Oblivion "JUST PLAY THE GAME ALREADY" - Mod Guide

Personal mod list of mine, to provide quick, small and enough mods to get to enjoy the game.

Introduction

Oblivion is good game. There's some pet peeves about it, but it's closest one can ever get to having 3D Daggerfall experience. So this I decided to whip out this mod guide solely to share what mods I use to make that happen and just to get around to playing the damn game, instead installing bunch of mods for eternity. You can install these manually or with mod manager of your choice.

If you want to support me you can drop me a Ko-Fi through link below:
https://ko-fi.com/valde007

Notice: This is not a guide to make your game as beautiful as possible or make the game as hard as possible. This is to give out vanilla focus upon the game and not resort into flashiness the other modding guides are prone to do.

1. Preparations

With all these said, let's get upon to prepare our game to be modded. Here are few things to do beforehand;

1. Have a clean install of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on your system. (CAUTION! I don't use any other DLCs than Knights of The Nine and Shivering Isles.)
   
2. Ran it at least once (to generate .ini files and setting your video settings. Start the game, create character and quit). I recommend setting graphics to maximum and turning off autosaves.
   
3. Backed up the game archive.

With these done, we can start to install tools for ourselves.

Oblivion Script Extender

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37952
The Oblivion Script Extender, or OBSE for short, is a modder's resource that expands the scripting capabilities of Oblivion. Most of the gameplay adding mods require it.
To Install, copy all the contents into root folder, where Oblivion.exe is located at. Retail versions should click upon obse_loader.exe, while Steam users can safely launch Oblivion through Steam.

LOOT

https://loot.github.io/
Load sorter tool. While BOSS also exists, it has not been updated in a few years, hence using this is recommended. Comes with easy to use installer.

TES4Edit

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/11536/?
Tes4Edit is very useful tool to clean your mods, check for conflicts, and apply scripts. Now comes with additional executable solely for autocleaning dirty plugins.
To Install, just download the main file and drop it into the root folder, where Oblivion.exe is.

TES4LODGen

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/15781
A Distant LOD generator, accounting the mods you have installed.
To Install, download the main file and drop it into the root folder, where Oblivion.exe is.

4GB Patch

http://ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php
Enables the usage of 4GB virtual memory for those that are locked in 2GB, like Oblivion.
To Install, simply drop it to root folder.
To use, launch the .exe, and choose Oblivion.exe to be patched.

DXVK

https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases
Configuration file: https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/blob/master/dxvk.conf
A Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D which allows running 3D applications on Linux using Wine. Also works on Windows and theoretically can improve performance and stability.
To install, download .tar.gz file, locate x32 folder and extract d3d9.dll to root folder.
To configure settings, download/or create empty file named dxvk.conf and copy paste the text. This is one way to enable Anisotropic Filtering and limit framerate, as well as allowing max available memory, possibly making 4GB patch redundant.

Oblivion BSA Decompressor

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49652
Decompresses Oblivion BSAs to reduce stuttering and loading times. Requires unofficial shivering isles patch to be first installed. Can be extracted anywhere.


Notes

1. LOOT should be used every time you install a new mod with a plugin. Launch it, press sort and then apply sorted load order. It also helpfully notifies if the plugin is dirty or other information regarding the mod.
   
2. TES4LODGen automatically generates LOD into your game once you launch it. It's preferred to do it once you have installed everything.
   
3. Oblivion BSA Decompressor, when launched, should navigate automatically to direction of Oblivion. It has its own instructions, and I recommend installing it as early as possible.

2. OBSE Plugins

OBSE plugins are mods, which doesn't use up plugin limit. They go into Data > OBSE > Plugins folder and are automatically loaded into the game if you have OBSE as well. Here are plugins most commonly I use.

Oblivion Display Tweaks

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50348
Micro stutter tick fix, high framerate fix, true FOV fix, alt-tab freeze fix in fullscreen and G-Sync/FreeSync working in borderless/windowed mode.

