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Like Skyrim?
Try Arena and Daggerfall... for free!

Like Skyrim?
Try Arena and Daggerfall... for free!

Once you have Windows 3.1 loaded and functioning properly in DOSBox, you can run pretty much any 16 bit game you can find. You might need to install certain drivers to get some games to display properly which this guide covers nicely. Ideally, you'd be running the 16 bit game in straight DOSBox first. If it asks for a Windows installation, then boot up 3.1 first and execute it via file manager. There are entire repositories of Abandonware if you do a little Googling around, so you are literally opening yourself up to being able to play thousands of games you wouldn't otherwise be able to. One video game that is legally being distributed is Elder Scrolls II, though I don't believe you need Windows 3.1 for that. I've also heard of people running Microsoft Works for Windows using this method, but it's kind of redundant when you have Open Office and Libre Office floating around. Windows 3.1 and DOSBox is really a compatibility thing, so you can take it to whatever your needs are.

Try Daggerfall if you want a huge map. Get the XL Engine rewrite for updated visuals.

A sword fighting game using a mouse to control the sword would be pretty interesting.

Daggerfall used mouse movement to determine how a weapon was being used. Thrusting the mouse forward while holding the attack button would do a forward thrust, and you could also slash side to side or diagonally.

I think id re-releasing 'classic' versions of their early games for the iPhone/iTouch like Wolf3d and Classic Doom and Valve's Steam distribution of old games like Hexen and re-imaginings like The Secret of Monkey Island, and even with Wii and the virtual console are great examples of the past coming full circle to the present. Where before a game property would languish in a company's vault for years awaiting some new market, those that aren't bound by convoluted legal constraints (owned completely by their original company or a company that acquired their back library) are seeing new life and in some cases, polishing and optimizing of the code. In some rare instances, old games like Bethesda's 1996 Daggerfall are released for free http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/downloads_games.htm.

I believe in change. I'm hoarding every penny because I'm gonna need it. I'm a rich fat bastard and will be taxed accordingly so with change Icanhazcheezeburgers http://icanhascheezburger.com/ at http://www.mcdonalds.com/ then will come the evil that I will do in the name of Cthulhu http://www.macguff.fr/goomi/unspeakable/vault298.html to feed his insatiable appetite and my lust for power. But I will secretly worship http://www.venganza.org/ his noodly appendage and court disaster if the slimey idiot finds out. I will bow to the holiest president ever or suffer damnation by http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0drwfnGlF_E having to watch that. I shall covet weapons of massive destruction at http://www.schlockmercenary.com/ and I will dwell in the house of oblivion forever! http://www.elderscrolls.com/home/home.php

I will eat your process servers, rape your thugs and gnaw out their hearts and feast! FEAST! I say!

The problem is that most games are too long. Content creation is where the money is spent. Many games seem to feel the need to provide 100+ hours of play. Give us 10 hours of gameplay and charge less, not more, and the majority of people who never finish today's epic games will come flocking to your door.

Or the summary -- fewer Oblivions, more Portals.

Arena is one of the best games ever. You may need DosBox though...

http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/downloads_games.htm/
http://www.dosbox.com/download.php?main=1/

I wish more game companies would provide the kind of fan service Valve and Epic have with the bonus packs in the Unreal series (+tons of official/endorsed mods like in the GOTY editions) and new features and content Valve has been providing with stuff like the Team Fortress 2 updates (new game modes, maps, achievements, etc (and hopefully they release bonus content for Left 4 Dead down the line!))

Morrowind had some really nice free downloadable content plugins

Some of the "for sale" Oblivion DLC weren't as neat and should have just been given away for free to fans (I'm looking at you, horse armor!)

