I miss the atmosphere of Oblivion. : V - Skyrim

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 8:42 am

Agreed that Skyrim has a uniqueness that Morrowind had. Agreed Oblivion made Cyrodill a bit bland.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:09 am

I am the complete opposite. Oblivion offered no atmosphere but 16 km2 of copy/paste generated meadow with nothing interesting or life to be found in the world or NPC's. Skyrim offers me exactly that, something more grounded and 'realistic'.

Agreed.....I really didn't enjoy oblivion at all...Loved morrowing..and i love skyrim now...

this game although rifled with bugs and imo some missing features...overall its an evolution from oblivion thats for sure!

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:52 am

I think what we all have to keep in mind is that Tamriel is essentially in the Dark Ages. The Empire all but kaput, etc. This isn't the happy Septim Empire anymore with the "Reign of the Septims" theme playing. There's no sense of order or home.

Bethesda did a excellent job at making Skyrim look and feel hostile. In Oblivion, I could easily slip into the quiet life of a Chorrol citizen hunting game, selling it and chatting with other NPCs. In Skyrim? I'm always on the move.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:00 am

i beg to differ, oblivion was awful in this respect

with regards to skyrim i've never seen blizzards, rocks, cliff faces and mountains done so well in an rpg, i love the art (pc)

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:55 am

I am the complete opposite. Oblivion offered no atmosphere but 16 km2 of copy/paste generated meadow with nothing interesting or life to be found in the world or NPC's. Skyrim offers me exactly that, something more grounded and 'realistic'.

I completly agree wit this point.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:38 pm

Oblivion was okay, but Skyrim's atmosphere is a lot better, at least in my opinion. To each their own, but the dark and brooding nature of Skyrim is more fitting if you ask me.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:55 am

Even today with enough mods Oblivion still has nice looking graphics, but it w as a little to light and sunny.I loved the game and played it for hundreds of hours but despite doing almost everything there were not enough individual encounters or areas that stood out too me to be remembered. Skyrim so far as dozens of unique landscapes, farms, shacks and dungeons that I can remember and all look different. the Terrain especially offers waterfalls, rivers, tundras icy lakes volcanic ares and pine forests with bridges and gorges all that stand out. It has the unique places Morrowind has with the size and still somewhat randomized areas like Oblivion. It is the perfect blend of those 2 games.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:27 am

Skyrim feels like fully modded Oblivion

:D-

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:43 am

Atmosphere:
I arrive at Riverwood late in the evening.
Massar is hanging low in the sky and the northern lights are giving everything a glow.
Awesome.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:25 pm

skyrim, is better then oblivion... Not one thing I miss from oblivion... No disrespect to oblivion, it was fun, I had it for pc and ps3, but Skyrim, is just fresh, and new, and I just like the setting better, love the snowy mountains, oh and did I mention random, DRAGONS.....

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:26 pm

This is going to sound odd but I found oblivion scarier and erm.. Creepier. Something about moaning zombies behind secret passages hissing skeletons and ghosts and ghouls that cannot be damaged with normal weapons amids this happy fantasy setting. I feel in Skyrim I run into the dungeon and blast my way to the end get my treasure and leave. While in OB I constantly questioned whether its worth going on or should I turn back now and I really didn’t want to go deeper and deeper into the dungeon but I already went that far... The sky turning red and going into creepy gates I mean I though the monsters were goofy but the setting and the environment gave me a bad feeling.

As for Skyrim talking dragons do not help the setting... That being said I just wondered into a ruin filled with mechanical enemies and insane people that ended up killing each other in their sleep (read from leftover diaries) surrounded by bloodstains, this sort of gave me a bad feeling.

I totally agree with you here, I dont get the same sense of dread as I did in Oblivion. Having said that though, the game is still very atmospheric. The cities, for one, feel distinctly more different than in Oblivion. Every city in Oblivion felt cold and uninviting whereas in Skyrim I really feel at home when in Whiterun and yet in Solitude I feel like an outsider and very unsure of the place.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:57 pm

Agreed. I'm really enjoying Skyrim, and for the most part it's a better game than Oblivion, but it just doesn't have the same charm or appeal in my opinion. It's all down to taste really. I loved the green forests of Cyrodiil, as well as the very traditional medieval fantasy theme... while others find that kind of thing boring.

