Ways that Oblivion is superior to Skyrim

[Ilja Lyubimov]

I strated to think about ways in which Oblivion is better but then i remembered the main plot of Oblivion.

OH GOD MY BRAIN IS HURTING FROM STUPID

As for me, Oblivion is inferior in a way that it still dreams itself as a full-fledged RPG, not an action RPG which it is. Skyrim is at least fair with itself.

 

[Epona]

To be even clearer, a rat is a wolf is a lion to me and a dragon is a giant is a mammoth to me. High level enemies and low level enemies are the only two types I see.

...That is one of the SINGLE saddest, most emotionally devoid things I have EVER read. You're not really a fan of video games if that is how you really feel; You're a fan of numbers, not fun.

And that's terrible.

OP: I've found vanilla Skyrim to be superior in every single way to vanilla Oblivion. And fuck everyone else, I like the UI.

When you see a wolf, what do you do? When you see a rat, what do you do? When you see a bear, what do you do?

I'll bet in all three cases you click the left mouse button or hit the right trigger. Do you really care that they have different avatars? If so then fine but I'll bet after you see a few hundred of them, you won't care anymore.

When I see a rat, I immediately charge at it and take it down because I know they are nothing more than a minor nuisance.

When I see a wolf, I hesitate slightly, because experience has taught me that they like to attack in groups and if I rush in I will probably be flanked. So, I try and damage them as much as I can with ranged/magic attacks before eventually using Area of Effect spells when the group of them gets close.

When I see a bear, I do my best to avoid it, because I know they are generally solitary and like to charge straight in, doing a great deal of damage. If I do manage to attract one's attention, I try to keep as much distance between myself and it as possible, not allowing it to sink it's powerful jaws into me. I make my best effort to stun it with magic, then flank it with sword attacks.

In short? You're entirely wrong.

Sorry, but most gamers aren't pathetic enough to break an incredibly imaginative, artistic experience down into "just a series of button presses". If that's your viewpoint, then something is wrong with YOU, not the game.

Of course, I already said that Skyrim is PERFECT!

 

[Iggy Rufflebar]

let's be clear that dragons could be replaced with any other creature not present in previous TES games and I would have cared the same, none.

In their tongue he is Movakiin, Mudcrab-born!

I dunno, man, doesn't sound quite the same.

I don't know, Giant enemy mudcrabs would be sweet...

- The character creator is worse than the one in Oblivion (which was pretty bad too)


- The UI was designed for looks (that's a failed attempt) rather than functionality. You can't sort your inventory, you can't view your character when equipping stuff.

Completly agree with these points, what the hell do you mean I can look in depth at every item but not see if it goes together with my character without pausing and looking for a lot of light?

and the character design in the opening, wow, i'd love to ,you know, see the detail on my characters face so I can see what moving this little bar across does but being 5 miles away from my character makes it pretty pointless.

other than that, BEST GAME EVER!

 

[Saris Kai]

I'm sorry, but 40% of your complaints stem from "I don't like the UI"

that's the best you got?

When the UI (the thing you have to use constantly) sucks there is a major problem with the game. I feel as a PC gamer the real slap in the face over the UI is that its the console UI, which was designed the way it was to work for people who can't use a mouse and keyboard to play. When you have those two things the way it is set up is so ass backwards its made me stop playing until a mod to fix it comes out.

 

[Axyun]

To be even clearer, a rat is a wolf is a lion to me and a dragon is a giant is a mammoth to me. High level enemies and low level enemies are the only two types I see.

...That is one of the SINGLE saddest, most emotionally devoid things I have EVER read. You're not really a fan of video games if that is how you really feel; You're a fan of numbers, not fun.

And that's terrible.

OP: I've found vanilla Skyrim to be superior in every single way to vanilla Oblivion. And fuck everyone else, I like the UI.

When you see a wolf, what do you do? When you see a rat, what do you do? When you see a bear, what do you do?

I'll bet in all three cases you click the left mouse button or hit the right trigger. Do you really care that they have different avatars? If so then fine but I'll bet after you see a few hundred of them, you won't care anymore.

