The Oblivion "MUST HAVE" mods thread

[SUBMAN1]

I figured I'd share my mods that I am running on Oblivion. I figured I'd ask to see if anyone else is running anything cool too.

Mod 1: Not really a mod, but I am running the official patch:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm

Mod 2: If you have noticed the weird square block shadows on distant terrain, this mod fixes that and makes them look normal:
http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/2446.html

Mod 3: For nearer medium distant terrain, you start to notice the square tiling on the grass. This mod fixes that:
http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/2415.html

Mod 4: When travelling outdoors, there is the annoying Loading Area that was obvioulsy designed for X-Box users, not PC users with lots of RAM since it is near instant loading on a PC - This mod just removes the "Loading Area" note to keep the immersion level:
http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/2040.html

Mod 5: Color Map Mod instead of the old Bland Map:
http://www.elderscrolls-oblivion.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=16&func=fileinfo&id=126

Mod 6: Interface mod to change it to a PC type screen instead of the X-Box type interface:
http://btmod.beider.org/

Interesting mods that I have not loaded yet but probably will:

Mod 1: Keychain mod - Gets rid of all the annoying keys in your inventory and turns them into one big keychain:
http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/3409.html/

Mod 2: Realism mod - I wish I had loaded this when I first started Oblivion. I might still load it anyway. This one adds more monsters and makes things more dangerous if you travel too far from the road:
http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/3063.html

Support files:

File Date Changer: Some of the terrain textures won't work with the official patch because the patch is of a later date than the textures are - makes the game ignore the mods! This program will allow you to change the files dates on the textures to make them newer files than the Official Patch, making the textures work once more. The above mods that deal with textured terrain and the color map are affected.
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/filedatech.html

Official mods:

I'm running all of these. All of them add something cool to the game.
http://obliviondownloads.com/StoreCatalog_ProductList.aspx?SubCategoryId=1

[Gizzmoe]

Saddle Bags:
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Saddle_Bags

Horses have saddle bags, they now can carry a lot of stuff...

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Horse Commands:
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Horse_Commands

Adds a Call, Follow and Caution command.

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Adventures: Oblivion
http://www.bncomputing.com/ob/adventurers.html

A complete makeover for Oblivion.

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Natural Environments:
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Natural_Environments

Seasonal weather patterns, more than 40 new weather types (the default number is 7), and additional ambient wildlife species, such as birds and insects.

[SUBMAN1]

Saddle Bags:
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Saddle_Bags

Horses have saddle bags, they now can carry a lot of stuff...

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Horse Commands:
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Horse_Commands

Adds a Call, Follow and Caution command.

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Adventures: Oblivion
http://www.bncomputing.com/ob/adventurers.html

A complete makeover for Oblivion.

-----

Natural Environments:
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Natural_Environments

Seasonal weather patterns, more than 40 new weather types (the default number is 7), and additional ambient wildlife species, such as birds and insects.

The Natural environments sounds like a must have as well as the horse commands. The saddle bags could have been useful earlier in the game though. Once you get Shadowmere however for a horse, he can hold as much crap as you an pack on him. I don't know about the adventure one though as compared to the realism mod. I'll have to experiment with both to see which one is better. The realism is much more extensive and that could be either a good thing or a bad thing. For sure though i think I will add 2 of your mods to my game. Thx! :up:

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Keychain mod update - I tried it and it has pluses and minuses. The pluses is that it cleans up you inventory. The minuses is, it slows down opening up the inventory since it seems to have to organize all your keys every time. Due to the speed issue, I will not be using the keychain mod.

-S

[Gizzmoe]

Forgot to mention "Guild Item Ownership":
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Guild_Item_Ownership

I especially like the storage feature. "This will provide you with basic supplies and a chest in which you can safely store your items. The game has it set so that containers in the guild halls reset after a period of time--resulting in you losing your items. This half of the mod assumes that the guild would provide you a place to safely store your things."

[Skybird]

The patch, as I understand it, still is not for the now-English european verion(s). Is it known if the patch once it has arrived for the German version will make any mods unstable? I see no reason to care for any mods that I will loose soon, since it porbably will not last too long now until the German patch is ours. I also red that there are several mods out there that chnage, or better: balance the way the figure of the player "learns" and raises in skill levels. What does these mods exactly do, and whioch one is the most recommendable? - Boy, I love this game!

[Gizzmoe]

I also red that there are several mods out there that chnage, or better: balance the way the figure of the player "learns" and raises in skill levels. What does these mods exactly do, and whioch one is the most recommendable?

http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Level_Rates_Modified

It does nothing fancy, it just slows the leveling process.

[SUBMAN1]

Forgot to mention "Guild Item Ownership":
http://www.tescreens.be/oblivionmodwiki/index.php/Guild_Item_Ownership

I especially like the storage feature. "This will provide you with basic supplies and a chest in which you can safely store your items. The game has it set so that containers in the guild halls reset after a period of time--resulting in you losing your items. This half of the mod assumes that the guild would provide you a place to safely store your things."

