L'imperatore 'Uriel Septim VII' è stato imprigionato nella dimensione parallela di Oblivion e il trono è stato usurpato dal suo consigliere Jagar Tharn, il mago-guerriero imperiale. L'unico modo per riportarlo indietro e salvare l'impero, è ritrovare gli otto pezzi del Bastone del Caos sparsi in tutta Tamriel...

'The Elder Scrolls: Arena' è il primo capitolo della serie 'The Elder Scrolls' creata dalla software house 'Bethesda Softworks'. Uscito nel 1994 per MS-DOS, è stato reso disponibile in seguito come freeware...
Quindi se siete dei patiti di 'Oblivion' (ad oggi ultimo capitolo della serie, disponibile solo su piattaforme di ultima generazione) e volete sapere come è iniziato tutto, beh, non dovete far altro che raccattarlo!

L'ambientazione è fantasy e il mondo ricreato è straordinariamente 'aperto'; esistono infatti vari modi per risolvere il gioco e una libertà d'azione notevole, caratteristica questa che verrà mantenuta ed ampliata nei capitoli successivi raggiungendo la punta più alta con il titolo 'Oblivion'!

Le incredibili possibilità di interazione con i PNG (Personaggi Non Giocanti, ovvero i personaggi gestiti dal computer) e di personalizzazione del nostro personaggio lasciano davvero sorpresi e rendono 'The Elder Scrolls' il vero progenitore degli RPG moderni.

La serie completa di 'The Elder Scrolls':
Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, Bloodmoon (espansione), Tribunal (espansione), Oblivion, Knights of the Nine (espansione), Shivering Isles (espansione)

Alcune info sulla mitologia di 'The Elder Scrolls' prese da Wikipedia e ridotte qua e là dal sottoscritto:

Aurbis

È il nome dato all’universo in cui prendono vitia gli eventi della saga di the Elder Scrolls . In esso sono contenuti tutti i piani dell’esistenza, ovvero Aetherius, Mundus, Oblivion e i Reami Esterni.

Le Prime Forze
Sono due entità: Anu e Padomay.
Anu, è la quintessenza sotto forma di stasi. Gli Aedra, e altri dei classici associati con la creazione di Mundus sono ritenuti sotto la sfera anuica.
Padomay, è la quintessenza sotto forma di cambiamento. I Principi Daedra e Lorkhan sono ritenuti sotto la cosìdetta sfera padomaica.

Aetherius

È il Piano immortale, sede degli Dei e fonte di ogni magia e arcano potere. Si dice che le anime delle persone morte viaggino fino a raggiungere questo piano dell’esistenza.

Mundus

È Il piano materiale dei mortali. Fu pensato e concepito per la prima volta dal Dio Lorkhan, che in qualche modo riuscì a convincere gli altri Aedra a contribuire alla Grande Costruzione (...)

Oblivion

È il piano infernale che circonda Mundus e lo divide da Aetherius. È diviso in sedici piani diversi, ciascuno governato da un proprio Principe Daedra, che a seconda della sua natura e dei suoi poteri ne determina l’aspetto. Per questo motivo i piani di Oblivion possono essere profondamente diversi tra loro; si pensi allo splendido regno di Azura e al dominio infuocato e morto di Mehrunes Dagon.

Nirn

È il pianeta in cui si svolgono le avventure di The Elder Scrolls. Esso fa parte di Mundus ed è stato creato per desiderio di Lorkhan a partire dai progetti di Magnus. Nirn è scaldata da un sole chiamato Magnus e possiede due lune: Masser e Secunda. Il sole e le stelle sono dei veri e propri buchi in Oblivion, attraverso i quali la luce di Aetherius può risplendere nel Mundus.
Tamriel è il principale continente di Nirn ed è il suo simbolico centro ma ci sono anche altri continenti: Akavir, Atmora, Yokuda, Aldmeris.

For anyone who doesn't have an xbox live connection or is unable to get one, this is the game to get. With hundreds of quests and thousands of sounds and hours of gameplay, Oblivion is the game to play. The game starts out with the creation of a player character. Oblivion features a multitude of classes and birthsigns to give the player a feel for creating his/her own game. You can choose to play as a high-elf or a nord or anything else you would like. And with these classes comes an astonishing amount of detail to each character, which you can select and modify.

Everything from the cheekbones to the complexion of the player can be modified, and if this isn't enough, you have about six races and each race has its own special power.

The game starts with placing you in the middle of a dungeon, where you meet the King Uriel Septim trying to escape from assassins known as the Mythic Dawn. You immediately start following him and learn how to do everything: this beginning level serves as the tutorial to how the game is played.

After this mission, the game becomes very open-ended. You can choose to do anything you want to do in this huge world; you can become a thief or the head of the mages guild.

One of the things I liked about this game (among the many) was the physics of spells and the leveled missions. When you shoot a fireball at an enemy, they actually fly as if a huge ball just hit them. This was the first thing that impressed me. The second was that the enemies follow your level in missions, so, for example, if you play a certain mission when you are level 5 the enemies will be easier to kill than if you play that same mission at level 10.

The other awesome thing I wanted to mention was the gameplay difficulty setting. This game has a bar which you can slide around that changes the difficulty of the various enemies and missions. Sliding the bar to the right makes the game progressively more difficult, while sliding it in the opposite direction makes the game far more tolerable. I remember, once I decided to play on the max difficulty and was a level 14 mage. I attempted to kill a crab, but the game was on full toughness and I died within three hits. A boar killed me in a one smack.

