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Oblivion Trailerhttp://streamingmovies.ign.com/pc/a...m/media/702/702491/vid_1137919.html?mu=<URL/>

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SCREENSHOTS

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OBLIVION FAQ

What's the release date?
Holidays 2005.

How long has it been in development?
Since Mid 2002.

What does the name "Oblivion" mean?
Tamriel is the world of The Elder Scrolls and Oblivion is the equivalent of Hell in Tamriel.

Where does Oblivion take place?
In Cyrodiil, which is the capital province of Tamriel, as well as parts of Oblivion itself.

What platforms will Oblivion be released on?
PC and Xbox 360.

What are the PC system requirements?
We don't know at this time, but it will certainly look the best on the latest hardware available when the game is released.

Will Oblivion include multiplayer?
No, Oblivion is a single-player game only. Rather than split our focus between two different types of gameplay, we'd rather focus on one and make it the best single-player experience possible.

What perspective do I play the game in, first or third-person?
Both. The game is meant to be played first person. However, you can toggle the view with the press of a button/key. Both views are available throughout the entire game.

Will the TES Construction Set be included again?
Yes, the TES Construction Set will be included with the PC version. It will not be available on a console.

Does the story in Oblivion pick up where Morrowind ended?
No, each chapter of the Elder Scrolls series is a different story unto itself and isn't directly connected to any of the other storylines. All of it adds to the lore and history of The Elder Scrolls, but you don't have to play previous games to know what's going on in this one.

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OBLIVION PREVIEWS AND HANDS ON IMPRESSIONS

Gamespy:

"We've realized how much combat people really do in a game like this and made it more of a priority to get it right," Howard continued. The Oblivion team actually developed three entirely new combat systems and did extensive testing on them all before settling on the one that will be in the final game. The basic idea of Oblivion combat is to impart the 'kinetic energy feeling' of guys bashing each other with swords. The game will have a number of special moves available and blocking is actively under player control, not automatic. As a result, timing moves, shielding yourself, and responding to the enemy becomes a key strategy in fighting. The team also didn't shy away from the gore either. It isn't over the top or gratuitous, but it does fall in line with the design philosophy of trying to make the game as realistic as possible. Basically, when you really smack someone with a sword, you expect a certain level of blood to come spewing out, so the team is trying to fulfill those expectations.

The problem was, Morrowind was so huge and free flowing that it turned off as many gamers as it turned on. Many of the people who started playingMorrowind stopped playing because they didn't have a specific direction or they simply got bored. Howard and the Oblivion team acknowledged the problems inherent in their previous games and are working to fix them in the new game. "That's what we want to address," Howard said. "Never let the player be bored, always be entertaining. We want to 'show you the fun,' and always be pointing you to something fun in the game, even if you don't know it's there." One of the major ways that they're doing that is by completely reworking the game's navigation and orienteering tools.


"Right now we're working on our dynamic compass that will show you how close you are to dungeons while wandering the forests or where the person is that you need to talk to make a quest progress," Howard said. They've also altered the way players travel in the world. Technically speaking, the world of Oblivion is actually larger than Morrowind, but as Howard himself pointed out, Bethesda doesn't want "hundreds of hours of gameplay" to consist of a few minutes of fun punctuated by hours of boring traveling. Instead, the game will include a revised fast travel map that will hopefully eliminate a great deal of the annoying repetitive travel over long distances.

"We've really gotten much better at this," Howard says when discussing the living world of Oblivion. "We're really focusing this time on how people in the world react to you, because that's the most fulfilling thing about being good or bad or in-between." The game sports a new "Radiant AI" system that Howard says is best described as a combination of Ultima 7 and The Sims. Rather than following pre-scripted paths, every NPC is given a set of general goals they'd like to achieve, but the details of fulfilling that goal is entirely up to them. If a citizen is hungry, they'll look for a way to get food. They might buy food, hunt it, or steal it, then find a place to sit to eat and so on. This means that every one of the game's 1,000 NPCs follows a full 24/7 schedule that continues whether or not the player is there to witness it. It also means that the NPCs react to each other, so a townsperson who decides to steal a loaf of bread in full view of the guards may find himself under arrest.

It also means that everything the player does in the game that's witnessed by NPCs is processed and remembered by them, who will then use that information to decide how to react to you. Interactions are governed by what the player has done to them, what groups or guilds they're both a member of, whether the player has messed with anyone in their family and what their general reputation in the Empire is. Players who just watch the NPCs going about their daily lives will often witness townsfolk in unscripted dynamic conversations gossiping about what's going on in the kingdom and what rumors and news is currently hot.

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Daily Game:

Yet as much as gamers knew about Oblivion’s development, it wasn’t until E3 2005 that we found out Bethesda had not only been working on the game for three years, but that it had been developing what could very well end up being the best role-playing game ever made. Strong words? Absolutely. But Oblivion is just that strong of a game.

Oblivion takes place in a 16 square-mile environment, half of which is covered with lush forests whose wildlife is as decorative as it is functional. Deer, rodents, birds ... every docile creature in Oblivion can be killed and consumed to boost players’ statistics, while plants and meat can be combined using alchemy to create special stat-boosting meals.

But statistics in Oblivion aren’t boosted in the traditional role-playing sense, with XP assigned to each kill. Instead, Oblivion builds on the model established in Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall and continued more recently in Fable, where players who use magic more than melee attacks will boost their magic statistics, while those who prefer hand-to-hand combat will augment their strength and power more than their magical abilities. In this sense, Oblivion not only lets gamers play as they wish, but it also tracks that play and evolves characters accordingly. This is a dramatic change for the franchise, but it’s one that should entice even more gamers to experience the incredible world of Oblivion.

With these new gameplay mechanics, it’s no wonder Bethesda’s Todd Howard proclaims “we’ve never been more excited about a game.” And that’s before he even touches on the graphics, which even now make Oblivion the most graphically rich RPG ever made. Each of the 9,000 objects in Oblivion has multiple-passed textures. Real-time lighting. Soft, dynamic shadows. Physics so detailed that arrows can be embedded in flesh and wood but simply bounce off of rocks. If Morrowind blurred reality with its gameplay, then Oblivion looks to blur reality in every sense of the word. Never has an RPG looked this good.

in one home we encountered a woman who invited us upstairs for a relaxing conversation. In the middle of the conversation, the woman’s dog began to bark, so she walked over to a nearby table, grabbed a turkey leg and threw it on the floor. After eating its treat, the dog began to bark even louder, presumably trying to coax its owner into another goodie. Rather than give the dog a treat, however, the woman cast a paralyze spell on the dog to quell its disobedience. Not quite sure that would do the trick, she then cast a spell that engulfed the dog in flames. Bye-bye, poochie. Bethesda’s Howard said this was a completely unscripted moment, and even he got a good laugh.

With such a large and detailed world, it’s somewhat surprising to hear that one-half of the game’s DVD is comprised of audio. Bethesda recorded more than 50 hours of dialogue for Oblivion, including a considerable contribution from Patrick Stewart (known to Star Trek fans as Jean-Luc Picard), who provides the voice for Emperor Uriel Septim. This impressive list of dialogue is augmented by a medieval musical score and environmental sounds that help draw players further into Oblivion’s environs.

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GamersInfo:

It was in this crowded room that we all had the opportunity to get a first look at this new chapter in the series, the demo started with the main character in a dungeon. Here we were shown the first of the many things that just made us go, Wow! As the demo continued, we were treated to various objects in the cell being picked up and moved in any direction, but most spectacular of all was that as the objects moved the shadows followed them around. If that was it, I would have still been impressed but then they picked up a ribcage and showed how not only was it showing the shadows of the individual ribs but it had the light sparkling though when held in front of a light source. Their attentions to details like these that truly impressed me and made me feel drawn to this game and its impressive graphics and physics engines.

