Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion

[Morry]

If you haven't heard of Oblivion yet, you are in for a surprise. Taking the full power of the next-gen systems, Oblivion follows on from Morrowind by providing a rich, full game world for the player to explore.

"In keeping with the Elder Scrolls tradition, players will have the option to experience the main quest at their own pace, and there will be plenty of opportunities to explore the vast world and make your own way. Numerous factions can be joined, such as the thieves or mages guilds, and each contains its own complete storyline and the chance to rise to the head of the faction and reap further rewards."

"Oblivion features a groundbreaking new AI system, called Radiant AI, which gives non-player characters (NPCs) the ability to make their own choices based on the world around them. They'll decide where to eat or who to talk to and what they'll say. They'll sleep, go to church, and even steal items, all based on their individual characteristics. Full facial animations and lip-synching, combined with full speech for all dialog, allows NPCs to come to life like never before."

http://www.elderscrolls.com/images/art/ob_pc/obliv27S.jpghttp://www.elderscrolls.com/images/art/ob_pc/obliv03S.jpghttp://www.elderscrolls.com/images/art/ob_pc/obliv04S.jpg

More screenshots here (http://www.elderscrolls.com/art/obliv_pc_screens_01.htm)

Coming to the xbox360 and PC on November 22nd.

[sidetwo]

Yeah definitely looks amazing but I'm not too sure of the first person perspective for RPG's like that. I haven't played Morrowind (never got around to it) so I'm not too sure how it actually plays in that viewpoint.

[Kahr]

You should try Morrowind ADM. It gives you a rather special feeling you cannot find in ANY other RPG that I am yet to try (well, the Gothic Series that a friend has been nagging on me to try gives you kinda like that feeling). Morrowind turned my world around and kicked me in the nuts. For so long I thought Final Fantasy was about as good as it gets when it comes to pushing limits with RPGs (well, Final Fantasy IS getting boring though).

Oblivion looks sweet. Sweetcake. I want it.

[Hiki]

Oh yes. Morrowind... Thats one ****ing great game. The best RPG i've played (well i haven't played many) But the graphic is even great for those massive areas and distances. Theres just so much to do. Borrowing Kahr: You should try Morrowind ADM. And not ''should'', you MUST.

Oblivion looks fantastic. Also the AI-system is said to be one tough one, and so it looked like. Im too tired to go and dig up the link but you should look for a gameplay video for this one, its about 20mins.

[Morry]

You can also play the games in third person if you really want.
The amount of effort that goes in to these games is astounding. There's the freedom to do almost anything in this game. If you finish the main quest, you could go back and kill every character in the game world if you wanted to. There are just too many features to list.
ADM, look for the game of the year edition - it includes the two expansion packs.

[sidetwo]

Yeah I think I should check it out.

[Kahr]

Yeah I think I should check it out.
Good boy. You will have a cookie for this.

[RTsa]

Yeah, Morrowind is a good RPG. Final Fantasies are also good. But the best one is, of course, based on AD&D rules...*insert drumroll here* the Baldur's Gate Series! (on PC naturally, not those shitty console versions...)
But yeah, it's old :P

Oblivion will most likely be good. And I'll probably play it a bit. (or a lot?)

[vipeR^]

Morrowind was awesome and after seeing the trailer of Oblivion,
I'm definitely going to head to store and pick up one for myself when it is released:)
Seems that I also have to do little upgrading to my computer as well..

As for the greatest rpg ever. My vote goes to Fallout. Still it draws me and in fact I just installed it again :D

[Kahr]

(on PC naturally, not those shitty console versions...)
If you bash on console version games, you seriously can't have played Xenogears, and thus in my opinion, you haven't played the RPG that changed the world. :cool:

[RTsa]

Xenogears...I have to admit I have never heard of it :P

Though I meant the Baldur's Gate console games, which are nothing like the PC series ;)

I do like some console RPGs...such as Final Fantasy series. I also liked KotOR.

edit: Yeah, Fallout is good too :)

[masterbeka]

Will I be able to play this game on my system?:
P4 3.2 Ghz HT
Asus P4C800E-Deluxe
Sapphire X850XT
Seagate 160GB SATA
1024 MB DDR-dual channel pc3200

[Morry]

Will I be able to play this game on my system?:
P4 3.2 Ghz HT
Asus P4C800E-Deluxe
Sapphire X850XT
Seagate 160GB SATA
1024 MB DDR-dual channel pc3200
Depends how much you like graphics and performance. If you want to run it at some absurd resolution with full AA and AF, then it might slow down a little.
I'm running on a 9600xt and i'm not worrying too much, knowing that I can still run any new game at about 800x600 or 1024x720, which is perfectly fine by me.

