Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

[Roland]

All this mention of slow mana regeneration leaves me confused. With my Imperial ranger I'm playing at the moment, it regenerates fast enough to throw a few Heal Minor casts every two minutes or so. Certainly not an hour as previously mentioned.

And the Breton healer I started out with— the mana regen was blazingly fast. Full charge in about a minute.
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I know I certainly never said it took an hour to refill. I said two minutes, max.

[Roland]

I dare you to find the assassin in all that clumsy light mithril armor.
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Mithril is Light Armor, along with Chainmail, Elven, etc. Glass is still in there, thankfully. :D

[ima_nerd]

I know I certainly never said it took an hour to refill. I said two minutes, max.

I'm pretty sure he was referring to me stating one hour of waiting fills your bars.

I started a new character but quickly abandoned him in favor of my original, now infected Assassin-like-character. I'm working my way through the Vampire cure quest and it seems to be going well. A plus is the fact that not only will I be cured, I'll be immune to Hemophilia (the disease that gradually morphs you into a Vampire) from now on :D

edit: clarification and spelling

[Drasca]

I'd just like to say I was wrong about Oblivion and Multithreading/Dual cores.

According to this article on tweak guides on Oblivion, and having seen the ini settings myself about increasing threads, Oblivion does indeed support and benefit from dual core... assuming you enable all those multi/hyper threading options on.

Angel, do tell us the results of your machine's uber power ;)

[[wcip]Angel]

I will. :) I've ordered my parts, and they should be here by the end of april methinks.

The only downside to my upgrade is that I couldn't buy a motherboard that supported 2 graphics cards to be run simultaneously. My old hard drives don't support the newer motherboards. I guess the next time I upgrade my PC, I'll need to buy a new motherboard, an extra graphics card *and* a bunch of hard drives. Could be an expensive upgrade seeing as I'm currently using about 500GB of storage..

[Luminon]

Okay.  :unsure:

Can I get that by pressing X+A, tapping the right bumper three times and wiggling the left stick counter-clockwise while reciting the Mak'tar Chant of Strength?
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That would be the BACK button. :P

[Drasca]

Angel,Apr 5 2006, 03:35 AM]The only downside to my upgrade is that I couldn't buy a motherboard that supported 2 graphics cards to be run simultaneously. [right][snapback]106260[/snapback][/right]

Supposedly Oblivion isn't that perfect at simultaneous GPU usage. Not that large of an issue anyways, since Oblivion is as much CPU intensive as GPU, and newer GPU's tend to have more 'shiny things' in addition to being more powerful than previous gen GPU SLI.

Could be an expensive upgrade seeing as I'm currently using about 500GB of storage..

DVD burners and discs are cheap over here. Have you ever considering archiving to disk?

[[wcip]Angel]

I have a DVD-burner. I suppose I could burn certain files onto DVDs for storage, but .. uhh (not wanting to offend the rules of the LL here, I'll vague this up nice and good) .. I need a certain number of gigabytes of stuff in order to get into certain places. :)

[Armin]

What are some of your guys' thoughts? Is it living up to the hype surrounding it, your preconceptions/expectations? I know it has for me so far since I have loved the series.
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Bringing this up from the dead, here is one pretty dead-on-the-spot review:

http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=129

Frankly, Oblivion is nothing but "Morrowind Light" with shinier graphics. Once you get over the admittedly incredibly stunning looks, there's really not much substance behind it. All the fears of them "dumbing down" Morrowind for the console crowd were, sadly, 100% justified.

Apart from the graphics, everything else is worse than it was in Morrowind (and Morrowind certainly was improvable).
- The interface is a disaster, ported from the XBox 360 to PC the cheapest possible way
- the RPG system is stripped to almost nothingness (only 2 armor and 2 weapon types left, alchemy and enchanting skills basically removed, character customization nerfed, unnerving minigames instead of persuasion and lockpick skills etc.)
- the scaling world is the most fake, ridiculous and hokey thing I've seen in a long time.

I've finished it, and I admit, Oblivion is still entertaining and quite addictive, but it's a mile away from the hype and then some.

Personally, I'm looking forward to Gothic III ;)

[roguebanshee]

Personally, I'm looking forward to Gothic III  ;)
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Personally, I felt Gothic II was more of a console action game than Oblivion can ever become.

I like Oblivion for what it is, but then again I never saw or listened to any of the hype around it. Instead I waited for the first few comments on it after release: "Morrowind, only changed somewhat".

[kandrathe]

It is a lot lighter on the quest side as well. In MW you could explore and find an interesting out of the way island or shipwreck. I've been running around Cyrodil alot and found very few interesting out of the way places, but not the cool rewards for doing it. Luckily I'm on the PC, so I will have to wait for Mods to add interesting additional content.

Alchemy is little changed, except the way to exploit it by jacking your intelligence to 10000 to create godly potions. Enchanting and spell making require you to progress to the Arcane University, but again, they have limited which spell effects can be attached to a weapon and which can be applied to clothing/armor. I see this as part simplification, yes, but also to prevent the exploiting that is so easy in MW.

