» Wed Feb 09, 2011 8:33 am Please note that these forums are not used for official technical support. Rather, we plan to use it to provide updated information and allow dialog between gamers to solve common problems, such as the most common problem of video or sound card drivers (or a lack of updated ones).
For technical and customer support, please call 410-568-3685, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, visit http://support.gamesas.com, or email support@gamesas.com.
System Requirements are in the next post in this topic.
Vista:
We do not formally support Vista as Oblivion is not a Games for Windows title. Our internal tests -- and external tests done by outside parties -- have not found any issues with Oblivion on Vista. Should you have problems, it's not something we support or can help you with. The secured installers for downloadable Oblivion content are not compatible with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows and therefore downloadable content will not work with Oblivion.
Official Patch:
We have released patches for the English versions of Oblivion for PC. There is a North American patch and one for UK/Europe/Australia (English versions only). You can read the patch notes http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patchnotes6.htm and download the patches http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patches.htm. An update will also be available on Xbox Live for Xbox 360 users (English version only). The patch notes also covers issues addressed in the 360 update. This official patch can be installed over top of the previously released beta-patch.
Error messages when launching Oblivion:
This will appear as a missing dll error similar to "d3dx9_27.dll not found."
This can be corrected by Exploring the Oblivion DVD. On the disk there is a folder named DXREDIST. Open the folder and run the DXSETUP.exe. This will install the version of DirectX required to run Oblivion.
Performance issues while running Oblivion:
Reset video options to what Oblivion has auto-detected. This can be done by selecting Options from the launcher and then selecting Reset to Defaults.
Additionally, lowering or disabling the following setting may improve performance globally or in game areas where performance issues are noticed.
-Turn anti-aliasing off. This will degrade overall visual quality but improve your framerate.
-Lower the game resolution. The game runs faster at 640x480 and 800x600.
-Set Texture Size to Medium or Small. Textures on objects will not appear as sharp when this setting is reduced. This will increase your framerate but degrade visual quality.
-Set Shadows/Shadow Filtering as low as possible or off. This will reduce the amount of softening the shadows receive, but increase framerate.
-Make sure you have no other programs running in the background.
-Make sure you have the latest drivers for you video card. You can find the latest drivers for supported video cards at the following links:
http://www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=27
Save Game Location
Save games can found in: My Documents\My Games\Oblivion
Unable to make new saves
1.) If the Tab key is pressed while entering a name during character creation, a problem may occur when the game goes to write a save to the save location. This is because the name of the character is included in the name of the save file used in Windows. This is most commonly a result of attempting to Alt-Tab out of the application during name entry. If this occurs, autosaves and quicksaves will continue to function correctly, but saves made through the menu will not. The issue will be fixed if the Tab is deleted when renaming the character before exiting the sewer at the end of the character generation.
The following may also be of assistance if the character has progressed beyond character generation:
The player name can be changed through the console by pressing the ` (tilde) key, and entering the following: player.SetActorFullName Player Name (where Player Name = the name of the character). Press RETURN, and then exit the console by pressing the tilde again.
Also, saves can be made through the console by pressing the ` (tilde) key, and entering the following: save filename (where filename = the name of the save that you would like to make). Press RETURN, and then exit the console by pressing the tilde again.
2.) If you make a save, but do not see it when you check the save menu, make sure you check the entire list of saves. Oblivion saves are made chronologically based on the time and date of your system clock. This goes for Xbox 360 as well. If you have made a number of saves, and your system clock resets for whatever reason, to a time and date earlier than when you had made your original saves, new saves will begin to appear at the bottom of the save list because the system thinks they are older. Setting your system clock to the correct time and date should resolve this issue.
Input Problems
Keyboard input problems could be the result of a control peripheral. Editting the Oblivion.ini may correct this issue. The Oblivion.ini file is located in the My Documents\My Games\Oblivion directory. In the [Controls] section, change the "bUse Joystick=1" setting to "bUse Joystick=0" or simply disconnect the peripheral. Make sure the settings are saved. Note, changes to the Oblivion.ini file will not be saved if Oblivion is running when the changes are made.
