Oblivion: Elder Scrolls IV - PC Roleplaying Game

[Eaglesfan27]

Just played for about 2 1/2 hours before I got the call that my wife will be home in 10 minutes.

The graphics are amazing. The head bob is a bit annoying and will probably limit my length of sessions. However, the physics are great. Watching a rat fly through the air after being blasted by a flare spell and then bounce off a wall in a believable way is more fun than it should be. I think when I finish the first dungeon, I'll probably be recommended to be a Battlemage which would suit me fine

Can't wait to play more this weekend.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

I didn't even notice the "head bob" until you guys mentioned it.

Bastards.

Yeah, wtf... damn all of you!

[Schmidty]

I didn't even notice the "head bob" until you guys mentioned it.

Bastards.

[Lonnie]

I just ran into a really wierd situation, that may or may not be a bug. I was walking the streets of Corrall, when an assassin appeared. Dressed just like the guys in the sewers. I assumed he was after me, but before I could even draw my sword three NPCs in the area jumped the guy and killed him. Now thats pretty impressive, here comes the weird part. I hear "Murder, Murder, there's been a murder!" Four guards come running and another NPC with her two dogs. They commence to mutilating these three guys that just saved my bacon. Unfortunately they aren't too careful and hit each other a bit in the skirmish. Once the three original vigilantes have been downed the guards turn on each other. In the end there are four dead citizens and two dead guards.

I continued on my way and visited a shop to sell a few things, when I returned to the scene the bodies were still in the streets, so I looted them.....

Very strange and you would assume the guards would have trusted each other enough not to turn on themselves and the town folk. I just hope none of the NPCs were involved in the plot.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sorry, I didn't notice it when sneaking or walking, but it is very noticable when running. It doesn't bother me too much since I don't run too much, but it will limit my gameplay slightly. Then again, I played 2 and a half hours with no headaches, so that is a good sign..

I can't wait to use some more fire magic However, I also want to wear armor and be good with the sword. So maybe, I didn't really mean that I want to be a battlemage. Can't wait to maybe find some time to finish the dungeon tomorrow and see what class it recommends...

[Galaril]

Just got this and it is alot of fun. The graphics are amazing once evrything is tweaked and stuff. That is if you have a fairly impressive rig or at least graphics card. My wife even saw the game and once to start up a character and she doesn't even play any games.....................well except an occasional mind game or two with her husband

[Shkspr]

Note for everyone. When you get done with the tutorial, you'll go to a gate which leads you out of the dungeon you're in. (You'll see a gate with a tunnel behind it and light at the end.) Save your game before you use the gate because when you click on the gate, you'll get a chance to change your character - Race, class, appearance, the works. You'll never have to go through the tutorial again (it takes about an hour to do so).

[Brillig]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Can't wait to maybe find some time to finish the dungeon tomorrow and see what class it recommends...

I wouldn't put too much weight in the computer's recommendation, it's basing it off of the skills you use in the tutorial, ignoring the fact that there are skills you *can't* use in the tutorial.

That said, Battlemage or Spellsword sound like good options for you - that or my favorite, the Custom class

I've already made three characters and none of them were pre-designed classes...

[Godzilla Blitz]

Played for about three hours tonight. Loving the game. Some minor complaints, but overall this seems to be an excellent game and an incredible accomplishment.

Created a custom jack-of-all traits character that is mostly mage/warrior.

[Qwikshot]

I'm a monk Breton...

[jeff061]

Today I get my new monitor and Oblivion, oh joy!!!

[Bee]

Just as a FYI, I saw this post over at Octopus Overlords and thought it might be useful to some of you with Nvidia cards (especially the 6600). It sounds a little too good, but I've also seen other posts where people are getting much better performance using the beta drivers from Nvidia.

Umm either I'm having delusions or these drivers gave me the biggest boost in performance that I have ever seen. I'm running it almost maxed out with the gfx now and it's running very well. I honestly can't understand it and I'm wondering if I hit my head and I'm in lala land.

