MODs 101
(The Basics)
What Exactly Is a
MOD?
One of the best
things about Oblivion is that it came with a program called "The Elder
Scrolls Construction Set." This
program is used to create, modify, and edit data in the game. And these changes and additions are
added to your installed game through MODs. (Note: you do not have
to use the construction set to install and use mods that were made by
other people.)
| |
|
So MODs are used to modify your game
(the term "MOD" is just short for "modify"). |
|
- |
MODs can make graphic changes, like
the ones that change the appearance of the characters in the game.
|
| - |
MODs can even add new
characters, and change or add new buildings, plants, clothing, weapons, wildlife,
weather, and many other types of items. |
|
- |
MODs can even add entire villages,
cities, and even new land masses to the game. |
| |
|
|
All that is pretty amazing, but MODs
can do way more than just make graphic changes/additions. MODs can also change the way the game
plays. |
| - |
There are MODs that change combat, the behavior of the wildlife, the way
that you level up, change how endurance works. |
| - |
There are MODs
that change the speed in which time passes
in the game, change the way that magic and potions works, add new
spells,
make arrows travel faster. |
| - |
There are MODs
that even change the way that the entire
in-game economy works (and even add a bank) |
| |
|
|
And that's just the beginning. |
| - |
MODs can also make it so your
character needs to eat food, drink water, sleep and even bathe. |
| - |
MODs can change the lighting in the
game - and make nights and dungeons darker - so you will need torches to
see. |
| - |
MODs
can add and change sound effects, voices, and music. |
| - |
There are MODs that do all that and
even more. |
There are now thousands of MODs that are available for Oblivion.
Ok, so how do you
even begin to know which ones to use?
How This Site Can Help:
You see, my Oblivion
Journal is more than just a fantasy story - it's also meant to be a
role-playing guide. Oblivion is a
Role-Playing game (or RPG) - but, in my opinion, it isn't a very good
RPG (Morrowind was much better). That's where mods
come in.
Adding the right
combination of mods to your game can change Oblivion into a really good
RPG.
And that has been my
goal, since the first day I played Oblivion (and was so disappointed
with the game). Fixing Oblivion with mods has not been
at all easy - and I'm not even making the mods. I've just researched what
mods were available, downloaded and installed them, and tested them in
my game. But I've spent a great deal of time trying out
a huge number of
mods to fix this game.
And I've contacted
many of the mod makers about their mods, and have beta tested a number
of mods I've even helped in making a few.
How To Add a MOD
To Your Game:
Basic instructions
below - for more on this see the
Oblivion MOD FAQ on the Elder Scrolls Forums.
| 1.) |
Find the mod and download it
to your desktop. (Note: a mod can be just a single esp file,
but most mods contain a number of files in what is called an
archive - which is usually in compressed format, to make the
archive smaller in size, so that it will be faster to
download.)
I have included
the download links for all the mods that I have listed, so locating and
downloading should be easy. |
| 2.) |
Unzip the mod (extract the compressed
files).
You unzip the
mod
archive with a program like
7-Zip
NOTE: if you use the
Oblivion Mod Manager
to install
mods, you usually
don't have to unzip the archive. |
| 3.) |
Read the ReadME (the text file that
came with the mod).
The ReadMe
contains information on how to install, configure, update, and uninstall
that specific mod. |
| 4.) |
Install then mod.
I highly
recommend that you use the
Oblivion Mod Manager
to install
mods - follow the
ReadMe instructions. |
| 5.) |
Activate the mod.
With the
Oblivion Mod Manager
all you have to do is
highlight the mod and click the "Activate" button. |
| 6.) |
Put the esp and esm files in the
correct load order.
The correct load order is sometimes given in the ReadMe, but
it also depends on what other mods you have installed (due
to
compatibility). All esm files must load first (before any
esp files). When two mods make some of the same
changes, the last one loaded with overwrite the earlier
change (wi
With the
Oblivion Mod Manager
just select the file and
use the "Move Up" or "Move Down" buttons (you can
also drag the esp up or down with your mouse) - the mods further
down the list load after any mods above them.
If you're not sure what order to put your mods in, you can use my
MOD Load Order
Page
as a guide. |
| 6.) |
Play Oblivion.
Start your game and see
if the MOD (and the game) works properly. |
My Goals:
My
main goal in adding MODS has always been to make the game more fun!
The MODs that I'm using have all done
at least one of the following:
| 1.) |
Made Oblivion
more balanced (Rebalancing and Leveling Mods) |
| 2.) |
Corrected or
improved the game quests (Quest Fixing Mods) |
| 3.) |
Made Oblivion
a better Role-playing game (Realism Mods) |
| 4.) |
Improved the
way information was presented to the player (Interface Mods)
|
| 5.) |
Improved the
appearance of the game (Graphic Mods) |
| 6.) |
Added some new
things to the game (Expansion Mods) |
I
wanted Oblivion to be a Role Playing Game that would be
a real adventure for me, and I think that I've finally found the right
combination of mods that give me that.
I also have my own ideas about what is wrong with
Oblivion (and what needs to be fixed),
so my preferences in selecting
mods might be very different from what others might want in their
game.
So look at this more as a mod review (for a very small percentage
of the mods that are available for Oblivion).
|
Are you new to
Oblivion?
Do you need some help
with mods (or with anything else)?
Or do you just have
questions or comments about this journal?
I've put
together a place called
Arwen's Realm,
and you're invited to stop
by and become a member of our group |
For the MODS that I am
using, along with their download links, my reviews
on them, and screenshots, check out my
MODs Page.
