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[belgurdo]

Yea i noticed this game is way too streamlined, fast travel should have not made it into this game, especially since you get access to all cities right off the bat at the beginning of the game, where's the exploration? Who needs roads? Just warp to the city, get a quest, oh oh, no more detailed logs like in morrowind as to where it is, JUST FOLLOW the compass, lame..

Still fun game but, its way too streamlined compared to morrowind. 8 hotkeys, wtf is up with that aswell? Couldnt you map any buttons anywhere on the keyboard in morrowind?

I was talking about the 360 version when I mentioned hotkeys. But yeah, fast trvel kills the exploration a little (they should have just kept levitation and public transportation in)

 

[GhaleonEB]

How are more people not upset about this?

As a newbie looking forward to the game I'm actaully glad. Morrowind was too intimidating for me. This looks approachable.

 

[Ecrofirt]

Here's a pretty fun glitch I encountered earlier:
http://s53.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2Q3I58QG4PCKD2UB1I6JHJ7VE0

 

[Solo]

Keep exploring, you'll find the exit (no, not the lake one). There's one way underground that's blocked with a "you need a key" message, but there's an alternative route to get out.

Still cant find the exit. Where is it?

 

[Belfast]

As a newbie looking forward to the game I'm actaully glad. Morrowind was too intimidating for me. This looks approachable.

It is a much more approachable game, that's for sure. It may sacrifice some of aspects of Morrowind's quest system, but it maintains the breadth and scope of the world.

 

[My Arms Your Hearse]

Anyone offhand recall a dungeon with lots of ghosts?

 

[Speevy]

Speevy: *shrug* I liked the quests in morrowind, mostly. Maybe mostly because of the REAL exploration necessary to complete them, rather than "fast travel a minute away and stare at compass until you get to Cave 573" that oblivion does for you.

Well when you look at the openness of the world, it does make sense that everyone knows where everything is. You don't have to venture into obscure volcanic mountains, as this is the "official" face of the Elder Scrolls universe.

Any sort of quest into unfamiliar territory is an adventure in morrowind, be it a fetch quest or a kill quest or whatever. I was intimidated my first times going to Vivec, for example; the sort of feeling I don't get from oblivion's cookie cutter towns that I fast travel to and from every 2 minutes.

Vivec's raised structures are gigantic, but other than the temple, its function doesn't really make a ton of sense. And I disagree about the "cookie cutter" aspect too, as these people live in sensible homes rather than towering croissants.

Oblivion's quests are "better" in the sense that there are some cool scripted events and such, but especially in the mages guild line most of them end up feeling like MMORPG grinds. Being fully voiced, I don't get any sort of rich detail or backstory or anything, just a brief explanation and off I go to yet another cave pointed out by the arrow on my map.

I guess we'll just agree to disagree on that one. I found most of Morrowind's quests to be thoroughly uninvolving. Maybe text-rich, but that's about it.

By the end of the mages guild line I had to let out my frustration by disposing with the inhabitants of the arcane university ;b

See, that's fun.

I think we all understand at this point that the game isn't perfect, but it is very entertaining. Bethesda may have trivialized some aspects of what Morrowind fanatics loved, but this isn't Morrowind. Heck, don't Arena and Daggerfall players complain about Morrowind's relative simplicity?

Maybe by the PS4 and Xbox 720 we'll have 1 guild, a main quest, and a backyard sandbox physics simulation.

Here's my perspective, and I want your input on why (you obviously) disagree with it.

Let's use drohne's example of the thief with nothing to steal. Afterall, no one has anything on them, right? As I become a better thief (raise levels), people get ebony and glass and all that stuff on them, so I have stuff to steal.

As I become a better fighter, I fight more competent fighters.

As I become a better mage...

That was probably Bethesda's thinking when they created this game. I doubt they just said "Oh to hell with meticulously placing a zillion monsters and magic items in the world. Let's just design a system that scales with the player." I'm sure it was a matter of considering how the average player progresses in a given game.

Now you say "Well, why should every NPC have rare stuff on them?" Well, I think that was done to create the illusion of an ever-evolving world.

In any case, I'm not trying to run damage control on this game. I enjoyed Morrowind too, and I've also thought about the things that are missing from this game. But I'd rather focus on the positive, because this is a new game afterall.

And hey, in all likelihood you'll have more factions than you can handle in another year or so plus a patch for the scaling. I can't defend Oblivion against the criticism that they took away the immediate "Rags to riches." freedom that Morrowind had, but I can say that I'm enjoying Oblivion immensely. It's like a successful mixture of Fable, KOTOR, and Morrowind.

