Official Video Games Thread IV: Super Alpha HD Remix 2009 Edition

[Foxton]

Originally Posted by Gonzo

Exactly

I really should get some video of a friend playing. He's insanely vocal about how much of a hacker everyone else is, and how awesome he is whenever he kills someone. Used to host lan parties with him, and everyone got a good laugh over him and his often violent outbursts.

[JF_Gophers]

Originally Posted by GreatLakerMohawk

What possessed me to buy Oblivion: Game of the Year edition? I haven't played anything RPG-like in years.

Oh right, it was $30 - that's why.

Any tips or hints from you more experienced players?

I have a million tips for that game. Its one of the best ever made and still holds up today even though its still several years old.

I'll throw together a list when I get home tonight of key things that will help you. That way it will be less frustrating at the start and you are more likely to play thru to the end.

[GreatLakerMohawk]

Originally Posted by JF_Gophers

I have a million tips for that game. Its one of the best ever made and still holds up today even though its still several years old.

I'll throw together a list when I get home tonight of key things that will help you. That way it will be less frustrating at the start and you are more likely to play thru to the end.

That's awesome - thanks. I picked it up because it was so well loved and reviewed and I didn't really care that it was years old. I will say though a graphic overhaul on a game like that would be amazing.

[JF_Gophers]

There is so much info on ESIV: Oblivion I could give you that it would be overwhelming to absorb. So I'll try to be concise, and break it into sections.

Part 1 - Leveling:

The #1 thing you need to understand about Oblivion is the leveling system. It is the single thing in the game that will cause you to quit.

By advancing your Major skills your exp bar will fill up. Once you have 10 total skill ups in all of your major skills combined you will see an icon that shows you are ready to level up. You will not level up until you rest. Levels stack, so if you gained enough major skills to level 3 times, you will be able to do so when you rest.

Leveling lets you raise 3 skills by up to +5. The +x is based on how many skill raises you had during that level. So if you only raised a major skill group twice (str, end, int, etc.), you will only have a +1 available to that stat when you level.

Advancing minor skills does not effect your level. But they do count towards the +x gain when you level. So feel free to advance these as much as you want. The reason all of this is important is because if you neglect raising certain stats to their max you will have a tough time beating enemies as they level up with you, causing you to want to stop playing.

This means that unless you are super careful, power leveling is not recommended.

    a) When you level, your enemies level. So if a boss is 3 levels above you at level 1, he will be 3 levels above you at level 31.

    b) Item/Weapon stats level as you level. Once you reach level 30, everything will be at their max stats.

    c) I wouldn't install the DLC's (if you buy them) that have rewards, until you reach the level 25-30 range so that their rewards are worth the maximum. It is based on your level upon install, not when you visit the location.

I would recommend getting Wizard's Tower DLC. That includes a nice fast travel portal system, even if you are a warrior type.

Part 2 - Character Creation:

When you start the game it doesn't really matter how you create your character. You will want to go through the opening jail sewer section, and just before you exit the sewers save the game.

Before you exit the game will ask you if you want to make changes to your character build. By keeping this save spot you can always go back and recreate a new character and not have to redo the entire prologue sewer section. So don't overwrite that save!

Once you get to that spot, then you can make your final character decisions.

I will say that it is easier to start a warrior and become a mage, than it is to start a mage and become a warrior. So if you want to be a mage, go ahead but realize you probably will never be useful in a fight that involves swords/axes/knives.

I took the slow/controlled leveling route. By making my major skills ones that I wouldn't normally use. You miss out on the +10 bonus that major skills give you in what you really want, but at least you can control your leveling. Eventually it won't matter as you will have high enough stats and nice enough items to do everything you want anyways.

So if you want to use swords and heavy armor, I would try at least one character where those are minor skills and blunt weapons/light armor are the major skills.

I'd also make Alchemy a major skill, as that is super easy to raise fast when you are ready to level, and is not necessary in most normal situations to overcome obstacles.

[JF_Gophers]

Now for some general ESIV: Oblivion information to make things easier and more fun.

1) SAVE OFTEN. Keep a running group of save files (rotate at least 3), and possibly copy them to a memory card as backup. There is nothing worse then getting a corrupted save file and losing everything you did for the last 10 hours. No really, SAVE AGAIN.

