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Bethesda Says No to Oblivion Expansion
Heartless Gamer writes to mention a GamersReport article clarifying things for the many Oblivion fans looking forward to more content. Despite reports to the contrary, there is no expansion coming for the game any time soon. From the article: "'There's no expansion in development called Knights of the White Stallion. That's the name of a quest in Oblivion. Right now we have no announced plans for any new content, add-ons, or expansions. If that changes, we'll let folks know.' So there you have it folks, it seems that the listing was an honest mistake. While we have no doubt there will eventually be an expansion, Bethesda is far from ready to announce it."
XBL has six available for sale - a few new really hard dungeons, etc. See them listed here. There is also an add-on for ?? horse armor ??.
There's no expansion in development called Knights of the White Stallion.
That's cool, but what are you calling it?
God spoke to me.
Thats really a shame, I am personally about 30 hours into it (360 version), have been spending my time joining guilds and doing side quests. Oblivion is simply exceptional; the graphics, gameplay, and story are the best I have seen in many years. Stability is not perfect (3~4 hangs in that time). The only thing I wish it had is some type of co-op play, so my SO could play with me *sigh*.
~nate
When it came i decided that i would not play it until my studies are finished.
i'm not afraid that it'll suck, i'm afraid i'll like it too much.
Blah blah sig blah blah blah irony blah blah
There is a mod called Knights of the White Stallion that expands the faction with the same name in the original oblivion. Perhaps in some point of time (i.e. at GameStop) someone mistook it for an official expansion? Seems weird for a retail store, but it could have happened anywhere in the chain.
Who needs expansions when you have HORSE ARMOR! I don't know about you guys, but I spend hours walking around on my armored horse.
All the villagers are like "Oh, wow! Is that an armored horse. That is simply amazing. You are the coolest person ever."
My ego is so big now that I had to mod Oblivion to get more bag space so I could hold it all.
Honestly, it was the best 5 bucks I ever spent.
If this signature is witty enough, maybe somebody will like me.
Headline: "Bethseda Says No to Oblivion Expansion" Body: "While we have no doubt there will eventually be an expansion, Bethesda is far from ready to announce it." Sounds like they said there will eventually be an expansion, just not soon...not that they're not going to have an expansion.
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
So Bethesda has announced there is no mod/expansion named "Knights of the White Stallion". Of course not, there is a quest in the game with that name though.
However, that doesn't change the fact that Zenimax trademarked the names "Shivering Isles" and "Knights of the Nine" in August. Both of those names could easily be names for expansion packs for Oblivion. (note: none of the official mod's names were trademarked from my research).
not necessarily. they put out the expansions for morrowind as the "game of the year" edition, which included the original game and both pc expansions.alternately, they could have it install to the hard drive from a store-bought disc, and run as a modification (much like how the downloads do.) they could easily put out full-on expansion-packs for the console version. the other thing to remember, is, morrowind was the first game in the series to have an actual expansion. the rest of the series hasn't.
How'd you find that out? I love doing research like that. :D
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!
I heard that XBL allows you to download content (like Horse Armor), so I am sure Bethesda could release an entire expansion pack for a little extra. Failing that, they would still make money just by releasing the expansion pack for the PC (and a year or two down the road re-release Oblivion for the Xbox 360 with all the expansions and mods added in).
---- "XML is like violence. If it doesn't fix the problem, you aren't using enough."
Thats because Morrowind was a step up. Shall it be one step forward, 2 back?
Actually, there was a great deal of talk of designing the guy to allow for expansions via XBox Live from the get go. And perhaps you didn't read the article. It didn't say that there would never be an expansion. They said they haven't announced the expansion. Bethesda's usual policy is not to announce any project until it is about 70% complete.
I expect the expansion to come, but a bit later.
When Morrowind finished, they took half the Morrowind team and immediately placed them at work on Oblivion. The other half of the team stuck around and did Morrowind expansions.
All the big designers from Morrowind and Oblivion went straight from Oblivion to working on Fallout 3. That leaves the junior design team to work on expansions, addons, patches, and preproduction for the next Elder Scrolls title.
