Todd Howard Tempers Skyrim Expectations

[funksobeefy]

Oblivion was a leap forward from Morrowind? Graphics aside nothing in the game stood up to what Morrorwind had to offer

 

[Tiamat666]

I think Todd is mainly talking graphics quality. Because gameplay wise, things have been gained and lost throughout the Elder Scrolls games. Mainly, atmosphere and accessibility was added while complexity and depth was removed.

I like the fact that you're basing that whole assumption off of the leap from Morrowind to Oblivion in a 5-game series.

Actually I'm basing this assumption on the leaps from Daggerfall to Morrowind to Oblivion. I haven't played the other games. Daggerfall was insanely huge and complex. Morrowind simplified that and added lots of atmosphere. The same process was repeated between Morrowind and Oblivion.

 

[Tiamat666]

Oblivion was a leap forward from Morrowind? Graphics aside nothing in the game stood up to what Morrorwind had to offer

I hear that alot, but if you have actually played Oblivion you must have noticed the much more interesting combat and the much more interesting NPCs actually walking around places and doing stuff, the livelier cities, the horse-riding, the more natural conversation system, and the nicer interface, to name a few.

Overall, especially story-wise, I agree that Morrowind was the more interesting game. But from a gameplay standpoint I definitely prefer Oblivion.

 

[Royas]

Gameplay wise, as an RPG, I considered Oblivion to be a step back from Morrowind. Yes, it was prettier, but it sure wasn't the better game. I'll just be happy if Skyrim stays at the same level, I'm not really expecting any improvements. I'm actually expecting it to be a worse RPG, but hope does spring eternal.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

All that matters is the gameplay at this point. We've reached a point of satiation for graphics whoring, so now it really has to stand up on how strong the individual moments are. Morrowind handled the role playing and world building in a fantastic way, but couldn't pull off those strong epic moments. Oblivion had terrible world building, good role playing, and still couldn't pull off the epic moments. For that reason, I think Oblivion was a huge leap in the wrong direction. Then Fallout 3 came out and showed that they were paying attention to critics and managed to make a game with great role playing, world building, and even threw in huge epic moments that made you sit back in awe (I've yet to meet someone who wasn't impressed as fuck with the Liberty Prime sequence). If Skyrim pulls the elements that made Fallout 3 great into its production, it will be a huge hit, even if the graphical jump isn't as big.

 

[Spencer Petersen]

Howard had previously said that Bethesda had "very serious" conversations about delaying Skyrim for the next generation of consoles but felt that could keep it visually and technologically "fresh" on current hardware.

This would have seriously been a mistake, considering the only improvements to be made on new hardware would only have been graphical ones. There is no limitations at all to the core gameplay on current hardware. Also, since the only known instance of a new generation is the Wii U, I doubt they "seriously" considered waiting.

Except the limitations of console hardware affect more than just graphics. Load times, AI quality, draw distance, actor count and behind the scenes statistical variations all take up processor power and impact gameplay experience. You ever wonder why the Strip in FO:NV had to be split up? Chris Avelonne said it was necessary to allow the game to run effectively on consoles without frame-rate drops or visual lag.

 

[Weslebear]

My friend played the Skyrim demo at Eurogamer on Saturday, I wish I could of gone. And now his hyping of how good it was completely nullifies all tempering done here.

Fuck, I want it.

 

[Pandaman1911]

Oblivion was a leap FORWARD from Morrowind? Zuh?

...pardon me, I do believe I have just stepped into Bizarro World.

 

[Shameless]

I might anger some of you guys but, Oblivion was built around an already outdated technology when it was released back in 2006 and Skyrim will utilize the next gen hardware more, so yeah it will be an improvement.

 

[GameMaNiAC]

The PC is also limited by the fact that many, many PCs still aren't even up to the consoles yet. PCs may outnumber consoles by quite a bit, but the number of PCs actually capable of running many newer games at even a console-comparable level is not nearly as high as people is. As much as the PC gamers will rail against it, there are three things that the PC will never be able to compete with consoles in:

- Uniformity of capability - All mass-produced consoles by their nature are all capable of the same things, whereas even in a sample of 10,000 PC users you're likely to get a hundred different tiers of capability since each PC is likely unique to that user

- Accessibility and ease of use - Tout the ease of PC assembly and use all you want, but to the average customer the "Plug Wires into TV, Put Disc in System, Play" will always be the simpler, easier and the more attractive option

- Multi-user Play - 1 Console, 1 Game, 1 TV, 4 Controllers nets 4 Players. 4 Consoles, 4 TVs, 4 Games, 16 Controllers nets 16 Players. For social and local play consoles can't be beat. Hell, split-screen isn't even an option on most PC games.

Until PC games can prove that they can do all three of these things cheaper, better and more easily than consoles your precious PC will always be "held back" by consoles. Which is a bit of an idiotic idea in the first place - good games will good games regardless if they're developed with the Wii or a monster PC in mind.

Just because the game doesn't get 90x AAA (Ass-Anti-Aliasing) doesn't mean the game is shit.

But PC has player-created content for many games, which is also one of the reasons I consider it superior. The Elder Scrolls games are one of the best examples. There are several overhaul modifications that change the entire game. The Deadly Reflex mod for Oblivion adds animated impalement, decapitations, stealth kills and other things. There are even complete overhaul mods that change the entire game and add completely new questlines and locations.

