For anyone interested in Oblivion

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:40 pm

Outside of the initial load I haven't seen any long load times either. 5 seconds max when you change areas.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:11 pm

Would you guys recommend this to someone who's only going to play this a few hours per week? I'm trying to be as selective as possible when purchasing games, but I'm longing for a non-sports title. The last RPG I played was way back on the Apple IIC (Below the Root). I don't even know if that counts as a role playing game, but I still have fond memories of the game.

Will I be completely lost in regards to the story line if I don't play it very frequently?

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:13 pm

What happens in these games if you "die"?

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:20 pm

Like an FPS you go to your last save point

kevinpars · Post by **kevinpars** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:27 am

I am enjoying this game so far. It is one of those games that you can play it as you want. For example, I am not into the whole magic/spells/potions thing, so I will most likely avoid that with my character.

Not to give anything away - because the game is so open ended - but I made a mistake when i escaped from the sewers by immediately exploring a vast underground area. Not that there was anything tactically wrong in doing this - but it was a little too much time spent underground after the first mission.

With a game like this, you have to watch out if you have any borderline compulsive tendencies - I find myself trying to collect everything. Definately not something you need to do. I guess I need to find a base or buy a house to keep my stuff so if I get arrested I don't lose it all.

Tonight I want to explore some of the great outdoors and see what I see. Having spent a lot of time underground and now inside the city gates, I feel the need to get back to the country.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:04 am

I've had no loading issues at all. After the initial load, I get occasional pauses outdoors when the "loading scenery" message pops up, and then a load of maybe 10 seconds when entering a house. When I leave again to go outside the load is only a couple seconds.

I think this game is prefect for only being able to play a few hours a week. The reason being is that it is so open ended. You can do whatever you want, so you can just hop in, mess around. You will find a ton of stuff to do, and you can save anytime, anywhere, so it's really casual-user friendly.

It's interesting reading how everyone went off their own seperate ways after the first dungeon. I ended up helping a fisherman, then getting employed by a paraniod guy who had me spy on the people who were following him. I haven't gone to the first place in the main campaign yet. I do plan to though, as I'm trying to do something different than my Morrowind game. I've played that game since it came out, and still have only done a couple of the main missions. I just keep wandering around picking up side quests! I do have a nice house in it though (thanks to the wonderful Hlaluu family!)

Have any of you played the other games in the series? I did play and finish Eldar Scrolls, didn't finish Daggerfall (now that game was huge, you could own a house and a boat even in that one!), only a couple missions in Morrowind. Had fun with every one of them.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:44 am

Best Buy is getting better and better at having major releases on the same date as EB/GS and in much greater supply. I saved 10% and got some Rewards points. Can't beat that!

I played for about 2 hours last night and really enjoyed it.

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:51 am

I got the PC version. It actually runs pretty good on my low endish system (P4 2.0Ghz, ATI 9700 Pro 128MB, 1GB RAM) at 1024x768, 2xAA and reasonable graphics settings. It looks pretty good.

After I got out of the sewer I went across the water and had a couple tough battles against some redguards. Then I headed into town... spent a while trying to use the "persuade" interface to make a guard do... something... not sure what he would have done had I persuaded him (I was unsuccessfull.. he got pissed off and sent me away.) Talk to a copule more guards, and then I used up all my 35 lockpicks trying to unlock a "very hard" door in one of the buildings.

Stole some stuff in a bar... I took an apple and the book on the septim guy. Had lots of gasp! reactions from the bar patrons but then after that they still seemed quite happy to talk to me and tell me all about rumours and that "gray wolf" theif (ala Robin Hood).

Fun stuff.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:01 am

Ah, the Grey Wolf. I'll definitely try to do that mission... eventually.

I also tried to pursuade someone, but had no idea how to stop once I got a good reaction, and ended up pissing off a shop keeper. I guess those prices will be REALLY high now, and they weren't that great to begin with!

Oh, and have any of you noticed that the one poster on the walls in the Imperial City is a version of the box art from the first Eldar Scrolls game?

I'm such a nerd...

