Let's Play Oblivion

[Astromarine]

I don't know if your mods change the situation much, but did you talk to the people hanging out around Weynon Priory after you got the quest to go to Kvatch? I seem to recall you can ask them for assistance and they give you a few nice things. Not to give away too much, but they can help you get there a little faster.

Talked to one or two, but not everyone. In any case, that's gone now, so my situation is as described and I'm in the Imp City.

Did your mods do something to fast travel, or are you just consciously refusing to use it? I seem to remember you could pop to and from Kvatch whenever you pleased, with no danger of ass-whooping.

The second one. I can fast travel between districts of the Imp City, for example, and already visited places as long as they're not too far away. But that's it

 

[Binary]

Jesus H. Fucking Christ

Jesus' second name is Hussein too?

I lol'd

 

[Rhett Butler]

Mods within mods within HUNDREDS OF FUCKING MODS

What the fuck? Who can be bothered doing this?

 

[Barbader]

i recently installed oblivion with mods and (after four days of configuration problems)... im enjoying it . However i get the impression that the CORE file, the Oblivion game itself it deserves called mod now; "the bad mod".

 

[octavius]

i recently installed oblivion with mods and (after four days of configuration problems)... im enjoying it . However i get the impression that the CORE file, the Oblivion game itself it deserves called mod now; "the bad mod".

I was inspired by this thread to try Oblivion. Afterseveral days on finding and downloading mods and utilities, installing them and putting them in the right order, I was pleasantly surprised by how much better modded Oblivion is than modded MW in most respects.

The combat is *WAY* better, the creature/NPC AI much improved, with NPCs having schedules, talking to each other, sitting, readin, eating, drinking and practicing their skills.

The dungeons are far more scary now, with traps and never knowing what you'll find.

Modded Oblivion is IMO by far the most immersive game I've played.

The only hard-coded setbacks from MW is lesser skills, no minimap making exploration more annoying and (unless I've really missed something) only two faces to choose from per race when generating a new character.
And I really, really don't see the point in every damned line in the game having to be voice acted.

 

[Lingwe]

(unless I've really missed something) only two faces to choose from per race when generating a new character.

Actually the facegen feature is what a lot of 'roleplayers' consider to be Oblivion's best 'roleplaying' feature. Usually when people talk about 'spending almost an hour creating my character' they are actually just talking about tweaking their character's face, as opposed to actually selected their skills.

There are quite a few mods that alter the hair or body of npcs. You might remember Oblivion's rating being changed to M due to us sneaky modders "hacking" into Oblivion. Well those types of mods are actually the most popular. It's really sad but it kind of says a lot about the age and maturity of a lot of people who use Oblivion mods. The number of downloads that a hair or body gets absolutely dwarfs what a quest mod will get.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4431 - most downloaded mod on tesnexus. Over 300,000 downloads for a new race with custom hair. Currently 79 on tesnexus top 100.

This mod - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15568 - has been out for almost two months and already has almost 50,000 downloads. It debuted at number 5 on tesnexus top 100 (thankfully it is down to 29 now but that is still too high in my opinion). It was three days before the end of February and received the third highest amount of votes for files of the month for that mod.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15802 - currently number 8 on tesnexus top 100. Digital naked females sell well apparently. I prefer to watch real porn though. Over 50,000 for less than two months.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1965 - does jack shit as far as I can tell but apparently is good enough for over 180,000 downloads and the top 53 spot on tesnexus.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10168 - not naked chicks but close enough. 90,000 downloads, top 62 spot on tesnexus, and the modder who did it has the highest amount of kudos on the whole website - beating out the next closest person by almost double (kudos are an extra way of saying the modder is good when you don't think that a 10 is enough or you really want to express thanks).

In comparison the quest mod with the higest amount of downloads only 58,000.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6960 - it also coincidentally is all about wooing a lady who has new textures and meshes.

The next highest quest mod after that has 20,000 less downloads. While this is only on tesnexus I doubt that the other sites are any different. While the core group of modders and mod users on the Oblivion Mods forum on the Bethsoft forums are smart/intelligent individuals (at least if you don't try and get into an RPG discussion with most of them), there are also a whole lot of teens who obviously aren't getting any.

Oh by the way my complaints about those mods aren't about their quality- it is simply about the number of downloads that they get being undeserved in my opinion. The only mods that probably get more downloads are the big overhauls.

 

[Barbader]

Actually...its better, but, call me idiot, it bored me again...