This game is awesome, and I recommend it to all of you precious video-game players out there. Aside from the presence of alcohol, this game is great for anyone that loves RPGs.

I give this game a 9/10 for its impressive all-around great graphics and everything else.

Just -1 for its various glitches. Ie getting stuck in a wall and forgetting to save before that...

After some suggestions, I decided to give Morrowind a shot. I can say this, that the game can very well be the game that will bring me back to the hardcore gaming that I've missed for the last year or so. It is definitely immersive, bombarding you with fiction from an alternate world of fantasy that can arguably be said to be as good as Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

The biggest problem I first faced with Morrowind was the scale of the game. Morrowind is no ordinary RPG, as anyone with any knowledge of Bethesda Softworks will point out. It is more of a setup, a base for your RPG adventure, which you construct from the actions you undertake. That is, perhaps, the beauty of the game. It has a story, from what I can make out, but the level of freedom is astounding.

A second problem, one that I still have would be that of speed. The PC appeas to move at a lethargic rate, often making going through hallways a very long process. Running causes the PC to get fatigued, which is regenerating. I would personally have preffered at least the running speed to be the minimum walking speed, with an extra 'Sprint' functionality, like in Half-Life. Now that it's on my mind, I really do miss Half-Life's speed and fluidity of movement.

I love the writing in the game. It is way above the standard RPG fare. The game world is populated by what appears to be at least a hundred different books, each of which either dispense information on the massive game world, or tell a short story, or both. The book aesthetics also make reading a pleasure, and the journal in the game is perhaps the most lovely I've seen.

Sound is top-notch, with crisp sound effects, atmospheric sound and a beautfully magnificent soundtrack. It's really the sort found in movies. Graphics look great as well. Considering the volume of the game, the graphics make a great compromise between performance and appearance, but allow almost no customization - you have to stick with what you get. The water looks exceptionally gorgeous, albeit seems to lack smoothness.

Morrowind is, in every definition of the term, epic. It's a game you can never completely play in-and-out. But it sure as hell is awesome all the same. I appreciate Bethesda's efforts in this: they have a truly respectable style of video games.

Bethesda (utvikleren bak spillene) holder nå på med sin nyeste utgivelse, Fallout 3. For dem som ikke kjenner Fallout-serien, så foregår det i en post-apokalyptisk verden hvor man finner mutanter og andre styggedommer i tillegg til de onde, vil-ta-over-verden grupperingene. Nevnte utvikler ser ut til å ta mange av konseptene sine fra TES over til Fallout, noe som skaper en salig kombinasjon; en åpen, postapokalyptisk verden hvor du kan utforske alle kriker og kroker av bomba byer i ruiner, samt øde sletter/ørken med zombier og alt mulig moro.

If the sheer scale was not enough, the video also demonstrates dynamic light change in the form of a sun rise at the end. Simply breathtaking, these stills do not do it justice.

Also, I found this video of a Helms Deep for Oblivion (from LotR universe in case you have not seen the films since 2005) which looks quite detailed.

Links:

• My Adoring Fan is Emo

I finally played through The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion this weekend. I know, two years late, BUT I TOTALLY BOUGHT IT THE DAY IT RELEASED, SO BACK OFF. I originally bought it to last me the 3 weeks between the free beta and retail release of Final Fantasy XI on the Xbox 360. I didn't even close an Oblivion gate before I decided the game wasn't for me.

I was wrong. I played Oblivion for the entirety of this past weekend. No really, the entire weekend. Even so, I think my RPG elders would be aghast by how I played Oblivion. I put the difficulty slider all the way to the easiest position.

At first I told myself "I'll put it back up when I get into the swing of things." Didn't happen. I happily slaughtered everything in my path, rarely going below 75% health. It was almost like playing a book in that the story progressed with little effort from me. I was truly mesmerized by how vast the world was, and how many options I had. I could bust out some Fighters Guild quests if I wanted to, or I could screw up a bunch of Dark Brotherhood quests. From time to time I thought about how I should probably be playing something more difficult than breathing, but I was enjoying the book+freedom experience I was having. I was doing it wrong and liking it.

I'm sure those that have experienced the game with a greater degree of difficulty feel something for the game that I come nowhere near feeling, but I became my avatar while I was playing nonetheless. Much like an MMO, the experiences my character was having were my own. Every conversation, while not always fluid, was genuine. Every action had a consequence! That was probably the most amazing thing to me. If I screwed up real bad, perhaps I went through the Imperial City's market district and just mauled everyone, the Fighter's Guild would kick me out! That may seem petty, but the usual punishment in a video game is death, not expulsion from a group you're a part of.

The last place you would think to find comedy is in an RPG called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but some serious funny can happen in this game. The funniest thing I've seen for a while actually happened last night while I was dicking around in the game. Here's the situation: A boy called my "Adoring Fan" is following me everywhere. He loves me, because I am the Grand Champion of the Imperial City's arena. Basically, I kick ass. This boy is always following me. At any time I can tell him to leave me be, or to wait somewhere, but I don't have the heart to do it. He's so pathetic, the least I can do is let him watch someone as great as me. I'm on my way to a cave to kill some things for a quest. Usually when I have to run to a far away place I switch the point of view to the third person, then I jump around and swing my weapon because it looks ridiculous and robotic, and that's funny to me. To be cool I decided to try 360's and 540's while jumping around like an asshole. I accomplish looking like an asshole, and continue to do so while flailing my gigantic weapon around. I smash the pathetic little boy in the face with my Fine Steel Warhammer while I'm in mid-540. My jaw drops and my eyes widen. His body ragdolls, and the torch he was holding spins and falls to the ground where he was standing. "This game is the best," I thought to myself.

