Unofficial Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Thread

[Slaiv]

Okay, here's what we know so far:

 

-The Elder Scrolls IV is subtitled "Oblivion."

-It is planned for PC, XBox Next, Playstation 3, and possibly Revolution

-The graphics are incredible, unless "in-game art" is a sneaky way of saying cinematic.

 

Here's a quote from the Official Morrowind Forums by Broode:

 

From what I hear, its illegal to post scans or large direct quotes but summarising the article is perfectly fine. But if this is against the rules, please dont hesitate to delete this.

 

Well, here it is: [link removed; that thread appears to contain more info than would be allowed here at this time]

 

Some of the highlights from the article:

 

 

-- Current release date is Winter 2005

 

-- According to Todd Howard they are trying to make the game as appealing to mainstream gamers as possible without alienating the hardcore players that prefer more complex RPG's (maybe good or bad)

 

-- They say the game is very very large, but (sadly) it will be smaller than Morrowind for two reasons (Stated by Todd Howard):

--- (A) "Budgets and schedules for games will not change much while the enhanced graphics will require more development time,

--- ( "It’s a fact that, statistically, gamers prefer shorter games, and often do not finish more involved titles"

 

-- Will be unlike the conventional RPG in which the combat outcome does not depend on the luck of “dice rolls”

 

-- The damage that you dole out will be determined by your strength, your opponent’s armor, and the attack you unleash

 

-- Your opponents will block and dodge, so taking down an enemy is entirely on the player’s shoulders

 

-- To make this more mainstream appealing(?) they have made most of the tedious aspects of Morrowind fun (Lock picking, mixing potions, and forging armor for example are going to be done through a mini game of sorts)

 

-- Still made for the 1st person player there are options for both 3rd person and 1st person (like Morrowind), while also saying that the "combat is visceral and bloody”, and that it is designed to recall intense swordplay seen in movies like LoTR and Brave heart. Not to mention the fact that they said, “The combat will be every bit exiting as a FPS"

 

-- There are expansive forest regions that are the most breath taking of them all, if only you could see the screen, but they are packed with almost photorealistic trees and at least a thousand slivers of grass

 

-- All NPC's have a basic day to day schedule so they go to sleep, shop, and even if a poor guy that can’t afford food wants food enough, he will steal from some one, maybe even you

 

-- Here’s another quote "The elder scrolls games are about freedom, and oblivion takes that freedom to a whole new level ~~~ The combat is a much bigger focus than in the earlier games"

 

Here is another take on the article by Razorwing:

* Goblins are one of the new creature types

* Players can explore a 'huge exterior world', either by foot or on horseback

* Landscapes can be randomly generated by setting a number of parameters. If you want to build a forest, you can set what trees and bushes should go in it, and it'll be generated. There are many other parameters as well, for instance for the soil. The screenie in the magazine (showing a forest) is quite breathtaking. It looks kindof like a painting, I think.

* Other screenies shows a female face which is incredibly detailed, almost like the Final Fantasy movie.

* NPCs do indeed change expression on their face regarding what they feel about you.

* The law enforcement system is more developed.

* Apparantly the "Lord of the Rings" movies inspired Bethesda in creating this game, which they refer to as a "fantasy world simulator".

* There was a screenie of a cottage, which I think looks very very bad... like a cross between an oil painting and a cartoon. It might look better in reality though.

* The player will indeed escape from a prison cell at the beginning of the game.

* You'll be able to "tweak your appearance" at the start of the game.

* The 'vanity mode' is still available.

* Combat will be "bloody" and reminiscent of "Braveheart" and similar movies

 

Your thoughts?

[cmac]

I must say that I'm disappointed by the thought of a game shorter than Morrowind. Not to say that won't be plenty long in it's own right; but I would have expected with a new engine and all that Bethesda would deliver a nice, long game. But if we have the option to explore a vast land, then it might not be so bad. ^_^

 

I'm not terribly thrilled with the idea of a randomly generated world, like Arena. What made Morrowind so unique was that it was so intricately detailed. No doubt the graphics will make it seem very good; but it's too bad. perhaps this means that we'll have the whole of Tamriel to explore! :P

 

I definitely want to try out riding on a horse! :D

 

You'll be able to "tweak your appearance" at the start of the game.