Agreed. However I've only been in Whiterun and The Rift Holds which are both kind of the opposite of what Skyrim is suppose to be (Mountainous and Blizzardy). Also the music isn't doing it for me as much as Oblivion did. I have the soundtrack on my ipod. :biggrin: Still love Skyrim though.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:12 am

I'm a "Conan guy". I love the bleak environment. That harsh, dangerous feel keeps me on the edge of my seat even when I'm just walking on a road between towns. Skyrim FTW.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:23 am

First off and most important I love skyrim. It is one heck of a game. It's absolutely the meaning of perfection. Graphics, gameplay, eveything is made with love and is done just right, of course there are minor things that bug me but I'm not one of those that thinks the game was made for me, no reason to even bring them up.

One thing that I miss from Oblivion. It's not that it makes Skyrim a bad game it's actually what makes it good. I miss the feel and atmosphere of Oblivion. I know Skyrim is dark and dreary and Bethesda did a fine job at portraying that but I really loved the greenery and feel of Ovlivion, the morning you'd walk around and see the locals tending to their gardens and livestock, the music that made you feel like on a great adventure that's full of rainbows and unicorns(joking), except of course when you stumbled across one of damn gates but even then the enemy's even felt a little sunny and Zelda-ish. Now with Skyrim I get the feeling of being a little scared when in a dungeon or up on a snowy mountain, even the music scares me, I could almost feel the cold going through my body. Of course I'm being a little dramatic.
Skyrim's feel is perfect for Skyrim, it's how I would of imagined it. Oblivion's feel is perfect for Cyrodiil. If they would have mixed the two it would of worked. I have not gotten that far into Skyrims world yet so I'm hoping I see some of these places later on.

Anyone get what I'm saying. I almost want to pop in Oblivion just to get out of this dark mood. Once again not complaining just a down. The way that I feel means Bethesda did their job, thanks guys. It's funny how you can pay 60 bucks for a game and play it for 8hrs or you can spend the same 60 and play one for years and always find something new. Skyrim gets a 10 from me. My tens don't mean perfect because nothing is perfect, they just mean I'm having a blast.

I just wanted to put in my two cents...I think it's a matter of personal opinion. Personally, I think that Oblivion had terrible atmosphere... the world didn't feel "alive". Most quests stuck you in some dreary dungeon anyway, and the outdoors felt dull. I think that a game like The Witcher 2 has amazing atmosphere, but Oblivion was more dull than Morrowind.

Anyway, the main thing that I do feel is missing is the NPC's interacting with each other (like in the streets). I think they had a good idea in Oblivion, but ultimately it fell flat because all the NPC conversations got very repetitive and awkward. I don't know why they took it out of Skyrim, when they should have improved it. But, I would rather NOT have that than have more repetitive nonsense.

There are two other things that really bother me about Skyrim's NPC AI-
- If you stand still in a town, all the NPC's that walk by will stop and look at you, as if YOU interrupted them, and say things like "I don't have time to talk." Buddy, I'm just standing here...
- A friendly NPC doesn't react when you run up to them in the middle of the wilderness. It breaks the believability of the moment when I run up to some hunter at night, and he doesn't even look at me or say anything. (If the situation were reversed, I would have my arrow aimed right at his face until I knew what he wanted).

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:21 pm

hmmm i personally think the atmosphere of skyrim is ione top reason why i love it :/ the nature, the animals, the back noises, the background music, the sky,,,, the [censored] lights on night, and then maybe the roar from a dragon.....this game has an atmosphere i never experienced before....seriously

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 5:32 am

Skyrim has eight thousand times the atmosphere of Oblivion, pumped with steroids, and then sat on fire.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:47 pm

my favorite part of skyrim is the open planes with giants and mammoth's

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:10 am

Cyrodiil was boring D: it was mor medievel then fantasy.
Skyrim is more fantasy world.
And wouldnt it be boring if every country in tamriel looked like cyrodiil?
Skyrim is my favourite country in tamriel so far

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 12:21 pm

Skyrim's color palette is a little too desaturated and monochromatic for my taste. After playing for hours at a time I find myself longing to see Cyrodiil's more vibrant, inviting colors.

