oblivion

[Xelene]

OBSOLETE

See main thread at http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18247684

Building Oblivion

Introduction

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released on March 20th, 2006 on the PC and Xbox 360. At the time the game itself was widely praised for the open world it provided, but was also something of a beast to run. In the 5 years since the game has been released, PC Hardware has moved on a great deal and with the announcement of Skyrim and the frequent cheap availability of Oblivion on Steam I thought now would be an appropriate time to put together this guide to making the most of this game. If you don't have it already, I highly recommend getting "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion® Game of the Year Edition Deluxe" from the Steam store. This includes all of the DLC and at the time of writing is £19.99. (The Bethesda pack includes this Deluxe edition, Fallout 3 Game of the Year and Morrowind Game of the Year also for £37.99 also a good deal). I don't get commission.

Modding Oblivion is not for the faint hearted, you can very easily make the game into a bigger unstable mess than it already is. With the help of a few billion wasted brain cells i’ve researched, trialled, and spent an ungodly amount of time starting from scratch in order to put together this guide. The mods are listed in a recommended install order, so that they don't trip over each other too much. I'd suggest not installing EVERYTHING as Oblivion will start hitting resource limits and become prone to crashing.

I’ve purposefully chosen not to drastically overhaul the gameplay, the aim of this is primarily to beautify the game and increase the immersion of the world. There are a few optional mods that fix things that I think are flaws in the game. I also haven’t added a great deal of new content to the game, just a couple of new areas that I think add to the world without changing it unduly. By following this guide, you should become confident enough in using mods and the tools needed for them to explore other available content. Wherever possible, the authors of the content have been attributed.

If you have previously installed Oblivion, backup all your saves then uninstall it completely making sure the Oblivion directory is completely empty. Additionally, locate your My Games\Oblivion folder and delete that. To follow this guide you need a completely fresh install of Oblivion (and Shivering Isles & the DLC if you have them).

This guide will work for either the retail disc editions, which will need to be patched manually or the Steam edition, which does not need any patching. Digital Editions from anywhere but Steam will not work.

Once the game is installed, run it one time to generate the INI files and Registry Settings. Turn all the graphical sliders to max, textures to highest etc, set your correct screen resolution and use HDR.

I highly recommend paying £2.50 for a months premium access to http://www.tesnexus.com as you will be severely abusing their downloads, all in all this is at least 20GB worth of mods. As a side benefit it allows you to skip the adverts.

 

[Xelene]

Tools

Before you begin to modify Oblivion, it’s essential you have the correct tools for the job. These, in my opinion are the correct tools.


Git

When you are modding Oblivion, you will OFTEN install something that has unintended side effects, from making the game unstable, to breaking it entirely and there isn’t always a way to roll the game back to its previous state. Rather than going through the process of reinstalling everything from scratch you should use some version control. Git is quick and easy to setup and use.

Install from http://code.google.com/p/msysgit/downloads/list - make sure to enable the Shell Extensions during the install. I’d also suggest the self contained option, and have it not change characters for Windows/Unix.
Once installed, browse to your Oblivion installation, right click on the Oblivion folder and choose ‘Git Bash Here’ and type the following in the Git window.

git config –-global user.name “Your Name”
git config –-global user.email [email protected]
git init
git add –v .
git commit -m 'Original Installation'

The first two lines are just housekeeping for a fresh Git installation.
The init command creates a new empty repository in a folder called .git, this folder will essentially double the size of your Oblivion installation (as you add files)
The add command will tell Git to add all of the files under the current directory to your git repository.
The commit command tells Git to associate all of the files to a specific revision, which we've optionally labelled with the -m switch as Original Installation.

Now this is done, at any time in the future if you've broken your Oblivion installation you can reset Oblivion to it's freshly installed status. By using Git as you install new things you will have the ability to reset your installation back to any time you did an add & commit.


