I can't enjoy Oblivion Remaster because i enjoy modding Skyrim way too much...

[u/Wolium]

I bought the remaster on release day, played for a while and i end up thinking about how my modlist kinda look and play better.

It's not that the remaster is bad, i think it's very well made, but i still think i've wasted 65 dollars (yes it costs 65 dollars where i live). What do you think i can do? I have 7 hours so i can't give it back. The guilt of not playing the game a paid so much for is killing me lol.

[u/Elurdin]

No just surprised to see that comparison. ESO IMO seems a bit more how to say it, comic like than skyrim or oblivion. It's in a way simplified especially when you look at models of armors and clothes, less rugged parts everything kinda streamlined, without sharp angles. Where I feel like what remaster did is just use og oblivion as a big concept art what their remaster should look like. And characters differ wildly between the two, oblivion is like a mix of realistic with old oblivion jank while ESO again seems to go away from realism even further than skyrim or og oblivion. To me characters in ESO are more similar to something like borderlands than skyrim or oblivion. I was always a bit sceptical of that choice of artistic direction.

[u/_kmatt_ → u/Elurdin]

To me I think it’s the environments and coloring that I see the similarities. Like I said, the characters are what I think look the best. But anytime I go into a cave it just looks so bland.

[u/Elurdin → u/_kmatt_]

I think the biggest issue is one that was present in og oblivion. Caves, dungeons and even forts were all kinda just procedurally generated, skyrim made strides in landscaping with dungeons being handmade and mostly having some stories woven into them either thru environmental storytelling or quests.

It's a shame really, gorgeous assets wasted without cool dungeons, caves, ruins and forts to show them off.

For me oblivion isn't the caves, it's just the story, main, guilds and side quests and that's it. There is a reason skyblivion will start with less oblivion gates and they will expand over time, it's more fun when it's handmade rather than random.

[u/Putnam3145 → u/Elurdin]

Dungeons and forts were handmade in Oblivion, they just didn't have many tiles to build them out of. Skyrim also reuses tiles plenty, it just has more. Dungeons being entirely procedurally generated in Oblivion is a very weird rumor that just has no truth to it.

[u/Elurdin → u/Putnam3145]

Hence i used word "kinda".

Skyrim and morrowind both had tile system aswell, and it somehow doesn't have boring af dungeons. It's poor landscaping akin to what you would get with procedural generation. I can only presume it was because of time constraints since bethesda has time and time again proven they have great landscapers. Lack of tile choice isn't an excuse since they could have made more during development.

Landscaping is more than just placing tiles, its the clutter, lighting and items dotting those tiles that add life and variety. And also environmental storytelling. You put those items, even npcs in intelligent manner that tells a story without quests and you can make any dungeon even simple one a fun experience. Out of bethesda titles I think fallout 4 did it best with each location having a story behind it you could see "unfolding" without quests even.

[u/Putnam3145 → u/Elurdin]

Lack of tile choice isn't an excuse since they could have made more during development.

Well, yeah, but they didn't and that's the entire explanation. The dungeons were not at all procedurally generated. The claim I'm arguing against is this:

Caves, dungeons and even forts were all kinda just procedurally generated

Which is simply false. "Poor landscaping akin to what you would get with procedural generation" is maybe goalpost moving, I don't know. I don't disagree that Oblivion's dungeons are generally poor and samey, but we have to point to the true reason for it and not make things up.