i want to play previous elder scrolls series,but..

[Street_Assassin]

I haven't played oblivion or morrowind or previous elder scroll series and I hear they r very good too. BUT I fear I will be turned off by outdated graphics,unimproved game play and spoiled content,mostly cuz I am so used to skyrim. Idk what to do. I am one of those people who don't like to play older games just cuz graphics look much worse and I already know what happens in main quests in morrowin and oblivion. What should I do

[Believe]

I would say play them, and give them a chance.

They are both very good games. (Morrowind especially).

If you can't get past the graphics... Then that sucks.

But definitely give them a try at least.

I'm also moving this to TES General, since it's about III and IV.

[CBR JGWRR]

The biggest problem with going back to Oblivion from Skyrim for me was the levelling - the graphics aren't that bad, and on my laptop significantly better since it can't run Skyrim...

The problem is fairly simple. In Skyrim, you start out fairly weak, and provided you play sensible, your character gets stronger as they level up, and by level 81 they are practically undefeatable, with damage potentially in the thousands. Tens of thousands if you're talented. (without fortify restoration)

In Oblivion your character gets weaker over time and levelling in real terms.

My first character to complete the main quest on Oblivion was a dremora, who I console commanded full daedric gear for him in the prison, more for RPing than anything else.

As you can imagine, he one shotted almost everything he encountered. After getting as far as Martin needing a daedric artifact on another character, I knew I had to level him up a bit, so I trained his blade, heavy armour and athletics up, and hence strength, endurance and speed, maxing them all out. This got him to level 11, from level 1, and enough to do Meridia's quest.

You would expect that a dremora wielding one of the best weapons in the game, with maxed strength and blade would be pretty damn good. Numerically yes - 5 damage at level 1, 27 damage at level 11. 5 times as damaging. But no - in real, number of hacks required to kill the enemy terms, his effectiveness had halved or worse compared to level one, varying with oponents.

From here on in, he can only get weaker. That's the real problem of Oblivion.


ETA - despite this I still like it, and would recommend it.

[wyldefx]

For me I found the opposite. Most of the time I don't even level my Skyrim characters up much from level one. The leveling system is so bad in Skyrim that it doesn't help me at all. Oblivion had the most ingenious leveling system I ever saw in a video game. You could do anything with it. But in Skyrim it's not worth the bother. There are only a handful of perks I have any interest in anyway.

[CBR JGWRR]

The basic idea is a good one - pick a focus for the character, then two major attributes then seven major skills. Those are bits that should have been kept. I would also liked to have the capacity to change the class mid game, but that's just a would be nice feature.

What they did wrong was in the implementation of it, and then the scaling of enemies afterwards.

Skyrim's way of leveling is far more pick up and playable, if not quite as... strong as a individual character developer.


The way I would do it is a mix of Skyrim and Oblivion - Skyrim's more streamlined and IMO superior way of levelling, with the character class, skills and attributes stuff of Oblivion, and a change to how the racial and class skill stuff works. For both I'd make the skill/attribute bonuses more permenant, for example, with altmer their intelligence caps at 110, but can only reach 90 in strength and 90 in speed or endurance, depending on gender (See http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Altmer) and the racial skill bonuses work in the same way.

Similarly, with classes I'd make it so that the 7 skills chosen as majors maxed out at 110, as well as starting at apprentice level, so that choosing a major skill actually has long term benefit.

But the most important change is to the process of levelling so that the character actually becomes stronger over time, rather than becoming weaker.

[wyldefx]

I got the feeling that Skyrim was leveling for dummies. There really isn't any strategy to it. One level-up, for instance, with your point placed on stamina, adds only five pounds to your carry capacity. You have to level up seven times to add one steel cuirass to your inventory. The ore veins do not respawn, rendering smithing a useless perk tree (it would be one of the best otherwise), and enchanting, a magecraft, is really only useable by warriors. The ones who can do it well are exactly the ones who don't need it. I honestly feel Bethesda didn't give it much thought.

As far as the original question is concerned, definitely try out Oblivion and Morrowind. The graphics are obviously inferior to Skyrim, but graphics has little to do with game quality. It is eye-candy. Morrowind and Oblivion had a lot of personality that Skyrim lacks. They are good games to some extent in spite of their lower quality graphics, and to some extent because of it.

[Avron the S'wit]

Oblivion had the most ingenious leveling system I ever saw in a video game. You could do anything with it.

I have to say that Oblivion's system was pretty great. If you followed the 5-5-5 or even 4 leveling up rules, you could create a super strong character. I didn't always level up perfectly but I felt like the growth was just perfect and it was well timed. I definitely agree that it was really effortless and fun.

