Description The objective of this ModPack is to give users a package that includes all of the mods that I think are very nice to have for every user. Most of the mods included have little or no impact on actual gameplay. Read below for specifics on the modifications this includes.
OBJECTIVE ========= The objective of this ModPack is to give users a package that includes all of the mods that I think are very nice to have for every user. Most of the mods included have little or no impact on actual gameplay. There are a few exceptions; see the "Mod Categories" section below for details. I created this package because I found it to be quite challenging to find good mods at the current time. This is because of how slow tessource.com has been running recently, as well as the chaotic and unorganized nature of the mod forums at elderscrolls.com. Hopefully this package will save some users a headache. I do not expect everyone to just install all of the mods in this pack off the bat. You should read through the mod list below and pick the ones you like the sound of, and install them individually. I'm not saying "Everyone should use the mods I use."
VERSIONS OF THIS MODPACK ======================== There are two versions of this ModPack. The "full" version and the "lite" version. The only difference between the two is the lite version does not have a couple visual mods because those mods are gigantic. The whole point of this ModPack is supposed to be convenience, and a 100mb package as the only option didn't make sense.
WHAT I DID ========== - I gathered all of these mods in to one location. - I created readmes for all of the mods that did not come with them. Mod authors: ALWAYS include readmes! The readmes have links to the thread which describes the mod. - Renamed some readmes to have a similar name as the .esp files, that way they will show up next to each other when sorted by name.
INSTALLATION ============ This pack is not meant to be just installed so that you have all of the mods instantly. You still have to install each mod individually. Luckily, installing most of these mods is super easy. Most mods have an .esp file and a readme file. To install these mods, simply extract them to your Oblivion\Data directory. Then when you start the launcher, click on the "Data Files" button and check the box next to the mods you want to use. Some mods come with more than one .esp file. For these mods, you must read the readme to learn what the different versions do. Most of the time, you should NOT activate all of the .esp files at the same time. An example is the "Attack and Hide" mod - it comes with three .esp files which each represent a different difficulty level that the mod can run at. Finally, some mods do not use .esp files. This is only the case with a handful of mods, and it's usually only on visual tweaks or UI mods. For these mods, you need to read the readme and follow the instructions given there.
MOD CATEGORIES ============== I have split the mods in this pack in to folders, which represent categories. Here is an explanation of the categories: - Bug Fixes: These mods simply fix bugs in the game. There is no reason not to run all of these mods because all they do is fix something that shouldn't be broken in the first place. When an official patch for Oblivion comes out, hopefully these mods will no longer be needed. - Game Mechanic Tweaks: These are mods that change game mechanics, but only in a very small way that I believe makes the game better. These are mods that I don't think many people would mind running. None of these mods should make the game measurably easier or harder. - Game Mechanic Mods: These mods are very similar to the Game Mechanic Tweaks, except that they change the game mechanics in a more substantial way, such that some people might feel they unbalance the game. I don't include many of these mods as the goal of this pack is to have little impact on actual gameplay. The mods that appear here are mods that I feel really improve the game, even if it makes it a little easier. Not for everyone. - New Content: These are mods that actually ADD something to the game, rather than simply change a mechanic. Right now there are very few of these mods released. - UI Mods: User Interface mods do not change gameplay at all. They simply change the way certain information is presented to the user. I feel all of these changes create a much more pleasant gameplay experience. - Visual Tweaks: These are mods that only change a visual aspect of the game not related to the UI. This category contains significantly less mods in the "lite" version of this pack.
MOD LIST ======== Bug Fixes ---------
- Fathis Fix v1.1 by Johnny Fixes several bugs with the "Fathis" character, like the fact that he sleeps in the wrong house!
- Safe Archmage Storage v1.1 by johnmedgla Fixes some bugs with the chest at the foot of the archmage's bed.
Game Mechanic Tweaks --------------------
- Additional Spells v1.0 by supernoob By default, the spells "Damage Attribute" and "Drain Attribute" ONLY exist on a couple leveled lists, which means there is a possibility you will never see them in the game. This mod simply adds those spells to two of the vendors in the Imperial City.
