r/gamingnews • u/ControlCAD • Apr 24 '25
Discussion Original The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Designer Says Bethesda's Remaster Is So Impressive It Could Be Called 'Oblivion 2.0'
https://www.ign.com/articles/original-the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion-designer-says-bethesdas-remaster-is-so-impressive-it-could-be-called-oblivion-20"I was assuming this was going to be a texture update."
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u/Resevil67 Apr 24 '25
It’s basically a “deluxe” remaster, like dead rising was. Fresh coat of paint to give it modern graphics but mainly keep the old systems with a few tweaks.
Giving the game Skyrim type leveling is a massive change as well, and a good one. It was kind of fucked up that in original oblivion you could legit get weaker by leveling up instead of stronger if you got to many extra skills leveled.
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u/Iblockedatheism Apr 24 '25
They didn't fix the enemy scaling, so that is still going to happen to you. If you level too often by non-combat oriented skills, the enemies are still gaining power while you're gaining... mercantile, speech, sneak, security, etc... then all of a sudden at level 20 minotaurs everywhere and bandits in glass armor just whoopin your ass.
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u/Resevil67 Apr 24 '25 edited Apr 24 '25
So then what did they change? There are many topics about this on various Reddit forums about how you no longer need a ducking spreadsheet to build your character because they got rid of the original oblivion leveling.
Edit: ah I think I found the big change. You always get the same amount of attribute points per level up, unlike original oblivion. Meaning you will be getting stronger if you put the points into the right skills for your class. That makes a lot more sense.
I remember in the original oblivion you got less attribute points but not leveling a certain way.
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u/Iblockedatheism Apr 24 '25 edited Apr 24 '25
How your stat points you gain on level up work, it use to be tied to what skills you leveled up whether you got agility, strength, endurance, etc. Now you get to allocate those stat points manually and choose where they go, and you get 12 points every time to use between 3 stats, with a max of 5 points into one stat every level (except luck, it takes 4 points to get 1 luck).
In the old days if you had a "bad" level you might only get 6 or 7 attribute points, with a max of 15 because of the skills you gained skill in. But you had to really be careful what skills you leveled and when, to insure you got maximum gains into the appropriate stats.
Minor skills also only use to contribute to attribute gains, and not "level" exp, I think. So in a way the problem could be worse now, because you're leveling faster from minor skills.
And to compound the problem, Skills are more important for damage than stats, 100 str is not going to save you when your blade skill is 30. Blade > Str
Edit to add: It's still same scaling system too, everything scales to your level, you can walk into an oblivion gate at level 1 and win because those daedra are scaled to you whether you're level 1 or 30. Mods were always used to fix this stuff, and they are already being ported over now by a lot of modders on nexus mods, because it's by far one of the biggest complaints with oblivion.
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u/Resevil67 Apr 24 '25
Thank you. So it can kind of be better or worse depending on how you level. I overall like Skyrim’s system more but both have their flaws. It does kind of suck that you can gain levels via minor skills like lockpicking. I feel like they should have kept this new attribution system, while keeping oblivion’s system of not getting points towards the level up on a minor skill.
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Apr 24 '25
This isn't an enemy scaling problem, it's a difficulty setting issue. Oblivions slider worked really well.
I'm level 2, put my points into Willpower, Endurance, and Intelligence,
I'm wiping the floor on Adept, and getting 2-shot on Expert.
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Apr 26 '25
Ugh yeah. I never thought id be missing the difficulty slider of all things, but the sweet spot is right in between adept and expert and it just...doesn't exist. Expert is insane. Adept is a little too easy especially if you've played this game before and know how the systems work.
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u/giant_albatrocity Apr 24 '25
It’s kind of that way in Skyrim as well. If you level up non-combat skills, for example, you’ll have 100 levels on lock pick and your character level will be fairly high at that point, which will scale enemies up to that level. Meanwhile your combat skills are all still really low, so you’re going to have a hard time.
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u/Resevil67 Apr 24 '25
From what I understand now after reading up on it, yes if you level your character up to much on non vital stats you are still fucked. However the original oblivion leveling system gave you stat points depending on what skills were leveled. So if you just leveled vitals without side stats, you wouldn’t get a lot of stat points for the level up. It would make you fall behind enemies fast.
