OBLIVION - Who's playing? POOP v.2 is a good time to start!

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 4:15 pm

Some of you may recall we had a good Oblivion mod discussion going here a few months ago, but then the forum crashed. Those of us who landed at Popehat kept on playing and talking and before long, triggercut hatched a plan for a beginner-friendly mod project along the lines of Blackhawk's amazing GG/OO Morrowind DVD. The project was dubbed Popehat Oblivion Omod Project or POOP for short.

POOP is basically a play-tested collection of "essential" patches and mods that improve the graphics and gameplay experience along with extensive step-by-step installation instructions and all the necessary utilities you'll need. POOP is a one-stop mod download that takes the overwhelming swamp of information confronting newcomers to the Oblivion mod scene and turns it into a manageable project that you can install and start playing in a single day or evening. Trig did a great job putting it all together and uploaded it as a torrent.

And lo, POOP was a success! Gamers found it worked as advertised. Bethesda blogged about it. So did Tom Chick and the guys at Popehat. But then... There was much hue and cry and gnashing of teeth at some of the Oblivion mod forums. It turns out they've been burned in the past by shoddy compilations and even though some of them came off as too eager to start flaming, their point was valid... we should have asked permission from all the mod authors.

Okay. So the POOP version 1 torrent tracker was disabled and we started combing the readme's and contacting all the mod authors to get their permissions. This all happened about six weeks ago and by now we've been granted approval by the vast majority of mod authors whose work we wanted to include. Trig has also set up a website called...

Poopmods.com

...where we post news about newly-released versions of the mods we included in POOP along with instructions for updating them.

So, the point of all this is that POOP version 2 is imminent! If you've been thinking about buying Oblivion along with the expansion packs, or reinstalling it, now would be an excellent time to do so. A good 90 or 95% of the work has been done for you.

But wait! There's more. Act now and we'll also throw in a side project that I've been working on that replaces the background music in the game. That's almost ready for primetime as well.

I can't tell you how much fun I'm having with my fully personalized and tricked-out game of Oblivion. (Well, I can, and I will, but I'll save it for later.) For now, suffice it to say that it's the most fun I've had with an RPG in many, many years. If not ever.

JonathanStrange · Post by **JonathanStrange** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 5:06 pm

Thanks for the info and the project!

marcusjm · Post by **marcusjm** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 8:00 am

Still waiting for a mod that leaves the area alltogether. Someone should make a mod like that Mage Island for MW.

Dan_Theman · Post by **Dan_Theman** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 9:40 am

Beer Goggles · Post by **Beer Goggles** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 11:08 am

I wait for POOP everyday.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 12:38 pm

Ive been thinking of making Oblivion my next game after this last play through of Mass effect is over. This may make me do it since the mods were my headache with it.

Would this mod still run ok on a FX53, 2 gig 3200, and a 256 meg 7800GS?

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 1:13 pm

POOP can be configured to work on all kinds of computers but it might take a little trial and error with the graphics mods to find a good balance between looks and frame rate. The installation instructions that triggercut wrote do a good job guiding you through it.

Ninyu · Post by **Ninyu** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:01 pm

Do you have to start a new game when you load POOP? I just recently got back into Oblivion and was wondering if I should just stop playing until Poop comes out. I definitely want to load up POOP when it is released.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 3:59 pm

What is the status of the last 5 modders permission?

Love the idea of no battle music too. My first though you was that your BM project was going to replace all the music with modern music, glad that isn't the case.

Does POOP contain a mod that lessens/fixes/eliminates the scaling enemies?

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 4:58 pm

Yeah, Ninyu, it's best to load POOP with a fresh install of Oblivion. If you haven't messed around with the mod scene before, you'll be amazed at all the vast and tiny improvements and how they add up to a far superior game. And, one that's personally suited to your taste and style of play. It'll be worth the wait.

Lee, but it is modern music!

But I know what you mean... none of it sounds modern. Somewhere in Oslo, Norway, EvilIdler is putting the finishing touches on the website so that should be ready to go very soon. I'd love to make it go live the same time/day as POOP v2.

POOP includes the Francesco's mod that addresses the monster level scaling issue.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:00 pm

Awesome, thanks rrmorton. So what is the definition of "imminent"? It appears to be greater than 2 days so far.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:23 pm

I've been in touch with the Chief. Turns out his motherboard went kaput so there's been a hardware delay. But we're back at it now and I'll keep you posted. Still at least a few days out but hopefully not much longer than that.

Gryndyl · Post by **Gryndyl** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 7:30 pm

The thing that I most wanted to see on the POOP page, and couldn't find anywhere, is simply a list of the mods that are included. Seems such an obvious thing to have that I'm assuming that it's there somewhere and I'm just blind.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:30 pm

Gryndyl wrote:The thing that I most wanted to see on the POOP page, and couldn't find anywhere, is simply a list of the mods that are included. Seems such an obvious thing to have that I'm assuming that it's there somewhere and I'm just blind.