 

[karamazovnew]

Modesty is always nice Although I almost laughed when they implied that Oblivion was better than Morrowind. In graphics and modding capabilities, YES. But not in the things that actually mattered. Actually, from everything I've seen in the trailers and gameplay movies, Skyrim seems more like what Oblivion should've been and a worthy successor to Morrowind. Fallout 3 and New Vegas both showed major improvements and you can clearly see that in the tiny number of mods you need to enjoy them to the fullest. It's nice to see a game developer learn from mistakes and listening to players. Hopefully, Skyrim will be the same. I for one can't wait, although I've toned down my expectations quite a lot. I prefer to be pleasantly surprised

 

[Pandaman1911]

Oblivion was a leap FORWARD from Morrowind? Zuh?

...pardon me, I do believe I have just stepped into Bizarro World.

Better combat, the ability to hold up a shield, not everything relying on a digital dice roll, NPC's that actually step away from their shop counters,


no cliffracers


You may not like it, but yes, Oblivion was a step forward from Morrowind on the majority of fronts. Just not the fronts you like.

Aye, that's the truth of it, I suppose.

 

[Joshimodo]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that nobody who has replied thus far has actually played Skyrim yet.

I've only played a fraction of it, and I can say that it's leagues more in-depth than Oblivion was. Not up to Morrowind scale, but definitely an improvement on TES IV.

 

[funksobeefy]

Oblivion was a leap forward from Morrowind? Graphics aside nothing in the game stood up to what Morrorwind had to offer

I hear that alot, but if you have actually played Oblivion you must have noticed the much more interesting combat and the much more interesting NPCs actually walking around places and doing stuff, the livelier cities, the horse-riding, the more natural conversation system, and the nicer interface, to name a few.

Overall, especially story-wise, I agree that Morrowind was the more interesting game. But from a gameplay standpoint I definitely prefer Oblivion.

Yeah gameplay wise sure it was a step forward, but in every other area it was a step backward. The amount of stuff to found and explored and just the wonder created by the Morrowind the world its self way surpasses the tweaks to the conversations. The Cities were all zone in which I thought took a bit out of the world, the citizens arnt really any better.

but I guess now its all subjective. I would only only say the real improvement was combat.

and I guess ramsaiel, according to captcha

 

[ReiverCorrupter]

Fans really should curb their expectations and look at the facts in front of them.

It is clearly being designed for a casual/console market. Which, I don't have a problem with by itself. But for The Elder Scrolls, this is unacceptable.

Fans need to realize what they're getting. Cancel your pre-order and wait a few days after release at the very least. See what the final product looks like.

Why? Graphics aren't everything. They're not even the most important thing. As a PC gamer, I think it's a shame that cross-platform games tend to be held back by the limitations of obsolete console hardware (seriously, phones are now more powerful than the doorstops that are supposed to be dedicate gaming hardware), but a good game is still a good game. There's a reason indie games have become so popular - people have realised that making a game fun is more important than making it look pretty, and Steam and other online services have made it possible to sell such games without anywhere near as much overhead or risk.

Don't get me wrong, I love impressive graphics as much as anyone, and I have a seriously overclocked, liquid cooled PC to prove it. But as long as Skyrim is a good game, it really doesn't matter if it looks like Morrowind. After all, Morrowind hasn't suddenly stopped being a great game just because I bought a better PC.

This entire article is insane. HOW? HOW WAS OBLIVION A STEP FORWARD FROM MORROWIND?

I'll tell you how... Graphics. Period. That's it.

It was a huge step backward in terms of depth and gameplay. So sure, if you're measuring 'progress' only in terms of the inevitable march to photo-realism, then no, it isn't going to be as much of a 'step forward' as Oblivion because there is a greater difference between the Xbox and Xbox 360 at launch than there is between the Xbox 360 at launch and the current 360.

The stuff that is REALLY a step forward for Skyrim is the Radiant AI system and the improved combat mechanics. The race to photo-realism is going to be completed one way or another by somebody, I'd like to see some steps forward in terms of actual gameplay.

PS. @ EverythingIncredible

The only real difference between Morrowind on consoles and computer was the TES Construction Set on the PC. I don't think they've dumbed down the gameplay for consoles. The limiting factors are graphics and voice acting. If you're upset that it might not be as pretty on the ultra-new PCs just because they didn't make it solely for the PC, then I'd hate to break it to you, but that's rather shallow.

Don't get me wrong, some games can't be made for PC without being dumbed down; Star Craft is a very good example. But I don't think Skyrim is one of those.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Morrowind > Oblivion

And, seeing as Skyrim is supposed to be more "streamlined" than Oblivion, it may continue on the same path.
However, Skyrim is about returning to the "weird shit in TES" vibe that wasn't really present in Oblivion, so at least I'm confident atmospherically it will be great.

 

[screwvalve]

If Oblivion was a huge jump forward from Morrowind, I'm glad I never played Morrowind.

Opinions and all that, but Oblivion was horrible. Mind you, I never played it with mods, but I didn't use mods for Fallout 3 / New Vegas, and they still rocked.

You should play Morrowind. Oblivion was a huge jump BACKWARDS, not forward. They tossed out everything good that game had and replaced it with shiny visuals.

 

[screwvalve]

How was Oblivion not a step forward from Morrowind in gameplay? In oblivion sword swings were actually sword swings, blocks were actually blocks, your weapons actually connected to the enemy. In morrowind everything was a digital dice roll. Swing a sword? Doesn't matter if your sword physically went through the target, dice roll said you missed! Want to block an incoming attack? Better hope the shield dice roll falls in your favor. Dodge? Dice roll. Magical fireball? Dice roll.

I understand you don't like oblivion, but you can do it without being so blindly ignorant.

And enemies get better stats with you, and eventually everyone has daedric armor and weapons.