Specs on my computer.

AMD 2600+
1 GB ram
6600 GT

I'm now running with
Large Textures, All water settings on, All Shadow Settings on except grass and it's running great. I'm really really really confused right now. I'm almost wondering if it switched something off and it's not displaying correctly or something because this doesn't make any sense.

Please somebody else try them and report back. I'm so utterly confused/happy.. I'll see if I can post a screen shot it looks insane..

He posted a screenshot and it looks very impressive for a low end system like he has.

[ISiddiqui]

Some interface thing got to me last night (as I stayed up to 3:00 AM to play the game when I had to get up before 7! ). The lockpick mini-game. I can't find a way to 'Auto-Pick' or, more frustratingly 'Close'. If I get into one too hard, I have to break all my lockpicks to leave . The other annoyance is with dropping items. Frankly, you can't, unless you have a chest where you can 'store' unneeded stuff. That is a pain when you are given something by a character that puts you over your limit. I had to drink a potion of feather, so I could move to reach a chest to dump my stuff in.

Btw, found the perfect use for fast travel: escort missions. They loose all the frustration of your ordinary escort missions, because of the fast travel.

Also unlike Morrowind, the main quest is REALLY compelling (at least so far). That's why I stayed up until 3 in the morning. I wanted to finish that section of the (early) main quest.

May I add.. the Planes of Oblivion are very nicely done. Some where scared that the screenshots indicated another Red Mountain. This far exceeds that.

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

I can't find a way to 'Auto-Pick' or, more frustratingly 'Close'.

Sounds like a formatting issue on your screen. Both AutoPick and Close are at the bottom of the minigame screen.

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

The other annoyance is with dropping items. Frankly, you can't, unless you have a chest where you can 'store' unneeded stuff.

Manual, Page 10, 80% down: Shift and LMB. (On 360, probably a shoulder button and the equip button).

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by Shkspr

Sounds like a formatting issue on your screen. Both AutoPick and Close are at the bottom of the minigame screen.

Um.. yeah... but I can't get there!

Manual, Page 10, 80% down: Shift and LMB. (On 360, probably a shoulder button and the equip button).

Thanks. You'd have hoped the in game tutorial would have been able to specify this...

[PraetorianX]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Some interface thing got to me last night (as I stayed up to 3:00 AM to play the game when I had to get up before 7! ). The lockpick mini-game. I can't find a way to 'Auto-Pick' or, more frustratingly 'Close'. If I get into one too hard, I have to break all my lockpicks to leave . The other annoyance is with dropping items. Frankly, you can't, unless you have a chest where you can 'store' unneeded stuff. That is a pain when you are given something by a character that puts you over your limit. I had to drink a potion of feather, so I could move to reach a chest to dump my stuff in.

Btw, found the perfect use for fast travel: escort missions. They loose all the frustration of your ordinary escort missions, because of the fast travel.

Also unlike Morrowind, the main quest is REALLY compelling (at least so far). That's why I stayed up until 3 in the morning. I wanted to finish that section of the (early) main quest.

May I add.. the Planes of Oblivion are very nicely done. Some where scared that the screenshots indicated another Red Mountain. This far exceeds that.

Shift + Click on Item to drop them, iirc. Though you can try to place them on a shelf or something like you could in MW, you just drop them.

As for Auto-Pick/Close...just move your mouse over to it and you can click on that. You might have to move the mouse around to find your cursor of course, thats slightly annoying. Oh well.

And yes, when I first experiemented with fast travel to see if the NPC would follow me...I was overjoyed that they did. Yay for fast travel!

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by PraetorianX

As for Auto-Pick/Close...just move your mouse over to it and you can click on that. You might have to move the mouse around to find your cursor of course, thats slightly annoying. Oh well.

What, downwards? Because you can't really go left, right, or up to find a cursor... it'll go left, right, or hit a tumbler. I wish you could just hit Esc for your cursor .

