upcoming sequel to morrowind, oblivion

[Big_John]

just showing a couple of pretty screenies from this upcoming rpg.
larger versions and more info can be found at:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/games/oblivion_overview.htm
i get the feeling that i'm going to need a new rig to play this one..


https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/dem0819/ob2.jpg

https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/dem0819/ob4.jpg

https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/dem0819/ob1.jpg

[Byzantine Prince]

Amazing. I was a big fan of Morrowind. I hope this game lives up to the expectations. Unfortunatly I can't play, it would take too much of my time. Maybe when i go to prison or something. ~D

[Murmandamus]

Excessive pixel bloom makes the baby jesus cry. I bet it will look superb with it turned off though.

More screenies here:
http://games.tiscali.cz/clanek/screen.asp?id=7903&a=1

[Productivity]

What are those screenshots running? (ie. what is the hardware required to get that level of detrail).

[Togakure]

I really enjoy a good RPG, and the original Morrowind treated me to hours and hours of fun. These screenies look good, thanks for posting them, and for the linkie. I think the sequel is prolly the game I am looking forward to most at this point. My only regret is it's not likely to be available until early next year.

I played the original on an X-box. I found it to be good that I didn't have access to many cheats. Try as I might, when I know there's an easy way around a difficult scenario, if I can't beat it quickly and I can cheat, I often do because I want to move on in the story. On the X-Box I had to slug it out and get creative, which made for a much more entertaining game in the long run.

I can't wait ... !

[Byzantine Prince]

The great thing about Morrowind was that you could edit everything they way you like it. You could make a castle let's say that bears your name on it with gaurds and pictures of you. You could name yourself the king or the emperor and edit what every one in the game says and does. Add more bad guys add more weapons and kill every mofo I see. That's fun.

[Togakure]

Yeah I can see how that would extend the fun quite a bit. I would enjoy doing stuff like that. I'd hold off until playing the game through once or twice though. What I'll probably do is get the X-Box version first, enjoy the game as is, and then get a PC version later. My current PC won't run it so I'm pretty much stuck with X-Box until I can afford to get a new PC anyway.

[Big_John]

The great thing about Morrowind was that you could edit everything they way you like it. You could make a castle let's say that bears your name on it with gaurds and pictures of you. You could name yourself the king or the emperor and edit what every one in the game says and does. Add more bad guys add more weapons and kill every mofo I see. That's fun.indeed. it was one of the most moddable games ever. there were some great mods for that game that made it replayable for a long time. moddable.. huh..

[hrvojej]

Wow.

In Morrowind I used to take strolls across the landscape just to enjoy the view, and maybe collect another interesting item for my museum. Let alone the time I spent playing it... ~:) I usually don't prioritize graphics, but this looks truly outstanding. I hope they make the gameplay every bit as enjoyable too. If they do manage to pull it off (and they were pretty much there in Morrowind already, so I guess they will), I know when I'm going to take my vacation next year. ~;)

[Spino]

Yeah I can see how that would extend the fun quite a bit. I would enjoy doing stuff like that. I'd hold off until playing the game through once or twice though. What I'll probably do is get the X-Box version first, enjoy the game as is, and then get a PC version later. My current PC won't run it so I'm pretty much stuck with X-Box until I can afford to get a new PC anyway.

X-Box version?!? You dreamer! Oblivion won't be released on the X-Box or any of the current consoles for that matter. It will however be released on all or most of the next generation consoles, with a definite release slated for the X-Box 2 (codename 'Xenon'). The Xenon's hardware and specs are pretty much set and damn impressive. Gamespy just did an article on it...

http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/microsoft-xbox/594331p1.html?fromint=1

[Nelson]

I’m a huge Morrowind fan. The mods have been remarkable for both their quality and quantity.

Oblivion looks to be greater still. Hopefully magic will get improved so that is as powerful as a strong arm.

For me it will no doubt require a machine upgrade.

[lars573]

Yeah I can see how that would extend the fun quite a bit. I would enjoy doing stuff like that. I'd hold off until playing the game through once or twice though. What I'll probably do is get the X-Box version first, enjoy the game as is, and then get a PC version later. My current PC won't run it so I'm pretty much stuck with X-Box until I can afford to get a new PC anyway.

I have the xbox cheats some where I'll dig them up and post them for you. All they do is restore health, magic, and stamina. But they got me threw the full single player story from the original game and both x-packs (sweet sweet game of the year edition for the xbox and a strategy guide).

[Big_John]

Oblivion looks to be greater still. Hopefully magic will get improved so that is as powerful as a strong arm.according to the website, the magic, stealth and combat systems are all getting completely overhauled. bethesda brought in a designer from the thief series to implement a new stealth engine.

[Togakure]

Point taken about the new gen X-Box.

Thanks Lars. Do you think that the Game-of-the-Year version adds a lot? I've only played the original, but I've played it til I'm blue in the face. Do you think the expansions are worth getting even though I've pretty much exhausted my interest in the original?

I'm an ancient D&D veteran and Dungeon Master and have been playing these kinds of games for about 30 years, so figuring out the Morrowind system and how to become superdude without cheating was pretty easy. I used enchanted items with Constant Effect powers a lot (I paid for the enchantments). With an 80% Constant Effect Chameleon active, you could basically go anywhere undetected, and still talk with folks (100% and you can't talk to people). A ring of Constant Effect Invisibility was handy early on too, as all you had to do was pop into your inventory and re-equip it to reactivate the invisibility if you opened a door or whatever. Constant Effect Levitation was really cool--I loved flyin' around invisible and just checking stuff out. Eventually I only used these superpowers/items in situations that were really hard, to make the game more challenging.

Heh, museum indeed. I'd usually take over Tel Naga in Sadrith Mora completely and turn it into a fabulous hangout. Had my audience room, lab, and most valudable treasure rooms up top (and turned the little room with the sleeping pad into my Skooma/moonsugar and liquor hang out, with candles and laterns galore). I spent a ridiculous amount of time just turning Tel Naga into the trickest pad. The Main Hall was filled with piles and piles of stuff, and lit up with hundreds of candles and laterns, etc. I had as much fun doing that as playing the game.

