First Impressions

[Stampede]

Awesome, really much appreciated Dilvish.

 

So great to see the NPCs sitting down...and are those two mages a couple? The Redguard female looks good too. I dig the hair.

[goseki]

this game looks great at the lowest lcd setting 12xxx9xx or something it runs almost as good as morrowind ever did on my computer, and I have the draw distance up to max! i have to avoid the shadows though, outside at least. it runs far better than i thought it would.

a friend of mine put oblivion on a laptop that shouldn't have been able to run it and made it playable so i don't know about poor scaleing. its smooth sailing for me 8)

 

I like the new combat. simplified? you can cast spells without putting your blade away and you can block! in morrowind one button did all. here you can several different types of special attacks. I've found many different stratagies to play with allready in non magical combat alone.

I love playing bows and arrows!

 

I haven't come across any mindmelting ai yet. enemies im sneaking up on don't notice when they're barely missed by arrows. i can sometimes hide behind walls when chased and they cant figure it out. its still early though, maybe these guys are level one dumb.

i think the woman i've battled in the arena knows when im protected by spells. i haven't tryed anything crazy with following or provoking them yet.

 

I haven't done any quests yet. 15 hours of raiding forts. i've stumbled across a few tales though. i slept{is thisaspoileridontknowsoicutit}back safelty, fairly linear but there were actually two ways of dealing with it it was fun.

even while avoiding them the stories will catch up with you.

 

I'm very satisfied :)

[Povuholo]

Another thing on voices - I don't like the fact that the Orcs sound so human. They look ugly and gruff and should sound that way.

 

mmm... why did they do that? The only reason i can think off is for modders, since not everyone can imitate orcs that good. So the voices will be easier to make. At the other hand, it ruins the "realism" part. As far as you can call orcs realistic, that is.

[thanateros]

First of all, I'm playing this game on the Xbox 360, 1) Cause my comp sucks and 2) I'm not the one who bought it. There's a lot of complaining about this game for the PC so I might end up forking over the money for an Xbox instead. Yea, this game has a lot of problems/things that were in Morrowind that should have been in here. They do let you Mod the game for a reason. Morrowind wasn't the same game for me without the mods to back it up. I'm sure at some point there will be a polearm skill added blah blah blah. Remember how horrible the journal was in Morrowind before Tribunal came out? Let's not forget there's always room for improvement, issues I'm sure the developers are well aware of; given Bethesda's track record, I have faith they won't dissappoint us in the future with updates.

 

So, my first impression of the game is this: HOLY _______ (your choice). I understand some of the frustrations about what should have been done, but if you can't enjoy the game for what it is then you don't HAVE to play it, right?

 

As for my initial impressions, this game is fantastically smooth for the 360. OK the combat doesn't have thrust animations, but there are power moves and the combat is as versatile as you want it to be...ahem. And if you really don't like what they did for the blade weapons, you can always use your fists instead. The world is massive and the graphics are better than Morrowind blah blah blah...What really hooks me in this game are the dungeons. Holy cow are they huge, clostrophobic (sp?), and monotonous as hell (I mean that in a really good way); I really get the intense suspicion that they aren't places I want to go, unlike Morrowind where you could run through a dungeon, swords blazing and clean house in under 10 minutes. The first dungeon after the prison break really immersed me in the idea that this is a dark part of the world that goes unexplored for a reason, it scares the hell out of me sometimes (I spent an hour running around inside it). The puzzles are cool, and completely unexpected at times, especially when you push things that you think will open doors to treasure, but instead a small army of skeletons; good times all around.

 

The little sliver of the main quest I've done signifies that it will be supremely epic. Kvatch is amazing (for those of you who know what I'm talking about), and that's just the first major quest (excuse me while I drool over it). My first impression of the locations was quite strong, all of the towns are amazingly well laid out, and the guards for each major town have their town's insignia's on their armor...oh so sweet. Although the architecture does not differ from city to city, I realized that this is the Imperial continent, so I can understand why I won't be seeing the architectural diversity like that of Hlaalu, Telvanni, and Redoran...unfortunately.

