TES4: Oblivion

Discussion in 'Games' started by Xylia, Jun 27, 2017.

  1. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    So, I decided to start a thread because I just started playing this game again.

    I saw it on Steam Summer Sale for a measly $10 and figured "why not?" because I only own the original collector's edition and none of the DLC, and it's nice to get the GOTY version which fixes some bugs and what-not, AND I haven't touched Oblivion since Skyrim came out.

    I managed to mod it up a bit, got the Oblivion Reloaded, a Texture Pack, and a Character Overhaul (because dude, some of the faces in Oblivion were simply atrocious).

    I didn't go REAL heavy on mods, because I wanted as close to vanilla as I could get, just... modernized in terms of graphics and maybe a little gameplay.

    So anyways, I'm surprised at how much fun I'm having with this. Perhaps its nostalgia, perhaps it's been enough time that it is almost like a fresh experience because I don't remember very much of the game, but it's been pretty fun! I've been noticing a few things I miss from Skyrim, but yet things I wish Skyrim had.

    First, I'll have to start off with my UI complaints.... I don't get why, in 2006, Bethesda still felt that there needn't be a "CLOSE ALL WINDOWS" button. Pick up a book? You MUST click the "Close" button. Want to get out of dialogue/shop interface? Gotta click the close button. Can't hit escape, oh no.

    Is there a mod for this, does anybody know? I'd love to install it, if so.

    Second, I'll have to wonder... why did they not make complex dungeon traps in Skyrim? The spiked ceiling deathtraps, the trapdoor floors... the enemies hidden behind false walls... in Skyrim, you just got spiked grates and hanging heavy objects.

    So anyways, just wanted to make a thread to talk about this game since I'm actively playing it. In my playthrough, thusfar I haven't gone real far in, like a couple hours... I've explored the ruins right next to the exit to the sewers, a fort and a cave on the way to Cheydinhal... combat is much easier than I remember, everything dies in one hit to a sneak attack arrow. lol.

    EDIT: Will also note that it is nice to see actual foilage now instead of just snow and barren tundra grasslands and yellow/orange leaves.
     
  2. Jonesy

    Jonesy Sarif's Attack Kangaroo Forum Moderator

    Ah, sweet Oblivion. A middle-ground between Morrowind and Skyrim, simultaneously being the best and worst. Improved gameplay, reasonably deep faction questlines, interesting story and a pretty good DLC lineup, along with unimpressive graphics, weird UI, forgettable locations and horse armor. Overall, though, I'd say the good outweighs the bad.

    If you're doing the DLC for the first time, be sure to check out Battlehorn Castle (added in the Fighter's Stronghold DLC) for your player housing needs. You can get it fairly early on if I recall, although you'll need to invest a bit of money into it before it reaches its full potential. But it provides some pretty decent furnishings and services eventually. Plus, who doesn't want to live in a castle?

    In terms of major DLCs, Knights of the Nine is pretty good, but Shivering Isles is the real star of the show. Might want to save it for later, once you've got some decent gear, though. Best to savour it, too.
     
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  3. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    I've ... uh.. pirated the NotN and I think Shivering Isles... I can't remember if I bought that legit or not, lol.

    No worries, as I bought the GOTY on Steam so I do now legally own a copy of that, lol. But that was back during the days where I pirated stuff and didn't care. I don't do that these days, though, not with Steam and all. But I've never heard of Battlehorn Castle. huh. I'll have to go see what that's about.

    I don't mind the graphics (other than the faces) so much, I just like the fact that unlike both Skyrim AND Oblivion, there's colors other than brown, grey, and white in the outdoor areas. Oh, and Oblivion has Castles that AREN'T ruined. Seriously, are there no buildings in Skyrim that aren't run down and falling apart? Plenty of them in Oblivion. Oblivion's buildings look like actual places people would live in medieval times. Morrowind... some of their architecture just looked alien, lol.

    But anywho, I was really hoping there was a way to mod the "Must click close" but I haven't seen any mods yet, so blaaah. But here's hoping that someday, Skyblivion eventually ends up being an actual completed project. I hear they're making some good progress, so hopefully at some point that will get more or less finished.

    Hopefully they kept it as faithful to Oblivion as possible.
     
  4. LazerRay

    LazerRay Cosmic Narwhal

    Its been a while since I last played Oblivion, but I do know of some tips that can help:

    1. If you haven't installed them already, get the Unofficial Patches since they help fix most of the bugs Bethesda left in

    2. You may want to have access to this site handy http://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page, again to keep track of the bugs predominantly (The guides also help)

    3. If you haven't found them yet, there are some useful mods that help in finding quest areas, so you can make sure you go to them at the correct times, to avoid some game breaking bugs.

    4. This is not bug related but is useful for game play, any custom enchanted weapon you make should have at least a one second Soul Trap on it and you should get the Azua's Star as quickly as possible (That is a level 2 Dadric quest), this way you can recharge the weapon more quickly any time.

    5. There is way to one shot the gate guardian in Sivering Isles (If you have it), get Marksman up to where you have the sneak attack bonus, have the best bow you can get with powerful enchants, collect the tears from the night scene, and get the bone arrows from the Nord (I forget his name), this will have a high chance of dropping a very strong mob in one hit when you combine all that stuff together.

    6. If you run a spell caster, you will need a few custom spells late game since the shop bought ones are too weak, I tend to set 15 points of damage with 15 seconds for three on target destruction spells with no AOE and a self heal spell with the same settings (You do need a very high or maxed out skill for these, but they are very useful).
     
