New Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion screenshots (PC/XBOX360)

[Everlost_MI]

Worthplaying (http://www.worthplaying.com/) has posted some new screenshots (http://www.worthplaying.com/article.php?sid=27932&mode=thread&order=0) of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion for your viewing pleasure.

Release Date: 11/21/2005 (PC (http://www.gametab.com/pc/elder.scrolls.iv.oblivion.the/3407/), XBOX360 (http://www.gametab.com/xbox360/elder.scrolls.iv.oblivion.the/4227/))

These are quite tasty, November can't come soon enough.

[Rirath]

I'm sure it's just me, but the more these shots go from "pretty random forest" or "a well lit table" to an actual gameplay style shot, the less impressed I get. The models and their textures still have a bit of a disconnect from the backgrounds to me, the sword textures have never really looked right, and the forests beat any other part of the game I've seen.

None the less, before someone starts about "OMG Gaming != graphics!!!", I'm still quite looking forward to this game. This, however, is a thread about screenshots. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the pretty but limited world of Guild Wars, or the stylish but unbounded world of WoW.

[kathode]

Look like mag scans to me. Colors are all washed out.

[Grimgrock]

I am forced to agree with Rirath. Some of these shots just don't look as impressive as others. Still, the models and quality is better than those used in Morrowind.

[LilEvilFish]

Get used to them, if you don't own the best hardware money can buy, this may be the lower quality graphics.

Or like the man says, may be scans

[Deathbane27]

As posted by Kathode on the official Oblivion forums about the screenshots (http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=152698&st=150&p=2609159&#entry2609159):

One thing to note is that the Argonian in question is "bald" for lack of a better term. He has no "hair" applied. They come with a variety of hair choices - fins, spikes, scaly things - a bunch of different stuff that really balances out the head. I think they look awesome regardless (wait till you see all the skin detail close up), but the hair makes them look even better.

And yeah, god the colors on those shots are awful. It looks like they took the shots, printed them out, then scanned them in just for fun.

[Malovech]

November! November! November! November!

[Morratut]

This game looks great. I'm really gutted i'm not into this type of game.<sigh>

I could imagine me trying to get into Oblivion increasing my magic ability or something then i get a invite for a online frag fest on Ghost Recon 3. I would try and avoid the invite but the pull to hunt down others players would be too great.

I'd never get round to giving Oblivion the time it deserves :(

[sinclair122]

Now it would be awesome if they added multiplayer co-op action

[Kamalot]

Interesting

These are the worst looking screen shots yet from the game. I wonder why. Perhaps they were taken from the final dev kits running the game.

The level of detail is nice, but these shots are noticably jaggy and muddies than other Oblivion screen shots. They look like someone grabbed them from a real running version of the game in motion instead of rendering the screen directly to disc like most of the Oblivion shots.

While they aren't the most impressive, they are probably the closest to what the game is going to look like.

[Frogleg Special]

200 hours of gameplay - knowing that makes me tired enough.

[kathode]

The level of detail is nice, but these shots are noticably jaggy and muddies than other Oblivion screen shots. They look like someone grabbed them from a real running version of the game in motion instead of rendering the screen directly to disc like most of the Oblivion shots.

While they aren't the most impressive, they are probably the closest to what the game is going to look like.
You can see the game running in motion in the trailer. Like I said, these are probably mag scans.

[Xerxes]

Yup that's a elder scrolls game...

[Grimgrock]

Based on comments from the official forums, I suppose I should reserve further judgement on these screenshots until actually seeing the game. I guess I should start saving for that new system now so that I can play it in November. Only $2500 more to go in the buy a new system fund.

[Heretic Machine]

Maybe I'm just not the screenshot whore that everyone else is, but haven't we had enough of these? Morrowind was the best game ever, and I'm looking forward to Oblivion more than anything else, but do we really need MORE screenshots?

[RMan]

200 hours of gameplay - knowing that makes me tired enough.
Yea, although I know some players rate a game by how much time it consumes, I avoid games like this. It almost always translates to 20 hours of gameplay peppered throughout 180 hours of relatively boring filler.

[Taco]

200 hours of gameplay does not equal 200 hours to finish. It'll likely be less than a quarter of that if you stick to the main quest line. That'd be my rather confident guess.

Play it however you choose.

[zyzyx]

It's good to see a developer properly modelling humans with Down's Syndrome.
j/k. I've yet to see anything to alleviate my fears about the quality of the NPCs however. Kathode's quoted posted above does at least make it sound like there's a lot of them. I guess it then comes down to whether you'd rather fight one gorgeous mob 500 times, or 25 somewhat varied mobs 20 times.

