User talk:Diana TES GotH/Morroblivion Overhaul

From Step Mods | Change The Game
Morroblivion Overhaul
Version 2.0: The Modular Build
Changelog | Forum | Release Date: TBD
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Introduction and Summary[edit source]

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

As my friend ponyrider0 says, 'If you can find enjoyment in unskilled fan-fiction and fan-artwork, then Morroblivion might be for you. Morroblivion is an unpolished, inefficient, precarious fan-fic quality mod that is no longer being maintained by a development team. Users should not expect to experience the best performance or FPS when playing Morroblivion, even in its vanilla state. Yet, there is still a tremendous amount of love and hard-work poured into this project by its fans. Nevertheless, if you are looking for something that rises above your average unskilled, fan-made effort, you should probably wait for Skywind or another similar project.'

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[edit source]

Desktop

* Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700K CPU @ 4.20GHz
* Motherboard: Alienware Aurora R6
* Ram: 64GB (4x16G) 2400MHz DDR4 Memory
* GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
* OS: Windows 10 Pro
* Games: NVMe THNSN5512GPUK NV 512 GB SSD
* Data and Backup: TOSHIBA DT01ACA200 2TB

Laptop

* Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8750H CPU @ 2.20GHz
* Motherboard: Alienware 17 R5
* Ram: 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 2666MHz
* GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
* OS: Windows 10 Pro
* Games: SM961 NVMe SAMSUNG 512 GB SSD
* Data and Backup: HGST HTS721010A9E630 1TB

Legend and Terminology[edit source]

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.
  • Vanilla Enhanced - A term that refers to models and textures that enhance content and is "lore friendly" or only visually different in terms of quality and/or better performance. Vanilla Enhanced will be flagged as
    CORE
    , meaning that the mod is a full part of the guide and is expected to be installed.
  • Graphics Expanded - A term that refers to models and textures that expand content and may appear visually different than vanilla content. Graphics Expanded will be flagged as
    Optional
    , meaning that the user may opt to install the Graphics Expanded section instead of the Vanilla Enhanced section. It is not recommended to install both together.



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Prepare for Modding[edit source]

Click Prepare for Modding and follow its guide before continuing to the Mod Installation section.

Prepare for Modding includes the following:

Mod Installation[edit source]

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

Extenders and DLL Enhancements[edit source]

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

Oblivion Fixes and UOPs[edit source]

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

Morroblivion Core[edit source]

Morroblivion Project Release [v064] Core installation instructions.

Morroblivion Fixes and UOPs[edit source]

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

User Interface[edit source]

Mods that modify Morroblivion's menus and user interface.

Overhauls & Specialized Game Add ons[edit source]

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

Modified and Expanded Quests[edit source]

Mods that add new quests to Morroblivion.

Conflicting Graphics[edit source]

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

Landscape Overhauls[edit source]

Mods that drastically change the overall landscape.

Grasses, Trees, & Landscape[edit source]

Graphics mods that improve Morroblivion's flora.

Architecture & Cities[edit source]

Graphics mods that improve buildings and structures.
Note: Some of the contained within this section need to overwrite other flora graphic mods.

Other Structures[edit source]

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

Weather & Immersion[edit source]

Mods that modify environments, lighting and weather of Oblivion.

Distant Landscape & AWLS[edit source]

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.
Note: 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.

ECTV[edit source]

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

Creatures[edit source]

Mods that improve the appearance of creatures.

Characters[edit source]

Mods that improve the appearance of characters.

Clothing & Equipment[edit source]

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

Companions & Followers[edit source]

Mods that add or modify companions and followers.

Animations & Effects[edit source]

Mods that add animations and/or effects.

Clutter & Miscellaneous[edit source]

Mods that modify general items such as furniture, barrels, bottles, food, etc.
Clutter & Miscellaneous mods are installed near the end as they contain some files that need to overwrite all other mods installed above them.

Audio - SFX, Music, & Voice[edit source]

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

Gameplay Changes[edit source]

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

ENB & Oblivion Reloaded[edit source]

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

Patches & Profile[edit source]

Mods that patch the Morroblivion mod lineup.

Conclusion[edit source]

Morroblivion Overhaul's Conclusion page includes the following:

Launching Morroblivion[edit source]

Prepare for long term game-play.

Tips & Troubleshooting Common Issues[edit source]

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

Credits[edit source]

Review sources for this guide.