Starting Oblivion - to mod or not to mod?

I use 2/3 big mod packs atm which was recommended by the editor of fileplanet. Increases damage on bows (which is NEEDED), adds about 90 weapons and monsters (all new with new graphics) and also stops the leveling with monster thing which makes oblivion so different to morrowind.

Now you can walk into a dungeon and have a monster far higher in level 1 shot you, far more fun and like morrowind :P
 
I've just done the interface mods (though I kept the map pointers, since so many quests are a complete pain in the bum without it- go to the Imperial City and find this person... Kill 12 whatsits...) and now the weapon levelling mod that prevents multi-level items from being stuck at their level when found.

I removed OOO... Didn't like it. Obviously the levelling system's absolutely absurd, but IMO it works. No more grinding away in low level areas because you get pwned every time you enter a high level areas, which I always hated. And just as importantly, no more fighting ladybirds and hedgehogs at level 50. My first computer RPG experience was Phantasy Star on the master system, and I was pretty sour on killing the bloody scorpion things by the time I finished that, then going to the ice world and getting ripped a wide variety of new ones by the mammoths and whatnot. And that was about 20 years ago.

Then I played Diablo, got one good weapon, and suddenly the challenge fell off the game... Cunningly following a lengthy section in which I was utterly outclassed by everything in the game.

Oblivion's system makes no sense at all... But when you get down to it, it works, IMO. And it's so non-linear that any traditional levelling system wouldn't work at all- I spent about 60 hours just mucking about, murdering goblins and so on, if I went back to the main quest and it was set up for players 10 levels lower, it'd be a joke.
 
When I first got Oblivion, I thought it was amazing. I blasted through it, and started to get stuck on the main quest. I then went on-line to discover a little bit more about it. I read the wiki and learned all about Oblivion. The quests, the factions, the spells, etc. I entered the realm of the console commands. Then I discovered the mods and began to mod my game to the nines. A little later I was level 150 with 4,000 magicka, every spell in the book and beyond with hordes of monsters and combatants everywhere I looked. The water was crystal clear the weather so atmospheric. Birds, insects were in abundance. Oh, wait a minute, wasn't I just playing a game back there.

My advice. Err on the side of caution at first. Do not read the wiki, do not mod the game. Just play it in plain vanilla at first. Then you can decide later on if you want mint choc chip flavour, tootie fruitie, raspberry... :D Believe me when I say there is WAY, WAY too many mods and information about this game. Just play the game. If you want to make any changes, download the construction set and tweak the game to exactly how you want it. It isn't that hard with the right instructions
 
In the end I've gone for the following:

No Psychic Guards
Natural Environments
Qarls texture pack 2
Better tiling for Qarl
Better nightsky
landscape lod normalmap fix
btq4096
Skingrad roof textures
1.5.1 unofficial patch
Texian's window lighting
Slof's Dremora textures
Slof's horses
Improved facial textures
Gorier blood
BTMod

Away on business for a few days so won't be able to get started until Friday night at the earliest - probably end up looking like a complete mess or running like a dog, so I'll probably end up nuking it all and starting again with something more modest anyway :)
 
stuck loads and loads of mods on mine, mainly graphical or interface ones.

only major changes I have on to the gameplay is OOO and AF level modding.

I dont like the default way of leveling up and also dont like how enemies always same level as me. I like kicking ass when i deserve it (higher levels) and also running away as fast as possible trying not to **** myself as I leg it away from the uber-monster i accidentally bumped into.

as someone said there are way too many mods, just play the game a bit till you get a feel for it and where bits dont agree with you. then find a suitable mod to fix it.

I also find using the mod manager very useful and that other one to verify that the mods are working.

Furthermore, watch out for malicious mods, there are a few floating around with similar names as legit ones. check elderscrolls forum for info about it.
 
Hi,

I tried the OOO mod but didn't really enjoy it, mainly because they make skills less powerful; my level 36 character for example, had the power of a level 5, not good imo.

I don't recall where I got my mods from, there was a torrent release around a while ago, all the fan made add-ons in one place, but I only use the following now:

attack and hide harder v2.1.esp - think this makes people only search for you for a short period, I don't recall much more tbh.

Deadlier Sneaking 1.1.esp - handy if you play the game Thief style, like me, as this gives more damage for stealth kills iirc.

Deadlier Traps.esp - makes looting ruins a little more dangerous.

FathisFix.esp - Fixes a stupid bug in the game, although my have been fixed by the last patch.

mighty_bows_arrows_recovery.esp - allows you to recover more arrows from those you kill.

MM_NoMoreAnnoyingMessages.esp - hides some of the on-screen messages that aren't really needed.

No persistant enchantment glow fix.esp - just something for looks, enchanted kit doesn't glow 24/7.

No psychic guards v1.2.esp - - fixes the issue with guards, like Psypher5 says.

Short Grass V2.esp - helps boost performance by repalcing the grass with a shorter version.

TF_timemod1-20.esp - slows down the time compression I think.

town loot v1.0.esp - more things to nick :)

Valuable Art.esp - same.

Wineman.esp - not found this guy yet, but you can buy wine from him.... handy for drunks I guess.

Scort.
 
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