Oblivion

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--------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION --------------------------------------------- Simply run ImmersiveInterface103.exe and answer the Design Assistant\'s questions. ---------------------------------------------- UNINSTALLATION ---------------------------------------------- Run the II_Uninstaller.exe found in

Permissions and credits
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INSTALLATION
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Simply run ImmersiveInterface103.exe and answer the Design Assistant's questions.


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UNINSTALLATION
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Run the II_Uninstaller.exe found in your OblivionData directory and choose whether to remove II completely or restore an old config.


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INTRODUCTION
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Immersive Interface changes the appearance of the main heads-up display to make it smaller, simpler, and less intrusive. Unlike many interface mods which add custom graphics or a "new look" to the default Oblivion HUD, Immersive Interface was written with the feeling that for players looking for "maximum immersion", a much subtler and more minimal on-screen interface would make the game more immersive without sacrificing the clarity and availability of important game information. It thus attempts to free up screen space so that more of the world is visible, and to take artificial game information slightly outside the player's main field of visual focus. The hope is that this information will still be easy to find at a glance, but will virtually disappear when the player is not looking for it.


Immersive Interface also recognizes that what makes the ideal HUD is often a matter of individual preference. With the 1.0 release, II introduces a wealth of configuration options through the new Immersive Interface Design Assistant, an extremely simple installation tool that allows you a great deal of freedom to design your own HUD. Select a layout, arrange your HUD elements, even turn any aspect of the HUD off with the knowledge that II will automatically arrange elements to eliminate gaps... Best of all, the Design Assistant will automatically maintain backups of your original configuration and your most recent II configuration, so you're free to experiment without worrying about losing an old setup, and without copying and replacing files.


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THE INTERFACE
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No matter which configuration possibilities you choose--unless you turn the entire HUD off, which is also an option!--the design philosophy of Immersive Interface includes a number of consistent elements, each intendedto keep the HUD out of the way of the game world.

* A small profile: The weapon and spell icons are reduced to half size. The compass is widened, so more directions are visible at once, but dramatically reduced in height. The status bars are also much smaller, and can be set to auto-hide. The spell effect icons are also half-sized, and include graphical timers that replace their default scale.

* Less intrusive positioning: The entire HUD is moved out of the middle of the screen and arranged along the bottom edge, where it covers up as little of the game world as possible without being hard to read.

* A new crosshair: Immersive Interface resizes the crosshair to make it less overbearing without impeding your accuracy with ranged weapons. (The crosshair has been tested and aims to exactly the same location as the default.) II also gives you a smaller sneak icon and choices about where to put it. As of the 1.0 release, II also gives you new choices with respect to the "activate icons" that appear when the crosshair hovers over a chest, a door, a bed, etc. You can use normal-sized large icons, use new half-sized icons that fit perfectly into the center of the sneak icon, or--most immersively of all--turn the activate icons off completely. If you choose the last option, instead of displaying the "red hand" icon, the crosshair itself will subtly turn red to warn you when an action is illegal.

* Compatibility: Immersive Interface is designed to work with as many other interface mods as possible. Thus it takes steps not to overlap or crowd areas of the screen reserved for other aspects of the interface (such as the status updates and the text for item info and NPC names) and when a configuration option does present a possible conflict, it will be clearly marked in the Design Assistant. Additionally II does not depend on using a particular font: it will look its best with DarN's excellent font pack, but will work fine with the default fonts as well.


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THE DESIGN ASSISTANT
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When you run the Immersive Interface installer for the first time, you will be taken to the Design Assistant, the simple wizard-based installation tool that allows you to customize your own version of Immersive Interface. Some of the options you will find include:


* Bright Mode or Faded Mode: The Immersive Interface HUD can appear bright and solid, or faded and slightly translucent. The faded version is considerably less obtrusive and easier to forget about, but some players may feel that the bright version strikes the best compromise between immersion and accessibility. One additional feature of II in Faded Mode is that when your health reaches a critical threshold, the normally dim and translucent HUD will flash bright and solid, giving you a visual cue that your life is in serious danger.

* On-Screen Orientation: Immersive Interface gives you three choices for the basic spatial orientation of the HUD. With the Center template, the HUD will be centered on the bottom edge of the screen, with the compass needle at the exact midpoint. With the Left template, the HUD will be offset to the left side of the screen. The Center Compass template combines these two options, putting the compass in the center of the screen and moving the rest of the HUD to the lower left-hand corner.

* Specific Arrangement of Elements: In the Center and Center Compass templates, you can choose whether to have the status bars on the left and the icons on the right, or vice versa. In the Left template, you can choose the order in which you want the three main HUD elements (the status bars, the compass, and the weapon and spell icons) to appear.

* Turn Elements Off: You can turn off any element of the HUD, from the individual health, magicka and fatigue bars to the entire compass. Subsequent options also give you the choice of whether to see the durability bar (if the weapon icon is selected), the levelup icon, the place-name alerts, etc. Feel free to experiment with different setups to see what works best for your play-style. The Design Assistant will automatically reposition the elements you DON'T turn off to eliminate unsightly gaps...so if you have the compass positioned between the status bars and the weapon icon and then choose to turn off the compass, II will automatically move the status bars and weapon icon together to create a more efficient, compact, and readable HUD.