 

[FlyinJ]

As a newbie looking forward to the game I'm actaully glad. Morrowind was too intimidating for me. This looks approachable.

The thing I've found is that Oblivion lacks a lot of factions, but there are a lot more non-faction quests. Such as going to taverns and getting quests, or doing stuff for local counts.

 

[Speevy]

One day they ought to use the high definition storage mediums prevalent in the next generation (PS4, Xbox 360 successor) and combine all of these places into one giant game, with updated graphics.

 

[MrAngryFace]

I played MOrrowind, to near death, but I never beat it. In fact I got as far as Vivec and gave up on the main quest. its never been the draw for me.

Same goes with Oblivion. I doubt ill ever beat it. People RAVE about the NPCs/AI in Grand Theft Auto for the most basic things, when both Morrowind AND Oblivion have done nothing but provide two of the most unique gaming experiences ive ever had.

This thread, in contrast to the one I created, is for the power gamers. The people who want points and to be the best, and thats honestly all well and good. I think however the game isnt really MADE for those types of people. It seems to me the people having the most fun are the people who gave up trying to learn all the technical ins and outs and stupid quest chains and who does what and damage points and optimum equipment.

Im like 10 hours in and I have a gray robe and just my fists to punch people. I get EXTREME amounts of gaming joy just BEING in a town, and that cant be said for many RPGs at all.

For all its flaws it will be as remembered as Morrowind, no matter what anyone says in this thread.

 

[gblues]

For those moaning about quick travel or compass use etc...can't you just not use it?

That's just it: you can't. Most often the destination is marked on your map, and (at least, so far) there's nothing tricky or dangerous about getting there--just go in a straight line. So even if you don't use the compass, it's not like you have to explore that much.

That said, I don't have a beef against fast travel; hell, towards the end of the game I was using the coc ("center on cell") console command in Morrowind as my own ad-hoc fast travel. So not having to type in a console command is a plus for me.

I don't get the bitching about the towns; Daggerfall had every town, dungeon, temple, and home marked on the map from the start.

Nathan

 

[EviLore]

Speevy:

I'm not a morrowind fanatic. It's just natural to compare ES3 with ES4, and what this one does better or worse.

Let's use drohne's example of the thief with nothing to steal. Afterall, no one has anything on them, right? As I become a better thief (raise levels), people get ebony and glass and all that stuff on them, so I have stuff to steal

That's missing the point. Why, as a thief, would you want to do nothing but steal items that EVERYONE HAS? That are entirely trivial to obtain off any NPC? At my level I can go into any cave, kill some people, and get a dozen ebony items. Or I could pickpocket these exact same items off random NPCs. Or I could laugh as all the static items in the game remain being FUR AND IRON, and there's absolutely zero fun in breaking into a rich manor type place where the most exclusive item you'll find is wine from the year 399.

 

[Speevy]

I definitely see what you're saying, but as with my comments about the town structures, why would the owner of a rich manor house have any enchanted or rare weapons at all?

I would prefer having something to steal, but I guess Bethesda opted not to go that route. They obviously could have, as every item you could want to own exists, but it was a deliberate decision that's done and over with now, and will probably be patched as I said.

 

[EviLore]

I definitely see what you're saying, but as with my comments about the town structures, why would the owner of a rich manor house have any enchanted or rare weapons at all?

 

[Speevy]

I mean as in, maybe most citizens in Cyrodill aren't fighters by trade or hobby? Either way. I agree with you. I want to find and steal cool stuff too. It's not there, so there's no point in dwelling on it.

 

[SteveMeister]

If you just use fast travel, you'll be missing out on huge, huge portions of the game. There is so much stuff to be found off the beaten path -- hidden dungeons, ruins, caves, mines, settlements, shrines and more. Not to mention alchemical ingredients to be found.

If you choose to use fast travel all the time, that's YOUR choice, not the designers' choice. It's there if you want it or need it -- use it as much or as little as you want. It's funny, some people complain when there's a lack of choice in a game, and then others complain when the choice is there.

 

[Spencerr]

I'm not having any problems with the scaling so far, and if it gets too hard for me well there's always that difficulty meter :lol

 

[Dr_Cogent]

If you just use fast travel, you'll be missing out on huge, huge portions of the game. There is so much stuff to be found off the beaten path -- hidden dungeons, ruins, caves, mines, settlements, shrines and more. Not to mention alchemical ingredients to be found.

