Oblivion Online

[wildtail383]

I know at one point in time Oblivion had some successful attempts on being converted into a 2 player game. I myself just got my Associates degree in Networking and Computer Science so I have some programming experiance and I have been at it since I was about 14. I like mmorpgs and Oblivion already has the stroylines down and the system is already there but I think it would be fun to try to make it into one as well. I'm looking for some people that would be interested in trying to do just that with me. Once we make it compatible for multiple users we would need to make a user client that has user friendly interface (thats not to hard) and at that point we could start adding in online content unique to online play. Servers are cheap and easy to find and I can temp. Host the online portion on my own machine. What do you guys think?

[Guardianl]

Would be very interesting idea. And if possible I would like to jump the bandwagon.

But I think there several issues’... Not sure you’re allowed to modify oblivion in such a way that Multiplayer is allowed. If it was already offered no problem but this is complete new service meaning there might be legal problems.

Which also means a full client needs to be built. And be supported. Which require money and time.

Depending how powerful you want the servers and, how it's built it can be "cheap" the cheaper it's built you will run in to loading issue by other players and that isn't even counting the OS + Software on the server.

 

To fully do this… is a major project and some cash are needed to finance the hardware and OS+Software. This can be remedied with PayPal and such. But risk yet again by legal problems as mention above.

For instance there will be a texture/model pack issue. As some play on low and some high to extreme. There is also a bandwidth allocation problem which can be high and expensive if you want a steady line.

I can go on and on other technical issues that will arise but, I don't want to discourage you I just want you to realize what will happen if you open this can of worms... There is a reason why this route wasn't attempted before.

 

Also a major company as Bethesda they could have easily headed this route. The reason why they didn't is as mention above. The game is meant for the players by the player’s modification vision of their game. This is the primary strength why Oblivion became to what is now and still growing strong! People still buy their older titles because of it. Bethesda is in a way your very own RPGmaker for the community. This may or may not be as popular as other MMO games. But it's a steady and stable road which I believe will still stay strong for many generations. Also there are enough of MMO companies and most are failing and bankrupt because there all clones of each other…

 

Also I would hate to see Bethesda becoming too commercial and focus on the big bucks and totally ignore the community. This is the opposite of its company policy. Dumming down the game is bad enough comparing morrowind and oblivion. I do understand why because tbh. Consoles are and always be inferior to PC. Most company is heading the console train which is fast money in the early stage and the money flow is cut very quickly. This in the end destroys the company as people who plays console. Plays the game beats it with its stupid achievements to keep the player interested. When this task completed they, move on to never touch the game again. Also the developer needs to make more content to keep the console gamer interested which leads to more stress for the developer and innovation is forgotten. Where the PC gamer if they love it enough will become loyal fans for years and will attempt to modify it. Which is in the end more cash but, it’s slow and steady. The fan base rarely defects to other games.

 

Name one console game that is still alive and kicking even after 5 to 6 years and more! The game industry has forgotten why there making the games. It’s for entertainment for all! not quick money wins like certain movies “another teen movie” and their many other useless movies. I know I headed off topic but just wanted to draw the bigger picture.

[Ferryt]

You're barking up the wrong tree, wildtail383. "Obliviononline" (Google it) has been in development for years and is still so buggy that many people can't even get it to work. Remember that Oblivion was never intended to be anything other than a single-player game, which means there are no "hooks" in the code to allow an external process to synchronize events between players. And, unless my memory fails me you agree, through the mere act of owning this game, to not modify the source code in any way, or to use any of its resources in any other product but Oblivion -- which means you couldn't just import the .esm and .esp files into a multiplayer "emulator" of Oblivion without risking some serious flack from Bethesda Softworks. They made TESNexus take down a very popular project in development just because it was attempting to import Morrowind to the Oblivion engine.

[lynxcali]

Ferryt can you link me to where I could find that mod?

[Ferryt]

Ferryt can you link me to where I could find that mod?

 

Since I'm not sure whether or not the developers of this have actually hacked the game code (which would make it illegal to even talk about on this site, and that could possibly result in the ban hammer coming down), no. I do know that the download got kicked off Sourceforge for TOS and copyright problems, so that probably speaks for itself. Like I said ... Google it. It's pretty hard to miss.

[wildtail383]

Yes I'm aware it was launched before I have it refrenced in my original post. Although Oblivion was originally intended for single player there are those interested in the RPG half of it but would love it to goto a larger scale to enjoy this game with friends. I am sure so long as I went to bethasda first and if I talked to the right people I could get the rights to edit the source code or host a server or whatever it may be, the legal issues no longer become a problem with special permissions. I will work on that.

[Taurni]

There was a mod I had that would work. I can not remember the name but I found it via Google with the name Oblivion Multiplayer mod. It required the configuration of three other programs, and only supports two players, and you MUST know the others IP address and vice versa. It worked by duplicating all quest items, and adding them to the inventory of the other player, when one picks it up. that way both people can complete quests. basickly, the only way oblivion was modified was that bit of code, a totally valid mod. It was other programs that took the information from the games running on two sperate mashiens and merged them. That creates problems when one person is using a mod(s) that the other docent have.... Aside form that it worked fine. It just took at lot of configuring to make it work.

[Taurni]

This one may be legal as well, it uses NPC's to simulate the actions of other players. http://www.instructables.com/id/Installing-Oblivion-Reborn-Oblivion-Multiplayer-M/

[Telyn]

Wildtail, I would love to see Bethesda give you permission to make a multiplayer version, but I think it's very unlikely, especially now. There have been some semi-credible rumors linking Bethesda to an unknown MMO project. The rumors have been based on hiring ads of a related company, but nobody seems to have anything solid. If, however, there is some truth in it, it may change the picture for you. In truth, I don't think they are likely to give you permission to do anything like this, because even if they are not currently working on an MMO or multiplayer game, they would probably want to reserve that option for themselves. They would probably also be concerned about the possibility of adult activities which would be likely to occur in an online version and would be blamed on them.