Whether we like it or not the game more than likely will be sold largely on the merit of its graphics, just as Morrowind and Oblivion were. Whether graphics and engines should be used as selling points is another matter, but (and I don't mean to be pedantic) to say that they're not just isn't correct. Oblivion was pushed a lot on its graphics and was underwhelming once the player got past those visuals; just as you say. I've played Oblivion only recently (testing out my GTX580, as Oblivion is still one of my go-to tests for any new card). I feel my opinion on the graphics of Skyrim that we see here still stands. I didn't say it looks just like Oblivion, I said it looks like Oblivion with some very minor improvements - And to my eyes it simply does. I understand that there are technical limitations in place, imposed by the game being marketed on Xbox 360 (maybe even primarily so) - But my point is that they've done little to improve the graphics, whether they could or not, but also nothing to improve other aspects of the engine that would bring it more up to date and give them other selling points. The fact that the engine looks so similar, that the characters are still using basic skeletal animation, that the textures still look lower-res than what fanmade projects are using.. Just suggests to me that it's barely a step forward technologically. Of course none of that would matter if the actual content of the game were up to scratch, but the reason I bring it up is that what we've seen so far of Skyrim doesn't give me any hope that it IS up to scratch. On top of that, Fallout 3 suffered from many of the very same flaws that many of us so disliked about Oblivion, further suggesting that Bethesda aren't learning from their mistakes - But then they seemingly don't have to learn when people lap it up on consoles anyway and just accept what they get instead of demanding more for their money and time. As many have already said, Oblivion was good but flawed and a disimprovement from Morrowind in a lot of gameplay aspects - If that downward curve continues then Skyrim looks to be woefully underwhelming - At least Oblivion had the engine and visuals to wow us when it came out. Skyrim, to my eyes at least, doesn't. On the other hand, I agree strongly with this. I got a lot of enjoyment out of Oblivion despite its massive flaws, but it was a letdown after Morrowind and a lot of that enjoyment just wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the Oblivion mod community. Bethesda quite smartly release their games in a flawed state and leave the improvements to unpaid amateur enthusiasts, but that might come back to bite them sometime if people get sick of fixing their games for them. Had it been standalone I would have appreciated it more (the same goes for FO3). If they can deliver something better than Oblivion in terms of gameplay then I'll probably have great fun with it - But the gameplay changes leaked so far don't inspire me with confidence in that regard because my personal taste is for complex RPGs, not streamlined RPGs - We have enough of those in the market these days. Maybe they'll pull something fantastic out of it, something to rival Morrowind - I hope they do.
Wallpaper released & an "in-game look" at Skyrim at 3pm GMT (link has info on both) http://www.bethsoft.com/elder_council_wallpaper/
^ Anyone else get chills down their spine when the vocals kicked in? Hopefully we'll see some more gameplay footage when GDC kicks off next week!
I did. It's a great rearrangement of the theme and hopefully that means Jeremy Soule is handling the music again. The combat certainly looks more engaging and visceral in those short clips. If they can get the execution just right it could be one of the killer features (pun not intended) to make Skyrim work.
Looks like the PS3 or Xbox 360 version to me, I'll hold judjment until verified PC footage is shown. Rest assured the modding community will have some epic improvements soon after the game is launched.
Yes! I loved the fact that it's still the same base tune underneath as well. Also the bit where the barbarian shouts "NOSGRATAR!" and the big wave of energy sallies forth. That was tremendous. This has completely renewed my excitement in TES.
The footage was confirmed to have been rendered on the Xbox 360 i believe. As for my actual opinion, i was rather disappointed that despite the new engine etc. it still looked and felt like Oblivion. Which i guess some people find a good thing (this being the sequel and all), but i personally hated Oblivion with a passion since it just felt clunky and awkward. I'll still keep tabs on it and look out for more trailers but this isn't a good start for me personally.
A bloody dragon... could they possibly have come up with anything more cliché? As much as i liked Oblivion, i'll probably wait untill a Fallout game comes out with this new engine. I wasn't a fan of the medieval setting then and even less so today.
Personally if they get the gameplay right then I will forgive the graphics. I would much rather have an absorbing RPG than a graphbical feast. OK. I don't want to see 8-bit graphics and plinky plonky sound. but I'm not too fussed about having super glorious direct-x 11 stuff either. Of course, if they did both then I would not complain ;-)
If it's on par with Oblivion or better then I can handle that. I don't think it will reach the heady heights of Morrowind (although maybe I remember it with rosetinted glasses), but I love Beths style of RPG's, and I'm sure once you get absorbed in the world you'll forget all about its niggles.
The combat looks massively better! Can actually swing it in more than 3 directions by the look of it....Eurrrrgh, I want it now :{
If you pause the trailer the low resolution textures stand out a lot. But it's a console version I'm not too bothered. Also there is no bump/displacement mapping on the stone roads and other objects. Enough with the negativity though. The art direction is improved a lot, the few flashes we get of dungeons look great and the different type of forests (pine, birch) already impress more than it's predecessor ever did.
I'd say this is a fair improvement, considering the game has to run on the same pathetically underpowered consoles that struggle with vanilla Oblivion. Improvements to models and lighting are all we can really expect, but they're also very welcome. Modders can give us better textures (and undoubtedly will) but lighting is something no mod ever managed to improve in Oblivion, to my knowledge. This isn't the massive jump we saw from Morrowind to Oblivion, but it's a good improvement IMHO. I imagine TES VI will look incredible, as it's probably going to be released around the time the consoles are finally refreshed and the rest of the gaming world finally catches up with the PC (well for a few months anyway).
You're not the only one who isn't too excited. Not waiting for the next Fallout, but certainly not as excited about Skyrim after the trailer. It looks too... Norse. Almost ragequit on the trailer when I saw the horns on the guy's helmet. I get that previous TES games already outline what Skyrim is like, but was really hoping it wouldn't be too stereotypical. Just sick of the whole theme. Used too often in games lately, and really putting me off of a lot of metal music (I swear folk metal is like the hipsters of the metal scene). I'll probably get the game for the fun gameplay, but am not as excited.