The game certainly isn't without issues however. There are a lot of weird little problems with the character to NPC interactions. The most notable of which is how angry everyone looks at you when you've just saved the entire land of Cyrodiil. I'm sure this isn't a problem for everyone, but it's really off-putting when right after giving the land a chance at life, the Emperor is gritting his teeth at me like I just told him that I booked Fergie for his birthday party. I can ignore this, and the few other problems the game has (frame rate issues, collision detection, etc.) seeing that the game is almost on an MMO scale on every front.

This raises the idea of an Elder Scrolls MMO. Could it work? I won't go crazy in-dept, but I sure think so. The pieces of any Elder Scrolls game's story are so distinct and separate from one another that the same sort of saga could be blown into an MMO fairly easily. Seeing that Oblivion was one of 2006's most critically acclaimed video games while never relating your work in the main story to your side quests, I think most would find it difficult to be disappointed if some sort of quest relationship system isn't implemented when the game is in MMO form.

Whether or not an Elder Scrolls MMO comes out, play Oblivion. If you really want to read a fantasy book this weekend, don't. Just play Oblivion for 40 hours. You won't regret it, unless you're a jerk.

"Композитор Джереми Соул делится своим мнением по поводу только что законченного и изданного компакт диска с саундтреком для игры Guild Wars Factions.

Paul Semel, 24 мая 2006 года.

В большинстве случае мы берем интервью по поводу музыки из видеоигр у людей для которых это не является повседневной работой, например, у рок-звезд, но сегодня мы пообщаемся с Джереми Соулом, который не нуждается в представлении, так как вы наверняка слушали его музыку в таких играх как, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, обе игры из серии The Elder Scrolls - Morrowind и Oblivion, а также Dungeon Siege, и последняя работа Guild Wars и Guild Wars Factions. В действительности, Джереми после выхода игр уже выпускал к ним отдельно саундтреки на CD.

На самом деле, Джереми уже практиковал выпуск саундтреков на отдельных CD, после выхода самих игр, таким образом, у нас есть возможность задать ему несколько вопросов.

GameSpy: Джереми, как ты стал начал делать музыку для игр?

Джереми: Это была моя первая оплачиваемая работа. Конечно, если не считать обычных студенческих подработок. Также я работал в Squaresoft, когда мне было девятнадцать лет. В то время я отправил своё портфолию в LucasArts и Squaresoft, даже не надеясь, что в LucasArts прослушают мои демо записи, но Squaresoft прослушали их и были рады, так как в тот момент искали композитора. 

GameSpy: И это было, когда вам было девятнадцать? То есть вы еще учились в колледже?

Джереми: Действительно это было так, мое обучение носило необычный характер. Когда я был ребенком я посещал уроки игры на пианино и все окружающие были рады моим стремительным успехам, включая моего отца, который преподавал музыку в государственных  учебных учреждениях, поэтому мне стала ясна необходимость продолжения образования в частном университете. Так как я начал обучение у профессоров из Западного Иллинойского Университет, когда я был в шестом классе. Я приобрел довольно большой объем знаний, соответствующий званию Магистра в области композиции еще до окончания колледжа. Таким образом, я уже обладал достаточными знаниями на момент окончания колледжа. Я год работал над созданием портфолио, которое затем отослал в Squaresoft.

GameSpy: Какая первая игра была вашей работой в Squaresoft?

Джереми: Я тогда работал над игрой, которая вышла под названием The Secret of Evermore. Тогда все считали, что эта музыка была самой необычной для Squaresoft из числа тех, которые когда-либо были услышаны, потому что я использовал звуки окружающей среды и много медленной музыки.

GameSpy: Была ли у вас такая игра, ради которой вы все бы могли поставить на карту?

Джереми: Да, конечно - это Total Annihilation. В то время был намечен выпуск тридцатипяти real-time стратегических игр, и я помню, Крис Тэйлор сказал: "Я действительно не думаю, что нам подойдет музыкальная атмосфера подобная играм линейки Command & Conquer". Тогда я решил использовать оркестровую музыку. Тогда я сказал Крису: "Если ты не будешь доволен музыкой, то можешь забрать всю мою заработную плату за год". После это Крис понял, что я действительно верю в то, какой должна быть сделана эта игра. Я действительно немного нервничал по поводу сделанного мною шага, но у меня отличная команда для необходимой работы. На самом деле я работал с этой командной в течение всего нашего периода творческой  деятельности над большинством игр о Гарри Поттере, включая последнюю.

GameSpy: Как много игр вы видели прежде, чем вы начинали писать к ним музыку?

Джереми: Иногда вообще ничего не удается увидеть. Иногда я вижу скриншоты или немного видео, но редко когда мне удается увидеть работающую игру, что является одним из самых сильных разочарований, которые могут постигнуть композитора работающего с видеодиграми. Большинство мои решения основывается на той информации, которую я получаю при общении с разработчиками и мне действительно повезло, так как по большей я работал с людьми, которые создавали действительно стоящие игры.