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GAMESPOT:http://www.gamespot.com/x360/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/preview_6125686.html

We're on hand at E3 2005 and have had a chance to sit in on a demonstration for PC version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The new game will be the follow-up to 2002's Morrowind, but according to executive producer Todd Howard, "the key to each Elder Scrolls game is reinvention." That is, with Oblivion, as with the previous games, Bethesda has thrown out all the old content and technology it had previously used and has started from scratch, with an all-new next-generation engine that takes advantage of advanced lighting and shader routines--like high-dynamic-range lighting and specular mapping--to create a highly detailed world. The game has been in development for about three years (production began right around the time the team was finishing up Morrowind), and it looks extremely impressive so far.

The game's characters might not be highly scripted, but they will, instead, use the game's "Radiant AI" system, which will give them a rough daily schedule, a few specific goals, and some personal needs (such as the need to eat and the need to sleep). Then it will basically turn them loose in the world. We watched an example in which we entered a bookstore and chatted up the storekeeper using the game's diplomacy skill (which has been changed from Morrowind to a circle onscreen that lets you move your cursor between options like joke or threaten; the character you're speaking to will react accordingly with facial animations). The bookkeeper seemed to prefer jokes and smiled when she heard them. She then invited us upstairs to keep her company. The bookkeeper then went about one of her general goals: training in archery by firing arrows at a hanging target in her room while her enthusiastic dog leaped about. The bookkeeper's aim was off, so she voluntarily quaffed a marksmanship potion, which improved her aim considerably. She also tossed her hungry dog a cut of venison, which affected the excited quadruped in much the same way it would affect a player. The dog then got so excited that the short-tempered bookkeeper cast a paralysis spell on her pet, causing it to tumble to the floor. The bookkeeper then attempted to lie down and go to sleep, but her dog recovered and began yapping excitedly again. So the impatient bookkeeper then cast a fire spell on her poor pooch, setting the dog on fire and sending it yelping from the room. After the bookkeeper laid down for the evening and subsequently nodded off, we helped ourselves to the two-handed claymore sword on her table and departed for the besieged town.

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Action Trip:

As far as next-gen gaming is concerned, this is certainly the first and possibly the only truly next-gen game I have seen at the show. The graphics look even better than in the screenshots. The details on the objects (like your Claymore sword for example) are simply astounding. Todd explains that the artists painstakingly designed more than 9000 objects for the game in all, so yeah, the world of Elder Scrolls IV looks detailed. And when I say detailed, I mean it's taking the concept of detailed computer graphics to the next level. Once you get past the fact that everything looks so detailed and that there are more layer of light maps and bump maps on the objects than you can deal with, you are treated to a completely interactive environment, with a completely believable and powerful physics engine. Todd was rattling some chains as he was walking around the prison cell (it's where your adventures in the game start), and then I seem to remember this amazing demonstration with arrows, where he would manipulate the environment by simply shooting arrows at stuff. They would be stuck in wood, bounce off stone and metal in a realistic fashion, etc. Another thing that closely ties to the phenomenal look and feel of the game is the combat itself. For those of you fearing that the combat in Elder Scrolls 4 might be a bit too generic, like the one from the third game, I can reassure you that you can put your fears to rest. The sword fights take place in first person, like the rest of the game does, but the good news is that you can kind of feel the weight and the power of the swords as you and your opponents swing them at each other. There are more combat moves that I could notice, and then blocking a blow with your shield or doing a power swing feels like you're actually engaged in melee combat with big and bulky metal weapons. It's just great. Partly, this has to do with the physics engine, and partly it's the game's amazing sound effects.

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UGO:

If you've been fiending for another Morrowind-quality epic, Oblivion is definitely the game to watch. Bethesda knows what it's doing when it comes to making a deep, complex RPG and the world around it, and from this early look, Oblivion will set the new gold standard for the genre.

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MyGamer:

As with Morrowind, Oblivion will ship with the latest version of the Elder Scrolls Construction Kit, the same tool set that the developers are using to build the game. Mod-makers will doubtless be thrilled to learn that once more this powerful tool will be put directly into their hands, and PC users can expect a tidal wave of user-made maps, levels, dungeons and even total conversions in the months following the title’s release. Model makers will be happy to learn that the Construction Kit will feature plug-in support for 3D Studio Max as well.

Oblivion’s producer, Gavin Carter, spoke with us briefly about the title and the Elder Scrolls Construction Kit, and informed us that a new feature that will debut with Oblivion is a set of “Procedural Generation” rules for mapmaking that will simplify and automate the more mundane tasks associated with the world-building process. Mod and map makers can input a set of parameters for the type of land-mass that they wish to generate, and then the Kit will take over from there, automatically producing the desired land. Specific objects such as clearings, towns and even dungeons can then be manually placed in this newly minted area, speeding the construction process.

The amount of detail that the Procedural Generation system will be capable of is impressive. “We sent a team to study with the Geology Lab at the University of Maryland and then put what they learned into the Construction Kit,” Carter told us when we asked just how realistic the dynamically generated content would be. “The process can even be set to add in randomly generated sound events throughout the world,” Carter added

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IGN: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/617/617482p1.html

In the prison it is immediately apparent how graphically advanced this title is. Each individual stone has a reflective sheen and every object has been modeled realistically down to the links on an iron chain. The floor was littered with the bones of past prisoners that could be tossed through the air and reacted with believable physics. The main character brushed against some shackles hanging from the ceiling and swung through the air, bouncing off of each other.


The next area we witnessed was one of the many forests in Tamriel. The game plays out over sixteen square miles, half of which is wooded. Instead of building the world, Bethesda generated it from data they obtained on erosion and geographic formations. The trees and grass are dense and sway in the wind. There are nine main cities in Tamriel, each with a set of unique stores. There are also 1,000 non-playable characters living in this world.

While exploring the woods, the character approached a grazing deer. These animals can be slaughtered and eaten or combined with mushrooms and berries to form stat boosting potions. When approached, the deer spooked and disappeared into the brush.

New platforming elements have been added to the game. The environments are much more interactive, with traps to evade or catch the enemies in. You can now sneak up on enemy encampments and set off their own traps to nail them. With the bow, there is a new stealth attack that results in instant kills. To indicate that a character is hidden, the reticule turns into an eye. The addition of traps and environmental kills means that there are now multiple ways to progress through a dungeon. In Morrowind a thief could either sneak or run, but now a whole new set of options await.

I played Morrowind for roughly 400 hours, so going in to see the next Elder Scrolls game had me extremely excited. From what I had seen in the screenshots, the game looked great, but you never can tell until you see the game in motion. Let me just say, Oblivion looks just as fantastic in motion as the screenshots do. The beautiful textures and art direction really help to bring the world to life. The Elder Scrolls series has always been strong when it comes to exploration, and now it has beautiful graphics to back it up.

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Boomtown:

People in this business rarely applaud heartily after a game demo at E3. But it happened after we saw Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion in action at Bethesda’s heavily guarded mini theatre. Oblivion is quite simply the most gorgeous and impressive game, yours truly encountered at this year’s expo. Actually, it surpassed the Killzone PS3 presentation, which has sort of become the high watermark this year (regardless of whether it’s “rendered” or not –Ed.) But in opposition to Killzone, Oblivion is not a lightning fast shooter that never leaves you time to breathe and take in your surroundings. Oblivion has you moving around at a leisurely pace, and you get to stay in the same places for long periods of time. Still, the graphics and physics reach a level that makes the game come very close to a photorealistic representation of reality. Now “photorealistic” is a word that’s been stretched very thin in the game business lately, but if you have the right HDTV, this game will indeed provide virtual surroundings of unparalleled quality. You may have seen trailers or screens, and think you’ve seen the game. But forget those. They don’t even come close. Oblivion is many times more beautiful in action.

