The Elder Scrolls XVI: Sworn to Carry Your Burdens

[Resileaf]

I sometimes entered an Oblivion gate to even find all lever already activated and the bridges already extended. I think it was literally the same location of a previous gate, with respawned enemies.

There are six or seven unique Oblivion gate locations, not counting the main quest ones, so it wouldn't surprise me that after playing long enough, a glitch would happen that wouldn't reset a gate correctly after you've completed it.

[Keltest]

There are six or seven unique Oblivion gate locations, not counting the main quest ones, so it wouldn't surprise me that after playing long enough, a glitch would happen that wouldn't reset a gate correctly after you've completed it.

Theres also at least one gate world that will actually connect to two different gates simultaneously, and i think theres a bug where it wont close both gates when you take the sigil stone.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I think I'm getting burnt out on Oblivion. I'm currently speed-running portals... go in with an Invisibility spell loaded up, run past all opposition, grab the stone, and leave. I have about 300,000 gold or so, and that's after buying all the houses and maxxing them out. I suppose I could buy horses? I sometimes buy stuff to make potions, too, but I also sell a lot of ingredients... anything 1 pound or over doesn't matter, and I frequently eat tons of ingredients while adventuring to free up a little bit more space.

If it helps you can use Water Walk to walk on the lava in some of the gates, for that little bit of extra shortcut.

As much as the gates were an interesting idea, they REALLY needed more variety than just dirt, rocks and lava.

Second this oh so much. I could have done with a jungle of scorched trees dangling with Harrada roots, or you know that scene in IIRC the second Jurassic Park with the tall grass and the velociraptors? Redo that with Spiddal Sticks in place of grass and Clannfear in place of the raptors. Or a factory for Atronach. Give the Dremora a headquarters, with routines in their schedule and orders to loot. A swamp of boiling mud filled with Dremora. Dagon's supposed to be the Prince of natural disasters, have one that's filled with hurricane-force winds or raining fire so you have to run from cover to cover.

Part of it is the leveling - since they're always the same monsters and loot for your level the fights get very samey as you get to the top of the encounter list. But they could have at least mixed things up with the level design.

[LibraryOgre]

If it helps you can use Water Walk to walk on the lava in some of the gates, for that little bit of extra shortcut.

I do it all the time. I take the fast route to the top whenever I can.

[Aeson]

Second this oh so much. I could have done with a jungle of scorched trees dangling with Harrada roots, or you know that scene in IIRC the second Jurassic Park with the tall grass and the velociraptors? Redo that with Spiddal Sticks in place of grass and Clannfear in place of the raptors. Or a factory for Atronach. Give the Dremora a headquarters, with routines in their schedule and orders to loot. A swamp of boiling mud filled with Dremora. Dagon's supposed to be the Prince of natural disasters, have one that's filled with hurricane-force winds or raining fire so you have to run from cover to cover.

Part of it is the leveling - since they're always the same monsters and loot for your level the fights get very samey as you get to the top of the encounter list. But they could have at least mixed things up with the level design.

I agree with the general sentiment that Oblivion gates could use more variety, but I seriously doubt if Oblivion gates would be made more enjoyable by making them less navigable and throwing in some cheap ambushes.

[Rynjin]

Oblivion gates are a waste of time, so if you're shotgunning them no wonder you're getting burnt out. The game has a wide variety of interesting quests.

[veti]

Oblivion gates are a waste of time, so if you're shotgunning them no wonder you're getting burnt out. The game has a wide variety of interesting quests.

Not that wide. By the time you reach the stage Mark clearly has, you've probably done everything that remotely appeals to you.

Granted that the quest design in Oblivion beats that in Skyrim, with its reliance on "radiant" nonsense, but the flip side of that is there are only so many quests to be done.

[Caelestion]

I've been using Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul since at least 2008. Cyrodiil would seem so much more empty without it.

[LibraryOgre]

Oblivion gates are a waste of time, so if you're shotgunning them no wonder you're getting burnt out. The game has a wide variety of interesting quests.

I'm not shotgunning them; it's mostly "Well, this is something to do when I'm traveling because there's no sense of urgency."

I'm currently trying to get Mehrune's Razor, because I have a 100 in Blunt and figure I'll now work on blade.

[veti]

I finally finished Death Consumes All.

You know how there are mods, and whole games for that matter, where the underlying premise is brilliant but the execution is terrible? DCA is the opposite of that. The execution is, in some ways, completely brilliant. But the basic idea is awful.

