The final countdown video is out. This time, you'll finally get to see the sphere of Oblivion itself! This video is 26 seconds long. Thanks to Alex2 :) Enjoy!

Also, Bethesda has now released the Construction Set for Oblivion for download, which we also offer to you here. May many powerful and great mods be created with it!

- Stargelman

Oblivion Countdown video: 1 day left
The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Construction Set

A new countdown video is out. This time, you'll get to see some more combat, both with humanoids as well as old and new monsters. This video is 30 seconds long. Thanks to Reaver for getting the file to us when the entire internet seemed to have been dieing as we tried to get it. Enjoy!

- Stargelman

Oblivion Countdown video: 2 days left

A new countdown video is out. This time, you'll get to see dialog. You'll see and hear people talking to you, moving their lips as they speak. I have to say, close up some of those faces look pretty amazing, very life like. This video is 48 seconds long. Enjoy!

- Stargelman

Oblivion Countdown video: 3 days left

A new countdown video is out. This time, you'll get to see a bit of one of the cities complete with castle, cathedral, city walls etc. This one is 34 seconds in length.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm happy to announce that our forums here at Waiting4Oblivion.com have now over 1000 users. Thanks for your support, everyone!

- Stargelman

Oblivion Countdown video: 4 days left

A new countdown video is out. This time, you'll get to see a number of fighting scenes and use of destructive magic. This one is 35 seconds long.

In addition to that, Bethesda has released a new ingame book named "Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes" Book 2.

- Stargelman

Oblivion Countdown video: 5 days left
Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book II

Bethesda Softworks released another countdown video, this time 25 seconds. This time, you'll see a number of people on horseback slowely riding down a hill, then a scene in first person perspective of riding during the night near the imperial city.

- Stargelman

Oblivion Countdown video: 6 days left

Bethesda just added a new video of 32 seconds. It features a short look at the Nibenay valley and the imperial city of Cyrodiil. The graphics are amazing, so be sure to check it out!

In addition, three new X-box screenshots have been added, which yield in detail prospects of more impressive scenery and combat in the game.

- Stargelman

New Elder Scrolls: Oblivion video
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Screenshots, three new additions

Today we have a number of art-oriented updates for you.
First off, we've added eight new screenshots to our repository -- five from the PC version, and three from the X-box. Among the PC batch are two large, wide ones that may very well be - in editor's oppinion - some of the best to date. There's a mix of combat, wonderful scenery and some interface; so enjoy a varied selection of Oblivion screenshots while waiting.

Also, for those who haven't checked it out in the latest newsletter yet, a new team diary has been added to the codex at the official Elder Scrolls pages, in which Noah Berry limns the visual aspects of the game -- through development and the product on the screen. A fascinating read, which also includes a number of screenshots from the CS, as well as a few panorama views from the game with references to several ingredients etc.

Additionally, the TES IV: Oblivion Soundtrack is now available for download through DirectSong (as is the Morrowind soundtrack).
Enjoy!

- Epy

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Screenshots, 8 new additions
Elder Scrolls Team Diary: Noah Berry on world art
DirectSong.com, Oblivion and Morrowind soundtracks available for download

In a rather surprising (to me anyway) move, Vir2L, a sister company of Bethesda's, today announced a version of Oblivion for mobile phones. They put up a press release along with screenshots from the actual game and a trailer. It's release is scheduled for mid-April, 2006.
Enjoy!

- Stargelman

Press release Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for mobile phones
Oblivion for mobile phones screenshots
Oblivion for mobile phones trailer

The first entries in the Oblivion Dressup Contest are now available for your perusal on the Waiting4Oblivion forums. There's been more entries than we expected this early, and among them some real gems. The thread will be updated daily with the latest entries, so be sure to check back often :)
Enjoy!