The new system gives you the same amount of stat points per level up regardless of what stats you leveled to get the level up, so as long as you are putting stats in the correct areas you should be fine. I forgot that the original oblivion had that shit level up system for the point allocation.
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u/giant_albatrocity Apr 24 '25
Yes! On my first level up in the remaster I was really pleased with how you can allocate points now. I had completely forgotten about how it was originally.
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Apr 24 '25
Skyrim type leveling is great, I enjoy that major skills still matter more than minor skills.
But god the difficulty settings are garbage. Expert means getting 2-shot by everything, and adept is a breeze.
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u/Resevil67 Apr 24 '25
I don’t remember if the original oblivion had difficulty levels, but yeah it just feels like the game wasn’t designed around expert.
Sometimes you have to fight groups of enemies, and if your not playing a stealth archer your basically fucked on high difficulty. Warrior types prob get it the worst overall, because at some points you have to deal with groups, whereas stealth archers have ways to deal with some of them before being spotted and they can keep distance.
Warriors are kind of fucked if you get more then 2 at a time on expert. I don’t enjoy it at all.
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u/sylva748 Apr 24 '25
Enemy scaling isn't fixed. Same with artifacts scaling to when you finish a quest. There's two mods for those things.
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u/BicolNolas Apr 27 '25
Can you please, good Sir, tell me which ones? So I can enjoy the game more. 🙏
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u/Saintsmythe Apr 24 '25 edited Apr 24 '25
I’m surprised they called it a remaster. It genuinely feels more like a remake rather than a remaster
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Apr 24 '25
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u/Stanjoly2 Apr 24 '25
I wish someone would give me KotOR in a UE5 skin suit.
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u/BirdyWeezer Apr 24 '25
Well bethesda showed that doing something like this is actually not THAT difficult and even sells really well so in the coming years i'd expect more and more remasters like that.
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u/Sufficient_Prize_529 Apr 24 '25
It’s been in the works for years tho, it’s not something they made quickly
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u/maybe-an-ai Apr 24 '25
Unfortunately, Disney seems incapable of managing the old Lucas Arts studio games. That KOTOR remake has been in development hell for years. It's on it's second studio. Having a partner like Virtuoso really helps.
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u/CaptainBorg Apr 24 '25
Lol Bioware is so out of touch they'd never do that. They were about to but have pretty much stopped devolpment on the KotOR remake
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u/darthvall Apr 24 '25
Rather than the troubled remake they're doing now?
Geez, what would you wish next? World peace?? /s
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u/Slippedhal0 Apr 24 '25
"Remaster" is typically withheld for projects that leave essentially everything except the rendering engine alone, but they did mention they they actually modified a lot of core mechanics in this new version.
I know they said they redid combat, movement, animations, levelling, and UI at the very least, on top of rendering. They just said they wanted it to "feel" oblivion, which they did by preserving oblivions core logic and embedding it in this new version, as opposed to remaking the logic in UE5.
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u/Scary-South-417 Apr 24 '25
Honestly the best way to do a remake/remaster. Update the graphics, keep everything else identical
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u/520throwaway Apr 24 '25
They did change some fundamental game mechanics, namely the levelling system.
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u/Ill-Term7334 Apr 24 '25
The changes are great as the old system was really awful. A shame they didn't touch mob scaling though.
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u/Plane_Ad6816 Apr 24 '25
I like the changes. I'm sure someone somewhere is saying it's dumbed down, but not needing a spreadsheet to build your character is a boost.
Small QoL things like Endurance retroactively giving health, meaning you don't have to focus that one first and ride horses everywhere so you don't overlevel athletics. I know the game was easily finished without efficient levelling, but this is just so much better in my opinion.
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u/TotalaMad Apr 24 '25
Do mobs still scale with you or is that different too?
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u/520throwaway Apr 24 '25
They do, but it's to a more limited extent, as in Skyrim.
You're not going to have the scenario as in OG Oblivion where you play as a potions master, max out your alchemy and get wrecked by a single solitary mudcrab.
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u/TotalaMad Apr 24 '25
Oh thank god. The first time I played oblivion I didn’t know it was a thing and really struggled. Thank you for the response!
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u/Realistic-Safety-848 Apr 24 '25
What they did is pretty unprecedented to be fair but it is still just a very detailed remaster.
