Just Started the "Original" Version Question

[Eldrane]

I'm really enjoying the original version, apart from the graphics update is there really any other reason/s I should be considering paying £50 for the remastered edition?

[Just Chill]

Not necessarily.
I got fed up with the original version.

Back then when I mostly played in Steam Offline Mode (as I feared anything could issue the stability of a heavily modded Oblivion), I've invested a quarter of the time into installing FCOM, half the time in trouble shooting and another quarter into playing.

I either used OBGE (now Oblivion Reloaded) and texture packages (Qarl and Bomrets).



Haven't touched it in ages (mostly played Nehrim afterwards) and am very happy with the remaster now.

So if you enjoy the original right on the spot, there is currently no need for the remaster.

[kdodds]

Not really. The remaster atm is both less stable and has worse performance. It's almost fully aesthetics only.

[Yagger]

the remaster doesn't crash as much, but its ui is kind of worse, the map/local map for instance, and examining items

[R3sistance]

There are some QoL updates in Oblivion Remaster, most of the differences are on the wiki:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Remastered_Changes

Briefly, Levelling (not level scaling) in the original Oblivion was messy, you have to match skills to attributes in a not natural way.

Attributes are altered, most notably Endurance is now retroactive where in the original you get Endurance/10 HP at level, in remaster it is now level*(Endurance/10) which means it applies retroactively which means you no longer need to focus endurance as your first attribute to level optimally.

Combat is a bit more fluid in remaster than original and there have been some balance changes. Remaster is less spongy with creature health than original but less is not none.

however there are still multiple issues that weren't adjusted, like level scaling for example.

[TyCobb]

I suggest finding a detailed breakdown of the differences between the two and deciding if the differences are worth it to you. Since you already started the original, you may as well continue on with it though since it sounds like it's your first playthrough. The remaster is still 95% the same as the original because the remaster still runs the same engine for the game.

In addition, if you play through the original first and then later grab the remaster, you get to experience the difference yourself and decide which version you enjoy more. And since you only get to experience something for the first time once, you might have more appreciation for both versions if you play the original first.

[FhqwhTODD]

Originally posted by kdodds:

The remaster atm is both less stable

Not at all if you have a decent PC.

[Drax]

Not really.

The graphical update is huge and as someone who played the original back then I am impressed by it. But from a gameplay perspective, the main difference is a better levelling system that's less annoying, some changes to skill perks to make some skills more useful, and very minor quests + armours that are tied to the deluxe edition.

I'd recommend getting it for 20 quid in a few years and replaying again.

[SadPlatty©]

The remaster ultimately is like playing someones super modded version of the game (including the fact they may not have "LOOTed" correctly and it is a bit iffy performance wise for some).

They had some desired changes you may not fully subscribe to (such as the colors/ambiance going from bright/bloomy to darker/realistic). But they have things like the Oblivion Unofficial Patch, and some neat armor mods for "Cataclysm" and "Order" (as the DLC armors quite literally feel like modded in armor; but it is very nice looking).

But like - the "Dreamworld" quest that is bugged and seems to cause people to get stuck 50% of the time? Yeah - I just ran into it yesterday. Other random crashes due to NPC script "oddness" - that's much less common in occurrence, but present (though I haven't confirmed the Salmo getting bread crash - I might it try later).

They also patched some bugs like the dup glitch is now only the barrel version, and you cannot perma-bound enchantments to your character by duplicating the equipped items.

Overall - if you are having fun with OG; play it for mod variety if you are OK with infrequent crashes, otherwise the Remaster is more "I can enjoy the game without mods plenty". Hell, I just did a modded run in the OG 6 months ago and ended up doing a full run here (all DLC, all daedric shrines, buy all spells and houses, etc.).

[ZemX]

If you are playing original Oblivion on PC then you can probably get mods that do everything the remaster did and then some with just the graphics being the only thing it can't replicate.

Mods can do some impressive stuff with the old graphics engine, but not THIS impressive. At least not if you have a rig strong enough to run Hardware Lumen RT on Ultra. The lighting can get really impressive in that case and with a few more engine.ini tweaks on top of that.

The other thing you might do is wait for Skyblivion, although it's not clear they will release this year. They say they are close but it probably depends on if they get more volunteers or not if they really hit the mark.

[kdodds]

Originally posted by FhqwhTODD:

Originally posted by kdodds:

The remaster atm is both less stable

Not at all if you have a decent PC.

Absolutely not true. I have i9 13900K, 4090, 64GB DDR5. I haven't crashed once in Starfield, Outlaws, South of Midnight, Avowed, Banishers just to name a few recent releases. I've crashed over a dozen times in OBR, all of them the standard UE errors proliferating this forum. In OG OB I never crashed, at all, on way older (and varied) machines than my current machine. The OBR crash reports are insanely ubiquitous throughout SM as well. This isn't a secret.

