Raven on 21/6/2006 at 08:53
Unfortunately I only have one life time (or so I am told) and from what I can tell The Elder Scrolls series could easily steal what little privilege of this I have been given.
I had Morrowind for years yet I didn't play it, mainly because I am stupid and couldn't figure anything out. I was then given a copy of Oblivion which I did install and basically realised it is Morrowind Lite. This game is great fun. My problem is that I then realised how I should have been approaching Morrowind. (The "you are a newbie if" thread over in the Morrowind forum explains how I first approached this game).
Installing Morrowind I found that I now can really enjoy it too. But which do I play!?!
Considerations:
I enjoy Morrowinds lack of hand holding. Things like fast travel don't exist and you have to walk, ask directions, figure things out and remember NOT to try lower level speech craft on the slit striders. This leads to deeper engagement with the story and the environment.
The underlying elements of the game seem more sophisticated; each person is named, you have a set of minor skills, there are more armour slots. There also seems to be more detailed reading involved, which I am enjoying.
The game will run smoothly on all of my PC's so I will be able to continue the game when I leave the family home (this could be a few days, a few weeks, or could even be in years to come). I can also play it on my laptop when travelling.
But then Oblivion...
Well the graphics are spectacular and the physics are pretty cool - unfortunately I could only play on my dad's computer.
You have a horse and so could always not fast travel if you have the strength of character (which I don't really - are there still things like stilt striders mage portals and teleport spells so that travelling doesn't seem like cheating?).
Some of the quests seem more intelligent even if there isn't as much pouring over screeds of text.
The AI is great (one guard chased me through water, over hill and dell, all the way from a town, even entering into a dungeon... where he was then hacked to shreds by traps, skeletons and zombies - I chuckled). I haven't seen any traps in Morrowind yet and besides they would have to be completely scripted because it doesn't have funky physics and everything seems so static.
It is basically new and shiny, which in comparison makes Morrowind look pretty old.
One annoying factor is that Oblivion ISN'T freeform roaming like Morrowind. During the above mentioned mad dash away from the law I found my self bumping into an invisible barrier with some pop up text telling me I couldn't proceed that way. It completely ruined the atmosphere as I ran along an invisible barrier (in the main island too not some side quest world.) This sin made me re-install Morrowind to give it a try. No invisible barriers on that continent - I can go hill climbing as high as I like.
For those that have completed both, which should I play, Morrowind or Oblivion? Perhaps if you understanding that I like Thief Gold and T2 equally as much (one has a better story the other has a better engine) you will see where I am coming from. I hate thief:DS. I love Neverwinter nights but prefer Baldur's Gate series as a single player game; if only as much love and detail had gone into the initial singleplayer NWN release (I think the expansions did a great job making single player almost on par with Baldurs gate 1).
If you have made it this far please forgive me for stealing your precious time away from either of these games, but I value your opinion. Which one should I play through?
I worked to a level 8 character in Oblivion before I wanted to start over with some thief specific mods, and I had only taken the first few steps toward the main quest [SPOILER](i.e I have that blade mummy's boy's horse)[/SPOILER]. (Mods installed are: horses get faster, UI overhaul so text is smaller, texture packs for distant textures, most of the thief ones (water arrows), lighter alchemy, pets, no fog underwater. I am also considering the NPCstatic Mods to turn it into more of an RPG)
In Morrowind I have basically completed the first bit in Ballamory (or whatever the first town is called) The blade agent wants me to go to vivec (or whatever the big city is called) to interrogate three people - it was in Vivec I stop all those years ago I was lost and hopelessly confused :confused: - ofcourse since then I have got a physics degree and this time I found Collious' house (or whatever the Roman sounding Blade agent is called) :rolleyes: - My character is level 4 with really good standing in the thieves guild and a bit of a mage and fighter too (it seems harder to level in Morrowind - but then I don't have athletics or acrobatics as a main skill)
PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE!
edit:- crimes against the english language.
Rolander on 21/6/2006 at 15:30
Hmm, I've played Morrowind GOTY (completed main quest and Bloodmoon but didn't scratch Tribunal) only a couple of months ago and picked up Oblivion only 2 weeks ago.
I'll take Oblivion over Morrowind. Combat is much more sophisticated (I used to pick Spears in Morrowind and poke my enemies to death from range safely), AI is better and magic is integrated very well into combat now; I never played a pure mage in Morrowind but I can guess at the fustration that it tends to produce, while pure mages are perfectly feasible in Oblivion. Total dialogue suffers but they can cram only so much voice into one DVD and the voicing adds depth to the game (much like the Voice-Mails in System Shock 1 CD version)
The boundary thing in Oblivion can't be helped; Morrowind has the advantage of being surrounded by ocean on all sides so only the most extreme Elder Scroll explorers will try to venture to the 'mainland' and actually find the boundary.