Your argument only holds in Oblivion, which has horribly simple monsters.

In Skyrim:

If I see a rat, I swing once carelessly and kill it.

If I see a bear, I cast Stoneskin (flesh?) and get my twich finger on the heal button before going in.

If I see a dragon, I pull out the bow or Lightning Bolt and look for places to find cover from the breath attacks while taking shots I can make. I time Unrelenting Force to interrupt breath attacks while the dragon is on the ground then sprint towards it. I then cast Lightning Cloak and pace my swings between regular and power attacks while accompanying with short bursts of Sparks, making sure I don't deplete my mana entirely so I can heal when the dragon takes flight. Repeat that a few times until the dragon is ~20% and won't fly anymore and then pull out the stops. In the meanwhile, I'm making sure my companion does not get killed and have to plan my shouts so that I don't hit guards/townspeople.

You are right in the sense that its all just numbers in the end, but the avatar type dictates the general behavior in combat and dragons, with their swoops, breath weapons, etc, are much more interesting to fight than a brute with a powerful "whack" attack.

 

[Overlord59]

Feel like I may as well weigh in on this one since it's about a topic I have put a lot of thought into. I'll start by saying I love Skyrim and I think it's a better game than Oblivion. However there are many things I preferred in Oblivion. Pretty much everything else is done better or is equalled by Skyrim. Note this ignores all graphical updates as it's an unfair way to compare games from such a time gap.

1. The Character Creator

When creating a character in Skyrim I was honestly disapointed in the options available. It just seemed like so little compared to it's predecessor. Any stupid creations from the system is player choice and shouldn't be held against the system... plus it's funny.

2. Magic

The number of magical effects usable feels limited when there are only pre-set spells (and less of them) and while I certainly felt more like an epic caster in Skyrim I miss the variation in Oblivion's spells and the ability to combine effects into a custom spell. The magic system in Skyrim just feels dumbed down, and yet more epic. Also the fact I have to equip spells in the place of weapons and lack of the hotkeys means I spend a stupid amount of time in Skyrim accessing menus... annoying, fiddly menus which brings me to:

3: The UI

Oh god it's so damn boring and fiddly. In Oblivion you get a detailed, decorative loadout complete with your character model, not the plain uninteresting thing that Skyrim forces you to wrestle with every time you want to do anything. At least Oblivion lets you click on a tab when you want to select it. Trying to choose options in Skyrim can select a different option from the one your mouse is over, close the menu or even have it ignore you altogether. Oblivion wins on this one by far. Unless a major rehaul of the damn thing is done.

4: The Setting

I love dragons. Although recently I see them more as flying pest than anything else, they haven't posed a challenge since level 15 and I'm around 25 by now. And the world of Skyrim certainly is an exotic land and has breathtaking scenarios that cause Oblivions repeated dungeons shame, but I prefer Cyrodiil as a setting. The Oblivion crisis just seems so much more dramatic than the dragons after a while. I mean both have a similar end of world theme but Oblivion gates made it feel like hell was actually at your doorstop. Whereas the dragons are just starting to be annoying now. Also I feel like Cyrodiil provides a better setting for many mods because it has such a range of climate. Skyrim just seems like there is less potential mod wise (I may be proven wrong on this but eh).

Plus I get the feeling that in a years time, the game I will go back to will be Oblivion no matter how much better Skyrim is...

 

[Saris Kai]

Couldn't sort you stuff in Oblivion either.

Filthy Console Gaming Pleb Detected. I know I sorted the shit out of my inventory in Oblivion.

 

[Epona]

To be even clearer, a rat is a wolf is a lion to me and a dragon is a giant is a mammoth to me. High level enemies and low level enemies are the only two types I see.

...That is one of the SINGLE saddest, most emotionally devoid things I have EVER read. You're not really a fan of video games if that is how you really feel; You're a fan of numbers, not fun.

And that's terrible.

OP: I've found vanilla Skyrim to be superior in every single way to vanilla Oblivion. And fuck everyone else, I like the UI.

