Why does nearly everyone hate oblivion?

[FishPolice]

people on here, although i still love oblivion, have persuaded me to try Morrowind.

Can anyone answer these questions for me?

1: Are there any texture packs for it? to make it look a lot better? Because desptite it looking a pretty good game, the graphics are crap.

2: Are there as many npcs, and are they like in oblivion?

3: a lot of side quests?

thanks

1. Yes there are loads. Might not make a HUGE difference but worth installing anyway.

2. Yep. Loads of them. They are generally more negative towards you too. Most are pretty rude/offensive rather than all bubbly & friendly like in Oblivion.

3. Oh yes. You can lose yourself in the side quests very easily. I didn't bother with the main quest for weeks the 1st time I played it.

Get the GOTY edition if you can -it's got the expansion packs already installed.

 

[jim5000]

Oblivion so needs to be made into a mmorpg! The depth of world it presents is breathtaking. Even if the quests are dull (for you), there is so much to just go and see. You could play in the game for ages and never even bother with the storyline, just go traveling around and see things...

 

[GFX707]

I think most of the people who don't like it played Morrowind/Daggerfall/Arena and were expecting something amazing. Either that or they were long-term followers who were given all these promises about the crazy stuff NPCs would do with radiant AI which turned out to be mostly hype.

Also it went from a weird and almost believable world back to a cheesy medieval world. The same old engine which ran like a dog on most people's machines was re-used and despite 4 years of programming it still had exactly the same problems as Morrowind's.

The graphics weren't that great. The levelling system was stupid and ruined the game. We'd seen it all before in Morrowind and it didn't really bring enough that was new.

 

[Inquisitor]

I think most of the people who don't like it played Morrowind/Daggerfall/Arena and were expecting something amazing. Either that or they were long-term followers who were given all these promises about the crazy stuff NPCs would do with radiant AI which turned out to be mostly hype.

Also it went from a weird and almost believable world back to a cheesy medieval world. The same old engine which ran like a dog on most people's machines was re-used and despite 4 years of programming it still had exactly the same problems as Morrowind's.

The graphics weren't that great. The levelling system was stupid and ruined the game. We'd seen it all before in Morrowind and it didn't really bring enough that was new.

Very good points. The alien-like nature of the Morrowind world was what made it appealing to me, but that got thrown out of the window.

Also, a fairly minor point, but they absolutely butchered the printed map that came with Oblivion. In Morrowind, you'd get a beautifully designed map that showed everything on it, right down to the smallest settlements, Daedric ruins (which even had their names on it in Daedric runes), geographic features etc., while retaining its hand-drawn feel, which actually made it very useful, so much so that I put it on my wall above my computer.

The Oblivion map, by contrast, is useless. The only things it has on it are the major towns, of which there are eight, major roads, and water.

 

[cavemanoc]

Makes me laugh the amount of people stating its boring or did'nt like the to'ing and from'ing etc etc.
it is an RPG. you get out what you put in, its not a linear shooter.
the beauty is 10 people could start from the sewers and those ten would each have a unique experience to tell.
you can't do that with any shooter.
whilst i conceede the game is buggy and flawed. ie repeated conversations by npc's. small amount of voice actors etc. these are in kind answered by bethesda on the oblivion UESP wiki. the sheer amount of script and voice acting present is astonishing. to increase this was beyond bethesda's financial/time scope.
even if there were more voice actors people would still complain as we're all used to the individuality of real life people.
ideally a dynamic A.I response and voice generator is needed for this sort of game...... how many years till that happens?

fortunately the pc mod community makes a good game fantastic. yet again proof that the pc is the elite of gaming platforms for players wanting to tailor games for their own needs.

if you think setting .ini files, balancing graphic settings, downloading installing load ordering mods is a waste of time thats fine. it is something a gamer should not need to do. however its also a way of making your game unique just like your adventures are unique to every other oblivion player.
for me it is a way of escapism in a fictional world done so and played in a way i have chosen.

try playing bf2 in a unique individual way. you can't. you are at the mercy of how every other online gamer wants to play. thats why i quit online shooters. also why i won't play HL2 or dark messiah again or their sequels. i've gotten to enjoy playing my way now not how the game makes me play.

Well said - all too easy to simply complain without really taking the time to enjoy what it offers. I too loved HL2 but once played it's over - not so with rpg's like Oblivion - I always have to replay to make sure I haven't missed anything.

 

[platypus]

I liked Oblivion, it was pretty and there were some fun things to do, but Morrowind is still miles better.

The main reason is simply that Oblivion was blatantly written for the Xbox format, and the simplified/console/baby interface annoyed the hell out of me.

 

[matt_fsr]

Thoroughly love Oblivion - definately my longest played, and therefore must be fave game of 2006.

