In development since 2002, Oblivion is another leap forward in role-playing with its combination of freeform gameplay and cutting-edge graphics for the world under The Elder Scrolls.
,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,
Some game information.
-=-
FPS MMORPG
Oblivion will land on the Xbox 360 later this Spring.
,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,
Previews:
-=-
Oblivion takes place in Cyrodiil, the center of the empire in the land of Tamriel. The land that has been left in ruin by the fatal wounding of its emperor. The title of the game refers to hell, and a portal leading to hoards of seemingly unstoppable demons. The main character is charged with the task of finding the heir to the throne and saving the kingdom. Like each game in the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion's story line and world stand alone so there will be no continuation from Morrowind. However, it does contain the classic characters and gameplay features that Bethesda has built its fan base on.
**
The entire demonstration took place in-engine and was controlled by the representative narrating the display. In Oblivion the king and his sons are killed by assassins allowing the gates to hell to open. Players must find the heir to the throne to save the land from complete destruction. Like other Elder Scrolls Games, this one began with the main character trapped in prison. Elite guards called "Blades" escorted the King to the entrance to the entrance of the prison and yelled for the player to back off. The king is voiced by Patrick Stewart, and it was mentioned that other famous voice tie-ins will be announced in the future.
**
The leveling system is like Morrowind in that it is skill based. Players advance their skills by performing tasks. If a player wants to build up their skill with a long-sword, then constant use of this weapon will eventually make them an expert swordsman. Advancing skills leads to level-ups and the creation of a character that grows with a person's play style. The game still allows players to switch from third to first-person at any point
**
The game will not include cloth physics for everyone's apparel, and it won't be possible to mod in physics either. To go along with that, modders will also not be able to add new weapon types, skills or new fight animations. There have been a number of refinements to the modding tools, including more powerful scripting that will be able to interact with the entire game. Specifically, this means it will interact with the newer features Oblivion boasts like the physics and facial animations.
**
Players will not see running water in the game nor see their legs if they look down in first-person mode. Water will reflect things like mountains and cities, but will not reflect grass and trees. While these are fairly minor points, they're still good to know, especially considering how scarcely playable this game has been. On an interesting note, yourself and environmental objects will sink in water if heavy enough.
,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,,;~'*'~;,
IGN and Gavin Carter Interview:
-=-
After launching several "tactical nuclear warheads" (phone calls) at the state of Maryland, we managed to get the attention of Producer Gavin Carter long enough to get a few questions answered. While attempting to cover the huge breadth of content said to be included in Oblivion, we tried to ask questions that hit upon a range of different topics. Without further ado, read on and see what Gavin had to say.
IGN: Now that Oblivion has been under development for a little while longer, what aspects are you focusing on the most? What extra tweaks have you been able to make?
Gavin Carter: We are almost completely focused on squashing every last bug we can find. If we tweak anything at this point, they're very minor at best. The main goal is to have the game out as bug-free and as polished as possible. Adding new features this late in the game is just asking for trouble.
IGN: There's been a lot of speculation of the Radiant A.I. system, can you give any specifics as to what it's so far allowed NPCs to do? For instance, have you ever been surprised by an NPC's actions?
Gavin Carter: NPCs will engage in a whole host of activities. They converse with each other with dynamically generated conversations. You'll see them practicing their skills all over the world. Fighters Guild NPCs will fight against fully Havok-enabled practice targets. Mages Guild NPCs will mix potions and practice their summons and other spells in the guildhall. Other NPCs will go shopping, till their fields, pray at churches and shrines, hunt deer, drink in the pubs, and plenty more.
Radiant AI is a system that gives our NPCs a certain level of autonomy, and any level of autonomy is potentially dangerous. As I'm fond of pointing out, I can't seem to maintain a two-person household in the Sims without someone eventually setting themselves on fire. So overall we tend to play our cards somewhat conservatively in this area, to avoid the NPCs going wacky and slaughtering whole villages or anything. Yet they still manage to surprise us every once in a while. Just the other day I was fighting the "boss" of a particular dungeon -- a nasty orc warrior in heavy armor. As he was tearing me to pieces, he shouted degrading epithets at me. "I'll pick my teeth with your spine, puny elf!" He proved the victor, and in the moments before the load menu came up, he knelt to loot my corpse while muttering with disdain, "Annoying creature." I love it when small random events like that add up into something that fits the character so perfectly.
