I will probably upload it to my backup disc as well as elsewhere on the Windows drive, just in case this drive tanks. It shouldn't - Hitachi came highly recommended by my local Mac gurus. I trust them - I've been doing business with them for sixteen years (an eternity in computer time!) and they haven't steered me wrong on all the upgrades I've done.

And yes, you're right. I remember replacing the HD and installing additional RAM in my blue-and-white G3. I was so scared I'd break something! But now everything is literally plug-and-play (and Apple perfected it! ) - you don't need a degree in computer engineering (which I don't) to DIY your machines!

Well, I'm off now to have some fun! See you when I reemerge from Cyrodiil!

Take SubRosa's advise AND keep a copy of each mod you download in a separate location too. That way if you do have to dump your game, it's a lot easier to restore your game than searching for mods online all over again.

I'm not a fan of Macs but that's probably because I grew up on Windows.

Lucky you! I grew up on DOS. That's why I ran screaming to Macs!

Glad to hear things went well Haute. As for linux, personally I doubt you'd want it. Mac is better for graphics, doze is better for running proprietary software and most open source stuff is availible for both. Linux is only really useful if you need high performance (and with that rig you probably don't unless you run simulations or something) or reliability (web server style). If you do decide to run linux give a few versions a try before you settle, Ubuntu is a favourite and has good support but is grossly lacking otherwise IMO, Arch Linux is good, as are Slackware and Debian. If you want to push things a little further FreeBSD is brilliant, it's astonishingly stable and compiles software locally if you use the ports system which improves performance. It does feel a bit old fashioned though.

How about a DOS partition? DOS was cool back in the day.


Some cases... The one I has various design issues, admittably I got it on the cheap because someone had squashed it but some aspects are really stupid, like putting the hole for the chassis fan over the CPU socket. That was great ten years ago when one fan would do both but these days heatsinks are so big there's no space for a chassis fan there... It's aimed at high performance too so there's no excuse.

Here's a question for any of you who've gone over to quad/hex core - was it worth it? They're brutally expensive and I wondered how much better they work.



This post has been edited by Olen: Apr 13 2011, 12:00 AM

My i7 920 is without a doubt faster than anything I have ever had before. You will not see a tremendous difference with old software like Oblivion, that was not made to take advantage of multiple cores. But multi-core apps and processors are the future, so do not hesitate to buy one.

Mine is a Quad Core Xeon (2 processors) and runs graphics insanely. I love the way photographs look on it.

Beyond Apple's Aperture (photo management software - pro level), I haven't really done anything to push the processors. But I did notice a huge improvement in rendering between that and the earlier chips.

If you do a lot of video editing, multi-core processors are the way to go. Skyrim might also take advantage of it. I wouldn't know, but I would expect it to just because it oughta be light years beyond Oblivion in graphics.

Light years? You forget that Skyrim is also coming to the consoles you were so desperate to escape from, hautee. I am expecting nothing more than higher resolution textures, better animations, better lighting, and improved Distant LOD, myself. Everything else they are showing off in terms of graphics tricks (water rapids, illuminated windows) are things Oblivion was already capable of doing. Still, you'd be surprised what a console can do if you try hard enough, but I'm not seeing anything in that trailer that wowed me.

What I need right now, though, is to upgrade my PC to Windows 7. Skyrim is supposed to be able to use DirectX 10 on PC and my GPU is compliant, but not my OS. I'm sorry to say it, but XP is now starting to hold my PC back, and as much as I like it, I have to let it go.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Apr 13 2011, 02:16 AM

Welp, here's the latest.

Windows 7 is running beautifully on my Mac. Even better yet, Oblivion is running awesomely. The graphics are better (partially because my monitor is a higher resolution than the 1050p LCD TV the Xbox is connected to), and the game runs much smoother.

I've restarted the MQ with Julian. She and I are discovering the joys of the command console. We've already renamed Paint, Red and Jasmine, and we were overjoyed to learn we could do the same for the generic Imperial soldiers. So all of the Legion riders we've met so far (and a few of the city guards) will be getting their own names!

I know it's such a simple thing to be excited about, but Julian and I have hated that we couldn't do that on the Xbox. Rediscovering Oblivion this way is like playing a whole new game. I am no longer drooling, and instead am jumping up and down in my chair squealing in delight like a dumb blonde over a new pair of shoes (and I'm not blonde, BTW - just sayin'). No offense, Buffy, you're not dumb!

He he he. there is so much more you can do now, as well. Let me give you a few samples...

See almost every major structure from afar.

Remove the annoying load screens from the city gates.

How about better looking castles for your opened cities? (Shameless plug)

Better sounding combat.

