Elder Scrolls - Oblivion

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Okay, I've never played a single game of elder Scrolls before this week. Not once, just not interested.

But watching a series of YouTubes, the 'tuber posted a kind of overview of older games he was going to play, on his freshly built "classic" PC box, from the middle 1990s. That is-- he built a retro-box, using a combination of new and used parts he had, but none dating past the late 1990s.

His idea, which was an interesting one, was to build a "maxed out" box from that era. Today, these "max" parts are available on the cheap, even free sometimes. Back then, he like a lot of us, was on a strict budget and an "ultimate gaming pc" simply wasn't in the cards.

But now? To build an Ultimate Gaming PC of 1996? Not that difficult, really. That was a fun video to watch. Naturally, he went over a number of games from that time and space that he wanted to play on his "new" box-- and Elder Scrolls came up.

Which got my attention. Steam had a copy of Game Of The Year edition, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and it got reasonable reviews, even today. On the cheap-- just how I like'em.

My current box is grossly over-powered for games like this, so I could max-out all the video settings too. Nice.

Purchased, downloaded and fired up the Base Game-- no mods of any kind. Yes, I know this game and it's step child (Skyrim) have thousands of mods between them. But I wanted to play the game as it came out, with all the official patches.

And I did. Tried a couple of things, found that I hated their bow mechanism-- normally, I very much like a Scout character type-- sneaky, shoots arrows from concealment and a safe, out-of-range distance.

No joy-- the mechanics sucks, the way they did it in the game. Fine. Dump that character, and start another (not even out of the training dungeon yet). How about a sneaky mage? Hmmm... custom classes are possible... Done. Spell casting mechanics is acceptable. My second favorite character class-- a Sneak Mage.

Was not too bad, as these sorts of games go. Reminded me of DDO, a little. Not nearly as flexible though. The game suffers horribly from Console Creep-- dumbing down the interface to soothe idiots who think "game controllers" are actually workable? *sigh* Lots of clicking to get to simple areas. Completely ignoring the fact I have over 100 individual keys available, including 5 on the mouse alone...

I got my toon up to level 4, with ... according to Steam? About 14 hours? Of play. Not bad. But by level 4, having only 8 "hot" keys? Was beginning to Grind My Gears. I was spending more time changing those out, than actual encounters...

Time for a MOD. Yes, I have succumbed-- the Base Game is Insufficiently Entertaining.

*sigh* I really did not want to get into this, though-- I've used MODs before, and they are ... well... a Righteous Pain In The Bird. (you thought I was going to mention a certain single-toed quadruped often used as a beast of burden).

I began my Quest To Mod last night.... ran late before I gave up. This included deleting the game and re-downloading....

This Morning? Success. As it turns out? Modding is like Spell Casting: you must have every ingredient Just So. You must spell out each step Just So. You must invoke all the Gaming Gods, Just So. Are you sitting in your chair correctly? Is the lighting in the room as the proper ambiance? if not-- START AGAIN.

I have added one (1) Mod-- which required 3 others to work -- which gives me a multiplicity of hot-keys. Making my SneakMage class workable. And it only took 8 hours of fiddling....

 

[Flankerl]

But I wanted to play the game as it came out, with all the official patches.

But why play a bad game?

Oblivion and Skyrim have so many good reviews because of the countless mods that fix the games.


Also you are 13 years late to the party.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Oblivion really isnt the best. Morrowind is far better, with the major downfalls being without mods you cant run and the only other option for transportation is paid rides between certain towns.
The mountainous terrain in Skyrim sucks to travel, but unmodded it really is the best Elder Scrolls game.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

But why play a bad game?

Oblivion and Skyrim have so many good reviews because of the countless mods that fix the games.


Also you are 13 years late to the party.

Even without mods they still get tons of good reviews. As did Morrowind and Daggerfall.

 

[Twilight Hue]

But why play a bad game?

Oblivion and Skyrim have so many good reviews because of the countless mods that fix the games.


Also you are 13 years late to the party.

That's the beauty of retro gaming. That ability to play games from the past that you couldn't afford. Personally I think games in the past gave you the whole deal with complete content and wonderful storylines.

