The Oblivion Remaster Thread

[Doublezero]

This flew under my radar.

 

[Kendo 2]

'Modernize', monetize and ultimately fuck up.  From what I understand it was going to be a remake in Unreal5 with the original gameplay mechanics.  How they intended to do that with the original voice actors and sound track is a mystery since the'd have to pay for that again or not use them.

At first (to me anyway) it sounded like it's something they could slap together pretty quickly, grab some cash and derail Skyblivion.  Now there are rumblings that 'modernize' also includes 'modern audience' and FUCK-THEM-NO-THANKS.  Doesn't matter if an outside team is doing the remake, it still has to clear corporate and that's when they'll start fucking it up.

I'll wait for Skyblivion.

[endgameaddiction]

Is it a rumor? I thought it was confirmed. I don't keep up with them to care.

Nothing Bethesda does is out of goodwill. I see this nothing more than to foster more cash from their fans sheep. I only expect them to do this with the rest of their older titles.

I was hoping for Skyblivion and SkyWind, but since it's not going to be available for LE (only SE), I have nothing to look forward to from any of this.

[Doublezero]

23 hours ago, endgameaddiction said:

Is it a rumor? I thought it was confirmed.

It hasn't been officially announced by Microsoft or Bethesda, so I'm taking it all as rumor.

 

[ritualclarity]

If they did, it would be crap. They would "update it" and make it so. I have no trust that Bethesda or even Microsoft will be capable of doing anything right in regards to games, Oblivion specifically. 

In fact, I would be perfectly happy if they never updated it.

 

[ritualclarity]

4 hours ago, Doublezero said:

It hasn't been officially announced by Microsoft or Bethesda, so I'm taking it all as rumor.

 

I just thought. They might have floated that rumor to see if there is a public following and desire.  It is cheaper to remake it and with all the new games failing it might be more profitable as well.

[Kendo 2]

[Doublezero]

 

[Kendo 2]

[Doublezero]

9 hours ago, Kendo 2 said:

Something feels off about this game.

[Kendo 2]

6 hours ago, Doublezero said:

Something feels off about this game.

I'm biased but YEAH, something about all of this.

[ritualclarity]

3 hours ago, Kendo 2 said:

I'm biased but YEAH, something about all of this.

I would say you are on point.

What can you expect with the actions that Bethesda has done over the past decade?

[Doublezero]

I didn't post the video about it, but Bethesda authorized a strike a few weeks ago. Now that this game seems to be real, you have to wonder how much leverage they will lose in negotiations with Microsoft. If this game is a critical success (I don't think it will be), then Microsoft would likely be emboldened to allow more studios to make Elder Scrolls and Fallout games while Bethesda employees are on the picket lines collecting unemployment.

[ritualclarity]

8 hours ago, Doublezero said:

I didn't post the video about it, but Bethesda authorized a strike a few weeks ago. Now that this game seems to be real, you have to wonder how much leverage they will lose in negotiations with Microsoft. If this game is a critical success (I don't think it will be), then Microsoft would likely be emboldened to allow more studios to make Elder Scrolls and Fallout games while Bethesda employees are on the picket lines collecting unemployment.

I didn't know they went on strike

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/bethesda-and-zenimax-union-votes-to-authorize-a-strike/1100-6530524/

Not sure if that is a good idea. They have created very badly received games in the very recent past. It is likely that Microsoft bought it for the IP not for the other *stuff*.  Microsoft can shut everything down and use their own resources that they have instead of them. At least as far as I understand it. They don't need them anymore. They own the IP(s). Sure there might be some public opinion blow back but if they do release Oblivion, and it is successful (I am assuming it isn't from Bethesda).

If Microsoft hasn't given them a contract, it is very likely that they are seriously considering just cutting them off and shutting down the entire thing.

Also nobody is stating Microsoft's side of the story. It is likely they have seriously got after them (looking at you Todd) for the failures after failures they had. The working on a game for years to not even have it even partially ready and then dumping it or at least large portions of it to rework it again. Not that Microsoft hasn't been guilty of that crap.

If (and I believe it is very likely) they are shut down. The games will be made, but likely not as modable as we had or would like.

[Kendo 2]

I've looked at the images that are supposedly in-game shots and they look like renders to me.

Bethesda devs on strike equals 'We refuse to do the jobs we suck at.'  Easily replaced.

[Doublezero]

My thoughts keep going back and forth between "this game may be real" to "this game was canceled years ago and these leaks are a massive troll job".

Assuming this game is real, the fact that Microsoft is willing to release it without any fanfare means to me that the game is bad, the company has little faith in the project and is unwilling to put any marketing dollars behind it.

[Doublezero]

 

[ritualclarity]

17 hours ago, Kendo 2 said:

I've looked at the images that are supposedly in-game shots and they look like renders to me.

Bethesda devs on strike equals 'We refuse to do the jobs we suck at.'  Easily replaced.

Yes, replace them with the original staff that created these masterpieces and instruct them to do the same.

9 hours ago, Doublezero said:

My thoughts keep going back and forth between "this game may be real" to "this game was canceled years ago and these leaks are a massive troll job".

