*EDIT - This project is abandoned in favour of my newest L&G Mod: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=41118

If you want gaudiness, go for that instead*

I'm leaving this mod up here, but it is 100% finished and will not be tweaked again. Many thanks to everyone who has made suggestions, found flaws, endorsed it and offered support :)

L&G Floriana Requiem is the new source of infernal gaudiness.

------------------------------------------

For want of a more appropriate name, this is my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod.

This purely visual modification is fairly simple, (I'm sorry to say I am not anywhere near the caliber of the other modders on this site) though rather extensive: It is a texture replacement for all the trees, shrubs, tiling grasses and long grasses and their respective LODs in Oblivion.

I would like to warn everyone that this is a heavily saturated and colourful mod. This is NOT realistic by any means. I wanted very rich and lush scenery for my Oblivion, so I worked with deep mossy greens, lots of intense bright pinks and purples for the flowering long grass, and vivid green for the plain long grass.

I have culled the long grass varieties down to a mere handful. Green gorse grass will dominate all the lands. Though you will find vivid icy blue grass in the Jerall Mountains and Leyawiin, as well as some varying types and colours of flowering grass in certain regions. I hated the lumpy clumps of Vanilla grass, therefore they've largely been wiped out.

I do not take any credit for the textures themselves. Everything was extracted from the original Oblivion Texture archive. All I did was recolour them in Photoshop. (As you will see if you open any of them in Photoshop, I wasn't very tidy with much of the recolouring - luckily that doesn't come through too badly in the game, though.)From v1.3 onwards, just about EVERY bit of vegetation is thanks to Mikal33. I've used his textures for about 98% of the game. So, full credit to him. Those textures are NOT mine. As usual, I was just recolouring someone else's work.

These are NOT super high resolution textures. While v1.3 and onwards contain higher res tree and shrub textures (doubled that of Vanilla Oblivion) than previous versions thanks to Mikal33, they're not going to give you a major performance hit compared to some mods.

This modification recolours just about ALL the tiling grass across the game and all the trees and shrubs and all the long grass and all the distant tiling grass.

It does not contain variations in colour or style in different areas, so I caution anyone who considers downloading this to please remember that. It's a very uniform look for most regions.

What you will end up with is a hell of a lot of green long grass with a few other colours here and there, rich green trees and shrubs, and deep mossy green tiling grass all over the game world. (Though NOT in the Shivering Isles.)

I suppose ultimately this is all about colour as opposed to quality. V1.4 (which was never intended to happen) has cleaned up the final major bits and pieces that were truly crappy.And since the introduction of Mikal33's higher res textures, it has gotten a lot nicer.

I don't have the talent to create textures. All I do is recolour other people's. I wanted a bright and gaudy world, and this is it.

I honestly can't play Oblivion without my gaudy mod. I don't mean that in an arrogant way, because I frankly admit my mod can't compete compared to - well- just about anyone else's textures! ;) But I'm colour-obsessed and have been for years. I can only say I hope a few people get a bit of fun out of this besides myself.

I tried just about every other texture replacement mod I could find when I first bought Oblivion and while all were far better quality than Vanilla Oblivion, none added the sort of colours I was chasing. I suppose compared to many people I have a lower standard of quality and a greater obsession for colour. To me, the latter goes a lot further in transforming the look of the game than the former. But again, that is nothing more than a matter of taste :) Qarl, Mikal33 and the others shit all over me in terms of quality.

This is a heavily biased mod since the whim of my taste is usually the deciding factor on what colours get added.

Gaming is all about an escape and for me, every part of Oblivion was delightful except for the colours. I wanted it to look how it feels - pure fantasy. So, this is my personal idea of perfection. Riots of colour and areas that make me want to stop and just enjoy the scenery.

This won't be the case for everyone. But to me and hopefully some it can offer a bit of a feast for the eye :) For better or worse, this DOES give the game a vastly different feel.

-------------------------------------

*Special thanks and an OBE for the champion of BAINs and order (I only hope he never shows up in the Shivering Isles - they wouldn't like his orderliness there) alt3rn1ty*

He's been insanely proactive, helpful and has put together the most incredibly user-friendly BAIN. Essentially, he has done the impossible by making this mod - which is a veritable nightmare of colour choices - into a dream of easy installation.

He's been responsible for every single BAIN version (and there have been too many revisions to count thanks to all the optional packs that have come and gone) and I can't compliment or thank him enough for his efforts :)

THANK YOU, alt3rn1ty! Ding ding ding!

------------------------------

A 'Sister' Mod:
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=38658

-----------------------------

An alternative if L&G is too colourful for you, this Vibrant pack is pretty bloody gorgeous:

http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18677

Infinitely nicer than Vanilla, but not as ridiculously over-saturated as L&G is :) In fact, I'd recommend going that way before you try L&G. It's a lot saner than mine, plus a hell of a lot better looking than Vanilla.

------------------------------

*MAJOR AND MINOR TWEAK INFO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE*

-------------------------------
COMPATIBILITY: (Major Compatibility ramble at the bottom of the page)

General rule of thumb: There's no reason why you can't use this in combination with ANY other texture replacements as long as you install this mod LAST. Providing this goes 'over the top' of something like Qarl's, you'll be fine. I also use it with just about all the Unique Landscapes, Improved Trees and Flora, etc. Again, as long as you install my mod over the top of those, you'll get the benefits of them all.

As far as I recall, Qarl's pack never even did the trees, and since I offer an optional higher res tiling grass pack based off his textures, you can technically have both his and my mods running together perfectly since both alter different things.

However, if you do the reverse and install other mods like that over mine, then the shit will hit the fan. (Unless they're building / road / interior replacements.) My mod covers trees, tiling grass, long grass, distant landscape and shrubs. Any mod you install that replaces the vegetation or grass/landscape textures will either wipe mine out or - almost worse - will give you some amazingly bad colour clashes.

As for complimentary mods, it looks quite lovely with:

Open Cities Reborn
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=33003

Better Cities
http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16513

In the case of the latter, the IC Arboretum is...well...you'll see ^_^ *Content sigh*

-------------------------------

Which "Main" file to pick:

Any of them. Refer to the screenshots, see which suits your taste the best colour-wise.

Ideally, I'd recommend downloading the lot and swap between them. All the versions have a unique feel and look.

At present, Slightly Greener Cyrodiil is my favourite.

