Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion article and shots on gamespy

If it's a video game it goes here.

Moderators: LawBeefaroni, Arcanis, $iljanus

Post Reply
kathode
Posts: 763
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:57 am

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion article and shots on gamespy

Post by kathode »

Gamespy has put up an article on TES4: Oblivion if you're interested. Some shots too. Our elderscrolls.com website should be getting something of a facelift and a few things added in a short while, as well.
User avatar
Incendiary Lemon
Posts: 2954
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:33 am
Location: Middleburg, Virginia

Post by Incendiary Lemon »

If I'm allowed to ask - Game Informer quoted the release as Winter 05, I assume that would be the Winter of 05-06?
User avatar
Raug
Posts: 100
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:42 pm

Post by Raug »

From the article:
"We've really gotten much better at this," Howard says when discussing the living world of Oblivion. "We're really focusing this time on how people in the world react to you, because that's the most fulfilling thing about being good or bad or in-between." The game sports a new "Radiant AI" system that Howard says is best described as a combination of Ultima 7 and The Sims. Rather than following pre-scripted paths, every NPC is given a set of general goals they'd like to achieve, but the details of fulfilling that goal is entirely up to them. If a citizen is hungry, they'll look for a way to get food. They might buy food, hunt it, or steal it, then find a place to sit to eat and so on. This means that every one of the game's 1,000 NPCs follows a full 24/7 schedule that continues whether or not the player is there to witness it. It also means that the NPCs react to each other, so a townsperson who decides to steal a loaf of bread in full view of the guards may find himself under arrest.
It also means that everything the player does in the game that's witnessed by NPCs is processed and remembered by them, who will then use that information to decide how to react to you. Interactions are governed by what the player has done to them, what groups or guilds they're both a member of, whether the player has messed with anyone in their family and what their general reputation in the Empire is. Players who just watch the NPCs going about their daily lives will often witness townsfolk in unscripted dynamic conversations gossiping about what's going on in the kingdom and what rumors and news is currently hot.
I'm skeptical that Bethesda will be able to pull this off to the extent that they're talking about here (not that I don't have confidence in Bethesda, Morrowind was one of my favorite games in years), but if they can that would be incredible. Anything they can accomplish in this department is a plus to me. I greatly enjoyed Morrowind in spite of the boring NPCs.
The team is also focused on creating a world that's interesting enough that the player would want to take sides. The game's factions are much more polarized this time around and they include options as diverse as the Fighters' and Mages' Guild who are generally good, the Thieves Guild, which is generally bad, and the Dark Brotherhood, which is really evil. The Nine Divines lets the player become a monk, while the Arena Guild obviously focuses on gladiatorial combat. All of these factions have their own stories and intrigues and contain enough stuff to do that by themselves they'd probably fill a whole separate game. Putting them together ensures that no matter how much time the player spends in the game, there will always be some choices passing by that they'll want to come back and try later.
ohboyohboyohboyohboy *swoon*
I cannot wait for this game! I haven't been this excited by previews of a game that's months and months from release for a long, long time.
User avatar
Smoove_B
Posts: 54567
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 am
Location: Kaer Morhen

Post by Smoove_B »

Raug wrote:From the article:
"We've really gotten much better at this," Howard says when discussing the living world of Oblivion. "We're really focusing this time on how people in the world react to you, because that's the most fulfilling thing about being good or bad or in-between." The game sports a new "Radiant AI" system that Howard says is best described as a combination of Ultima 7 and The Sims. Rather than following pre-scripted paths, every NPC is given a set of general goals they'd like to achieve, but the details of fulfilling that goal is entirely up to them. If a citizen is hungry, they'll look for a way to get food. They might buy food, hunt it, or steal it, then find a place to sit to eat and so on. This means that every one of the game's 1,000 NPCs follows a full 24/7 schedule that continues whether or not the player is there to witness it. It also means that the NPCs react to each other, so a townsperson who decides to steal a loaf of bread in full view of the guards may find himself under arrest.
It also means that everything the player does in the game that's witnessed by NPCs is processed and remembered by them, who will then use that information to decide how to react to you. Interactions are governed by what the player has done to them, what groups or guilds they're both a member of, whether the player has messed with anyone in their family and what their general reputation in the Empire is. Players who just watch the NPCs going about their daily lives will often witness townsfolk in unscripted dynamic conversations gossiping about what's going on in the kingdom and what rumors and news is currently hot.
I know there's a few GGers that hold that as the holy grail for current RPGs. It would be damn impressive if they can make it happen, that's for sure.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
User avatar
bluefugue
Posts: 911
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:10 pm

Post by bluefugue »

I'm one of those who holds that living world stuff as a holy grail. :)

Fantastic if they could pull it off, and would be a step above even Gothic, whose NPC schedules are mostly scripted I think (though Gothic does have some cool dynamic NPC behavior, such as them getting angry if you go into their house; NPCs gathering around excitedly to watch a fight; and NPC guards fighting monsters nearby).
Greg Wak
Posts: 967
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:29 pm
Location: Chicago IL

Post by Greg Wak »

Okay where is Hetz?! Wow!! Am I up for this game. I loved Morrowwind. One of the coolest things about this hobby is there is allways something grewat to look forward to. After MW I don't think we will hear cries of Bethesda not being able to ship something that isn't broken.
User avatar
adumir
Posts: 118
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:05 pm
Location: A Prisoner in Jacksonville, FL
Contact:

Post by adumir »

I really cannot see myself NOT picking this up on day one - and possibly upgrading the ole machine in order to run it as well.

