Lessons Learned

[skullmosher]

Hello all,

 

I have a question since I didn't see this question previously asked.

 

I'm a long time RPG gamer (pencil & paper varietey for 25+ years) and I can no long abide by the ridiculous quests in OB. I want to start changing them (this is going to be a loooooooooong project).

 

Before I start, can anyone clue me in to the various pitfalls, game engine 'features', and other such wrinkles you have all collectively stumbled across? So far I only know about the "AddTopic" bug which seem simple enough to avoid. Does anyone have any other information or advice not contained in the CS wiki?

 

Thanks in advance!

[crazydave]

Personally I would advise against changing the vanilla Oblivion quests. that sounds like a good way of breaking the game. Instead you shuold try building your own quests from scratch. It would be a bit harder, but it would be more rewarding in the long run.

[Vagrant0]

Personally I would advise against changing the vanilla Oblivion quests. that sounds like a good way of breaking the game. Instead you shuold try building your own quests from scratch. It would be a bit harder, but it would be more rewarding in the long run.

I would agree, most of the standard quests are pointless anyway. Those quests which are a significant pain in the ass (mages guild) have already been modded, or could be otherwise avoided. There isn't any simple list of problems you may run into should you decide to change others because those problems are often a result of the changes made. Even with reasonable scripting ability, and knowledge of what could go wrong, you can still often find yourself banging your head againt the screen (as I find myself doing quite often) trying to figure out why something isn't working right despite the fact that it should.

[skullmosher]

Personally I would advise against changing the vanilla Oblivion quests. that sounds like a good way of breaking the game. Instead you shuold try building your own quests from scratch. It would be a bit harder, but it would be more rewarding in the long run.

 

Has this been attempted before? I don't see how hijacking the various faction quests would be any different than creating a custom faction, but I could be wrong. I would be hesitant to bother with the main quest, of course.

 

Thanks for the advice, though. I'll keep that in mind.

[Vagrant0]

Personally I would advise against changing the vanilla Oblivion quests. that sounds like a good way of breaking the game. Instead you shuold try building your own quests from scratch. It would be a bit harder, but it would be more rewarding in the long run.

 

Has this been attempted before? I don't see how hijacking the various faction quests would be any different than creating a custom faction, but I could be wrong. I would be hesitant to bother with the main quest, of course.

 

Thanks for the advice, though. I'll keep that in mind.

It's different from just adding a faction as some quests require you to kill some NPCs, enter some places, or trigger minor events. Furthermore, npc packages (part of their AI), and dialogue are often determined by quest stages, break the quest, you break those parts too. Really, the side quests were there to add some non-linear gameplay to an otherwise linear game. Trying to skip them would also mean skipping the possibility of having any enjoyment from the game. For that point, why even play? As poorly written as the quests may be, they are really the only value to the standard game beyond flashy graphics and ability to slaughter guards.