Post by eek on Apr 6, 2006 21:03:13 GMT -5
It's out! Get it here.
This is going to be my first attempt at modding this game, so nothing overly complex is to be expected.
You will probably have noticed that Oblivion's scaling system, both enemies and items, is flawed to the point that it ruins immersion at higher levels. Although there are several mods out there that address this, a lot of them don't tackle all aspects, so you have to look for multiple plugins to fix the system fully, and these are often incompatible.
The aim of this mod is to make one plugin that fixes scaled opponents, loot and equipment to a more realistic level, without having to worry about compatibility issues. Intended features include:
- Removing rare equipment, such as Glass, from generic NPCs and creatures. Some bosses may still have access to such items, but the chances of them having it will be reduced.
- Making uncommon equipment (Elven, Orcish etc) rarer among NPCs and creatures.
- Making rare and uncommon loot more scarce.
- Removing the redundancy of lower-level opponents. This means that a creature will never disappear from a spawn point just because you exceed the level range. To compensate for this, a group of said creatures may spawn at higher levels.
- Changing the types of creatures that spawn near roads. I thought it odd that supposedly rare monsters (like Minotaurs) could be encountered along the main routes, making travelling more perilous than it should be.
- Several smaller tweaks that feature in other mods which would be incompatible with this one (credit will be given to the original modders for their content)
What this mod does not do:
- Remove scaling altogether. There will still be some opponents whose level is determined by your own, but this will be restricted to bosses, Dremora, and such.
- Make higher level creatures and equipment appear before they would have originally, just makes them suitably harder to come by at higher levels.
I'm not sure how much interest there will be for such a widely tackled issue, but I'm hoping someone other than myself will find a use for it. I'm only making it because none of the ones I've seen so far fits my needs perfectly.
Suggestions and/or requests for other features will be welcomed, as will offers to help me test it once it's ready. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
edit: I will be making two versions of this plugin. One that alters quest opponents, and one that doesn't. The latter will probably still affect certain generic opponents in quest-related areas.
I am working with the authors of a couple of other quality mods, in order to eliminate conflicts with other plugins that I use.
Introduction/Overview
This is my idea of what needs sorting most in Oblivion, and at the time I started this mod, there wasn't a compatible combination of mods that fixed these issues. It's been a long time in the making, but I can now get full enjoyment from this game, and I hope this hels you do the same. This is basically an overhaul of the scaling system, with a couple of other goodies included.
Installation
The standard procedure. Just unzip the files, place the .esp file in your Data folder, enable it in the launcher, and away you go.
Features
Loot Scaling and Item Tweaks:
- Removes Glass, Ebony and Daedric armour from most NPCs and opponents. Bosses (such as Bandit Ringleaders) may still have them, but the chances of that are minute indeed.
- Reduces the amount of rare and magical loot in containers.
- Places a set of unique items in remote locations, available only at levels 15 and above. This stuff is powerful but balanced. (more info below)
- Boosts the Imperial Dragon Armour's stats.
- Enables Imperial Watch (Palace Guard) Armour.
- Increases the amount of gold upper-class NPCs carry.
NPC and Creature Levelling:
- Creatures no longer become redundant at higher levels.
- Multiple low-level creatures may spawn at higher levels.
- Some slightly higher level creatures may appear before they used to.
- Most creatures and NPC opponents now have level caps. This varies, for example: weaker goblins cap at 15, but Minotaur Lords cap at 30.
- All guards have static levels.
- Rare creatures, such as Minotaurs, should no longer spawn on roads. You'll have to go into the wilderness to find them.
- Arena opponents have static levels and equipment.
Plus, the more thorough of you may encounter a couple of pleasant surprises.
None of this affects quest-specific lists, NPCs or loot, except the Imperial Dragon Armour.
Known Issues
None yet. Seems to work with saved games, although you should always back them up anyway, just in case. I'm not sure if the Imperial Dragon Armour fix works correctly, so feedback on that would be great.