4GB Patcher 1.0.0.1 by Daniel Pistelli

This utility patches 32bit executables to be able to use upto 4GB RAM on a 64bit Operating System, git.exe should be patched with it. Just run, and browse to the executable. I had some problems restoring one of the really large files in Git without patching it. This utility helps with specific problems, specifically where memory runs out, only use it on binaries that have this problem, especially it will interfere with the operation of things like PunkBuster. This has no effect on Oblivion itself.

http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php


WinRAR

This needs no explanation. Most mods available to download are Rar or 7z files. Winzip doesn't handle them, WinRAR does.

http://rarlabs.com/download.htm


7Zip

There were a couple of instances when WinRAR wasn't up to the job, particularly with multipart 7z files.
http://www.7-zip.org/


Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) 1.1.12 by Timeslip

This is a fantastic utility. It automates much of the installation and uninstallation of mods for you, including scripted installations which install based on dependencies. It will warn of file conflicts, but won't help resolve them (which is why we use Git). It also has some useful utilities built in. Install and run it from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2097

Go into the settings menu, and Move the omod directory to somewhere outside of your Oblivion directory, we don't want to archive this content in Git.

One thing to note about OBMM is that it seems to save settings about what mods to load on exit, so get in the habit of doing what you want to do with it then quitting.

Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS) 1.65 by random007

Another essential utility, you should run this EVERY time you install a Mod. Oblivion is sensitive to the load order of modules, with modules later in the load order overriding earlier ones. BOSS will reorder all of your mods, give you some hints on incompatabilities and generate Bash tags automagically.

Install this choosing to update Masterlist and run it, then get in the habit of running it frequently.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20516


Wrye Bash 291 by Wrye

Talking of Bash tags, we come to the most intimidating mod utility known to man. It's also incredibly powerful, and will go a huge way towards making Oblivion stable.

This is available from: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22368

Most normal people will want to download Wrye Python 03a and Wrye Bash 291 Installer Version, running the Wrye Python installer first. If you already have Python 2.6 installed then consult the documentation at http://wryemusings.com/Wrye Bash.html#PythonComponents as to what else you need to install.

The first time you run it you are presented with this:

Choose Yes to Turn Lock Times Off, we use BOSS to handle load order.

Now you can see the main screen of Wrye Bash, we are mainly interested in the Mods tab.

Click the checkbox on Bashed Patch, 0.esp to add this to the load order, then right click on the text and select Rebuild Patch...

You'll see something like this. Scroll down and check Tweak Settings and UOP Vampire Aging and Face Fix.esp. Then click Build Patch.

(Note: Bash has cleverly loaded the Bash tags generated earlier by Boss.)

Close Bash, and rerun Boss to get the Bashed Patch loaded in the right order.

Now restart OBMM, as we are actually using a mod now it's time to setup Archive Invalidation. Click Utilities and choose Archive Invalidation. Don't change any settings, just click Update Now. This will workaround an Oblivion bug where it loads a resource from it's own files instead of from a mod where the names clash. It only needs to be done once. (Even though Reset timestamps appears to be highlighted, don't click that). You can tell if it has worked by the presence of a file along the lines ArchiveInvalidationInvalidated!.bsa

Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) v0019b

The next piece of the puzzle is OBSE, this is a plugin for the Oblivion engine that allows people to extend its functionality. This build uses it for a few different things, mainly to improve stability and enhance graphics.

It's trivial to install, just unzip into the Oblivion folder. The Steam version doesn't need anything else doing. Check the readme for a Disc based install as you might need to use the loader.

Now would be a good time to startup Oblivion to see if it's working; exit out of Oblivion and check your Oblivion folder. There should be an OBSE log file there, indicating all is working.


TES4LodGen 2.2.2 by ElminsterAU

This is the last utility needed, it doesn't need to be installed and can be run from anywhere you like. It also doesn't require any user input. Basically it takes meshes of distant objects, trees etc and regenerated the LOD for the game. Upshot is much better detail in the distance, downside is it will kill your framerate. No need to run just yet. (Note, i'm investigating a way to selectively LOD important parts of the landscape without wasting memory / polygons on drawing trees)

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15781


Finishing Up

All done installing utilities, I suggest updating Git and then running a character through the Tutorial dungeon, you'll need a character in the outside world to see the changes made.

As a reminder:

git add –v .
git commit -m 'Original Installation + Utilities'

 

[Xelene]

Oblivion Essentials

These are essential mods for Oblivion, focused on performance & stability, usability, bug fixes and basic eye candy. Everyone should run these.

Streamline 3.1 by Jaga

Streamline is a mod that helps with stability and performance. On lower end machines you can get it to do some memory management, on higher end machines you'll more likely be interested in the improved save handling. (Saves on area transitions are one of the most likely triggers for a crash).