Anyway, I can't wait to see what they come up with. Hopefully the NPCs will interact better--approach you and initiate things, steal, interact with each other, etc. I think that was probably the weakest aspect of this incredibly good game. Having m8s to adventure with would be cool too (that silly steam robot just didn't cut it; I ended up killing it myself after about 5 minutes it was so annoying).

[Big_John]

I'm an ancient D&D veteran and Dungeon Master and have been playing these kinds of games for about 30 years, so figuring out the Morrowind system and how to become superdude without cheating was pretty easy.oh man, remember the potion stacking with intelligence potions.. wow. a few hours of collecting and a moderate alchemy skill and you became a god pretty quickly.


Anyway, I can't wait to see what they come up with. Hopefully the NPCs will interact better--approach you and initiate things, steal, interact with each other, etc. I think that was probably the weakest aspect of this incredibly good game. Having m8s to adventure with would be cool too (that silly steam robot just didn't cut it; I ended up killing it myself after about 5 minutes it was so annoying).lol. well, the new 'radiant ai' they keep talking aobut is supposed to make the in-game world much more organic. npcs are supposed to be able to do all kinds of stuff and interact in new ways and all that. in some interview i read, they talked about a problem they had with the new ai.. i don't have all the details right, but it went something like this..

one guard in some town went out and killed a dear b/c he was hungry. apparently he killed it too close to the town, and one guard that was close enough to know about it went after him. well, once they started fighting the other town guards started filing in one at a time to break things up. since they were fighting other tough guards, eventually there was like only one guard left alive. and with little law enforcement around, the thieves of the town started robbing the place blind. this all happened in game calculations that had noting to do with the player. the devs only reconstructed the events after the tester arrived in the town and found the shops had very little left for sale.

i'm pretty sure there will be no kind of mp though, which sucks.

[lars573]

Point taken about the new gen X-Box.

Thanks Lars. Do you think that the Game-of-the-Year version adds a lot? I've only played the original, but I've played it til I'm blue in the face. Do you think the expansions are worth getting even though I've pretty much exhausted my interest in the original?

I'm an ancient D&D veteran and Dungeon Master and have been playing these kinds of games for about 30 years, so figuring out the Morrowind system and how to become superdude without cheating was pretty easy. I used enchanted items with Constant Effect powers a lot (I paid for the enchantments). With an 80% Constant Effect Chameleon active, you could basically go anywhere undetected, and still talk with folks (100% and you can't talk to people). A ring of Constant Effect Invisibility was handy early on too, as all you had to do was pop into your inventory and re-equip it to reactivate the invisibility if you opened a door or whatever. Constant Effect Levitation was really cool--I loved flyin' around invisible and just checking stuff out. Eventually I only used these superpowers/items in situations that were really hard, to make the game more challenging.

Heh, museum indeed. I'd usually take over Tel Naga in Sadrith Mora completely and turn it into a fabulous hangout. Had my audience room, lab, and most valudable treasure rooms up top (and turned the little room with the sleeping pad into my Skooma/moonsugar and liquor hang out, with candles and laterns galore). I spent a ridiculous amount of time just turning Tel Naga into the trickest pad. The Main Hall was filled with piles and piles of stuff, and lit up with hundreds of candles and laterns, etc. I had as much fun doing that as playing the game.

Anyway, I can't wait to see what they come up with. Hopefully the NPCs will interact better--approach you and initiate things, steal, interact with each other, etc. I think that was probably the weakest aspect of this incredibly good game. Having m8s to adventure with would be cool too (that silly steam robot just didn't cut it; I ended up killing it myself after about 5 minutes it was so annoying).

I can say that getting the GOTY edition of Morrowind for xbox is worth it, as when it came out it was 30% less than a new game and now it will be uber cheap. All of your characters from original Morrowind can be converted to GOTY edition (so you don't have to start over). Tribunal , the first x-pack has an ok mian quest. I'm not going to give it away or anything but basically you kill a mad god. No what Tribunal really has is swag, boat loads of swag. There are craftsmen in Mournhold (Morrowinds capital and where 95% of the story takes place) that can make Ebony and Glass armour from raw ebony and glass (for money of course). Tribunal adds adamantium armour. You can't buy very many pieces and you have to have the rest crafted from raw adamantium, there also isn't enough raw adamantium to make a full suit. In Mournhold you can also buy pack animals (rats) to store stuff in, you can have a conga line of like 4 rats holding your loot following you around. When you beat Tribunals main story you get a niffty suit of royal guard armour and 2 flaming swords, well fire and shock but the shock one has blue flame. Bloodmoon the 2nd x-pack adds a much larger new area called Soulstiem. An island full of Nords that is about 25% the size of Vaarfindel. This adds many new Nordish armour and weapons, bear-hide and wolf-hide armour (which needs to crafted) and ice armour (again crafted). You can also find a severed leg to use as a club. Bloodmoons main thing though is werewolfs. A little better than half way threw the mian quest you get infected with lycanthropy (part of the story you can't avoid it). Then the quest splits into evil werewolfs missions if you don't cure yourself and good missions if you do. Also when you beat the main quest, good or bad, you get a magic ring that turns you into a werewolf for a limited time (8-12 hours IIRC). Being a werewolf is tre cool. You can jump 50 feet straight up, have strength, speed, and agility of like 125. Your hand to hand skill is buffed to like 150 (claw strikes). And when you put away your "weapons" you run on all fours and can run 2 times faster than anything else in the game.

Cheats, you in put the cheats by going to your stats screen and inputting the button combo highlight health/magic/stamina then hold A.

Health: black, white, black, black, black
Magica: black, white, white, black, white
Stamina: black, black, white, white, black

I too am much looking forward to oblivion, unfortunatly I will have to shell out for a Xenon (xbox 2) first.

[Togakure]

Wow souds like fun ~:). There's a used game shop down the road--maybe they'll have a copy. I'll give a look. Thanks for all the great info.

