Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Interview

The guys at bit-tech.net were able to corner Bethesda’s Gavin Carter for a lengthy interview about Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Check it out:

Q: Speaking of physics, the forests look amazing. And it has been rumored that the trees even sway with wind, which got me thinking. Wind is something that is very difficult…it’s hard to think of all the subtle interactions it creates. If there’s wind that is swaying trees, etc, will there be leaves blowing free? Will it blow your cape, if your character wears one, or their hair? Or change an arrow’s course of flight, since you spent so much time in the effort of making ranged fighting more realistic?

A: The forests and grass do animate differently in response to changing weather conditions. There are also ambient effects to increase your sense of immersion like leaves falling from trees, butterflies flying around, and birds chattering in the trees above you. No cloth physics unfortunately. We found they are a huge sink for processing time and we’d rather spend it in places that really make a difference to the gameplay like AI. Arrows will shoot through the air using physics; arcing based on force and gravity. Wind won’t blow them off course however. I think that would really decrease the fun of archery, and you’d start wanting to clutter the UI with things like wind indicators.