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 10:52 am

Why why why did I stop off at Comp USA yesterday? I could have easily gone a different route on the way home from work and been home faster. Nevertheless, I stopped off and on a whim picked up Oblivion. For $45, it seemed like a no brainer. If I traded it back in after a couple weeks, I'd still probably get $30 back in credit.

As stated before, I've really never played an RPG game before. GTA doesn't count. This game hooked me from the very beginning. I've been so impressed with the little time that I have played it thus far. Heck, it took me a good hour and half to get out of the dungeon/sewars. I was collecting everything at first, until I realized I didn't need to be taking skulls, bones, and rat meat every chance I could. I was just having a great time exploring.

When I finally arose from the sewars, it was night time. But, wow is this world massive! In every direction I looked, it seemed like the land went on for miles and miles. I made a mistake more than a few times by crossing the water to be confronted by a pissed off woman and a friend with a bow and arrow. I could kill the woman fairly easy, but the dude with the bow kept killing me. I finally figured out that hey, this is my world and I can go and do whatever I want so I bypassed these individuals and started exploring the countryside. I too made the mistake of going back underground and am now in some sort of dungeon or cave. I've discovered quite a bit on my exploration, but I'd like to get back out to the country. Hopefully, tonight I'll find my way out.

By the way, I love activating those logs and crushing the goblins.

The rats are freaking ugly and huge.

Man, I need a torch when I go down in to the caves or dungeons. It's so dark down there stumbling around without light.

Is anyone using the hot keys? I haven't yet, and it seems to take me a while to find out what I want to equip myself with, etc.

For a novice RPG gamer such as myself, I like they added the "eye" so you can tell if someone has spotted you.

Just chatting it up with the guards and picking which question or statement to use is very cool. I guess this goes hand in hand with RPGs. Can't wait to get in to town.

Is it bad I was having little dreams about this game last night? This is how much this game has captivated me. I'm just extremely impressed.

Thus far, I feel like I've gotten my money's worth from the 360. There are just so many quality games and this very well could be my favorite so far!

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:29 am

Damn this game is excellent. This is quality, through and through. These guys really know their stuff, and this is one polished game.

Compulsive behavior is tough to avoid in games like this. I struggle against colleccting everything, but am getting better at leaving stuff behind now that I've seen how little most of the loot I've gathered is worth. I've been 'encumbered' a few times, and very lucky there were no enemies about at the time. I was lugging around this goblin magical staff for the longest time, but it cost too much to get it recharged every time I checked. Finally, I sold it for a not horrendous price, but it took me a while to get that far.

I messed with the persuade stuff on a guard for no reason, and didn't have any idea what I was doing. But later, in a shop I started messing with the 'haggle' option. It seems that persuade number is pretty important to the haggle option, so some good persuading work gets that number up a ilttle, the haggle slider goes up little, and prices are a little better. I want to train in some merchant skills, get that haggle slider way up there!

I've been into two stables, but the cheapest horse I've found is 1000 gold. Way too much for me. I won't be stealing anything with this character, it's by the book for this goodie two shoes.

Speaking of compulsive behavior, I almost never got out of the character creation area! Holy cow, it's not the same as, say, FN03, but it is just as manipulatable and customizable. So many adjustments to be made! And like the brilliant designers they are, I like how certain elements of character creation are spread out into the first dungeon/sewer crawl. That main guard, after the Emperor is killed, thought I was a monk. A monk! When I chose a different class (witch hunter, not sure if it made the most sense as my agility for range weapons is poor), he was all 'I never would have guessed!' I like being good with magic, since I rely on the heal spell so much. Summoning is an art I've never been into in these type of games before, but I am calling in that crappy skeleton left and right, now.

More compulsive behavior: trying to help the old man's kids near Chorrol to fight off the swarms of creatures at their farm, I died a few times. I started to learn some of my more powerful spells, but when I finally made it through, the younger brother was dead. Now, I really, really wanted to reload my game and do it until I got it 'right' and saved both of them, but I realized I could get it right with a different character, in a different game, another time. This one doesn't need to be perfect in every quest. That was a little tough for this compulsive perfectionist, but I think it will get easier to 'let it go' as I go along. For example, the paranoid guy behind the church: I told him I wouldn't help him, and that was that: 'quest complete.' I had a little 'oops; that door is now closed forever, maybe I should reload' but that didn't last long. Maybe another day, with a different character.