What is"swag"? :embarassed:

125 isn't that high is it? My guys stats tended to be around there with just the enchanted Items I crafted. One thing I did was make many sets of clothes (exquisite pants, shirts and belts, which do not show under armor--well, mostly anyway) that provided Constant effect boosted stats (and skills, once I found all the Threads of the Webspinner). I'd just change my clothes depending on what stats I needed to boost.

My usual "ultimate" gear was an amulet, two rings, and a belt of Constant Effect 80% Chameleon, which I had enchanted for uber-bucks. What cannot detect you, cannot attack you--whether by magic or weapon, so I'd run around in normal black clothes (well, I'd enchant them with Night Eye Constant Effect so they looked shiny and cool) and basically do whatever I wanted. Didn't need any resists or arcane defenses cuz nothing could see me--even when I attacked. I made an ebony staff for Constant Effect flying that also regenerated 1 health per turn, which was very useful. Just couldn't snipe those HIGHLY annoying Cliffracers while airborne unless I switched to something else for levitation. Still, I ran around mostly and used levitation for getting over the impassable mountain areas, water, etc. Was more fun exploring that way in the long run. You find the damndest stuff when you get lost.

How I loved sniping Cliffracers at max range with my Constant Effect Bound Bow ... that screech of death they make is one of my favorite sounds in the game: "Twittely-tweee .... twittely-tweee .... CAAW-WAAAAAGH!" Hehe.

[Murmandamus]

Also wondered about that swag statement but from the definitions here (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swag&r=f) I'm guessing he means loot. :book:

[Productivity]

I’m a huge Morrowind fan. The mods have been remarkable for both their quality and quantity.

Oblivion looks to be greater still. Hopefully magic will get improved so that is as powerful as a strong arm.

For me it will no doubt require a machine upgrade.

Magic was only weak at low levels (and as far as I can tell, this was pretty unavoidable). At high levels magic beat the hell out of combat.

If you knew what you were doing, within about an hour of starting game you could get all of your atributes up to near 1000 with little trouble. Alchemy was so easy to exploit.

[lars573]

Wow souds like fun ~:). There's a used game shop down the road--maybe they'll have a copy. I'll give a look. Thanks for all the great info.

What is"swag"? :embarassed:

125 isn't that high is it? My guys stats tended to be around there with just the enchanted Items I crafted. One thing I did was make many sets of clothes (exquisite pants, shirts and belts, which do not show under armor--well, mostly anyway) that provided Constant effect boosted stats (and skills, once I found all the Threads of the Webspinner). I'd just change my clothes depending on what stats I needed to boost.

My usual "ultimate" gear was an amulet, two rings, and a belt of Constant Effect 80% Chameleon, which I had enchanted for uber-bucks. What cannot detect you, cannot attack you--whether by magic or weapon, so I'd run around in normal black clothes (well, I'd enchant them with Night Eye Constant Effect so they looked shiny and cool) and basically do whatever I wanted. Didn't need any resists or arcane defenses cuz nothing could see me--even when I attacked. I made an ebony staff for Constant Effect flying that also regenerated 1 health per turn, which was very useful. Just couldn't snipe those HIGHLY annoying Cliffracers while airborne unless I switched to something else for levitation. Still, I ran around mostly and used levitation for getting over the impassable mountain areas, water, etc. Was more fun exploring that way in the long run. You find the damndest stuff when you get lost.

How I loved sniping Cliffracers at max range with my Constant Effect Bound Bow ... that screech of death they make is one of my favorite sounds in the game: "Twittely-tweee .... twittely-tweee .... CAAW-WAAAAAGH!" Hehe.

Swag, booty, loot, stuff you take from the sucker you just clubbed over the head for his shiny boots, all mean the same thing to me. Now as to the werewolf stats you have to remember they were designed to take on your character you were describing. So they have to be able to beat them. Yes I said beat, werewolfs are like the Canton guards from the city of Vivec on crack, speed, and steroids all at the same time. And at certain points in the Bloodmoon main quest you take on 2-4 of them at once. That was when I was using Nevar's sword (1 of the flaming ones I was talking about from Tribunal) as a rolled up newspaper. Also in RPG's I'm not really the magic using kind of guy, sure I'll use spells and magic items but I prefer melee combat. I'm the kind of player that walks into a dungeon armed to the teeth with combat buffs and heavy armour and a huge (flaming if possible) sword/axe/mace. Bludgeon everything that stands in my way to death, loot their corpses, burn the place down and leave extalling my victory. Yes cliffracers they are annoying but you just wait for them to get close enough and load up your attack and get them a good sweet one and they die.

[Nelson]

Magic was only weak at low levels (and as far as I can tell, this was pretty unavoidable). At high levels magic beat the hell out of combat.



Strange because that’s not how I remember it at all.

As strength increases, so does damage from melee weapons. Any melee weapon. As fighters grow stronger so too does the damage they cause. The destruction spells are fixed damage. Increasing willpower only enhances the chance you have to cast a spell in the first place. So even if your magic user has maxed out willpower a fireball is no more powerful than it ever was. It takes a powerful mage far longer to kill enemies with magic than a powerful fighter takes. Enemies that a great warrior character can fell with three or four blows require a much longer time for a mage to dispatch. And when the mage is through his mana is depleted requiring rest. The warriors stamina comes back all by itself. Morrowind is heavily skewed toward fighters.

Magic has other neat properties besides destruction but combat is most important for doing the quests. I have found it impossible to build a strong enough magic user to battle several enemies at once and kill them quickly despite the area effects of some spells. My fighters can clear the same room full of bad guys with ease.

[Proletariat]

You all are making this game sound really appetizing. On a scale for salacious female clothing, 1-5, what would you give this game? 1 (Neverwinter Nights: Some, but easily avoided) or a 5 (Everquest: All over the place)?

I usually don't mind playing games that have prurient dress for the females, but I get a little tired of it when it gets over the top.

:blankg:

[Big_John]

haven't yet caught onto to your question proletariat. but if oblivion is anything like morrowind, you;ll be able to dress yourself however you want. generally, female npcs dressed quite conservatively in morrowind (long dresses, long sleeves, etc). kinda depended on their occupation.. the female guards, for instance, wore lots of armor, go figure. however, if you happened upon a female slave or dancer, she tended to show some skin. there were nudity mods for the game too, as i'm sure there will be for oblivion. there were even 'sex' mods for the courtesans.. uh, so i've heard.. :disguise:

did i get caught up in your wording and miss the real question?

