Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Impressions

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I got attacked(!) by a unicorn last night. I didn't know they attacked! That thing was hard to kill, too. Lots of backpeddling.
And it seems the unicorn horn is only worth 1 gold! I need to get to a store to make sure.

I seem to remember reading previews of Oblivion that mentioned a Radiant AI bug that allowed a monster to killa unicorn that was important for the main quest. I hope you didn't just kill that same unicorn.  :shock:

[The Grue]

I got attacked(!) by a unicorn last night. I didn't know they attacked! That thing was hard to kill, too. Lots of backpeddling.
And it seems the unicorn horn is only worth 1 gold! I need to get to a store to make sure.

I seem to remember reading previews of Oblivion that mentioned a Radiant AI bug that allowed a monster to killa unicorn that was important for the main quest. I hope you didn't just kill that same unicorn.  :shock:

They made quest NPCs unkillable in the game, so this shouldn't be the same unicorn.  In Morrowind you could kill anyone in the game except one person and finish the main quest, but they made it so you couldn't potentially screw yourself in this game.

[Arkon]

Hey Arkon (or should I call you 7eetGamerK1ng!Iam#1!)... how about you come on over to my place and teach me how to play, seeing as every complaint I ever have you shoot down as not being a problem for you.  Christ you are annoying.   :wink:

On a more serious note though, regarding stealth... How much of a difference do you guys see when using different types of armor/boots etc, with the ease of things hearing/seeing you?  From my little bit of reading, it sounds like the game calculates the amount of light that is reflecting off your body to determine if things can "see" you.  That makes sense in theory.  Are you finding that being in the dark, shadows, etc... makes a big difference?  How about sound/noise?  Softer boots are said to be better.  Are you finding this to be the case?  If so, perhaps I should walk around barefoot.

Thanks.

Bah, wasn't meant to be a "I'm God, You Suck" post.  At the begining before you have a chance to raise your stealth much it will be a bit more difficult.  My stealth is now around 60 so I am detected much less.  Once you stealth is raised up you will more often be able to pick enemies off before they are alerted to your presence.  Besides I did say that the jumping bean bandits are annoying for me as well.   :lol:

Like I was saying my approach has been to limit how they can get to me.  This is also one way to help with aiming.  If need be try to draw the enemy into a hallway (if indoors) where they will charge straight at you.

Once your sneak hits 50 the boots you wear won't matter.  Before 50 skill it is almost best to go barefoot.  Light also does affect sneaking.  I wouldn't recommend having a torch in hand or a light spell cast when trying to sneak.  Detect Life can be a wonderfully usefull spell when sneaking.

To be honest, I just want to help you overcome the mechanics because once you do the game will become so much more enjoyable.

And if it wouldn't take me 8 hours to cross the state I would come to yo place fo sho!

[warning]

Eurogamer's review is in: 10/10.  I find them one of the most consistently fair review sites on the internet so this is a pretty huge deal for them to give a 10/10.

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=63571

Oblivion is a staggeringly ambitious game that successfully unites some of the best elements of RPG, adventure and action games and fuses them into a relentlessly immersive and intoxicating whole. If the irresistibly picturesque visuals don't draw you in, then the ability to engage in a massive, unique and above all hugely entertaining adventure ought to tip the balance for anyone doubting how good this game could be. If ever a game was worth the full asking price, Oblivion is it - to miss out on it would be tantamount to a dereliction of duty.

[Dimmona]

Today's PA:


I'm guessing they're unimpressed so far...

[kathode]

I'm guessing they're unimpressed so far...

The newspost is actually pretty positive.  Not surprised Gabe doesn't like it though

[Destructor]

They made quest NPCs unkillable in the game, so this shouldn't be the same unicorn.  In Morrowind you could kill anyone in the game except one person and finish the main quest, but they made it so you couldn't potentially screw yourself in this game.

In Oblivion, instead of telling you you've just killed a main quest objective (like in Morrowind), the person you 'killed' just falls over for an hour or two and then pops back up without anykind of jarring notice.