 

[octavius]

Lingwe, I agree with everything you say.
It's sad to see the Screenshot threads on the official forum. At least half the characters are some sexy female elf goth Vampire character with very skimpy clothing.
And a good portion of the screenshots are even Photoshopped!

But there are some very gifted modders that do a really good service to the community.
Here's the list of mods that have made my own Oblivion experience so enjoyable:

Oblivion.esm
CM Partners.esm
Jog_X_Mod.esm
Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items Mod.esm
Francesco's Optional New Items Add-On.esm
Cobl Main.esm
Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esm
Mart's Monster Mod.esm
Enhanced Daedric Invasion.esm
FCOM_Convergence.esm
AWS-Core.esm
Cybiades.esm
HorseCombatMaster.esm
HrmnsOblivionScriptOptimizationv1.0.esp
za_less_NPC_conversations.esp
Xero's Fame Indicator.esp
AliveWaters.esp
AliveWaters - Koi Addon.esp
AliveWaters - Slaughterfish Addon.esp
CampfireBehavior.esp
Toggleable Quantity Prompt.esp
StopDarkBrotherhood.esp
Stat Restore.esp
ReneersGoldMod.esp
RealSleep.esp
Poison FX.esp
oc_darker_nights.esp
No psychic guards v1.2.esp
MM_TextLocks.esp
MD_Saddle_Bags_Lite_v2.esp
Mad Mike's Crypts of Cyrodiil.esp
KT_KhajEyeToggleNoEff.esp
ImmersiveHealthIndication.esp
Denock Arrows.esp
AyleidArrows.esp
AWS-ShiveringIsles.esp
Adrenaline Fuelled Archery- Bow Sway.esp
Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp
Oblivion Citadel Door Fix.esp
Dark Dungeons -  SI.esp
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch MOBS.esp
Harvest [Flora].esp
IWR-Lights.esp
IWR-Windows.esp
IWR-Shutters.esp
Dungeon Actors Have Torches 1.6 DT.esp
Damsels In Distress.esp
Crowded Roads.esp
more books teach.esp
Natural_Habitat_by_Max_Tael.esp
Syc_AtHomeAlchemy.esp
VaultsofCyrodiil.esp
Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Bosses.esp
Francesco's Optional Chance of Stronger Enemies.esp
Francesco's Optional Leveled Guards.esp
Fran Armor Add-on.esp
Fran_Lv30Item_Maltz.esp
Cobl Glue.esp
Cobl Si.esp
OOO 1.32-Cobl.esp
Choices and Consequences.esp
Bob's Armory Oblivion.esp
FCOM_BobsArmory.esp
Oblivion WarCry EV.esp
FCOM_WarCry.esp
Oscuro's_Oblivion_Overhaul.esp
Choices and Consequences - OOO.esp
OOO-Ayleid Coin Add-on.esp
OOO-Water_Weeds.esp
FCOM_Convergence.esp
Leviathan Soulgems.esp
Lynges_Thieves_Highway-10256.esp
RealHungerv1.4.esp
Slof's Dogs.esp
za_bankmod.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Extra Wounding.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Bats Addon.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Hunting & Crafting.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Gems & Gem Dust.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Foxes.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Vindasel.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - Dungeons of MMM.esp
24HrArenaAliveV2Towers.esp
PersuasionOverhaul.esp
PersuasionSI.esp
aaaBorsBedrolls.esp
Knights.esp
Knights - Unofficial Patch.esp
_Real_Lights.esp
Consequences.esp
Consequences_Knights.esp
Mart's Monster Mod - City Defences.esp
Living Economy.esp
Living Economy - Items.esp
Cutthroat Merchants.esp
Smarter Mercantile Leveling - Multi.esp
Willful Resistance.esp
WeaponsOfTheNine.esp
TempleoftheFullMoon.esp
300_Artifacts.esp
300_White Stallion 4.esp
Artefacts of the Ancestors.esp
Ash's DB Kah'Lil Quest.esp
bartholm.esp
Blood&Mud.esp
Cybiades.esp
Ivellon.esp
Servant of the Dawn.esp
OldCrowInn.esp
DexwoodsHideout.esp
DJ Markov Manor.esp
Druids Guild Mod.esp
Gift of Kynareth.esp
hackdirtabyss.esp
Lost Paladins of the Divines.esp
TOTF.esp
Origin of the Mages Guild.esp
FCOM_Blood&Mud.esp
FCOM_OMG.esp
MannimarcoRevisited.esp
MannimarcoRevisitedOOO.esp
NakedNord.esp
The Lost Spires.esp
TheStorytellersBrotherQuest.esp
thievery.esp
Ungarion1TheWelkyndSword.esp
attack and hide medium v2.1.esp
StealthOverhaul.esp
xulAncientYews.esp
xulBeachesOfCyrodiilLostCoast.esp
xulChorrolHinterland.esp
xulCloudtopMountains.esp
xulColovianHighlands_EV.esp
XulEntiusGorge.esp
ULFallenLeafEverglade.esp
LostSpires-Everglade patch.esp
xulImperialIsle.esp
xulRollingHills_EV_withoutWheat.esp
xulStendarrValley.esp
xuldarkforest.esp
LostSpires-DarkForest patch.esp
xulAncientRedwoods.esp
xulLushWoodlands.esp
xulTheHeath.esp
Enhanced Daedric Invasion.esp
CybiadesDungeon.esp
DD_JailShackles.esp
LastUnicorn.esp
Chameleon_Rebalance-4130.esp
immersive_caves_auto.esp
RealisticFatigue.esp
nGCD.esp
nGCD Character Generation.esp
Birthsigns Expanded.esp
nGCD Oghma Infinium.esp
Streamline 3.0.esp
Bashed Patch, 0.esp
Mounted_Spellcasting Deadly Reflex Compatible.esp
DeadlyReflex - Combat Moves.esp

