game mods and extras
One of the greatest things to bless the world of gaming is the mod community. Gaming these days just wouldn't be the same without the ability to mod the games we play to add some extra flavor to them. What follows is a list of all the mods (and maps) I use on a regular basis and I recommend you try them, too. As I come across new mods and remember old ones, I'll keep this list updated. If you have any suggestions, let me know so I can check them out.
Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
- BT Mod - Oblivion's interface feels much too console-inspired for my tastes. It's an effective interface, but it feels too limited for my liking. The BT Mod allows you to tweak the interface to your preferences. Download from the BT Mod web site.
- LOD Textures - Replace the distance textures with higher resolution versions for a much nicer look. Download from TESSource.
- Normal Map Textures - Use replacement normal maps along with the LOD textures to further improve the distance visuals. Download from TESSource.
- Short Grass - Shortens the grass. No more getting lost in tall grass, especially if you're a wood elf. Download from TESSource.
- Advanced Water Modification - Improves the overall quality of water both above and below the surface for a more realistic visual experience. Download from TESSource.
- Illumination Within Revived - Add ambient light coming from inside the buildings around cities. The newly illuminated windows adds an excellent effect at night. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Book Jacket replacer - Replace the generic book jacket textures with customized textures that display the title of the book. Download from TESSource.
- Natural Environments - Tweaks the environment in various ways for a more pleasing aesthetic experience. The general colors are made a little warmer, vegetation is given a little facelift, and weather is more varied. Download from TESSource.
- Adventurers Oblivion 0.5 - The Adventurers mod intends to tweak the overall game balance. For instance, lowly bandits will no longer come equipped with full glass armor and ebony weaponry. I like the 0.5 version because it tweaks just enough. You can get the latest version from the Adventurers site, or get the 0.5 version.
- Movable Bodies - Tweaks the body physics just a bit to make bodies easier to drag. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Anywhere Sittable - For the roleplaying type who'd like to kick back and relax anywhere. Relax on the Imperial docks, at the foot of a statue, or anywhere else you can think of. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Palace Armor - I really like the white palace armor, and think it's a shame (and ridiculous) that you can't get it for yourself. This mod rectifies that. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Reznod's Mannequins - Display your hard-earned armor and weaponry in style with a posable mannequin. Comes in wood and marble flavors. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Vagabond's Better Gold - Improves the look of the gold texture. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Vagabond's Real Katanas Part 1 - Excellent katana models both one-handed and two-handed. Add them on their own, or use enchanted versions to replace some unique Akaviri weapons. Download from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- Myths and Legends - Search for lost relics in this challenging treasure hunt. Currently it has roughly a dozen new weapons, with more content on the way. Download from TESSource, Planet Elder Scrolls, or TESFiles.
- Decorator Assistant - Is decorating your classy Cheydinhal home a chore? The Decorator Assistant is a useful tool for easily placing your items exactly as you want them. Download from TESSource.
- Harvest Mod - After harvesting an ingredient, the object is removed from the game world. Not only is it easier to tell what you've already collected, but it also adds a touch of immersion to the game. Download from TESSource.
- Color Map Mod - Colors the Oblivion map to show grasslands, cold regions, etc. I think it makes the map a little more readable and aesthetically pleasing. Download from TESSource. Comes in omod format so you'll need the Oblivion Mod Manager, which you can get from Planet Elder Scrolls.
- The Golden Arrow Archer Shop - Need an easy place to refill your quiver? Stop by The Golden Arrow, just east of the Imperial City. After a while, it's just easier to have one place to come back to for restocking instead of traipsing all over the province. Download from TESSource.
Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
- First off, get the official plugins to add some extra quests and items.
- Shakti's Book Of Secrets - This plugin adds in a book containing every bit of practical information you could want about the game world: Alchemical recipes, travel routes, loads of good stuff. Grab it if you could use a nice reference during you travels on Vvardenfell.
- Head over to Morrowind Summit and check out the stuff by Astarsis to find some very nice replacement heads for the NPCs. They're much higher quality models with greater detail. You can also find mods by Astarsis at Unforgotten Realms.
- Back to Morrowind Summit for the RealSignposts mod. It replaces the sign post texture so you can just read the road sign instead of waiting for the tooltip to pop up.
- Head on over to the Morrowind section on Eye Candy by B.E. Griffith for a phenomenal set of high quality Morrowind faces. They really do give a new look to your playing experience.
- Morrowind Summit once again, for the Animal Loot and Animal Realism mods. The Animal Loot mod will guarantee that you get whatever resource you'd kill a creature for, while the Animal Realism mod prevents just anything from attacking you. Now, most simple critters will leave you alone unless they're stricken with a major disease.
- The Vampire Embrace mod, once again found at Morrowind Summit, offers a more interesting roleplaying experience for vampire characters who are tired of being limited to just killing people at night once they turn.
- Texture replacements can be found at Khalazza Productions and at the Morrowind Summit. These are sharper, more detailed testures to make your travels through Vvardenfell more visually delicious. Current favorites are: the Visual Pack which combines the packs by Khalazza with the XT pack, Jarrod's Bloodmoon and Imperial packs, and Kel's Hi-Res Hlaalu Retex Pack
- Looking to display all of the awesome armor you've collected? I like the Skeletal Mannequins mod, which (as the name implies) allows you to purchase skeleton mannequins from a tower in Pelagiad. It doesn't seem to be at the Morrowind Summit anymore, but here's a direct download link over at the endhome.com Morrowind page.
Battlefield 1942
- Desert Combat - Anyone who plays Battlefield with any regularity would likely have heard of this mod. It's the most fun Battlefield mod I've played, bringing (among many other things) M1 tanks and AH64 Apache helicopters to the battleground.
System Shock 2
- Rebirth is a mod for System Shock 2 that offeres much more detailed character models. It's still a work in progress, but it looks fantastic so far. A must have for any System Shock fan.