Oblivion First Impressions

[Hassat Hunter]

No.... that one wasn't there when I didn't have that flower yet...

 

Edit; pretty sure it was a copy of it's dead counterpart lying there... who shouldn't have spawned when I was still so close

Edited March 25, 2006 by Hassat Hunter

[Shadowstrider]

It didn't spawn, it likely followed you.

[Judge Hades]

That is what some of the guys do. I was messy around in the capital city and murdered an Atius woman. No guards were around and I killed her in her home. As I leave a guard ran up and tried to arrest me. I ran away of course and he and about a dozen other guards gave chase then when I left the city there was only one guard still chasing me and that was that Lex fella. I jumped into the river, swam tot the other side, climbed a mountain and still he came after me.

 

I got tired of running so I fought him then promptly died.

[StillLife]

I approached this game with a lot of apprehension given my hatred for Morrowind, but I must say I'm greatly enjoying it so far. Currently around 15 hours in.

 

Of all the refinements and good decisions, it's a damn shame they kept the linear, archaic dialogue system though. It still greatly hinders the entire experience IMO and really keeps the game from feeling like an RPG to me. On the positive side, at least it's not as tedious and time consuming as it was in Morrowind.

 

The consolized interface with no tool-tips is also a bit sucky, but I've gotten used to it. Why does there seem to be this persistent trend from developers where PC users just have to suck it up and deal with console interfaces, when we're using friggin keyboards--not gamepads. Don't treat us like bastard children please.

 

NPCs still seem less interesting than even in the original Gothic, but it's still a huge improvement over Morrowind and goes a long way to make the world feel more alive.

 

The quality of quests so far has been very impressive, by any game's standards.

 

I love skill systems that advance with use--it was one of the more enjoyable parts of Morrowind for me. It's very well done in Oblivion.

 

I like that NPCs often look rather different from each other, it avoids the KotOR clone syndrome. However, some of them look downright ridiculous, with grotesquely elongated heads, or impossibly rotund heads with hot-pink skin.

 

One thing Bethesda really deserves some praise for is all the content that is in the game. I could've spent $50 and finished many of the single-player game's out there in the time I've spent on Oblivion, yet I feel like I've just scratched the surface. You definitely get your money's worth if you enjoy the game to begin with.

 

I absolutely love the combat in Oblivion. I'm a knight and have primarily stuck to melee only, but I actually look forward to fights in the game. It's definitely the best implementation of melee combat I've seen in a first-person game. I've always thought that If you're gonna make an action-RPG, make the combat skill-based and dynamic, rather than a silly click-fest, or an automated affair. They definitely pulled that off with Oblivion.

 

No.... that one wasn't there when I didn't have that flower yet...

 

Edit; pretty sure it was a copy of it's dead counterpart lying there... who shouldn't have spawned when I was still so close

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yeah, most likely you just didn't spot it. I've had that happen several times, as they're small enough to blend into grass, often are lurking in the water, and don't make a lot of noise.

Edited March 25, 2006 by StillLife

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

So how exactly do these mini games work?

 

Do they get easier the higher the characters skill level or something?

[Llyranor]

I've noticed that as my persuasion skills increased, I can now rotate the disc around, thus giving me more options. I guess increasing lockpicking makes it easier to stabilize.

[Shadowstrider]

They are utterly optional, if you want to go the "traditional" RPG route you can auto-attempt the lock picking game, which uses your characters skill and a random number to overcome the set difficulty. If you DO try the minigame manually, character skill does make it easier.

 

As for the persuasion minigame, your character's stats increase/decrease the positive/negative effects on the NPC's disposition.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Sounds good.

 

Any other mini games or just those two ?

[Llyranor]

Those are the two I've noticed so far. As Shadowdawg said, you can avoid them completely, but auto-attempting lockpicks, or skipping persuasion altogether.

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

I dont mind mini games. I do prefer the ones that take your character into account in some way so this sounds ideal.

[metadigital]

They are utterly optional, if you want to go the "traditional" RPG route you can auto-attempt the lock picking game, which uses your characters skill and a random number to overcome the set difficulty.  If you DO try the minigame manually, character skill does make it easier.

 

As for the persuasion minigame, your character's stats increase/decrease the positive/negative effects on the NPC's disposition.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Does locking skill influence the PC's lockpicking ability?

[Cantousent]

The only other bugs I've found so far all hit when I exit the game. I frequently get a bunch of errors that XP wants to send to Microsoft. Nothing big.

 

There are some areas where I walk a bit through the walls, but nothing game stopping.

 

As far as mini-games go, I don't have a problem with them.

 

Currently, I'm level 6. I've enjoyed the game so far. I like the fact that I can apparently finish the game without getting to the uber-levels. it's not that I don't like a high level game, it's just that the first ten levels in most games almost seem like throw-away levels meant to get the player to the good stuff. Oblivion has given me some of the good stuff in the early levels also.

[Deraldin]

The only other bugs I've found so far all hit when I exit the game.  I frequently get a bunch of errors that XP wants to send to Microsoft.  Nothing big.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Interesting tactic. Instead of making the game so addictive that you never want to quit, they instead put in these "bugs" that make you continue to play for fear that you'll screw up your computer. Genious. "

[Hassat Hunter]

Okay, then that is not a bug... (still not convinced...)

