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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion |OT|

Pimpbaa

Pimpbaa

Member
Woo, just ordered a dual core Athlon with all the trimmings for 1,400 canadian (including taxes and whatnot). I just hope a 7600GT is good enough for a respectable framerate at full detail. I hope i get it before the game comes out (some parts on are on backorder).
 
V

Vark

Member
EmSeta said:
Holy hell. Is that backdrop a skybox/bitmap or actual 3d terrain?
Click to expand...

Uhh haven't watched the video but if its land, its something you can walk on/to and is actual terrain.
 
K

kaizoku

I'm not as deluded as I make myself out to be
hey guys I was just wondering what would be the best way for a newcomer to the ES series to get the most out of this game. I know absolutely nothing about the world or the series. I haven't read up much about Oblivion either (my usual approach to rpgs).

But then this game might be enhanced by having certain knowledge to take with you right? Like a LOTR wouldn't be quite as cool if you had no idea who Gandalf was or what significance the ring had in the whole context of things.

So should I do some research first? Buy the guide? Or is it just as good not knowing anything about anything?

One example, I assume you guys have some kind of idea what kind of character creation suits your style of play, I was planning on just going with the flow and seeing what happens.

and its not possible to finish this game without combat and dungeon crawling right?
 
V

Vark

Member
kaizoku said:
hey guys I was just wondering what would be the best way for a newcomer to the ES series to get the most out of this game. I know absolutely nothing about the world or the series. I haven't read up much about Oblivion either (my usual approach to rpgs).

But then this game might be enhanced by having certain knowledge to take with you right? Like a LOTR wouldn't be quite as cool if you had no idea who Gandalf was or what significance the ring had in the whole context of things.

So should I do some research first? Buy the guide? Or is it just as good not knowing anything about anything?

One example, I assume you guys have some kind of idea what kind of character creation suits your style of play, I was planning on just going with the flow and seeing what happens.

and its not possible to finish this game without combat and dungeon crawling right?
Click to expand...


I think the biggest drawback will be class stuff. Since you don't know the system exactly your may have to experiment until you find your play style and then build a character that caters towards it.

If you play a class in a way it wasn't meant to be played you'll be rather ineffective (learning lots of magic as a pure warrior is an extreme example).

There's even some stuff where picking the wrong race for the wrong task will hinder you a little.

Lore wise and what not you may be a little lost, but there's books everywhere that explain the world, and NPC's are a good source of information.
 
S

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
kaizoku said:
hey guys I was just wondering what would be the best way for a newcomer to the ES series to get the most out of this game. I know absolutely nothing about the world or the series. I haven't read up much about Oblivion either (my usual approach to rpgs).

But then this game might be enhanced by having certain knowledge to take with you right? Like a LOTR wouldn't be quite as cool if you had no idea who Gandalf was or what significance the ring had in the whole context of things.

So should I do some research first? Buy the guide? Or is it just as good not knowing anything about anything?

One example, I assume you guys have some kind of idea what kind of character creation suits your style of play, I was planning on just going with the flow and seeing what happens.

and its not possible to finish this game without combat and dungeon crawling right?
Click to expand...

Well, anyone open to it can definately hop into the ES world and enjoy it. It won't take too long to find your own "style" of playing. You may create a few characters at first to see what you like, but even so nothing is ever off limits to you. If you start as a dumb barbarian, you can slowly become smarter and learn to use restorative magic, for instance.

And, well, no. Some combat is needed. Dungeon crawling yes and no. I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff in the main quest, but you d on't need to go through every dungeon you find. They're optional to quests and your own personal plundering.
 
Pimpbaa

Pimpbaa

Member
kaizoku said:
hey guys I was just wondering what would be the best way for a newcomer to the ES series to get the most out of this game. I know absolutely nothing about the world or the series. I haven't read up much about Oblivion either (my usual approach to rpgs).

But then this game might be enhanced by having certain knowledge to take with you right? Like a LOTR wouldn't be quite as cool if you had no idea who Gandalf was or what significance the ring had in the whole context of things.

So should I do some research first? Buy the guide? Or is it just as good not knowing anything about anything?

One example, I assume you guys have some kind of idea what kind of character creation suits your style of play, I was planning on just going with the flow and seeing what happens.

and its not possible to finish this game without combat and dungeon crawling right?
Click to expand...

I don't think your character has any connection with previous characters (yours or npcs) in previous games, so you won't have to do any research. Each game seems to be a brand new story (much like say D&D games). If it's anything like morrowind, there should be lots of books ingame with tons of lore. Not sure about the combat and dungeon crawling, but I'm sure you'll have to do some (again going by morrowind).
 
G

GreekWolf

Member
kaizoku said:
hey guys I was just wondering what would be the best way for a newcomer to the ES series to get the most out of this game. I know absolutely nothing about the world or the series. I haven't read up much about Oblivion either (my usual approach to rpgs).

But then this game might be enhanced by having certain knowledge to take with you right? Like a LOTR wouldn't be quite as cool if you had no idea who Gandalf was or what significance the ring had in the whole context of things.
Click to expand...

