These mods can leave Oblivion looking like it's a game that was just released yesterday.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion was considered a masterpiece in its time. Even today, many gamers are still willing to revisit it even after all these years. Nevertheless, there's no denying that as far as visually, Oblivion has seen better days. The graphics are just downright ugly by today's standards.
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As with most Bethesda games, however, mods have picked up the slack. Some of the finest mods on the Oblivion Nexus page deal with graphics. The fourth entry of The Elder Scrolls will always be a classic, so why not upgrade it with the best visuals possible? These mods will help get the ball rolling in that department.
Updated October 16, 2022 by Mark Hospodar: The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is a classic RPG that is still difficult to put down. Although not nearly as robust as its successor, Skyrim, the fourth Elder Scrolls outing still packs plenty of charm that is worth revisiting. Best of all, there is no shortage of mods on offer for fans to try.
Graphics mods are one of Oblivion's most sorely-needed improvements. The game will never look perfect, though fans can implement a lot of creative changes through the use of graphics mods. This list has been expanded to include a few more worthwhile graphics mods that players definitely shouldn't ignore.
Although it may be easy to overlook sometimes, a game's weather effects can have a significant impact on the overall presentation. The same is true for lighting as well. The lackluster nature of these effects goes a long way toward making Oblivion look as antiquated as it does.
When looking to refresh the weather and lighting, a great place to start is with Natural & Atmospheric Oblivion. Seven new weather types are added, greatly contributing to the diversity of Oblivion's weather patterns. Sun glare, fog, and even the clouds themselves are also given a fresh coat of paint.
It's all well and good for the natural environment to look better, but what about the player's primary weapons? When playing Oblivion, fans are going to spend an inordinate amount of time looking at their drawn weapons in the first-person view. Fortunately, there's no need to stare at those ugly textures anymore.
The Weapon Improvement Project adds an impressive amount of detail to the game's diverse variety of weapons. Meshes and textures are given a true HD makeover that makes it difficult to ever go back to the way weapons used to appear.
Without perhaps realizing it, players will spend a lot of time looking at signs throughout their adventures in Oblivion. Visiting one of Cyrodiil's towns will invariably be accompanied by a trip to several of the local shops and merchants. Every shop has a sign posted outside the establishment to let fans know what services they offer.
As such, any graphical overhaul of Oblivion would be remiss without including a mod geared specifically toward Cyrodiil's signage. Improved Signs does exactly what it states. Signs will appear crisp and refreshing, making them much easier to read from a distance as well as more satisfying to behold in general.
By now, Oblivion shows its age in a myriad of different aspects. One of the most glaring symbols of its age, as longtime fans no doubt already know, are the nearly identical dungeon designs. After only a couple of forays into these subterranean vaults, players will have seen pretty much everything.
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In addition to a fresh new look, Better Dungeons adds some much-needed uniqueness to the proceedings. Players have new methods of traversing these dungeons, such as climbing ropes or squeezing through tight crevasses. The lighting is also given an overhaul, making the use of a torch more frequent. Don't reinstall Oblivion without this mod!
Veteran Oblivion players know that plenty of abandoned ruins and forts dot Cyrodiil's landscape. These places offer yet another opportunity for players to capture more loot and improve their skills. It's only natural that Cyrodiil's forts receive a visual upgrade as well.
Ruined Ruins is a nice retexture mod that serves to improve the textures of the ruined forts across the map. The masonry that comprises the exterior of these buildings will look sharper as a result. The stonework looks much more realistic and pairs well with other graphical upgrades that players can install.
When it comes to graphics, the devil is often in the details. Anyone who has given the road network in Oblivion serious attention knows that it leaves much to be desired. Luckily, one of the most prolific mod authors for the Elder Scrolls series has fixed that problem.
Created by Arthmoor, Roads of Cyrodiil adds several new thoroughfares and bridges to the game. The province of Cyrodiil now looks and feels more like an inhabited area of settlement. Not only does this mod look great visually, but it also enhances the overall gameplay experience in a very lore-friendly manner.
Aesthetically, Oblivion's world map is similar to parchment. The idea is to make the player feel like they're unfolding and examining an actual, physical map. Although it's a subjective point of contention, the presentation can at times feel a bit bland.
If looking for a map mod that's easier on the eyes, then Dynamic Map is a good choice. The mod actually contains four different visual styles, such as Elven Map, Terrain Map, Color Map, and Tamriel Heightmaps. No matter which option is chosen, Oblivion's world map gets a nice upgrade either way.
Stopping to smell the roses probably isn't something the player does very often in vanilla Oblivion. That's because the environment isn't a pretty sight to behold in all of its low-resolution glory. Perking up the scenery can go a long way toward improving the overall visuals.
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A great all-in-one mod that enhances many of the foliage textures is Enhanced Vegetation. Plants, trees, and grass look less blurry and jagged with this mod. Not only are the details sharper, but the colors are also more vibrant and eye-catching. Wandering through Cyrodiil's wilderness never looked so good!
In terms of ugliness, one of the most recognizable details of Oblivion's aging graphics relates to draw distance. The scenery that gets loaded in the distance often looks like a blurry smear compared to objects that are located closer to the player. It's a shortcoming that many games shared in the mid-2000s, but is now given a lot more attention with today's modern hardware.
