For anyone interested in Oblivion

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 5:02 pm

Nope, no PETA guards lol.

I wish you can take screen shots in the 360 version, I mean why can't we? Take a sanp to the HD, the under the Media connector to transfer to the PC. Ah well.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:46 pm

Just got it and done the tutorial.....goodbye free time, is all I can say.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:42 pm

ahhh, I was at Best Buy and ALMOST picked this up for the PC.

I have an AMD 2000+ and and X800 Pro. I'm guessing that should be good enough for some pretty high end visuals... anyone with similar specs as mine with any comments>

I also have a gig and a half of RAM.....

Boom · Post by **Boom** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:45 pm

BTW...

I picked this up using the 2 for 1 deal too and am pissed that I wasn't able to walk away with the CE. What exactly am I missing out on?

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:55 pm

Boom wrote:BTW...

I picked this up using the 2 for 1 deal too and am pissed that I wasn't able to walk away with the CE. What exactly am I missing out on?

I was able to get the CE yesterday at EB using the 2 for 1 deal. The first guy I talked to wasn't going to give me the deal at all, and said I would only get $44 in credit for NBA and Madden. The manager came over then and said that the deal had been extended until April 11th, and that the way he could get me the CE as part of it was to manually bump up the trade in price for each game to $35.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 8:58 pm

Oh, and you aren't missing out on much at all with the regular edition. The only extras with the CE are a lame fake gold coin, a little booklet with a made up history of the world in the game, and a bonus dvd that probably has some kind of making of the game documetary on it.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 9:39 pm

Gangrel wrote:ahhh, I was at Best Buy and ALMOST picked this up for the PC.

I have an AMD 2000+ and and X800 Pro. I'm guessing that should be good enough for some pretty high end visuals... anyone with similar specs as mine with any comments>

I also have a gig and a half of RAM.....

You've got a gig and a half of RAM and an X800 Pro with an AMD 2000+? Talk about a bottleneck. I hope you overclock the sh*t out of that thing.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 1:05 am

dbdynsty25 wrote:
Gangrel wrote:ahhh, I was at Best Buy and ALMOST picked this up for the PC.

I have an AMD 2000+ and and X800 Pro. I'm guessing that should be good enough for some pretty high end visuals... anyone with similar specs as mine with any comments>

I also have a gig and a half of RAM.....
You've got a gig and a half of RAM and an X800 Pro with an AMD 2000+? Talk about a bottleneck. I hope you overclock the sh*t out of that thing.

ahahaha, sorry, my fat stubby fingers hit the 2 instead of a 3.

It's actually an AMD 3000+.

I am tempted to pick up Oblivion next time I'm in a store, even if it will take me 2 years to finish it......

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:00 am

That's better.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:13 am

damn you all..

going to snag it in the AM.

maybe for my new LAPPY...

it smokes!!!! love this thing. the widescreen is awesome!

good thing i just got a new job and a 2x pay raise...

and 3 freelance jobs...

bring on the hookers!

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:00 pm

FYI, if anyone wants to see what it looks like on my low end PC, I posted a video here:

http://s53.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0UDS ... K364SEAVKZ

It's 162 MB, full 1024x768, for about 30 seconds. I have more videos of other areas, and can get more, but they take time to send up so I only posted one for now.

This is just to show you guys what it looks like on low end (p4 2.0Ghz, 1GB RAM, 9700 Pro) machine. I've got the following settings:

1024x768
No "bloom" or AA
Medium textures
Grass fade is all the way left (so there is no real grass, as you can see in the video). Grass fade makes a big difference.
Most shadows off.
Distand land/visibility set reasonably high.
Tree fade set high.
Water (none in the video) set to high with reflections, ripples etc.

IN the area you see in the video I get around 24fps. When I look around in area with more to see in the distance, it stays about the same. In areas with lots of people in it drops a bit, but not too much.

(Also, in the video, there's a rather lengthy pause where it says "loading region" or something like that. Those don't occur normally, they only occur when I have fraps running in the background to take the videos.)