[sidetwo]

The presentation video from E3 has shown up on the net quite awhile ago, but here it is for those who haven't seen it:
http://www.fileshack.com/file.x?fid=7913

VERY cool.

I like the fact that you can switch between first person and third person.

[Morry]

They have also put the whole thing on the official site, though split up in to chapters.
http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/media_movies.htm

[sidetwo]

Yeah they're the same files.. even that fileshack one is split up into chapters.

[masterbeka]

yep....anyone getting this on Xbox360?

[Morry]

yep....anyone getting this on Xbox360?
PC definately. The mod support behind the Elder Scrolls is one of the largest out there, so the PC version is guaranteed to have some awesome mods that can do everything from making new lands to explore, to producing even better textures and models just like what happened with Morrowind.

[Morry]

Unfortunately, the game has been delayed until Early 2006. Some retailers are giving dates of February but i'm just disappointed it's going to miss Chrismas entirely.

[Kahr]

Well this just sucks. I've been looking forward tot his game for quite some time now. And I'd like for it to come out so that a certain friend of mine can stop talking about it. :rolleyes:

[RTsa]

Heh.

Oh well, let's hope they can fix stuff if it's going to take them longer :)

[Hiki]

So.. The countdown for the release has begun. It comes out next week.

http://elderscrolls.com/downloads/media_movies.htm Theres the two first countd. videos. The first one is where the PC comes out of some ruins and a HUGE view of the Imperial City plus its surroundings open for him.. It looks just so fkin beautiful.. There aren't many games out there where you just stand still from a shock viewing the landscape in front of you.. This game surely will offer many of those. The second one is about horses.

Head to the screenshot section and you will see a few new PC screens (tough they were already released last week) and 6 new X360 screens which came with the videos. And from now on they will release a small video + screens everyday until release.

Cant wait! :love:

[RTsa]

I can :p

But seriously, this game is probably going to rock. I just hope my computer can run it at some detail...

About games with scenery that just shocks you, I think Far Cry was one of those :D

[Kahr]

I'm afraid of my own computer. I don't think it'd be able to run it by now...

I need a new computer! :mad: :( :cry:

[Hiki]

Aye.. I need a new one too (Radeon 9700pro, 2700+, 1,5GB RAM) The CPU and GPU needs to be updated, tough I cant afford it (or my parents, summer and travelling to another country, as my mum said "New computer or abroad") But that will run the game around Medium and Im happy in that.

http://www.srtest.com/referrer/srtest
Run that. Pick Oblivion from the list and run the test. It's not really accurate but will give you some direction on how the game will run. I passed Minimum (of course) and nearly passed Recommended. CPU&GPU failed right at the border :(

[guaps]

I read an article some time ago, where the developers said that you need a 3.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, ATI x1900 videocard to get the Xbox 360 experince.

[Kahr]

You and XBox 360... :rolleyes:

[RTsa]

guaps, what resolution would that be? :D
(clearly passed the test..just not over recommended though)

[jared14]

There is going to be more screenshots and videos of oblivion at www.gamespot.com over the course of this weekend because gamespot is having a 12 hour live video of someone playing it.

[Morry]

I read an article some time ago, where the developers said that you need a 3.2 GHz, 2 GB RAM, ATI x1900 videocard to get the Xbox 360 experince.
It's also known that some of the developers are using the same hardware that they used for Morrowind to develop the game. (P4 3.0, 9800xt)
Whilst it will take a beast of a rig to run the game at fullest details. It should also be accessible to those with more affordable hardware.

[Hiki]

^True. The devs are using the following

P4 3Ghz (not sure)
1GB RAM
Radeon 9800pro.

You should expect the game to run medium, 1024x768 or more and the nice features (altough no HDR as 9800 doesnt have SM3.0) with a rig like that. So people dont sweat it, things will run FINE.

[aaneton]

I spent hundreds of hours playing morrowind and Oblivion is one of the games I've been anticipating as much as Alan Wake.