[Proletariat]

did i get caught up in your wording and miss the real question?

Ah, yes. Sorry for my rambling. Been studying for the last four hours straight and I think my mind is melting. I was basically asking if I will be forced to roleplay the typical bikini chain mail type character or if it was a bit more diverse. I suppose I coulda just went to some of the reviews at gamespot, but thanks for the answer john.

[Togakure]

Regarding character appearance, you can buy or loot shirts, pants, shoes, skirts, robes, gloves and belts. They range from common to expensive, extravagant to exquisite. There are a wide variety of colors and styles (but all the exquisite ones are the same, dammit, and they have the most powerful enchantment possibilities). Robes cover up everything except shoes and gloves, including armor. Armor covers up shirt, pants, and belt, and usually has components that replace gloves and shoes (gauntlets or bracers, and boots). One silly thing--if you wear a skirt in will appear over the armor, which sucked because I would have liked to have the extra enchant points available but hated looking so silly walking around in armor and a skirt.

I got tired of wearing the same ol' armor all the time, even though some of the sets look pretty cool. I wanted to be able to wear whatever clothing I liked and still be effective, so that's why I enchanted the 80% Constant Effect Chameleon items I mentioned earlier. That effect alone is such an excellent defense that you could run around naked and still kick butt.

Speaking of which, running around (practically) naked can be hilarious--you can find out who the prudes are (a guard said "eww, put on some clothes, you're NAKED" ... musta been one of the conservatives from the back room), and who the fruits are--one of the Breton storekeepers said "oh my, what a REFRESHING sight!" or something like that. Had me crackin' up.

I think the funniest line was when I was playing a Wood Elf, had my Personality points up high, and was wearing some nice clothes. The male Wood Elf thief in the Balmora Thieve's Guild kept saying "I think you're a thief because you've stolen my heart ... " every time I passed by. After a while it got really annoying so I had to kill him.

I haven't played either of the games that you mentioned Proletariat, but I think Morrowind is definitely one of the better RPGs to come out in a very long time. I'd have rated it a 5 when it was new, but now prolly a 4 or 3+. I've only played the original though, so the expansion sounds like fun.

[lars573]

You all are making this game sound really appetizing. On a scale for salacious female clothing, 1-5, what would you give this game? 1 (Neverwinter Nights: Some, but easily avoided) or a 5 (Everquest: All over the place)?

I usually don't mind playing games that have prurient dress for the females, but I get a little tired of it when it gets over the top.

:blankg:

I'd have to say 1, clothing/armour is unisex. An iron cuirass looks the same whether a female wood elf or a male orc character is wearing it. Same for an extravaent shirt it would look identical on a make or female character. Unless you play the PC version which has an editor with it. Where you can make revealing cloths and add them to the game. But not just cloths you can make armour, weapons, monsters, entire new cities anything.

[Nelson]

Female armor is easily added via plug-ins (PC version of course). Indeed, anything you can imagine can be a plug-in. The ease with which plug-ins can be managed is probably the greatest Morrowind breakthrough of all. You move the files into a folder after which a check box appears next to that plug-in name in the data files manager. You turn the mods on or off, launch and bingo they’re in. Couldn’t be simpler.

I would never play the vanilla game again. There are too many very professional mods that enhance the game. People are still regularly building plug-ins! The Morrowind Summit database brims with thousands of mods. Many are qualitatively indistinguishable from Bethesda’s own work. It is no exaggeration to say that there is no finer monument to fan support than this site:

http://www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind/modcontrols/mods.asp

[Big_John]

Many are qualitatively indistinguishable from Bethesda’s own work.which is a another way of saying that bethesda did a superlative job at designing a moddable game. in fact, wasn't the construction set essentially what morrowind was built with? i can't help it, i'm a huge fan of highly moddable games.

here's a list of just some of the mods and addons i was concurrently using when i last played morrowind (it's been a while).

Morrowind Comes Alive.esm
Seasons.esm
Havish.esm
Morrowind Advanced.esm
Beryl's_Head_Replacer_v1.0.esm
WeatheredSigns.esp
Bloodmoon_East Empire Essential Npcs.esp
Better Bodies.esp
Haunted Tombs v1.05.esp
The Undead.esp
Tombs Expanded.esp
Tombs Expanded - The Undead Addon.esp
Myth and Murder ver 2.0.esp
NPC Schedules (locks & schedules)
Vampire Realism - Tribunal.esp
Vivec_Expansion_v1.31.esp
Advanced Herbalism - TR & BM.esp
AtmosphericSoundEffects-3.0-Tribunal.esp
Seyda Neen Docks and Haldershore Tribunal_Bloodmoon V1.1.esp
Necessities of Morrowind 2.02.esp
The Lighting Mod (ambient, external etc.)
Vibrant Morrowind

and there were like 100 more at least.

[Productivity]

Strange because that’s not how I remember it at all.

As strength increases, so does damage from melee weapons. Any melee weapon. As fighters grow stronger so too does the damage they cause. The destruction spells are fixed damage. Increasing willpower only enhances the chance you have to cast a spell in the first place. So even if your magic user has maxed out willpower a fireball is no more powerful than it ever was. It takes a powerful mage far longer to kill enemies with magic than a powerful fighter takes. Enemies that a great warrior character can fell with three or four blows require a much longer time for a mage to dispatch. And when the mage is through his mana is depleted requiring rest. The warriors stamina comes back all by itself. Morrowind is heavily skewed toward fighters.

Magic has other neat properties besides destruction but combat is most important for doing the quests. I have found it impossible to build a strong enough magic user to battle several enemies at once and kill them quickly despite the area effects of some spells. My fighters can clear the same room full of bad guys with ease.

Absorb health 100-100 for 10 seconds on 10 feet. 100% chance to cast. Nothing can do anything against it. Even if they can hit you, you are regening at such a rate that you are healed in less than a second.

