Qarl's texture pack for Oblivion

[MichaelD]

I've been reading up on Qarl's Texture pack (version 3 and it's 10MB patch, 1.3) and am considering applying them.

I don't want to grenade my Oblivion install...I've got some cool characters saved and the game runs smoothly and perfectly.

Any issues with the texture pack I should be aware of? I'm running a dead-stock Oblivion install, patched the latest US version, but no other mods.

Thanks.

 

[newb111]

Only issues I've heard of are performance issues, but with your system I wouldn't anticipate any of those.

 

[Chriscross3234]

Vanilla Oblivion with no other mods sounds perfect for using QTP. To my knowledge, there shouldn't be any problem with your previous character saves however, I can't guarantee the game will run smoothly and perfectly due to the increased required amount of VRAM for the sheer amount of high res textures. I'm sure your HD4870 can handle it quite well. I love QTP it makes the world of Oblivion 10x better to look at. You might want to look into Qarl's LOD and Normal Maps as well, they are a great addition to QTP.

If you are really concerned about your character saves, just make a backup copy of them.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Texture packs "should" not impact saved games.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks very much for the inputs. I am anticipating a bit of a FPS slowdown...but possibly with the better textures I can turn down some of the sliders (currently all maxed except for shadows) to make up the diff. At 19x12 I'm getting 60+FPS roughly 75% of the time and 45-ish during busy, outdoor scenes.

I will also look into the other Qarl's mods. Thanks again for the input; hearing from people that've actually used the mod is invaluable.

 

[ashishmishra]

The mod didn't run smoothly with my 9800GX2 but runs but much smoother on the 896MB GTX 260, you have a 1GB framebuffer so you will definitely be good to go.

 

[aka1nas]

IIRC the higher res pack was basically unusable with less than 512MB VRAM.

 

[MichaelD]

I'm happy to report that Qarl's Texture Pack 3 and it's patch (v1.3) work GREAT on my stock (un-modded but patched to v1.2.0416) Oblivion install!

Wow...it makes SUCH a difference! :Q It does create a bit of a "pause" when running through an area as the textures for the next area load, but it's really just about a half second pause...not a big deal. I do have 1GB of VRAM, so I'm sure that factors in heavily on my "pause time." BUT, I've not changed my video settings at all! Everything is maxxed except shadows...those are on the stock settings but everything else; 8xAA, HDR, distant whatever is maxxed and I'm still getting 60FPS indoors and out roughly 75% of the time. :heart:

VERY IMPORTANT!THE UPGRADE IS NOT A "CLICK THE PATCH AND YOU'RE GOOD" AFFAIR. THERE IS WORK INVOLVED ON YOUR PART. But it only took about 15 minutes.

You must read the readme.html that is in the Texture Pack 3 file when you unzip it and follow the instructions! YOU MUST INSTALL THE OBLIVION MOD MANAGER (OBMM) (separate download...Google it) BEFORE APPLYING THE TEXTURE3 PATCH OR ESLE IT WILL SCREW UP YOUR OBLVION INSTALL. <--I got that straight from the .readme that was written by the guy that coded the Texture Pack. I'd say he knows what he's talking about.

I loaded the OBMM (latest version! 1.1.12) and all the boxes that the .readme in Texture Pack3 recommends were checked by default. I hit "Apply" and then loaded the texture pack. Done.

The v1.3 patch required more work. There were approximately 20 or so files that you must copy/paste into various texture/image folders in the Oblivion install folder. Basically, you're overwriting what was placed there after the TP3 patch.

I played for about 90 minutes, purposefully travelling all over the map. I'm happy to say there was not a single missing texture, no crashes, no hangups, no nothing except a VASTLY visually improved Oblivion. Played very smoothly, all chests/casks/crates/dead people clicks worked as expected...it was just smooth.

I'm a happy Level 19 Dark Elf.

Thanks much for the inputs. Happy questing!

 

[Dorkenstein]

Re-downloading as we speak. As a side note, what order should you install the official/unofficial patches in?

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Re-downloading as we speak. As a side note, what order should you install the official/unofficial patches in?

I installed Oblivion from the DVD. Installed the v.1.2.0416 official patch. The game worked perfectly right off the bat.

After that, I installed the OBMM v1.1.12 mod manager, installed the Texture Pack3, then the individual patches from the v1.3 patch (PITA...have to do manually). That's it. The entire texture pack/patch process took 15 or so minutes. It runs very well on my system. (YMMV with your rig).

 

[Zenoth]

If you play un-modded Oblivion I highly, very highly recommend you to mod it with the un-official patch (it is technically a modification). It's only fixing bugs, but it fixes more than 3,000 of them, both official Bethesda patches for Oblivion and the one for Shivering Isles (expansion pack) are merely atoms compared to the un-official patch mods (there's also one for Shivering Isles). That mod should be considered official by Bethesda and integrated in a big cumulative patch, seriously.

As for Qarl's Textures Pack, indeed, it really is a gem of a superb work. There's another version of QTPIII however, if I remember correctly it should be called "QTPIII Redemized", it is a slightly re-adjusted version of it, all the textures are the same visually, no new ones, not a single one removed either, but they've all been re-compressed and the size of the textures has been slightly reduced with barely any noticeable visual differences, and it helps to alleviate the "pauses" during cells loading outdoors.

 

[Dorkenstein]

MichaelD, did you install the unofficial Oblivion and Shivering Isles patches? I am wondering if you install Oblivion, the unofficial patch, then shivering isles followed by the unofficial SI patch. Anyone know?

 

[MichaelD]

Zenoth: Thanks for the info; I'll check it out.

Dorkenstein: I don't have Shivering Isles or any other maps/mods installed. I did read a few posts on other sites that reported mods/Oblivion breaking if they were loaded AFTER the Qarl's pack. But I can't verify that myself.

I bought Oblivion when it first came out and have been playing it on and off since then. I've never actually completed the main quest though. I always get sidetracked. It's a great game that I thoroughly enjoy playing.

 

[JPB]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
IIRC the higher res pack was basically unusable with less than 512MB VRAM.

I really do not see how this can be true. Especially since I ran the QTP on my X1800XL with 256MB..... and while I had some slowdowns, for the most part it ran fine.