Finished playing FO4 and Skyrim? Wondering what game(s) to play next? by Rogdonlp

NEXT ?


     If you have enjoyed playing the current Bethesda games, FO4 and Skyrim, and would like to find a similar game to play you might want to consider the older Bethesda games such as Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Morrowind, and Oblivion.  Many gamers have said that FNV is the best game of the Fallout Series.  Likewise, Morrowind is said to be the best Elder Scrolls game.  But some people also say that these older games are ancient and there has not been any modding activity in years.  Morrowind was released May 1, 2002.  There is no question that the mod activity has dropped over the intervening years.  However, in the last year over 500 new mods have been posted on Nexus Morrowind. Oblivion has had over 580 new mods posted on Nexus in the last year.  FO3 has had over 380 new mods posted and FNV has had over 1,260 new mods posted.  So, the modding activity for these games is reduced, but not dead. 
     There are also current mod guides for each of these games to help you how to build your game.

Fallout 3 
  • Kelmych Guide, aka Clear & Present Danger, posted on STEP, last update March 2, 2018
http://wiki.step-project.com/User:Kelmych/Fallout3

Fallout New Vegas 


  • EssArrBee Guide, aka Fear and Loathing in New Vegas, posted on STEP, last update June 19, 2017
http://wiki.step-project.com/User:EssArrBee/FalloutNewVegas
  • Gopher’s Minions Guide, last update February 12, 2017
  • A Minimalist Approach Using Nexus Mod Manager, last update June 5, 2017
  • A Medium Sized Build Using Nexus Mod Manager
            Medium Approach #1, last update August 20, 2017
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1097229702
  • Medium Approach, #2, last update November 14, 2017
https://medium.com/@br0oks/remastering-fallout-new-vegas-2017-e5714ac6fd2f

Morrowind


  • Morrowind Guide posted on STEP, last update July 11, 2017
http://wiki.step-project.com/Guide:Morrowind#Guide:_A_modern_Morrowind
  • Morrowind Guide, last update February 15, 2017
https://pastebin.com/B8SqRJtH
  • GeeTee's Favourite Morrowind Mods, last update February 23, 2017
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=323619999&insideModal=1
  • 30 Minute Modding - an abbreviated version of the Step Guide, last update March 2, 2017
  • Morrowind(ing) like its 2018, last update April 8, 2018
https://steamcommunity.com/app/22320/discussions/0/1699415798776120007/

Oblivion


  • Oblivion Vanilla Enhanced posted on STEP, last update June 30, 2017
            http://wiki.step-project.com/User:Astien/Oblivion
  • Oblivion(ing) like its 2018, last update March 27, 2018
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=971312438
  • An Oblivion Modding Guide, last update June 9, 2017
  • Frosty’s Oblivion Gameplay Overhaul, updated December 4, 2017
https://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/48113/?tab=description
  • This guide provides a major change in gameplay versus the vanilla game.
Bevilex' Modlist for Oblivion – Graphics, last update November 11, 2017
Of the major Oblivion Mod Guides, the Bevilex Mod Guide is the most detailed and comprehensive guide.  Following this guide is not for inexperienced modders. There is a thirteen-part video series, each part lasting 20-30 minutes, that shows you how to install the Bevilex guide using Wrye Bash as the mod manager.  As you will see in the tutorials, Wrye Bash is complicated and has a steep learning curve.  Mod Organizer (MO1) does not work well with Oblivion.  If you are using the GOG version of Oblivion you can use Mod Organizer 2 (MO2) as your mod manager.  MO2 should be able to handle the Steam version of Oblivion in the next release.  Don’t even think of following the Bevilex guide using Nexus Mod Manager (NMM) or Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM).