GameSpy: Очевидно, что вы делаете различную музыку для игр о будущем и для игр о средневековье, но имеет ли значение какая игра? Если вы работаете над музыкой для толкиенистской фэнтэзийной игры, будет ли иметь значение по-настоящему ли это экшен или же походовая ролевая игра?

Джереми: Да это так. Первым делом я определяюсь с темпом. Я имею в виду динамичность происходящего на экране. В случае, если это походовая игра и действие изменяется в зависимости от обстановки, например как в ролевых играх от Squaresoft, музыка должна содержать больше энергии, чтобы разжигать азарт игрока, тогда как в экшен играх динамика присуща самому игровому процессу. В случае с Guild War Factions речь идет о втором варианте, когда роль звукового сопровождения является значительной, но не самой важной составляющей для создания динамичной игровой атмосферы.

GameSpy: Говоря об этом, хочется спросить, как вам удалось распределить музыкальные темы по всем игровому миру Guild Wars Factions?

Джереми: Когда вы работаете с различными компаниями, вам приходится общаться с разными людьми, а когда вы покидаете прежних клиентов и работаете на другую компанию, вы можете встретить прежних коллег уже там. Так я был знаком с арт директором ArenaNet еще в те дни, когда работал в Squaresoft, также в ArenaNet была пара аниматоров и я заинтересовался над чем они сейчас работают, так что я посетил их сайт. И когда я увидел скриншоты оригинального Guild Wars, я был вне себя от восторга. Это была одной из самых прекрасных игр, которые я когда-либо видел. Я знал, что мне необходимо принять участие в работе над этой игрой. К счастью, руководитель студии в том время был поклонником моей музыки.

GameSpy: Были ли у вас какие-либо проблемы сочетания музыкальных тем в Guild Wars Factions?

Джереми: Так как это была он-лайн игра у меня была идея создать обновляемую музыку. Когда вам этого захочется, вы можете без проблем обновить музыку. Что замечательно в Guild Wars это система обновления, где пользователи могут обновить игру каждый раз, когда они этого хотят. Так каждый может пополнять музыкальный репертуар, когда мы этого пожелаем. В результате это был один из самых крупных проектов над которыми я когда-либо работал. Мы сделали огромное музыкальное сопровождение на многие часы. Хотя есть еще один композитор, который принимал участие в работе над Guild Wars Factions, мой брат Джулиан. Большинство из музыкальных трэйлеров было его работой.

GameSpy: Они кстати есть на вашем выпущенном компакт диске. Работали ли вы дополнительно над музыкой представленной на этом компакт диске?

Джереми: Да, как композитор, вы должны воспринимать это компакт диск как отдельную работу. Дело в том, что были случаи когда компакт диск с моими саундтреками для предыдущих игр, выпускались как компакт диски с музыкальнами файлами взятыми прямо из игры. Мне это никогда не доставляло удовольствия. Interplay была одной из первых компаний, которые поступали иначе, они действительно работали над созданием отдельного саундтрека для выпускаемого компакт диска. В случае с саундтреком компакт диска для Guild Wars Factions также как и с оригинальным саундтреком Guild Wars, мы действительно прошли весь процесс, чтобы создать и переработать весь материал, чтобы сделать его как можно качественнее. Это было сделано про принципу который мы называем "вне пределов игрового прослушивания".

GameSpy: Когда вы не заняты работой, какую музыку вы любите слушать?

Джереми: Я стараюсь быть в курсе происходящего. Это на самом деле редко, но слушаю звуковое сопровождение к множеству фильмов. А в основном, я слушаю Британский поп и рок. Одна из моих любимых групп это "Doves", так мне очень нравится новый альбом группы под названием "Delays".

GameSpy: В какие игры вы любите играть?

Джереми: Одна из моих наилюбимейших игр это The Legend of Zelda. Также мне действительно нравится играть в игры для которых я писал музыку. Я также люблю игры Криса Тэйлора, но с ним тяжело работать, так как, играя в его игры, я провожу за ними столько времени, что не остается времени на саму работу.

GameSpy: А если бы у вас была возможность написать музыку для уже вышедшей игры, то какую бы вы выбрали?

Джереми: Когда-нибудь я хотел бы поработать с Miyamoto, и я хотел бы работать над такими играми как Final Fantasy Metroid. Однако, я не могу сказать, что большинство моих пожеланий о написании музыке к интересным мне играм сбылись".

Эта статья, также как и "Jeremy Soule - композитор Morrowind", переведена для Отпечатков Жизни Dementy и Asjudc'ом.

Ссылки по теме:

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Hi there,

TESIV : Oblivion, That's what I call a video game ! or better, a whole new experience! this is one the rarest games that i'm playing right now, why ? because it is the only game that I think it deserves to be played for the moment, nice graphics, interresting story line and cool gameplay.

PS: your config must be a bit tuned in order to fully enjoy playing that game, a little reminder of PC requirements :

minimum requirements :

Win XP, P4 2GHz, 512 Mo RAM, 128 Mo graphic card (Geforce 6600 or higher)

Recommended requirements :

P4 3GHz, 2 Go RAM, 256 Mo graphic card (ATI X1950XTX or Geforce 8800GTS)

Quali sono questi indizi?