When you see a wolf, what do you do? When you see a rat, what do you do? When you see a bear, what do you do?

I'll bet in all three cases you click the left mouse button or hit the right trigger. Do you really care that they have different avatars? If so then fine but I'll bet after you see a few hundred of them, you won't care anymore.

When I see a rat, I immediately charge at it and take it down because I know they are nothing more than a minor nuisance.

When I see a wolf, I hesitate slightly, because experience has taught me that they like to attack in groups and if I rush in I will probably be flanked. So, I try and damage them as much as I can with ranged/magic attacks before eventually using Area of Effect spells when the group of them gets close.

When I see a bear, I do my best to avoid it, because I know they are generally solitary and like to charge straight in, doing a great deal of damage. If I do manage to attract one's attention, I try to keep as much distance between myself and it as possible, not allowing it to sink it's powerful jaws into me. I make my best effort to stun it with magic, then flank it with sword attacks.

In short? You're entirely wrong.

Sorry, but most gamers aren't pathetic enough to break an incredibly imaginative, artistic experience down into "just a series of button presses". If that's your viewpoint, then something is wrong with YOU, not the game.

Of course, I already said that Skyrim is PERFECT!

Starting a massive argument, and then running away midway through when it's quite obvious you can't support the points you're making is a great way to get yourself called the t-word by some of the more aggressive members on the board. Not that I would ever do such a thing.

I have supported my argument for 7 pages now, that's enough. On this board it's clear that if one doesn't think Skyrim to be the second coming of Christ then they are a troll.

 

[Epona]

To be even clearer, a rat is a wolf is a lion to me and a dragon is a giant is a mammoth to me. High level enemies and low level enemies are the only two types I see.

...That is one of the SINGLE saddest, most emotionally devoid things I have EVER read. You're not really a fan of video games if that is how you really feel; You're a fan of numbers, not fun.

And that's terrible.

OP: I've found vanilla Skyrim to be superior in every single way to vanilla Oblivion. And fuck everyone else, I like the UI.

When you see a wolf, what do you do? When you see a rat, what do you do? When you see a bear, what do you do?

I'll bet in all three cases you click the left mouse button or hit the right trigger. Do you really care that they have different avatars? If so then fine but I'll bet after you see a few hundred of them, you won't care anymore.

When I see a rat, I immediately charge at it and take it down because I know they are nothing more than a minor nuisance.

When I see a wolf, I hesitate slightly, because experience has taught me that they like to attack in groups and if I rush in I will probably be flanked. So, I try and damage them as much as I can with ranged/magic attacks before eventually using Area of Effect spells when the group of them gets close.

When I see a bear, I do my best to avoid it, because I know they are generally solitary and like to charge straight in, doing a great deal of damage. If I do manage to attract one's attention, I try to keep as much distance between myself and it as possible, not allowing it to sink it's powerful jaws into me. I make my best effort to stun it with magic, then flank it with sword attacks.

In short? You're entirely wrong.

Sorry, but most gamers aren't pathetic enough to break an incredibly imaginative, artistic experience down into "just a series of button presses". If that's your viewpoint, then something is wrong with YOU, not the game.

Of course, I already said that Skyrim is PERFECT!

Starting a massive argument, and then running away midway through when it's quite obvious you can't support the points you're making is a great way to get yourself called the t-word by some of the more aggressive members on the board. Not that I would ever do such a thing.

I have supported my argument for 7 pages now, that's enough. On this board it's clear that if one doesn't think Skyrim to be the second coming of Christ then they are a troll.

I'm not saying that Skyrim is perfect. I love it, but it isn't perfect.

That being said, when you are basing your "argument" around pure objectivity as well as factually incorrect statements, you shouldn't be surprised when people make that assumption.

I, as well as many others, would have been alright with your criticism had it been valid. Unfortunately for you, it wasn't. Better luck next time.

Whatever buddy, Skyrim is PERFECT!

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Couldn't sort you stuff in Oblivion either.

Filthy Console Gaming Pleb Detected. I know I sorted the shit out of my inventory in Oblivion.

