About to install Oblivion for the first time

[OCNewbie]

Just installed Oblivion. I have seen posts of people talking about it and saying they wanted to finish the original game first before adding on the expansions. I was just wondering if, given the fact I've not played it at all, should I go ahead and install Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine before starting the game, or should I stick with vanilla Oblivion at first?

Thanks!

 

[nickbits]

You can install them right away and not do any of their quests/storyline until you finished the main one. I can't think of any real reason not to install them right away.

 

[Andrew1990]

I didnt like shivering isles all that much and got bored of it. I loved the Nights of the Nine expansion though.

 

[homercles337]

Do you know what the definition of "expansion pack" is?

 

[Zenoth]

Yes install Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine, but I also highly recommend using the unofficial Oblivion and unofficial Shivering Isles patch as well, they both fix a total of more than 3,000 bugs of all types, from misplaced rocks and house doors, passing by missing textures and meshes, to quest-breaking bugs and A.I issues, and much more.

 

[m1ldslide1]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
Yes install Shivering Isles and Knights of the Nine, but I also highly recommend using the unofficial Oblivion and unofficial Shivering Isles patch as well, they both fix a total of more than 3,000 bugs of all types, from misplaced rocks and house doors, passing by missing textures and meshes, to quest-breaking bugs and A.I issues, and much more.

Yeah, you must install the patches.

Zenoth - aren't you the master Oblivion mod user? I think we exchanged pm's a while back and you gave me some good advice. I'm bringing it up because I remember thinking "MAN I wish I'd installed OOO before playing for the first time" and am wondering if others think the OP should get that mod going before creating a character???

 

[OCNewbie]

I still haven't started playing yet, so still open to suggestions! =) I'm looking through the "Hall of Fame" mods over on Planet Elderscrolls and snagging a few that seem to add minor enhancements to the game. I don't wanna tweak everything at first though, since then I won't be able to appreciate the effect or improvement the mod has made if I don't know what it was like originally.

A few I'm gonna install from the get-go, or considering anyway:

Better Letters
Quest Award Leveling
Kafei's Better Amulet Replacer

And I might install this one too, but I want to see what the original sun looks like first:

Beaming Sunglare

Anyway, I think I might actually just start the game with Oblivion only at first. My understanding is that the expansion packs don't add stuff to the very early part of the game do they? Like some Everquest expansion packs allowed you to chose different races, or allowed more bank space, new starting locations, etc., or different things that could be used from the character creation. I'm guessing that this isn't the case with Knights of the Nine, Shivering Isles, or any of the DLC. I also read that if you have all the expansion packs, DLC, etc., when you start, that when you emerge from the sewers at the beginning, you get all these rumor notices, or something like that.

Oh, installed the latest official patch, then installed the Unofficial 3.20 patch too, thanks for that tip!

Thanks for the replies! =)

 

[newb111]

I just installed it for the first time myself. I got both the unofficial patches, OOO, Qarl's texture pack, and a bunch of other mods that looked good. I love the look of the game so far, but haven't really gotten into the gameplay yet. Hopefully it gets better as it goes.

 

[katank]

Recommendation is to install both exp packs right away. You get the option to do those quests at any level. Also, shivering isles gives you pretty nice armor for low level. As for the mods, I'd recommend things like quest award lever and other improvements like texture packs and BTMod (for the UI).

However, it's probably best to hold off on total conversions like OOO. It's nice to experience vanilla w/o too many changes. Also, OOO can be very unfriendly to those new to the game. It's not unheard of to wander two steps in the wrong direction and get oneshotted by a monster. Go for OOO on second playthrough after familiarizing yourself w/ the mechanics.

 

[NoSoup4You]

Francesco's mod maintains the basic feel of vanilla Oblivion while making it exponentially better. OOO is more hardcore, and ultimately provides the better experience.

 

[EvilComputer92]

I spent over a 100 hours with one character using the Francesco's mod and it was a load of fun until the savegame got corrupted. I started another character with OOO but so far it doesn't seem much better than Francescos. There don't seem to be too many new quests aside from the Slavers and Smugglers quest and Shadows in a struggle for power. I don't get why people say it's so different from Francescos.

I haven't bought any expansions for the game yet since I've been playing Fallout.

 

[Scooby Doo]

Francesco's really made the game playable and nGCD made the game enjoyable.