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1Up:

Behind closed doors at this year's E3, Oblivion executive producer Todd Howard introduced his game to the press, stating that his team at Bethesda Softworks has "never been so excited about a project." And it's easy to see why -- Oblivion not only looks beautiful, but it appears Howard and his team has addressed many of the most common criticisms of Morrowind. Apparent from the first seconds of gameplay, Oblivion features lifelike character models with Hollywood-caliber voice acting -- gone are the mute, clone-like inhabitants of Morrowind.

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E3 AWARDS

E3 2005
Best of Show
Console Gold

Best RPG of
E3 2005
GameSpot

Best PC RPG
IGN

RPG of
the Show
GameSpy

Best RPG
of Show
DailyGame

E3 2005
Editors' Choice
GamersInfo



Best RPG
Games Domain



Best Role Playing Game
Game Critics Awards


Best Overall Game
Best RPG
Best PC Game
Game Chronicles


Best Overall Game of E3 2005
RPG Fan
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ELDER SCROLLS BACKGROUND INFORMATION



1. What are the Elder Scrolls?

These powerful tools of prophecy and divination, the prize of the Empire, tell of every event that ever has or will have happened. The Cyrodilic Moth priests, who are their keepers, invoke the Elder Scrolls by ritually attuning them to a specific time or space and attempt to interpret the glyphs that form upon their surface.

The Scrolls are believed to be kept in the Imperial City and may be stored in the Hall Of Records, which is itself likely to form part of the Imperial Palace.

The Moth priests belong to a monastic order founded by Tiber Septim and dedicated to the god Julianos, the Cyrodilic Divine whose sphere is 'literature, law, history, and contradiction'. It is also likely that they are linked to the Nibenese Cult of the Ancestor Moth.


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2. What is the Elder Scrolls game world called?

The world itself is known by many names but the most commonly used are Nirn or the Mundus. Both of these describe the plane or planet of mortal experience, upon which the Elder Scrolls games are set. The name Nirn means 'Arena' in an ancient tongue, called Ehlnofex, and relates to the notion that the mortal world has always been the focus of immortal rivalries.


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3. Are there other worlds then?

Yes many. Other worlds are the realms of various immortals, many of whom are revered as gods by different mortal cultures. The immortals and their worlds tend to be categorised as relating to either Aetherius (the 'plane of magic') or Oblivion.

You can begin to learn more about Nirn and other worlds from the official source, Elder Scrolls Cosmology

from the game book, On Oblivion

from the unofficial study, An Introduction To The Wheel

and from the site, Academy for Dwemer Studies: Planets.


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4. Where exactly is Morrowind?

Morrowind, the home of the Dunmer or 'Dark Elves', is the most north-easterly territory of the continent of Tamriel. It is divided between the continental mainland and Vvardenfell, a sub-continental island surrounded by the Inner Sea, an inlet issuing from the Sea of Ghosts to the north. Vvardenfell is the setting for the game TESIII: Morrowind, which takes place during the Third Era when Morrowind is a province of the Cyrodilic Empire.

You can study some maps of Morrowind and the rest of Tamriel at the sites,

Aldrien's Chalice

The Imperial Libraryhttp://til.gamingsource.net/maps/

World of Tamriel: Geographyhttp://www.uesp.net/tamriel/geography/tamgeog.shtml

and you can learn more about the geography of Morrowind from the official source, Savant's Note On Vvardenfell

and from the unofficial report, Morrowind Geographic Survey.


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5. Are there other continents or lands apart from Tamriel?

It is generally agreed that there are, or have been, five continents or lands besides Tamriel.
Akavir - home to a wide variety of demon and beast races, many of whom have designs on Tamriel. This large continent is east of Tamriel.


Atmora - harsh and frozen homeland of Atmoran humans, the persisting ancestors of both Nords and Cyrodiils. This land lies to the north of Tamriel.


Pyandonea - home of the Maormer or Tropical Elves. This is a land far to the south of the Summurset Isles, the most southern territory of Tamriel.


Thras - domain of the Sload race. Sometimes described as 'the coral kingdoms', this land is said to have risen out of the Abecean sea between Tamriel and Yokuda. It was reputedly razed by the All Flags Navy of Tamriel, in retribution for the Thrassian Plague unleashed by Sload in 1E2200. Whether it continues to exist in the Third Era is disputed.


Yokuda - continent from which the Redguard race originated. It was somewhere west of Tamriel before the Redguard apparently destroyed most of it during the First Era, although traces of the continent still appear on maps dating from the end of the Second Era.
You can learn more about these other continents and lands from the game books,

Mysterious Akavir

The Pocket Guide To The Empire: The Wild Regions.


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6. What is known about different races?

Races are numerous and diverse upon Nirn. Most can be classified as either civilized or uncivilized, although the boundary between these categories are frequently blurred, usually by ignorance or prejudice.

The list of civilized races includes most of those that can be further classed as hominids, usually men or mer ('Elves' in the common parlance of men, lit. 'People', 'Folk' or 'Ones'), but should also include certain of those races commonly referred to as betmer or 'beastfolk', such as Argonians, the lizard people of Black Marsh.


Here is quick look at the known civilized races of Tamriel:
Aldmer (Elder People, First Folk) - depending upon its context, this term is used to describe either all mer collectively as a distinct racial grouping or the original progenitors of all mer that first settled Tamriel in the Merethic Era. In the latter sense, Aldmer are frequently identified with Altmer, who continue to inhabit the earliest centralized elven homelands of Tamriel and who try to preserve their original racial purity.


Altmer (High People, High Elves) - the golden-skinned mer of the Summurset Isles (2E part of the Aldmeri Dominion) the original homeland of Tamrielic Aldmer. They consider themselves to be both the purest strain of mer in Tamriel and its most civilized race. Altmeri culture is deeply traditional, highly organised and exclusive, preferring little contact with 'lesser' races of mer and men. Altmer show a great propensity for magic and much of their culture is founded upon use of the arcane.


Argonians (People Of The Root) - the lizard people of Argonia, the marshland expanse of far south-eastern Tamriel (Imp. Province of Black Marsh). Sadly, little is known about either their history or culture, but it is clear that Argonians are intelligent and agile, adapted for life on land or in water, and show an aptitude for magic.

You can learn more about Argonians at the site, The House Of Ral-Jiktar.


Ayleids (Hidden Folk, Wild Elves) - these reclusive mer are reputed to inhabit the wild areas of every region of Tamriel. They isolate themselves from all other races, even Altmer, preferring to maintain an exclusively Ayleidic, traditional culture that is removed from and alien to the mainstream of Tamriel.

You can learn more about Ayleids from the game book, On Wild Elves.


Bosmer (Tree-Sap People, Green or Forest Folk, Wood Elves) - tan-skinned inhabitants of the dense rain forests of Valenwood (2E part of the Aldmeri Dominion) in south-west Tamriel. Their society is clan based and largely informal; Bosmer care little for most of the civilized trappings of other Tamrielic cultures, preferring to live harmoniously with their natural surroundings.


