TES Classics » Discussions


Oblivion Revisited!

  • April 8, 2019
    So, after maybe 5 years or so, I’ve started playing Oblivion again. I think it was the favorite quest discussion in the 25th anniversary topic that rekindled my interest, not sure. But! I’m playing again, and it really is nuts how much better the storylines are than in Skyrim. But, here’s the thing: for some reason, in Skyrim, I feel part of the game. My character does, anyway. It’s so much more immersive, and I’m not sure why, can’t quite put my finger on it. One thing that jumps out at me immediately is the NPCs. I feel like I’m part of their world in Skyrim, somehow. Like our characters really know each other. We go on quests together, depend on each other. Get to know each other. It’s nice. The fighters guild questline in Oblivion comes close, but the characters still feel somehow distant. Anyone agree? Disagree? I’m hoping TESVI can combine the amazing storytelling of Oblivion with the immersive ness of Skyrim. I’d probably never stop playing. Matter of fact, it might be slightly unhealthy. ;)
  • Member
    April 9, 2019

    It's been awhile since I played Oblivion; this isn't helped by the fact that I broke my install of the character overhall... I just checked and I apparently uninstalled the game as well. Probably the biggest thing that's causing what you're experiencing is that there aren't any named and permanent followers in Oblivion, so you can't go adventuring with them like you can in Skyrim. Some quests can give you tastes of that but for the most part you're off on your own doing whatever.

  • April 9, 2019

    So, after maybe 5 years or so, I’ve started playing Oblivion again. I think it was the favorite quest discussion in the 25th anniversary topic that rekindled my interest, not sure. But! I’m playing again, and it really is nuts how much better the storylines are than in Skyrim. But, here’s the thing: for some reason, in Skyrim, I feel part of the game. My character does, anyway. It’s so much more immersive, and I’m not sure why, can’t quite put my finger on it. One thing that jumps out at me immediately is the NPCs. I feel like I’m part of their world in Skyrim, somehow. Like our characters really know each other. We go on quests together, depend on each other. Get to know each other. It’s nice. The fighters guild questline in Oblivion comes close, but the characters still feel somehow distant. Anyone agree? Disagree? I’m hoping TESVI can combine the amazing storytelling of Oblivion with the immersive ness of Skyrim. I’d probably never stop playing. Matter of fact, it might be slightly unhealthy. ;)

    To be honest I think (generally speaking) Oblivion is really hindered by the technology of the time. There's a lot of weird stuff in the game that just made it less interactive...or immersive, yeah definitely less immersive than Skyrim. I think about 75% of it is just the fact that Skyrim is newer, but there's also little things like Bethesda hiring like 12 Voice Actors for the game (I think they paid Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart and then realised they used most of their budget :P). That sort of thing just makes the game harder to get into. 

    But holy shit yes, if TES 6 has writing on the level of Oblivion it'll be fabulous, and if the quality of the behind the scenes stuff is even better than Skyrim's (which despite a few issues is still a much more polished game than Oblivion) and the increase in technology. Urgh, I'm just sad that I'll probably be a 'real person' with a job and all that by the time it comes out.

  • April 9, 2019
    Yeah, all those things, definitely, followers, tech. And NPCs respond to you in Skyrim in a different level than they do in Oblivion. It is probably due to technology. I mean, the guy in Whiterun who wants you to get his sword, he responds to you differently based on your race. Which sounds horrible, but here, it’s nice. And there are things they can only say once so no one sounds like a broken record. Characters in Oblivion act like they have no idea who I am one second and they’re my best friends the next. And other than the random conversations you happen onto, there’s no indication anyone in Oblivion knows what’s going on with the crisis of the day. Not like Skyrim, where the characters acted like they knew what was happening with the dragons and civil war. It just feels so different, and I hadn’t realized how different it was until I replayed. And DB, don’t worry- when Skyrim came out I had a newborn and we’d just moved across the country. I still got to play. :)
  • Leader
    April 9, 2019

    The biggest immersion breaker in Oblivion is the way that NPC 'zoom in' when you speak to them, and the whole of the rest of the world competely freezes in the background.

  • Member
    April 9, 2019

    ilanisilver said: Yeah, all those things, definitely, followers, tech. And NPCs respond to you in Skyrim in a different level than they do in Oblivion. It is probably due to technology. I mean, the guy in Whiterun who wants you to get his sword, he responds to you differently based on your race. Which sounds horrible, but here, it’s nice. And there are things they can only say once so no one sounds like a broken record. Characters in Oblivion act like they have no idea who I am one second and they’re my best friends the next. And other than the random conversations you happen onto, there’s no indication anyone in Oblivion knows what’s going on with the crisis of the day. Not like Skyrim, where the characters acted like they knew what was happening with the dragons and civil war. It just feels so different, and I hadn’t realized how different it was until I replayed. And DB, don’t worry- when Skyrim came out I had a newborn and we’d just moved across the country. I still got to play. :)
    Plus the fact their tone can shift wildly in conversations. I kind of liked the cinematics in Oblivion

    Paul said:

    The biggest immersion breaker in Oblivion is the way that NPC 'zoom in' when you speak to them, and the whole of the rest of the world competely freezes in the background.

