[Ace]

Well leveling still makes you more powerful as you gain the various skill perks. (a must for spellcaster classes)

I don't mind it so much as it's like Daggerfall was. Admittedly a mix of this system and Morrowind's would be best. (all encounters having level caps, so bandits stay in the 1-10 range, and large dungeons stay levelled with you)

Most of the unique items in the game though are independent of the levelling mechanic, but they're still tough as hell to get. (though a lot of the Daedric quests require a certain level to get them started)

[Ferret]

I'm very sure that Morrowind had levelled items. It did in dungeon chests and stuff anyway.
As for Oblivion, I've also been playing it for the past couple of days.
It kicks total ass.. Great game, shame about the Duplo-like interface, but a couple of mods help with it.

I recommend it to anyone that can run it....

[phatosealpha]

Well, I decided to take a risk on the recommendations here, and went out and bought it.

I don't hate it.  They didn't fix everything that bugged me about morrowind, but they fixed enough to make it palatable.

The way stat gains are determined at level up is still stupid.  It makes your minor skills far more important to your stat growth then major ones, and I can't help but feel that it's ass backwards.  Especially combined with the monsters-level-up-too mechanic, which means the quantity of levels you get isn't nearly as important as the quality of levels.


That said, it's fun.  Combat is certainly much more vibrant then morrowind.  Non-important characters still don't have a real dialogue interface,  but at least you're not regualarly confronted by a list of every single topic in the universe when talking to a beggar who'll know nothing about anything.  Important characters do have real dialogue, which is nice.

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

I'm very sure that Morrowind had levelled items. It did in dungeon chests and stuff anyway.

Yes it did. But you could also get glass armour at level 1 if you were a lucky bastard.

In Morrowind it was way too easy to become the ultimate killing machine. The devs clearly didn't want that to happen in Oblivion, but they went too far with the balancing.

[Grug]

That does sound a bit dissapointing. But it still sounds like a fun game none-the-less.

I guess in the end, its one more thing for them to learn from in the end when they go about making their next game.

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

Don't get me wrong, it's still a great game. Well worth the money. There just are a few things they changed from Morrowind that I don't like.

[Grug]

Could I ask what type of system setup your playing it on?

[Lt.Cannonfodder]

A64 X2 3800+
2gb ram
7800GT

I run Oblivion at 1024, HDR and all sliders maxed. Some shadows are off, as they cause odd bugs. I also tweaked the grass a bit by editing the ini file. Runs quite well outdoors and just perfectly when inside houses and dungeons.

[Grug]

Damn, that's some rig.
I'm definitly going to get more ram before I get it though. 512 just won't be enough to run smoothly I think.

[SadisticSid]

Well, I've been playing it for 4 days straight now - may be time to give it a break so I don't finish it too soon! The  only thing I don't like about it is how certain monsters and other characters seem to love their power attacks so much that you get staggered for like five seconds then die without even being able to fight back. But then I did go for light armor and skimped on block, so maybe that's my own fault.

Oh, if anyone's using an ATI X?00 series card and want a quick FPS tweak, turn off all the water options. Even when there's no water around for miles, having just one of the options on seems to knock off 5-10 FPS on my system.

[BlackDove]

I think that happened to everyone.

[Grug]

Hehehe, yeah just read that comic.
Stuning hey?

[Ace]

Yeah, I prefer when I have AI archers on my side since they don't get in the way. I haven't had them running away onto another target when the AI attacks me though, I just have to be careful to stop lobbing fireballs and lightening when I have people in melee. (didn't have a problem with the Kvatch castle quest though, but the Bruma guards sometimes got in the way and the Knights of the Thorn were... a thorn in my side)

Of course the arrows staying in people is fun (even in Thief they vanished if it was a direct hit, odd that no one has really made any WoW jokes about the arrows sticking on people there...) especially when I got an arrow up my butt when hitting the bandit camp next to the exit from the starting dungeon. (I think Karl Rove shot it...)

[phatosealpha]

The dark brotherhood quests are really quite fun.  Lots of very cool rewards there, and it some missions that really do feel appropriately evil.

The guard AI though, man....I don't like that.   I got into legal trouble.  Paid my fine.  Got released, to find that the guard at the door was still hostile.  So I yielded, and he stopped attacking me.  But the bastard kept attacking my horse!  Ended up needing to kill him.

Guards are relentless - the front gate guard of a town will chase you to the other side of the continent, and never ever give up.  And they're telepathic too - if you kill that guard after he chases you to pango pango, even if nobody is around for miles, every other guard in the world will instantly know about your murder.  They're goddamned borgs.



And while I don't like the monsters level up thing all that much, it wouldn't bother me all that much if it weren't for the fact that a ****ing bear is ALWAYS more dangerous then even the arena champion.  That's just stupid.

[Deepblue]

I'm pretty sure if you kill with one hit, the other guards are not alerted.

[BlackDove]

http://www.panogames.com/

Check out the Oblivion stuff in 3d.

The site is pure awesome.

[Ace]

Yeah, if someone yells and there's no guard in hearing range one is generated and then enters the area.

A plugin has been made already that turns this off, so NPCs will be more likely to flee to get a guard. (already happens sometimes though, but usually they just yell for one)

[NGTM-1R]

In Morrowind it was way too easy to become the ultimate killing machine. The devs clearly didn't want that to happen in Oblivion, but they went too far with the balancing.

Maybe, but nobody told me how. I played the game as best I'm able, and yeah, after much struggle I'm at Level 36 and can kill pretty much anything that isn't godlike with one or two whacks from Trueflame or Hopesfire. Even so, mages and people with real nice ranged weapons still scare me. The thing in Morrowind that made it deceptively simple was the ease of dodging hostile spell effects and projectiles. Forget to do so or get cocky, though, and prepare to be bend over and kiss your ass goodbye. Even at Level 36 and sporting The Uber Gear of Doom +11462.

[Grug]

Hehehe, I had everypiece of my deadric armour custom enchanted to give me max bonuses on most of my important  stats. (Strength of 400 iirc - which I may not, long time I've played) Friend of mine maxed out at level 86 or something when it becomes impossible to level up anymore or something.

I'm surprised at those ****ing goblins in Trubunal under the city, even at level 46 they can harm you very muchly.
I love being a munchkin, especially when its earned. Makes me feel all tingly inside. It's just too much fun when you make that save point and go alter ego and slaughter literally everyone in Morrowind, hence making it a ghost island filled with empty towns etc. >D ^.^

[Ghostavo]

All you had to do in Morrowind was enchant something that gave you constant healing...

And boom, item of invincibility.