Script: B. This would be a straight A, but it suffers from sometimes poorly thought through decisions and last minute changes, and a general failure of playtesting.

Voice acting: A+. Really. In many ways, better than the base game or commercial DLC.

Design: B. Monsters and settings, for the most part, look great. Slightly let down by the final epic "dungeon", which suffers from wildly inconsistent navmeshing.

Plotting: D. This is where it starts to come apart. There are multiple ways to achieve your goals, and some are clearly preferable to others - but there is absolutely no way to foresee some of the consequences. (Probably because of the "last minute changes" point mentioned above.)

For instance, there's a necromancer you can capture, who offers to give you information if you give him the means to avoid horrible retribution from his former employer. But getting those means is such a palaver, most people who try it run into seemingly fatal bugs. And the information he offers is easily available just by running around Skyrim killing bandits. Only when the whole thing is complete does it turn out that, as a side effect of ignoring him, someone has been allowed to survive who should not have been, and now Skyrim is largely populated by genocidal guards who are trying to kill the very civilians they're supposed to be guarding.

Likewise, there is a moment when an unarmed young man runs up to you and begs for your help against an evil enchanter. There is absolutely no clue or indication of it, but the correct course of action is to murder him on the spot.

World building: D-. There is a wholly unconvincing effort to rebrand the Thalmor from "elven supremacists" to "communists", whose main beef with the Empire is a hatred of aristocracy. I've often wished for a bit more depth to the Thalmor, but this isn't it.

Encounter design: E. Just sucks. To get through the finale, you will need not only serious area effect spells, buffed by mods, but also ludicrously overpowered weapons. You may think your "legendary dual enchanted dragonbone sword" is pretty nifty, but nope. You're gonna need something way stronger than that.

Okay, so the encounter design issues are easy to fix, and the author has done at least one of them. Trouble is, this one particular battle has gone from "an epic slogfest that goes on all day" to "a single wave of shambling zombies who can easily be dispatched by the guards without any real intervention by the player". It suggests someone working too much alone, without trusted peers to talk things through with.

And even when all that is done, if it ever is, the deeper issues will remain. Right now, I see this mod as a sad waste of some great talent.

[LibraryOgre]

Well, slap my butt and call me "My Lord", cause Cana's gone and become Sheogorath.

I figure that, after Oblivion, Cana spent a couple centuries as Sheogorath, before passing the mantle on to someone else... and waking up in the back of a wagon going to Helgen.

But I'm gonna play something else, first. If I can settle on anything. I tried a bit of KotOR, and just couldn't settle to it.

[Vinyadan]

"Skyrim May Soon Be Smellable Thanks to Feelreel VR Headset Attachment"
"The device works by using Feelreal’s “reliable scent generator” which houses a replaceable cartridge containing nine capsules filled with aromas. You’ll be able to choose and combine from 255 scents from the Feelreal store and install or change them depending on what VR experience you’re planning to enjoy."

https://www.dualshockers.com/feelrea...et-attachment/

Not really my cup of tea, but interesting nonetheless, although I can see a number of problems with it (from comfort to health issues and maintenance requirements).

[Lord Raziere]

....They're going to sell Skyrim again when they figure out how to simulate your sense of touch, aren't they? its just never going to end, they're going to sell it on every single platform ever. skyrim as a drink, skyrim a drug, skyrim as a holodeck simulation, skyrim as a bath you take, skyrim as an entire house, its going to be 3000 years in the future, and they are somehow going to sell Skyrim again by making its own freaking planet to play on in real space. its like Bethesda is treating Skyrim like that one fighting game move where if you keep pressing it, it keeps making you win.

[Rynjin]

"Skyrim May Soon Be Smellable Thanks to Feelreel VR Headset Attachment"
"The device works by using Feelreal’s “reliable scent generator” which houses a replaceable cartridge containing nine capsules filled with aromas. You’ll be able to choose and combine from 255 scents from the Feelreal store and install or change them depending on what VR experience you’re planning to enjoy."

https://www.dualshockers.com/feelrea...et-attachment/

Not really my cup of tea, but interesting nonetheless, although I can see a number of problems with it (from comfort to health issues and maintenance requirements).

I cannot believe that of all the jokes and gimmicks in the world, somebody decided to unironically make Smell-o-vision real.

