Seeking the perfect RPG...

I just built a new PC, gamer quality, and now I'm looking for the perfect RPG for my needs, as follows:

[LIST]
[*]Must have high resolution, beautifully-rendered graphics. I have two GPUs, and a highly-developed sense of aesthetics.

[*]I would prefer a less violent game. Ideally, there would be more exploring, collecting items, and puzzle-solving, and less hack 'em up.

[*]IF there is fighting involved it MUST BE TURN-BASED. I am NOT INTERESTED in a hyperactive click-em-up. I like to set a strategy and watch it play out.
[/LIST]

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. I'm so out of the video game scene, but I hope there is a graphics-intensive, highly-playable RPG out there I can get into without too much obsessive investment of my time.

Oblivion is gorgeous. Fallout 3 combat is somewhat turn-based. Both are graphics-intensive. Unfortunately, both are more violent than puzzly.

I don't know any that hit all of your points. It seems like Japanese games are more likely to be puzzle based, and they are more aimed at the consoles.

If there is a game with beautiful graphics and a rich interactive environment, I could tolerate the combat scenes (after all, how else am I supposed to rack up items?) but it MUST be TURN-BASED. I can't stress this enough. I have no interest in a stressful torture-test of manual dexterity.

I also love designing characters, making creative choices, collecting exotic items, and exploring little usesless corners of the map.

I recommend Touring with Turing... you have to equip and manage a team of IT professionals to go out and implement a new strategic plan for your company. You can also choose to play for the "dark side" as the CEO, CIO, COO, or CFO and try to prevent the IT team from accomplishing anything useful.

There's no combat per se, though you do get to choose which staff get upgrades to their computers . . . .

Fallout 3 combat is FPS-style, but you can activate VATS, which goes semi-turn-based until you run out of action points. At that point, you have to go FPS-style until your action points build up again.

It has a certain stark beauty, but there's only so much beauty that a post-apocolyptic hellhole can have.

The environment is quite interactive-to an extent. There is junk laying about that you can pick up. Some of it can be used to build weapons, the rest can be used as ammo for one of those weapons. Cars and fire extinguishers explode when shot. There is also a lot of junk laying around that can't be moved, and there's not always a clear reason for the difference.

You do get to design your character, but there are a bit too few "perks" that do something unique, rather than raise a stat or two.

Most quests can be completed in at least two or three ways.

There are plenty of exotic items. Most weapon types have at least one unique version with added abilities. There are Bobble-heads for each stat and skill and a trophy case for them in your home. You can write a book, and then find it on the occasional person.

Exploring little useless corners is what Fallout 3 is all about. The map is huge, and you can go almost everywhere whenever you want. There are fun little discoveries all over. Even if you get the perk that labels all locations on your map, there is plenty of cool stuff that isn't at one of those locations.

Flint;555961 wrote:

I'm looking for the perfect RPG for my needs,

And after reading the thread title I thought you were looking for one of these...

Happy Monkey, thank you for your input on this.

What can you tell me about the gameplay in Oblivion? I Google image searched (The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion) and the graphics do look beautiful.

It's realtime combat, for one.

The world is bigger, with much more varied and much prettier terrain than Fallout, but the random scattered dungeons are IMHO a bit more samey after the first few than the Fallout ones. The backstory is excellent- Bethesda Softworks has been building the Elder Scrolls history for well over a decade- and there are many books of history and other bits of exposition scattered around. Some of the quests are a bit disappointing, but if you play it be sure to join the Dark Brotherhood.

Character creation entails picking a starsign (special ability) and some skills that will be used to determine your character's level. After that point, all skills are raised by use. So if you want to be good at alchemy, pick all the flowers you can, and mix them together to make potions. Picking flowers, and things like that, is just about all of the environment interaction there is, and it doesn't even affect the flower's appearance. You can knock books, dishes, etc., off of shelves, but it seldom affects anything.

It is an excellent game, though, and I played it for months, exploring every cranny.

I've been reading Oblivion reviews. I've read the controls feel designed for the console version. Are you playing on a PC? What do you use, i.e. mouse, keyboard, to control most of what you do?

Graphics were the initial reason I wanted to get a new game, and the visuals in this game seem really impressive. I also like the fact that you can wander around and do side quests seemingly forever.