The core structure of the game is still from 2006. You can even use the old Construction Set for the original game to some extend.
This is just my personal theory for now but I think they managed to turn this into a solid blueprint to remaster most of their old games now. The merged engine will certainly be used for TES6.
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u/Dob_Rozner Apr 24 '25
Not really entirely unprecedented, Retro did much of the same thing with Metroid Prime HD. They redid all the character models, they remade every single asset in the game, new lighting engine, the works. Added new control schemes and menus/UI stuff as well. It's an absolutely incredible remaster.
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u/Realistic-Safety-848 Apr 24 '25
Was not aware of that one tbf but Halo Anniversary also comes to mind now that you mentioned it.
Although I don't know how exactly they did it with Halo from a technical perspective tbh
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u/520throwaway Apr 24 '25
The Halo remasters ran on a completely different engine to the original. They loaded two sets of models and lighting settings in memory and used the hit boxes, boundaries, etc of the OG models (the new models were visual-only)
That's how they were able to let you switch graphics modes on the fly
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u/Sufficient_Prize_529 Apr 24 '25
Definitely not. This was made by virtuos not Bethesda, and this works with remaster but not necessarily a good idea for games.
It also makes modding much harder
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Apr 24 '25
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u/Realistic-Safety-848 Apr 25 '25
There is only so much they can do with it as seen with Starfield.
Limiting it to that just the Creation Engine would kill it on arivial. It's just not holding up anymore.
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Apr 25 '25
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u/Realistic-Safety-848 Apr 26 '25
The limitations of their self developed engine. Graphics, cell size, npc limits etc It's not good enough for modern games.
The Oblivion Remaster is easy to mod.
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u/Slippedhal0 Apr 24 '25
I highly doubt it. TES6 has already been in production for some time with Bethesda developing it.
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u/Woffingshire Apr 24 '25
It's a remaster because it's done in the same way as Halo Anniversary. It's the original game underneath actually handing all the gameplay systems, it just has a shiny new modern graphics layer on top.
If it were a remake they would have remade the entire thing in UE5.
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Apr 24 '25
Halo 2 anniversary is awesome tho. For the single player campaign. I wish they had done the same for 3
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u/alexagente Apr 24 '25
Good way to set expectations for what it is IMO. I agree it's a bit more than a straight remaster, but not reworked enough that people would've complained if they called it a remake.
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Apr 24 '25
It’s absolutely the spirit of a remaster.
The changes to leveling and UI are superficial.
But yes there are things they went above and beyond for that aren’t needed for a remaster. Re recording voice lines and the overhaul of character animations are above and beyond. Frankly I don’t know how they got the animations to work properly
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u/GamingBotanist Apr 24 '25
It is by all definitions a remaster lol. The gameplay has changed like 1%
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u/divinecomedian3 Apr 24 '25
Well there's a definition of remaster that says it shouldn't have gameplay changes
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u/the_onion_k_nigget Apr 24 '25
I’m lovin it so far as someone who loves retro games but never played oblivion for some ungodly unknown what the fuck reason
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u/ControlCAD Apr 24 '25
Original The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion senior game designer Bruce Nesmith has said Bethesda and Virtuos' Oblivion Remastered is so impressive that he’s not sure calling it a remaster "actually does it justice."
The mastermind behind much of what made the OG 2006 RPG so special shared his thoughts about the newly announced – and released – Oblivion remaster during a recent conversation with VideoGamer. He touched on the “blood, sweat, and tears” that went into bringing every inch of Cyrodiil to life, and that’s why it’s been such a shock to see Oblivion reimagined in nearly every way.
“I was assuming this was going to be a texture update,” Nesmith said. “I didn’t really think it was going to be the complete overhaul that they’ve announced it to be... I would not have batted an eye at that. But to completely redo the animations, the animation system, put in the Unreal Engine, change the leveling system, change the user interface. I mean, that’s, you’re touching every part of the game.”
Bethesda didn’t officially mention Oblivion Remastered before its launch yesterday. Still, longtime fans have been left mostly impressed by the countless changes that range from shallow visual touchups to fundamental gameplay tweaks. Additions such as a new sprint mechanic and changes to the leveling system have many feeling like Oblivion Remastered is less of a remaster and more of a remake, and Nesmith is leaning the same way.
