Oblivion PS3 will look nicer

By Tom Bramwell Published 11 October, 2006

A bit anyway. DLC also planned.

The PlayStation 3 version of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will benefit from technical advances made since the game shipped on Xbox 360 and PC earlier this year, in addition to offering the new "Knights of the Nine" quest announced last month.

Speaking to IGN, executive producer Todd Howard said that Knights of the Nine would take between 10 and 20 hours to finish, and also revealed that Bethesda's plan for Oblivion on PS3 also includes downloadable content. It's "something we'd like to support on PS3," he says, "but right now that's really in Sony's hands".

In terms of other differences between Oblivion on 360/PC and PS3, Howard said that the things you'd most notice besides the new quest would probably be the differences in graphical shaders - although it sounds like you'd have to look closely. "The best examples are those new shaders we have for how 'near detail' and 'far detail' blend together on the landscape," he said. "You no longer have a harsh line cutting across the two levels - they blend together seamlessly and the distant detail and land looks much nicer."

We shall see when Oblivion launches alongside the US PlayStation 3 on 17th November - or rather we will see when Bethesda and European co-publisher Ubisoft present it to us at the PS3's European launch next March.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (53) Latest comment 6 years ago

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  • Darkedge #1 6 years ago

    my god they have actually sorted out proper LOD. Wow that was hard.
    Sorry but Bethesda ballsed up Oblivion graphically as they just didn't get used to the power of any of the systems they were using. It was an appaling 360 port that could be patched.. but will they bother? Nahh. Idiots.

  • Salubrious_K #2 6 years ago

    As tempting as it is, I don't think this is enough of an improvement for me to sit through 100 hours of gameplay again.

    It was a great game though!

  • kangarootoo #3 6 years ago

    @Darkedge

    Its simply about priorities. The middle distance rendering of Oblivion had some issues, but it didn't much impact the fun I or a shit load of other had playing it.

    People should try and remember when chucking around superiour insults that both time and money are limitless only in the imaginations of people who don't actually know any better. Overall Oblivion was an astoundingly well put together game. It sets a target for the rest of us when it comes to maintaining quality in big budget games and the devs should be very proud of what they achieved.

  • Eighthours #4 6 years ago

    I wonder why they haven't patched the 360 version, since on PC the whole detail problem was fixed with a pretty easy mod.

  • Wrestlevania #5 6 years ago

    Darkedge: "my god they have actually sorted out proper LOD."

    LOD has nothing to do with it -- what he's describing is 'depth of field'. Sounds like it'll be even more pretty.

    All this continued vapour talk of Sony's online service is still worrying though, especially as the PS3's launch is now just weeks away.
    Edited by Wrestlevania at 11/10/06 @ 10:52

  • numptyboymatt #6 6 years ago

    I agree with Salubrious_K - good as it was, once was enough for me, dont think I could find the time to play it through a 2nd time, even if it looks nicer than before (not that I think the 360 version looked ugly in the first place!).

  • Darkedge #7 6 years ago

    "LOD has nothing to do with it -- what he's describing is 'depth of field'. Sounds like it'll be even more pretty."

    possibly yes but they will need to sort out the lack of LOD that the original had causing appaling pop up - the PC patches did fix this but not really in a satisfactory manner that wouldn't rape your system.

  • Wash #8 6 years ago

    :o 6months down the line (after console and pc releases), the game nears completion ;)

    Just hope they dont balls up Fallout 3.

    On a side note, playing thru oblivion i got to a point where on the main quest in a dungeon a no doors would open, and alas i could go no further. damn it.

  • afray #9 6 years ago

    Wrestlevania:

    Sounds pretty much exactly like LOD blending to me. My last PC game had it out of the box -- up yours Bethesda! :-)

    (I agree with kangarootoo, btw, just jesting)

  • Zomoniac #10 6 years ago

    I thought LOD was "Lots Of Ducks"? :)

  • Darren #11 6 years ago

    The Xbox 360 version of Oblivion was utterly superb and although the graphics weren't perfect with the short draw distance and pop up they were still pretty damn excellent. It's nice to hear that Bethesda are adding improvements to the PS3 version; it's what I'd expect from any decent developer but overall I doubt the game will actually feel that different to play really.

    The 10-20 hour Knights of the Nine questline sounds great though and I hope they'll add this to the Xbox 360 game as downloadable content otherwise I'll have to buy the PS3 version as well, not that I'd mind as I think Oblivion is the best game released this year and by far the best game on the Xbox 360.