• in agosto ZeniMax Media, la compagnia che controlla Bethesda Softworks, ha annunciato la fondazione di uno studio, ZeniMax Online, affidato a Matt Frior, co-fondatore di Mythic Entertainment (Dark Age of Camelot), destinato allo sviluppo di MMORPG;
• recentemente ha stanziato 300 milioni di dollari per futuri progetti, cifra tutt'altro che indifferente anche per un progetto di grandi dimensioni come un MMORPG;
• e per ultimo, non meno importante, è la registrazione, da parte di Bethesda, dell'URL elderscrollsonline.com. L'indirizzo web è al momento inattivo, ma il semplice fatto che sia di proprietà di Bethesda indica che la software house di Oblivion sta pensando ad un progetto del genere o, addirittura, ne ha già avviato i lavori.

I giochi della serie Elder Scrolls hanno da sempre avuto caratteristiche similari a quelle dei classici MMORPG: libertà d'azione, mondi di gioco di enormi dimensioni, modalità di svolgimento delle missioni. Pertanto, non arriva come inattesa la notizia di un possibile MMORPG sviluppato da Bethesda Softworks legato alla serie Elder Scrolls.
Riguardo al dominio, Pete Hines, direttore della divisione PR di Bethesda, sostiene che "spesso accade che la gente speculi sui domini dei nostri giochi o che semplicemente non riusciamo ad acquistarli per tempo, quindi abbiamo deciso di prendere questo in modo che la situazione non si verifichi nuovamente [...] La gente acquista i domini in modo da venderceli o per usarli per altri scopi". Insomma, niente viene smentito! Vedremo se tutto ciò sarà vero o no.

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Msn'de son günlerde bir zararlı salgını olduğunu yazmıştım [1]. Web günlüğüme hemen bir iki yorum düştü. Hem günlüğümdeki yazıyı yazarken, hem de gelen ilk yorumlara verdiğim yanıtta, böyle bir sorunla karşılaşmadığımı da dile getirmişim. Ancak, yazılan ilk yorum "Msn’i sistemden kaldırıp sisteme tekrardan kurulması sonucu düzeldiğini” belirtirken, bundan iki saat sonra yazılan yorumda ise "üç gündür bu sorunla karşı karşıya olduğunu ve nasıl kurtulabileceğini" soruyor. Peki, senden iki saat önce yazılmış yorumu neden okumuyorsun?

Sonrası daha da beter, akşamına girilen ve gereksiz olduğunu düşünüp sildiğim diğer yorumlar arasından bir tanesi "hey dostum, ben de aynı sorunu yaşıyorum bana hemen çözüm yolunu söylersen çözerim, ilgine teşkürler dostum" şeklindeydi. İşte o an, içimden "Hey dostum ben de bu sorunu hiç yaşamadım, biliyor musun dostum? Üstelik bir de önceden yazılanları bir okusaydın ya dostum" yanıtını verecektim ama zaman kaybı olurdu düşüncesiyle vazgeçtim.

***

Pardus-Linux.Org forumunda kaç kere soruldu, kaç kere yanıtlandı. Ama nedendir, halen soruluyor... Mesela, en sıcak örneklerden bir kaçı;

Bir kullanıcı, bir konu başlığı açıyor ve başlığı açarken yazdığı mesaj aynen şu; "merhaba çalışan cd beryl kurulumu oluyormu yani kurulan pardusta aynı oluyormu". Bir kere, Beryl ile ilgili soru, forumda onbin kere sorulmuş ve bu konuda forumda bir araştırma yapsaymış, bulması hiç de zor olmayacakmış. İki, ne sorduğunu anlayamıyorum, çünkü her ne kadar bir çok Türkçe kelime ve ek doğru veya yanlış bir biçimde yan yana getirilmiş olsa da, bir arada sağlıklı bir cümle oluşturamıyor.

Bir diğer örnek, Knight Online'ın, Silkroad Online'ın, Pardüs'e üzerinde çalıştırılıp çalıştırılamaması ve bunun Türkiye'deki internet cafe'lerde Pardus'un yayılmasını nasıl etkileyeceği. Hayır efendim, tüm camia yanlış biliyor, Pardus değil, Pardüs! Bu konu da, en az onlarca kez forumda konuşuldu, tartışıldı... Ancak, hayır! Konunun tekrardan açılması, tekrardan tartışılması, aynı sebeplerin bir daha aynen gösterilmesi gerekir! On kere konuşuldu... Knight Online'ın ve Silkroad Online'ın Pardus üzerinde neden çalışamadığına o kadar çok değindik ki, burada bahsetmiyorum bile. Ancak, sadece bu iki oyunun çalışmasıyla, Pardus, Türkiye genelinde internet cafe'lerde yaygınlaşamaz. Neden mi? İşte sorulması mantıklı olabilecek ve seve seve yanıt verebileceğim kısım burasıdır.

Bir internet cafe'ye gidildiği vakit, Kadıköy'de sıkça karşılaşabileceğimiz gibi ya bilgisayar oyunları oynanır veya daha ciddi, öemeli bir amaç için internet kullanılır. Ancak, ben, her iki amaçla da kullanan bir insan olarak, ne tür sıkıntılar olabileceğine değiniyorum. Evinde, iş yerinde, kısacası bilgisayar başında durabileceğim her türlü zaman diliminde Microsoft Windows XP kullanmış bir kullanıcı, Linux kurulu bir bilgisayarın başına geçti.. E-postasına ulaştı, Msn'ini açtı, USB Bellek veya disket, her ne ise, onu da taktı ve sistem bunları gördü, güzel... Ancak, hemen bir internet sayfası açtı. Örneğin... ILSIS [2]! Evet, ILSIS! Ama o da ne? "Tarayıcınız İlsisWeb tarafından şu an için desteklenmiyor. Tarayıcınızı IE 5.0 veya daha üstüne güncelleyiniz." yazısıyla karşılaşıyor. Hemen, Microsoft Office ile hazırlanmış bir dokümanı Open Office ile açmaya çalışıyor. Nasıl yani? Tablolar, şablonlar kaymış, yazılar taşmış!.. Sonra *bu kadar sorundan sonra nasıl oluyorsa* işini güvenle bitirdiğine inanıyor ve hazır gelmişken biraz da bilgisayar oyunu oynamak istiyor...