[Oblivion]

is that the first shot of UI? that char screen looks good, like the icons for skills.

[sTubbs]

When is Bethesda finally going to reveal its shadow tech to the general public? They keep talking about how amazing it is but have yet to give us any visual proof. Anyways this is still the game that will sell me a 360. There are a few other launch titles that are looking attractive to me but they are just an added bonus. Now I just have to decide whether to jump in early or hold off until next summer when I do not have to worry about school. I guess I will probably end up getting one during Christmas break.

[jacktion]

Not impressive. For thousand of dollars to be on the "cutting edge" of technology I expected more.

[Taco]

Those are likely console shots. For thousands of dollars it'll look better.

Not like it really matters anyways with this game.

[MrMeatshake]

morrowind is teh b00mbz0r! morrowind pwnz a11 teh oth3rz sh10t!!!!!1! quite teh whinineg and suck it up FPS fanboiz c4n sux mah b4llz0rz!!!11!1!

corrected for context.

;)

[Heretic Machine]

Other than me saying that Morrowind was awesome, you sort of just made up the rest of that... <.< What does me complaining about the number of screenshots released for games these days have to do with FPS fanboys, or whining? o.o

[Dragos]

Judging graphics based on screenshots, bad idea. Judging graphics based on shots super compressed to fit on some german(I think) site and then stretched out to 720p by a 360 fansite for some reason, just... yeah.

Hasnt the 360 version been confirmed to be running max everything anyways? Honestly guys.

[Dirty Harry]

I'm sure it's just me, but the more these shots go from "pretty random forest" or "a well lit table" to an actual gameplay style shot, the less impressed I get. The models and their textures still have a bit of a disconnect from the backgrounds to me, the sword textures have never really looked right, and the forests beat any other part of the game I've seen.

None the less, before someone starts about "OMG Gaming != graphics!!!", I'm still quite looking forward to this game. This, however, is a thread about screenshots. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the pretty but limited world of Guild Wars, or the stylish but unbounded world of WoW.
You are a spoiled being who has his priorities messed up, my biggest concern about this game is the animations, yet you dont see me blathering on about it like some fucking ninny. I honestly dare you to try and make some decent looking textures, go ahead and show me how your work would be any better than what anyone else could do because obviously you have no clue about what your talking about.

People like you are the reason side scrolling gaming was killed on the console market. Now don't tell me that the gba has side scroller games because I honestly dont count last gen of Hand Helds because if the Gba for example had the technology to do full there would of been alot less side scrolling games unfortunatly(have to make due with what you have i suppose).

Anyways, i hope you really get your priorities straight instead of just being some turd who goes, omg i can see pixel A in screen shot one.

[Xaerin]

Aww baby yes, this game cannot be anything but awesome and the quality of the screenshots won't change that.

[Apex]

This and Gothic 3 are the games im waiting for. But I have to admit I think im looking forward to Gothic 3 a little bit more

[mister_slim]

More blah art.

[Rirath]

You are a spoiled being who has his priorities messed up, my biggest concern about this game is the animations, yet you dont see me blathering on about it like some fucking ninny. I honestly dare you to try and make some decent looking textures, go ahead and show me how your work would be any better than what anyone else could do because obviously you have no clue about what your talking about.

People like you are the reason side scrolling gaming was killed on the console market. Now don't tell me that the gba has side scroller games because I honestly dont count last gen of Hand Helds because if the Gba for example had the technology to do full there would of been alot less side scrolling games unfortunatly(have to make due with what you have i suppose).

Anyways, i hope you really get your priorities straight instead of just being some turd who goes, omg i can see pixel A in screen shot one.

Wow, I knew there'd be at least one person who would /completely/ blow some comments about screenshots out of proportion... but you sir, you take the cake. Bravo! Are there any other ills of gaming you'd like to blame on 'my kind'? Perhaps we also caused Duke Nukem Forever to be delayed, EA to be evil, and the Phantom to suck?

I happen to know an ok amount about modeling and textures (hobbyist), but let's not get into that. I'm not a dev, and don't claim to be. I honestly have no idea how you make the connection between some muddy and jaggy shots, and sidescrollers... but for the record, it wasn't killed. It merely shrunk with demand and went, logically, to platforms where it made more sense development wise. Ie, the lovely GBA.

And yes, you're right... pixel A is the suxx0rz. It ruined the whole game.
DANG YOU, PIXEL A!!!!

