Oblivion

[Frodo Baggins]

First, do I have what it takes to run Oblivion?

Athlon 64 3700+
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT

Second, how much time does this game suck out of your life. Really?

[maxio098ui]

yes and alot;)

[tenchi86]

Yes, your system will do fine.

As for the time, that all depends how much of the game you choose to play. Generally speaking though if you choose to play most of the game you are talking over 100 hours of game play and then around 20 more hours just for the Nights of the Nine expansion.

[Dan0512]

I think you should be set- be ready to run on bloom though, I'm pretty sure HDR is too much for your card.


dan

[lemings]

If you try to rush the game, using fast travel, you can get around 8 hours out of the main quest. If you choose to pace yourself and walk/ride everywhere you go then you should be set for 90+ hours before you even think about putting it back on the shelf :). Fast travel in my opinion sucks the life out of this game if you use it, so by all means, don't use it. Playing stock is not so bad, but I would recommend the enhanced weather mod if you can see it possible at all.

[IKIKUINTHENUTZ]

First, do I have what it takes to run Oblivion?
Athlon 64 3700+
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT


if you think that's bad, try having it on a old socket 478 dell p4 2.66 stock
w/ 1gb of ram and a 9800pro 128mb

I was able to run it at 20-30 frames on 800X600 res lol

[deRusett]

No problem running the game.

and it will suck all your free time, it is easy to loose track of time, just riding your horse.

[ShadowPho]

Sweet!!! I get to help Frodo for once and not the other way around!!! :D

First, do I have what it takes to run Oblivion?

Athlon 64 3700+
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT

Second, how much time does this game suck out of your life. Really?

I used to run in on a nearly identical system to yours. Presshot 3.4ghz, 2 gigs of RAM and a 6600GT. With MAJOR tweaking of Oblvion you will be able to run HDR. I was AWED by HDR, and I was willing to sacrifice my FPS falling to 10FPS in combat for it.

Now I have a 6800Ultra, and it definitely helps.


Don't expect to run anything bigger than 1024x768 if you plan on using HDR. I just love HDR in the city, and how it looks. If you don't like it however, then turn it off and crank the settings up!! HDR is normally a love it or hate it thing. I loved it, but some of my friends just hated it.

As for tweaking the settings, make sure to tweak oblivion to use the most RAM and least virtual memory. Tell oblivion to eat the most of your 2Gig RAM. I found out that it boosted my FPS and loads less. Also, defrag your HDDs. I forgot to do that for a few months, and liked it much more after I defragged all the HDDs. :D After I did that I saw my minimum FPS go from ~~10 FPS to 25FPS.

Overclocking. I don't remember if it was NFS or oblivion which hated my overclocked Video Card. If you want the most FPS, try to OC that 6600GT like its hot, and if it crashes then reset. I unvividly remember clocking the card specifically for one of those games and then resetting it for the other, but I don't remember which one.

Good Place to Begin your Tweaking (http://www.tweakguides.com/Oblivion_5.html)
Make sure to also modify your ini file.
------------------
That's an overview of hardware side. Now for the game. :santa2:
The game is really long if you do all the side quests, and really short if you just concentrate on the main quests. I would REALLY recommend doing the dark brotherhood quests. It's awesome and fun! Also, install the +5 mod for your bonuses. This way you would be able to play the game and not have to restrict yourself to one particular way of playing.
I really loved to be a mage, but there is a slight problem. If you are a mage, prepare to either constantly freeze them in place and then throw spells at them, constantly running, turning, and doing spells or just dying,
Also, get used to spamming your "jump" button while walking. Really helps your levels.

Good luck. I liked that game for quite some time (~21 hours). I will definitely play it again after I upgrade this PC tho. And after the AP exams

[Shelnutt2]

Check out OOO, Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, its a complete rebalance of the game. Basically it makes the realism factor greatly increase, as it gives all NPC/characters a specific level, instead of how previously, in stock oblivion, the characters/NPC level with you.

[ShadowPho]

Check out OOO, Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, its a complete rebalance of the game. Basically it makes the realism factor greatly increase, as it gives all NPC/characters a specific level, instead of how previously, in stock oblivion, the characters/NPC level with you.
Ditto. It gives you a feeling of "being superior" to other NPCs as you level. Where before the game made it really similar experience throughout the game, OOO really makes it feel cool. Make sure to download the full thing and not the Lite.