What good are potions like "damage personality 10% for 2 secs" and "damage fatigue 3 pts for 10 secs" and whatnot?  I can't use a potion on anyone else, right?  I usually make these somewhat silly potions and sell them for little profit - just wondering if they can be used in any fashion.

Stuff like "cure fatigue 3 pts for 10 secs" does exactly that - every second for 10 seconds, you'll gain back 3 fatigue. The 'damage' line does the same, except it can be poisoned for that first attack and cause that damage over a duration of time. Damage Health poisons are particulary nasty for obvious reasons.

To use a poison, just click on the poison (don't worry, you won't drink it ) and you'll get a tooltip asking what you want to poison.

As stated above, the whole 'what boots am I wearing' is an issue when sneaking until you hit 50, where you get a perk to ignore that issue. So yes, for critical sneaks, barefoot (or something really light in the weight department like sandals for you RPers) is the way to go. Light sources really screw up sneaking, so don't have one out when you're doing that. Makes the Kjaiit class even more useful (with the whole Night Eye bonus perk they get) for you sneakers out there.

Also, the sound you make (heavy armor and jumping around like mad) as well as the light around you (are you near a burning fireplace or tucked into the dark corner?) do affect if mobs can see you or not. In addition, approaching somebody from the front instead of the back makes a large difference. Same if your target is an animal or a humanoid (or undead).

So yes, sneaking is a very complicated skill when it comes to skill checks.

[Lockdown]

It certainly would seem so.  Now I have to figure out how I am going to explain to my brain that I am playing as a lion that walks on two legs and talks...   :?

I wonder if there is an initial setup that would grant me the Night Eye spell from the get-go, or at least very, very soon after starting.  Or maybe I can craft Night Eye Scrolls or Night Eye Potions from the get-go.  I need to to look into this.

[Arkon]

It certainly would seem so.  Now I have to figure out how I am going to explain to my brain that I am playing as a lion that walks on two legs and talks...   :?

I wonder if there is an initial setup that would grant me the Night Eye spell from the get-go, or at least very, very soon after starting.  Or maybe I can craft Night Eye Scrolls or Night Eye Potions from the get-go.  I need to to look into this.

Night Eye potions aren't too difficult to make if I remember correctly, same with detect life. Not sure on the magic side.  My character is an argonian, I just chew through the detect life potions.  One nice reason to use them is they allow you to see enemies around corners, on other side of a door etc..

[Autistic Angel]

Also, the sound you make (heavy armor and jumping around like mad) as well as the light around you (are you near a burning fireplace or tucked into the dark corner?) do affect if mobs can see you or not. In addition, approaching somebody from the front instead of the back makes a large difference. Same if your target is an animal or a humanoid (or undead).

It would be nice if there were some way to indicate which mobs in the environment are or are not aware of your presence.  For example, if I get off my horse and move to sneak up on an enemy imp in the distance, my "Eye" display shows that I'm detectable because my horse can see me.

Instead, it would be cool if there were an "Eye" indicator over the mob's head, allowing me to see which enemies are or are not aware of my presence.  In other words, the bright Eye over my horse would indicate that he knows where I am, but the dim Eye over the enemy's head would suggest that he hasn't seen me yet.

Also, speaking of dead NPCs, I had a very ususual thing happen to me in my game.  I was stopping in a local inn for the night and heard some combat going on above me, so I rushed upstairs to see a guard named Agnes God-Hater laying the smackdown on some would-be thief she'd discovered.  She promptly dispatched him, and I turned in for the night well-assured that I'd be safe from any brigands so long as Agnes remained on duty.

The next morning, I woke up refreshed and had just completed leveling my character up when all of a sudden AGNES' DEAD BODY CAME TUMBLING OUT OF THE RAFTERS ABOVE MY ROOM!!!  :shock:  :shock:  :shock:

Needless to say, I was shocked and horrified to the point where I was barely able to loot everything from her corpse and leave her body posed in a humorous position before heading downstairs to order some food.  The innkeeper, for her part, seemed completely oblivious to the fact that her guard had been slain overnight, and my character didn't seem to think it was worth mentioning.