2) Since you have GOTY ed. I would go to Shivering Isles fairly early on, as some of the weapons/armor there will really make life easier in the main world.

Once in Shivering Isles, when you visit the gate the first time you can loot a full set of steel armor (heavy) and some weapons. Then if you follow enough of the main quest in SI you will get a nice sword that has a different dmg effect for day and night time.

3) As you progress in the main world quest more and more Oblivion gates will open. As long as you don't close the main quest ones you can make quite a living (loot, xp, gold) on closing these random gates.

4) Careful with what you steal or who you strike. Crime pays if you are good at it (stealth). But if not it can either a) cost you money to pay off your debt, or b) cause you to be hated by guards everywhere making movement within towns very difficult.

5) I would avoid becoming a vampire until you are comfortable with the world and its mechanics, especially travel. Once you are full vampire you become very powerful, however sunlight hurts (even during fast travel) and being cured is a very long quest. So if you contract vampirism, cure yourself before you rest.

6) There are a ton of non-quest dungeons to visit and loot, and the mobs/rewards respawn after a few days. So feel free to loot these often.

7) Weight is a big issue when trying to finish a dungeon. If you become encumbered you will move slow or stop all together. So try to travel light if you know you are going to be getting a lot of loot. Also try to wear equipment that ups your weight limit.

8) Take free stuff! Check every barrel and box that are in public areas (i.e., not indoors). You can pick up items to sell for gold, food, and lockpicks for free and without crime penalties.

9) Don't be afraid to RUN! If you get far enough away from enemies they will lose interest in you and you can then regroup to fight them or just do something else.

[Rolevio]

Originally Posted by GreatLakerMohawk

What possessed me to buy Oblivion: Game of the Year edition? I haven't played anything RPG-like in years.

Oh right, it was $30 - that's why.

Any tips or hints from you more experienced players?

1. Like JF said, definitely take a slow controlled leveling route. If you level too fast than your gear will fall behind rather quickly and killing anything will be more difficult.

2. I suggest holding off on the main storyline for a while. The storyline is rather quick and doesn't require that high of a level to complete, but when you complete it you lose quite a few areas to hunt for treasure in.

3. I have found having a high sneak skill to be extremely useful. (or invisibility as a mage). So even if you are a heavy armor type warrior, I'd suggest still working on sneak while you level for when you do some of the quests.

4. The Thieves Guild and Assassin Guild questlines are probably the best in the game in my opinion, definitely do those at some point. If you are going to do the Thieves Guild on a character, do it before the Fighter and Mages Guilds. Also if you are doing either the Thieves or Assassin's Guild, make sure to open up one of the fast travel points just across the water from the Imperial City's Harbor District. If you get a bounty on your head, this makes it easy to be able to sneak back into the Harbor.

5. Magic weapons run out of charges extremely quickly. While you can recharge them, I suggest using normal weapons as often as possible and save your magic ones for monsters that require them. The normal weapons also require a far lower repair skill.

[JF_Gophers]

Here is some character build infor for ESIV: Oblivion, for the 3 base class types (stealth, warrior, mage).

Specialization
There are only 3 specs, so it should be fairly obvious which one to choose if you are picking a pure class. If you are creating a combo/custom class, use your best judgment.

Combat Spec - Six combat skills have STR and END as governing attributes
Mage Spec - Six mage skills have INT and WILL as governing attributes.
Stealth - Five stealth skills have AGI and SPD as governing attributes.

Races
Races each have base stats that can help a particular class. Here are the best stats for each spec. Others will be a little less but not useless.

Mage - Use Breton (INT 50, WILL 50) or High Elf (INT 50, WILL 40)
Stealth - Use Wood Elf (SPD 50, AGI 50) or Argonian [male] (SPD 50, AGI 50)
Combat - Use Orc (STR 45, END 50), Nord [male] (STR 50, END 50), Redguard [male] (STR 50, END 50)

Each race also has special skills and skill bonuses. Take that into account when weighing what race to use for each type of character.

Example: Orc gets Armorer +10, Block +10, Blunt +10, H2H +5, Heavy Armor +10, as well as racial abilities of Berserk, Drain Agility and Resist Magicka.