I use fast travel a lot, but I also take the time to just go out and explore. It's a lot of fun, but sometimes very dangerous

 

[VALIS]

They had to include fast travel. Could you imagine how tedious it would be travelling around just to do rote tasks like selling swag? Raid a dungeon, spend 15 minutes travelling back to a merchant sell point, spend another 15 minutes going back to where you were. No thanks. You've just got to use it sparingly. The only time I use fast travel is when it's taking me on a path I've already explored.

Just a wild guess, I've explored most of the map except the lower SE corner and I'd imagine the Oblivion map size is about GTA: San Andreas x2 or x3. Bloody huge. And there's only two modes of transportation that I know of: walking (ultra slow) or horseback (not as fast as you'd think). Without fast travel the game would be a walking simulator.

 

[123rl]

If you just use fast travel, you'll be missing out on huge, huge portions of the game. There is so much stuff to be found off the beaten path -- hidden dungeons, ruins, caves, mines, settlements, shrines and more. Not to mention alchemical ingredients to be found.

If you choose to use fast travel all the time, that's YOUR choice, not the designers' choice. It's there if you want it or need it -- use it as much or as little as you want. It's funny, some people complain when there's a lack of choice in a game, and then others complain when the choice is there.

You can guarantee that if fast travel wasn't possible, people would be complaining about having to walk/run across the map

I use it if the journey is too far. Otherwise I'll walk, even if it's going to take a long time. You're sure to find lots along the way and it's the best/easiest way to build up your stats (by, y'know, actually playing the game )

 

[Speevy]

Stevemeister:

I know you said you can't answer questions about the prospect of future patches, so I won't ask you one.

Is it technically possible to create a patch that changes the structure of the item-scaling system? I don't know anything about programming, but I'm sure more and more people are going to demand something of this sort.

And I really, really am enjoying your game. So nice job.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

walking (ultra slow) or horseback (not as fast as you'd think).

My character cooks when running. My athleticism and acrobatics is constantly going up. It's probably because I run all the time and I am jumping like a freakin rabbit a lot.

 

[Speevy]

Having athletics as a major skill really increases the rate at which you level.

 

[Quake1028]

Did anyone buy the house in Imperial City? There is a quest, but after it says go buy some furnishings from the guy at Three Brothers, which I did, it doesn't go any further. Am I missing something?

 

[VALIS]

My character cooks when running.

Mine doesn't. Once I got Umbra's armor (and sword, of course), my character is practically crawling along the ground. I feel fatigued just watching him walk. Poor bastard. At least he's safe.

 

[Sysgen]

I use fast travel a lot, but I also take the time to just go out and explore. It's a lot of fun, but sometimes very dangerous

I haven't used it once. Quite a few times I've found things by going off the road I wouldn't of if I fast traveled.

Eg. I've found a

Spoiler

root

that opens a quest for some type of

Spoiler

super adventures potion.

 

[Spencerr]

Did anyone buy the house in Imperial City? There is a quest, but after it says go buy some furnishings from the guy at Three Brothers, which I did, it doesn't go any further. Am I missing something?

I don't think so, I think you just have a house now.

 

[EviLore]

Speevy: people have already made changes to the scaling system with mods. The mod community is still just getting started of course, and yeah it's limited to the PC version...

If you just use fast travel, you'll be missing out on huge, huge portions of the game. There is so much stuff to be found off the beaten path -- hidden dungeons, ruins, caves, mines, settlements, shrines and more. Not to mention alchemical ingredients to be found.

If you choose to use fast travel all the time, that's YOUR choice, not the designers' choice. It's there if you want it or need it -- use it as much or as little as you want. It's funny, some people complain when there's a lack of choice in a game, and then others complain when the choice is there.

Eh, it's not so much that. I've discovered plenty of stuff. I'll go for exploration trips, and then I'll do quests, and sometimes I'll explore around some when I'm questing, etc. But compare how oblivion does things to how morrowind does 'em.

Morrowind will tell you "okay, I need you to retrieve object x. It's in a cave far northeast of the city. You'll want to follow the road towards city y until you see landmark z, then cross the river, keep going east until you come to a mountain range, then look for some ruins. The cave will be directly south of these ruins." Then you go on a journey, try to follow the directions as best you can or disregard 'em if you think you can find your way there more efficiently; either way, it's interesting.

Oblivion will tell you "Map Marker Added." Then you fast travel to the nearest discovered location and follow the compass from there.

 

[Speevy]

Well I figured that Evilore, but an official one could impact the 360 version as well.