I'm assuming this was a bug, but it's an awfully weird one.  Has anyone else had something similar happen to them.  (For the record, I'm playing the PC version....)

-Autistic Angel

[TheMissingLink]

Oooh, never thought about applying a potion to a weapon, DOH!  And DOUBLE DOH to going to an alchemist for a potion.  Man alive I am retarded  :lol:

Ever since I got my sneaking up past 50, I've been ace at sneaking up on people.  I guess it's becuse I didn't realize that under 50 when I'm wearing my light armor it's pretty much useless  It's like "....*clank*......."clank*....."

[shon]

I found a night-eye ring and that is awesome.   I ran out of torch's and found that ring now I don't quite need the torch's.  I love the blue tint effect it looks awesome in dungeons.  

I am wearing 2 rings now I wonder how many you can wear at one time?

[warning]

Has anyone else successfully completed the Painted Trolls quest?  I went in there at level 3 and got my ass kicked.  Any tips?

But I loved the art style!

[The Grue]

Just curious regarding the brightness levels everyone is using.  My theory is that if I am in a cave with no light source, I shouldn't be able to see anything.  If I light a torch in that scenario, I should only be able to see a little bit in front of me.  What this means is that without Night Eye on, going through caves is tough until I get to sections with some lighting.  Now, I am a Kajiit, so I get a free night eye, but I trade off and on using it.  Is everyone as strict about it as I am or do you guys turn up the brightness so that you can see in a cave no matter what the lighting?

[Destructor]

I found a night-eye ring and that is awesome.   I ran out of torch's and found that ring now I don't quite need the torch's.  I love the blue tint effect it looks awesome in dungeons.

I love how the spell works, but I love the natural ambiance in dungeons as well. The devs did a great job making that dank and creepy dungeon a dank and creepy dungeon.

And get good with those sneak attacks. A 6x multiplier (for melee attacks) is nothing to sneeze at. And that only goes up as you gain sneak levels.

[The Grue]

I found a night-eye ring and that is awesome.   I ran out of torch's and found that ring now I don't quite need the torch's.  I love the blue tint effect it looks awesome in dungeons.  

I am wearing 2 rings now I wonder how many you can wear at one time?

The only problem with night eye, is I have actually missed loot because everything is that bluish tint.  I turned off night eye and went through a tunnel I had previously  been in and because I could now see in color, I saw a potion with a purple hue that I had previously missed.  So, it is great for seeing your way through, but maybe not so great for collection of the phat lewt.

[Eduardo X]

Has anyone else successfully completed the Painted Trolls quest?  I went in there at level 3 and got my ass kicked.  Any tips?

But I loved the art style!

Use the turpentine as poison on your weapon.

[Andrew Mallon]

NM. Thought it was a puzzle answer. Sounds like it's more like generalized advice.

[Punisher]

Has anyone else successfully completed the Painted Trolls quest?  I went in there at level 3 and got my ass kicked.  Any tips?

But I loved the art style!

I ran to that right out of the dungeon as that was my favorite quest from the press demo.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Make sure you use the turpentine on your weapons.
There is also one specific out cropping that they can't get to. go on top of it and keep casting flare.
Arrows don't seem to do much damage, fire does more. hit with poisoned arrow/sword then switch to flare.

[Kevin Grey]

Is everyone as strict about it as I am or do you guys turn up the brightness so that you can see in a cave no matter what the lighting?

I haven't touched my brightness settings (in game or on the TV) and the black levels seem perfect.  Without a torch I can see enough to navigate but still often miss treasure chests unless I'm using a torch.  Am planning on a trip to Bravil soon so I can pick up a Night Eye and a few other illusionist spells for my Agent.

[Sparhawk]

After 40+ hours of playing Oblivion I can confidently say that this is the best RPG and game I have ever played. The game is incredible and trumped Final Fantasy 3 as my all time favorite RPG/Game. Some of the sidequest could be their own game.

