If I didnt think it was so annoying when other people do it I would do a triple faceplam right now.

For the umpteenth time.

It does not matter in the slightest how a spell looks. What is important is what a spell does.
What I am seeing is that you guys are lauding the removal of freedom and choice in favour of a locked down system with fancy looks. Like a toddler distracted by a shiny.
Really, I.. Im flabbergasted by this mentality.

edit, to Ahglock:
I dont understand what you mean, Im sorry.

Not only that, but only a few were "glowing balls". And I dont see how Oblivion's limited graphical capacity is a reason to get rid of the most open, customizable feature in the game. A cornerstone of the series, thats been in since Arena. If they do confirm it out, thats when Xarnacs really gong to get busy.

Yes because shiny beats game play every time, it is why Transformers 2 was such an epic movie.

Eh, just making fun of the entire buzzword thing going on. They tell us spreadsheety or redundant like that actually explains anything and then forum dwellers regurgitate it back like it is some great insight or words of wisdom when it really is just meaningless drivel.

sorry guys I'm not a graphics B****H but spell looks/feel/and overall awesomeness ( fire walls, lighting arcs, ice blocks, awesome EFFECTS ) is paramount for me now, because lame colored balls from MW and OB just won't cut it anymore

play dark messiah and you will see some pretty awesome spells (a lot from which Todd took inspiration from)

after playing that game I just could not stomach OB spells anymore and I got Midas mod which is great

Transformers 1 and 2 svcked balls btw

I still think the 80s carton movie is far Superior in every way

So I take it it that when Lamborghini put traction control and flappy-panel gear boxes into their cars they were selling out too? Making something more accessible shouldn't lessen an ethusiast's passion just because it's more 'simple.'

Additionally, it doesn't sound like it'll be easier to switch from a thief to mage on the fly later in the game; in the beginning maybe, but I believe the system is meant to be more forgiving, not neccissarily giving in to your every class-switching whim whenever you want. I never used SC because it was easier for me to go to a shop to get what I want rather than fiddling and making a less superior spell (I was bad at it..... I admit). I know it's to each their own and I hope there's still an option for you to create spells, and that's what the ES series is about. Todd is aware of this, he's said it countless times (do what you want).

I completely agree. it adds to the RP value of spell casting when the visual manifestation of each spell effect is not identical to the others.

I think the reason the devs have not mentioned spellmaking so far is because they have been playing around with it but perhaps so far haven't found the precise means of balancing this feature.

In Oblivion it was very easy to make a spell of 2-sec paralysis, combining spell effects to reduce the magicka and gold cost, and some insanely powerful combo spells

For example, you could create a spell effect with 1,089x damage multiplier that results in over 100,000 damage:


Spell A: weakness to magic 100% for 5 sec

Spell B: weakness to magic 100% for 5 sec + weakness to Fire, Frost, Shock or Nature 100% for 5sec

Spell C: Fire, Frost, Shock or Nature dmg 10pts for 10sec on touch (or higher)

Then cast Spell A, Spell B, Spell A, Spell B, Spell A, Spell B, Spell C - the result is something like 108,000 damage from Spell C due to the Weakness to Magic stacking on itself

(cumulative Weakness to Magic Effect 3200%, cumulative Weakness to Fire,Frost or Shock effect 3200%, total damage multiplier 1089x base damage)

Magic was by far the most OP specialization in vanilla Oblivion and even in a heavily modded version with FCOM and Duke Patricks, etc., at the highest difficulty settings it is still more powerful than non-magic builds.

The OP aspect was due in large part to custom spells like these. Not that they aren't fun to cast, but they are clearly overpowered.

/I am worried however, that all the spell acquisition process might have been replaced by making all the spells into perks. 12-20 different perks for each of the Alteration, Restoration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion skills - a total of 85 spell effects could be derived from these perks. I very much hope that is not the case.

AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

Ah now I get it
Yes, that was exactly why I posted that alinea about the word redundant.
Few things ruffle my feathers as much as this type of parroting.
The worst part is that the ignorance is spouted in such a smug way.