Every time the volunteer team behind Skyblivion, a fan-made remake of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, comes out with a new dev update, I make the same mistake. I figure, «I know what they're all about, I've played Oblivion for a million hours, nothing here can surprise me.» Well color me surprised, the team's latest development diary really got me going. Skyblivion is going to do things with Cyrodiil's Ayleid ruins and Skyrim's UI that have me giddy as a longtime Oblivion sicko.
The thing that consistently impresses me is how Skyblivion addresses one of the original game's greatest weaknesses—its repetitive environments—while preserving the hazy, high fantasy daydream vibe that still has a hold on my psyche 18 years later. The new dev diary gives a peak of how the team's continuing that process in the overworld with the autumnal Great Forest region, but the real heat is underground.
Ayleid ruins are those distinctive white marble labyrinths that dot the province of Cyrodiil, and when you think of an Oblivion dungeon, these guys probably spring to mind first. Their grey-green, haunted gloom and eerie music is still so dear to me, but if you've seen one, you've seen them all. In order to combat that feeling and make them feel exciting again, Skyblivion will be differentiating them by region, with flashes of red ivy in Great Forest dungeons or a flood of sand choking the ruins of the West Weald.
The Skyblivion team has also managed to get me giddy over their UI design, with the menus having evolved significantly since they were first shown off. Instead of a Skyrim impersonation of Oblivion's look, it feels like a real union of the two, with new takes on Oblivion's fantastic illuminated manuscript class and birthsign art sealing the deal. For the real Elder Scrolls sickos, Skyblivion is also cribbing Morrowind's custom class menu, complete with letting you type out your own flavor text for your creations.
Most important of all, though: Skyblivion is bringing back those
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