I'm not sure you are using magic in the most effective way to be honest. Destruction is the low level damage dealer, mysticism replaces it very quickly.

Plus a mage can beat round a warrior anyday with one skill. Alchemy. Intelligence potion spam and you can have your stats at 1000+ very quickly, and no matter how good a warrior is, he isn't going to stand up to a 1000 strength blow.

[Somebody Else]

Absorb health 100-100 for 10 seconds on 10 feet. 100% chance to cast. Nothing can do anything against it. Even if they can hit you, you are regening at such a rate that you are healed in less than a second.

I'm not sure you are using magic in the most effective way to be honest. Destruction is the low level damage dealer, mysticism replaces it very quickly.

Plus a mage can beat round a warrior anyday with one skill. Alchemy. Intelligence potion spam and you can have your stats at 1000+ very quickly, and no matter how good a warrior is, he isn't going to stand up to a 1000 strength blow.

Absorb health, I made a staff like that once, it was nasty.

Alchemy stacking is just plain cheeky.

The true way of the Neravarine is to beat people to death with fists... Or use the Fork of Horriliption! Without mercy!

I did notice that playing with the difficulty slider had a significant effect on enemy strength - on easy, a joke. Normal, a breeze. Hard - watch out for them werewolves!

[Togakure]

Sounds like the potion spam is a game wrecker--glad I never was much into alchemy.

How the hell did you legitimately enchant an item with 100 Health Absorb for ten seconds in ten feet?? An Ebony staff only allows 90 enchant points--more than any other weapon. Did this change in the expansions? I read on the 'net somewhere that the expansions added an Ebony scimitar that had 100 enchant points or so, but still, it seems to me that the parameters above would take a lot more than 100 points to enchant. I wanted to make a "Stormbringer"-like sword using Health Absord (big time Elric of Melnibone fan here), but the enchant point limits just wouldn't allow it. Am I missing something?

Stamina was never a problem--I just included a Constant Effect Restore Fatigue +2 enchantment on something I was wearing. It only takes 10 enchant points or so, and enables you to run, swim or fight forever without getting tired.

I never had much fun with pure mages (combat spellcasters). They're pretty wimpy compared to a strength-enhanced Fighter/Thief with basic enchanted gear, imo (Nighteye, Levitation, Restore Health, Restore Fatigue).

[Big_John]

there were several ways to break morrowind, the intel potion stacking being one of the more well known ways. there's a vocal minority of morrowind players that want bethesda to make oblivion game play incapable of being exploited in such ways. from the interviews i've read, however, it sounds like bethesda may not care. i'm paraphrasing, but one of the devs said something like, "if a player is so dedicated, we want them to be able to become a god".

problem is you hardly had to be dedicated at alchemy to exploit intel potions. maybe such things will actually require long hours of play to achieve in oblivion. regardless, i never had a problem not exploiting them. try it once just to see and then go back to the normal game.

[Somebody Else]

Well - it wasn't exactly those stats on the staff, but it was close enough - I had it ranged, - I was able to take any standard hardest creatures - ancestors, golden saints etc. down in one or two shots. Of course, being able to cleave them in half with one swipe of my sword was incidental.

[Productivity]

there were several ways to break morrowind, the intel potion stacking being one of the more well known ways. there's a vocal minority of morrowind players that want bethesda to make oblivion game play incapable of being exploited in such ways. from the interviews i've read, however, it sounds like bethesda may not care. i'm paraphrasing, but one of the devs said something like, "if a player is so dedicated, we want them to be able to become a god".

problem is you hardly had to be dedicated at alchemy to exploit intel potions. maybe such things will actually require long hours of play to achieve in oblivion. regardless, i never had a problem not exploiting them. try it once just to see and then go back to the normal game.

It's a ridiculous minority, because it's only peoples own fault if they use it. I would understand it if it was multiplayer, but it's not. If you don't like it don't use it.

For the record I never used it any of my serious games, I was just referring to it as one of the ways magic beats might. Aside from that, I didn't enchant with that, it was a custom spell I made.

[Magraev]

Potion spamming is silly. At strength 1000 any weapon breaks after a single hit...

Still it's peoples own buisness how they want to play. If the game is meant for mp it's another story though.

In an honest game melee beats magic hands down in morrowind imho. That nasty spell mentioned seems uncastable by a regular mage, and besides many monsters have reflect, meaning that the mage get's his own medicine...

[screwtype]

Wow. That third pic looks amazing.

The second one reminds me of one the things I hated about Morrowind though. Too dark! I had to use the gamma slider to brighten things up so I could see in the dungeons, and that unfortunately spoils the pretty graphics above ground.

There are lots of other reasons I disliked Morrowind though. The interface was incredibly clumsy, especially when it came to stuff like alchemy. The combat wasn't that flash. And the voices and repetitive spiels of many minor characters really got on my nerves after a while.

But finally it was too much work looking for the characters you are supposed to find to continue with the quests, especially in the big cities. It's a big problem in games of this type. If they could figure out a faster way for you to find folks, it would take away a lot of the tedium.

[Togakure]

Personally I thought the light spectrum in the game was pretty cool. Yes indeed, it was often quite dark, particularly underground or out in the wild at night. But that's what I used Night Eye for--what I found to be an extremely useful ability. To keep from having to cast it all the time I eventually just created Constant Effect Night Eye. Because it required a low amount of enchantment points, I'd often throw in a few points on items that did something else, but had some enchant points leftover. By the time I was in my prime, the world was constantly super bright and I never worried about darkness.

Yes, I agree about the reptitive dialogue and combat being kind of hoaky. But I think trying to find people was just part of the game, and like the lack of natural light, simulated challenges that a character would have experienced if it had been "real."

[Al Khalifah]

I never found things like that to be a problem. I played the game through (on someone else's advice) without any constant effect enchantments and I never dabbled in alchemy - only health restore and levitation potions for me. Well ok I used one to boost my strength to carry more swag, but I payed for it and it cost a fortune because of my crap enchant skill - thank goodness for Creeper.

