Oblivion codex update

[Vault Dweller]

Porn and idiotism, the Codex is at it again. I am reading this at work, it would be nice if you could keep the pictures out. Keep it to links, if you HAVE to be infantile.

Done.

 

[Calis]

I could do without the porn as well, too, also. I spend 95% of my work time browsing these threads, and while my font is small enough that no one will notice the trash you vulgar shit-bag motherfuckers type, I doubt anyone will miss a chick with a dick.

Was just about to edit them out, but I see VD already did it. Work-safe, people, work-safe. If you want to screw someone over with disgusting porn, have the decency to hide it in a mislabeled link.

 

[Twinfalls]

Oh come on, VD - the streaker on the golf course was hardly porn.....

 

[Lumpy]

As to traps- come on, the way it worked in MW was lame.

Right. So they should be removed, not improved. Have Bethesda hired you recently, Ghan?

This is something that should be moved to the players skill

No. This is not just a 'traps have been moved to player skill'. This is traps being removed. What's there now may be all fun and cool, but why remove small traps on chests, doors, etc, and disarming them as a stealth skill?

Well you did say keep it to links...

Twinfalls, these new traps are interesting. There was no way to improve Morrowind's. Or, if there was, tell me.
But Morrowind's traps were nice too. I don't see why they had to remove them to add these new ones. They could have had both.
I find it funny that people whished for things like:
"I want to set my own magical traps?"
"I want all nine divines to be different factions, not just one."
"I want to be able to place multiple marks."
"I want better levitation animations."

 

[Micmu]

There were plenty ways to improve Morrowinds.
Like it's done in other CRPGs (including setting traps... now that's fun).
Do not advertise it. Let your (proper) skill determine at which level you can detect it.
Also make them deadlier. No traps on doors/chests is pretty dumb(ing down) idea.

I don't see much fun for me (more than it's fun in Prince of Persia) seeing a couple of dead skeletons then looking around and avoiding a rolling ball.
If it kills you... Well... You reload and there you go... You can avoid it. Deadly traps you have to disarm by character skill, on the other hand, cannot be surpassed so easily.

 

[Lumpy]

There were plenty ways to improve Morrowinds.
Like it's done in other CRPGs (including setting traps... now that's fun).
Do not advertise it. Let your (proper) skill determine at which level you can detect it.
Also make them deadlier. No traps on doors/chests is pretty dumb(ing down) idea.

I don't see much fun for me (more than it's fun in Prince of Persia) seeing a couple of dead skeletons then looking around and avoiding a rolling ball.
If it kills you... Well... You reload and there you go... You can avoid it. Deadly traps you have to disarm by character skill, on the other hand, cannot be surpassed so easily.

Good point.
It's nice to have, but there was no reason to remove the old ones.
They could have made a place trap spell. You cast that spell on something, and then the next spell you cast on that object would be turned into a trap. Would have been great for magical assasins.

 

[TheGreatGodPan]

Going off on a tangent, I don't think Solomon's Song or any of Paul's letters belong in the Bible. They could be in the apocrypha, but I don't think they're quite up to the Good Book snuff.

 

[Fresh]

CMON GUYS STOP IT WITH THE PRON AND IDIOTISM MMKAY?! Ghan is being embarrased when reading the forum at work. Also his mother might walk in and then he'd be in real trouble.

If only we could all be as grown up, cool, mature, and "Look at me, I don't live at home anymore!" as you, hyperBOY

:D Are you trying to make a point about my codex-nickname?

This Exmonk-persona of yours is some kind of joke right?

 

[DarkSign]

my spikenard sendeth forth the smell

I thought only my spikenard did that. :shock:

 

[HardCode]

Okay, after seeing the whole overview of the Oblivion Dumbdown on the updated offical codex, I must say that I am 75% likely to NOT buy this disaster of a game anymore. If I want "hawt actshun", I'll go back to CS:S or break down and buy BF2 or some other true FPS. If I want an RPG anytime soon, I'm just plain fucked.

 

[Fintilgin]

Woah, woah, woah. Levitation is the best. All my characters take alteration so that I can levitate. It's an endlessly versitile and useful spell.

I thought it had been indirectly confirmed that it was in by the quotes saying 'you can no longer levitate over city walls'. That sorta implys you can levitate, an invisible wall just blocks you from going over the wall.

I'll be preaty miffed if it's gone, but right now I'm just hoping that's a trimmed down description and the spell is still there.

 

[Lumpy]

Okay, after seeing the whole overview of the Oblivion Dumbdown on the updated offical codex, I must say that I am 75% likely to NOT buy this disaster of a game anymore. If I want "hawt actshun", I'll go back to CS:S or break down and buy BF2 or some other true FPS. If I want an RPG anytime soon, I'm just plain fucked.