The game is so chock full of side quests, and it will sort of 'accept' so many different completions of quests, you can't get hung up on being perfect with every one.

I need cash so I can get some training from my Mage Guild superiors. Their knowledge is a little richer than I can afford. Also, having joined a guild, I thought I had a bed in every town, but all the beds in the guild house are always taken; I'm confused. I mean, I did sleep in one one night and no one yelled at me, but it was clearly someone elses room. When I awoke, he was wandering around eventually crawling into a bed next to someone else (was a big bed).

One time it froze up on me when in the loading screen. I've been holding the A button every time I boot it up, and it could be my imagination, but it seems to get worse with the loading as I go in a long session. A quick quit and reboot to clear the cache as suggested in a post above, and all is good.

The closest game I have played to this is. . . . EverQuest on the PS2, which I played for a good 5 or 6 months before KOTOR came out and I got my Xbox. The scale, the sense of real travel, the nooks and crannies, the vistas and exploration, etc. In so many ways it is almost exactly like an MMORPG without the MMO. And damn, does it look good. Sure, there are artifacts you can obsess about and lose your appreciation for the whole, but man, this game is really making the 360 look good. I do wish that D-pad was a little better. Seems more and more games will be using it (GRAW, now this), and it is a little frustrating. Otherwise, the controller is awesome.

I wish there were a way to look at everybody's characters. The creation system is so broad and fun to play with. I'm running around in mostly fur armor now. It seems a little lighter than the leather, but just as good armor class. I suck with my bow. Is there a way to zoom in when aiming?

Save early and often!

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:33 am

I use torches also, have plenty in my pack. The lighting effects when using them is awesome, and I like the fact that you really do need them in some dungeons. Even having turned up the brightness in the game, they still have to be used in certain areas, so you have to trade off using a shield for being able to see, very cool.

I use the hotkeys, and they are a fantastic idea. I can quicky switch from a torch to a shield, or from my bow to a sword when the fight gets close. Also, I can quickly unequip my weapons when in town or talking to people (as some may give you a worse reaction if you walk up to them wielding a sword!) I haven't done it yet, but I'm pretty sure you can also hotkey potions, so having quick access to health potions could be a literal life saver.

I had planned on getting the new Farcry game on 360. Oblivian has nixed that idea! Heck, this was the one game that I wanted most when the 360 came out, I preordered it when I did the system.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:34 am

Zeppo wrote:
Speaking of compulsive behavior, I almost never got out of the character creation area! Holy cow, it's not the same as, say, FN03, but it is just as manipulatable and customizable. So many adjustments to be made!

Zep, that's awesome man! I was tinkering and thinking to myself, "Zeppo's going to LOVE this!"

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:34 am

I played two characters until 1 in the morning, and I'm still floored. Two completely different experiences.

First guy I made: an Assassin. Left the tutorial dungeon and instantly tried to attack a guard to steal his horse. He shrugged me off, beat my ***, and threw me in jail. When I left jail, there was a house right outside the city gates with a little old lady sweeping the porch. Arrow through her head. Then went inside and saw the old man sitting at a desk reading with his back to me. Arrow to the back of his head, with so much force he slammed into the wall and slumped back onto the floor. I got a message "Your killing is being observed by Dark Forces...". Hmm...ok.

I leveled up rather quickly, so I went to rest. When I awoke there's a cloaked figure that invited me to the Dark Brotherhood, and asked me to kill a guy named Rufio in an Inn across the continent. I'm not one for quick travel, so I hoofed it the whole way, entering dungeons and ruins as I saw them. I found enough things to sell for 7,000 gold by the time all was said and done (that's a lot for level 1 or 2). Robes that were 2,700, etc. I found traps in the ruins and mephits that were extremely fun to fight against.

