An up to date, ENB compatible guide focused on improving Oblivion's visuals without drastically altering anything from its original appearance. This guide assumes that the user has Shivering Isles and KOTN installed, anyone that doesn't can just skip over the DLC related mods though. Oblivion Reloaded isn't included, but given its popularity I'm going to mention which mods to ignore if you want to use it with this modlist. Any mid to high range pc should be able to get very good performance using this guide. CPU matters most for Oblivion and using an i5 4670k @ 4.0 Ghz I generally get a solid 60 fps at 1440p. For the best results this is meant to be followed from top to bottom, though you can skip over any mods you don't like or replace them with an alternative if you want. If a mod adds or changes something you don't need, like a mod adding controller functionality when you use keyboard and mouse, then you obviously don't have to install it.
An up to date, ENB compatible guide focused on improving Oblivion's visuals without drastically altering anything from its original appearance. This guide assumes that the user has Shivering Isles and KOTN installed, anyone that doesn't can just skip over the DLC related mods though. Oblivion Reloaded isn't included, but given its popularity I'm going to mention which mods to ignore if you want to use it with this modlist. Any mid to high range pc should be able to get very good performance using this guide. CPU matters most for Oblivion and using an i5 4670k @ 4.0 Ghz I generally get a solid 60 fps at 1440p. For the best results this is meant to be followed from top to bottom, though you can skip over any mods you don't like or replace them with an alternative if you want. If a mod adds or changes something you don't need, like a mod adding controller functionality when you use keyboard and mouse, then you obviously don't have to install it.
Feel free to use the mod manager of your choice while going through the guide, but I'm going to assume that the user is installing everything manually and will only mention using a mod manager when it's necessary. Before starting, it's a good idea to install the game outside of the Program Files folder so you don't have to deal with any UAC issues. As you follow the guide, unless I say otherwise you should just download the main file and extract the mod to the appropriate directory, overwriting anything that was already there. Any optional files or updates you download should be installed after the main file. 7zip is a good program for dealing with zip files if you don't already have one.
Feel free to use the mod manager of your choice while going through the guide, but I'm going to assume that the user is installing everything manually and will only mention using a mod manager when it's necessary. Before starting, it's a good idea to install the game outside of the Program Files folder so you don't have to deal with any UAC issues. As you follow the guide, unless I say otherwise you should just download the main file and extract the mod to the appropriate directory, overwriting anything that was already there. Any optional files or updates you download should be installed after the main file. 7-Zip is a good program for dealing with zip files if you don't already have one. You can load up your game at pretty much any point in the guide to see how things look, just do the first 3 steps in the Bashed Patch section first. The 3rd step involving BSA Redirection only needs to be done once, but the others should be repeated if your load order changes.
For those who may be interested, I've also made a short gameplay enhancement guide based around Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO). Despite being a gameplay overhaul, OOO also includes some visual modifications of its own. So to keep the two guides compatible I'll also make note of the mods you can ignore that would be redundant when using OOO.
For those who may be interested, I've also made a short gameplay enhancement guide based around Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul (OOO). Despite being a gameplay overhaul, OOO also includes some visual modifications of its own. So to keep the two guides compatible I'll also make note of the mods you can ignore that would be redundant when using OOO.
Click here for screenshots with and without ENB
Screenshots with and without ENB
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
Videos
Changelog
Changelog
March 20, 2017 - Initial Release
Suggested Video Options
Suggested Video Options
Brightness: 50%
Brightness: 50%
Texture Size: Large
Texture Size: Large
Tree Fade: 100%
Tree Fade: 100%
Actor Fade: 100%
Actor Fade: 100%
Item Fade: 100%
Item Fade: 100%
Object Fade: 100%
Object Fade: 100%
View Distance: 100%
View Distance: 100%
Grass Distance: 100%
Grass Distance: 100%
Distant Land: On
Distant Land: On
Distant Buildings: On
Distant Buildings: On
Distant Trees: On
Distant Trees: On
Int. Shadows: 10
Int. Shadows: 10
Ext. Shadows: 10
Ext. Shadows: 10
Self Shadows: Off
Self Shadows: Off
Shadows on Grass: Off
Shadows on Grass: Off
Tree Canopy Shadows: On
Tree Canopy Shadows: On
Shadow Filtering: High
Shadow Filtering: High
Specular Distance: 100%
Specular Distance: 100%
HDR Lighting: On
HDR Lighting: On
Bloom Lighting: Off
Bloom Lighting: Off
Water Detail: High
Water Detail: High
Water Reflections: On
Water Reflections: On
Water Ripples: Off
Water Ripples: Off
Window Reflections: On
Window Reflections: On
Blood Decals: On
Blood Decals: On
Distant Land: On
Distant Land: On
Anti-aliasing: Off
Anti-aliasing: Off
Under Gameplay options, I would also suggest turning off "Save on Travel" as it has been known to cause problems. You may want to install an Autosaver mod from the Nexus instead.