Enchantment Cost Multiplier

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50462
Applies a multiplier to all enchantment costs, increasing (or decreasing) the amount of uses. Affects ALL weapons and staves without touching any of them. Doesn't change the gold value of the items, doesn't affect the strength of enchantments you can create - simply multiplies the amount of uses available.

EngineBugFixes

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/47085/
Plugin containing fixes to the game engine.

Blue's Engine Fixes

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/52700
A plugin containing so far one fix for possible crashing.

Oblivion Magic Extender

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/31981
A plugin to expand magic system. Used by Av Latta Magicka (install only the OBSE plugin)

SkyBSA

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49568
Plugin that handles BSAs like Skyrim does.

ConScribe

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/26510/?
Useful Plugin for bug reporting, as it logs all console output to text files for reviewing.

MessageLogger

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/45870
This plugin keeps log for errors and warning messages. Good way to identify and find causes of CTDs.

OBL Mod Limit Fix

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50066
Fixes Oblivion plugin limit.

MenuQue

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/32200/?
Required mod for UI enhancement

Elys Universal Silent Voice

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/16622/?
Plays a silent voice and generic lipsyncing for any missing voice file.

AddActorValues

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/33248/?
Allows modders to create new actor values. Required for some mods. (Install only the OBSE plugin)

Fractional Magic Damage

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37717/?
Resistance & Spell Effectiveness more precise.

Character-Based Attack Speed

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49255
Modifies attack speed depending on weapon, skill, weight, attributes ect.

3. Essential/UI Mods

Here comes about the mods. The default layout of mods archive is plugin with occasionally folders depending which mod use it. All of these can be installed manually by dragging them to Data folder, or you can let your mod manage of choice to handle installation. In regards of plugins, you have to activate them through mod manager or Oblivion launcher, before they are active.

Unofficial Patches

Normal: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5296 (I personally only use Unofficial Oblivion Patch.esp)
Shivering Isles: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10739
DLCs: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/9969 (I personally only use knights patch)
The unofficial patches of the game. Ensures that wonky issues are less likely to happen.

Unofficial Oblivion Tree Patch

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/53079
Fixes Oblivion's trees, in terms of optimization.

Shambles Crash Fix

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/47592
Fixes crash happening when Shambles is ragdolled and does "get up" animation.

LowPolyGrass

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5434/?
Less polygons = More frames.

MajorJims UI

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/4768
Updated version (safe to install on top of original): https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49492
Theos Kingthing Petrock Fonts: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/3061
MajorJims UI is keeping it close enough of being vanilla UI, but at the same time expanding it so that you can see more than just few entries on spells/inventor/stats ect.
Updated version fixes some of the few issues original has, and the UI is customizable from a file ( located in menus\prefabs\mj_ui_config.xml )
Theos Kingthing Petrock Fonts is recommended to install if fonts appear to be too large.

LINK

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50144
MCM for Oblivion, it allows you to configure some mods that has support for it.

Extended UI

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50135
Adds more features into UI.

Coloured Enemy Health (M)

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/3774/? (Manual.)
Colored enemy health. Green = Good, Red = Bad.

4. Gameplay Mods

Skip Intro and Random Start

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/52710
Allows to skip tutorial dungeon or randomize start.

Weapon Expansion Pack for Oblivion Nthusiasts

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/35560
This mod fixes some records that are not governed by unofficial patches, but also expands weaponry for Orcish/Mithril materials, as well as Shivering Isles Amber/Madness weapons.

Balanced Creature Stats - Fixed Level Scaling

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49194
The few creatures that level scale are having fixed leveling thanks to this mod.

Mods by Miguick

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/users/337763?tab=user+files
Miguick is a maestro when it comes to doing mods. A lot of his mods here are very friendly with the mod guide, but be sure to check and read out how to install and configure them. Out of all of his mods, I would recommend these:

• Bashing Reworked
  
• Migck's Miscellaneous fixes tweaks and additions
  
• Dialogue Tweaks Fixes and Restorations
  
• Real Time Lockpicking

Better Beverages

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5393
Alcohol now provides buffs to attributes and/or skills instead just giving small fatigue restoration.