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10400

Grab both the 3.1 Open Beta and its Patch, copy them to a temporary directory and run the Open Beta & then the Patch (both self extracting executables).

Startup OBMM, it's time to make your first OMOD.

Click on the Create button. You'll be presented with the following screen.

There's nothing populated yet, so fill in the Name, Version and Author at the top then click on Add folder button and browse to the location you extracted Streamline to. Finally select all of the indicated .esp files, right click and delete them. We only want the top level one. Finally click the create omod button, wait for it to do its stuff and you should see the following. I personally turn off all the Oblivion built in saves in the Game Options, then use Streamline to autosave for me - it's more reliable and less likely to crash the game.

Note the green square next to Streamline, this means that the OMOD is available and doesn't clash with any existing files. To actually install the mod, double click it and the icon will turn blue (note it is now listed in the left pane). You will often see a red icon which means the mod will overwrite existing files from other mods. Close OBMM and run BOSS. You'll get something like this:

You can see BOSS has moved Streamline earlier in the load order, directly after the official Oblivion and ShiveringIsles mods. There's no notes about compatability so nothing needs to be done.

Load Oblivion and go in game, wait for Streamline to start up and press Ctrl+Home. Turn off everything but Streamsave. Dig around and find the Streamsave settings, turn off after combat. Turn the number of streamsaves down to 5 or so. Come out of the menu and go into Oblivion options. Rebind quicksave to F10. Quit Oblivion. Edit oblivion\Data\Streamline\INI Files\sl.ini. This changes your quicksave key to use Streamline. The game will autosave every 10 minutes regardless.

;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
set SLv.SaveModKey            to       0  ;
set SLv.SaveKey               to     116  ; (F10=121)  (F5=116)
;----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alternatively, press CTRL+HOME in game to configure.


Fast Exit 2.0 by Scanti

Another essential stability fix, Fast Exit attempts to catch errors when Oblivion is shutting down. The main effect of this is Oblivion will shutdown correctly instead of popping up a dialogue box saying it has shutdown unexpectedly and losing your mouse cursor.

Unzip the file then create an OMOD from it. When selecting the folder, browse to the Data folder. When there are no OMOD creation scripts, OBMM can be quite stupid about how it makes the OMOD file - in this case always try to match the Mods Data folder with the Data folder within the Oblivion install. Note this is an OBSE plugin, you won't see a mod on the left hand pane.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22410


Elys Universal Silent Voice 0.93

This file helps when using 3rd party adventure mods, if the author hasn't created audio files then it will put a delay on the subtitles to stop them flashing by. View the readme for installation instructions.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16622


Windom Earle's Oblivion Crash Prevention System for OBSE (weOCPS)

This is an OBSE plugin that tries to catch and prevent common errors within the Oblivion engine. Unzip to your Oblivion folder.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22282


Oblivion Stutter Remover 4.1.0 by SkyRanger-1

This plugin makes Oblivion not "stutter" as much, and generally feel smoother or perform better. It prevents or mitigates a number of issues related to stuttering and framerates, and can reduce the frequency of stutter related crashes.

Download the 4-1 file and extract it to your Oblivion folder - or make an OMOD if you prefer.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23208


Check everything is working, and if it is commit your changes to Git. We have some big patches coming!


Unofficial Patches

Quarn and Kivan have put together a set of huge patches that fix all sorts of outstanding gameplay issues in Oblivion, these are absolutely essential. For each of these 3, download the OMOD version. Obviously only get the Shivering Isles patch if you have the expansion, and the Official Mods patch if you have any DLC.

Unofficial Oblivion Patch 3.2.0 - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5296
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch 1.4.0 - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10739 (rename this file into something more user friendly)
Unofficial Official Mods Patch 15 - http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9969

Just double click the OMOD file once downloaded to load it into OBMM, then double click on the mods within OBMM.

When the Oblivion Patch prompts you about the Vampire Skin fix, choose to skip it as we already fixed this with Wrye Bash. Apply the Citadel door fix. You aren't using any Custom Body mods (yet).

Arthmoor has produced an extra patch that overlays these patches, fixing a few more outstanding bugs. There's no packaged OMOD version so download the archive from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27710. Once the file is downloaded, choose to create a new OMOD in OBMM and choose to Add Archive (instead of folder). Browse to the 7z and create an OMOD. Ignore warnings about subdirectories.