Under Gameplay options, I would also suggest turning off "Save on Travel" as it has been known to cause problems. You may want to install an Autosaver mod from the Nexus instead.
Tools
Tools
Name Description Installation
Name Description Installation
BOSS Used to automatically sort the load order of your plugins. Download "BOSS.Archive.7z" and extract the files to a new folder. Rename the folder "BOSS" and move it to your main Oblivion directory. You'll run the program with BOSS.exe.
BOSS Used to automatically sort the load order of your plugins. Download "BOSS.Archive.7z" and extract the files to a new folder. Rename the folder "BOSS" and move it to your main Oblivion directory. You'll run the program with BOSS.exe.
Wrye Bash Mod manager that is also used for creating the Bashed Patch. Download "Wrye Bash 306 Standalone Executable" near the bottom of the page and extract the Mopy folder to your main Oblivion directory. When you open Wrye Bash for the first time, right-click the top bar and uncheck "Lock Load Order".
Wrye Bash Mod manager that is also used for creating the Bashed Patch. Download "Wrye Bash 306 Standalone Executable" near the bottom of the page and extract the Mopy folder to your main Oblivion directory. When you open Wrye Bash for the first time, right-click the top bar and uncheck "Lock Load Order".
TES4LODGen Used for generating distant LOD objects. Download the main file and extract the exe to your main Oblivion directory. You should rerun this program anytime you change your load order.
TES4LODGen Used for generating distant LOD objects. Download the main file and extract the exe to your main Oblivion directory. You should rerun this program anytime you change your load order.
Landscape LOD generator tes4ll-v5 Used for generating distant LOD meshes and normal/color maps. Download "Landscape LOD generator 5_03" at the bottom of the page and extract the files into your Oblivion\Data folder. Rerun this program anytime you download a mod that changes the landscape.
Landscape LOD generator tes4ll-v5 Used for generating distant LOD meshes and normal/color maps. Download "Landscape LOD generator 5_03" at the bottom of the page and extract the files into your Oblivion\Data folder. Rerun this program anytime you download a mod that changes the landscape.
Multi Purpose GUI A GUI for running tes4ll. Download the main file and run the setup.exe. I would suggest installing the program at Oblivion\Data\ini\tes4ll for ease of use. You don't need to install the templates.
Multi Purpose GUI A GUI for running tes4ll. Download mpgui_1_22 from the old files and run the setup.exe. I would suggest installing the program at Oblivion\Data\ini\tes4ll for ease of use. You don't need to install the templates.
4GB Patch Allows users with a 64-bit(x64) operating system to use more memory when running Oblivion. Don't use this if you are on a 32-bit(x86) OS or if you're unsure. Run the program and select your Oblivion.exe file.
4GB Patch Allows users with a 64-bit(x64) operating system to use more memory when running Oblivion. Don't use this if you are on a 32-bit(x86) OS or if you're unsure. Run the program and select your Oblivion.exe file.
OBSE Oblivion Script Extender adds new scripting functionality to Oblivion and is a requirement for many mods. Download obse_0021.zip and obse_loader.zip at the top, and extract to your main Oblivion directory in that order.
OBSE Oblivion Script Extender adds new scripting functionality to Oblivion and is a requirement for many mods. Download obse_0021.zip and obse_loader.zip at the top, and extract to your main Oblivion directory in that order.
MoreHeap Supposedly makes Oblivion more stable. Download and extract the dll file to your main Oblivion directory. Run the game once and you should see a "MoreHeap.ini" show up in your Oblivion directory. Open the file and change both values to 768, save and close.