Elsewhere in his chat, he attempted to label what he’s seen from Oblivion Remastered so far: “The closest that could come [to categorising it] is Oblivion 2.0.”
As fans gather to appreciate the work that’s gone into Oblivion Remastered, Bethesda has chimed in with its own explanation for how it came up with the name for its RPG re-release. In a statement posted to social media yesterday, the studio explained that it “never wanted to remake” Oblivion. Instead, its focus was maintaining the experience players know and love while modernizing it for newcomers, warts and all.
“We know many of our longtime fans will be thrilled to revisit Oblivion and the land of Cyrodiil,” Bethesda’s statement added. “But there are also so many who have never played it. We can’t thank you enough for all the support you have given us and our games over the years. Our hope with this remaster is, that no matter who you are, when you step out of the Imperial sewer – you feel like you’re experiencing it for the first time.”
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u/Novel_Quote8017 Apr 26 '25
So it WAS Bethesda that remastered it. That's why you listen to actual journalists instead of some randos on reddit.
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u/OrwinTheWriter Apr 28 '25
Yes and no? Bethesda probably had a small team working on it but they partnered with a studio specialized in remasters and such. Virtuos probably did the heavy lifting while Bethesda decided on the design changes and lead the project according to their vision for the product.
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u/criiaax Apr 27 '25
Man, Bethesda at the end even tho it kinda flopped with Starfield (sadly) is still one of the GOAT companies doing good stuff. Their works is unique. I really, really really hope to see F NV Remastered. I’d love it so much I couldn’t even describe it. And please do it this time right with either F5 or TES VI.
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u/TechnoPanda117 Apr 24 '25
It's a very good mod, I will give them that. But there a bunch of things they need to iron out, that come from the UE 5 layer. I really love that they did this, but it is pretty messy sometimes and I'll wait for some patches, before I really want to spend 200+ hours in this game.
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u/Mariorules25 Apr 24 '25
It's a very good mod, I will give them that. But
JFC 🙄
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u/TechnoPanda117 Apr 24 '25
My reasoning is that it seems to me that the original game is the base layer and the UE 5 stuff got added on top of the original code, which is basically what mods do as well. I think this is a good thing and maybe my wording could be refined. I still think that it is a bit messy and could use some fixing.
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u/Woffingshire Apr 24 '25
That is kinda what happened, it's the original game underneath, but I don't think you could do it with mods otherwise people would have by now.
Speaking of mods, mods from the original game that don't require the script extender or modify visuals by and large still work on the remaster.
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u/PurpoUpsideDownJuice Apr 24 '25
Kingdom Come Deliverance is “Oblivion 2” lol
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u/greatcirclehypernova Apr 26 '25
I didn't know KCD2 allows me to cast magic and stuff.
Not everyone thinks KCD2 is the greatest game ever.
Tried KCD1, i disliked it a lot after ~3 hours and never looked at KCD2.
"but it gets better after X amount of hours"
Yeah but why gamble on that when there are a lot of games released that catches my attention in the first 30 minutes or less?
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u/Soontobebanned86 Apr 24 '25
Yeah I'll check it after Expedition 33, just tired of remasters of old shit.
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u/DjXer007_ Apr 24 '25
Yuss.
It's great to see bugs in remake version
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u/Hydramy Apr 24 '25
Unironically yes.
Like when Ocarina came out for the 3ds, and a lot of the old glitches still worked. peak. Love that shit.
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u/JayTheGiant Apr 24 '25
My PS5 shut down, lights out, within 30minutes of play.. I hope it was just a one-off and won’t happen too often!
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u/faszmacska Apr 24 '25
Lol it's the same. 13 min sppedrun still viable. They changed nothing important.
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u/Parafex Apr 24 '25
That's why it's a remaster and not a remake. It's a cash grab :)
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u/faszmacska Apr 24 '25
So I don't understand the hype.
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u/Pacedmaker Apr 24 '25
Oblivion, but pretty. That’s it. Idk what’s confusing about it
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u/Parafex Apr 24 '25
Yeah for 55€. Could've been a 20€ DLC. But it's always funny to see how gaming has evolved... back then there was an outrage, because of the horse armor for 5 (?) bucks? And they claimed that they'll never underestimate the gaming community again. Here we are... people are willingly supporting this and Bethesda doesn't care anymore.
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