 

The inventory is really well done, I particularly like how items are organized by type in submenus; that's a big improvement. Fast travel, OK, I know this is a touchy subject, but in all honesty, at least for the first couple of quests in the main quest, it drastically improves the tempo of the game in such a way that pits you right into the heart of the action that keeps you immersed in what's going on. It adds to the sense of urgency developed early on when you actaully start doing the main quest. Well done Bethesda, well done indeed. And when I don't like it, I don't use it, so stop complaining about it, afterall, you don't have to use it if you don't want.

 

Archery really frustrates me, mostly because of the console controls (impossible to aim effectively), although the Apprentice/Journeymen/Expert/Master advancement in the skills is a wonderful improvement and is a great reinforcer for those skills that are a pain to use early in the game. Combat takes a little getting used to, but if you (for the comp cause I've played it on the PC too) find a right set up of keys that works intuitively for you it offers a way to connect with what your character experiences in a way Morrowind could never achieve. Try thinking about it in that way and the combat becomes really intense. Your attitude towards the game determines how much you like it, and the bad can be overturned into something good if you use a little imagination. Video games haven't sucked that out of us completely have they? Maybe it's just me, I might enjoy the game too much to really give a crap about all of its shortcommings. The whole point is to experience something beyond anything you could experience in real life on an epic scale. I don't know about you, but I'm quite thankful that Bethesda took on something this paramount. If something bugs you, Mod the game or put it on your shelf, your choice (in keeping with the go anywhere, be anyone, do anything theme of the game).

 

@== :ph34r: ==>

 

Now for some possible explanations of things in the game that seem not to fit but with a little imagination can.

 

Orc voices: If you lived on the Imperial continent for most of your natural life don't you think you too would speak like them? I.e. people who move to different countries and come back with 'new' accents. Feasible yes?

 

Arrow bewilderment: If you're a good sneaky male without a father, then even you should know how to fire an arrow and not have it distract someone if you miss, or just don't miss if you want to avoid this problem.

 

Simplified Skills?: I don't really see how this is a bad thing, trying to come up with skill synergies is hard enough. The point in the simplified skills is to get you to think about ways in which you can use them in an interactive way. Try a jump lunge attack and casting a paralyze spell after you connect with an enemy...easy it is not.

 

Persuasion Mini Game: No real explanation for this one, other than it's better than clicking "Persuade" as a menu option. It might seem 'pointless', but then again, a lot of people would argue spending 12 hours playing a game straight is pointless. When looked at in this way, the minigames get a tad more meaningful.

 

Psychic Guards: How many times in your childhood did you get caught for something you thought you could get away with? Maybe they are psychic anyway, their helmets do kinda look like the Cerebro helmet from the Xmen movies.

 

Magika Regen: It's a gameplay issue, honestly, who wants to rest after every single battle where they use up all of their Magika anyway. More linear dungeon exploring w/ spells = more immersive gameplay environment. But for imagination purposes let's suppose that there is a mystical enegery in the world that is a part of all living things and those sentient enough to use it can restore said spent energy.

[goseki]

Orc voices: If you lived on the Imperial continent for most of your natural life don't you think you too would speak like them? I.e. people who move to different countries and come back with 'new' accents. Feasible yes?

 

 

sure, makes sense. but they still don't sound like the orcs i remember from my chidhood :P

what are orcs supposed to sound like any hoo?

[CaptainPuffy]

I am absolutly inlove with this game. I just spent the last 3-4 hours becomming grand champion of the Arena. After batteling that long against NPC's I can honestly say that I like the Combat system of Oblivion much better then Morrowind's. The block really adds a new dimension to the game, I'd even go as far to say that I dont know how I enjoyed Morrowind with out it. Most of my Arena battles were won by waiting for the opponant to be staggared when I blocked one of his hits, and then I would heal/Attack with a Powerful Spell. A great tactic that wasn't as effective in morrowind, but is fairly effective in Oblivion is the Weakness-To spells. I usually would open up the Arena battle with a Ranged Weakness to Frost 20pts spell. From there I'd let the opponant get in close and hit him with a Frost Damage on Touch 45pts damage. A few hits against even an orc, and they are down for a count. LOL I took out a heavily armored High Elf in 2 hits using this tactic because of their natural weakness to the magicka.