I might be able to deal with the real time combat if the controls are ergonomic enough. Also, apparently, I could just sneak up on people etc. or various other tactics. And the skill-building is based on what you use, not set point advancements.

Hmmm... I might consider this one on graphics alone. Again, my whole reason in the first place.

Mouse and keyboard are better controls for any first person game. The complaints about a console feel are for the gigantic icons limiting how much of your inventory you can see, the lack of hotkeys where they might be useful, and stuff like that. The primary control is still good for mouse/keyboard.

Also, user-created addons (only available for the PC) can fix some of those issues.

Mr. Clod has been playing the newest Final Fantasy RPG (through Steam.) He's enjoying it quite a bit.

World of Goo



Please check it out. If you find this one appealing, I might have other suggestions for you. If not, I won't waste any more of your time.

Pong?

I've ordered Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition from newegg. Thanks for the tip, Happy Monkey.

It won on visuals and open-endedness. I plan to start with an Assassin Wood Elf with the birthsign of the Thief.

You're a dork.

jinx;556882 wrote:

You're a dork.

Yeah, you're a hippy.

Very cool. I may be going back to Oblivion when I'm done with Fallout. I've got the expansion packs unopened by my computer.

My agenda is: exploring the many sqaure miles of gorgeous forest, picking ingredients for potions, some of which I can sell for gold, some of which I can make custom poisons for my arrows, which I will pick people off with while I'm lockpicking and sneaking around in the shadows of dungeons. I want to develop my speed, agility, and acrobatics so that if caught in a melee I can do stuff like backflip/fire arrow, backfilp/fire arrow.

One hint for potion making - try and use light ingredients (weightwise). The weight of a new potion is based on the weight of the ingredients used the first time that potion is made. So if you have two ingredients with the same property, use the lighter one first.

And when your alchemy skill improves, the next potions you make will be the first ones with that new strength. So once your alchemy skill is maxed out, be sure to use light ingredients or you'll be stuck with heavy potions for the rest of the game.

jinx;556882 wrote:

You're a dork.

Because he like RPGs or because he picked the wrong one?

Happy Monkey;556005 wrote:

Some of the quests are a bit disappointing, but if you play it be sure to join the Dark Brotherhood.

Yes, I want that shrouded armor. Super lightweight and gives me a bonus in most of my main skills.

I'm playing basically a stock assassin, but I replaced intelligence with agility (because intelligence doesn't actually make better potions/poisons). I am getting wealthy from alchemy. I have the grass fade slider turned all the way down to reveal plant objects.

I have started using the Jaufree's chest at Weynon Priory as a "safe container" (the cell never resets). This is the only time I fast travel--when I'm getting over-encumbered with loot, I drop it off, and later I pop back in and out to sell it.

good thing you don't play fantasy football......people would think you're a dork.

I highly recommend Fallout 3, also, though Oblivion is ever so nice.

I got my shrouded armor, plus I found a constant effect chameleon ring. I'm semi-invisible--I look just like Predator did in the movie.

I was sneak/running through the forest and ran right up on a wolf. I was right in front of him, about 10 feet away, and he just sat there.

I just decided about 10 minutes ago that I'm heading into town to buy Oblivion, and I come in and find there's a whole thread dedicated to finding it. This could've saved me $20 and a week of useless RPG hunting.

Stupid New Post option filtering in stupid non-read political stupid posts in the stupid order so I miss good posts. Grr.

Flint;561438 wrote:

I was sneak/running through the forest and ran right up on a wolf. I was right in front of him, about 10 feet away, and he just sat there.

That was the funniest thing I've heard all night.

But seriously, I love Oblivion. I just started playing again.
First time I played I made a mage orc. Funniest shit ever.
Don't forget to fight in the Arena!

BigV;556040 wrote:

World of Goo

I will get that for the kids to play on their Wii - looks awesome. I might even give it a go. Post more links to that kind of stuff - I'm out of the loop on this topic.

Beestie;561569 wrote:

I will get that for the kids to play on their Wii - looks awesome. I might even give it a go. Post more links to that kind of stuff - I'm out of the loop on this topic.

Will do. I love this kind of game. I got it for the Wii, and SonofV and I played it a lot. It is *playable* for one player, and you can have fun, but some things are only possible with the cooperation of two players.

