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by dfu 1113 days ago
As polytely said, https://modding-openmw.com/ is a great resource for openmw mod lists.

Also, for certain mods, you do need at least OpenMW 0.48 release candidate [1], a development build [2] (it's below Release Versions), or just build from source. I'm pretty sure it was after 0.47 when they added the ability to add shaders, and configure them using the F2 menu. The modding-openmw site will tell you if you actually need a 0.48 build for a particular mod.

I usually use "I Heart Vanilla" [3] as a base and then pick extra mods from "Expanded Vanilla" [4], which includes the load order if you also want Tamriel Rebuilt [5] (which lets you explore the mainland). The Expansions Integrated, Tribunal Rebalance, Bloodmoon Rebalance, and Expansion Delay are all nice mods too. Makes the expansions really feel like they are part of the base game. When adding extra mods like that, I just use the load ordering they suggest.

One of my favorites (in "Expanded Vanilla") is called Natural Character Growth and Decay [6], so you don't have to worry about min-maxing the level mechanics. It has some options, and I turn off the decay bit for a more relaxing time. It allows you to just play the game as you want.

I love the addition of shaders, and use Zesterer's Volumetric Cloud & Mist Mod for OpenMW [7] as you can have the game keep some of that hazy feeling yet still have distant land and objects. I also use Bloom Linear shader [8]. If you want some other shaders, you can use OMWFX Shaders [9] and/or Zesterer's OpenMW Shader Pack [10]. I have used Zesterer's OpenMW Shader Pack, but you have to edit the config.glsl if you want to set it different from the vanilla preset. The game looks nice with just FXAA, clouds and mist, and linear bloom (very mild). The "Expanded Vanilla" guide under shaders gives a good preset, and then you can change them using the F2 menu in-game.

This all said, it's been awhile since I've properly played last. I take my old list and update it occasionally as mods change or new features are added to OpenMW, thinking I will play through it again one of these days.

[1] https://openmw.org/2022/openmw-0-48-0-is-now-in-rc-phase/

[2] https://openmw.org/downloads/

[3] https://modding-openmw.com/lists/i-heart-vanilla/

[4] https://modding-openmw.com/lists/expanded-vanilla/

[5] https://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/

[6] https://modding-openmw.com/mods/ncgdmw-lua-edition/

[7] https://github.com/zesterer/openmw-volumetric-clouds

[8] https://modding-openmw.com/mods/bloom-linear/

[9] https://modding-openmw.com/mods/omwfx-shaders/

[10] https://github.com/zesterer/openmw-shaders

1 comments

>https://modding-openmw.com/lists/expanded-vanilla/

If I'm reading this correctly, this is a list of 268 mods, each of which must be downloaded and installed separately. Is that right?

As far as I know, downloading and installing each mod is the main method for the modding-openmw lists.

There is a tool to try to automate game modlist installs called Wabbajack [1]. It was briefly discussed on the openmw forums [2]. I'm not sure if anyone has tried further to get the modding-openmw lists working with it. I have never used Wabbajack, so I don't know too much other than it exists. It still seems to have extra requirements according to the post, including a premium NexusMods account if you don't want to manually download everything.

Just as I typed all the above I saw a mention of portmod [3] in the modding-openmw guide about mod managers. Seems it's like Gentoo's portage, but for game mods. I see it has some meta packages for modding-openmw in their ebuild-like repository [4], but I don't think any of the big lists have been updated in awhile. Also, there again seems to be issues with it auto downloading from NexusMods mentioned in the issue tracker. Nevertheless, it looks to be an interesting project.

[1] https://github.com/wabbajack-tools/wabbajack

[2] https://forum.openmw.org/viewtopic.php?t=7581

[3] https://gitlab.com/portmod/portmod

[4] https://portmod.gitlab.io/openmw-mods/meta-momw/