So I pre-ordered the Oblivion collector's edition version, and bought myself a new computer just for this game. I got an athlon dual core 3.8 ghz, and radeon x1600 (so I should be set for alan wake aswell). Of course I've could have got a couple of xbox360es for that price, but I've never been into consoles, oh, My fianceé is of course thrilled about my PC-gaming hobby :love: :D

[Morry]

My fianceé is of course thrilled about my PC-gaming hobby :love: :D
Haha, just give her the Sims and that should distract her.

[aaneton]

Haha, just give her the Sims and that should distract her.

hmm maybe, now that I have a spare computer :cool: naw, she dosen't game much but she actually did like Sid Meiers pirates (she played that through) and old adventure games like monkey island series, and grim fandango.

Still I'm actually glad I have a GF that distracts me from my gaming hobby. There's lots of far more importat things in life that shouldn't be missed. I would NOT like to have a GF that play games/spend time infront of the computer as much as I do.

[Morry]

Well the game is out in stores, though in Australia they won't be selling it for another 7 hours. Unfortunately I have to wait until after my exam tomorrow. So my sleep will be filled with twists and turn of excitement.

[Hiki]

Lol you hear me. It comes out in Finland on Friday and next week I got a German and Physics exam.. So not very much time to play...:(

[sidetwo]

Bought the Collectors Edition today just for the hell of it ;)

It runs ok at 1024x768 on Medium Graphics:

http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/8740/oblivion015tg.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion015tg.jpg) http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/2963/oblivion029sv.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion029sv.jpg) http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/227/oblivion035jn.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion035jn.jpg)
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1493/oblivion047ep.th.jpg (http://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion047ep.jpg) http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/7762/oblivion050yg.th.jpg (http://img61.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion050yg.jpg)

[guaps]

Is it any fun, ADM ?

[sidetwo]

Really fun :D


I couldn't be bothered finding the guy to buy a horse so I just stole one :p Was having fun chasing the deer:

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6651/oblivion013ww.th.jpg (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion013ww.jpg)

Then stumbled upon this gorgeous place.. amazing:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/4783/oblivion029is.th.jpg (http://img229.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion029is.jpg) http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/7388/oblivion037yw.th.jpg (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion037yw.jpg)

Spent awhile just admiring the surroundings until I heard some yelling. Two troll bowmen were up on top of one of the bridge things firing at me.. I survived..

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6411/oblivion047dt.th.jpg (http://img206.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oblivion047dt.jpg)

... but my poor horse didn't :( He took out one of the bowmen though ;)

[guaps]

I like your little story. Sounds like a very addicting game.

[Kahr]

Someone buy me a computer. Now.

[Hiki]

ADM can you please tell me your computer specs and what settings you have in the game? (aside resolution and in common "medium") What "advanced" things you have on?

[sidetwo]

I have a AMD Athlon XP 64 3800+ with 2gb of DDR RAM and a 256mb 6600GT PCIe card.

I have Oblivion running at 1024x768 with medium texture settings, all character shadows off (they don't lag when they are on but they don't look too good imo), view distances max and all water reflections and settings max, I also have all outdoor shadows off except for tree canopy shadows which make the environment look better.. the others don't really make much of a difference.

I also have HDR on as well.

[sidetwo]

Though in those shots I posted the canopy shadows weren't on and I had character shadows on then as well.

Here's some more recent screenshots.

[Kahr]

I have a AMD Athlon XP 64 3800+ with 2gb of DDR RAM and a 256mb 6600GT PCIe card.
I'll come around your house and steal it... Yeah...

[guaps]

I love the screenshot of the bridge in the rain. Looks good.

What kind of style is the game ?

I mean, I used to be a big fan of the fantasy genre, early adventure games like the Phantasy Star and Final Fantasy series, also I love games like Vampire: The Marsquerade where you have more control over the protagonist.

If this game is a bit of a mix between those games, it might be a chance for me to take up the genre again.

Also another question ADM: How did you steal the horse, and aren't there any consequences in the game for that action ?

[sidetwo]

It's fantasy style in the same type of style as Lord of the Rings and things like that. There's also some Vampires in there as well ;)

As for stealing the horse, yeah there are consequences in the game for it.. you can go to jail or pay a fine for it. That's why at the moment I have no horse as they are pretty expensive to buy :(

[Kahr]

I can't wait til I'm finally able to play it. :( :cry:

[sidetwo]

When are you getting a new comp? Or you getting it for the 360?

