New Oblivion content available on Thursday
by Joystiq Staff 
{ Aug 29th 2006 at 10:15PM }
Priced at a penny-pinching $0.99, the latest Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion add-on pack called, "Spell Tomes," will give PC and Xbox 360 players the opportunity to discover "hundreds of new spell-giving books." What at first glance appears to be a good value for what it is, it seems the folks at Oblivion have learned their lesson with pricing and content.
Buh bye horrors of a horse armor past? Oh, we sure do hope so. Check after the break for all the features and examples of some of the new spells that will be available.
Spell Tomes -- DLC4
This pack adds "Spell Tomes" to the world's random treasure. These books grant you wondrous and powerful magic spells, just by reading them! Now Mages will also gain instant benefits by treasure hunting. Friend and foe alike will bow in awe before your power.
Features:
- Hundreds of new spell-giving books
- All the most useful basic spells covered
- Low level and high level spells available
- Many new powerful spells with multiple effects added
- Extremely powerful new spells that are balanced with slightly detrimental effects to lower the cost in Magicka
- Find Spell Tomes in dungeons all over Cyrodiil
- Spend less time and money arming yourself with the spells you want and need
- Blink: A low-level invisibility spell to get you out of trouble.
- Baltham's Insight: a short duration but long range detect life spell.
- Shield Wall: Fortify Heavy Armor and Shield effect.
- Night Form: Powerful Invisibility and Fortify Sneak, and take Sun damage, which reduces Magicka cost to cast.
- Pride of Hirstaang: Fortify Strength, Resist Frost, and Summon a Bear.
- Orum's Aquatic Escape: Invisibility, Night-Eye, and Water-breathing.
- Elemental Blast: A powerful offensive spell with: Fire damage, Frost damage, and Shock damage.
- Magicka Vortex: Absorb Magicka, Weakness to Magic 25% and Stunted Magicka.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Franky Digital @ Aug 29th 2006 10:22PM
I feel bad for Bethesda just for the fact that they had to be the ones to take the hit for the tuning of Marketplace pricing. Oblivion is one of the best examples of "bang for your buck" gaming that we've seen in a long time, and I think they got a pretty bad rap initially. It's nice to see that they've learned and helped Marketplace grow.
Jay @ Aug 29th 2006 10:24PM
Since you can make spells ... is there really any point to these?
Cabcru @ Aug 29th 2006 10:29PM
Sure there is a point... $0.99 for each one sold!
m4ndo @ Aug 29th 2006 10:30PM
The thing I want to see next is porting some of the pc user mods to the 360. Why should we miss out on some of the grea stuff that the pc people can have?
Fandel @ Aug 29th 2006 10:38PM
I could never understand the furor against companies charging for downloadable content. There seems to be an attitude within the video game community that they should get everything for free of charge. It's almost a sense of entitlement. "This is outrageous! Why should I have to pay 2-10 dollars for expanded content! I should get everything for free! What do these game designers think this is, a business?" If you are so outrage about downloadable content, vote by not buying the game, or supporting the developer.
polly @ Aug 29th 2006 10:53PM
I think with single player games it's wholly different than additional content for multiplayer. The recent cagcast was discussing the $1.50 mech weapons you can purchase for Chromehounds, which seems a little ridiculous. They should make a package and charge a few bucks rather than extorting for each add on that probably took a day to program if that. God help us if the marketplace turns into a Magic the Gathering type deal where the big spenders are the only real competitors and everyone else is gets manhandled and left in the dust.
PsyClerk @ Aug 29th 2006 10:58PM
I've been impressed with the Oblivion content. It's good enough to use in my "main quest completed" game and would make starting a new game an even better experience.
Some of these spell books look a little redundant, but I imagine it's more cost effective (in the game) to find the books rather than pay out the nose to recreate their effects.
Jecrell @ Aug 29th 2006 11:00PM
Oblivion has already made a 'killing' in game sales. Even after hundreds of hours of play things can get a little boring, especially if you can't mod the game, such as on the Xbox 360.
In the case of the Xbox 360, I think most people would download the additional content rather than not.
Kid Chemical @ Aug 29th 2006 11:02PM
I think Xbox owners were incredibly spoiled with the first generation of content downloads. Lots of companies gave away lots of terrific content (Ubisoft comes to mind specifically).
When the marketplace arrived, I think these companies felt that they had shown the consumer base that they could create a quality download and perhaps they could receive a little extra for extra work.
I think we can all agree Bethesda turned out a fantastic product in Oblivion. And if they're looking for an extra $1.00 to $3.00 every few weeks, I can't complain because I feel I've gotten way more than $60 of enjoyment out of the game.
I've also said it several times, but content downloads are not for the average player. They are for fans of a particular title. Sure, the Call of Duty 2 maps look expensive. But if you're on the game every night and do not pick up another retail title for another few weeks because the map downloads kept you interested...does that not justify the $10 price tag?
