Oblivion preview

[Antagonist]

Vault Dweller of RPGCodex fame made a nice compilation of dev quotes. Even if you don't like the RPGCodex it's worth checking out just so that you see all the "improvments" in one coherent post.

 

I guess if you are looking for a worthy successor to Daggerfall or just a RPG where you can actually roleplay beyond the choice of weapons you can pass up the game as it looks to be dumbed down beyond believe for the unwashed masses. Radiant AI and Havoc are likely to be cosmetic changes they can hype. Bethesda's design philosophy doesn't bode well for Fallout 3.

 

RPGCodex preview

[EnderAndrew]

Not too shabby. I knew reflexes were more of an issue in combat. However, how does the Blade skill come into play at all if it no longer affects your chances of hitting? Does it merely impact damage?

[Antagonist]

Either that and / or some weapons have requirements which must be met to equip the specific weapon.

[Darque]

I don't care what Volourn and Hades say, I'm actually looking forward to this game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yup.

 

Elderscroll games are awesome

[alanschu]

Too bad you couldn't get Daggerfall working

[EnderAndrew]

Last time I checked she was busy trying to get werewolfed.

[alanschu]

I had heard she had to quit because she kept having to restart her game.

[EnderAndrew]

I just wanted an excuse to say "trying to get werewolfed" again.

[Darque]

I kept running into nasty bugs and gave up

 

It was playable... kinda... there was just a lot I couldn't do.

[alanschu]

No luck becoming a werewolf?

[EnderAndrew]

What is the point of living if you can't get werewolfed?

[Darque]

As lucky as I can get with a crash to desktop bug

[alanschu]

So I'm guessing this won't be your new avatar anytime soon. Meh, probably for the best.

 

 

[Darque]

 

 

[Shryke]

i still haven't played tribunal or bloodmoon

 

being a vampire was cool though :cool:

 

im defintiely looking forward to this

[CoM_Solaufein]

Vampires are cool.

 

I'll be the first in line when Oblivion is released.

[mkreku]

I told my computer that I'm going to force it to play Oblivion for me, and now it's crying.

[Calax]

I can't seem to find a pc version at gamestop.com but Gamespot.com tells me that #'s 1, 2, and 3 are "currently Unavailable" ie it's out of production. But they still sell 3 for Xbox...

 

The reason I thought this was a XBOX only game was simply because the only times i've seen publisized reviews of it were for the xbox

[Shryke]

i got my copy (not goty version though) for $10 in a random bargain bin

[metadigital]

...

I'm going to have to disagree with metadigital.  After playing many games that now have spoken dialogue, it's a bit of a downer when I go back and play say a Planescape: Torment and I see how little of the dialogue is actually spoken.

 

Not that it really takes much away from PS:T, but I do find spoken lines to be more immersive.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, I am a big fan of the old Infocom adventures, after all. The full English parser and the copious descriptions and dialogue (metered via the BRIEF and VERBOSE switches) made those games instant classics.

 

I find

[mkreku]

I played Gothic just before I played Morrowind, and to me it was the other way around. Going from Gothic's all-spoken dialogue to Morrowind's no-spoken dialogue felt so.. poor. It was like taking a huge step backwards (or so it felt) and I had problems becoming immersed in Morrowind because of that. Now I don't want anything but voice actors all over the place! I just wish they spent a little more time and money on the actors..

[GhostofAnakin]

Now I don't want anything but voice actors all over the place! I just wish they spent a little more time and money on the actors..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Agreed. I'm used to the voice acting in games like KOTOR and JE so it's a step back for me when I load up BG or PS:T.

 

I'm not sure I'd enjoy a game nowadays that was made if it didn't have full voice spoken dialogue. The oldschool games are an exception since the rest of the game makes up for it, but I just couldn't see myself getting too interested in, say, Jade Empire if it was just written text rather than actual voice acting dialogue.

[SteveThaiBinh]

50 hours of dialogue, is that right? By comparison, does anyone know how many hours were in the Kotors?

[metadigital]

I played Gothic just before I played Morrowind, and to me it was the other way around. Going from Gothic's all-spoken dialogue to Morrowind's no-spoken dialogue felt so.. poor. It was like taking a huge step backwards (or so it felt) and I had problems becoming immersed in Morrowind because of that. Now I don't want anything but voice actors all over the place! I just wish they spent a little more time and money on the actors..

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've highlighted the problem in your comments, above.

 

It seems to be mandatory to include spoken dialogue (again, I have no objection, per se), but they seem to be allocating the same amount of budget, even though they are hiring fifty times as many actors.

 

I recommend you go and play Beneath a Stell Sky. Really! Even just for a moment. The Voice Acting is far superior to anything I have played in the last year.

 

I don't know why this is the case, but I wish they would correct it. I suspect it is a methodological problem: e.g. it sometimes sounds as though the VO is completed pre-production and then added post-production, or something equally crazy.

[Judge Hades]

I hated Gothic 2.