Agreed, the levelling is a little annoying at time - but am i the ONLY person who uses the diffifulty slider?? I usually set it a little low at first, when beating goblins with rusty iron rubbish... then as the armour+weapons improve i add a little difficulty, tend not to like getting killed every few mins, but occasionally a nest of heavy armoured vampires or a whole bunch of wraiths will lay a smack-down on my lightly armoured-ass.

In some respects I actually like the item levelling, it means you dont get huge power increases just because you swiped one uber ring/weapon from somewhere - and it makes it worthwhile looking for certain items after you've broken a '5 level' jump.

The things that annoy me most are the enchanted armours that the shops sell.... most are base items making their armour value dubious, but the enchantments would be nice... seeing as you cant do your own flavour of those enchantments (Aegis of the Apocalypse say) - shame that isnt available as a better quality armour, cos you cant afford it until about level 8-10 anyways!
And why the hell can you never buy any good arrows (ebony, daedric) or enchanted arrows? The ones you swipe dont last forever...

Other than that - superb achievement for a game, makes a mockery of so many re-hashed Football sims and racing games that purport to be in any way remotely new!

 

[HighlandeR]

Loved it but after doing tons of side missions and the main quest, I left it ever since

It was just fun and different from my normal fps games/RTS games...

 

[FoxEye]

Personally:

-hated the NPC scaling (NPCs are set to within a few levels of the player level, always). Made levelling up pointless - and in many cases, levelling up actually made you weaker (relative to enemies).

-stupid (really) major, minor skills system. Totally broken. When you know what you're doing, you make skills you want to use minor skills, and skills you won't use often your major (class) skills.

-lack of tactics. This isn't DnD. You don't have to try different strategies to win. As a melee you basically just hit and block, as a caster you have a couple spells you use and all the rest you don't.

-voice acting. In towns, for non-major characters, the voices suck. We all know Picard does the main character, but you don't see him all the much.

-totally impersonal. I never felt I was doing anything for any other reason than because I could, or I needed to. I never actually wanted to do anything, because I cared about an NPC or the world or whatever.

 

[cavemanoc]

-totally impersonal. I never felt I was doing anything for any other reason than because I could, or I needed to. I never actually wanted to do anything, because I cared about an NPC or the world or whatever.

Now this is the bit that comes down to the way you play the game - yes, I know it's not Kotor2, but still, there were lots of times when I found myself making difficult decisions.

Example: The Unicorn - I happened across it in the wild and was thrilled to have such an awesome beast as my horse - only to come across the Shrine demanding I slay it... spent a lot of time agonizing over that one, and many others - Vampire or not? Good or Evil - you don't have to play the game this way - and if you don't then yes it would all seem a bit impersonal, but if you make the effort to Role play properly...

(Also - what was the problem with the leveling system - I had not issues and actually found that by doing loads of side quests I was more than able to deal with the main sections)

 

[Darkwave]

Since reading this thread, I've made another attempt to play Oblivion, but now I remember where I had the most trouble last time around... Character creation and progression is so huge that I can't settle on a single character that I like, and due to insomnia and other issues I don't have the focus to play more than one savegame.

I hope I can make a character I like soon, or I am going to get withdrawl. lol.

 

[YooEntSinMeROYT]

Obscuros Oblivion Overhaul.

http://jorgeoscuro.googlepages.com/

I didn't bother playing without it. It was a refreshing change to meet both very strong enemies at the beginning that had me running for my life and then blow mere cannon fodder away later on as you get more powerful.

OOO or O3. Don't leave home without it.

I quite like the game. 115 hours so far but I'm taking a little break to play other stuff.

I didn't bother playing Oblivion without it either. Along with around 30 odd other mods & tweaks. Although everybody seems to think it's called Obscuro's when in fact it's Oscuro's.

It was great having to pick my battles early on & getting in too deep with a ruckus & have to run for my life to get assistance from the roaming imperial guards.

I've clocked up around 260 hours game time so far, & I've only just opened up the Allies For Bruma section in the main quest.

I've completed every other miscellaneous quest (apart from becoming a full blown vampire & seeking a cure (did not interest me)), Daedric Quest (apart from the final one which gets opened up later in the main quest), Joined every guild & completed all their quests, & also completed all the quests in the Knights of The Nine expansion pack. Bought a property in every town (fully furnished) & still have around 160,000 gold. I also closed every Oblivion gate that opened up after the Battle of Kvatch & before the Allies For Bruma quests. I have exotic weapons & armour galore on display in my various abodes.

OOO makes levelling up around 3-5 times slower than in the un-modded game.
I'm currently at Level 26.
I never believed in faffing about with placing skills used regularly as minor skills.
I was never a big fan of RPGs before playing this game. Preferring FPS & Driving Games.

However once playing this game modded up I became hopelessly hooked.
Fantastic value for money having got 260 hours play time out of it so far. I'm sure I'll clock up over 300 hours before I finish it. I got the most sadistic kick out of playing through the Dark Brotherhood quests. Nothing beats being a master of sneak along with wearing a chameleonic ring. I can take out most enemies with one hit when sneaking up on them. SPG (Stealth Playing Game).....swish!!!!

