Topic: Oblivion to get a GRAPHICS UPGRADE in a patch for PC and X360, eventually....

[MysterD]

PS3 version of Oblivion will have this built in; improved graphics and shaders.

Well, dig this -- Oblivion will be getting a GRAPHICS upgrade on all versions, eventually -- PC and X360 in a future patch, it sounds like!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

Oblivion Rumors Explained
We get down to the bottom of the recent Oblivion rumors.
by Jeff Haynes

February 8, 2007 - When we posted our preview of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, we talked about the various improvements that had been made to the PS3 version, such as the optimized load times and enhanced graphical presentation thanks to new pixel shaders that displayed sharper details. We also pointed out that while the Knights of the Nine side quest would be included, other downloadable content would not initially be included in the game. Needless to say, this information spawned a host of rumors on the boards and across the Internet. To separate the fact from the fiction about Oblivion on the PS3, we went directly to Pete Hines, the VP of Public Relations and Marketing at Bethesda Softworks for the true details behind the game.

Rumors were rampant about the reasons behind the lack of downloadable content. Other websites have reported that the justification behind the missing missions and features was due to technical limitations of the console. According to Hines, nothing could be farther from the truth. There were two specific reasons behind why items like the Orrery and Mehrunes's Razor will not be included within the PS3 version of the game. First of all, there was a concern about the balancing of the game and initially giving players access to a thieves den or a wizard's tower immediately at the start of the game. "There was no good way to incorporate these features into the game as soon as it started because it didn't make sense," Hines said. While he didn't rule out the possibility of some of these side quests or features making it into the game, it wouldn't necessarily be as soon as the game hit store shelves.

In fact, the other reason why the downloadable content for the PS3 version of the game isn't included isn't solely because of the technical limitations of the system. Instead, it's because the designers haven't actually tested the PlayStation Network Store and the mechanisms for delivering content to systems. Considering that the development team has been spending a large amount of time making sure that the game transitions over to the PS3 well without the numerous bugs or glitches that plagued the PC and 360 versions of the game, working on the store was definitely a low priority on their list when it came to dedicating additional resources to that feature. But it is being worked on, and it will be coming at a later date.

So what about the shaders or optimizations? Rumors were released stating that everything in the PS3 version of the game would migrate over to the 360 or the PC, which kicked off a screaming match on boards about which version was ultimately better. According to Hines, the shader functionality that would re-render the low-res textures would inevitably make its way to the 360 build and PC in future updates. However, certain optimizations that take advantage of the system's hardware will remain exclusive to the PS3 version of the game.

We'll have more on Oblivion as it's released.

[Xessive]

That's &*$^#ing AWESOME!

[MysterD]

That's &*$^#ing AWESOME!

As if Oblivion wasn't pretty enough already, right?

VERY NICE!!!

[MysterD]

Rumors were rampant about the reasons behind the lack of downloadable content. Other websites have reported that the justification behind the missing missions and features was due to technical limitations of the console. According to Hines, nothing could be farther from the truth. There were two specific reasons behind why items like the Orrery and Mehrunes's Razor will not be included within the PS3 version of the game. First of all, there was a concern about the balancing of the game and initially giving players access to a thieves den or a wizard's tower immediately at the start of the game. "There was no good way to incorporate these features into the game as soon as it started because it didn't make sense," Hines said. While he didn't rule out the possibility of some of these side quests or features making it into the game, it wouldn't necessarily be as soon as the game hit store shelves.

This is silly, to not include The Orrery and Mehrunes's Razor in the PS3 version.

Hmmm....idea....maybe you should make finishing THE MAIN QUEST a requirement before allowing the player tackle those two quests???

Or how about you give the player a LEVEL requirement, in order to take those quests on???

Or maybe you fill either the LEVEL requirement OR the MAIN QUEST is finished requirement, to do it???

Or maybe you have to meet the LEVEL requirement AND the MAIN QUEST is finished requirement, to do those quests???

Just some thoughts there....

[idolminds]

Or they can charge PS3 owners to download them later!

[MysterD]

Or they can charge PS3 owners to download them later!

Of course, yeah, they could do that...hehe....

...But that doesn't justify Pete Hines' reason of possibly not going to include DLC content into the PS3 version (which they did plan to originally do) b/c of possible "balancing issues."

[idolminds]

Yeah, its a BS answer, but you know they are hoping to sell them as downloads later.

[MysterD]

Yeah, its a BS answer, but you know they are hoping to sell them as downloads later.

This is probably true...

[Quemaqua]

So it isn't technical?  That's what I heard.  I think it was 1Up that was saying it was because of memory that they couldn't have everything going at once and they tried a bunch of stuff to get it working but it had performance issues.  And it sounded like they heard this straight from Bethsoft, sooo... I dunno'.  But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to sell the stuff, yet at the same time supposedly Knights of the Nine and a couple other things are already included, so I don't know why they'd include some but not all.

[MysterD]

So it isn't technical?  That's what I heard.  I think it was 1Up that was saying it was because of memory that they couldn't have everything going at once and they tried a bunch of stuff to get it working but it had performance issues.  And it sounded like they heard this straight from Bethsoft, sooo... I dunno'.  But yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to sell the stuff, yet at the same time supposedly Knights of the Nine and a couple other things are already included, so I don't know why they'd include some but not all.

Yeah....sounds like a bunch of issues, if you ask MyD....

Could be they wanna sell some online, to make $$$$.
Could be they wanna really "balance" the game out.
Could be they do have issues porting some of the DLC stuff onto the PS3.

Could be all of the above...who knows...

...But, I'll just hug my PC version of the game and look forward to Shivering Isles!

[Pugnate]

This is quite excellent news.

[MysterD]

This is quite excellent news.

Yes, an even more pretty Oblivion option sound good to me.

Wo0t!!!

[Pugnate]

Sure, let's just hope it doesn't cost a massive performance hit.

[MysterD]

Sure, let's just hope it doesn't cost a massive performance hit.

Or cost say the price of DLC Horse Armor content -- $2.99.

[Xessive]

It shouldn't cost us who already paid for the game anything.. Especially since there are still a lot of bugs in the game that the Unofficial Oblivion Patch has been resolving These guys are doing a great job!

[MysterD]

It shouldn't cost us who already paid for the game anything.. Especially since there are still a lot of bugs in the game that the Unofficial Oblivion Patch has been resolving These guys are doing a great job!

I'll bet you they are waiting to drop Shivering Isles BEFORE they release another patch....

It's what they did w/ Tribunal and then Bloodmoon, after Morrowind....

[Quemaqua]

My guess is Shivering Isles will just patch the game when it installs.

[Xessive]

My guess is Shivering Isles will just patch the game when it installs.

That would be would be ideal.

[MysterD]

That's a damn good idea, too.

[beo]

good news. it has to be said that the standard water shaders in oblivion suck. even the third party water shaders feel decidedly last gen. if this is upgraded to the levels that have been seen in the ps3 screenies, i'll be a happy boy.

[Pugnate]

That would be sweet.