Oblivion is boring...

I decided to try the game out since Skyrim is coming out. So i got it off my friend, played it for 15 minutes and couldn't take it anymore...

There is no way i will ever finish this game, i was bored out of my mind within 10 minutes. I wasn't even out of the dungeon yet.

 

Just keep playing, the beginning serves merely as a giant tutorial. Once you are out, you will have all the freedom of exploring the game world, joining guilds - thieves and dark brotherhood guild quests are the best, and pretty much do whatever you want.

Oblivion is not a boring game, a lot of people, including myself, have sunk more than a few hundreds of hours into that game. Just keep going man.

 

How exactly are you playing? Once you get out of the sewers, you can basically forget about the mission Septim gave you and go do your own thing like join guilds, become an assassin, become a thief, join the mage academy and so on and so on. I'm 40hrs in and I have yet to deliver the dragon stone to the heir of the throne as I'm having way too much fun doing missions for the Dark Brotherhood. The game is only linear when you start. Although if you don't like RPGs you could understand why you found your experience to be lacking.

 

If you think Oblivion is bad, try Morrowind. I'm not sure how people ever played that game. There's not really a tutorial or any direction, and it takes forever to get anywhere/do anything. I spent a few hours messing around with it one day and I don't even think I finished 1 quest. Not to mention the graphics are incredibly old.

 

If you liked Morrowind and disliked Oblivion, then the sentiment might be understandable. As already mentioned, only gamers who hate RPGs can possibly find Oblivion boring. There's absolutely no point buying Skyrim at the end of the year just to look at the visuals, the game's always been developed and marketed as pen-and-paper RPGs transplanted to the PC platform, it won't be another Crysis aimed at the attention-seeking FPS fans.

 

/shrug

Some people desire and or need for a game to be on rails telling you everything you need to do every moment of the time...

Some people prefer completely open gameplay where you decide when and where you are going to do something within a game.

The best games IMHO are the ones with a little structure to keep things moving and a completely free and open game.

If a game so massively wonderful as oblivion bores you, then perhaps RPGs really aren't your thing.

Freedom in a game is a good thing IMHO.

 

It's not the lack of structure that made me dislike Morrowind (I haven't played Oblivion, but I assume it's very similar) it's the slow pace/speed of the game. I love RPGs and sandbox games (I do play EVE, and there's not much more sandbox than that), but I don't want to spend 2 hours running somewhere to spend 2 hours gathering mushrooms and then run 2 hours back to turn in the quest.

However, I do prefer a little structure in my single player games, or there isn't really a point in playing them. If I complete a quest and it has no impact on the rest of the worth or doesn't give me a chain of quests, then there's no real satisfaction.

I'm currently playing Dragon Age: Origins and have come to really like the game. There are tons of options to customize your character/party and you get to choose how things unfold. The combat is pretty fast paced and there's a little bit of guidace if you get stuck. I do wish that it was a little more open though as far as traveling and places to go, and who you can attack/kill and whatnot.

 

I had the same problem... but I know why.
I had already finished a Fallout 3 playthrough a couple of months ago.

 

The presentation & gameplay isn't anything special.

I'd rather a game 5-10 hours that's "tighter" than something 100-1000 hours or whatever it is.

 

I never thought Oblivion would be something I would be interested in, but I committed a good 100+ hours to it. I dunno, I guess you have to be "in" to it for it to be fun. The beginning is a bit boring, but it becomes fun later. Yeah just let yourself go and it gets interesting.

 

Contradiction: You prefer structure to the single player game, yet you wish for more freedom for travelling inside the game and which NPCs to attack and kill. If I'm not mistaken nearly every Oblivion NPC can be attacked and killed at the player's whim with the exceptions being those critical to the storyline. It's true that Oblivion has quests involving fetch-and-carry over long distances, but one of the gripes from Morrowind was solved somewhat with the reimplementation of fast-travel as a game mechanic in Oblivion.

Back to the point: KernalPanic hit the nail on the head, some gamers love freedom to do as they wish while others are driven crazy for lack of direction and a sense of urgency. Read into it what you will but Skyrim is shaping up to be even larger than Oblivion's gameworld and it's not likely to detract from Bethesda's preference from the most open-ended gaming experience they can offer to their target audience.

 

I think something was lost in translation because I didn't say that I wanted more structure in single player games. I said that I liked a "little" structure because games should eventually have an end, but I think that you should be able to get to that end anyway that you want and there should always be multiple endings.

It was just the slow/grueling pace that I didn't like. It took me 45 minutes to find 1 guy in a town, and he wasn't hiding. Also the combat was pretty slow paced, and I prefer much more intense fighting.

 

Occupational hazard of a soldier, easy to understand given some thought. Massive scope has always been a feature of the Elder Scrolls, good or bad depending on the gamer's personal preferences.

For action, there's a reason why Bioware's recent offerings have been popular outside of the RPG gaming community and less well-received by those who had previously purchased their older products like Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate.

 

I liked Oblivion, I'm more into FPS games, but Oblivion was pretty good IMO.

