SURVIVAL NEEDS MOD
Overview
SURVIVAL NEEDS is a mod that adds a complete metabolism system to Oblivion Remastered, introducing hunger and thirst mechanics that challenge players to manage their character’s sustenance on the go. Designed to enhance immersion without overwhelming complexity, this mod makes food and drink essential for survival,(Vampires are exempt from these needs), and the mod is lightweight, compatible with most other mods, and requires no OBSE.

What the Mod Does

Hunger and Thirst System:
Your character accumulates hunger and thirst over time, tracked as “Hunger” and “Thirst” levels (capped at 99). Hunger increases by 1 every 2 minutes and thirst increases by 2 every 2 minutes).

Status Effects:
As hunger and thirst worsen, your character develops disease-like conditions (e.g., “Hungry”, “Thirsty”, “Starving”) visible in the active effects menu. These conditions apply penalties to attributes (Strength, Agility, etc.), fatigue, and health, reflecting physical deterioration.
Eating and Drinking:
Consuming specific food or drink items reduces hunger (by 20) or thirst (by 15), respectively, removing penalties if levels drop below thresholds. A “Food Consumed” or “Drink Consumed” message confirms successful consumption.

Vampire Exemption:
Vampires are immune to hunger and thirst penalties ;)

Notifications:
Messages like “Im Starving” or “Im Very Thirsty” appear every 10 minutes in normal gameplay when hunger or thirst reaches critical levels, prompting action.

Compatibility:
Uses vanilla Oblivion scripting, ensuring compatibility with most mods (e.g., Realistic Leveling, Oblivion XP) and no dependency on OBSE. Penalties are applied as diseases, stacking safely with other attribute-modifying mods.

What the Mod Changes

The mod adds scripts to 28 world-placed food and drink items, making them functional for reducing hunger and thirst. These items are commonly found in homes, inns, or wilderness and are not inventory-based, ensuring seamless integration with existing gameplay.

So to ensure you can still craft potions with these items i had to do it this way.

--IF A FOOD ITEM IS IN THE WORLD AND PLAYER INTERACTS WITH IT--
CONSUMES FOOD OR DRINKS ITEM INSTANTLY.

--IF PLAYER BUYS FOOD ITEM FROM VENDOR OR FINDS IT IN A CHEST--
PLAYER CAN DROP ITEM FROM INVENTORY TO THEN INTERACT WITH IT TO CONSUME.

--

Below is the list of affected items:
Food Items (Reduces Hunger by 20)

Apple
Blackberry
Bread Loaf
Carrot
Cheese Wedge
Cheese Wheel
Corn
Grapes
Lettuce
Pear
Potato
Pumpkin
Radish
Strawberry
Sweetcake
Sweetroll
Tomato
Watermelon
Beef
Boar Meat
Crab Meat
Deer Meat
Mutton
Rat Meat
Shepherd’s Pie
Venison

Drink Items (Reduces Thirst by 15)

Ale
Mead
Beer
Wine (most types except quest or rare)

Notes:

The mod does not alter item stats, appearance, or placement, only adds consumption scripts.

Hunger and Thirst Stages and Effects

Hunger and thirst are tracked as levels (0–99), with three stages of severity that trigger disease-like status effects visible in the active effects menu (open your magic menu to view). Each stage applies penalties to attributes, fatigue, or health, which are removed when you eat or drink enough to lower your levels below the thresholds. Penalties differ slightly between normal gameplay and waiting (to reflect reduced exertion).
Hunger Stages

Hungry (Hunger Level 50–74):
Display Name: “Hungry” (in active effects menu).
Normal Gameplay Effects: -2 Strength, -10 Fatigue.
Waiting Effects: -1 Strength, -5 Fatigue.
Notifications: “Im Starving”


Very Hungry (Hunger Level 75–89):
Display Name: “Very Hungry”.
Normal Gameplay Effects: -3 Endurance, -20 Fatigue.
Waiting Effects: -3 Endurance, -10 Fatigue.
Notifications: “Im Starving”


Starving (Hunger Level 90–99):
Display Name: “Starving”.
Effects: -5 Health
Notifications: “Im Starving”



Thirst Stages

Thirsty (Thirst Level 50–74):
Display Name: “Thirsty”.
Effects: -2 Agility, -10 Fatigue .
Notifications: “Im Thirsty”


Very Thirsty (Thirst Level 75–89):
Display Name: “Very Thirsty”.
Effects: -3 Willpower, -20 Fatigue
Notifications: “Im Thirsty”


Dying of Thirst (Thirst Level 90–99):
Display Name: “Dying of Thirst”.
Effects: -5 Health
Notifications: “Im Thirsty”



Notes:

Penalties stack (e.g., at Hunger 90, you’ll have “Hungry”, “Very Hungry”, and “Starving” effects active, totaling -2 Strength, -3 Endurance, -5 Health, -30 Fatigue in normal gameplay).
Fatigue penalties require sufficient current fatigue (e.g., >10 for -10 Fatigue) to avoid over-reduction.
Vampires are immune to all penalties and notifications but can reduce hunger/thirst by consuming items.
Status effects are not curable by shrines, potions, or spells (they’re managed by eating/drinking).

How to Install

Download the Mod:
Download the Metabolism.esp file from the mod’s download page.


Place the File:
Copy Metabolism.esp to your Oblivion Data folder (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion\Data or equivalent, depending on your installation).


Enable the Mod:
Place SurvivalNeeds.esp into /Obvdata/data in your game dir
add "SurvivalNeeds.esp" to Plugin.txt (before any mods that modify food/drink items or attributes for best compatibility.)

Launch Oblivion and start a new game (recommended for first use) or load an existing save. (Has been tested and works fine but ALLWAYS BACKUP FILES JUST INCASE!)
On startup, expect “Metabolism Initialized” and “Survival Needs Successfully Installed!” messages to confirm the mod is active.


Test the Mod:
open console (~)
use command "sqv MetabolismQuest" and hit enter
you should see on "IsInitialised = 1" and the "TimeAccum" increasing every few seconds.
if so CONGRATS! the Metabolism System is fully engaged.
(post bug reports if u find any cheers:))



How to Uninstall

Remove SurvivalNeeds.esp from Obv/data and Plugin.txt


for reloaded saves u want to use again without metab

Clean Up Save (Optional but Recommended):
Load your save in Oblivion.
Open the console (~).
Type StopQuest MetabolismQuest and press Enter to remove all mod effects (hunger/thirst levels, penalties).
Save your game to create a clean save.
THEN
Remove the Files
Delete Metabolism.esp from your Oblivion Data folder and plugin.txt

Notes:
Uninstalling mid-game is safe, as the mod uses disease-based penalties that are automatically removed when the quest stops.
Avoid uninstalling during a wait or while penalties are active to prevent rare script lingering (use StopQuest to ensure cleanup).
If using other needs mods, uninstall them first to avoid conflicts.

Compatibility

Vanilla-Friendly: Requires only Oblivion.esm, no OBSE needed.

Mod Compatibility:
Compatible with mods that don’t modify the 28 listed food/drink items (e.g., texture replacers, quest mods).
Works with attribute-modifying mods (e.g., Realistic Leveling, Oblivion XP), as penalties use diseases that stack safely.
May conflict with other needs mods that script the same items or manage hunger/thirst. Disable conflicting mods or prioritize Metabolism.esp in load order.


Next Update:
additions: Sleep mechanics, status display hotkey.

Feedback welcome to improve balance or compatibility!