Updating an older mod
(to work with your current version of Oblivion)
This is how you update an older mod,
using the Elder Scrolls Construction Set:
| |
| 1.) |
Open Construction set. (start the Elder Scrolls
Construction Set program) |
| 2.) |
File->Data Files (select file from menu at top -
then click on Data.) |
| 3.) |
Click the checkbox next to Oblivion.esm (if
the plugin you want to update require an
additional master, check that mod as well). |
| 4.) |
Find the plugin you want to update and click on it to
highlight it |
| 5.) |
Click the Active file button. |
| 6.) |
Make
sure that just the Oblivion.esm and the plugin
you're fixing have X's in their boxes, nothing
else on the list should be checked (other than
any other master the the plugin needs).
|
| 7.) |
Click Ok. (wait for everything to load - this
takes a while - wait on the timer icon.)
If you get error messages at this point, click through them.
(click on the "yes" in the warning/error
window.) |
| 8.) |
Once it's done loading the files, do File->Save. (select file from menu at top - then click on Save.) |
| 9.) |
The
plugin is now updated. |
|
Oblivion.ini File
- Basic Edits
Since I would feel terrible
if you messed up your game,
I really need you to do a couple of
things before you do any edits:
The
default location of the oblivion.ini file and your saved games is:
\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion
(for example, on my computer it's located in:
C:\Documents and Settings\Arwen\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion)
-
Make an Oblivion backup folder.
- Copy your entire saved game folder
(Saves) to your backup
folder.
- Copy the Oblivion.ini file
to your backup folder.
Ok, now you are ready to begin messing
with the settings.
(If
you mess up anything, all you'll have to do is copy the backed up file
to back into the default folder, which will restore your original settings.)
Open (double click on) the
Oblivion.ini file (the
original one, not the backed up copy).
Non-Performance edits:
To take screenshots:
You need to
find where it says:
bAllowScreenShot=0
and
just change the 0 to 1
(If you're having trouble finding this line, it's in
the second section, under [Display])
Save and exit the file.
When you want to take a screenshot, just press the
PrintScreen key.
The screenshots will be saved as bmp files, in your Oblivion game folder
(default location: C:\Program Files\Bethesda
Softworks\Oblivion)
Camera Zooms in too close:
In Oblivion, whenever you speak to
someone, the camera zooms in on
their face, which is sort of cool.
The only problem was that I felt that I was a bit too close - as in
"right in their face". If you feel the same, here's a little trick
that will fix that issue:
Find: DlgFocus=2.1000
I changed the value to 3.5000, which
feels much better to me.
|
Console
Commands
Crashing on Exit
(and Oblivion.ini file not being saved):
After adding many mods, most people
find that the game will not quit properly. This is very common
and generally doesn't cause any harm. The only real problem is
that the Oblivion.ini file is not saved on exit - which means that
any changes that you make while playing the game are not saved
(changes in options, like in the graphic settings, and the
screenshot numbering).
Fortunately there's
an easy work around:
- Before quitting your game, open
the consol (enter ~) and type "saveini" (without the " ").
- Your ini changes (and screenshot
numbering) are now saved.
- Close the consol and exit the
game.
Updated 1/31/09: Now there's a mod that allows you to
quite the game without crashing:
Exit Oblivion With No
Crash Guaranteed
Naming a Saved Game:
I
hate the way that Oblivion saves your game. Perhaps this is
due to my language issues, but the default naming of saves is
confusing to me (plus I end up with like a gazillion saves).
Console work around:
|
Example: to save your current
game with the name "wilds" |
| 1.) |
Open the consol (enter ~) and
type "save wilds" (without the " "). |
| |
A message should appear that
the game is now saved. |
| 2.) |
Close the consol and exit the
game. |
| |
This works sooo much better for
me. |
| |
|
What I do is name my saves by
where I am such as using the name "wilds" when I'm in the
wilderness (or "town", "cave", "inn", or "whatever"). |
| |
If I save again when I'm
still in the wilderness, I use "wilds2" (or "town2", or
"wherever2"). |
| |
And, if I save it yet again
in that location, I use "wilds3" |
| |
That way I don't overwrite my
files while I'm in the wilderness. |
| |
The next time that I'm in the
wilderness, if I feel that I no longer need my old "wilds"
saves, I just start over again (at "wilds), then "wilds2",
and so on). |
More Console Commands:
Arwen Note: For all the toggle
commands, entering the command a second time toggles
things back on or off. When entering a
consol command, "X" refers to a variable that you
have to put there (in place of the X)
|
To do the following: |
Console Command |
Comments / Options |
|
Toggle Frame Rate
on/off (show debug info) |
tdt |
Hitting the scroll
lock key (after returning to the game) changes the
amount of debug info displayed. |
|
Toggle GUI on/off |
tm |
Hides the menus
(great for taking screen shots) |
|
Change Weather (only temporary -
reverts back to normal over time)
|
sw
38eee |
Clear weather (when
you're sick of bad weather) |
| sw
38ef0 |
Cloudy weather |
| sw
38eec |
Overcast weather |
| sw
38eef |
Foggy weather
|
| sw
38ef2 |
Rainy weather |
| sw
38eed |
Snowstorm |
| sw
38ef1 |
Thunderstorm |
|
Show Game Speed |
show timescale |
Gives the current
game speed setting (default is 30) |
|
Change Game Speed |
set timescale to X |
Default is 30 (lower
number makes game days longer)
(see
Changing Timescale Settings
for more info) |
|
Toggle Grass
on/off |
tg |
Use to find stuff
hidden by grass and to improve fps |
|
height="40" align="center" background="Images/parch-end.jpg">
