The Oblivion Thread

[Imran Siddiqui]

[q=Solver]Well, reading the forums, it does seem like there's been a screwup. GeForce FX cards are listed as supported, but it apparently turned out that Oblivion does, in fact, not run on FX cards.[/q]

Not true. Some people with FX cards says their game works on loooow settings.

[q=Quillian]For example, to get to the map, you have to hit TAB to open the journal screen. Then you click on the compass bar at the bottom of the journal to go to the map/quest screen, then you click on a particular tab to open the local map or the province map.[/q]

Well you could hit F4, and then click on the map tab. Taking out one click.

[q=Dis]does a paper map come with the game?[/q]

I got one - PC Collector's Edition.

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Btw, I decided to go with HDR. I tried the Bloom and 4x AA, and it looked pretty good (probably better than without 4x AA), but the lighting effects of HDR are just WOW . The same place if you look at with 4x AA, it looks like a very impressive graphical accomplishment. But with HDR, it simply looks amazing and takes it to another level.

[snoopy369]

My card doesn't support HDR

But 6xAA

I have to agree that the interface is a bit clunkier than with Morrowind. I shall have to mess with settings.

[Asher]

The interface is a breeze with the Xbox 360 controller.

And the weather effects in the game are also pretty amazing -- especially with HDR. Sun breaking out behind clouds in a rainstorm, for instance.

[snoopy369]

I tried playing with the gamepad controls, but there is only "strafe left and right" and not turn left or right (mouse will do that, but point of gamepad is no mouse...)

The mouse is sort of stuttery for me (and that is with a gaming laser mouse with 2000 dpi resolution...)

Also, I am not a huge fan of the lack of direct keys in the keyboard to Inventory or Magic or whatever menus. I may remap those if I can.

I am still not sure what I feel overall, though ... sort of feels a bit like a shooter, which is not a good thing for me; I do not like the regenning magic over time, that makes magic too easy, and fatigue comes back to fast also. But we will see how this turns out, I only left the sewers maybe an hour of gameplay ago (in a crypt shortly outside the sewers...)

[Jon Miller]

I am at that first city

I am playing a good swordswoman/theif taker

redguard, sign of the Lady

I went with Blade, Light Armor, Sneak, Acrobatics, Illusion, Restoration (and one other?)

I should have gone with speech craft, right now I am looking for a missing painting

JM

[Jon Miller]

I don't like fighting with others, I always accidently kill them (since I was just learning the fighting system, I reloaded, but it didn't feel right)

JM

[Asher]

Having a great time. Way too addictive, I need to get to bed. "One more turn" syndrome all over again.

Anyway, I'm now an Assassin, but also a thief. I'm a Blade, I'm in the Dark Brotherhood, I'm in the Thieves Guild, and I'm in the Fighters Guild. I'm not sure if any of these will conflict in the future. I've put the main quest line on hold while I persue these, because I love it.

Especially all of the assassin gear I keep getting.

I like how it ties in with the Xbox Live Achievements system: http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/p...merTag=Moosely

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by Dis
does a paper map come with the game?

How big an area does it cover, say compared to Morrowind? I've been a big fan of all the Elderscrolls games since Arena, but i'm not sure if i could bare Oblivion if its in-game world is much smaller than Morrowinds

Its difficult to find this info in the official forums as most people are pre-occupied with getting Oblivion to run properly!

[Jon Miller]

I think it is 1.6 times the area of the original morriwind, plus areas of Oblivion

some peopl are annoyed that you run into 'boundaries' though

JM

[Nacht]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
some peopl are annoyed that you run into 'boundaries' though

JM

Seems unavoidable to me, since it isn't an island.

[yin26]

Emerging from the sewers of the Imperial City, I can see against the cloudless night sky that some ruins are nearby, so I momentarily put aside the errand that my king sent me on moments before he died. I've run too many errands in my days anyways...always doing other people's dirty work. Besides, I still have no idea why I was put in prison, so I don't really feel like trusting anybody (not like I would to begin with).