NUMBER ONE TIP (I wish I had known from the beginning of the game):

DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR ARMORER SKILL. Why? Because you cannot repair magical items without Journeyman (50+) Armorer skill.

This is what happened to me: all along I’ve been dropping damaged items when I found ones in better condition. When I was in town I would pay to have all my items repaired. My Armorer skill was getting zero development.

Then…I got the Shrouded Armor by joining the Dark Brotherhood. And it was so cool--until I realized I can’t repair it myself (I.e. in the field). So…I could be in the middle of a dungeon with 0% armor and not be able to do anything about it except, what? Carry a spare set of armor? Jeez.

Now, I'm having to develop Armorer--fast. Instead of sneaking around picking people off with arrows, I run up to them and get in close range combat. I have to make sure that both of us take a few hits before I win the fight. Then I pick up all their items, and repair EVERYTHING (their items as well as my own). What a hassle.

[SIZE="1"]Well, at least my Blade, Light Armor, Block etc. skills are improving. I am learning the combat system much better, which will surely come in handy some day.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="1"]P.S.

People can hit you with some pretty messed-up stuff when you get in close. This one guy hit me with a hammer that had Burden and Drain Strength, which caused the inventory I was carrying to over-encumber me--I couldn’t move! [COLOR="White"]. . . [/COLOR]I’ll be so happy when I can go back to being a proper assassin.[/SIZE]

Good to know flint...about the armor thingy, just moments ago (before the @#$@#$ing game crashed for the 80th time) I decided to ignore that skill. Now I won't :D

Razzmatazz13;562722 wrote:

(before the @#$@#$ing game crashed for the 80th time)

If you don't have a high performance rig, click escape, go into options, video and start ratcheting down on what all is being rendered (for instance, the grass distance fader, turn it all the way down to zero and your computer won't have to render all that "ground clutter" waving in the breeze everywhere). Funny thing is, this game came out a couple of years ago, but it's still crashing mid-range systems with it's intricate visuals!

P.S. another benefit to losing all that grass is you can see things on the ground easier (alchemy ingredients, etc.)

Eh, it's not my computer, it's because I'm on the Kvatch quest...other NPCs make it do bad things. I had to go all the way to 640x480 res to complete the one farmboy quest. Nyerrr.

Edit: I'm glad you're playing this game so much better than me, it makes life easier :D

Edit Edit: It also keeps making my arrows dissapear mid-fight, I'm trying to find info on it online. Seems to be a glitch

I study things: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Oblivion [COLOR="White"]. . . [/COLOR] gotta love the internet

Is it possible you have the fader for rendering yourself turned down farther than you can shoot an arrow?
If not that, there are tons of recommended patches and bug fixes on the Elder Scrolls wiki linked to above.

I can't believe you're even doing the main quest. I'm just exploring the countryside to see what's out there.

:D I've been browsing gameFAQs on it...to learn how to use the skills and such...but I'm also enjoying just finding stuff out by playing with it since that's the whole reason I wanted a new game anyway, the last few RPGs I've played have been more or less "DO IT ONE OF THESE 5 WAYS OR YOU CAN'T COMPLETE THE GAME CAUSE YOUR SKILLZ ARE TOOO SUCKIFIED" you can't just figure that crap out on your own, unless you want to make 8000 characters

I bought the Game of the Year Edition (with the expansion packs) I'm installing those now since on the oblivion website it's too confusing to figure out which of them will break your game if they are/aren't installed for this edition

I'm hoping later patches are bundled into these expansions, but you never know

I'm running the Game of the Year edition with no patches and having no problems. I've only loaded disc one.

The community has created many, many "unofficial" patches and mods. But I see no reason to get into that...

How far are you along the main storyline?

Razzmatazz13;562736 wrote:

How far are you along the main storyline?

I took the amulet to Jaufree, and he let me get the free stuff in his chest and the free horse. I took all the stuff from the chest sold it; now I'm using the chest as "safe" container (it never resets). That's it. Occasionally he starts nagging me about going to look for Martin.

I read if you don't do the Kvatch quest very near the beginning, you better wait until you are very powerful. The reason is that the NPCs don't level, but the enemies do. [COLOR="White"]. . . [/COLOR] So once I get invincible I'll go do the Kvatch thing (sorry about that, NPCs, you're not gonna make it).

