Oblivion is my LIFE!!

[Anthony1]

Oblivion is an incredible game, and I have to give a ton of credit for the job Bethesda did on this game. It truly is an extraordinary game, that will breathe new live into the American RPG scene. But, like with all great things....there are some faults. Nothing is quite perfect. Oblivion, is truly amazing, but there is plenty to nit pick about as well. Here are a few things that have bothered me about it.



1. Loading - Obviously, any time you have loading in a game, it can piss somebody off. When on horseback or moving quickly, the loading signs show up, and the game get's a little herky jerky. Now, considering how large the world is, and everything, I can understand why the game loads so much, but hopefully the next game in this franchise can figure a way around that.

2. Seen one Dungeon, I've seen them all phenomenom - Ok, I'm very early in the game, so forgive me, but so far on my travels, I've gone into a number of dungeons or caves or whatever, and alot of them seem to look almost exactly alike. Sure some of them are downright creepy and disturbing, like when you go into that one crypt with the ghost, but alot of them are starting to look alike to me.

3. Combat - Combat seems kinda wacked out to me. Maybe I just need more practice with it. Often times during combat I'll accidently go into 3rd person mode. That is very frustrating. I'm not sure if there is a way to turn that off. Combat just doesn't seem like you can really get a good feel for whether you are going to get hit or not. It's kinda sketchy.

4. HUD - After playing games like King Kong and Fight Night Round 3, in this High Definition era, for some reason, I don't like seeing HUD's on games. I want the option to turn them completely off. I know that turning the HUD completely off in this game would put me at a disadvantage, but I like getting lost in the whole experience of a game, and a HUD doesn't allow you to immerse yourself into the experience. I mean, sure, a HUD is needed for this game, it's not a action fest game, but please give me the option to turn it off.

5. Animation - The world of Oblivion is absolutely amazing. It's the biggest thing going in the game, but alot of animations just don't work out very good. Like when your character is running, the sword barely moves. Nobody would be able to hold a sword that steady while running fast. Just little things like that, kinda detract. If you've played King Kong on the 360, they seem to have the running with a weapon thing down pat. The heavy breathing when somebody gets tired too. I didn't notice that on this game.



Anyways, this isn't a "I hate Oblivion" thread at all, it's just I was wondering if other people have noticed the same minor irritations. It's like it got just...this... close ..to greatness but barely missed it. Maybe a patch later can help reduce the loading. Anyways, I'm still very fond of this game, it's not my usual fare, but it has this mysticism about it, this irreplacable quality that keeps telling me, "play me" "play me", over and over.

[THATinkjar]

The game isn't perfect? Oh.

[Cmtz]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82478

[Daria]

What's a HUD?

[Joker T]

What's a HUD?

Heads Up Display.

Shows things like:

Ammo
Map
Health

HUDs are not as commonly used now to create more of an immersive feel.

[jdc]

Agreed for sure. After you finish it and look back on the whole experience it feels like being sold a delicious pie that you discover has half of the filling missing once you cut into it. You still eat it and it still tastes good....but you wish that you had of gotten more. Way more.

It's a fun game but compared to Morrowwind, it's way more accessible to the masses and far less "hardcore". Wait til you experiance the ending. You'll see what I mean. And you want to stop doing the sidequests ASAP.....trust me.

[pacmanhat]

I love the game to death, but it definitely has some glaring problems for me as well. I've noticed some absolutely horrendous framerate issues on multiple occasions, and sometimes the combat becomes extremely tedious. This only takes a small amount away from the game, though - it's incredibly solid and will definitely go down as one of the greats. Not perfect by any means, but damn good enough.

[stressboy]

I do not have a 360 so I play it on the PC, and have had a few problems with loading. The "loading area.." sections I have had no problems with at all. It's when moving from one location to another, like into a cave, building, or out into the world that I sometimes get crashes. I found some possible fixes for it so I am going to try it out later when I get home.

Graphically this game buries Morrowind, but that is to be expected of course. It feels a lot easier to get into than Morrowind as well. For example, swords. In Morrowind, there was different skills for different types of swords, like long sword, short sword, etc. In Oblivion, it is just "blade". I also find my magic pool grows a lot quicker than it did in Morrowind, but that could be because I am playing a Spellsword. In Morrowind, I always attempted to focus on melee characters mostly.

I run the game at 1152 x 864 with 2x AA and Bloom. I tried it with HDR, and while the lighting was very drool worthy, I couldn't stand the jaggies and I took a bigger performance hit. I haven't tried tweaking my ini files at all, since my playtime has been limited and I would rather play than try to squeeze out another frame here and there. I will wait for Bethesda to issue a patch before I do any tweaking.

Like Morrowind before it, I am loving this game. I have not yet touched the main quest, and have spent a lot of time exploring and working on some of my minor skills. This has been one of those games where I stopped what I was doing, looked around, and felt a real desire to be where my character was standing. Aside from a few nasty hiccups, I have been loving the game.

Oh and Xfire users, in case you haven't noticed, Oblivion is now supported.

