That would add to the realism.

I don't know if there are any mods that do this or something similar. I haven't been playing Oblivion for quite a while (and I'm excited to start up again in a few days)

[Myrrhte]

Hey Arwen, I've been reading your updated journal, and I noticed you talking about removable jail shackles and easily enterable cities. Perhaps some of Duggedanks mod's are something for you:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/author.php?id=522334

I think I've already mentioned the jail shackles mod once, but he's made some really nice mods!I use Jail Shackles, NPC arrest, restricted entrance and proximity based sneak penalties. They add a lot of realism to the game I think.

Edit: I just finished chapter ten, and you asked for a mod that removes map markers. This one doesn't remove them, but make it so that you only get the 'place found' message when you get right in front of the entrance:
http://tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16036
It is not possible to revert to the old map markers however, so choose wisely. I use it and love it. I don't have quest markers on my compass, so sometimes even quest caves are hard to find. As they should be, I think.

[Gooch]

I recently re-installed Oblivion Game of Year Edition in order to "clean out" my system from all of the MODS I had installed. So when re-installing I wanted to only install MODS I thought were the best. When I first started installing MODS to Oblivion I was overwelmed by the amount of MODS and choices and websites including Arwens that compiled a list of 'Essential' or 'Best' MODS really helped. So I decided to return the thanks to the Oblivion MOD community by compiling my own list of favorites. If anyone is interested here is the site:

http://jlspain1.googlepages.com/thegooc ... livionmods

It also includes a correct load order page for those who struggle with that and my Oblivion Journal and Screenshots.

Thanks again to Arwen for being an inspiration!

[Theron]

Not sure if anyone's found or used the following but I've found that FCOMHelper is a real big help in fixing load order problems. There is still some manual tweaking of load order after you run it but not much. And its real simple to use. And don't let the name fool you, you don't have to have FCOM in order to make use of it. From the site:

* A simple program to correctly position all the ESP/ESM files in your load-order.

* Features the ability to check and position all the ESP/ESM files involved with an 'FCOM Convergence' installation including partial or complete installations of OOO, MMM, Fran's, Oblivion WarCry, Bob's Armory, Loth's Blunt Weapons (for NPCs), COBL, Tamriel Travellers, Exnem's Runeskulls, Real Swords and so on.

* Deals with the load order for 3000+ other mods and is suitable for non-FCOM installs.

* Is 'Mostly Right'.

FCOMhelper will reorder all the mods it knows about (listed in the 'f_order.txt' database file) and put the ones it doesn't after. The unknown mods will be in the same order as you had them before running FCOMhelper.

The unknowns are in the same order but at the bottom of the load list which is where the little bit of manual tweaking is needed to put them back in place.

[Beebee]

Hopefully your character will be skilled enough by then - and you'll have the better bows and arrows. Remember, this mod affects the NPCs as well - so it's all about balance.

I've already gotten to the point that my level 1 character can take on two archers and a warrior at once. It just requires a different type of strategy - and I'm also using a fatigue mod that prevents me from running for very long. This mod does take some getting used to, but I'm really starting to enjoy it. But, having said all that, it is certainly not for everyone (but few mods are).

Real Fatigue reminded me to much of the early stages of morrowind trugding slowly across vast landscapes I was soooo glad to get the boots of blinding speed something similar for oblivion would make me go back to using real fatigue. I'm still using real sleep & real hunger although getting out of the prison presents a bit of a challenge with real sleep there are no beds in the entire level I had to find a bed real soon after finally reaching the outside

[Beebee]

Poop is well worth looking into as well
http://www.poopmods.com
Building a game with his recomended mods & closely following his instructions has vastly improved my mod installing skills I can now acually use wry bash & I never install anything if it's at all possible without OBMM

[Arwen]

... I'm still using real sleep & real hunger although getting out of the prison presents a bit of a challenge with real sleep there are no beds in the entire level I had to find a bed real soon after finally reaching the outside

Sleep can be an issue before you get out of the prison, but it isn't not a major problem - as long as you're using a slower timescale in your game. My timescale is set at 8:1, which seems to work very well with all the extreme realism mods.

[Pc Avenger]

Hey Evryone, many of my mods just doesn seem to work. like the weapons mods, sometimes it appeares like a giant square, something like that. how can I fix it?

[Arwen]

Hey Evryone, many of my mods just doesn seem to work. like the weapons mods, sometimes it appeares like a giant square, something like that. how can I fix it?

It sounds like you are not installing the meshes and/or textures. Are you using the OBMM (Oblivion Mod Manager) to install your mods? If not, you should. You also might want to read what I have written on my Oblivion Journal - Mod pages about installing mods and about load order. I also have more posted there on the OBMM, and a link to the download site.

[Pc Avenger]

Hmmm, I will try.