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

What, downwards? Because you can't really go left, right, or up to find a cursor... it'll go left, right, or hit a tumbler. I wish you could just hit Esc for your cursor .

It is a bit awkward, but I haven't had any real trouble finding the cursor. Just move the mouse around and basically downward, yeah.

Also there is a mention of how to drop things in the tutorial. It doesn't come up until you are carrying too much, though. I had actually been slightly overencumbered a few times, and I don't think the tutorial window about how to drop popped up until I was several pounds over my limit. That is probably something they should fix in a patch cause I was stumped on how to drop stuff for a while, too, and had to check the manual.

I should add, on a seperate note, that I had no interest in buying this game until I saw this thread and checked out the videos, and it is really sweet.

[Mustang]

One minor annoyance and question.

The speechcraft/persuasion little mini-game seems a little boring. Very easy to tweak the characters you are dealing with up to their max plus, as a bard, it is one of my major skills so, seems like an easy way to level up.

The creatures that you fight, any way to see how strong they are or is this just a have to figure it out yourself or do they get stronger as you get stronger? I seem to remember that the older games, the creatures were just seeded and if you happened to run into a super stronger creature accidentally, you could.. it wasn't by level. I could be wrong...

[Coffee Warlord]

I don't understand the speechcraft thing at *all*

[jbmagic]

Does game suggest or recommends what level you character should be when doing a certain side quest or main quest?

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I don't understand the speechcraft thing at *all*

4 segments, wheel spins clockwise. Each segment has a specific reaction - Really +, +, -, and really -. It's just a task of making sure that when you select the negative area the segment is not that full and the segment is as full as possible in the positive areas to get the biggest benefit. (The more full a segment, the bigger the affect)

Easiest thing is to just figure out which areas are positive and negative beforehand and then plot your moves.. The positive and negative areas don't change for the entire time you are persuading that specific NPC.

Its pretty intuitive and easy to do.. just very repetitive... Just remember that you don't HAVE to have the most filled in segment in the positive area.. and you just need a little forward thinking to what segment will be where as you have to select each quadrant once.

[PraetorianX]

Originally Posted by Mustang

The creatures that you fight, any way to see how strong they are or is this just a have to figure it out yourself or do they get stronger as you get stronger? I seem to remember that the older games, the creatures were just seeded and if you happened to run into a super stronger creature accidentally, you could.. it wasn't by level. I could be wrong...

As you level up, some NPC/Creatures level up with you. Also, while at first if you go into Oblivion with a low level you'll fight mostly Scamps, later on as you level up you'll see less of them and more of the big baddy types.

[Coffee Warlord]

edit: Beat me to it.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Does game suggest or recommends what level you character should be when doing a certain side quest or main quest?

Nope. It's mostly trial and error, but I know that the 'level' of your opponents scales with your level.

[Eaglesfan27]

I found it a bit frustrating to get to the autopick as well, but once I figured out that I just had to move my mouse downward until the cursor appeared that wasn't bad. Autopick is much better than I am at this point



My wife just called me about 5 minutes ago. A very good friend of hers who had evacuated just returned to New Orleans. She asked if I would mind if she went and visited her for a few hours after work tonight... guess what I said


I should be able to finish the dungeon tonight Also, I agree that I won't put too much weight into the recommended class. I'm just curious what it will suggest. I expect a Spellsword will be what I pick or maybe a custom class that is similar to a Spellsword. I also expect I'll probably play a few different characters early on to see which one I enjoy the most. A pure warrior, mage/warrior, and thief all appeal to me at times right now.

[Brillig]

Some more notes and tips - some of this may be spoilerish in terms of the mechanics of the game...:

On the conversation game - I like to think of it in terms of the four actions having multipliers associated with them (*2, *1, *-1, *-2), with the wheel having four values associated with it (4, 3, 2, 1). A very simple but effective way to play the game is to always make sure that your first priority is selecting the smallest value on the wheel (1) with the negative actions. Focusing on that seems to be an effective way to get ahead in the disposition game.