[magne.moe]

Just did the same, need to fix boss pc before i want to ask for an new 4TB SSD so I can install remaster. Yes this sounds like an Oblivion quest 😺

Leveling looks like much less an pain, in the OG you wanted an mod to monitoring who skill you leveled.
On the other hand you have much more mods, I reinstalled the old game and can grow crops and have an portable alchemy chest where I can store all ingrediensens as an option.
Think I made that mod, as it was alchemy stations but stationary and too complex I just wanted an store all ingrediensens button.

You level much slower depending on your build still level 7, now I restarted as an khajiit as the unmoded altmer looked so bad I got creeps. Still very poor, should perhaps enabled the prostitute mod and lift my tail for gold but tried to not enabling the weirder mods who I forgot that did, know some was interesting but dangerous for the saved game.

Here is the list of known changes
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Oblivion_Remastered

Not sure how long I play the OG after I got the SSD.

[ZemX]

Originally posted by kdodds:

Absolutely not true.

Absolutely depends.

I have a 9800X3d + RTX4080 and haven't crashed a single time in OBR. It's honestly very weird. I'd have expected at least one by now with any new PC game release. This is with everything turned to max except DLSS Balanced and FrameGen On at 3440x1440. I'm using "Optimized Tweaks OBLR" mod but really nothing else yet. Oh, and overriding DLSS to latest DLSS4 preset in Nvidia App. Driver version 576.02. There is one newer driver version I haven't updated to at this point because I'm not having problems other than some stuttering, which that mod has minimized quite a bit.

Yes, crashing is happening for others and you can find SOME posts about crashing here, but if it was happening to a majority of players, you'd see nothing BUT complaints about crashing here.

[ZemX]

Originally posted by magne.moe:

in the OG you wanted an mod to monitoring who skill you leveled.

It's been a while but I'm pretty sure I used a mod that just gave me fixed points to raise attributes with regardless of what skills I'd leveled... in other words, just like the Remaster now does.

I'm not sure I like the change to Minor skills ALSO causing you to level up though in the remaster. It's more Skyrim-like, to be sure, but it can at least result in some early levels being gained by leveling Minor skills that go up fast when they start out low (like 5 or 10). So you can early on gain some levels if you put Athletics or Acrobat in Minor as they will initially increase VERY fast.

That part isn't a really big deal but the one that is worse, in my opinion, is that It also means you can't hit max level without working on skills you might have no interest in, like say a pure Mage not wanting to use weapons or armor. Previously, you could max out level just working on Major skills which were the skills you intended for your class be it a Mage, Warrior, or something in-between.

[Coffee Addict]

iam a controller gamer, the original doesnt have controller support

[magne.moe]

Originally posted by SadPlatty©:

The remaster ultimately is like playing someones super modded version of the game (including the fact they may not have "LOOTed" correctly and it is a bit iffy performance wise for some).

They had some desired changes you may not fully subscribe to (such as the colors/ambiance going from bright/bloomy to darker/realistic). But they have things like the Oblivion Unofficial Patch, and some neat armor mods for "Cataclysm" and "Order" (as the DLC armors quite literally feel like modded in armor; but it is very nice looking).

But like - the "Dreamworld" quest that is bugged and seems to cause people to get stuck 50% of the time? Yeah - I just ran into it yesterday. Other random crashes due to NPC script "oddness" - that's much less common in occurrence, but present (though I haven't confirmed the Salmo getting bread crash - I might it try later).

They also patched some bugs like the dup glitch is now only the barrel version, and you cannot perma-bound enchantments to your character by duplicating the equipped items.

Overall - if you are having fun with OG; play it for mod variety if you are OK with infrequent crashes, otherwise the Remaster is more "I can enjoy the game without mods plenty". Hell, I just did a modded run in the OG 6 months ago and ended up doing a full run here (all DLC, all daedric shrines, buy all spells and houses, etc.).

For the colors/ambiance, no brown is not realistic seeing trees, then I look out my window I only see green from the trees, not as vibrant green as in OG but no brown at all.
During winter I see the buss park past the 30 meters of trees around the small river separating me from it. People call it the piss filter and its mods fixing it.
Now brown make sense in deserts or inside caves not in forests.

Leveling in OG had serious issues, looks like remaster solved most of them but think they should make enemies more like in Skyrim, level scaled but in ranges depending on locations.
Remember in OG goblin warlords at level 30 had way over 1000 health.

Drain health 100,
Shock damage 30,
weakness to shock 100 for 3 seconds
weakness to magic 100 for 3 seconds.
Solves this issue.

So does Popcorn time:
Command creature for 5-10 second on target.
Optionally add invisibility here.
Then a goblin warlord is hit 3 times by followers, its now permanently hostile to goblins.
its also hostile to you but they can not see you