Octopus Overlords

Took me 3 tries to enjoy Morrowind. I loved it. Finished it and all addon packs. Great and beautiful game.

Oblivion I have tried twice and gotten so bored that I gave up over half way into it. I just dont seem to like it. Im not going to bother going back to it. Ill get Skyrim and try to enjoy it. Maybe it's like Star Trek where every other one is great

I am with you. The best part of Oblivion (to me) was the exploration. The Assassin's Guild quest line was an awesome surprised and it absolutely was the best story element of the game. I played through other factions and even finished the main story line, but none were nearly as enjoyable. I really don't have a burning desire to pick this up day one and I think a lot of that is tied to a general lack of interest in the Elder Scrolls game world and their RPG mechanics. I haven't seen anything about Skyrim to suggest I'm going to be engrossed in some type of story.

I think I eagerly jump into all things Elder Scrolls (and Fallout these days) primarily because I'm trying to recapture those early days of Morrowind on the PC. I remember getting excited for that game thanks to the frenzy stirring Hetz and his magical hype machine (which I still recall with much fondness). so on the day it came out, I called into work sick, ran over to the nearest EB World located in a mall in a rough area of chicago (thank god for digital downloads is all i gotta say), rushing back home to install it, then getting totally lost in the world they presented me.

Sure, it had its warts. and the rpg elements were somewhat wonky (hey, let's jump in place for a half hour in order to build up my character!), but it gave me something that no other game had ever given me before that: a sense of pure awe. I could go almost anywhere, do almost anything, screw up everything. It was an RPG dream come true for a guy like me.

So I'll be grabbing this on release. The only reason I haven't preordered is because I'm still debating whether or not I want the comfort of console gaming on a large screen and a couch, or the mod crazy world of the PC version.

I wouldn't expect Skyrim to follow a formula that is significantly different from Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, or Fallout: New Vegas. Bethesda has pretty much built their entire company on that formula and it hasn't bombed for them yet, so why "fix" it?

That's not to say I wouldn't like a bit more substance to their games, or more stability for that matter. Bethesda is one of the few companies that makes games that consistently crash my computer (though to be fair, less so since I upgraded my CPU).

I want mini games. Also I read where Skyrim will use Fallout 3's lockpicking.

I'm replaying Oblivion, with lots of mods. Replaying may be the wrong word, I never even came close to finishing the first time. This time I'm hundreds of hours over months of play in and enjoying myself.

That said I see major flaws in the way Bethesda does quest design. Or maybe it's more appropriate to say faction design. There are some quests where there are multiple ways through, but those tend to be the exception, not the rule. What I would like to see is Bethesda offering choices. They set up the factions as having a nemesis, but why can't I join the nemesis?

Thieves guild vs. H Lex. Why is there no way to join the Imperial guards and hunt down the Grey Fox? Whether through infiltrating the thieves guild or good detective work, it would be great to choose a faction and than fight it out with another.

There are others I'm seeing as well, fighter's guild vs. Blackwood company( although I recently saw a mod for this one), mages guild vs. necromancers. All the assassinations the Dark Brotherhood does and no one but some crazy mamma's boy wants to stop them?

However I don't expect to see this. Bethesda's style is linear quest design and non-competing factions. That's ok. The games are fun. I'd just like to see some more thought put into the quest/faction system.

Fitzy wrote:I'm replaying Oblivion, with lots of mods. Replaying may be the wrong word, I never even came close to finishing the first time. This time I'm hundreds of hours over months of play in and enjoying myself.

Do you know which mods you've got running? I've been thinking about getting back into Oblivion after I get through Dead Island and know it needs mods, but am out of touch with what's good. For reference, I'm a 'purist' that doesn't like to cheat, but doesn't mind fixing game mechanics to make things more fun - like mana regen mods to make wizards useful in general, but not over the top.

Paingod wrote:

Fitzy wrote:I'm replaying Oblivion, with lots of mods. Replaying may be the wrong word, I never even came close to finishing the first time. This time I'm hundreds of hours over months of play in and enjoying myself.

Do you know which mods you've got running? I've been thinking about getting back into Oblivion after I get through Dead Island and know it needs mods, but am out of touch with what's good. For reference, I'm a 'purist' that doesn't like to cheat, but doesn't mind fixing game mechanics to make things more fun - like mana regen mods to make wizards useful in general, but not over the top.

I was trying a replay myself and it just crashes on startup.

Paingod wrote:

Fitzy wrote:I'm replaying Oblivion, with lots of mods. Replaying may be the wrong word, I never even came close to finishing the first time. This time I'm hundreds of hours over months of play in and enjoying myself.