This is my idea of what needs sorting most in Oblivion, and at the time I started this mod, there wasn't a compatible combination of mods that fixed these issues. It's been a long time in the making, but I can now get full enjoyment from this game, and I hope this hels you do the same. This is basically an overhaul of the scaling system, with a couple of other goodies included.
Installation
The standard procedure. Just unzip the files, place the .esp file in your Data folder, enable it in the launcher, and away you go.
Features
Loot Scaling and Item Tweaks:
- Removes Glass, Ebony and Daedric armour from most NPCs and opponents. Bosses (such as Bandit Ringleaders) may still have them, but the chances of that are minute indeed.
- Reduces the amount of rare and magical loot in containers.
- Places a set of unique items in remote locations, available only at levels 15 and above. This stuff is powerful but balanced. (more info below)
- Boosts the Imperial Dragon Armour's stats.
- Enables Imperial Watch (Palace Guard) Armour.
- Increases the amount of gold upper-class NPCs carry.
NPC and Creature Levelling:
- Creatures no longer become redundant at higher levels.
- Multiple low-level creatures may spawn at higher levels.
- Some slightly higher level creatures may appear before they used to.
- Most creatures and NPC opponents now have level caps. This varies, for example: weaker goblins cap at 15, but Minotaur Lords cap at 30.
- All guards have static levels.
- Rare creatures, such as Minotaurs, should no longer spawn on roads. You'll have to go into the wilderness to find them.
- Arena opponents have static levels and equipment.
Plus, the more thorough of you may encounter a couple of pleasant surprises.
None of this affects quest-specific lists, NPCs or loot, except the Imperial Dragon Armour.
Known Issues
None yet. Seems to work with saved games, although you should always back them up anyway, just in case. I'm not sure if the Imperial Dragon Armour fix works correctly, so feedback on that would be great.
This is going to be my first attempt at modding this game, so nothing overly complex is to be expected.
You will probably have noticed that Oblivion's scaling system, both enemies and items, is flawed to the point that it ruins immersion at higher levels. Although there are several mods out there that address this, a lot of them don't tackle all aspects, so you have to look for multiple plugins to fix the system fully, and these are often incompatible.
The aim of this mod is to make one plugin that fixes scaled opponents, loot and equipment to a more realistic level, without having to worry about compatibility issues. Intended features include:
- Removing rare equipment, such as Glass, from generic NPCs and creatures. Some bosses may still have access to such items, but the chances of them having it will be reduced.
- Making uncommon equipment (Elven, Orcish etc) rarer among NPCs and creatures.
- Making rare and uncommon loot more scarce.
- Removing the redundancy of lower-level opponents. This means that a creature will never disappear from a spawn point just because you exceed the level range. To compensate for this, a group of said creatures may spawn at higher levels.
- Changing the types of creatures that spawn near roads. I thought it odd that supposedly rare monsters (like Minotaurs) could be encountered along the main routes, making travelling more perilous than it should be.
- Several smaller tweaks that feature in other mods which would be incompatible with this one (credit will be given to the original modders for their content)
What this mod does not do:
- Remove scaling altogether. There will still be some opponents whose level is determined by your own, but this will be restricted to bosses, Dremora, and such.
- Make higher level creatures and equipment appear before they would have originally, just makes them suitably harder to come by at higher levels.
I'm not sure how much interest there will be for such a widely tackled issue, but I'm hoping someone other than myself will find a use for it. I'm only making it because none of the ones I've seen so far fits my needs perfectly.
Suggestions and/or requests for other features will be welcomed, as will offers to help me test it once it's ready. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
edit: I will be making two versions of this plugin. One that alters quest opponents, and one that doesn't. The latter will probably still affect certain generic opponents in quest-related areas.
I am working with the authors of a couple of other quality mods, in order to eliminate conflicts with other plugins that I use.