[Pc Avenger]

Hey, so when I download the mod I recive thise Textures/Meshes, where Can I place them?

[Arwen]

Hey, so when I download the mod I recive thise Textures/Meshes, where Can I place them?

If you use the OBMM utility, it with sort everything out for you:

1.) start OBMM, you don't even need to unzip a file, when you
2.) click on the "Create" button at the bottom
3.) the omod creator window opens
4.) click on the "Add Archive" button
5.) locate and select the mod file (this is the zipped file) that you downloaded (click on open)
6.) right-click on the main esp (or esm), and select "Import mod details" (you can also fill the details in manually - from information in the mod's Readme)
7.) click on "Creat Omod"
8.) once the omod is added to the omod list (on the right side), select it and click on the "Activate" button.
9.) the omod's esps and ems will then be add to list on the left side (usually at the bottom of the list)
10.) move the omod to the correct location in the list of esps (this is how you control their load order)

*** To play Oblivion, Do Not Exit the OBMM program! Just click on the "Launch Oblivion" button

Always launch Oblivion from the OBMM (or the OBMM esp load order will not be

The hardest part of using mods is removing (and upgrading) mods, once you have installed them . . . especially when the mod overwrites textures and meshes
The OBMM makes this much easier - just deactivate the omod, right-click on it, and select delete.
(you con even just deactivate it temporarily, and it will be removed from your game until you activate it again)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so that is my long answer, but if you insist on installing mods without using the OBMM, you can try moving the textures and meshes manually into the Oblivion\Data\Textures or \Meshes folders (I would suggest that you always read any text files that came with your mod, as they usually give you specific instructions on how to install the mod - when you do it manually)
But if these textures overwrites any textures and meshes - removing this mod in the future will likely mess up your game.

[Pc Avenger]

Thanks, they work now.

[Pc Avenger]

I tried to register to TES NEXUS but I did´n get their registration E-mail, and now i can´t do anything, how can I delete that registration?

[Nilms]

Hi Arwen.

I notice from your mod list there are No unique landscape Mods.

Is there any particular reason why not please?

At the Moment I'm running all of them.The look really Good.

Do you know where I can find an upto date load order Please?

Thanks in Advance.

James:)

[Arwen]

Hi Arwen.

I notice from your mod list there are No unique landscape Mods.

Is there any particular reason why not please?

At the Moment I'm running all of them.The look really Good.

Do you know where I can find an upto date load order Please?

Thanks in Advance.

James:)

Hey James, welcome to the Realm.

I tried Unique Landscapes, which I also liked. But I kept having problems with tears in the land (which may or may not have had anything to do with them). When I reinstalled my game and started over, I decided to not use them this time. And now I'm running so many mods that I doubt that my system could handle them along with UL.

I have my own current load order posted on my site: Mod Load Order You should also read UL's readme to see if there's any suggestions on when they should load.

[Nilms]

Hi Arwen.

Thank you for the welcome.

Tears are caused by incorrect load order or a missing Patch.

All the details are in the Unique Landscapes Release Thread If you fancy another try .

Great Load order list I'm surprised about where the Better Cities.esp is to go.The readme file needs to add a load order for them lol.

Now I know where Cobl goes.Thank You.

I see you use cleanquit.Have you tried the new FastExit2 mod? It works the same but you don't need Pluggy Installed and it saves the .ini on Exit.

I'm in the process of another New Build.I might get to play soon lol

Te Info ceating OMOD's Never knew that before.Thanks Again

A quick question.Have you tried wyre Bash or new Bain.If so do you know where to find an idiot proof set of Instructions please? lol

Thanks Again for The Info.

Warm regards.

James.

[Arwen]

Hey Nilms / James,

Tears are caused by incorrect load order or a missing Patch. All the details are in the Unique Landscapes Release Thread.

I was using the recommended load order, and had all the correct patches installed. They didn't happen all the time, but they happened enough that they were wrecking the game for me. Landscape tears have always been an issue with OB, and even the top landscape modders say that tears just happen sometimes - even when they shouldn't. I still get tears, but only rarely now . . . going to an interior cell, saving, and reloading nearly always fixes things.

I see you use cleanquit. Have you tried the new FastExit2 mod? It works the same but you don't need Pluggy Installed and it saves the .ini on Exit.

I've only been using Clean Quit for a couple of weeks, but it has worked flawlessly for me, so I'm keeping it. Besides, I need Pluggy for another mod. The ini file saves just fine when I exit OB . . . it just doesn't save when the program crashes on exit.

Have you tried wyre Bash or new Bain.If so do you know where to find an idiot proof set of Instructions please?

Yes, Wrye Bash is in my mod utility section. And I have the Bashed Patch listed in my load order (and all sorts of notes about Wrye in my load order and with many of my mod notes).

