junkmailfile12 Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I am going to get oblivion and am wondering if I should go for steam or a retail copy. I want to be able to run any mod. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amullinix Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Honestly, the only real difference I have seen is the directory location. I'm sure the retail version is preferred because it's more direct, but I have not experienced any issues whatsoever (running Oblivion with several large scale mods, and Fallout 3 with several large scale mods, all from Steam). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 I would go with the non-steam version but that is my personal preference. With the retail version, I can install Oblivion to any location I want each time I install it such as avoiding the problematic "C:\Program Files" or "C:\Program Files (x86)" folders on Vista or Windows 7 due to UAC security. You don't have an option on where to install Oblivion if you already installed Steam. Steam installs the games under the Steam folder structure which means you would have needed to initially install Steam in the non-default folder system to avoid the UAC issues with mods. This can be problematic if you already have Steam and a bunch of games already installed. Not such a big problem for a retail version if you need to uninstall and re-install. You also need to be logged into steam for Oblivion to work...can also use an offline mode but you still need steam "running" in the background as it is the DRM. The retail version only requires a CD check at the beginning and even that can be avoided by simply creating an ISO image of your CD and mounting it as a drive letter on your hard drive. If you loose or break your retail CD, you are doomed unless you made a backup (see ISO image above). With Steam, you only need to associate your CD-key to your account in the beginning and you can re-download your game anywhere in the world on any PC that can install the Steam client and download the game from the Internet without having to tote the original media around. It all depends on how you want to operate. LHammonds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telyn Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Actually, you can choose the location initially with Steam. It's just that most users don't realize that. The main difference between Steam and retail version is that you do not get disks with Steam and you need an online connection to run OBSE. On the plus side, Steam can repair damaged installations without you having to reinstall if your game gets munched. Do NOT buy the Impulse version or the D2D versions since you have a choice. Both of those are encrypted in such a way that OBSE will not work. Most mods will still work, but since OBSE is needed to run the only mods that help prevent the infamous crash on exit, you're probably going to really regret not being able to use OBSE at some point if you buy one of those. Also, if you are concerned about DRM, you might want to check which DRM the retail package you are considering buying uses. Steam does not use additional DRM for Oblivion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkInMKUK Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 One more benefit of Steam - if you buy the Deluxe version it includes all of the DLC modules as well, whereas the Game of the Year edition disk set does not. If you do the physical media route, you'll need to download the DLC modules if you want them, or find a copy of the Knights of the Nine retail disk which includes most of the DLCs - but you already have KotN as part of the GotY edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poulscath Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 You can also move an already installed Steam, see here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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