Hee...yes I read that last night, and don't worry, I've killed all but the invincible NPC already.

Also, I missed out on a free horse twice now, which is a bummer.

Just go back to the Weynon Priory and talk to people until the guy offers you the horse. If you want a horse.

I don't use mine.

I run everywhere.

"Frequent Crashing possibly due to connected HP printer
A program related to HP printers may cause Oblivion to crash. Before running Oblivion: Press Ctr-Alt-Del to bring up the task manager. Go to the Processes Tab. Right click on any process starting with the letters HP and select End. Running Oblivion at this point may have this issue corrected. Note: The PC will need to be restarted to reinitialize printing or imaging."

Mebbe this is why, Oblivion doesn't like HP printers.

I have a question.

does this game charge you a fee to play on their servers each month?

Sorry I'm late to this thread. Try this site for pointers.

No lj, I got it for $20 (1 game + 2 expansion packs) at best buy, no monthly fee...just a regular game

classicman;555990 wrote:

And after reading the thread title I thought you were looking for one of these...

Yah, that's what I was thinking too. How many types are available nowdays.

Does a LAW count in the same catagory?

lumberjim;562763 wrote:

I have a question.

does this game charge you a fee to play on their servers each month?

There are no servers. It runs on your computer. It's not one of those games where you're walking along minding your own business and suddenly you get killed by a flying, invisible 10-year-old with the ultimate cheat code. All the people you interact with in this game are animated characters with artificial intelligence. They're not as predictable as video game characters used to be, though. They actually react and make decisions.

Beestie;561569 wrote:

I will get that for the kids to play on their Wii - looks awesome. I might even give it a go. Post more links to that kind of stuff - I'm out of the loop on this topic.

You might like N+... available for various platforms (but not the Wii I don't think).

I almost got killed collecting six sets of bear fangs for this farmer who promised me a reward. And what he gave me was ... a book. WTF. It was an enchanted book, though. It gave me a bonus in Heavy Armor. Uh...I wear light armor. This is a useless reward.

So I broke back in to his house, to rob him of anything valuable. As the reward I deserved. He caught me trying to pickpocket him, and started yelling for guards. So I killed him. Nobody came and nobody saw what happened, so...that's that. No negative consequences.

I feel kind of empowered by that. I'm a stealthy character. I wonder what else I can get away with.

I think I will do a few contract hits for the Dark Brotherhood and see how that goes.

This will earn me infamy, but so what? I don't really care if NPCs "like" me.

Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.

Let's face it. My main skills are Sneak, Marksman (sniper), Alchemy (making poisons), and Security (lockpicking). I'm not the "hero" type.

On the other hand, I always give coins to beggars. And this has, as far as I know, no direct benefits in the game.

On the other hand, I did kill a homeless guy in order to be initiated in the Dark Brotherhood...

SteveDallas;562980 wrote:

You might like N+... available for various platforms (but not the Wii I don't think).

Got it.

Love it.

Flint;563543 wrote:

On the other hand, I did kill a homeless guy ...

the PC term is 'Hobo'

Is there a way to get World of Goo on a Wii DVD? Seems like the only way to get it is to download it directly onto the Wii. I'll buy stuff that I download onto my PC because I can burn a hardcopy as a backup. Is there a way to make a disc copy of a version downloaded to the Wii?

Flint;563540 wrote:

I think I will do a few contract hits for the Dark Brotherhood and see how that goes.

Like I said, best quests in the game. And one of the best rewards.

I'm doing all the Daedric quests first.

Pretty good rewards there, too. (35% chameleon ring, unbreakable lockpick, katana w/ 22pts fire damage, Oghma Infinium)

You're a dork Honey.... and that's why I love you...

So can we buy Munchkin now and have game night?

I have a bookcase at home dedicated to PC RPGs (Well over 200 fantasy games, most rpg, some rts, some action rpg) I've been playing them since I was 5 (24 now) so feel free to ask me if you're looking for a specific kind of game. I wouldn't label myself a purist by any means, i just prefer the fantasy style over anything else.