I wish Bethesda would be more involved and actively participate in the modding community and dip once in a while with free official mods of their own again. What's even more irritating is the way Bethesda leaves tons of bugs left unfixed, and it's up to the mod community to patch these errors up (see the unofficial Oblivion patches which fixed tons of bugs Bethesda left alone)

As for if DLC release timing "too soon" as MTV asks: unless they are buggy no such thing as too soon if these DLC are side-quests that add to the main game experience. Dusting up dormant game copies you've finished just to add a few perks when you've finished the game and have an uber-character isn't as fun

The Elder Scrolls series of games have had such character progression since 1994. You can pick up Elder Scrolls 1: Arena for free from the publishers if you really want.

Hmmm, What about suing into oblivion?

A tested patch is clearly only a short way away.
    This story broke about 4 or 5 days ago... and the longer you put off patching the more likely the problem is to hit.

http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/updates_patc hnotes12.htm

Yeah, I just wanted the improved graphics. I've reloaded Morrowind recently, and frankly, by today's standards the graphics suck. A lot. I didn't like the way Oblivion's world constantly "leveled up" around me. It was annoying and silly. The distribution of powerful equipment was so messed up it was basically broken. Wandering bandits, desperately attacking innocent passerby... wearing ultra-rare armor and wielding weapons of immense power. Or the way the wildlife changes and disappears over time. And of course, the ultimate extension of this problem, the way the dungeons and adventures were basically unscripted. Or the fact that the whole gameplay setup is so weak that a level 1 character can plow through the Oblivion games and basically win the game once you know how the system works -- knowledge that isn't exactly hard to come by. Indeed, the reason I went to Oblivion forums in the first place is that after a few hours of play, everything just seemed very fishy and shallow...

Sure you could make the argument that it allows for open-ended gameplay, but I own a giant pile of games that allow open-ended play. An RPG should have a story, and Oblivion really failed in that respect. It had the outline of a story, but that's about it. In my case it rapidly became so annoying -- so transparent -- I simply had no urge to play the game. To me it looks like this: you aren't advancing if everything around you keeps pace automatically and universally -- you're standing still, they're just changing the labels.

Of course, it's a highly subjective thing I'm describing, and a lot of people's opinions are completely the opposite. I understand that. I was in the Bethesda discussion forums very early-on when it was a vehemently-argued topic. I'm not saying I'm RIGHT, I'm saying this is my opinion, and it's shared by a LOT of people -- so many that Bethesda probably should have responded.

And on the off chance you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the old Oblivion posts here, if they still exist:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/

TO ANYONE WITH PROBLEMS WITH BROKEN QUESTS:

http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=403884&hl=

This should help 80% of people.

The easiest one is the "player.placeatme ID#" command; use it in the console with the ID# being found in the location you're in inth e construction set.

Maybe he can give all of the ale bottles unique, detailed bap designs?

Well, some other people have already gotten close to that.

Maybe he can give all of the ale bottles unique, detailed bap designs?

Well, some other people have already gotten close to that.

http://elderscrolls.com/games/oblivionmobile_overv iew.htm
Bethesda already has a portable version of Oblivion!
It should run relatively well on a PSP... ;-)

Harvest Mod - Makes it so when you harvest fauna, most of it disappears from the environment or is replaced by a "deflowered" version of the model. Makes it much easier to tell which flowers and mushrooms you've already picked.

Stamina/Fatigue Text Switch Mod - Gets rid of the annoying use of the word "fatigue" in the game and replaces instances of that word with "stamina".

Turn Out the Lights - Makes it so you can snuff out various candles, lamps, etc. found in environments.

Harvest Mod - Makes it so when you harvest fauna, most of it disappears from the environment or is replaced by a "deflowered" version of the model. Makes it much easier to tell which flowers and mushrooms you've already picked.

Stamina/Fatigue Text Switch Mod - Gets rid of the annoying use of the word "fatigue" in the game and replaces instances of that word with "stamina".

Turn Out the Lights - Makes it so you can snuff out various candles, lamps, etc. found in environments.