As for the OP: if you're used to one game in the series, it can be a little difficult to adjust to different game mechanics, too, particularly in Morrowind, which is an older RPG and thus a lot crueler than its siblings. (You want to hit anything with that puny sword of yours on level 1? Hah! Good luck!) However, the challenge is part of the fun, and the story is well worth it. The same with Oblivion. Some people will complain that the MQ is a series of simple fetch quests, and that's sort of true, but the world is so beautiful and the story is still fantastic. It's well worth it.

Graphics are never a problem if you play on the PC! You can make Morrowind look amazing despite its age, and Oblivion can also be pushed to the limits of modern graphics. If you visit our mod subforums for each game you will definitely find a great list of recommendations!

I say give it a go. I just started playing Daggerfall, myself. Now there's a challenge! I can barely make it out of the starter dungeon!

[Kerr]

When I first got it Oblivion it was one of the best looking games I had ever played. It wasn't that long after I got my PS3. How times change. Still you should certainly play them. In a few of years Skyrim will probably look bad compared to games then. Will you not play it either?

Still if you are having problems getting Oblivion due to the graphics I have to wonder what you think of Arena.

[CBR JGWRR]

Arena isn't that bad... Well, so far, I still haven't got out of the starting dungeon...

[Street_Assassin]

Hidden:

I fear I won't like it due to outdated graphics,unimproved game play and spoiled story maybe? Plus I read the main quests of oblivion and morrowind and they do sound interesting but idk. I mostly never play older series of any games out there cuz of all those thing.its kinda my ocd. Idk what do u think would I be annoyed or not or what lol

Accidentally left the original topic in Skyrim General when I moved it, have now merged the two identical topics.

Believe.

[ZackyZombify]

I always go back to play oblivion. Not for the main quest cause it always reminds me of my eyes dying. But for everything else as I love it. All the guilds, the NPCs, especially the architecture and colors and the nature.

Also this might fit better in ES General?

[Mr.Argonian]

With Oblivion and Morrowind, mods can improve graphics if they bother you enough. I started at Skyrim and worked my way back, and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed both Morrowind and Oblivion, playing at least 200 hours on each. I'd definetly say go for it. Thye only cost like $20-$30 anyway.

[soda popinski]

If you like skyrim, you will like oblivion.

I got into that game first, and prior to skyrim coming out, I tried to play morrowind.

I could understand why people who started out on that game thought it was amazing, but it is seriously outdated.

Unless the idea of running out of breath every 10 seconds and seeing yourself smash, smash, SMAAASSH someone in the face over and over again, only to find out that you are actually doing no damage whatsoever appeals to you

[Yaije]

Morrowind is a blast when you figure out how to power game in it. Definitely the game to show off a super powerful wizard character once you get to a certain point.

[Dark Spark]

Simply turn the graphics on Skyrim waaaaaaayyyy down in order to acclimate yourself to the graphics of the older games.

[philfredobob]

one word of warning if you plan on playing oblivion, despite the fact that it is my favourite TES game, i have to admit it has a problem in at least one place, and that is Dungeons. most of of the dungeons in oblivion lack any kind of storyline, and many of them look almost exactly alike, there are very few that have stories of their own.

however, other than this, Oblivion is a great game, the levelling system is extremely good, and unlike most other players, i found it easy to level casually, and end up with a strong character. most of my level ups were 2-3-5 or 3-3-4 and my guy turned out fine.

it has (again, this is what i thought of it) the best faction storylines of any of the games, however it doesnt have a lot of big ''choices'' to make if thats what you like. it also has a fantastic Main Questline

Morrowind can be tough to get into, the combat system is quite difficult to use when you first start, and it'll take you a little bit before you can actually hit things. but once you get into and get a little stronger, it can be quite enjoyable. it has a nice story, and varied dungeons and landscape. and a lot more spell effects.

i'd say give them a try.

[The SheoDovah]

Graphics don't make a game. Morrowind will look very dated but if you pick it up on PC, you can get a lot of graphical mods to spice up the graphics. It's the same with Oblivion. Although in my opinion, refusing to play a game due to it's graphics very short sighted and you are just cutting your own foot off. That's just my opinion though.

Try to remeber that the Morrowind and Oblivion don't have the Thu'um as the first time i went back to oblivion after Skyrim, i almost pressed R2 when being attacked due to Skyrim using that button for the Thu'um. Oblivion's leveling system is a bit of a mess. You may end up getting punished for becoming stronger. Mages were a pain in the backside to play as due to that class, being very quick to level up. Which also, meant powerful enemies whilst you've only get the basic spells.

