V The Elder Scrolls

[Orv]

sRifj-2EEKs

Continuing the tradition of unnecessarily stirring Gregorian chant, is ES5:Skyrim.

11/11/11 release projection. Possibly the best and worst news I've heard all year.

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Welcomings to the return of our Bethesden overlords?

[pabosher]

Played Oblivion for 30 minutes on 360, didn't like it. This doesn't interest me.

[Lu]

More Morrowind, less Oblivion is my hope.

[MrHoatzin]

Fallout without guns!

[Gwardinen]

I didn't really know what to think about this when I saw the trailer. I liked Oblivion, but I never finished it because my 360 was stolen and I didn't want to replay all the stuff I'd already done. I did far more in terms of the guild and side quests than I ever did of the main story anyway.

I played Morrowind, but not extensively. I for one actually liked the fact that Oblivion was a little less hardcore, as I don't feel like I have the time or patience for something Morrowind-esque in my life anymore. Unfortunately I did also play Oblivion on the 360, so in a sense I played a very different game to that which one might play these days on the PC.

[circadianwolf]

TES used to have a fairly unique take on fantasy.. then Oblivion came.. and now they're bringing back dragons.

Obviously that has little impact on the game itself, but that's basically all we learn from this trailer. (I mean, it's in Skyrim, but I don't remember anything about that other than that it's the Nordic province. So lots of snow and Vikings.)

[elmuerte]

More Morrowind, less Oblivion is my hope.

More'o'wind?

But, I concur. More Daggerfall, less Morrowind. ... well.. between Daggerfall and Morrowind would be awesome.

[Orv]

It's ironic that as technology goes forward, it will probably prevent us from ever seeing something like Daggerfall again. So much for progress.

[Lu]

And here's Nick Breckon! That's probably the best news ever. Can't wait to see it.

Probably also means Fallout 4 with this new tech?

[Roderick]

Super, a new engine! I was rooting for it.

I too have to express my hope that it'll be less Oblivion, more Morrowind. I'd like to take this opportunity (as obviously this thread is read by the entire development team) to state some of the grievances I had with Oblivion.

1. Free teleportation across the map. This went far towards destroying any feeling of world cohesion. Not only that, it never felt like you were progressing anywhere, topographically. In Morrowind you started in the bottom left corner of the island, and trekking all the way to the top right was an enormous task with ever increasing difficulty. The teleportation in Oblivion diffused this, unfortunately. I don't really see why there couldn't be a limited form of teleportation as there was in Morrowind: using silt striders (or their equivalents, whatever they are in Skyrim), mage teleporters, special portals or a mark and recall spell. There were loads of options in Morrowind that still gave you the sense of exploration and adventure that Oblivion's gratuitous teleporting hampered.

2. Elder Scrolls has always been about extreme freedom to choose how to do stuff. Bring back flying And the tons of ways in which you could creatively 'abuse' the magic systems to become really powerful. This was never cheating in my eyes, just a smart use of the present systems, and it made Morrowind feel extremely open, endless and diverse. Don't straitjacket us by overzealously polishing the systems to genericness, please.

3. I wouldn't mind the main quest to be another sweeping, epic adventure taking weeks and weeks of playing, involving crazy outlandish politics and rising steadily through the ranks of factions. Oblivion's main quest could be finished in 10 hours and was mostly about fighting. Because Morrowind's quest line asked of you to become a legend, forcing you to delve into the world at an extremely granular (cultural) level, it was an amazing, one-of-a-kind experience.

4. Make it politically and culturally interesting. Morrowind had crazy factions, subtle politics between the warring Vvardenfell Houses, living gods in a bizarre triumvirate of power, myths and legends seeping through everything. Oblivion felt very flat in comparison, presenting a rather run-of-the-mill fantasy landscape with little interesting diversity from city to city.

I don't want to be all pre-emptive sour grapes about this, so let me also hope that these things are preserved from Oblivion:

* The fantastic physics system, especially shooting with bow and arrow.