Haggling is still difficult for me. One trick, though, is if you have a lot of low value items (like arrows) to sell, is to sell one, crank the haggle up a notch, and repeat. As soon as your offer is refused, crank the haggle down two notches, and that should be your best price.

Getting money to start: If you have trouble getting money in the beginning, an easy way to build up a little cash is through alchemy. Go around buying up the 2 gold reagents, make simple potions, and sell them back for anywhere from 6 (starting out) to 14 (if you buy some advanced alchemy tools) gold. You turn at minimum a 2gp profit, and also work up alchemy, speechcraft, and mercantile while you're doing it.

Game mechanics: Stores are open from 9 am to 9 pm. Time compression is 30:1, so a day lasts 48 minutes. Time is, however, frozen whenever you're doing something (making potions, conversing, etc...).

It's been so long since I played an Elder Scrolls game that I'd forgotten one of the things that bugged me the most about it - the skill/level system. If mobs are based on your level, then you had better make sure your level is based on your ability to defeat mobs. Acrobatics, Athletics, Speechcraft, Mercantile, Armorer and similar skills are useless in a fight - so if you have those as major skills, you're going to be at a disadvantage if your level is heavily influenced by those. Most of the stock classes have one or more of those skills, though, so a *little* fudge factor is built in. Just don't gain six levels in town by running around in circles. The only thing your character will be built to do then is run away. Very, very fast.

Magic - if you choose/get a magic skill as a major skill, you'll get new spells, don't forget to check the magic tab. Don't think that this is all you can get though, if you check in the Imperial City, you'll find lots more spells that you can use (and probably can't afford ) even at the basic level of skill. And if you want to work up those minor magic skills, don't forget to shop!

"Rough leather cuirass" v "Leather cuirass" - I have no idea. One costs more, but they have the same armor rating and weight. My *guess* is that the "rough" version of items loses durability faster. Anyone know for sure?

[Shkspr]

Originally Posted by Brillig

"Rough leather cuirass" v "Leather cuirass" - I have no idea. One costs more, but they have the same armor rating and weight. My *guess* is that the "rough" version of items loses durability faster. Anyone know for sure?

Item durability loss is based on its class (heavy/light) and the player's skill. There may also be a factor based on the material (glass, for example). At any rate, I'm sure the only difference between a rough leather cuirass and a regular leather cuirass is the price for which merchants will pay for the item.

Oh, and of course how well the chicks dig you. That's why I always keep my blue suede shoes around.

[Galaril]

One question how do you sleep or make your character rest to get back health?

[Bearcat729]

Originally Posted by Galaril

One question how do you sleep or make your character rest to get back health?

You need to find a bed. Either buy a house or find a inn while in town or in the wild find a random bedroll

[Galaril]

Bedroll in the wild?

[Bearcat729]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Bedroll in the wild?

Yeah outside of the cities, in caves and so on when you run into small camps(Usually occupied by people who will try to kill you, but I haven't been out in the wild yet so I'm not sure what is out there.) they will have a bed roll that you can sleep on.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Bearcat729

Yeah outside of the cities, in caves and so on when you run into small camps(Usually occupied by people who will try to kill you, but I haven't been out in the wild yet so I'm not sure what is out there.) they will have a bed roll that you can sleep on.

Thanks that is all useful.

[Brillig]

Every character has the minor healing spell to regain health... sleep is for the weak!

More on the item quality issue. I'm more convinced now that it does affect item wear. I took a "Rusty Iron Bow" vs a "Iron Bow". They have identical stats except for merchant value. Both were repaired to 100 condition, then I fired 20 arrows with each (into the ground, heh). After 10 arrows the "Rusty Iron Bow" was condition 94, the "Iron Bow" condition 95. After 20 arrows, the "Rusty Iron Bow" was condition 89, the "Iron Bow" condition 91.

