Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion

[Duke Togo]

Ok, someone convince me to keep playing, I'm just not getting into this game.

[1/1 LowViz Lurker]

"Finish the main quest first" should be the advice to people who hate free form rpgs.

One of the great things about ES was that it allows a player to play to the style they liked.

One of the downfalls of too much freedom is lack of balance. For example people finding exploits like levitation in daggerfall and then going into horse mode (to exploit the speed of the horse) and flying around at high speed on the flying horse.

But it is a brave attempt by bethesda to at least try to make a game that allows you to play how you want and act how you want in a non-scripted way. (that is the order you do something, the direction you travel, the people you choose to be friends with, the faction you help, etc should be left to the player to experience something different each time and know "how it feels" to be in the shoes of the person they created) Not enough game developers realise that what players want is the feeling of a dynamic world where things are out of thier control and thier character is insignificant part of the world, not the centre of the universe itself until they do something at the end that makes them the hero.

The freeform rpg is the one where the focus is on giving the player the freedom to be the insignificant nameless soldier, the thief, the murderer, the politician etc but giving them the choice on HOW to achieve the goal (main quest) how they see fit. I suppose that is the main draw of the game. Dungeoun crawling has more meaning, insulting or burning bridges has more consequences, and sneaking and stealing is neither good nor evil. (you may need to loot a rival faction to continue with the story or path you have chosen all for the sake of the main quest which is helping the emperor, your friend)

When all these things vary, it adds a sense of you being part of the world and enhances replayability. For those who want a more straightforward experience I would advise to stay away from epic freeform rpgs, because what often happens is you forget what you were last doing and end up not feeling motivated to continue in the game. (this has happened to friends who played this)

For good writing, or an engaging story see games like Legacy of Kain, (one of my favourites) or play games like Metal Gear Solid or Resident Evil or even Diablo. These are the kinds of games you will like becasue they are not so much to do with proper 'role playing' as they are letting the director of the show/movie/game build you up for a climax through the gameplay, exploration, and character dialogue so that you have an attachment to the characters and want to see what happens next, which is the hook that gets you to keep playing. (although I hated it in games like Metal Gear Solid 2 where it feels intrusive to progress, I can see people who apreciate the character development going for it)

But those type of games to me although polished, suffer in later replays. With the only incentive to replay being things like unlocking a new mode, accessing a gallery, finding some hidden item in the environment for the sake of extending the total hours you play rather than being long or replayable and deep enough to not put it on the shelf collecting dust after completion. Sandbox style games like Dues Ex, Half Life, Elder Scrolls, and to a lesser extent; GTA, beyond being some gimmick or fad, are crucual to keep me interested in gaming.

I'm one of the jaded gamers that complains that gaming isn't immersive enough in other areas besides graphics, (which is usually the focus in the industry) and that there needs to be "simulation"-style consequences for your crap or good choices that you make in the game for long term effect. I always cheer when companies take the brave move to do something different for once, like when Shen Mue first came out, and it got average reviews from some sites, but how I could still enjoy it for 'immersive' reasons and could overlook the weaknesses and see what it was trying to attempt. (allowing you the feeling of being in a living environment with npcs going about doing things like going to work at a specific time, having them come home at a specific time, being in a certain place at a specific time etc and generally letting the player see this as if they had lives of thier own)

Edited March 27, 2006 by 1/1 LowViz Lurker

[JsARCLIGHT]

Ok, someone convince me to keep playing, I'm just not getting into this game.

384411[/snapback]

I use "travel quests" to force me to move between towns. Once on a travel quest I don't take the roads, I plow right through the countryside... which usually turns up oodles of caves, ruins, old forts, you name it. I charge in and loot those places then sell off what I don't want in the new town I show up in. Then I meander around and see what sort of "town quests" there are. Usually the town quests are short and keep you within the curtain of the town. I've also found that completing the town quests in good number raises your fame level pretty quick.

All I've done of the main story is just give the amulet to Jauffrey but I've managed to join both legit guilds (fighter and mage) and get two recommendations from mages to get into the magic school at the capital, solve the crime of the stolen painting in Chorrol, help defend what's his name's farm, spy on people in Skingrad for the nutjob, and several other weird jobs... and in between more cave diving and ruin looting that I can remember.