Nice Try, playing Skyrim on PC. Played Oblivion without Mods on PC as well. Can't sort in the inventory without mods.

And try to be more intelligent when dealing with people. Randomly calling people console plebs with have you looking like quite the troll.

 

[Epona]

Couldn't sort you stuff in Oblivion either.

Filthy Console Gaming Pleb Detected. I know I sorted the shit out of my inventory in Oblivion.

Nice Try, playing Skyrim on PC. Played Oblivion without Mods on PC as well. Can't sort in the inventory without mods.

And try to be more intelligent when dealing with people. Randomly calling people console plebs with have you looking like quite the troll.

Yes, you can sort the inventory in Oblivion without mods. You can sort by Weight, Value, Offense/Defense and health.

 

[Saviordd1]

I can't think of a single way that Oblivion is better. Honestly.

The hilarious guards....Not sure if that counts though.


OT: I don't agree but I wont argue about it, these threads were inevitable. The same happened with people saying morrowind was the second coming compared to skyrim.

 

[DRes82]

- No athletics or acrobatics. Really, I want to run faster and jump further as I progress in the game.

Yeah, true...because jumping up and down and running around was such an awesome way to level.

- The character creator is worse than the one in Oblivion (which was pretty bad too)

Whhhaaaaa...? Which Oblivion are we talking about here? The Elderscrolls IV right? You must be high. The character options in Oblivion were horrendous, and the NPC's all looked weird and lumpy. The character creator in Skyrim actually allows you to create a realistic looking protagonist if you take your time.

- The UI is ugly compared to the one in Oblivion. It looks like it just has a white/gray frame.

The UI was designed for simplicity and aesthetics. I'm pretty pleased with it, needs a few tweaks on PC but I'm sure it functions well on console. Even so, it looks great and is pretty intuitive. The old parchment look of Oblivion's UI wouldn't fit with the caliber of Skyrim's art design, I think.

- The UI was designed for looks (that's a failed attempt) rather than functionality. You can't sort your inventory, you can't view your character when equipping stuff.

Maybe there was a mod or something that I didn't use, but I'm pretty sure that Oblivion's inventory UI had the same functionality as Skyrim's. With several improvements made in Skyrim, actually. I think the minimalistic inventory UI in Skyrim is easy to use and good looking. It does need a few tweaks on the PC, though.

- Oblivion performs better at it's worst than Skyrim does at it's worst, both compared on the PS3.

I don't have it for PS3. This game should be played on a PC, anyways. TES was always meant for PC, but yeah of course its not going to perform as well as Oblivion because Oblivion's graphics are generations old. Even older than FO3. Why the hell would you expect a newer game to run as well as a game that's 5 years old on the same platform?


I honestly can't think of any aspect of Oblivion that hasn't been improved on in Skyrim. My only suggestion to you would be to stop playing it on PS3 and try it on PC.

 

[Music Mole]

To anyone bitching about character creation, you can manipulate every feature, But it comes with presets for people to use.

 

[DRes82]

...is a great way to get yourself called the t-word by some of the more aggressive members on the board.

I thought that was evident from the title of the thread.

 

[Virmire]

I've played all of an hour of Oblivion, but the map is the only deprovement I can think off. Skyrim's is pretty, it's difficult to debate otherwise, but I find the fact that you can alter the angle, the 3D element to it, and the moving clouds overhead make it difficult to see where your going some times.

I've seen complaints about things like shield bumping being overpowered, or that X setup makes the game to easy, etc. Then by all means, DON'T USE IT THEN. If people are seriously complaining that an OPTION is not to their liking, then they should stop complaining, and just don't pick that freaking option!

Frankly, I think Skyrim is superior in every way save for the above, which is just a matter of preference. Adaptability, better graphics, dragons, I prefer the user interface very neat, duel wielding, dragons, improved 3rd person view, better scenery, a rather interesting sub-plot of rebellion (though I've barely played Oblivion, so that may be present as well), dragons, cooler skills menu, dragons.

Did I mention dragons? If not, dragons.

I don't want to debate the fact, but why do you believe the character creator worse?