The horse ride up to Bruma from Weynon Priory  was breathtaking!

[Knightshade Dragon]

Wow - you've clocked over 40 hours already?  

My initial impression is that it does indeed have some of the best gameplay around.  I'm wishing my last 5 weeks of college would go by just a lil faster...

[CeeKay]

Cool random moment:  I was at the Blade temple, watching two Blades sparring.  The puppies needed to go out, so I left the game running with the 2 guys in my view.  I come back in and a text box has popped up.  It seems I gaine 2 points each to my blade and block just for watching them for an extended period of time.  Now that was cool!

[Hetz]

IGN Review Up for the 360 Version:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/698/698400p1.html

9.3


Gamespot Review Up:

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/rpg/theelderscrollsivoblivion/review.html?sid=6146657

9.6


And Yes, this is the BEST RPG EVER, no question about it.

[TheMissingLink]

Oblivion definitely has a grip on me that not many games have ever achieved, so those scores are well-deserved (although I seriously think 9.3 is low from IGN...they gave Jade Empire a fuggin' 9.9 for goodness sake!).

I REALLY love the frenzy spell now!  Such an idiot to think it would hardly be useful.

CASE IN POINT (Dark Brotherhood early-quest spoiler):

Spoiler for Hiden:

Had to get on that ship and kill that captain, but the pirates were all chilling out in front of their ship.  I was given advice to just get into a cargo box and get on that way, but that's no fun!  So I cast frenzy on a pirate and he starts attacking me, along with the other pirates.  THEN the Imperial Guard come running along and a huge battle starts, while I cast chemeleon and creep onto the ship to assassinate the captain....oooh what a great moment!

The Dark Brotherhood's quests, thus far, have been so incredibly cool and rewarding.

[Cleric7]

Coolest thing ever (slight spoilers):

So I go to an Inn and the proprietor wants me to clean out some nearby caves. A Female Necromancer is causing problems apparently. I say "sure" and climb up the hill to the nearby cave, enter it and gradually work my way through it, killing assorted baddies as I go. I finally come to the last big room and what do I find there? Not one, but two evil necromancers!

I have no idea which one is the Big Bad Chick so I just rush at one and chase him (as it turns out) around until he's dead. I spin around looking for the woman but can't quite find her. It's at this moment that I notice my health is getting fairly low. I decide to make a run for it and come back after I'm healed. She won't be going anywhere after all!

"She won't be going anywhere" .... except right on my friggin' ASS as I hightail it through the twists and turns of the cave. Bright blue bolts of electricity streak by me, lighting up the cave walls. I race through turn after turn and finally see the main exit up ahead. If I ... can ... just .. make it outside, I'll be safe...

I click on the exit and the load screen comes up. I heave a sigh of relief! Finally I'll get a chance to heal up before I go back in there. Whew...

I reappear outside the cave entrance and calmly start casting my healing spell. Hmmm ... what's that noise behind me?? I spin around and, holy shit, the Uber Bitch has followed me right out of the cave! WTF! That isn't supposed to happen in these games!!!

I glance wildly at my health bar. It's a mere sliver by now and I begin to resign myself to an early death. But wait! There is yet hope! Just down the hill from me I spy the Inn!! "A ha!" I say to myself -- "make a run for it f*cker!!" I speed down the hill, lightning bolts flying to the left and right of my madly zig-zagging form! I reach the side of the Inn, race around the corner towards the front and  -- what the hell do I find blocking my path???? Who put this HORSE here??? Get out of my way, you stupid horse!!! As I circle frantically around the horse, a guard who has (apparently) been standing outside the door of the Inn, rushes by me in the other direction with some loud imprecation on his lips! I don't pause to listen but charge pell mell at the door of the Inn my hand slamming down on the space bar to enter  --- finally -- the safety of the Inn.

Ahh, relief at last...