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:12 pm

Man...I just don't get the fascination with these games. I played for like two hours last night and an hour and a half of it was trying to run to the first place to find Brother Martin...and then to run to the Oblivion gate. I finally found a horse so that sped it up a bit but even that was slow. I sincerely hope that's not all you do the entire time. I got stuck trying to close that gate...and by that time I was fairly bored. Man, you guys have more will power than I will ever have. Either that or a longer attention span.

The game really is freakin' beautiful so I'm glad I rented it...but no way will I put in the hours like you guys do.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:23 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Man...I just don't get the fascination with these games. I played for like two hours last night and an hour and a half of it was trying to run to the first place to find Brother Martin...and then to run to the Oblivion gate. I finally found a horse so that sped it up a bit but even that was slow. I sincerely hope that's not all you do the entire time. I got stuck trying to close that gate...and by that time I was fairly bored. Man, you guys have more will power than I will ever have. Either that or a longer attention span.

The game really is freakin' beautiful so I'm glad I rented it...but no way will I put in the hours like you guys do.

Did you try using "quick travel"?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:37 pm

How the F do you do that Sully?

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:44 pm

Go outside, open up your map, and click on the desired location.

They have to be 'discovered' locations, though. Dark markers on the map.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:47 pm

Hmmm...I'll have to give that a try. Thanks.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 4:53 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Man...I just don't get the fascination with these games. I played for like two hours last night and an hour and a half of it was trying to run to the first place to find Brother Martin...and then to run to the Oblivion gate. I finally found a horse so that sped it up a bit but even that was slow. I sincerely hope that's not all you do the entire time. I got stuck trying to close that gate...and by that time I was fairly bored. Man, you guys have more will power than I will ever have. Either that or a longer attention span.

The game really is freakin' beautiful so I'm glad I rented it...but no way will I put in the hours like you guys do.

I am the same way with these games. Just can't get into them. I think they are too open ended for me. I don't like conversing with characters in my video games either. Having to deal with a huge inventory is cumbersome and the patience that is required to get from place to place is too much for me.

Buying, selling, talking, traveling...it's just too much.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 5:09 pm

That's pretty much how I feel Spooky. I'll play it for a few more hours just so I didn't turn it off THAT soon. I recognize that it is definitely an epic game that spans such a huge world...it really is beautifully created. But as you said, the open endedness (is that a word?) is probably what turns me off.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:21 pm

For anyone considering buying this game, I recommend IGN's review:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/698/698400p1.html

For as wrong, stupid, and short-sighted as IGN's reviews often are, this one is dead-on accurate in my opinion. It lays out the strengths of the game while cautioning against its weaknesses (for certain players).

It's an RPG for ALL players, as long as you're prepared for what an RPG requires: time & patience.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:19 pm

I'm glad that IGN recommended saving every 5 minutes because I was feeling guilty for doing so. I'm up to 50 saves in 6 1/2 hours...LOL. In fairness to me, most of those saves were during my quest to close the first Oblivion gate. Man, I really suck. I got killed at least 20 times during that quest.

My biggest complaint is the constant saving and replenishing. I've also had a few of those stupid RPG moments of running around from bad guys in a circle while replenishing health (when 3 thieves attacked me at once). I also had one glitch where I got stuck in a rock Aaron Ralston style. Luckily, I had a recent save to fall back on.

I'm really enjoying the game though. The map and compass is a great feature for a guy like me that doesn't want to have to guess where to go next. I don't mind wasting time exploring, but when I'm ready to move the story I want to know exactly where to go next.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 11:47 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:That's pretty much how I feel Spooky. I'll play it for a few more hours just so I didn't turn it off THAT soon. I recognize that it is definitely an epic game that spans such a huge world...it really is beautifully created. But as you said, the open endedness (is that a word?) is probably what turns me off.

Yeah, good point. I definitely appreciate this game and how epic it is, I just cannot find entertainment in it.

You know what it boils down to for the most part? Decisions. Having to make all sorts of decisions. From what type of character to start with, to what to keep and drop from inventory, to what quests to do when, ect... I make enough decisions in my real, day to day life that I find it stressful and tiring to have to make them in a game. Especially when they all change the outcome and type of experience I would have. I understand that this is actually a major draw for most, but it has the opposite effect on me.

I know I make some decisions in a lot of games that I do enjoy, however, they are not ones that change my experience and outcome continually.

