# Two weeks to..... Oblivion **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180 "2006-03-05T21:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/61 "2006-03-21T22:47:26Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > Well I hear reports of it being sold out everywhere - that they can’t even fill the preorders. Why oh why did I give up my place in the preorder line to save a few bucks? :smack: Also, I read that Collector’s Editions are rare, because they don’t have enough “coins”. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/62 "2006-03-22T00:36:48Z")
My local Best Buy had a bunch of them on the shelf, both regular and collectors. Maybe that’s because it’s spring break. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/63 "2006-03-22T01:30:57Z")
I got my copy at a local department store. No problem. Now I’m sitting here at work trying to decide what kind of character I want to play, which isn’t easy, since they don’t list the classes in the manual. Pretty, pretty manual. Grr. Is it 6:30 yet? ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/64 "2006-03-22T01:50:06Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Just in case you didn’t know, you can also purchase the game as a direct download from [Direct2Drive.com](http://Direct2Drive.com). I have never used the service, but I know it’s the same price as buying it in the store (which is a bit of a rip-off. It should’ve been at least a little cheaper since they don’t have to pay for packaging, shipping to stores, or the manual.) Hmm… I was going to go for this, as their price is cheaper than having it delivered next day shipping from Amazon, but it looks like Amazon has finally moved my order to “shipping soon” status in the last couple of hours. In case anyone is curious about it, I’ve used [Direct2Drive.com](http://Direct2Drive.com) in the past without any major problems. On a practical level, the biggest potential issue with them is that regular patches won’t work with their download; they issue their own versions. I don’t know how fast they are about doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/65 "2006-03-22T02:00:15Z")
Ack!!! I can’t believe I missed the release of this! I have been following and waiting and drooling over this coming out since, well, longer than I care to admit. And here I am reading it has actually finally made it? As soon as I hit submit I am off to somewhere to get this. Only thing I am really bummed about is I am in training all week so cannot call in sick. I wonder if my new GF will understand if I blow her off this weekend? ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/66 "2006-03-22T02:02:29Z")
Wow… what a great game. Graphics are top notch. I’m running it on my PC with Very High with a resolution of 1280\*1024 and it’s running really nice. Very ‘realistic’ lighting using HDR technology. Though using that means I can’t use anti-aliasing, and I’m going to play around to see what looks the best. Though I think just having HDR rather than AA will make it far more impressive. The gameplay is similar to Morrowind, but the Imperial City is freaking awesome! Much bigger and better than any city in Morrowind. I’m exploring that rather than doing my main quest at the moment (heh). Lots of shops and lots of people around (each with great facial graphics and voice acting). With the main menu screen and the beginning of the new campaign it also makes it FEEL like you are walking into something EPIC. The music, the Patrick Stewart voice over, the ancient looking menus. Just wonderful. I’m impressed so far. And I can’t wait to read the Guide to Tamriel included with my Collector’s Edition :D. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/67 "2006-03-22T02:18:09Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > Just in case you didn’t know, you can also purchase the game as a direct download from [Direct2Drive.com](http://Direct2Drive.com). I have never used the service, but I know it’s the same price as buying it in the store (which is a bit of a rip-off. It should’ve been at least a little cheaper since they don’t have to pay for packaging, shipping to stores, or the manual.) Coolness! Just saw this and am now downloading the game from Direct2Drive. I am a member of Fileplanet. I am not sure if you need to be a Fileplanet member to get to the fast servers with no waiting lines when using Direct2Drive but they definitely play together (my account and billing info from Fileplanet autofilled everything for me on Direct2Drive). As for reliability I have had no toruble. Even if your PC crashes in the middle of the download you can log back in and hit the link again to download it again. That said on a 4.5GB download I suggest using a download manager. I am not sure of any download manager will work but the one that comes with Fileplanet is working just fine (indeed it went for it on its own). The Fileplanet download manager (like most) will resume a failed download from where it left off so you do not have to start all over from the beginning. That is a big deal for files of this size. I’m averaging around 400k/sec download speed (again I paid for fast Fileplanet servers…I do not know if buying from Direct2Drive lets you at those) and it is estimating ~3 hours for the download. Looks like I’ll be up late tonight! Oh yeah…manual is a separate download. As for the pricing you would think it would be cheaper this way but you must understand brick & mortar vendors would go nuts if people could buy more cheaply online and would likely retaliate. Actually it would probably be the distributors who would retaliate. I would bet (but do not know) that part of the distribution contract Bethesda signed agreed to not undercut store pricing online. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/68 "2006-03-22T04:08:58Z")