Retrofied @ Aug 29th 2006 11:02PM
I think it's time Bethesda released an expansion.. May seem like a short time (or long) but Oblivion has already lost its shine rather quickly.
pukgreenuniform @ Aug 29th 2006 11:22PM
Kid Chemical you are absolutely correct. Ive never put as much time into any other game. The call of duty maps are also worth the money. Infinity Ward Has really created some even and intresing maps. They clearly put a decent amount of thought and time into the design and looks of the maps.I am happy to put down a few ones towards these add ons. As long as the downloads are usefull low priced and will increase the playability of the game.
The big problems with the horse armour were 1.It was left out of the game intentionally. 2. It had been a hypothetical idea that was thrown around mid 2005. They specificaly said horse armour. 3. The armour had no practical use at all.
Wild Homes @ Aug 29th 2006 11:52PM
haha @ 5.
while I agree with you, mmmm... entitlements.
Sidescroller @ Aug 29th 2006 11:59PM
Uh... I'm pretty sure that the content is 99 cents for all tomes (DLC4). Which, in my opinion, is fantastic. This is a great deal!
kagai @ Aug 30th 2006 12:10AM
The whole problem is the dung pile into which this slippery slope ends: having to pay for things that should've been included in the game from the start. By supporting this new business model you will eventually make it more expensive for everyone, in the long run.
I don't have a problem with people trying to make money, but there will come a point where it will be out of control. You will start to see partial game downloads that require monetary unlocks to progress further and you will start seeing total payments exceed the price of the game if it had been released as a complete retail item. Eventually, gamers will just start to accept these after market purchases as a normal part of gaming.
The sad part is that these companies will be making more of a profit as they get rid of the middleman and media creation costs and have their games download only; you'll be paying a greater price than retail and they cut out alot of the costs involved in getting the product to market, don't expect a savings on your end.
Fandel @ Aug 30th 2006 12:20AM
kagai:
If it ever comes to that point, the solution is to mot buy their product. Believe me, in the country, the almighty dollar talks the loudest. If you protest by not buying the content, that will speak more to the developers than all the "moaning and groaning" on video game websites.
Garrett @ Aug 30th 2006 12:22AM
The developers must play a lot of Diablo. This was one of Diablo's most clever features, and I think bringing it to the TES series is a great idea. I always thought it odd how you could read scrolls and yet couldn't transcribe them into your spellbook. I doubt many PC players will buy it since it's so easy to replicate, but the 360 sales should make up for that.
I'm interested in the cost-reducing side-effects; this concept hasn't been used since Daggerfall. I'll be interested to see if they just manually lowered the otherwise auto-generated base cost or if they've actually added negative effect calculations to the engine. If they've actually added calculations this plugin will be a must-own for all modders. Wonderful things could be done with it. I personally doubt this is the way they did it, but you never know.
As for PC mods on the 360, it was made clear for months before release that you should get the PC version if mods are important to you. And here's why.
To bring PC mods to the Xbox Bethesda would have to get the author's permission (probably involving a lump sum and/or royalties), then they'd have to playtest to ensure it didn't have undiscovered conflicts with the original game or any other plugins, then they'd improve things that weren't quite up to their standards, and only then could they sell it; otherwise they'd field countless tech support calls about things going wrong with it. In the meantime no PC player would buy it since they'd already have the slightly less shiny standard version.
It's just easier for them to take ideas they liked and replicate them entirely from scratch. The investment of time and money required to bring PC mods to the 360 simply isn't worth it.
Fandel @ Aug 30th 2006 12:22AM
Replace the word "mot" with the word "not" in the blog post above. Alas, Google spellcheck has failed me again:(
hoohoo @ Aug 30th 2006 12:35AM
Garrett, read the construction set eula. all mods made using it are property of bethesda. to be used as they see fit including the selling of.
Lekko @ Aug 30th 2006 1:14AM
Fandel: sorry, but if Halo 3 came out as just half a game, that you had to buy the rest as episodic that you have to pay for each level, people would buy everything for it and end up paying $100 for a game.
Also, I don't know about you, but I'd like a backup of my purchases. What happens when your 20GB drive fills up in a year or two, and that new level takes up more room than your HDD has? Are you going to delete old addons that you paid for to fit it? Yeah, you can just buy a new HDD, but then that makes your system $100 more. That's a LOT of addons.
Besides, doesn't this just lower the standard for what a game is? I know I bemoan wipeout pure because it didn't have that many tracks in the game, and I felt ripped off. Later on, they released more and more for free, which I felt much better about. But what if that spreads, but you have to buy the rest of the game?
Fandel @ Aug 30th 2006 2:31AM
"sorry, but if Halo 3 came out as just half a game, that you had to buy the rest as episodic that you have to pay for each level, people would buy everything for it and end up paying $100 for a game."