[Keltest]

....They're going to sell Skyrim again when they figure out how to simulate your sense of touch, aren't they? its just never going to end, they're going to sell it on every single platform ever. skyrim as a drink, skyrim a drug, skyrim as a holodeck simulation, skyrim as a bath you take, skyrim as an entire house, its going to be 3000 years in the future, and they are somehow going to sell Skyrim again by making its own freaking planet to play on in real space. its like Bethesda is treating Skyrim like that one fighting game move where if you keep pressing it, it keeps making you win.

I rather hope they dont simulate touch, really. I dont want to have a simulated fireball smack me in the face.

[Divayth Fyr]

I rather hope they dont simulate touch, really. I dont want to have a simulated fireball smack me in the face.

While certainly not a fun experience, I feel that could be the least of the issues. Imagine any scenarios where your hero gets caught and the bad guys get to torture or fondle them...

[Fyraltari]

I rather hope they dont simulate touch, really. I dont want to have a simulated fireball smack me in the face.

I'm not really keen on discovering what all those damp undead-filled caves smell like either, myself.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

I rather hope they dont simulate touch, really. I dont want to have a simulated fireball smack me in the face.

...They actually already make gaming vests that will supposedly let you feel in-game explosions and such. I’ve not tried one myself so I can’t verify how well they work, but they exist.

[Lord Raziere]

...They actually already make gaming vests that will supposedly let you feel in-game explosions and such. I’ve not tried one myself so I can’t verify how well they work, but they exist.

Yeeeeah I'm not too keen on VR in general.

I'm sticking to my screens, keyboards, consoles and mouses thank you very much. the more I hear about VR the more it sounds clunky, inconvenient, and unnecessary.

[Kantaki]

While certainly not a fun experience, I feel that could be the least of the issues. Imagine any scenarios where your hero gets caught and the bad guys get to torture or fondle them...

There's a market for everything.

But honestly? Skyrim with smell?
No thanks.
Not unless they add baths.
And even then... No.

VR in general is kinda eh.
If the technology ever reaches holodeck/nervegear levels I might be tempted.
Even with constant malfunctions and/or death games.

[Resileaf]

There's a market for everything.

But honestly? Skyrim with smell?
No thanks.
Not unless they add baths.
And even then... No.

I mean.. It depends.

Skyrim with smells in the (probably literally) crappy taverns or the cramped, musty tombs of the region? Probably not.
Skyrim with smells on top of the tallest mountains or in a pine forest? Probably yes.

[thirsting]

I hope it would authentically simulate giant's toe dipped in warm mammoth cheese.

...must .. resist ... reinstalling..

[DeTess]

Yeeeeah I'm not too keen on VR in general.

I'm sticking to my screens, keyboards, consoles and mouses thank you very much. the more I hear about VR the more it sounds clunky, inconvenient, and unnecessary.

VR has its place, but its not the be-all end-all that all gaming should be moving towards. Its really great for something like elite dangerous or other games in which you're piloting a vehicle, but I don't think it adds much to the skyrims and call of duties of the world.

[factotum]

VR works best in situations where you can be stationary and just turn around to see things. If you actually start moving with a VR helmet on then you get a disconnect between what your eyes are telling you is happening and what your inner ear says, which leads to nausea in most individuals. This is why VR works great for Elite: Dangerous, because you're nominally sitting still in a cockpit and turning your head to look out the windows, which is something anyone who's been in a car has experienced.

[Fyraltari]

VR is to video games what 3D is to cinema, it works for things that were to designed woth it in mind.

[veti]

I mean.. It depends.

Skyrim with smells in the (probably literally) crappy taverns or the cramped, musty tombs of the region? Probably not.
Skyrim with smells on top of the tallest mountains or in a pine forest? Probably yes.

Skyrim stands out in my mind for the time and trouble the designers took to include a privy in each bandit lair. It's the small alcove containing nothing but a stool, bucket, and sometimes a cheap book.

Would the smell-o-vision recognise it, I wonder?

[Vinyadan]

Skyrim stands out in my mind for the time and trouble the designers took to include a privy in each bandit lair. It's the small alcove containing nothing but a stool, bucket, and sometimes a cheap book.

There's also one with a potion of True Shot next to it

[Fyraltari]

Welp, my laptop is fixed but that involved replacing the motherboard so everything that was saved on it is gone. There goes my playthrough of Morrowind I guess.

[Resileaf]

Sounds like an excuse to play Morrowind again.

[veti]

Welp, my laptop is fixed but that involved replacing the motherboard so everything that was saved on it is gone. There goes my playthrough of Morrowind I guess.

Saved on... the motherboard? Is this some hazard of SSDS that I hadn't previously thought of?