The area around Riften is nice, though.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:05 am

I LOVE the environment of Skyrim. Northern environments are the best.

Reminds me of Grizzy Hills and Howling Fjord in WoW.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 3:07 pm

Seems the people spoke and it's right down the middle, 50/50. One thing that everyone is agreeing on no matter how they they feel about the atmosphere is Skyrim is AMAZING! It's cool we can discuss this without starting a war on which game is better, I think the reason is because the TES series is full of adventure and wonderful lore.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 10:37 am

One thing that I miss from Oblivion. It's not that it makes Skyrim a bad game it's actually what makes it good. I miss the feel and atmosphere of Oblivion. I know Skyrim is dark and dreary and Bethesda did a fine job at portraying that but I really loved the greenery and feel of Ovlivion, the morning you'd walk around and see the locals tending to their gardens and livestock, the music that made you feel like on a great adventure that's full of rainbows and unicorns(joking), except of course when you stumbled across one of damn gates but even then the enemy's even felt a little sunny and Zelda-ish. Now with Skyrim I get the feeling of being a little scared when in a dungeon or up on a snowy mountain, even the music scares me, I could almost feel the cold going through my body. Of course I'm being a little dramatic.
Skyrim's feel is perfect for Skyrim, it's how I would of imagined it. Oblivion's feel is perfect for Cyrodiil. If they would have mixed the two it would of worked. I have not gotten that far into Skyrims world yet so I'm hoping I see some of these places later on.

Me and my roomate have the exact opposite feeling.

We enjoyed oblivion, but it was too cheery. The soft golden lighting, perfect faces, perfect hair,
cartoon inventory menu, and silly dialogue just didn't do it for us. We missed the morrowind dank.

Skyrim delivers the morrowind dank, and then some. I like the gritty and downtrodden feel that the
steppes of skyrim have. The flatlands and forests stand in stark contrast to the steppes and mountains,
but it's not like being in a new world. They all share a uniform epicness to them.

I feel like it's a commentary on the difference of the two provinces. Skyrim is dreary because it's people
have been warring for what seems forever, and cyrodill... You get where I'm going with this.

Before this turns into an essay, I'll just leave you with "To each his own"

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:36 am

- If you stand still in a town, all the NPC's that walk by will stop and look at you, as if YOU interrupted them, and say things like "I don't have time to talk." Buddy, I'm just standing here...

Drives me crazy. Just walk into a bar and immediately you have four people all screaming at you at once. I wonder if there is an easy way to crank NPC "conversation detection" ranges down.

The worst yet (very minor spoiler from early in the MQ):

Spoiler

So a dragon has been sighted, and the town guards are gathering to go after it. Excitement! The guard leader has assembled her men and begins a brief but stirring speech to those brave few. "Men, that dragon is -"
"I SELL FRUIT AT THE FRUIT STAND WITH MY MOMMY."
Yes, that 8 year old girl from the fruit stand happened to walk by and choose this moment to scream at me from 20 feet away. Despite her distance, her voice completely drowned out the guard captain. I still wonder what that speech would have been about. It really didn't help that the kid had yelled that same line at me 5 times already in the past 3 minutes. I was very annoyed in that moment that the game won't let you kill children.

It's actually great that the NPCs are so responsive to the player character. I just can't stand how they so blatantly are unaware of each other. Even when you're in dialogue mode, everyone around you continues to run up and scream. "Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me! Pay attention to me!" Dude, I AM TALKING HERE. SHUT. UP.

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:21 am

Oblivion had an atmosphere???

bliviongate:

» Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:18 am

Oblivion - What atmosphere?