Teiman
1821
There was a lot of variety in Morrowind. The volcan area, the swamps of the west coast, the strange islands on the north east, the zone of the cityes and towns on the south. Also the change to one zone to the next where mostly smooth.
I was very disapointed the first time I looked at the Oblivion map. It all looks like france.
Skyrim seems to have at least two biomes, …the snowy mountain one, and the not-snowy mountain one. Thats 100% more than Oblivion already.
edit:
fixed from 200%
Is anyone else annoyed that they keep showing the same location, the same sequences and the same aspects of the UI/combat/spell-casting at each demonstration? I’ve seen half of the demonstration shown at QuakeCon once before, and some of it more than that. If they’re trying to keep the rest of the game secret to avoid spoilers that’s fine, in fact I appreciate it, but at least show some generic caves and monsters so we can see more combat, AI and spell content.
I’ve seen enough to know that I want it and then some.
Interestingly, I’ve been hyped about Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion. As in, really hyped - though when I was younger it was easier to succumb to it.
Each game has been a disappointment, all in all, and yet I still manage to get my hopes up.
Skyrim really looks like the best TES yet - and they’ve dealt with a ton of the issues I had with past games.
Can’t wait :)
I enjoyed Tom’s write-up at Gamespy, it was fun to read various folks’ experience with the same piece of the games content around the web, everyone had a very different experience though many of them depicted the same types of encounters (in a small area). Very cool. Tom, anything else happen of note in your time with the game that you held back to share with just us? :)
I remember the first time I played Morrowind on a LAN party. I had never heard of the Elder Scrolls game before or Morrowind and I was blown away.
I distinctively recall the moment when I realized that the whole area surrounding the starting village Seyda Neen I had explored so far was only a tiny section on the in-game map.
… and then I realized that I could grab and scroll the map and that I had only seen approximately one quarter of the map.
I first could not believe that the whole map was explorable, I mean the biggest world up to this point in a game was Ultima IX for me and that was a middle sized theme park compared to Morrowind!
I must be odd man out. I loved Daggerfall and was really hyped for both Morrowind and Oblivion but I was let down by both and never could get into them.
You aren’t alone, I’ve tried to get into Oblivion a few times now, and I just lose interest.
I will say Skyrim is really good looking, and while I am not getting it at release , I will get it during one of steams sales.
Morrowind is one of my favorite games of all time, warts and all, but Oblivion did nothing for me. I got into Oblivion finally a few months ago after having bought the game on release day (along with a $200 video card to run it and a new power supply - most expensive game ever but after Morrowind/Tribunal/Bloodmoon, I was just certain I would have my mind blown away).
I gave it yet another chance but this time on the 360 and I guess playing it on a console/couch made it ok for me to just enjoy it as an action/adventure and not some deep PC RPG. And so with lowered expectations, controller in hand, and ass on comfy couch, I trekked through Cyrodiil and had a grand old time raiding tombs and taking in the beautiful foresty sites. So much foliage.
Only put in about 20 hours but that was a lot more than the first 5 times I attempted to play it and I think I’ve had enough. Haven’t touched it in a few months and don’t miss it one bit.
But looking forward to Skyrim. The bleak, wintry setting is appealing (Oblivion was pretty but bland) and the Dragon combat/shouts should add some variety. I just hope the voice acting is improved.
I hope they populate Skyrim with critters besides INFINITE DRAGONs; I mean stuff like wolves, foxes, does and deer, bears, basically “mobs” that roam around, I think the world is pretty gorgeous but tends to feel bland (my main complaint when roaming in Oblivion) because you hardly see any other living creature.
hong
1831
A Skyrim MMO. I see a great need.
Tom’s artical mentioned a wolf that passed him by as it was too busy chasing a rabbit, for what it’s worth.
No thank you. I do not want anything MMO in my Elder Scrolls.
It worked for Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest IX.
hong
1835
Oh come on ppl, I was just trolling.
Bethesda is CLEARLY too busy working on the Fallout MMO to make another one.
Er… how are random critters populating the world = MMO?
I wasn’t even talking about RPG absurdities like you kill a bear and he “drops” 20 silver, I just said the world feels empty without wildlife.
Oblivion did have deer, at least. That was nice.
I liked the way they presented wildlife in Red Dead Redemption, except for those damn cougars and bears.
Skipper
1838
There is a screenshot or two on Steam depicting what you’re talking about. I keyed into several things he said during the presentations, all of which got on my nerves a bit during Oblivion. I enjoyed the hell out of Oblivion though, warts and all.
Things I saw and heard that made me take notice though:
-Truly dual wield and multi use hands.
-An amazing graphic engine update and animation fixes. The guy actually looked like a real person and was walking in a normal manner.
-A massive UI update. This was a real sore point for me with Oblivion. It was hard to read, hard to scroll and select stuff, wasn’t console friendly, etc.
-A brief mention of “upgrading enough of any skill ultimately levels you up.” No more of the crazy only do this or that game to make levels. They still have usage based skillups but separating tagged skills might hopefully make a difference. I may have misread what he was saying, but I hope not.
-Jobs and community involvement. I smiled a bit, it reminded me of the old Ultima days.
-Dragons. It doesn’t matter what the RPG is, this should be a mandatory requirement.
Skipper
1839
RDR did a great job with wildlife and also involving hunting into side quests and a means to make money.
I watched a bit of the dev play through, and really thought the dragons were well done. BUT BUT BUT , the creature literally stood 2 feet in front of you blowing fire on you, and you don’t die…
It might have helped if he used his shield to block it at least, but nope, fire straight to the face, and you survive. :(