I dislike the buying/selling interface the most. It takes far too long to unload items. I used to enjoy arranging my trophy items in my house, but I find the control on placing items also a little frustrating. Also, there is not enough friction on some surfaces so items I set on a table or shelf shift over time.

The combat system is an improvement over MW.

[Drasca]

Frankly, Oblivion is nothing but "Morrowind Light" with shinier graphics. Once you get over the admittedly incredibly stunning looks, there's really not much substance behind it. All the fears of them "dumbing down" Morrowind for the console crowd were, sadly, 100% justified.[right][snapback]108064[/snapback][/right]

Untrue, but personally, I stay away from hype machines, because they're just a side amusement at best.

Radiant AI has a lot of possibilities, and while Morrowind had some great moments, it had a LOT of emptiness as well. Don't have too many roses for MW, in many ways it was a 'dumbed down' version of Daggerfall. Language skills anyone? Dragonese in a game with NO dragons? MW had scaled enemies as well. People got confused about the quests, you had to run everywhere. The companions... had issues. The NPCs were dumber than anything possible and opened themselves up to all sorts of exploits. etc etc etc.

Combat, AI, Balance, lots of stories, a lot of ambience through rumours and NPCs talking about what you've done in watercooler talk.

it's a mile away from the hype and then some.

Oh, what does this tell you about listening to hype? HMM!??!??! HMM?!?!?!? I didn't even know Gothic 3 was in development, but it seems like you're quite aware of its details. I suggest you don't spoil your game with hype and judge it for what it'll really be when it comes out.

Apart from the graphics, everything else is worse than it was in Morrowind (and Morrowind certainly was improvable).

Definitely an imaginary MW you're talking about. Note some fo the things I've listed above.

the scaling world is the most fake, ridiculous and hokey thing I've seen in a long time.

Did you even play MW? It had some level scaled mobs as well, and they were ridiculously easy for anyone above... level 2. No, 1. All right, for casual gamers, anyone over 20-30 would have an absurdly easy time.

I could argue the details more, but this point is above all:

I've finished it, and I admit, Oblivion is still entertaining and quite addictive

In spite of all those accusations, I had an insane amount of fun over a long period of time. I'm having a lot of fun with Oblivion as well, and you do too. A game isn't great for its flaws, the flaws don't matter when the fun is there, and the fun is here for both me and you.

[Rhydderch Hael]

At another forum I attend, a fellow player (disparagably, from a role-playing viewpoint) described Oblivion as Diablo III.

Trekking through the actual planes of Oblivion within the game, it does feel like a 3-D treatment of Diablo. Location and atmosphere. Twisted, dark, and deadly.

Then the city of Bruma has a Harrogath feel to it, and Cloud Ruler Temple does have the guise of the Arreat Summit.

Aside from that, the clannfears (a form of daedric animal) look like the Zerglings from Starcraft cinematics, and the Dreughs that show up in the land of Cyrodiil look alot like Lurkers.

[kandrathe]

...
the scaling world is the most fake, ridiculous and hokey thing I've seen in a long time.
...
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It's certainly hokey and ridiculous when I go into the console and make everyone in the Arcane University = SetScale .1

:D

[Zippyy]

Apart from the graphics, everything else is worse than it was in Morrowind (and Morrowind certainly was improvable).
- The interface is a disaster, ported from the XBox 360 to PC the cheapest possible way
- the RPG system is stripped to almost nothingness (only 2 armor and 2 weapon types left, alchemy and enchanting skills basically removed, character customization nerfed, unnerving minigames instead of persuasion and lockpick skills etc.)
- the scaling world is the most fake, ridiculous and hokey thing I've seen in a long time.
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There are plenty of great mods that fix the scaling issue. Sadly, not an option for the 360 crowd, but I don't have much sympathy for console players. I'm just biased. ;-)

Aside from your comment about alchemy, which I felt was vastly improved over Morrowind, you're dead-on. Sure, the world might be bigger is square mileage than Morrowind, but it's practically empty. The quests that are there are generally very well written and fun, but there are simply not that many. I could play Morrowind for five years and never discover every quest. This is a result of the voicing, though. They couldn't possible have as much content with voice as they could with text.

It wasn't worth it. Here it is, a month after release, and I'm already feeling like I've exhausted the game. Morrowind kept me going for much, much longer.

[kandrathe]

...
It wasn't worth it.  Here it is, a month after release, and I'm already feeling like I've exhausted the game.  Morrowind kept me going for much, much longer.
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Although... It is extremely extensible. Have you found the quest "A Brush with Death"? I was blown away by that one and it's implications for possible mods.