-------------------------------

Quick FAQ:

Any files found in the Update Category are MUST-HAVE!

Some files are marked for use with v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil. Others are marked for use with the Emerald Series. This does NOT mean the files won't work with other versions of the mod. They are just designed to look best with the versions they're marked for.

The Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack and Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack Part2 are designed to suit v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.

The Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack For Emerald Series and Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack For Emerald Series Part2 are designed (obviously) to look good with Emerald Cyrodiil and Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil.

When I say I hate the two Emerald Cyrodiil files, that doesn't mean there is anything wrong with them. I just prefer yellow-greens. Purely a matter of taste. And even I must admit now that they're growing on me...*grumble*

ALL optional grass packs, no matter how old, can be mixed and matched together. Same applies to SI grass packs.

ALL optional packs can be mixed with EVERY version of the mod. Though some are specifically designed to look best colour-wise with certain versions.

ALL optional grass packs except SI ones can be used with LowPoly Meshes and the stand alone mesh pack.

All optional files are just that: optional! You do NOT need them. They're purely for the fickle-minded and colour-obsessed.

The tree and shrub textures in this mod are by Mikal33 and are taken from his Improved Trees and Flora Mod and are pretty much all double the res of Vanilla Oblivion ones.

Despite being higher res than Vanilla trees, this mod should NOT give a performance hit even to lower end machines. Providing you skip the optional higher res packs on offer, this should perform comparably to Vanilla Oblivion.

ALL optional Higher Res grass packs are double the res of Vanilla grasses.

The water seen in the screenshots is either Clear Water by Kasdar and can be found here: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3763 or Advanced Water Modification by Abdullah found here: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2734 (I swap between the two, so the screenshots are always using one or the other.)

--------------------------

The installation, warnings, etc, are well down this page. Forgive the placement, but due to the number of optional packs I've been adding, it's just a bit easier this way.

-------------------------

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM

-------------------------

MAIN FILE:

Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4 (Final - updates / fixes notwithstanding)

This is definitely the final version of my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod.

Firstly, it does the same as the previous versions: It creates a lush and gaudy frenzy of colour. Cyrodiil is uniformly bright, riddled with mossy-greens and a shitload of uniform long grass as well as some rather devastatingly colourful regional grasses. It's heavily saturated, insanely bright in places, not trying to be realistic, and NOT a super high quality bit of work. (Though as far as I can tell it's one of the few texture replacements that does ALL the trees - not just confined shrubs or tree LODs.)

New in v1.4: Cleaned up most of the worst / dodgy textures. One or two are still borderline, but for the most part the real stinkers are gone. The LODs are better colour matched and look a damn sight improved. (Though it's not hard to move up from absolute crap.) Brighter Leyawiin is now built in, since I never liked that area dull anyhow. The default universal grass is now green instead of orange heather. (Obviously irrelevant to anyone using the mix and match packs, but to new downloader's it's a plus.) Also included some higher res flowering grass scaled down to Vanilla size. Makes a fair compromise as a default and won't offer a performance hit. (Precisely why all higher res packs have been optional. I will NOT be 'building in' performance hitters ;)

Got rid of the gaudy bush in the Jerall Mountains, so no nasty surprises up there anymore.

The LODs still aren't perfect by any means. The tree billboard sizes are too large in some cases, too small in others, wrong shape here and there. But they're still the best so far for this infernal mod and I can honestly say I'm never going to bother reworking this again, so this is IT. (Honestly, while I admit I am rotten/hopeless/useless with LODs, I think it's more than fair to say it's bloody hard to get excited about perfecting what is - to all intents and purposes - a cardboard cutout that's somehow supposed to pass for a tree.)

The landscape LODs are deliberately smoother and greener than Vanilla, since grainy and dirty wasn't a look I was chasing for this. I did test out some higher res LODs, but they made no real difference to this uniform green so I dropped it. (Also had the tree LODs originally double res, but it amounted to a major performance hit and after much testing I found the quality loss was minimal after dropping the res anyway.)

Basically, v1.4 fixes all the big and little things that were really pissing me off. I can now say, even though it contains some cruddy elements, it's as good as I can get it.

This final version is - yet again - ENTIRELY reliant on Mikal33's beautiful textures from his Improved Trees and Flora mod. Without them, this wouldn't exist. I think it's about 98% Mikal33's textures as far as vegetation goes and maybe 2% Vanilla Oblivion. It's the nicest quality I'll ever get this mod to within my limited range of abilities.

*Warning* There are still jumbo-leaf trees around the place. I like them, they're staying. Sorry to sound like Sheogorath, but my mod, my rules :PIf you think they're unrealistic, please file a complaint at the Mages Guild ^_^

More than anything, this is all about colour. And, thanks to Mikal33, it's now got a fair dash of quality as well :)

Put it this way: In Vanilla Oblivion, if you stick your face right in the foliage it's not a pretty sight. If you stick your face in it with this mod, while far from perfect, you'll get at least a glimpse of Mikal33's gorgeous textures that don't dissolve into a wad of rough pixels on closer inspection.

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM.

Credits: (I get to do this since I'm calling it final ;)

Mikal33 for his stunning foliage textures. They are entirely thanks to him - all I did was recolour them. Any quality you see is Mikal33's. Any loss of quality or poor recolouring is mine :P This mod is literally completely reliant on his work. I never could have made any textures that could touch his in terms of quality and beauty. Thank you, Mikal33 :)

Guadianl for sharing textures with me, giving a hell of a lot of advice, tutoring, general help and keeping me sane. Thank you, Guadianl :)

Dunmermaiden for finding the first error in the original mod and for giving me the inspiration with her very generous feedback to keep working on this. Thank you, Dunmermaiden :)

Alt3rn1ty for all the BAIN versions of this mod. For his endless patience, assistance and enthusiasm and troubleshooting and support. Thank you, Alt3rn1ty :)

Many thanks to you all :D

Without the people mentioned above, this mod would not exist ^

------------------------------------------------------------

Main BAIN File:

Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4 BAIN

Rule of thumb: If there is an optional pack with a date more recent than the BAIN, then that optional pack is not yet included in the BAIN. The BAIN is regularly updated by alt3rn1ty, so all optional packs end up in there eventually - usually a day or so after they come out.