Try to go for a build that you know you will enjoy. Unlike Skyrim, if you decide that you've fed up of being a warrior and want to be a mage, you will have a bit of trouble trying to build it into a mage. The game does try to guess what class you will enjoy via the playing style of the user in the first 30minutes but it usually gets it wrong.

There are more attrutibutes in Morrowind and Oblivion. Instead of the 3 stats we have in Skyrim, there are i think 9. From strength(doesn't need explaining) to Intellgence(this is responsible for your magicka and some forms of magic) to your speed etc.. Oblivion's system adds up to five points to an attribute if you have leveled up a skill in that, i think 5-10 times. You have to sleep in order to level up. The combat is not as refined as Skyrim's and i've heard Morrowind has a tendecy to troll by making your melee hits not count despite it landing.

I think you may want to start off with Morrowind's main quest, get a bunch of graphical mods and play it as it's written better then Oblivion main quest It probably requires a lot of patience though due the nature of it. I would suggest Arena and Daggerfall but i suspect you wouldn't touch them with a 10ft claymore.

[CBR JGWRR]

There are more attrutibutes in Morrowind and Oblivion. Instead of the 3 stats we have in Skyrim, there are i think 9. From strength(doesn't need explaining) to Intellgence(this is responsible for your magicka and some forms of magic) to your speed etc.. Oblivion's system adds up to five points to an attribute if you have leveled up a skill in that, i think 5-10 times. You have to sleep in order to level up. The combat is not as refined as Skyrim's and i've heard Morrowind has a tendecy to troll by making your melee hits not count despite it landing.

Just to clear up, 8 attributes, governing 3 skills each. (except luck)

Read these for more information:
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Leveling
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Character_Creation
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Classes

[Avron the S'wit]

I would suggest Arena and Daggerfall but i suspect you wouldn't touch them with a 10ft claymore.

I just picked up Daggerfall and I have to say that I love it. It may be my age, but it reminds me so much of the great RPGs I grew up playing, and it has a special something to it that modern games really don't. The small touches like different backgrounds and your character's generated history give it that fantastic feeling that I love from RPGs in general.

Definitely wish that first dungeon wasn't so incredibly hard to escape, though.

[Chaos the N'wah]

I think one has to have that love of old RPG RNG love to really get into the first three games of the series because things like swinging a sword at something two inches away from you and not hitting is too counter-intuitive for today's gamers.
...or just really love numbers..(Chaos loves his efficient leveling)

[Avron the S'wit]

Very true!

[ClockworkCadaver]

Graphics don't make a game.

This.
I've never really understood why some people can't play older video games because of the graphics. Some might say it's because I grew up playing NES and SNES so I'm "used to it", but I don't think that's entirely correct. I think some people just have a bad sense of what a game really is. A game basically consists of four elements: mechanics (how it plays), technology (what it's capable to do), story (what it's about) and aesthetics (how it looks and feels). When judging a game, you must look at all of these elements because none is more important than the other.

And just because you know the story, it doesn't mean you won't enjoy experiencing it. Let's say you haven't seen "The Return of the Jedi". Wouldn't you watch it because you think it looks dated compared to modern sci-fi movies and you already know that

Spoiler:

the Death Star is going to blow up in the end?

[The SheoDovah]

I would suggest Arena and Daggerfall but i suspect you wouldn't touch them with a 10ft claymore.

I just picked up Daggerfall and I have to say that I love it. It may be my age, but it reminds me so much of the great RPGs I grew up playing, and it has a special something to it that modern games really don't. The small touches like different backgrounds and your character's generated history give it that fantastic feeling that I love from RPGs in general.

Definitely wish that first dungeon wasn't so incredibly hard to escape, though.

I think i read somewhere a while back, that even one of the original developers had trouble getting through the opening dungeon.

It is on my to get list when i can afford to get a decent gaming system. May result in it promptly being sent to the depths of Oblivion an hour later.

I've only played Oblivion and Skyrim. When i'll pick up Morrowind, i'll probably install a few graphical mods and a few mods that fixes's the combat system's flaw. As well as deleting every Cliffracer from the game.

[CBR JGWRR]

TLD - Any modern computer will do Arena and Daggerfall, you're more likely to have problems with being too good to run them.

Both are free downloads from the wiki...

[The SheoDovah]

I tried to install it but it seems that Sheogorath has decided to play tricks on me thus i've been unable to do so. That was just Arena though. And because i have only 1GB data allowance per month, i may be unable to do so. Can't do it untill march even if i wanted to. That and i'll would want to install the unoffical patchs as i've heard Daggerfall is sometimes regarded as Buggerfall. That and i would prefer to have the entire franchise(the main games) on one system.

I suspect i would be able to tolorate Arena's legendary opening dungeon. It can't be any harder then Dark Souls. Can it?