Oblivion Mod:Mod Calculations
Mod Rating SystemEdit
"Size" is based on the total amount of content the mod adds. Quest mods are weighted most heavily toward quests (obviously), but other features do count too. The formula is thus: ((Time) + (Quests * 0.75) + (Side Quests * 0.5 ) + (Extras * 0.3)) / 2.
"Time" is the average time a player would take to complete it (minimum 1); quests that have a range (4-6 hours, e.g.) use the average number. Note that most mods have an "estimated" playing time, noted as, for example, "6-7 (?)". If anyone has actually played a mod and can give hard numbers, I'll update the entry.
"Quests" is number of quests in the main storyline, if it has one.
"Side Quests" is, obviously, all miscellaneous quests, optional or not.
"Extras" covers all the miscellany: NPCs, (playable) weapons/armor/spells, dungeons, houses, towns/cities, and landmasses. Each one is rated separately:
- NPCs: 1/5. Named NPCs only.
- Weapons, armor, spells, potions, books/notes: 1/10. (Books/notes are averaged together, so they balance out regardless of size.)
- Dungeons: 1 each, regardless of size (if there are only a few really huge dungeons, they'll get a larger rating, but otherwise I figure they average out).
- Houses: 1 for a small house, 2 for a medium/large house, 3 for a manor, 4 for a castle.
- Towns: 2 for a settlement (Pell's Gate, Blankenmarch), 5 for a town (Bleaker's Way), 10 for a city.
- Landmass: 20 for something the size of the Shivering Isles; other landmasses are based on this figure.
Once all the factors have been calculated, the mod is assigned a category based on the following table:
| Size | Rating |
|---|---|
| Huge | 20+ |
| Large | 11-19 |
| Medium | 4-10 |
| Small | 0-3 |
The reason for all the math is simple: It's easier to assign mods to categories. Rather than having to eyeball them and say "Well, this looks like a large quest mod", I can rate them all equally and assign them (more or less) correctly.