- Alchemy Perks v0.9 - More Potion Effects by dysesothymteric Adds a new alchemy perk that allows you to drink more potions at once as your alchemy skill increases. Masters can have 6 effects, up from the default 4, so it's not a huge change.
- Birthsigns NoMax v1.1 by SkyRanger-1 Birthsign attribute bonuses no longer count against your limit of 100 in each attribute. So, if you're born under the sign of the steed, your maximum speed is 120, not 100.
- Deadlier Traps v1.1 by Mechanus Makes traps in dungeons a lot deadlier. Most of the traps will insta-kill now. Without this mod you can always survive getting hit by a trap and just heal afterwards. Now you actually have to be careful!
- Quest Award Leveling v1.3 by Namegduf Live Makes it so that quests rewards (items, spells, whatever) level up as you do. Most quests give a different reward depending on what level you are when you complete the quest, which means you can get screwed out of a really good item simply because you did a quest at a lower level. Now the item/spell will upgrade to the better version as you gain levels.
- Retroactive Health v1.0 by SkyRanger-1 Changes the way you gain health when you level. By default, when you level up your max hitpoints increases by a fraction of what your CURRENT endurance is. This means that it's important to get your endurance up as quickly as possible at the low levels so you gain the full benefit from it. I believe that it shouldn't matter WHEN you get your endurance, and that's exactly what this mod changes.
- Guild Item Ownership v1.2 by Tandem This places faction/rank flags on every item in the guildhouse, so you must be of a certain standing in order to grab an item without punishment. This gives you more of a sense of your overall rank in the guild. Also adds a chest to each guild hall that provides you with some basic supplies as well as provides a safe place to store items.
Game Mechanic Mods ------------------
- Attack and Hide v2.0 by Talonhoff This mod makes it so the NPCs and creatures will 'search' for you after an attack or when you are spotted in line of sight or sound. Without this mod, line of sight doesn't seem to affect enemies at all, and there's no way to attack from the shadows and stay hidden. It's a lot more satisfying to play a stealth character with this mod, although it does make the game easier.
- No Psychic Guards v1.2 by Talonhoff Changes it so that when a person calls for the guards, only the guards in yelling distance will hear the cry for help. If no guards are nearby, then no one comes to help.
New Content -----------
- CallSteed v2.5 + Saddlebags v0.91 by MaboroshiDaikon and mcallon This is two mods in one. CallSteed adds "Call Steed" and "Summon Steed" spells to the game, which you can purchase at the Mystic Emporium in the Imperial City. They do what they sound like: Call Steed makes your horse run to you, and Summon Steed teleports your horse nearby. Saddlebags adds saddlebags to your horse. If you sneak and press spacebar on your house, you can access the saddlebags. I do not feel this unbalances the game because if you have access to your horse, then you could just fast-travel to a store anyway. This just removes the need to go to a store in between EVERY cave you enter.
- Perception v2.1 by EvilGrinch Adds a new mysticism spell to the game that allows you to judge the strength of your targets. Once cast, NPCs will glow different colors depending on their relative level to you.
UI Mods -------
- BTMod v2.20 by the BTMod Team The mother of all UI mods. This mod changes many of the UI windows to show a lot more information. Your spellbook can show a LOT more spells per page; the map takes up the whole screen and can be zoomed out; containers, your inventory, and stores show a lot more items per page. Buffs and debuffs now show a numerical timer above their icon. It's just a ton of tweaks across the entire UI that make for a much more pleasant playing experience.
- Chase Camera Mod v1.01 by Woodman Changes the way the camera behaves in third person. It makes the camera a lot more rigid which makes it easier to play. Some people experience motion sickness with the default third person camera, so this would be useful to them as well.
- Potion Sorter v1.0 by Deathbane27 Renames the potions in your inventory so that when they are sorted, similar potions appear next to each other. Instead of "Strong Healing Potion" and "Weak Healing Potion" they will be "Healing Potion, Potent" and "Healing Potion, Diluted"
- Spell Ranks v1.0 by moho Similar to Potion Sorter, Spell Ranks renames all of the built in spells so that similar spells appear next to each other. The spells have names like "Flare" "Flare II" "Flare III"
- Thacadian's Colored World Map v1.1 by Thacadian Adds color to the world map. This is a different mod from the popular "Color World Map" mod out there. This one has less vibrant colors and feels more like a real map.