Luckily, this glaring problem can be rectified with a handy mod called Really AEVWD. This mod significantly improves the game's draw distance, thereby sharpening many of the details. With Really AEVWD, all of Oblivion's enhanced graphics can share some continuity. Things will no longer appear sharp up close while looking low resolution from a distance.
The vast majority of these mods are dedicated to making Cyrodiil look its absolute best. But what about the Deadlands, the realm of Oblivion belonging to Mehrunes Dagon? This land of death, for all its ugly brutality, deserves some love too, right?
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That's where Oblivion Realm HD comes into play. The myriad textures of the flora and fauna that compose the Deadlands' environment receive some much-needed treatment with this mod. Closing Oblivion Gates forms a large part of the game's experience, so giving those visuals a fresh coat of paint makes those visits a bit more tolerable.
As an RPG, Oblivion contains a significant amount of interactions between NPCs and the player. Looking at Oblivion's NPCs is rough. Very rough. Their eyes are quite dead and their heads/facial features often resemble potatoes. It's perhaps the most noticeable example of the game's age.
Thankfully, an awesome mod exists to lend some much-needed beauty to the denizens of Cyrodiil. The limitations of the game's hardware will always restrict how far a mod can go, but it's undeniable that Oblivion Character Overhaul offers a marked improvement over the vanilla experience.
Don't overlook Cyrodiil's water when making upgrades to Oblivion's physical environment. The level of detail depicted in a body of water is easy to judge. That detail is pretty lackluster when it comes to the fourth entry in The Elder Scrolls series. It's so unimpressive that it's natural to just simply ignore it altogether.
Alive Waters sets out to achieve exactly what its name suggests. Rather than dull and lifeless, Alive Waters injects some impressive vibrancy into Cyrodiil's water. New models of various fish and algae make swimming underwater a bit more interesting. It's a simple, yet very effective little mod.
There are hundreds of small mods throughout the Internet that seek to retexture only one object or mesh. If a player really wants to improve the visuals of Oblivion without expending too much time, then texture packs are the easiest way to go about it.
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One of the heftiest and most comprehensive texture packs out there is Qarl's Texture Pack III. Thousands of meshes and textures are rebuilt and/or improved by this mod, offering a wide range of unrivaled visuals. The only downside is that this particular pack can put a strain on one's PC. Note that this mod can be a bit heavy on low-end PCs.
Nowadays, revisiting many of Oblivion's cities is a rather underwhelming experience. From a visual standpoint, they fail to match the level of grandness described in the lore. They are also sparsely populated in terms of NPCs, yet another hardware limitation of 2006.
Better Cities does an admirable job of making the lore match reality. The addition of new buildings and characters makes the world feel more "lived-in" than ever before. These new sights not only enrich the game from a graphical standpoint but a gameplay one as well.
Lighting effects have a substantial impact on a game's visual presentation. Shadows, smoke, and reflections are little details that tend to have a big impact on how an environment is perceived by the player. Once again, vanilla Oblivion is hopelessly lacking in this arena.
One of the best solutions to this problem is the All Natural mod. Although All Natural is technically a weather mod, it also includes some really neat lighting effects that serve to upgrade the graphics. For example, natural light can now be observed through a window while inside a building, something the vanilla game couldn't even come close to replicating. Lit candles actually behave as such. Definitely a must-have for any load order.
It was mentioned in the previous entry that lighting has a substantial impact on a game's visual representation. From the outside, homes in Oblivion don't look like they actually have people living inside them. A great way to improve the overall immersion of the game is by giving this mod a shot...
Animated Window Lighting System And Chimneys (AWLS) gives Cyrodiil's homes a more "lived-in" appearance by illuminating windows. Furthermore, chimneys will now also emit smoke. It's a neat mod that adds a touch of much-needed detail that's hard not to appreciate.
Throughout the player's travels, it's common to notice certain defects with the meshes. There's a jaggedness or unalignment to them that hurts the overall presentation. This can be a fairly common sight when viewing staircases, stone pillars, and certain environmental objects.
The Mesh Improvement Project fixes those small defects by smoothing out the jagged edges. Various objects and pieces of architecture will now look the way they're supposed to without the distracting cosmetic blemishes.
A player can never go wrong with too many texture packs. Even the most comprehensive collections don't always include every single asset in their list of improvements. A good combination of extensive texture packs is the best way to go to get the most coverage.
Oblivion Upscaled Textures, or OUT, pairs quite well with the rest of the mods on this list. There is a wide range of assets that are covered under the umbrella of this mod, from weapons and armor to everyday household objects. Also, the mod can be installed as one package, or in separate chunks if the player doesn't want everything.
The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is currently available on PC.
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Mark Hospodar has been an avid gamer ever since he fired up the original Medal of Honor on his PS1. A history teacher by training, Mark has branched out into the fields of fiction and non-fiction writing. He has co-authored several published works, including Future Imperfect and Tales from the Grimacing Goblin. However, his love of gaming has never dissipated over the years. A good, old-fashioned RTS title will always bring him back into the fold. His other interests include horror movies, toy soldier collecting, and anything Batman-related.