The Elder Scrolls: Skyblivion - PREVIEW

An Idea struck me in the dead of night. You guys (and gals) know how I do articles on very old games, and how I do articles on new games. Right? Well, get this. What if I did articles... on future games??? 😱

In this case, we will be covering a mod. 😂 Kinda weird to start the series off with a mod, since I doubt I will do future articles on mods. Mostly upcoming releases. But I am simply too excited for this one and it basically forced me to start writing this new series. So there you go. 😁

Onwards to the preview! 😤😤😤

🔶 WHAT MAKES ME EXCITED 🔶

So, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is one of my favorite games of all time. Definitely top 3. As such, when a total conversion mod was listed on Skyrim, oh around 6 years ago now, my interest PeakD. // I'm hilarious I know, thank you

Of course, I didn't get my hopes up. Mods like these that convert Skyrim into a totally different game are counted on one hand. So I always felt like the development would be sidetracked and forgotten. 🤷‍♂️

But lo and behold! 🎺🎺🎺

The mad lads seem to be making actual progress, and now after all these years, I have finally allowed myself to be excited.

Or, as the young folks might say, hyped. 😎

"For when an old game gets modded to be an older game, we receive the newest game."
Some Wise Sage, early 2023

🔶 WHAT IT IS, EXACTLY 🔶

A total conversion mod for Skyrim that turns it into Oblivion, duh. 🙄

That in itself would be impressive since Oblivion by all accounts is actually a bit larger than Skyrim. Oblivion has more quests, more dialogue, and more stuff to do in general. So 1:1 recreation would've sufficed, but the modders working on this project are something truly special. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, they have gone above and beyond. // not to be confused with beyond Skyrim which is a different mod

A large number of locations have been upgraded whole-sale. Roots have been uprooted, and buildings have been smashed to the ground, replaced by lushes vistas and empty planes.... on top of which capitalistic interests have been set. (you'll get it)

Now, Oblivion suffered from the same lame, lazy generation as Skyrim. in order to save data locations can't be made to look unique. Overlap must proveil! As such all the caves look like all the other caves, and all the mines, and all the forts, and all the Imperial City shops... and on, and on.

Skyblivion seeks to rectify this problem. The first, for instance, doesn't just look like someone took a 3D mesh and plopped it on a random place in the ground. They are now made to look geographically logical. 💯 Their entrances/exits/structure makes sense with the world around them.

The Daedra Shrines all have their own unique flavor. The many villages and inns throughout the wilderness look distinct and unique. This cannot be done by a huge team like Bethesda. It has to be achieved by hobbyists with unlimited time. No corporate deadlines. And basically a whole lot of passion. 😍

🔶 A WHOLE LOT OF PASSION 🔶

This team has gone back and studied old concept art for what oblivion should have been. Taken it and implemented it in the mods. Many of the cities in this new Cyrodiil are vastly improved. 😉

So not only is this Oblivion, it's a better version of Oblivion.

Moreover, all the models are newly made. Bethesda didn't allow them to use any assets from Oblivion. So these guys basically built the whole game from the ground up. 😅

They have a new face tracking feature, so the faces look much better than they used to in the OG game. For now, they are using the original dialogue of the game. I'm not sure how Bethesda is allowing them to use the OG dialogue, and not the OG meshes. But I guess that falls under fair use. I have no clue. 🤷‍♂️

What I do know is that all the bad parts of Oblivion are gonna get remade. No trashy leveling system, for one. For another, each region has been assigned specific music. And the team has painstakingly hand-crafted each to look unique.

This was sort of there in Oblivion, but not really. 😅

🔶 QUALITY AND QUANTITY 🔶

So this mod is gonna be special. Oblivion, but better. It is also set to release at a time when Elder Scrolls fiends will be most plentiful. // pretty proud of that line

Skyblivion will basically be Elder Scrolls 5.5. And for any long-time fan of the franchise - I need not say more.

If this article didn't convince you. Then the live stream VOD I linked above sure will. It goes through the game in excruciating detail, what is made and what is left to be made. 👯

🔶 THE NEXT ELDER SCROLLS GAME 🔶

At the end of this piece here, I will say that the team has made a lot of environmental design implementations. 😻 Environmental storytelling was basically nonexistent in Oblivion. But the Skyblivion team has gone and made so many new mini-events sprinkled throughout Cyrodiil. Bringing even more life to the game.

So yes, this mod is basically the next Elder Scrolls game. And when I came to terms with this idea, my hype levels went through the roof.

I am now sad again,b because I'll have to wait around 2 years until it releases. 😅

Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙

Yes, I did a whole article on an unreleased mod. Sue my! My next PREVIEWS will be about actual titles, I promise. 😁

For those of you that are Elder Scrolls fans but are not convinced this mod is the future, I implore you to skim through the live stream. You will believe soon enough there after. 💯

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Thanks for reading, you rock! Hope your week went well! 🙌