Do you know which mods you've got running? I've been thinking about getting back into Oblivion after I get through Dead Island and know it needs mods, but am out of touch with what's good. For reference, I'm a 'purist' that doesn't like to cheat, but doesn't mind fixing game mechanics to make things more fun - like mana regen mods to make wizards useful in general, but not over the top.

Not as many as I thought.

Most are the official Mods, and unofficial patches.

Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, Enhanced Economy, Race Balancing Project, nGCD and Less Annoying Magic Experience have by far the most influence. They changed the game considerably, but mostly to make it harder. With the exception of L.A.M.E which makes magic less annoying and maybe makes the game easier. nGCD is my favorite, it automatically increases your level with no sleeping and adjusts attributes based on what you are using. You end up with a very specialized character (at least if you want to survive in OOO), but it's much more fun than vanilla.

The rest are mostly convenience mods, which make the game easier. They got added as things started annoying me in the game. Enhanced Economy is fascinating, but after awhile, as a mage, it was impossible to go on. My level far outstripped the spells I could afford to buy or make. So I tweaked the config file to return spell prices to playable. I added the Trade and Commerce mod which lets you buy a store and sell your stuff there. Very slowly. I added pack mules when I got tired of multiple trips to the same dungeon to haul all my loot. Persuasion removes the mini-game for a list and makes adjustments to how speechcraft works. Harvest Flora shows which plants have been harvested.

I originally followed Arwens suggestions which make the game more "realistic". But during the install I made some mistake and was unable to fix it. Fortunately I had been backing up , but it killed my enthusiasm for the list. I mostly restarted, used the community tools (Wyre Bash, BOSS, and OBMM) to carefully install a much smaller subset of mods. That worked.

Finally I have a bunch of quest mods waiting in the download folder. I'll install after I am done with the main quest in order to avoid conflicts. I did install Kvatch Rebuilt, but have barely touched it. What I've seen so far has not impressed. I also installed Origins of the Mages guild. Again not impressed so far and the voice acting is god awful. I suppose credit should be given for trying though.

My full list:

Smoove_B wrote:I am with you. The best part of Oblivion (to me) was the exploration. The Assassin's Guild quest line was an awesome surprised and it absolutely was the best story element of the game. I played through other factions and even finished the main story line, but none were nearly as enjoyable. I really don't have a burning desire to pick this up day one and I think a lot of that is tied to a general lack of interest in the Elder Scrolls game world and their RPG mechanics. I haven't seen anything about Skyrim to suggest I'm going to be engrossed in some type of story.

I feel the same way. While I've bought and played all the Elder Scroll games, I always seemingly end up underwhelmed. Whether it's the general lack of story (I hate that you can usually just join every guild and it doesn't make a difference other than getting some extra quests), or the general generic-ness of most of the NPCs, or the usually wonky scaling/leveling system, that really bothers me I can't say. Most likely it's all three. But then the new one comes out, I get caught up in the hype thinking this one might be different, and I end up getting it within the first week. That said, I did play the hell out of Oblivion (well, until CC accidentally erased my saves) and Fallout; I just wished it could've been better.

Fallout: NV, though, was almost perfect. If only Obsidian could make an Elder Scrolls game....

CC?

Daehawk wrote:CC?

Daehawk wrote:Took me 3 tries to enjoy Morrowind. I loved it. Finished it and all addon packs. Great and beautiful game.

Oblivion I have tried twice and gotten so bored that I gave up over half way into it. I just dont seem to like it. Im not going to bother going back to it. Ill get Skyrim and try to enjoy it. Maybe it's like Star Trek where every other one is great

I am the same way. Randomized loot and leveling caves was the reason for me why I did not finish Oblivion. It was still fun but got bored around 30h twice, finally just gave up on it. I will still get Skyrim no doubt.

Live action Skyrim video

If that was a movie I'd go see it.

Smoove_B wrote:I really don't have a burning desire to pick this up day one and I think a lot of that is tied to a general lack of interest in the Elder Scrolls game world and their RPG mechanics.

Are you out yo gotdamn mind? You played the crap out of Oblivion. You played the crap out of Fallout. Why would this be different?

Holy crap, for whatever reason I completely missed that this was due out in three weeks. I was thinking it was due sometime next year.

Well, that blows my gaming plans (and budget) all to hell.

More like 2 weeks. Im not ready either. ...Back to The Witcher 2.

I'm surprised at the system requirements. Both Oblivion and Skyrim run on XBox 360, I wasn't expecting the jump in system requirements. Not that the requirements are horribly high or anything. Just unexpected. I suppose the new engine is optimized for console and not PC.

I think I'm going with PC after much deliberation. While I really enjoyed Oblivion on the 360, I have this urge to play Skyrim on the PC. Plus, I'm hoping it will go on sale right before release on PC faster than the console version does.

I'm getting to the point that system requirements are starting to be an issue again. Gah.

I just restarted Oblivion. Good to see I'm not alone.