The Thieves Den patch in the Supplemental patch collides with the earlier DLCThievesDen - Unofficial Patch - SSSB.esp, disable that.

Shutdown OBMM, run BOSS. Run Wrye Bash and choose to rebuild the Bashed Patch. You'll be prompted with this, choose yes.

Make sure the following is checked then rebuild your patch and quit Bash.

Commit your changes to Git.

git add -v .
git commit -m 'Patched Installation'

Qarls Texture Pack 3

Qarls Texture Pack adds a huge amount of visual fidelity to Oblivion, almost all of the Environment textures for the game have been completely redone at a much higher resolution and with normal maps added.

[Before on the left, after on the right - note the more textured columns. Image resized so some detail lost, and not the most noticeable location to see changes]

Qarls Texture Pack Redimized and Further Reduced OMOD - http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=OblivionMods.Detail&id=3985

This is a big file and will take a while to download and install in OBMM. Note, you will see a red icon in OBMM as these texture packs will overwrite textures from the Unofficial Patches. This is fine, overwrite away. If you press CTRL and click Yes when it prompts to overwrite it will remember your choice for every subsequent prompt.


Bomrets Texture Pack for Shivering Isles

This is the same thing as Qarls Texture pack, but for the Shivering Isles expansion - so only download this if you have the expansion. Get the OMOD files and use WinRAR to put them back together.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28378

I couldn't find a redimized version of this, so it really does need a graphics card with 1GB or more of RAM (you might get away with 512MB).


Really Almost Everything Viewable When Distant 1.9 by Various(RAEVWD)

RAEVWD is a set of files that describe which architecture to draw at a distance, by default Oblivion only shows buildings and ruins that are relatively close - these files describe what to draw in the distance, and with TES4LodGen you can alter the games settings. The difference is stunning.

Be careful, unless you have a good (4890/260+) graphics card this will MURDER your framerates. It gives a good old hit for me on a flashed 6950 2GB and I think causes some instability. Many mods will install their own distant LOD meshes - so this is not required.

This one is a bit more complicated to install. You need to download the following files from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20053

RAEVWD
RAEVWD SI Edition
RAEVWD Brumbek Update 191
RAEVWD QTP3 Texture Pack by Brumbek
RAEVWD SI Bomret Textures

You also need the following files from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24701

RAEVWD omod Installer 1_9
RAEVWD SI omod Installer 1_6_1

Extract RAEVWD into a temporary folder.
Extract RAEVWD Brumbek Update 191 over the top of RAEVWD (make sure it is extracting over the previous files, not going into some subdirectory)
Extract RAEVWD omod Installer 1_9 over the top of RAEVWD

You should end up with a folder structure that looks like this:

Build an OMOD from this folder

Install, when prompted choose NOT to install either the Imperial Cities or Other Cities.

For Shivering Isles

Extract RAEVWD SI Edition into a new temporary folder.
Extract RAEVWD SI omod Installer 1_6_1 over the top of RAEVWD SI Edition
Build an OMOD from this Folder

Install, when prompted you should choose to install the City data.

Unzip both RAEVWD QTP3 Texture Pack and RAEVWD SI Bomret Textures into a new temporary folder, and make an OMOD from it then install it. If it complains about Load Order, rerun BOSS

The final step is to run TES4LodGen.exe - it will just do it's stuff and tell you when it has finished. Takes about a minute on my machine.

Run the game, marvel at seeing stuff far away. Quit and save your changes to Git.

Every time you rerun this, DELETE the Oblivion\Data\DistantLOD folder beforehand.


DarNified UI 1.3.2 by DarN

Now it's time to get rid of the console interface, and replace it with something a bit more suitable for the PC. The DarNified UI is my preference, although others prefer DarkUId DarN. Both operate on the same principle.

Before & After

Download and install the OMOD from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=10763

It mostly works out of the box, I choose to have the coloured maps - everything else stock.

There's one other thing to do - quit OBMM & run BOSS, then Bash. Rebuild your Bashed Patch.

 

[Xelene]

Places

A cherry picked selection of some of the best new or replaced content.