Please note, this is ONLY for those who prefer to use Wrye Bash and who want all the optional packs suited to v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil plus v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil Main files. If you're not a WB user, don't download this version. Personally, I know absolutely NOTHING about Wrye Bash. So I can offer 0 support for anyone who uses this one. Needless to say, I recommend that only people who are familiar with Wrye Bash use it.

Here's a link for some info on using Wrye Bash http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=35230

Again, this (hopefully final) version is completely thanks to alt3rn1ty, who not only knocked together (as well as every other BAIN so far) but has been an absolute life saver in terms of help and support. To anyone who downloads this version, you have him to thank for it :D

REQUIREMENTS:
Wrye Bash

--------------------------------
OPTIONAL FILES: (infernally long list coming up)
-------------------------------

FIX File:

Fixes For All Versions Of The Main Mod

These files fix some really annoying and dreadful looking clipping issues with a few trees and a bit of grass / some Bulrushes which I royally fucked up and then over-looked. This is a MUST-HAVE for anyone who downloaded any of the four main mods on or before May 11th 2011. This includes a fix for EVERY version of the main mod. If you're a new downloader, you don't need this, since I've built the fix in to the main files as of May 11th 2011.

-------------------------------
Main File:

Slightly Greener Cyrodiil

Yet another alternate, slightly greener version of my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod. It's rather bulky compared to other colour-tweak optional files since I've made it stand-alone. It does the same as the base mod, only it does it in a slightly greener fashion.

I would like to point out a few things:

#1: This version looks fine with all the original and higher res grass packs.

#2: I quite like this version, since I'm biased towards more yellow-ish tones. In fact, it's my new favourite.

#3: This - in the grand colour scheme - sits between default v1.4 and Emerald Cyrodiil. It's slightly greener than v1.4, but more yellowy than Emerald Cyrodiil. A fair compromise between the two.

REQUIREMENTS:

OBMM
(Note, you do NOT need Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod for this - I've made it 100% stand-alone.)

-----------------------------------------

Main file:

Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil

This is yet another alternate, MUCH MUCH greener version of my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod. It's rather bulky compared to other colour-tweak optional files since I've made it stand-alone.

It does the same as the base mod, only it does it in way a greener fashion.

I would like to point out a few things:

#1: The only optional grass that will look truly good with this is the new Higher Res Mix and Match Packs For Emerald Series.

#2: This is only for people who like things super green. While I don't hate it anymore *grumble* I personally don't use it since I prefer yellowy-greens. There's nothing 'wrong' with it. Just depends what sorts of greens you like.

#3: Looks like I was wrong about not making any higher res optionals for it. *Smacks self*

#4: This doesn't suit - to my eye anyway - any of the original mix and match grasses or the original higher res ones. I'd only suggest using it with the higher res for the emerald series grass packs.

#5: You may wonder why I created yet another version I don't like...well...so do I :S It started out as trying to fulfill a colour request and since I'd put all the work in, figured I'd release it as another optional.

#6 *ultra grumble*

REQUIREMENTS:

OBMM
(Note, you do NOT need Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod for this - I've made it 100% stand-alone.)

-----------------------------------------

Main File:

Emerald Cyrodiil

This is alternate, much greener version of my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod. It's rather bulky compared to other colour-tweak optional files since I've made it stand-alone.

It does the same as the base mod, only it does it in a greener fashion.

I would like to point out a few things:

#1: The only optional grass that will look truly good with this is the new Higher Res Mix and Match Packs For Emerald Series.

#2: This is only for people who like things greener. While I don't hate it anymore *grumble* I personally don't use it since I prefer yellowy-greens. There's nothing 'wrong' with it. Just depends what sorts of greens you like.

#3: Looks like I was wrong about not making any higher res optionals for it. *Smacks self*

#4: This doesn't suit - to my eye anyway - any of the original mix and match grasses or the original higher res ones. I'd only suggest using it with the new higher res for the emerald series grass packs.

#5: You may wonder why I created a version I don't like...well...so do I :S It started out as trying to fulfill a colour request and since I'd put all the work in, figured I'd release it as an optional.

#6 *grumble*

REQUIREMENTS:

OBMM
(Note, you do NOT need Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod for this - I've made it 100% stand-alone.)

-----------------------------------------
Latest File:

Colour My Crops

Made this one for myself, but thought I'd better upload it in case anyone else wanted it.

It's a recolour of all the harvestable plants and crops and flora in two different colours to match all the main versions of my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod.

I've also offered some optional grass which replaces the ugly soil for the vegetable crops. This is just an extra for people like myself who prefer things greener and less dirty - you DON'T have to use it. I prefer it since I'm using Open Cities Reborn which adds a lot of crops around the towns and I didn't want dirt all over the place ^_^

REQUIREMENTS:

OBMM
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod - ANY main version.
(Yes, technically you could use these without my L&G mod, but they'd look pretty ugly against a Vanilla Oblivion.)

-----------------------------------------

Higher Res Tiling Grass For Emerald Cyrodiil

This pack is designed to work specifically with Emerald Cyrodiil and will replace all the tiling grass textures with higher resolution ones. These textures were created by Qarl and they are NOT mine. All I did was recolour them, so full credit to him for this :)

These textures are 1024x 1024. Double the res of the Vanilla ones. I only recommend them for people who were already using Qarl's or another set of higher resolution textures, since they will give you a bit of a performance hit. (I actually prefer not to use them, but of course it depends entirely on your pc. Mind definitely doesn't like them.)

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
Emerald Cyrodiil

-----------------------------------------

Higher Res Tiling Grass For Slightly Greener Cyrodiil

This pack is designed to work specifically with Slightly Greener Cyrodiil and will replace all the tiling grass textures with higher resolution ones. These textures were created by Qarl and they are NOT mine. All I did was recolour them, so full credit to him for this :)

These textures are 1024x 1024. Double the res of the Vanilla ones. I only recommend them for people who were already using Qarl's or another set of higher resolution textures, since they will give you a bit of a performance hit. (I actually prefer not to use them, but of course it depends entirely on your pc. Mind definitely doesn't like them.)

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
Slightly Greener Cyrodiil
-----------------------------------------

Higher Res Tiling Grass For Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil

This pack is designed to work specifically with Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil and will replace all the tiling grass textures with higher resolution ones. These textures were created by Qarl and they are NOT mine. All I did was recolour them, so full credit to him for this :)

These textures are 1024x 1024. Double the res of the Vanilla ones. I only recommend them for people who were already using Qarl's or another set of higher resolution textures, since they will give you a bit of a performance hit. (I actually prefer not to use them, but of course it depends entirely on your pc. Mind definitely doesn't like them.)