I just depended on my ability to charm, lie and steal from my oponents to take me to victory and when the mess hit the mincer I'd resort to archery (thank god they improved it in the patch) and short swords. It made the game much more difficult than usual (I also put the slider to +25 first time round), but it played the way I think it should. Tough enemies were always tough to beat and I didn't resort to combat unless absolutely necessary against large armed groups. Plus it meant I had to spend far more time doing side missions before I could follow the main quest, which meant I experienced far more of the game world.

In short, if people want to power game I guess you've got to listen. It just gets kind of boring when you hear them on the forums complaining that their level 90 everything with all stats to 100 finds the game too easy even when they put the difficulty slider to 100.

[screwtype]

@Togakure

There was once a time when I would have thought Morrowind the God of games. But I've played games like this soooo many times, LOL. They have to be really special to grab me now.

In fact these days I'm often more of a game sampler than player. I'll play a game for a week or two, just to get the flavour and check out the mechanics. Every game has its flaws and once I find them I tend to lose interest. There are very few games that keep me interested for longer. STW did. I also played right through Age of Wonders II and most of Panzer General 3D, but that would be a rarity for me nowadays.

When it comes to RPG's like Morrowind though, I actually enjoyed Might and Magic um, 8 I think it was, more. I only quit playing it when I found a bug that prevented me from finishing the quest. Oh, and when I found the solution to a puzzle that was so damn obscure it discouraged me from continuing. But I do miss smacking down those vampire-types with a barrage of missile fire, LOL.

Also had some fun with Dungeon Siege, especially in the first part where it's all new and you only have primitive weapons and elementary magic to help you along. The game just got too repetitive and silly though. I got about halfway through, maybe I'll fire it up one day and try to get a bit further. But you know how it is with computer games, you really need 48 hours in the day to play them and still have time for a life *sigh*...

[Togakure]

Yeah, I come from the generation where most computer games seem like an incredible feat of entertainment and pseudo-adventure. I was a D&D fanatic back in high school, and a DM (I actually got paid to do it from time to time :D). Things have come a long way since graph paper and dice and vivid, relatively unassisted imaginations, so I'm easily ensorcelled by a decent RPG. I played only the original Morrowind, and on an x-box, so I've only experienced the tip of the Elder Scrolls iceberg. Oblivion looks amazing, and I'm sure I'll be an easy win-over.

[octavian]

oh joy, oh bliss... oh eternal happiness :D
yay!!! im so getting this

[econ21]

I'll get it, but has anyone heard anything that suggests it will be better than Morrowind, which I found rather soulless? All I've heard mentioned from the reviews are the better graphics and some talk of NPCs having night/day routines. The former I can take or leave - Morrowind is already beautiful enough for me, I want some "brains". The latter sounds rather anal - what does it actually mean? that the shops are shut at night so the player has to wander around for 8 hours before they can do what they have to do, yeah that sounds fun ... not. Oh, also there'll be more stealth - again, this can just mean more frustration - oops, you're spotted, time to reload.

[Steppe Merc]

I never actually played Morrowind, but this does look good. I'm a big fan of fantasy, in particular the books of RA Salvatore that take place in the Forgotten Realms... Is that the sort of style this is? I noticed the 20 dollar price of the Morrowind with the two expansions for Xbox... what sort of style is it? I like hack and slash, but I prefer RPG...

[econ21]

Morrowind is a strange game, IMO. It's kind of hack and slash to me, in that it is hard to stay motivated - the plot does not grab you and there are no characters or dialogue worth speaking off. However, there is also not that much fighting - certainly not a stream of monsters you have to slay. Someone said it's a world simulator, in that you have enormous freedom and a vast world to explore. Character creation, levelling and progression via sidequests up numerous competing guilds/organisations are also strengths IMO. I would say it's a must buy for anyone with an interest in CRPGs just to experience the still amazing graphics and the vastness of the world. Whether there is actually a game in it, I'm still not sure. But as you can see from the posts here, some folk find it utterly engrossing.

[Productivity]

It comes down to are you introverted or extroverted. If you are introverted, you tend not too worry about the dialogue (or lack thereof) where as extroverts find osmething missing.

(Just my observations from a sample space of ~20).

[Steppe Merc]

Well I love dialogue and sub plots, and I never skip through unless I've already played the game to the point I've memorized it (KOTOR).
So do you think I should wait for this, or pick up the current one? I just had my birthday, so I have a good amount of money...

[Byzantine Prince]

If you don't have the current one then you should get it because 1)It's cheap now 2)Oblivion is not coming out for years. Plus there are so many expansions for Morrowind it really opens up the game. I found it a little depressing though. That's just me though most people don't.

[econ21]

Someone said that Morrowind was a MMORG (massively multi-player online roleplaying game?) without other players. It may be a good description, although that also makes it sound like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark.

[Steppe Merc]

Well I've never played a MMPRG, so I won't know what I'm missing.
Today, I'll pick it up for Xbox. Just one more question: how customizable is your character? Do you have to be a human warrior, or can you choose other stuff? Thanks for your feedback, guys.

[Byzantine Prince]

There are something like 10+ races. You can be imperial(human), khajit(leopard creature), breton(human magician), 3 more kinds of elves, orcs, and some other ones. They all have their own strengths and wekanesses, and you also have other attributes like profession(ex. thief) and the star they are born under.

[sharrukin]

Have you ever played Neverwinter Nights? I think it is somewhat similar. I just bought the game but have yet to play it.

Stats Menu; health, magicka?, fatigue, level, race, class, attributes, skills, reputation, factions, birthsign, bounty?

Races;
Argonian; reptilian
Breton; human magic inclined
Dark Elf; like Drow?
High Elf;
Imperial; Human
Khajiit; Cat People?
Nord; Nordic
Orc;
Redguard; human southern
Wood Elf;

Attributes; Strenth-willpower-agility-speed-endurance-personality-luck

Classes;
Warriors-barabarians-crusaders-knights-scouts-archers-rogues-
mages-sorcerers-healers-battlemage-witchhunter-spellsword-nightblade
thieves-agents-assassin-acrobat-monk-pilgrim-bard

That's what the manual has in it.

[Big_John]

steppe, you can't grab it for PC? with all the mods, it'd be a better investment.

