I'm going around the forums asking people, what is their favorite features about this or that in a particular Elder Scrolls game, hopefully I can use it to refine my pitch of ideas that *crosses fingers* will make it into the next game.

So what was the best part of Oblivion? Something it just did amazingly well that Morrowind, Skyrim or the others have been able to provide?

The peaceful and harmonic landscapes. The friendly NPCs. When I wander around Cyrodiil, I feel at home. And even though the NPC AIs have been refined and polished in newer games, I still feel like Cyrodiil comes alive when I wander around the Market District and see all the people and hear all the pvssyr.

Also, they had really good guilds (especially compared to Skyrim).

Casting frenzy in Arcane University and summoning Lich to join in and Mankar Camorans paradise, i always liked the place.

* Cyrodiil's more advlt, realistic landscape. Cyrodiil's regions are blended together with more taste and subtlety than Morrrowind's regions.
* Oblivion's music is wonderfully pastoral and suits Cyrodiil's woods and rolling, grassy hills perfectly.
* Oblivion, I think, has the most attractive clothes in the series.
* Animations. I think Oblivion's animations, in a few areas, are better than either Morrowind's or Skyrim's.
* Radiant AI.
* Enemy scaling and leveling. I am one of the few people on planet earth who actually like enemy scaling. And enemy leveling too, for that matter.
* The ability to mod the game.

Ahah! Let's see what good things I can say...

*The rolling hills and changing environs.

*The living and breathing cities.

*The seemingly infinite quests.

*The actually decent magic system.

*The enjoyable exploration of caves and dungeons.

and...

*IF I SWING MY SWORD I CAN BE SURE I WILL HIT THE LITTLE BUGGER I WAS AIMING AT!!! ( venting anger at luck-based probability of hitting from all previous TES games )

Too many things to list, really. I could sit here all morning and think of new ones. The people above already mentioned some of them. I've only played Oblivion and Skyrim, so can't comment on earlier games.

Off the top of my head:

The range of colors. Skyrim is a very bleak, grim game. I love it, but I also love returning to Cyrodiil, where there's just lots of color. Even something as simple as grass won't just be green. There's the entire range of greens drawn up into the game, just for grasses.

Humor. Oblivion is funnier, gets me laughing more often, especially NPC conversations and occasional NPC odd situations. Some people think the NPC conversations break immersion...for me, they ADD immersion.

The range of landscapes. From the apparently humid Blackwood forest, to the plains of the West Weald. Getting lost in the Great Forest, and then riding up to Bruma, where it's almost as bleak (sometimes bleaker) than Skyrim.

The sewers! under the Imperial city

The Arena. Skyrim really needs one. I have a feeling it'll be introduced via DLC.

Attributes.

Skill system. I hated Oblivion's level-scaling, but never had a real prob with skills. Use a skill more often? You get better at it. Makes perfect sense most of the time.

CharGen is better in Oblivion, especially with females. I've made some pretty (and not so pretty) characters in Oblivion. Bottom line: I always am satisfied. Skyrim's females all have this "scowly" look to them. It's hard to get away from this when creating a face.

....Skyrim's males, on the other hand, are divine.

The Arcane University. Skyrim's College is cool, but there's only one magic center, basically, and it's kinda run down, and sits by a village that has seen better days. When I go to the Arcane University, on the other hand, there's a feeling of splendor that's missing in Skyrim.

Being able to make a character start his/her game just before exiting the sewers. One thing that annoys me in Skyrim is every new character I make is gonna have to start from the very beginning, which means

In Oblivion, we don't have this restriction, meaning we can start a game just before exiting the sewers on a different save, and RP it that the new character never had to deal with meeting the Emperor. We can change everything (Starsign, Class, looks, etc.) just before exiting the sewers.

Oh...Starsigns. And just the fact that every character is just a little bit (or a lot) unique from the next at the beginning of the game, mostly due to Attribute and Starsign differences. Having every character start with the exact same stats (ala Skyrim) just feels cheap and dare I say generic as hell. 100/100/100.

...see. I told you I could sit here all morning with this topic!

I agree with all of your points, Renee. I loved Skyrim, but the guilds were the weakest point, in my opinion. I am doing the Mages Guild questline in Oblivion again, and I am struck by how good it is. Various quests, one guild hall in each city, each specializing in one school of magic. Each guild hall different, each recommandation quest different. Loads of different spells to learn and buy, loads of different guild mates to get to know. And then, finally, getting accepted into the Arcane University and getting your own staff the way you want it. Spending the days getting to know the area and other students, reading books, attending classes, harvesting alchemy ingredients, slowly getting more into the politics and struggles within the guild, and getting more heavy-handed quests to do.

Wonderful build-up, varied quests, great progression. To me, the Mages Guild in Oblivion must be one of the better guild questlines I've come across in any game.

The fact that you would be able to find a small amount of information and it would trigger a quest.

That not every leader used the same pose for power.

That not every Guardsman used to be an adventurer.

That not all archers (perhaps bar yourself) aimed for the kneecaps.

The atmosphere, both in cities and in the wilderness. Cyrodiil is such a friendly place, it's an absolute pleasure to just stroll throw the forest. And once I stumble upon a city, I can just head on in and chat with NPCs for the rest of the day. I'm able to join NPCs for dinner, catch up with the members of the Mages Guild, have some mead before resting in the local inn and then head on out for another big day of adventuring.

The simple yet elegant and varied landscapes, Soule's incredibly calming soundtrack, accidentally picking up a pewter spoon and turning around to see a guard shouting "STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM!"; I could list things all day.