The GamingTrend forum post has a list of the mods that were in POOP v1. As rrmorton mentioned, though, v1 is no longer available and, since they haven't quite got all the permissions they want for v2 yet, I don't think they've announced a final mod list at this point.

- Ash

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:54 pm

Asharak wrote:...since they haven't quite got all the permissions they want for v2 yet, I don't think they've announced a final mod list at this point.

They haven't? Why on earth would someone not want to be included? It's not like they are doing this for money,

triggercut · Post by **triggercut** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:24 pm

My motherboard is the one that went tits-up, sadly. It happened the last Saturday in July, and since I knew I'd be leaving soon on vacation, I decided to wait 'til I got back to fiddle around with computer innards.

The one other monumental thing about POOP v.2 that I didn't consider at the time but which takes a ton of time is that each build I test requires me starting from a vanilla, patched install of Oblivion. Getting POOP v.2 to play nice together and getting install docs written is kind of like building a '71 Challenger in your garage...then having to take it all apart and do it again.

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:37 pm

Lee wrote:They haven't? Why on earth would someone not want to be included? It's not like they are doing this for money,

I don't know. All I know is that, in the OP, morton wrote:

This all happened about six weeks ago and by now we've been granted approval by the vast majority of mod authors whose work we wanted to include.

- Ash

triggercut · Post by **triggercut** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:48 pm

One of the guys who gave us permission is Wrye, of the "Wrye Bash" mod fame. He explains modding in a "cathedralist" vs. "parlorist" metaphor. A Cathedral approach assumes that a game as endlessly moddable as Oblivion requires a ton of folks all doing building and work on various sections, and everyone benefits from everyone else's work. The Parlor point of view is basically "step into my art gallery and look at what I've made, but don't touch, and this is mine mine mine."

Both approaches I suppose have their strong points, but obviously POOP is for Cathedralists. I won't pass judgment on the parlorists, but I rather think they need to get out more.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:43 pm

"You, you must be almost 30... have you ever kissed a girl?"

Here are the most common gripes mod authors have with these kinds of compilations:
-They aren't playtested
-They aren't well-documented
-The authors aren't credited
POOPv1 suffers from none of these problems, by the way. (Not counting a few missing readme's.)

Also, a surprisingly large number of the mods are still works in progress so the authors don't like outdated versions cluttering up the internet. It leads to more support headaches for them. (This is the main reason trig made the POOP website.)

All those gripes together lead to their biggest gripe of all:
-DIDN'T ASK PERMISSION! <frowny face> <frowny face>

We've heard "No, thanks" from some authors... perhaps most disappointingly, the Deadly Reflex guy. He politely declined citing his work on a big version 5.0 overhaul due in the next month or so. He doesn't want his inferior work traded at this point. It's understandable.

Of course, nothing's stopping us from discussing and recommending the mods... We just can't distribute a few of them with the POOP package. But we'll be sure to post these as official POOP recommendations on the website with links and instructions for how to get them up and running.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:31 am

Interesting. It's kind of ironic that their work might be ignored because mods can be a pain in the ass and lost in the masses. They make the game what it is, but I constantly quit what I start because of mod problems. You guys offer a solution and they refuse. I would have thought they would have jumped at the chance to be included in a well produced best of package.

I almost wonder if you should have asked permission. Its not like any of this is copyrighted.

Edit because I can't believe I don't know how to spell copyright.

triggercut · Post by **triggercut** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:55 am

Plowing ahead without permissions was certainly on the table, but I decided it wasn't a fight I wanted to fight.

At any rate, in Mort's first screenie at the top of the thread, how freakin' great does Beaming Sunglare (the sun there is a mod) look? My favorite mod. It really is.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:27 am

Lee wrote:I almost wonder if you should have asked permission. Its not like any of this is copy writed.

You're still in stage 1; "Pissed Off." We went through the whole 5-stage emotional rollercoaster back when it happened. The Popehat crew wanted to bring down the wrath of copyright law on the troglodyte dorks. I have no doubt it would have been a scorched-earth massacre, really something to behold. All they needed was the go-ahead from the Chief. But, in a rare display of calmness, foresight, and maturity, triggercut said, "Easy fellas." He chose life.

It was a good call. Far better than if he'd gone stubborn in the heat of anger. There were a few elitist shmucks doing some flaming but there were also some fair points being made by reasonable people. And the moderator of the forum did a decent job keeping the discussion in check and complimented triggercut and the project once he decided to pull the plug and seek permissions for a second POOP. Success is the best revenge.

