http://wiredblogs.tripod.com/games/i...try_id=1422030

Incidentally...this guy's getting slammed all over the comment section of his blog for this review, and probably rightfully so..he does come across as a whiny little nitpicker...to me.

It is mentioned that the game doesn't escape from "load area" halts...but we all knew in our hearts of hearts that that would be so. Draw distance is also limited...which we all knew would be the case, whether we wanted to admit it or not...

So, does the review change my attitude toward purchasing the game? No. Does it tell me that some of the things that made Morrowind so intensely frustrating on my last computer might surface again? Probably.

Interesting point that he makes about the horse, though...riding it does make the game have to load areas more often...

I've experienced the extreme end of this effect in Morrowind when I made that levitate potion (6100 points of levitate makes you fly REALLY fast!)....the game had to load a new area about every two or three seconds, while I was flying, but, since the game's installed on a RAID array, I have a FAST hard disk access time...

I think hard disk access speed might actually have some significant bearing on this game...which would REALLY explain the review, given it was played on an X-Box 360.

That's my take on it all.

Well the faster loading times are due to the relatively small cells. Obviiously each cell is indeed large, but when you superman yourself to fly across the world you will get loading times. I forget what the exact number is, but I think you can go somewhere between 1 or 2 cells before getting the loading screen again.

And frankly, I don't care about the game cuts. They had valid reasons IMO.

-Spears I can live without.
-Levitation (although its always been here) certainly will no longer pose problems for modders.
-Crossbows/throwing weapons I don't care about
-Reduced/combined skills only makes things easier
-Enchanting being guild specific... I really never used enchanting anyway.

I've been looking forward to this game for more than a year now and no stinkin preview is gonna put me off. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

This one is much better.

[ 03-02-2006, 12:18 AM: Message edited by: Kakero ]

This Idiot is using the X-Box first release
witch is what the trial verison was sent out
on because, the 360 verison has not had even a
test verison released yet. Besides the fact
this fool has never played an elderscrolls game.
He even admits that he's a Newb to the Elder Scrolls
and knows nothing about american RPG games except
that all you do is kill hundreds of rats for the first hr.
What a Big s--T head. he need to go back to packman
except that he would complain because the dots keep
Dissapearing.

[ 03-02-2006, 12:41 AM: Message edited by: TheCrimsomBlade ]

Pretty much my feelings on his "preview," TCB...

Kakero's posted preview says a lot more about the game, though I do wonder negatives we'll encounter while playing the actual game...

And what's this faction-based enchanting???

AS the game spy guys wrote Oblivion is morrowind
Pluss. Not just another RPG but a living RPG and
if you you didn't like Morrowind you won't like
Oblivion. But then if you liked Morrowind then
your going to really love Oblivion.
If the idiot in the first review wants to ride
horses as fast as he can and thats your main reason
for playing Oblivion then the dummy is playing
the wrong game. He need to go by the cartoon game
where the little kid grows up and rides horses
and swings from vines.

Can somebody please explain "Draw Distance" and what it does for game play (or detracts from)?

Well, he may be inexperienced, but I sincerely hope that my gaming experience isn't as he described it.

Albromor: Draw distance is extremely important for game play - it is basically the distance from your character that the game starts to display objects in the gaming world.

If you have the original Morrowind you can drop the draw distance on that and watch everything pop-up when you get close to it.

A low draw distance is a horrible thing in a game - fine details suddenly appear when you get very close, whole buildings appear to materialise out of thin-air and ranged enemies attack with impugnity from outside your range of site.

Draw distance is how far you can see, specifically how far the game renders the environment before the fog inherent to all games covers the unseen, so as to keep from having to scale infinitesimally all the objects in the game.

To be honest, though...it's a somewhat realistic thing, though highly exaggerated in games. The clearest parts of the atmosphere in the world don't allow a person to see things more than 80 miles away...on flat ground, where the distant objects are tall enough for the earth's curvature to not conceal them...in the Ohio River Valley, home for me, on humid days, hills 1 mile away appear hazy and it's difficult to make out details...

Okay, I now remember how this worked in Morrowind and though I didn't find it too disconcerting, there still was considerable sudden pop-up details especially as one traveled on foot.

Any indication that the Draw Distance of Oblivion will be improved?