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil
-----------------------------------------

How Green Is Your Grass

(Reworked this one and re-uploaded.)

This offers 12 different greens and 2 different grass types to choose from for your Absolute Most Universal In All Regions Grass. All give the game a different feel / look and I only chose shades which actually compliment each different version of the mod.

This pack will suit ALL the different versions of the main mod. v1.4, Slightly Greener Cyrodiil, Emerald Cyrodiil and Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil.

REQUIREMENTS:
ANY version of the main mod.

-----------------------------------------

Ferns For Dunmermaiden

(Been reworked, so I've re-uploaded them.)

This one is for Dunmermaiden again :)

Decided to expand the range just a bit to suit the new Emerald Series as well as v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.

Nine shades of green, usable with ANY of the versions of the mod available.

They'll replace the Second Most Common In All Regions grass. No big loss there since it was only a bit of boring plain green or orange heather anyhow. These ferns will appear in varying regions.


REQUIREMENTS:
Any version of the main mod. Doesn't matter which one.
Or, if you're really...er...tasteless...you can use it as a stand-alone pack with Vanilla or alternately modded Oblivion. It comes with its own meshes, so do what you please with it.

--------------------------------

Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack For Emerald Series Part2

This pack covers the same regions and colour range as the original Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack Part2. However, it's been tweaked so the greens and roots of the grasses suit both Emerald Cyrodiil and Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil.

Please be aware, once again the colour range pictures are the same old ones I used for the previous pack. All you need to know is that the roots of the flowering grass and the plain green grass of this set will match the Emerald Series of my mod, the flower colours are still the same as the other versions.

This is also compatible with the LowPoly Meshes and the stand alone ones.

Please note, the Plain Green and Orange Heather have also been tweaked to suit the Emerald Series colour-wise.)

These WILL over-write any existing mix and match grass packs you might be using.

REQUIREMENTS:
Emerald Cyrodiil
Or
Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil

(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, or as a stand alone with the stand alone grass meshes, but they're designed to work specifically with the greens found in the Emerald Series.)

----------------------------------------

Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack For Emerald Series

This pack covers the same regions and colour range as the original Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack. However, it's been tweaked so the greens and roots of the grasses suit both Emerald Cyrodiil and Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil.

Please be aware, the colour range pictures are the same old ones I used for the previous pack. All you need to know is that the roots of the flowering grass and the plain green grass of this set will match the Emerald Series of my mod, the flower colours are still the same as the other versions.

This is also compatible with the LowPoly Meshes and the stand alone ones.

Please note, the Plain Green and Orange Heather have also been tweaked to suit the Emerald Series colour-wise.)

These WILL over-write any existing mix and match grass packs you might be using.

REQUIREMENTS:

Emerald Cyrodiil
Or
Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, or as a stand alone with the stand alone grass meshes, but they're designed to work specifically with the greens found in the Emerald Series.)

----------------------------------------

Slightly More Golden Trees

The is only for the truly anal colour connoisseur.

Two more golden/yellow options for some of the trees around Cyrodiil. NOT all the trees, just a few. Since I'm probably psychotic beyond compare about my colours, a slight shift in shade makes a major difference to me. Made these for myself, but if anyone else wants to use them, great.

REQUIREMENTS:
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4.)

-----------------------------------

Gaudy Golden Grasses

For anyone who liked The Golden Isles, this one brings a small set of very, very yellow and bright grasses and colourful flowering grass to Cyrodiil. The roots of the flowering grass are properly colour matched to the universal yellow-grass.

It's insanely gaudy, best used in conjunction with the Slightly More Golden Trees, and not for the faint hearted. The flowering grasses used here are also the higher res ones, so be warned ;)

In a nutshell (that has come too late) this is a shortcut to a Golden Isles type look for Cyrodiil. At least as far as the long grasses go ;)

REQUIREMENTS:
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4.)

----------------------------------

alt3rn1ty Does Not Like Jumbo Leaves

This was actually made as a private tweak for the champion of BAINs, alt3rn1ty. However, while I have no problem with the jumbo-leaf trees, for anyone who does this will get rid of MOST (not all) of them from the swamp area around Blackwood and Leyawiin. They'll still appear in other areas of the game, but the biggest swarm of them in the south eastern regions is wiped out with this.

It's very much a matter of personal taste, and as I said, this was made for a friend. It's not a vital fix. It's a mere 'tweak' and I don't personally use it.

REQUIREMENTS:

Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4. Would look pretty shockingly bad with the Emerald series.)

---------------------------------

Higher Res Tiling Grass

Reworked this old pack to suit v1.4. It was NOT made to suit any of the other versions of the mod.

This pack will replace all the tiling grass textures with higher resolution ones. These textures were created by Qarl and they are NOT mine. All I did was recolour them, so full credit to him for this :)

These textures are 1024x 1024. Double the res of the Vanilla ones. I only recommend them for people who were already using Qarl's or another set of higher resolution textures, since they will give you a bit of a performance hit. (I actually prefer not to use them, but of course it depends entirely on your pc. Mind definitely doesn't like them.)

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4

----------------------------------------

Pick Your Poison

Minor tweak.

There's a shrub which resides in both the Jerall Mountains and the lush areas just south of the those mountains. Unfortunately, that means you either live with a dead-looking bush in the northern lush areas of the game which border the Jerall Mountains (it doesn't seem to appear further south, but I'm not 100% sure on that) or a lush looking bush sticking out like a sore thumb in the snowy areas.

Personally, I'd rather have the latter, but I made v1.4 default with the dull and dead bush appearing.

This fix is for those who would rather have their lush and gaudy landscape uninterrupted without a nasty dead looking shrub appearing in certain northern areas.

As the title says, pick your poison. I prefer mine gaudy.

REQUIREMENTS:
At least ONE version of the main mod. It was designed to look best with v1.4 or Slightly Greener Cyrodiil, but is tolerable with Emerald Series. To me, anything is better than a dead bush :P

-----------------------------------------

Purple Flowering Shrubs For Dementia

This minor pack works with either Lush and Gaudy SI or The Golden Isles. Simply adds some purple-flowering shrubs to the realm of Dementia and replaces the plain green ones previously used.