(Pixel A, for those unfamiliar with it, is the stuck green pixel near the center on my new LCD monitor. :mad: )

[Twigz'N'Berries]

Interesting

These are the worst looking screen shots yet from the game. I wonder why. Perhaps they were taken from the final dev kits running the game.

The level of detail is nice, but these shots are noticably jaggy and muddies than other Oblivion screen shots. They look like someone grabbed them from a real running version of the game in motion instead of rendering the screen directly to disc like most of the Oblivion shots.

While they aren't the most impressive, they are probably the closest to what the game is going to look like.
I agree...these are the worse Oblivion shots I've seen to date. Hopefully, this was a bad scan/grab. I'm still looking foward to it...but if these are representative of the final product, I will be majorly disappointed.

[Taco]

It could look like Daggerfall for all I care. Any graphical prowess is icing.

[Dirty Harry]

Wow, I knew there'd be at least one person who would /completely/ blow some comments about screenshots out of proportion... but you sir, you take the cake. Bravo! Are there any other ills of gaming you'd like to blame on 'my kind'? Perhaps we also caused Duke Nukem Forever to be delayed, EA to be evil, and the Phantom to suck?

I happen to know an ok amount about modeling and textures (hobbyist), but let's not get into that. I'm not a dev, and don't claim to be. I honestly have no idea how you make the connection between some muddy and jaggy shots, and sidescrollers... but for the record, it wasn't killed. It merely shrunk with demand and went, logically, to platforms where it made more sense development wise. Ie, the lovely GBA.

And yes, you're right... pixel A is the suxx0rz. It ruined the whole game.
DANG YOU, PIXEL A!!!!

(Pixel A, for those unfamiliar with it, is the stuck green pixel near the center on my new LCD monitor. :mad: )
I did not take this conversation out of context, your demand for better graphics are what killed 2d sprite based games. If there was never a need for something better things wouldnt evolve. Table tops havent really changed in years and the only reason why is that people arent looking for anything more than what is offered. I understand that the leaps and bounds of technilogical improvements have allowed games that would of never been even possibly dreamt about.

Okay if you still think your not related to the demise of 2d gaming in general ill show you example,

Just say you work for a great game company that focuses on 2d rts games pc games, thats fine and dandy. Now your company wants to branch out to the home console market because there is some real money in there because it has such a large installation base. Now hypothetically as i said, you make a rather awesome 2d based sprite game mixing rts with side scrolling elements, great you think. Then you attempt to get a publisher for your game only to find out that your game isnt to their demands because 2d sprite games just wont sell like what ever Snazzy game X would because of the 3d graphics. Your companys dreams and hopes are crushed because people constantly want (which i may add is fairly pointless in many diffrent directions) needles improvements in gaming technology that have absolutely no effect on gameplay.


And this is how you tie into this 3d/you killed 2d based sprite games arguement. Its joe consumer like you who has your "basic" understanding of modeling and texture creation that makes you think Game X should be just that much better looking than current technology avails to us. IF you fucking knew what you were saying was going to spark a conversation like this, why even bother saying it?.


Secondly i wouldnt give you the credit for causing the delays of dnf, nor did i even compare you to being the cause of the demise of the phamton nor do i support the console in any manner except its swill keyboardmouse combo. So it seems you are the one taking what i am saying out of context SIR.

It could look like Daggerfall for all I care. Any graphical prowess is icing.

These are finally some words of reason.

[Liquidize105]

But people do want better graphics. What people don't catch onto fast enough is that underneath many graphical powerhouses are simple decks of cards in which they barely hold up. With millions spent on art/tech assets, gameplay design has been neglected.

Of course, Oblivion wouldn't be one of those, it's shaping up fine. Between this, gothicIII and dark messiah next year, I'm forced to upgrade.

[Taco]

Wonder how it'll run on my 6800 U

[PIPBoy3000]

I just bought a new rig just for this season's run of games. Oblivion and F.E.A.R. are the two that will likely push the envelope the most, though even things like Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 are starting to push my "old" 9800 Pro and AMD 2500+ more than I'd like.

Screenshots are never as satisfying as seeing the real thing in motion, interactive and everything.

[VoodooKarma]

Regardless of what any of these screenshots look like, I have no doubt I will be blown away once I get my hands on this game. Hurry up already November.

[Pumped'Up]

Looks nice, but the character faces remind me of Might and Magic series (graphics were tacky ass).

[Rirath]

I did not take this conversation out of context, your demand for better graphics are what killed 2d sprite based games.