[CrazyIrish]

if you think that's bad, try having it on a old socket 478 dell p4 2.66 stock
w/ 1gb of ram and a 9800pro 128mb

I was able to run it at 20-30 frames on 800X600 res lol

I hear ya. I played through half the game with a very similar rig. Its part of the reason that made me upgrade to my current rig.

[edit]

And Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul is definitely the way to go. Also the interface was designed with an xbox 360 on a sd tv in mind, so try Btmod which makes the interface much better (smaller so more info fits at once). Also the Camera Chase mod will make 3rd person much more tolerable for most fps style gamers.

[Frodo Baggins]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna take your advice and NOT play the game. Starting my Ph.D. in the Fall abroad, and I already filled my summer up with work. I was looking for, you know, a game that could keep me entertained a little bit every week for a month or two. Looks like if I start this game I won't stop :(

But thanks for the advice. Guiltily, I have to say that I have NO idea what state computer hardware is in. Back in the Duron days, where everything was under 1 Ghz, I could keep track of things. Fast forward to now and I have no idea how each CPU matches up and what can be used to play what, HAH!

[Hardin]

It's not a mmorpg you can stop and save anytime you want

[TommyHolly]

Dont feel too bad you are mising out... I played Oblivion (Xbox 360) at my buddies house and I didnt like it that much. I thought it seemed too much like the "grinding" that you do in MMORPGs but without all the benefits of using all that hard work and time to kill actual people...
The graphics I felt were sub-par, especially with the "Grand Theft Auto" way of drawing landscape features you get closer. The quests and freedom were absoultely amazing I'll give it that. The constant fighting, running away, then returning and fighting some more got old really quick for me...ugh (I had enough of that in UO, Asherons Call 1, Dark Age of Camelot)

If I was able to play with those Mods that you guys spoke about, I think it would have been much more fun.

[ShadowPho]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna take your advice and NOT play the game. Starting my Ph.D. in the Fall abroad, and I already filled my summer up with work. I was looking for, you know, a game that could keep me entertained a little bit every week for a month or two. Looks like if I start this game I won't stop :(

But thanks for the advice. Guiltily, I have to say that I have NO idea what state computer hardware is in. Back in the Duron days, where everything was under 1 Ghz, I could keep track of things. Fast forward to now and I have no idea how each CPU matches up and what can be used to play what, HAH!
Good decision, I got all those AP classes and I vowed not to play games except to relive stress during those two weeks.
If you want to be able to save at any time, then try Fallout 2. That game is addictive, yet you could leave it/pick it up at any time.
Or even better - FEAR. I beat that game 4 times in a year span. I played it only a little every day, then quicksaved and did something productive. FEAR is REALLY good at relieving stress, just use bullettime and then hold fire on some soldier. :D

[deRusett]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna take your advice and NOT play the game. Starting my Ph.D. in the Fall abroad, and I already filled my summer up with work. I was looking for, you know, a game that could keep me entertained a little bit every week for a month or two. Looks like if I start this game I won't stop :(

But thanks for the advice. Guiltily, I have to say that I have NO idea what state computer hardware is in. Back in the Duron days, where everything was under 1 Ghz, I could keep track of things. Fast forward to now and I have no idea how each CPU matches up and what can be used to play what, HAH!


here Frodo,

This will help you kill some time, but not suck your summer into the monitor
http://funderoo.com/games/red-team

[MikeyD360]

Oblivion was fun till I actually finished the Dark Brotherhood quest... its the only fun part of the game... Something about being a sneaky dark assasin is just... well... cool!

The main quest is pretty tame, but if you take the time to explore everything it will last a long time.

[>HyperlogiK<]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna take your advice and NOT play the game. Starting my Ph.D. in the Fall abroad, and I already filled my summer up with work. I was looking for, you know, a game that could keep me entertained a little bit every week for a month or two. Looks like if I start this game I won't stop :(

On a scale of 1-5 how moronic do you mind it being?

I have given up on all RPGs and now only play round based games, fast strategy titles and a few shooters.

CnC 3 is silly nonsense but can be diverting for a little while.

BF2 is great, I play the odd 15min round in between doing essays, and being a good commander requires some thinking.

Defcon is limited but worthwhile, though I have always had the hots for anything relating to the cold war.