Huh? What was so bad about the codex update?
We already knew most of the stuff there.

 

[AnalogKid]

Sorry I'm a little late to the party this morning (WORK, donchaknow). But I loved the gilligan pic and the she-male legos! :D :D :D

Monk, the sooner you realize that baord handles aren't literal descriptions of people, the better you'll be equipped to stop sounding like a dumbfuck. Just because Hyperboy or myself have youthful nicks, we must be juevenile idiots! (well, actually, the fact we're at the 'codex is probably the best clue, but just because we're juevenile idiots doesn't mean we're young )

 

[Shagnak]

This is something that should be moved to the players skill -although some sensing scheme would MAYBE be nice: Just a skill dependent message: Low level security: "A trap is near". Medium level security "A spear trap is ahead". high level: "A spear trap is 50 feet to the northeast, the trigger is a tripwire". But the disarming I'd rather handle myself.

Well, you know Oblivion is not going to have some nicely worked out analog to disarming traps in "real life", so of course having the disarming character-skill based is the next best thing.
Not all traps have to be kinetic-based traps either (big thrusting spike, rolling ball) but could be quite subtle - such as a poison pin on the chest haft. If there is no trap detection/removal then this more subtle type of trap falls by the wayside.

Really, I don't see the design choice as being pro-rpg. Maybe I'm old-fashioned.
Combining the two trap modes (kinetic and char skill based) would have been the ultimate win-win.

As for some of the skills themselves, just some observations:

Armorer:
Why is this endurance based? What has endurance got to do with your ability to fix or craft armour. Huh!?

Athletics:
Okay, this is speed limited/based. Makes sense for the part of it that says "run and swim faster", but IMHO not for the bit that says "regenerate lost fatigue faster". Your ability to regen fatigue should surely be endurance based. I was plenty fast when I was younger, but I had slower colleagues who were generally fitter and recovered from exercise quicker than me.

Block:
Endurance based/limited. My effectiveness at blocking should have more to do with (i.e. limited by) a combination of dexterity and strength, I reckon. Perhaps your ability to sustain blocking over long periods would be endurance based, but really, that would apply to any exercise and I doubt all physical skills will be endurance limited.
(Admittedly, this last one is more picky than the other two).

I guess the above issues (barring the "armorer" one) come under issues involved with blending multiple skills into one.

 

[jiujitsu]

They really should just change "blunt weapons" to "hafted weapons." It's a perfect description.

While hafted is just a handle, the words "hafted weapons" together specifically refer to exactly what "blunt" is refering to currently. Axes, maces, etc. Any weapon that has a long handle.

Hafted weapons aren't so much a description of a weapon that has a handle it's more of a stand alone genre of weapons.

 

[Drakron]

The problem is the target audience would not understand the word ... as half the Bethsoft staff.

 

[Fresh]

Monk, the sooner you realize that baord handles aren't literal descriptions of people, the better you'll be equipped to stop sounding like a dumbfuck. Just because Hyperboy or myself have youthful nicks, we must be juevenile idiots! (well, actually, the fact we're at the 'codex is probably the best clue, but just because we're juevenile idiots doesn't mean we're young )

Well said Mr Kid.

The problem is the target audience would not understand the word ... as half the Bethsoft staff.

Now you're just being mean... Keep up the good work.

 

[AnalogKid]

The problem is the target audience would not understand the word ... as half the Bethsoft staff.

An almost perfect example of literal "dumbing down".

What portion of the audience knew what an Argonian was before they played their first TES game? How about a Daikatana, or Dwemer?

What's wrong with including something that's better and educating people?

A one-line description in the manual of what the "Hafted Weapons" skill is wouldn't be enough for people to understand? Even just a list of what weapons are covered by the skill (it'd be a very short list in Oblivian, I'm sure)?

Instead we're left with "Blunt", which dumb people easily understand, but which is factully, provably WRONG. Hell, even making up a nonsense name would be better, but why complicate or confuse or get it right when Beth can just make it dumb and accessible?

(and Jiu, I was assuming the "weapons" part)

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

Okay, after seeing the whole overview of the Oblivion Dumbdown on the updated offical codex, I must say that I am 75% likely to NOT buy this disaster of a game anymore. If I want "hawt actshun", I'll go back to CS:S or break down and buy BF2 or some other true FPS. If I want an RPG anytime soon, I'm just plain fucked.

How come, there is absolutely no info in there that wasn't known beforehand?


Shagnak- instead of trapped chests and doors, I'd rather see a few riddle-chests, actually. But if they are still in, thats fine too. I just didn't care much about them, because it was all a matter of carrying enough probes...
There was one game that did this fairly well btw, with a sort of minigame, involving finding what trap it uses then using various tools to untrap and unlock the mechanism... Was that return to Krondor? If it were done like that, I could live with that. who knows, maybe they even incorporated that in their new lockpicking minigame -would be nice.