Alternative Start Arrive by Ship 1.66 by Robert Evrae

When you are sick of running the tutorial dungeon, this lets you start a character by picking background and motivation and end up in the city of your choice. Make an OMOD from the archive.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11495


Clocks of Cyrodiil 1.00 by WilliamSea

A fun mod that adds working clocks of all sizes to the Cities. Download and make an OMOD.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11778

Frostcrag Reborn 3.0.6 by indefiance

This mod replaces the rather poor DLC Frostcrag, you MUST have both the original Frostcrag DLC and Shivering Isles to use this Mod.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=9769

IMPORTANT: disable DLCFrostcrag - Unofficial Patch.esp once this is installed.


Kvatch Rebuilt 1.1 by Kvatch Rebuilt Team

A quest that lets you rebuild the town of Kvatch after closing the Oblivion portal near the start of the main quest. Make an OMOD from the download.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15412

IMPORTANT: Remove both Kvatch Rebuilt - Levelled Guards - FCOM.esp and Kvatch Rebuilt - OOO Compatability.esp otherwise Oblivion will crash. You'll need to add those in again at a later date if you try those mods.


Kvatch Rebuilt & Frostcrag Compatability 1.1 by miguik

A portal from Frostcrag to the Mages guild in rebuilt Kvatch. Make an OMOD of this.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=22547


Glenvar Castle 2.10 by Quartz

Tired of those drafty dark ruins they call castles ? Where all you'll ever get is damp clothing and a bad case of rheumatism? Then you might be interested in this mod, which allows the player - after a rather elaborate quest - to possess one of the finest monuments in Tamriel, serviced by a staff of 18 NPC's.

Glenvar Castle: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8235
Glenvar Castle Voice Acting by Euther: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19520

Unzip Glenvar castle then unzip the Voice file into the correct part of the folder structure and make an OMOD.


Unique Landscapes 1.6.1 & Patches by Various

A collection of handcrafted areas of scenery scattered around the land. Make an OMOD from ULComp161 and install all of them. Ignore the performance settings, just pick whatever sounds like it will hit your card/cpu the hardest!

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19370

There's a few patches that need applying for compatability.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13834

Make OMODS from:

Frostcrag Reborn - Snowdale
Kvatch Rebuilt - Cheydinhal Falls

You probably want to check this page whenever you install any new Mods.

Once installed, quit and run BOSS. It also won't hurt to rebuild your Bashed patch. Save everything to Git, as a reminder:

git add -v .
git commit -m 'Various New Areas'

Better Cities 4.9.2 by Banasplit & Friends

And finally, the big daddy. Better Cities. This replaces every city (except Kvatch) in the game, upping the polycount, the detail - everything.

Download the 3 files from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16513 and make separate OMODs from the archives for each of them. Once that is done they need to be installed in a certain order.

Better Cities
Better Cities Permanent Resources
Better Cities Resources

When installing Better Cities. Yes to merged plugins. Select Clocks of Cyrodiil. Yes to FPS Patches. Yes to Better Cities View When Distant. Don't remove the flood (it looks better). Yes to Open Cities (i'm still checking this, it's a new option). Disable ClocksOfCyrodiil.esp (just the esp in the left pane).

Quit OBMM. Run BOSS. DEFINATELY run Bash and make a new Bashed Patch. Run TES4LodGen. Test the game. Save to Git if everything is fine.

 

[Xelene]

Environment

Patches that make the world a more beautiful place.

Alluring Potion Bottles v3 by jbvw

Improves the look of potions and optionally wine bottles. Download from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33531

You need to do unzip the file, unzip the embedded file and do some copy paste to get it structured right. Then make an OMOD

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33531


Book Jackets 1.0 by Daleth

Makes all the book covers non generic, download the Hires version:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5570

Create an OMOD from the archive, removing Book Jackets Oblivion- BP.esp


Natural Habitats by Max Kael 2.1.3

Natural Environments is a compilation of various mods that affect a number of things, however some of the components are either buggy or their are better alternatives. Download the archive from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2536

Unzip this into a temporary folder and delete every *.esp file EXCEPT Natural_Habitat_by_Max_Tael.esp. Delete Textures\Sky\sun*. Delete Natural Environments Unsupported Extras.

Make an OMOD and install.

Improved Trees & Flora by Mikal33

A set of better textures for the plantlife around the world. Download the files from:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8500
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11891

Unzip v1 into a temp folder, unzip v2 over the top and finally unzip the patch. Verify the folder structure is correct and build an OMOD.