Bretons - a diverse, hominid race native to the region of High Rock in north-west Tamriel. Their fragmented society is violently sectarian and, before Imperial domination in the Third Era, comprised many rival city kingdoms that warred with each other regularly. Bretons are likely to have originated in the late Merethic or early First Era, from interbreeding between Altmer, who then dominated High Rock, and Nedic (early men) settlers. It is likely to be this part-Altmeri lineage that has gifted Bretons with their great affinity for magic.


Chimer (Changed Ones, People Of The North) - a tribe of Aldmer who undertook the Velothi exodus from the Summurset Isles, during the Merethic Era, after assuming religious beliefs based upon the veneration of Daedra Princes. They settled in the land now known as Morrowind where they eventually became the Dunmer.

You can learn more about the origins of the Chimer from the game book, The Changed Ones.


Cyrodiils (Imperials, Men) - the modern descendants of Merethic Era Nedic (proto-Cyrodiil) and First Era Nord (Cyro-Nord) settlers who thrived in the Nibenay and Colovian interior regions of Tamriel that are now known as Cyrodiilhttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/provincesoftamriel.shtml. The Heartlanders, as they are also known, have a long and rich heritage and a highly developed society. Third Era Cyrodilic Emperors of Tamriel have ruled the continent for over four hundred years, since the conquest of Tiber Septim (see question 8. below).

You can learn more about the origins of Cyrodiils from the game book, Frontier, Conquest, and Accommodation: A Social History of Cyrodiil.


Dunmer (Cursed People, Dark Elves) - the dark-skinned mer native to volcanic Morrowind in the north-east of Tamriel. They have a strictly hierarchical society based upon their organization into settled Great Houses, although a few nomadic tribes remain in northern Vvardenfell. Dunmer are regarded suspiciously by other races, but Dunmeri culture is colorful and vibrant, albeit somewhat cool towards foreigners or 'outlanders' as they are known.

You can learn more about Dunmeri culture from the game book, Great Houses of Morrowind.


Dwemer (Deep Folk, Dwarves) - although widely used, the term 'dwarves' is a misnomer, the Dwemer were actually of average hominid height. They formed close knit communities in subterranean dwellings across Tamriel. Dwemeri society was highly organised and based upon their common passions for logic and 'technological' innovation. Almost the entire race mysteriously disappeared during the Battle of Red Mountain (ca. 1E700, see question 13. below).

You can learn more about Dwemer from the game books, Ancient Tales Of The Dwemerhttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/abcindex.shtml

from the unofficial reports,

The Definitive Guide To Dwemerhttp://www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind/chalice/corner/dwemer.shtml

The Mystery of the Dwemerhttp://til.gamingsource.net/fsg/strikerarticle1.shtml

Dwemer Energy Study

and from the site, Academy for Dwemer Studies.


Ehlnofey - believed by many to be one of the earliest mortal races upon Nirn and ancestors of both men and mer. However, "Ehlnofey" can be translated as 'Earth Bones' and, as such, the term is often used to describe the mythic foundations of the mortal plane itself, created by a sacrificial transition which certain immortals undertook during the legendary Dawn Era. Altmer specifically revere these immortals as Aedra, that is, 'our ancestors'.

You can learn more about the Ehlnofey and the possible origins of mortals from the game book, The Annotated Anuad

and from the official source, The Dawn Era.


Falmer (Snow People, Snow or Ice Elves) - these legendary mer are reputed to have once inhabited the cold wastes of northern Tamriel. They feature in Nord folklore, but there are no modern accounts of them and they are widely believed to be now extinct. One myth holds that they were exterminated by the Nords of Skyrim, during the reign of King Vrage the Gifted (ca. 1E230), while another suggests that the last of the Falmer were killed by the Nords of Solstheim.


Hist - 'The Anuad' (see Ehlnofey above) portrays the Hist as an ancient, sentient race of trees; a distinct racial group that coexisted with the Ehlnofey in the Dawn Era. Argonians hold the Hist to be sacred, but it is difficult to say whether they venerate them in the same way that men, and even mer, worship gods. To Argonians, the Hist appear to represent life, as both the wellspring of life and the guardians of their life cycle.

You can learn more about the Hist from the game book, The Seed.


Khajiit (lit. Desert Walkers) - an often hominid race who credit their own creation to the Daedra Prince Azura, from the same ancestral roots as Bosmer. She tied them to the ja-Kha'jay or 'lunar lattice' so that their individual forms would be dictated by the phases of the moons. The feline Khajiit originate from the arid northern wastelands and southern jungles of Elsweyr, in southern Tamriel.

You can learn more about Khajiit from explanations given by Jobasha in the official source, Interview With Three Booksellers.


Nords (Men) - descendants of the men of Atmora that migrated to northern Tamriel in the early First Era. Nord traditions are resplendent with legendary heroes that battled their traditional enemies, elves and orcs, using the Thu'um, a powerful voice-magic. They are a hardy and warlike race, innovative woodcrafters, skilled sea farers and shrewd traders. Nords are naturally resistant to cold and thrive in the harsh climate ofSkyrim.

You can learn more about Nords from the game book, Children Of The Sky.


Orsimer (Pariah Folk, Orcs) - originally a tribe of Aldmer that venerated Trinimac the Champion of the Aedra. During the Merethic Era they became corrupted by the transformation of Trinimac into the Daedra Prince Malacath (Malauch) and were exiled from Summurset; eventually they founded the city-state of Orsinium near High Rock. Modern Orcs are stalwart warriors and widely respected for their service in the Imperial Legions; their armour is among the finest quality and most prized in Tamriel.

You can learn more about Orsimer from the game book, The True Nature Of Orcs.


Redguards (from 'Ra Gada', Men) - former inhabitants of the continent of Yokuda, who migrated to Tamriel and settled in the Hammerfell region in the later First Era. Yokudan culture developed in isolation from other races of men and Redguard society is largely founded upon disciplined and self-reliant martial prowess. They are typically skilled sea farers and there are no finer warriors than Redguards in all of Tamriel.

You can learn more about Redguards from the game book, Redguards, Their History and Their Heroes.
You can also learn more about many of the races of Tamriel (and beyond), their classification, homelands and cultures from the official source, The Elder Scrolls Codex

and from the game books,

The Pocket Guide To The Empire

Notes On Racial Phylogeny And Biology.


Some other civilized races of note upon Nirn:

Imga - the Ape Men of Valenwood. Aspiring to be more like mer, they often shave their fur, wear Altmeri clothing and even adopt superior attitudes towards men and other beast races.


Kamal - the Snow Demons of Akavir that thaw out each year and attempt to overrun the Tang Mo. In the past, they have also attempted to invade Tamriel.


Ka Po' Tun - the Tiger Folk of Akavir. The last of the Akaviri Dragons were destroyed long ago, during a war between the now Ka Po' Tun and the Tsaesci. Now the Tiger Folk seek to become Dragons; their leader, Tosh Raka, has reputedly succeeded and is now the largest Dragon on Nirn.


Maormer (Tropical Elves) - originally outcast Aldmer, who now have a well established culture on the continent of Pyandonea. Their skin has a natural chameleon-like quality that tends to give them an unusual, colorless appearance.


Sload - a slug-like race despised by all of Tamriel for unleashing the Thrassian Plague which wiped out most of the inhabitants of Tamriel (ca. 1E2200). Their homeland of Thras was subsequently sunk by a united Tamrielic armada and it was believed all had been killed, but some remain. They are slow and deliberate creatures with a very high aptitude for magic and a particular interest in necromancy.


