Shambles said:
I've been spending the last day trying to figure out the mods for Oblivion as well and it's pretty damn complicated. There's a lot of threads but a lot of it is also out of date and the only sites for mod downloads seem to be those garbage sites that force you to register on some file sharing domain. I've installed OBMM, OBSE, BOSS, and am just trying to make sure the unofficial patches are installed and working. Apparently there's a wrym bash as well that also somehow might be needed, hell if I know what all these things do. I think I installed Qarls texture pack but even then i'm not sure. In game the textures still only give me the small, medium and large options.
The only sites you need for DL:ing mods are TESnexus and Planet Elder Scrolls, and they are both very far from "garbage". You should use Oblivion Mod Manager or Wrye Bash for installing mods, simply chucking them in your Oblivion folder will make things VERY complicated if you ever want to uninstall something. When using the Steam version there are a few things you need to know:
- You need to install Oblivion Script Extender (OBSE) slightly differently, just read the readme.
- The .bsa (Oblivion - textures.bsa, sound etc) files in the Steam version have a "last changed" date somewhere in 2010, this will cause problems when you install texture mods. Use a program like File Date Changer to change the dates on all those files back to 2006 or so.
As for mods in general, this is what you need to know:
- For installing mods, use OBMM or Wrye Bash. OBMM uses a special format called .omod (many mods can be downloaded in this format, or you can create your own omods easily). Wrye Bash can install mods from .zip files, but only if the .zip file has a somewhat correct file structure. Wrye Bash is much more powerful when it comes to uninstalling mods and managing identical files in different mods, but it's also more complicated to use. I personally use OBMM which often means that when I update or remove a mod, I will also have to re-install several others. This doesn't really bother me since the process is very smooth in OBMM.
- Download Oblivion Script Extender and install it, many mods require it.
- Download Better Oblivion Sorting Software (BOSS). Running this will automatically put your mods in the correct "load order" (mods load in a specific order, and last loaded takes precedence).
- After installing all your mods, open OBMM -> Utilities -> Archive Invalidation, press "update now". If you don't, any texture mods you have installed likely won't work. This process used to be quite complicated, now it's as easy as pressing a button
- After installing all your mods, you might need to build a "Bashed Patch" in Wrye Bash. This is a file that consolidates changes from many mods into one file, so that they will not overwrite each other but instead work together. If you need to do this, it says so in a mods readme. If you want to know how, check the Wrye Bash readme or ask on the forums.
That's basically it. Also, always, ALWAYS read the readme for all you mods. If you need help, go to the official forums -> Oblivion -> Mods. The board is extremely active and will help you with any questions you might have.
Some other awesome sites you should check out:
http://tesivpositive.animolious.com/ - basically a guide to everything you need to know about modding.
http://devnull.sweetdanger.net/ - Home of OOO and a nice guide to texture replacers (Texture Overhaul).