You act as if it's a "one or the other" situation, but in fact it's not. They have separate teams for each part of the game. It's not like they are forced to sacrifice working on other parts of the game to get one part of it done.

I agree. Also, one thing that people seem to constantly forget is that Morrowind had amazing graphics for its time. All Elder Scrolls game do. If anyone here has a copy of the Morrowind GOTY edition, look on the back of its case and read what Morrowind was praised for. It is being praised for graphics. I have read posts on these forums claiming Morrowind is for true role-players and Oblivion has good graphics for casual gamers. All TES games had amazing graphics for their time. Morrowind is no different. When will people realize that graphics have nothing to do with casual or weakened gameplay? Video game developers have always tried to use graphics to sell games, even with "hardcoe" RPGs.

I'm of the belief that the general art design of a game is much more important than graphical fidelity. Case in point, World of Warcraft. Today it isn't technically impressive in most respects, but it still manages to look good. This is due in equal parts to smooth animation and a strong art style. Both of which were absent from Oblivion. Of course I'm not saying I would want The Elder Scrolls V to be as...animated as WoW, but I would very much like to see the next ES game have strong visual "personality".

No offense, but World of Warcraft's graphics are terrible. I understand the game is dated by today's standards, but it's one the things I really hate about that game. Not to mention the fact that it's such a watered down experience designed to appeal to the masses.

If you truly believe that World of Warcraft looks terrible and is "watered down" (Watered down how? Watered down from what?) for The Masses? then I really don't have much more to say on the subject to you.

Not to derail, but have you played WoW for any decent amount of time? Over time, the devs reuse models over and over and over again, with the same skins only different colored, over time the models started to look worse and worse. True this is my opinion, but its also a lot of other peoples opinions, and the reason I quit. I'd sure as hell call this watered down.

Back on topic: From what I get from this thread is, so far all TES games are top line in graphics upon release, why should TES:V be different? Because its going to be released on the same consoles that OB was released on and that could limit what the devs do with it? Only, there are so many improvements they can make to the game and with new technology, better optimization, and they are more familiar with the consoles now, I think the game when/if released could definitely take graphics to the next level.

Maybe they will even give PC gamers more graphics options and only dumb it down for consoles rather than for everyone? Fat chance though, look at what they did to Oblivion (watch original trailers to see what we were missing out on)

The computer I use(don't own a computer, use my mom's) now can't even run Oblivion, let alone back in 2006. Could yours?

Back in the day I was still in high school and could not afford a PC that could run it... well, remember Oldblivion? Lol. Point taken, but I did appreciate the potential of the games graphics, and now that I have a job and CAN afford a PC that can run oblivion, I'd rather the devs not limit themselves.

I dont own a console, unless a PS2 counts. But the consoles are gaining age, where as a PC can always be upgraded whenever. As I said if the devs make something for PC, and it runs on the console then great, if they make something and have to dumb it down for even PC users so console players can play, then tsk tsk.

Also one of the plus's to having a game for PC is you can adjust the settings. If you dont have a beast of a computer, you can always turn things that kill framerate off or set it lower like AA, AF, and shadows.

I think its realy up to Bethesda how they do this. They coud make TESV to be a great game, beautiful and full of mystery... but then they could make it a pile of steaming crap. But I dont think they would settle for anything less than crysis like graphics, as that game set the bar. I'm sure many people would still buy it if it still looked like Oblivion. but I dont think theyre going to go backwards. I truely hope TESV turns out to be a great game, but theres allways a big possibilty of it pulling a Farcry 2. I'm sure we'll find out more when or if they anounce the game, all we need is 1 screenshot and this forum would go mad.

I agree,the mechanics on oblivion were poor indeed,maybe natal will optimize graphics a bit more for the xbox?anyway looking forward to tes v




Sorry for grammer iPod version is pretty rubbish

According to /played I've played WoW for 26 days and some change. That's only on my main, so it doesn't take into account the alts I have. It's up to you to determine if that's a decent amount of time.



