Optimising Oblivion v2.0

Tailor this incredible game to perfectly suit your system, and the way you want to play.

Optimising Oblivion v2.0

NOTE: Part 3 of the guide covering mods, how to use them, and an extensive collection of the best can be found here - Optimising Oblivion v3.0

NOTE: The new 1.1 patch affects the display of new textures and the function of mods. See the Optimising Oblivion v3.0 for important fixes.

The original Optimising Oblivion article received quite a welcome response from gamers lost in the mire of .ini editing. This is a greatly overhauled and updated guide, with new tweaks and advice for getting the most out of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Reading also makes you impeccably attractive to the opposite sex.

All of these tweaks have been tested at length, so you can be sure they work. Tweaks that didn’t show a good result or caused problems have been removed. If you read the original guide, it's recommended to run through this one from the start, as there are new and improved tweaks herein!

First

This guide is broken down into three sections:

Part 1: Looks and feel

Part 2: Performance tuning

Part 3: Mod enhancements

Despite mods having their own section, where possible if mods will make a difference to looks or performance they will be referenced here. Additionally, a more extensive list of gameplay enhancing mods are covered in Part 3.

Second

Handy stuff we want you to know:

Disclaimer: This guide isn't a silver bullet (or arrow, as the case may be). Everyone's machine is different. Your mileage may vary compared to what we've seen, so be sure to try each of these out in and if you don't like the result, simply switch back. What we can say is that all of these tweaks and mods gave a positive result for us.

Credit where credit is due: this guide is the culmination of our own research and testing, and the research and testing of the Oblivion community at www.elderscrolls.com/forums  This guide is by and for the entire Oblivion community.

A note on HDR: Oddly the fading grass effect and, it would seem, the ability to take screenshots only work while HDR mode is enabled. If you use AA+Bloom and neither work, you know why!

Caffeinated beverages: go really well with Oblivion to keep you playing long into the night, and on into the morning. *yawn*

Third

It's best to start with a clean Oblivion.ini file, especially if you previously applied the tweaks from this guide.

1) Browse to your C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\My Games\Oblivion directory.
2) Make a backup of your Oblivion.ini file, and then delete Oblivion.ini
3) Start the game from the launcher, and set up your graphics options.
4) Load the game and go into the Video and Sound properties, then setup the game as to suit your preferences. Make sure 'Shadows on grass' and 'Shadow filtering' are off. Quit the game.
5) Open up the newly created Oblivion.ini in your favourite text editor, ready to make changes.
6) Take a swig of your favourite caffeinated beverage.

Now, onto Part 1!