 

 

Can anyone please elaborate on the psychic guards? I havent encountered anything of the like. I've even talked to guards after stealing something undetected, and they had no idea about what I've stolen. Honestly I bet that the people who are complaining of the psychic guards are just clueless as to how to steal effectivly. I think in the 20 odd hours I've played oblivion, I've only been caught stealing twice. Both were mistakes and were completely my fault. I either didn't see someone in the corner, or I accidentially pick pocketed someone when trying to talk to them in sneak mode. Can anyone please elaborate further into the psychic guards? Because honestly, I believe people are just incompetant and are giving up too easily.

[Dark0ne]

Oh my bloody son of Septim, is that thanateros returning from a 2 year holiday I see?

 

Can't be..

 

*rubs eyes*

[thanateros]

Oh my bloody son of Septim, is that thanateros returning from a 2 year holiday I see?

 

Can't be..

 

*rubs eyes*

LOL Bloody son of Septim...cause they were all murdered haha(not so funny anymore)

 

Indeed it is...although I posted a couple of months ago and I think you said the same thing ;D

 

Good point about the Orcs though, I mean, unless we end up with a game set in wherever they're from (escapes me right now) then I guess we'll know what they are SUPPOSED to sound like; even the ones from Morrowind were still in Morrowind, so they've got to sound different still.

 

About the psychic guards though, I was playing yesterday, minding my own business when after leaving the arena I was charged with doing something illegal and sent to jail. I had no clue what I did, and after checking my inventory, everything was still there. The only thing I could conjur was that I had thrown some equipment on the floor of the Blood(somethingorother) then was counted as stealing when I picked them back up, but it didn't make sense considering they weren't flagged or anything. Well that was a great story I know, but it was wierd that it happened.

 

I really like the town quests a lot more in this game compared to Morrowind. They are much more thought out and have to do with area specific issues (i.e. in Anvil some quests have to do with sea related shtuff). Even the first Fighter's Guild Quest, which has to do with rats, is quite enjoyable.

[Cyborg16]

Haven't had much of a problem with Psychic Guards myself, but I did move an apple slightly (in a room where some guards were eating) and immediately got sent to jail and fined 1 gp (in Oblivion you still get sent to the prison if you pay a fine).

 

Some issues I do have:

How do you drop stuff (on the ground from your inventory)? I don't know if I'm just being stupid but I can't figure out how to do that...

Controls: I can't assign my extra mouse buttons to anything (in the GUI; I'll take a look at the ini file soon).

Bows: Ok, some people do fire recurves at an angle, but I hope there's some longbows with a vertical firing animation... I find it quite annoying and unrealistic that everyone fires bows at an angle.

 

I have also experienced one game crash so far (got the game yesterday --- Thursday (not quite sure why but I recieved it then in the post)).

 

Performance is much better than I expected, given that my machine is below recommended (2500+ O/C'd about 5%, 1GB RAM, 6600GT). Load times are pretty good (better than morrowind --- a heavily modded mw), and framerate is reasonable.

 

EDIT: Forgot to add: The keyboard mapping works exactly like in MW, where a standard QWERTY map is assumed (you'll probably only know about this if you use something else, but considering I use a dvorak map it's a bit of an annoyance whenever I have to type something).

[edstamos1]

as for dropping stuff, you have to drag it out of your inventory, holding the mouse button. your inventory automatically closes and you're holding the item. letting go of the mouse button drops it.

 

however, since it holds it at a range, you need room. so you can't be looking down, or have anything right in front of you. just make sure you're looking forward and into an open area.

 

as for bows, if you switch to third person, you'll see they are holding it straight. they put it at an angle for first person, i guess so that it's easier to aim...