I really like how almost all of the side quests can have multiple outcomes, if not double outcomes in some cases. For instance, the head of the Chorrol mage's guild wanted me to oust a woman he did not like... I go to bust her chops and the angry hag wants me to go get her a special book. I tell the mage guild head about this and he wanted me to get HIM the book instead. So I go get the book, on the way back I stumble into super ogre cave (see my post above), barely escape with my teeth in my head and take the book to the mage guild head. I then go to rub the hag's face in it and she hires me to steal the book back for her... so what do I do? Swipe the book back and give it to her which she then translates and sends me back up the mountain to perform some special trick on the spot I got the book that is supposed to supercharge my magic... I have not done that part yet because it requires a lightening bolt spell which I don't posess... so it's off to another town to get that spell.

This game just sucks me in and I find it so addicting... sadly I think that if the same is not happening for others playing the game then perhaps it is just not for them. I would ask though... what is not "doing it for you"? Is the combat too repetative? Are the quests just not quite what you want to do? Is there just something missing from the game that is keeping the enjoyment level down?

[Oihan]

I've been reading that people with GeForce FX cards pretty much can't play the game at all, despite the website saying that the FX cards will work with the game. Has anyone experienced this with the FX series? I have a 128 MB DDR GeForce FX 5200 card and I'm wondering if I'll be able to play this game at all.

[Zentrandude]

K im having way too much fun with the physics system. Some of the traps is realy cool like one ruin northeast of anvil has a wall of spikes that move down a catwalk when your on it.

My only gripe is bodies don't get cut in half if you like close a gate instead it gets stuck where the door presses into the wall like in this screenshot I took. Its bit cool having a headless zombie hanging down from its hand, also if you noticed theres another one in the corner.

edit: made it brighter so its easier to see.

Edited March 27, 2006 by Zentrandude

[Duke Togo]

I love the free form system. I just hate the scaled leveling. It really ruins it for me.

[Zentrandude]

If you do get it for the pc make sure you get the UI mod. The standard UI is too small but the mod enlarges it so its eaisier to see.

[Akilae]

If you do get it for the pc make sure you get the UI mod.  The standard UI is too small but the mod enlarges it so its eaisier to see.

384922[/snapback]

That's funny, most posts I see on the oblivion boards are asking for mods to shrink the UI down from its "fisher price" sizing...

For those who can't stand the level scaling, there are quite a few promising mods that are aggressively fixing the problem:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.p...howtopic=307791

Right now I'm using the one by Iyachtu, which seems to be the least drastic of mods.

[Guppy]

well I'm loving it.. especially love how they made the trolls sound like Bruce Lee!

Although just now I'm getting some freezes when I get into combat. Freezes for about 8 secs then returns to normal only to freeze again.

My problem with the freeform is I love it too much. It takes me ages to finish a quest cos I keep getting sidetracked by other stuff like caves and towns etc. I just found this weird little village called Hackdirt.. they seem to have a nasty little secret, they keep telling me to get lost. Fun!

[Southpaw Samurai]

Well, after many hours of changing characters and then getting sidetracked like Guppy into visiting everything I come across, I actually came back to the main quest a bit and closed my first Oblivion gate (would say 'spoiler', but just about every preview, trailer, or what not has either hinted at something like them or outright talked about them). On a role-playing end, it actually worked out. My character didn't really care much about the emperor's wishes until he accidentally came upon that first gate, realized the impact, then decided maybe it WAS in his best interest to bring the amulet to Jauffre.

Surprisingly, for getting his butt handed to him every which way to sunday by trolls and other relatively ordinary baddies, my Dunmer jack-of-too-many-trades actually kicked some butt in Oblivion...his natural resistance to fire turned half the scary things there into wusses...I was more afraid of Clannfears than almost anything (at least, in one-on-one situations).

I do have to thank the many trolls who ambushed and pummelled my guy along the way. Surviving those encounters really taught me how to effectively block and counter.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I've all but abandonded the main quest at this point. But I have been making some big strides on the sidequests. Has anyone else become a Brother in the Order of the Virtuous Blood? That was a pretty neat quest.

I've also continued to level up to around 11 now and have a half and half suit of Orcish heavy armor and Dwarven heavy armor. My Heavy Armor, Blade and Block skills have finally passed Journeyman level and I'm near lethal in combat now. I can put down those punk Trolls, Fire Elementals, heavily armed bandits and vampires with ease now.

I suppose I should be getting back to the main quest at some point... oh well!

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

Scaled levelling?

So if I stumble onto a cave with badass ogre while having str 10 and wielding longsword +1 and I get my ass mauled. I go spend 2 hours getting str 15 and a flaming longsword +3, go back to cave and will find that the game automatically made the ogre tougher?

I hate that! Reminds me of the 'catch up' feature in the arcade racers. BAH!