- Stargelman

Oblivion Dress-up Contest - Recent Entries

We got together with a couple of other Elder Scrolls websites - Elderscrolls.NET, Oblivion Source, Planet Elder Scrolls, TESSource and the Imperial Library - and decided to run a contest; Mostly to shorten the waiting time, but also because we think it'll be a lot of fun. The contest is about dressing up like someone from Tamriel: a person, a creature a monster - whatever you want. To spice things up, Bethesda and ourselves are donating some very cool prizes for the three best entries. So be sure to check it out, participate, and most of all: have fun!
Enjoy!

- Stargelman

Oblivion Dress-up Contest

Bethesda has released three new wonderful wallpapers, with focused portrayal of three characters -- a dremora, whose fierce, gleeful grin would have you flee in daunt; the heir, keeping true to his "robust" characteristics in a nice suit of ebony armour; and a Mythic Dawn cultist, presumably of some camaraderie with the emperor's attackers.
The wallpapers are conveniently available in several sizes, including a "wide" format. Don't miss out on admiring or decorating your desktop with these fine pieces of artistry, available at the official Elder Scrolls pages.
Enjoy!

- Epy

Elder Scrolls.com - downloads section: Oblivion wallpapers

There've been a lot of raving reviews on the upcoming TES4: Oblivion these past few weeks, but one I think is especially worth reading, because it has been written by long-time TES fan and TESSource webmaster Dark0ne, who had the exclusive chance to experience the game in all its glory in London. So read his review, it's probably much closer to what interests us TES fans.

In case you wonder, yes, we also tried to get to review the game, but we weren't as smart as Dark0ne and only asked Bethsoft (who said no), not Take2 :) Thanks to Dark0ne. Enjoy!

- Stargelman

TESSource Oblivion Review by Dark0ne

FINALLY! The Oblivion release date has been officially announced! Most of the release dates you saw on shop and gaming websites were close, but didn't get it quite right.

Oblivion will be released March 20th, 2006. Enjoy.

- Stargelman

The Elder Scrolls IV: Release Date Announcement

Exciting news! Bethesda Softworks has just released the minimum and recommended system specifications for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Time to bring that old rig up to specs! Enjoy!

- Stargelman

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion System Requirements for PC

After almost two months, we've just updated our "offsite" developer quotes, that is developer quotes collected on forums other than the official ones. As always, MrSmileyFaceDude leads the pack, but EmilPags and Kathode have been pretty busy, too. There's some real good information in these, so enjoy :)

On another note, you can now discuss articles - simply click "Comments" and you're good to go!

- Stargelman

Offsite Developer Quotes Vol. III

In case you haven't already seen this in the official Elder Scrolls Newsletter, Bethesda Softworks has added some new material on the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Collector's Edition (available for both PC and XBox 360) on their site. One's a trailer for the "Making Of" DVD that comes with the CE box, the other is a team diary by Pete Hines, vice president of PR and marketing on the various versions of Oblivion, including details on what will be in each. Enjoy!

Trailer for the "Making of Oblivion" DVD in the Oblivion Collector's Edition box
Elder Scrolls Team Diary: Pete Hines about the Collector's Edition of TES: Oblivion

- Stargelman

Every now and then, an article on TES: Oblivion in a video gaming magazine is so interesting and so important that we get it, sample it and pick it to pieces to extract as much information as possible. Today, the german PC Games magazine published a 10 page feature on Oblivion, accompanied by 5:30 minutes of video material on the mag disk. We've written summary for both the interesting bits in the article itself, as well as a summary of what is in that video. Enjoy!

PC Games march issue preview summary
PC Games march issue video material summary

- Stargelman

After much waiting and forward-to-looking, Bethesda Softworks finally released their reply to another barrage of questions from visitors of the official Elder Scrolls Forums. Sixty questions were answered in varying detail. The entire interview as published is now available here on W4O. Enjoy!

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Fan Interview III

- Stargelman

Finally. Phew. We've just finished compiling volume 6 of the developer quotes collection with what I believe to be a record number of 130 quotes. And people believe the devs don't talk to us anymore! These contain exciting new information from news about magic to things like the automap. Enjoy!