And this is how you tie into this 3d/you killed 2d based sprite games arguement. Its joe consumer like you who has your "basic" understanding of modeling and texture creation that makes you think Game X should be just that much better looking than current technology avails to us.

My word you paint people with one mighty big brush. As for me and 'my kind' 'joe consumer', who demands these fancy shamancy graphics... you need to realize I still play Nethack / Rogue / Angband / and various other offshoots regularly, in ascii. I've logged hundreds of hours in all text MUDs in the past, more than any modern MMO. I still play retro games all the way back to the Atari, regularly.

THIS game however, is graphics based. Not only that, it's one of the central features they're showing off, regularly. Believe it or not, wanting quality from a 3D, highly graphical game, and being surprised when a batch of screenshots is suddenly far less quality than all shots before it, is not all that illogical. It does not equate that I must be ignorant of any other form of gaming, nor that it is impossible for this game to look any better than it does, nor that no other form of gaming can ever exist.

From a development standpoint, it just doesn't make sense to pour the resources into a 2D game for a console. There's no real point, when you've got systems like the GBA, the NDS, and the PSP all ready and waiting. The development time, cost, and team needed is a fraction of what doing the same thing on a console would be, and you're sure to get a much more receptive audience. I love 2D gaming as much as the next guy, I would LOVE a new Castlevania: Symphony of the Night... but sometimes you just have to move on.

IF you fucking knew what you were saying was going to spark a conversation like this, why even bother saying it?.

Yes, why did I ever bother making a comment on the INTERNET where SOMEONE would surely disagree? I might as well just unplug my cable modem right now, if I'm going to interact by that standard. (Especially on Evil Avatar, no less.)

Secondly i wouldnt give you the credit for causing the delays of dnf, nor did i even compare you to being the cause of the demise of the phamton nor do i support the console in any manner except its swill keyboardmouse combo. So it seems you are the one taking what i am saying out of context SIR.

Humor. It's called, humor.

[Taco]

Everyone on EA agreed with each other on every topic. It was a utopian mind meld.

That is until rirath registered. Asshole.

[Rirath]

It could look like Daggerfall for all I care. Any graphical prowess is icing.

It should be said, in case it's not clear, that at the end of the day I agree with this. I tried to point that out at the very beginning of this thread. I'm still impressed by Morrowind. Graphics are not going to deter me from playing this game, and overall, it will look pretty dang good regardless. None the less, I'm not the only one here expressing some dismay over these particular shots, and certain aspects of the graphics.

Everyone on EA agreed with each other on every topic. It was a utopian mind meld.

That is until rirath registered. Asshole.

Ha, that's going in my personal hall of fame. :D

[Twigz'N'Berries]

But Rirath is right to an extent. One of the selling points of this game has been its graphical prowess. Another has been Bethesda's Radiant AI. So why get perturbed when he points out what most of us already know...these screenshots look like poo when compared to previous shots we have seen. My only hope is that this 'dumbed down' look isn't the result of the HD missing or cramming the game into one DVD9.

I didn't play Morrowind on the Xbox for the graphics, but it didn't try to sell itself on the graphics either. (I still haven't beat that damn game! So I better hope the GotY edition is backwardfs compatible...but then again I can't port my game to the 360 anyway)

[RandomViolence]

I did not take this conversation out of context, your demand for better graphics are what killed 2d sprite based games. If there was never a need for something better things wouldnt evolve. Table tops havent really changed in years and the only reason why is that people arent looking for anything more than what is offered. I understand that the leaps and bounds of technilogical improvements have allowed games that would of never been even possibly dreamt about.

Okay if you still think your not related to the demise of 2d gaming in general ill show you example,

Just say you work for a great game company that focuses on 2d rts games pc games, thats fine and dandy. Now your company wants to branch out to the home console market because there is some real money in there because it has such a large installation base. Now hypothetically as i said, you make a rather awesome 2d based sprite game mixing rts with side scrolling elements, great you think. Then you attempt to get a publisher for your game only to find out that your game isnt to their demands because 2d sprite games just wont sell like what ever Snazzy game X would because of the 3d graphics. Your companys dreams and hopes are crushed because people constantly want (which i may add is fairly pointless in many diffrent directions) needles improvements in gaming technology that have absolutely no effect on gameplay.


And this is how you tie into this 3d/you killed 2d based sprite games arguement. Its joe consumer like you who has your "basic" understanding of modeling and texture creation that makes you think Game X should be just that much better looking than current technology avails to us. IF you fucking knew what you were saying was going to spark a conversation like this, why even bother saying it?.


