Any gamers around here?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Waves from St. Louis.

[Hydra009]

Waves from St. Louis.

*waves back from NC*  NC is pretty good compared to nearby states, like South Carolina and Mississippi.  But best state ever?  No.  It's good, but it's no New York and it damn sure isn't a California.

I don't understand why people are so hyperbolic on the internet.  Everything is either 10/10 masterpiece or 0/10 garbage.  Some stuff - the vast majority of stuff imho - is just middling.  Like a burger patty that got stuck to the grill a little bit and almost tore apart when scrapped off but is passable.  Or some watered-down lemonade that isn't quite cold.  It's not awful, but it definitely fell short of greatness (but enough about my homestate...)  And that's okay.  It's okay to not be amazeballs.  And it's perfectly fine to be honest about that.  Even the great stuff has its shortcomings, let alone the mediocre stuff.  It's perfectly fine to like something that's 6/10 or 5/10 or (IPU help us) even 4/10.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The posters are often alone or quietly working in a corner of the room, so they can feel a bit alone. This leads to virtual "shouting" and histrionics.

And a lot of people don't actually read what they just wrote. ;-)

[Blackleaf]

My youtube feed has been nonstop Oblivion.  People are reacting like a new continent just surfaced from the waves.  Like Atlantis is back or something.

And apparently, I had no idea there were this many fans of the original Oblivion (the one released in 2006).  There really is cult following of people who think the original Oblivion was the best TES game ever, which is baffling to me.  It's like saying that your favorite member of the Beetles is Ringo.  Or that your favorite Star Wars movie is Return of the Jedi.  Or your favorite state is Missouri.  Favorite type of pizza: Colorado-style.  Favorite BBQ type: Alabama-style.  I could do this all day, but you get the idea.  Don't get me wrong, it's not godawful, but there are plenty of examples of stuff in the same category that is much, much better.

IMO, there are things that Morrowind does best, there are things that Oblivion does best, and there are things that Skyrim does best. Mechanically, I generally prefer Skyrim (minus the loss of a lot of magical effects, like levitation, as well as spellcrafting), but I think Oblivion does quests the best. Skyrim's quests are just so basic and uninteresting by comparison. But I think the reason why the remaster is doing so well is for two main reasons:

1. There are a lot of people who started with Skyrim and never played Oblivion. Now that Oblivion has been modernized, a lot of them are jumping into Oblivion for the first time.

2. The remaster is really well done. They did more than I was expecting. Yeah, it still has some jank from the original, but it's more than just Oblivion with a pretty coat of paint. My main problem with Oblivion, the combat, feels so much better. They switched around skill perks. For example, with the Armorer skill, you unlock the ability to repair magical gear way sooner. Head shots are actually a thing now, whereas before, it didn't matter where you hit them. Lots of little improvements make a big difference.

[Hydra009]

Head shots are actually a thing now, whereas before, it didn't matter where you hit them. Lots of little improvements make a big difference.

For real??!  If I'm not mistaken, it never mattered where you hit your opponents before so this is a brand new thing for TES.

[Blackleaf]

For real??!  If I'm not mistaken, it never mattered where you hit your opponents before so this is a brand new thing for TES.

I think so. Not sure exactly what it does. Maybe it just does targetted damage to armor in that area. I dunno. Kinda crazy that Bethesda's Fallout games have allowed us to target specific body parts since 3, but they never thought to do that for The Elder Scrolls. Not that we need VATS in Tamriel, but if I should someone in the head with an arrow, that should do something. lol

Oh, one other change I welcome is that Agility determines the damage of one-handed weapons, including daggers. I think it's just blades, but I'm not entirely sure. Not home to check, but I know I don't have to invest in Strength for my short swords and daggers. As a character who opens most battles with a bow, that's a welcome change. If you're the bulky type with a mace, Strength is still the stat for you. Of course, Strength still determines carry weight, so it's not like it's a useless stat for my character.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Some of that was in English. I think.

[Hydra009]

TES was born out of Bethesda employees playing D&D on their breaks, so it makes sense that there's no specific body part targeting since that's unusual in D&D.

Oh, one other change I welcome is that Agility determines the damage of one-handed weapons, including daggers. I think it's just blades, but I'm not entirely sure.