[Steppe Merc]

How much do you think it would be? I know the Xbox is less than 20 bucks (with the Bloodmoon thing and that other one... Tribunal or something). And I prefer playing things on Xbox anyway, other than RTS (I know, I'm weird, but there you go).
Or is PC really that much better?

Have you ever played Neverwinter Nights? I think it is somewhat similar. I just bought the game but have yet to play it.
Not really. I've never really played any RPGs at all other than KOTR, but I loved it, and I love fantasy. I figured this would be the best place to start.

[sharrukin]

It costs 40$ in Canada so that might be 28$ American?

Nverwinter Nights is a very good game with a huge number of player designed modules so it doesn't get too repetitive.

Big_John

steppe, you can't grab it for PC? with all the mods, it'd be a better investment.

What mods do you mean?

[Steppe Merc]

Probably can pick it up for less somewhere... Thanks. Is PC really that better? I can understand mods and stuff, and I guess the graphics would be better, but I prefer Xbox for my gaming. I suppose it will depend on which I can find and which is cheaper, and I'd only get the game of the year edition. Sharrukin, I'll check out Never winter nights, as well.

[Byzantine Prince]

PC is modifyable. You can make new buildings and place weapons and people anywhere you want. It's just more creative.

[Big_John]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000CNUUP/qid=1114372937/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/102-9060580-0255335?v=glance&s=software&n=507846

it'd cost a bit more than the xbox version. as far as mods go, check these sites to see the breadth/depth of the morrowind modding community. if you like xbox that much more though, maybe you should stick with it. personally, i couldn't go back to vanilla morrowind after playing with thte mods, but that's just me.

http://www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind/
http://morrowind.rpgdot.com (slow link?)
http://www.thelys.org/modlist.php
http://home.wnm.net/~bgriff/MW_Home.html
http://www.morrowind-mod.com/

[Steppe Merc]

Well I looked today, saw the Xbox for 17 somewhere, and the pc 30. As I'm a cheap SOB, I'm going with Xbox. ~;)

[lars573]

Well I've never played a MMPRG, so I won't know what I'm missing.
Today, I'll pick it up for Xbox. Just one more question: how customizable is your character? Do you have to be a human warrior, or can you choose other stuff? Thanks for your feedback, guys.

Your character is very customizable. You can choose gender (Women are more agile and men are stronger) your face your race and you caneven make your own class and name it.
Races;
Argonian (lizard men) - This can make good magic using characters. There race power is that they can breathe under water. Also can't wear any kind of boots or shoes and can only wear open faced helms.

Khajit (cat people) -Have a 100% night eye race power. They are very biased towards theif characters. Like Argonians they can't wear any kind of shoes/boots or any kind of helmets.

Altmer (high elves) -Very good for straight mage characters but have severe weakness to any kind of elemental magic. I don't remember their race power.

Dunmer (dark elves) -Good for warrior classes. Their race power is to summon and ancetoral spirit to fight with them, a ghost basically.

Bosmer (wood elves) -Best for thief classes. I've never used one so I remember not their race power.

Orc (the 3rd beast men class) -Makes an uber warrior. Race power is berserker rage, that buffs up your melee attacks and defense.

Imperial (human) -Essentially neutral as far as a class bias goes. Their race power is voice of the emperor, which makes shop keepers give you better deals.

Redguard (human) -Good for theif characters. Don't know their race power.

Breton (human) -These guys are the mage men race. Not sure about their race power either.

Nords (human) -Good for warrior classes. I don't remember their race power but I do know that they are immune to shock and frost magic.

I've gotta go find out the race powers of all the races know. It's gonna bug me all week if I don't.

[Productivity]

Probably can pick it up for less somewhere... Thanks. Is PC really that better? I can understand mods and stuff, and I guess the graphics would be better, but I prefer Xbox for my gaming. I suppose it will depend on which I can find and which is cheaper, and I'd only get the game of the year edition. Sharrukin, I'll check out Never winter nights, as well.

YES. My current Morrowind game is about 20% original game, 80% mods. They add a huge amount to it.

[Steppe Merc]

Ok. I'm going to hopefully go out today, and if I can find the PC for around 20 dollars (10 less than normal), I'll pick it up. What sort of things can you do? Is it easy to mod, or..?
And how many mods can you do? Can you mix and match? And Big John, BP and DGB, congrats, you've convinced me. ~;)

[Big_John]

to mod morrowind, you basically just download the mods and place the esm or esp files in the data folder. there are a couple of tools you will need, most likely. one if the leveled list merger, the other is the testool (see here (http://www.thelys.org/toolsmisc.php?players) and here (http://www.thelys.org/toolsmisc.php?modders)). check this too: http://www.rpgplanet.com/morrowind/modpages/installing.asp

many major mods will have conflicts with each other, although the leveled list merger can eliminate many of those (the testool's cleaning feature is a must too). any mods that overhaul the same things like 'darker morrowind' and 'vibrant morrowind' (both change the textures of almost the whole game) are not compatible.

i concurrently ran upwards of 150 mods when i last played morrowind, though i did have a few minor conflicts. just peruse the databases which i linked and see what appeals to you. read about the mods and sometimes they'll tell you explicitly which mods it won't work with.

[Steppe Merc]

I just got the game for Xbox, used for half the price I saw PC used. The box was deffinetly Game of the Year, but I'm worried since the manual and I think the CD didn't mention anything about Game of the Year... Does anyone know if the CDs are identical to the original one?

[Fragony]

just showing a couple of pretty screenies from this upcoming rpg.
larger versions and more info can be found at:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/games/oblivion_overview.htm
i get the feeling that i'm going to need a new rig to play this one..


https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/dem0819/ob2.jpg

https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/dem0819/ob4.jpg

https://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y9/dem0819/ob1.jpg

Uhm, WOW seems apropiate here. Will it be for xbox ~D

[lars573]

It will be for, Xbox2, Xenon, 360. Or whatever Microsoft is calling it today. Plus it's not going to be released for like 2 years anyway

[Big_John]

I just got the game for Xbox, used for half the price I saw PC used. The box was deffinetly Game of the Year, but I'm worried since the manual and I think the CD didn't mention anything about Game of the Year... Does anyone know if the CDs are identical to the original one?
uh, i don't know because i got the game for free bundled with my vid card, and my friend sold me tribunal and bloodmoon for 5 bucks. i would think the goty edition would be 2 or three separate CDs. there's quite a bit of info on the expansion cds. i think you should have the regular morrowind cd and then one or two others. can you return it?