* Auto-Hide the Status Bars: You can choose to see the status bars at all times, or to have them "auto-hide". When set to auto-hide, the status bars will disappear when they are full, but will reappear whenever you take damage or lose magicka, or when your fatigue drops below 60%.

* Position the Spell Icons: You can choose whether to put the spell icons in the lower right corner, where they will be more out-of-the-way and closer to the rest of the HUD, or in the upper right corner, where they will not conflict with the default information text. The first choice is recommended for people using mods (such as DarN's config) that move the information text, and the second, obviously, for people who would rather use the default.


There are more options available, and all choices are clearly explained in the Design Assistant. Going through the entire Design Assistant routine should only take 2-3 minutes, but the possible configurations number in the thousands...so feel free to run the Design Assistant as often as you want to find the configuration you like best.


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BACKUPS AND RESTORING OLD CONFIGS
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You don't need to back up any files when you install Immersive Interface. II takes care of backups automatically.

The first time you run the Design Assistant, it will create a backup of your existing HUD configuration. Each time you run it thereafter, it will create a backup of the Immersive Interface configuration that is being replaced. The backup of your original configuration is permanent, but the backup of your last II configuration is "floating", meaning it is overwritten with a new backup each time you run the Design Assistant. In other words, only the most recent II config is stored.

When you run the Restore/Uninstall Tool found in your OblivionData directory (II_Uninstaller.exe), you will have the option to restore your original HUD configuration (the one you had before you installed II for the first time), to restore your most recent Immersive Interface configuration, or to remove Immersive Interface completely. Note that choosing the first two options will preserve your backups folder intact (II_Backups in the datamenus directory), but the choice to remove II completely will delete your backups folder as well.

Note that when you use the Restore/Uninstall tool to switch back to your most recent II config, your CURRENT config will be pushed into the "most recent II config" slot. In other words, if you replace Config X with Config Y, then Config Y is your current config, and Config X is your most recent II config. If you then use the Restore tool with the "most recent II config" option selected, Config X will become your current config, and Config Y will be moved into the "most recent II" backup slot. This functionality makes it possible to switch back and forth quickly between two configs, if, for instance, you are trying to decide between them.

Please note that this functionality does not extend to the option to restore your original, pre-Immersive Interface config. If you select this option, your original config will simply be written over your current one.


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COMPATIBILITY
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Immersive Interface is completely compatible with all mods except those that change the same things it changes: the main heads-up display and the crosshair/sneak icon.

In other words, II is compatible with *all* mods that add quests, weapons, houses, visual improvements, etc. to the game world. II does not alter the game world at all.

II is compatible with *all* interface mods that change the map, inventory, and all other menu screens. II only affects the interface you see when you're running around in the world, not what you see when you enter the map/menu screen.

The only mods with which II is not compatible are mods that change the main heads-up display (status bars, weapon and spell icons, compass, etc.) or the crosshair/sneak icon. These mods use config files with the same names as those used by Immersive Interface, and will thus overwrite II (if they are installed on top of it) or be overwritten by II (if it is installed on top of them; however, as previously noted, II will create a backup of the other config files in this situation).

If you are using an interface package such as BTMod or DarN's configs, Immersive Interface will simply replace the HUD and crosshair aspects of those configs, and will work perfectly with the rest.

Also note that Immersive Interface does not require any other mods to function correctly. If for some reason you don't want to use BTMod or any other UI customizations, you can still use Immersive Interface.

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CHANGELOG
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v. 1.03

Fixed a bug with the shadow of the text counter appearing behind the graphical counter of the spell effect icons.

Changes to status bars that are turned off will no longer bring the other status bars out of auto-hiding.

The arrow count display will no longer show up when the weapon icon is turned off.

Improved the positioning of the arrow count display when large fonts are used.

Fixed a bug with the location of the sneak icon in some left-oriented configs.


v. 1.02

Fixed the Center template to work properly at all resolutions.

Considerably improved code that handles hiding of HUD elements.

Added an option to use either Graphical or Text timers with the spell effect icons.

Added an option to use Large or Small fonts with the arrow count display.


v. 1.01

Fixed the Center Compass template to work properly at all resolutions.

Fixed a bug with status bars not autohiding properly in some left-oriented configs.

Fixed the position of the spell effect icons.


v. 1.0

Introduced the Immersive Interface Design Assistant, a simple wizard-based installer which vastly extends customization options for the HUD.

Added two new crosshair options: one which uses smaller activate icons, and one which removes the activate icons completely.

Added an automated backup/restore utility and an uninstaller with the ability to restore old configs.


v. 0.79

Added a new mesh for the spell effect timer to allow a smaller version of the default.
Replaced the old text timer with this new graphical one.


v. 0.75

Moved the spell effect icons to prevent conflicts with the default information text.


v. 0.7

Fixed the issue with the levelup icon appearing inside the compass in the "faded" versions.

Added an option to put the sneak icon on the bottom of the screen.


v. 0.6

Original release.