Inside the Inn I pause, with a half dozen startled locals gaping at me. I am scared out of my wits, but thrilled to have made it!
At that moment I hear the sounds of a wild battle outside. "Kill the bitch" I yell, rooting on the guard. "Give her what for!!" (Oh, if only I could see her get what's coming to her!) The yelling increases in volume and I sudden realize that  --- OH ... MY ... GOD -- the Necromancer and the Guard are now INSIDE THE FRIGGIN' INN -- carrying on their battle!

Ok, here's the thing. I have absolutely no health left. If the bitch breathes on me I'm dead. I have no time to heal, no time to do anything -- but watch...

Watch as half a dozen locals descend as one on the back of the evil Necromancer and with battlecries ringing in the air, despatch the hated enemy in 2 seconds flat! I stare in stunned disbelief. All of the sudden a message pops up on my screen congratulating me -- ME -- on killing the wicked Necromancer and thanking me for saving -- SAVING -- the poor people of the village!

Um .... okey dokey...  

The crowd withdraws from the corner where the Necromancer was killed and I see her lifeless body slump to the floor, a single arrow protruding from her gut.

I slowly turn to face the proprietor of the Inn. She is standing not 3 feet away, facing the scene of bloody carnage.

"So what's new" she quips cheerily, "killed that necromancer yet?"

[TheMissingLink]

23 hours in and I STILL HAVEN'T TOUCHED THE MAIN QUEST.  Just clearing out old quests and doing a quest for a guild here and there...

Thoughts regarding the "painter" quest (just finished it):

Spoiler for Hiden:

WOW, thanks for the 8 bottles of turpintine![/sarcasm]

I used those bottles up in like, 3 trolls and there were about 3-4 left.  And they were RIDICULOUSLY hard.  I was level 10 going in and man, I didn't even bother with the last 3-4.  I simply ran to the dead thief, grabbed all of his shit, ran a little, drank a potion of invisibility (thank GOD I decided to grab a couple bottles of that!!!) and leaped over the middle mountains back to the painter.  PHEW.  

Really cool area sort of ruined by the enemies within it.  I was slightly disappointed, to be honest, I was expecting more of an oil-painting feel, I guess, but still great.  LOVED the skybox.

And if you can take the trolls on, I would encourage it because alchemy-wise their meat is some really, really good stuff.

These quests I have been doing today have been so incredibly cool.  It's just amazing to me that this amount of effort/quality has been put into stuff that not even in the main quest.

[Turtle]

Someone please spoil me on where to get the painter quest.  I already know about it from foolishly reading the clearly marked spoiler sectrion of GT's Oblivion preview.

[disarm]

Cool random moment:  I was at the Blade temple, watching two Blades sparring.  The puppies needed to go out, so I left the game running with the 2 guys in my view.  I come back in and a text box has popped up.  It seems I gaine 2 points each to my blade and block just for watching them for an extended period of time.  Now that was cool!

there's another place where you can do this as well...

Spoiler for Hiden:

watch the two fighters spar outside the Arena for about a minute and you'll get +5 to your Hand-to-Hand skill

[Soulchilde]

Someone please spoil me on where to get the painter quest.  I already know about it from foolishly reading the clearly marked spoiler sectrion of GT's Oblivion preview.

Chorrol  ask around town and someone will mention the lost painter

[mikeg]

Okay, I finally got it in from Gamefly and after my initial 2 hours or so, I have to say I like it.  I know I know, I am a Morrowing hater, but this game is quite engrossing.  I really feel like I am in a big world.  Now understand I do not talk to anyone or do anything that is not DIRECTLY related to achieving the next objective in the main quest.  All the side quests and roaming pointlessly is not fun to me, but following the main quest has been enjoyable.  My only concern is length.  If I play the way I am playing I wonder how long the game will really be.  If it goes for 15 or more I might buy the puppy.  I can see some replay by going through multiple times with different character classes and seeing how I fare.  

My ONLY complaint is the excessive pop-up and boy is there alot.  During the day I constantly, and I mean constantly see grass appear before me, trees populate a hillside, etc.  It is extremely distracting so I try to just keep my eyes on the ground in front me.  Rather sad that this powerhouse of a system could not render the distant graphics any better than that.  Oh, and the distant textures is PS2 muddy in places.  Sad.  

