ES4: Oblivion - An Elder Scrolls Analysis - Episode Two

NeverKnowsBest continues to analyze the Elder Scrolls series:

An Elder Scrolls Analysis - Episode Two: Oblivion Strikes Back

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Part two of The Elder Scrolls series retrospective and analysis. Lots of bloom.

More information.

Oh nice! He was quick to release the 2nd episode

It feels strange to see all those Morrowind and Oblivion locations again!

I think that the feature that left the most lasting impression is the radiant AI. I really miss that in most other games.

I really enjoyed Oblivion modded up and I loved going for the Knights of the Nine armor and weapons. I thought that was a fantastic DLC or maybe back then it was called an expansion.

Originally Posted by Redglyph
I think that the feature that left the most lasting impression is the radiant AI. I really miss that in most other games.

What would you say the radiant AI actually accomplished in Oblivion? All I remember is villagers having generic, mad lib conversations around town. BGS made a lot of grand promises, but the reality was underwhelming to say the least.

Originally Posted by JFarrell71
What would you say the radiant AI actually accomplished in Oblivion? All I remember is villagers having generic, mad lib conversations around town. BGS made a lot of grand promises, but the reality was underwhelming to say the least.

The NPC schedule, they slept, got up and went about their tasks, exchanged a few words with one another, sheltered in bad weather. I don't remember if they reacted when there was a fight nearby, did they flee?

When you needed to find an NPC, you had to wait until opening hours. Or if you wanted to assassinate them discretely, you had to wait until they came home and slept - because they had a home and a bed! I remember you had to track an itinerant NPC in one quest, too, that must have pushed the need for that compass pointer.

I agree it's pure smoke screen (isn't everything?), and their chit-chat was a bit repetitive after a while, but it was convincing enough to give the player the impression of a living city. In many games the NPCs are at best going back and forth between two close positions. It's a huge game with many NPCs and a lot of combinations, so I agree with NeverKnowsBest about the "limited" dialogs and chit-chat, it was already very good especially for 2006. I doubt we'd ever seen anything more elaborated, even lately.

You're right, there were promises of an improved AI based on actual needs, a bit like a large scale partial-order planning AI (Graphplan, …), but I believe it was for Skyrim. And they didn't keep their word, it was apparently too complicated to pull out.

Ultima 7 did most of those things more than a decade earlier.