RikimaruLDRs Better Priced Clutter

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/39647
Misc. Items that were previously zero value has now some value.

Better Recoil and Stagger

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/37187/?
It's rather easy to get staggered in combat, so this mod makes the staggering more quicker, yet balanced.

Av Latta Magicka - Oblivion Magic Overhaul

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49096
One of the newer magic overhauls, expanding magic system without going overboard with new spells.

Soulgem Magic

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/35393
Makes soulgem change price according to soul level you fill it with, and let you fill multiple souls in one soulgem or prevent it from getting filled with inferior souls.

De Rerum Dirennis - Alchemy Overhaul

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/53020
Alchemy Overhaul, that fixes few oversights with alchemy scripts as well as adding new features, like dynamic potion drinking limit, multi-hit poisons, and harvesting changes.

Ultimate Leveling

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49134
Patch to make it work with Miguick's Lockpicking Mod: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/51595
Overhaul to leveling, where you can configure which method to level up. XP Based, skill based, lets you distribute skill points and attribute points as you see fit or let them naturally level up by usage.

Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/42780/?
MOO Themed Loading Screens: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/48858
Smaller MOO Backpacks: https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/49858
Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul is the most configurable overhaul ever present on Oblivion. The huge attraction to this is how it makes encounters more unpredictable and makes level scaling and loot placement much better. Laulajatar has also made up a mod to add loading screen text for various things mod offers. Also you might want to check out smaller backpacks in case they take too much back space.
For further explanation and demonstration of the mod, check out my video about it.

5. Graphic Mods

Mesh Improvement Project

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/44501
Improves various small objects.

Ragdolls

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/51844
Overhauls ragdolls to behave much more fun way.

Assorted Protective Female Armors

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/44678
Some more defined looking female armors made by Nuska.

Spike4072s Female Sheogoraths Regalia

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/10134
Replaces the dress version of Sheogorath's outfit with male one for women.

AwesomeSauce Reflection Maps

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/12866
Infuses the reflection maps with a little bit of awesome sauce, i.e. tweaks them so that they look a tad nicer. Bit subtle at first, but it is pretty spiffy looking in action.

Initial Glow Redux

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/46961/?
Removes the enchant glow that remains upon you when wearing items or weapons.

Glowing Wonders

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/43331/?
Adds glowing upon the stones and ayleid wells, along with a sound. This one sound was also bugged and was not fixed, not even by UOP.

Oblivion Stereo Sound Overhaul

http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/5861/?
All the sound effects are now enhanced.

Landscape LOD generator tes4ll-v5

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/40549
A tool to convert landscape height map of meshes into LOD meshes. Comes already pre-made meshes for Shivering Isles and Vanilla game.

J3 Atlassed VWD 2

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/51732?tab=description
Optimized LODs for various objects. Comes with Wrye Bash wizard installer to select your choices.

Note! I recommend not installing this if your PC cannot handle it.

Oblivion Reloaded E3

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/51032
An adaptation of Alenet's Oblivion Reloaded. This version places an emphasis on delivering a polished shadow system and immersive lighting changes.

Author's personal favourites

https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50116
https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50136
Padded Gamberson to replace Leather Armor and more nordic looking Troll replacer. Visually looks better than vanilla but some may disagree, and these aren't necessary.

6. The End Results

Now, few various mods has come out with inis you can see settings through. I recommend you to go through them and change to your liking. Some of the mods has LINK support, so you can instead use the mod menu from in game with those.
In case you wonder how the game looks and behaves, you can get the idea from this video:

Now you are off to play and close shut the jaws of Oblivion. If this Guide was at all useful or needs improvements, or you have a question, please do ask. I am trying my best to help out and expand this, if possible.

EXTRA: Music

Music is great for the atmosphere. Jeremy Soule has done amazing work with the ost, although it is kind of lacking, like with Morrowind & Skyrim. However, you can balance it out by including your own custom music. Yes, you can drop your .mp3 files into the music folder and the game will play it out, A feature that seems to be lacking in Skyrim for some reason.