Oblivion mod manager Very simple mod manager for anyone not using Wrye Bash to install mods. If you are using Wrye Bash then there's no need to install this. Download the full manual version and extract to your main Oblivion directory.
Oblivion mod manager Very simple mod manager for anyone not using Wrye Bash to install mods. If you are using Wrye Bash then there's no need to install this. Download the full manual version and extract to your main Oblivion directory.
OBSE Mods & Unofficial Patches
OBSE Mods & Patches
Name Description Installation
Name Description Installation
EngineBugFixes Fixes bugs, as you may have guessed from the name. Extract main file to Oblivion directory. Find the EngineBugFixes.ini, open and set all the patches at the bottom to 0.
EngineBugFixes Fixes bugs, as you may have guessed from the name. Extract main file to Oblivion directory. Find the EngineBugFixes.ini, open and set everything in the [Patch] section to 0.
Oblivion Graphics Extender Oblivion Reloaded's predecessor. Obviously you want to skip this one if you are using Oblivion Reloaded. We'll be downloading the core-retro version and using it solely for better quality water reflections. Download "OBGE Core - Retro 3-0-0" from the Old Versions and extract only the OBGEv2.dll to your OBSE\Plugins folder. Run the game once to create an OBGE.ini in your \Documents\My Games\Oblivion folder which we'll configure later on.
Oblivion Graphics Extender Oblivion Reloaded's predecessor. Obviously you want to skip this one if you are using Oblivion Reloaded. We'll be downloading the core-retro version and using it solely for better quality water reflections. Download "OBGE Core - Retro 3-0-0" from the old files and extract only the OBGEv2.dll to your OBSE\Plugins folder. Run the game once to create an OBGE.ini in your Documents\My Games\Oblivion folder which we'll configure later on.
Oblivion Stutter Remover Prevents or mitigates a number of issues related to stuttering and framerates, and can reduce the frequency of stutter related crashes. Download "OSR_4-1-37" and extract the Data file to your Oblivion directory. Open the sr_Oblivion_Stutter_Remover.ini and make the following changes: bReplaceHeap = 1, fMaximumFPS = 60, iHeapSize = 768. You can change max fps to anything you want.
Oblivion Stutter Remover Prevents or mitigates a number of issues related to stuttering and framerates, and can reduce the frequency of stutter related crashes. Download "OSR_4-1-37" and extract the Data file to your Oblivion directory. Open the sr_Oblivion_Stutter_Remover.ini and make the following changes: bReplaceHeap = 1, fMaximumFPS = 60, iHeapAlgorithm = 3, iHeapSize = 768. You can change max fps to anything below 60 if you want.
OneTweak You can skip this mod if you're using Oblivion Reloaded. Borderless windowed mode and no crashing when you Alt+Tab. Extract the OneTweak.dll and OneTweak.ini to your OBSE\Plugins folder.
OneTweak You can skip this mod if you're using Oblivion Reloaded. Borderless windowed mode and no crashing when you Alt+Tab. Extract the OneTweak.dll and OneTweak.ini to your OBSE\Plugins folder.
Unofficial Oblivion Patch Fixes lots of stuff. Download and extract the Unofficial Oblivion Patch main file to your Oblivion\Data directory.
SkyBSA An OBSE DLL that forces Oblivion to handle BSAs and loose files the same way that Skyrim does. Extract to your OBSE\Plugins folder.
Unofficial Oblivion Patch Fixes lots of stuff. Download and extract the Unofficial Oblivion Patch main file to your Oblivion\Data directory. Delete the "UOP Vampire Aging & Face Fix.esp", which isn't necessary while using a bashed patch.
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch Fixes lots of stuff in SI. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch Fixes lots of stuff in SI. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches Fixes lots of stuff in the DLC plugins. Download and extract, you should only use the esps for the DLC that you have installed.
Unofficial Oblivion DLC Patches Fixes lots of stuff in the DLC plugins. Download and extract, you should only use the esps for the DLC that you have installed.