I'm no expert on using the program, but I have learned how to merge esps into the batched patch (I'm currently merging 14 esps into the batch patch). . . an my game is now much more stable (with my 100 plus mods). I won't guarantee that they are "idiot proof", but my instructions are posted here: Wrye Bash Instructions

I'm not using Bain. I like OBMM much better.

[Nilms]

Hi Arwin.

Thank you for the reply.

I've tried using Bain,but the instructions are rather Vague.Reading your wrye Bash Instructions you mention about merging.I was told the the Newer versions do that automaticly.

What is Pluggy needed for please? I read some people were having problems CTD with it installed.I must admit before using it I rarley had any Crashes after I crashed all the time,so I'm a bit wary to use it.

Are there any other Mod tools that you use for building your games?Such as TES4LODGen,TESDit and TESCGecko.I have those but yet again the instructions are not very Clear.

I'm more than willing to learn them if somebody has the time and Patience lol

if youre using both OBMM and wyre.Which one is better for launching?I read its one or the other.

Thanks for your time.

Have a good weekend.

James

[Arwen]

Wrye does more things automatically than it used to (I think it will now identify the mergable esps automatically). But you still have to manually click on the check mark, which will mark the esp to be merged into the patch. If you don’t do this, the esp will not be merged. You also have to tag certain mods (like TNR) or they probably won’t be merged correctly.

I need Pluggy for CleanQuit and for Auto-save and Time
Pluggy does still have some issues, but is more stable than earlier versions. I’ve also heard that the next version is expected to fix most of the crash problems (the beta looks promising).

I tried TES4LODGen, but it was really impacted my FPS, so I’m using REALLY Almost Everything Visible When Distant (RAEVWD), which is much more optimized and gives me nearly identical results without hardly any drop in FPS. TESCGecko refuses to load on my Vista system, no matter what I do.

I only use Wrye mostyly for creating the bashed patch and for tweaking some of the game settings. I always use OBMM to control my mod load order and to launch Oblivion.

It looks like my weekend will mostly be spent on my studies, as I got to read an entire book and analyze it by Tuesday, as well as write several papers (which take me forever, because of my language issues). Doing a double major is not fun (I have to write two thesis this semester as well as an additional research paper). And I have to (as in, I’m required to) spend some time working out this weekend (a hazard of being on a nationally ranked varsity team).

[Nilms]

Sorry to hear that Arwen.I thought slavery had been abolished lol.

Its been been so long since I finished school I forget.Retntive memory of a goldfish lol

Just a quickie question.

If your upgrading an OMOD do you have to deactivate the one which is being overridden?

Thanks.

James.

[Arwen]

Sorry to hear that Arwen.I thought slavery had been abolished lol.

Its been been so long since I finished school I forget.Retntive memory of a goldfish lol

This is my last semester (so far I've resisted to push that I'm getting to go on to law/graduate school). Being a member of a varsity team, when you're an older student is tough! Especially when you're new to the sport. But I wouldn't give it up for anything.

If your upgrading an OMOD do you have to deactivate the one which is being overridden?

Yes. Deactivate it. Delete it. And then create a new Omod. And then rebuild the Wrye patch (just to be safe).
If it is just a simple esp replacement, you could probably just copy the new esp into the data directory (while OBMM is not running).

You should always take a look at the mod's readme, as some of the more complex mods (the ones that use scripting) require you to go through a Clean Save process to update.

[rtheis]

A Quick Question: I recently got a new gaming computer (PC - Toshiba) and am installing Oblivon GOTY on it. I’m trying to include all the bells and whistles (MODS), but, after installing the Unofficial_Official_MODS_patch there seem to be some files missing… namely:
BattlehornCastle.esp, DLCHorseArmor.esp, DLCMehrunesRazor.esp, DLCOrrery.esp, DLCThievesDen.esp, and DLCVileLair.esp.
So (the question) where do I find these?
Regards,
Rick

[Arwen]

Hey Rtheis,

Those are all from Bethesda's official mods. The only official mod the GOTY includes is Knights of the Nine. The rest you need to download if you want them, for a fee (like $2 per mod). The DLC preface stands for "DownLoad Content". You can download all the mods HERE.

[jamenta]

Nice fun/realism mod just recently modified to version 2 called Tombstone Epitaphs: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23680

Adds a number of interesting and sometimes witty epitaphs to tombstones throughout Tamriel. A few examples:

Antius Pecunius - He should not say: Intelligence is far better, you stupid ogre.

Pancius Glutilius - He believed that paradise was a good diner; that bear too

Antimar Fuerkrand - He feared the sky would fall on his head, he should look to the ground this time in the Jerall Mountains.

Alentus Lostius - He believed he could solve anything with words, yet he didn't know trolls gets annoyed
with long discourses.

