Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion -- Recent Preview on ShackNews

Dyre Straits · Dec 10, 2005, 09:17 AM

Read about the game and see some nice screenies. All here:

http://www.shacknews.com/extras/2005...5_oblivion_1.x

It's looking really, really good! (Maybe I'll be finished with Bloodmoon by its release.

)

Lowfat · Dec 10, 2005, 10:16 AM

he had a 4+ page thread a while back

Lowfat · Dec 10, 2005, 10:17 AM

I really hope it isn't as long as the past 3 games.

MSX · Dec 10, 2005, 06:45 PM

Morrowind long? You can beat it in a day. You can become a level 10 God with 5x5x5 maxed out stats in a few hours. I was really actually dissapointed that such 'poweleveling' was avalable. Talk about a hole in the system. There's no sense of accomplishment.

Daggerfall was decently long. Though still not as long as Bualders Gate(one or two) or hundreds of other big RPG's.

What I hope is that Oblivion's system works properly. Like for instance, ranged weaponry, sneaking, critical damage, magical binding, dodging, blocking, and well basically everything besides vannilla magic and melee. Or perhaps not able to make a spell that can open any door for 600 gold.

Or perhaps the most important: less suicidal animals. That deer in the preview better not attack you without provocation. Yes they made a mod to fix that in morrowind, but it should have been included from the get go.

Lowfat · Dec 10, 2005, 09:27 PM

Did you ever play Arena? I had hundreds of hours of play and had 4 out of the 8 staff pieces

I found all three too long for me, as i would get bored of them before I finished it.

Sneaking will definately be cool, if it was like theif at all.

MSX · Dec 10, 2005, 11:11 PM

Back in 94... hmm lemme think. At the time it didint seem too long... I guess thats just me.

calidan · Dec 10, 2005, 11:46 PM

I don't think that any of the Elder Scrolls games are long. Its just the games are vast and there is so much you can do. It can be, IMO, overwhelming at times because you can get lost and not know what to do. Baldur's Gate is long but its more linear than the ES games. Anyway, I think Oblivion is going to be great. I'm glad they aren't rushing this one just to put it out on the 360 and mess up the PC version.

Lelisevis · Dec 11, 2005, 12:18 AM

This is the one game that has kept me bouncing in my chair with excitement for the last few years. The Elder Scrolls series is one of the few games that has genuinally captured my heart and kept me playing for more than a month at a time before getting bored. Sure I buy a lot of games but it's not long before they become shelf fillers whereas I spent nearly 2 years playing neverwinter nights (I was invited into a guild and still stay in touch with the members 3 years later) and nearly a year and a half trawling the lands of Morrowind and enjoying every day of it. Long live the Elder scrolls

.

Lakevren · Dec 11, 2005, 05:08 AM

lol, I hope I can actually finish Oblivion. One thing that morrowind was that it was "too" open. At times, you didn't know what the hell to do. You had to resort to a walkthrough. Now, that isn't necessarily bad, as it gives a game reason to explore, but sometimes, I'd walk to a wrong place and get myself killed.

Two things that might make Oblivion more "linear" are horses and "instant travel", that is when you visited that place already. I think you still get a chance of combat on the way of "instant travel". Of course, if you wish, you can travel there yourself with all the scenic looks, morrowind-style.

Also, as a dev said, I believe, the radiant AI was so effective... in fact "too effective", that NPCs began making merchants out of stock all the time.

Dyre Straits · Dec 11, 2005, 07:13 AM

I've been experiencing Morrowind for a few years now myself. Like someone above said, it's so open that you can get lost and not know just what it is you're supposed to do.

Well, after losing my progress at least 4 times due to computer crashes and such, this last time I had a much better grip of what was going on and decided to stick more closely to the main 'story'.

It made the experience a hundredfold better! And, still, I got to explore along the way rather then running willy-nilly all over the place.

Morrowind, Tribunal, and Bloodmoon have been very captivating experiences with some great story development. If Oblivion has the kind of gripping story and plot twists that Morrowind, et al has had, it will be worth every single penny they charge for it. AND, I'm not one to eagerly pay immediate release, highest price for a game! This one, however, will likely be an exception for me.

SFOSOK · Dec 11, 2005, 09:44 AM

Oblivion will probably be a nice one. I think I will probably go about it with my first profile the same way I started Morrowind, go to a town, do everything then move on exploring as much as I can on the way. I will probably get a corrupt save file and have to start all over, but hey, that really is part of the game.

Necrosis · Dec 11, 2005, 11:35 PM

So what is the big deal about this game guys? I normally don't play these types of games but you all seem so excited about? What is the jist?

