But Wait, There's More!

In hopes of saving some time this weekend by spreading these mods across several posts, I decided to do another post similar to "What Else?" and touch lightly on all the mods I recommend but chose not to previously write about. Again, like that past post of mine, this will read much more like a list than an in-depth discussion, so feel free to skip this one if that's not what you're looking for.

I'll begin by talking about what I chose not to include in my little compilation video. The reason that a couple weren't included was simply because they serve a purpose that I found hard to capture visually.

The first is Map Marker Overhaul, which adds a wide variety of features such as new icons for different markers, automatically removing Oblivion Gate markers after they're closed, and asking guards and the like to place markers on your map for locations you've recently stumbled upon. However, the main reason I enjoy this mod is much more simple; I like not having anything on my map until I earn the right to know about it. The mod allows you to hide all markers that would normally be visible from the beginning of the game, so they are only available to the character when someone else points them out or your character discovers them independently. The icon additions are also very nice, and I love the nice touch they add to the map, but the hiding feature really is what makes this mod such a necessity for my role-playing experience.

A smaller but equally important mod in my mind is Strategy Master's Plugin Refurbish, which essentially delays the quests added by official downloadable content to the game such as the Anvil chapel attack for "Knights of the Nine" and the inheritance of Frostcrag for "Wizard's Tower". Each quest will now present itself in a much more subtle fashion than the original pop-up you would get as soon you load up your save game. Once again, this is particularly valuable to anybody who doesn't enjoy things immediately handed to them.

Another interesting little mod that was too difficult to capture on video (though I do regret this) is Idle Dialogues. About a month ago, it was discovered that the creators of Oblivion had packaged a group of voice files with the game without actually implementing them. All of the files were mutterings that were meant for NPCs to say to themselves, similar to what they did in Morrowind, the previous Elder Scrolls game. Some are humorous, others are sad, but all of them add a new level of life to Cyrodiil, especially in settings with large groups of people.

And now for those I included in the video. Harvest Flora changes the way ingredients are picked from plants so that the plant itself actually looks different when you remove pieces from it. For example, if you take the cap of a mushroom, you'll see the cap removed after you pick it, whether you're successful or not. If you fail, think of it as the ingredient not being potent enough to save rather than the plant not having the right material. After all, plants always have the same parts to them, but there's always a chance that they may be under-ripe or spoiled when you harvest them.

Region Revive: Lake Rumare adds more homes and settlements to the land surrounding the Imperial City. It also adds several new quests and NPCs, though I mainly use it for the fullness it adds to the landscape. I haven't seen all of it yet since I haven't tried the quests, but the visual additions are very well done.

I use Corpse Equip for the sake of bandits, because I like to trade armor with them and always hate to leave their bodies bare. The mod detects whether the corpse has in its inventory something that could be worn and forces it to be equipped if possible. It doesn't always work if I go too fast, but it's much better than constantly being surrounded by dead naked bodies.

Nice To Meet You adds the option of hiding the names of every NPC you haven't met yet and allowing the character to forget the names of people he or she doesn't interact with on a regular basis. This makes introductions from NPCs a lot more understandable, since now the character doesn't innately know everyone in the world before talking to them. There are also options to add the NPC's class or services to their name for the sake of remembering why they're important to you, but I chose to only display their names upon meeting them.

Another enjoyable mod that relates to NPC interaction is Talk With Your Hands, which allows NPCs to move around like they do when communicating with people other than your character. It makes dialogue seem more connected with the world around as opposed to locking everyone in place just to have a conversation.

And finally there's Robes Over, a simple mod that lets you wear robes over your armor while still keeping the same armor rating. This works better than mods that serve a similar purpose since Robes Over relies on scripting rather than trying to make robes fit over the bulky armor models. Naturally this method also results in no clipping between the robes and armor, since the armor is hidden upon equipping the robe.

That's all I have for now. I keep saying that I'll be discussing more gameplay mods and falling short, so I apologize for that. I have a good idea of what mod I plan on talking about for next time, though, and it should somewhat fall under that category. Until then, have a fantastic Friday.