* The great capacity for taking a stroll in the countryside and hunting wild life for no other reason than it being fun.

* The diversity in quest lines and special zones (like the painting level or the weird underground cult).

* Using great voices like Patrick Stewart and Sean Bean to play the big characters.

Most of Skyrim will probably already be planned out, but I can hope. I will in any case be looking forward to it greatly!

[DanJW]

Hmm Skyrim is the Norse-a-like homeland right? I just hope they're not going to follow too much in the wake of Wrath of the Lich King.

On the other hand, Vikings are always cool. Well, they're basically pirates so there you go.

[Roderick]

And also please noooooooooo level scaling Level scaling makes me, and baby Jesus, sad.

[Erkki]

dragons and a chosen one

a new elder scrolls game

may or may not be more like Morrowind and less like Oblivion

[David]

Ugh. I'm probably already sold. I have a hard time admitting to myself how much I enjoy this series.

[Orv]

Ugh. I'm probably already sold. I have a hard time admitting to myself how much I enjoy this series.

Let it out. Embrace it.

So I'm sitting here in space, in a pod, because I am stupid. As a result, IT1 is playing, and I had a horrible thought.

What if they use the FO3/NV skill system instead of Use = Skill?

I would injure a great many people.

[David]

Let it out.

Embrace it.

Seriously though, my last PC upgrade was almost entirely centered around Oblivion's existence (yes, this thing is getting pretty old, now). I'll likely build a new one in early 2011, so assuming my backlog is a bit less embarrassing by the time this comes out, I will be playing this the most.

[ThunderPeel2001]

11/11/11 release projection.

That's Nigel Tufnel Day!

[Sleepdance]

Meh, too many colors.

Also, wouldn't be cool if you could have a baby dragon to do things to?

[Jayel]

And also please noooooooooo level scaling Level scaling makes me, and baby Jesus, sad.

I've been avoiding Oblivion for this reason (shrink wrapped copy still sitting on my bookshelf), but then I recently found out that Dragon Age I've been enjoying immensely also does level scaling. I guess Bioware does it in a way that's not very noticeable. I don't know what to think anymore.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I've been avoiding Oblivion for this reason (shrink wrapped copy still sitting on my bookshelf), but then I recently found out that Dragon Age I've been enjoying immensely also does level scaling. I guess Bioware does it in a way that's not very noticeable. I don't know what to think anymore.

If that shrink-wrapped copy of Oblivion is for the PC, then I think you can mod it to remove all the level scaling. At least I think you can.

[Orv]

If that shrink-wrapped copy of Oblivion is for the PC, then I think you can mod it to remove all the level scaling. At least I think you can.

Obscuro's Oblivion Overhaul is the primary method of removing level scaling. And it does it quite well, to an almost Morrowind level of polish.

I recommend giving it a go.

[Jayel]

Yeah, it's the PC version. I think I'll try the OOO mod. Just googled it and it seems everybody's praising it and calling it the mod to get.

Thanks. I keep forgetting that the PC modding community can make an undesired game desirable.

[DanJW]

Have a look through the mod directories for anything else that seems appealing to you. The option to mod the game to your tastes is fantastic, it really is. Half the time I forget what the vanilla game was like.

[MrHoatzin]

Dudes, you gotta remember that Fallout was fucking amazing and it fell between Oblivion and This Game. They will probably not repeat the same mistakes they made in Oblivion.

I wonder if they care to make this a thing where people emote for once. It will be really weird to hear that growly serious old fantasy dude of indeterminate and ever-so-slight trans-European accent talk at me without staring straight through my soul with his creepy, glowing eyes. ?

[Orv]

While it's filled with odd and horrible things, The Elder Scrolls Nexus (and accompanying Fallout and Dragon Age sites) is a great place for more or less every major mod ever made, and even some really quirky ones.

(Just avoid the Picture sharing area. )