Other than that I really like it.  The combat is way better than Morrowind and I absolutely love the day/night cycles and weather effects.  Very immersive in that respect.  I still despise talking to bystanders but I enjoy seeing them go about their business.  Helps with the immersiveness.  Ofcourse, I have been to a town so that opinion may change dramatically once I see how they behave in mass.

I have to say I am surprisingly and pleasantly enjoying my romp in Tamariel, or whatever the name of the place is.  

Two and half hours in I give it an 8.9   Take away the muddy textures and pop-up and it would be 9.2ish.  God, I can't believe I am saying that about an rpg.  Hell hath frozen over.

[Sparhawk]

Coolest thing ever (slight spoilers):

So I go to an Inn and the proprietor wants me to clean out some nearby caves. A Female Necromancer is causing problems apparently. I say "sure" and climb up the hill to the nearby cave, enter it and gradually work my way through it, killing assorted baddies as I go. I finally come to the last big room and what do I find there? Not one, but two evil necromancers!

I have no idea which one is the Big Bad Chick so I just rush at one and chase him (as it turns out) around until he's dead. I spin around looking for the woman but can't quite find her. It's at this moment that I notice my health is getting fairly low. I decide to make a run for it and come back after I'm healed. She won't be going anywhere after all!

"She won't be going anywhere" .... except right on my friggin' ASS as I hightail it through the twists and turns of the cave. Bright blue bolts of electricity streak by me, lighting up the cave walls. I race through turn after turn and finally see the main exit up ahead. If I ... can ... just .. make it outside, I'll be safe...

I click on the exit and the load screen comes up. I heave a sigh of relief! Finally I'll get a chance to heal up before I go back in there. Whew...

I reappear outside the cave entrance and calmly start casting my healing spell. Hmmm ... what's that noise behind me?? I spin around and, holy shit, the Uber Bitch has followed me right out of the cave! WTF! That isn't supposed to happen in these games!!!

I glance wildly at my health bar. It's a mere sliver by now and I begin to resign myself to an early death. But wait! There is yet hope! Just down the hill from me I spy the Inn!! "A ha!" I say to myself -- "make a run for it f*cker!!" I speed down the hill, lightning bolts flying to the left and right of my madly zig-zagging form! I reach the side of the Inn, race around the corner towards the front and  -- what the hell do I find blocking my path???? Who put this HORSE here??? Get out of my way, you stupid horse!!! As I circle frantically around the horse, a guard who has (apparently) been standing outside the door of the Inn, rushes by me in the other direction with some loud imprecation on his lips! I don't pause to listen but charge pell mell at the door of the Inn my hand slamming down on the space bar to enter  --- finally -- the safety of the Inn.

Ahh, relief at last...


Inside the Inn I pause, with a half dozen startled locals gaping at me. I am scared out of my wits, but thrilled to have made it!
At that moment I hear the sounds of a wild battle outside. "Kill the bitch" I yell, rooting on the guard. "Give her what for!!" (Oh, if only I could see her get what's coming to her!) The yelling increases in volume and I sudden realize that  --- OH ... MY ... GOD -- the Necromancer and the Guard are now INSIDE THE FRIGGIN' INN -- carrying on their battle!

Ok, here's the thing. I have absolutely no health left. If the bitch breathes on me I'm dead. I have no time to heal, no time to do anything -- but watch...

Watch as half a dozen locals descend as one on the back of the evil Necromancer and with battlecries ringing in the air, despatch the hated enemy in 2 seconds flat! I stare in stunned disbelief. All of the sudden a message pops up on my screen congratulating me -- ME -- on killing the wicked Necromancer and thanking me for saving -- SAVING -- the poor people of the village!

Um .... okey dokey...  

The crowd withdraws from the corner where the Necromancer was killed and I see her lifeless body slump to the floor, a single arrow protruding from her gut.