SnakeXs is your main man to answer such questions, so I'll leave the honor to him. Steve and Vark ( both of whom are active in this thread ) are actually developers for Bethseda, so they might even be willing to provide a few resources for you.

In the meantime, here's a link to the Imperial Library, which is an excellent source for those who are new to the Elder Scrolls universe, and want to learn about the history, characters and major events which have occurred over the years.

http://til.gamingsource.net/pge/
 
S

SteveMeister

Hang out with Steve.
Vark said:
I think the biggest drawback will be class stuff. Since you don't know the system exactly your may have to experiment until you find your play style and then build a character that caters towards it.

If you play a class in a way it wasn't meant to be played you'll be rather ineffective (learning lots of magic as a pure warrior is an extreme example).

There's even some stuff where picking the wrong race for the wrong task will hinder you a little.

Lore wise and what not you may be a little lost, but there's books everywhere that explain the world, and NPC's are a good source of information.
Click to expand...

The good thing is, the game just throws you in after you pick your race/name/gender/face and lets you play for a while, and it watches how you play and then SUGGESTS a class. So you can either just stick with that, or change your class or make a custom one. Lots of options.
 
K

kaizoku

I'm not as deluded as I make myself out to be
Thanks guys, great responses! I'll look on a few websites for some lore or whatever and hopefully the game, manual and booklet etc can fill me in on the rest.

Props to Bethesda for creating such a huge game, can't decide which guild I want to try for, or maybe I should try being a vampire :lol very awesome guys.

About the potion making, is it just experimenting with various mixtures or do we find recipes or tutors what? I'm just looking at things from a real life perspective. If I wanted to go make a magic potion irl, I wouldn't know wtf to do. Oh man I sound like the local annoying n00b now. :lol Thats the last question though, these few things have been on my mind for awhile.
 
K

kaizoku

I'm not as deluded as I make myself out to be
GreekWolf said:
SnakeXs is your main man to answer such questions, so I'll leave the honor to him. Steve and Vark ( both of whom are active in this thread ) are actually developers for Bethseda, so they might even be willing to provide a few resources for you.

In the meantime, here's a link to the Imperial Library, which is an excellent source for those who are new to the Elder Scrolls universe, and want to learn about the history, characters and major events which have occurred over the years.

http://til.gamingsource.net/pge/
Click to expand...

Just curious but why was snake the main man for those questions? o_0 Thanks for the link, will definately be useful.
 
S

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
kaizoku said:
Thanks guys, great responses! I'll look on a few websites for some lore or whatever and hopefully the game, manual and booklet etc can fill me in on the rest.

Props to Bethesda for creating such a huge game, can't decide which guild I want to try for, or maybe I should try being a vampire :lol very awesome guys.

About the potion making, is it just experimenting with various mixtures or do we find recipes or tutors what? I'm just looking at things from a real life perspective. If I wanted to go make a magic potion irl, I wouldn't know wtf to do. Oh man I sound like the local annoying n00b now. :lol Thats the last question though, these few things have been on my mind for awhile.
Click to expand...

Well, in Morrowind every thing that you could mix (be it food, flowers, grasses, meatsillegal substances) had various properties, and when you mixedthings that had similar properties the potion you created would be of that type. As you leveled up, you "knew" the properties of the ingredients better, and created better, longer lasting (And more expensive, for selling purposes) potions.

Not sure how much it's been changed or expanded upon, but like most of Morrowind, it seems really daunting at first, but really gets easy with time.
 
A

Ark-AMN

Banned
Argh! it's only a week, but it feels like forever, especially after viewing that teaser.

And also, my finals and GDC happen to be on the same week as its release. Its just not fair! :lol
 
K

kaizoku

I'm not as deluded as I make myself out to be
SnakeXs said:
Well, in Morrowind every thing that you could mix (be it food, flowers, grasses, meatsillegal substances) had various properties, and when you mixedthings that had similar properties the potion you created would be of that type. As you leveled up, you "knew" the properties of the ingredients better, and created better, longer lasting (And more expensive, for selling purposes) potions.

Not sure how much it's been changed or expanded upon, but like most of Morrowind, it seems really daunting at first, but really gets easy with time.
Click to expand...

thanks snake, sounds awesome.
 
H

Helznicht

Member
Hey Steve, is that vid from the 360 or PC version?

and does anyone know how many different weapons, armor sets and spells are in the game?
 
S

SteveMeister

Hang out with Steve.
SnakeXs said:
Well, in Morrowind every thing that you could mix (be it food, flowers, grasses, meatsillegal substances) had various properties, and when you mixedthings that had similar properties the potion you created would be of that type. As you leveled up, you "knew" the properties of the ingredients better, and created better, longer lasting (And more expensive, for selling purposes) potions.

Not sure how much it's been changed or expanded upon, but like most of Morrowind, it seems really daunting at first, but really gets easy with time.
Click to expand...

Alchemy is fairly similar to Morrowind -- ingredients have up to 4 magical effects, and the number of them you "know" is based on your Alchemy skill level. And as with Morrowind, you make potions by mixing ingredients that have matching magical effects.