You don't have to use fast travel in Oblivion if you don't want to. My latest charactor is currently lvl 17 and NEVER used fast travel or even horses. He ran all over Cyrodiil, fighting off bandits/highwaymen/marauders as well as wolves/lions/boars/daedra/etc., discovering new places and shooting/fireballing deer for food :cheeky: It can be fun if you like random encounters in the wild
karmaKGB on 21/6/2006 at 16:01
Actually, that "boundary thing" can be helped. Just open your .ini in the My Documents/My Games/Oblivion folder, search for "border" and change the value from 1 to 0 (or 1 to 0. I don't remember which right now). It's "EnableBorderRegions" or some such. Voila, no more messages and no more invisible wall.
As far as the rest, Morrowind was a very good game as far as I was concerned. Would and will still play it. However, there is very good game hiding underneath Oblivion's apparently "Morrowind Lite" shell. You just need to bring it out with mods. Whether or not you want to take the time to do that is a question only you can answer.
So they're both good (eventually) and they both have their flaws (I don't miss Morrowind "hack and miss" style of combat). You can't really go wrong. Or can't you?
Edit: Some mods I would recommend for Oblivion based on what you've said would be No Compass Quest Markers and Marker Explore(?). The former removes the hand-holding compass arrows and the latter removes the fast travel icons on the map when you start the game. So that you actually have to *gasp* explore the world!
PeeperStorm on 22/6/2006 at 02:52
I'd try to make time for both of them, and play them in order (Morrowind, then Oblivion). If I was forced to choose between them, I'd go with Morrowind. Morrowind treats me like I have a brain, and I don't find myself fighting against the way it was designed like I do with Oblivion.
Briareos H on 22/6/2006 at 06:05
Now that I've completed Oblivion's main quest, I can safely admit that I'd replay Morrowind any day over Oblivion.
I did not find the inner-RPG (as in : Role Playing while adding my own imaginary lore to the game) freedom I loved so much in Morrowind.
Call me crazy, but -in some way- I found Oblivion much more empty than Morrowind. Don't get me wrong : Oblivion is a very good game that I put on the same quality level as Daggerfall. The thing is that I found Morrowind more immersive than Daggerfall in the old days.
Huckeye on 22/6/2006 at 17:08
Both games have their pluses and minuses. Both are worthy of your full attention. Since you like Thief so much I found Oblivion dungeon crawling to be very similar to Thief gameplay. shadows work, sneaking works, archery bonus from the shadows are fun, etc. Morrowind doesnt compete with the stealth system in oblivion. There are tuns of deep and quality mods for morrowind (why I've put hundreds of hours into it without beating the main quest). Oblivion mods still seem to be very lite over all. Oblivion, to me, has a much grander quest line. Its more cinematic. They did a good job getting you into the action and making you 'feel' like you are part of history in the making. I just cant help you to decide between them as I think you are disservicing yourself by NOT playing the other. I would recommend start with Morrowind with no rules or restrictions and when you are done or when you get bored, then switch to Oblivion (by then you might have hardware that can handle it better).
twisty on 24/6/2006 at 12:45
I prefer Oblivion over Morrowind for most things; in particular the improvements that they've made to AI and characters in general. However, whilst the art direction of the latest installment is excellent, I was more impressed with the artistic originality of Morrowind, including its architecture and style in general.
Oh, and I agree with Huckeye about the main storyline of Morrowind being superior to Oblivion.
Thirith on 24/6/2006 at 17:09
Quote Posted by twisty
I prefer Oblivion over Morrowind for most things; in particular the improvements that they've made to AI and characters in general. However, whilst the art direction of the latest installment is excellent, I was more impressed with the artistic originality of Morrowind, including its architecture and style in general.
I've just started playing Oblivion in earnest, and my first reaction was that the world felt a lot more real than Morrowind did.
A couple of hours into the game, I'm also feeling that the world is more mundane, more 'been there, done that' than that of Morrowind.
Rolander on 27/6/2006 at 15:14
Quote Posted by Thirith
I've just started playing Oblivion in earnest, and my first reaction was that the world felt a lot more real than Morrowind did.
This should be largely linked to tech advancement: better 3D engine >> more realism, but only if the programmers know how to make it so, otherwise it's just eye-candy.
Me, I like the more realistic dungeon crawling and combat. I can't think of myself playing Morrowind now. The dialogue is much more richer that Oblivion, but I'll get bored spearing the thousandth cliff racer that is chasing me down ...
Jason Moyer on 17/7/2006 at 15:13
Quote Posted by twisty
However, whilst the art direction of the latest installment is excellent, I was more impressed with the artistic originality of Morrowind, including its architecture and style in general.
I think Morrowind as a setting was very interesting, whereas Cyrodil is a fairly dull place. I would love to play a game using the Oblivion engine but set in a more interesting (or alien?) province, somewhere like Black Marsh or Elsweyr perhaps.