  • alpha-0ne #12 6 years ago

    i would expect more than minor differences after a wait 8 months, look at the great strides done between games like ghost recon (released march same as oblivion) and gears of war in less then that time..

  • DrDamn #13 6 years ago

    @Wrestlevania
    From the article ...
    "The best examples are those new shaders we have for how 'near detail' and 'far detail' blend together on the landscape,"

    Sounds like LOD to me, not depth of field. Depth of field is to do with focus.

  • cyacomini #14 6 years ago

    I actually thought Oblivion 'sooked boabies'.

    I admit, i'm in the minority tho'.

  • septimus #15 6 years ago

    Yeah it's just a coding fix for the Anistpoic/LOD/DOF... not a hardware benefit before the sony fanboys rejoice that the console isn't complete balls.

    They could patch the PC/360 version easily enough. Ah well. I Won't get it again anyway for the PS3... game is good, but it does get dull.

  • paulf #16 6 years ago

    well it have stupidly long loading times as well?

    the real next gen will have no loading times ...

  • sharpfish #17 6 years ago

    In other news, another dev working on a game for 8 months extra has spoken of improvements. And the earth is round too.

    It's just PR for the PS3 version to get people even more hyped, sure it will look better due to these fixes (that should have been there in the first place).

    I also hear PGR4 is going to look better than PGR3 (go figure!).

  • PlugMonkey #18 6 years ago

    I Won't get it again anyway for the PS3... game is good, but it does get dull.

    Gawd, no. I don't think there can be any real expectation that 360 owners will fork out for it again. Life is far too short to play through Oblivion twice. It's all good news for prospective PS3 owners though, as it is a great game and although it does get dull in the end, it's hard to be overly critical of game that gets dull after 90 odd hours.

    I wouldn't dream of buying it again on PS3 though. Been there. Done that.

  • Rambaldi #19 6 years ago

    "Oblivion will benefit from technical advances made since the game shipped "

    But not the amazing "gen of it's own" power of the PS3? Hohum.

  • Pirotic #20 6 years ago

    the problem with Oblivion is that over half the game code isn't even Bethesdas, they have so many third party plug-ins making up the game engine that it was pretty much impossible to optimize.

    you got the tree generator, the landscape lod system, the physics engine.. all of it farmed out from 2nd partys.

  • BartonFink #21 6 years ago

    So will they fix the god awful popup, tearing, and slowdown for the PS3 version.

    If so I will hold off delving into this again on 360 and pick it up again on the PS3.

  • mkreku #22 6 years ago

    Gothic 3 is based on the same graphics engine as Oblivion and uses Speedtree for its forests. We'll see if they've managed to get the game more optimized or if it's the same piece of bloated code as Oblivion was. Once Gothic 3 is released this Friday, that is.

  • Darren #23 6 years ago

    @BartonFink - The Xbox 360 version of Oblivion uses v-sync as far as I'm aware and has absolutely no tearing whatsoever. I've been playing it for well over 250 hours and I usually notice tearing even if it's slight yet I've never seen any in the game at all. :?

  • ChromeMud #24 6 years ago

    Is that it?
    The PS3 has twice the power of the 360 and it does a bit
    of blending in the distance...now that's Next Gen!
    What is happening to the uber might of Sony's platform?
    Even the Wii could do LOD blending so where is this so called
    Next Gen power?
    1080P?
    60FPS?
    Zero loading time with Superfast Hard drive cache streaming?
    Better physiscs engine cuz the last one was cooky?
    LOD blending......ZZZZzzzz

  • BartonFink #25 6 years ago

    @Darren - I have played the game for probably about 20 hrs. It is noticable when you go into outdoor areas.

  • Vin #26 6 years ago

    "The PS3 has twice the power of the 360 and it does a bit
    of blending in the distance...now that's Next Gen!"

    lolz. Twice the power. lolz.

  • SomaticSense #27 6 years ago

    So the PS3 version is to have DLC as well eh? Good for them.

    So Bethesda, how about delivering the Warriors Castle DLC that you announced for us 360 Oblivion players ages ago? Or are you too busy concentrating on the PS3 port and have completely forgotten about it?
    Oh and while you are at it, could you please get around to fixing that stupid glitch that 9 times out of 10 prevents those steel gates from opening in Ayelid ruins. A serious glitch that you plain ignored with the the last patch. Thank you.