More on lockpicking - there seems to be three speeds with which the tumbler moves - medium, fast, and stupid fast. It seems like the key is to use your lockpick and only try to lock the pin on the slower speeds. Trying on stupid fast seems to require either absurd twitch speed or just plain luck.

[jbmagic]

I know the gameworld on this game is huge.

Is it easy to find things you need to accomplish when doing the side quest and main quest?

[Brillig]

Yeah, there are little pointers on the main map that identify where you need to go for a quest. So you won't get lost. Now if there are any situations where you have to hunt down "tiny quest object" in "big huge dungeon"... that I don't know, but I haven't seen it yet.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Brillig

I wouldn't put too much weight in the computer's recommendation, it's basing it off of the skills you use in the tutorial, ignoring the fact that there are skills you *can't* use in the tutorial.

That said, Battlemage or Spellsword sound like good options for you - that or my favorite, the Custom class

I've already made three characters and none of them were pre-designed classes...

You were right about the recommendations. I received a very odd recommendation of a Bard! That was odd since I had hardly used the main skills of the Bard. I had primarily used my Destruction and Blade Skills, along with heavy armor. I ended up making a custom class that had a lot of features in common with a Spellblade. Just saved the game before I exit the Sewers. Time to explore the world!

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

The game runs amazingly on very high settings for me except I get some terrible slowdown when scripted combat events happen with a large number of NPC's at once.

[jeff061]

I'm playing on high with a system I bought 1.5 years ago. Bethesda sure did a hell of a lot better job on the tech side this go around. Still getting to the meat of the game.

[Bearcat729]

I'm just about finished with the thief guild quests

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

I know the gameworld on this game is huge.

Is it easy to find things you need to accomplish when doing the side quest and main quest?

Dude. Stop with the questions.

Read the fucking reviews. Buy the game or don't.

Sorry if that was harsh and unfair (and it was), but I swear that 90% of your posts are questions, many of which are repetitive. Read their (Bethesda's) forums, as I'm sure that all of your specific questions are there.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Posted these on Octopus Overlords, but thought they would work here as well...

Random initial Impressions after six hours of play…

The good:

A lot of people have mentioned how pretty they think the game is, but the thing that stands out most in this game to me is that the graphics and physics of the game world combine to impart a strong sense of realness to the game environment. When I drop a weapon and see it roll down a hill before settling against a log, I feel as if I am really part of a virtual environment rather than simply playing a game. There is a “thereness” to Oblivion unlike any other gaming experience I have had, and the direct result of this is that the game oozes immersion.

Gameplay (leveling, combat, NPC interaction, skill improvement, quests) seems well done. The fun that comes from seeing your character improve is not groundbreaking, but is quite solid. Combat (especially involving fire) is engaging and exciting.

The game world doesn’t seem to be huge geographically, but is clearly huge in terms of available experiences. There are tombs, forts, wildlife, towns, quests all over the place, and the paths you can take your character are varied and interesting. For players who enjoy exploring and open-ended games, this will not disappoint.

The bad:
Characters are ugly. They nearly all look pasty and fat. It’s as if everybody is British. To be honest, it’s worse, as I keep wondering if most of the NPCs have Down Syndrome. It’s great that there are ugly and old people, but I’d like some bodacious wenches and dashing heroes as well. I hope someone can do something with this with a mod. There have been a couple of scary moments where I’ve approached women with lithe bodies from behind, then been revolted by their faces when they turn around and engage in conversation. And at times, I've caught myself thinking, "Why should I hunt all over the countryside for bottles of wine for you, when you are SO DAMN UGLY!" It's hard to get excited about saving an entire kingdom of bloated, pock-marked muffins.

After watching the GameSpot opening night streaming video, I thought that the low level of activity (people visible and doing things) in the game might bother me. Well, it’s better than I thought, but I still feel like it’s a gameworld filled with perhaps a few hundred people. The game’s main quest line loses quite a bit of its epic feel with so few people in the world.