I played it almost to completion a while back. But I broke the main quest line and was never able to finish. I think I was three quests away from being done.

So here I am again. Finally. I also have all the DLC this time and expansions.

Trying something new this time. Trying a Mage. Though I find that I can't stop myself from trying to stealth. And I use a bow occasionally. But my skills are so low that I'm not sure why I bother.

I installed a 'few' mods. However, due to their size, I suspect that they count as a LOT. I was a bit cavalier with my initial installation and had to wipe everything and start over. Turns out that a lot of the patches contain multiple files and you are only supposed to install one... Who knew reading the ReadMe's was required?

So now I have these running:

The 4 Unofficial patches
Oscuro's
Mart's Monsters

I still get the occasional lockup/crash. And I get a lock on exit. I may install a mod/fix to help with the Exit. So far it's not that big a deal.

And what I have found is that it is HARD. Really HARD. I die a LOT. I run away a LOT. I think it took me 6+ hours of playing just to hit level 2.

I have to quick save constantly (which is probably why the CTDs don't phase me much).

It's finally getting a little better though. I got a slightly better offensive spell. Of course it costs more magicka. As a mage, at least my magicka regens quickly. But it means that I spend most fights using a retreating tactic... they charge me and I back pedal at a full run while shooting fire bolts when I have available magicka. (Yes, I know that being able to run backwards at full speed is ridiculous. However, some cheats I have to put up with in order to survive. )

And there are still fights that I just can't handle. Period. I think until I get a decent weapon with Paralyze, I'm going to be stuck on some fights. Like the grave robbers. Looked in a small room with them pretty much nukes my tactic.

I may start trying to implement some of the visual mods... a little at a time. But for the moment I'm just enjoying being able to play a bit. Pretty soon I might even start the main quest line.

TheMix wrote:
I have to quick save constantly (which is probably why the CTDs don't phase me much).

It's my understanding that quick save is a no-no and may in fact be the cause of many of your crashes. However there's a mod that supposedly fixes it.

I have OOO installed too, but without Marts. The beginning was, like you said, HARD. Now I am a walking God. Worship me mortals.there is one fight I cannot win.

Skyrim: I like that they have brought enchanting back as a skill, it will be interesting to see if they implemented something new, or if it's just the Oblivion enchanting with a skill attached.

I remember when they brought out the lighted windows mod for Morrowind. That really helped my enjoyment of it. Just a small little mod that did so much for me.

Hmmm... Quick save is no good?!?! Off to the interwebs!

Look into the Streamline addon. It does lots to combat the crashes, and has a save utility built in that you can customize.

Being an RPG guy it surprises me that I'm just not that into this game much. Sure I'll get it, but Oblivion was just so bla bla bla. It wasn't a horrible game by any means but I had no problem quitting the game 70 hours in and only about a third of the way through. And I have no desire to replay. Curiously I easily finished Fallout 3 and Fallout Vegas - each with over 200 hours in. Put it this way, I'm near the end of Chp 5 in Ice Wind Dale 1, If I finish that game before Skyrim's release date, then I'll get the game. probably.

BTW, I loved Morrowind - easily a top 10, of all time, RPG for me.

I'm actually thinking I may wait a month or two. I know that sounds like heresy coming from me, but every Elder Scrolls game has badly needed the first patch, and every Elder Scrolls game has been much better after the first round of plugins have been released.

I shall be preordering. I want the map. Even though the PC version is Steam-only, I want the hard copy for the map. Which, unfortunately, means I'll have to wait for the game to get here before I can put in my Steam code on launch day (unless it arrives early). No midnight unlocks for me.

I'm finally playing Nehrim due to my own self-hype of waiting for Skyrim. Needed to play ES of some sort. It's very good so far. And not very ES-like. Heh.


P.S. Hi, OO. I've been neglecting you.

Question for some of you guys.

I enjoyed Fallout 3, and I REALLY enjoyed Fallout: New Vegas. I've never played any Elder Scroll game. Would I enjoy Oblivion/Skyrim?

Did you enjoy the free-roaming, open world aspect of Fallout 3/NV, the parts where you can run without any direction or plot-driven purpose and just explore? If so, yeah. Especially since it can be had cheaply at this point.

If you preferred the more focused parts of Fallout 3/NV and never just wandered off into the waste to see what was in that cabin way over yonder, you might not like it as much.

Of course, I'm talking Oblivion (and Morrowind) here. I can't really speak for Skyrim, yet.

Blackhawk wrote: If you preferred the more focused parts of Fallout 3/NV and never just wandered off into the waste to see what was in that cabin way over yonder, you might not like it as much.

.