Tang Mo - the hugely diverse Monkey Folk of the Akaviri archipelago. They have always managed to resist becoming enslaved by the other dominant races of Akavir. They do not appear to be related to the Imga.


Tsaesci - the Akaviri Serpent Folk credited with having eaten all of the Akaviri men and attempting to eat all of the Akaviri Dragons. During the First and Second Eras, Tsaesci were quite accepted in Tamriel and, for a substantial part of the Second Era, they controlled the Empire.
You can learn more about the races of Akavir from the game book, Mysterious Akavir

and from the unofficial article, Definitive Akavir.


__________________________________


7. Where can I find out about gods and stuff?

A collection of official sources, game books and unofficial studies about Elder Scrolls immortals and their roles are available at the sites,

The Imperial Library: Tamriel Gods

World Of Tamriel: Gods and Religion

The Theoretical Whirling School Of Vivec.


__________________________________


8. Who is Tiber Septim?

Tiber Septim is the Imperial name taken by the first Emperor of the Third Era Cyrodilic Empire of Tamriel. His other titles include Stormcrown, Talos the Dragonborn and Ysmir, Dragon of the North. There are conflicting accounts of his origins, some report that he was born in Atmora, others High Rock and still others proclaim him as a Nord from Skyrim.

He unified Tamriel at the end of the Second Era, negotiating an armistice of peace with Vivec of Morrowind and conquering the resistant Aldmeri Dominion with the Numidium, a gigantic Dwemeri golem of incredible power (see question 9. below). Tiber Septim died in 3E38, aged 108, and is now venerated as the ninth Divine of the Cyrodilic pantheon.

You can learn more about Tiber Septim from the game book, The Pocket Guide To The Empire: Cyrodiil.


__________________________________


9. What was the Numidium?

Numidium (or 'Anumidium', lit. Divine Metal One [Golem] or "Brass God") was a massive automaton, forged in the First Era by Chief Dwemeri Tonal Architect Kagrenac as the new god of the Dwemer. Issues surrounding the construction of Numidium and its link to the Heart of Lorkhan were the principal causes of the War of the First Council (see question 13. below). Numidium later came into the possession of Tiber Septim who employed it in his conquest of Tamriel.


Here is a brief timeline summarizing the historical events surrounding Numidium:
Pre 1E668 - Dwemeri tonal architect Kagrenac first constructs Numidium intending to 'power' it with the Heart of Lorkhan.


ca. 1E670 - Battle of Red Mountain, Numidium is destroyed or captured by Dunmeri forces, led by the later Tribunal.


2E 864-896 - Tiber Septim learns of Numidium, and acquires it from Morrowind; either piece by piece or possibly through secret treaty with the Tribunal in return for self-government. Imperial Battlemage Zurin Arctus researches the construction and activation principles of Numidium - he prepares it for use and creates the Totem to control it.


2E896 - Using the Mantella as its 'power source', Tiber Septim activates Numidium and employs it to conquer the Aldmeri Dominion and establish himself finally as Emperor of Tamriel.


Following the capitulation of Summurset, Numidium is destroyed in a battle with 'the Underking', a possibly undead entity of uncertain identity (see question 14. below).


3E 1-ca. 400 - Imperial agents collectively known as The Blades collect together and re-assemble the broken fragments of lost Numidium.


3E401 - The lost Mantella is rediscovered by Nulfaga of Daggerfall, High Rock.


3E 405-410 - The Totem is found by a personal agent of Emperor Uriel Septim VII and, as rumours spread of their discovery, various Tamrielic factions vie for control of this and the Mantella, and consequent control of Numidium.


3E410 - Numidium is re-activated and a parallel reality paradox occurs whereupon the golem is employed by six different masters, to achieve six geographically separate series of tasks simultaneously. This phenomenon is known historically as the 'Warp of the West' or 'The Second Numidian Effect'.


After 3E410 - The whereabouts or state of Numidium are unknown.


2E882-ca. 3E427 - Working from Kagrenac's plans, Dagoth Ur constructs Akulakhan (Second Numidium) at Red Mountain also intending it to be 'powered' by the Heart of Lorkhan.
__________________________________


10. What's the deal with Nerevar?

Lord Indoril Nerevar was the Chimeri King who led his people into peace with the Dwemer (ca. 1E401) so that they might defeat their common enemy, the Nords. He and Dwemer King Dumac named their united land the Kingdom Of Resdayn and the peace they negotiated lasted about two hundred and fifty years, until it was shattered by the War of the First Council (see question 13. below) in which Nerevar was slain. In Morrowind, Nerevar is now venerated as the 'Herald of the Triune Way' and is the foremost saint of the Dunmeri pantheon.

You can learn more about Nerevar from the game books,

Nerevar Moon-and-Star

The Real Nerevar.


__________________________________


11. Who are the Tribunal?

The Tribunal, or ALMSIVI, are the three god-kings of Morrowind; Vivec, Sotha Sil and Almalexia. They were the personal advisors of Chimeri King Nerevar before he was slain at the Battle of Red Mountain (ca. 1E700, see question 13. below). Their apotheosis followed soon after and they have been worshipped as the 'true gods' of Morrowind ever since.

You can learn more about the Tribunal from the game book, Fellowship of the Temple.


__________________________________


12. What happened to the Dwemer (Dwarves)?

Almost the entire race disappeared, suddenly and mysteriously (ca. 1E700). This is a subject that is further complicated by conflicting reports of the circumstances of their disappearance.

The most consistent accounts appear to suggest that the Dwemer were either destroyed or transported to another time or plane of existence, in the midst of the Battle of Red Mountain through the actions of their High Priest Kagrenac in relation to the Heart of Lorkhan.

For more information see question 13. below.


__________________________________


13. What was the Battle of Red Mountain all about?

This battle was the final conflict of the War of the First Council which was fought across the land of Resdayn (now Morrowind) in the earlier part of the First Era. The opposing Chimer and Dwemer armies met at the volcanic mountain, Vvardenfell, which was the location of the last great stronghold of the Dwemer. There are many contradictory accounts of this battle, but the essential outcomes were the conclusive victory of the Chimer and the sudden disappearance of the Dwemer.

You can learn more about the Battle of Red Mountain and the disappearance of the Dwemer from the game books,

The Battle of Red Mountain, and the Rise and Fall of the Tribunalhttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/battle_redmountain.shtml

The Five Songs Of King Wulfharthhttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/wulfharthsongs.shtml

Kagrenac's Toolshttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/kagrenacs_tools.shtml

Nerevar at Red Mountainhttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/nerevar_redmountain.shtml

The War of the First Council

and from the unofficial study, What Happened At Red Mountain.


__________________________________


14. Who is the Underking?

The Underking is a powerful individual of uncertain identity, who has been quietly feared throughout Tamriel during the course of the Third Era. He is believed to command undead servants and most common folk perceive him to be an ancient lich or a necromantic mage. Some scholars have linked the Underking to Zurin Arctus, Imperial Battlemage of Tiber Septim, and have said that the energy within the Mantella used to power the Numidium, was actually the trapped life force of Arctus, which prevented him from dying after a natural time. A conflicting viewpoint understands the Underking to be an ancient Nord hero called both Wulfharth and Ysmir, who has had several incarnations.

You can learn more about the controversy surrounding the Underking from the reliable source,The Story of Daggerfall

and from the game book, The Arcturian Heresy.http://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/arcturian.shtml


__________________________________


15. Who are Maruhk and the Maruhkati Selective?

Maruhk was a "monkey prophet" who claimed to have visions of Queen (later Saint) Alessia, who had led the liberation of the earliest Cyrodiils from their elven overlords (ca. 1E243). During the First Era, his strict teachings were enforced throughout much of Tamriel under the theocratic rule of the Alessian Order.