For me I guess it is all about the details: little quirks in the NPCs' dialogues; being able to sit down and read a book or chat with the bartender at a local inn; finding a burned down shop as the sun sets over the shimmering water of Lake Rumare, or discovering a brook running under a small bridge which somehow manages to seep out warmth into the atmosphere. You can tell that the makers of the game really enjoyed what they were doing, and used that joy to craft a beautiful and intricate world that is rich in detail and character.

That has to be why I love this game so much.

-The atmosphere
-The music
-NPCs
-The beautiful landscape
-The guilds
-The quests

1. I like the theme orchestral music, sounds like Superman theme mix with Star wars theme

2. I don't have to make my character into a specific tank, dps, nuker and healer like in any other games

3. The story is okay...an emperor have a dream about me...who have dream about me in real life?

4. Have many quests, just hanging around in towns will give me something to do

5. Have many places to explore, i can explore anywhere and anytime i want

6. Have guilds, this one is very interesting, not many games out there provide similar things

7. The game play, skill system, i like it a lot, there is no dice roll in the background which means i am saved not because the dice say so and i am messed up not because the dice say so...it is an arcade style of combat not dices working in the background...

8. I like the lock pick mini game (i don't like speech mini game anyway)

9. I can have and ride a horse...many medieval background games don't have horses

- A large open and diverse world with lots to explore and lots to do

- Beautiful graphics (except so-so NPCs). Graphics are even further improved with mods

- Shivering Isles

- Alchemy

- Very diverse magic (though not as diverse as Morrowind). I love being a mage

- Stealth, I think this is very well implemented in the game

Except for those mudcrabs. Disgusting creatures.

That said, "I saw a mudcrab the other day" beats "I took an arrow to the knee" any day.

I also love Cyrodiil's bucolic landscapes. It is a little slice of nature's perfection.

Having tons of random clutter in the world which I can pick up, move, and otherwise interact with. Bioware games by comparison are sterile and bland, because there is no ordinary junk laying around. Their settings are just empty.

The long(er) guild questlines.

Being able to see my character when I put things on or take them off.

Being able to walk on water, and fight underneath it.

Being able to run faster or jump farther because I raised my skills and attributes.

Birthsigns. They were a great way to customize your character right from the start.

Level scaling. Walking into a dungeon at low level and being unable to harm the baddies there is no fun. Nor is being able to breeze through every boss fight without breaking a sweat. In Oblivion, you will always get a fair run for your money with the monsters.

Spell crafting

NPCs having schedules, and saying random things rather than the same, scripted sentences every time you meet them.

It is the first game where I ever wanted to use alchemy, and what fun it was.

An open world where you can completely ignore the main quest, and just do whatever you want to.

Spells to open locks.

Being able to make custom classes.

SubRosa: the whole "Arrow to the knee" thing in Skyrim is so bizarre. It sounds absolutely painful. I have no idea why popular media has chosen to focus on that, and ignore "Somebody stole your sweetroll". the sweetroll statement cracks me up everytime, wheras "arrow to the knee" makes me cringe.


I agree muchly. I get the sense that with both TES games I've tried so far, some folks behind the scenes really just love their jobs.



This one. Very true. You don't have to participate in adventuring or questing at all, and you can still have a game. Those that do choose to adventure aren't stuck with one specific WoW or DnD type of existence.


This one, too.

All the color.
Daedric enemies.
NPCs with actual conversations, rather than 3 lines they always repeat. Sure, they were silly and vapid, but at least they weren't repetitive.
The cheesiness. Skyrim takes itself too seriously, while Oblivion seems to acknowledge that it's a pretty campy environment.

For me it′s the whole shebang. I love the environment, the towns, the people, the quests and of course the freedom to roam wherever I want, no strings attached

Cyrodiil is very colorful and rich with plantlife and I love the fact that the trees sway in the wind, unlike in Morrowind (no flaming here). Cyrodiil, to put it simply, is home for me. I play other games from time to time but Cyrodiil is where I belong in the end. It′s a very relaxing and soothing game and I have no problem just walking around, looking at everything. And perhaps even say hello to the occasional mudcrab or bear, thanks to SubRosa
Oh, and did I mention the music?

Judging from what I've read - the menu system. I actually like the tabbing - it's organised. If i need something quickly, I know where to go by the symbols, but morrowinds hotkeys for it do confuse me (albeit I haven't played it much recently due to educational circumstances ) and skyrim's leveling system seems rather... confusing and broad. Again haven't played it much but on first glance I prefer the tabbed menu.

I do love the tranquil music, and in dungeons the tense atmosphere the music and lighting bring together.

I certainly love the ability to mod the game out to high heaven.

I am also a fan of the landscapes - they are quite tranquil and beautiful. It's captivating sometimes.. when it's not completely empty of even much plant life (and I don't mean in the mountains).

This was one of the first things I loved about this game. I remember dungeon-diving just because to hear the music and see the lighting

Fighting through oblivion portals- personally I loved it, even if each one wasn't unique.
Spellmaking- adding almost endless amusemant value to the game.
Mazoga the orc- An orc knight, what more needs to be said?
Shivering Isles- best expansion to anything. EVER

I agree but also this.

• Bandit camps
  
• AI package for NPC's and better scripting
  
• Horses
  
• Weapon power attacks
  
• Fast travel
  
• House owner

I forgot about Dark Brotherhood that was the best with the game, absolutely loved it.