Hey all,
So I've not really played an RPG style game before, apart from STALKER maybe. Then I got Borderlands GOTY and now I'm hooked on that. I know it's a kind of RPG-lite game but I love the randomised gun/loot aspect if you know what I mean.
So I'm wondering if Oblivion has elements of randomisation in loot/missions too. I can get the 5th anniversary edition pretty cheap now, so I'm wondering, if I liked Borderlands, will I get a kick out of Oblivion - or Skyrim for that matter (if my PC is up to it!). Or maybe wait for a game like Diablo 3 (sorry if it is bad form to mention that). My machine is Vista, 2.33 Core 2 Duo, 4gb RAM and a Nvidia 9600gt 512mb.
Thanks for any replies,
Mo.

Hey. I have extensively played Borderlands, and even RPG-lite is pushing it. I believe that it is a straight-up shooter. Yes, there is random loot, but mostly there is leveled loot. Go back a few levels later to the same dungeon, and you'll find better stuff that is in direct correlation with your level.
Oblivion is dramatically different. There are consequences to your actions. You decide your own story. The game will definitely try to lead you, but the big difference is, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Don't want to do the Main Quest? Don't have to. Want to do a part of the MQ? Do it, then blow off the rest. Want to play a non-violent monk? You can do this too. The game only ends if you create a new character. Summarized, you live in this world, rather than play it. Hope this helps. Last time I was at Target, they were selling Oblivion GOTY (cross platforms) at $19.95. Can't beat that.

I've also played Borderlands. I agree with Big Daddy: it is a real, real stretch to call Borderlands even a rpg-lite. Fun shooter, some neat areas to fight through and collect from, but it's hard to call than an rpg.

As for Mo's specific question: yes, Oblivion has randomised loot and tons of "missions" (called quests).

As mpls Big Daddy and Ethereal have said, loot is randomized and leveled. Quests, on the other hand, are not randomized. Those are static. There are a fixed number and the outcomes are also fixed. You will always receive the same quests from the same NPCs. But!...the order you choose to do those quests (or if you even choose to do them at all) is up to you, and this adds a nice feel of 'randomization,' in my opinion.

Thanks, guys, for taking the time to reply. Your answers make another question spring to mind. If the quests are static and you get the same missions from the same NPCs what is it that gives the game its longevity for a lot of people? Is it the chance to play through in a different character, or is it the development of that characher? I guess you can tell I am new to RPGs, huh? Also, I understand you can choose to do missions, or not, but if you decide not to do any, what else can you do. Just explore?
Maybe, I should quit asking questions and go off and get the game...
Anyway, all the best.

The freedom to play whatever character I want. The game does spoon-feed us certain character "types", but it also allows us the choice to totally go our own direction.

Also, the freedom to explore wherever I want (within the vanilla game's invisible borders) is key. Can't tell you how many games I've played in the past where exploration is severely limited. Tomb Raider and Crusaders of Might and Magic are a couple examples. You're supposed to be travelling on a path, for instance, yet the scenery off the path looks amazing. I want to go off the path, just for the hell of it. just to explore. NOO YOU CANNOT DO THAT SILLY GIRL!!!! THAT IS NOT ALLOWED!! VERBOHSEN!!! NICHT ARBEITEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 11 ONE one

geez..okay okay stupid game. I'll stay on the path.

Basically, you can play a character who does nothing but the game's official quests, or you can play a character who literally never touches a quest, ever. If you see a cottage off in the distance, but you're supposed to be on your way to Kvatch, you can blow off Kvatch and see if anybody is in the cottage instead. You can murder this occupant (usually) if you want. That cottage is not just for scenery...we can explore and do things there.



Yep. sounds like you're gettin' the hang of it.

I would only add that the PC version of Oblivion has the largest modding community of any game, up to the present time: more than 20,000 at one site, not counting earlier versions and non-English mods. They range from extensive quest systems to in-depth companions, to reworkings of the magic system, to new shops, thousands of new weapons and armor sets, and different textures for every aspect of the game.

As a new player, I'd only recommend the Unofficial Oblvion Patch and the Unofficial Shivering Isles Patch. That way, you'll get a good feeling for how the vanilla game plays, and can decide after a few hours whether there's anything you'd like changed.

Have fun!

True all this but I′d say the game doesn′t end even if you make a new character because the old one′s data is still there and you are free to continue where you left off whenever you want even if several years go by. The only way to truly end it is if you break your disc and your computer suffers a mental breakdown

True dat. I've tried it a couple of times with epic characters, like my redguard barbarian war princess... lol. BOW BEFORE ME. She was, hands-down, my best warrior. But once their story is done, I just can't get back into the character. Perhaps I could create her daughter... returning to Cyrodiil, bringing back the beatdown that so many citizens have missed.

Yeah apart from what I said, that is the only way to end a character the way I see it at least. It′s important you have the right feel for the character