User talk:Diana TES GotH/Morroblivion Overhaul

Morroblivion Overhaul
Version 2.0: The Modular Build
Changelog | Forum | Release Date: TBD

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Introduction and Summary

Please visit my Patreon site to learn more about my goals and intentions: Diana TES GotH is creating Modding Guides and Tutorials.

Disclaimer: This is a guide intended to help first-time modders make their modding experience as successful as possible. The guide has been split into a number of small sections for your convenience.

Neither S.T.E.P. or I are responsible for users who do not install the recommended mods carefully and end up breaking their game. We are also NOT responsible if a user's system is not capable of handling the recommended mods.

Requirements: Any questions or issues related to this guide will be addressed on the STEP: Morroblivion Overhaul forum. I encourage all users of this guide to register on the forum. For live assistance, discord members may join The Morroblivion Help Desk hosted by ponyrider0. I also encourage feedback and suggestions. While I am an experienced modder, I am by no means a master.

Notice: It is particularly important that new users begin with a clean installation of both Morrowind and Oblivion in order to be successful with their modding setup the first time through, so PLEASE READ EACH SECTION CAREFULLY, as no information included in this guide is irrelevant! Due to the many steps one must take in order to successfully install each mod, this will be a tedious and time consuming project. It is recommended that you take the time to save all changes made to any files so that if you have to revert back to any part of this guide you can more easily retrieve the files you made any necessary changes to.

This guide has been created by experimenting with many online guides and modifying others recommendations to suit my own personal tastes. Mods tailored for Morroblivion are noted for convenience.

You must have LEGAL copies of BOTH Oblivion GOTY and Morrowind + All DLC’s.

IMPORTANT: READ the developer’s information provided before performing any installations. The instructions provided within this guide are only suggestions that work for the majority of users. Not all users have the same system setup.

Author's System

Motherboard: Alienware Aurora R6
OS: Windows 10 Pro
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz
RAM: 16.0 GB
Video Card: GTX 1080Ti
Hard Disks: Standard Disk Drive
Power Supply: 850 WPSU Liquid Cooled Chassis
Case or Enclosure: Desktop
Monitor: Dell UP3216Q
Audio Equipment: Logitech Z906 5.1 Channel Speaker System
Input Devices: Logitech HID-compliant keyboard and mouse, Xbox One Controller, Steam Wireless Controller

This setup is also being tested with:

Motherboard: DELL N3JV3 DDR3 SDRAM
OS: Windows 10 Home
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4510U CPU @ 2.00GHz, 2001 MHz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
RAM: 16.0 GB
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M
Hard Disks: Standard Disk Drive
Case or Enclosure: Laptop

Legend and Terminology

Each mod or tool is preceded by a tag for easier management of the guide:

• CORE
  - This mod is a full part of the guide and is expected to be installed.
• TOOL
  This isn't a mod, but a modding utility to be used during your modding adventure.
• Optional
  - This mod is optional. This is an addition considered useful to the setup, but might be more of a personal preference.
• Morroblivion
  - This mod is specifically tailored for Morroblivion.

Terminology:

• Plugin - any .esp or .esm file.
• ESM - Elder Scrolls Master. Usually saved as a .esm file, which has the same format as a .esp file, only one bit (as in, one bit of a byte) is different.
• ESP - Elder Scrolls Plugin. Most mods are ESPs, but some are ESMs. Their format is the same, but the game handles them slightly differently in some specific cases.
• ESS - Elder Scrolls Save. Your saved games. This is loaded after all the ESPs and ESMs are loaded, so that its changes (like what items are in which containers) can override what the plugins say.
• BSA - Bethesda Softworks Archive. Sort of like a .zip file, but specific to Bethsoft's games, and optimized (sort of) for their specific usage.
• Load Order - The order that your mods (ESPs and ESMs) are loaded. When conflicts occur, the last loaded conflict "wins".
• Install Order - The order that files are installed into your Data folder. When multiple packages install the same file, the last installed package "wins".
• Loose File(s) - A resource file in the Data folder that's "loose", as in not packaged into a BSA.
• FormID - A unique ID assigned to each "record" of a plugin. Each object in the game is defined by a record, and each record has a FormID. A FormID is 32-bits, with the first 8 bits defining which ESM or ESP the record belongs to.
• Vanilla - A term referring to Skyrim as distribute by Bethesda and Steam. This means no modifications have been done. Alludes to the "plainness" of the vanilla ice-cream flavor.

Pre-Installation Setup

Click Pre-Installation Setup and follow all instructions before continuing to the next section.

Notice: Each subpage of this guide will open a link in a new tab to the Next and Previous sections. A link to the Morroblivion Overhaul Home page is also included in each section. This should make navigation through this guide simple to follow. Remember to close the previous tab if it is no longer needed.

Each section below provides a quick link its corresponding modlist.

Mod Installation

Click Mod Installation to continue to the highly recommended process of Cleaning the Official Oblivion DLCs.

Extenders and DLL Enhancements

Third-party programs (or extensions thereof) that enhance Oblivion functionality or display.

Oblivion Fixes and UOPs

Essential mods that fix bugs and tweak deficient aspects of Oblivion.

Morroblivion Core

Morroblivion Project Release [v064] Core installation instructions.

Morroblivion Fixes and UOPs

Essential mods that fix bugs and tweak deficient aspects of Morroblivion.

User Interface

Mods that modify Morroblivion's menus and user interface.

Overhauls & Specialized Game Add ons

Mods that significantly change Morroblivion's graphics and/or gameplay.

Quests & Adventures

Mods that add new quests to Morroblivion.

Conflicting Graphics

Graphics mods that cannot be listed within their respective categories because they must be overwritten to achieve the desired result.

Landscape Overhauls

Mods that drastically change the overall landscape.

Grasses, Trees, & Landscape

Graphics mods that improve Morroblivion's flora.

Architecture & Cities

Graphics mods that improve buildings and structures.

Oblivion World

Graphics mods that improve Oblivion's worldspace.

Other Structures

Mods that include improvements or additions to Caves, Dungeons, Forts, Mines, Ruins, etc...

Weather & Immersion

Mods that modify environments, lighting and weather of Oblivion.

ECTV

Mods that extend or add Cities, Hamlets, Settlements, Towns, or Villages.

Distant Landscape & AWLS

Mods which improve the level of detail for Morroblivion's landscapes in which closer objects are rendered with more polygons than objects that are farther away. Animated Window Lighting System and Chimneys - AWLS is included in this section as it needs to be installed near the end of all previous graphics mods.

Creatures

Mods that improve the appearance of creatures.

Characters

Mods that improve the appearance of characters.

Clothing & Equipment

Mods that add or modify armor, weapons, clothing, adornments, and other equipment.

Companions & Followers

Mods that add or modify companions and followers.

Animations & Effects

Mods that add animations and/or effects.

Clutter & Miscellaneous

Mods that modify general items such as furniture, barrels, bottles, food, etc.

Audio - SFX, Music, & Voice

Mods that modify audio including music, sound effects, environment, and voice.

Gameplay Changes

Mods that improve game-play without significantly changing the game mechanics.

ENB & Oblivion Reloaded

Graphics mods that enhance post processing effects to make Morroblivion look better graphically.

Patches & Profile

Mods that patch the Morroblivion mod lineup.

Conclusion

Morroblivion Overhaul's Conclusion page includes the following:

Launching Morroblivion

Prepare for long term game-play.

Tips & Troubleshooting Common Issues

Review modding TIPS and suggestions for Resolving Common Issues users have reported when modding Oblivion.

Credits

Review sources for this guide.