Unlike today where you have microtransactions , cut and paste, horribly cut out content, lack of quality control resulting in a slew of broken and unplayable games , little or no creativity anymore with a reliance on formulated data that discourages risk-taking that you pay more than ever for, and literally get little or nothing in return for your investment.

There are a few exceptions of course but they are far and few in between and primarily are exclusive to the PC Master race.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Even without mods they still get tons of good reviews. As did Morrowind and Daggerfall.

There's no question the quality of those games in it's heyday, but Bethsheda is clearly going the way of Electronic Arts and Activision now.

I really don't care if they shut their doors as they are past their prime now as far as I'm concerned.

I don't consider them a gaming company anymore given the laundry list of lies, greed, and false advertising to milk money out of their customer base , cashing in on the multiplayer pay-to-win whales who clearly have much more disposable income to throw away than the average majority gamer who only wants to have a good experience and not be continually manipulated by algorithms and monetary schemes*.

I'm hoping for a major game crash like in the 80s.

*That piece of garbage called Fallout 76.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I'm hoping for a major game crash like in the 80s.

It's beyond time it's needed. Gaming today really doesn't offer much. They are pretty, true, but the characters are mostly the same witless cavemen who plague Hollywood. Paying to read a game and make a choice isn't a game, we had those in book form not all that long ago. To an extent I really can see micro-transactions being justified, because the cost to make games has gone up but the cost of games really hasn't went up that much, but loot chests and pay-to-win kill gaming as it replaces skill with who can afford the better gear. And dont get me started on challenge. I still enjoy the games from the NES through PS1 because they provided challenges that gamers today just can't fathom. And I've checked - many consider Metroid to be of a "bull **** design." Just because it's too hard for them and they don't realize our lives too were busy and you never learned Samus is a woman unless you beat in under 4 hours, with all her armor coming off if you beat it in under 2. And lots of us did get to where we could do that. These young gamers, all they ever get to see is Samus hanging her head in shame with a 10+hour completion, these gamers not realizing they are seeing what is today called the bad ending.
Far Cry 5? I'm playing through on "infamous difficulty," and other than less health the difficulty is identical to normal. And its a snooze feast. Give me Battletoads any day.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It's beyond time it's needed. Gaming today really doesn't offer much. They are pretty, true, but the characters are mostly the same witless cavemen who plague Hollywood. Paying to read a game and make a choice isn't a game, we had those in book form not all that long ago. To an extent I really can see micro-transactions being justified, because the cost to make games has gone up but the cost of games really hasn't went up that much, but loot chests and pay-to-win kill gaming as it replaces skill with who can afford the better gear. And dont get me started on challenge. I still enjoy the games from the NES through PS1 because they provided challenges that gamers today just can't fathom. And I've checked - many consider Metroid to be of a "bull **** design." Just because its too hard for them and they dont realize our lives too were busy and you never leanred Samus is a woman unless you beat in under 4 hours, with all her armor coming off if you beat it in under 2. And lots of us did get to where we could do that. These young gamers, all they ever get to see is Samus hanging her head in shame with a 10+hour completion, these gamers not realizing they are seeing what is today called the bad ending.

You know, I personally would rather see a higher game price and getting the full finished package like we used to in the old days .

Expansions and extras are okay once I finish what I payed full price for.

Plus games are not as expensive to make as the companies make it out to be in light of how many reused assets are implemented in 'new' games.

Imagine the uproar if movies were put out like games are.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Imagine the uproar if movies were put out like games are.

They pretty much are. As Bill Maher summed up every superhereo movie, they have to first learn how to control their powers and then they go search for a shiny thing. "Shiny thing, shiny thing, shiny thing!" Reboots and endless sequels. Cookie cutter characters, plot sources that are beyond exhausted, and extreme degrees of predictability.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

You know, I personally would rather see a higher game price and getting the full finished package like we used to in the old days .

Expansions and extras are okay once I finish what I payed full price for.

I did enjoy expansion packs while we had them. The full DLC of Morrowind and Oblivion added lots of time onto an already thoroughly enoyed play through. Skyrim, IMO, felt more like micro-transactions for a DLC price to have greater frustrations added (vampire raids sound great, but them turning major cities into a ghost town makes it a terrible idea for those games) than what you get rewarded.