The first thing that comes to mind looking at your initial requirements is The Last Remnant. Really the only time you're going to find a true turn based rpg is with a squaresoft(square enix) title. You can find turn based rpg themed rts games (Ala fantasy wars, elven legacy, heroes of might and magic, kings bounty etc.) but nothing in the 1st or 3rd person mode. Last Remnant is gorgeous and has a real fun play style.

My game won't runnnnn

It started crashing more and more recently, now it won't even start playing before it crashes. and the patch that might fix it won't install it says my old files don't match so I suck.

areghhhh

killing orcs is very therapudic! I NEED MASS GENOCIDE OF ORCS, IT CENTERS MEEEEE.

I defragmented my hard drive (like it says is a good idea on the patch tip faq thingy) and it ran this morning...till it crashed

Sorry to hear about that Razz.

I haven't had any trouble running at ultra-high video settings, HDR at 1024x768 on two 8600gt vid cards in SLI bridged mode, but as soon as I switch to 1680x1050 (I borrowed a widescreen monitor from work) it goes haywire. And this isn't even while trying to render an a fight sequence etc. it's at the main menu screen. When I turn off SLI mode, it runs at 1680x1050, but very choppy, laggy, and jaggy. I tried switching to bloom, disabling v-sync etc. but no luck. When I enable SLI mode and run 1024x768 (stretched across my widescreen monitor) it runs just fine! . . . ƒucker

Happy Monkey;556005 wrote:

...if you play it be sure to join the Dark Brotherhood.

For a Dark Brotherhood contract, I just killed the retired commander of the Imperial Legion, who lives at the barracks of the city watch.

The place was crawling with guards. I created a save point and tried a few different tactics--sneaking in and waiting for him to go to bed (surrounded by a dozen other sleeping guards); killing a guard, hiding the body and putting on his city watch armor (doesn't work like it did in Star Wars btw) ... no matter what I did, I was jumped by a swarm of angry guards, and more swarming in the door, and more when I ran outside, and they chased me halway across the country before I got away and had my theives guild contact pay off my bounties.

This morning I thought of a better solution: I equipped 20% chameleon armor, a 20% chameleon ring, a 35% chameleon ring, and a Master-level 33% chameleon potion. That's 108% chameleon--total invisibility that doesn't stop working when you interact with something. I just walked in and killed him, looted the corpse, and walked out the door.

It sounds like cheating, I guess, but everything I did was made possible by my initial decision to build a very sneaky character.

Dungeoncrawl, Stone Soup is the best turn based rpg i've ever played. no plot, no graphics, just highly detailed combat. thats what i want in a turn based game; less filler, more goodies.

download a version with "tiles" in the name if you're not comfortable with completely text only mode. watch other people play, compare scores and strats, and survey class/race statistics at http://crawl.akrasiac.org/

btw, there's no reverting to saved games; you can save and pick up from there later, but there is no going back in time. think hardcore diablo II.

Too newfangled for me. I'm still stuck on the original nethack, which I have never won in 22 years of gameplay.

I'm just not very good at the game.

For my D&D 4e group (see: What is it? thread) I just built a Ranger Class Elf based on my concept of this Oblivion character. It turns out this is one of the most devastating character builds in 4e D&D.

I can do two ranged attacks in a single round with a -2 penalty to attack rolls, but I get 2 points bonus by gaining combat advantage if I have partial concealment. If no concealment is available, I can conjur up a concealing mist to hide and fire arrows from behind.

I can give stealth bonuses to my whole party (Ambush Specialist) and gain +4 initiative bonus to myself with one at-will power.

I have a "Disruptive Attack" which is triggered by another characters actions--I can attack enemies when it isn't even my turn!

As an Elf, I have better eyesight, bow speciality, and can re-roll bad attack rolls (Elven Accuracy).

I have very high wisdom which gives me incredible Perception (passive perception is over 20); and during short rests I can "track" creatures who have been through a 10 by 10 square area.

Any D&D players in the house?

i only play mmo's at this point. you know why they're popular? because they're better. rift is so so; not a wow killer.

if you're unwilling to get pwned by a grue, i only hear good things about minecraft.

on a sidenote, anyone who hasn't played portal is just not trying. why do good games have to be new?

Undertoad;569817 wrote:

Too newfangled for me. I'm still stuck on the original nethack, which I have never won in 22 years of gameplay.

I'm just not very good at the game.

