I've actually been on and off this forum since Morrowind was the most recent game. So, I'm not too new. Just a new account, since I couldn't remember my old name... :sadvaultboy:

Also, I couldn't very well poll the whole world in any effective way.
I know that the forum is a somewhat skewed place to collect data, but if I asked random people on my campus, half wouldn't take it, probably 90% wouldn't know what Morrowind or Oblivion were, and if I actually managed to get some people to take the survey, I wouldn't have the required minimum of 40 participants. So... bliviongate:

And my professor said it was cool as long as I mention that there may be bias.

I figured the forum was the best place to be sure I could get at least 40 people, and know that I could get players of both games (or at least people who even know what the Elder Scrolls is). :brokencomputer:

ANYWAY.
Thanks to all who participated! You all have been a great help!
I'm writing up the report right now. :foodndrink:

But, in interest of the community, I hope the poll and discussion goes on for a good while!
Have fun.


Morrowind
Combat: 3
Quests: 5
World: 5

Oblivion
Combat: 4
Quests: 3
World: 2

Morrowind:
Combat: 1
Quests: 4
World: 5

Oblivion:
Combat: 5
Quests: 3
World: 4

Morrowind
Combat: 3
Quests: 4
World: 5

Oblivion
Combat: 4
Quests: 4
World: 3

Both games have problems. Both games have good points. The dividing chasm between the two isn't anywhere near as large as some people make it out to be. I just happen to like Morrowind slightly better. :shrug:

Morrowind
Combat: 3
Quests: 4
World: 5

Oblivion
Combat: 4
Quests: 4
World: 4

Morrowind:

Combat: 3 - really, the only thing I don't care for about Morrowind's combat is the poor animations. I think an RPG should have a learning curve - I have absolutely no problem at all with believing that I couldn't walk off of a prison ship, pick up a sword and instantly be Zorro. It's a shame that the animations don't provide a believeable visualization for why I'm not managing to kill this thing I'm trying to kill, but I expect to svck that badly at trying to kill it early in the game. That's a good part of what makes an RPG worth playing - to work until I get to the point at which I don't svck so much at trying to kill stuff. I've never found ranged weapons to be very satisfying in Morrowind though. It's too obviously a game - aiming isn't realistic at all, nor is it consistent, and you can't shoot or throw through doorways or such by looking and seeing where the obstacles are - instead you have to experiment and learn where the bounding boxes are, since they rarely line up with the meshes.

Quests: 4 - it would've been a 5 if there had been some more involving ones. They fit in perfectly with the feel of the game - I'd get directions from somebody, go out, get lost, wander around, avoid danger, finally find what I was looking for, feel relief, scurry back home. I was adrift in an alien world and had to figure out how to survive on my own.

World: 4 - if it had been rendered better, it would've been an easy 5. An amazing, original, interesting, mysterious and vibrant world.


Oblivion:

Combat: 3 - Exactly the opposite of Morrowind. The animations are nice and the controls are nice, but there's no challenge at all. The instant I pick up a sword, I'm Zorro. Every swing's a hit and every hit does the same damage and it's just dull, dull, dull. The only thing that saves it at all, for me, is fighting with little to no armor, so dodging and timing becomes crucial, and particularly doing that with power attacks. With full armor and whichever weapon is the current best against whatever scaled enemies I'm facing, I'm bored out of my mind. Marksman though is, IMO, quite a bit more rewarding in Oblivion - having to judge distance and figure out the trajectory of the flight is a great challenge, and very pleasing when I do it right.

Quests: 2 - The only thing that saved it from a 1 is that some of them are relatively interesting. I absolutely detest the way they're done - some NPC says "blah blah blah dungeon blah blah blah" and the magic GPS marker spontaneously appears to show you where it is, then the omniscient journal pops up and tells you what you decided to do. Hell - for that, I might as well just watch the game play itself.

World: 3 - Pretty but dull. Great views, nice sunsets, nice terrain, but most of it looks like a golf course. Rolling hills and scattered trees opening onto rolling hills and scattered trees, surrounded by rolling hills and scattered trees, next to rolling hills and scattered trees. Sure, sometimes the trees are scattered a bit further apart and sometimes a bit closer together, and there's a range of different grass textures on the rolling hills and..... that's really about it. I never felt a sense of discovery in Oblivion - there's nothing mysterious about the world. It's just a tolerably good approximation of a few different types of typical terrain.

Try conserving your fatigue and using a wepaon you're actually skilled in.

Exactly like what I felt about both games, except that I have a little bit better opinion about Morrowind, as I like the conflicting and consequential quests very much and I think that the graphics were great and stylish for the time, and with new graphic mods, it is even better than Modded Oblivion.

Have you walked in the jungles of bitter coast with god rays through the twisted and mossed tree branches?

I see the statistics are in, but I have a question concerning combat. Morrowinds combat was dull, however I enjoyed the large variety of weapons available as well as the flexibility of the spells. Does this count as "combat"?

Morrowind.

Combat 3
Quests 4
World 5

Oblivion.

Combat 4
Quests 3
World 3

Combat is great in Oblivion, but the leveling thing ruins it somewhat. Quests are nice and also very original, but Morrowind still beats quality with quantity. The world of Oblivion was okay, but nothing compared to the alien Vvardenfell.