 

[Speevy]

Eh, it's not so much that. I've discovered plenty of stuff. I'll go for exploration trips, and then I'll do quests, and sometimes I'll explore around some when I'm questing, etc. But compare how oblivion does things to how morrowind does 'em.

Morrowind will tell you "okay, I need you to retrieve object x. It's in a cave far northeast of the city. You'll want to follow the road towards city y until you see landmark z, then cross the river, keep going east until you come to a mountain range, then look for some ruins. The cave will be directly south of these ruins." Then you go on a journey, try to follow the directions as best you can or disregard 'em if you think you can find your way there more efficiently; either way, it's interesting.

Oblivion will tell you "Map Marker Added." Then you fast travel to the nearest discovered location and follow the compass from there.

And so many of those situations had you lost and back where you started, or running into some strange ruins. Yeah, and that's fun to a certain extent, but it can get annoying. I had to use Gamefaqs because some of their directions were so vague and I couldn't find the right person to clarify them.

 

[DSN2K]

think its sad that the cities are empty basically, guessing PC's/360 simply couldnt handle more people walking around.

 

[scarybore]

This is my first Elder Scrolls game and I'm really enjoying this so far, played 25 hours and haven't started the main quest yet. Makes all the other RPGs I've played quite recently look so stale by comparison. My congrats to all involved.

Sadly I just had a disc error, took one look at my Oblivion disc and saw my 360 had etched big marks on it so I guess I'll have to get it fixed and find something else to do in my spare time Microsoft better replace this disc as well or I'll be pissed.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

I haven't used it once. Quite a few times I've found things by going off the road I wouldn't of if I fast traveled.

Eg. I've found a

Spoiler

root

that opens a quest for some type of

Spoiler

super adventures potion.

Hmmmm, well - it's great for me to be able to steal a ton o shit and then head off to my fence in the city to sell it all real quick so I can get fast cash.

Sadly I just had a disc error, took one look at my Oblivion disc and saw my 360 had etched big marks on it so I guess I'll have to get it fixed and find something else to do in my spare time Microsoft better replace this disc as well or I'll be pissed.

If you think your Xbox is damaging discs you better call support. That is not normal.

You aren't moving the machine while a disc is inside it are you.

Note to all Xbox owners: Never move your Xbox unless the thing is completely powered off.

I'm not saying you did, but all owners should know not to do that.

 

[krypt0nian]

OK dumb question...

I've been side questing almost exclusively and having a blast. Lvl13 Agent now and have done very little of the main quest

Spoiler

Closed the first Obliv Gate and got Martin to safety in the mountain fortress

I'm kinda hoping that I trigger the Oblivion gates to trigger by continuing the main storyline. Is that true or are they on a set "timer"? I loved how the planes of Oblivion looked but didn't like it as I felt horribly underpowered there. I would like to wait until I felt more ready before tackling another gate.


Anyone?

Anyway to upgrade the spells in the magic weapons you find? I have a cool bow that makes enemies run in fear but it seems to have less and less effect as I level. Can you eventuallty craft your own items?

Also: I love how overwhelming odds can be turned into your favor with the right tactics. Amazing stuff.

 

[Vyse The Legend]

OK dumb question...

I've been side questing almost exclusively and having a blast. Lvl13 Agent now and have done very little of the main quest

Spoiler

Closed the first Obliv Gate and got Martin to safety in the mountain fortress

I'm kinda hoping that I trigger the Oblivion gates to trigger by continuing the main storyline. Is that true or are they on a set "timer"? I loved how the planes of Oblivion looked but didn't like it as I felt horribly underpowered there. I would like to wait until I felt more ready before tackling another gate.


Anyone?

Anyway to upgrade the spells in the magic weapons you find? I have a cool bow that makes enemies run in fear but it seems to have less and less effect as I level. Can you eventuallty craft your own items?

Also: I love how overwhelming odds can be turned into your favor with the right tactics. Amazing stuff.

Regarding the Oblivion gates:

Spoiler

As you progress in the main story, tons and tons of more gates open all over the world. Also, as you level up, you'll find stronger Daedra in them that will make you continually feel inadequate.

And you can enchant any weapon you find, but it is a perk of the Mage's Guild. For example, you can make a bow that overencumbers an enemy for say 15 seconds, so you can pummel them with arrows while they remain immobile. There's tons of possibilities.

 

[scarybore]

If you think your Xbox is damaging discs you better call support. That is not normal.

You aren't moving the machine while a disc is inside it are you.