Lelisevis · Dec 12, 2005, 12:54 AM

The sheer size, history, depth, open ended approach and none linearity (if thats not a word it God damned should be, try saying it pissed) of it. You can't help but switch it on and think this has been a labour of love for someone who hasn't wanted to take the easy option or cut corners. It seems such a stupid thing but just start at the southern most point and walk north without gaping in absolute awe at the attention to detail. It's possible to play for a year without covering all the map, a rare thing in todays world of dive in, dive out gaming thats designed to provide a quick fix.

ViP3RH3LL · Dec 16, 2005, 04:19 AM

I'm Looking forward to ESIV:Oblivion. I watched The 6-Part Preview floating around a couple weeks back. Morrowind got me hooked on RPG's. I'm mostly a FPS person. Now I play both.
Morrowind was huge, felt like it took weeks to walk across everything, but that was fun and maddening also. Don't get me started on the dungeons

. I loved watching the water.

Dyre Straits · Dec 16, 2005, 08:06 AM

Here's another interview that I got from Bethesda email:

http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/005004.php

Notice this part I highlighted:

Duranix · Dec 16, 2005, 09:53 AM

man i cant wait for oblivion....

ViP3RH3LL · Dec 16, 2005, 03:23 PM

I wonder when we can actually have a full fledged "speaking" conversation with NPC's in games. I always thought that would be the main highlight of any game. Instead of point and click your questions and answers, you could have a list of what you wanted to ask or write it down in the game. Then find the person(s) you were talking to before and having the list on hand, ask them about it or ask them anything related to the game story of course. What about investigations in Oblivion? Where did this supposed "murder" take place ma'am?.
The NPC's reply back slightly nervous thinking you suspect them or don't believe them, like your an arrogant patrolman that doesn't care about anything but getting paid and drunk and messing with the barmaids. RPG's hold alot of possibilities. Hopefully what happens here will spawn over to other games or vice versa.

Dyre Straits · Dec 21, 2005, 06:54 AM

I'm not a fan of PC Gamer Magazine, but, anything that has some additional information about OBLIVION is a welcome source:

http://www.pcgamer.com/inthisissue.html

MSX · Dec 21, 2005, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ViP3RH3LL

I wonder when we can actually have a full fledged "speaking" conversation with NPC's in games. I always thought that would be the main highlight of any game. Instead of point and click your questions and answers, you could have a list of what you wanted to ask or write it down in the game. Then find the person(s) you were talking to before and having the list on hand, ask them about it or ask them anything related to the game story of course. What about investigations in Oblivion? Where did this supposed "murder" take place ma'am?.
The NPC's reply back slightly nervous thinking you suspect them or don't believe them, like your an arrogant patrolman that doesn't care about anything but getting paid and drunk and messing with the barmaids. RPG's hold alot of possibilities. Hopefully what happens here will spawn over to other games or vice versa.

Back in the day puzzle games had a type in section. It sucked, but I'm sure if it were worked on instead of graphics till now I'm sure we would have fully interactive npc's.

Add in a program like dragon naturally speaking and you can talk to NPC's over a mic. So much untapped potential.

Markius · Dec 22, 2005, 12:49 PM

elderscrolls IV is going to be AWESOME! nuff said

Partizan · Dec 22, 2005, 03:11 PM

Any news on PC System requirements?

Dyre Straits · Dec 22, 2005, 07:12 PM

Check out Post #2 here:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/i...owtopic=207558

(I don't think you need to register to view the post...only if you want to reply.)

LeanWolf · Dec 24, 2005, 02:49 PM

I'm "Outdated" Waaah!
Gonna need a new card to play this and enjoy the beauty

Dyre Straits · Dec 25, 2005, 09:28 AM

I was only able to pick up the latest available issue of PC Format Magazine a few days ago. Due to it being published in the UK, it becomes available a month later here in the USA.

Anyway, in Issue 181 (December, 2005) there is a 4-page article on OBLIVION. My chin nearly dropped to the floor when I read some of the things that this game will feature. (I tried finding an online link to the article to no avail.

)

Anyway, the Radial AI that controls the NPC characters is going to be a revolutionary addition. Within the game, each of these characters will have to deal with everyday events and circumstances. For example:

They will get hungry. Once they need to eat they'll have to figure out what they want to eat and how to go about getting it. If there's food in their pantry, they may just go fix something to eat from there. If the pantry is empty, they may decide, based on their resources (money vs. skills) whether to go to market to buy something, OR head out into the wild and kill something and then prepare it for food.