It sounds as though there is going to be limited customization of characters. This is also quite disappointing, as this is another factor that made Morrowind so great. I don't particurlarly want to be a Cyrodiil. But, if race is an important element to the plotline, then I suppose there's nothing to be done about it!

 

Goblins are one of the new creature types

Erm...goblins aren't new. They were added in Tribunal.

 

The player will indeed escape from a prison cell at the beginning of the game.

Wow, this is certainly starting to sound like Arena redone with better graphics...

 

Winter 2005

*censored*. I don't think I can wait that long.

[valdir]

I had my doubts, but after reading this I can say that I will buy this game.

 

I like how it will be smaller! There are parts of Morrowind that I have never even seen, which is both good and bad. Plus, I played and beat Deus Ex2 about 4 times and have yet to beat Baldur's Gate or even the MW main quest. I like short games that I can play through several times.

 

Thank god they're changing combat and skill building(lock picking etc what Slaiv said) because those were the worst parts of the game.

 

I'm happy to hear about the graphics, the NPC schedules and that "Combat will be "bloody" and reminiscent of "Braveheart" and similar movies".

 

Also, hearing about the "Lord of the Rings movies influence" sounds solid.

 

Overall, I'm giddier than hell right now.

 

~Val

[Luxar]

heres some interesting info:(note: this is where most of Broode's info came from; so its basically that, only more detailed)

 

http://unclecrassius.0catch.com/

 

 

 

Also, I have seen the screenshots from Game Informer, and i must say IT IS GLORIOUS. by glorious i mean: near infinite draw distance. awesome lighting effects. graphics that, in my opinion, surpass Doom 3 easily. and DEEP, LIVING forests. *drool*

[Peregrine]

I'm not terribly thrilled with the idea of a randomly generated world, like Arena. What made Morrowind so unique was that it was so intricately detailed. No doubt the graphics will make it seem very good; but it's too bad. perhaps this means that we'll have the whole of Tamriel to explore! :P

They don't mean a world generated when you enter each area. That's a construction set option, so instead of deciding to make a forest and having to place each tree one by one, you can just click "forest" and have a good starting point. Nothing in there says those details from Morrowind will be missing... in fact, with that part of world building made a lot easier, you/they can spend more time on them!

[cmac]

I'm not terribly thrilled with the idea of a randomly generated world, like Arena. What made Morrowind so unique was that it was so intricately detailed. No doubt the graphics will make it seem very good; but it's too bad. perhaps this means that we'll have the whole of Tamriel to explore!  :P

They don't mean a world generated when you enter each area. That's a construction set option, so instead of deciding to make a forest and having to place each tree one by one, you can just click "forest" and have a good starting point. Nothing in there says those details from Morrowind will be missing... in fact, with that part of world building made a lot easier, you/they can spend more time on them!

Phew! I didn't want a world that was created by spontaniety. Much better to actually place everything.

[DreamOfTheRood]

A game shorter than Morrowind? That sounds like a good thing for a couple of reasons. Due to BethSoft's desire to create a fleshed-out world and the huge number of joinable factions, Morrowind was an incredibly long game. If the main quest took somewhere around 30 hours of game time, the rest of the game easily could take up 200 more hours of your time, and that's just one character.

 

I think they're going for a more streamlined approach with Oblivion. Since you start the game off with an idiot trying to punch through you, I'd say we'll definitely be spending a lot of time punching back in the game. Lots of combat, less quests.

 

Still, though, this is TES we're talking about. This game is going to be huge, vast and epic. I'm not excited yet, but I will be in about a year.

[Malchik]

And when might we expect to see it in Europe?

 

Well, it's a long wait. Keep the mods for MW coming guys and maybe I'll still remember the game in 16 month's time!

 

Just hope it's not TOO hack and slash!

[eviljim]

So am I the only one that's disappointed that it will be shorter than Morrowind? I mean, Morrowind was one of very few games that you got more than what you paid for. Play it for months and still have stuff to do. I'd have to say the graphics was my biggest gripe about morrowind (until the betterheads and betterbodies plugins :) )

 

The "minigame" skills kinda worries me. I'd rather go through a whole lockpick in a few seconds than sit there and fiddle with (essentially) beating a level in a minigame.

