Nevertheless, it should be obvious TES games are important to me in that old Daggerfall kind of opened the gates for gaming for me. I really, really got into it, and I would still play it if I could figure out how to with a newer computer. Oddly enough, while I liked aspects of Morrowind the game its self didn't appeal to me until I found the wonder of mods. Mods are what ultimately really hooked me to Morrowind for a time being. Actually I do still play Morrowind from time to time. But it must be modded to an extent. I remember how mindblowing it was for me the first time I played Quarl's Underground mod. I loved it! For me the mods in Morrowind were 100X better than the actual content Betheseda provided. Grant you I always ran into road bumps installing certain mods, or getting the game to work right with mods. This lead to me kind of learning as I went along and becoming a little familiar with just how mods work. I'm still no expert but playing Morrowind modded did help a lot in terms of learning how to install certain things, and even a few bare basics regarding the construction set.
So yes, I've been a long time TES fan for like 11 years. When Oblivion came out, of course I purchased it, actually I reserved the collectors edition before it came out at a local Gamespot. So I started playing Oblivion when I got my hands on it. There was a lot I liked about Oblivion a real lot until I started to get the feel once I do everything, there will be nothing. This quickly became apparent with the gameplay. Not to mention in terms of size geographically it was much smaller than Morrowind and it's expansions, and compared to Daggerfall it was no more than a major city. I didn't let this dissuade me though, and played a bit. I cannot really compare any one TES game, as they all do have different feels, but something about Oblivion started to worry me. I think it was that fact that it became so quickly apparent that once it was done, it was done. So I kind of avoided the main quest, and played around with different characters exploring. Then low and behold the mods started coming in for Oblivion, and of course I was quite happy. They soon quickly overflowed, which lead to me I guess becoming a bit of a mod addict, in the sense that I just needed to try everything! It took me over a year before I actually played the main quest.
I did come to find there was a lot I really liked about Oblivion, but there were a few things I didn't like. What I really love about the TES modding community is they tend to rectify that. It's like they understand what you don't like and just add content to fix that. Basically I've been playing Oblivion on and off for a long time now. I don't think I would play the way I do without mods. It's the mods that always keep me coming back. Also with Oblivion, which is nice is it seems to be a little more mod friendly than Morrowind. But again I'm not going to compare Morrowind to Oblivion, or even Daggerfall for that matter. Every TES game has a different feel to it, but has this immersive quality that makes you enjoy playing. I mean okay, maybe when I think about this Daggerfall was the most addictive out of the three. Probably because it was just so huge, and created the illusion of being able to do anything. That's the thing about TES games they're all really good at creating an illusion that just sucks your right in. Nevertheless with both Morrowind and Oblivion, mods always kept me coming back for more.
So yes mods really for me make my gaming experience much more fun, and immersive. It always gives me something to do, where as if I played the vanilla game I would probably get bored after one play through. For that I thank anyone who's ever taken the time to add to the game, and improve it. I really do hold a lot of respect for modders, it's not an easy job by a long shot. I mean I do tiny tweaks with the CS and it can take me several hours. I can't imagine how long, and how much effort must go into really large and extensive mods. This occurred to me recently. I've always been kind of a quiet lurker type. But I was toying with the CS and realized just minor tweaks I was making took me like 3 hours. Tiny little minor tweaks! After that I felt I should finally come out and just speak up about how much I appreciate what so many people are doing. They ask nothing in return, yet they add to my gaming experience. Turning a game like a Oblivion from a one shot wonder into me coming back every few months and playing it again! On top of that I don't mind helping people out who are having difficulty installing mods. If I am familiar with a mod, I don't mind helping someone when I have the chance. I was there myself at one point, albeit quiet figuring it out myself with Morrowind.
So yes I've finally come out of lurking, mostly to express my appreciation, and help others. Then again from time to time I don't mind to state what I think about TES games and mods for them in random forum posts. Anyway, thank you modders, and thank you Nexus for making them so easily available.
Oh I am so downloading this when it comes out! Just hope is doesn't conflict with anything! >,< I obviously run loads of mods. 