What are your impressions?

Probably everyone that has it is too busy playing it. One reason why I didnt get it yet. I need to coincide my getting it with some vacation... and my HDTV purchase.

The Dean's got it

The Dean's got it

No kidding? ;)

I played it at a friends house earlier today for about 20 mins and even though I am not an RPG fan it seems like a very cool game .

-------- Jason

I think the title of this thread is wrong. No one plays Oblivion, their lives become Oblivion.

Sort of like World of Warcrack :0) Which i became addicted to. But Oblivion is on my list to get.

I too was addicted to World of Warcraft, while at the same time I traditionally don't like RPG's. I'm really curious to see if this game, like WoW, is so good that it can appeal to gamers who don't even like RPG's.

Hey guys, my ears were burnin so I thought I would drop by with some early impressions.
I haven't had any real time to offer anything close to a review or rate it or anything at this point because my time with it has been short.

Basically I played through to the first achievement which involves getting out of the initial area you start in and make it outside.
You get the usual stuff early on starting with character creation. Probably the most involved I have seen for a console game, and one where you will never really see your face in game.
On that note, I was kind of freaked out because the default character strikes a resembelance to yours truly. A few more tweaks and I had a character that was a spitting image.
I got to explore some caves, walk around the countryside, ride a horse, and do some swimming. It was a very adventurous couple of hours and even for that short of a time it's hard to sum it all up.
There's so much here and the area is so huge. 16 sq miles, I believe. There are many things to pick up in the game, in fact you can grab just about anything even if it won't be used for anything.
There's also lockpicking, which I'm still a little cofused how to do. Thannk God there is an auto pick feature.
The voice acting is really done well, Patrick Stewart really takes a game up to new levels just hearing his narration.
The score is quite excellent as well.
So initially my take is the graphics look really good. The buildings & textures are really detailed as well as some of the outdoor environments. The character movements and fighting is a step up from Morrowind.

Dean, and anyone else for that matter that likes RPG's, I have a question for you.

I have never been a PC gamer, and I have never been an RPG gamer. The closest I have ever played to a true RPG was the Legend of Zelda. Anyhow, this game looks great, and I hear so many great things about it, it makes me want to buy the game.

However, I don't want to spend $60 on it if it is a true hardcore RPG that I wouldn't like.

Anyhow, just curious what some of you RPG fans think of this game and whether or not a casual gamer like myself might enjoy it. Thanks!

...
I have never been a PC gamer, and I have never been an RPG gamer....
Anyhow, just curious what some of you RPG fans think of this game and whether or not a casual gamer like myself might enjoy it. Thanks!
I'm in the same boat. I've never played a RPG game, not ever. Mostly FPS and car racers/sims. But Oblivion has sparked my interest.

I haven’t played Oblivion yet but I played both its predecessors Daggerfall and Morrowind.
It really depends on the type of gamer you are. I always liked these games but never really thought of them as mainstream.

If you like a lot of structure you definitely don’t want this game. There is a main quest but, if its like morrowind, there is nothing to push you towards it so you pretty much just wander around and do what you like. If you are good at making your own fun and love exploring then you will like it. If you hate that type of thing and just want to get on with the next plot point to 'finish' the game, well then you may not like it.

Let it be said that I do not like RPG's especially turn based style games and games like KOTOR although I enjoyed KOTOR.
IMO this game is an RPG in the way that the game is designed based on the algorythms used to determine various outcomes. For me, this game is more of an adventure game although it has traditional RPG elements like leveling up and spell casting etc.
I can tolerate RPG's like World of Warcraft, Kotor, or similar games that bring exciting ideas to the table but games like Final Fantasy bore the heck out of me.

As far as spending $60 go, it depends on what you expect to get out of it. I was just going through the strategy guide, which is HUGE, and the level of depth in the game is unbelievable. They really have put a lot into this game.

So if you are interested in following an adventurous storyline & quests, building a character etc, this game will be for you. For me, it's all about the adventure. There are some really cool elements that I want to go back & explore. But I am by no means an RPG guy so take this for what it is worth.

I too was addicted to World of Warcraft, while at the same time I traditionally don't like RPG's. I'm really curious to see if this game, like WoW, is so good that it can appeal to gamers who don't even like RPG's.

I'm not so sure, there is something about the multiplayer aspects of a MMO that add a strong addictive nature, imo.

i bought xbox1 just for morrowind and got a core 3 days ago just for oblivion id pay 300.00 for just the game no other game compares just hope no bugs like on morrowind for xbox1

It's a lot like Morrowind but with a lot of improvements since you don't get lost as easily as I did in the first game.
What I don't really like about the game is the menu. It's probably more intuitive on the PC but on the 360 it takes some getting used to navigate.
You bring up the menu with the B button and from there you use the triggers and the D pad or analog stick to flip through the pages.
There are also load times of about 20 seconds or so to go into buildings and as you are riding around the countryside load screens for new areas pop up but it's kind of like Halo
in that you only ntice it for a second.
Again, graphically the game is good. Some things look great and detailed but there is still clipping in some areas and some things pop right into view when you are looking at a distance.
The game isn't perfect but there's so much to the game that it's easy to overlook some of these minor things.

I got to play it for about 2hours last night. It sounds like Dean has gotten farther in then I have. Anyways this definitely an RPG with some adventure sytle to it.

So far I have had fun, and I have briefly looked through the guide. Normally I don't buy guides but for $25 CAN and for the size of the thing I thought I should.

So far the hardest part of the game was decided what class I wanted to play as.

I went as a mage but I still am a little lost to how aquire new spells.

I was going to try and hold out to this weekend to get it but I saw on the boards it was available here in ohio and I broke down and went and bought it.


How does it look? I don't get into all the details of graphics and lighting and what not. All I can say is the art work is incredible. Its very immersive as well. When your in the sewers it makes you feel like your in some dank sewer. So far what I have seen of the city art work it is excellent. The game as a whole has a very Myth/Riven feel to it. They have very much captured the story/adventure feel in the game. It does truly feel like your exploring a new world.

(side not...early on I start picking the lock on one of the shops in the city and was caught by one of the guards. I didnt even realize I was doing something I shouldnt be doing at the time. I felt much shame and then I reloaded the game.)

Controls. The controls are very responsive and I can't see any defects when I pan quickly. Its very responsive and you have the ability to tweak this as well. The item menu's are pretty self explanatory all though I do wish there was a character view that showed all the items you are wearing. Maybe it just me but for practical purposes there are basically four hot keys you can use while you play.
The D-pad acts as the hotkey selector. Its just hitting a diagonal in the middle of combat doesnt seem real comfortable yet. Thats okay though. That means you have four combat spells and four buff/non combat spells hotkeyed.

Combat. Im still getting use to it but it is definetly more of a FPS feel to it. I remember reading that all spells automatically hit. Sure that's true if the monster stays in front of you. But I have missed a few times with the creature spotting me as I was lining up the shot and then bolting for me. Also I definetly like that you don't default to being able to see things before they see you. Like I said the combat is very real time/ action oriented it is definetly not a turn based combat system.

Game System. Overall I really like the system. Its very open, very easy to customize your character. There is a crazy amount of customization to how your character looks. Honestly why they would use so much on a single player game is beyond me but its there if you want it. Creating your character is quite enjoyable although I will bet after time that there will be 2 or 3 uber builds. This game definetly would not lend it self to online play. At least not the way it is balanced right now.

Difficulty...Now this I was really pleasantly suprised by. There is a sliding bar that you can adjust the difficulty of the game at any point. Turning it up definetly increases the difficulty of the game. I turned it up just after I started and I could just barely defeat a giant rat. I always hate the turn based rpgs because encounters become trivial. If you know what your doing there is never any danger. This game is nothing like that. If your getting overly comfortable turn up the difficulty a bit.

Overall there is a definet 'feel' to the game that I'm still getting use to. I have the feeling that some might not appreciate it but for now I am really enjoying it.

(Final note I dont have much to say about the audio yet because I was playing this after the kids went to bed and didn't want to wake anyone. Ill edit this later to tell everyone about the audio)

I got to play it for about 2hours last night. It sounds like Dean has gotten farther in then I have. Anyways this definitely an RPG with some adventure sytle to it.

So far I have had fun, and I have briefly looked through the guide. Normally I don't buy guides but for $25 CAN and for the size of the thing I thought I should.

So far the hardest part of the game was decided what class I wanted to play as.

I went as a mage but I still am a little lost to how aquire new spells.


As you move thought the sewers and loot some of the spell casters you get 4 basic spells. Fire damage, healing, cloak, and light spells


After that you have to start buying them. Although I do have summon spell that Im not sure how I acquired. As soon as you get out of the sewers there is a city near you with a merchant district that has a shop that sells spells. Also I know there is a Mage University south of the city but I havent visited it yet.


You should definetly hotkey your spells. It makes it much more effective when you can use several spells at once in combat.

So you get to ride horses....is it like Barbie Horse Adventure!?!?!? :P

I thought this game was multiplayer online...yes/no?? Is Oblivion just a standard single player RPG a-la Fable and the old games that have come before it?

Difficulty...Now this I was really pleasantly suprised by. There is a sliding bar that you can adjust the difficulty of the game at any point. Turning it up definetly increases the difficulty of the game. I turned it up just after I started and I could just barely defeat a giant rat. I always hate the turn based rpgs because encounters become trivial. If you know what your doing there is never any danger. This game is nothing like that. If your getting overly comfortable turn up the difficulty a bit.

I actually found that last night when I was playing & was a little dissapointed. In a game where you are supposed to work on your character and level up, etc. it seems odd to be able to change your skill level, especially after the game has started.
I will say it is probably the best skill level chooser I have seen in a game but it seems like it can defeat the purpose of the whole game.
You are going to have people out there turning the slider all the way down to nothing and blowing thru the game.

You are going to have people out there turning the slider all the way down to nothing and blowing thru the game.This happens in most games, my Nephews do it all the time. So what? Play it on the hardest difficulty and it will last you a long time. That's what I do. Who cares what everyone else is doing?

So you get to ride horses....is it like Barbie Horse Adventure!?!?!? :P
You tell me.
http://www.gamereactor.se/media/elderscrolls4_40302.jpg

I actually found that last night when I was playing & was a little dissapointed. In a game where you are supposed to work on your character and level up, etc. it seems odd to be able to change your skill level, especially after the game has started.
I will say it is probably the best skill level chooser I have seen in a game but it seems like it can defeat the purpose of the whole game.
You are going to have people out there turning the slider all the way down to nothing and blowing thru the game.


Okay I admit I a horrible min/maxer. Im glad that even after I max my character I can adjust the difficulty so that those lich encounters wont be a walk through. The only thing I wish is that the difficulty meter was tied to how good of loot is dropped. The hard the difficulty the better the loot that should drop.

Regards,

You tell me.


lol, touche kysersose :cool:

I got mine yesterday but got a disc read error when I popped it in, DOH!! Have to exchange it today.

I'm on my way to pick it up...

It's good to take the entire day off. :)

lol, touche kysersose :cool: Hope you don't mind me borrowing that pic from the other thread. :D

This happens in most games, my Nephews do it all the time. So what? Play it on the hardest difficulty and it will last you a long time. That's what I do. Who cares what everyone else is doing?

I guess I don't realy 'care' about how others play it but you are inevitably going to read about people finishing it and they probably will do it on the easisest setting.
This isn't just like picking a skill level, it's more comparable to the sliders in the EA sports games. It makes it impossible to not win confrontations.
The other thing is when you look at other people's progress in the game, as we are now capable of doing, you may need some assitance or a tip only to realize they got where they are by playing it on a really easy skill level.

And then finally, there's the temptation issue. Why bother going & leveling up when you can just adjust the slider & go on?

I would have been fine with a few skill level choices but setting the slider all the way down to zero is ridiculous.

my 2 cents...

Okay I admit I a horrible min/maxer. Im glad that even after I max my character I can adjust the difficulty so that those lich encounters wont be a walk through. The only thing I wish is that the difficulty meter was tied to how good of loot is dropped. The hard the difficulty the better the loot that should drop.

Regards,

Agreed, the meter should have some sort of negative or positive affect. It seems silly to have a game where you build your character to get to a certain point and then just have to adjust a slider if you get stuck.

Anyone have any luck with availability from CompUSA?

Im waiting for CompUSA to show available too.... Until then I have GRAW to occupy my time for awhile longer...

Just grabbed mine at Best Buy during lunch. I had a 10% off coupon. I also picked up the massive strategy guide........

Anyone have any luck with availability from CompUSA?

Are they running a sale or something?

NM, I just answered my own queston.

I haven't played it myself (no 360), but I watched the first two hours of Greg Kasavin's 12-hour marathon live-feed on GameSpot. Pretty damn impressive, overall. (He played from 6 PM PST until 6 AM while they broadcast it live; he spent a couple of hours practicing before they started in order to get the hang of the controls). Certainly character management, which I've stated elsewhere is what bugs me most about RGPs, was kept to a minimum. Kasavin doggedly pursued the main quest at maximum speed, teleporting everywhere and never stopping to take in the scenery and exploring very little, which was disappointing, but it whet my appetite. It's definitely in the list of the first titles I'll pick up when I finally get a 360 :).