  • Oblivion 2017 Ultimate Graphics Tutorial Video Part 1 of 13 - Intro


  • Medium Build by Zhakaron, 2017
  • Small Build - Basic Guide to Optimizing/Modding Oblivion, last update April 16, 2018

Morroblivion
     One of the problems with playing Morrowind is that its game engine is crash prone.  The game engine also limits gameplay because many of the features we have gotten used to from later Bethesda games do not exist in Morrowind because the game engine does not have the capability.  One way to add additional features and functions to Morrowind is to replace the Morrowind engine with a more modern engine.  Morroblivion does this by taking an installation of Oblivion and adding a specially written mod that allows you to play Morrowind using the Oblivion engine.  Using the Oblivion engine to play Morrowind results in a game with fewer crashes and more gameplay features.  Mods that contain only meshes and/or textures can be used in both games without any changes. However, you cannot install Morrowind mods that contain more than meshes and textures unless they have been rewritten to work with the Oblivion Engine.  About 400 Morrowind mods have been converted to Morroblivion with 50 of those conversions having been made in the last year.  A list of the converted mods can be found here:
https://tesrenewal.com/forums/oblivion/morroblivion-mod-releases  

     While playing Morroblivion you can switch back and forth between the two games and you can install any Oblivion mod.  However, the Oblivion mods will not work while playing Morrowind without a conversion or a patch.

Tale of Two Wastelands


     Tale of Two Wastelands (TTW) does for FO3 and FNV what Morroblivion does for Morrowind and Oblivion.  You can switch between the two games will playing.  You can use any FNV mod   while playing FNV.  Mods containing only meshes and/or textures can be used in both games at the same time.  Only converted FO3 mods can be used while playing FO3, though sometimes a patch is all that is need to make the mod work in both games.  As of March 26, 2018, there are 288 converted FO3 mods available for use in TTW.  The current version of TTW is 2.9.4b.  Version 3.0, which is a major rewrite, has been worked on extensively but no release date has been posted.

     The following quote is from the Tale of Two Wastelands: Over Encumbered Edition TTW mod guide:
“Is Tale of Two Wastelands the best option for you?
Tale of Two Wastelands brings Fallout 3 into the New Vegas engine, bringing all the features and engine upgrades (reputations, crafting, iron sights, hardcore, survival skill) from New Vegas to the Capital Wasteland. It provides a bridge to connect the stories in a logical fashion.

      However, it does have its short comings. Fallout 3 voice modulation does not work without the user re-encoding the audio. The Rock-it-Launcher does not work as seamlessly as in Fallout 3. Grass distance is reduced due to a New Vegas engine bug (may be overcome with NVAC). Many Fallout 3 mods need a lot of work to be converted (e.g. Mothership Zeta Crew).  Additionally, patches need to be made for Fallout New Vegas mods to extend functionality to the Capital Wasteland.  Balance is completely different as starting in Goodsprings at level 1 is very different than starting at level 30. Those are a few of the snags of playing Tale of Two Wastelands.  If the downsides outweigh the benefits for you, Tale of Two Wastelands may not be for you.” 
http://wiki.step-project.com/User:Themagicteeth/TTWOverEncumbered

The most up-to-date Mod Guide for TTW is Worlds of Tomorrow (last updated January 11, 2018) which can be found here:   http://wiki.step-project.com/User:Adonis_VII/TTW

Mod Managers:

     If you have read my previous article on mod managers you will know that your choice of mod managers is limited.  With the exception of Oblivion you can use NMM for the simple builds and MO1 or MO2 for the more complex builds.  For Oblivion you have the choice of three Mod Managers.  Wrye Bash works great if you can learn how to use it and even if you do learn it you will only use it for Oblivion.  Oblivion Mod Manager (OBMM) will work in its newly rewritten form, but only for the simpler builds.  MO2 ends up as the only practical choice for more complex builds of Oblivion and as mentioned above it currently only works with the GOG version of Oblivion. The next release of MO2 should be able to handle Steam Oblivion.
Both Morroblivion and TTW are on Discord if you want to learn of the latest developments.

Regards,

Rogdonlp

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