Note to all Xbox owners: Never move your Xbox unless the thing is completely powered off.

I'm not saying you did, but all owners should know not to do that.

I'll be calling support tomorrow but since I'm going away 2 weeks for easter I may have to wait till im back to send my 360 to them.

And no, I dont move the 360 with a disc inside, whether the 360 is turned on or not. You would have to be a muppet to do so. Also have the console horizontal on a flat surface for more stability so the discs wouldnt get scratched but I guess that didn't work out in the end

First time I've ever had problems with a console before, I had been wondering what the small screeching noises were the past few days. Had thought it was just the disc spinning fast. Just hoping I keep my saves as I really don't want to lose any of my Oblivion progress, despite the fact I would probably enjoy it in the end

 

[My Arms Your Hearse]

Any suggestions on finding ghosts/ecotplasm at level 4?

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Did anyone buy the house in Imperial City? There is a quest, but after it says go buy some furnishings from the guy at Three Brothers, which I did, it doesn't go any further. Am I missing something?

Once you buy ALL the furnishings from the shop, the "quest" will end. Same goes for the other properties (well, I guess that's not entirely true for all of them...heh).

 

[krypt0nian]

Regarding the Oblivion gates:

Spoiler

As you progress in the main story, tons and tons of more gates open all over the world. Also, as you level up, you'll find stronger Daedra in them that will make you continually feel inadequate.

And you can enchant any weapon you find, but it is a perk of the Mage's Guild. For example, you can make a bow that overencumbers an enemy for say 15 seconds, so you can pummel them with arrows while they remain immobile. There's tons of possibilities.

Spoiler

Geh...the only way I beat the first one was to pearch up where he couldn't hit me and lob arrows/magic.

I kept wanting to call in my high level guildies ala WOW to take his bitch ass down. :lol

Cool news on the enchanting end as I'm just about done with the last Mage Guild quest.

 

[MmmBeef]

people have already made changes to the scaling system with mods.

Link please!

 

[Seth C]

Having athletics as a major skill really increases the rate at which you level.

I have acrobatics, athletics, and sneaking as major skills. I level...a lot.

 

[Seth C]

I think, for all the complaining that is going on, one thing sums it up for me. Morrowind seemed like a great game concept[/]. Oblivion is a great game. I played Morrowind for a solid weekend and then just quit out of boredom. I felt like I would play for 500 hours and have never accomplished anything. Oblivion doesn't make me feel that way.

 

[FlyinJ]

Has anyone found a reliable place that stocks lots of empty soul gems? All the vendors seem to have 3/4 partially full soul gems and 1/4 empty.

 

[FlyinJ]

Buy all the furnishings.

Is this worth doing? Does it open up more of a quest line? Don't spoil it, I'm just wondering... that's a lot of money.

Does it matter which house you buy the stuff for? I'd really rather not stock up my crappy little shack with a dining area and whatnot...

Also, do you have to buy seperate furnishings for every house you buy?

 

[krypt0nian]

One more dumb question.- who is selling the lowest level conjuration spell? I wanted to start lvling this and cannot find a spell to begin with. :/

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Link please!

Wouldn't you eliminate much of the problem with the scaling system by going to the difficulty slider after each time you level up and moving it down a notch? There seems to be a bunch of variables on the slider itself so it seems to me that it should be pretty gradual.

It doesn't solve the loot problem but for people looking to feel more powerful, that should do the trick.

 

[Speevy]

think its sad that the cities are empty basically, guessing PC's/360 simply couldnt handle more people walking around.

Not merely walking, but interacting.

You have all these people who have to interact with each other (and carry on little conversations), eat, sleep, go home, change locations, etc.

Now imagine the sheer amount of dialogue and NPC routines that would be required for 100 people in a small area.

 

[Hitler Stole My Potato]

Is this worth doing? Does it open up more of a quest line? Don't spoil it, I'm just wondering... that's a lot of money.

By buying the furnishings? No, or none that I know of so far. But there are a couple of houses that are worth looking into 'cause they do offer something....interesting.

 

[Speevy]

One more dumb question.- who is selling the lowest level conjuration spell? I wanted to start lvling this and cannot find a spell to begin with. :/

The lowest one is summon scamp, but you should level by summoning armor and weapons for yourself.

I have no idea who sells it though.

 

[krypt0nian]

The lowest one is summon scamp, but you should level by summoning armor and weapons for yourself.

I have no idea who sells it though.

Cool, thanks! I have seen the Bound xxx spells for sale.