Picked up the collector's ed. and big Prima guide during lunch (what the hell...what's $90 when you're already spending $80). First RPG...hope to check it out later today.

This game looks awesome! :cool:

This can be the main thread for the game.

Anyone playing it right now? I am on my lunch break and I went home and am playing it. Sweetness.

Just got home with the collectors ed. and game guide. Will play tonite after work and try to post some impressions late night. :D

Picked it up from Circuit City during lunch, stuck at work for the next 3 hours :(

They price matched CompUSA Ad, $43. + tax .. great deal :)

Picked up the game and strategy guide from Gamestop at lunch. Looking over the manual now and jonesing to go home. Definitely not going to be a long day for me...well, it'll feel long, but I plan to take off at a reasonable hour.

I finished up GRAW this weekend (also an excellent game if you haven't played it), so now my plate is clear for Oblivion.

Picked it up from Circuit City during lunch, stuck at work for the next 3 hours :(

They price matched CompUSA Ad, $43. + tax .. great deal :)

Thanks for posting Shok... I'll try that I my CC too. :cool:

This can be the main thread for the game.


Sounds good, we need one main thread. I'll make this one a sticky.

Merged threads.

Here's a little tip for those having loading problems in some areas.

Official from Bethesda:

"Oblivion uses the Xbox 360 hard drive extensively to cache (copy and reuse) data. This is done to optimize all loading the game does. It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more.
To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one. Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared.
Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data."

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=273721

Here's a little tip for those having loading problems in some areas.

Official from Bethesda:

"Oblivion uses the Xbox 360 hard drive extensively to cache (copy and reuse) data. This is done to optimize all loading the game does. It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more.
To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one. Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared.
Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data."

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=273721


Interesting, thanks for the tip, I wonder if this is my problem, bought oblivion yesterday loaded up and showed the intro movie, then I hit a button to create a character and I got a disc read error. From that point on I get a disc read error every time right when the Bethesda logo comes up. Tried wiping the disc with a cloth and there are no visible scracthes at all.

I didn't know this was a single player game only.

I've wanted this game since I read about it, but I thought it was a MMORPG not a MSRPG (Massive Single player RPG).

Damn. I didn't buy it, but I might change my mind. I was looking forward to playing this with "friends" on LIVE.

Thank God its here. I initially said I was not going to buy any games until this came out because this was all I was waiting for since launch. Needless to say this is the 7th game I have purchased. Now I can take a break and log on some good hours with one game. This game is great so far. I lost many hours of sleep on Morrowind and I can see the same thing happening here with Oblivion. You can spend hours just roaming around the country.

As I get deeper into the game I am liking it more and more and starting to take side quests although I still find myself getting a bit lost.

As I get deeper into the game I am liking it more and more and starting to take side quests although I still find myself getting a bit lost.

that right there is exactly why I'm getting the game and worried about it at the same time. I've liked what I've read so far as it seems maybe a bit easier to follow the main quest now.

I'll rent it from Gamefly. If I like it enough after a while, I might buy from them at their discount (+ the new 5% discount and the $5 off they're offering me right now).

As I get deeper into the game I am liking it more and more and starting to take side quests although I still find myself getting a bit lost.

Dean... do you think the strategy guide could help in this area?

Dean... do you think the strategy guide could help in this area?

Yes, and I bought it for that very reason. But I like to figure stuff out for myself so if I can't find my way I will ultimately consult the guide.
Keep in mind I'm a real noob with this type of game and I tend to get lost easily anyway.

Dean walks up to the nearest guard "Pardon me I am looking for the next achievement, can you assist me?" :)

I'm playing this on the PC, but I'm sure 360 owners that have this game will agree with me on this: I'm literally speechless with awe.

3 hours of game time later and I've barely even begun, for the most part.

This feels next generation to me in every respect.

Loving the game so far.... I'm glad that it has a brightness slider since it seemed a little dark on my DLP projector. The artwork is pretty amazing and I love the fact that you can just explore the world entirely. The combat reminds me of my old King's Field days a little bit.

Playing on the hardest level of difficulty is just that, difficult!
I love the challenge though. This game is going to consume me.

This game is going to consume me.

Exactly why I'm avoiding it (for now). I don't have the time and I'm WEAK!!

Jasman

Do you get skill increase for reading books on shelf like in Morrowind? I read through a few in different shops and have not come with any increase.

so is the feeling that the 1st person view is good? Does it loose some rpg qualities because of it? Does anyone play in the over the shoulder view? Is it servicable, deficient, on par?

I am using the first person view. The third seems lacking in animation and I found it detracted from the game. Its made to be played FP as are all the ES games IMO.

I've started playing , but have no idea what kind of character I'm going to play. I'm leaning toward a the Wood Elf (Stealth-Mage-Fighter) from the guide. So far seems really pretty cool.

I'm out of the sewers and exploring the world, while fighting lots of skeletons, bandits and zombies! The game just keeps getting better and better.

WOW! WOW! WOW!

EDIT: I'm playing an Argonian Assassin born under the sign of the shadow. I can turn invisible once/day and that ability can really come in handy. :D
Love using the Long Bow for sneak attacks as well.

I guess I'm going to have to buy it. Was going to hold off a while, but reading the impressions gets me too excited to wait. Too bad I am out of town at the Game Developers Conference all week. Or maybe it's a good thing... :)

My brother just called me. He is a huge RPG fan and he absolutely hates the game. He is threatening to sell his system on ebay, etc. He didn't give me a lot of specifics but he is very disappointed.

My brother just called me. He is a huge RPG fan and he absolutely hates the game. He is threatening to sell his system on ebay, etc. He didn't give me a lot of specifics but he is very disappointed.

That's too bad. I wonder how far he got?

My brother just called me. He is a huge RPG fan and he absolutely hates the game. He is threatening to sell his system on ebay, etc. He didn't give me a lot of specifics but he is very disappointed.
Selling his system because of a single game? Makes perfect sense to me.

Selling his system because of a single game? Makes perfect sense to me.
It only makes sense if he bought the 360 merely in anticipation for the game.

To echo the thoughts of most of you.......WOW. I am so impressed/happy with this game thus far (over 2 hr in). I'm playing as a Redguard Agent born under the Thief sign. Didn't help me when I got caught stealing that horse though. :D As far as my character goes, I'm not sure if my choices are a good combo (I was never good at picking out the best classes in RPGs).

Well I should get some sleep now I guess.... ;)


One side note : the horse was kinda hard to steer....lol.

I've been playing the PC version for a few hours now, and I'm impressed. I don't really think its any better than ES3 from a gameplay standpoint (so far), but it's far more immersive. I probably won't even finish it, because the the modding tools are a bit improved from ES3, and there are tons of mod possibilities I could probably get lost in...

Agreed, the meter should have some sort of negative or positive affect. It seems silly to have a game where you build your character to get to a certain point and then just have to adjust a slider if you get stuck.

There seems to be some debate of wether the adjustable difficulty is a benefit or not, so I wanted to add my perspective. I don't have anywhere near the amount of time to play games that I used to, what with the whole family and career and all, but I still love to play when I have the availability. There is nothing more frustrating than when I only have a hour or half hour to play and end up getting stuck at a difficult point in a game. If I want to lower the difficulty in order to progress, say on a boss creature, then I don't necessarily want to get penalized for doing so. To me, the experience is the same as it would be for those who did not lower the difficulty in that I received enjoyment from my in game actions. I would not, however, enjoy a frustrating battle or impossible situation. Please don't consider me a weak gamer, rather a gamer who tries to maximize his gaming time ;)

On a side note, anyone have any recommendations for the different character classes? Any particular benefits or downfalls that you have experienced?

Are there any screenshots comparing the PC version to the 360 version?

I picked up the game yesterday and played it for about an hour (I got as far as the Goblin Shaman thing in the sewers). I come from a PC gaming background and this is my first console RPG. The game itself seems fun enough and I'm still adapting to using a gamepad instead of a mouse and keyboard.

However, I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed in the graphics. They just do not seem very next gen to me. The last RPG I played was Everquest 2 on my PC. I thought that graphics in that were far more detailed than what I'm seeing in Oblivion. I found this most notable on the opening cut scene. Usually cut scenes go above and beyond with regards to the graphics. However, the resolution seemed very poor on the opening cut scene of Oblivion. I also thought it looked very poor when trying to play in a 3rd person perspective. My character was really lacking in detail.

I'm not saying the graphics are bad per se. They just didn't have the WOW factor I would have expected next gen graphics to have.

I'm not saying the graphics are bad per se. They just didn't have the WOW factor I would have expected next gen graphics to have.
Can I ask what you are playing it on and at what resolution?

I'm playing it on a DLP projector @ over 100 inches and it looks pretty good. Does it look as good as the PC version @ 20+ inches? No. But that also depends on what video-card you have. The higher resolution output from a PC would obviously improve things.

Still, at least I'm not facing any issues that some people seem to be in the HTPC section. When I get home with a game I just want to sit down and enjoy it.

EDIT: Please don't turn this into a PC vs 360 debate. They both have their benefits.

Thanks,

There seems to be some debate of wether the adjustable difficulty is a benefit or not, so I wanted to add my perspective. I don't have anywhere near the amount of time to play games that I used to, what with the whole family and career and all, but I still love to play when I have the availability. There is nothing more frustrating than when I only have a hour or half hour to play and end up getting stuck at a difficult point in a game. If I want to lower the difficulty in order to progress, say on a boss creature, then I don't necessarily want to get penalized for doing so. To me, the experience is the same as it would be for those who did not lower the difficulty in that I received enjoyment from my in game actions. I would not, however, enjoy a frustrating battle or impossible situation. Please don't consider me a weak gamer, rather a gamer who tries to maximize his gaming time ;)

On a side note, anyone have any recommendations for the different character classes? Any particular benefits or downfalls that you have experienced?

I guess if you are really stuck it is cool to have there BUT in a game like this where you build you character it isn't really one of those kinds of games where a half an hour should get you through.
It's not that I consider you a weak gamer either. The point is that you are missing out on the point of the game. Let's say having certain abilities or leveling up would get you past Boss_x.
You get to boss X and you are lesser of a foe than he is. You cannot beat Boss_X so you reduce the slider to nothing and swipe him a couple of times with the sword and he falls. It defeats the whole purpose of the game imo.
Otherwise though I am all for skill levels in games and this is the best one I have seen.
The other thing though is that you can save your game anywhere, sleep to regain health, have magic skills to replenish health, etc. They give you so many things that you really don't need to reduce your skill level.
For what it's worth though I watched my 11 yr old son play all the way past closing the Oblivion gate so it's not like the game is even that hard on the default settings anyway.
As far as not having the time for games, unfortunately this is a game that requires a lot of time to fully be enjoyed. If you just adjust the slider to win you might just be missing out and not really having the same experience.
The same can be said for Ghost Recon. They posted cheats for the game on the board where you can get all of your health back. If you use that cheat, knowing that will undoubtebly make you play different. You will play more carelessly because you know that at anytime you can just replenish your health. That's why I was dissapointed they were released so soon because it would change the way you approach the game.

Are there any screenshots comparing the PC version to the 360 version?

I picked up the game yesterday and played it for about an hour (I got as far as the Goblin Shaman thing in the sewers). I come from a PC gaming background and this is my first console RPG. The game itself seems fun enough and I'm still adapting to using a gamepad instead of a mouse and keyboard.

However, I have to say that I am somewhat disappointed in the graphics. They just do not seem very next gen to me. The last RPG I played was Everquest 2 on my PC. I thought that graphics in that were far more detailed than what I'm seeing in Oblivion. I found this most notable on the opening cut scene. Usually cut scenes go above and beyond with regards to the graphics. However, the resolution seemed very poor on the opening cut scene of Oblivion. I also thought it looked very poor when trying to play in a 3rd person perspective. My character was really lacking in detail.

I'm not saying the graphics are bad per se. They just didn't have the WOW factor I would have expected next gen graphics to have.

Well, Oblivion began development for PC in summer of 2004. I remember seeing the screenshots then and damn near fainting. since then, though, we've seen just as good looking game engines come and go. I just don't think Oblivion's visual have that wow factor they did before, mainly because we've become accustomed to next-gen looking games, especially those of us who game on high-end PC's, and Oblivion's graphics engine is a year and a half old. Still, Oblivion is one of the best looking games out for the 360. EQ2 is a graphical powerhouse, few games will touch it if it's running on a high-end machine. I try not to compare games visuals to EQ2's since most people won't see EQ2 in all settings maxed out glory.

