OBLIVION: Game Experience and Opinions

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 04:13 PM

For those who have the game (or those who don't and want to know what others think about it) here is a thread where you can post your impressons/opinions/questions/etc.

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 04:22 PM

Until you walk out of the sewers and see the environment for the first time, you won't have any idea of just how beautiful this game is! I had to pick up my jaw from my lap with both hands.

It's gorgeous!

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 04:39 PM

OK...one thing is annoying.

The way they have the grass and objects rendering as you move through the wilderness areas.

Examples:

1. Deer and animals will disappear into thin air as they move far enough away...or materialize as they approach you and reach your 'field of view'.

2. Grass will 'grow' at the edge of your field of view as you walk along.

3. Hills in the distance actually look 'dead'.

In some ways, I think using fog would have been a better solution.

Killer_uk · Mar 21, 2006, 06:16 PM

I have a few questions to ask you while I wait for my copy which should get here thursday with a bit of luck.

What in game settings do you run at? (Details and res)
Can you enable grass shadows? (I hear SM2.0 cards could not enable this setting)
Finally what are the in game audio options (which version of EAX does the game support?)

Thanks -

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killer_uk

I have a few questions to ask you while I wait for my copy which should get here thursday with a bit of luck.

What in game settings do you run at? (Details and res)
Can you enable grass shadows? (I hear SM2.0 cards could not enable this setting)
Finally what are the in game audio options (which version of EAX does the game support?)

Thanks -

Here's a screenshot of the graphics settings:

As mentioned earlier, I'm running at 1024x768 mainly due to TV capture size limitations. I can definitely go larger for playing the game.

Below are the settings within the game:

Also, as mentioned earlier, I had to turn off AA completely due to extreme slowdown....almost to a stop....during the battles between the Blades and the Assassins. I'm going to tinker with that setting as I go through the game to see if it was restricted to only that one area or if it's game-wide.

As for Audio: I suppose I'd have to dabble around with an .ini file to make any changes for Audio settings. The ones in the game are mostly just generic settings.

SFOSOK · Mar 21, 2006, 07:05 PM

I know u can enable grass shadows, but I have them enabled and have yet to see them. Its got a wide variety or detail options and pretty much the norma resolution + widescreen ones.

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Death Flavor

I know u can enable grass shadows, but I have them enabled and have yet to see them. Its got a wide variety or detail options and pretty much the norma resolution + widescreen ones.

I was checking in my default .ini file for grass shadow settings. It is enabled. I guess I'll have to look closely to see if it's working or not.

I also still don't see any options anywhere for EAX. I suppose those can be set up in the software settings for the audio card.

Retarp · Mar 21, 2006, 07:55 PM

When you walk out of 'newbie cave' into the world you will be very impressed. I walked out at night and spooked some deer. Then I sat in awe on top of a rock as the sun rose above the horizon

I can run the game 1600x1200 with all the draw levels at max. Sometimes it's slower but bearable. If I turn on grass shadow(I don't even see anything when it's on???) or high detail water the game is unplayable.

I don't know what it happening, but "self shadow" is broken. I just get some nasty looking jagged black areas on walls and NPC's.

The 5.1 in this game is well done too, it's just that the crickets drive you crazy after a while

Duranix · Mar 21, 2006, 08:10 PM

Damn i cant wait to get this!!!

Dark Lord · Mar 21, 2006, 08:27 PM

any one got screen shots from the game thats something other then the completly maxed out ones?

Hozz · Mar 21, 2006, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Retarp

I can run the game 1600x1200 with all the draw levels at max. Sometimes it's slower but bearable. If I turn on grass shadow(I don't even see anything when it's on???) or high detail water the game is unplayable.

No idea how you are playing at 1600x1200 and tolerating it. Doesnt the cursor lag on the interface option screen kill you? Its tied to the frame rate.

I have a similar system as yours:
AMD64 4000+
1 gig OCZ Platinum PC3200
X850XT PE running latest Omega

I found 1600x1200 completely unplayable and that was just in the first area. I didnt fraps it but we are talking probably 15FPS on average, just bad. Right now I am trying to decide what to do about it. My monitor is an LCD with a native 1600x1200 and it kills me to drop to a lower res. It could be that I have something fucked with my settings or rig, but I doubt it.

olaf

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Lord

any one got screen shots from the game thats something other then the completly maxed out ones?