    Yeha, in Skyrim, people still move, go about their lives, etc

  • Member
    April 9, 2019

    After seeing this post I went back and reinstalled Oblivion along with the Character Overhaul and some other mods that I remember using before. I got to just after picking my Birthsign before closing the game. Which makes me wonder if that will be my reaction to Skyblivion should they ever release it.

  • April 10, 2019

    I can’t wait for Skyblivion. To be fair, Oblivion was my first video game other than Space Invaders for Atari when I was really little, and Oblivion and Skyrim are really the only games I play. I’ve tried others and they just don’t do it for me, so I’m really coming from a different place than most of you guys are. But honestly, I hope Skyblivion changes the way the game opens. That long, drawn-out prison escape and the long, drawn-out dragon escape are annoying. At least I can use Alternate Start in Skyrim.

     

    At least I’m enjoying this playthrough quite a bit. I’m at the point in the Mages’ Guild where Hassildor tells us about Mannimarco, and in the Fighters’ Guild where you start to go off-book with Modryn. And I have the Skingrad house with one of the best rings in the game. And the Skeleton Key. So I’m having a great time even though I miss my Skyrim NPCs. 

  • April 10, 2019

    I can’t wait for Skyblivion. To be fair, Oblivion was my first video game other than Space Invaders for Atari when I was really little, and Oblivion and Skyrim are really the only games I play. I’ve tried others and they just don’t do it for me, so I’m really coming from a different place than most of you guys are. But honestly, I hope Skyblivion changes the way the game opens. That long, drawn-out prison escape and the long, drawn-out dragon escape are annoying. At least I can use Alternate Start in Skyrim.

    Yeah Skyblivion's going to be great whenever it comes out, the amount of time they seem to have put into the mod is truly awesome. I remember Oblivion having Alternate Start mods but I assume that they'll take a bit to be ported to Skyblivion (assuming they need to be), or maybe a new mod would be created that works a bit more like Skyrim's Alternate Start. Either way, yeah it'll be needed because I can only play through these openings so many times :P

    At least I’m enjoying this playthrough quite a bit. I’m at the point in the Mages’ Guild where Hassildor tells us about Mannimarco, and in the Fighters’ Guild where you start to go off-book with Modryn. And I have the Skingrad house with one of the best rings in the game. And the Skeleton Key. So I’m having a great time even though I miss my Skyrim NPCs. 

    Hah, that's great to hear Ilani, I definitely really like the latter parts of the Fighter's Guild, I mean, all the factions are really cool because they actually feel like you deserve to end up as Guildmaster. But yeah, just glad your enjoying yourself, hoping I can play sometime around June. 

     

  • Member
    April 10, 2019

    The 25th Anniversary discussions made me want to jump back into Oblivion, especially the prospect of playing KotN again. However, I remember experiencing something similar to that which Ilani describes in the OP last time I felt this urge: In the old days I could immerse and feel part of the world, and for the longest time wished I had access to mods enabling camping in the wilds of Cyrod. Since Skyrim, though, going back to TES IV makes that immersion very hard. Which is a shame as the questlines in that game are far and away superior to TES V's. So to get my KotN fix, I've downloaded this Artifacts - The Breton Paladin mod which I look forward to testing when I next have time off.

    ilanisilver said: I’m hoping TESVI can combine the amazing storytelling of Oblivion with the immersive ness of Skyrim. I’d probably never stop playing. Matter of fact, it might be slightly unhealthy. ;)

    I hope so too! To be fair, ESO comes close. It doesn't quite have the same sort of immersion that Skyrim has largely due to the nature of the game. In an MMO we have reduced control over the world and can't simulate needs as easily. Like, we can't go to an inn and rent a room, go to sleep, and wake up at dawn the next day as the night cycle is a fixed rotation and we have no need to sleep.

    Yet those limits are made up for by the deep and extensive dialogue and meaningful choice and conseqence to be found in the well-written questlines. Factor in an almost overwhelming amount of customisation and ESO comes close to the perfect TES game. It feels slightly strange when returning to Skyrim and experiencing the slower pace after becoming used to the rhythm of ESO, so I'm looking forwrad to testing that mod out seeing if it can suck me in.