I bought ES4 yesterday along with the Strategy Guide. I usually only use the guide as a reference if I get stuck for a while because I don't have as much time as I used to for gaming.
The box looks awsome! Hope I get to play it this weekend a little :)
-Evangelo2

PS. I have way too many games I still have to beat and I really want Blazing Angels too. Boy, I should be busy until end of summer :)

Dean, I agree that adjustable difficulty should not be used as a crutch for the entire game or in a way that would alter your playing style, thus dramatically changing the game experience. I should confess that I have not started playing the game yet (wife forgot to bring it home :mad: ) so I haven't experienced it first hand. Bottom line: I like to have the option to adjust the difficulty knowing that I will not "abuse the policy" so to say :)

Side note: I understand what you are saying about missing the point in the game. Castlevania: SotN is a great example of level design based upon difficulty and the necessity to level up. ;)

anyone have any recommendations for the different character classes? Any particular benefits or downfalls that you have experienced?

I second this request.

I'm going to start a character tonight, so I would love to hear input like "if I could start over again, I would...".

So it sounds like this game is the reason I hoped it would be to cause me to buy the 360.

I've been holding off, waiting for great game to keep me enthralled for hours.

I'm going to start a character tonight, so I would love to hear input like "if I could start over again, I would...".

I am not a Min/Maxer, so keep that in mind as you read my advice -

The starting dungeon gives you a chance to try out the different playstyles - spells, bows, sneaking, straight up combat, etc. Note that at this point you have not picked a class yet.

Try out all these styles and see what seems the most fun to you ... go with a class that uses what you enjoy.

One thing I have liked about the previous TES games is I can get a character concept, and run with it, and succeed in the game. Sure, there is always a Race/Class/Skill/Weapon/Armor combo that is going get you through the game the quickest, but for me these games are about immersing yourself in your character, and in the world.

The starting dungeon gives you a chance to try out the different playstyles - spells, bows, sneaking, straight up combat, etc. Note that at this point you have not picked a class yet.


Excellent, thanks for letting me know. :cool: I always hate starting a character that wasn't right for the game and feeling locked into a poor choice.

Can I ask what you are playing it on and at what resolution?

I'm playing it on a DLP projector @ over 100 inches and it looks pretty good. Does it look as good as the PC version @ 20+ inches? No. But that also depends on what video-card you have. The higher resolution output from a PC would obviously improve things.

Still, at least I'm not facing any issues that some people seem to be in the HTPC section. When I get home with a game I just want to sit down and enjoy it.

EDIT: Please don't turn this into a PC vs 360 debate. They both have their benefits.

Thanks,

I have my 360 hooked up to the new 61" JVC 1080p LCoS TV. I tried both 720p and 1080i resolutions from the 360.

I have my 360 hooked up to the new 61" JVC 1080p LCoS TV. I tried both 720p and 1080i resolutions from the 360.
And you didn't like the way it looked?

You can compare Screenshots here (http://www.elderscrolls.com/art/obliv_xbox360_screens_01.htm).

Did you make it out of the sewers yet?

PC shot:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/images/art/ob_pc/obliv30B.jpg



360 shot:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/images/art/ob_xbox360/obx29B.jpg

The PC shots look a little better to me but I would hate to see how much that PC costs to run it. And by "better" I mean marginally.

Just curious to know how the game is playing for those of you w/o the hard drive (on the 360 of course).

Played this last night until around 3 am. I have this running at 720p on my Vizio P50HD. My fiancée couldn't get over how beautiful everything was in the game.

I have the long loading time issue and it even hiccups when moving around the menus I'm glad this appears to be isolated and not a widespread problem. I plan to try the “A” button fix when I get home.

Graphics:
At some points when you talk to characters it almost looks like they filmed a live action person and put the film in the game. But they are all digitally rendered. The way their eyes glow/have a glassy sheen intensifies the effect. This doesn’t happen with every character interaction but when it does it is like I’m looking through a window talking to the guy on the other side. This happened most dramatically in two places when I talked to the last “Blade” as I left behind the initial area and when I was talking to an Orc in his weapon shop. My fiancée asked if it was a guy in makeup it looked that good. However sometimes I had what I call “angel face” like in KotOR. People’s faces have this weird glow from some nearby lighting source. That happened a couple times. Aside from the visuals the voice acting is excellent and adds a lot.

Gameplay:
Very similar to Daggerfall and Morrowind but improved. This is the first FPS RPG I’m playing on a console and I like how the controller handles things. Switching between spells and weapons is easier than with a keyboard. Having only 8 quickslots on the d-pad may be a problem as I attain more skills, especially spell wise, but so far it has worked well. Some people have said certain areas are too dark, etc. I've found that yes places are dark but if you use a torch and/or a light spell you can see plenty. Also dungeons are supposed to be dark this is the first game I've played were a torch or light spell was critical to getting around. I really liked that fact. The torch and light spell work very differently which was also something new to me so I found using them together was beneficial.

Sound: Dolby Digital EX is well implemented and I’m told “freaked the cat out” as some noise traveled around the room which is always a good sign. The musical score is sweeping and gets the blood flowing but isn’t obtrusive. But Jeremy Soule (http://www.directsong.com/) always does a good job.

As far as the game I felt like I had stepped into a world.

But there is a major problem.
Load times were a real problem for me I had gone live marketplace crazy downloading trailers, demos and what not to the point I only had 4 gigs left. I deleted most but not all of that and it appears I have this “defrag” issue. This concerns me somewhat long term with the 360 I hope Microsoft is going to roll out some sort of a maintenance tool either in the background or added to the system blade to resolve this sort of thing.

Overall I’d rather be home playing Oblivion than writing about it during lunch. So yeah I like it. I’ll love it if I can fix the load time issue.

Anybody know what a staff is considered? Is it a blunt weapon or its own thing?

I guess I'm going to have to buy it. Was going to hold off a while, but reading the impressions gets me too excited to wait. Too bad I am out of town at the Game Developers Conference all week. Or maybe it's a good thing... :)

Please treat the CA's (conference associates) nicely. And enjoy GDC.
I miss GDC... used to be a CA myself for many years.

Now, back to Oblivion.

Got it yesterday... only had 2 hours to play. Haven't gotten out of the sewers yet, but as an Imperial, it's been great sneaking around.

For those further along than me, and with the guides and extras and whatnot, can you tell me if you can use a shield to block lightning/shock and fire spells?

So how many people are playing in First Person mode? I immediately switched to Third Person and haven't gone back at all. I just find it easier.......

So how many people are playing in First Person mode? I immediately switched to Third Person and haven't gone back at all. I just find it easier.......


As I'm also playing G.R.A.W... I'm sticking with 1st person mode for both games... just easier that way. :)

As I'm also playing G.R.A.W... I'm sticking with 1st person mode for both games... just easier that way. :)

Same here.

So how many people are playing in First Person mode? I immediately switched to Third Person and haven't gone back at all. I just find it easier.......


I have to use 3rd person when riding the horse, Otherwise I use First Person, Much easier for me to look at and pick up objects etc.

I don't have the game, but I saw this and figured someone might want to try it. Looks like the first big glitch might have been discovered.

---------------------------------------
Ok my friends, i just found an amazingly awesome glitch. Go to the Talos district of the Imperial city, find a house owned by a gentlemen named Dorian, it will be "Dorians House" of course, it's in the SE section of the Talos district. Anyway, break into his house, find him, when he tells you to leave kill his ass dead. Loot his body, click on the gold he's carrying and keep hitting A like you normally would, over and over, it will keep giving you gold, the number of gold pieces left will freeze when it gets to 8 gold pieces and it won't go any lower, it will just keep giving you all the gold you could ever desire. I have loaded it and tried it twice to make sure it's not a fluke, and it's not, i just keep getting as much gold as i want. Make sure you get the amount you want before you back out cause it won't do it again. It's awesome!

Actually, on second try, you can back out of his bodies inventory and go back in and keep getting as much gold as you want, i just checked it again, omg this is so friggin awesome!!!

The last thing you should take is his gold, do not press X to take all, take each item individually, finishing with the gold, which will not run out once it hits 8 pieces!

I have to use 3rd person when riding the horse, Otherwise I use First Person, Much easier for me to look at and pick up objects etc.


I'm thinking First Person won't work too well for stealth based characters.

Plus, I spent so much time creating my character I at least want to be able to see him on the screen! :)

Please treat the CA's (conference associates) nicely. And enjoy GDC.
I miss GDC... used to be a CA myself for many years.

I will. They are always nice to me. And I do enjoy coming to GDC.

I did break down and order Oblivion and Blazing Angels. They will be waiting for me when I finally get back home. It makes me realize how expensive things are getting though. I ordered the 2 games plus a strategy guide with overnight shipping and was shocked at the checkout price of over 170 bucks. :eek: Being an early adopter, "gotta have it now" guy sucks sometimes.

And you didn't like the way it looked?

You can compare Screenshots here (http://www.elderscrolls.com/art/obliv_xbox360_screens_01.htm).

Did you make it out of the sewers yet?

Thanks for the screenshots Kysersose. As you noted, I think there is only a marginal difference at best. I think it's just myself that needs to adjust. I'm used to playing RPG's on my 21" computer monitor from a few inches away. Even if the graphics were completely identical it probably wouldn't look as sharp on my HDTV simply due to the fact that it's spread out over more area.

But on the flip side, I can't kick my feet up in the recliner while playing on my PC either :D

Wow, this game really is amazing. I haven't played an RPG since Final Fantasy VIII on PC, and the last RPG like this I played was Ravenshield back in 1995 or '96. I'm so totally hooked on this it's disgusting. Good thing I just finished the single player campaign on GRAW a few days ago or else I'd have felt I wasted my money. So far I've been playing for about 20 hours, just running around all over the place exploring ruins, fulfilling side quests, and I've just barely completed the first task in the primary quest (going to the Priory).

Graphics wise, I read from the IGN comparisons that the 360 and PC games are almost identical, the forest environments just aren't quite as clean or lush, lines a bit more jagged. It would have been nice to take advantage of that, but I specifically wanted to get something good for my plasma and 360.

Issues wise, the game has frozen on me once, on a loading screen. Equally disconcerting was when the games fans would all of a sudden kick off, the 360 would get real quite, and then it would blank and I would get a message saying the disc was unreadable. Each time it happened when some sort of speech/dialogue with an NPC was being initated. When I reset the console it worked just fine, and luckily each time I had just recently saved so it was never too inconvenient.

Speaking of which, has anyone else noticed that when you reload after turning the console off, then save the game, your new saves start at the bottom of the saved game scrolling list? Good motivation to delete old saves and keep the list cleaned up.

Load times were a real problem for me I had gone live marketplace crazy downloading trailers, demos and what not to the point I only had 4 gigs left. I deleted most but not all of that and it appears I have this “defrag” issue. This concerns me somewhat long term with the 360 I hope Microsoft is going to roll out some sort of a maintenance tool either in the background or added to the system blade to resolve this sort of thing.

Overall I’d rather be home playing Oblivion than writing about it during lunch. So yeah I like it. I’ll love it if I can fix the load time issue.

Anybody know what a staff is considered? Is it a blunt weapon or its own thing?

The "A" button fix worked so my load times are nonexistent now and I was unfortunately :) playing until late/early this morning. Totally amazing game, running across the bridge from the imperial City at night I just stopped and looked around at the sky. Beautiful, fun and an immense game world. I can't wait to get back home.

So far I've been playing for about 20 hours, just running around all over the place exploring ruins, fulfilling side quests, and I've just barely completed the first task in the primary quest (going to the Priory).

That's me too. I have played nine or so hours so far, and aside from going to the Priory, I have run through two or three dungeons that I just happened across (i.e. not quest related), and that's still been damn fun! I think I will buckle down tonight and actually complete a quest (and join a guild, mages or fighters, I think. I may save the thieves' and Dark Brotherhood for my evil character on the second run through!) :D

My Oblivion observation of the day: At 1st level, I highly recommend not going to the first destination after Priory. Focusing on the main quest only isn't very doable if you're a stealth-type character. :D

That's me too. I have played nine or so hours so far, and aside from going to the Priory, I have run through two or three dungeons that I just happened across (i.e. not quest related), and that's still been damn fun! I think I will buckle down tonight and actually complete a quest (and join a guild, mages or fighters, I think. I may save the thieves' and Dark Brotherhood for my evil character on the second run through!) :D

Hey Heartbreak, I know you're on my Friends List (I'm Stimpy7) and Oblivion is, of course, "massively singleplayer"... but it sounds like we're up to the same thing!

I've been in for about 10 hours or so at this point, and have only hit that first stop on the main quest... (Which, BTW, I would advise everyone to do early on, if for no other reason than the "assistance" you're given by the Priory folks.) Otherwise it's been- hmm, wonder what this "crumbling mine" holds? Or- hmm, wonder if anybody in this tavern has any good rumors? Heck, right out of the sewer gate I thought- hmm, wonder what those ruins are over there across the water? (Cue: hour-long exploration.)