[Nilms]

Hey Rtheis,

Those are all from Bethesda's official mods. The only official mod the GOTY includes is Knights of the Nine. The rest you need to download if you want them, for a fee (like $2 per mod). The DLC preface stands for "DownLoad Content". You can download all the mods HERE.

That seems strange. I have all parts of Oblivion on 3 Discs. Wizards Tower ect all came on The Knights Of The Nine Disc

[jamenta]

Knights of the Nine packaged many of the smaller plugins that Bethseda had released prior to releasing Knights. Pretty nice. I believe the list is as follows:

Horse Armor's Pack
Mehrune's Razor
Orrery
Spell Tomes
The Thieves Den
The Vile Lair
Wizard's Tower

[xit]

That is true, but as far as I know it's only true if you buy the Knights of The Nine expansion. They aren't in the GOTY version.
I think...

[ilesman]

I found Duke Patrick's SCA mod at this site:

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/V ... il&id=2486

[Seth]

I was looking through and was wondering if you have tried out Midas Magic Spells of Aurum? I love it as it adds alot more fun to using magic for me. The spells look much better and i actually get to "learn" the spells as i have to buy the book and gather ingrediants for it as well as hunt and do quests for them which adds to the immersion for me as I learn them. It also adds alot of new spells. I think it is almost needed if your using a magic character. I do not know if it is compatable with all your mods though as I am not using any mods that change the magic =/.

Some nice looking armor mods are AT2 02-Shiki Armor Set and underworld armor. The first one looks like the set in valkyrie profile and I changed most of the guards in shivering isles to wearing this as it looks better in my opnion that the "armor" they were wearing in the dlc. I may release this mod in the future i am not sure but the auther said he wouldnt mind. They both need to be balanced and added to shop and item lists for balance so some moding will be required if you like them.

[librapoet]

I know this thread has been here a while, but here are some of mine:

Magic: Less Annoying Magic Experience (L.A.M.E.) and Midas Magic are amazing. Midas spells are extremely powerful, but you must work like mad to get the good ones. Balances out. LAME just makes some needed changes to magic Period.

Combat: Deadly Reflex. Because Block/Attack/Block was like...playing ping-pong. Combined with Symphony of Violence it makes combat, well, worth it.

Stealth: Stealth Overhaul. Changes stealth a lot, for the better, by balancing sneak attacks and awarding stealth characters for wearing clothing rather than armor. Also, Thieves Arsenal - Mission Zero. Knock-out arrows are nice, especially for Guild members. Assassin Tripwires: This one adds some truly broken, cheat-level things but I ignore those. It also adds tripwires that work and another room to the Dark Brotherhood HQ. Highly recommended for the balanced portion of what it brings.

Immersion: Realistic Leveling and Realistic Fatigue are must-have mods. Absolutely perfect. Toying with COBL and a thirst mod, maybe in the future.

Performance: Where to begin. Chase Camera mod from tes nexus; numerous ini tweaks; Optimized Distant Land Textures for vanilla and Unique Landscapes. Oh, and my personal fav: Combat FPS Optimizer. This beauty (requires OBSE) drops the view range during combat outdoors and totally eliminates stutter during combat. within 5 - 10 seconds after combat finishes you're back to a normal view and its never failed once in six months. Highly recommended.

Miscellaneous: Unique Lanscapes and Better Cities have made my day thus far. IF your PC can handle them I recommend them (I had a hard time of it until I bought a brand new machine recently.) Disable wheat in rolling hills and use low poly grass as well as the optimized distant land textures for those areas where they are available.

Quest:

Tried Lost Paladins of the Divines but was rather...disappointed with the outcome. The quest is short and the armor you receive, while not broken/a cheat item is well below balanced. Recommended for a level 20 character and your items are enchanted with Fortify Attribute @ a magnitude of 2. Though beautiful, the armor as is isn't worth the effort, sadly.

The Lost Spires is highly recommended. Beautiful new areas; unique story; amazing items and plays very well with lore from Midas Magic. They feed into each other in fact. I suspect cross over from team members there.

Verona House Bloodlines: Give the Champion something to do following the drudge of the main quest. Play it with Vampire Overhauls at your own risk however, as Vamps play a pertinent role in this mod.

Demon Bane by Pimpskinny: If you have not played the main quest, or are planning on doing so again, GET THIS MOD. It ties in nicely, complete with Mythic Dawn Assassins and an amazing sword just for fighting Daedra! Very nice addition and should have been part of the original game. Should be compatible with Unique Landscapes, though I would refrain from running the Everglade near Skingrad - its more than a worthwhile trade off believe me.

Also currently trying out Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul. Yes, the vaunted OOO. I will have more to say on the many hours I have spent overhauling the overhaul elsewhere, however. Believe me as great as it is (and it is great) it needed fixing. Lots of it.

That's really about it as far as unique stuff is concerned. Currently trying Heart of the Dead out now. Hope its worth it.