 

[Shagnak]

RtK? Dunno.
Wizards and Warriors?

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

RtK? Dunno.
Wizards and Warriors?

No, it was return to Krondor:

Here is a description from IGN:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/158/158009p1.html

he two most important skills for the game are the Analyze skill and the Disarm Traps skill. The Analyze skill identifies magic items. The Disarm Trap skill is used, you guessed it, to disarm the various traps found throughout the game. I found this part of the game to be really inventive and enjoyable. Each trap has three components-a trigger, a mechanism and a delivery method. You first need to identify the type of components your trap has-tripwires, pressure plates, needles, blades, etc.-and then determine which of your 3 lock-picking tools is best for the job. You have a lever, a ratchet and a pair of cutters. Each tool has a greater or lesser chance of disarming each type of component. A lever might work well on the poison tanks but fail when used on springs and gears. This you'll only learn through experimentation with different types of tools and different types of traps. And the experimentation can be very deadly.

And here is a pic:
http://www.gameweb.gr/images/screenshot ... 672000.jpg

 

[Shagnak]

Cool.

If a game lets me, I tend to play stealthy thief/rogue/assassin type characters.
I was kinda hoping that Oblivion would impress me in this regard - especially with ex-Thief dudes (or whatever they are) working on it.
I'm not convinced.

I hope the stealth model is good.

 

[ExMonk]

Sorry I'm a little late to the party this morning (WORK, donchaknow). But I loved the gilligan pic and the she-male legos! :D :D :D

Monk, the sooner you realize that baord handles aren't literal descriptions of people, the better you'll be equipped to stop sounding like a dumbfuck. Just because Hyperboy or myself have youthful nicks, we must be juevenile idiots! (well, actually, the fact we're at the 'codex is probably the best clue, but just because we're juevenile idiots doesn't mean we're young )

Good grief, you have the intelligence of a snail. It isn't your codex nicknames that indicate to me that you are young, idiot. It is your fascination of, and/or your defense of, porn and body parts crudity. Sheesh.

 

[Micmu]

ExMonk, here is a different goatse site suitable for you.

 

[ExMonk]

Right, because if anyone defends Beth, ever, they are mindless toadies working for the establishment. Critics of Beth = totally objective. Defenders of Beth = totally unobjective and lacking any credibility.

You really don't have any idea how breathtakingly your own criticisms undermine themselves, do you?

As for the golf picture, Twinfalls: snigger, snigger, snort, snort. Hey, Twinfalls! Can we look at the Playboy mags that your dad has under his bed?

You could if he had any. He only jerks off to an old semen-encrusted bible. Some of the stickier pages include:

Song of Solomon
Chapter 1

1. The song of songs, which is Solomon's.
2. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is
3. better than wine. Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as
4. ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee. Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into
5. his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents
6. of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked
7. upon me: my mother's children were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have I not kept. Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where
8. thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions? If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by
9. the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in
10. Pharaoh's chariots. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains
11. of gold. We will make thee borders of gold with studs of silver.
12. While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth
13. the smell thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all
14. night betwixt my breasts. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards
15. of Engedi. Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast
16. doves' eyes. Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: also our bed
17. is green. The beams of our house are cedar, and our rafters of fir.

and

The Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 16
I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

Wow, Twinfalls. You must be the FIRST PERSON IN HISTORY to point out that the Bible contains graphic language or scenes. However, the ones you picked aren't even good candidates. Wow. You really showed me. What an intellect. What a rapier wit.

So let's see if I can follow the meandering path into the dark forest that is your mind.
The Bible contains images that some would consider pornographic.
Christians criticize porn and those who revel in it (like Twinfalls)
Therefore, any Christian who criticizes someone who constantly revels in porn or body part crudity is a hypocrite. Is that about it?

Wow. Brilliant syllogism.

Consider this. First point. Song of Solomon speaks in adult terms about love between betrothed lovers (betrothal at that time was tanatamount to marriage). Sex between a married couple is pleasing to God. That which happens outside is not. The Bible condemns sexual activity that happens outside of the sanctity of marriage.

Second point. Pornography revels in sex in an extremely narcisistic way. Sex for sex's sake. From the Judeo-Christian perspective, sex is one of the most beautiful and intimate expressions of love. Sex is all showing love to one's spouse, and bringing the other pleasure. Porn sex is all about getting off--bringing myself pleasure. Porn sex is sex turned inward.

Third point. It is immature, infantile, and adolescent to be forever peppering your posts with body parts/porn talk. It makes you look like a moron, whereas most of your posts make you look like a very bright person, conversant with many disciplines.

Have a nice day, sunshine.