REQUIREMENTS:
Shivering Isles
Lush and Gaudy SI or The Golden Isles

----------------------------------------

Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack For Lush and Gaudy SI

This grass pack is designed to work with my Lush and Gaudy Shivering Isles mod. Though I've actually found it works equally well with The Golden Isles.

It offers 34 different colours for your main flowering grass in both Dementia and Mania.

While this is intended for use with Lush and Gaudy SI, you CAN technically use it with Vanilla SI or my Golden Isles mod. However, the shades were created with Lush and Gaudy SI in mind, so using it with Vanilla Shivering Isles will most likely result in some ugly colour clashes. But feel free to try it :)


REQUIREMENTS:

OBMM
Shivering Isles
Lush and Gaudy SI or The Golden Isles

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Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack Part2

This pack completes the colour range I came up with when designing the Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack. Originally, before I had to cull the first pack to make it a tolerable size, I had 35 colours per region, which I pretty much had to cut to half as well as eliminate the Second Most Common In All Regions colour range. (Though I can't say I was sorry to do the latter, never liked it anyway.)

These colours are the ones that were given the chop.

If you have performance issues from the Vanilla grass, do not touch this pack. These textures are doubled in size from the originals and they'll likely give you a performance hit. Personally, they seem to run fine on mine, but - to put it bluntly - don't complain about a performance hit. You've been warned ^_^ There's two other performance-friendly grass packs on offer, so use them if you have any issues.

Once again, they can be mixed and matched with ALL my other Grass Packs. Use whatever combination you like.

This is also compatible with the LowPoly Meshes and Complete Mix and Match Grass Set Meshes-Only.


REQUIREMENTS:
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4
OR
Slightly Greener Cyrodiil
OR
Complete Mix and Match Grass Set Meshes-Only if you're nutty enough to want to use these with Vanilla Oblivion instead.
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.)

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Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack

This pack covers most of the same regions as before, though I've culled (largely due to the infernal size) the Second Most Common. Especially since the bent, fern-like shape of the plant never suited these flowers anyway and wasn't worth the space.

If you have performance issues from the Vanilla grass, do not touch this pack. These textures are doubled in size from the originals and they'll likely give you a performance hit.

Personally, after a few days of using them, I've found I'm not taking any performance hit at all, but - to put it bluntly - don't complain about a performance hit if you get one. You've been warned ^_^ There's two other performance-friendly grass packs on offer, so use them if you have any issues.

I designed this pack for myself, since I'd been bothered by the Vanilla grass as well as my own packs. I wanted something with a bit more detail. Though, of course, they're not ultra high res or ultra high quality. They're just a step up from what was previously on offer.

One again, they can be mixed and matched with both the Complete Mix and Match Grass Set and the New Mix and Match Grass Set. Use whatever combination you like. The colour range offered applies to all folders except The Absolute Most Universal In All Regions, Jerall Mountains and Second Most Common In All Regions.

This is also compatible with the LowPoly Meshes.

Please note, the culled folders which only contain Plain Green and Orange Heather are NOT higher res. They're Vanilla size. I just stuck them in for convenience.

Incidentally, alt3rn1ty has found a vast array of typos amongst the sub-folders of this pack - though thankfully the mistakes seem to be confined to colour names and won't do any harm to your installation. Just look out for grains instead of greens and apricots gone spastic ;)

REQUIREMENTS:
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4
OR
Slightly Greener Cyrodiil
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.)

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New Mix and Match Grass Set

This pack works in exactly the same convoluted manner as my previous Complete Mix and Match Grass Set.

This will allow you to choose precisely which colour grass you want for specific regions.

Unlike the previous version, with the exception of the Jerall grasses, this pack offers a fairly huge and identical colour range for every region. So, if you can't find what you want here, then...er...Holy Fickle-Minded Hell Batman!

While this is somewhat of a reworking, it includes many new colour combinations and it doesn't render the previous pack obsolete. I actually prefer some grasses from the other one, so I intend to play around with mixing them until I get a combination I like. I hope everyone can do the same to their satisfaction.

This does NOT offer any new regions (except for the The Absolute Most Universal In All Regions) compared to the old pack. It just has different colours and textures.

This time around, I've included a new subfolder "The Absolute Most Universal In All Regions". This controls that pesky orange heather that I used liberally all over the game. Much like my Goodbye Orange Grass Hello Green addition, this will give you control over your most predominant flowering grass. Only the two colour options on offer, but that's as far as I'll go on that for now. Even I am not insane enough to offer pink for that one :P

I'd like to also add that this pack is fully compatible with the LowPoly Mesh pack :) And again, it's equally compatible with the Complete Mix and Match Grass Set. Use whichever parts of this you like. You don't have to use the lot.

REQUIREMENTS:
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4 or Slightly Greener Cyrodiil
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.)

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The Golden Isles Reworked

This is a minor reworking of my Golden Isles mod.

The LODs are better colour matched, several shrubs and a few trees have been replaced with textures from Mikal33's Improved Tree and Flora Mod, and the tiling grass is from Qarl.

It's not a major overhaul, but I personally think it's a definite step up from the original.

Please be warned this is only for those who adore Golden Elm Trees. This is insanely bright - especially if you're using HDR. Much the same as the last Golden Isles, this one makes both Mania and Dementia uniformly yellowy-green. There is no longer a real contrast between the two.

Anyone wishing to retain a unique look for each should avoid this mod like the plague. I designed it for myself to cater to my obsession for Golden Elm trees. Wasn't intended to be shared, but I'm putting it up anyway. If anyone gets a kick out of it, great.

The pictures show exactly how it looks, so if it seems hideously bright, DON'T download it. It's meant to be insanely bright. That's just how I like things.

I designed the Lush and Gaudy Shivering Isles with other people in mind. I designed this Golden Shivering Isles with only my questionable self in mind. There is no compromise here. It's all a painfully bright frenzy of yellow, lime green and gold.

I'm presently swapping between all my variations for the Shivering Isles. Again, they suit different moods and tastes. This one I'm using at the moment because I need something cheerful. Plus, when combined with a few weather tweaks for clear blue water in the isles, it's got a certain exotic charm to it. It's a novelty, if nothing else.