 

[Kavax]

What are the better quests mod out there, and are they up to par with the best Morrowind quest mods?

 

[octavius]

What are the better quests mod out there, and are they up to par with the best Morrowind quest mods?

Lost Spires is considered the best mod. It's big and it conflicts minimally with the other mods I use.

 

[Lingwe]

Lingwe, I agree with everything you say.
It's sad to see the Screenshot threads on the official forum. At least half the characters are some sexy female elf goth Vampire character with very skimpy clothing.
And a good portion of the screenshots are even Photoshopped! Rolling Eyes

Yeah they are up to the 200th thread for pictures of Oblivion characters already - http://www.bethsoft.com/bgsforums/index ... pic=835975

They had the 100th thread a couple of weeks after I joined the forums (April 2007).

Lost Spires is considered the best mod. It's big and it conflicts minimally with the other mods I use.

Lost Spires is completely linear though and has no real effect on the game world - so it basically is just another Oblivion faction (but with only 12 quests). All of the mods by Simyaz are much better in my opinion since he includes some actual different endings to the questline even if the mods as a whole aren't as polished as the Lost Spires. Plus they have heaps of dialogue, Tears of the Fiend has over 8,000 lines. Oblivion has 37,000 as a comparision.

 

[Suchy]

uhhh... lol

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc11 ... ot970B.jpg
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc11 ... t1114B.jpg

ffs

 

[Gragt]

No wonder fans do not mind Bethesda raping the lore if they do it themselves in the first place.

 

[Lord Chambers]

Let's Talk about Oblivion!

 

[elander_]

What are the better quests mod out there, and are they up to par with the best Morrowind quest mods?

There aren't much mods that add better dialogs or quest faction interaction. There's a good reason for that. The Oblivion TESCS, while being a great tool and very friendly to create scenarios and art is horrible to test any sort of interactions.

I tried to make an Oblivion mod a long time ago to show much better dialog reactions and consequences. It was in a small cemetery with a keepers and a road tavern nearby. Some robbers have paid the keeper to keep his mouth shut and loot a secret section of a crypt but it ended up that this secret section was much more than it looked. There were more crypts and tunnels bellow leading to natural caves and an underwater river and finally to an underground town with it's own palace. When the robbers found out this stuff they also unleashed the chaos and many skeleton guardians were risen from the dead and getting out of the cemetery. When the imperials come leaded by an arrogant knight and acompained by a few people from the mages guild to and the temple the robbers were enslaved to work on the tunnels and ruins and the knights set their base on the undergound palace and prepared to explored it's dungeons.

This was the beginning. The current situation was a perilous balance between several factions: knights, people who leave around the cemitery, robbers, scholars who were there to examine the ruins, etc. If anyone showed weakness the others would move on. Dialogs would depend on the players standing with each faction and his best skills and reactions would be adequate to each npc moral, faction and skills. None of the npcs in the mod would give info away to the player. They would only say what would be in their convenience to say and it would be the player to assemble the pieces to figure out what is going on.