Bethesda is also hard at work at 2 major Star Trek titles as well. So the expansions won't be out for a while.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
I'm not particularly confident in Star Trek: Legacy. Another simul launch and those of us who can actually step back and look at it and not be blinded by the shinyness see what it did to Oblivion. I don't think this is going to be Armada 3, which is a shame because Armada was a nice game. A very good RTS that had some interesting options, like the ability to take an enemies ship and use it.
As far as if the expansion is coming... we'll see. They may ride the downloadable content gravy train.
Morrowind on original Xbox had an expansion. Ninja Gaiden (also on original Xbox) actually had two expansions, although they were kind of slim on new content. Many Xbox Live-enabled games have had additional levels, vehicles, characters, etc available for free download, and some have them for paid download. (Right now this moment, there are Oblivion mods on Live Arcade for paid download from Xbox Live Arcade.)
In short, you're wrong. Consoles can have expansions.
Comment of the year
What I see is a bunch of downloadable content, which hasn't approached "expansion" level yet. There hasn't been a full blown expansion for a console yet that hasn't come in the form of a new game or GOTY edition.
When Morrowind finished, they took half the Morrowind team and immediately placed them at work on Oblivion. The other half of the team stuck around and did Morrowind expansions.
They should fire the half that worked on Oblivion gameplay.
The only Oblivion expansion I'd like to see (and on the PC at that) is one that works like Morrowind.
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
There are tons and tons of huge mods for Morrowind that add hundreds of hours of gameplay.
Have you seen Sea of Destiny?
What about Tamriel Rebuilt?
http://www.tamriel-rebuilt.org/
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Dynasty Warriors.
I think you may have misunderstood what I posted. I like Morrowind a lot, but they totally screwed up the gameplay aspect of Oblivion. I'd love to have Morrowind and it's expansions, but with all the benefits of the Oblivion engine. The real pisser is that it doesn't sound like it would be all that hard. Early on when Oblivion was first released, the devs said they had major pieces of Morrowind successfully running in the Oblivion engine. But by now, it's clear that the very vocal complaints about Oblivion have fallen on deaf ears. On the PC side there are patches that fix a lot of the problems, but it really shouldn't have come to that.
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
Final Fantasy XI
If you like Morrowind's gameplay then play Morrowind and check out the mods that add to it. If you don't like Oblivion's gameplay, then why have Morrowind in Oblivion's engine, unless you are just looking for improved graphics?
Graphics aren't that important, and either way, there are tons of texture and model improvements for Morrowind if you look that will make the game look better.
I'm curious. What specifically about Oblivion's gameplay did you not like?
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
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/
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
I've read through the elderscroll forums quite a bit.
I've done RPG mods and such and I'm quite familiar with the challenges of open-ended design.
Morrowind used level-lists, just like Oblivion, but Oblivion used it to a far greater extent. I haven't looked, but I wouldn't be shocked if someone releases a mod pretty soon that alters the leveled-lists, and uses far less of them in Oblivion.
In a game like Ultima VII, the entire world is open to you from the get-go. What they do, is make combat a minor aspect of the game. There isn't much of it, and it is very easy. The world doesn't level up around you, but there never is much progression nor challenge. The game is about exploring the world and the plot.
Alternatively, and perhaps the best thing to do, is not to force the player along a specific plot by blocking off the world, but presenting a specific level of challenge in different areas. By doing this, the player feels like the game is open-ended, but in truth, the player is strongly encouraged to play along a linear path. I think this is what people seem to want, but they must understand that it cuts back open adventuring and exploring. It isn't perfect, and it will greatly diminish how open the world feels.
What I'd like to see Bethesda specifically do with their next Elder Scroll's title is make this a game option. At place X in the world they have a monster encounter placed. They should hand place a specific monster for the challenge they think that area should offer. If you turn on the option for the seemless difficulty where the game levels up automatically, then instead of that specific monster placed, one is pulled from the leveled list. Both players get what they want, but this doesn't come easily. More time must be spent balancing, and specifically placing and planning encounters. I feel this will make the game better, but more development zots have to go there, and something else suffers, such as perhaps a smaller world overall.