Frequent Crashing possibly due to old system file
Some users may experience frequent crashing due to an older system file. These crashes may be attributed to the 'mpeg2dmx.ax' file. Simply renaming the file to "mpeg2dmx.ax.old" may correct this issue.
Frequent Crashing possibly due to connected HP printer
A program related to HP printers may cause Oblivion to crash.
Before running Oblivion: Press Ctr-Alt-Del to bring up the task manager. Go to the Processes Tab. Right click on any process starting with the letters HP and select End.
Running Oblivion at this point may have this issue corrected.
Note: The PC will need to be restarted to reinitialize printing or imaging.
Supported Geforce FX Series Cards
Oblivion supports the FX Series cards listed under the following link.
http://www.nvidia.com/page/fx_5700.html
"FF" icons in the system tray
Some users have reported having numerous "FF" icons in their taskbar during or after playing Oblivion. These icons are from a seperate video/audio decoder you may have installed in the past called "FFDShow." This program is processing the sound files for Oblivion, which some users have reported slows down the game, and can leave the icons in their system tray. Simply moving the mouse over those icons will get rid of them after you stop playing Oblivion. Uninstalling FFDShow can fix this, but it is NOT necessary. You can follow the steps below to tell FFDShow not to handle sound for Oblivion.
Instructions for disabling the FFDShow for Oblivion without fully removing it:
1. Click Start
2. Click "All Programs" (or just Programs, depending on the version of Windows, whether they're using "classic," etc.)
3. Go to the ffdshow folder.
4. Click "Audio decoder configuration."
5. In the left hand pane, click "Info & debug." This is the second entry in the list.
6. In the right hand pane, near the bottom, find a check box labelled "Don't use ffdshow in:"
7. Check that box, and in the text box underneath (it lights up when you check the check box), add "oblivion.exe" (don't include the quotes). If there is already something in that box, put a semi-colon ( ; ) after what's already there, and oblivion.exe after that. Do NOT use spaces, since ffdshow will think that's part of the filename. A valid entry would be "explorer.exe;oblivion.exe" (without quotes).
8. Finally, click "Ok" and start Oblivion.
Game Pad Functionality
Although the PC version of Oblivion handles best when played with a keyboard and mouse, it is possible to play the game with an assortment of game pads as well. Due to the variance in these game pads, it may be necessary to make a few changes to the Oblivion.ini file located in My Documents\My Games\Oblivion. Below is a list of the settings that can be changed to make a Xbox 360 controller attached to a PC, function better with Oblivion. It should be noted however, that because the PC version of the game was optimized to play with a keyboard and mouse, the experience will NOT be the same, as using a 360 controller on the Xbox 360 version of the game. Additionally, these settings can be applied to other game pads, but the values represented may need to be tweaked further. Finally, the mapping of the buttons will need to be determined when entering the game, and can be changed in Options - Controls, from the Main Menu - Do NOT map the directional controls (Forward, Backward, Left, Right), as this will overwrite certain changes made in the Oblivion.ini file.
These are the default settings in the Oblivion.ini:
;X = 1, Y = 2, Z = 3, XRot = 4, YRot = 5, ZRot = 6
iJoystickMoveFrontBack=2
iJoystickMoveLeftRight=1
fJoystickMoveFBMult=1.0000
fJoystickMoveLRMult=1.0000
iJoystickLookUpDown=6
iJoystickLookLeftRight=3
fJoystickLookUDMult=0.0020
fJoystickLookLRMult=0.0020
Change to these values to get better functionality from a 360 game pad connected to a PC.
;X = 1, Y = 2, Z = 3, XRot = 4, YRot = 5, ZRot = 6
iJoystickMoveFrontBack=2
iJoystickMoveLeftRight=1
fJoystickMoveFBMult=2.0000
fJoystickMoveLRMult=2.0000
iJoystickLookUpDown=5
iJoystickLookLeftRight=4
fJoystickLookUDMult=0.7500
fJoystickLookLRMult=0.7500
Make sure the settings are saved. Note, changes to the Oblivion.ini file will not be saved if Oblivion is running when the changes are made.
Oblivion Downloadable Content with 64-bit Windows
Official Oblivion downloads will not work on 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows.