Developer Quotes Vol. 6 - Nov 1st 2005 - January 15th, 2006

- Stargelman

Starting today, we're extending the following offer to serious Elder Scrolls: Oblivion mod projects:

• Web hosting - we will host your mod website with your own subdomain on our webserver, free of advertizing.
• Forum hosting - we will host your mod project's forum, again, free of advertizing.

Hopefully, this will provide (additional) fertile ground for great mods to grow on :) Enjoy.

- Stargelman

On behalf of everyone here at W4O, the webmaster, the editors, the moderators and additors and all others that have contributed, we wish to wish everyone a happy new year. Here's hoping 2006 will be a good year for us and for every other TES fan!

- Alexander

Russian Elderscrolls.net has a rather interesting interview up with Oblivion's interface designer Natalia Smirnova in which she talks about what inspired her when creating Oblivion's menus and controls. And don't worry, the interview is in English :)

- Stargelman

Our second addition today are the three screenshots and the Developer Diary entry from the new Elder Scrolls Newsletter. If you haven't received it in your inbox and want to, hurry over to elderscrolls.com and sign up for it right now :)

- Epy & Stargelman

Today we bring you a rather large update to the fan fiction section. We've added three chapters of The Risen alchemist, by Scrooluse, Hack'n'Slash monthly's interview with a skeleton. Burntsierra's short story called Home is where the Hearth is and last but certainly not least, the second chapter of Trey in Mournhold. We wish you a lot of fun with them and as always they can be found in the Fan Fiction section.

- Alexander

It was a year ago to the day that Waiting4Oblivion opened it's gates. To celebrate this momentous occasion, we've prepared some specials for you.

The first one is a breakdown of our history by yours truly that details how this site came into being, and that gives proper thanks to all those that contributed:

Birthday Special Writeup

Secondly, for your amusement I've uploaded a very early version of the site, with the design we had back when we opened the site:

Finally, as a little token of gratitude to our loyal visitors and users, and because it is more than overdue, I've added a search option to the site:

- Stargelman

Today, we have even more fan art for you: three great new works by Annie, and one by SnowSkadi that won a competition on the Russian fansite ElderScrolls.net. Links to ElderScrolls.net's fan art, fan art competition results and to more of SnowSkadi's excellent works are included. Enjoy!

Updated Elder Scrolls Fan Art Page - 4 new pieces

- Stargelman

Two new goodies today: Bethesda Softworks has just released three new XBox 360 screenshots - you may or may not have seen them already, at any rate, they're quite nice!

Three new Elder Scrolls: Oblivion screenshots

Secondly, Bethesda Softworks have updated their Elder Scrolls Codex again, adding information about birthsigns and skills. Quite interesting changes there, so be sure to check it out and enjoy!

Elder Scrolls Codex Update

- Stargelman

It's been a while since we last updated our Elder Scrolls Bestiary: our previous artist Ambberfox sadly no longer had the time to work on it, and we had to search long and hard to replace him. We finally found someone who is willing to take on this great job: the very talented Reika.

She and Sinder Velvin have just finished the latest addition to the Bestiary: an entry about one of my most favorite creatures, the nymph. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do :)

I'd like to take the time and express my gratitude to Ambberfox for his great work for this particular section of the site.

The Elder Scrolls Bestiary: The Nymph

- Stargelman

What happens when you put off updating a part of the site for too long? That's right, you suddenly find yourself with a massive amount of things to add. Today's seeing the biggest update in fan art and fan wallpapers we've done so far: 12 new wallpapers and 4 new fan art pieces! Enjoy!

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Updated Fan Art - 4 new pieces
The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Updated Fan Wallpapers - 12 new pieces

- Stargelman

Another nice update to the Fan Fiction section, we've just added the Last Slave, a great story by Sir Radont, if you liked Neron, you'll love this one as well. It can be found in the Fan Fiction section.

- Alexander

A juicy update coming up today.
Once again we've updated both developer quotes archives, and once again there's gold to be found on both ends of the rainbow. Many popular topics are addressed as usual, but there's also a number of news to pick up, so don't miss out on the latest!