[Kahr]

I'm not getting no 360! *Slaps ADM*

I don't know. I will have a computer built from scratch as soon as I have the money. And then... Heh heh. Then I will play Oblivion! :hyper:

[sidetwo]

hehe :) I need to upgrade mine because I would like to play Oblivion at max settings at 1280x1024, but this will have to wait until closer to Alan Wake's release.

[JFRESH69]

Ok first things first, everyone must get this game, I was a anti-RPG kinda person before this game but that all changed very quick like, If every RPG is like this then Ive been missin out for a long time. I got a decently high end PC (AMD 64 3500+, 7800GTX 256mb, 2gb of RAM) and I also got a Xbox 360, and I tell you this, I have played it on both PC and 360, get the Xbox 360 version before you get it on a PC becuase this game is so freaking big that you will be hurting when sitting in a computer chair for 10 hours straight (thats how long I played it the first day) this is played better chillin on a couch, trust me. Other than that there is hardly a difference between the 2, so choose wisely

[Kahr]

Not every RPG is like this. I can't speak on behalf of every other RPG because they differ. The thing that captivates me usually by RPGs is the story. This is more about the graphics, and that in itself is worth playing to just see all this marvelous eye candy. But IMO, it can't fight against the good old SNES RPGs. Story. :love:

[sidetwo]

Yeah true.. you play Terranigma? Brilliant SNES RPG.

[Maddieman]

^Now that game rocked (especially bloody mary's castle :eek:). Secret of Mana was awesome too (multiplayer mode :love: ), but hey, we're veering off topic a bit. ;)

[Kahr]

Secret of Mana
:love: :love: :love: :love: :love: :love:



But yeah. Back on topic. I wanna play Oblivion. :(
I need a new computer. :(

[Morry]

About 12 hours in to the game and I have hardly explored the world. The scope and depth of this game is amazing. I recommend it to anyone.

[masterbeka]

Yay i bought this game a a while ago..really awsome..but I am still convinced that Alan Wake is going to rock our world!!^^

[AlianAnt]

Judging from ADM's screens there, you got freakin jipped hardcore on the graphics side. The 360 version looks infinately better. But at the cost of mod support I suppose.

Anyway, the game rocks. A lot. I'v clocked in over 50 hours and havn't touched the main questline ONCE...well...exluding untill I got out of the sewers.

I'm a Kajit (the cat/lion people) theif under the theif sign. Level 5 (hey, you level slow when you don't get exp for fighting). So far I'v compleated the Arena questline, Dark Brotherhood questline and the Thieves Guild questline and a bunch of other sidequests.

Anyone encounterd any spiders or spider-like creatures in the game yet? I'm deathly afrade of the things and it takes a while for me to sum up the courage to go into caves and dungeons.

And what is the purpose of a mine? And picaxes? Are they related? Or is a mine just a place to kill stuff in and picaxes are worthless objects?

[Kahr]

You don't get exp for fighting? Awww man!:(

[guaps]

Gamespot has a Xbox 360 vs. PC oblivion atricle

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147028/p-2.html

This is from page two, where they show screenshots of the game to compare Xbox and different PC settings.

[AlianAnt]

You don't get exp for fighting? Awww man!:(
Not if your class doesent have a "major skill" related to fighting.

@guaps: The video card to get the high-end graphics can cost as much as an xbox360 alone. Seems you get more bang for your buck. But if you do have a high-end PC then it would be wise to get the game for PC.

[Morry]

Gamespot has a Xbox 360 vs. PC oblivion atricle

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6147028/p-2.html

This is from page two, where they show screenshots of the game to compare Xbox and different PC settings.
Haha, funny comparison. My 9600xt looks just as good as their "mid-range". All it takes is a bit of customisation. Take away shadows and distant trees, tweak the tree, object and actor distances and it runs just fine and looks like and xbox360 without grass and bloom.

Then, you have the PC's death blow - mods. Now you might think mods just entail extra quests or little islands that people made with NPCs that get stuck all the time.
For example, better textures
http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/jarrod1937/texture%20mod/

Here's some of the changes I have modded in my game already, most of which came out 2 days after release...

- BTMod, improves inventory so you can see more items, spells and stats on the screen at once, adjustable HUD so you can see percentages, durability, spell durations etc
- Arrow corrections so expensive arrows fire more accurately
- Improved water so that it's clearer
- A coloured map
- Improved resolution on gold
- A shop that sells everything to do with archery
- All animals provide their own meat
- Adjustable time
- Clearer textures on far hills

None of which are available for 360 players.

[Kahr]

Not if your class doesent have a "major skill" related to fighting.
I better make sure I have one of those then.

[guaps]

None of which are available for 360 players.

I haven't tried the game for either Xbox 360 or PC. But judging from the screenshots. I like the Xbox 360 version the best. Pretty graphics with HDR and antialiazing at the same time.

[AlianAnt]

That and the 360 version runs as clean as a wistle and we can still get all the official downloads through Xbox Live. Works best with an HDTV though, as do most xbox games.

I suppose I'll start on the main quest today. I'v herd that its quite good.

[MentalSentinel]

I bought the game yesterday, and it's amazing.
Beautiful graphics (Ultra High Quality, 1280x1024, everything on. :D)
Great gameplay.
Starts off a bit slowly, but when you get out of the catacombs and start the main quest the game is awesome.

[guaps]

FiringSquad have rounded up the latest mainstream graphics card offerings from ATI and NVIDIA, as well as including the GeForce 6600 GT and 6800 GT. In addition, they also answer the question if 512MB of graphics memory really makes a difference in performance. Here's an excerpt:

What's really surprising though is the GeForce 6800 GT's showing in our performance testing today. At one point we actually loaded up Quake 4 and ran some benchmarks to make sure our card was running correctly. NVIDIA's GeForce 7600 GT runs circles around the GeForce 6800 GT, and in some cases the 7600 GS is able to give the 6800 GT a run for its money! We didn't expect the 7600 GT to come close to even matching the GeForce 6800 GT in performance, but in our tests today it not only equaled the 6800 GT in performance, it outperformed it by a double-digit margin. When the GeForce 7 first launched nearly a year ago, NVIDIA was quick to boast about GeForce 7800 GTX's enhanced pipeline efficiency, claiming that the 7800 GTX was 50% more efficient on a clock-for-clock basis than GeForce 6. Based on our results with Oblivion today, that figure certainly sounds believable.

With all that being said though, ATI's Radeon X1800 GTO usually came out ahead when it comes to Oblivion performance. If you've got $250 to spend on a graphics upgrade for the game, it would be our top choice. If your budget is in the $200 range, NVIDIA's GeForce 7600 GT is without a doubt, the unquestioned leader. The GeForce 7600 GS would be our pick if you're looking to spend less than $150. The 7600 GS shares all the same fundamental traits as the 7600 GT, only it ships at slower clock speeds and can often be found with passive cooling.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/oblivion_mainstream_performance/

[Chain]

hey everyone!
just stumbled on this forum by accident and really liked what I read :)
I had read about alanwake in a french magazine (Joystick) and it defenatly sounds promising..

I wanted to ask someting conserning oblivion...are the xbox and pc versions exactly the same?! I am not talking about perfomance or graphics but storyline difficulty combat etc...I always thought pc games were more dificult and more emersive..I was really surprised when I heard that the game would also be avaliable on the xbox!

well thats all for now!
see ya!

Chain

[sidetwo]

Yeah they are pretty much identical in terms of story and gameplay. Remember it's the Xbox 360 not the Xbox, so the 360 is more then capable of handling the game.

[RTsa]

Oh, those who have problems with certain features in the game might want to check this out:
www.oldblivion.com

If you have some old gfx cards that slow down near gates or 'invisible' people, you have to try that.

[Morry]

hey everyone!
just stumbled on this forum by accident and really liked what I read :)
I had read about alanwake in a french magazine (Joystick) and it defenatly sounds promising..

I wanted to ask someting conserning oblivion...are the xbox and pc versions exactly the same?! I am not talking about perfomance or graphics but storyline difficulty combat etc...I always thought pc games were more dificult and more emersive..I was really surprised when I heard that the game would also be avaliable on the xbox!

well thats all for now!
see ya!

Chain
The only difference I know is that the Inventory system is slightly tweaked for the different versions. Otherwise, everything from story, audio, art, music and gameworld is exactly the same. Though mods for PC can add some great things to the PC version.