Knight Online'ın ve Silkroad Online'ın Linux üzerinde neden çalışamadığı ile ilgili konuya da biraz yanıt olarak şunu söyleyebilirim ki; bir internet cafe sadece bu iki oyunla dönmemektedir. Size, çok çeşitli oyunlar sunan bir internet cafe'nin yaklaşık bir oyun listesini sunmak istiyorum:

Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Battlefield, Bloodrayne, Call of Duty, Civilization, Command & Conquer, Company of Heroes, Diablo, Doom, Driver, Dungeon Siege, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Elder Scrolls IV - The Oblivion, Eve Online, Fable, Fifa, Flatout, Grand Theft Auto, Guild Wars, Half-Life, Heroes of Might & Magic, Lord of the Rings Online, Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth, MotoGP, NBA, Need for Speed, Neverwinter Nights, Nox, Overlord, Prince of Persia, Pro Evolution Soccer, Quake, Ragnarok Online, Rune, Sacred, Star Wars Galaxies Online, Star Wars: Battlefront, Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Starcraft, Ultima Online, Unreal Tournament, Warcraft, Warhammer 40K, World of Warcraft, Worms...

İşte yukarıdaki oyunlar, Kadıköy'de ismini verebileceğim üç tane internet cafe'de oynanabilen oyunların uzun bir listesi. Korkutucu değil mi? Bazıları oyunların ikincileri, üçüncüleri, bilmem kaçıncıları çıktı, o çıkanlara da ek paketler ve modifikasyonlar hazırlandı, yamaları yayınlandı. Bunları da hesaba katın, Linux'ta bunların kaçı performans, ağ bağlantısı ve diğer açılardan sorunsuz olarak çalışacaktır? On tanesini geçmez, açık konuşayım. İsterse hepsini Cedega [3] ile çalıştırmayı denesin, hiç birinin Windows'taki kadar kararlı bir biçimde Linux kurulu bir sistemde çalışabilmesi mümkün değildir.

Bu da işin oyun kısmıydı. Şimdi, kimi okuyucuların kafasında bir kaç soru oluşmuştur, onları da yanıtlayayım.

Ofis uygulamalarında sorun, Open Office ve diğer alternatifleriyle hiç bir şekilde uyumlu çalışamayan Microsoft Office ürünündedir. ILSIS'te sorun, sayfa tasarımcısının dünyada ve Türkiye'de sadece Microsoft Internet Explorer kullanıldığını düşünecek kadar dar görüşlü olmasıdır. Oyun piyasasındaki sorun, oyun geliştiricilerinin *belki de haklı olarak* Linux tarafından umdukları kârı elde edememeleridir.

Sanki, tüm suçu başka taraflara atarmışım gibi bir izlenim bıraktı, değil mi? Ama aslında Open Office ile hazırlanan ve doğru dosya türünde kaydedilen bir doküman, Microsoft Office ile sorunsuzca açılabilir. Aslında, bir internet sayfasının Microsoft Internet Explorer haricinde başka bir internet tarayıcıda çalışması için ayrıca bir iş gücü sarf edilmez. Doom, Unreal Tournament, Quake ve daha bir çok oyunun da Linux sürümü bulunmaktadır, demek ki Linux için oyun geliştirmek teknik açıdan zor değilmiş, geliştirilmiş kaliteli örnekleri varmış...

Demek ki neymiş? Yazılımların geliştirilmesi aşamasında belirlenen stratejileden dolayı, Linux'un internet cafe'lerde yaygınlaşması engelleyen en büyük sorun, açık kaynak olan alternatiflerini adamdan saymamasıymış.

Demek ki neymiş? Sadece Knight Online'ın ve Silkroad Online'ın Pardus üzerinde çalıştırılabilmesiyle, Pardus, internet cafe'lerde hemen yaygınlaşamazmış.

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Gene forumlarda sıklıkla rastlanan bir konu, Pardus'un yazılışı. Linux'u belki telaffuz edilemiyor olabilir, hak veririm. Ama aynı durum Pardus için de aynen geçerli. Hem de sayfanın her tarafında Pardus yazıyorken, bu nasıl "Pardüs", "Pardüş", "Pardüs'e", "Pardus'e" şeklinde evrim geçirebiliyor ve geçirdiği evrime göre ek alabiliyor? Hmm, bu konu da forumda bir çok kez konuşulmuştu, şimdi hatırladım...

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Sonuç? Gereksiz yere onlarca kere tartışılan bir konuda çözme ulaşılamadığında, bunu internette başka kaynaklarda aramak çoğu kullanıcının aklına gelmiyor. Başka kaynakları da bir tarafa attım, ilk danıştığı sayfada da aratmıyor diyebilirim. Ancak, bir soru sorulduğu vakit anında cevaplanmasını istiyor.