But so far, so good. Having fun just wandering around the city and nearby countryside, and feel that I've gotten my money's worth already. Highly recommended.

One other thing that has struck me is to what degree the voice acting and lip syncing will limit people’s abilities to make mods.

[Brillig]

Schmidty: Dude. Chill. He's just asking some questions - if it bugs you that much, quite reading the thread. And it keeps the thread bumped.

Some general notes on combat - block/counter-attack seems to be the way to go for melee combat, although I've gotten pretty beat up *through* the shield by some beefy dudes with 2-handers. It also took me the longest time to figure out that the melee combat is pretty range sensitive, and that just because the 2-hander was in range, that didn't mean *I* was. Doh!

They make a big deal about the Mage's Guild outlawing Necromancy, yet half the conjuration spells are summoning undead. Hmm.

My characters keep getting side-tracked (side-quested?), I need to focus. Dammit.

GB: Yeah, for such good graphics, the people look, hmm... "unrealistically weathered"? As far as the lack of people goes, I suppose it cuts both ways, if they had a realistic number of people wandering around, you'd have an even tougher time finding the people you wanted to talk to. Still, a few more folks around would be nice.

[Fouts]

Just got the game last night, and it is brilliant. BTW killing vampires = good money!

[Eaglesfan27]

Personally, I'm glad all of the characters aren't buxom lithe women. I've always felt games that have too much of that are pandering. However, I agree a bit of variety would be nice.

The physics engine is what really amazes me. Things fly through the air, bounce appropriately, and roll/slide down hills some realisticly. I can't wait to play some more this weekend.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Personally, I'm glad all of the characters aren't buxom lithe women. I've always felt games that have too much of that are pandering. However, I agree a bit of variety would be nice.

I agree, but even with the old/ugly ones, the eyes seem off. For some reason, that old movie "Deliverance" keeps popping into my head. Of course, with only a few of hundred people in the gameworld, I guess a bit of inbreeding is to be expected.

Fouts: You just got the game last night and you're killing vampires already? What level did you reach to do that? I've played six hours and I just reached level 3.

Stopping to read the books probably hasn't helped me much, though.

[Bearcat729]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

Fouts: You just got the game last night and you're killing vampires already? What level did you reach to do that? I've played six hours and I just reached level 3.

I think the Vampires will be at the same level you are so its possible to kill them at any level if you run into one.


I finished the thief guild quests, and have now moved on to the Dark Brotherhood.

[Yellow5]

4 hours into it and I am loving this game. This was one of the reasons I built a new machine (P4 dual core with a Radeon X1900) and it runs smooth on ultra high settings but...

The characters are plain ugly. They all look like they're from the same round faced family no matter what race they are. Terrain looks good at close range but I don't like the look of the distant hills... looks too flat. I've been reading the official forums and hope that some tweaking of the .ini will maks things look better.

I've started out in the fighters guild and played in the Arena a bit. Really impressed with the size of the game world and how easy it is to travel now.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Brillig

Schmidty: Dude. Chill. He's just asking some questions - if it bugs you that much, quite reading the thread. And it keeps the thread bumped.

I've historically defended the guy a LOT, but recent happenings have made me leery, and quite frankly more annoyed (like the majority of others) by him.

You must have not been around much recently.

[Fouts]

Originally Posted by Godzilla Blitz

I agree, but even with the old/ugly ones, the eyes seem off. For some reason, that old movie "Deliverance" keeps popping into my head. Of course, with only a few of hundred people in the gameworld, I guess a bit of inbreeding is to be expected.

Fouts: You just got the game last night and you're killing vampires already? What level did you reach to do that? I've played six hours and I just reached level 3.

Stopping to read the books probably hasn't helped me much, though.

My crusader is level 4, and somebody approached me to kill vampires. The irony was that I am one and actively seeking a cure (at night). I just assumed the vampire story was part of the storyline. Maybe I slept in the wrong town.