 

Yea i found Morrowind very difficult at first... questing is very indirect sometimes it just tells you to go north then west... and your kinda like ok. Game was still a lota once you got used to it though. and yea the graphics are olldddd now. I think there is an addon to get the graphics more oblivion-like.

Oblivion has a great storyline in my opinion... elder scrolls have always been about an open ended storyline with tuns of lore and great graphics (believe it or not Morrowind was graphically advanced for its time) but kinda mediocre gameplay. its not a fast paced fps, so people who like fast passed adrenaline action probably wont dig it.

 

You are not alone my friend !

 

It was linear as hell though and only real options in a dialog were: deal with the guy by paying him, telling a lie or killing. Which affected nothing in the end anyway.

NVN is hardly even a rpg, its hack n slash.

 

There's your problem.

Seriously, though. I love Oblivion, but that sewer tutorial/intro was one of the worst ways to open a game. On the other hand, as soon as you open the sewer gate and step out into the world, it's definitely one of the more memorable scenes of all the games I've played.

Give it a chance, at least get out of the sewer tutorial. Either continue the main quest, or just wander about, explore, take up some side quests, join a guild or something.

 

You have no idea what you're talking about. NWN is a true pen and paper RPG. It revolves about building correctly your character. A few misapplied skill points (in their different names, which I don't recall at the moment) and you could mess up quite nicely your character.

Certainly its story is linear, but a 'non-linear' story hardly constitutes the full scope of RPGs.

 

No rails needed here ! Rpg's are my favorite genre, i.e. Fallout's 1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, The Witcher, just to name a few.

Oblivion is just.......................boring !

 

You can load a mod to start outside the sewer, but you will miss some of the story and the tutorial. It's a different game once you get out in the world. I'm a big fan of both, but my games are also modded heavily. Morrowind is dated, but apply a few high resolution texture packs and it looks better.

 

I loved Oblivion. Maybe you should try Morrowind. I have heard that there are lots of mods that give the game much better graphics, better weapons etc.
But then again, maybe these open world RPG isn`t for you.

 

Really enjoyed the in-depth conversations...................."Rumors" anyone ?

 

All of your gripes were fixed in Oblivion. You can fast travel to all the main cities right from start and then you can fast travel to any dungeons you happen to pass by. Quest characters and location are marked on your map and compass. It was greatly improved over Morrowind IMHO.

 

Yes, I agree, oblivion is boring. Morrowind is much better.

You know what fixes it?
Shivering isles. Kind of like morrowind on the oblivion system.
Its a really really good expansion pack IMO. Better than the original game.

 

This is about the only game I have never completed, there is so much to do out side of the main quest, add to that the shivering isles expansion
I think the op needs to give it a bit more time to really get in to the game.

 

Never liked Oblivion as well, story too open is one of the problem, but there are numerous other problems such as:

- Lazy design with auto-balancing system where you screw yourself by leveling up.
- Little content, every town looks roughly the same, every where almost the same and you know they are just recycled content, only a few selection of equipment with most just changing the name to reflect different stats.
- Side quests are boring, it's always the same damn thing.
- Main quests are boring as well, you just go to some tower and shut down the gate etc, rinse and repeat.

I like RPGs, but Oblivion is not one of those I like.

 

Gotta love the sandbox, mate. GTA, a sandbox game? Ha. Rubbish.

Now, if only I could find something that is as good as UO was...

Eh?

 

I assume you're thinking I contradicted myself because EVE is a slow paced game as well.

Unfortunately I don't like the slow pace that EVE sometimes has, but it's the only game I've found that satisfies my love of hardcore pvp. If I kill someone their ship dies. If I kill their pod they die and may lose implants/skills/money and they have to spend tons of time flying back. Plus I get to loot their ship/corpse. It's all very gratifying.

 

A good friend of mine once praised how awesome Fallout 3 was and just ripped oblivion a new one, I couldn't believe it, I get the setting is different and one is based on games, but they play soo similairly its almost impossible to just hate on one and not like the other. That said Oblivion isn't for everyone, the opening is a huge turn off, everyone knows that by now, but go out and get the qarls or quarls mod texture pack and have a play through, its a great looking game and completely addictive. Try playing it once as an upstanding citizen then one as a complete dink to everyone, that alone will give you something like 10000000000 + hours .

 

Eh i guess RPG's aren't for me. I played through fallout 3, it was decent but it took a while. I decided to try out mass effect instead of oblivion. Ugh, same thing. I can't take the combat system and its way too slow placed for me...
Blah.

 

Perfectly placed on your psych eval, huh XD

I don't suppose you happen to have played UO back when it was popular? Probably would've liked it.

 

Oblivion does really open up once you get out of the sewer. Its a fantastic world - but I still haven't played it through. You have to treat it like a life, absorb yourself completely into the story, and even use your imagination to create a character that is like you - or completely unlike you, should you so choose. Unfortunately, after shifting gears from the world of Oblivion for a weekend, back into the real world, it was hard to get back into my character in the game.