Harvest Mod - Makes it so when you harvest fauna, most of it disappears from the environment or is replaced by a "deflowered" version of the model. Makes it much easier to tell which flowers and mushrooms you've already picked.

Stamina/Fatigue Text Switch Mod - Gets rid of the annoying use of the word "fatigue" in the game and replaces instances of that word with "stamina".

Turn Out the Lights - Makes it so you can snuff out various candles, lamps, etc. found in environments.

Harvest Mod - Makes it so when you harvest fauna, most of it disappears from the environment or is replaced by a "deflowered" version of the model. Makes it much easier to tell which flowers and mushrooms you've already picked.

Stamina/Fatigue Text Switch Mod - Gets rid of the annoying use of the word "fatigue" in the game and replaces instances of that word with "stamina".

Turn Out the Lights - Makes it so you can snuff out various candles, lamps, etc. found in environments.

These are some of my favorites here:

Better Sortable potion names

Cool armor for the Grey Fox

Show more places on the map (wayshrines, rune stones)

Make YOUR OWN map markers for things

These are some of my favorites here:

Better Sortable potion names

Cool armor for the Grey Fox

Show more places on the map (wayshrines, rune stones)

Make YOUR OWN map markers for things

These are some of my favorites here:

Better Sortable potion names

Cool armor for the Grey Fox

Show more places on the map (wayshrines, rune stones)

Make YOUR OWN map markers for things

These are some of my favorites here:

Better Sortable potion names

Cool armor for the Grey Fox

Show more places on the map (wayshrines, rune stones)

Make YOUR OWN map markers for things

This really bugged me, too. If you've gotten to the quest where you have to get help from all the cities, I thought it was very unrealistic that the fires were all still lit in Kvatch. And when I went to talk to the Captain of the Guard, he was still standing in the exact same place in the castle hall, and he was still wearing his brown shirt and NO PANTS. I believe they were one of the many casualties in the "When you're level 25" version of Seige of Kvatch that involved alot of him falling unconcious.

On a more hopeful note, this WIP mod may interest you...

AVG, Zone Alarm, AD-Aware and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and you should be set.

From their forums:

Todd and I wanted to give everyone an update on a number of things we have in the works.

Patch/Update
We are working on a patch/update for both the PC and Xbox 360. It will address a number of issues that we have found and ones that have been reported to us and confirmed. It is our plan to first release it as a beta patch for the PC when it has cleared our initial testing cycles internally. Since its a beta patch you should be aware that issues may come up that we havent found yet and we strongly recommend you backup save games and understand it may be necessary to reinstall the game when the final patch comes out.

We are also looking into the localization issues that have come up in Europe and are working to address some of those issues. A European Patch/Update will be available after the English versions.

Were doing both of these things as fast as we can and will let everyone know as soon as they are available.

Downloadable Content
We have been working on downloadable content since we finished the game in February, and we continue to feel this is a great avenue for us to continue to add to the Oblivion experience.

We have already announced two of them:

The Orrery
The Orrery allows you to help the Mages Guild of Cyrodiil repair the Imperial Orrery, an ancient dwarven machine with mystical properties. Bandits have stolen a shipment of parts destined for the Arcane University; if you can return them, the Orrery will function once more.

Features

* A new, full-featured quest, including dialogue, journals, and rewards
* Access to the Imperial Orrery in the Arcane University, an incredible mechanical marvel
* New powers available for your character based on the phases of the moons

The Wizards Tower
Located high in the Jeral Mountains of Cyrodiil away from prying eyes, this Wizard's Tower, Frostcrag Spire, will become available. Packed with numerous useful enhancements, this structure will prove invaluable to magic-oriented characters.

