Luxar Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 The main Elder Scrolls site,Elder Scrolls has been updated with all sorts of goodies, including links to an extensive gamespy preview, screenshots, concept art, and a Team Diary. Woohoo! Finally, sitting npc's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramul Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 *Keyboard shorts out from drool*Wallpapers!If they can sit, can they also use their beds? :shifty: Sneak in, kill sleeping Wood Elf :shifty: Is the ES web page broken for anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinin Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 None of the pictures load when i try visiting the site.....which kinda defeats the purpose of visiting the site... New. Screenshots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaiv Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Here's an overview of the Gamespy preview: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is being designed around the Xbox 2 (and the PS3, although the company could not officially confirm any platform besides the PC).Ugh. Let's hope this doesn't mean what I think it does. Todd Howard gives information about expected release date:"We've always viewed The Elder Scrolls as a series that presents worlds no one else has ever imagined being done. We love pushing the edge in every respect. We aim to create 'The RPG for the Next Generation,' and this is not just in terms of visuals and platforms. It's in terms of how RPGs are played and experienced. It's time to move RPGs forward and really show how entertaining they can be." Gamespy: "In a moment of candor, however, he also admitted that the length of time it takes to create an RPG also factored in the decision. Since the team knew there was no way this game would be complete before 2005 when the current generation of consoles would be reaching the end of their lives, they decided instead to "go big and go early" and create a game that would make a big early splash during the next gaming cycle." For combat, the team wanted the player to have lots of options, have it be visually exciting, and really, really deep. For exploration, the team is looking to create a world that is very lush and is always showing the player something new. For interaction, Oblivion will feature photorealistic faces that can show emotion, voice-overs for every line of dialogue and an extraordinary new "living world" system.Pretty much self-explanatory. The basic idea of Oblivion combat is to impart the 'kinetic energy feeling' of guys bashing each other with swords. The game will have a number of special moves available and blocking is actively under player control, not automatic. As a result, timing moves, shielding yourself, and responding to the enemy becomes a key strategy in fighting.Combat will be much more action-oriented, instead of numbers-based, meaning you won't miss while swinging at something right in front of you. Further elaboration:While the combat system of Oblivion tries to remove those layers, RPG players can breathe easy knowing that their beloved stats haven't gone anywhere. This difference this time is that the player's stats determine what they can do, and how effective those things are, but they're now in full control of the "when." Blocking a blow is manual, for instance, but the effectiveness of that block is determined by your character's block skill -- things like how much damage the block absorbs, how much fatigues it causes and so forth. Striking an enemy with a sword is no longer random, but the amount of damage caused is a function of strength and weapon skill. Right now we're working on our dynamic compass that will show you how close you are to dungeons while wandering the forests or where the person is that you need to talk to make a quest progress," Howard said. They've also altered the way players travel in the world. Technically speaking, the world of Oblivion is actually larger than Morrowind, but as Howard himself pointed out, Bethesda doesn't want "hundreds of hours of gameplay" to consist of a few minutes of fun punctuated by hours of boring traveling. Instead, the game will include a revised fast travel map that will hopefully eliminate a great deal of the annoying repetitive travel over long distances.A compass will pretty much point to the next "objective." A fast travel map will be available to allow players to get where they're going faster. A quick glance at any of the screen shots for the game gives only a taste of the kind of graphic splendor gamers can look forward to Oblivion. Expect to see the kinds of light and water effects that were so praised in Morrowind expanded out to cover literally every surface in the game. Dungeon walls will now glisten with moisture. Skin, stone, blood and wood will accurately absorb and reflect light in amazing ways. Specific techniques include normal maps for lighting, diffuse maps for color, specular maps for shininess, and parallax maps for geometry detail. Parallax mapping is a new graphic technique that's similar to displacement mapping, but is much friendlier to video cards and will help ensure that the graphic splendor isn't restricted to the PC version.Self explanatory. This time around, the construction kit will be easier to use, have better interfaces, and the code base of the product will have simpler script, object and quest systems that can be directly manipulated by the kit. Howard described the tool kit succinctly, "It's all in the Construction Set. We used it to create Oblivion, see what you can do!"A better, easier Construction Set will be included with [most likely only] the PC version. [Oblivion] isn't a direct continuation of that storyline. "We've really gotten much better at this," Howard says when discussing the living world of Oblivion. "We're really focusing this time on how people in the world react to you, because that's the most fulfilling thing about being good or bad or in-between." The game sports a new "Radiant AI" system that Howard says is best described as a combination of Ultima 7 and The Sims. Rather than following pre-scripted paths, every NPC is given a set of general goals they'd like to achieve, but the details of fulfilling that goal is entirely up to them. If a citizen is hungry, they'll look for a way to get food. They might buy food, hunt it, or steal it, then find a place to sit to eat and so on. This means that every one of the game's 1,000 NPCs follows a full 24/7 schedule that continues whether or not the player is there to witness it. It also means that the NPCs react to each other, so a townsperson who decides to steal a loaf of bread in full view of the guards may find himself under arrest.Oblivion's "Living World" system will allow for a much deeper, more involving world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxar Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 I don't think we really need to worry about it 'being developed around xbox 2'. He only said that to show the fact that they are working with a code base that is meant to be easily translateable to a console since they know that they will be working with one in the near future. And yes, the Construction Set will only be on the PC version. From the official FAQ: Will the TES Construction Set be included again?Yes, the TES Construction Set will be included with the PC version. It will not be available on a console. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaiv Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Which, of course, means that I'll be getting it for PC again. Despite how much I'll have to spend on upgrades..... *Imagines the possibilities....* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxar Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 Yeah. I just say screw upgrades, I'm buying a whole new computer for this one. haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slaiv Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Meh, upgrades are cheaper. Then again, I'm planning on getting more ram, a new motherboard, a new processor, a new graphics card, a new sound card, etc...... That's the only advantage of the XBox Next version - no upgrades. Just two or three hundred bucks for a new console [which I'll probably get anyway unless they take out the hard drive - cheap b*stards.] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaningutten Posted October 25, 2004 Share Posted October 25, 2004 They haven't said anything about system specs, have they? I reckon I'll be able to run it, but I want to upgrade anyway... When I read all these promises for Oblivion I can't help but think about all the mods to come... I think I'm actually looking more forward to playing all the mods than the game itself! Cheers to a future of great mods and great gameplay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abramul Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 kewl, pictures are loading now. Cue the drool. Round armor...gotsta love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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