I got to this Inn and the guards immediately jumped me. Pulling out the sword and shield (I had my longsword poisoned), I dispatched the guard, and then for good measure I killed the tavernkeep and the bar wench too. Piles of bodies littered the floor of the Inn. I went upstairs and...no Rufio. I guess he got away during the scrum, I'm not sure. When I went back outside after resting though....wow! Night time, lightning and thunder and the most believable rainstorm I've ever seen in a game. I started on the main quest at that point, figuring I'd get back to Rufio later on...

Arriving near the Imperial City, there was a merchant outside in a full black leather outfit with a black hood. Hey dude, I like your clothes...slaughtered, now I have black leather armor with a black hood. My dude is getting triple damage sniper shots from stealth mode now, and I can zoom in and put arrows right into their mouths if I want to. I'm becoming so disturbingly good at slaughtering innocents it's actually making me start to feel bad. My wife thwapped me on the head several times last night when I would kill little old ladies or people I just came across on the road.

Unbelievable, unbelievable game.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:36 am

Zeppo wrote:The closest game I have played to this is. . . . EverQuest on the PS2, which I played for a good 5 or 6 months before KOTOR came out and I got my Xbox. The scale, the sense of real travel, the nooks and crannies, the vistas and exploration, etc. In so many ways it is almost exactly like an MMORPG without the MMO.

Just curious...why did you skip Morrowind?

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:41 am

Well I spent more time with it last nigth and I echo everyones comments. Getting out and seeing the worls has really opened my eyes so to speak. There is attention to details in everythign you see, walk into the church at Wyedon and look up, it is astonishing. When the sun starts to set or the wind kicks up, man the game world looks alive. I think some of the environmental audio could be enhance but that is nit picking.

One tip, SAVE YOUR GAME RIGHT BEFORE EXITING THE SEWERS. This allows you to change your charcter class / race etc before venturing into the world and skip the whole tutorial / sewer part.

I managed to make my way to Choral, my compulsive behavior is that I need to walk around and see everything in a town so I have a map. I really wish you could zoom in and out on the maps in the game. So I took up the quest to help the brothers, and one of them died. Much like Zep I didn't replay the mission, even though I know the reqrad is much sweeter if they both live.

Simply a fanatstic game, just deciding what to do next is sometimes overwhelming but in that good way.

RobVarak · Post by **RobVarak** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:44 am

Jeez, Terry! I swear, you're the gaming equivalent of that kid who has his homework done for the night before the bus drops him off at home

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:46 am

RobVarak wrote:Jeez, Terry! I swear, you're the gaming equivalent of that kid who has his homework done for the night before the bus drops him off at home

LOL!

That's perfect. I often wonder how the heck Terry does it. I figure he walks a trail of coffee and cocaine to his game systems.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:53 am

webdanzer wrote: Just curious...why did you skip Morrowind?

Well, sir, it was KOTOR that pushed me into getting the Xbox. Morrowind was already an old game by then, and I never got around to trying it. I knew it would be a huge game, not someting I could be done with quickly, and I just never got around to it.

This kind of game is right up my alley, though. I love this s***.

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:55 am

Danimal wrote:One tip, SAVE YOUR GAME RIGHT BEFORE EXITING THE SEWERS. This allows you to change your charcter class / race etc before venturing into the world and skip the whole tutorial / sewer part.

Wow, great idea. I don't have a save right at the end, but I do have one very close I can use later on. Although to be honest, I usually stick with one character and thats in in these types of games (no surprise considering my record for actually finishing these types of games!) The only RPG's I consistantly used multiple characters in were WoW and Neverwinter Nights.

I plan on buying a horse for the 1000 gold. I currently have the key to a house who's owner is, um, taking a deep six holiday. Lots of goodies to sell off and make some scratch.

Speaking of houses, I assume you can eventually get one in this game also, but has anyone heard confirmation of that?

Anyway, what race and class are we? My guy is named Gurantsu (surprise there!), and is a Redguard Archer.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:58 am

webdanzer wrote:
RobVarak wrote:Jeez, Terry! I swear, you're the gaming equivalent of that kid who has his homework done for the night before the bus drops him off at home
LOL!

That's perfect. I often wonder how the heck Terry does it. I figure he walks a trail of coffee and cocaine to his game systems.