Features

* A fully detailed tower for you to explore
* A breathtaking view of Cyrodiil from the highest point in the land
* Simple furnishings including a bed for leveling up
* An indoor botanical garden with over 130 specimens... including Oblivion-native herbs!
* Summon Atronach Familiars that obey your commands
* Instant teleports to every Mages Guild in Cyrodiil
* New Spell and Recharge vendor in the Imperial City
* Fully upgrade the furnishings in your lair to suit your needs
* Upgrade to a fully functional Enchanting and Spellmaking station with no need to join Mages Guild
* Upgrade to a laboratory that buffs your Alchemy skill

We hope to have The Orrery available for purchase next week. This plugin will cost 150pts on Xbox, and $1.89 on the PC. The Horse Armor Pack has been very popular, and exceeded what we thought it would sell. Despite that, were still trying to find the right spot, so were putting a much larger plugin out for less than the last one and we'll see what happens. Your feedback as we move forward in this is invaluable. Tell us what you want to see, how much of it, and what it might be worth to you. No, dont say you want it free, because these plugins take a surprising amount of time to create, polish, and test (much more then Morrowind's).

Finally, thank you to everyone who has supported not just Oblivion, but Bethesda Softworks over the years. Oblivion has been a tremendous success for us, and we thank you all for making that happen. We hope we continue to earn your gaming time.

Pete (and Todd)

Is for someone to tell me whether or not you can run Oblivion on Mac hardware.

How to get the meshes and textures out of Oblivion:
Read http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Cat egory:Meshes_and_Textures for information on getting existing meshes out of the Oblivion data files for use in your own mod.

Read
http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Tal k:Main_Page#Custom_Models for information on using other 3dsmax plug ins to get a new model into Oblivion, though the conversion is incomplete.

I think that Bethesda didn't release the model import/export plugins until a while after the release of Morrowind, so it might just be a matter of patience.

How to get the meshes and textures out of Oblivion:
Read http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Cat egory:Meshes_and_Textures for information on getting existing meshes out of the Oblivion data files for use in your own mod.

Read
http://cs.elderscrolls.com/constwiki/index.php/Tal k:Main_Page#Custom_Models for information on using other 3dsmax plug ins to get a new model into Oblivion, though the conversion is incomplete.

I think that Bethesda didn't release the model import/export plugins until a while after the release of Morrowind, so it might just be a matter of patience.

Im still hoping someone is able to totally hack the interface to make it un-consoled ...

For those of you that have technical problems with this game, or want to play around with some tweaks that give MASSIVE framerate (FPS) boosts of 50% or more:
Unofficial Technical FAQ
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?act=S T&f=23&t=308781

The coolbits tweak in particular has helped people with 7900 SLI cards go from unplayable, to smooth as silk.

Someone has already made a mod that makes the emperor look more like Patrick Stewart

Sure, there is one mod by Winterborne that does the outside animal/monster spawns, there is another that handles equipment rarity, by PlasticFoamMan or TomServo. All of these can be found on tessource.net I believe in the gameplay file section.

So far I have just been using the outdoor mod, the equipment rarity one, and the one that lowers alchemy appartus weight. I have not had any crashes while using any of those mods, and I have heavily twinked my ini file for graphics performance as well, so I think they are probably fine.

TomServo's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=311609&hl=plasticfoam

PlasticFoamMan's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=321340

- Only use one of those mods, not both, find out which one has the features you like best and use it.

WinterborneTE's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=307955

There is also a mod that makes steel more powerful as it is the normal type of armor that everybody should be using. I am not sure on who makes that or the link.

Sure, there is one mod by Winterborne that does the outside animal/monster spawns, there is another that handles equipment rarity, by PlasticFoamMan or TomServo. All of these can be found on tessource.net I believe in the gameplay file section.

So far I have just been using the outdoor mod, the equipment rarity one, and the one that lowers alchemy appartus weight. I have not had any crashes while using any of those mods, and I have heavily twinked my ini file for graphics performance as well, so I think they are probably fine.

TomServo's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=311609&hl=plasticfoam

PlasticFoamMan's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=321340

- Only use one of those mods, not both, find out which one has the features you like best and use it.