Secondly i wouldnt give you the credit for causing the delays of dnf, nor did i even compare you to being the cause of the demise of the phamton nor do i support the console in any manner except its swill keyboardmouse combo. So it seems you are the one taking what i am saying out of context SIR.



These are finally some words of reason.

Man... were you wasted when you wrote this? What the fuck?

[Dirty Harry]

Man... were you wasted when you wrote this? What the fuck?
hahaha, i am alot of the time so it may make sense as to why i type so oddly hmm :/. Oh well, not that big of a deal.

[Murmillo]

It looks like the screen shots where taken from the 360 version on TV while in motion - printed onto paper and then scanned... ugly. These are the uglest screen shots of Oblivion I ever seen. I mean, Morrowind looks better then that.

Every thing is just washed out, flat and blurry.

[Farrok]

Out of curiosity, why would anyone buy this game for 360? This is, without a doubt, the game i look forward to most for this season. With the 360 bundles so expensive, i'd rather buy the PC version, and if it chugs along, spend the money on whatever needs upgrading. Don't get me wrong, i'm looking forward to the 360, i'd just spend my money on new PC parts first and wait till demand drops for the 360.

On the other hand, i'm a faithful PC gamer for life and would never sacrifice my hard earned cash for the console version of any game given the choice, so maybe i'm just biased.

[Rirath]

Out of curiosity, why would anyone buy this game for 360?

On the other hand, i'm a faithful PC gamer for life and would never sacrifice my hard earned cash for the console version of any game given the choice, so maybe i'm just biased.

The mods and bug fixes pretty much demand I go for the PC version.

Having once owned a used copy of Morrowind for Xbox ($5~, thankfully) and finding there's not so much as a lifebar, and I can't fix it... I'm pretty much set on the PC version of this one. If your PC was badly out of date though, then I could see the appeal of the 360 version. Perhaps if you just weren't a PC gamer in general and you really wanted to play Elder Scrolls IV. I think it's a great thing, but I'm sticking to PC.

[51|RandoM]

We've reached the point where computer graphics look like really bad FMV from years back.

Somebody messed up somewhere along the line, lol.

[kathode]

For anyone taking notes - I play this game every day. These images are scanned from a magazine and thus blurry, flat, and washed out. It does not look like that. I said it before, but my ego is gargantuan and I was assuming people know who I am. Maybe that was a mistake :)

[Ravenlock]

Ho-lee crap, Dirty Harry. All the guy did was say that these shots look worse graphically than the other shots that had come out before. That's perfectly true. He even specifically said that he was still greatly looking forward to the gameplay, and his comment was because this is a thread about screenshots. Your tirade was misplaced.

The first shots I ever saw from Oblivion bowled me over. My jaw disconnected from my face. They looked like a painting - like there's no way they could be moving realtime on a screen. I thought "the final game won't look like this, it just isn't possible."

And it looks like that was true. These shots look like an enhanced Morrowind. The textures blur a bit up close, the seams show, and everything looks - well, like an Elder Scrolls computer game instead of like a photo that's had a blur effect applied, which was what the early shots looked like.

And that's fine. Will it effect the awesomeness of the game one tiny bit? I doubt it (though if they don't give the world at large more LIFE than Morrowind had, and leave it to the modders to do again, THAT'll effect the awesomeness considerably...) - the gameplay will survive or fall on its own merits. Kingdom of Loathing is a fun and addictive game and its graphics are stick figures.

That doesn't make it off limits to talk about the difference between what was shown early on and what's being shown closer to release.

[Pentadact]

We've got the original images here, and they look much better than those. In fact, it looks like Take 2 had Worthplaying take them down for that reason - check the link now.

We've also got a batch of completely new ones, including some snowy climes, the first shot of a Dark Brotherhood assassin and some amazing armour sets.

The original, full-res, unspoilt shots will be on our discs next issue. UK: on-sale at the end of the month. US: isn't it time you subscribed (http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/store/displayitem.asp?sid=462&id=4330&custid=07@09@200538075@943630792) or something?

To chime in on the graphics debate, to me they are important in Oblivion. Part of the joy of Morrowind, for me, was the sense of place - it was beautiful at the time (parts of it still are, if you ask me), and it made you want to walk to Balmora instead of taking the Silt Strider, investigate caves on the way, encounter wizards falling from the sky. Beauty is not superficial in an RPG that's largely about exploring.

-
Tom Francis
PC Gamer UK