Base Texture Packs
Name Description Installation
Text moved to lines 171-174
Really Textured Normal Maps for Vanilla Improved normal maps for better visuals on nearly everything in the game. Download and extract all three files. Either exclude or delete the normal maps from "Oblivion\Data\Textures\trees\branches" as they can cause flickering tree trunks. If you are planning to use OOO Shivering Isles, then you should also exclude/delete the "weapons" and "armor" files from the "RTNM Shivering Isles Fixed" archive as they can cause visual issues with Dark Seducer/Golden Saint armor.
Qarl's Texture Pack III Redimized High resolution texture replacement for nearly everything in Cyrodiil. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
QTP3 UOP350 Compatibility Patch Compatibility patch for QTP3 and UOP. Download the patch from the optional files section and extract to the appropriate directory.
Bomret's Texture Pack for Shivering Isles High resolution texture replacement for nearly everything in the Shivering Isles. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
User Interface
User Interface
Name Description Installation
Name Description Installation
DarNified UI The quintessential UI mod for Oblivion. Download the optional 7z archive and extract the fonts, menus, meshes and textures to Oblivion\Data. If you want to get rid of quest journal entry popups then look in the custom_files folder, extract the "empty.xml" and rename it to "quest_added.xml" then move it to Oblivion\Menus\generic and overwrite the original file. You can find the configuration file for DarN at "menus\prefabs\darn\hudmainmenu_config.xml". You may want to try turning the compass frame off to make the HUD a little cleaner. There are some required font changes that have to be made in Oblivion.ini after installing, otherwise your font will look messed up. We'll take care of that in the INI Tweaks section below.
DarNified UI The quintessential UI mod for Oblivion. Download the optional 7z archive and extract the fonts, menus, meshes and textures to Oblivion\Data. If you want to get rid of quest journal entry popups then look in the custom_files folder, extract the "empty.xml" and rename it to "quest_added.xml" then move it to Oblivion\Menus\generic and overwrite the original file. You can find the configuration file for DarN at "menus\prefabs\darn\hudmainmenu_config.xml". You may want to try turning the compass frame off to make the HUD a little cleaner. There are some required font changes that have to be made in Oblivion.ini after installing, otherwise your font will look messed up. We'll take care of that in the INI Tweaks section below.
Color Map Mod zipversion Colorful world map for Cyrodiil. Download and extract to the appropriate directory. OMOD version is here for those using a mod manager.
Color Map Mod zipversion Colorful world map for Cyrodiil. Download and extract to the appropriate directory. OMOD version is here for those using a mod manager.
Coloured Enemy Health Red Makes the enemy health bar above the crosshair change from default - red depending on how much health the enemy has left. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Coloured Enemy Health Red Makes the enemy health bar above the crosshair change from default - red depending on how much health the enemy has left. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
DenockArrowToo Denock a readied arrow by pressing the ready weapon key. If you plan to use archery at all then this is a must-have mod. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
DenockArrowToo Denock a readied arrow by pressing the ready weapon key. If you plan to use archery at all then this is a must-have mod. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Dot Crosshair Changes the large vanilla crosshair to a dot for better immersion. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Dot Crosshair Changes the large vanilla crosshair to a dot for better immersion. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
FOV Modifier You can skip this mod if you're using Oblivion Reloaded. Changes your FOV. I use 80, but most people seem to like 90 for 16:9. 75 is the default FOV for Oblivion. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
FOV Modifier You can skip this mod if you're using Oblivion Reloaded. Changes your FOV. I use 80, but most people seem to like 90 for 16:9. 75 is the default FOV for Oblivion. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Morths Local Map This mod colorizes the local map similar to using the ini edit bLocalMapShader=0, but it lets the background shine through for unexplored/inaccessible areas and still has a bit of the vanilla "hand drawn map" appearance. This is the first of a few mods that you need to install with a mod manager. Personally, I found Oblivion mod manager to be the easiest one to work with. Here's a tutorial if you need some help using it. Select "No" for the DarkUIified map background option.
Morths Local Map This mod colorizes the local map similar to using the ini edit bLocalMapShader=0, but it lets the background shine through for unexplored/inaccessible areas and still has a bit of the vanilla "hand drawn map" appearance. This is the first of a few mods that you need to install with a mod manager. Personally, I found Oblivion mod manager to be the easiest one to work with. Here's a tutorial if you need some help using it. Select "No" for the DarkUIified map background option.
nONatees colored Shivering Isles map Colored world map for the Shivering Isles. Download and extract to the appropriate directory. I use the "visually_divided" folder.
nONatees colored Shivering Isles map Colorful world map for the Shivering Isles. Download and extract to the appropriate directory. I use the "visually_divided" folder.