Wide-open possibilities -- as always with the ES series -- but this time only if you WANT to be "lost" in them! (Since you can always just activate a quest and use Fast Travel most of the time...) Now THIS is what I call adventuring!

And I too have been thinking about the whole Thief/Assassin choice I didn't make and almost wishing I would've gone that route for my first game. So many tempting things to pilfer! (I really appreciate how the potential crimes are indicated AHEAD OF TIME now, too!) But the good thing is that that will make for a significantly different experience the second time around.

Admittedly I have been motivated enough to join both the Fighters and Mages Guild (I like to dabble in both), but have barely started on either.

Great game! I had extremely high expectations for it... and I have to say to this point they've been met!

So I picked up this game last night. I must say it's rad.

I find myself killing quite a few people for the hell of it. I've just been asked by that one dude to join the Dark Brotherhood. Is there any downside of doing this? Like will people around towns not like me and i'll be forced to sneak around in the dark? Or will it simply help me to kill lots more random people? :)

One thing I dont like is the guards. They ALWAYS seem to know when you did something wrong... even if they were very far away when it happened. And they are freaking impossible to kill.

So far, this is shaping up to be the best 360 game so far.

One thing I dont like is the guards. They ALWAYS seem to know when you did something wrong... even if they were very far away when it happened. Ha ha. That reminds me of Fable. I always got caught by the guards, even in the middle of the night, behind someone's house on the other end of town from the guards.

I just got Oblivion in the mail. I'm hoping to start it tonight when I get home from work. The pocket guide, coin, and fold-out box sure are pretty to look at in the meantime. :p

One thing I dont like is the guards. They ALWAYS seem to know when you did something wrong... even if they were very far away when it happened. And they are freaking impossible to kill.


The strategy guide suggests that you don't even attempt to fight the guards as they will always be several levels above you. Just pay the fine or serve your jail time.

They also mentioned that even though your inventory will get cleaned out when you go to jail, they will always leave you with one lock pick. Thus, there's always the chance to escape.

They also mentioned that even though your inventory will get cleaned out when you go to jail, they will always leave you with one lock pick. Thus, there's always the chance to escape.
But if you escape, will you not get all of your stuff back from the guards? What's the downside of serving your time? It seems it just lowers some of your skill levels a bit.

But if you escape, will you not get all of your stuff back from the guards? What's the downside of serving your time? It seems it just lowers some of your skill levels a bit.

I think I read in the manual that they confiscate only your stolen items and if you opt for jailtime those are kept in a chest very near the guards, so essentially in order to get them back you have to both:
1) be lucky or skillful enough to pick the cell lock with your one lockpick, and
2) then be sly enough to "steal" your goods back out from under the guards' noses...

And if you don't succeed in both of those steps, your stolen items are gone.

I myself have yet to go to jail... (I say "yet" because even though I'm playing a law-abider, I just know it's going to happen at some point... I just won't be able to resist.) But- good luck!

I have played about 6 hours so far and I like the game, but I must admit I am having a bit of trouble. I have reached Wenyon Priory and Chorrol and have been trying to do some side quests. I keep getting killed! I think the issue is that my character has not even leveled up yet. Usually in these types of games there are areas/dungeons/etc that you can go spend some time grinding away to level up your character a bit then go try the quest again. I haven't really found a place to "practice" and the only combat I get is during quests, which is too hard for my lowly character right now. Anyone have any suggestions for places to fight low level (rats, etc)? Running around in the woods takes to long to find things to kill.

-zb

So i'm assuming that if you kill someone and take their stuff its not "stolen". Its only stolen if you steal it by sneaking around them?

Usually in these types of games there are areas/dungeons/etc that you can go spend some time grinding away to level up your character

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember reading in the Strategy Guide that the combat stays at the skill level of the main character... meaning as you level up, the enemies level up too. The point was that there's no reason to needlessly level up the character to aid in combat.

It was late when i read this... did I understand it correctly? :confused:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember reading in the Strategy Guide that the combat stays at the skill level of the main character... meaning as you level up, the enemies level up too. The point was that there's no reason to needlessly level up the character to aid in combat.

It was late when i read this... did I understand it correctly? :confused:


If that is the case.... then it means I just suck! I will have to turn the difficulty down I guess (I had eeked it up a tad).

Can anyone explain the persuasion mini game to me? I really don't understand what i'm supposed to do and the manual is of no help. Thanks!

I actually kind of like that. One thing I hated about the Final Fantasy Games (when I used to play them) was walking around for hours fighting people trying to get my level up. It was very boring.

The strategy guide suggests that you don't even attempt to fight the guards as they will always be several levels above you. Just pay the fine or serve your jail time.

They also mentioned that even though your inventory will get cleaned out when you go to jail, they will always leave you with one lock pick. Thus, there's always the chance to escape.

makes you wonder where exactly your character was hiding that one lockpick.....

Can anyone explain the persuasion mini game to me? I really don't understand what i'm supposed to do and the manual is of no help. Thanks!

By the time I post this someone will probably have a better description, but here goes:

The Persuasion Game gives you a wheel divided into four wedges. Each wedge corresponds to an action ... joke, threaten, etc (sorry, don't remember each one).

In the middle of wheel is a number ... the higher the number, the more they like you. The goal of the game is to increase this number.

The Persuasion game is played in rounds, you can play as many rounds as you like.

One round of the persuasion game involves clicking each of the actions once. That is, in one round you have to click each one, and you can only take each action once.

Every NPC will Love one action, Like one action, Dislike one action, and Hate one action. You can tell by looking at their face when you move the cursor over the action on the wheel.

Actions they like and love will increase the number in the middle (how much they like you), ones they hate and dislike will decrease the number.

Now, where it gets tricky is you will notice each wedge is filled in with some color. The more a wedge is filled in, the more that action will affect the NPC. So, if the NPC Loves the Joke action, and the wedge is completely filled in, it will greatly increase their opinion of you when you click the Joke action.

Anytime you click an action, the amount each wedge is filled in will shift clockwise. That is, if the wedge on the top is fully filled in, when you take an action the wedge on the right will now be completely filled in.

So, ultimately, what you are trying to do is click the Loved action when the wedge is full, and the Hated action when the wedge is almost empty.

As a final thing, the number in the center (how much they like you) counts down as the round goes on - so, you can't take too long to think about it!

It really is easier to give it a few tries than to describe it or read about it, though. The manual wasn't too helpful, and I don't know if what I wrote here is just more confusing than anything :p

keVin-

THanks, that was a great explanation and made sense of the nonsense that i was looking at. Being at work sux! I want to go play! :-D

as far as levelling up, remember that you have to sleep in a real bed to actually level up.

as far as levelling up, remember that you have to sleep in a real bed to actually level up.

But you don't actually do that until your "next level" bar is full right?

Does anyone know what the advantage/disadvantage to hiring a trainer to level you up a skill? And why does it say "x/5 Times Trained"? What's different between this and just using that hell out of the skill until it levels?

The PC shots look a little better to me but I would hate to see how much that PC costs to run it. And by "better" I mean marginally.
It should be noted that the PC version can be setup to render more detail than the Xbox 360 version by hand editing the config files. Check out this post (http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=846253&postcount=64) (different forum) for an example.

In fact, with the persuasion game, you don't really have to care about what each wedge means.
With my current character, I notice that the game usually involves: 1 Positive wedge, 1 Negative wedge, and 2 Neutral wedge. What each wedge 'means' to that character stays the same, so you don't have to recheck with each round.

The pie rotation tends to be 1 full, 1 half, 1 quarter, and 1 close to zero 'empty' pie, randomized in terms of sequence.

You can 'force' a clockwise rotation once per round.

Each round, you must play all four wedges.

From my own experience, this is what I do:
1) Quickly establish which wedge is the positive and which wedge is the negative.
2) use the two Neutral wedges to advance the full pie to the Positive wedge and the empty-pie on the Negative wedge.
3) it is better to waste the positive wedge on a smaller pie than to hit the negative wedge with a full pie. Actually, hitting the Negative wedge with even the quarter pie tends to hurt.

Strategy:
After finding the Positive wedge and the Negative wedge, try to burn the negative wedge on an empty 'pie' first. It might mean using the Neutral wedges, but if the full pie is on a Positive wedge, use it.

Focusing on clicking the 'empty' pie on the Negative wedge seems to make things easier than to play all 4 wedges.

Do this fast and don't wait for the animation or speech to end.

What exactly do you pursade people into doing?

I saw the option to do this come up on a lady while playing last night. The A.D.D. in me made me skip the constant pages of instructions that kept popping up and what I was left with was that pie graph thing (which you explained nicely above). I ended up quitting that and just killing her. :)

What exactly do you pursade people into doing?

I saw the option to do this come up on a lady while playing last night. The A.D.D. in me made me skip the constant pages of instructions that kept popping up and what I was left with was that pie graph thing (which you explained nicely above). I ended up quitting that and just killing her. :)

persuade them to like you more. the number represents how much they like you. higher number = better impression.

higher number = better chance at getting good bargains if they barter. (that's all I've seen so far... might affect dialog later on)

This game is just ridonkulous. I've never liked RPGs in my life, but picked this up simply because of its size and the hype. There's no turning back now. I'm freakin hooked!

I have played about 6 hours so far and I like the game, but I must admit I am having a bit of trouble. I have reached Wenyon Priory and Chorrol and have been trying to do some side quests. I keep getting killed! I think the issue is that my character has not even leveled up yet. Usually in these types of games there are areas/dungeons/etc that you can go spend some time grinding away to level up your character a bit then go try the quest again. I haven't really found a place to "practice" and the only combat I get is during quests, which is too hard for my lowly character right now. Anyone have any suggestions for places to fight low level (rats, etc)? Running around in the woods takes to long to find things to kill.

-zb


Well did you sleep in a bed. To level up you have to sleep in a bed and then it allows you to level up if your character is ready.

I was kind of freaked out because the default character strikes a resembelance to yours truly. A few more tweaks and I had a character that was a spitting image.


OK, this demands proof. Post a pic and a screenshot comparoo =)

I'm playing this on a 94" greywolf from a Panasonic AE900U, it looks frigging gorgeous. I love the fact that this game has a brightness slider, even tho my pj is calibrated most 360 games need a kick to the gamma, Burnout is almost unplayable like that. I wish burnout had that feature.

GRAW is definitly gonna get traded in for me, there is no way I can commit to both games and keep my regular hours in EQ1 =)

Sam

In regards to the question about ?/5 when you train skills, you're basically only allowed to train up to 5 skills each level, so you'd have to level up before you could buy anymore training.

I suppose I'm the only one experiencing the "Disc is unreadable" error, I'll have to exchange my disc at EBGames.

Can anyone tell me what the purpose of the various jewels are? I've got a whole bunch sitting in my inventory (pearls, rubies, flawed topaz, etc.) and they don't seem to come up anywhere or be good for spells or potions.

In regards to the question about ?/5 when you train skills, you're basically only allowed to train up to 5 skills each level, so you'd have to level up before you could buy anymore training.

I suppose I'm the only one experiencing the "Disc is unreadable" error, I'll have to exchange my disc at EBGames.

Can anyone tell me what the purpose of the various jewels are? I've got a whole bunch sitting in my inventory (pearls, rubies, flawed topaz, etc.) and they don't seem to come up anywhere or be good for spells or potions.

Jewels Good for selling and making gold to buy spells or potions. They are pretty light to carry and usually get you some good change so they are better to pick up then heavier axes\armor to sell.
Also if they are of good enough qaulity later in the game you can enchant them (at least you could in morrowind). And there may be one or two potions that do call for pearl and others, maybe.

I've been playing for numerous hours (8+) with out problems and tried to get in a quick half hour before work today. The game loaded fine, but when I went to talk to someone or navigate through my character menu, the game would hang up for 10-30 seconds at a time. Is this how the fragmentation problem manifests itself in the game? I had to go to work and didn't have time to try out the "A" button fix. For those who have had to use the "A" button, do you now have to do it each time you start the game, or do you get a certain number of hours in before the problem starts up again?

I am having a HUGE problem fitting the whole screen on my LCD TV. This is the HP LC2600N. The picture is fantastic but it seems I have to cut off either the top or bottom of the screen. More so the top because I need to see the menu at the bottom. I don't have this problem at on when playing on my FP (Infocus 4805). Anyone else having this problem?

higher number = better chance at getting good bargains if they barter. (that's all I've seen so far... might affect dialog later on)

Yes, it definitely does affect dialog, and if you use persuasion effectively, other opportunities open up as well. For example, there are houses for sale in the major cities. But you must talk to the local Count, Countess, Lord, etc. to inquire about purchasing. I did so with one last night, but he wouldn't give me the time of day when I first asked about that subject. A few rounds of persuasion later (keep doing it until a message to the effect of "disposition maxed" appears after a round)... and, taa-daa! He responded to the conversation topic and offered to sell me a house. Of course, it was for 15,000 gold :eek: but at least he was offering now.