One of these days I'm going to cash in some vacation time and dedicate a week to Oblivion.

 

I've had the same problem with Oblivion and Fallout 3 - they bore me. BUT, I have heard enough people I trust say that both are games that you need to invest in. You absolutely have to commit to stick with it for a solid 4 or 5 hours and see what happens, much like diving into a weighty book.

I have both and plan to make some time soon to really give both the attention I'm told they deserve. I'm wouldn't cast final judgement on a game based on it's somewhat tedious tutorial/intro.

 

I played oblivion 4 and i fall in love with it. The possibilities are endless. I always found myself exploring a cave in search for new weapons and expensive relics. I never finished it though, i sold my xbox 360 and so the game data.

 

well i must say oblivion is a fantastic game however closing the gates of oblivion really pissed me off because they were so tedious and boring....

 

Yeah the gates suck. so monotonous

 

I really enjoyed Oblivion but I find Fallout 3 boring right after I left the vault.. but that's just me being weird I guess

 

I recently bought Oblivion on the PC even though I have it on the PS3 just so I could use mods. I like Oblivion and Fallout 3 and will play them for a couple of weeks but then seem to lose interest for a couple of months. When I come back to the game, I create a new character and start the cycle all over again.

 

It's not just you, i found it hard to get immersed in fallout at the beginning. However once you get immersed you can't get enough of it. Granted, the jet engine that is my xbox360 didn't help(seriously, the first gen of 360 without the game installed is so noisy).

I would say to give it maybe one hour and if you still can't get into the game then it's probably not for you.

 

One mod I highly recommend for Oblivion is Open Cities. It doesn't really seem like a huge change, but it adds most of the cities (not Kvatch or the Imperial City) to the main outdoor Tamriel worldspace, so you can literally open the gates and walk in, or even ride your horse.

It seems trivial, but it really adds to the immersion, not flashing to a loading screen for a few seconds every time you walk in and out of a city. They're all seamlessly part of the world now. There's something pretty awesome about being chased by a wolf or gang of bandits out in the wilderness, and running towards the nearest city gate and watching the guards and townspeople rush out to aid you.

AWLS is also good, and compatible with Open Cities. It basically makes lights appear on windows at night from the outside, that turn on and off at different times. Once again, one of those small details that really does more than you would expect.

 

Definitely enjoyed Oblivion, but the one thing I wasn't keen on was the monster scaling.

I like there being higher level areas you can't go to initially, so you have to work your way up, and find better equip, level etc before you can go back and finally tackle them. Sense of achievement-wise, this is a big point for me...

I read somewhere Skyrim might use a similar scaling - but not sure. Hopefully not, or at least not to the same extent...

 

SOOOOO wrong here. RPGs are my favorite genre. i cant stand oblivion or morrowind, or fallout 3 or new vegas. bethesda makes great open world rpgs. but they are open world rpgs. there is so much to do that you get off track and lose focus of a mediocre story that has almost nothing pushing you to follow it.

 

That comment you've quoted me is on the 1st page and isn't directed to you specifically. You're just reiterating KernalPanic's point that some gamers have lower thresholds for games with a deliberate aim to keep the world as open as possible. How good a story is depends on the player playing it, but suffice to say the comment above shows you're the RPG gamer who definitely needs a strong story hook to keep interest.

I'll be finding it ironic if shinakuma posts later in the year and says how Skyrim is "boring" and that it was just downloaded for the pretty visuals.

 

I played a little UO, but I was more into Runescape when I was younger. I loved to go into the wilderness and kill people and loot their shiny armor =).

However, I do think that UO had a great system, and I think I would have really enjoyed it if I had gotten into it earlier.

 

OU?

If Runescape was the earliest MMO you were into, we're probably not talking about the same game, then. Ultima Online?

Anyways. I like open-world RPGs like Bethesda's fare, but I also like relatively tight, linear ones with great, epic stories, like Bioware's work. It's just that in open-world RPGs you have to write your own stories, is all.

 

Yea, I was refering to UO. UO wasn't that much older than Runescape UO, maybe 3 years. I have a lot of friends now that played UO, and I didn't check it out until later. That's why I was saying that I wished I had found about it earlier.

Something I feel is missing from these large open world RPGs is credibility. I think that if I've killed 1000 people and have been a all over the world, that people should know me and treat me differently when I enter a new area. Lots of these types of games off you different options depending on whether you're good or bad, but I think that NPCs should act differently towards you as well.
I'd also like a game where you can eventually become a warlord or town owner, or something and have your own army. Sort of like Mount and Blade, but a lot more depth and more RPG to it.

 

Runescape... older... than Ultima Online?

We're definitely not talking about the same game. What is this... OU?

 

Sorry, I worded that wrong in the other post. It's like 3:30am here I'm kinda tired. I think UO came out around 1997 and Runescape around 2001.

 

Somewhat out of topic, but what's the conventional way to abbreviate Ultima Online? I would have thought UO would be more conventional rather than the other way round.