Mods are never unstable - either they work or they don't. If they don't work, it is because of the file date. Only use my file date changer on mods that are texture based. Using it on something that modifies the gameplay may actually make an unstable mod.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Natural environment mod report - I am not too happy with it. First off, it replaced some of the BT HUD modifications with uglier varients. Second off, everything seems to get a pale yellow look to it during the summer. Third, it screws up the weather in Oblivion (on the other side of a gate) completely. Forth - I don't notice too much wildlife persay - where is it? I saw some birds in the sky once. I see more butterflies and dragonflies, but not much more than the original. All, not too happy with it. I'll play some more tonight, but I doubt I will change my mind.

-S

[Gizzmoe]

There is a new version of Natural Environments (v2.1.1):
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=479670

Release Highlights:

- Corrected presentation of the new weather types with HDR turned on ('the yellow tint issue')
- Made nearly a hundred of minor adjustments, tweaks, and fixes over the 2.0RC1 version. Oblivion Planes are no longer affected by Natural Water and Natural Weather.
- Rewrote the weather controlling scripts from scratch. Expect multiple climate-related improvements and a possible performance boost.
- Provided alternative versions of Natural Weather with darker nights.
- Added new species of birds and insects.
- Included several ambient sounds.
- Created rainbows.
- Added Natural Vegetation.
- Customized snow-covered northern regions.

[Seeadler]

I use a heavy modded oblivion game and install/uninstall mods over the time but never get an unstable game.

I recommend the Oblivion Mod Manager to configure the load order if one mod overwrites features of one other mod.
http://timeslip.chorrol.com/obmm_download.html

[SUBMAN1]

There is a new version of Natural Environments (v2.1.1):
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=479670

Release Highlights:

- Corrected presentation of the new weather types with HDR turned on ('the yellow tint issue')
- Made nearly a hundred of minor adjustments, tweaks, and fixes over the 2.0RC1 version. Oblivion Planes are no longer affected by Natural Water and Natural Weather.
- Rewrote the weather controlling scripts from scratch. Expect multiple climate-related improvements and a possible performance boost.
- Provided alternative versions of Natural Weather with darker nights.
- Added new species of birds and insects.
- Included several ambient sounds.
- Created rainbows.
- Added Natural Vegetation.
- Customized snow-covered northern regions.

Cool! Thx! I'll try this one.

-S

[SUBMAN1]

Natural environment mod update - It seems to be fixed. The forrests! Oh my gosh! You must have it for that alone! Very much a recommended improvement!

I can't test Oblivion though because I can't find an open gate! I must have closed them all. I show about 30 gates closed in my stats page, so maybe that is all there is?

-S

[Gizzmoe]

"Expanded Hotkeys and Spell Delete"
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=527827

Tired of agonizing over which of your dozens of items and spells deserves a slot in Oblivion's paltry set of 8 hotkeys? Frustrated by a spellbook cluttered with spells you never use? This plugin increases the number of available hotkeys to 28, including 4 hotkeys that can equip an entire set of armor and weapons with a single keystroke. Additionally, it allows you to delete any spell from your spellbook.

The new hotkeys use the same keys as the existing hotkeys (1 through 8), but are accessed by holding down another key while pressing the hotkey. The defaults are shift and alt, but these can be customized to your liking. The original hotkeys function as normal.

Additional hotkeys 9 and 0 can be assigned to an entire set of items, allowing you to equip your armor or your favorite outfit with the press of a button.

Any spell in your spellbook, including those you've created yourself, can be quickly deleted by selecting it and pressing shift-delete. Yep, just like in Morrowind.
:rock::rock::rock:

[Gizzmoe]

Adventurers: Oblivion 1.0 is out!

http://www.bncomputing.com/ob/adventurers.html

"Adventurers: Oblivion is a complete makeover for Oblivion. It attempts to 'balance' all aspects of gameplay to maximize fun and minimize frustration. Almost all items, NPCs, creatures, and leveled lists have been altered for maximum fun."

[Seeadler]

A great mod, the Unique Landscape Series:

Part 1 - The Heath
english version: download (http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/5092.html)
additional files for german version: download (ttp://scharesoft.de/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=27&func=fileinfo&id=282)

Part 2 - The Great Forrest - Ancient Redwoods
english version: download (http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/5299.html)
additional files for german version: download (http://scharesoft.de/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=27&func=fileinfo&id=227)

Part 3 - The Dark Forrest
english version: download (http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/5651.html)
additional files for german version: download (http://scharesoft.de/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=27&func=fileinfo&id=229)

Part 4 - The Great Forrest - Lush Woodland
english version: download (http://www.tessource.net/files/cache/6172.html)
additional files for german version: download (http://scharesoft.de/joomla/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=27&func=fileinfo&id=288)

discussion and mod progress thread:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=534632