The Oblivion Thread

[yin26]

Yeah, I'm currently stuck with the lowest resolution possible and no anti-aliasing. If I go any higher, for example, my mouse moves really slowly during the speechcraft mini-game (which is a problem because that game is time sensitive), and overall slowdowns plague the game once anything of any real consequence (like battle!) ensues. So here I am playing Oblivion with graphics set to circa 2001.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by DaviddesJ
I don't see any difference between, "You can't enter here until you're Level 10," and, "You can enter any time you want but if you're less than Level 10 you'll just be killed immediately." The result and the gameplay are exactly the same in the two cases.

Who said anything about "getting killed immediately?"

Surely any dungeon is designed so the initial levels are somewhat easier. Furthermore, the surrounding areas should give you hints about what may await you inside it.

Not to mention that you should find out more before you charge along.

[ZargonX]

Yeah, I'm currently stuck with the lowest resolution possible and no anti-aliasing.

It's just frustrating because I am able to play the rest of the game perfectly with good resolution and AA and bloom with no problems. It's just that one stupid bug, which they clearly know what is causing it, but have no fixes for it as of yet. I'm hoping one comes out soon, but I guess I won't hold my breath...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
It is completely nonlinear if you can explore the areas in any order you wish. However this does not preclude your character getting knocked off by baddies. IOW, you can go there, but there's no guarantee that you can come back.

Well then it isn't really non-linear. You still end up going the same way, even though you have a 'choice' not to. However, it isn't real choice, because if you don't do it the way they want, you're toast. So you are forced along a set path.

I don't think it's a case of "somewhere they don't want you to go." It's more like you aren't strong enough to go. There's a difference, you know.

Not in application it isn't. It ends up being the same in the end. You still go A-B-C-D, because if you go out of order, you die.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Good price for that AGP card. Though if you can pay a bit more, I'd recommend the 6800 GS from Nvidia.

[Kinjiru]

The AGP variant is now out of stock at NewEgg.

Does anyone know the power requirements of these 512 MB cards? My desktop rig is a small form factor with a 300W power supply. My current card (9800XT 256MB) really pushes the limits of the power supply.


I am thinking of just going with a whole new setup, with PCI-E this time around. This deal looks phenomenal... 4 gigs of ram, 500 gig Raid 0 hard drive, 3.2 GHz dual core processor, and the 512 MB 7900GTX card, all for about $2200 USD. No OS, but that's not a big issue...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:112&item=8783281680&id=&sasel=

Of course, that still leaves me with issues on my mobile system. My GPU is meant to be user upgradeable, but no new card seems to be available after 16 months...

Oh the lengths we go to for Hi-Def Oblivion goodness!

[yin26]

By the way, should I use a DVI cable? I know nothing about that angle...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by yin26
By the way, should I use a DVI cable? I know nothing about that angle...

Depends on your monitor. Does it have a DVI input? If both your monitor and card have DVI, then you HAVE to use DVI! You will thank me later. It looks far better than a regular monitor connection (it's the difference between an analog and digital connection).

[Silver14]

In truth you probably won't notice a difference between using a DVI connection or a regular D-SUB input connection. If you have the cable and the connection on your monitor, go for it. I wouldn't go out of my way to get a cable though if you don't have it.

Or at least for me I have multiple flat panel monitors and I can't really tell when I'm using analog or the digital connection.

[bonscott]

Originally posted by Kinjiru
The AGP variant is now out of stock at NewEgg.

Cr@pppppp!!!! Why in the heck didn't I order it when I had the chance. Ugggg. I needed to get permission and now it's too late. Oh well, I'm on a mission now to find it somewhere else.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Well then it isn't really non-linear. You still end up going the same way, even though you have a 'choice' not to. However, it isn't real choice, because if you don't do it the way they want, you're toast. So you are forced along a set path.

Huh? It's not a set path if you have a number of dungeons you can choose from at any one time.

It makes absolutely no sense that a level 1 character could go take on Morgoth or Sauron. However if he or she can't it's not really nonlinear according to the definition you use.

Whatever floats your boat, Imran

[Silver14]

The character wouldn't really be level 1, they would have built up skills by then. Just because the player avoids 'leveling up' doesn't mean they don't have the skills that a higher level character has after all that time playing.

[yin26]

Sorry to keep talking about hardware...

So does that mean my order got in on time? Man, I hope I don't get an out of stock e-mail in a few hours when they start processing the order! Anyway, thanks for the tips on the DIV angle. I don't think my monitor has that connection now that I think about it.

[yin26]

Originally posted by Silver14
The character wouldn't really be level 1, they would have built up skills by then. Just because the player avoids 'leveling up' doesn't mean they don't have the skills that a higher level character has after all that time playing.

This is a critical point, one that I talked about earlier. Indeed, you might not level up until you've done things like get your 5 points of training and generally just "lived" in the world long enough to accumulate some skills. Again, the design screams: "Slow down. Take your time. Enjoy."

[Imran Siddiqui]

Does anyone know the power requirements of these 512 MB cards? My desktop rig is a small form factor with a 300W power supply. My current card (9800XT 256MB) really pushes the limits of the power supply.

Probably want to look into getting at least 400W, if not 500W power supply for the new 512 MB vid cards.