WinterborneTE's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=307955

There is also a mod that makes steel more powerful as it is the normal type of armor that everybody should be using. I am not sure on who makes that or the link.

Sure, there is one mod by Winterborne that does the outside animal/monster spawns, there is another that handles equipment rarity, by PlasticFoamMan or TomServo. All of these can be found on tessource.net I believe in the gameplay file section.

So far I have just been using the outdoor mod, the equipment rarity one, and the one that lowers alchemy appartus weight. I have not had any crashes while using any of those mods, and I have heavily twinked my ini file for graphics performance as well, so I think they are probably fine.

TomServo's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=311609&hl=plasticfoam

PlasticFoamMan's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=321340

- Only use one of those mods, not both, find out which one has the features you like best and use it.

WinterborneTE's mod
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showt opic=307955

There is also a mod that makes steel more powerful as it is the normal type of armor that everybody should be using. I am not sure on who makes that or the link.

Before buying the game, see if there is a demo available. Right now the game has a decent amount of bugs, and it has problems running on alot of systems, including xbox360s. Some people with cutting edge hardware are having low fps issues whilesome people with lower end video cards are running fine. The xbox360 is having harddrive cache problems, ruining saved games, while alot of people on PCs are crashing to desktop.

I'm enjoying the game, but it is frustrating. however, I would advise others to wait for a patch, unless you can't restrain yourselves.

Here is the technical board for those interested:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?s=9df 99cc632d35dd16ee09edf8a56b38a&showforum=23

The original Elder Scrolls game is free to download from their website.

My computer can't even run the panorama at a stable framerate

At least yours runs them. Both IE6 and Firefox crashed as soon as I try and pan around them. Click-scroll-crash. Fun!

In any case, these are simply amazing. I recommend everyone who likes these take a look at some videos of the game. They have some new ones on there I haven't seen yet, but I've watched all the E3 Demo videos and those are amazing.

This game truly blows everything else out of the water in terms of sheer scope and graphical achievements. It really makes one stop and...

*gets distracted watching grass and trees blow in the wind*

... but there is some light in the otherwise dark single player rpg experience. Morrowind and Fallout were the first and only RPGs I really played. I had never touched them before because of the complexity and incredibly boring combat modes. Fallout had an incredibly engaging story and Morrowind provided a huge and beautiful world to explore. Combat was also done in a way that was comfortable to a FPS person like myself.

The new Elder Scrolls promises to be even better after watching the demo videos. So it's not all dark out there, just mostly.

Of course, I've already got my collector's edition on reserve, so perhaps their insidious marketing is working...

-Eric

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion is coming out soon (most rumors say March).

Please lodge your oppostion to Starforce in the Oblivion forums. Their public relations won't state whether Oblivion will use Starforce. The game has not been sent to pressing so it's not too late to let them know it would be a baaaaaaaad idea.

PLEASE! HELP STOP THE MADNESS!

I think it's likely that Bethesda will hire Patrick Stewart for voice work on some of the games. After all, he's just worked for them on the upcoming game Oblivion (http://www.elderscrolls.com/news/press_093005.htm ).

The single player RPG Oblivion is sorta doing away with levels and experience points. http://www.elderscrolls.com/games/oblivion_overvie w.htm

Instead of gaining points and then suddenly getting better at everything once you reach a certain number. You will only get better at things you actually use.

So if you use your sword a lot, you will get better at it gradually over time. and so on with other skills.

I really like the idea and look forward to playing the game.

I don't have time to dedicate to MMO's so I prefer single player games :)

No, you mean Arena, the first game in the Elder Scrolls series. http://www.elderscrolls.com/tenth_anniv/tenth_anni v.htm

2006 will bring us Neverwinter Nights 2 and Oblivion The Elder Scrolls IV.
Some the best looking RPGs ever made. Very exciting!

Look and see why it's so amazing:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/downloads/media_movies .htm

If you want to try the one that started it all, go here. Its free. Windoze only and you need DOSBox.