Again, either look for a mod that addresses your concerns. Bethesda ships a full toolset and enables people to alter the game to your liking. Or look for some of the graphical enhancers for Morrowind to make that game look better.
My personal opinion is that the Elder Scroll titles are pretty impressive overall, but I hate the entire rules system and pretty much everything it is predicated upon. I'm terrified of what they'll do with Fallout. I really hope they stick to the SPECIAL rules and provide a tactical/challenging game like the original Fallout titles, but I haven't seen that Bethesda is capable of that.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
Perhaps you should look. The major ones have been out almost since Oblivion was released ...
- Modular arithmatic: Find the optimal amount of skills to beat up baddies before you go up a level and the baddies become as hard as they were when you started
- Set theory: Find the intersection of the set of skills you can go up levels in without swimming around for an hour L and the set of skills that are actually useful U.
- Graph theory: Find the shortest sequence of levels between when you start the game and when Merunes Dagon is destroyed.
- Predicate calculus: Prove that for each mission M, there exists a path P for which P does not cause the game to crash.
There you go, that should have got you 80% easy!When Argumentum ad Hominem falls short, try Argumentum ad Matrem
It is fairly well known that in Oblivion mods and thru play that the horse "Shadowmere" is
unkillable, yet, despite that fact people pay to put armor on her.
Uh-huh.
Not only that, but darned if something goes wrong on pc or xbox, you are screwed
either way, because you can not "summon" the armored version (IIRC) and the xbox
user just winds up being screwed all over due to lack of console.
Simply put: the oblivion community is doing more to make Oblivion a better game than
Bethesda could ever dream, like Obscuro Oblivion overhaul (OOO), the mod that fixes
all of the messed up quests (Unofficial Oblivion Patch) and there is even a mod
in the making to expand the realms (forgot link, but the elderscrolls.com forum has it
in the mod section).
Not only that, but a fix for the spell and animation bug that occurs at 200 or so
hours was fixed by the *community* and not Bethesda.
Bethesda usually said "defrag and scandisk and uninstall mods" to queries to the
bug even when *OFFICIAL* plugins were the only things installed, and blamed the
mods.
So, of course, B*soft doesn't put any stock in anything that they would release. (G)
Have you read the moderator guidelines? Well, have you, PUNK? (and I want a Karma: Gnarly option)
(See Penny Arcade 12/09/06 if you have no idea what I'm on about)
Meta will eat itself
If we ignore "official" for a while, modded Xboxen with morrowind can play almost any community made mod for the morrowind PC version. http://forums.xbox-scene.com/lofiversion/index.php /t369851.html
Yet another great reason to mod you xbox...
That would assume I actually want or own one in the first place.
Huh? Bethesda isn't releasing an expansion? I hadn't notice, I've been too busy playing Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, a free (400MB+) mod that fixes everything Bethesda broke. No expansion eh? Oh well, wonder what other new mods have been released by the hard working community...
Great, so now what am I supposed to do while waiting for Avarice: GE to get finished. I was hopping that perhaps an oblivion expansion would come out soon while http://www.playavarice.com/ is being developed, but that seems like it won't happen. Off to go find some other RPG I guess...
This isn't a troll, its just an opinion.
Morrowind was gorgeous. It had giant mushrooms, floating squid, organic plant-buildings, insect mines, mongolian yurts, cantons, dust storms,
propylon indexes, etc.
Now we have deer, butterflies, tudor houses and "map travel" and a relatively uniform forest created with SpeedTree.
Yawn.
Not to mention the fact that after a relatively short amount of gameplay I decided to craft a helm of 100% invisibility... and then my character was invincible.
End of game.
Nice play testing.
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
I thought this was an article about physics/astronomy when I saw the headline.
http://outcampaign.org/
ahh, i'd been told that such people existed, but I never believed it. are there really xbox 360 owners who don't have a hard drive? tell me: are you one of them? what possessed you to buy it? you realize that it ultimately will cost you more to go without it, since memory cards tend to fill up quickly, and two of them cost what 1 hard drive runs?
regarding it eating up the hard drive: sure. thats why you don't keep it installed forever. just like on pc. maybe there's an option from the menu to remove the actual expansion content, without touching save files, just to be sure?