- Vanity Camera Smoother v1.01 by Woodman When you hold down mouse3 to activate the "vanity camera" this mod will GREATLY slow down the speed at which the camera moves around your character. If you've ever tried to use it without this mod, you know that it's super sensitive by default.
Visual Tweaks -------------
- Visually Enchanted Weapons Customizer v1.0 by DarkTyrian Adds new visual effects to enchanted weapons. For example, fire enchanted weapons will appear actually on fire. There are 3 versions for each element, along with screenshots showing what each effect looks like. You choose which effect you like best for each element.
- No More Annooying Messages v1.2 by MackeMan Removes some of the annoying messages that commonly appear, such as "Loading..." and "Your horse is stabled..."
- Light Spell Color Pack v1.0 by DarkTyrian Provides four options for what color you would like your light spells to produce. A lot of people are not happy with the default green light in Oblivion. I suggest the yellow one.
- Harvest v0.51 by -Dejunai ( aka XmirroR ) Changes the way plants look after you harvest them. Many types of plants will simply disappear (like mushrooms) but a few actually use a changed graphic (when you harvest grapes, the vine stays but the grapes on the vine disappear.)
- Darker Dungeons v1.0 by teenk Makes the dungeons darker. If you think the dungeons are too bright by default, install this!
- Darker Nights With Burning Kvatch v1.5 by teenk Makes the nights outside darker. It's not so dark that it requires a torch, but it feels much more like night. Although, if it's storming you will need a torch or light spell. Burning Kvatch is optional, and makes Kvatch look like it's burning from the outside of the town.
- Vagabond's Better Gold v1.0 by Vagabond Replaces the texture on the gold coins with a much higher resolution texture.
- Short Grass v2 by Slig Shortens the grass by a good degree. Some people feel that the grass is way too tall by default, and this is for them.
- Better Nightsky v1.0 by Omicron- aka AnnoyedOne ** NOT INCLUDED IN THE LITE VERSION ** Changes the textures of the two moons in the sky. By default, they have an ugly black border around them that makes them look pasted on to the sky. This mod has 4 different choices for what the moons look like, including one that is just a cleaned up version of the default moons.
- Landscape LOD Replacement v1.0 by shaja ** NOT INCLUDED IN THE LITE VERSION ** Replaces the original 1024x1024 landscape LOD textures with improved 2048x2048 textures. Makes the far-off terrain look much less blurry and doesn't seem to cause a performance hit!
- LOD Normal Map Replacement v1.0 by Loreroth ** NOT INCLUDED IN THE LITE VERSION ** This replaces the normal maps for the distant land (this determines the shadows). Makes the far-off terrain look much better and is best combined with shaja's Landscape LOD Replacement mod.
- Natural Faces v0.7 by Maboroshi Daikon ** NOT INCLUDED IN THE LITE VERSION ** Adds a higher resolution base texture for many of the races. Makes the faces look nicer.
THANKS ====== Thanks to all the mod authors who made these wonderful mods: SkyRanger-1 johnmedgla Woodman Slig Johnny dysesothymteric Mechanus Namegduf Live moho Talonhoff MaboroshiDaikon mcallon The BTMod Team Deathbane27 Thacadian Omicron- aka AnnoyedOne Vagabond shaja Loreroth Maboroshi Daikon Tandem EvilGrinch -Dejunai ( aka XmirroR ) MackeMan DarkTyrian supernoob
CHANGELIST ========== 2.0 +Added Additional Spells v1.0 by supernoob +Added Visually Enchanted Weapons Customizer v1.0 by DarkTyrian +Added No More Annoying Messages v1.2 by MackeMan +Added Light Spell Color Pack v1.0 by DarkTyrian +Added Harvest v0.51 by -Dejunai ( aka XmirroR ) +Added Perception v2.1 by EvilGrinch +Added Guild Item Ownership v1.2 by Tandem =Updated Quest Award Leveling to v1.3 =Updated Darker Nights to v1.5 (now named Darker Nights With Burning Kvatch) =Renamed most of the mod archives to have the version number in the name. =Added version numbers to the ModPack readme. 1.0 +First Release