There is probably treasure over there in those ruins, and who knows if running the king's deliveries will prove profitable anyway? I'm a Dark Elf born under the sign of the thief...maybe I'll just keep this little necklace of the king's and save myself some trouble.

Across the river to the side of the ruins I can make out a campfire. I could use a swim after spilling all that rat blood down in the sewer, so I take a leap off the short pier and make it to the other side of the water. In a moment I see two figures walking around the fire. It's hard to tell in the darkness, but they seem armed. Innocent adventurers? I doubt it. Anyway, nobody is really innocent.

I decide to crouch and keep in hiding as I creep closer to the camp. An idea hits me: I cast my Chamelon spell and for the next half minute will become invisible. Just what I need. Letting the last words of the spell fall softly in the evening air, I'm completely hidden from even a direct look my way. This is the moment. I draw back my bow, sending an iron arrow flying through the still air. A body drops. Did I get one of them?

My spell is fading now, though, and I've lost the second target I was hoping to shoot. Maybe he ran off?

The large battle axe that nearly took my head off suddenly argues otherwise. This cat-like Khajiit must be the dead (?) man's partner, and whether or not he's seeking revenge or just seeking my loot I can't tell, but he doesn't seem like making any deals.

I'm bashed backwards and stunned a few seconds as another blow from his huge axe crushes down on my armor. I'm fumbling for my sword and shield and manage to block his next blow. He's not very clever, you see. He seems to prefer the big, heavy swings, which are easy to anticipate...though when they land on your head, you quickly decide he's clever enough.

Again I block the next blow, which puts him off balance. I strike back, landing clean hits of my own. In a few more rounds, I'm nearly dead but he's completely dead -- a good trade, if you ask me. You could say this guy turned out to be pretty fair after all. I search his body for some gold but leave him his axe. They look good together.

O.K., now. What about his partner? After casting some healing spells and getting myself back in order, I reach the camp fire to see a bandit bowman dead on the ground, an arrow sticking from his back. (I was going for a head shot, so I can't really be too proud.) One shot one kill. Hey, that would make a good slogan.

Now there's just this matter of something glowing in the center of the ruins...

Well, I don't plan to write more like that, but this game clearly inspires you to feel like you are on an adventure. I could give countless little game details (like the ragdoll physics or the immersive graphics), but somehow it just all seems to come together. These are just first impressions, mind you, and perhaps I'll stay away from these threads on this game. I think I want to enjoy this one.

[Unspeakable Horror]

Screenshots?

[yin26]

I tried with print screen, but it didn't take. How are others taking screen shots? Is it in the manual (which I haven't yet read!)?

[Solver]

I am "running" the game on settings that make it look like Morrowind. And am pretty darn happy, being a big "gameplay over graphics" advocate, although I can't deny that having at least part of the Oblivion graphics look like they're supposed to would be great.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Also, I am not a huge fan of the lack of direct keys in the keyboard to Inventory or Magic or whatever menus. I may remap those if I can.

F3 for Inventory. F4 for Magic/Spells.

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Some interface thing got to me last night (as I stayed up to 3:00 AM to play the game when I had to get up before 7 ). The lockpick mini-game. I can't find a way to 'Auto-Pick' or, more frustratingly 'Close'. If I get into one too hard, I have to break all my lockpicks to leave . The other annoyance is with dropping items. Frankly, you can't, unless you have a chest where you can 'store' unneeded stuff. That is a pain when you are given something by a character that puts you over your limit. I had to drink a potion of feather, so I could move to reach a chest to dump my stuff in.

Btw, found the perfect use for fast travel: escort missions. They loose all the frustration of your ordinary escort missions, because of the fast travel .

Also unlike Morrowind, the main quest is REALLY compelling (at least so far). That's why I stayed up until 3 in the morning. I wanted to finish that section of the (early) main quest.

May I add.. the Planes of Oblivion are very nicely done. Some where scared that the screenshots indicated another Red Mountain. This far exceeds that.