IGN: What kind of options will you have in terms of maintaining strongholds? How will this differ from Morrowind?
Gavin Carter: The player can buy a house in every city in Oblivion. Most can simply be bought outright for a large sum of gold, but a couple have quests associated with them. The main difference from Morrowind is that we've added more customization. There's a character who can sell you home furnishings and accoutrements like paintings and other decorations. You buy what you want from him, and it shows up in your house.
GN: What are some of the new abilities you'll gain when you max out your skills? For instance, what happens at the highest level of mercantile, heavy armor, alchemy, axes, security, acrobatics, marksman, etc.?
Gavin Carter: Every skill has a system of four perks that unlock when you raise in skill level. From zero to 25 you're ranked as a Novice, and at intervals of 25 from there, you rise in rank to apprentice, journeyman, expert, and master. The perk features themselves run the gamut. The magic skill perks open up access to higher level spells, while perks for a skill like athletics allow you to regain fatigue levels faster while running. Other skill perks open up new abilities. A master of block can do an automatic counter-move after a successful block that disarms an opponent. A master of armorer not only can repair magic weapons and repair weapons up to 125% condition, but his or her repair hammers never get used up.
IGN: What can you tell us about Oblivion's guilds?
Gavin Carter: The five major guilds you can join are the Arena, Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild, Fighters Guild, and the Mages Guild. Also, in the course of the main storyline you join the Blades faction. Each of the guilds has its own individual storyline, and you can join as many as you wish. Each guild offers its own advantages to members -- The Mages Guild allows you to enchant items and create spells. The Thieves Guild gives you access to fences who can buy stolen goods off you. The Arena offers the chance to win gold and equipment from winning fights, as well as the chance to bet on a fight's outcome.
Gavin Carter: The scale is along the lines of one and a half times the size of Morrowind, but massive is really the only word you need to describe it. Even with all that extra space, I am still amazed at the density of content we've managed to pack in. Just this morning, I received a quest that involved a trek to a remote cave in the eastern Valus mountains. I still haven't made it out there as I write this in the evening. I keep stumbling on random dungeons and places of interest and sidetracking myself. I found a cave with a final journal entry from an adventurer lying outside, detailing his plan to enter and take down the ancient Lich inside. I came upon an ancient Elven ruin and went in hoping to find some Varla stones that I could use to recharge my magic weapons. I even ran into a gate to Oblivion and decided to enter and see what lay within. The size doesn't really change the way the game is played so much as give you an incredible amount of options of things to do.
The fast travel system still works exactly as has been described previously. Once you've visited a place once, you can click on it on your map and visit there again any time you wish.
IGN: Are you still planning on a simultaneous Xbox / PC release? Any notable differences between the two versions?
We plan on having both versions on the shelf absolutely as close to the same date as possible. The path for certification, manufacturing, and distribution for both versions are completely different, so exactly the same day for both will be a challenge, but they should be very close. The two will be identical in terms of content. The only differences are the obvious control one, and the PC has many more visual options to scale the performance up or down based on your system.
IGN: How far along would you say the game is? Any estimate on a release date?
Gavin Carter: As I mentioned, we're completely focused on squashing the final bugs to get the game out on store shelves. Don't want to give out a definite date yet but the end is in sight.
GN: How many people do we need to kill in order to get a playable build?
Gavin Carter: I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you.
IGN: All the still shots we've seen so far have looked great, but what about the framerate? Are you confident that the game will run at a solid 30 fps when finished? What are some of the most problematic areas?
Gavin Carter: I'm confident framerate won't be an issue at all. The only trouble spots are a symptom of the open world we provide the player. For instance, if you train an entire Mages Guild out into the streets for a battle with the guards, you probably should expect things to bog down a bit. But these situations are few and far between. We spent a great deal of effort profiling the game and all the trouble areas we had, and doing everything in our power to make them all run smoothly. We worked hand in hand with Microsoft, ATI, Nvidia, Havok, Emergent, and other companies to ensure our programming was as optimal as possible.
IGN: Thanks for your time.
Images:
