News

Skyrim 'not as large a leap' as Oblivion because of IV's tech jump
Posted: 26.09.2011 13:24 by Simon Priest Comments: 24
Bethesda's Todd Howard, director of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, has said it's "hard to say" if the latest RPG is a leap like Oblivion was for the series.

He says "it's close," but Howard doesn't know if he'd say "it's as large a leap" simply because the tech gap between Morrowind and Oblivion "was greater."


Gameplay wise Skyrim is more than enough to give Oblivion a run for its accolades, but in terms of overall 'leap' in the long-running RPG franchise? "Hard to say... I have a hard time looking at it that way. I think it's close," said Bethesda's Todd Howard.

"I don't know that I would say it's as large a leap, just because the technology gap between Morrowind and Oblivion was greater," he told UK's PC Gamer in their latest issue.

In terms of mechanics, "I'd say it's about the same," he added. "The number of gameplay changes and things like that are probably on the same level." The studio debated whether or not to wait until the next generation of hardware launched before releasing Skyrim.

They wanted it "to be fresh. We don't want it to feel, visually or technically, 'Oh this is Fallout 3' or 'this is Oblivion' And if we couldn't do that we would have waited," said Howard. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim releases on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC November 11th.



Source: CVG

Comments

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Sep 26, 2011
nocutius
The beginning of the first video totally reminds me of Fallout, all those rocks :). Fallout had a lot of rocks :).

The main thing bothering me about Skyrim so far are it's physics, i don't mind that the graphics are not such a big upgrade from Fallout as i had hoped but the physics are simply lacking.
Physics are where a game can feel modern or next gen the most right now, at least for me.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Sep 26, 2011
FoolWolf
They mean, since we made Oblivion into a real linear and console experience, and now we develop for consoles to begin with and openly without flirting with PC players at all ;)
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Sep 26, 2011
SirRoderick
Considering my rig may not be able to run it properly (I really need a new one for Christmas or something) I wouldn't exactly be heartbroken if I can play it well on my PS3.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Sep 27, 2011
herodotus
My rig will run it, I'd say but will it want to? More drab "Flopout 3" landscapes and/or shiny faces and my PC will sprout legs and run for the more colourful hills.
By Revan (SI Elite) on Sep 27, 2011
Revan
I'm not really expecting a large leap from Oblivion to Skyrim.
But I Do expect the graphics and the technical stuff to be upgraded quite a ways.
The stuttering frame rate issues and freezing from Oblivion could be a pain in the ass!
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Sep 27, 2011
SiyaenSokol
I am not too worried about the graphics system, as it does look good. Gameplay I hope would be interesting and full of adventure.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Sep 27, 2011
herodotus
"Dragon Aged Scrolls: The Scyrim", Vet?
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Sep 27, 2011
SiyaenSokol
Lol, sounds interesting enough XD
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Sep 27, 2011
FoolWolf
Hexa-mega-FUBAR-post - sorry for that - but this page was not to stable yesterday...
Dragon Aged Scrolls - interesting? *Shudder*

I want a remake of Morrowind - that game totally rocked - only thing lacking was a bit of the fighting and seriously stupid fed ex and transport people quests...
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Sep 27, 2011
SiyaenSokol
I have yet to play that game, but I do remember in the past seeing the original in a well packed case. The game caught my attention back then, but I never took the liberty into buying the game.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Sep 27, 2011
FoolWolf
Too bad. The game haven't aged well in the graphics sense and some of the mechanics aren't fluent - but the setting and exploration lust that comes over you in Morrowind is pure and utter wonderful.
Also, this was before people could have a sense of thinking that spears and crossbows were wrong... Oh and axes were axes....
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Sep 28, 2011
herodotus
"Morrowind" - it's the best in series so far, gameplay-wise.
By Dark_Templar (SI Veteran Newbie) on Sep 28, 2011
Dark_Templar
SKYRIM is the definition of a masterpiece! 11.11.11 I'll be ready for the day.
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Sep 28, 2011
SiyaenSokol
I'll be sure to find Morrowind then if it is as good as you say herodotus.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Sep 28, 2011
FoolWolf
I still believe that their are some good sites with plenty of good mods. higher resolution textures, faces and bodies and animations. Dual wielding, monsters and really huge addons. Knights of Morrowind I believe one really good project site was named...

