Oblivion Remastered makes plenty of changes to the original, but it's still Oblivion at its core, and very much feels like a game from 2006.

Nexus Mods NaiadGirl has built the NPCs Come to Life mod based on mixxa77's similar work for the original game. NPCs Come to Life aims to make Oblivion Remastered's many characters more lively by building on the Radiant AI system put into the game by Bethesda. The mod gives NPCs more active schedules almost everywhere in Cyrodiil, and will show merchants plying their trade.

NPCs Come To Life Gives Oblivion Characters More Active Schedules

Improving Bethesda's Radiant AI

The goal of NPCs Come to Life is to make Oblivion feel more natural in how Cyrodiil's citizens go about their day. As the mod description points out, there are many NPCs who don't actually do much in-game, either rarely leaving their house, or having exceptionally simple schedules. Oblivion's Radiant AI system was ambitious and even quite impressive in 2006, but the oddity of some NPCs is very noticeable in Oblivion Remastered.

The mod simply gives NPCs more to do each day, and new commands to increase verisimilitude. Per the mod description, "Smiths will now smith, Alchemists will do potion making, [and] people will visit more areas and shops." These new behaviors are also randomized so they don't become rote, giving the impression that NPCs have realistically varied destinations each day.

On top of these changes, Naiad has put their own twist on the revamped mod, incorporating a functioning mail service that operates throughout Cyrodiil and traveling soldiers to be encountered on roads. Soldiers will simply patrol throughout Cyrodiil, but the mail service lets you have items delivered to various destinations by a friendly mail-Argonian, Delivers-The-Mail.

Oblivion's NPCs Needed Some Work

A Perfect Mod

Oblivion is known for its quirks, and many of them are endearing, but the NPCs are noticeably lacking, even if Bethesda's Radiant AI system is already impressive. Radiant AI is essentially the various schedules Bethesda programmed for each character, and versions of the system were used in Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Skyrim, and Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas. Later iterations are more convincing, but as the mod description points out, various NPCs act a bit odd.

Many won't ever use furniture, for instance, unless they're eating. If you look around while playing vanilla Oblivion Remastered, you might notice that NPCs tend to walk around and talk, but when they're congregating inside, they'll often just stand around even when chairs are open. It's not game-breaking by any means, but it does give the game an uncanny feeling. NPCs Come to Life is a great mod idea for The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, building on existing systems to make the game feel more lively.

Source: NaiadGirl/Nexus Mods