Remember - this will over-write any landscape, grass or tree texture mods you might be using for Shivering Isles. It will NOT have any effect on my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod and it will NOT touch any textures outside of the Shivering Isles.

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
Shivering Isles

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Lush and Gaudy Shivering Isles Reworked

This is a moderate reworking of my Lush and Gaudy Shivering Isles mod.

Several shrubs and trees have been replaced with textures from Mikal33's Improved Tree and Flora Mod and the tiling grass is by Qarl. It's not a major overhaul, but it's a step up from the original and a few little annoyances from the previous version have been cleaned up.

Despite the somewhat higher res textures and foliage, I don't take a performance hit from it and overall I'd say the impact is negligible.

As with the previous Lush and Gaudy SI, this is fairly bright - but it still retains a contrast between Mania and Dementia. Mania still has its distinctive look - it's just more saturated. Dementia is quite radically altered and far more green and less swampy. The tiling grass is fairly uniform moss-green across the land.

In comparison to my newer The Golden Isles Reworked, this one is a lot closer in feel to the original SI. However, it's still a lot more saturated than Vanilla SI.

REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
Shivering Isles
(Please note, you do NOT need my Lush and Gaudy Landscape Mod for this to work. This is a stand alone pack and it will ONLY recolour textures from the Shivering Isles.)

WARNING:

If you liked the gloomy aspects of Dementia as they were, do NOT use this pack.

I recommend backing up any saved games before you install this. Just to be safe. (Though personally all mine are working perfectly while using this.)

Remember - this will over-write any landscape, grass or tree texture mods you might be using for Shivering Isles. It will NOT have any effect on my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod and it will NOT touch any textures outside of the Shivering Isles.

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Mix and Match Grass Set for Lush and Gaudy Shivering Isles.

This minor grass pack is designed to work with my Lush and Gaudy Shivering Isles mod.

It offers 8 different colours for your main flowering grass in both Dementia and Mania.

While this is intended for use with Lush and Gaudy SI, you CAN technically use it with Vanilla SI or my Golden Isles mod. However, the shades were created with Lush and Gaudy SI in mind, so using it with a different Shivering Isles will most likely result in some ugly colour clashes. But feel free to try it :)

REQUIREMENTS:

OBMM
Shivering Isles

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Complete Mix and Match Grass Set Meshes-Only

This mesh set is ONLY for people who wish to use ANY of my optional grass packs with Vanilla or alternately modded Oblivion instead of with my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod. (You MUST use it with one of my grass packs, otherwise the meshes on their own are no good.)

It will work with every grass pack - right up to the newest higher res ones.

In essence, it will become a stand-alone mod allowing you to use any of my grass packs with Vanilla/alternately modded Oblivion and will no longer reliant on my Lush and Gaudy mod.

(Alternatively, you could use the LowPoly Meshes to do the same thing.)

I can't guarantee how the colours will match against a Vanilla or alternate Oblivion, since I designed them to look good with my own mod, but I wish anyone luck who wants to use them with something else :)


REQUIREMENTS:
OBMM
At least one of my optional grass packs. Or all of them. You can mix any/all of them with this.

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Complete Mix and Match Grass Set FIXED

Identical to the previous version except for a fix for a missing 'plants' subfolder. This is courtesy of alt3rn1ty who noticed the problem :)

This set will allow you to choose precisely which colour flowering-grass you want for specific regions. It requires a bit of care to install, but that's the price of being able to pick specific colours for specific areas ;)

It offers (I think) every colour that was available in previous packs, plus a fair few extras. Including plain green - at last!

As the folder names will indicate, some are more regional than others as will be explained in detail in the Read Me. You do NOT need to use all the packs. Please be aware that although the grasses should generally only appear in the regions that the folders specify, there are some areas they might appear that are not listed. But for the most part, they are pretty much regional.

REQUIREMENTS:
Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod v1.4
OR
Slightly Greener Cyrodiil
(Yes, technically you can use these with ANY main version of the mod, but it was designed to look best with v1.4 and Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.)

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LowPoly Grass Meshes

This LowPoly Grass Mesh pack is entirely thanks to mmmpld who has allowed me to use his low poly grass meshes :)

It should work with ALL my optional grass packs as well as with the ones which originally came with the Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Trees Mod (Providing you install these low poly meshes over the top of the optional packs, obviously.)

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INSTALLATION:

Please back up your save games (just to be safe) and any grass, tree or plant or landscape texture mods you are using that you might wish to return to.

Copy the Meshes and Textures folders to your Oblivion/Data directory. If you are asked to over-write any existing files, say yes. (Again, this WILL replace any tiling grass, landscape LOD, tree or long grass texture mods you might be currently using.)
Run the Archive Invalidation tool in OBMM in BSA Redirection mode.

*WARNING* ANY of the four Main files will completely replace any previous versions of my Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod - including the optional grass pack colours you're currently using.

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To UNINSTALL:

Delete the files that were installed with the mod and remember to run the Archive Invalidation tool again in OBMM in BSA Redirection mode. You MUST do this. Then you will be back to a saner Oblivion :)

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DO NOT EXPECT TO SEE:

Swamps, gloomy or dull areas. I will do just about anything to add to the lushness and greenery of this mod, but I don't ever plan to add any muddy or grim areas to it. This is pure fantasy and - ideally - perfection.

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FLAWS:

To put it in the vernacular, I suck at LODs. I also suck with textures. This mod is ultimately all about colour, not quality. Any quality here is due to Mikal33's textures. Any crap is due to my lack of talent.

The distant trees aren't entirely perfect. Wrong shapes, sizes, etc, but as good as they'll get as of v1.4.

This mod is not (silly as it sounds) modular in any way. I do not recommend to anyone to use one part of it and not the others. (For example, my tiling grass and trees look hideous against the original long grasses in the game - the colours clash terribly.)

I realise only a handful of types of grass seems like a huge come-down from the rather spectacular variety available in the game, but since this modification is incredibly lush, I actually found more varieties to just be too much and finding colours that suited my tiling grass and trees to be harder than one might imagine. Therefore, I settled for a very uniform heather for the game world. I also must say I do think this looks a look smoother and less blotchy than the original grass - too many different types starts standing out too much. But that's just my opinion. I like smooth.

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WARNINGS:

Please remember to run the Archive Invalidation tool in OBMM in BSA Redirection mode once you install / uninstall this mod. When I forgot to do this when re-testing the mod, I entered a game filled with demented purple textures everywhere.