[jdc]

Get going on that main quest, stressboy. Trust me. Stop doing the damned side quests. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

[hezeuschrist]

Get going on that main quest, stressboy. Trust me. Stop doing the damned side quests. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

Unless the main quests have me slaughtering houses full of innocent people, I don't wanna do the main quest!

But really, I've done so much of the side stuff. I'm really deep into the Dark Brotherhood, I think about halfway through the Thieves Guild, already a Grand Champion of the Arena (horribly easy :(), and in the main quest I just discovered the shrine of Dagon.

And Anthony, if you're having trouble with the combat, join the Arena. It's pretty easy and it'll teach you to block/counter really fast, and it's really easy. I thought at first that I was screwed and couldn't melee (Breton Rogue... don't ask, I have no idea why I'm a Breton), but after going through the first few matches in the Arena it became really easy, well, against humanoid opponents at least. You can do the whole thing in about two hours and get all the way to Grand Champion and net yourself about 6k gold along the way.

[jdc]

Nope, hezeuschrist.....you don't necessarily slaughter houses full of innocents LOL . But...if you level up TOO much, you're going to get an end game that kicks your ass so hard that you'll have to start all over again with a weaker character. It's one of THE cruelest end battles to a modern videogame that I can ever remember. (the stronger you are, the worse it is) I was practically kissing the carpet when it was over and my heart was beating like a jackhammer. I was a level 15 Breton custom battlemage.

Knowing what I now know, if I were to start over I would go straight for the ending without doing any sidequest......with the exception of one particular one that would have helped out huge.

[Anthony1]

Oblivion is starting to take over my life. Well, maybe that's a little bit of a stretch, but it's starting to take over almost every minute of my "free" time. When I'm awake, and I have no other pressing issues, then the controller is in my hand and I'm focused on killing vampires or rats or goblins or whatever.


So completely disregard any of my complaints about this game. Obviously, it's good enough to consume my damn life. So it must be doing something right! :D

[Nesmaster]

I've just "completed" the 360 version (not entirely, but I've got 50/50 on the achievements). Took just over 56 and 1/2 hours (not including the few times I've had to reload, so it's probably closer to 57-58). That's not to say I'm done with the game yet, theres still a lot of other quests to do that really serve no purpose. Might be hard when there's little to no motive to play on...

[Joker T]

Finished up the main quest yesterday :)

[NeoZeedeater]

I'm addicted to it too. I expected a more refined version of Morrowind and would have been pleased with that but Oblivion is a massive improvement. The feel of the combat, the new physics and ease of exploration made the biggest differences I think.

[Trebuken]

Anthony: You can reconfigure the controls so that you do not slip into third person; happens when you press down on the left stick.

I stopped the side-quests upon repeated warning...

The gates are gettingredundant, but they are short enough that I'll get over it.

Good stuff. I wish I could get into the 'dark-side' of the game, with the brotherhood, Thieves Guild, Vampirism stuff, but I think I've become to used to being the good guy. Was really upset when I got arrested for no reason I could think of the other day, and I had no good save to revert back to...

I have not beat Agronak, but I've gained about Seven levels since I became Arena Champion...maybe a could go and have a go at him...

I think I may do the vampire quest later if I get enough Grand Soul Gems.

Good stuff...wish I had played Morrowind...I guess I can do that next...

Later,
Trebuken

[-hellvin-]

I finally stopped doing all the side quests and am nearly done with the main quest. One the last two major quests pretty much, the great gate and paradise. I'm around level 33 and wear clothes....gogo enchanting being more worthwhile than wearing heavy armor. Also fun with 100+ chameleon and creatures wondering WTF is going on.

Also gotta love a soultrap sword with health damage and unlimited recharges with azura's star ;D. I've loved every moment of this game and I'm pretty sad that tonight I'll be done. It really makes me want to pick up that Morrowind collector's set and play around with that again. The one thing I liked better in Morrowind were the amount of artifacts in it. There were tons of unique items hidden around the world to discover, but in this one, it's all leveled loot besides the daedric quests. Oh look...another 35% magic reflect and 50% damage reduction ring! Kinda got rediculous after a while, haha.

[poe]

It's one of THE cruelest end battles to a modern videogame that I can ever remember. (the stronger you are, the worse it is) I was practically kissing the carpet when it was over and my heart was beating like a jackhammer. I was a level 15 Breton custom battlemage.


One word. Wabbajack.

Not only does it turn "horribly outgunned" into "a sheep, 2 deer, and a weak troll," but the quest to get it is one of those unique joys the game offers.

[jdc]

Don't worry, guys. I finished the game a while ago.....and without the bother of the main story around your neck it gets MORE fun to play.

I'm well over 100 hours into it and with the aid of that beautiful skeleton key, plundering for the sake of plundering is a joy.

[jdc]

So.......the Wabbajack exists!!!

'K.....spill it. Which quest? LOL

Also......I bought the haunted mansion on the Gold Coast. Does anyone know who I talk to to gain more info on the mystical barrier in the basement?

[-hellvin-]

So.......the Wabbajack exists!!!