You might be on to something there for me. As far as open ended games, wandering around a contemporary like setting has a lot more meanging for me than a high fantasy setting. Morrowwind got away with it due to its radically new art style. But Ovlivion was just plain vanilla high fantasy. I guess I'll soon see if my gaming taste have changed after I play me some Skyrim.

I never finished the shivering isle dlc and I recently bought the goty version off steam (I have the 360 version as well, but i couldn't resist the goty version for 10 bucks when it was on sale). is there an all in one package of suggested mods that folks have? like the morrowind dvd? i'm really, really lazy and i'm always looking for people to do my work for me.

Someone point hepcat to the poop. I never used the poop, so I don't know which poop is most recent.

I made a version of POOP a while back specifically for the Steam version of Oblivion, affectionately known as "Steaming POOP". I no longer have it. I might have burned the original to DVD, if I did I could mail it out.

I was too lazy to track down the torrent. Or set up a torrent program on my PC again.

So I just got a few recommended ones.

I think that at a minimum you need to get the four Unofficial patch mods.

Then I went with OOO for an major overhaul (mostly I wanted to make sure my leveling was slowed down).

I added MMM for the overhaul to the monsters.

And that was it. Now I'll be looking at a few to clean up performance and minimize CTDs. I found this site last night that lists a bunch of key mods. As I said, I already have the four Unofficial patches. I'll probably be adding the Stutter remover, Streamline, and the 4GB one. Still on the fence about the last three.

(Though the Fast Exit is looking like a requirement due to "FastExit 2 saves the ini files before quitting. So, with FastExit 2 changes made to your video settings, keyboard & mouse configuration, etc will stay after you quit and restart Oblivion, unlike in FastExit." I don't like how bright everything is. I rarely ever use a torch or light spell because I can see fine in the caverns. I've started turning the brightness waaaay down, but then it resets every time I quit - or get a CTD.)

-- oh, and I'll apparently have to get OBSE for some of those mods to work.

I might also start branching out to some better res packs. My first goal was to make sure it ran.

I have a website saved on my home PC that lists a bunch of mods. I'll have to grab it when I get home. I was using that site as a basis. I'll probably use it for the higher res packs too.

Other than that, I'm thinking of picking up a saddlebag mod. Having to run out of the caves/dungeons 5 times to go sell loot is getting old. Of course, I'm finally starting to be able to tackle some harder ones. Magic items mean I stop picking everything else up. They sell for enough that it's no longer worth carrying something to sell for 50g.

TheMix wrote: I don't like how bright everything is. I rarely ever use a torch or light spell because I can see fine in the caverns. I've started turning the brightness waaaay down, but then it resets every time I quit - or get a CTD.)

Oblivion saves changes when it exits. Since Oblivion with mods is an almost guaranteed crash on exit, it never gets saved.

Simple solution: Hit tilde (~) and type: saveini

That forces and .ini save and keeps your settings.

RunningMn9 wrote:I made a version of POOP a while back specifically for the Steam version of Oblivion, affectionately known as "Steaming POOP". I no longer have it. I might have burned the original to DVD, if I did I could mail it out.

Oh, no need to go to any trouble. My laziness should not cause others to make any extra effort. Thanks though! I'll just cull through the latest mods and see what's good.

Blackhawk wrote:

TheMix wrote: I don't like how bright everything is. I rarely ever use a torch or light spell because I can see fine in the caverns. I've started turning the brightness waaaay down, but then it resets every time I quit - or get a CTD.)

Oblivion saves changes when it exits. Since Oblivion with mods is an almost guaranteed crash on exit, it never gets saved.

Simple solution: Hit tilde (~) and type: saveini

That forces and .ini save and keeps your settings.

THANK YOU!!!!

I'll do that right away. I'll probably still try and do something so that it doesn't crash every time I close. It's mostly annoying because I get the little Windows7 window telling me to click close... but it's not selected. And the mouse doesn't work. So I have to Tab around to the Windows7 window in order to close it and the game.

hepcat wrote:I never finished the shivering isle dlc and I recently bought the goty version off steam (I have the 360 version as well, but i couldn't resist the goty version for 10 bucks when it was on sale). is there an all in one package of suggested mods that folks have? like the morrowind dvd? i'm really, really lazy and i'm always looking for people to do my work for me.

Ask this on the official Oblivion Mods forum. They've been dull lately.

To be serious (and seriously unhelpful) the answer is no. Even if you found POOP it would be pretty out of date.

There is hope! But not much. On another forum, whose name I forget and I discovered long after I needed it so I don't know how well it works, someone created an auto-installer for a bunch of mods. If you pay the ~$5 to TESnexus it will even download them for you. For the lazy, it's like heaven. Only attainable.

I am blanking on the forum name. I know it's not Gamingtrend, but it is mentioned on OO from time to time. It's not RPS either. The gaming area is fairly active, but it is not a gaming forum specifically. I don't think.

Good luck!