In another example, a side quest I've been through required an investigation where I had to ask several suspects/locals about something. A couple of them shrugged me off about the topic until I raised their disposition enough.

I'll be honest- personally, I hated this mini-game at first... but now, I have to say it's growing on me! (Drat! Soon there will be nothing left for me NOT to like about this game!)

The nice thing is you can avoid the Persuasion Game by using an Auto option (which checks your Speachcraft).

One more note about persuasion, the max Disposition you can achieve is related to your Speachcraft skill. So, the higher Speachcraft you have, the more you can make people like you.

Minor update on Persuasion: From what I could tell last night, the two 'Neutral' wedges actually have a slight nuance. As far as I can tell, one 'neutral' wedge actually hurts slightly and one helps slightly. So, it seems the the 'optimal' round is to match the 1/10th pie to the negative wedge, the 1/4th pie to the slightly-negative wedge, the 1/2 pie to the slightly-positive, and the full pie to the positive wedge.
Again, don't worry about the actual name of the wedge... (ie, don't worry about coercing women... if that's her positive wedge, full-pie it.)

OK, this demands proof. Post a pic and a screenshot comparoo =)

I'm playing this on a 94" greywolf from a Panasonic AE900U, it looks frigging gorgeous. I love the fact that this game has a brightness slider, even tho my pj is calibrated most 360 games need a kick to the gamma, Burnout is almost unplayable like that. I wish burnout had that feature.

GRAW is definitly gonna get traded in for me, there is no way I can commit to both games and keep my regular hours in EQ1 =)

Sam
Trust me, the resemblence was eerie. I had a few peope look at it & they agreed.

Strangely enough I tried to tweak it to get it even closer & now the character doesn't look so much like me when I go into the menu screen.

So how many people here are going to use the Gold Glitch/Easter egg in the game
to get the gold? Like the slider do you think this is just a normal part of the game or will you avoid it altogether?

So how many people here are going to use the Gold Glitch/Easter egg in the game
to get the gold? Like the slider do you think this is just a normal part of the game or will you avoid it altogether?

Being married, having a full-time job, and subscribing to netflicks means that I count myself lucky if I can get an hour or hour and a half of Oblivion in each night.
After reloading 3 times yesterday in the first Oblivion gate, I succumbed to the slider.
I've already posted what I think are the penalties for sliding down in the Slider poll-thread.
It's allowed me to stop wasting time reloading and spending time doing what I like (adventuring) without being penalized for my lack of skills. If my character is a Blade expert, he really should be able to hit everything and kill it. Just because the player has five thumbs and can't aim worth jack shouldn't penalize the blade-master character.
This has always been one problem I have with action RPGs in the past. It's not really an RPG since it's not your character's THAC0 in question, but your own. :)

My personal Agility/Dexterity is probably a 20. My character is supposed to have a 60. The slider helps me get my character closer to looking like a '60' :)

I've been playing for numerous hours (8+) with out problems and tried to get in a quick half hour before work today. The game loaded fine, but when I went to talk to someone or navigate through my character menu, the game would hang up for 10-30 seconds at a time. Is this how the fragmentation problem manifests itself in the game? I had to go to work and didn't have time to try out the "A" button fix. For those who have had to use the "A" button, do you now have to do it each time you start the game, or do you get a certain number of hours in before the problem starts up again?

I had this problem when I first started and worried that was how the game had been shipped. I used the "a" button fix and have had clear sailing since. But I imagine it may be necessary again down the road. I have probably played about 8 hours since the issue was resolved with multiple boots and loads with no issues.

"a" button fix?

"a" button fix?

yes... see post #45 in this thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7347995&&#post7347995)

For people who are needing to clear the cache using the A button, do you have the older (launch timeframe) which seems to have all kinds of various issues, or is it happening with even newer systems?

I got mine back in Feb and so far i've experienced none of the issues that people with older systems seem to be having, although I dont think i've played TES4 long enough to know if i'll have the cache issue.

I'm not sure how to use potions that I've created. I ground up some fruit and cheese while I was in the sewer, and it leveled up my alchemy, but I don't know what the name of the potion is or where to locate it. I think the effect of the mixture was to increase my "health" bar, but I don't know if it applied it immediately or if I should see it somewhere in my vast inventory. I also concocted a detrimental potion out of some stinky mushrooms, but I don't know where that is or how to use it.

And what do I do with all of the rat meat I have. I think it's supposed to have a detrimental effect on something/someone, but heck if I know what to do with it.

Or do I just need to shut up and finish reading the manual? I only made it about half-way through the manual before I jumped into the game.

So, I am about 10 hours into it so far with my dark elf character and somehow I got vampirism. I did notice I was starting to move around really fast :) and it turns out you get some major benefits to being a vampire but for me the negatives outweigh the positives. I read around on the net and found what I need to do. It looks like it will take me a few hours of gameplay to get rid of it. If you have had it for less than 3 days then I think a cure disease potion will work on you.

If you've had it for longer than 3 days use the following guide. (note: you may be able to go straight to step two)
1. You need access to the Mage U. and talk to Polus about it.
2. He sends you to greet Count Hassildor at Skingrad
3. The count refers you to Melisande, a witch who claims to know the cure
4. For the cure itself you need the following: 5 Empty Grand Soul Gems, Garlic, Bloodgrass and Nightshade, Argonian Blood and Vampire Ashes.
5. After wish she makes the cure, concotes it and you save yourself and the count's wife who has suffered of the same disease and is dying.

I posted the bare minimums as not to spoil the game, but if anyone wants details I'll be posting them in my portal www.zonaxbox360.com, I'll make this post in english since my site is mostly in spanish, you'll find it... ;)

Badr

As far as my impressions on the game go... I'm loving every minute of it and am blown away by the sheer adventure of the game. SO many options and even nearly 10 hours into it I've only done the first little step to the main quest. If you are in a hurry with this game you will not enjoy it nearly as much. :)

yes... see post #45 in this thread. (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7347995&&#post7347995)

Well that was a bad idea.

After doing this, my game locked up the next time I went into the woods on horseback. Reset...reload...relock.

I'll try it again. :(

gg

Well I stopped home at lunch and think I held the "a" button appropriately. I played for a while and didn't notice any of the problems I had in the morning, so hopefully I'll be OK for a while.

Mastahkaz, I got my xbox on 12-23-06 and it had a born on date of around Dec 1st.

Where's the born on date located exactly? I mean, I know i could just look around, but my system is pretty tightly packed into my rack. Knowing the exact spot to look would help to not unplug cables by accident.

Can you PLEASE help me. I have never played nor owned an RPG and grabbed this today for the billions of people saying its awesome. I guess I am in the basement of the prison and cant get out..any help is greatly appreciated


also how/where do I get my birth sign?

Keep following the King. Its pretty linear there, you cant get too lost. You will get to choose your sign just before you leave the prison area after a dozen more fights along the way out.

Also, use your map. Hit the B key to bring up the UI, then pull the triggers till you get to the map/quest area, then left and right dpad till you get to the local view.

yea..just took me forever to find the king..lol. i am out now. I am a serpent

Minor update on Persuasion: From what I could tell last night, the two 'Neutral' wedges actually have a slight nuance. As far as I can tell, one 'neutral' wedge actually hurts slightly and one helps slightly. So, it seems the the 'optimal' round is to match the 1/10th pie to the negative wedge, the 1/4th pie to the slightly-negative wedge, the 1/2 pie to the slightly-positive, and the full pie to the positive wedge.
Again, don't worry about the actual name of the wedge... (ie, don't worry about coercing women... if that's her positive wedge, full-pie it.)


Here is how it works: Each round you must choose all four wedges, but the order you choose is the essence of the game. For every round (this remains the same so memorize them) each wedge corresponds to one of four feelings : loves it, so-so, not so good, and hates it (their expressions tell you which wedge is which.)

You want to select a good wedge when it is fuller(thereby maximizing positive affects) and select the negative wedges when they are more empty (thereby minimizing the negative effects).

Play around and watch your persuasion score change.

What amazed me about the game is the detail! You can look up at the sky and the clouds slowly move across and change like real clouds and the sunsets look very real and you can see the stars slowly fade in as the sun sets and the stars look so bueatiful and real! You could just look at the scenery all day! You can even see the light of the sunset slowly creep up or down a hill or mountain as the falls behind you! They made so much stuff into this game! I do wish more of the objects used the physics engine though.. it would be fun to break or knock around chairs and tables. It does ruin the realism when you hit a tiny chair with your sword and it doesnt move or break! Oh well such a minor complaint.

Here is how it works: Each round you must choose all four wedges, but the order you choose is the essence of the game. For every round (this remains the same so memorize them) each wedge corresponds to one of four feelings : loves it, so-so, not so good, and hates it (their expressions tell you which wedge is which.)

You want to select a good wedge when it is fuller(thereby maximizing positive affects) and select the negative wedges when they are more empty (thereby minimizing the negative effects).

Play around and watch your persuasion score change.


I got cut off, but to continue.......

The last thing to understand is that the orange fullness of each wedge has an order each round which doesn't change as well. (it spins like the wheel of fortune). So you can look ahead and know how full each sector will be after you make a choice. (i.e. if the "love" wedge is three quarters full, and the hate wedge is empty, and you see that in the "so-so" wedge before the "love wedge" is full, then you would pick the "hate" wedge. )

Some would pick the three quarters full "love" wedge, but thats wrong. You need to choose the "hate" wedge because it being empty is a real priority to pick. The "hate" wedge really hurts you, so it being empty is HUGE.....pick it. Plus, after you pick the "hate" wedge the fullness of each wedge rotates (just like the wheel of fortune"), and you can forsee that the "love" wedge will be full for your next turn. Then pick the "love" wedge since it is now full. Then pick the other two in the order that makes the most sense. But obviously maximizing "love" and minimizing "hate" is the priority.

This game is addictive like no other I have played. I feel like a strung out crack head, but instead of begging for dollars in the street to get a fix, I am trying to get 30 minutes on the 360. I am really checking myself, because I can see the writing on the wall....it could get like everything is an obsacle in my way of playing.

At this point the game is more fun than real life. :p If only I could get married in the game and have kids, then I wouldn't need my real life wife and I could make the break from reality completely!

does anyone find that it takes a while until you get to level up? is this normal or am I missing something? Maybe I am just used to Fable where you level up fairly fast.

Also whats the story with books. When you go to a book store how do you know which books will boost a rating and which wont?

One more question. Is there a way to see a map of the whole land rather then have to scroll through it with the pointer? id like to see one giant bird eye view.

does anyone find that it takes a while until you get to level up? is this normal or am I missing something? Maybe I am just used to Fable where you level up fairly fast.

Also whats the story with books. When you go to a book store how do you know which books will boost a rating and which wont?

One more question. Is there a way to see a map of the whole land rather then have to scroll through it with the pointer? id like to see one giant bird eye view.

Not real sure about the books.
All I do know is you won't level up without rest.
I made it to level 3 and My son in the same amount of time made it to level 5 and I'm not sure what he did different.
Other than the full map that is included in the case I don't think you can.
I Had to break the full map out because I got tired of scrolling for a particular town I had know clue to the location of.

There's a map inside the game box.

So what quests have been available in the palace/market area near where you start? I did the unfair competition one, also doing the arena (and the orc prince one is available). The grey fox sounds like one, but haven't gotten a quest for it. Im not a theif character or dark brotherhood. Im thinking of going back and bribing/persuading a bum to tell me about the grey fox. No spoilers please, just wondering if Im missing some stuff :)

So, I am about 10 hours into it so far with my dark elf character and somehow I got vampirism. I did notice I was starting to move around really fast :) and it turns out you get some major benefits to being a vampire but for me the negatives outweigh the positives. I read around on the net and found what I need to do. It looks like it will take me a few hours of gameplay to get rid of it. If you have had it for less than 3 days then I think a cure disease potion will work on you.

If you've had it for longer than 3 days use the following guide. (note: you may be able to go straight to step two)

As far as my impressions on the game go... I'm loving every minute of it and am blown away by the sheer adventure of the game. SO many options and even nearly 10 hours into it I've only done the first little step to the main quest. If you are in a hurry with this game you will not enjoy it nearly as much. :)

I'm a dark elf as well. Luckily I don't have vampirism, so I can't help you there. I like the characters balance. So, is the evo in your screen name referencing the Lancer Evolution?

Im getting bored to death.....

9 hours....still level 1.....

Following main quest mostly, few side quests......

What am I doing wrong??

Im getting bored to death.....

9 hours....still level 1.....

Following main quest mostly, few side quests......

What am I doing wrong??

If you have the second little icon on the bottom of your screen to the right of your compas it means you can level up. But you must sleep. Some say you must sleep in an official bed as opposed to camping in the wilderness, I have not tested that yet. I am more then 9 hours in but am only at level 2... but then I am purposfully not sleeping so i can get my multipliers up. I suppose if I was sleeping I could be 5 the level or so.