So, knowing this, if [YOU] want to spend some time looking around a particular residence, you might empty out their pantry and then wait around for them to get hungry and leave the house. This then will keep them occupied for a while and give [YOU] plenty of time to gather whatever you may want to take from their premises.

In another example, a woman may want to sit down to read. But, her dog may be agitated and barking causing her to be distracted. Silencing the dog will depend on her skills/abilities and class. If she's a mage, she may simply cast a 'silence' spell on the dog and then continue with her reading. OR, if she wants to send the dog outside, she may cast some kind of 'pain' spell sending the dog off to lick its wounds.

AND, each of these NPCs will interact with all the others!

If you're not drooling over the possibilities that all of this entails, then you just don't understand the game.

Additionally, the entire combat system has been overhauled since Morrowind. It's going to actually look like combat with hits, misses, and damage assessed based on actual hits, misses and damage! Isn't that cool!? And, a block will actually be a block.

Bethesda has been using a professional team of testers for OBLIVION since very early in development. So, while OBLIVION may not be perfect when released, it should be as near perfect as any game that's been released and definitely one of the best released by Bethesda.

Hope you have your drool cup handy.

SFOSOK · Dec 26, 2005, 03:16 AM

I idled on their forums for a bit picking up bits and peices here and there. The designer Diaries are interesting also. This game should get best game of 2006. If it gets any less than 9.5 from any of the Review sites I will not go to them anymore. This game will be unlike anything we have seen. Sure it will have some feel of Morrowind but it is completely overhauled and revamped. It has also been in development for the past 5 years. March is the month, get your money ready for the ride of your life.

Dec 10, 2005, 10:17 AM	#3
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	I really hope it isn't as long as the past 3 games. __________________

Dec 10, 2005, 09:27 PM	#5
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	Did you ever play Arena? I had hundreds of hours of play and had 4 out of the 8 staff pieces I found all three too long for me, as i would get bored of them before I finished it. Sneaking will definately be cool, if it was like theif at all. __________________

Dec 10, 2005, 11:46 PM	#7
calidan Frozen in Carbonite Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 1,409 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I don't think that any of the Elder Scrolls games are long. Its just the games are vast and there is so much you can do. It can be, IMO, overwhelming at times because you can get lost and not know what to do. Baldur's Gate is long but its more linear than the ES games. Anyway, I think Oblivion is going to be great. I'm glad they aren't rushing this one just to put it out on the 360 and mess up the PC version. __________________ Steam Community :: ID :: calidan "Don't try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie.... Study computers instead." - Jackie Chan

Dec 11, 2005, 05:08 AM	#9
Lakevren MedicalEntropy Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 294 Rep Power: 0	lol, I hope I can actually finish Oblivion. One thing that morrowind was that it was "too" open. At times, you didn't know what the hell to do. You had to resort to a walkthrough. Now, that isn't necessarily bad, as it gives a game reason to explore, but sometimes, I'd walk to a wrong place and get myself killed. Two things that might make Oblivion more "linear" are horses and "instant travel", that is when you visited that place already. I think you still get a chance of combat on the way of "instant travel". Of course, if you wish, you can travel there yourself with all the scenic looks, morrowind-style. Also, as a dev said, I believe, the radiant AI was so effective... in fact "too effective", that NPCs began making merchants out of stock all the time. __________________ [COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=SeaGreen]Opteron 170 @ 2500 MHZ (In Need of Better HSF)[/COLOR] [/COLOR] [COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=Yellow]DFI LanParty UT SLI-DR Expert[/COLOR] [/COLOR] [COLOR=red]HIS IceQ3 X1900XT @ 680/785 [COLOR=YellowGreen]Corsair XMS Pro DDR 400 1GB[/COLOR][/COLOR] [COLOR=royalblue]CoolerMaster WaveMaster Case[/COLOR]

Dec 11, 2005, 09:44 AM	#11
SFOSOK 939 Goin Strong Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,033 Rep Power: 90 System Specs	Oblivion will probably be a nice one. I think I will probably go about it with my first profile the same way I started Morrowind, go to a town, do everything then move on exploring as much as I can on the way. I will probably get a corrupt save file and have to start all over, but hey, that really is part of the game. __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Dec 10, 2005, 10:16 AM	#2
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	he had a 4+ page thread a while back __________________

Dec 10, 2005, 06:45 PM	#4
MSX Burning the frozen... Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,201 Rep Power: 0	Morrowind long? You can beat it in a day. You can become a level 10 God with 5x5x5 maxed out stats in a few hours. I was really actually dissapointed that such 'poweleveling' was avalable. Talk about a hole in the system. There's no sense of accomplishment. Daggerfall was decently long. Though still not as long as Bualders Gate(one or two) or hundreds of other big RPG's. What I hope is that Oblivion's system works properly. Like for instance, ranged weaponry, sneaking, critical damage, magical binding, dodging, blocking, and well basically everything besides vannilla magic and melee. Or perhaps not able to make a spell that can open any door for 600 gold. Or perhaps the most important: less suicidal animals. That deer in the preview better not attack you without provocation. Yes they made a mod to fix that in morrowind, but it should have been included from the get go.

Dec 10, 2005, 11:11 PM	#6
MSX Burning the frozen... Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,201 Rep Power: 0	Back in 94... hmm lemme think. At the time it didint seem too long... I guess thats just me.

Dec 11, 2005, 12:18 AM	#8
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	This is the one game that has kept me bouncing in my chair with excitement for the last few years. The Elder Scrolls series is one of the few games that has genuinally captured my heart and kept me playing for more than a month at a time before getting bored. Sure I buy a lot of games but it's not long before they become shelf fillers whereas I spent nearly 2 years playing neverwinter nights (I was invited into a guild and still stay in touch with the members 3 years later) and nearly a year and a half trawling the lands of Morrowind and enjoying every day of it. Long live the Elder scrolls .

Dec 11, 2005, 11:35 PM	#12
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	So what is the big deal about this game guys? I normally don't play these types of games but you all seem so excited about? What is the jist?

Dec 12, 2005, 12:54 AM	#13
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	The sheer size, history, depth, open ended approach and none linearity (if thats not a word it God damned should be, try saying it pissed) of it. You can't help but switch it on and think this has been a labour of love for someone who hasn't wanted to take the easy option or cut corners. It seems such a stupid thing but just start at the southern most point and walk north without gaping in absolute awe at the attention to detail. It's possible to play for a year without covering all the map, a rare thing in todays world of dive in, dive out gaming thats designed to provide a quick fix.

Dec 16, 2005, 04:19 AM	#14
ViP3RH3LL DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: BF2142 Posts: 265 Rep Power: 0	I'm Looking forward to ESIV:Oblivion. I watched The 6-Part Preview floating around a couple weeks back. Morrowind got me hooked on RPG's. I'm mostly a FPS person. Now I play both. Morrowind was huge, felt like it took weeks to walk across everything, but that was fun and maddening also. Don't get me started on the dungeons . I loved watching the water.

Dec 16, 2005, 09:53 AM	#16
Duranix DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 614 Rep Power: 0	man i cant wait for oblivion.... __________________

Dec 16, 2005, 03:23 PM	#17
ViP3RH3LL DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: BF2142 Posts: 265 Rep Power: 0	I wonder when we can actually have a full fledged "speaking" conversation with NPC's in games. I always thought that would be the main highlight of any game. Instead of point and click your questions and answers, you could have a list of what you wanted to ask or write it down in the game. Then find the person(s) you were talking to before and having the list on hand, ask them about it or ask them anything related to the game story of course. What about investigations in Oblivion? Where did this supposed "murder" take place ma'am?. The NPC's reply back slightly nervous thinking you suspect them or don't believe them, like your an arrogant patrolman that doesn't care about anything but getting paid and drunk and messing with the barmaids. RPG's hold alot of possibilities. Hopefully what happens here will spawn over to other games or vice versa.

Dec 22, 2005, 12:49 PM	#20
Markius DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 2,350 Rep Power: 0	elderscrolls IV is going to be AWESOME! nuff said __________________ DriverHeavens Aussie... "Lifes tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late"

Dec 22, 2005, 03:11 PM	#21
Partizan Fun loving criminal Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Slovenia Posts: 1,182 Rep Power: 62 System Specs	Any news on PC System requirements? __________________ Live and let live!

Dec 24, 2005, 02:49 PM	#23
LeanWolf alpha male Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Skyrim Posts: 5,713 Rep Power: 84 System Specs	I'm "Outdated" Waaah! Gonna need a new card to play this and enjoy the beauty __________________

Dec 26, 2005, 03:16 AM	#25
SFOSOK 939 Goin Strong Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Ontario Posts: 7,033 Rep Power: 90 System Specs	I idled on their forums for a bit picking up bits and peices here and there. The designer Diaries are interesting also. This game should get best game of 2006. If it gets any less than 9.5 from any of the Review sites I will not go to them anymore. This game will be unlike anything we have seen. Sure it will have some feel of Morrowind but it is completely overhauled and revamped. It has also been in development for the past 5 years. March is the month, get your money ready for the ride of your life. __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!