What do you mean? Do you want some less than stellar shots?

Dark Lord · Mar 21, 2006, 09:22 PM

i want to see what the game looks like on a system thats running something other then a 7800 or x1900. every shot ive seen so far has HDR in it, which appears to be SM3.0 only.

id like to see something close to what it looks like if it was played on my system.

SFOSOK · Mar 21, 2006, 09:34 PM

I'm not using HDR on mine, I really can't tell the difference between bloom and HDR ce[t bloom with 2x AA looks better than HDR with none

Lakevren · Mar 21, 2006, 09:36 PM

The sunset... is so goddamn nice. ESPECIALLY against the watery horizon. Too bad I don't have a screenshot.

But anyways, graphically, it's so beautiful. But my gripes are how they did beards. It's painted on, unfortunately.

All I wish is that I had a PCI-E + 939 board, then I could possibly upgrade, heh. But guess I'll wait until the DX10 cards.

Lowfat · Mar 21, 2006, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Lord

i want to see what the game looks like on a system thats running something other then a 7800 or x1900. every shot ive seen so far has HDR in it, which appears to be SM3.0 only.

id like to see something close to what it looks like if it was played on my system.

all dyre's screenshots are on an X800XL.

NUCLEARWINTER · Mar 21, 2006, 10:03 PM

i bought it for the 360. looks great but hard getting used to the controller instead of aiming with mouse. i find that i am shooting fireballs over enemy's heads more often than i'd like to admit.

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 10:20 PM

Yes, all my screenshots are on an X800 XL...no SM 3.0 here.

But, I'm disappointed that shadows aren't corrected from Morrowind. Those who played MW will recall that people's shadows from upstairs or upper floors would show through to the ceiling below. That's still with us, I'm sad to say.

OmegaRED · Mar 21, 2006, 10:25 PM

Guys is this a game that is easy to get into? I've never played an Elder Scroll or MMO but I'm a FPS junkie and willing to give it a shot.

I watched the Gamespot 12 hour marathon recap and it looks really cool but complicated.

ViP3RH3LL · Mar 21, 2006, 10:28 PM

I noticed that when I went back to tribunal I saw shadows moving all over the place indoors, I thought my videocard drivers were messed up, glad its just the game and too bad they havent fixed those, you think it would be on the list of things to do after 4 years?.

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2006, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

Guys is this a game that is easy to get into? I've never played an Elder Scroll or MMO but I'm a FPS junkie and willing to give it a shot.

I watched the Gamespot 12 hour marathon recap and it looks really cool but complicated.

It's not that hard at all. I mean, afterall, I'M playing it.

You can also switch between FPV and 3rd PV within the game very easily by hitting the R key.

Mrgrimrpr · Mar 21, 2006, 10:48 PM

is it worth 50 bucks?

Duranix · Mar 21, 2006, 11:48 PM

yes. And in Aus, it costs $100

Dyre Straits · Mar 22, 2006, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrgrimrpr

is it worth 50 bucks?

I was all ready to pay $50 or even a little more for the game. Fortunately, FRY's and CompUSA printed some ADs with better prices. But, I would have gladly paid full price for this game and not complain. And, that's a rarity for me.

SFOSOK · Mar 22, 2006, 01:41 AM

Thanks btw for the ad help, went down to comp usa and they hid them in the back, lol. Got mine for 40 : )

Dyre Straits · Mar 22, 2006, 01:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Green Death Flavor

Thanks btw for the ad help, went down to comp usa and they hid them in the back, lol. Got mine for 40 : )

That doesn't surprise me.

Now, on with the game!!

Tipstaff · Mar 22, 2006, 02:45 AM

This posting has been making the rounds today (which, btw, is right off of Bethesdas own forums). It's in regards to the Xbox 360 version doing a lot of it's caching to the hard drive, and the stuttering/long load times this can cause.