You said you are following the main quest. Did you get to Kvach (its like the 2nd or third mission)? Cause that was where I was last night and to me that was anything but boring, but I did get my az handed to me often (which stunk) until I decided to start employing some strategy.

I am a High Elf mage and plan on relying only on magic, with the occasional enchanted sword or spell arrow.

Anyway, I have collected tons of weapons along the way I will not need that have much gold value I would like to use to buy magic related items (a staff, alchemy equipment, etc).

Are there no pawn shops? Is bartering the only option (and is not always an option, apparently)?

Thank you.

Yes I closed that gate.....


Yes, I am well past that.......and still level 1....

I guess it does not really matter since the Bad guys are all based on your current level...

Cipro, if you are having trouble leveling, then you may need a better understanding of the leveling system. They basically borrowed the system from Morrowind, and you level up by increasing any combination of ten of your major skills. Then, you'll get a message telling you to go rest and meditate on your accomplishments or something to that effect and that's when you should go sleep in a bed. (Fighter's Guild is most convenient)

The most probable reason that you haven't leveled up yet is that you are using skills that aren't your majors. For instance, if you are a warrior class, you would want to use heavy armor and not lighter ones so that your heavy armor skill would be increasing. Similarly, if you had blades as a major skill and not blunt, you would want to use a sword rather than a warhammer.

When AHDTVDiet referred to the multiplier system, this deals with governing attributes. For instance, the governing attribute of heavy armor is endurance, so if you were to level heavy armor three times before you level, you have the option of increasing endurance three times. This works for all skills governed by that attribute (including non-major skills, I believe), and goes to a maximum increase of five. Therefore, it is important to watch what you are increasing as you level to determine how your character is built.

I'm a level 3 with about 5-6 hours of gametime.

Another question... Is it better to level up before you have your 5 training sessions? Or wait until you get your 5 sessions to level up? I finally got the 5 for level 1 and went to meditate, only to already have made it to the next level. Thoughts? Comments?

Yes I closed that gate.....


Yes, I am well past that.......and still level 1....

I guess it does not really matter since the Bad guys are all based on your current level...


I am about 22hrs in Level 10 and I havent even started the main quest yet, I did close the gate at Kavach or whatever but I just stumbled upon the town I wasnt on a mission or anything. I went up 3 levels while I was there so you are either not working on your major skills to level up or you just havent slept yet. I wonder when I should actually do the main story....

I am about 22hrs in Level 10 and I havent even started the main quest yet, I did close the gate at Kavach or whatever but I just stumbled upon the town I wasnt on a mission or anything. I went up 3 levels while I was there so you are either not working on your major skills to level up or you just havent slept yet. I wonder when I should actually do the main story....



Im starting to get it now....Im trying to focus on those skills that up my levels....

I dont really like what I picked, but it will do...

:(

Yea if you picked the wrong stuff then that sucks, maybe start all over again? It might suck but at least you will like your character more and be better prepared.

Another question... Is it better to level up before you have your 5 training sessions? Or wait until you get your 5 sessions to level up? I finally got the 5 for level 1 and went to meditate, only to already have made it to the next level. Thoughts? Comments?

Can anyone help???

You can do it before you go up a level, it still contributes to your skill. it doesnt matter how close or far you are from leveling up.

Let me try again...

It it worth waiting to level up until you got the 5 trainings for that level?

Sorry for the confusion...

You can only do the training once per level so you might as well do it before you level up.

Ok, so I am making this mainly for me to ask questions. I have not played a rpg style game since final fantasy 7 so my skills are long gone. I played for roughly 10 hours over the weekend, got up to a level 4 dark elf, and then disaster struck. I am actually stuck on what to do next. Do not read if you are just starting the game, could be spoilers!! :eek:


I got stuck in my main quest on the "Spies" quest. I was sent to Burma/Bruma in order to look for spies. I was then pointed to a house to check out, the owner was a girl named Jearl. I go in and talk to her, she is a bad guy and we fight. I kill her and find a basement key on her. My quest is updated saying the basement key is a clue and that I should find out if I can find the Mythic Dawn Base with it. I have searched high and low, traveled back to the Cloud Temple and talked with Martin (who is reading the book about the Xernes sp?!) and I talk to Jeuffre who I tell that 2 spies are killed but he just says great and send me back on my way. So I am now running around Burma/Bruma looking for a basement, talking to everyone and searching everywhere. I think I am overcomplicating this more than it need to be. The red marker on the map is still at Jearls house, so I am assuming the key fits something there. Is there a trap door inside the house I overlooked, or outside the house?
I even said the hell with it and tried the 2 side quests I picked up while there. The quest "2 sides of the coin" I cannot complete because Arrona will not speak with me, and neither will Journa (the guy who supposedly stole her money and is now locked in the jail in the castle). So I am stuck there. So I tried the other quest named "a brotherhood betrayed" where Brandon Lirriam is found dead in his house. He was killed by Raynil Pralas, the vampire hunter, but I cannot find him anywhere. I checked Brandon's house but the gaurds are there and inform me that if I am not Raynil Pralas then I should leave.

So I tried the other quest named "a brotherhood betrayed" where Brandon Lirriam is found dead in his house. He was killed by Raynil Pralas, the vampire hunter, but I cannot find him anywhere. I checked Brandon's house but the gaurds are there and inform me that if I am not Raynil Pralas then I should leave.
Try using persuasion to increase your disposition. With this quest to need to gain more trust of people before they'll reveal anything to you.

Do the Forts and Caves respawn their items and enemies later in the game? As a level 2 Ive cleared maybe 6 of these, but the loot is rather unimpressive. Is it worth waiting until Im level 15 or so to do these or will their contents respawn later?

Enemies should respawn, albeit slowly. Not sure about the items though.

Try using persuasion to increase your disposition. With this quest to need to gain more trust of people before they'll reveal anything to you.

i suck so bad at speechcraft, how the hell does that even work?! I rented the game so no manual iwth instructions. I know when you turn the wheel you can see their facial expressions change, but sometimes I cannot select the best expression, even if I rotate the wheel.

They basically borrowed the system from Morrowind, and you level up by increasing any combination of ten of your major skills. Then, you'll get a message telling you to go rest and meditate on your accomplishments or something to that effect and that's when you should go sleep in a bed. (Fighter's Guild is most convenient)

i understand I should work on leveling up my skillsets but should I always wait unitl the meditate message pops up? I know I have rested before without the meditate screen and it let me level up. Is that bad, or does it really matter?

Does anyone know what your characters level tops out at? 20? 25?..........

Did anyone else feel like the graphics inside the oil painting were reminiscent of the graphical style of Fable? I don't know if it was the colors or what that reminded me of Fable.

I ended up joining the Dark Brotherhood and Thiefs guild.

I was propositioned for the dark brotherhood after I killed an innocent person.

After a few of their quests, the person I was getting the quests from (who was a vampire) offered it to me. I accepted and he said I just said I needed to sleep.

Personally I think it's a pretty cool gift, you get a ton of positive attributes. The longer you go without feeding the more powerful and "vampire like" you become, you get more abilities and such, but then you become vulnerable to sunlight. If you feed then you can still walk in the sun, but you lose some of the cool abilities.

So, I am about 10 hours into it so far with my dark elf character and somehow I got vampirism. I did notice I was starting to move around really fast :) and it turns out you get some major benefits to being a vampire but for me the negatives outweigh the positives. I read around on the net and found what I need to do. It looks like it will take me a few hours of gameplay to get rid of it. If you have had it for less than 3 days then I think a cure disease potion will work on you.

If you've had it for longer than 3 days use the following guide. (note: you may be able to go straight to step two)

As far as my impressions on the game go... I'm loving every minute of it and am blown away by the sheer adventure of the game. SO many options and even nearly 10 hours into it I've only done the first little step to the main quest. If you are in a hurry with this game you will not enjoy it nearly as much. :)

I got stuck in my main quest on the "Spies" quest. I was sent to Burma/Bruma in order to look for spies. I was then pointed to a house to check out, the owner was a girl named Jearl. I go in and talk to her, she is a bad guy and we fight. I kill her and find a basement key on her. My quest is updated saying the basement key is a clue and that I should find out if I can find the Mythic Dawn Base with it. I have searched high and low, traveled back to the Cloud Temple and talked with Martin (who is reading the book about the Xernes sp?!) and I talk to Jeuffre who I tell that 2 spies are killed but he just says great and send me back on my way. So I am now running around Burma/Bruma looking for a basement, talking to everyone and searching everywhere. I think I am overcomplicating this more than it need to be. The red marker on the map is still at Jearls house, so I am assuming the key fits something there. Is there a trap door inside the house I overlooked, or outside the house?

Definitely overcomplicating ;)

look at the floor near the table in Jearl's house. There should be a trap door that you can open with the basement key.

I ended up joining the Dark Brotherhood and Thiefs guild.

I was propositioned for the dark brotherhood after I killed an innocent person.

After a few of their quests, the person I was getting the quests from (who was a vampire) offered it to me. I accepted and he said I just said I needed to sleep.

Personally I think it's a pretty cool gift, you get a ton of positive attributes. The longer you go without feeding the more powerful and "vampire like" you become, you get more abilities and such, but then you become vulnerable to sunlight. If you feed then you can still walk in the sun, but you lose some of the cool abilities.There are some huge benefits to being a vampire. Having lived that way through 10+ levels now I am not as eager to get the cure. Although it is a MAJOR ordeal getting rid of it I still plan on it. I don't like feeding all the time and smoking in sunlight. Plus, you can't fast travel during the day in any advanced vampire state.

It takes some planning as a vampire. Both where and when you can feed on a sleeping victim, when you can visit stores (mostly day-time availability only), when you can travel, when you can fight in the arena (only between ~8pm to 9pm) and so on. Quite frequently you will fast travel to a location but fail to realize time is passing while travelling so you arrive at your location in broad daylight and have very little time to get indoors before death. There is some balance to it and if you are willing to be inconvenienced like that then the benefits are worth it.

i suck so bad at speechcraft, how the hell does that even work?! I rented the game so no manual iwth instructions. I know when you turn the wheel you can see their facial expressions change, but sometimes I cannot select the best expression, even if I rotate the wheel.

Doesn't look like you've gotten an answer yet. Basically you have to use all four quarters of the circle, each representing one of love, like, dislike, and hate, and you want to maximize the colored part in the two positive options and minimize the colored part in the two negative options. So ideally you want it empty on hate and full on love if possible. Hate is the heavy scowl and love is the big smile, in case that's not obvious. You also need to do this as quickly as possible because their disposition drops as you wait. If you can do this repeatedly, you'll raise their disposition until it's maxed (typically under 100), and from there on you have to bribe them to raise it more. Hope this helps!

All I have to say is to make sure you keep save games strung out over a long period of time. I just had a glitch in the Thieves Guild Quest "Ahdarji's Heirloom" were I ended up with two of the item I was attempting to steal. As it turns out if that happens you are not able to complete the quest thus precluding any future thieves guild advancement.

I'm seeing reports of a number of quest glitches on Oblivion's forums, in a game this complex this is to be expected.

Just make sure you keep multiple saves and don't rely on auto save to bail you out.

So it looks like I picked on of the worse birthsigns possible, "The Serpent". Does anyone know what it means to "Dispel Magic on Self" anyways? My character is pretty good other than that and I don't really want to re-start.

Usually dispel helps you remove a spell that has been cast on you, especially a spell that is causing a negative effect on your person.

Dispelling magic on self would be used to remove all magical status effects on your character. So if an evil mage or shaman casts something on you that makes you susceptible to fire and starts hitting you with fire spells you could trigger this birthsign effect and remove the negative status. Unfortunately if you've cast any spells to boost or protect yourself like say shield those will be removed as well. Dispel does not fix attribute damage or diseases. So this sort of birthsign is good for a character that is non-magic. The poison means you need a character that fights at touch range, say a thief. I imagine the skill will be more useful at higher levels when magic becomes prevalent.

The fact it heals, removes status effects and helps you do extra damage makes it a more effective birthsign than the previous game if you plan your character accordingly.

This game gets REALLY laggy!! I read about holding the A button when starting the 360, but it doesn't seem to be working. It gets totally horrible when I am on my horse traveling across the countryside. The Loading Area thingy always pops up and it gets super laggy.

The lag is the worst thing about the game. Besides that, I'm level 10 and I've been playing for 23 hours.

Anyone else plagued by the framedrops?

All I have to say is to make sure you keep save games strung out over a long period of time. I just had a glitch in the Thieves Guild Quest "Ahdarji's Heirloom" were I ended up with two of the item I was attempting to steal. As it turns out if that happens you are not able to complete the quest thus precluding any future thieves guild advancement.

I'm seeing reports of a number of quest glitches on Oblivion's forums, in a game this complex this is to be expected.

Just make sure you keep multiple saves and don't rely on auto save to bail you out.