TES: Oblivion - Developer quotes - September & October, 2005
TES: Oblivion - Offsite Developer Quotes - September - end of November, 2005

Additionally, IGN has posted a few videos of an XBOX360 launch demonstration of Oblivion, held by Pete Hines. In the videos we get a glimpse of the western town of Skingrad, some cool gameplay demonstrations -- including a glimpse of the lockpicking mini-game -- and scenery views, a few revelations from the Q&A session going on in the background, and more!
Be sure to give them a look.

TES: Oblivion, X360 launch demo videos on IGN.com

Enjoy!

- Epy & Rane

A small update for you today, the third chapter in Serene of Cyrodiil by Minque and the first chapter of trey in Mournhold, ever wondered what happened to trey when he travelled to Mournhold? Wondering how things will go on with Serene? Now's the time to find out. As ever they can be found on the Fan Fiction page.

- Alexander

Today the Developers of Bethesda Softworks have released two new items. To start off they've updated the race codex with new images of all the races, a new detailed map with all the provinces displayed on it and they've added the locations of the 9 major cities on their map of Cyrodiil.

The Elderscrolls races Codex

Secondly the developers have added a new book to their Codex. The very first book of the upcoming game The Elderscrolls 4; Oblivion. It's a good read and I don't want to spoil too much of it, so be sure to look it up.

The mysterium Xarxes, book one

- Alexander

Rane and I have just finished updating the fansite links on Waiting4Oblivion.com. A lot of sites have been added, the structure has been improved in terms of usability, and a lot of foreign sites have been added. We also added links to several forums and TES lore sites. Enjoy!

W4O's Links to other Oblivion Fansites

- Stargelman

Wow. Just wow. After almost a year, Bethesda has released new Oblivion concept art. Where there were previously only 3 pieces out, now there are 12 (!) more. And what great stuff! The presentation is very sweet, the drawings are what you'd want to print out and put on the wall. If you enjoy this only half as much as I do, then this'll make your day :)

12 new pieces of Oblivion Concept Art

- Stargelman

What's the release date?
Early 2006.

With this update in their official FAQ, Bethesda have now acknowledged press releases by their co-publisher, TakeTwo, that Oblivion will be delayed from its slated release date in late 2005 to somewhen in "early" 2006. More on this as events unfolds.

Update: The FAQ was updated again and now the mention of "early 2006" is gone without a trace.

Update: The FAQ was updated yet again and now it's "Early 2006" again.

- Stargelman

Long anticipated, it is finally here: the much-discussed promotional gameplay video of Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion has just been released 'into the wild' by Bethesda Softworks. Due to the incredible load on the Bethesda Webserver, we decided to mirror it here for your convenience. Enjoy!

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Promotional Videos (wmv)

- Stargelman

Today, Bethesda Softworks finally released the first piece of the Oblivion official soundtrack, the title theme, along with an announcement that the music is once again being done by Jeremy Soule, who also composed the Morrowind score as well as the score for other well-known computer games.

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Main Theme (mp3, 2600 kb)

Bethsoft's Press Release regarding Jeremy Soule compising the Oblivion OST

Also, there is a new interview in town, and this one is rather in-depth compared to all the others we don't bother reporting about because they're just rehashing things we've heard about many times before. In this one, Gavin Carter gives a number of rather interesting information, for example he throws a new number of 1500 NPCs in the pot, replacing the old number of 'just' 1000 NPCs. There's also talk about technical issues like the benefit of multithreading and new audio technologies, design choices and other interesting bits. The interview has been conducted by 'Elite Bastards'. Enjoy!

Elite Bastards interview with Gavin Carter

Other new Interviews, Previews and Articles

- Stargelman

Two interviews from Microsoft's X05 event that took place some time ago. Also, a short video showing solely gameplay footage of Oblivion, although with no sound. Go to the X05 footage page to see the clips.

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion X05 footage

On another note, you might wish to take a glimpse at a preview of the game by Stephen Hrncir Jr.