Assuming this game is real, the fact that Microsoft is willing to release it without any fanfare means to me that the game is bad, the company has little faith in the project and is unwilling to put any marketing dollars behind it.

I was originally in agreement, however,  a thought come across my alien mind. LOL. They could be keeping it around to tweak and work on in down time without any real date to release. When they decide they need some more $$$ They release it maybe with a week or 2 for their fan boys and girls on Youtube to give a review to get the hype that way. Let word of mouth do its work. I believe Hogwarts wouldn't have been as popular if it wasn't for the people loosing it due to the author of the books being "antitrans" (even though their is clearly a trans woman in the game. Not just a random person but a key NPC that you have to interact with at least once and has other side missions for you to complete.) Once people seen how good it was they bought it. It's a simple childs game. Easy and clean and can be fun before it becomes tedious. It even has mods! lol. (currated by WD of course so no strange stuff. Looking at you LL )

If done even halfway decently (say fallout NV or even Fallout 3 even Skyrim quality) it will take off itself without any hype. If a mod system is released at the same time as the release of the game, even more so. So long as it isn't Starfail.

Also isn't it being done by another studio?

[Doublezero]

14 hours ago, ritualclarity said:

Also isn't it being done by another studio?

The game is supposedly being made by Virtuos Studios. According to the early YouTube videos I watched, Virtuos has little experience making games outside of port jobs.

The only real confirmation we have for this game are leaked internal documents from the FTC vs. Microsoft lawsuit. ZeniMax probably added the remake to their release schedule to make Bethesda a more attractive acquisition target for Microsoft. To be honest, I don't think ZeniMax ever intended to make the game, if they did we would have had an announcement from Bethesda a long time ago.

If this game is made, I think it will not be all that successful. It will probably not be fully moddable and any changes they make have a chance of alienating long time fans and if they make too many changes it will not feel like the original at all.

On top of that, the game itself may not be very good. This game is not a port, and the studio supposedly behind it has little experience making full games. I've read YouTube comments complaining about bugs in the original game, but the remake could have its own problems.

I don't know if this game is real or not, but I will remain highly skeptical until there is an official announcement or someone leaks some gameplay footage, because still images are not going to do it for me.

If the leaks turn out to be fake, a lot of gaming YouTubers who you would think would know better than to run off with a bunch of unsubstantiated rumors as fact are going to have major egg on their faces.

[Doublezero]

One question gaming YouTubers should be asking right now is whether Microsoft is allowing Bethesda to maintain creative control over their IPs. Because if they do, there is no way Todd Howard wouldn't have knowledge that an Oblivion remake is in the works. Either Todd is lying or no game is being made.

I remember Obsidian wanted to add a mini story to Fallout: New Vegas about San Francisco being destroyed, but Bethesda had them remove it.

I don't see a third party studio making a remake of Oblivion without some oversight from Bethesda.

[ritualclarity]

48 minutes ago, Doublezero said:

One question gaming YouTubers should be asking right now is whether Microsoft is allowing Bethesda to maintain creative control over their IPs. Because if they do, there is no way Todd Howard wouldn't have knowledge that an Oblivion remake is in the works. Either Todd is lying or no game is being made.

I remember Obsidian wanted to add a mini story to Fallout: New Vegas about San Francisco being destroyed, but Bethesda had them remove it.

I don't see a third party studio making a remake of Oblivion without some oversight from Bethesda.

Well it wouldn't be like Todd didn't lie before.   He has lied many times previously. Honestly, I don't think this is an actual thing. Maybe, they might be letting the hype train go to see how much people want a remake. To see if it is worth it to persue. I'd assume it woudln't be super difficult for them to remake the game if they follow the same as the original. The music is there. The dialoge is there. They would need to rework the graphics and meshes and make it fit in the new engine (If assuming they are going to use Unreal 5 or something) If it is the same engine just updated, they can easily fix it. They have experience with Skyrim/Fallout 4 if my memory serves me correctly. They were working on Skyrim SE learning when developing Fallout 4. you can still find assets from older games moved over to the new ones (TES and FAllout )  Some assets even from the other game IP lol. Or so I was infromed.

I see Microsoft letting Bethesda control their IP ... at least hs up to to a point. Microsoft is like any other American company. They want $$$ and they want it as cheaply as possible. They also don't want their IP or companys to have negative presse that will blow back to them.  So log as Todd can do this, I don't see them taking the IP away from Bethesda. However, look at Starfail and all that happened with that. How far off the mark they were. Looking back how far off the mark they were for FAllout 76 and Fallout 4. Sure they got better but the press each time was negative and got worse each release. This isn't a one off event. If they had Skyrim level fame up to the point where they failed Starfail, one could chalk it up to a fluke.

I honestly see Bethesda shutting down.  Perhaps when Todd leaves. Who knows what agreements were made with the takever. I am sure Todd got his golden ticket to exit.

[Doublezero]

He made some good points at the end. 

 

[Kendo 2]

I HOPE Emil and the Toddler stay as far away as possible.

[Doublezero]

 

[Doublezero]

Word on the street tonight is that the game will launch tomorrow at 12PM EST. All kinds of rumors are swirling. I feel like I'm watching an Internet Historian video unfold in real time. If this doesn't happen, there will be major meltdowns on social media.