That's pretty disconcerting since I delete all my saved games each time I turn off the 360 and start playing again. I didn't originally want to, but for some reason I have a glitch where if I quit the game then continue, my new saved games start at the very bottom of the list then work their way up. It would be a huge pain in the ass to try and keep scrolling down the list and finding the most recent saves. I still need to exchange my disc too because of the "read error", I wonder if that would fix that problem or if it's a Hard Drive issue?

Mine has been freezing and locking up like crazy, lost an other hour or so of play.

I just read something about holding the power button when you turn on the 360 clears the hd

Mine has been freezing and locking up like crazy, lost an other hour or so of play.

I just read something about holding the power button when you turn on the 360 clears the hd

hold down the a button on the controller clears the hd cache. It helps some people load faster supposedly.

The one thing I will say about the "a" button fix that is left out of most descriptions is that your 360 should be fully on if you are using a wireless controller. Doing a cold start of the 360 with the Oblivion disk in the drive with my wireless controller and holding down "a" didn't seem to fix the cache problem. However, when I turned on the XBox and started the game from the blade and held "a" it did fix the problem. I'm not sure when the controller fully connects to the XBox 360 at startup and my understanding is that even if you use the charging cable the wireless controller is still connection wirelessly.

So if clearing the cache with "a" isn't working for you I'd start the 360 without Oblivion in the drive and then when you load the game press "a". It could be that I pressed the “a” button too late/early the first go around though. I have no way of testing this since the game has worked fine since that initial problem.

I used the "a" fix once at about 8 hours in as the game was starting to take 10-30 seconds to process through a dialogue menu and my "b" menu. So far 14 hrs later I haven't yet had a repeat of the problem. I do however save freuquenly as mine has locked up leaving cities or gone to a "can't read disc" error during fights.

I've gotten 1 "can't read disc error" as I was about to talk to someone. Now I know to save my game constantly.

I try to remember to hold "A" every time I boot up the game. I figure it doesn't hurt. I usually wait until the ring-of-light on the controller goes solid on slot 1, then I hit "A'. It is about that time that the Xbox 360 splash screen is done and the game starts to load, so I think it works. I haven't had any problems.

i as well have gotten a cant read disc error.... it wasnt that far after i saved, so i didnt lose too much progress, but still a pain....

You really should only do the "hold A" trick if your drive is fragmented. Like if you switch to other games frequently that save to your HD as well. Otherwise it would be pointless and your cache won't build which will cause more "loading screens" effectively defeating the purpose of caching. I only get the "loading" message when I go to new places (because it has to read it from the DVD and place it on the hard drive), once I've visited a place I don't get them the next time I visit.

Oh. OK. I'll try it without holding A for awhile and see how it goes. Though the load screens aren't bothersome to me.

Interesting. I didn't know you could clear the temp data file cache on the X360 by holding A at startup. Is this a general thing or just an Oblivion thing? When should you start holding it, and how long should you hold it? Do you get a confirmation of the cache being cleared?

Oblivion's load times haven't gotten longer for me, too, and I wouldn't be surprised if my drive was fragmented pretty badly from the various demos/trailers/etc. I've downloaded and data stored there by games. I'd love it if this would help resolve one of my only really gripes with Oblivion.

i as well have gotten a cant read disc error.... it wasnt that far after i saved, so i didnt lose too much progress, but still a pain....

OK, it guess it's "good" to hear that other people are having this problem as well. I still haven't gotten around to exchanging my disc though. I got the "disc insurance" from EB games though, so no rush even if I get past the exchange date.

Is anyone else having a problem activating things?

I'm on the canvas in the castle quest. I have found the odd painting, and the paint stain, but when the fist comes up as your cursor (activation) and I press A, nothing happens.
And when I go into the maids room to find paint supplies, there's a chair leaning against the table, preventing me from opening her box :D

Is it possible to screw up a quest so that the game prevents you from finishing it?

Is anyone else having a problem activating things?

Your more than likely missing something that lets you activate it.
For instance some blocked entrances have hidden switches and some stones can only be activated at certain times. You miss the switch or go at the wrong time the activate button will not work.

You really should only do the "hold A" trick if your drive is fragmented. Like if you switch to other games frequently that save to your HD as well. Otherwise it would be pointless and your cache won't build which will cause more "loading screens" effectively defeating the purpose of caching. I only get the "loading" message when I go to new places (because it has to read it from the DVD and place it on the hard drive), once I've visited a place I don't get them the next time I visit.

I absolutely agree with this. I had no problems with oblivion running but I decided to go ahead and press A while it was booting. For the first hour last night, my loading times were significantly LONGER than before. Oh well, ya live and you learn. I guess I would suggest to NOT clear the cache unless you are having significant problems.

I'm around seventh level now, playing an Argonian Assassin who goes by he name of Sinn H'arr K'ahn. He's wearing light armour, a mixture of leather and chainmail with a large leather shield. His weapons of choice are a Long Bow and a Long sword.

I came across some caves just outside of Imperial city last night and decided to investigate. Low and behold it was some sort of outpost for a group of bandits. Slowly but surely I skulked within the shadows and took them out one by one. Always starting with a 6x damage attack from behind.

Eventually I came upon a larger, more cavernous area with a few bandit's roaming about. I hate taking on more than one enemy at a time due to the fact that I usually end up dead. Instead I just lurked in the shadows and moved from one dark area to the next which eventually lead me to the bounty that they were hoarding. Not only that but I also managed to sneak up behind those left behind and remove various items from their belongings.

In and out I went, killing most of them, and robbing the rest blind!

This game rules!

I "unlocked" Dar Jee as a Fence but when I go to talk to him there is no bartering button to sell my stolen gear. Anybody have any ideas on whether this is normal?

This game gets REALLY laggy!! I read about holding the A button when starting the 360, but it doesn't seem to be working. It gets totally horrible when I am on my horse traveling across the countryside. The Loading Area thingy always pops up and it gets super laggy.

The lag is the worst thing about the game. Besides that, I'm level 10 and I've been playing for 23 hours.

Anyone else plagued by the framedrops?

Your not alone!

I am level 10 after about 23 hours as well. The game really gets choppy (drops frames) for me as well. In fact, I would venture to say it runs like crap! I would never play an FPS with the framerates I get in Oblivion. But because it is not a fast paced game, I can tolerate it. I have a hard time believing other people are getting constant "silky smooth" framerates through out the game. The only time it is smooth for me is indoors or in the woods where I can't see very far. I also think the draw distance is pretty bad, as I move through the forest things just "pop" out of nowhere for me all the time. I have not, however, had any disc read errors or other issues. And yes, I have cleared the cache, a couple times in a row, then I left it to build up again. I pretty much have only played Oblivion since I got it, so I don't see how my drive could be very fragged.

Don't get me wrong, I am having a blast. But I am saddened by the fact that I feel like this game has already hit the limit of what the 360 can do. And yes, I know. It is amazing that a $400 piece of hardware can run this game at all, but it still makes me sad!

Don't get me wrong, I am having a blast. But I am saddened by the fact that I feel like this game has already hit the limit of what the 360 can do. And yes, I know. It is amazing that a $400 piece of hardware can run this game at all, but it still makes me sad!
Fear not. They have not even begun to tap into the power of the 360. Just look at the first Xbox games and compare them to the last. Programming for the 360 will only improve.

Is anyone else having a problem activating things?I am. At least I think I am. I've seen the Activate option on the screen quite a bit, and when I hit the "A" button, nothing seems to happen. I'm not sure if it's doing something that I just can't see or what the deal is. I think this happens with road signs for me a lot of times. :confused:

A couple times, trying to activate a gate (the cursor changes), it didn't open. Then, I look around and see a lever that I should use instead. :D

I mainly stick with fast travel when possible. However, since a lot of quests require you to get to the place yourself the first time, I've also done some overland running. No framerate problems for me at all. My 360 was purchased (from Sam's Club) the week GRAW came out (I bought it mainly for Oblivion, but GRAW was on sale)

One laggy issue I've been encountering lately, on the otherhand, is when I try to get my inventory up... or when I try to open a chest/sack/any container. That one dialog box takes around 3 seconds to load. Seems like a lifetime, since when I started the game, it took zero time to pop up.

I finished the Dark Brotherhood storyline and there are come great quests and the story is pretty good. In one of them you have to wipe out a group of people in a house and that one is excellent.

Now I'm working on the Mage Guild and Thief Guild. I don't know if I can join the fighters guild because they want people with clean records and I had accidentally sullied my record very very early in the game.

I finished the Dark Brotherhood storyline and there are come great quests and the story is pretty good. In one of them you have to wipe out a group of people in a house and that one is excellent.

Now I'm working on the Mage Guild and Thief Guild. I don't know if I can join the fighters guild because they want people with clean records and I had accidentally sullied my record very very early in the game.


Fear not! I thought the same thing, but as long as you have no outstanding bounties (last tab of your stats page) you may join the guild with no problems. I got arrested a few times in the beginning of the game, but paid my dues, so to speak (even spent time in jail) and its cool, I joined up.

Later

At this point the game is more fun than real life. :p If only I could get married in the game and have kids, then I wouldn't need my real life wife and I could make the break from reality completely!


That was hilarous !!
thanks :D

Fear not! I thought the same thing, but as long as you have no outstanding bounties (last tab of your stats page) you may join the guild with no problems. I got arrested a few times in the beginning of the game, but paid my dues, so to speak (even spent time in jail) and its cool, I joined up.

Later

You can also go to certain people to get it cleared. I believe even the church can clear you according to one of hte loading screens I read. That is why I am doing the fighters guild first, then I can turn evil!!

Quick tip... To quickly raise Alchemy, only make potions using 2 ingredients... You get more times to raise Alchemy because you are making more potions, and you get more money as you sell those potions.

Its soo obvious, but I missed it the first 10 hours of gameplay on my mage...

Does alchemy ever have a real benefit? I haven't made any cool potions by randomly experimenting and I haven't been able to find a list of good receipes. I really want to figure out how to make my own healing potions.

I do not dabble in alchemy or magic but I get bothered by mage and npc characters all the time regarding it. From my knowledge you just combine 2 food products to form a healing potion. You can also start stealing alot of food products, making potions, and sell them to market owners.
I have yet to do the mages guild and that will be last on my list. My dark elf has the magic power to heal, and the strength to attack with bow and sword so that is why I have not researched more. Hope that helps.

I too am a battle mage type character... supposedly! I can heal myself and have somewhat decent blade skill, but I don't last very long without a summoned helper and some protective magic. The reason I think alchemy could actually be beneficial to me, is that in a huge battle, I don't want to spend magica healing myself when I really need to launching fireballs or summoning some butt kicking daedra. The only reason I have survived many encounters is because I was able to chug some potions half way through.

It should list the "effects" of each of the ingredients when you are trying to create a potion. You need to match two ingredients to get that effect. So, for a healing potion, you need two ingredients that have "restore health" as an effect.

The higher you get in alchemy, the more effects that are "unlocked", up to a maximum of 4 per ingredient. You get that effect each time you match an effect with two or more ingredients.

So, let's say I have an ingredient with the "restore health" and "burden" effect. If I match it with an ingredient with "restore health" and "shield" then, I get a potion of health.

If I match it with an ingredient that has "cure poison" and "burden", then I get a potion of burden (which you would put on your weapon, not drink :).

If I match it with another ingredient that has both "restore health" and "burden" then I get a potion that has both effects...though I'm not sure why you would want to do that.

Ozy

Does alchemy ever have a real benefit? I haven't made any cool potions by randomly experimenting and I haven't been able to find a list of good receipes. I really want to figure out how to make my own healing potions.


I found it to be useful in raising my intelligence skill points as my character uses mostly alteration, restoration and destruction magic. Using these three schools doesn't help you raise your intelligence (hence total magicka). Raising it will also help you identify more uses for the raw ingrediants you find. You can then create a greater range of potions and poisons from what you have in inventory. You also generally just need two ingrediants to make a new potion, I found that adding a third or fourth doesn't do anything other then burn through your supplies.

Well, using more than one ingredient could be useful if you wanted a potion that, say, restored both health and magicka...but in general I agree with you.

Plus, I tend to sell my potions, and you don't seem to get more $ for potions with more effects.

Btw, does it seem odd that you can just clean out most of the mage guild display cases, shelves, etc... without anyone caring? I must have made a bundle selling them their own stuff back.

Ozy

For my character right now, Alchemy is pretty much a easy money making skill. At every Mage Guild house there are tons of ingredients laying around that are free for the taking. At every merchant that sells ingredients I always buy them out, because the potions they combine to make always sells for more than the ingredients. Its free money that "recharges" once the vendor gets their fresh inventory.

Another insight: Also, when you steal ingredients and combine them, the potion that is created does not have the theft marking.

I've been playing for about 10 hours now (not straight) and I'm digging this game. Wife and kid are out tonight and I'm eager to get off work and go play the damn game. I'm currently a 3rd level Imperial Bard chick.

Btw, does it seem odd that you can just clean out most of the mage guild display cases, shelves, etc... without anyone caring? I must have made a bundle selling them their own stuff back.