Peki, cevaplayacak olanlar kim? Uzaylılar mı? Eru mu? Saylonlar mı? Değil, insan! Uzaylılar zaten foruma ihtiyaç duymaz, Eru'nun işi ne? Saylonlar aramızdaysa zaten geçmiş olsun :) Ama insan ise, öncelikle saygı, anlayış ve sabır gerekir. Yardımcı olacak kimsenin de sizi anlayabilmesi için olabildiğince doğru kullanılmış kelimeler ile anlaşılabilir Türkçe cümleler oluşturulması gerekir. İlgili sayfalarda gereksiz konu çöplüğünün oluşmaması için, ilgili sayfa içerisinde araştırmak gerekir. Ve bir kez daha üstüne basa basa söylüyorum, karşınızdakine karşı anlayışlı olmanız gerekmektedir. Çünkü, o bir gönüllüdür. Kimse onun kafasına tabaca dayayıp da size yardımcı olmasını istememektedir. Onu da uğraşından soğutmamak gerekir...

***

Yazdım ve biraz da rahatladım. Ve, okuyanların akıllarında oluşabilecek bir izlenime ters bir düşünceyle, gerek #pardus@freenode.net'te, gerekse forumlarda, bir gönüllü olarak kullanıcılara yardım etmeye devam edeceğim ve elimden geldiğince onları araştırmaya yönelteceğim. Ancak, şu yazdıklarımı okuyanların da, neler demek istediğimi iyice anlamasını isterim.

Saygılar...

[1] http://egetun.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/msnde-zararli-salgini/
[2] http://ilsis.meb.gov.tr
[3] http://www.cedega.com

With each game in the series we have seen numerous improvements. The graphics, the backstory, the magic items have all gotten more interesting. Now, just so its said, I think think that in a game like this, the graphical improvements are the least important changes. Theyre nice, and they do help with the immersion aspect, but not really necessary to the game. However, they have slowly built up this monstrous, and very interesting, world populated by golds, monsters and people with a history all of its own. Each of the games has been this monster of an RPG that really falls into its own genre moreso than belonging with sane games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

There has been a noticeable progression in the games with them becoming a bit simpler to play and getting smaller and more compact. In Daggerfall, the game was prohibitively large at times and much of the game looked the same. Cities were repetitive, but they were numerous and some were quite big. Dungeons were randomly generated and all over the place, but due to the poor mini-map they were a pain to navigate sometimes. This was changed in Morrowind; the world got smaller and there were less throw away characters and all dungeons were precreated. This led to the game being a more... personal game rather than being randomly generated and somewhat repetitive. There is only so much interesting design that can go into a random dungeon, this being less of a problem with Morrowind. Sure some dungeons FEEL repetitive, but thats usually because youre spending too much time in Dwemer ruins and ancestral tombs.

However, this has gotten to a radical point in Oblivion. They didnt just change a few things, theyve fairly mauled the game and in some ways its good but I dont like some of these changes. They have shrunk the world even more, with only 9 towns and the occasional odd settlement to be found. Comparing that to the 16 of Morrowind and Im already somewhat leery of Oblivion. But I bought the game for the PS3 and sat down to give it a go. And while I have had a huge blast with the game I cant help but begrudge them certain changes. I dont mind a smaller world, but Oblivion almost feels like a hash job of a game, where most of the time on the game was spent making pretty graphics.

To make a point, Morrowind features numerous free plugins released by Bethesda and two full expansions. Oblivions only expansion is Shivering Isles, with the rest of the not free plugins adding a minimal amount of extra stuff (I do understand the Mehrunes Razor quest to be quite time consuming though, which is nice). But Ive almost fully completed Oblivion on my PS3, which is just the base game and Knights of the Nine, and 120 hours have passed. Now yes this is alot and that is why Im not clamoring for my money back. It is alot, but its nowhere near Morrowind. That game has about 100 quests in it simply based on the main quest and the three great houses (I realize you cant do all of them in one game, but thats a bit of realism that I appreciate) whereas Oblivion only has 196 quests in the main game (roughly 240 with the plugins and expansions I believe). To put it in a different way, there are four joinable factions in oblivion with about 17 - 20 quests to complete each one, whereas Morrowind has eight factions you can join, with 20 - 30 quests per joinable faction.

Now I understand the theory of quality over quantity, but I dont really believe that to be the case. Some of the changes made to Oblivion really damage that game in my opinion. I dont mind the taking out some of the skills in the game. A few, like medium armor, only made it more complicated than it needed to be. However, I was always fond of the enchanting skill and how it helped you from running your magic items out as quickly as an untrained person. But thats not even the biggest, and most annoying, part of the changes. The way they have set up oblivion, strength is the deciding factor in all ways in combat with only the bow relying on anything other than your strength. There is no small blade skill that uses agility anymore. This means that all characters who are going to be melee fighting NEED some amount of strength. I dont like this, especially for my melee thief types.

Oblivion also throws a bunch of restrictions on you that I dont appreciate. In Morrowind, you could create magic items and new spells no matter who you were or what guilds you were part of. In this game you have to join the mages guild and complete 8 quests to get this option. Its really annoying and it can be prohibitive for a roleplayer to do. This is made a bit easier by the Sigil Stones you get by completing Oblivion gate areas, but this only partially solves the problem since these stones are randomly generated and while you can get good ones using a reloading trick, you still cannot directly control which ones you get.