Alive Waters

Alive Waters adds plants and fish to the barren underwater world. Make an OMOD from the archive.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=6914


Enhanced Water by LprMan and halo112358

Makes water look more realistic.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8011
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=17345 (Shivering Isles Addon - need 7zip to unzip this)

Uncompress both in a temporary folder, delete the SD version and the Older Versions folder. Make an OMOD.


Enhanced Vegetation 1.1 by LprMan

An alternative to Natural Vegetation by Max Tael. This mod offers better textures for distant trees/shrubs and the plugins scale vegetation bigger.

Download the Medium Res textures and the Plugins from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23783 and make both files into OMODs. I wouldn't change the vegetation size, and would choose to use game default timescale.


Rainbows in Tamriel v3 by Deathless Aphrodite

Makes rainbows appear after rain when it becomes sunny. No unicorns or ponies.

Download the OMOD from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8927


Beaming Sunglare by SonicEther

Download from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16533 and make an OMOD from the archive.


Real Night Sky 2.0 by Gloomfrost

A high resolution starmap to display at night time. Unzip and create an OMOD from the correct folder.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16617


Animated Window Lighting System 5.5.1 by Various (ALWS)

This excellent mod changes the game so that exterior windows are filled with light when either the weather turns bad or it's night time. Download the file from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=19628 and make an OMOD from the zip. During installation choose Advanced Smoking Chimneys, yes to RAEVWD, no to pick windows individually, yes to the texture pack questions when they come up and the defaults for everything else.

All Natural 1.2 by Chong Li

This is the best and most stable weather mod for Oblivion, not only does it do a great job at weather but it also applies weather effect to interiors, so if there's a storm outside you can see the rain beating down on the windows.

Download All Natural, AN Hotfix and Real Lights Fixes from http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18305

Make a temporary directory then unzip All Natural, AN Hotfix and Real Lights Fixes in that order verifying everything is in the right place. Build an OMOD from the folder.

During installation, choose All Natural - Full, yes to the Shivering Isles support if applicable and yes to Bash Filter support.

Quit OBMM, run BOSS, run Wrye Bash.

Uncheck All Natural - Indoor Weather Filter:

Choose to merge mods:

Import Cells:

Rebuild your Patch and quit Bash. Run BOSS again. Run TES4LodGen. Run around and explore a bit then commit your changes to Git. That's it, the Environment is now updated!

 

[Xelene]

People

A beautiful world needs non misshapen inhabitants.

Rens Beauty Pack 1.1

This mod adds a new custom race, Mystic Elf and also adds many new hairstyles. Unzip the file and extract the archives to a temp folder, unzip them both and combine the subdirectories. Make an OMOD from the folder where the .esp files are. Remove the Beautiful People .esp.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=4431


EVE HGEC Eyecandy Variants Expansion 1.0 by the EVE Team

HGEC is probably the most widely supported female body replacer in the Oblivion modding community, it's a rework of the older Exnem body.

The EVE HGEC Expansion reworks all of the meshes of the female clothing and armour in the game to conform to the HGEC body. Download the OMOD and install this. When prompted i'd chose either the C or E cup normal upperbody and the normal lower body. The EBE (Extra Buff Edition) version will make all the women in the game look like Bridget Nielsson in Red Sonja. Underwear choice doesn't matter as we're going to install new Textures.

Download the OMOD and install that, then extract the EVEUpperShirt04CcupFix file to Oblivion\Data

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24078


HGEC more revealing standard armor 1.2 by duddly01

This mod reworks all of the standard armour lines in the game, for the better generally. The screenshot below is probably at the more extreme end of chainmail bikininess that this adds. Make an OMOD from the file and install, overwriting textures. Make an OMOD from the archive.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=24194

[Vanilla | HGEC | More Revealing Armor]


Roberts Male Body Replacer V4.0

A replacement mesh for the male body, for some unknown reason *rolls eyes* almost all character mods are for females. Download and unzip to a temporary folder. Copy the Ren folder into "Roberts Male Body\Data\textures\characters" - to enable compatability, then make an OMOD from the Data folder.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=14942


DK High Imperials 1.3 by Deathknowz
This adds a new (female) race that acts as an Imperial (mostly). If you are going to play as an Imperial woman, then this is for you.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33044


