Oblivion First Impressions

[StillLife]

-snip-

 

Hey I never claimed to be in love with the implementation of horses in Oblivion. As ShadowPaladin pointed out, being unable to engage in combat from horseback seems odd, since they are there. I also think a big part of the clunkiness I mentioned is more due to somewhat weak implementation, rather than realism.

 

I do think you're being a bit excessive in claiming they're a waste of resources. Look, if we're gonna be hit over the head with these fantasy worlds with crazy magic that can revive people from the dead, exquisitely crafted uber weapons, complex chemical concontions that can do all sorts of neat stuff, it's about time someone figured out how to ride a f'in horse, right? It's a logical step to have mounts in a game with a large medieval gameworld you're supposed to explore.

 

Horses often play a significant part in the overall makeup of a dynamic character too. Gandalf wouldn't have been quite as interesting without Shadowfax, neither would the Riders of Rohan without their trusty steeds. My guy is a knight, a knight just wouldn't be complete without a horse to ride. Nevermind that there's no way in hell anyone decked out from head to toe in extremely heavy, solid metal plates is gonna travel very far without a horse in the first place. Medieval/fantasy heroes and horses go together like peanut butter & jelly. So yes, their presence does add something rather significant IMO, aside from just allowing you to get from A to B in the game faster.

Edited April 7, 2006 by StillLife

[Cantousent]

Oh, you mustn't make a mistake. I'm arguing completely from personal preference. Also, I'm willing to keep flogging you guys. Mostly, I like spitting vitriol at the horses. It's kind of fun. Every now and then, I like to pile it on. It's better to target the horses than you guys.

 

Anyhow, You've made the most eloquent and compelling argument in favor of the Oblivion horses I've seen so far.

[Shadowstrider]

2 days later we talks to some city guard in an attempt to get directions... the guard informs Gromnir that we is under arrest for our terrible act o' thievery that we did some substantial distace away, and he totes us off to prison and we pays some hefty fine.

 

whenever ss starts telling us 'bout oblivion realism we just wanna pop him in the grill.

 

HA! Good Fun!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Where did I say Oblivion was realistic? Once again, you're taking leaps and bounds nowhere in my posts.

 

I said the leveling system in Oblivion is more realistic than traditional RPGs. Not the scaling system. Not the crime and punishment system. Not the horse-riding system. Not the equipment. Just the leveling up.

[Gromnir]

can't keep trying to have it both ways. if being incrementaly more realistic is worth noting in level system, then surely the complete disregard and distracting lack o' realism of other aspects o' oblivion should also be noteworthy, no?

 

again, the funny thing 'bout your realism comments is the admission that the traditional rpgs you is comparing oblivion to purposefully eschew realism as far as levelling goes.

 

and if some people like sl is happy with horses regardless of their near total absence of practical usefulness n' such, then so be it... but 'least be honest 'bout it. try to convinv anybody that oblivion horsies add anything more than some limited and fuzzy "immersion" value is nutty.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Vic]

  and if some people like sl is happy with horses regardless of their near total absence of practical usefulness n' such, then so be it... but 'least be honest 'bout it.  try to convinv anybody that oblivion horsies add anything more than some limited and fuzzy "immersion" value is nutty.

 

HA! Good Fun!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

They make travelling on foot faster for someone who can't/doesn't want to use Fast Travel to get somewhere. Practical usefulness n' such.

[Tigranes]

Realism isn't even an issue. The horses are just crap. Anyone who likes the horses actually enjoys the IDEA of horses, and will take any on-screen manifestation of that wonderfully super-imagined idea and heap love on it.

 

Besides, horses aren't that much faster, and it's kind of silly for Oblivion because everything is so close together. And it doesn't look that bad. Now Morrowind could have used horses, frickin' ugly and everything is miles away.

[Shadowstrider]

can't keep trying to have it both ways.  if being incrementaly more realistic is worth noting in level system, then surely the complete disregard and distracting lack o' realism of other aspects o' oblivion should also be noteworthy, no?

 

It depends on what you're comparing.

 

If you want to say "bows made of iron makes no sense and isn't realistic," I'd agree. However, the implementation of horses isn't really unrealistic, as much as it is just plain flawed.

 

Ask any developer here what functionality has been the most problematic, you'll probably hear "horses" more than anything. The unrealistic implementation of horses has more to do with tech issues than design.

 

again, the funny thing 'bout your realism comments is the admission that the traditional rpgs you is comparing oblivion to purposefully eschew realism as far as levelling goes.

 

I didn't say they purposefully split from realism. I said their goal isn't realism.

 

You keep making these overly large bounds. I say something about apples, you interpret it as a statement about all fruit. Boggles the mind.

Edited April 7, 2006 by Shadowstrider

[Hassat Hunter]

Prob. nobody cares but whatever...

 

Part IV-3 (Keeping it short this time with just ranting instead of making a story up around it ... love the game, but also love whining/ranting etc.)

 

 

Mission: Paranoia

So, I follow around Toutious Sextius and he goes to the castle... who do I found there? "count" Janus Hassildor, the guy who is said to is remain hidden from everybody. Yet he is walking around his castle the whole day. Apparently something went wrong when asking him for the Vampire Cure that made him follow a regular AI-day instead of keeping locked up and staying away from the common folk. Anyways, following around Toutious Sextius all around city bla bla bla. He arrives at his horse and decides for a ride. If anything proves horses are not easily drivable it is HIS drive!