The Maruhkati Selective was a fanatical Alessian (Cyrodilic) sect of the First Era, who apparently caused the Dragon Break (see question 16. below) by magically attempting to separate the identity of Akatosh, the Cyrodilic Divine, from the elven god Auriel.


__________________________________


16. What the heck is the Dragon Break?

The Dragon Break primarily refers to a temporary disruption of the normal flow of Time (the sphere of Auriel or Akatosh, the Dragon god) that may have occurred during the First Era. In a general sense, the term 'dragon break' is also often used to describe any similar idea of a temporal disruption (e.g. the 'Warp of the West', see question 9. above), although the historic Break is the only universal example of this phenomenon that has been documented.

You can find out more about the Dragon Break from the game books,

Where were you when the Dragon Broke?

The Dragon Break Reexaminedhttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/dragonbroke_ex.shtml

and from the unofficial reports,

Dragon Broke Study

Incident At Rimmen.


__________________________________


17. Who are the Psijics?

The most ancient monastic community of Tamriel; they inhabit the Isle of Artaeum near the Summurset Isles. The first mention of the Psijic Order was recorded in the year 1E 20 by the Breton sage Voernet, who travelled to Artaeum to meet with the Psijic Rite Master, Iachesis.

Artaeum disappeared from Tamriel at the beginning of the Second Era, about the time the Mages Guild was founded, and reappeared 500 years later. No one has ever explained this disappearance, or what happened to Iachesis and his council.

Although the Psijics continue to act as counsellors for royalty, their presence and use is not as widespread as it was in the past. Legend holds that the Psijic Order once magically summoned a storm which destroyed the naval fleet of King Orgnum of the Maormer (ca. 3E110).

You can learn more about the Psijics from the game books,

On Artaeum

The Old Wayshttp://til.gamingsource.net/mwbooks/oldways.shtml

and from the reliable sources,

Guide to the Psijic Orderhttp://til.gamingsource.net/gttpo/

The Road To Cyrodiil.http://www.whirlingschool.net/road.html


__________________________________


18. What is the Staff of Chaos?

The Staff of Chaos is hugely powerful, ancient artifact that once lay hidden, and magically protected, in the catacombs beneath Mournhold. Jagar Tharn, the Imperial Battlemage of Emperor Uriel Septim VII (ca. 3E389), disguised himself as a common bard and tricked the Dunmer Queen Barenziah into helping him to retrieve the Staff.

Tharn used the Staff of Chaos to transport the Emperor and his personal guard to another plane (see question 19. below) and then broke the Staff into eight pieces, concealing one piece in each province of the Empire. A hero, now remembered as the Eternal Champion, collected these pieces, defeated Jagar Tharn and used the reassembled Staff of Chaos to release the Emperor. The present whereabouts of the Staff is unknown.

You can learn more about the Staff of Chaos and Jagar Tharn's deception from the game books, The Real Barenziah.


__________________________________


19. What Elder Scrolls games were released before TESIII: Morrowind and what happened in them?

TES: Arena was released in 1994.
TESII: Daggerfall was released in 1996.
TES Legends: Battlespire was released in 1997.
TES Adventures: Redguard was released in 1998.
Here is a brief summary of the setting for each game:

TES: Arena (3E 389 - 399)
Emperor Uriel Septim VII is betrayed by the imperial battlemage Jagar Tharn and imprisoned in a dimension that Tharn creates using the Staff of Chaos. Tharn then uses his magic of illusion to assume the Emperor's aspect. For the next ten years, Tharn abuses Imperial privileges, but discontinues Uriel VII's schedule of re-conquest. Eventually a hero steps forward to defeat him and free the true Emperor.

TESII: Daggerfall (3E 405)
A personal agent of Uriel Septim VII, ordered to the Iliac Bay to investigate the death of King Lysandus and to find a missing letter that the Emperor had sent to the Queen of Daggerfall, becomes embroiled in a complex weave of political struggles. His adventures peak when he recovers the lost Mantella, the power source of the great Numidium.

TES Legends: Battlespire (sometime between 3E 389 - 399)
The Daedra Lord Mehrunes Dagon takes control of the Battlespire, the extra-planar proving ground of the Imperial Battlemages, destroying or possessing all of the mages inside. A young initiate arrives at the Battlespire gates and quickly realises that, to survive and return to Tamriel, he must somehow overcome the Daedric terror within.

TES Adventures: Redguard (2E 864)
The Redguard Cyrus, and his sister Iszara, lead a rebellion against Imperial forces on the island of Stros M'Kai, off the coast of Hammerfell. Together they must destroy the Imperial fleet in the harbour and defeat the Imperial Legion, both commanded by Lord Admiral Amiel Richton, representative of the Emperor Tiber Septim.


__________________________________


20. What is the Eye Of Argonia?

The Eye of Argonia is a priceless gem that also serves as a key to the Lost City of Black Marsh. Little more is known about either the gem or the City. (Eye of Argonia was also the name that Bethesda gave to a follow up game to TES Adventures: Redguard that was designed but never developed.)

 

[Slo]

:-O You rock dude.

 

[Talas]

Awesome, nice read. Thanks.

 

[strikeselect]

Oh snap.

 

[Shaheed79]

Will the TES Construction Set be included again?
Yes, the TES Construction Set will be included with the PC version. It will not be available on a console.

Again, BIG mistake on MS's part. Including build engines in 360 versions of games would be a HUGE coupe for Microsoft over the competition. I hope they wise up and actually give more importance to the inclusion of bigger hardrives.

 

[Baron Aloha]

Looks good...but I'll wait for GOTY edition or whatever to pop up on PS3 since it will probably have more features.

And I hope they somehow manage to improve the animation.

 

[hooo]

Again, BIG mistake on MS's part. Including build engines in 360 versions of games would be a HUGE coupe for Microsoft over the competition. I hope they wise up and actually give more importance to the inclusion of bigger hardrives.

Considering the testing that I'm sure that MS is requiring, allowing the player to change anything and everything about the game is way too much work. If I'm futzing around with that sort of thing on my PC, I won't be surprised if it crashes or I get stuck in the game. That sort of thing is unacceptable on a console. You won't ever see the support for user created content on a console like you will a PC as that's just the nature of the beast. A console is a closed world of control, and a PC is open ended chaos. Making a console more variable and less stable makes it a PC because of the user control and instablity.

 

[Oracle Dragon]

Im a HUGE fan of Elder Scrolls, Morrowind in paticular. I musta played that game (and I mean the ENTIRE game) 3 or 4 times with different chars, all the quests, everything.

What I would REALLY like it the next game though is real dungeons! Obviously not every cave and crypt is going to be like that.. but a couple of really big, multi-level dungeons with crazy tricks, traps, puzzles, and loads of treasure

As for world building on consoles... I would happily settle for the ability to download new mods into the game on X360.

 

[Shaheed79]

Considering the testing that I'm sure that MS is requiring, allowing the player to change anything and everything about the game is way too much work. If I'm futzing around with that sort of thing on my PC, I won't be surprised if it crashes or I get stuck in the game. That sort of thing is unacceptable on a console. You won't ever see the support for user created content on a console like you will a PC as that's just the nature of the beast. A console is a closed world of control, and a PC is open ended chaos. Making a console more variable and less stable makes it a PC because of the user control and instablity.