Another serious gripe with Oblivion is the mini-games. While I will admit that making friends in Morrowind was sometimes tedious, the persuasion mini-game in Oblivion is flat out stupid. It gets easier to handle as you get better in it, but I really prefer to simply bribe people than dealing with that obnoxuious thing. Also, in Morrowind you picked a lock by equipping the lock-pick and "attacking" the door with it. Eventually you would succeed in opening the door or you would use up the lockpicks 10 uses and have to equip another. In Oblivion you have this obnoxious little mini-game that you have to play where you must actually attempt to put the tumblers in their place. Its annoying and even when you get to 100 in your security skill, you still fail to pick the harder locks often enough where you need an army of lockpicks to help with even that. Of course they helped this out by giving you a lockpick that never breaks after you complete one simple but moderately hard to find quest which makes the lock picking mini-game entirely irrelevant, yay!

Dont get me wrong, I love Oblivion. However, this is not the sort of game that is going to keep a casual players attention. So to make a bunch of changes that seem solely designed to make the game more accessible is kind of laughable. Sure, you may get some new converts with the pretty graphics, but this is a game for certain people and no number of changes are going to effect that when the end result is still as open ended, open world and with as much crud to do in it as Oblivion has. That, plus the fact that they arent making more for the game, makes Oblivion feel like the odd man out of the Elder Scrolls series. Its there, a nice addition to the family, but overall its nowhere near the other games in quantity and quality. All this game really has going for it are the Dark Brotherhood quests and celebrity voice acting. Those are a blast. But even that cant save this game from being mediocre compared to other entries.

You know, I often wonder why it is that some of the best and most useful mods come from third parties. Anyway, a modder named asp has developed Oldblivion, a mod that will allow people who don't have uber high end PC's to enjoy the RPG goodness that is the Elder Scrolls IV. What exactly is Oldblivion you ask?

"Oldblivion is a piece of software which allows graphics cards which are pre DirectX9 to run Elder Scrolls: Oblivion from Bethesda. This means that Oblivion can run on cards such as Geforce 3, Geforce 4, Radeon 9200 and so on. Oldblivion is still in an early development phase but it's fairly stable, however there still are a few bugs and kinks to work out." - Oldblivion website.

If you're one of the many people who bought Oblivion just to find that you could barely play it, why not head on over to the Oldblivion site and see if this mod can make things better for you.

The third of the promised official add-ons for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is now available for both the Xbox 360 and PC. The new content retails for $1.89 on PC from the Elder Scrolls store and 150 Marketplace Points ($1.88) in the Xbox Live Marketplace. While I love Oblivion, word on the last 2 add-on packs has been so negative that I'm not even considering buying this one until I hear a full review of the content. Here's the description of the add-on as per Bethesda;

"Located high in the Jeral Mountains of Cyrodiil away from prying eyes, this add-on makes the Wizard's Tower, Frostcrag Spire, become available. Packed with numerous useful enchantments, this structure will prove invaluable to magic-oriented characters.

Features:

-A fully detailed tower for you to explore.

-A breathtaking view of Cyrodiil from the highest point in the land.

-An indoor botanical garden with over 130 specimens... including Oblivion-native herbs.

-Summon Atronach Familiars that obey your commands.

-Instant teleports to every Mages Guild in Cyrodiil.

-New Spell and Recharge vendor in the Imperial City.

-Fully upgrade the furnishings in your lair to suit your needs.

-Upgrade to a fully functional Enchanting and Spellmaking station with no need to join the Mages Guild.

-Upgrade to a laboratory that buffs your Alchemy skill." - Offical Elder Scrolls Store

If you're interested in picking it up, head on over to the Official Elder Scrolls Store or Xbox Live Marketplace and have at it.

"Located high in the Jeral Mountains of Cyrodiil away from prying eyes, this add-on makes the Wizard's Tower, Frostcrag Spire, become available. Packed with numerous useful enchantments, this structure will prove invaluable to magic-oriented characters.

Features:

-A fully detailed tower for you to explore.

-A breathtaking view of Cyrodiil from the highest point in the land.

-An indoor botanical garden with over 130 specimens... including Oblivion-native herbs.

-Summon Atronach Familiars that obey your commands.

-Instant teleports to every Mages Guild in Cyrodiil.

-New Spell and Recharge vendor in the Imperial City.

-Fully upgrade the furnishings in your lair to suit your needs.

-Upgrade to a fully functional Enchanting and Spellmaking station with no need to join the Mages Guild.

-Upgrade to a laboratory that buffs your Alchemy skill." - Offical Elder Scrolls Store

If you're interested in picking it up, head on over to the Official Elder Scrolls Store or Xbox Live Marketplace and have at it.

We reported yesterday that the Orrery add-on was released for the Xbox 360 version of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Well, today the PC version of the mod was made available on the Official Oblivion Downloads page for the sum of $1.89. Details for the add-on are the same as the Xbox 360 version.

On a side note, the initial word coming in about this add-on is not all that positive. As I haven't purchased it yet, I can't personally confirm anything, but word on many forums is that the series of quests it imparts last about 10 minutes and simply award one new spell.

-"The Orrery allows you to help the Mages Guild of Cyrodiil repair the Imperial Orrery, an ancient dwarven machine with mystical properties. Bandits have stolen a shipment of parts destined for the Arcane University; if you can return them, the Orrery will function once more.

Features

* A new, full-featured quest, including dialogue, journals, and rewards
* Access to the Imperial Orrery in the Arcane University, an incredible mechanical marvel
* New powers available for your character based on the phases of the moons " - Elder Scrolls Official Forums