That is called good old American capitalism. If people are willing to pay for that BS, them why shouldn't Microsoft not do that. I guarantee you that if Microsoft tried that, and it flopped, then it would serve at the ultimate lesson to others in how NOT to do online transactions.
"Also, I don't know about you, but I'd like a backup of my purchases. What happens when your 20GB drive fills up in a year or two, and that new level takes up more room than your HDD has? Are you going to delete old addons that you paid for to fit it? Yeah, you can just buy a new HDD, but then that makes your system $100 more. That's a LOT of addons."
Everything you buy on Xbox Live, Microsoft keeps track of the transaction. So if your hard drive fills up, and you have to delete stuff, you can just download it again at no cost, because you already purchased the content.
"Besides, doesn't this just lower the standard for what a game is? I know I bemoan wipeout pure because it didn't have that many tracks in the game, and I felt ripped off. Later on, they released more and more for free, which I felt much better about. But what if that spreads, but you have to buy the rest of the game?"
Then don't buy the game. Buy the competitions product. That will speak more loudly than any complaining on a video game website.
Garrett @ Aug 30th 2006 2:50AM
Yes, its EULA does sound rather dire! However I feel it was worded that way to let them use whatever ideas they liked without people saying "zomg u bastids stol my idea!1!"--one modder actually claimed this when the Wizard's Tower was announced, and called for players to boycott it. That's when the EULA's wording was brought up; this caused quite a ruckus, because most modders never read it and were distraught to find they'd techically vetoed rights to their creative works with a single click.
Despite being in the right, Bethesda would lose a lot of respect if they actually acted on that clause and "stole" someone's mod. The fact that there was a third-party Construction Set for Morrowind--thereby meaning you could make mods that are byte-for-byte indistinguishable from those made with the official program without ever agreeing to the official one's EULA--only serves to further complicate matters if such a case was ever taken to court.
Lekko, unless I'm mistaken you can re-download DLC you've paid for at a later date (although there's probably a cutoff date). Plus I don't know that by that point you'll still be actively using every single piece of DLC you have, unless you have a small number of games all with high replay value. Of course this raises questions similar to MMOs; once players have invested a certain sum in DLC, will they ever be willing to part with that game and "waste" the money already spent on it?
Back on topic, the price is just excellent. Even the stingiest "pay to play" whiner could justify it. I've watched movies for many times that cost that I didn't get nearly as much enjoyment out of. I may be a PC gamer (and fairly familiar with the Construction Set, too) but this is definitely worth my dollar. Bethesda deserves it.
Ultimatallica @ Aug 30th 2006 6:39AM
DAMMIT where the **** is the castle they informed us about how goddamn long ago?! I check every ****ing day for that thing, and they give us stuff like this? Seriously, as much as I love new content, they need to get that castle out, as of right now it's my only reason to ever get in the game hardcore again.
Lone Starr @ Aug 30th 2006 8:39AM
@ kagai,
Well you don't have to worry since the slippery slope argument = logical fallacy FTL.
Antonio @ Aug 30th 2006 8:43AM
Oblivion can get pretty hard the higher up you go in skill ratings. These spells books are a good way for you to gain some spells that will make the game easier if you need it. And at $.99 this is a steal.
Richard Mitchell @ Aug 30th 2006 8:57AM
Bethesda should just bite the bullet and make a game called Horse Armor. Or make an Oblivion expansion about some smithy who's gauging the price of horse armor.
Bethesda will never live that down, but it would be great to see them laugh at themselves.
Jay @ Aug 30th 2006 8:47AM
Regarding Halo 3, I'll eat my armor if there isn't some paid content sold after the release. It'll probably be multi-player stuff, but I'm sure they'll hold a little back to eke out a bit more money.
And, I have zero problems with Bethesda selling add-on's ... I just still don't see the purpose of this one. Still, if it makes them an extra $10,000, good for them
ScreamingSkull @ Aug 30th 2006 10:11AM
I just want to know where my Levitation/Teleport spells are.
joe smith @ Aug 30th 2006 12:40PM
Anyone else think it's about time to stop piling on about the horse armor thing? I mean it's been months. Surely article writers can think of something else to be snotty about. I mean, these guys are one of the first companies to embrace Marketplace at a time when no one had a clue what appropriate pricing for anything was. Give them a break. It's not like anyone made anyone buy the damned horse armor after all.
Huginn @ Aug 30th 2006 1:06PM
Still waiting on those Werewolves Bethesda. Still waiting on new area to be uncovered to add more terrain and area to explore. Still waiting on some of some of the easiest to install little things that made Morrowind such a mastery of content. Don't get me wrong, Oblivion is one of my favorite RPG's of all time.
But I'm still waiting for those $20 dollar expantion packs that had enough content as a a standard RPG did.
20 of these little booster packs will never compair to a full fledged expantion.