'K.....spill it. Which quest? LOL

Also......I bought the haunted mansion on the Gold Coast. Does anyone know who I talk to to gain more info on the mystical barrier in the basement?

The guy you bought it from. He runs off to the imperial city though, which you can find out by asking around in the counts arms. You must grab the skeleton hand AND the journal page to get him to help you thought.

As for Wabbajack, you must talk to Sheogorath. He is Northwest of Lleyawin or whatever. You will need yarn, a head of lettuce and a petty soul gem to summon him.

[Anthony1]

Anthony: You can reconfigure the controls so that you do not slip into third person; happens when you press down on the left stick.





Really? How do I reconfigure it? I don't have the instruction manual cause I'm playing a rental version. I've gone into the options menu and looked for a way to disable it, but I didn't find anything. What do I need to do?

[Joker T]

I'm playing a rental version

Oblivion isn't a very good game to rent. My late fee would be huge LOL

[Anthony1]

Oblivion isn't a very good game to rent. My late fee would be huge LOL



I'm renting it for $3.50 per month. And it's more like a lease than a rental, cause I'll probably keep it for 3 months. So I'm basically going to be paying $10.50 for 3 months. I'll send it back, and then maybe revisit it later on down the road if I'm not completely finished with it.

[jdc]

A question for all of you evil bad-ass types.

I'm at the point where quest-wise I still have yet to join the brotherhood and the thieve's guild. I know how to get in.

My question is this. My guy is "good". A freakin' Dudley Dooright. I was wondering if I would encounter a change in attitude from other NPCs towards my character that would be detrimental to his reputation or his ability to get anywhere in some quests once he did some brotherhood or thieve's quests. What I mean is would an otherwise friendly NPC decide not to co-operate with me and I find myself screwed over for some "good" quests?

[-hellvin-]

A question for all of you evil bad-ass types.

I'm at the point where quest-wise I still have yet to join the brotherhood and the thieve's guild. I know how to get in.

My question is this. My guy is "good". A freakin' Dudley Dooright. I was wondering if I would encounter a change in attitude from other NPCs towards my character that would be detrimental to his reputation or his ability to get anywhere in some quests once he did some brotherhood or thieve's quests. What I mean is would an otherwise friendly NPC decide not to co-operate with me and I find myself screwed over for some "good" quests?

Never happened to me. I was in all 4 guilds and my infamy was around 58, but everyone still liked me. There may be a few points where you'll have to raise someone's disposition a bit, but that's it. Be careful in the thief's guild though...there's a mission where you have to invade a conjurer's tower, and he's one of the members in Bravil I believe. Don't kill him or be caught stealing from him, which was a bit tough but not impossible.

[hezeuschrist]

Nope, hezeuschrist.....you don't necessarily slaughter houses full of innocents LOL . But...if you level up TOO much, you're going to get an end game that kicks your ass so hard that you'll have to start all over again with a weaker character. It's one of THE cruelest end battles to a modern videogame that I can ever remember. (the stronger you are, the worse it is) I was practically kissing the carpet when it was over and my heart was beating like a jackhammer. I was a level 15 Breton custom battlemage.

Knowing what I now know, if I were to start over I would go straight for the ending without doing any sidequest......with the exception of one particular one that would have helped out huge.

Yeah, I'm level 15 now and I've completed the Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild (the ultimate heist was pretty incredible), Arena, and I've started both the Mages and Fighters guild. I'm about 60 hours in and I've unlocked usage of the Arcane University so I'm gonna head there and do the Soul Trap/Steal Life enchantments on my Honorblade of Chorrol. I've got Azuras Star and the Skeleton Key, and I might do some more Daedric quests too (wabbajack especially).

The game is getting increasingly difficult... kinda. I can do some dungeons and have a hell of a time killing an orc with an axe or a couple of wraiths, and then an hour later I can do something very similar and it'll be cake. I still haven't turned the difficulty, yet. I have very few HP for my level and when i get closer to the end of the main quest I might actually turn it down if it really gets difficult.

But overall, I've had a lot of fun and if I need to do a couple things to make it a bit easier so I can go through it quicker, that's not gonna bother me. I'm definitely getting my moneys worth.

[Trebuken]

Anthony: You can reconfigure the controls so that you do not slip into third person; happens when you press down on the left stick.





Really? How do I reconfigure it? I don't have the instruction manual cause I'm playing a rental version. I've gone into the options menu and looked for a way to disable it, but I didn't find anything. What do I need to do?


Press <start> go to options, select controls then press <x>.

You can remap buttons...

Just finished 'Aid for Bruma' quest...gotta go...

Later,
Trebuken

[aaron7]

I play it every free second I get... but I too have run into some issues.

Sometimes the sound cuts out and my keyboard doesn't do anything... not even CTRL+ALT+DEL, and I'm stuck walking forward. I can click things normally and attack normally. A quick press of the reset button and I'm fine again, though I HATE doing that. I have only had this problem in this game.

Also, does the fact that I have to have the settings medium with no AA and no HDR count as a rant? WTF

[zerohero]

Err I love the game...