I slowly turn to face the proprietor of the Inn. She is standing not 3 feet away, facing the scene of bloody carnage.

"So what's new" she quips cheerily, "killed that necromancer yet?"

That has got to be the most hilarious story ever.

[Kevin Grey]

Okay, I finally got it in from Gamefly and after my initial 2 hours or so, I have to say I like it.  I know I know, I am a Morrowing hater, but this game is quite engrossing.  I really feel like I am in a big world.  Now understand I do not talk to anyone or do anything that is not DIRECTLY related to achieving the next objective in the main quest.  All the side quests and roaming pointlessly is not fun to me, but following the main quest has been enjoyable.  My only concern is length.  If I play the way I am playing I wonder how long the game will really be.  If it goes for 15 or more I might buy the puppy.  I can see some replay by going through multiple times with different character classes and seeing how I fare.  

I believe I read that the Main Quest itself is supposed to last about 20 hours so you might be good to go.

Also, you might want to consider joining one or more guilds.  The quest design is generally excellent for them and since you are moving your way up through the ranks it feels like its own specific story vice just aimlessly wandering around.

[CeeKay]

Yeah, the baddies will follow you through zones.  I had the same thing happen to me with a couple of Flame Atronachs on my tale in Kvatch.  Of course I learned to use it to my advantage when I got into the counts castle in Kvatch.  The captain said go on, so I'd pull one creature at a time back to him for the slaughter.

[Hetz]

Someone please spoil me on where to get the painter quest.  I already know about it from foolishly reading the clearly marked spoiler sectrion of GT's Oblivion preview.

Chorrol  ask around town and someone will mention the lost painter

Actually, it's in Cheydinhal.

[Hetz]

23 hours in and I STILL HAVEN'T TOUCHED THE MAIN QUEST.  Just clearing out old quests and doing a quest for a guild here and there...

Thoughts regarding the "painter" quest (just finished it):

Spoiler for Hiden:

WOW, thanks for the 8 bottles of turpintine![/sarcasm]

I used those bottles up in like, 3 trolls and there were about 3-4 left.  And they were RIDICULOUSLY hard.  I was level 10 going in and man, I didn't even bother with the last 3-4.  I simply ran to the dead thief, grabbed all of his shit, ran a little, drank a potion of invisibility (thank GOD I decided to grab a couple bottles of that!!!) and leaped over the middle mountains back to the painter.  PHEW.  

Really cool area sort of ruined by the enemies within it.  I was slightly disappointed, to be honest, I was expecting more of an oil-painting feel, I guess, but still great.  LOVED the skybox.

And if you can take the trolls on, I would encourage it because alchemy-wise their meat is some really, really good stuff.

These quests I have been doing today have been so incredibly cool.  It's just amazing to me that this amount of effort/quality has been put into stuff that not even in the main quest.

I did the SAME thing.  :lol:

[Hetz]

Okay, I finally got it in from Gamefly and after my initial 2 hours or so, I have to say I like it.  I know I know, I am a Morrowing hater, but this game is quite engrossing.  I really feel like I am in a big world.  Now understand I do not talk to anyone or do anything that is not DIRECTLY related to achieving the next objective in the main quest.  All the side quests and roaming pointlessly is not fun to me, but following the main quest has been enjoyable.  My only concern is length.  If I play the way I am playing I wonder how long the game will really be.  If it goes for 15 or more I might buy the puppy.  I can see some replay by going through multiple times with different character classes and seeing how I fare.  

I believe I read that the Main Quest itself is supposed to last about 20 hours so you might be good to go.

Also, you might want to consider joining one or more guilds.  The quest design is generally excellent for them and since you are moving your way up through the ranks it feels like its own specific story vice just aimlessly wandering around.

Yep, all the guilds are like a main quest in themselves. They all have great storylines.

[Hetz]

Coolest thing ever (slight spoilers):

So I go to an Inn and the proprietor wants me to clean out some nearby caves. A Female Necromancer is causing problems apparently. I say "sure" and climb up the hill to the nearby cave, enter it and gradually work my way through it, killing assorted baddies as I go. I finally come to the last big room and what do I find there? Not one, but two evil necromancers!