Ah, well planet morrowind is a good start - plenty of mods to keep you going.
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on Sep 28, 2011
bosnian_dragon
Yes, Morrowind was an amazing game, and it still amazes me that the whole thing came on a single CD!

Anyway, the Oblivion experience wasn't THAT bad as I can read from some comments here. I played Oblivion for about one year (I replayed it 2 times with mods added) and the vanilla game is a bit generic at some points, but with some minor mods, Oblivion was really interesting and even better than Morrowind, at least for me. What I liked most about Oblivion was Cyrodill, which was more realistic than Morrowind, mostly because in Morrowind you could literally WALK from a desert to volcanic rock and get to the fertile grasslands in a single game day. That's how small Morrowind was presented, and that's a major turn-off for me.

In Cyrodill, on the other side, you couldn't see any of that fast-transition territory, and actually, the whole area had a similar look, which is far more realistic.

Anyway, Skyrim here looks really amazing, and I'd certainly preorder it if I had a rig that could run it at the moment. However, I will have to wait until I get my new PC, and then probably play it for months to come after that ;)
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Sep 29, 2011
SiyaenSokol
Oblivion's scenery was pretty much the same overall. Grass with meadow, with more grass with meadow, some big trees, random wolfs popping out of the tall grass etc, etc.

I am not complaining, but that is pretty much the world of Oblivion Cyrodil.
By Hamarik (SI Core) on Sep 29, 2011
Hamarik
Mechanics.

It seems to me that games today reach for graphics and everybody seems to forget about the mechanics. Morrowind was good for it's fantasy element, but lacked the mechanics. Oblivion, though, was the exact opposite. Good mechanics and lame content (when to exclude Shivering Isles). In my opinion games with good mechanics (good or bad graphics) are much more playable than those with only fancy models and textures.

I do hope that Skyrim steps towards the mechanics.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Sep 29, 2011
herodotus
Graphics are essential in an open world RPG, that's just a simple fact today. Keep the game mechanics simple to use and user-friendly (particularly spells and combat) and I'm a happy traveller.
If it's ugly, it won't sell no matter how well the game is structured. Anyway, there wil always be Mods to make it sparkle even further.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Sep 29, 2011
SirRoderick
Honestly....ugly is pretty hard these days.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Sep 30, 2011
herodotus
Honestly in "BF3" Beta, sometimes I'd like to just kick back and admire the scenaey. Whenever I do it's instant death, naturally:)
Love to see the engine used in an Adventure RPG.
By SiyaenSokol (SI Elite) on Sep 30, 2011
SiyaenSokol
The graphics of games these days are astounding.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on Sep 30, 2011
FoolWolf
Like Hero touches here - sometimes the graphics becomes more of a hinder then a help when it is too good looking. All the flares and drawing occlusions etc can make agames pretty difficult to play. I like to have a really deep and long graphic setting to spot enemies and structures far away in most games - but it is like every game (console decease IMHO, since it is mostly apparent in multi platform games and console games) has some sort of near-sightedness - you can see very nice for 200 meters - then suddenly things "pop-up"...
By Hamarik (SI Core) on Sep 30, 2011
Hamarik
Hero, Dark Messiah wasn't the prettiest games and it didn't have a good story, but the mechanics were something that made it enjoyable. I sometimes played it for the sake of seeing a cyclops bleed or orc being decapitated by my sword in the mid of combat.

Similar to this was Mount&Blade. It didn't look good, at all. But the mechanics were what made it playable. It didn't have any story. People still played it.