    Seriously though, I can't believe the game's been out for that long and they still haven't fixed that ridiculous glitch. Even when they released a patch fixing everything else, they plain ignored that one. It doesn't even seem as if it would take as much effort to fix as the myriad of other glitches they did fix. It's not game-ending, but it's fucking annoying having to keep reloading the game over and over in the vain hope that the gate eventually opens. That kind of awkwardness should be reserved to PC games and not consoles. Can't bring myself to play the game now because of it.
    Edited by SomaticSense at 11/10/06 @ 14:21

  • ChromeMud #28 6 years ago

    I have the facts from Ken himself that PS3
    does indeed do two Teraflops to 360's one.
    So it was written!
    That's twice the power and about the same as
    a military computer at full pelt doing global thermonuclear
    war simulations.
    I kid you not.
    Oblivion should atleast be photorealistic on PS3
    so I will not buy this embarrasing low grade port.

  • Phreedh #29 6 years ago

    I don't think they can hear you, SomaticSense... really.

  • cyacomini #30 6 years ago

    @ChromeMud


    *pishes himself laughing.

  • Xerx3s #31 6 years ago

    Great news for PS3 (future) owners. ES4 is a really good game imo. Good to see that they used the extra time to fix glitches (but knowing Bethesda, there will still be plenty to go around ;p ). I hope Bethesda doesn't forget about it's loyal fan base and releases that new storyline for the other platforms as well.

  • SeesThroughAll #32 6 years ago

    Yeah it's just a coding fix for the Anistpoic/LOD/DOF... not a hardware benefit before the sony fanboys rejoice that the console isn't complete balls.

    While I'm yet to see any sony fanboys rejoicing here, the XBox fanboys certainly lost no time trying to trash something which is good news for those interested in the PS3, did they?

  • Tiger_Walts #33 6 years ago

    Heck, GTA3 did LOD blending. Not very well but it did do it.

  • Dabs #34 6 years ago

    Kneel before LOD.

  • ChromeMud #35 6 years ago

    @Dabs
    "Kneel before LOD."

    That was Super-funny.

    8/10

    Changed score to 8.5/10 cuz I laughed a second time!
    Edited by ChromeMud at 11/10/06 @ 16:06

  • Inigo #36 6 years ago

    It's a shame they couldn't fix the broken game play that made leveling up pointless. They could also un-dumb-down it so it has some depth. I loved Morrowind but this was such a disapointment :(

  • megastar #37 6 years ago

    what on earth have the Legion Of Doom got to do with this game??

    UUUUUUUuuuuuugggghhhh What a RRRrrrrush!!!

  • captainrentboy #38 6 years ago

    Chromemud is joking about the twice as powerful thing yes?I'm clearly not too good at detecting sarcasm any more.
    Ohh and I too am in the minority in that Oblivion bored me stupid within a couple of hours.

  • UncleLou #39 6 years ago

    Gothic 3 is based on the same graphics engine as Oblivion and uses Speedtree for its forests. We'll see if they've managed to get the game more optimized or if it's the same piece of bloated code as Oblivion was. Once Gothic 3 is released this Friday, that is.


    mreku: No. Gothic has always been based on the Unreal engine.

    You're both wrong. Gothic always had a proprietary engine. Neither G1, G2 or G3 have anything whatsoever to do with the Oblivion or Unreal engines.

  • HelloWorld #40 6 years ago

    I wonder how much of this is down to having more computeringtons, and how much is due to them having more time to tinker with stuff.

  • peson360 #41 6 years ago

    isnt it obvious that when u have extra development time the game is supposed 2 be looking betta

  • Darren #42 6 years ago

    @BartonFink - I'm pretty sure that Oblivion is 100% v-synced as I said earlier and I always considered that pretty much confirmed by the fact that I've never seen any tearing in the hundreds of hours I've played it either indoors or outdoors. V-sync tearing is something that annoys me so I'm surprised to hear anyone mention it. Sorry to go on about it but until your post I've never heard anyone else mention it so your comment puzzled me. Are you sure it isn't your TV?

    (I've been playing with VGA @ 1360x768 and component video @ 720p by the wat on a Samsung LE-26R41BD HDTV by the way, with the updated August 2005 firmware)

  • BartonFink #43 6 years ago

    Nope TV is also a Samsung (32";) HD-TV, maybe it's the slowdown and popup in outdoor areas conspiring to make it look like it's tearing. Haven't noticed it on other games though.

