Oblivion: let the modding begin!

by Alan Rose { Mar 28th 2006 at 7:30PM }

Now that you've been playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for one week straight, you might find that despite the game's appeal, there's just something missing. If only you could ride a unicorn that has greater speed and leveling abilities than the typical Tamriel steed. Maybe you need a cure for a bad case of Vampirism, or want to go all Riddick on the unsuspecting populace with your Vin Diesel Redguard.

There is already an extensive library of Oblivion mods at Planet The Elder Scrolls to satisfy even the most discriminating fan. You can try the new Champion and Wanderer classes, hire specialized mages and mercs to travel with you, and if you like Boromir, you can even make Martin look like Sean Bean. Some of these modders must sell real estate or practice interior decorating on the side because I found some cottages and beachfront homes available, fully furnished. It's a great time to be fighting demonic invasions.

Tags: bethesda softworks, elder scrolls, mods, oblivion

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Kanpai @ Mar 28th 2006 8:03PM

Well, that was quick.

blargh @ Mar 28th 2006 8:07PM

Spoilers of the first 30 seconds of the game. Good lord, the sky is falling.

Zanch @ Mar 28th 2006 8:11PM

Uh...didn't see spoilers there. I don't consider that tidbit about the unicorn to be a spoiler...most people know it's there by now.

Moosey @ Mar 28th 2006 8:14PM

Anon, you didn't hear this from me, but if you beat the game, the bad guys are stopped and the world is saved! Shhh, it's a secret spoiler!!

These are choice mods. You can also tweak a lot of world settings in the console, and in the .ini file. See the PC Oblivion page on gamefaqs.com.

Anon @ Mar 28th 2006 8:21PM

Well, I don't know about any of you, but I didn't know Martin was my main character's brother, thus ruining the core plot thread for me.

zig @ Mar 28th 2006 8:31PM

he's not the main character's brother, he's referred to as "brother martin" because he's a priest.

Rabish12 @ Mar 28th 2006 8:33PM

Mods for that game came out incredibly fast. There was actually a mod that changed the compass so that it didn't give out so much information posted on the official forums the day before the game hit store shelves that was supposedly made before it's creator even had the game (thanks to the fact that the Construction Set was out so early). Really, the modding community for that series moves at an unbelievable pace.

dark_mage @ Mar 28th 2006 8:41PM

For the newbs who don't know what a mod is, it's short for "modification", meaning it modifies the game beyond what the developers originally intended. This can be done for game enhancements, expansions, cheats, etc.

There are no game/plot spoilers here, and if you're not interested in enhancing the original game, don't download the mods.

Morrowind had some awesome mods and it sounds like Oblivion will as well.

Anon @ Mar 28th 2006 8:45PM

The original post had 'your brother Martin' - hence the Boromir / Faramir reference.

But thank you to the writer for changing it.

No thanks to the clowns who troll this site waiting to jump down people's throats. If you people had read the post closely in the first place before attacking me...

Sense @ Mar 28th 2006 8:52PM

I thought there was a unicorn in the game. Can you not tame it?

I finally rented Oblivion this week. I imagine it will steal my entire weekend away.

Seroth @ Mar 28th 2006 9:20PM

Finally! I can be bald! What kind of character generator doesn't have a bald hairstyle option?

The ZeroCorpse @ Mar 29th 2006 2:50AM

Half of these things are do-able in the 360 version. I spent enough time with the face modelling to make an exact duplicate of me (well, except that I'm not a wood elf, but otherwise...) so I know just about anybody can be made if you're good with the modelling tools.

The houses require power-gaming, cheating a bit (there's an unlimited gold exploit) and that's about all. Again, possible on the Xbox 360.

Baldness, though- I didn't see any way to do that on the Xbox 360, so congratulations PC users! You've got a reason to gloat! Baldness! Woooo!

Sydney Carton @ Mar 29th 2006 3:09AM

Caltrops. The game needs caltrops and grenades. The later for distracting people while you break into their backrooms and steal all their stuff. The former is so when you're wandering around in abandoned forts/ruins etc, that you can at least get a toe up on the bastard who is creeping up behind you in the dark. Yeah. I know. The music changes. But I still can't see the buggers until they're on top of me swinging. Maybe if they stepped on razor-wire or spikes, you'd know just where they were.... I think napalm would also be a nice addition. Just toss a bomb into that cave and duck 'n cover.

Anonymous Rep @ Mar 29th 2006 9:31AM

If you're playing Oblivion on the PC, it's pretty much a requirement that you tweak the .ini file right off the bat, just to play the game. Oh, there are some people who have really great systems to begin with that don't have issues, but for the rest of us who have to settle for the $180 video card instead of the $500 video card - tweak, tweak.

One KEY word of advice - the game DOES play differently on the PC than on the Xbox 360, just as Morrowind had its foibles. For example, on the Xbox, Morrowind could play for days and not crash or run into issues. On the PC, two - three hours of gameplay was considered normal before there was a crash.

Sense, you may as well buy the game if you like RPG's. Just make sure that you decide well in advance of spending the money - do you want to be able to mod? If so, then buy the PC version if your PC will run it. (3 GHz, 1 GB RAM, NVidia 6800 or better, preferrably better - although I'm using a 6200OC and I'm at least playing it.)

It helps at low levels to be able to type ~player.additem 0000000f "3000" for that extra 3,000 gold pieces. You know, if you've played Morrowind at all, that you'll be able to amass half a million in gold quite easily, so this money to purchase other equipment is quite handy.