TES: Oblivion preview by Stephen Hrncir Jr.

- Rane

Bethesda Softworks just released 6 new X-Box 360 screenshots. Many of them have already been circulating as scans and such, but it is nice to finally have legit versions of these, and if only for the sake of linking to them from the forums.

All of them are pretty sweet, but there's one in particular that is very revealing: a screenshot of the User Interface, including the (I think) first official and 100% legit picture of the much discussed quest compass. Enjoy!

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Updated Screenshots

- Stargelman

"The British are coming..."

And we welcome them with open ears - three gentlemen in particular. Bethesda Softworks announced an additional lineup of voice-actors today, including Patrick Stewart ("X-Men", "Star Trek: Next Generation", "Star Trek: Nemesis") who provides the voice of the Emperor; Terence Stamp ("Star Wars: Phantom Menace", the "Superman" films) providing voice acting for parts of the ominous plot; and Sean Bean ("Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "National Treasure", "Goldeneye") providing the voice of the heir to the throne.
All three are held in legendary regards and will, alongside Lynda Carter ("Wonder Woman", "Sky High", "Dukes of Hazzard"), make out the game's cast of stars.

TES:Oblivion - press release announcing voice-talents
(refer also to linked invidiual pages about each voice actor)

In other news, CVG.com has posted a brief interview by PC Zone with artist Noah Berry, in which he talks about the environmental art of the game.

TES:Oblivion - PCZone interview with Noah Berry @ CVG.com

- Epy

Quite an update for you today, we've just added the second chapter of poisonous gardens, three chapters of Ahnaressu's travels and the entire tale of Neron. Also my appologies for not uploading certain chapters sooner, this is due to lack of time. I'm hoping this will make it good. As always you can find all this and much more right here on the Fan Fiction page.

- Alexander

As promised, today we have some more stuff to gaze upon: Our first update for today consists of four all-new fan-made wallpapers. Keep sending them in - I promise I will process them faster in the future, as I have a bit more free time these days :)

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Updated Fan Wallpapers

Our second update: three all new screenshots of the X-Box 360 version of Oblivion. Thanks to Bethesda Softworks, and keep 'em coming :)

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Updated Screenshots

Enjoy!

- Stargelman

We've just updated a part of Waiting4Oblivion that -I admit it and accept the full blame- we have sadly neglected for quite a while now: the Fan Art page. Three new pieces have been added, all sent in by Reika. Thanks Reika, and keep up the good work!

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Fan Art Update

In other news, the official release date for the X-Box 360 has been announced. So what does that have to do with Oblivion? Well, if you want to get Oblivion for the X-Box 360, these release dates will tell you how long you will have to wait at the very least to get the game, since Oblivion is hardly going to be released before it's target platform. For PC gamers, it is a good guess that the PC version will be released simultaneously with the X-Box 360 version, so there.

Official X-Box 360 Release Date Announcement

Stay tuned, folks, for tomorrow, we'll have some more stuff to gaze at. Until then, have a good time and enjoy!

- Stargelman

After a long time of waiting, Bethesda Softworks has finally released another Team Update - this time from level designer Michael Ryan. He talks about different aspects of dungeon design such as lighting, traps and what monsters go in what dungeon. There is also several very interesting screenshots showing a part of the new Construction Set!

TES: Oblivion Team Update: Michael Ryan, Level Designer

- Stargelman

Today, we've put another stack of quotes on the table, consisting primarily of offsite posts, but also includes a few additions to the regular archives.

Collected from discussions covering a wide range of popular topics, the new offsite quotes are quite informative, and offer some new as well as clarifying information. Be sure not to miss this unique input, and enjoy.

TES:Oblivion Offsite Developer Quotes Febuary - September 2005

But, as mentioned, that's not all we have today; a detail, of particular interest and joy to many fans, regarding the fabled quest compass was recently confirmed on the official forums. In editor's opinion, the posted tidbits surrounding the issue deserve a place in the current batch that also discusses the issue thoroughly.
Four new posts by MrSmileyFaceDude have been added to the current page of developer quotes.