I have no idea which one is the Big Bad Chick so I just rush at one and chase him (as it turns out) around until he's dead. I spin around looking for the woman but can't quite find her. It's at this moment that I notice my health is getting fairly low. I decide to make a run for it and come back after I'm healed. She won't be going anywhere after all!

"She won't be going anywhere" .... except right on my friggin' ASS as I hightail it through the twists and turns of the cave. Bright blue bolts of electricity streak by me, lighting up the cave walls. I race through turn after turn and finally see the main exit up ahead. If I ... can ... just .. make it outside, I'll be safe...

I click on the exit and the load screen comes up. I heave a sigh of relief! Finally I'll get a chance to heal up before I go back in there. Whew...

I reappear outside the cave entrance and calmly start casting my healing spell. Hmmm ... what's that noise behind me?? I spin around and, holy shit, the Uber Bitch has followed me right out of the cave! WTF! That isn't supposed to happen in these games!!!

I glance wildly at my health bar. It's a mere sliver by now and I begin to resign myself to an early death. But wait! There is yet hope! Just down the hill from me I spy the Inn!! "A ha!" I say to myself -- "make a run for it f*cker!!" I speed down the hill, lightning bolts flying to the left and right of my madly zig-zagging form! I reach the side of the Inn, race around the corner towards the front and  -- what the hell do I find blocking my path???? Who put this HORSE here??? Get out of my way, you stupid horse!!! As I circle frantically around the horse, a guard who has (apparently) been standing outside the door of the Inn, rushes by me in the other direction with some loud imprecation on his lips! I don't pause to listen but charge pell mell at the door of the Inn my hand slamming down on the space bar to enter  --- finally -- the safety of the Inn.

Ahh, relief at last...


Inside the Inn I pause, with a half dozen startled locals gaping at me. I am scared out of my wits, but thrilled to have made it!
At that moment I hear the sounds of a wild battle outside. "Kill the bitch" I yell, rooting on the guard. "Give her what for!!" (Oh, if only I could see her get what's coming to her!) The yelling increases in volume and I sudden realize that  --- OH ... MY ... GOD -- the Necromancer and the Guard are now INSIDE THE FRIGGIN' INN -- carrying on their battle!

Ok, here's the thing. I have absolutely no health left. If the bitch breathes on me I'm dead. I have no time to heal, no time to do anything -- but watch...

Watch as half a dozen locals descend as one on the back of the evil Necromancer and with battlecries ringing in the air, despatch the hated enemy in 2 seconds flat! I stare in stunned disbelief. All of the sudden a message pops up on my screen congratulating me -- ME -- on killing the wicked Necromancer and thanking me for saving -- SAVING -- the poor people of the village!

Um .... okey dokey...  

The crowd withdraws from the corner where the Necromancer was killed and I see her lifeless body slump to the floor, a single arrow protruding from her gut.

I slowly turn to face the proprietor of the Inn. She is standing not 3 feet away, facing the scene of bloody carnage.

"So what's new" she quips cheerily, "killed that necromancer yet?"

That is AWESOME! I love this game.

[Kevin Grey]

Someone please spoil me on where to get the painter quest.  I already know about it from foolishly reading the clearly marked spoiler sectrion of GT's Oblivion preview.

Chorrol  ask around town and someone will mention the lost painter

Actually, it's in Cheydinhal.

Thank goodness- I've explored Chorral extensively and when I saw the initial comment I couldn't believe that I had still missed something.  Still haven't been to Cheydinhal yet.

[TheMissingLink]

Cheydinhal rocks.  I believe the painter's name is something like Rythe, so look for his place.

Calvin and I are so nerdy when we play this game.  We get in private chat and play and talk about what we're doing.  We're both going to own a house in Bruma because we both <3 Bruma (although I'm growing to really like Cheydinhal...SHHH don't tell Calvin I said that).