---------
Xbox 360 – Long Pauses with Hard Drive

Oblivion uses the Xbox 360 hard drive extensively to cache (copy and reuse) game data. This is done to optimize all loading the game does. It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more.

To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one. Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared.

Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data.

Original thread HERE.
-----

While I haven't had this caching problem I do know of people that have, and this has made a huge difference for them. Kudos to Bethesda for this fix.

Alistair · Mar 22, 2006, 08:05 AM

Thus far, the game has been WELL worth the wait for me

It is visually stunning on my X800XL and runs quite smooth. I noticed a little slowdown in Chorrl but it seemed to pass after I stood still for a while upon noticing a statue in the town to gawk at.

The game seems to have the best implementation of archery I have personally seen in a game thus far. I thoroughly enjoy sneaking around and shooting people in the back

ViRuS2k · Mar 22, 2006, 09:21 AM

the game is awsome

now i will post some screenshots soon useing my X1800XTPE 512DDR card with maximum settings at 1280x1024...

all in game settings maxed + all fade at maximum + HDR
with NO AA

can anyone figure out if ati or a setting in the game where i can use AA + HDR, i remember ati boasting about this feature on the X1800XT + cards and for some reason useing 6.3 cats, when i enable AA HDR auto turns off and when i enable HDR then try to enable AA HDR turns off.....

i thought these cards could use AA + HDR ??????? most people bought these cards knowing full well these cards could do AA + HDR where Nvidia cards couldnt do both at the same time.

so where the hell is AA + HDR ehh ?

Vikingod · Mar 22, 2006, 10:58 AM

Now for my opinion (after about 3 hours of play)

I couldn't be much happier with this game. It really is like Morrowind, with much better graphics and fixes where there needed to be. They really took much of what was lacking in morrowind, and just added it, tweaked it, and made it better. The interface is very different, but after I got used to it, I like it. .

Gameplay is great. I love the new fighting system, the enemy are challenging, but beatable (something that was lacking is previous titles). The blocking system is fun, and adds a lot of depth to the fighting. I've run through a few missions, and they are fun. You definetely get the feeling that this game is huge (probably the only one I'll be playing for many months).

Sound. The voice acting is the best I've seen. The music is the best since the original MOH games on the PS1. The sounds of the forest and creatures are top notch, and all this together really adds to the game.

Environment. This is where the game really shines. the forests are so lush and beautiful, the towns are populated with great architecture. Lighting is beatiful, often breathtaking. The environment is more than I even expected it to be. Completely unmatched in any game to date.

Gripes. Not many here. Some graphical issues persist, but nothing major. Maybe the worst of all is the ultra low res textures on some distant hills. I didn't notice it everywhere though, only in some spots. The menu takes getting used to, and was designed for console use (grr...). thats about it so far. I forget to save, which can be a pain.

the game performs great on my system, HDR on, everything else all the way up, grass shadows off (the game is very playable with them on, but I like steady frame rates), 1280*1024 resolution (best my monitor can do). I have yet to notice a load time (except for the fact that it tells you it is loading.

Thats about all I can say now, just get the game if you haven't, you won't be dissapointed. i might install is on my lappy for shits and giggles.

Mar 21, 2006, 07:05 PM	#6
SFOSOK -Thread Ender- Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Riverside, CA (right next to the f*ckin train) Posts: 6,873 Rep Power: 48 System Specs	I know u can enable grass shadows, but I have them enabled and have yet to see them. Its got a wide variety or detail options and pretty much the norma resolution + widescreen ones. __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Mar 21, 2006, 08:10 PM	#9
Duranix DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 615 Rep Power: 0	Damn i cant wait to get this!!! __________________

Mar 21, 2006, 08:27 PM	#10
Dark Lord DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,584 Rep Power: 66 System Specs	any one got screen shots from the game thats something other then the completly maxed out ones? __________________

Mar 21, 2006, 09:22 PM	#13
Dark Lord DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 5,584 Rep Power: 66 System Specs	i want to see what the game looks like on a system thats running something other then a 7800 or x1900. every shot ive seen so far has HDR in it, which appears to be SM3.0 only. id like to see something close to what it looks like if it was played on my system. __________________