Not far off, actually. Just a steady intake of Mountain Dew and a very cool wife. When I get a new game I'm pretty much undisturbed while she tends to the little ones....or, in the case of a game like Oblivion, she watches (and then proceeds to thwap me each time I slaughter an innocent). She's known for about a year that when Oblivion came out, I was going to be "gone" for a while hehe.

TheTruth · Post by **TheTruth** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:02 pm

TCrouch wrote:I played two characters until 1 in the morning, and I'm still floored. Two completely different experiences.

First guy I made: an Assassin. Left the tutorial dungeon and instantly tried to attack a guard to steal his horse. He shrugged me off, beat my ***, and threw me in jail. When I left jail, there was a house right outside the city gates with a little old lady sweeping the porch. Arrow through her head. Then went inside and saw the old man sitting at a desk reading with his back to me. Arrow to the back of his head, with so much force he slammed into the wall and slumped back onto the floor. I got a message "Your killing is being observed by Dark Forces...". Hmm...ok.

I leveled up rather quickly, so I went to rest. When I awoke there's a cloaked figure that invited me to the Dark Brotherhood, and asked me to kill a guy named Rufio in an Inn across the continent. I'm not one for quick travel, so I hoofed it the whole way, entering dungeons and ruins as I saw them. I found enough things to sell for 7,000 gold by the time all was said and done (that's a lot for level 1 or 2). Robes that were 2,700, etc. I found traps in the ruins and mephits that were extremely fun to fight against.

I got to this Inn and the guards immediately jumped me. Pulling out the sword and shield (I had my longsword poisoned), I dispatched the guard, and then for good measure I killed the tavernkeep and the bar wench too. Piles of bodies littered the floor of the Inn. I went upstairs and...no Rufio. I guess he got away during the scrum, I'm not sure. When I went back outside after resting though....wow! Night time, lightning and thunder and the most believable rainstorm I've ever seen in a game. I started on the main quest at that point, figuring I'd get back to Rufio later on...

Arriving near the Imperial City, there was a merchant outside in a full black leather outfit with a black hood. Hey dude, I like your clothes...slaughtered, now I have black leather armor with a black hood. My dude is getting triple damage sniper shots from stealth mode now, and I can zoom in and put arrows right into their mouths if I want to. I'm becoming so disturbingly good at slaughtering innocents it's actually making me start to feel bad. My wife thwapped me on the head several times last night when I would kill little old ladies or people I just came across on the road.

Unbelievable, unbelievable game.

Bah, my gamecrazy where I preordered didn't get thier shipment from Fedex. Suppose to get it today hopefully. Only good thing is I will get some form of discount since I preordered. Went to the Sam Goody across the street and they were sold out, obviously. Wal-Mart didn't have it yet either.

Would it be possible to go through the game using a staff and magic only? Can you kill things by swinging the staff?

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:02 pm

Wow, Terry. I can't believe how much you have experienced thus far. Those are some cool little stories.

I'm kinda torn between trying to be good and bad in this game. I guess there's really no equal ground.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:02 pm

Gurantsu wrote: Wow, great idea. I don't have a save right at the end, but I do have one very close I can use later on. Although to be honest, I usually stick with one character and thats in in these types of games (no surprise considering my record for actually finishing these types of games!) The only RPG's I consistantly used multiple characters in were WoW and Neverwinter Nights.

Can't take the credit, read it in the strategy guide. While I usually don't purchase these guides, I find the one for this game very useful even if you don't use the walktru.

I plan on buying a horse for the 1000 gold. I currently have the key to a house who's owner is, um, taking a deep six holiday. Lots of goodies to sell off and make some scratch.

Speaking of houses, I assume you can eventually get one in this game also, but has anyone heard confirmation of that?

Anyway, what race and class are we? My guy is named Gurantsu (surprise there!), and is a Redguard Archer.

You could have a house in Morrowind, so I have to assume. Plus killing someone and taking their house is of course having a house

I'm a Redguard Warrior, and I want to start a theif as well.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:09 pm

Draco Steele, Dark Elf Assassin.

Don't buy the horse, either...you're given one pretty early on in the main quest.