  5. Parrotte

    Parrotte Supernova

    I loved Oblivion for the part I've played it. It was lively and there were some interesting locations amongst them. The hit system isn't as stupid as in Morrowind, which is a huge plus. It was finally viable to take a giant axe.
    I also didn't have to resort to murdering Caldera's clothes shop keeper for a nice house. Poor sod, I think I killed him across 5 different saves now.

    This reminds me I should go back and actually finish the damn game and it's DLC.
    I only got halfway through, I think, until the PC went critical and had to be reinstalled.

    As for Skyblivion:
     
  6. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    Hmm... I see.
     
  7. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Lol, is it bad if Horse armor was the very first thing I ever heard of Oblivion? when I discovered Skyrim, I had no idea what the sequel was... until the internet showed me Horse Armor.

    Always been curious to play it, a friend of mine has also started playing it. Makes me wish I had known of its existence back in the day... oh well!
     
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  8. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    I think the Horse Armor thing was just unfortunate, as it was one of the first paid DLCs and it was something so stupid and trivial that it became a meme, like "They would ask us to pay for THAT!?"

    Back then, microtransactions/DLC for cosmetics were something new and people didn't like the idea.

    Now we got Microtransactions/DLCs for everything on under the freaking sun, INCLUDING stuff packaged in the game's files but made unavailable on day freaking one of the game's launch. *sigh*

    Some people hate Horse Armor for this reason, because it more-or-less started the whole thing (if HA didn't do it, something else would have, it was inevitable).

    It is kinda sad, though, that Horse Armor was the very first thing you heard about Oblivion. It was a pretty big deal when it came out in the day. Everybody played it, everybody talked about it back then. It was THE thing to be playing, and it was so much above its competition.
     
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  9. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    How curious, that is how I feel when I look at skyrim... it has its rough edges like anything else, but those are fond memories. I do however, very much enjoy the Soundtrack from Oblivion, a step above Skyrim's in my honest opinion, may never play it, but at least I could have that.
     
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  10. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    Eh, Oblivion's sound tracks were more ambient than anything else. You might notice the music in the background while trudging around, but not while you were doing anything that has your focus, like battle, or talking to NPCs, or what-not.

    I'm not saying Skyrim's is any different, it's just a thing in the Elder Scrolls.. the music is stuff you barely remember.

    Skyrim, however, does have that ridiculously awesome Dragon Battle Theme...you know the one I mean. Also, the one that plays in Sovngarde that goes along with it.

    And then, there's remixes/covers.... like this one:



    This is like 50x better than the one in the actual game.
     
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  11. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Oh yeah, she does the bard songs in the online game...I had seen her before while looking up songs for both Oblivion and Skyrim, but I usually run away from covers, run far and never look back... then I heard her as the bards in Auridon, and oh my goodness gracious, nice singing voice there.



    Maybe I will listen to her skyrim covers... maybe...

    Edit: speaking of ambience, I have noticed a lot of games do that... but pretty much forget to add more actiony tunes in the mix, it becomes rather bothersome after a couple hundred hours or so...
     
  12. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    It's one of the reasons why I think FFXIV is far better than WoW despite similar playstyles... the music alone is a huge plus.

    The Music in FFXIV is more than just ambience... there are many tunes that stay with you long after you've logged off, especially its various battle themes, and even more so the special boss battle themes.

    I know it's a bit OT, but when we mention music and MMOs... I always end up linking this song:



    This was recorded while the user was actually playing the game (with sounds turned off, just music turned on), so this is actually what you hear in the game. This is one of three themes that play during this fight, so the whole fight doesn't play this theme, this is just the first one.
     
  13. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Someone should create a FF14 thread... that game is cool, but I just CANNOT accept the fact all races look too similar to one another... lords know my one and only pet peeve in this world is that fantasy games should have variety... not even ridiculous amount of variety, but tangible, noticeable variety...

    Dont get me wrong, the music was pretty good! but yeah...
     
  14. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    The races do look different? Well the Hyur and Elezen tend to look similar, but you can't mistake a Lala or a Roe, or either of the tailed races.

    Wanna talk about the races looking similar? Skyrim is rather guilty of that. I can't tell one elf from another half of the time, except for the Dark Elves. The other two... they are pretty much the same to me. Also, Imperial/Redguard.
     
  15. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    Oh yes, specially the wood/high elves... I can only tell them apart until after they open their mouths...
     
  16. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

  17. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    They also show up in ESO... there is a nord npc in Auridon that talks with that specific norn voice from skyrim, you know, that guy in the cart at the beginning... "great stromcloak this, blah blah that" listening to him makes me want to stab him, and thankfuly I have the blade of woe so... yeah, I stab him a lot
     
  18. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    lol. It's just mind-boggling how these people still sound the same after... what was it again... 15 years?
     
  19. Corraidhín

    Corraidhín Supernova

    They are voice actors for a reason! then again, I sound as squeaky as when I was 16... anyways! I always picture that specific voice as "the norn guy" what was his role in Oblivion? were there many nords back then?
     
  20. Xylia

    Xylia Tiy's Beard

    Not a LOT of nords, but there are a few, including one Dark Brotherhood NPC I remember hearing a lot of.

    Oh, and the Orc Male dude... lol, same guy. In fact he has some hilarious lines in Oblivion... the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion is so much better done, one of the few things I will say against Skyrim. Just... find a youtube video of "The Dark Brotherhood Party" or something like that. lol.
     

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