Ozy

I started laughing when I read this, because when I realized that it wasn't stealing to take stuff from the guild houses, I went nuts and grabbed every alchemy related item from every guild house and sold them back to their local alchemy barter person. It has been my cheif source of income for much of the game so far.

Also, thanks for explaining the process behind potion making. I thought it was more random than it is. I guess I need to devote a little more time to potion making.

Yeah, I unlocked the display cases, and got some nice loaded soul gems.

Ozy

I found it to be useful in raising my intelligence skill points as my character uses mostly alteration, restoration and destruction magic. Using these three schools doesn't help you raise your intelligence (hence total magicka). Raising it will also help you identify more uses for the raw ingrediants you find. You can then create a greater range of potions and poisons from what you have in inventory. You also generally just need two ingrediants to make a new potion, I found that adding a third or fourth doesn't do anything other then burn through your supplies.


Are those stat potion raises permanent? I thought the effects would only be temporary, or only good for raising a stat that might have been lowered by a necromancers spell or something?

Are those stat potion raises permanent? I thought the effects would only be temporary, or only good for raising a stat that might have been lowered by a necromancers spell or something?

No, I was referring to the fact that raising your alchemy skill will result in you being able to put points towards intelligence, when you level up. My character doesn't have any primary skills that add to intelligence, although I use a lot of magic. So to make sure I get to raise my intelligence (which effects total magic points available) I raised my alchemy skills. The points gained from potions either restore what you have lost or temporarily raise skill points.

I only take what I need from the Guild houses. I'm trying to role-play my Ranger as bascially a good guy, but with issues :) And I admit to the occasionally stolen torch/lockpick from others.

I even murdered a guy by accident (I tried to read a book on his table and it made me grab the apple next to it and he attacked me. So I instinctively put my sword through his belly). Now my character is a conflicted anti-hero with a past.

- Cryo

Wow man, killed a guy over an apple...that's cold! :)

Makes my wholesale looting look downright wholesome!

Ozy

As long as the "Take" icon isn't red, it's not stealing!
Loot away :cool:

I learned to use alchemy to get +5's on my Intelligence a few times. Worked well. I also discovered that you can make some really nice potions off of easy-to-find ingredients in the market place, which regenerate every 24 hours.

The "Restore Magicka" potions kick a lot of ass. It increases the speed your magicka regenerates. So if i'm about to get into a fight with multiple enemies, drink one down or two down and easily have enough magicka to get through the fight. It only costs around $5 worth of ingredients to make and only weighs .1 units.

Just found out something REALLY cool...

When you get 100% in Alchemy, you can make potions with 1 ingredient!!!

Doesnt sound like much, but after a visit to any tavern of mage shop and you can net several thousand gold easy...

does anyone find that it takes a while until you get to level up? is this normal or am I missing something? Maybe I am just used to Fable where you level up fairly fast.

Also whats the story with books. When you go to a book store how do you know which books will boost a rating and which wont?

One more question. Is there a way to see a map of the whole land rather then have to scroll through it with the pointer? id like to see one giant bird eye view.


The quick and dirty way I use (I also used this method in Morrowind) to determine if a book will potentially yield an increase in skill is to look at the value of the book. What I do is go up to a book shelf in first person mode and scan the cursor across all the books, while watching the value of the book in the lower right corner of the screen. As a rule of thumb, the higher the value of the book (like in the range of 100 GP), the more likely it is to raise your skill.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you may just want to note the position of the skill-increasing book early on and come back to it later after you are more advanced. The reasoning for this is that as you increase in a skill, when you go to a master of a skill to train you in a particular skill, their charge is based on your skill level (the more skill you have, the more they charge you to train you up another level). When you are very high in skill, this could become very expensive (and don't forget about the sales tax :) ). So when you are fairly high in a skill, go back to the book and raise your level for free (you only increase your skill one level when you read a book...you can't go back and read it again to get more skill; it's not like it's the Iliad by Homer :) ).

Wow, reading this I realize that although I'm enjoying the game, I have no idea what I'm doing.

I have a bunch of potions, but I have idea how to use them. I also do not know how to make potions.

Is there web site anywhere that explains how to play this game? I've never played an RPG before.

Thanks,
Chris

http://faqs.ign.com/objects/702/702493.html

I even murdered a guy by accident (I tried to read a book on his table and it made me grab the apple next to it and he attacked me. So I instinctively put my sword through his belly). Now my character is a conflicted anti-hero with a past.
- Cryo

I do this all the time as well. That is why I save before I do anything because I have had 6 people chasing me through a town before because I was trying to read a book and they though I was stealing it. But nothing is worse that pissing off your horse and having it chase your around biting and kicking you, those things are next to impossible to kill.

For all you Alchemists...

http://oblivion.melian.cc/?cmd=cmdEnter

A couple things I haven't been able to figure out without the benefit of an instruction manual:

1. How do you rest to make time skip forward other than going to sleep in a bed? Is this even possible?

2. How do you sell items? Everytime I go to a store I've only seen the option to buy items.

A couple things I haven't been able to figure out without the benefit of an instruction manual:

1. How do you rest to make time skip forward other than going to sleep in a bed? Is this even possible?

2. How do you sell items? Everytime I go to a store I've only seen the option to buy items.

1. Hit the select button when you are in an area with no enemies nearby.

2. When you barter, at the buy screen (where you can pick things to buy) pull the left trigger to go to the sell screen. Pull the right trigger to go back to buy.

-zb

Hey guys, I was experiencing a couple of new glitches and I was wondering if anybody else is having them.

For one, when I'm in caves sometimes, my cave map will go completely blank except for the little "me" arrow indicator. It used to only happen when I first entered a cave. I could reload, then fine. But recently, it's happened randomly when I've been inside. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. It always returns when I reload, but it almost seems to be increasing in frequency. I've even had it where my arrow indicator disappears, but the map stays.

I've also had a problem putting items into the chests in my homes. I haven't noticed anything disappear out of them after leaving them in there, but when I tried items in the cupboard in my Imperial City house, I would be on the screen to place items, and no matter what I selected the items would not appear in my cupboard. Even if I moved things from the cupboard into my inventory and back, they would disappear. It also started to happen in my Chorrol house bedroom chest.

Is it just me or are the glitches increasing in frequency? I used to only get "disc unreadable" errors and loading screen freezing, no real annoying gameplay glitches.

Those glitches don't seem too common.

I have not experienced them either, however I have less than 20 hours played.

This is the first time i have heard of any of those glitches, I have played for about 30-40 hrs and I havent come across any problems besides some slow loads on occation.

No Glitches, But I have had a few lockups in the "loading screen" requiring me to restart the 360.

The only glitch I have constantly is the game totally freezing or getting a "disc unreadable" error. Sometimes however I have a hard time getting someone who I'm supposed to be leading to a certain location, to follow me though a door. Sometimes I'll have to go back and fourth through the door three or four times before they'll follow. But thats about the only glitch i've had in the 30 or so hours I've logged.

I've also noticed issues with the AI of NPC's but that's not really a glitch per se.

Hey guys, I was experiencing a couple of new glitches and I was wondering if anybody else is having them.

For one, when I'm in caves sometimes, my cave map will go completely blank except for the little "me" arrow indicator. It used to only happen when I first entered a cave. I could reload, then fine. But recently, it's happened randomly when I've been inside. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. It always returns when I reload, but it almost seems to be increasing in frequency. I've even had it where my arrow indicator disappears, but the map stays.

I've also had a problem putting items into the chests in my homes. I haven't noticed anything disappear out of them after leaving them in there, but when I tried items in the cupboard in my Imperial City house, I would be on the screen to place items, and no matter what I selected the items would not appear in my cupboard. Even if I moved things from the cupboard into my inventory and back, they would disappear. It also started to happen in my Chorrol house bedroom chest.

Is it just me or are the glitches increasing in frequency? I used to only get "disc unreadable" errors and loading screen freezing, no real annoying gameplay glitches.

I've had the map glitch once during 40+ hours of play, along with one freeze up, one slow down requiring an "A" button restart, and several dirty discs. Most of these occured in the first 10 hours of play, and have I haven't noticed any since.

Those glitches don't seem too common.


Those recent glitches have only come up for me past the 100 hour mark, though I still constantly have dirty disc errors and loading freezes.

I'd be interested to get peoples input after they've logged more hours, because I'm under the impression that as I get further into the game and do more stuff (I've been completing side quests, daedric quests, mage guild, fighters guild, etc. and have barely touched the main quest) the game is having a harder time keeping track of everything.

I still can't put anything into my Imperial city cupboard, can't even pull things out and replace them. I also found out that even though the Arch Mage quarters is "yours", you can't store things in any of the containers (besides the enchanted one) and expect them to be there later.

Those recent glitches have only come up for me past the 100 hour mark, though I still constantly have dirty disc errors and loading freezes.

I'd be interested to get peoples input after they've logged more hours, because I'm under the impression that as I get further into the game and do more stuff (I've been completing side quests, daedric quests, mage guild, fighters guild, etc. and have barely touched the main quest) the game is having a harder time keeping track of everything.

I still can't put anything into my Imperial city cupboard, can't even pull things out and replace them. I also found out that even though the Arch Mage quarters is "yours", you can't store things in any of the containers (besides the enchanted one) and expect them to be there later.


Sorry to hear your difficulties. I am at 99 hours played and have played the game similarly (went into oblivion for the first time at 97 hour mark). So I have the Arch Mages Quarters and have stuff stored in the nightstand and the drawer-thingy in front of the bed. Have retreived, replaced, and added things many times.

Weird. Wonder if you have a save game corruption or something like that?

Have you ever defragged when you load up the game? That may help.

"Oblivion uses the Xbox 360 hard drive extensively to cache (copy and reuse) game data. This is done to optimize all loading the game does. It has been found in rare cases on some Xbox 360s that the cached data can get overly fragmented. This exhibits itself by the game taking a long time to load anything from menus, dialogue, sounds, objects, levels, and more.

To solve this problem, reset your Xbox, and hold down the A button as the game is booting up. If any button is held while Oblivion is loading, it will clear its hard drive cache, and create a new one. Once you see the “Bethesda Softworks” logo video, the game is already loaded, and the cache should have been cleared.

Note, this does not effect your game in any way other than loading. You will not lose any saved data."

Those recent glitches have only come up for me past the 100 hour mark, though I still constantly have dirty disc errors and loading freezes.I am right near the 100 hour mark in total and I get very long load screens, freezing at load screens(requiring reboot), dirty disc errors and delayed sounds at times. All mostly fixed by defragmenting but I have to do it more and more often now.

No map errors and no missing items from storage in my houses but I have not stored anything in the Arch mages tower. Actually, strangely enough there is a corpse I was responsible for that is still crumpled in the middle of the street and it's been there for months now in game time. Also, a bunch of junk I dropped off in another location still lays in the street after months there as well. My realm is getting dirty! :) I may have to tidy up the place with some well placed fireballs. Sort of like the Elder Scrolls equivalent of a leaf blower.

I am with you guys on the "the longer I play the worse it gets" scenario. I am about 50 hours in and I have ridiculous load times and occasionally it will fail to load all together (the progress bar just freezes). It wasn't this bad when I first started playing. I have cleared the cache occasionally, but I don't really see any difference anymore.

-zb

Hey jailonacs99

Just to let you know..even though I have gone back to the Arch Mage's bachelor pad several times to drop off/pick up stuff I have left there. I loaded up today and realized I wanted a staff that I put in there a while back....

lo and behold...it was gone.

So, at least you know you are not the only person this has happened to....

What is the best way to make a lot of money for a dark elf mage type character?

fighters guild?

Other?

Toe
the fighters guild is ok for blade, blunt, hand to hand combat skills for your DE
try going through the thief quests and the dark brotherhood quests for loots/cash.

lvl up your character.. look around the forums here about the Dorian NPC gold exploit

Hey jailonacs99

Just to let you know..even though I have gone back to the Arch Mage's bachelor pad several times to drop off/pick up stuff I have left there. I loaded up today and realized I wanted a staff that I put in there a while back....

lo and behold...it was gone.

So, at least you know you are not the only person this has happened to....


That sucks. I wonder if it's a slow corruption of files, or the Mage's room isn't meant for item storage. The game does seem pretty capable of remembering where items are for some time anywhere in the game world, so maybe you'd just been picking things up in time. I've made lots of money by clearing out bandit/marauder dwellings and making repeat trips to pick up items, and in the Unfortunate Shopkeepers shop in Anvil, the bodies of those 3 burglars are still lying naked on the floor. Naked because I sold off every item on them after I noticed they were still there literally weeks after I'd killed them in game time. It's kind of creepy. The shopkeeper just stands there smiling amongst a pile of naked corpses.

Either way, I've started storing stuff in my Cheydinhall house. I won't trust the Anvil house because it was part of a quest, my Imperial City house is permanently glitched, and I don't want to leave all my eggs in one basket in Chorrol.