So for my music recommendation, I would want to offer you the music of second Elder Scrolls game, Daggerfall. A composer, Dan Gooddale, had made amazing remakes of the original soundtrack, which enhances the experience and fits well into the game. Here is an example of the most popular tracks upon Daggerfall:

https://youtu.be/nbzonm7xJn8

https://dangoodale.wordpress.com/downloads/daggerfall-remixes/

The link above contains a download section for his tracks, and the installation of the music in game is simple. Drag the track you want into Oblivion > Data > Music and to Battle, Dungeon, Explore or Public, where you see it fit. Battle is for the battle music, Dungeon is for the dungeons, explore plays on outside world, public plays inside towns/cities. Special is for the title, fanfare and game over music.

Also remember that each tracks must contain 192 kbs bitrate and suggested to be on mp3 format, otherwise The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion might not play them.

F.A.Q

Why did you create this guide? There are other mod guides as well which could do the same thing and adds a lot of cool stuff.

• When I started modding, there were two things in my mind, which I always wanted from the game; Stability and configuration. The former is good to ensure experience doesn't get frustrating because of issues or crashes and the latter allows you to suit the things for your taste. Besides, I try to aim to enjoy base game as much as possible, only seeking out to change things that are comes out as annoying to deal with. The configuration helps a lot too, since there's always option to disable unwanted features.

I installed mods, booted up my game and the game crashes/crashes while launching/starting/playing!

• If it's unmodded game, try redoing your .ini files. Simply go to My Documents and delete Oblivion folder. Then launch the game and let it regenerate them automatically again. If it isn't automatic, go to options and let the game detect your video card to generate .ini files.
  
• If it's modded game, make sure you have installed all the required files. This is the usual cause of crashes on startup/launch, next to having two or more mods that do the same thing.
  
• If it's due to excessive playing, Remember that Oblivion has not been configured to handle more than 2GB RAM. 4GB enabler and DXVK helps out with this thing.

The game is too hard! Bandits kill me way too fast and mudcrabs deal a lot of damage!

• Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul by default increases damage dealt by enemies and you by double, in addition of making bandits higher leveled and mudcrabs rather resilient. You can disable the double damage, although the quick fix for huge damage is that you should either come back later when you have better equipment, or lower the difficulty slider.

I would also like to thank you all for reading my guide, and anybody who has commented and asked for their problems, as I seek out to update and make this guide better and up to date as possible.

[Chris Moltisanti]

ts so impressive

[kidnamedgarlicbread]

Does this have controller support? can it easily be added in by adding northern ui away with major jims?

[happy]

Woospies, deleted my comment thinking it was an edit button. I figured out the issue I had posted about earlier, but still wanted to leave my thanks here for your guide.

Happy holidays, and I hope you are doing well!

[Valde]

Inkwell The Dynamic,
I don't use Vortex so any issues involving that I have no knowledge of helping out with.

[Inkwell The Dynamic]

I am having a problem where the inventory UI is glitched, but other than that, the game runs fine. Vortex is giving me a notification saying OBME, AddActorValues, and MenuQue are "reported as incompatible during query." it also states it may have something to do with the mods being incompatible with the current version of the Script Extender.

[Valde]

Update: Switched on Linux, so modding became small bit convoluted. Saw it more beneficial to install these mods manually than use mod manager for myself, but got it running without a hitch. Will make proper video out of this.

GSRiley,
This guide is more or less a choice of mods I use, which can be used with base game or with all DLCs.

[AuzSuizen]

So this mod guide is intended for base game?

[RubberFace-KZ]

Flipping everything to max did the trick, thank you so much for the quick response and help.

[Valde]

Hmm, the only thing I could imagine is either VWD files being corrupted, graphic settings not set on max, or driver issue.

[RubberFace-KZ]

No, I've installed both VWD mods and run TES4LODGen, that's the result still.