I'm running a considerable amount of mods along with this, and I've never had a problem. I've re-tested it against all my current mods as well as on a clean Oblivion and haven't had any issues. If anyone has a problem, please let me know. As it is only a texture and mesh replacement without any .esm file, it should work with any mod out there. (Except, of course, other landscape and tree and grass texture replacements. In which case whatever you install this mod over the top of will get replaced.)

This WILL replace any grass, tiling grass, tree texture, or landscape LOD texture replacement mods you might be using. (Unless they are for the Shivering Isles.)

This will NOT change anything within the Shivering Isles. (Unless you choose to use one of my Shivering Isles packs - but they are OPTIONAL and the base mod itself won't touch SI :)

The harvestable crops and plants and fungi have NOT been recoloured.

Buildings, Roads, Interiors, and Clothes have NOT been touched.

This is bright, this is gaudy, this is pretty much unlike most other retexture mods out there. If you don't like lavish, unrealistic colours, do NOT download this. Save your eyes some pain.

Again, there are only about six types of long grass in this mod for the entire game landscape - except for the odd patch up in the Jerall Mountains.

There is only ONE colour for the tiling grass. The colours of the trees vary a bit, but they are pretty much the same across the land. What you see in the pictures is what you get EVERYWHERE. (The only exception being the original snow-covered trees in the Jerall Mountains which have not been touched.)

My LODs are always going to suck.

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In closing:

I never actually intended to share this mod, since I didn't think it would really be to anyone's taste. If anyone can get some enjoyment out of it, I wish them all the best. And I hope that perhaps someone might even expand and improve on it. I myself am continually tweaking it and trying to fix things. It isn't perfect. Likely never will be.

I don't use the word 'gaudy' lightly, but that is precisely what this mod is. I'm not a good modder and I don't understand much about it, so this is my fairly small attempt at getting the game to look how I like it.

Again, I wish to emphatically state that all I did was recolour some original Oblivion Textures. These textures are NOT mine. And this mod DOES include textures from Mikal33's beautiful Improved Trees and Flora mod, which were used with his permission. Those high resolution shrub and tree textures are completely thanks to him.

If anyone finds any flaws or has any problems, please contact me and I will do my best to fix them. Any other suggestions or requests would also be most welcome.

Enjoy the mod :)

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*MANUAL TWEAKS*

*TWEAK 1*

In regards to that dead looking bush that shows up and which is fixed by the Pick Your Poison optional file, I think I accidentally built in certain versions of the mod with a gaudy bush instead of the dead one. To reverse the Pick Your Poison look (i.e to get the dead looking bush back in the northern and snowy regions instead of having the gaudy one there) do the following:

In the Oblivion\Data\Textures\trees\leaves directory delete the following file:

shrubgenericinkberryleavesfa.dds

To be safe give OBMM Archive Invalidation a run in BSA Redirection mode and you'll be back to a dead shrub for the snowy region and the northern areas that border the Jerall Mountains.


*TWEAK 2*

Removing gaudy regional grass from Bruma / snowy region:

To get rid of my custom gaudy Jerall Mountains grass delete the following files:

In the Oblivion\Data\Textures\plants directory delete these files:

jmgorsegrass01.dds
jmmediumgrass01.dds

In the Oblivion\Data\Meshes\plants directory delete the following files:

jmgorsegrass01.nif
jmmediumgrass01.nif

Run OBMM Archive Invalidation tool in BSA Redirection mode.

That will give you snowy Vanilla Oblivion grass if you want it all grey/silvery :)

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*MAJOR TWEAKS*

This section is only for people with a few ounces of common sense - don't even bother trying any of this unless you have at least a basic understanding of what belongs where in Oblivion subfolders:

Given the rather huge range of colours available within the four main versions of the mod (v1.4, Slightly Greener Cyrodiil, Emerald Cyrodiil, Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil) and all the optional packs, this section will give a brief outline of how to 'mix and match' the trees, tiling grass and long grass of those versions.

Because, technically speaking, if you so desired you could be using the trees of Emerald Cyrodiil with the tiling grass/landscape of v1.4, with the long grass of Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil. (Though I doubt anyone would be idiotic enough to want that particular combination, but we won't argue about a hypothesis.)

I created the four variations of the mod as stand-alone simply because to have offered those colour ranges as modular add-ons would have been just as much work and so large in size that it would defeat the purpose of them being 'optional'. If they're the same size as the main mod, they might as well BE a main mod themselves and not reliant on v1.4.

However, that doesn't prevent them from being combined together in varying ways.

The general rule of thumb for doing this is to bear in mind the following:

In the Textures directory of each main version of the mod you'll see the following folders:

landscape
landscapelod
plants
trees

The landscape folder controls the colour of your tiling grass.
The landscapelod folder controls the colour of your distant landscape / tiling grass

Basically, you treat those folders as inseparable. You'd never use the landscape of Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil with the landscapelod from another version of the mod. Those two files should only ever come from ONE version of the mod. No mixing and matching the landscape of one version with the landscapelod of another version. Otherwise you'll end up with your close range tiling grass one colour and the distant land another colour entirely.

The plants folder controls the colour of all your long grass.

The trees folder - you guessed it - controls the colour of your trees, shrubs and their LODs.

So, lets say you currently have v1.4 installed and you want to use the long grass from Slightly Greener Cyrodiil and the trees from Emerald Cyrodiil.

Firstly, open up the mod folder for Slightly Greener Cyrodiil. Go into the Textures directory (Slightly Greener Cyrodiil\Textures) and copy the 'plants' folder you'll find there and paste it into your Oblivion\Data\Textures directory. If asked to over write any existing files, say yes. That will mean you now have the long grass of Slightly Greener Cyrodiil.

Next, open the mod folder for Emerald Cyrodiil and go into the Textures directory (Emerald Cyrodiil\Textures) and copy the 'trees' folder you'll find there and paste it into your Oblivion\Data\Textures directory. If asked to over-write any existing files, say yes.

That will result in you having the tiling grass and landscape of v1.4, the long grass of Slightly Greener Cyrodiil, and the trees of Emerald Cyrodiil.