A few more screenies to whet your appetite for POOP...

Post by **godhugh** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:41 am

While your first screenie there is great, it reminded me that I need to recommend Water Reflection Blur to you two. Small mod, no performance impact, but a huge visual difference for the water reflections.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:17 am

Great! I'll look into that... I've always thought the reflections were a bit chunktastic.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:37 am

just wanted to say thanks for doing this, fellas! can't wait for its release.

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:47 am

rrmorton wrote:
"You, you must be almost 30... have you ever kissed a girl?"

Out of my head, please. Thanks.

Benhur · Post by **Benhur** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 11:48 am

If I don't use bit torrent am I out of luck in trying to download POOP?

ChrisGwinn · Post by **ChrisGwinn** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:38 pm

Benhur wrote:If I don't use bit torrent am I out of luck in trying to download POOP?

It's a multi-GB set of files. I doubt triggercut has the resources to distribute it other ways. Although if you ask nicely and cover postage, I bet somebody would be willing to burn a DVD and mail it to you.

Benhur · Post by **Benhur** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:42 pm

ChrisGwinn wrote:
Benhur wrote:If I don't use bit torrent am I out of luck in trying to download POOP?
It's a multi-GB set of files. I doubt triggercut has the resources to distribute it other ways. Although if you ask nicely and cover postage, I bet somebody would be willing to burn a DVD and mail it to you.

Hmmm, did you just volunteer to send me a DVD? Thanks!

Actually, if anyone would be so kind as do do this I would be very grateful. PM me and we can set something up as far as compensation.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:23 pm

Just out of curiosity, why don't you use bit torrents? I was confused by and afraid of them for a few years but then I found out they're super easy. Just install utorrent and you're pretty much ready to go.

ChrisGwinn · Post by **ChrisGwinn** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:40 pm

Benhur wrote:
ChrisGwinn wrote:
Benhur wrote:If I don't use bit torrent am I out of luck in trying to download POOP?
It's a multi-GB set of files. I doubt triggercut has the resources to distribute it other ways. Although if you ask nicely and cover postage, I bet somebody would be willing to burn a DVD and mail it to you.
Hmmm, did you just volunteer to send me a DVD? Thanks!

Actually, if anyone would be so kind as do do this I would be very grateful. PM me and we can set something up as far as compensation.

I have Poop v1 on my HD, but I'm not planning on downloading v2. I told Kelric I'd send him my copy of Oblivion.

Tampa_Gamer · Post by **Tampa_Gamer** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 3:23 pm

Looking forward to v2 - thanks again guys. If you are taking nominations still, you might also want to consider some kind of expanded hotkey add-on. I would say it is practically a must-have for spellcasters.

I use this one:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=5957" target="_blank

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:00 pm

rrmorton wrote:Just out of curiosity, why don't you use bit torrents? I was confused by and afraid of them for a few years but then I found out they're super easy. Just install utorrent and you're pretty much ready to go.

I use Vuze (nee Azureus). It dumbs the process down to the point of transparency.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 5:24 pm

I installed Vuze for a few friends who have Mac laptops... I couldn't believe how cluttered it is. It looks like it's trying to be YouTube or MSN or something. Just a mess.

Thanks for that mod tip, Tampa G. I'll give that a try.

triggercut · Post by **triggercut** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 6:22 pm

Open new motherboard, find SLI bridge missing.

Bleah.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:37 pm

Man, that sucks. Was it mail order? How do you rectify the problem?

I went to Best Buy and bought a motherboard that had an SLI bridge. Then I used just that part for about a week while Alienware sent me an SLI bridge, then I packed it back up and returned it. Definitely a pain in the ass but at least I could use SLI mode in the interim.

Doomboy · Post by **Doomboy** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:35 am

Sadly, if this second POOP doesn't come out soon, I won't have very much time to play with it.

mipe · Post by **mipe** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:09 am

Readed fast, but PooP has essential patches etc.? So does that mean it has atleast UOP (Unofficial Oblivion Patch), as that fixes like, over nine thousand bugs (not joking), some of the 'big 3', MMM, OOO, Or Frans (Msomething's Monster Mod, Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, Fransesco's mod)?

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:25 am

Yes, POOP includes all the official and unofficial patches you'll need. It also includes Francesco's.

rrmorton · Post by **rrmorton** » Thu Aug 07, 2008 1:05 pm

Sorry to report; triggercut isn't out of the woods yet with his hardware upgrades so it looks like POOPv2 won't be done this week. Hopefully next. In the meantime, we're still working on permissions and late additions.

Here's a shot of Enhanced Weather, Clocks of Cyrodiil, Better Signs, Qarl's Textures, and Beaming Sunglare in action. Among others.