 

And my main concern:

 

WILLL IT RUN GOOD ENOUGH ON MY SYSTEM?!

any system requirements yet?

[Slaiv]

I'm VERY disheartened by the fact that it is being made more mainstream! Do you know what this means? Less character customization, less depth, less exploring, shorter games, etc.... BethSoft is turning into Microsoft: Graphics are all that matters, the rest of the game is just filler so they can make better graphics. This isn't the case right now, but they're on the path... :(

 

Anyway, here's some more important info:

 

-- They go on to say that this will still be the most Expansive game on the next-gen market

That means it will still be pretty big.

 

CS program is slated to be included with the PC version and maybe even the Consoles if they have that sort of capability

That's a BIG change. :blink:

 

-- The guards will pursue NPC's that have committed a crime an give them a royal ass kicking

So things go on without you.

 

-- Characters will converse in free flowing non scripted discussions that are possible due to this new CS

 

-- Character animation will be among the best ever seen with facial expressions representing what they are talking about and if they hate you they will greet you with a dark scold, while if they like you you’ll get a great big smile :)

 

-- NPCS maybe even age (shows a pic of a woman, then another with a caption saying it’s the same woman but in the CS all they did is use a slider to change her age in which she looks very aged compared to the younger looking one

Upgraded NPCs will make the game environment much more believable.

 

- This is the most capable CS so far and runs on the havok physics engine

 

-- GI claims it has the most realistic lighting possible

 

-- When you see the GI pics and can’t believe your eyes, don’t act like they are CGI or FMV, but all pics are in

Incredible graphics and *gasp* physics! [Actually, Havok isn't very good unless you heavily modify it.]

 

-- Takes place in Cyrodiil, here’s a quote from GI "the world of Tamriel is a beautiful place: these are, without a doubt, the most amazing graphics the console gaming world has ever seen (look better than doom from the pics I saw)

 

-- Oblivion will function as a "fantasy world simulator" and wants to recreate such beautiful vibrancy as LoTR, and with these graphics being the best I have ever seen I would guess they will do just that

Takes place in Cyrodiil, and another comment on incredible graphics.

 

-- Attacks will be mapped to right trigger block on left for Xenon (or whatever you want to call the damn thing) hitting trigger does basic swipes, while holding the trigger down and press a direction you perform a power swing, each different direction is a different attack for both basic and power swing. And there are special attack abilities

Upgraded combat engine.

 

-- Magic features 6 schools (how many Morrowind had escapes me at the moment, seeing as I haven’t played the damn thing forever) but all the ones mentioned are all in Morrowind so no new schools of magic.... yet

 

-- Schools of magic are

- Destruction

- Mysticism

- Restoration

- Conjuration

- Alteration

- Illusion

Still the same magic schools.

 

-- Can join any/all of the following guilds, each with unique quests

---- > Fighters Guild

---- > Mages Guild

---- > Thieves Guild

---- > The Dark Brotherhood Guild

---- > Arena Guild

---- > The Nine Divines Guild

New guilds, as well as old.

 

-- Can become the leader of every faction during the course of one game all at the same time. Unlike factions in Morrowind where you could only get in all by cheating, while in Oblivion you will be able to do all without doing anything special to the game

 

-- Fighters/Mages Guild = Noble (Quests like Morrowind’s)

 

-- Thieves Guild = Sinister (Quests like Morrowind’s)

 

-- Arena Guild = Focus on Gladiatorial Combat (Quests ??)

 

-- The Nine Divines = Religious order for Monks (?? Quests)

 

-- Dark Brotherhood = Sinister (?? Quests)

Self Explanatory

 

- Over 40 types of said monsters such as goblins, skeletons, real world animals (like deer and horses which you can ride) and a very wide selection of the demons from Oblivion

More monsters/enemies/creatures.

 

- And to end it all, it says you will go through subterranean dungeons, ancient ruins, cities/towns that will have you teeming with people going about their daily lives, churches, and castles

 

- QUOTE: "You will experience a truly living; breathing world brought to life through cutting edge technology that will power the games of tomorrow."