[stars2heaven]

Im currently taking a break from studying for my symbolic logic exam that I have tommorow. Im finding that I am grasping all the concepts, (and remembering them!), with ease. In fact, this whole course has been quite easy despite the bad reputation it has for being very difficult. Is it because Ive been doing all my homework and studying everyday? lol, who really does that?

Nope, its because of Oblivion! Granted, the logic used in scripting is much simpler than the things I have to do, but the fact that I am so limited in the tools available for scripting means that I have to come up with pretty complex scripts compared to what I could otherwise do if those other symbols/tools were available to me.

Modding Oblivion has atleast put me in the frame of mind that was necessary take all this stuff in, and I may be doing better in a difficult course because of it.

How often have any of you actually been able to glean some real knowledge from a game?

[David Brasher]

Oblivion may not be the best strategy game, but sometimes games really can make you think. Like if you take a level 12 character into a hard dungeon with un-leveled monsters and lots of them. It gets down to questions like: How can I kill this big scary monster without dying? Is fire effective? Is frost effective? Is shock effective? Will my arrows hurt him very bad? Is it better to stand back and hurt him slightly with my arrows, even though I may run out? Or is it better to kill him with my sword which I am skilled at? But if I get close to him, he can kill me in three blows! I am running out of repair hammers! Will I get a bigger armor boost by fixing my cuirass or my greaves? I have one more torch, and one potion of light. Is it time to retreat before I end up in total darkness? Is my magicka best spent on fireballs or healing?

The list goes on and on. I love to start new characters. The game is so much more fun when you are weak and struggling. It becomes stale and flat when you are a level 35 demi-god.

And then there is modding. You can think until your head hurts. That has got to be at least as intellectually stimulating as the dusty old books some aged professor thinks you should read for fun. Oblivion is great!

[stars2heaven]

Im always killing myself over how to figure out what gear is worth keeping and what isnt. Like what is the hp to ac ratio? What about stat bonuses vs ac or a little extra damage? Is it worth it to make a first strike with hp poison if you know the enemy will reach you, or is it better to damage his stats instead?

Gah! I sill havent the slitest clue for some of these questions

[Vagrant0]

stars2heaven, on Nov 10 2009, 03:20 AM, said:

Im always killing myself over how to figure out what gear is worth keeping and what isnt. Like what is the hp to ac ratio? What about stat bonuses vs ac or a little extra damage? Is it worth it to make a first strike with hp poison if you know the enemy will reach you, or is it better to damage his stats instead?

Gah! I sill havent the slitest clue for some of these questions

Generally, the answer to that depends on how quickly it will reach you, how well you can defend attacks, what poisons you have available, what spells you can use. Ideally, if the first hit isn't enough to severely wound an opponent, it should atleast make close combat easier or allow for a second shot.

For equipment, it's not all about hp to AC, there are other factors, like agility, movement speed, which can play a rather significant role in being able to recover from being hit, or avoid the attack entirely. Equipment which boosts base stats or key skills can often be better than just defense or hp bonuses. Often you just have to resist the urge to crunch the numbers and just play with what feels right, taking things as they come, calmly dealing with anything that results from a mistake.

[Sharkull]

Modding a game can certainly help you learn real tech skills, but playing a game... not usually. Modding games has lead me to many new skills... playing just leads me to less free time.

[stars2heaven]

Vagrant0, on Nov 10 2009, 05:24 AM, said:

Generally, the answer to that depends on how quickly it will reach you, how well you can defend attacks, what poisons you have available, what spells you can use. Ideally, if the first hit isn't enough to severely wound an opponent, it should atleast make close combat easier or allow for a second shot.

For equipment, it's not all about hp to AC, there are other factors, like agility, movement speed, which can play a rather significant role in being able to recover from being hit, or avoid the attack entirely. Equipment which boosts base stats or key skills can often be better than just defense or hp bonuses. Often you just have to resist the urge to crunch the numbers and just play with what feels right, taking things as they come, calmly dealing with anything that results from a mistake.

Its usually the resisting the urge that I am left to, since I have no clue how to appropriately value many things. Im always left wondering, for instance, should I keep this shield for the ac/better defense or take the two handed sword I just found for a boost to damage? I usually take the shield, because that just FEELS right. But I know thats irrational.

Since I have my game set so that it takes a very long time to level up, I usually get a good feel for the abilities of certain enemies. If at level 10 I take on a raider, I ususaly try to damage his strength first so that he cant kill me in a few hits. I do this because I know that I cant do enough damage to him to keep up with what he will do to me. But if I take down his strength a raider becomes much more manageable.

It's usually by trial and error that I discover battle tactics/strategies.

But I still have no clue about the armor. Should I take the BP that add a few hp or should I take the BP that has a few more Ac? The shield or the Two hander?

If the numbers are way out of proportion, the decision is usually easy. But if they are close, I have no clue still

[3rdtryguy]

I'm not so sure about videogames, but dice & paper games made me a straight-A student back in college. In D&D you really have to think about stuff you normally wouldn't, and it's great mental excersize. We played every day, and I went from dullard to brainiac in only a few months from the stimulation. if I had kids, I would MAKE them play.

[Vagrant0]

stars2heaven, on Nov 10 2009, 05:39 AM, said:

Its usually the resisting the urge that I am left to, since I have no clue how to appropriately value many things. Im always left wondering, for instance, should I keep this shield for the ac/better defense or take the two handed sword I just found for a boost to damage? I usually take the shield, because that just FEELS right. But I know thats irrational.

Choice of 1 hand or 2 hand weapon depends on the opponent. On slower opponents, like zombies, trolls, ogres, daedroth, and the like, you are usually best off taking the 2 hand weapon since you can usually move in, swing, knock them back slightly, and take a step back to avoid any hits. On quicker opponents, you'll need the quicker weapon since it will give you a better ability to attack then block right away. The exception for creatures that have reflect damage, like clanfers, your best bet is actually using a low physical damage weapon with a fairly strong enchantment; low level chillrend works fairly well for this.

Ideally, armor is only important if you plan to be getting hit. If you know how to avoid most attacks and use defensive potions and spells when you can't, you can really just run around in clothing. If you're fighting stuff that is hard to dodge, the higher the AC the better. Defense works on a pure percentage basis, so figuring out if hp is more help than more ac is really just a matter of figuring out how hard you're being hit at 0 ac, and then apply some math to figure out if the change in ac between the two items is greater than the hp bonus, figuring for 2-4 hits.

[stars2heaven]

Vagrant0, on Nov 10 2009, 09:50 PM, said:

The exception for creatures that have reflect damage, like clanfers, your best bet is actually using a low physical damage weapon with a fairly strong enchantment; low level chillrend works fairly well for this.

I guess thats another example of something that holds me back in making better decisions for combat. I had no idea that clanfears had reflect damage. I have some idea about the advantages / disadvantages of some things, like vampires being weak towards fire and Dark Elves being strong against it.

I know just from reading around here that certain undead are weak towards lightning. But I guess there are plenty of other things with strengths and weaknesses that I just have no clue about yet.