Mar 21, 2006, 09:34 PM	#14
SFOSOK -Thread Ender- Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Riverside, CA (right next to the f*ckin train) Posts: 6,873 Rep Power: 48 System Specs	I'm not using HDR on mine, I really can't tell the difference between bloom and HDR ce[t bloom with 2x AA looks better than HDR with none __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Mar 21, 2006, 06:16 PM	#4
Killer_uk DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Stoke-on-Trent, UK Posts: 124 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I have a few questions to ask you while I wait for my copy which should get here thursday with a bit of luck. What in game settings do you run at? (Details and res) Can you enable grass shadows? (I hear SM2.0 cards could not enable this setting) Finally what are the in game audio options (which version of EAX does the game support?) Thanks -

Mar 21, 2006, 07:55 PM	#8
Retarp DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 119 Rep Power: 0	When you walk out of 'newbie cave' into the world you will be very impressed. I walked out at night and spooked some deer. Then I sat in awe on top of a rock as the sun rose above the horizon I can run the game 1600x1200 with all the draw levels at max. Sometimes it's slower but bearable. If I turn on grass shadow(I don't even see anything when it's on???) or high detail water the game is unplayable. I don't know what it happening, but "self shadow" is broken. I just get some nasty looking jagged black areas on walls and NPC's. The 5.1 in this game is well done too, it's just that the crickets drive you crazy after a while

Mar 21, 2006, 09:36 PM	#15
Lakevren MedicalEntropy Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 294 Rep Power: 0	The sunset... is so goddamn nice. ESPECIALLY against the watery horizon. Too bad I don't have a screenshot. But anyways, graphically, it's so beautiful. But my gripes are how they did beards. It's painted on, unfortunately. All I wish is that I had a PCI-E + 939 board, then I could possibly upgrade, heh. But guess I'll wait until the DX10 cards. __________________ [COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=SeaGreen]Opteron 170 @ 2500 MHZ (In Need of Better HSF)[/COLOR] [/COLOR] [COLOR=darkorange][COLOR=Yellow]DFI LanParty UT SLI-DR Expert[/COLOR] [/COLOR] [COLOR=red]HIS IceQ3 X1900XT @ 680/785 [COLOR=YellowGreen]Corsair XMS Pro DDR 400 1GB[/COLOR][/COLOR] [COLOR=royalblue]CoolerMaster WaveMaster Case[/COLOR]

Mar 21, 2006, 10:03 PM	#17
NUCLEARWINTER Reap What You Sow. Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Louisville, Kentucky Posts: 1,045 Rep Power: 33 System Specs	i bought it for the 360. looks great but hard getting used to the controller instead of aiming with mouse. i find that i am shooting fireballs over enemy's heads more often than i'd like to admit. __________________ insert witty comment here!

Mar 21, 2006, 10:25 PM	#19
OmegaRED In Fedor We Trust Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 4,783 Rep Power: 84 System Specs	Guys is this a game that is easy to get into? I've never played an Elder Scroll or MMO but I'm a FPS junkie and willing to give it a shot. I watched the Gamespot 12 hour marathon recap and it looks really cool but complicated. __________________

Mar 21, 2006, 10:28 PM	#20
ViP3RH3LL DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: BF2142 Posts: 265 Rep Power: 0	I noticed that when I went back to tribunal I saw shadows moving all over the place indoors, I thought my videocard drivers were messed up, glad its just the game and too bad they havent fixed those, you think it would be on the list of things to do after 4 years?.

Mar 21, 2006, 10:48 PM	#22
Mrgrimrpr Symbiote Lover Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 119 Rep Power: 0	is it worth 50 bucks? __________________ [color=Green]Chaintech VNF3-250 Socket 754, AMD Athlon 64 2800+, 1GB Kingston DDR400, Leaktek WinFast A400 GT TDH, Soundblaster Live! 5.1, 400W Sparkle PSU, 3DMark05- 4623, 5.1 Logitech Surround Sound [/color]

Mar 21, 2006, 11:48 PM	#23
Duranix DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 615 Rep Power: 0	yes. And in Aus, it costs $100 __________________

Mar 22, 2006, 01:41 AM	#25
SFOSOK -Thread Ender- Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Riverside, CA (right next to the f*ckin train) Posts: 6,873 Rep Power: 48 System Specs	Thanks btw for the ad help, went down to comp usa and they hid them in the back, lol. Got mine for 40 : ) __________________ Warning - Explicit Content Preceeding METAL!!