Elves of Lineage II 0.5 by Miss Onattop

Add 2 new Elven races, download the zip & 2011 update. Unzip the main file then the update in a temporary folder. Copy the contents of Extra\Eyecandy {exnem} and Extra\Seamless Male {robert} into the Data folder and build an OMOD.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=12424


Undies Underneath 4.4.6 by popcorn771

This is a mod to preserve modesty with. The textures for HGEC you'll be installing soon are nude. This gives your character a wearable set of underwear, and auto equips it when you take your armour off. Make an OMOD from the archive. Choose the appropriate HGEC body types when it asks you.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15767


High Rez Skin Textures for HGEC 1.2 by Ozmo

Improved textures for females, highly recommended to update Git before installing this. Download Face Texture for High Rez Skin Textures v1_2, 4096x4096_Default_package_v1_2_part1, 4096x4096_Default_package_v1_2_part2, 4096x4096_Lineage_II_Elf_package_v1_2, 4096x4096_Ren_Mystic_Elf_package_v1_2. Unrar the files in a temporary folder, Unrar the 7z file. Copy the contents of Lineage II and Rens Mystic Elf into the main 4096 default package folder. Run InstallTool.exe and pick the races you want to upgrade. Go into the face folder and run InstallTool.exe.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20022


Coronerras Maximum Compatibility Skeletons V1.0

This file helps with glitches in animation replacers. Unzip and make an OMOD.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=27945


HGEC Better Bouncing Boobs Hcup Ecup Dcup

This isn't actually bouncing boobs, just mesh fixes for HGEC. Works in conjunction with the maximum compat skeletons. Extract it and read the Installation guide.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=28235


Womans Move - Animation Replacer

Improves the female walking animation, download BlockAttack, WalkForward, esp Only ver 1_0; combine them and make an OMOD. Add slightly jiggly breasts

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33998


That's it pretty much for making the people look better. Time to do the usual Kung Fu of quitting OBMM, running BOSS, running Bash, rebuilding and merging in your Bash patch and testing. If you're happy, put the changes in Git and have a drink!

 

[Xelene]

Audio

Oblivion Stereo Sound Overhaul by canderoc

Immerse yourself in the Oblivion experience with enhanced sounds including better sounding THUNDER, WIND, DUNGEONS, ARENA CROWDS, CRICKETS, etc! I have subtly enhanced most of Oblivion's stereo/ambient sounds and have increased variety by adding 42 additional sounds (8 new thunder sounds and 34 new wind sounds)! Enhancements include expanded stereo dynamics, boosted bass, crisper sounds, subtle reverb, loop fixes, and a greater variety.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5861


Atmospheric Oblivion by Piratelord

This mods adds more ambient sound to virtually everywhere in the game, from Tombs to Oblivion Realms.
It also adjusts some of the ingame sound effects to change their volume and/or range.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7703


Storms and Sound v3 lightning for all weathers by Deathless Aphrodite, lilith and Foghorne

Better thunderstorm sounds.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8711


Recommended

No Psychic Guards by buddah

Basically required for skullduggery. Stops the guards knowing all your crimes at sight, and being able to hear a break in at 500 yards.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11911


Quest Award Leveller by Quazzy

Scales unique items found on quests as you level up. Essential.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5701


6 Sexy Market District Ladies by dbailey56

Silliness. Changes the face and outfits of some of the vendors you visit the most.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=15675


SM Combat Hide by Strategy Master

This mod allows to more effectivly hide from npcs you are in combat with. If you stay out of visible sight from them long enough the npc will not be sure where you have gone and lose track of you. No more do npc's have homing beacons on your position.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=20303


Stealth Overhaul Redux by Sandman53

This mod has it's good and bad points, but is fairly tunable. I like it because it gives you a higher backstab modifier for using smaller weapons such as daggers.

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=31908

Change Log

11/03/11 Fixed BSA Archive Invalidation info.


License

Building Oblivion by sldsmkd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at forums.overclockers.co.uk.

 

[Xelene]

This is an archive, post replies in the main thread @ http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18247684

 

[Xelene]

Guys in the eralier version of this guide it said to download the OMOD version of the unofficial patches.

In this version it says to get the MANUAL version and then repack them.

Ive already downloaded the OMOD versions should I get rid of them and get manual? Is it a big deal?

Thanks

No replies here!