Now, let's say you realise that the tiling grass/landscapes look crap with the trees and long grass you've just added (which by rights it very likely would) and you want to add the tiling grass/landscape from Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil instead:

To do that, go to the mod folder for Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil and open up the Textures directory (Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil\Textures) and copy the landscape and landscapelod folders you'll find there and then paste them into the Oblivion\Data\Textures directory. If asked to over-write any existing files, say yes.

Now you'll have the long grass of Slightly Greener Cyrodiil, the trees of Emerald Cyrodiil, and the tiling grass / landscape of Ultra Emerald Cyrodiil.

The same types of steps apply to whatever combination you want to use. And you can repeat them as many times as you want with different variations without having to uninstall / reinstall any of the main mods. These steps also apply for Slightly More Golden Trees and the Gaudy Golden Grasses.

Just be aware that when you replace/swap the long grasses, you're also over-writing any mix and match packs you might be using. Though of course you can reinstall any mix and match grasses afterwards anyhow. (If you're really streetwise you can do it without over-writing the existing packs you're using, but I'm not going to explain that one since if you know what I mean you already know how to do it and if you don't know what I mean you shouldn't be trying it anyhow :)

If you wanted to take it further, you can technically mix up the trees of all four versions to get a wider range of colours, however, that requires a solid dose of common sense and a fair bit of fiddling.

These days, while testing and taking screenshots for comparisons, I'm literally swapping things around dozens of times a day without any issues. And, once you get a handle on it, it's so quick you could literally do it without turning a hair every time you play depending on what mood you're in and what look you're chasing. I've installed one version or an element from one version, dived into the game to take a single screenshot, gotten out and swapped some more colours, gone back in for another single screenshot, and so on, fast as you please. If you have an idea what you're doing, it's quick and the colour combinations broaden even more insanely than ever before.

Again, this sort of thing is only for people who have some idea what they're doing. If the above seems completely alien to you, don't do it. If it makes sense to some degree, then feel free to try.

And, I suppose given the fact I started out without having a clue what I was doing, you can always have a go at it even if it seems to make no sense. There's only so much damage you can do and at worst if you fuck it up, just reinstall the mod and you'll be back to normal.

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COMPATIBILITY MAJOR INFO:

*A pretty good high res combination for colour and quality*

Ok, for all those who want a fairly full high res and colourful Oblivion, here's a general rundown of a good way to get it: (I'll say it again, quality AND colour. If it was a guide to full high quality I wouldn't be suggesting L&G :P )

First, install Qarl's pack. Nothing can touch his work in terms of quality.

Second, install Improved Doors and Flora:http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8298

Third, install Improved Trees and Flora: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8500

Fourth, install Improved Trees and Flora 2: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=11891

Fifth, install Lush and Gaudy Landscape and Grass and Tree Mod

Sixth, install the Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack and Higher Res Tiling Grass packs.

What the above will provide is just about all of the benefits of Qarl's amazing pack. You'll also get the quality of Mikal33's tree trunks and fungi and doors. (No one can touch him in terms of Flora and Fauna Quality.) And, what you'll get from my L&G is higher resolution shrubs and tree textures (created from Mikal33's gorgeous textures) and higher res flowering long grass and of course the recoloured Qarl tiling grass. Not to mention the bright colours of my my mod in general.

As far as I know, Qarl's pack never touched the vegetation.

Mikal33 took care of the tree bark, shrubs and fungi and flora but - again as far as I know - never actually did the tree leaves or long grass.

As yet, I haven't found a mod (and I'm not saying one doesn't exist, I'm just saying I could never dig one up) that replaces the close range tree leaf textures with higher res ones. There are some higher quality tree LODs out there for better distant trees, but from what I could see, no one got around to the actual tree textures. Therefore, L&G is - I'll tentatively say - one of the few (only?) texture replacements out there that will give you higher res trees.(If I'd actually found that someone else had released some higher res trees I would have asked permission to recolour them for this mod instead of having to convert Mikal33's shrub textures, which I was quite incompetent with.)

I'm also unsure as to who - if anyone - has done any higher res long grass. The Higher Res Mix and Match Grass Pack (while still including some Vanilla res long grass for the plain green ones and ferns) contains higher res flowering long grass. Double the res of Vanilla. Given that the long grass can be a major performance hit for some people, I can only assume that's the reason why it's rare to find higher res options for it.

I realise it will seem a bit odd to have Improved Trees and Flora on the install list when L&G has used recoloured versions of the same high quality shrubs by Mikal33, but because Improved Trees and Flora and Improved Doors and Flora contain the better quality tree bark, fungi and other miscellaneous things, it's necessary to have them - L&G never did the tree bark or fungi, etc ;)

So, between the mods mentioned above, providing you install them in the stated order (or at least with L&G and its higher res packs installed last) each mod will provide something that the other lacks and it will give you a pretty sound balance between colour and quality. Again, if we were only talking about quality and not colour, I'd cut my mod from the said list and instead be recommending a good high res landscape LOD replacement or something along those lines. Or, if you still wanted some colour but not as over-saturated as mine is, then I'd suggest using the lovely Vibrant textures found here: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=18677

As it is, for those chasing a balance of quality and colour, this combination should be quite successful.

Not even going to go into the performance issues. Anyone even vaguely familiar with Qarls textures knows what they're in for.

As to major city overhauls, I've found L&G works perfectly in combination with Better Cities, Open Cities Reborn, and all the Unique Landscapes. In fact, to my eye, they're highly complimentary to each other. (But that's purely a matter of taste.)

As mentioned before, the only rule of thumb I would adhere to when testing out L&G against other altered cities and general texture replacement mods is to make sure L&G goes over the top of them instead of vice versa. It will prevent the shit from hitting the fan.

Now why, some of you may ask, will the shit hit the fan? Because - unlike Qarl and many other texture replacement packs - L&G is not even close to Vanilla colours. Qarl and most other texture replacement packs can wear a blend of different textures because they're all the same sorts of colours as Vanilla Oblivion.

L&G sticks out like a sore thumb, therefore if you went and installed a higher res landscape LOD pack over the top of L&G, you end up with bright mossy green close range grass, and pale high res Vanilla green grass for the distant landscape.Not a good combination.

Unfortunately this makes L&G a bit fussy. However, it does NOT prevent you using it with something like Qarls or another texture replacer. You just have to do as instructed and keep L&G LAST in the installation procedure.

I realise much of the above is something that the streetwise will have figured out already. But for anyone a bit new to this, it might help clear up some compatibility questions.