Should finish the main quest just in time for the Shivering Isles expansion.

I think everyone who has a life goes through that. The people who play Oblivion past 45 hours are probably stood in a field casting spells on themselves as we speak. Still levelling away - hour after hour. Sad.

260 hours & counting. No standing in a field casting spells. I just spent a fair bit of time not fast travelling between locations & casting spells on the move, not that I'm a true mage or anything, more of a semi-battlemage elf .

best game i've ever played period.
just got a new hard drive especially for it and am saving for an 8800 or r600 and widescreen monitor to do it justice.
the sheer content, mod community and tools available means i'll be happy for the rest of the year

used to be a huge shooter fan and fee paying clan member for bf2. not any longer. have'nt touched another game since xmas and am serously considering wiping all other games of my hdd!

As mentioned above. Used to be a huge shooter fan myself. I too have hardly touched another game. I've had an Xbox 360 for the past 4 months & that hardly gets a look in. I've used it more frequently to stream video & music to my home cinema rather than playing games.
Testament to a truly great game (in my eyes at least)

I can't believe the amount of people that have complained about the crap levelling & have not investigated Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul.
Makes it a vasly superior game in my opinion. I've seen my better half when she's been on the original unmodded game. Not a patch on OOO (admittedly along with around 30 other mods).

BTW is that the Escutcheon of Chorrel Shield in you screenshot? That is a sweet shield. Still gave you the attribute bonuses even when you carried it on you & didn't use it; ie when using a 2 handed weapon.
Eventually ditched it then when I got hold of the Lhotun's Wish battlestaff.

-voice acting. In towns, for non-major characters, the voices suck. We all know Picard does the main character, but you don't see him all the much.

Is that the only voice of notoriety that you picked up on?

As Sean Bean is the voice of Martin & Terrence Stamp as Mehrune's left hand. Quality voice actors

 

[Solari]

I quite like Oblivion, although I've got bored of the main quest and am doing the side quests.

I find the whole repopulating dungeon thing a bit pants, it detracts from the sense of achievement in clearing a dungeon and getting "phat lewt" for your efforts.

I must say that Morrowing had more of a "wow" factor when I played it. Those horrible dust storms creeped me out at first too... plus I loved the Hlallu House, "pudding!"

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is missing from Oblivion. I'm getting a bit frustrated with it to be honest. I actually reinstalled Morrowind and am playing a stealth type character as opposed to the Battle Mage I created first time round. Still pretty, and I think I'll have to get those graphics packs.

Oh it's better 2nd time round with a better system too.. no lag in Balmora

 

[Briton]

I quite like Oblivion, although I've got bored of the main quest and am doing the side quests.

I find the whole repopulating dungeon thing a bit pants, it detracts from the sense of achievement in clearing a dungeon and getting "phat lewt" for your efforts.

That doesn't really bother me as I don't go back to dungeons I've cleared. It is lame though.

I must say that Morrowing had more of a "wow" factor when I played it. Those horrible dust storms creeped me out at first too... plus I loved the Hlallu House, "pudding!"

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is missing from Oblivion. I'm getting a bit frustrated with it to be honest. I actually reinstalled Morrowind and am playing a stealth type character as opposed to the Battle Mage I created first time round. Still pretty, and I think I'll have to get those graphics packs.

Oh it's better 2nd time round with a better system too.. no lag in Balmora

There's something else besides replacing textures you can do to improve the look of Morrowind and that's use something called Morrowind Graphics Extender. It does a few things but the best IMO is to allow an Oblivion like 'distant lands' view. It's in development but it works well. Here's a few screens.

 

[Sinque]

I tried to like it, I forced myself to play it, but it just bored me senseless, especially the combat.

Quoted for truth.

 

[ic1male]

I loved it. So much in fact that I bought it on PC and Xbox 360 and will eventually buy it on PS3.

 

[Deanje]

I found it was merely a dumbed down version of Morrowind with better graphics and annoying leveling.

Jokester

The game was ok, I suppose, but i've got to agree with that quote ^^

It was very pretty though

 

[bakes0310]

im gonna try that OOO pack not sure how you install it and hopefully it will get me into this game
its version 1.3 i want isnt it and also do i need winrar to install it properly.

 

[tomanders91]

well ive uninstalled it now, i loved it but everytime i played it, after about 20 mins it comes up with, oblivion has stopped working or something pop up, and i have to close it, go back on and all my saves are corupted, what a load of ****.

Going to try Morrowind maybe.

 

[bakes0310]

i cant get ooo to come up in my data files ive extracted the folder into oblivion data directory but nothing happens
ive tried winrar to do it but still nothing.
My saved games ive deleted and im running the latest official oblivion patch and thats it no other mods