OBLIVION! READING! EXERCISING!
I've been doing all three of those, mainly. Which explains why I haven't been on aim, and why I haven't checked livejournal in quite some time.
But... I'm a bit upset with Oblivion. The game is awesome, and it's so beautiful, and it's such a vast world, BUT I'm upset with the developers on two major points, the second one being the most important.
1. GRAPHICS TOO FUCKING GOOD. I can't use anti-aliasing without the game completely treating me like a bitch. Any time a monster, or humanoid, or something uses a drain attack, or any other semi-complex magic skill, I slow down like a mother fucker. And anti-aliasing is really needed for the immersion feeling. I like smooth lines, not jagged ones. However, it's still a rocking game, even if I have to turn off anti-aliasing and restart the game when I know I'm in for a big fight (which I can usually choose to enter or not).
2. THE GAME IS TOO WELL BALANCED. In Morrowind, after about level 30 or so, the mobs plateu, or however you spell it. They never get stronger. In Oblivion, the mobs get stronger each time you level, regardless of whether you leveled a combat skill or not. SO that means if you made a battlemage, who focuses on swords, light or heavy armor, and a few spells, destruction, conjuration, restoration, etc, but you choose to level an alchemy skill, which is one of your other major skills, then the monsters will get AHEAD of you, because they only level COMBAT skills. Or, at least, in most cases they do. You see, the developers assumed that now because I was becoming so good at using alchemy, that I'll start carrying around tons of potions and poisons to be used in battle. Unfortunately, I don't have the capacity to do so (too heavy).
See how that can be a problem? So if you get too caught up in leveling a skill you're hardly going to use in the end, you'll find yourself getting WEAKER as the game progresses. The challenge level surely goes up, but at times, it becomes so impossibly hard that I'm forced to move the difficulty slider down to a bit easier. Really weak, huh?
Anyway, that's all just hypothetical. My actual character is a stealthy thief type. He is also very acrobatic. I leveled mainly acrobatics, sneak, and security, letting my blade skill fall down a bit. So, even though I could sneak up on an opponent, I couldn't do enough damage with my blade skill to effectively weaken him enough to kill him off quickly before I myself died. Also, I was utterly USELESS against more than one person. Even if I could critical a character from behind, I would immediately become detected, and the other person would come after me with full health and a deadly blade.
So, in conclusion, if you're planning to play Oblivion, or you are already playing it, remember to first work on skills that you're going to use in battle(blade, destruction, hand-to-hand). Second, work on skills that work as a support in battle (armor). And finally, work on those extra skills that aren't very practical in battle(illusion and security). Of course, it all depends on your play-style, but I think this is a good general rule.
Moving on. Oblivion still frickin' rules.
But... I'm a bit upset with Oblivion. The game is awesome, and it's so beautiful, and it's such a vast world, BUT I'm upset with the developers on two major points, the second one being the most important.
1. GRAPHICS TOO FUCKING GOOD. I can't use anti-aliasing without the game completely treating me like a bitch. Any time a monster, or humanoid, or something uses a drain attack, or any other semi-complex magic skill, I slow down like a mother fucker. And anti-aliasing is really needed for the immersion feeling. I like smooth lines, not jagged ones. However, it's still a rocking game, even if I have to turn off anti-aliasing and restart the game when I know I'm in for a big fight (which I can usually choose to enter or not).
2. THE GAME IS TOO WELL BALANCED. In Morrowind, after about level 30 or so, the mobs plateu, or however you spell it. They never get stronger. In Oblivion, the mobs get stronger each time you level, regardless of whether you leveled a combat skill or not. SO that means if you made a battlemage, who focuses on swords, light or heavy armor, and a few spells, destruction, conjuration, restoration, etc, but you choose to level an alchemy skill, which is one of your other major skills, then the monsters will get AHEAD of you, because they only level COMBAT skills. Or, at least, in most cases they do. You see, the developers assumed that now because I was becoming so good at using alchemy, that I'll start carrying around tons of potions and poisons to be used in battle. Unfortunately, I don't have the capacity to do so (too heavy).
See how that can be a problem? So if you get too caught up in leveling a skill you're hardly going to use in the end, you'll find yourself getting WEAKER as the game progresses. The challenge level surely goes up, but at times, it becomes so impossibly hard that I'm forced to move the difficulty slider down to a bit easier. Really weak, huh?
Anyway, that's all just hypothetical. My actual character is a stealthy thief type. He is also very acrobatic. I leveled mainly acrobatics, sneak, and security, letting my blade skill fall down a bit. So, even though I could sneak up on an opponent, I couldn't do enough damage with my blade skill to effectively weaken him enough to kill him off quickly before I myself died. Also, I was utterly USELESS against more than one person. Even if I could critical a character from behind, I would immediately become detected, and the other person would come after me with full health and a deadly blade.
So, in conclusion, if you're planning to play Oblivion, or you are already playing it, remember to first work on skills that you're going to use in battle(blade, destruction, hand-to-hand). Second, work on skills that work as a support in battle (armor). And finally, work on those extra skills that aren't very practical in battle(illusion and security). Of course, it all depends on your play-style, but I think this is a good general rule.
Moving on. Oblivion still frickin' rules.