Like every game studio ever hasn't done the same exact thing. (Including Bethesda by the way.) Adding new textures to older models is just a way to add a bit of variety without a significant development cost in time or budget. And it's not like that's all Blizzard does. They usually just save a lot of the brand new enemies for higher level areas and instances.

Though I admit that my eyes just about rolled out of my head when I hit Northrend for the first time and there were frakking murlocs waiting for me. (But that's a bad example because murlocs are awesome.)

So this thread isn't derailed, you can respond in private if you wish.

Okay, Warcraft discussion over. :]



The thing is, graphics are getting to a point where developers are getting less and less bang for their buck so to speak. They're reaching a plateau where the difference between "good graphics" and "great graphics" is negligible. Why focus on catering to a tiny percent of a percent of their userbase that would have PCs capable of running bleeding edge graphics when they could focus on other things and allow so many more people to play their games? At a point I think this comes down to PC gamers just wanting something to hold above console players heads.

I mean no offense, but due to your comments such as these...





...it leads me to believe that you (as well as many others here) have some kind of chip on your shoulder when it comes to developers making their games available on consoles. That PC gamers should always get preferential treatment and console gamers are somehow undeserving of good games.

It's all very strange to me.

Well it is true im quite biased, not having a console for one and other reasons. But!, technology moves faster than consoles are released, so why should I get stuck with something that could have been better just because the devs want to release something for older hardware? Like I said, I wouldnt care one bit if they release whatever it is they make if they keep the original quality of work for the PC game. I dont want consoles effecting the game im playing on my PC is all.

If it matters any I was recently considering buying a 360 or ps3 a few days ago, decided not cause i'd only play a few exclusives and have the benefit of a 100% compatible controller for w/e game im playing. Not enough to drop that much cash + games when i have a capable pc already.

I think a Console can be just as powerful as a PC, It pretty much is a PC with a different Input Device and different GUI.

Well you can play any console games from PS2 or earlier consoles on ur PC with emulators, which look much better on PC. Theres even a Wii emulator.

I can't even play Oblivion on my mom's PC(I have never owned a PC.). Consoles are made for playing games and they are cheaper than PCs.

This is true. However, for $600 - $800 bucks you could build a PC capable of playing FO3 on Ultra High settings. Then you also get the bonuses of mods, the construction set, etc.

For $360, I received a PS3 that can run any new games being made at settings good enough to amaze me. Also, what computer is going to run Fallout 3 on ultra high settings for $600? My mom's computer(that I am using now) costed $600, and it can't play Oblivion well on low settings. Also, I'm one of those people who only plays official content and doesn't care for mods.

None from a shop. But you could build a really nice gaming PC for $600, depending if you know where to shop for parts.

Let me pull Miss Cleo out of my ass here for a second.

Marketing.

Learn who the publishers think they can sell to, and you foretell the future of the industry.

If complex, thought-provoking, big open-ended games don't sell, they'll die. How will they die? Slowly. Publishers will push and push to keep developers in line, catering to the right audience so boxes fly off of shelves. Bigger populations spending less money means less spenders on average have the attention span or the equipment to operate complex or inefficient games. He-yo! X-box generation! (cited: Mass Effect 2 versus Mass Effect 1. Oblivion versus Morrowind.)

Eventually the developer groups will only be hired in the first place based on the qualities they can deliver to appease their publishing marketers, who desire efficient, clean results delivered to couches of statistically average people. The industry will produce for the mainstream. Eventually someone has to come along and break the whole thing to pieces in the name of free expression; thus a great period of drullery leads to a great masterpiece of rebellion.

The key word is build. I can't build PCs.

Anyone can build a PC. All it takes is the parts and a few online tutorials. That's how I figured it out.

It's that easy? Where can I find $600?

Yeah, it's pretty much that easy. As for the money - do what I did. Odd jobs. I'd charge $25 per lawn mowing, $10 for cleaning, etc. Also see if you can do part time jobs serving food on bingo night, or whatever common thing people do where you live. With odd jobs such as these, I made $600 in like five months. It seems like a long while, but it's well worth the wait and work.

A job?

Nah, odd jobs work better. That way, once you have the money, you don't have to work until you need to save up for something else. Of course, once you have bills and stuff you'll want a real job...