Well, there goes my build.  Previously, it definitely was Strength.  In the original game, each attribute governed three skills.  Strength -> Blunt, Blade, and Hand to Hand.  Agility -> Marksman, Security, and Sneak.  Endurance > Block, Armorer, and Heavy Armor.  Speed -> Acrobatics, Athletics, and Light Armor.  Personality -> Mercantile, Speechcraft, and Illusion.  Intelligence -> Conjuration, Mysticism, and Alchemy.  Willpower -> Alteration, Destruction, and Restoration.  That was a good system.  Why they mess with it?  Hiyaaa...

Well, I know the first mod I'm downloading...

*edit - false alarm.  It's just shortswords and daggers.  My precious broadswords are still strength-based afaik.  Whew.

[Blackleaf]

This is a pretty good (and short) video about some of the things that did and did not change.

I knew I wasn't crazy about original Oblivion's melee being super annoying. Any time you get hit, you'd be staggered. Now, that only happens when you have no stamina.

[Hydra009]

IMO, there are things that Morrowind does best, there are things that Oblivion does best, and there are things that Skyrim does best.

Heaven is Morrowind aesthetics/atmosphere and roleplaying, Oblivion quests, and Skyrim combat.  Set during the war for the White-Gold Tower with an amazing physics engine and branching choices, incredible music, and a robust roleplaying system.

Hell is Oblivion aesthetics, Morrowind quests and combat, and Skyrim roleplaying. 

Imagine a generic medieval fantasy set in London Towne + searching Agwthfguzahn for the Dwemer puzzle box in order to instantly become grandmaster of all factions and crowned Saint Dwemer-born by Lorkhan himself.  Also, you die instantly when touching the water and/or deviating 10-feet from the Quest Trail of the currently active quest (cannot be disabled).  No attributes or skills, just character levels calculated through horse armor purchases and your Epic Games loyalty level.  And it's an epic exclusive for the first 5 years.  And you play as a voiced protagonist named Todd from the mystical land of Rhodes Island...

(I can't continue, I inadvertently frenzied myself)

[Blackleaf]

I often joke about the increasingly shorter list of skills in each game. The Elder Scrolls VI will have four: Hit, Block, Magic, and Sneak.

Hopefully, they've learned the right lessons from Fallout 76 and...whatever their space game was called. Having a big sandbox, with nothing to do, isn't fun. And with the success of Oblivion Remastered, maybe they'll remember what made people love their games to begin with.

Unrelated, but I also had an idea for a pacifist challenge in Oblivion. Basically, I'd be playing a character who refuses, under any circumstances, to kill any animal or person. If a quest requires I kill, I refuse it. When I encounter hostiles, I run or use Calm magic. I also won't commit any crimes, and I'll do those pilgrimage quests I never bothered with before. Basically, I'd be that guy from The Good Place who was trying to earn as many points as he could to get into Heaven.

Undead are fair game, though. They're already dead, and killing them is putting them to rest.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"They're already dead, and killing them is putting them to rest."

Department of Redundancy Department of your Natural Guard.

[Blackleaf]

"They're already dead, and killing them is putting them to rest."

Department of Redundancy Department of your Natural Guard.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I certainly did my part.

[Hydra009]

I'm so hyped for this game.  Overall, it seems very similar to Endless Legend but with flashier moves and more bells and whistles (talent trees galore).  It looks like they went through great pains to make combat look much more exciting.  Also, they really nailed the aesthetic.  It looks alien all right.  It looks so alien that I don't even know wtf I'm looking at half the time, and I'm a pretty well-versed with this stuff.

I like the new mechanic where the ocean recedes over time, revealing all sorts of perils/opportunities.  That'll keep you on your toes, especially when it opens up a landbridge between you and rival empires.

What I don't like are these dialogue screens.  Unvoiced and pretty static.  Very uninteresting and subpar compared to how other games handle dialogue.  In the previous game, we got some pretty interesting (but verbose) journal entries.  Even though they were unvoiced, we got neat little insights into the setting, faction, and individual leaders.  This new dialogue screen seems like the worst of both worlds - brief and unvoiced - an overall downgrade.

I'm also not crazy about the limited number of factions (new game has 4 at launch, compared to the previous installment's 8)  No naval combat is both a welcome and unwelcome change, since it was mechanically frustrating but the lore was fantastic.

Endless Legend 2 keeps the fan favorite Broken Lords, so that's a plus.