Birthsigns
Some of these are absolutely useless (such as shadow) and should never be chosen. The rest can depend again on your class.

[Twitch Boy]

I just peed a little.

[RaceBoarder]

Originally Posted by Twitch Boy

I just peed a little.

**** straight!!! The Mulsanne Straight can be run the way it was intended to be

[Twitch Boy]

Originally Posted by RaceBoarder

**** straight!!! The Mulsanne Straight can be run the way it was intended to be

Forza 3 has Le Mans with and without the chicanes, as does GT4.

[Jimjamesak]

Originally Posted by Twitch Boy

I just peed a little.

You know, as much as I dog GT5 for it's never ending development, it's nice to see them at least using the time to put in a lot of thing people have been wanting.

[JF_Gophers]

If GT5 ever comes out (other than psp) it should be great. They sure are slow on releasing that. Its been several years since prologue now!

CC to Scooby, if you are getting Dragon Age for 360 you should add my gamertag so we can play some next week.

CC to GLM:
One other note on Oblivion that I forgot to mention. World items persist nearly indefinitely. So if you drop something on the ground it will stay there pretty much forever.

However NPCs can pick items up. So its best to drop items you want to come back for either in a house you own, or in an area you know NPCs won't be in.

I would not recommend putting items in chests/barrels/cupboards that spawn random items. As once they reset, you will lose whatever you put in there. If you buy a storage chest for your home, feel free to put items in that.

[Jimjamesak]

Originally Posted by JF_Gophers

If GT5 ever comes out (other than psp) it should be great. They sure are slow on releasing that. Its been several years since prologue now!

That's the other kinda surprising thing that came out. I mean Gran Turismo PSP had been in development hell for a long time as well and then suddenly Polyphony Digital comes out and says here goes!

I'm going with 2011 for GT5.

[JF_Gophers]

Rumor has it that I played Dragon Age: Origins last night.

I might have made a Dwarf Noble Rogue. Just sayin.

[JF_Gophers]

Originally Posted by JF_Gophers

Rumor has it that I played Dragon Age: Origins last night.

I might have made a Dwarf Noble Rogue. Just sayin.

Furthering this rumor. DA:O has a social site associated with it too. This seems to be the new rage with video games (starting with GTA for DS?). All 3 systems are represented (PC, PS3, 360).

Dragon Age Character Page: http://tinyurl.com/DAJeris

Requires a login to even look at profiles, kind of silly. But if you have an existing EA or Bioware account you can just use that.

[ScoobyDoo]

Originally Posted by JF_Gophers

Rumor has it that I played Dragon Age: Origins last night.

I might have made a Dwarf Noble Rogue. Just sayin.

Already, ay? How is it?

[JF_Gophers]

Originally Posted by ScoobyDoo

Already, ay? How is it?

I've had fun up to this point.

No definitive opinion yet based on 2 hrs of play. But, some things I take from the game.

- Graphics are very average (360 at least). It doesn't bother me any, but some people think they are everything. Blood splatter in cut scenes seems to be over the top as well.

- AI party members are not that smart. You can manually micro manage them or set up tactical rules for them, or leave them to their own devices when in battles. I wouldn't recommend leaving them alone once you get farther into the game. They will probably just die.

- Auto-Leveling apparently isn't that smart either. So I'd stick with manually leveling (choosing your own stat increases).

- A lot of dialog. If you don't like chatting, you won't like this game. But it does lead you to making choices that effect your experience. Things like will I get a quest from this person, will i help them in return for something, will I kill them.

- It's not an open world. There are areas that are open for you to explore when you reach them. But you can't just go anywhere at anytime.

[jmh]

I just shot a 58 at St. Andrews on Tiger 10. Nice.

[GreatLakerMohawk]

Originally Posted by jmh

I just shot a 58 at St. Andrews on Tiger 10. Nice.

Dude, nice. The links courses rule on Tiger.

[NUJerseyJohn]

Originally Posted by jmh

I just shot a 58 at St. Andrews on Tiger 10. Nice.

On Tiger 2004 (or something) I twice shot a 48 at Spyglass. Yeah, a little unrealistic.