This is as true as it is false. What I mean by that is developing for a single specification should be much much easier to program, test and stabalize for than when you have to develop for a Dozen type of Video Cards, 2 Dozen Processors speeds, Memory ect. Its all in the control and ability of the developer. The build system doesn't even have to be as expansive as the PC version but give them at something deep enough so that the PC version is as obviously superior for including one. Perfect Dark Zero is coming with some sort of Build Engine and games like Pariah and FC did it this generation. I can see the next generation allowing for even more expansive build engines on consoles and MS should capatilize on that starting with Oblivion.

 

[akascream]

Damn I'm hot for this game...especially after reading this:

We've realized how much combat people really do in a game like this and made it more of a priority to get it right," Howard continued. The Oblivion team actually developed three entirely new combat systems and did extensive testing on them all before settling on the one that will be in the final game.

I think I will buy an Xbox360 if only for this game.

 

[Nerevar]

I'm going to buy an xbox 360 for this game.

And then I'll buy it again for the PC a few years down the line after I upgrade.

Damn you Bethesda for making me spend my money!

 

[akascream]

Aww shit.

The problem was, Morrowind was so huge and free flowing that it turned off as many gamers as it turned on. Many of the people who started playingMorrowind stopped playing because they didn't have a specific direction or they simply got bored. Howard and the Oblivion team acknowledged the problems inherent in their previous games and are working to fix them in the new game. "That's what we want to address," Howard said. "Never let the player be bored, always be entertaining. We want to 'show you the fun,' and always be pointing you to something fun in the game, even if you don't know it's there." One of the major ways that they're doing that is by completely reworking the game's navigation and orienteering tools.

Fuck. This sounds just like how WoW and EQ2 dumbed down the MMO genre. Now we get to pander to morons for single player rpgs too.

"Right now we're working on our dynamic compass that will show you how close you are to dungeons while wandering the forests or where the person is that you need to talk to make a quest progress," Howard said. They've also altered the way players travel in the world. Technically speaking, the world of Oblivion is actually larger than Morrowind, but as Howard himself pointed out, Bethesda doesn't want "hundreds of hours of gameplay" to consist of a few minutes of fun punctuated by hours of boring traveling. Instead, the game will include a revised fast travel map that will hopefully eliminate a great deal of the annoying repetitive travel over long distances.

Damn. I think they just killed my interest entirely.


Why not just do horses, or boats and shit. Give the player a big carrot that will make travel a bit faster. Not some warping minimap bullshit.

 

[Ark-AMN]

First, props to the thread creator for putting all this info together, that can't have been a quick thing.

I'll have to see what kind of hardware I have before seeing which version I'll buy. It'll be 360 unless I'm able to get a new computer by the fall.

 

[Xenon]

Loki you have just been dethroned!

great post

 

[seismologist]

Aww shit.



Fuck. This sounds just like how WoW and EQ2 dumbed down the MMO genre. Now we get to pander to morons for single player rpgs too.




Damn. I think they just killed my interest entirely.


Why not just do horses, or boats and shit. Give the player a big carrot that will make travel a bit faster. Not some warping minimap bullshit.

Well yeah that does suck. It almost sounds like they're trying to make it more "console friendly"

 

[Ark-AMN]

Well yeah that does suck. It almost sounds like they're trying to make it more "console friendly"

I really hope thats not the case, we all remember what that did to Deus Ex 2

 

[pj]

Damn. I think they just killed my interest entirely.


Why not just do horses, or boats and shit. Give the player a big carrot that will make travel a bit faster. Not some warping minimap bullshit.

Yeah that totally ruins the game, especially the part where they force you to use it!

Hmm..

Wait

Wait a gosh darn second..

Apparently, they've heard your complaints, and are implementing a way to avoid this problem, it's called "Don't-use-the-fucking-fast-travel-you-bitch"

 

[akascream]

If they really do this shit, they should make difficulty settings so we can take it out.

 

[akascream]

Yeah that totally ruins the game, especially the part where they force you to use it!

Oh please. This argument didn't work for World of Warcraft and it doesn't work here. If there is a 'make me a badass' button, it's there, it will be used. It's fuckers like you that these guys pander to. Thanks a lot buddy heh.

 

[pj]

Oh please. This argument didn't work for World of Warcraft and it doesn't work here. If there is a 'make me a badass' button, it's there, it will be used. It's fuckers like you that these guys pander to. Thanks a lot buddy heh.

And the casuals using this feature in oblivion (a single player game), affects your experience.. how?

Morrowind had several win buttons. The game in general was easy, it had a difficulty slider, master trainers were everywhere, alchemy buffing..

I didn't use any of those to make it easier for myself, others did. Does that make the game easier and dumbed down for me? noooooooooooo

 

[akascream]

And the casuals using this feature in oblivion (a single player game), affects your experience.. how?

Morrowind had several win buttons. The game in general was easy, it had a difficulty slider, master trainers were everywhere, alchemy buffing..

I didn't use any of those to make it easier for myself, other did. Does that make the game easier and dumbed down for me? noooooooooooo

It effects me because developers make the game easier to pander to you guys. If it is there I'm going to use it. I love mindlessly playing these games, but I'm not going to artificially make the game harder when there is a warp-to-win map. Im weak, and this is irritating. It makes the world too small.

The coolest part of these games, especially morrowind where the combat engine was complete ass, is the huge world. Why whore that out to the battle.net market when they are busy playing something else anyway.

 

[pj]

It effects me because developers make the game easier to pander to you guys. If it is there I'm going to use it. I love mindlessly playing these games, but I'm not going to artificially make the game harder when there is a warp-to-win map. Im weak, and this is irritating. It makes the world too small.

The coolest part of these games, especially morrowind where the combat engine was complete ass, is the huge world. Why whore that out to the battle.net market when they are busy playing something else anyway.

First of all, I'm not one of "those guys," as evidenced by this, second, you're actually blaming the developer for YOUR weakness? Are you for real?

Ok, then, I think Oblivion is being dumbed down because I like to play hand to hand combat only games, but with all that magic and swords and shit, I'm going to have to use them because bethesda is pandering to the final fantasy and dynasty warriors crowds! FUCK THEM!

Are you compelled to use cheats in all games that have them, are you forced to buy strategy guides simply because they exist? No, you're not, if you really don't want fast travel, DON'T FUCKING USE IT. And if the game's difficulty slider (if it has one) doesn't remove stuff like that, download the inevitable mod that does, BUT FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, PLEASE AVOID THE SECTION WHERE THEY STORE THE MODS THAT MAKE THE GAME EASIER, OR YOU'LL BE FORCED TO DOWNLOAD THEM.

 

[Oracle Dragon]

Aww shit.



Fuck. This sounds just like how WoW and EQ2 dumbed down the MMO genre. Now we get to pander to morons for single player rpgs too.




Damn. I think they just killed my interest entirely.


Why not just do horses, or boats and shit. Give the player a big carrot that will make travel a bit faster. Not some warping minimap bullshit.

Why? As long as they dont force you to use it, don't. They had the same thing in the first 2 games.

 

[Apharmd Battler]

Hitler Stole My Potato, thanks for compiling all of this information.

 

[Razoric]

Oh please. This argument didn't work for World of Warcraft and it doesn't work here. If there is a 'make me a badass' button, it's there, it will be used. It's fuckers like you that these guys pander to. Thanks a lot buddy heh.

Oh please indeed. You are forced to use "noob" tactics in WoW because it's an online game and EVERYONE will be using it. Oblivion is an offline game and you have NO reason to use the quick travel if you don't want to.

 

[Rhindle]

I'm pretty damn sure I remember Morrowind having multiple "warp" mechanisms. As long as it's done in measured moderation, there's nothing to get worked up about.

