Oblivion - First Impression

Remove all ads!

Chandos, that's the same kinda character I was thinking of trying. Lemme know how it goes!

 

My impressions so far:

Runs smoothly on my x850XT @ 1280x1024 but I havent made it outside yet. Textures are nice. Combat is about 1/2 way between the mushy disconnected combat from Morrowind and the crisp melee of Gothic 2. The addition of shield blocking adds some much needed depth.

Graphically its unrivaled for an RPG. However, the much heralded character animations and realism have a way to go to match Half Life 2.

Thankfully character controls, movement and running speed are a big improvement over Morrowind. The 3rd person option is better implemented as well - should you opt for that. Running feels like running. Strafing is improved, stealth/sneak is nicely implemented.

The biggest shortcoming of Oblivion is the interface. Fonts are WAY too large and distracting. They are so large its ludicrous. The interface is very consolish and in my opinion poorly implemented. Its far too large and does not scale with resolution changes. This means it will take up > 50% of your screen whether you run at 640x480 or 1600x1200. The interface amazingly lacks a paper doll. It uses a bunch of icons instead of text with no tooltips. Clearly it was designed for the XBOX360 - so console users can see it clearly from a couch sitting position. Big icons and big text. Thats bad for PC users. The result is that it feels like a port to the PC. I feel it severely interrupts gameplay and immersion but your mileage may vary.

Like I pointed out - I havent gotten outside yet so I havent really tapped into the best part of the game. So far its only an average improvement over Morrowind - essentially in melee combat and graphics. If I ranked those features as 50% or so improved the interface is 80% worse.

Its a net positive but I'm really not digging the interface.

 

I completely disagree. The interface is very easy to use. And I'm a bit tired of straining my eyes on the tiny resolutions in most game menus anyway. The graphics in HL2 are a bit better than Oblivion's - if only HL2 had a game to go along with them, I may have been a bit more impressed with it in the long run.

 

To each his own. And I was only comparing the HL2 graphics for character animations - specifically facial animations - certainly not gameplay.

There is no getting around the interface design though - its intended to be console friendly at the expense of the PC. Compare it to the Morrowind interface. The biggest backlash Oblivion has gotten so far has been that interface.

 

Oh, I agree - to each his own. But I've never really played a console game in recent years, so the comparison, at least for me, is meaningless.

 

Wow - you guys seem to think this game is going to be the next big thing. How have I missed all the pre-game hype of this one? It seems like all I read is the endless speculation over BG3 and NWN2. I've never seen anyone talking about the long wait for Oblivion, which is probably why I have had never heard about it.

 

HB: there's an advert for Oblivion 1 inch below your post. You have ads blocked or something?

Anyway... the beauty of Oblivion (at least on the PC) is that the player community will most assuredly modify it. So the interface is too big? Fonts too small? Imperials too ugly? No shurikens? Wait a couple months and you'll see mods to adjust/add all those things and more, I am certain.

And waiting is exactly what I'll be doing as my current PC won't be able to handle Oblivion. And I probably won't be upgrading anytime soon. So maybe in 6 months I'll be getting it at which point it should be properly patched and have loads of cool mods.

 

There are no ads below my post (or below your post) on my screen.

 

Harbourboy, in all my years of prowling the Alleys I have never been so shocked and appalled as to read that you have never played, much less heard of, the Elder Scrolls series. And you call yourself a CRPGer!

Get thee to the SP link and order Oblivion today. And if your computer can't handle that, pick up Morrowind. Better, get them both. Lock the doors, unplug the phone, and start playing these games. The Black Isle games are good but they are NOTHING compared to the wonder and glory of the Elder Scrolls series.

 

How would I have ever heard about it? I don't go to computer game shops and I never read computer game magazines and I don't have any RL friends who play computer games. Other than a random purchase of Icewind Dale II when I was bored and needed something to do, the only place I ever hear about computer games is right here - and until very recently, you never talked about this game.

 

Got my copy and my new video card yesterday. I tried to run it on my old video card (FX 5600) and wow, that wasn't working. So I popped in my new one and got to playing. The game is awesome so far, I'm using an imperial spellsword character.

 

How do you rate my chances with Celeron 2.4 GHz, 512 MB RAM (400 MHz), FX5900XT? As in, is there any sense trying?

 

Yeah, I chose the spellsword also. I also switched to a Breton, since I'm leaning more towards spellcasting now. And I just wanted to also leave a few tips after playing the game for a few days - not really any spoilers, but a few things that might help when starting the game:

1. After installing, go back and defrag your HD. I was having stutterings and slowdowns in the Imperial City, and I discovered that the install left files fragmented all over my HD. And the defrag really helped performance in the game.

2. You will get the chance to edit your character before leaving the first level, so don't sweat your initial picks too much. You will get to choose your sign before leaving also. I chose the sign of the Lady: +10 endurance for combat and +10 for willpower in spellcasting.

Last: and may be a small spoiler for anyone who likes to find every single ruin/dungeon on his own. Because you have the chance to "fast travel" to your first Fed-Ex quest in the main plotline - but:
/
/
/
/
3. Once leaving the dungeon/sewer head into town and sell-off your items. If you need fast exp and treasure, go back to the same sewer entrance/exit and swim across the river to the ruins, there is an old goblin fort (of course!) just up the path, you can get fast treasure/items and exp. Hope this helps...

[ March 24, 2006, 02:33: Message edited by: Chandos the Red ]

 

Nope, time to upgrade mate.

 

Oblivion is released here today (it's 1am)! I'm very excited. Going down to the campus site office at 9am to get it. I'd only have one lecture, but that's going to be skipped. I'll have better things to do than algorithms.

 

Bought the game yesterday, now I need a new videocard, bye bye my dear TI 4200

 

Played for 6 hours last night - till 3AM. Oh boy, this one is addicting. I still hate the interface but the game overall is excellent. Very addicting.

The combat is alot more improved than I first gave it credit for.

 

Started playing. This is an amazing game! I'm currently exploring the mind of a mage trapped in a nightmare, and I have to defeat two minotaurs at level 1, which is a little challenging. As a mage, without the ability to use his spells here. Ouch. But this is a beautiful game. I love watching corpses flying away at a fireball.

 

Well I already made another character. I do this quite often with most games. I made a custom class which is pretty much a thief with a little magic mixed in. I got him to level 2 and I'm still playing around in the imperial city. I love the graphics in this game! The interface really doesn't bother me at all.