I’ve just come up for air. I played the game for six hours straight, and I’m just . . . awed. The graphics are astonishing. I would frequently stop as I wandered through the forests and just gaze out over the valleys, admiting the view, or watching the sunset. It’s amazing how much detail they put into this. I killed a rat while standing on a hillside and the rat’s corpse rolled limply and bonelessly down the hill to the bottom. The NPCs meet up on the street gossip with each other. It’s kind of fun to hang out and eavesdrop. I got bitten by a dog when I broke into someone’s bedroom. It wasn’t as difficult as I had anticipated, getting used to the new controls. I don’t really like the new system when it comes to stealing-- you can’t sell your ill-gotten goods, so there’s no real point to it any more. (You have to search for a Theives’ Guild merchant to be able to sell stolen stuff.) Money is certainly scarcer in this game. I’ve been making most of mine off of the plants I harvest along the way, and the stuff I find when I raid a cave and kill all the goblins or outlaws inside. (I’ve still only got about 500 gold, though.) A tip for those playing it-- rats and other animals sometimes carry gold or lockpicks along with their meat, so always look at the corpses. (I never used to check them in the old game because all they ever had was meat.) ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/69 "2006-03-22T05:32:19Z")
Just a note to anyone (like me) with an NVidia Geforce FX card that’s supposed to be supported by Oblivion: there are numerous reports of unplayability. NVidia is going to release a new driver update on 3/22 specifically to help with Oblivion, however it’s likely to help the higher-end cards most. I think I’m going to be SOL. For now, I’ll let the dust settle and wait for patches/updates/success stories. I know I’m not the only one considering buying a $2K machine in order to play a $50 game. On the other hand, there’s Morrowind. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/70 "2006-03-22T05:58:09Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > I don’t really like the new system when it comes to stealing-- you can’t sell your ill-gotten goods, so there’s no real point to it any more. (You have to search for a Theives’ Guild merchant to be able to sell stolen stuff.) Money is certainly scarcer in this game. I’ve been making most of mine off of the plants I harvest along the way, and the stuff I find when I raid a cave and kill all the goblins or outlaws inside. (I’ve still only got about 500 gold, though.) I think that is brilliant. It was WAAAY too easy to get a lot of gold in Morrowind from just going behind someone’s line of sight and pilfering their drawers, bookcases, etc. This way you can’t use that for extra cash and actually have to earn it. Hey, I may not reach $20,000 in cash in this game then ;). I have a tad over $250, but I’ve been mostly exploring the cities rather than dungeon crawling (except for the first one you see when you hit open air). ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/71 "2006-03-22T06:08:56Z")
They nerfed the mage… Other than that, A+ all around. Back to the 360 I go! ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/72 "2006-03-22T09:03:13Z")
By the way, has anybody else run into invisible random encounters? I’ve been wandering around at night, without a torch, and had wolves attacking me. The thing is, they’re insisible, but if I look real hard they have a sort of “Predator” cloak that makes them shimmer a bit. I can still hit them with spells, and they become visible after I kill them, but they’re insivible when they’re attacking me. Is this a glitch? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/73 "2006-03-22T14:02:54Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Uh. I’ve got the same setup as **Smiling Bandit** , just so we’re clear. My video card is an ATI All in Wonder 9600 (128 MB). Thanks for the heads-up. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/74 "2006-03-22T14:33:27Z")
> [@brightpenny](#): > > Just a note to anyone (like me) with an NVidia Geforce FX card that’s supposed to be supported by Oblivion: there are numerous reports of unplayability. NVidia is going to release a new driver update on 3/22 specifically to help with Oblivion, however it’s likely to help the higher-end cards most. > > I think I’m going to be SOL. For now, I’ll let the dust settle and wait for patches/updates/success stories. I know I’m not the only one considering buying a $2K machine in order to play a $50 game. On the other hand, there’s Morrowind. Only had 45 minutes to play with it, but I had no issues with my nVidia card. However, I recently restarted SW:KotOR 2 and that is giving me all kinds of headaches. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/75 "2006-03-22T15:08:59Z")
I played for about 3 hours last night. Had 2 CTD’s that I couldn’t recreate but otherwise everything went well, and I’d saved recently. (Hit the F5 key often!) Even on Medium graphic settings it looked good. And boy, was I hooked. I didn’t want to stop, that’s for sure. I haven’t even taken on another quest yet (I arrived in town at night and everyone was asleep.) ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/76 "2006-03-22T15:25:32Z")
I’m interested in knowing the setup of those who are playing successfully on PC. Here’s mine: P4 - 2.5 Ghz processor 512 RAM Geforce FX 5700 Ultra with 128 Mb ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/77 "2006-03-22T15:27:40Z")
Edit for above: My post might have implied that my setup is successful, but I don’t know yet. It appears that it won’t be. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/78 "2006-03-22T15:29:09Z")
AMD64 x2 3800+ 1G RAM nVidia 7600GT w/ 256MB RAM Both processor and videocard have a 10% overclock. Doesn’t affect most games, but KotOR 2 and Sid Meier’s Pirates are wonky. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/79 "2006-03-22T15:36:49Z")
AMD 3300+ 1GB Ram ATI All-in-Wonder 9600 128 MB AGP Runs good on lowest resolution with high draw distances. Sounds great on my newish Sound Blaster card and 5.1 surround speaker system. I highly recommend surround sound with this game. You can really hear where sounds are coming from. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180/80 "2006-03-22T15:56:26Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > By the way, has anybody else run into invisible random encounters? > > I’ve been wandering around at night, without a torch, and had wolves attacking me. The thing is, they’re insisible, but if I look real hard they have a sort of “Predator” cloak that makes them shimmer a bit. I can still hit them with spells, and they become visible after I kill them, but they’re insivible when they’re attacking me. > > Is this a glitch? It may be-- where are you located in th game? I’ve been running around in the woods near the Imperial City and Chorral and all of the wolves have thus far been visable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/two-weeks-to-oblivion/347180.md?page=5)