Spell Deletion A mod that lets you delete spells by pressing delete, who would have guessed? Unlike other spell deletion mods, instead of just hiding your removed spell this one renames it as well, which lets you reuse the original name if it was a spell you made yourself or lets you repurchase the spell if it was one that you bought from a merchant. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Spell Deletion Remove unwanted spells by pressing the delete key. Unlike other spell deletion mods, instead of just hiding your removed spell this one renames it as well, which lets you reuse the original name if it was a spell you made yourself or lets you repurchase the spell if it was one that you bought from a merchant. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Spell Icon Replace 1 Final You can skip this mod if you're using OOO. Replaces many spell/effect icons with recolored or new graphics. Download and extract to the appropriate directory.
Toggleable Quantity Prompt - Updated With this mod, you can auto-confirm the quantity prompt ("How many?") and confirmation prompt that you get when an item or spell is transacted (moving/buying/selling/dropping). The end result being that your shopping trips go by much, much faster than they did before. Download and extract the "01 Main" folder to Oblivion\Data. In the TQP.ini, I changed "set aveTQP.iDefaultAction" to 1 so that one item will be auto-confirmed when I click, but you can set it up as you wish. The ini has details on the different settings.
Toggleable Quantity Prompt - Updated With this mod, you can auto-confirm the quantity prompt ("How many?") and confirmation prompt that you get when an item or spell is transacted (moving/buying/selling/dropping). The end result being that your shopping trips go by much, much faster than they did before. Download and extract the "01 Main" folder to Oblivion\Data. In the TQP.ini, I changed "set aveTQP.iDefaultAction" to 1 so that one item will be auto-confirmed when I click, but you can set it up as you wish. The ini has details on the different settings.
Oblivirim - Xbox 360 Controls For Oblivion Preset JoyToKey and Xpadder profiles for those wanting to use a controller with Oblivion. I use Xpadder, but JoyToKey should work just as well. You'll need to set up either Xpadder or JoyToKey to use these obviously, which goes outside the scope of this guide. If you do some googling you should be able to find what you need.
Oblivirim - Xbox 360 Controls For Oblivion Preset JoyToKey and Xpadder profiles for those wanting to use a controller with Oblivion. I use Xpadder, but JoyToKey should work just as well. You'll need to set up either Xpadder or JoyToKey to use these obviously, which goes outside the scope of this guide. If you do some googling you should be able to find what you need.
UI Controls for Oblivion (UICO) Makes the navigation and control of Oblivion's user interface a lot more intuitive when using a controller, similar to how Oblivion runs on the Xbox 360 version. See here for details on how the mod works. Open the main file archive and extract the contents of the "UI_DarN_Base" folder to your Oblivion\Data directory.
UI Controls for Oblivion (UICO) Makes the navigation and control of Oblivion's user interface a lot more intuitive when using a controller, similar to how Oblivion runs on the Xbox 360 version. See here for details on how the mod works. Open the main file archive and extract the contents of the "[00 DarN]" folder to your Oblivion\Data directory.
INI Tweaks
INI Tweaks
You can find your ini files in "Documents\My Games\Oblivion".
You can find your ini files in "Documents\My Games\Oblivion".
Oblivion.ini
Oblivion.ini
[General]
[General]
uGridDistantTreeRange=25
uGridDistantTreeRange=25
More distant trees for better visuals, lowers fps slightly.
More distant trees for better visuals, lowers fps slightly.
[General]
[General]
SMainMenuMovie=
SMainMenuMovie=
SMainMenuMovieIntro=
SMainMenuMovieIntro=
SIntroSequence=
SIntroSequence=
Disables intro videos.
Disables intro videos.
[Display]
[Display]
fLightLOD2=6000
fLightLOD2=6000
fLightLOD1=4000
fLightLOD1=4000
See light sources from further away, no noticeable fps cost.
See light sources from further away, no noticeable fps cost.