High resolution world textures.

And best of all...

Fix all those glaring bugs left in the game after Bethesda stopped supporting it.

However, please note that modding this game is a very involved process, and it takes time to learn the ins and outs of this game and how it works. However, if you will forgive my lack of modesty, that is where my experience might help you.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Apr 13 2011, 10:48 PM

I was the same when I finally got Oblivion for the PC.

You will let me know if the named guards stick, I have a feeling that you will never see them again however.

So does this mean we will be seeing screenshots of our beloved snow-maned Redguard?

Welp, it's a possibility. I mean, once someone tells me how!

Follow these simple steps:

1. If you are not using HDR lighting, turn off the in-game anti-aliasing, otherwise the screenshot function won't work. If you are using HDR, the game's built in AA cannot be used alongside it, so you'll be alright if that is the case.

2. Open the file Oblivion.INI, you can find it under Documents/My Games/Oblivion (this is also where the game keeps your save data).

3. Find the setting 'bScreenshotEnabled=0', change this to 'bScreenshotEnabled=1'.

4. Save.

5. Enter Oblivion and hit the Printscreen button. If done correctly, the screen will lock for about 1/4 of a second as the screenshot is saved, and a message 'ScreenshotX saved' will appear.

Addendum: Open the console and type TM to get rid of the HUD and de-clutter the screen, as well.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Apr 14 2011, 12:14 AM

Okay, then a couple of newbie questions:

What exactly is HDR lighting?
And where are the screenshots saved?

HDR = High Dynamic Range. It is the lighting technique used by most modern games. It's primary feature is the ability to dynamically adjust the brightness of the lighting similar to how your pupils fluctuate when looking at bright light sources. You can experiment by looking from down a the ground to up into the sun and back down again. Notice how the screen brightness adjusts itself? That is HDR at work. Console Oblivion did not use this lighting technique, it used Bloom, and HDR actually provides a number of enhancements to the lighting that you don't get with Bloom.

Downsides: You need a Shader Model 3.0 compliant GPU to use HDR (and with an 8800 model nVidia, you do), and you have to force Anti-Aliasing if you want to use both at the same time.

The screenshots are placed in the base Oblivion directory.

HDR Lighting: Also known as HDR Rendering (based on who you ask), it's basically part of the game engine that allows for higher contrast ratios to be used. I.E. (and the guys at Nvidia said it best, so allow me to quote them) "1) Bright things can be really bright, 2) Dark things can be really dark, & 3) Details can be seen in both."

Here's a useful breakdown on Wikipedia.

What it means: A good graphics card (and good monitor) will be able to run an advanced game engine which features both bright lights (High noon in Imperial Plaza District of the IC) and creepy darkness (Cave areas without a nearby torch or other light source) while showing realistic detail.

Where Screenshots are Saved: They're saved as .BMP files in the Oblivion folder, once you've created them. Default Directory is "C:\Program Files\Bethesda Softworks\Oblivion" and you'll find them numbered sequentially.

Here's a Quick Step-by-Step for those with only minor to middling Computer linguistic fluency.

Note that the advice they give about converting the files in Paint to .JPG format can also be used for .PNG format as well, depending on your preference.

Hope it helps.

This post has been edited by Captain Hammer: Apr 14 2011, 12:53 AM

Thanks to both TK and Bam Bam for their quick replies.

I'm thinking my own Mac image-editing program may be able to do the conversion. I'm comfortable with its more advanced features and quirks. But I will have to take a few screenshots, switch over to MacOS, and look for the BMP files from there. As they're all in the same box, it shouldn't be hard to find.

I think I do have HDR turned on already - I'm noticing things with the lighting and shadows that I never saw on the console. Pretty cool stuff indeed. And things look so crisp on this monitor (Apple Cinema Display)!

I did download FRAPS, and I've been watching the counter. So far it's running right around 60 fps, though when I pass a dead body it slows down to about 55. Otherwise it seems pretty smooth and not choppy at all.

Well, I'm off to try the screenshot thingy.

Since you have Fraps you might as well use that to take screen shots. I believe the default key is F10.

This is a known issue with the game. Simply put, it sucks at NPCs, period.

Known problem spots for FPS in this game include the Waterfront and the IC Market District. There's always a bunch of NPCs hanging around there, so framerates are guaranteed to take a dive in those zones.

Hey, got some treats for Julian's fans!

She looks a little different in this game than she did on the Xbox. It's hard to duplicate something I created a year ago and have no recall how I got there! I also chose a slightly different hairstyle too.

On the Road to Kvatch

Entering Kvatch Camp

The Great Gate

If she looks intimidated in that last screenshot, believe me, she was!