Here's the problem with Oblivion TESCS, every time you change a simple line of code or modify a dialog line, if you want to test in the game you have to load the entire game again and replay everything until that point. With enough PC memory (above 2Gb) is possible to have both TESCS and Oblivion loaded at the same time and every time we want to test the game again reload an old save game but this is a buggy process that doesn't work very well with dialogs and may even crash the system. OTESCS was never meant to create/test deep dialogs options.

 

[Binary]

uhhh... lol

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc11 ... ot970B.jpg
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc11 ... t1114B.jpg

ffs

 

[Barbader]

What level is the adequate for Kvatch/Close Oblivion gate...?? Im in level 1/2 and all beasts IN OBLIVION are to extremately challenging to impossible.

 

[WalterKinde]

If you are a combo warrior/magic user any lvl is adequate for kvatch although at higher lvls the help from npcs will be next to useless because of the lvl scaling.
If on the other hand you were trying some other sort of character build with no worthwhile warrior skills then do kvatch asap cause of the wonky way you lvl up your prime and secondary skills , you'll be seriously over matched.

 

[RK47]

What level is the adequate for Kvatch/Close Oblivion gate...?? Im in level 1/2 and all beasts IN OBLIVION are to extremately challenging to impossible.

Turn off all the mods and take them on. You will emerge victorious in Todd's name.

 

[Lord Chambers]

It was in a small cemetery with a keepers and a road tavern nearby. Some robbers have paid the keeper to keep his mouth shut and loot a secret section of a crypt but it ended up that this secret section was much more than it looked. There were more crypts and tunnels bellow leading to natural caves and an underwater river and finally to an underground town with it's own palace. When the robbers found out this stuff they also unleashed the chaos and many skeleton guardians were risen from the dead and getting out of the cemetery. When the imperials come leaded by an arrogant knight and acompained by a few people from the mages guild to and the temple the robbers were enslaved to work on the tunnels and ruins and the knights set their base on the undergound palace and prepared to explored it's dungeons.

Wow cool, thanks for telling me all about this interesting mod which doesn't exist.

 

[Barbader]

I play with a stealth based character, and the npc aid has died when i crossed the oblivion portal... besides this, the lvl matters since the OOO mod is active and theres no level scaling
... in Todd´s way? Never!. I´d like that Astromarine take up again the thread(plays under a stealth char)

 

[Astromarine]

yeah with mods on it's pretty hard to figure out which levels you need to do stuff. just go away and try later.
as for my game i'll come back to it soon.

also, posting from the wii FTW

 

[Korgan]

The first 2 screens of the mod list say more about Oblivion (with their very existence) than a universe consisting entirely of the letters F, U, C and K. The other 2 and a half make you think you have to try this out, since there HAS to be at least a BG2's worth of great content among this. I last played Oblivion a year ago with OOO and little else, was almost ok but the world felt completely dead and generic. I have half a mind to see what the changes for the better would all this bring. How many Gbs are there to DL?

 

[Luhh]

The modding allowance is both a blessing and a curse.

1) You can do a lot, but some of the things you'd like to change the most are hardcoded into the game (skills, game mechanics, rulesets etc.)

2) That lots of crappy mods are made that simply litter the sites and make it harder to find good mods.

3) That somuch good talent is wasted on a mediocre game due to the first point, instead of a game with good basics.


As for the hot heroic/villanous fantasy babe in skimpy outfit, I don't understand the complaints here to be honest (as long as it is not the major focus and seling point of the game, good basics, engine, mechanics and ruleset are always #1).

I rather prefer some eyecandy over glorified pious mediocracy myself. Heck, it's fantasy and fiction to begin with..

 

[octavius]

The first 2 screens of the mod list say more about Oblivion (with their very existence) than a universe consisting entirely of the letters F, U, C and K. The other 2 and a half make you think you have to try this out, since there HAS to be at least a BG2's worth of great content among this. I last played Oblivion a year ago with OOO and little else, was almost ok but the world felt completely dead and generic. I have half a mind to see what the changes for the better would all this bring. How many Gbs are there to DL?

My Oblivion folder is 15 GB. Not sure how much is from mods. though.

And I can assure you that with the right mods the world really does feel alive; much more so than MW ever did. In addition the battles are actually exciting in Oblivion.

Try FCOM: Convergence (Francesco + WarCry + Oscuro + Martigen), with Crowded Roads and TIE, and you'll see.

Sadly there are some things even the modders can't fix, but it's mostly cosmetic stuff, like no minimap, only two faces to chose per race (no more bearded Nords), not being able to wear both clothes, armour and a robe at the same time and worst of all - the Khajit females are no longer cute and fluffy, but both look and sound nasty. :wink: