NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.elderscrolls.com
(its the top story, so dont complain about not getting a direct link :P)

Finnally, after waiting so long we finnaly get a release date. March 20th (or rather, the 21st when it will actually be avalible, or rather, May 20th, when the hordes of fans finally clear from the stores :P) is the day.
Now all we have to do is wait for the much anticipated Chuck Norris mod that will allow us to roundhouse kick the first wood elf we say halfway across Tameriel using Havok physics ^_^
That aside, Im hoping I can snag a copy of the collectors edition, sounds like they have some good stuff in there.

http://www.elderscrolls.com
(its the top story, so dont complain about not getting a direct link :P)

Finnally, after waiting so long we finnaly get a release date. March 20th (or rather, the 21st when it will actually be avalible, or rather, May 20th, when the hordes of fans finally clear from the stores :P) is the day.
I looked at the screenshots and wallpapers. Looks like a pretty decent game. :)

I'm hanging out for it. :D

I'm a little worried that it'll kill my PC though.

I'm hanging out for it. :D

I'm a little worried that it'll kill my PC though.
Huh? How would it "kill" your PC??? :confused:

looks like they stole all the races from Warhammer. Wow. stealing biatches.

My GPA is dropping just at the idea of buying the game.

they stole the races from Warhammer!
i warhammer thre are orks, brettonians, imperials, dark elves, high elves, wood elves, and the "argonians" are a cheap ripoff from the lizardmen.
gay. just gay.

they stole the races from Warhammer!
i warhammer thre are orks, brettonians, imperials, dark elves, high elves, wood elves, and the "argonians" are a cheap ripoff from the lizardmen.
gay. just gay.

You mean the same races that are in every online game since everquest. Get over it.

looks like they stole all the races from Warhammer. Wow. stealing biatches.

Yeah, back in 1989 when Arena came out.

Yea I know. Still makes me kinda mad.

Huh? How would it "kill" your PC??? :confused:

The recommended specifications for the game are rather obscene.

Yea I know. Still makes me kinda mad.

If it makes you feel any better, Warhammer ripped off Tolkien.

well, for orcs and high elves. but this game doesnt even bother to give them original names!

Huh? How would it "kill" your PC??? :confused:

By "kill" my PC, I mean that the system requirements are probably too high for my computer to run it smoothly, therefore "killing" it.

they stole the races from Warhammer!
i warhammer thre are orks, brettonians, imperials, dark elves, high elves, wood elves, and the "argonians" are a cheap ripoff from the lizardmen.
gay. just gay.

There were hundreds of fantasy titles out there before Warhammer that were the same...

well, for orcs and high elves. but this game doesnt even bother to give them original names!

Yes it does. The "Imperials" are called Cyrodiils, the "High Elves" are called Altmer, the "Dark Elves" are called Dunmer, and the "Wood Elves" are called Bosmer. It's just easier for marketting reasons to use the more recognizable names.

My GPA is dropping just at the idea of buying the game.


I agree. Wholeheartedly. My GPA is looking bleak once i buy a new computer. Then I'll play non-stop. :)

oh. i didnt know that! [/rant]:headbang:

Yes it does. The "Imperials" are called Cyrodiils, the "High Elves" are called Altmer, the "Dark Elves" are called Dunmer, and the "Wood Elves" are called Bosmer. It's just easier for marketting reasons to use the more recognizable names.

Gah! You beat me to it. :p

I wish I were still in school so I could skip tons of classes to play this game.

What is the source of the popularity?

I wish I were still in school so I could skip tons of classes to play this game.

I'm in class right now. Now i'm ignoring class just to talk about the game. *anticipates Oblivion* i heard something like the people are mega-life-like. anyone have any details?

I'm in class right now. Now i'm ignoring class just to talk about the game. *anticipates Oblivion* i heard something like the people are mega-life-like. anyone have any details?

I saw a trailer and the enviorment is absolutely beautiful as well. The once pathetic combat system is now much more versatile and interactive- I need a new pair of pants...

I saw a trailer and the enviorment is absolutely beautiful as well. The once pathetic combat system is now much more versatile and interactive- I need a new pair of pants...

It's no longer a button mashing fest? w00t!

*Cough cough* Oh darn, looks like I'm coming down with something, I'll probably have to take a week off work near the end of march.

Seriously, I've been waiting for this games release since, well, I finished Morrowind for the first time. I was dissapointed to see the release date pushed back from 4th quarter '05 till now, but if it results in a better game I suppose it is worth it.

Just reading the recommended system requirements makes my computer slow down.:eek:

What is the source of the popularity?

The Elder Scrolls series has been one of the closest attempts at truly freeform gaming to date. You can do almost whatever you like (within restrictions of the game engine), and are free to ignore the main plot of the game for as long as you like. Oblivion will hopefully come even closer to the ideal than Morrowind did.

What is the source of the popularity?

RPG fans. and the fact that the other games were brilliant. :)

*Cough cough* Oh darn, looks like I'm coming down with something, I'll probably have to take a week off work near the end of march.

Seriously, I've been waiting for this games release since, well, I finished Morrowind for the first time. I was dissapointed to see the release date pushed back from 4th quarter '05 till now, but if it results in a better game I suppose it is worth it.

Just reading the recommended system requirements makes my computer slow down.:eek:

My computers falling apart. I can barely play Civ 4.. :( anyone have system reqs? i read an article in PC Gamer and i heard that it takes a massive amout of CPU power to use.

RPG fans. and the fact that the other games were brilliant. :)


I would go as far as to say that the other games are the best RPG games of thier respective times.

My computers falling apart. I can barely play Civ 4.. :( anyone have system reqs? i read an article in PC Gamer and i heard that it takes a massive amout of CPU power to use.

Recommended:

* 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 1 GB System RAM
* ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

Minimum System Requirements:

* Windows XP
* 512MB System RAM
* 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 128MB Direct3D compatible video card
* and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
* 8x DVD-ROM drive
* 4.6 GB free hard disk space
* DirectX 9.0c (included)
* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
* Keyboard, Mouse

I would go as far as to say that the other games are the best RPG games of thier respective times.

I agree. They're like an old style of GTA. Minus the car stealing and not as many drugs.

Recommended:

* 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 1 GB System RAM
* ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card


Oh well, I have a G6600GT card...that's close enough I guess. :p

Recommended:

* 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 1 GB System RAM
* ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

Minimum System Requirements:

* Windows XP
* 512MB System RAM
* 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 128MB Direct3D compatible video card
* and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
* 8x DVD-ROM drive
* 4.6 GB free hard disk space
* DirectX 9.0c (included)
* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
* Keyboard, Mouse

Ouch. I will definatly need a new graphics card. i can either buy a Alienware or an XPS or i buy a $300 graphics card.

There is a full list of supported vid cards here:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/games/oblivion_faq.htm

The Elder Scrolls series has been one of the closest attempts at truly freeform gaming to date. You can do almost whatever you like (within restrictions of the game engine), and are free to ignore the main plot of the game for as long as you like. Oblivion will hopefully come even closer to the ideal than Morrowind did.

Exactly. Morrowind is the closest to a completely freeform RPG that has ever been created. Oblivion should be even better. And bigger. Much, much bigger.

Exactly. Morrowind is the closest to a completely freeform RPG that has ever been created. Oblivion should be even better. And bigger. Much, much bigger.


Actually, according to Bethesda, Oblivion will be quite a bit smaller than Morrowind. They claim, however, that a denser population, more quests and the new transport system will make it seem much larger. Oblivion will also have less wasted space, as Morrowind had many empty regions that were good for nothing but walking through and enjoying the scenery.

the new transport system will make it seem much larger.
If a new transport system makes a game look larger, you can be assured you will be moving as slow as possible with no chance of gaining the ability to teleport, ever.

If a new transport system makes a game look larger, you can be assured you will be moving as slow as possible with no chance of gaining the ability to teleport, ever.


No, actually, it allows you to teleport to any town you have been to before from anywhere, to save you tedious walking. It just means that they can spread quests out further and have you zig-zag all over the map to solve them without getting bored silly.

Actually, according to Bethesda, Oblivion will be quite a bit smaller than Morrowind. They claim, however, that a denser population, more quests and the new transport system will make it seem much larger. Oblivion will also have less wasted space, as Morrowind had many empty regions that were good for nothing but walking through and enjoying the scenery.

Ehh, really? I enjoyed the empty regions though. Morrowind at times felt a little small to me...it didn't really take especially long to walk from one side of the island to the other, especially considering it was meant to be the better part of an entire province. I just liked the whole "explorer" feel of the game.

Oh well. I can only dream of the game that takes a week in real-time to walk from one side of the map to the other. :p

Meh. If they can make the area exceptionally detailed, I won't mind much.

Actually, according to Bethesda, Oblivion will be quite a bit smaller than Morrowind. They claim, however, that a denser population, more quests and the new transport system will make it seem much larger. Oblivion will also have less wasted space, as Morrowind had many empty regions that were good for nothing but walking through and enjoying the scenery.

Well, in terms of square mileage, it'll be smaller. But the game will be bigger.

If a new transport system makes a game look larger, you can be assured you will be moving as slow as possible with no chance of gaining the ability to teleport, ever.

How do you figure?

Sigh. It's sad, really. They cut the features back and dumbed the game so much that they may as well not bother releasing it. Not if they're going to flog it as an RPG anyway. But they will, of course, to make back the absurd graphics and gimmickery budget.

It held so much promise when they first announced it. Lots of potential to really be a decent RPG, but it looks like it'll barely be worthy of Morrowind, let alone the greatness that was Daggerfall. After it's released, we'll get a whole slew of cookie-cutter copies that will flogged off as "RPGs" as well, and thus comes the end of a genre! "RPG" is already so watered down for the console kids as it is, though, I guess it won't matter much to put the final nail in, so to speak.

Looks like Gothic 3 is our best bet this year.

Recommended:

* 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 1 GB System RAM
* ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card
Woot! That's what I got!
Seriously looking forward to it now.

Sigh. It's sad, really. They cut the features back and dumbed the game so much that they may as well not bother releasing it. Not if they're going to flog it as an RPG anyway. But they will, of course, to make back the absurd graphics and gimmickery budget.

It held so much promise when they first announced it. Lots of potential to really be a decent RPG, but it looks like it'll barely be worthy of Morrowind, let alone the greatness that was Daggerfall. After it's released, we'll get a whole slew of cookie-cutter copies that will flogged off as "RPGs" as well, and thus comes the end of a genre! "RPG" is already so watered down for the console kids as it is, though, I guess it won't matter much to put the final nail in, so to speak.

Looks like Gothic 3 is our best bet this year.

Aren't you just a huge optimist. What has led you to this conclusion of yours?

Recommended:

* 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 1 GB System RAM
* ATI X800 series, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

Minimum System Requirements:

* Windows XP
* 512MB System RAM
* 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 128MB Direct3D compatible video card
* and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
* 8x DVD-ROM drive
* 4.6 GB free hard disk space
* DirectX 9.0c (included)
* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
* Keyboard, Mouse


Keep in mind that nowadays "Minimum" means, that you're able to run the game and "Recommended" means that you can play the game (on minmum to medium detail).

Chris Kohler recently posted a small preview of the game (XBox 360 version) in his blog and complained about graphic issues like popups and constant loading times:

Here's what sucked. You don't see the problems for the first hour, because you're exploring a massive underground pathway that takes you through dank sewers and pitch-black caverns. You can't see more than a few feet in front of your face, sometimes, so everything looks decent -- not incredibly impressive, but fair enough.

When I got outside, things got hairy. I could see across to the other side of a lake, but it was completely undetailed. Just big, formless blobs of blues and greens. I turned around and looked at my more immediate surroundings and realized that the draw distance was awful. As you walk around, the ground teems with individually rendered blades of grass, bushes, mushrooms, all sorts of stuff. But only a small radius around your character is fully realized -- the rest of it is drawn in, quite visibly, as you move around.

This is the HD Era? Watching bushes and trees pop up out of thin air as I walk around? At one point I was heading towards what I thought was an empty forest clearing, when big-ass chunks of building started magically appearing. Come on. (Or maybe I was doing so well in the game that its denizens had started building shrines to my glory.)

Things get even worse when I jump on a horse. Now, I'm actually trotting at a steady clip, and Oblivion starts not just to have draw-in issues but framerate problems as well. It's chugging. It can't keep up with my speed, and quite frankly the horse isn't even going that fast. At some points, I keep seeing the "Loading Area..." message pop up every couple of seconds, which brings with it another framerate stutter. It's herky-jerky-all-over-the-place as I climb up the hill to the gate of Oblivion. My reation to the graphics has, over this sequence, gone from "unimpressed" to "nonplussed" to "annoyed."

But this ain't the next-gen experience I was promised. Weren't these kind of massive game-worlds supposed to be running in high-def grandeur, with smooth framerates and seamless transitions, by now?

Blog (http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/games/index.blog?entry_id=1422030).

Here are also some impressions from other sites:

gamersmark.com writes:
"... when running across the game’s gargantuan fields, objects and areas are constantly being loaded, which causes an unpleasant stutter in gameplay.

Morrowind was known to have loading issues of this sort but they seem to be even more of hassle in Oblivion than in the previous game, mostly due to the fact that while on horseback loading sections are encountered like every eight seconds. "

gamerswithjobs.com writes:
"Sadly, the beast that has plagued gaming for so long still roams the countryside in Oblivion. More frequently than I’d like, when running through the lavishly detailed countryside, the game will halt for a second or two, indicating that it is loading more of the area before picking up again. It’s not a game-breaking problem, and for me, it was not much more than a minor annoyance. However, if you go running through the countryside for five minutes, you will see at least five “Loading Area” prompts pop up.

Where the problem is most pronounced however, is inside of cities. Upon entering a city, and any building within a city, you’ll have to wait while the game loads the area. It’s not an agonizingly long time to wait, but the load times are comparable (roughly) to those of GTA: San Andreas for the PS2, which is a bit disappointing."


I don't know which version those guys were testing, but I've read that it was almost the final version and they were only working on some gameplay bugs, not on engine performance. But I can't remember where exactly I've read that, so I can't confirm this.

Still, better wait for some tests before you buy the game.

Now I'm really happy that I upgraded some of my hardware recently. I'm just shy of their recommended specs but well above minimum. I should be fine...

Im above minimum but I think I'm going to need a new vid card. i'm hoping that the stuttering problems that plagued the pre-release demos have been cleaned up a bit, I've heard unsubstantiated rumours that smoothing gameplay was one of the reasons for delaying the games release. I guess only time will tell, since my psychic powers aren't working.

Yes it does. The "Imperials" are called Cyrodiils, the "High Elves" are called Altmer, the "Dark Elves" are called Dunmer, and the "Wood Elves" are called Bosmer. It's just easier for marketting reasons to use the more recognizable names.
Indeed.

Though all races in their current fantasy sense originated from Tolkien, and were subsequently put into D&D. So if anything, it's first a rip-off of D&D, and then of Tolkien.

All I have to do now is get one of my friends to head down to EB Games and pick it up for me while Im on vacation...
Of course, then I may not ever see it again O_o

*bump*

I picked it up the other day, and I have to say, so far i'm impressed...I think a lot of improvements have been made over Morrowind. The combat is a lot more of a challenge and much more fun as a result. I can't wade in with my claymore and hack away like a berzerker until the enemy is in pieces anymore, because that will most likely end up with a bloody pool of shit and failure. Instead I too often find myself backed up against a corner frantically trying to block that crazed katana-wielding skeleton and get a couple of shots in myself somehow...very cool. The combat interface has also been simplified a bit from Morrowind too, and there's none of that stupid *look up, hold mouse button, release for overhead smash* that I found the combat in that game to be like...

The quests are less text-heavy this time around...that might put off a lot of hardcore RPGers, but I prefer to hear characters speak rather than having to read through endless amounts of text. If I wanted to read a book, I would. The character development is much improved in Oblivion and the quests I feel are a lot more fun and immersive as a result. There still heaps of subquests (probably not nearly as many as Morrowind, but i'm not sure - i've done quite a few so far and they keep popping up.), and each still features unique dialogue.

It's also almost impossible in this version to sweet-talk people into a 100% disposition towards you (unless you're a speechcraft master, and that's how it should be), and effectively impossible to bribe them to that level, as the cost keeps increasing exponentially. Even if you could, it wouldn't make a difference with shopkeepers, as you now have to haggle with them, and your success rate is modified by comparing your mercantile skills to that of the shopkeeper...so no more of that instant profiteering that was prevalent in Morrowind (my favourite trick was murdering ordinators and selling their armour to people that i'd bribed up to full disposition). You actually have to work for your money and possessions now.

The game map might be smaller than Morrowind, but the difference is pretty insignificant, i'd say...I've played the game for some 20 hours so far and I haven't seen the vast majority of the surface map yet, let alone caverns and dungeons.

Every NPC now has a 24 hour cycle. They sleep, eat, open and close up shop, go to the pub for a beer, etc...okay, Ultima VII did this years and years ago, but it's cool nonetheless. You also get horses, just like Daggerfall. A little gimmicky, but good for getting around to places you haven't visited yet (you can insta-travel to places you've visited before, which is helpful in big quests), although i'm waiting for the mod that lets you fight on horseback. You can buy and furnish houses too, but I can't comment on how interesting or useful that is yet...I spent all of my money on a horse. lol. Plants also grow back eventually when you harvest them for herbs, unlike in Morrowind. There are a few other gameplay changes, but i've been quite happy with all of them so far as they make sense. An example would be limiting the amount of times you can pay to train skills to five times per level, to prevent the mass skill-buying that took place in Morrowind once you were loaded with cash. Theres a bigger reliance on natural increase now, which is defintely an improvement IMO.

The graphics are of course pretty (I especially like the look of caverns), but they're not the quantum leap that Morrowind was over Daggerfall. More like Daggerfall when compared to Arena. Being able to design your own face is a pretty cool feature, though...much better than the mostly crappy pre-rendered faces in Morrowind although it does take quite a bit of time to get it to look "right". I'm running a PC equal to the recommended specs (my graphics card is slightly below...it's a G6600GT), as well, and I don't have any performance problems with the image detail set to high, and the view distance maxed out. It stutters a bit when there's 5 or so enemies on screen at once, but you're pretty much screwed in that instance anyway so it doesn't matter :p I haven't found the loading times all that severe, either. It stutters occasionally while loading a new area, but it takes about half a second for me with 1gb of RAM, and isn't really that much of an issue.

So yeah, I think it's better than Morrowind so far. There are a couple of minor bugs, like clipping and graphics issues, but those were prevalent in Morrowind too. It crashed once, but that was probably my fault, because I was alt-tabbing between the game and Messenger. :p

Oh...but the absolute best thing about the game is that there are no more of those fucking cliff racers. :D

I hate you all. My computer can't support Oblivion. Therefore, anyone with a computer able to support Oblivion must be destroyed.

Oh, and I'm not counting the Xbox360 version, because the PC version is always 100000 times better than the console version.

I hate you all. My computer can't support Oblivion. Therefore, anyone with a computer able to support Oblivion must be destroyed.

Oh, and I'm not counting the Xbox360 version, because the PC version is always 100000 times better than the console version.

Aww, well, look on the bright side...When you do eventually get one, all of the really cool mods'll probably be out for it, though...and you'll probably be able to run it with all settings on maximum. :p

Aww, well, look on the bright side...When you do eventually get one, all of the really cool mods'll probably be out for it, though...and you'll probably be able to run it with all settings on maximum. :p

But that's three months away! And it doesn't help that my friends all have computers that support it, and are rubbing it in my face. They've pretty much made me want to kill you all.

I can't even go back to playing Morrowind. It's just not the same...

But that's three months away! And it doesn't help that my friends all have computers that support it, and are rubbing it in my face. They've pretty much made me want to kill you all.

I can't even go back to playing Morrowind. It's just not the same...

Three months, and you're complaining? Ugh. I only played Morrowind for the first time midway through last year. (though I certainly did make up for lost time) :p

The game map might be smaller than Morrowind, but the difference is pretty insignificant, i'd say...I've played the game for some 20 hours so far and I haven't seen the vast majority of the surface map yet, let alone caverns and dungeons.

Morrowind was a lot of open space. when looking for something not on the traveled route (a.k.a. statue of azura, vampire places, endgame, et al), you had to refer to the map provided or use the guide. npc directions were so vague it was hard to find things you'd never been near, especially when you had to walk through bland landscapes.
Oh...but the absolute best thing about the game is that there are no more of those fucking cliff racers. :D

amen brother :D . hated those damn things. couldnt kill em easily with a sword.


oh, a question. should i upgrade my current cpu to recommended Oblivion status or buy a new one, sans lcd, keyboard, mouse, windows ? i think upgrading is cheaper but i don't know the hardware part of computers.

Morrowind was a lot of open space. when looking for something not on the traveled route (a.k.a. statue of azura, vampire places, endgame, et al), you had to refer to the map provided or use the guide. npc directions were so vague it was hard to find things you'd never been near, especially when you had to walk through bland landscapes.

Ugh, I hear that! And one of the house Redoran quests, I think...there was a missing merchant. I searched for hours looking for him, because I really wanted to get a stronghold and only bumped into him later in the game by chance (while tombraiding). And then the stronghold turned out to be a disappointment. :(

amen brother :D . hated those damn things. couldnt kill em easily with a sword.

I found a simple area effect fireball enough to do the trick, but gnnngh. Even that screech that they do irritates the hell out of me just thinking about it. :mad:

oh, a question. should i upgrade my current cpu to recommended Oblivion status or buy a new one, sans lcd, keyboard, mouse, windows ? i think upgrading is cheaper but i don't know the hardware part of computers.

Hmmm...depends how modern your current PC and graphics card is, I guess.

Hmmm...depends how modern your current PC and graphics card is, I guess.

my card is a radeon 9000-something. my real problem is RAM, processor, and hard drive. not sure on memory, 1.2x ghz processor, and only a 20gb hard drive. new crappy computers come with more.

i'm looking at geek squad, but i don't think they do processors. meh, i think i have a friend who does it, and i'd rather pay him.

my card is a radeon 9000-something. my real problem is RAM, processor, and hard drive. not sure on memory, 1.2x ghz processor, and only a 20gb hard drive. new crappy computers come with more.

i'm looking at geek squad, but i don't think they do processors. meh, i think i have a friend who does it, and i'd rather pay him.

I'd build a new one. You're going to have to replace the motherboard and everything anyway.

It's just a very slightly updated morrowind with modern graphics and less bugs. The horses are a joke.