[JsARCLIGHT]

As far as I've encountered the critters all stay the same, just you encounter new, more deadly critters or just more of them. Such as, at the beginning all you bump into are wolves and the occasional imp... but as you get stronger out come the elementals, the trolls, the ogres and the nasties like clanfears and daedra. When it comes to "armed opponents" it's somewhat more complex. At low levels you encounter just plain Goblins with cheap weapons, as you get more powerful you encounter Goblin Berserkers and Skirmishers with more advanced weapons. Same goes for bandits and other humans... early on they carry crap equipment and suck just like you but as you level up they get better and carry top shelf gear just like you... and sometimes they have that good gear before you so you can loot yourself some nice stuff from beating them.

I myself enjoy the way the game ramps up with you. It keeps me on my toes. It's almost two faced of me to say this but I love and hate the way this game makes me panic when I'm down to like ten hit points, surrouned by vampires or ogres and running in circles screaming sh!t sh!t sh!t sh!t.

[Guppy]

I myself enjoy the way the game ramps up with you. It keeps me on my toes. It's almost two faced of me to say this but I love and hate the way this game makes me panic when I'm down to like ten hit points, surrouned by vampires or ogres and running in circles screaming sh!t sh!t sh!t sh!t.

385027[/snapback]

haha, me too. Just happened to me a second ago. Got gang bashed by 4 bandits. 1 or 2 is ok, 4 or 5 is ouch. At least my block skill is more useful that just stunning me while the baddies wail on me. OK, time to sleep. need some rest before playing tomorrow!

[Duke Togo]

The scaled leveling isn't as bad as the scaling of items. Hey, its a scrub thief wearing rags with an ebony axe in his hand! Bandits with thousands in gold in equipment on them. Riiight...

[Kin]

Although I just started to play the game... I'm looking for the ultimate sword muhahaha. My own little quest I guess.

[JsARCLIGHT]

The scaled leveling isn't as bad as the scaling of items. Hey, its a scrub thief wearing rags with an ebony axe in his hand! Bandits with thousands in gold in equipment on them. Riiight...

385057[/snapback]

I do find it annoying the see things like Dwemer weapons in the hands of Goblins or a gang of Theives in which the leader has a full suit of Mythril armor with rare enchanted weapons yet his cohorts are wearing regular steel armor with iron weapons. It also bugs me that the second you find a new armor class in the game (Dwemer, Orcish, Ebony, etc.) it shows up in some capacity in the shops. It's like you have to fight till you burp to get the junk then you drag it back to town thinking you will be selling rare stuff and then everyone has the stuff for sale.

Edit: and thanks to my botching of several dungeons and playing through them several times I discovered the enemies are somewhat randomly generated. One time playing through I found a lot of good stuff but got killed... then when playing through again telling myself "watch out for that guy he's going to have a Dwemer longsword" it turns out now he has a silver warhammer instead. Weird.

Edited March 28, 2006 by JsARCLIGHT

[Duke Togo]

Although I just started to play the game... I'm looking for the ultimate sword muhahaha. My own little quest I guess.

385063[/snapback]

You won't find one. Equipment levels just as you do. You won't find a level 30 sword at level 1.

[Zentrandude]

If you do get it for the pc make sure you get the UI mod.  The standard UI is too small but the mod enlarges it so its eaisier to see.

384922[/snapback]

That's funny, most posts I see on the oblivion boards are asking for mods to shrink the UI down from its "fisher price" sizing...

For those who can't stand the level scaling, there are quite a few promising mods that are aggressively fixing the problem:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.p...howtopic=307791

Right now I'm using the one by Iyachtu, which seems to be the least drastic of mods.

384938[/snapback]

The standard UI is pretty small as it is and made fast travel alot of work scrolling the map to where you want to go. Only thing that can be considered large was the font and the UI mod also uses a smaller font with larger window area.

image links

I don't mind gobies with drawven axes and bandits with drawven warhammers just more money to sell, In one of the the oblivion gates i found a nice longsword of brittleness which I think its an enchanted ebony longsword.

Edited March 28, 2006 by Zentrandude

[zeo-mare]

sadly i got the game but i cannot get it working right, every time i start a quest it crashes within minutes i am not sure what to do, i keep having to reboot my system. i updated my graphics drivers and everything but nothing .

chris

[Kin]

During gameplay I got a few hardware glitches for a few milliseconds. I see purple. green and blue graphic pixels randomly on the screen then it went back to normal. Overheated?

[Zentrandude]

if your video card is overclocked try setting the speed to its defaults.