The Oblivion Thread

[Jon Miller]

I have seen them fire a fireball above me when I started jumping to dodge the fireballs..

JM

[Kassiopeia]

There are FPSs out there with poorer AI

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

More evidence they created this for the XBox360 first and PC second

If you noticed... they came out with the PC and XBox360 version at the SAME TIME. To 'port' a game, you kind of need one to come out earlier. The fact is they created the interface so it'd work with both systems. Why make two interfaces when you can use one?

I didn't mean "made first (temporaly)". I meant focussed on making a good XBox360 game, and released it on the PC as well.

You make two interfaces, because they're two very different input systems. XBox controller is limited in its number of buttons, so things are very menu driven and only 8 hotkeys exist. PCs have keyboards, and thus could use a lot more hotkeys (ctrl/alt/shift combos with 0-9).

The fact that they didn't make two interfaces, and made the interface easier to work with the XBox, shows that they weren't focussing on the PC game development. Sigh ...

[Asher]

The Xbox version will likely drastically outsell the PC version, so I don't see why this is surprising.

Not only do PC users pirate far more, very few gamers have the rigs to properly run this.

[Imran Siddiqui]

There really isn't anything PC centric in the PC version though. No improvements in that version over the xbox. None of the design seemed to have PC over xbox in mind either.

There is the TES Construction Kit, which is available for download (PC only). That alone makes it a better deal (some interesting mods and maps will come from that).

You make two interfaces, because they're two very different input systems. XBox controller is limited in its number of buttons, so things are very menu driven and only 8 hotkeys exist. PCs have keyboards, and thus could use a lot more hotkeys (ctrl/alt/shift combos with 0-9).

The fact that they didn't make two interfaces, and made the interface easier to work with the XBox, shows that they weren't focussing on the PC game development. Sigh ...

Why spend so much more, delay the release, etc, just for two different interfaces? Come up with one interface that can work for both systems, just change the input devices.

FWIW, Morrowind, which was released for the PC first only used a few keys on the keyboard. In addition to what Oblivion has (minus the cast key, because in Morrowind you could only cast spells without a weapon, and the keep walking forward button) you have a 'J' key for the far more crappy journal, you have a 'previous' and 'next' button for spells and weapons, and ONE more (yes, one) 'Quick Key'. Go ahead, look at the back of your Morrowind manual. I'm looking at mine. And I am quite sure they didn't make Morrowind for the XBox first.

[Kassiopeia]

In Morrowind you had to sheathe your weapon to cast a spell? Outrageous! My favourite is to alternate between my sword and offensive spells when in melee. It's so darn cool - I play a Spellsword.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Kassiopeia
In Morrowind you had to sheathe your weapon to cast a spell? Outrageous!

Yep. They hated PC gamers!

I've heard people say they like the Morrowind interface, where when you pull up the menu (you also couldn't block yourself), you had 4 boxes (one in each corner) showing your stats, the map, inventory, and spells. It looked like a 5 year old came up with that setup. The inventory, in particular, was a huge annoyance, where you had to highlight things to find out what they were. And picking a certain item effect (in the spell box) could change what you were wearing if you weren't careful.

It was a horrid interface. This one has vastly. VASTLY improved that one.

[yin26]

(from another thread to continue here...)

Originally posted by DaviddesJ For real? I was expecting "more of the same" (i.e., everyone talking about Oblivion seems to have loved Morrowind also).

I never got hooked in to Morrowind. While I appreciated the "We start you with no idea what's going on," I felt that the game required too much up front investment to get things moving. I also wasn't all that immersed graphically, etc., nor did I feel that the world in general had a lot of character. Keep in mind, of course, I gave up way earlier than most fans.

Oblivion, however, has a good hook at the start, the world in general just seems alive (be it periodically interesting character conversations you overhear, a dynamic weather system, NPC schedules, or just the very nice graphics), and there are some mechanicms in the game now to keep lazier adventurers (or just guys with a lot less time on their hands) to keep track of what needs to be done and how to get there.

Just one example of making such things easier: I decided to check out the Imperial City before running my first task. Part way in the maze of the city, I got bored of all the conversations (would want to come back later, though), and just need to get back out on the road and kill some stuff. Rather than needing to wind my way all around the city looking for the exit (something that would have made me stop playing for the night in Morrowind at that point), I just called up the big map, clicked on a previous location, and there I was. No mess. No fuss. Sure, some guys want a mod to disable this feature, but I love it, and it helps explains why I can tolerate Oblivion for hours on end when I simply fell asleep playing Morrowind.

[Kassiopeia]

On that note, I never got around to getting Morrowind despite the praise. I just couldn't fit it in anywhere. The game is definitely accessible even if you haven't played TES3.

[Asher]

I hated Morrowind, myself. Love Oblivion.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Morrowind

One of my favorite RPGs of all time (though it couldn't knock Fallout from the throne).

Oblivion has improved on it in every way so far (though I don't know how the story will progress... I really did think Morrowind's main and side stories were great and made the world more alive.. such as the Dissapearance of the Dwaves quest, which I never actually finished, but thought was really cool to include).

[DaviddesJ]

I'd like to hear a few more opinions of Oblivion from people who disliked Morrowind (which seemed just tedious to me---admittedly, I didn't get very far before giving up).

Does the Oblivion combat system put more emphasis on reaction speed (bad), or learning how to maneuver (neutral), or deciding exactly what skills to use and how (good)?

[Spaced Cowboy]

Just got it at best buy.

Fry's price match: $37.99
Total 41.22

Best buy gift card for $40 (Xmas present)

Paid the $1.12 with pocket change.

Installing Oblivion: Priceless.

[Asher]

I bought Oblivion with pocket change as well.

I've got about $450 worth of "points" from using my MasterCard to use at "Superstore" (a Canadian walmart type store). I had to pay $2 something for it.

[Apocalypse]

Originally posted by Asher
The Xbox version will likely drastically outsell the PC version, so I don't see why this is surprising.

Not only do PC users pirate far more, very few gamers have the rigs to properly run this.

If it was made for the PC first, the computer specs wouldn't be nearly an issue. The graphics really aren't that spectacular. It's like how the Final Fantasy ports ran retardedly slow.