[Steppe Merc]

For Xbox, you just need one CD. And I should be able to, but I want to know if I have the right CD or not.. Anyone get the Game of the Year edition Xbox? What does the CD say? Mine says platinum hits, which the ame of the year should be, but it never mentions Game of the Year on it, just says Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind... I think I've been bamboozled.

[Big_John]

do you see the words "tribunal" or "bloodmoon" anywhere on the cd?

[lars573]

For Xbox, you just need one CD. And I should be able to, but I want to know if I have the right CD or not.. Anyone get the Game of the Year edition Xbox? What does the CD say? Mine says platinum hits, which the ame of the year should be, but it never mentions Game of the Year on it, just says Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind... I think I've been bamboozled.

You have, the platinum hits edition of Morrowind has platinum letters on a black background. GOTY edition has a black background with gold lettering and game of the year edition in big letters. I'll steal my Dad's digital camera and post some pics of the my GOTY game box and disk.

[Steppe Merc]

It's fine, I know have the correct one. They did give me the wrong CD, so I went back and they gave me the right one. Since it was used store, they kept all of the CDs in the back, and the moron just gave me the wrong disc.
I really like it so far. I'm a Wood Elf assassin, though I am having a bit of trouble rembering all the names of places that people mention...

[econ21]

...I am having a bit of trouble rembering all the names of places that people mention...

Yes, it is vast and the place names do seem almost like they came from random word generators. Did you get a paper map with the game? That's surprisingly accurate and helpful. I bought the strategy guide and its maps are really useful when dealing with minor quests etc. I guess the web has some handy walkthrus and maps if you get stuck.

[Togakure]

Dit it come with a fold-out paper map? My xbox version has one and it helps a lot. Talk to Savants and Scouts too, and ask about every geographic topic they know about. This will mark them on your map.

Going easy on the Longbottom Leaf will also help with remembering ~;).

[Steppe Merc]

~D
Yeah, I did get the map, once I traded it in for the correct one. And scouts do help. I have a question... even though I'm an assassin, can I still join this thieves guild this odd cat is part off? She gave me a book, and said I was her friend or something... Would this interfere if I later want to join an assassin's guild, or can I have multiple memberships?

And Toga, I've only done it once. ~;)

[lars573]

Starting out like you are you can join any group. There are only a few groups that are openly hostile and as you level up threw them eventually there is a cut off and you can't progress any farther, you have to choos one. The one exception to that are the great houses you can only join one. Also joining the assassins guild is a quest in and of itself. You see to join the assassins guild you have to find the grandmaster, only he can give you a test to join. Thing is he's hiding, IIRC the entrance to his lair is in a closet in one of the cantons of Vivec. BTW since you have GOTY edition as soon as you hit level 6 and rest you'll be attacked, you can't avoid this it's the lead in for Tribunal but the assassin is keyed to level so you can beat him and you get his keen assassins light armour (extremely low weight and high defense).

[Byzantine Prince]

The thing is though I know that tribunal is suposed to exapand the map somehow but how is that done and when should install tribunal to make it work?

What if I go to that city before installing tribunal what then?


:help:

[Productivity]

The thing is though I know that tribunal is suposed to exapand the map somehow but how is that done and when should install tribunal to make it work?

What if I go to that city before installing tribunal what then?


:help:

You can't get to Mournhold before installing tribunal. I would recomend installing it once you hit about level 10, for reasons which I wont mention because they would spoil it.

[Byzantine Prince]

Thanks I'll remember that. :bow:

[lars573]

You can't get to Mournhold before installing tribunal. I would recomend installing it once you hit about level 10, for reasons which I wont mention because they would spoil it.

But I will :evil:, there called Goblins. Plus you'll need to be like level 40 to even entertain the idea of beating, you know who in you know where. :duel:

[Productivity]

But I will :evil:, there called Goblins. Plus you'll need to be like level 40 to even entertain the idea of beating, you know who in you know where. :duel:

Bah, that wasn't what I was talking about. You can avoid going to mournhold to avoid the higher level difficulty creatures there. You can't avoid the DB.

[Lehesu]

As far as the screenshots go....

All that glitters is not gold. We have a looong time yet before release. And my rig won't even support the game (which I refuse to purchase for console...too many mods).

[Steppe Merc]

I'll probably get the new one, once it comes out for PC... And yeah, I hope it does play as well as it looks.

[Oleander Ardens]

Morrowind was and is still a great game. Freedom of choice, large handcrafted landscapes, high density of lore, heavily moddable make it stand above the crowd. A steril enviroment and some bugs and balance issues - weak magic - take something away.

When the devs build up it's strenghtes and cancel the weaknesses I will buy this game - if I have enough spare time.... :book:

Cheers
OA

[Nelson]

Oblivion has been demonstrated at E3. You can read about it here:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/preview_6125686.html

[Efrem]

get the hi def movie.

http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/media_movies.htm

[Fragony]

AWESOME trailer. This game looks gorgeous, it seems a bit darker then morrowind, good. If they can make the world seem more alive this will kick the derriere of every rpg out there. Loved morrowind despite it's flaws, cannot wait for a bigger and better more of the same.

[Shambles]

I never finished the 1st one,
Just kept making more mods,
ended up trying to remake ankh morpork from the diskworld novels,

Then it became a dunting task, lol,
Terry pratchet made ankh morpork Extreemly complex and maze like,
then trying to add all the charicters too including death and all the little deaths that spawned from Him became overwhelming,
Then there were the shiping lanes for Moving to and from places.
So i finaly let the game rest lol,

Still, never actualy finished that 1

[Big_John]

Oblivion has been demonstrated at E3. You can read about it here:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/preview_6125686.html
get the hi def movie.

http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/media_movies.htm
cool! thanks for the updates!!