But the formulas for potion effectiveness have changed. Alchemical apparatus also now have skill levels (Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, and Master) and you have to have at least the same skill level in order to use each (in other words you have to be an Expert (75-99) to use expert apparatus). The higher the quality of the apparatus, the better the potions. There are still mortar & pestle, alembic, calcinator and retort.

In addition, if you make a potion with all detrimental/negative magical effects, it's considered a poison, and you can apply poisons to weapons (including the next shot with a bow) for a one-time use that works in addition to any enchantment.

Alchemy is one of my favorite aspects of Oblivion. It's fun hunting around the countryside searching for rare ingredients, figuring out "recipes", and then making potions for sale & personal use (I always have a bunch of Damage Health poisons, plus potions of Restore Magicka and Restore Health on hand when exploring).

As far as the video goes, I'm not sure if it's from PC or Xbox 360.
 
V

Vyse The Legend

Member
Helznicht said:
Fess up guru! :D
Click to expand...

Haha, well my information is limited to what the devs have revealed, so I don't know the exact answer to that. However, spells are seemingly unlimited since you can create your own. In terms of armor and weapons, it's hard to say. The Glass Armor and Daedric armor are all you need really, though. :lol
 
S

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
Mike G.E.D. said:
Funny how a 30 second media file can justify a $60 purchase.
Click to expand...

Yep, we've known nothing for 4+ years, and still know nothing, we're all clueless really, and have simply been wowed by that 30 second clip.

That's it.
 
M

mikeGFG

Banned
SnakeXs said:
Yep, we've known nothing for 4+ years, and still know nothing, we're all clueless really, and have simply been wowed by that 30 second clip.

That's it.
Click to expand...

I'm not speaking for everyone, just myself; and I was being geniunely serious. I was just implying that the scope of the game is evident in that small snippet, and that clip alone just adds to the other hundreds of reasons why I'll be scooping this game up on day one.
 
V

Vyse The Legend

Member
SnakeXs said:
Yep, we've known nothing for 4+ years, and still know nothing, we're all clueless really, and have simply been wowed by that 30 second clip.

That's it.
Click to expand...

Relax, Mike is one of the good guys. Borys has made you too quick tempered. :lol
 
S

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
I apologize.
icon_redface.gif
 
A

Ark-AMN

Banned
I remember in Morrowind the Daedric armor was so damn heavy that only true fighters or those who specialized in strength could wear it. I'd assume thats the same in Oblivion, and if so, Glass Armor FTW :)

I'm so looking foward to owning my own home. And then decorating it will all the stuff I get. Something I really wanted to do in Morrowind, but didn't because I didn't feel as if I owned any property, even if I could steal some. :lol
 
O

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
that video was awesome. wow. again, i wish oblivion had a photomode
 
N

Nerevar

they call me "Man Gravy".
SteveMeister said:
Alchemy is fairly similar to Morrowind -- ingredients have up to 4 magical effects, and the number of them you "know" is based on your Alchemy skill level. And as with Morrowind, you make potions by mixing ingredients that have matching magical effects.
Click to expand...

I hate to frame it in such a way, but is alchemy still pretty broken when it comes to making piles of money early on? I remember in Morrowind I was at the point where within a couple hours of a new game I could have a character with huge stats, ridiculous speed and abilities (boots of blinding speed + other enchantments from soul trapped golden saints, etc.), and other goodies due to me pumping money from a stolen alchemy set and readily available ingredients.
 
eso76

eso76

Member
Ark-AMN said:
you just have to be really good with the Print Screen button. :)
Click to expand...

photomode would be nice but it wouldn't fit.

Instead i wish oblivion had a 'painter mode'; since there are 'painters' in oblivion's world and since the game
supposedly already has a
(don't read the spoiler if you resisted reading about that particular subquest mentioned in this thread)
painting shader that renders backdrops as oils on canvas, that would be easy to implement
. Maybe your character could develop artistic skills and paint pictures of the landscape : )
 
B

BuG

Member
eso76 said:
photomode would be nice but it wouldn't fit.

Instead i wish oblivion had a 'painter mode'; since there are 'painters' in oblivion's world and since the game
supposedly already has a
(don't read the spoiler if you resisted reading about that particular subquest mentioned in this thread)
painting shader that renders backdrops as oils on canvas, that would be easy to implement
. Maybe your character could develop artistic skills and paint pictures of the landscape : )
Click to expand...
Great idea. If that's not in there, there better be a mod released for both PC and Xbox to do just that.
 
G

GashPrex

NeoGaf-Gold™ Member
RegularMK said:
I can't believe I'm going to own this game for a week before being able to play it. Seriously. Life is fucked up.
Click to expand...

QFT

guess that make coming back from vacation a little more bearable
 
R

RegularMK

Member
GashPrex said:
QFT

guess that make coming back from vacation a little more bearable
Click to expand...

Actually my preordered 360 won't be until April 1st so I have 10 days of owning Oblivion with no play.

Its terrible to think about.
 
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