 

[Twilight Hue]

They pretty much are. As Bill Maher summed up every superhereo movie, they have to first learn how to control their powers and then they go search for a shiny thing. "Shiny thing, shiny thing, shiny thing!" Reboots and endless sequels. Cookie cutter characters, plot sources that are beyond exhausted, and extreme degrees of predictability.

Now imagine them cutting out parts of the movie and you being forced to pay to see the ending , or to see what happens in the middle.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

But why play a bad game?.

Because I can? Because I like the fiddly-bits, in beating a game's mechanics into submission, so I may play exactly how I like to play?

Oblivion was almost ruined by being made to work with consoles-- as are 99% of modern games these days. Dumb the interface down to the STUPID level a controller requires.

"autoaiming"? baah.

Oblivion and Skyrim have so many good reviews because of the countless mods that fix the games.
.

Indeed. And I have applied the first Mod. Likely I'll apply more-- but I have to play it until the frustration level grows high enough.

As it did with only 8 hot keys...

... next up? Find a way to suppress the endless "ARE YOU SURE" garbage. Yes-- I'm sure-- if I wasn't I'd not have clicked on the item in the first place. I'm not using a controller here... I don't need babying.

Also you are 13 years late to the party.

So? Have you never watched and enjoyed a TV series from the 70s? If not---you're missing out...

 

[Twilight Hue]

I did enjoy expansion packs while we had them. The full DLC of Morrowind and Oblivion added lots of time onto an already thoroughly enoyed play through. Skyrim, IMO, felt more like micro-transactions for a DLC price to have greater frustrations added (vampire raids sound great, but them turning major cities into a ghost town makes it a terrible idea for those games) than what you get rewarded.

Remember that horse armor? *Yikes*

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Now imagine them cutting out parts of the movie and you being forced to pay to see the ending , or to see what happens in the middle.

Indeed. It's one of many reasons why I don't buy the newest games, with rare exceptions.

Plus, modern games sacrifice story for: SHINY! SHINY! OOOH-- SQUIRREL!

I blame the rise of dumbed down consoles for this trend.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Indeed. It's one of many reasons why I don't buy the newest games, with rare exceptions.

Plus, modern games sacrifice story for: SHINY! SHINY! OOOH-- SQUIRREL!

I blame the rise of dumbed down consoles for this trend.

I'm a big fan of grand strategy. I was shocked to see Stellaris come the console and it's actually pretty good. I even got the deluxe edition and looking forward to Planetfall in August. Now only if Hearts of Iron can come on board. Hope Springs Eternal.

I do find I like survival looter shooters as well. Such as 7 Days to Die, Genesis pre-alpha, and State of Decay. I'm a dedicated single player fan.

Still , I think this will be the last I buy game consoles. I'll be going PC from that point on since the depth of storylines and or immersion are far far superior. The only reason why I got council's was because I couldn't afford the immense cost of buying a good PC.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Because I can? Because I like the fiddly-bits, in beating a game's mechanics into submission, so I may play exactly how I like to play?

Oblivion was almost ruined by being made to work with consoles-- as are 99% of modern games these days. Dumb the interface down to the STUPID level a controller requires.

I have to admit, after carpal tunnel syndrome I find a controller way less painful to use.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Remember that horse armor? *Yikes*

I did not but now I do. As well as remembering why I forgot that was even there, as a micro-transaction.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

apply more-- but I have to play it until the frustration level grows high enough.

Youll want to get the program called Loot if you do go the moding route. It checks load order and lets you knkw ahead of time if anything is missing a dependency, not loading in the right order, or other problems. I have my Skyrim extensively modded, but its to enhance visuals and mechanics, add immersive lighting and sounds, unofficial community patches (get those regardless), and assorted lore and theme appropriate items such as cloaks. Skyrim looks pretty as it is, mine looks better than the HD remake, due ti me running mostly mods that retexture everything.

 

[Flankerl]

And I've checked - many consider Metroid to be of a "bull **** design." Just because it's too hard for them and they don't realize our lives too were busy and you never learned Samus is a woman unless you beat in under 4 hours, with all her armor coming off if you beat it in under 2. And lots of us did get to where we could do that.

If Metroid is too hard how are they going to finish Castlevania?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

If Metroid is too hard how are they going to finish Castlevania?

1 and 3 they never will.