Mar 22, 2006, 02:45 AM	#27
Tipstaff DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Toronto Posts: 5,529 Rep Power: 94 System Specs	For Xbox 360 Oblivion owners This posting has been making the rounds today (which, btw, is right off of Bethesdas own forums). It's in regards to the Xbox 360 version doing a lot of it's caching to the hard drive, and the stuttering/long load times this can cause. --------- Xbox 360 – Long Pauses with Hard Drive Oblivion uses the Xbox 360 hard drive extensively to cache (copy and reuse) game data. This is done to optimize all loading the game does. It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more. To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one. Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared. Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data. Original thread HERE. ----- While I haven't had this caching problem I do know of people that have, and this has made a huge difference for them. Kudos to Bethesda for this fix. __________________ >><<

Mar 22, 2006, 08:05 AM	#28
Alistair Spoos Join Date: May 2002 Location: State College, PA, USA Posts: 441 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Thus far, the game has been WELL worth the wait for me It is visually stunning on my X800XL and runs quite smooth. I noticed a little slowdown in Chorrl but it seemed to pass after I stood still for a while upon noticing a statue in the town to gawk at. The game seems to have the best implementation of archery I have personally seen in a game thus far. I thoroughly enjoy sneaking around and shooting people in the back __________________ - Alistair

Mar 22, 2006, 09:21 AM	#29
ViRuS2k DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Uk Posts: 8,343 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	the game is awsome now i will post some screenshots soon useing my X1800XTPE 512DDR card with maximum settings at 1280x1024... all in game settings maxed + all fade at maximum + HDR with NO AA can anyone figure out if ati or a setting in the game where i can use AA + HDR, i remember ati boasting about this feature on the X1800XT + cards and for some reason useing 6.3 cats, when i enable AA HDR auto turns off and when i enable HDR then try to enable AA HDR turns off..... i thought these cards could use AA + HDR ??????? most people bought these cards knowing full well these cards could do AA + HDR where Nvidia cards couldnt do both at the same time. so where the hell is AA + HDR ehh ?

Mar 22, 2006, 10:58 AM	#30
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,149 Rep Power: 85 System Specs	Now for my opinion (after about 3 hours of play) I couldn't be much happier with this game. It really is like Morrowind, with much better graphics and fixes where there needed to be. They really took much of what was lacking in morrowind, and just added it, tweaked it, and made it better. The interface is very different, but after I got used to it, I like it. . Gameplay is great. I love the new fighting system, the enemy are challenging, but beatable (something that was lacking is previous titles). The blocking system is fun, and adds a lot of depth to the fighting. I've run through a few missions, and they are fun. You definetely get the feeling that this game is huge (probably the only one I'll be playing for many months). Sound. The voice acting is the best I've seen. The music is the best since the original MOH games on the PS1. The sounds of the forest and creatures are top notch, and all this together really adds to the game. Environment. This is where the game really shines. the forests are so lush and beautiful, the towns are populated with great architecture. Lighting is beatiful, often breathtaking. The environment is more than I even expected it to be. Completely unmatched in any game to date. Gripes. Not many here. Some graphical issues persist, but nothing major. Maybe the worst of all is the ultra low res textures on some distant hills. I didn't notice it everywhere though, only in some spots. The menu takes getting used to, and was designed for console use (grr...). thats about it so far. I forget to save, which can be a pain. the game performs great on my system, HDR on, everything else all the way up, grass shadows off (the game is very playable with them on, but I like steady frame rates), 12801024 resolution (best my monitor can do). I have yet to notice a load time (except for the fact that it tells you it is loading. Thats about all I can say now, just get the game if you haven't, you won't be dissapointed. i might install is on my lappy for shits and giggles. __________________ How You Can Help DriverHeaven By Using Digg*