First off all he decides to let his horse walk into a sign. Instead of walking around the sign his horse keeps bumping into the sign. Took him 7 tries to get around the sign. Then he had to go through a hole in the fence. A big hole. And when I say big I mean BIG. Yet his horse misses the opening and decides to go onto a flying journey over the fence. He does land one time, with the fence between his 4 feet, and on a very painfull looking way too... poor horse. Yet it get's worse for that horse when Toutious uses the Horse to walk into the middle of nowhere, then get's off and walks home. The horse (now 3 days later) still stands there in the middle of the woods...

On his walk home nothing unusual except he does the same fence-trick the bum also used. So I report to Glarthir and then get my next assignment. Thus I follow him onto his land and notice the persons working on the other land (Tamika's land) happily eat their food and use their shelter . While the Surrile's Brothers employers just never seem to eat at all! After a while he thus goes home and I decide to check out the city a bit more... and notice some people forget thiefery like people like me may walk around. The following persons left their door unlocked despite being on work and made a easy robbery possible for my fighter:

Ambroise Canne

Uuras the Shepard

Bernadette Peneles

Shameer

While going back to Glarthir to report I also notice the same bum has the same problem with the same fence... coincidence? I don't think so...

 

 

PS. Is that Oblivion-gate stuff normal? All the spells and effects in the game look gorgious, but that Gate-fire just looks like it came from Doom I

[Hassat Hunter]

So I do that painters quest and finish it... but now after I receive my award he calls me trespasser and tries to kill me (wife runs out of the house for help I think). Yielding results in a "Wield Accept" but he will still try to beat the crap out of me...

 

Guess I should join the Dark Brotherhood...

 

Edit; Hehe, lovely to murder some-one without a penalty because they "attacked you" (fighting when you have wielded, thus they attacking you ))

Edited April 7, 2006 by Hassat Hunter

[Blank]

I got the game. I like it. The end.

[Cantousent]

I'm glad someone is making an account of the Glaithir quest. I didn't have the patience.

[Gromnir]

...

 

there is always those folks that lose the forest for the trees. ss is one of those. you admit that the goal of traditional crpg level schemes is not realism, but you quibble at notion that th0se developers did such a thing purposefully.

 

...

 

wacky.

 

"If you want to say "bows made of iron makes no sense and isn't realistic," I'd agree. However, the implementation of horses isn't really unrealistic, as much as it is just plain flawed."

 

'cause it couldn't be flawed & unrealistic. again, the quibble over whether it is MORE unrealistic than flawed or vice versa is just plain idiotic. is flawed and unrealistic and you trying to play with the < or > crap is just nuts.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Judge Hades]

Sometime I feel like a nut, sometimes I am.

[mkreku]

I went out looking for mods again..

 

 

[Judge Hades]

Death Star mod?

 

HA!

 

I have a bunch of mods on my computer. One changes the UI system that makes it more PC friendly, slower leveling, and a couple of texture improvements on magicaal effects and water.

[Vic]

I'm glad someone is making an account of the Glaithir quest.  I didn't have the patience.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I killed him out of pity after I accepted his quest. Got into the dark brotherhood for it .

[metadigital]

Why would anyone mod torches? They weigh nothing and you find them everywhere for free ...

[Judge Hades]

At least the mods I use are well, useful.

 

Only thing I need to find now is a halfling mod for Oblivion. They had one for Morrowind. :D

[bubblyofart]

I was just wondering, since all u people seem to be so far into Oblivion and I have yet to get my copy from Amazon, lol, could you tell how well it'll run on these specs:

 

Windows XP

Intel Pentium 4

2.1 ghz processer

512 MB of RAM

256 MB GeForce FX 5900XT

 

I'm not sure about the stats for DVD drive though

 

So what do you think? What will the draw distance be like?

[mkreku]

Your video card will struggle, but you will be able to enjoy maximum viewing distance. Just turn down the grass distance and unnecessary stuff like that.

[Haitoku]

I was just wondering, since all u people seem to be so far into Oblivion and I have yet to get my copy from Amazon, lol, could you tell how well it'll run on these specs:

 

Windows XP

Intel Pentium 4

2.1 ghz processer

512 MB of RAM

256 MB GeForce FX 5900XT

 

I'm not sure about the stats for DVD drive though

 

So what do you think? What will the draw distance be like?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I'm sorry to say this, but take a quick look at the Official forums... Most people with FX cards are getting unplayable framerates, regardless of settings.

[mkreku]

Isn't the FX 5900 and Radeon 9800 Pro supposed to be pretty equal in performance? I was getting great framerates with my 9800 (although in 800x600) and full viewing distance.

[Fenghuang]

Hm, would a rig with a Athlon 2500+, 1GB of RAM, and a Radeon 9600 128MB model work okay?

 

I was thinking no, but I don't have any money to upgrade anyway. I don't care all that much about resolution.

[Haitoku]

Isn't the FX 5900 and Radeon 9800 Pro supposed to be pretty equal in performance? I was getting great framerates with my 9800 (although in 800x600) and full viewing distance.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yes, however Oblivion plays a lot better on ATI cards.

 

There was a really good card comparison guide floating around... ( Can't seem to find the link) FX cards were at the bottom, most with unplayable frame-rates.

 

Even my X800XL outperforms my buddies 7900... Something is terribly wrong with Oblivion...

[Cantousent]

Works in my favor, though. I'm running a 9800pro and, while the framerates are not awesome, I have my resolution set to 1024x768. The game runs fine. No problems at all running. Now, if I minimize the game or quit to desktop, I'm liable to have problems, but otherwise there's really very rarely any snag at all while playing.

 

EDIT: The framerates aren't awesome, but still quite good.

Edited April 7, 2006 by Eldar