 

[Pellham]

Great info, and yeah I'm not concerned about the fast travel option. I'm sure I will end up using it a lot, but I will still want to travel through the world at least the first couple times around just to gaze at its beauty. It's not gonna be an issue really (besides, I'm sure that everyone who's played Morrowind ended up using mark/recall/divine intervention heavily anyway).

 

[akascream]

First of all, I'm not one of "those guys," as evidenced by this, second, you're actually blaming the developer for YOUR weakness? Are you for real?

Do I really have to spell out for you how weak the don't use it argument is? Are you serious? Why have travel at all?..why require leveling up, or why not start out with the best gear. You can just run in circles if you like travel, or just kill guys over and over if you like grinding levels, or not use the best gear. Come on.

If it is like Morrowind, then I can deal, but that's not how it sounds. A travel mini map for warping? The specifically state Morrowind as the problem, so they must be going beyond that kind of travel, which is almost too lax itself.

 

[Ark-AMN]

I wasn't concerned with "fast-travel" at all when they mentioned it at E3. I actually look foward to it, because there definately were times in Morrowind that I would have rather had the OPTION of getting to a town or city quickly.

 

[pj]

Why? As long as they dont force you to use it, don't. They had the same thing in the first 2 games.

Excellent point, I forgot about that since I didn't play too much of them.

If it is like Morrowind, then I can deal, but that's not how it sounds. A travel mini map for warping?

Oh, I assumed you actually knew what you were talking about before you went on your stupid rant. My mistake.

The fast travel only allows you to "warp" between TOWNS that you've ALREADY BEEN TO.

 

[Pellham]

Well what i'm hoping for is that you have to actually traverse to a location the first time around, and once you've done so, then you can "unlock" it and be able to fast travel to it again later. You're right that it's pointless to actually walk to a location if you can just click a button to go there, but somehow I doubt that will be the case unless it's like, taking a ship ride or caravan.


edit: ah pj you cleared it up. it sounds like something to look forward to.

 

[akascream]

Oh, I assumed you actually knew what you were talking about before you went on your stupid rant. My mistake.

The fast travel only allows you to "warp" between TOWNS that you've ALREADY BEEN TO

What a defensive little fanboy you are. That's pretty shitty design if you can just warp everywhere you've already been.

 

[pj]

What a defensive little fanboy you are. That's pretty shitty design if you can just warp everywhere you've already been.

You're a pretty shitty gamer if you can't not use a feature you don't like.

Edit: Jesus, it takes like 5 seconds of page downing to get to the bottom of this thread, way to go, Hitler Stole My Potato

 

[Pellham]

What a defensive little fanboy you are. That's pretty shitty design if you can just warp everywhere you've already been.

You do realize that almost every RPG in existence has some form of warping to places you've already been to, right?

 

[akascream]

You do realize that almost every RPG in existence has some form of warping to places you've already been to, right?

Right, and like I said, I can deal with it if it's in the same vein as those games, but they cite Morrowind. If the warping in that game is too hard, then just put the controller down heh.

 

[Razoric]

Right, and like I said, I can deal with it if it's in the same vein as those games, but they cite Morrowind. If the warping in that game is too hard, then just put the controller down heh.

Cry about it some more douche.

 

[akascream]

Hehe, where is the picture of the gamecube controller with the win button when you need it. Maybe Nintendo is on to something.

 

[Razoric]

Hehe, where is the picture of the gamecube controller with the win button when you need it. Maybe Nintendo is on to something.

because the entire point of elder scrolls is walking along roads to get from one town to another right? :lol

if you like time sinks that's your own problem

 

[pj]

You do realize that almost every RPG in existence has some form of warping to places you've already been to, right?

Including the first two elderscrolls games, which DIDN'T appear on consoles. Bethesda is simply providing an option to people who find trekking between places they've been to many times, tedious. I know it sounds ridiculous, but there are people who don't like walking the same exact path 20 times. I am not one of them, because I make my own paths and find all the cool shit that was put in the game, but good on bethesda for giving people a choice.

Btw, akascream, if you hate that casual-pandering stuff, I hope you didn't use mark/recall or the interventions in Morrowind, because warping to places is LAME. Oh wait, of course you did, since bethesda put them there, you were forced at gunpoint to use them. Why are you even interested in this series if bethesda keeps putting in all this casual shit that you don't like but are unable to ignore?

 

[epmode]

I don't know if anyone remembers, but that whole "fast travel" option existed in both Arena *and* Daggerfall. Granted, it made more sense in those games, since the landscape between towns was so barren.. But still, not a big deal.

edit: beat me to it.

 

[akascream]

because the entire point of elder scrolls is walking along roads to get from one town to another right? :lol

if you like time sinks that's your own problem

Except the vastness of the world is this series' strength. I guess we are left with graphics now heh. Maybe we'll get lucky and the combat system will be worth a damn.

 

[epmode]

Yawn.

 

[Razoric]

Except the vastness of the world is this series' strength. I guess we are left with graphics now heh. Maybe we'll get lucky and the combat system will be worth a damn.

The problem is you are mixing challenge with time sinks. It's not challenging to travel on foot from one town / dungeon to another, but it does suck up a lot of time. That is the problem with some games attempting to be too real, the fun slowly leaks out of them. How fun is it really to travel back and forth, over and over, wasting hours upon hours? Not much. But like others have said, if you HAVE to do that, the option is still there. But for people like me I don't have that much time to waste on games so yes a quick warp to places I've already been would save me a lot of time.

Remember wasting time != challenge.

 

[pj]

Except the vastness of the world is this series' strength.

Vastness of the world, and vastness of options, that let YOU play the game the way YOU want to play it.

 

[Hournda]

Why not just do horses, or boats and shit. Give the player a big carrot that will make travel a bit faster. Not some warping minimap bullshit.

Actually they did that for TES 2: Daggerfall. The world was so damn big that you had to do minimap warping stuff. In Oblivion you can still walk to anywhere you want. It's just for people who don't want to.

 

[krypt0nian]

Except the vastness of the world is this series' strength. I guess we are left with graphics now heh. Maybe we'll get lucky and the combat system will be worth a damn.

Then feel free to NOT warp. Also feel free to not slit your wrists or take poison.

 

[Ryudo]

Except the vastness of the world is this series' strength. I guess we are left with graphics now heh. Maybe we'll get lucky and the combat system will be worth a damn.

It will still be vast, but you wont "have" to travel by foot if you want to do more fun things.... like do quests.

 

[Oracle Dragon]

I dont see what the big fuss is about anyways. I mean, really, if there are the same amount of fetch quests as there were in Morrowind, I WELCOME mini-map warping I'm crazy about that game, but I gotta be honest.. a couple of those cross-continent fetch quests, I opened up the ole' console and set my player speed to 400 ZIP, clear across the world in 20 seconds, heh. One interesting thing was that you would be running so fast, if you went up a hill you would fly off the other side... if you smacked right into something else you would take damage.

 

[DarkCloud]

I wasn't concerned with "fast-travel" at all when they mentioned it at E3. I actually look foward to it, because there definately were times in Morrowind that I would have rather had the OPTION of getting to a town or city quickly.

Walking 10 miles being attacked by every Blighted/Diseased Cliff Racer, Nix-Hound, Cliff Racer, Kwarma, Cliff Racer, Rat, Cliff Racer, Guar, Cliff Racer...

 

[Ark-AMN]

Cliff Racer, Cliff Racer, Clif Racer, Cliff Racer, Cliff Racer, Cliff Racer.......................................................................................DEADRA!!!