Looks fantastic.
Christopher
Resident Kieslowski and Jennifer Jason Leigh obsessive
"Obviously, I need more merlot..."
User avatar
JayG
Posts: 1215
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:19 am

Post by JayG »

I can't wait. It's got me excited about PC gaming for the first time in a long time. Gothic 3 is due at the same time, so next X-Mas should be a great time for RPGs, and then in 2006 we have Dragon Age, Troika's Fallout type game, Arx Fatalis 2 (with the half life engine), Baldur's Gate 3, NWN 2, and a lot more.
Greg Wak
Posts: 967
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:29 pm
Location: Chicago IL

Post by Greg Wak »

I just got a new rig to run Doom And HL2 engines out now. Do you think it will be able to crank through these games? AMD 3500+ and 6800GT. Damn well better.
User avatar
bluefugue
Posts: 911
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:10 pm

Post by bluefugue »

That rig should be able to run anything on the planet, though I've heard that to play Doom 3 on Ultra settings with really good framerates requires PCs that aren't available yet.

/drools with envy
Greg Wak
Posts: 967
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:29 pm
Location: Chicago IL

Post by Greg Wak »

The thing with doom 3 is that on ultra it uses uncompressed 512mg textures. Since no video card has 512 mg of ram yet it has to swap the textures out of ram. I haven't tried it because playing on high quality with AA and AF cranked the game looks fine to me. I know I shouldn't be paranoid about my rig but I keep hearing about all these SLI boards comming out. The good news is 2005 is projected to have NO cpu speed increases as they all switch to dual cpu's which will help us gammers not a bit. Hopefully we can stop upgrading for awhile.
User avatar
JayG
Posts: 1215
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:19 am

Post by JayG »

As a guy debating getting a new PC, I know how you feel. It's strange how the newest PC available now won't be capable of playing any Unreal 3 games, yet the XBox 2 and P3 will have no problems (Apparantly it's the same for Dragon age). Makes me feel like giving up on the old PC. On the otherhand Everquest 2, Vampire and HL 2 will be avilable in 3 weeks, so that makes me feel like taking the plunge.
Greg Wak
Posts: 967
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:29 pm
Location: Chicago IL

Post by Greg Wak »

Who says we can't run Unreal 3?!! I"m sure it will be demanding but if they scale it that high they will really limit sales.
User avatar
Odin
Posts: 20732
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:29 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Post by Odin »

The ONLY thing I've heard about this game that doesn't fill me with excitement is that they're planning to make the world smaller than Morrowind. I thought that having such an enormous landscape to explore was one of MW's best features and I'd hoped that any sequel would equal or surpass it in that respect. Getting realistic responses from NPCs will certainly be revolutionary, but to me exploration is just as huge.

Sith
User avatar
Incendiary Lemon
Posts: 2954
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 6:33 am
Location: Middleburg, Virginia

Post by Incendiary Lemon »

I believe (?) that was a misquote Sith.
User avatar
knob
Posts: 3446
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:19 am
Location: St. Louis
Contact:

Post by knob »

I think I'd rather have a smaller world, but that's just me. Too many times in MW did I find myself walking through the country side and coming upon another generic dungeon. Or walking for quite a while and not seeing anything of real interest or value.



But I hope they pull the AI thing off. I can see it being a buggy mess, but who knows?

Gothic is the only modern game I've played that comes close to having a living, breathing world. And it was great.
If I had a sig, would you read it?
User avatar
bluefugue
Posts: 911
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:10 pm

Post by bluefugue »

I like large gameworlds but it helps when you allow more transportation options. In addition to the gigantic ticks and the teleport spells, I'd want to see steeds. (Not sure if they are going to be in ES4 but didn't a screenshot show a guy riding a horse...?)

Actually I really want one of those Twon-Ha's from Outcast. :)
User avatar
Odin
Posts: 20732
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:29 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Post by Odin »

Incendiary Lemon wrote:I believe (?) that was a misquote Sith.
I hope so. I saw it quoted/stated back in the initial announcement discussion back on GoneGold so I can't really look it up.
User avatar
Fitzy
Posts: 2030
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:15 pm
Location: Rockville, MD

Post by Fitzy »

Have the features discussed been implimented already or are these hopeful? I'd hate to get excited about a game then have the rug pulled out from under me.

Still I enjoyed Morrowind a lot so I'm not too worried. I just wish more developers would discuss only what's in the game, not what they hope will be in the game.
User avatar
koanicriddle
Posts: 345
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:25 pm
Location: Colorado

Post by koanicriddle »

Sith Lord wrote:The ONLY thing I've heard about this game that doesn't fill me with excitement is that they're planning to make the world smaller than Morrowind.
Taken from Todd Howard's letter on the Elder Scrolls' website (emphasis mine):
Quick sidebar so you won't miss this below -- Oblivion is larger than Morrowind.
My LibraryThing catalog... a work in progress.
User avatar
Odin
Posts: 20732
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:29 pm
Location: Syracuse, NY

Post by Odin »

Yay!! Thanks for digging that up!
Post Reply