  • EmiliasHorse #44 6 years ago

    We need to hurry into town and save the world Immediately! Are you ready to go now?

    Not yet. Back in a moment.......

    100 hours later having taken over all guilds and explored all dungeons.


    We need to hurry into town and save the world Immediately! Are you ready to go now?

    Oh well if I must lets go.

    /Love this game

  • smelly #45 6 years ago

    Wow! More graphical improvements!!!

    What about making the game fun to play? Maybe adding a decent story? Or perhaps making fighting slightly more exciting than bashing one button? Or removing the long load times? Or indeed making it run at a half decent constant framerate?

    Something tells me the fanboys have been wanking over the graphics on this game so much that its made them blind to the fact it's not actually that good!

    (and yes I have played it, and yes I am playing it on a shit hot pc, and yes i have given it a chance, and no im not a fanboy)

  • BartonFink #46 6 years ago

    I was with you right up till the very last bit smelly ;)

  • UncleLou #47 6 years ago

    (and yes I have played it, and yes I am playing it on a shit hot pc, and yes i have given it a chance, and no im not a fanboy)



    Well, I for one am convinced.

  • kangarootoo #48 6 years ago

    @smelly

    "Something tells me the fanboys have been wanking over the graphics on this game so much that its made them blind to the fact it's not actually that good! "

    Are you accusing me of being a fanboy? 'Cos I certainly don't consider myself to be one, I haven't wanked over the graphics, AND I think it is actually that good.

    How do you explain that Mr I-Don't-Like-It-So-It-Sucks, hmmmm?

  • kangarootoo #49 6 years ago

    @smelly

    P.s. "Something tells me"

    Would that be the voice in your head that hurts you when you tell it you don't want to be its friend anymore because of the bad things it says?

    ;)

  • Garulon #50 6 years ago

    "does indeed do two Teraflops to 360's one.
    So it was written! "

    Maybe Oblivion doesn't use teraflops? Maybe it still uses gigaflops because it's set in Olde England?

  • NthSimulachum #51 6 years ago

    In Olde England, the greatest mathematician could probably do 0.04 flops. Before being burnt as a math-witch

  • smelly #52 6 years ago

    >Are you accusing me of being a fanboy?

    No. I'm saying that people who cant see the (many) flaws in the game, in favour of the nice graphics MAY be fanboys who are a bit blinkered.

    I dont see what this game has to offer, I've been playing rpg's since early days (my favourite even being a western rpg - ultima 7). And as far as rpg's go this is quite possibly the worst example.

    I was REALLY looking forward to this when it came out.. I bought it on day 1. And at first i thought "wow.. this is absolutely incredible.." then I played it properly

    1. Piss poor framerates (like playing a flick book at some points)
    2. Piss poor loadtimes.. "please travel from A to B.. okay.. wait 3 mins, talk to someone.. and be told to go to c.. Wait 3 minutes.. talk to someone.. be told to go back to A.. wait 3 minutes".. Not exactly what i'd call "gameplay".
    3. Story is shockingly bad - This is a RPG!! The story is the most important part! I've not seen a story in a rpg this bad since ultima 9.. (erm actually, it's almost the EXACT same story as Ultima 9! And that game was terrible too!)
    4. Fighting consists of tapping a button.. Whopppeee! Maybe I've been spoiled by the likes of zelda and final fantasy.. But even ultima underworld (almost 10 years ago) had more involving combat than this rubbish!

    Sure it's big, sure it's even impressively big. Sure the graphics are stunning.

    But WHERE is the game?????

    I *REALLY* dont understand the praise given to this game! Short of being a (Very good) technical demonstration.. it's not exactly a great game is it?

    Surely even the most hardened Oblivion fan would agree with most of the coments i've made above?

  • Garulon #53 6 years ago

    "Surely even the most hardened Oblivion fan would agree with most of the coments i've made above? "

    I don't know what the fighting model is like on the PC but on the 360 it's squeezing a trigger, not a button. And that's TWO triggers if you have a shield - fireballing skeletons as they come running towards you, then raising your shield at the last moment and feeling it splinter as your controller kicks back from the force from the skeleton's blow, then backing away so you can get a clear shot with your (badly used) sword, release that won't cut the mustard, and try to get high ground so you can take it down with your bow.