 

Anyways, some more questions;

 

Why do enemies always die with about 1/4 of their health left? I always get that when whacking enemies I take away little (like 1/10th) of there health bar and when they hit the 1/4 left mark 1 hit makes them suffer and throw them far away

 

Why do mudcrabs carry around money? Did they all become mercants in the meantime?

 

Why does "directions" become blackened out when 3 sub-questions under that one are still selectable; or why is there no "oops, I know the directions, sorry to bother" when you accidentily click that one... you always need to ask one direction to get back...?

 

Why the hell is the ingame help so bad? The manual uses less lines to explain the mini-games of picking and talking and explains it better <_< ... (first game in a LONG time where you need to read the manual to know what you are doing)?

[Shadowstrider]

Glad to see Battlewookie is still the same ole Battlewookie.

 

1) Enemies dying with 1/4 health.

Huh? Can't say I've ever seen it.

 

2) Mudcrabs with money.

I've never seen one with more than 1 or 2 coins. As to why they have it, who knows, perhaps they accidentally ate it. Perhaps they subscribe to Meta's "ooooh shiny" life philosophy.

 

3) Dialogue choices becoming gray.

A line of text becomes gray when you've selected it once, whether or not there are sub catagories. It becomes white again if they have something new to say if you select that topic, irrelevent to sub topics.

 

4) In game help text.

Are you playing in a foreign language version of the game? If so, which language are you playing in? Which help text is not helpful enough?

[metadigital]

Oooo shiny!

 

 

Hey, I also liked the tea towels of Ultima!

[Lyric Suite]

What does anybody think of the issue discussed here?:

 

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11881

 

I was going to cave in and buy the game, but i want to wait out and see if this scaling issue is as bad as it sounds...

[metadigital]

Point not found.

[angshuman]

What does anybody think of the issue discussed here?:

 

http://www.rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=11881

 

I was going to cave in and buy the game, but i want to wait out and see if this scaling issue is as bad as it sounds...

Ouch.

[Kaftan Barlast]

I just encountered a very annoying problem of sorts. My horse suddenly wouldnt stay put where I "parked" it as it should. After much messing around I found that strangely enough I had "Stolen Horses: 1" on my stats

 

The game is a little random where it puts your horse when you enter a city. Once I found it standing on the bridge between the capital and the arcane university. Apparently the game put my horse somwhere else so I accidentally stole another horse thinking it was mine without me noticing a thing, no angry NPCs or anything. I could have been riding this stolen horse for days, my real horse could be anywhere by now! and since horses are more valuable than magical items, I cant afford to buy a new one.

[Lyric Suite]

Point not found.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm asking for opinions about the scaling leveling system, where every creature of the world levels as you level, thus making leveling rendundant in terms of gain of personal power as well as making the gameplay frustrating to some people or certain gamestyles.

[Shadowstrider]

I just encountered a very annoying problem of sorts. My horse suddenly wouldnt stay put where I "parked" it as it should. After much messing around I found that strangely enough I had "Stolen Horses: 1" on my stats

 

The game is a little random where it puts your horse when you enter a city. Once I found it standing on the bridge between the capital and the arcane university. Apparently the game put my horse somwhere else so I accidentally stole another horse thinking it was mine without me noticing a thing, no angry NPCs or anything. I could have been riding this stolen horse for days, my real horse could be anywhere by now! and since horses are more valuable than magical items, I cant afford to buy a new one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

If you legally owned a horse, and mount a different horse it returns to it's "home stable." In otherwords, if you bought a horse from Bravil, and then mount Prior Maborel's horse, the horse from Bravil wanders back towards Bravil.

[Llyranor]

The scaling leveling system works fine for me, so far. Not being forced to grind for its own sake is a good thing. Also, there are difficulty levels that you can switch on the fly in-game. Too easy, pump up, pump down, etc.

Edited March 26, 2006 by Llyranor

[Shadowstrider]

Point not found.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm asking for opinions about the scaling leveling system, where every creature of the world levels as you level, thus making leveling rendundant in terms of gain of personal power as well as making the gameplay frustrating to some people or certain gamestyles.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You don't get access to "cool" armors unless you level up. You can't cast a lot of spells without leveling up those spell schools. Can you complete the game at level 3, 2 or even 1? Yes, but I fail to see how this is a bad thing, at all.

 

Enemies scaling to level keeps the game challenging, no matter what level you are. On the other hand, if we ramp up the difficulty and have it SET, you have people who do side quests and outlevel the enemies, or people who don't level fast enough and complain.

[metadigital]

I just encountered a very annoying problem of sorts. My horse suddenly wouldnt stay put where I "parked" it as it should. After much messing around I found that strangely enough I had "Stolen Horses: 1" on my stats

 

The game is a little random where it puts your horse when you enter a city. Once I found it standing on the bridge between the capital and the arcane university. Apparently the game put my horse somwhere else so I accidentally stole another horse thinking it was mine without me noticing a thing, no angry NPCs or anything. I could have been riding this stolen horse for days, my real horse could be anywhere by now! and since horses are more valuable than magical items, I cant afford to buy a new one.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Kaftan the Horse Rustler!