8ish years of dungeoncrawl and i've never beaten it. thought on 3 or 4 occasions i've had the runes and a solid enough char but died clearing hell or a vault.

ps thank god this thread was reborn
pps i did not realize i've been lurking here for this long; a few more videos of people killing themselves and i'm sure i'll fix that with a banning.

Flint;719035 wrote:

Any D&D players in the house?

Yep. I began playing with AD&D 1st Edition a long time ago.

Haven't played for quite some time now.

Hey Flint--

I've played, though I'm not playing at the moment. I'd *love* to play again sometime, but I don't have a local play group. I believe I could have, given the friends I've gained recently. They're steampunk/anime/scientist friendly, and that is a very favorable combination. I have my first edition (actually, before there were "editions") materials and character sheets here. Not to mention that little purple bag.

I'd love to play with you sometime, so to speak (heh).

@ sullage: hey have you triedout Mortal Online? It's had a rocky as fuck start (unsurprising it's a relatively tiny dev team and they've managed to retain creative control) but is looking really interesting. I haven't played for a couple of minths, but am going to return over the summer. It's much more a sandbox than the recent flurry of WoW-style rollercoaster rides.

Flint;719035 wrote:

For my D&D 4e group (see: What is it? thread) I just built a Ranger Class Elf based on my concept of this Oblivion character. It turns out this is one of the most devastating character builds in 4e D&D.

I can do two ranged attacks in a single round with a -2 penalty to attack rolls, but I get 2 points bonus by gaining combat advantage if I have partial concealment. If no concealment is available, I can conjur up a concealing mist to hide and fire arrows from behind.

I can give stealth bonuses to my whole party (Ambush Specialist) and gain +4 initiative bonus to myself with one at-will power.

I have a "Disruptive Attack" which is triggered by another characters actions--I can attack enemies when it isn't even my turn!

As an Elf, I have better eyesight, bow speciality, and can re-roll bad attack rolls (Elven Accuracy).

I have very high wisdom which gives me incredible Perception (passive perception is over 20); and during short rests I can "track" creatures who have been through a 10 by 10 square area.

Any D&D players in the house?

I personally didn't like 4e. I went 3.5 and pathfinder and I am currently runny an amalgamation of the two. It is an unusably campaign to say the least, for one most of it takes place on a space ship.

I'm building a "comic book" team in 4e. No Arcane, no Divine.

A Shardmind Psion, a Changeling Assassin, a Minotaur Barbarian, a Dragonborn Warlord, and myself, the Elf Hunter. It's very well-balanced and we have above 10 in every skill. If I rough draft some conceptual artwork of the party, I'll post it here.

Sounds like fun,however, if your going superhero have you thought of the champions system http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champions_%28role-playing_game%29.

My big issue is with how they deal with skills and feat in 4e.

Yes, I'm aware there is a "my favorite version verus 4e" thing but basically this is the version I play because this is the version that the group I got invited to has the rule books for, and I really can't say I have any problem with it. Every system has a design philosophy, and every one will have differences that set them apart. It isn't a "good" versus "bad" thing--just a "different" thing.

I've heard that 4e isn't customizable enough, whereas I have seen voluminous examples that it is exponentially MORE customizable. I've heard that it is too restricted in what you are "allowed" to do with your character design. Well, we'd all like to build an undefeatable God character, but there has to be balance in the system, doesn't there? There are trade-offs. Just like in real life, you have to make design decisions which will have consequences.

I've heard that the system of rules don't allow you to use your imagination. Well, as I figure it, imagination comes from within. If you need a rulebook to "allow" your imagination, then you don't have one. Terry Bozzio tells a great story at his drum clinics about a musician that is commisioned to write a song for the King, but the King has this really restrictive set of rules about what kind of notes he can use and so forth. The moral of the story is that working WITHIN a set of rules is what ALLOWS you to let your imagination do its best work. I'm sure I haven't made the point effectively, but I assure you I have seen and experienced this in action in various aspects of my life, and have no reason to believe that a gaming system would be any different. Aside from the fact that large groups of people just don't like change of any kind and will criticize whatever is new.

playing oblivion on xbox....

seems strange that I can go into the guild hall of the mages ( im in that guild and the fighters guild somehow) and pick stuff up, then go two rooms over and sell it to the guy there. then i can spend that gold to buy spells in the next room.