TES:Oblivion Developer Quotes May - September, 2005

- Epy

It's time to once again provide what keeps with "substantiating our repositories", and so freshly plucked quotes have now found their way into the archives. Even though some devs who frequent larger portions of our updates have slown down, they know how to keep us informed, interested and hungry for more -- particularly with regards to the magic system which recently had it's maiden revelations.
It's all good, and getting better. Enjoy this new update, adding quotes from July and August to the current batch.

TES:Oblivion Developer Quotes May - September, 2005

- Epy

Today, we have three updates for you. The first is an update to our Elder Scrolls Bestiary which has been dormant for a while now. Rest assured though that we're back on track and from now on, we pledge to update it more regularily.

The new creature for this week is an old friend we met in many an Elder Scrolls game: the Frost Atronach. Read Sinder Velvins description of those ice-cold rascals and gaze upon Ambberfox's splendid rendition thereof, and enjoy!

The Elder Scrolls Bestiary: The Frost Atronach

Our second item for today is the grand opening of the website of a Elder Scrolls: Oblivion modding project hosted by Waiting4Oblivion, Faerun-TC. These guys have been working on it real hard and I think it's great. I hope their mod will turn out equally good!

The Faerun Total Conversion Mod Project for Oblivion

Finally, we have two new screenshots for you that have recently been released by the good people of Bethesda Softworks. While one of them should contain something already familiar to everyone who's seen the trailer, the second one is a real gem. Enjoy!

Update Elder Scrolls: Oblivion screenshots

- Stargelman

Remember last year in November, when a group of people organized at the official TES: Oblivion forum gathered questions for their own fan interview and submitted them to Bethesda Softworks?

Well, it happened again, and let me tell you, there's no finer source of information out there! Again, fellow fans have poured unending amounts of effort into it, and again, Bethesda has honoured it by answering every question! Enjoy - I know I did!

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Fan Interview 2

- Stargelman

It's been a while since our last Daedra feature update, but here it finally is: Nocturnal, Daedric Prince of Night and Darkness. Read about her and learn that she's called The Unfathomable for a good reason.

Two more to go, and they're real highlights, so stay tuned and enjoy!

Nocturnal, Daedric Prince of Night and Darkness

- Stargelman

The Interviews and articles page has been updated to include the recently published interview with Pete Hines by The Console Wars. So make haste and visit the Interviews page to find this newest addition to the list.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion interviews and articles

- Rane

Bethesda finally revealed what the box art for Elder Scrolls: Oblivion will look like. It seems that for Xbox 360, they're sticking with the DVD case, while PC users get a classic box, just the way older games of the series (ie everything before Morrowind) were packaged.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Box Art

Also, Bethesda announced today that Lynda Carter, known for her portrayal of Wonder Woman on TV, has joined the voice acting cast for the game alongside Patrick Stewart ("Captain Picard") and others!

Linda Carter joins Oblivion Voice Acting Cast @ IGN
UPDATE: Official announcement at Elderscrolls.com

That's all for now, enjoy!

- Stargelman

Well, it is about time. Finally, someone managed to score a picture of at least parts of the user interface used in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. The Washington Post is that someone, and the picture also comes with a few background infos, mostly about company politics, yadda yadda. Anyway, You can even see the much-discussed compass - it's that little square Todd Howard is pointing at with his right index finger (not that round thing in the upper right corner!). Enjoy!

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion article in the Washington Post

- Stargelman

The interviews and articles page has now been updated to list most of the existing developer interviews. So, head over to our interviews page and see if you find an interview you have not yet read.

The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion interviews and articles

- Rane

It seems Forced Reloading after killing a main quest NPC is in after all! The fact that -as previously reported- the loading screen that comes up can be left without actually loading a game was a bug, not a feature, and it has been fixed. Thanks to Zerojinkui for letting us know. More on this can be found here:

MSFD's correction on Forced Reloading @ The official Elder Scrolls: Oblivion Forum

- Stargelman