[[wcip]Angel]

Is that the one where you travel into the painting? I remember praising the developers for that one. Great quest!! :)

Oh and by the way, If you think there's not much to do in Oblivion...
http://random-m.com/images/837013280_OblivionMapWIP.jpg

[Drasca]

Oh and by the way, If you think there's not much to do in Oblivion...
http://random-m.com/images/837013280_OblivionMapWIP.jpg
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Exactly! You know, unlike some others, I remember comments like these:

http://www.machall.com/morrowind/page8.html

Morrowind modding suffers from a SEVERE lack of support, organization, and information. Without these three elements, it will NEVER be the Golden Egg that it can be. Hence why NWN will forever trump it

The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind is in residence on my HD, but I can't seem to get into it.

Morrowind. Morrowind was a stinker because of its inability to really define which way the story is going. Some people like that, but I hate it

Morrowind was huge - too huge - and I didn't ever really get into it. Way too open ended. I would have a quest to do, but didn't really know how to get going on it.

I also have to say this about Morrowind players. The people who like Morrowind REALLY REALLY like Morrowind. Everyone else (like me) hates it.

I think that Morrowind was ambitious, just boring. I don't hate the people who play it, and I DO understand why some people like it. It's just a matter of personal preference.

I could never really get into Morrowind. Then again, I tend to look at non-DnD-based CRPGs with a certain kind of disdain.

On a completely unrelated note: stay the hell away from Morrowind. It's the most addictive game I've played since D2

Same person. I'll leave out who, since you might know who you are.

I've owned Morrowind plus the Bloodmoon and Tribunal expansions for awhile, but I've never really gotten into the game. I keep meaning to give it a serious chance, but I always seem to get turned off by the overly-long and complicated beginning.

Just taken from the lounge search on Morrowind. Some people just have too much a rosy eye for MW, and daggerfall. There were some matters of opinion but the rest of us had fun. The same applies for OB.

Leveling/Scaling? Complete whinge, especially when there are a million do-it yourself leveling mods. It is an easily fixable matter of opinion. Some of us don't like having every enemy be boringly easy. If I'm a demigod, I still want quasi-god enemies worthy of some challenge. D2 had scaling too, and every other game up to a point defined by geography. As you level up, you go to higher level zones for higher stat monsters and loot. OB does this more dynamically.

Streamlining weapon skills? Sometimes it doesn't make 'realistic' sense in that an axe is not a hammer, but gameplay wise, do you really need a different skill for every weapon? Realistically, claymores and shortswords aren't even in the same ballpark of weapon styles. Neither's a rapier. This is also an unrealistic whine.

AI: It has improved, and generations better than before. As someone who's actually participated in the MW modding for these past 3 years, I've seen all the incremental steps forward, and OB AI is the realization of almost all that. If OB's AI had the equivalent of HAL 2000 from space oddyssey, or master controller from Tron, I'd be worried for my life. No AI is perfect, but I definitely appreciate when two NPCs start talking rumours about me and the results of the quests and encounters I've done. "Did you hear about Drasca and the goblin mine? I hear no one was killed, a swordsman was killed, etc"?

The people that say MW was uber, and OB is teh suck, don't really realize the flaws of MW, nor seem to have discovered.

It wasn't worth it. Here it is, a month after release, and I'm already feeling like I've exhausted the game. Morrowind kept me going for much, much longer.

I've sunk 140+ hours into this game. I know some people over the 200-300 hr mark. Definitely worth it for us. What's the typical game span for an RPG? 20-50 hrs? Yeah...

I could play Morrowind for five years and never discover every quest

You grossly overestimate MW's quest total. As someone who as done every quest, it is doable within two months.

If you want something mind boggling long, go try the free Arena download, or look up a copy of Daggerfall.

Point is, there were a lot of MW detractors too, and those unable to get MW working right (Nitefox). The rest of us found it immensely fun. Those that have a rig able to play OB, and do have it, have enjoyed it. Those that don't have a rig yet, I presume you'll be able to enjoy it eventually. Those that have a rig, like big RPGs, and don't have OB... what are you waiting for?

[[wcip]Angel]

Ohh ohh! I know this one!

*reaches hand enthusiastically in air*

Ask me, ask me!!

It's "The inaccuracies of nostalgia."

*smiles proudly to the other pupils* :)

(Thank you Merriman for that memorable phrase.)

[kandrathe]

...
AI: It has improved, and generations better than before. As someone who's actually participated in the MW modding for these past 3 years, I've seen all the incremental steps forward, and OB AI is the realization of almost all that. If OB's AI had the equivalent of HAL 2000 from space oddyssey, or master controller from Tron, I'd be worried for my life. No AI is perfect, but I definitely appreciate when two NPCs start talking rumours about me and the results of the quests and encounters I've done. "Did you hear about Drasca and the goblin mine? I hear no one was killed, a swordsman was killed, etc"?
...
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I appreciate the way that pacifists go run and get a guard to come kill me. Or, even when some NPC picks a fight with me, and when they start losing, then run and stand by a guard who does nothing since I'm not the initiator of the conflict.