I have found the RPG I was looking for. Turn-based, grid-based, level-up with experience, find cool gear.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

Perfect!

A Nintendo GameCube title I am now playing on my Wii console.

Flint;556830 wrote:

I've ordered Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Game of the Year Edition from newegg. Thanks for the tip, Happy Monkey.

lumberjim;562719 wrote:

[snip] More like this...



[snip] More like that...

jimhelm;729130 wrote:

playing oblivion on xbox....

seems strange that I can go into the guild hall of the mages ( im in that guild and the fighters guild somehow) and pick stuff up, then go two rooms over and sell it to the guy there. then i can spend that gold to buy spells in the next room.

So, Jim. It took you two years to get in touch with your RPG side?

I like RPG type games, but don't get into the massive multiplayer online thingies. I can waste more than enough time all by myself.

Lately I've focused on Epic Mickey (or is that considered a platformer?).

My phone has opened a whole new world of stupid resource management games to me.

My second favorite is one where I'm trying to build a drug dealing empire. It's called BT (Big time) Gangsta. In order to earn in-game money, I met my first favorite, Contract Killer, in which I get to shoot people in the head. Both of these are way better than Bug Village, which is very cute, but I have to pay too much attention to it. The damn bugs want tending multiple times a day. My Homeys are cool with me checking in once or twice a day.

So right now I'm downloading Oblivion again. I haven't played in years, should be fun to revisit.

What I've been doing for the last month or so is playing Elder Scrolls III, Morrowind-- arguably the best game in the series for immersion and storytelling. And with a few mods*, totally playable by modern standards.

I tried to get into Daggerfall (part II), but it's a tough sell. The music/atmosphere and retro graphics are charming, and the size/scope of the world is impressive (albeit procedurally generated), and the level of actual ROLE PLAYING is supposed to be higher than any subsequent title, but an even worse version of Morrowind's "dice-roll" attacks make it a chore to play, even with the Unity Engine's addition of WASD movement. Oh, and you can CLIMB.

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="Gray"]*Morrowind Graphics Extender, Code Patch, Optimization Patch, Patch for Purists, Animation Compilation, Enhanced Overhaul, Better Heads/Bodies/Clothes/Armor/Dialogue Font, Remiros Groundcover, Darknut's Creatures and Weapons re-textures, Glow in the Dahrk, Enlightened Flames, Idle Talk, Improved Inns, RUN FASTER, Visible Persuasion Chance, Apel's Rain Replacer, Encumbrance Increaser, More Barter Gold, Accurate Attack, Skyrim UI, .... . . . [/COLOR][/SIZE]

I beat Daggerfall, despite the bugs. Impressive game, but they definitely bit off more than they could chew.

I know someone who worked on it; the development process sounded insane.

if you turn the 'tree distance' slider in Oblivion down to zero, the trees and bushes act just like sprites in Daggerfall-- 'carboard cutouts' that pivot to face towards your pov

I recently started Wasteland 3, a callback to the old Fallout 1 and 2 games.

I started Oblivion last night with Alternative Start Arrive by Ship-- your game begins in the quarters of a traveling ship, on the desk are your immigration papers. The immigration papers initiate your character creation-- race, class, appearance, AND a 'background' which grants you some possessions. You have an option of where the ship will take you. While waiting, you sleep in the bed, and have a dream about the Emperor which gently nudges you towards the main quest.

It avoids the confusion of you being a prophesied "chosen one" when the protagonist and "chosen one" of the game is actually Martin Septim.

It feels pretty good to step off that boat and begin your new life with a back story that doesn't involve you being in jail for whatever reason.

I love the moddability of Bethesda games. Hope it continues after the Microsoft purchase.

What has distinguished Bethesda to this point has been Bethesda the publishing entity being formed by a group of Morrowind-era Bethesda developers. I'd like to think that their consistent ability to produce lightning-in-a-bottle has earned them the right to be free of editorial oversight.

Like Neil Peart said, after Rush made 2112 as a sprawling sci-fi epic, against the advice of literally everyone, and their fans loved it-- that experience was a "skeleton key" which opened a door they could enter, and close behind them. From that point, every work they produced was handed to the record company as a FINISHED set of master tapes. Masters of their own destiny.