Not sure why I am explaining all of this in a thread about how great the game is (in all fairness, I have only played a total of about 30 minutes) but I just continue to try and then not 'get' these types of games. But, like I said, I really do understand why others think so highly of it and I do truly appreciate the development that went into this game.

APOC · Post by **APOC** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 7:23 am

Has anyone had to put their horse down? I got off mine to kill some crabs and accidentally hit the horse and it started to attack me. After lighting it up with my bow, it ran off.

This is a great game, but definetly not for the sports gaming crowd unfamiliar with RPG's.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:29 am

Spooky wrote: Yeah, good point. I definitely appreciate this game and how epic it is, I just cannot find entertainment in it.

You know what it boils down to for the most part? Decisions. Having to make all sorts of decisions. From what type of character to start with, to what to keep and drop from inventory, to what quests to do when, ect... I make enough decisions in my real, day to day life that I find it stressful and tiring to have to make them in a game. Especially when they all change the outcome and type of experience I would have. I understand that this is actually a major draw for most, but it has the opposite effect on me.

I know I make some decisions in a lot of games that I do enjoy, however, they are not ones that change my experience and outcome continually.

Not sure why I am explaining all of this in a thread about how great the game is (in all fairness, I have only played a total of about 30 minutes) but I just continue to try and then not 'get' these types of games. But, like I said, I really do understand why others think so highly of it and I do truly appreciate the development that went into this game.

Some of what you are saying, i feel as well. But I guess there is somethingi n these games I am responding too that you are not. The whole inventory thing has gone back and forth over the years; some games have no weight at all and let you carry everything, as it can be a pain in the ass.

In this game, however, even if you don't have a house, you can use drawers and cabinets in whatever guild house you are a member of to store crap.

The decisions thing is both a big draw and a big frustration. One thing that would help break through the worry problem is to roll a bunch of toons and try them out. First of all, as you do some quests a second and thrid time, it become much easier (obviously, but really it's that you understand what is required, so you don't worry as much about 'do I have everything I need before going further). But most importantly, you will start to discover that A.) the game can be pretty drastically different with different characters so you may well have yet to find that specific toon style that is right for you, and thus B.) a lot of times, it doens't matter. Kill the guy, don't kill the guy, a lot of times it doesn't matter. Will it make a difference? Probably, but that difference doesn't really alter or change or ruin the game, it's just a different outcome than the last toon you ran through there.

Anyway, I would say roll a few different characters before completely giving up. A fighter, a mage, an archery guy, a sneaky thief, etc. etc. You may well hit upon a type you really enjoy just by accident. The main thing is to free yourself of worry that any decision you make in the game matters. If you have a couple more toons that are through a few quests, you will amazingly feel that vice of worry about every little decision just dissolve away!!

The thing of it is, these games have a lot of different elements that different gamers respond to. The world is set up to allow all kind of behavior and actions and decisions, so it doesn't really care what you do. There are so many side quests and dungeons to explore, you can completely ignore the main quest if you feel like it. That freedom, that open-ended sense, that feeling of exploration (go anywhere, any time, nothing it truly urgent, etc.) is a big part of the draw.

One more thing: for me, figuring out and discovering how the toon stats affect the game is part of the enjoyment in the game. With my first toon, I clearly selected the worst possible class (my guy, a Breton, has nerfed agility, why would I be so stubborn about bows?). So, I am now eternally wondering, will this toon end up too weak, too useless to get through the late stages? I have a feeling he will be fine, I will mold him by force into what I want him to be!!

But at the same time, now some 15+hrs in, when I roll a new toon, I will be much, much, much more ready to set him up and know what I am doing. It's not rocket science, it's more of a language thing, sort of. Point is, I understand the frustrations of 'am I making a decision that will end up ruining the entire game for me X number of hours down the road?' Part of it is supposed to be there, but it's sort of a con. None of it is really that important. If you roll a few more toons, you will start to feel more free about all that, trust me.

Slumberland · Post by **Slumberland** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 11:43 am

What the hell is a toon? Is there a Roger Rabbit edition of the game?

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:30 pm

OK, I cheated and used the difficulty slider in one section. It works though

I'm actually really glad it's in there because it will keep me from quitting. I'll try something on the normal difficulty first, but after about 10 attempts I just need to move on.