Computer And Video Games has posted a rather short interview with Pete Hines, vice president of PR and marketing at Bethesda Softworks. In this interview they talk about the size and scale of Oblivion and also about the Radiant AI.

Here's a small sample of it:

CVG: You definitely seem to have a penchant for expansive environments - how big is Oblivion's Cyrodil then?

Pete Hines: If you place the Morrowind world into the Oblivion engine, you could literally see from one end of the island to the other. It feels like an amusement park because the scale doesn't fit and you can see so far. A lot of managing the size is just adjusting how far apart we spread stuff out, so that things like riding on horseback don't have you going from one side of the map to another in two minutes.

"IGN: What are some of the new abilities you'll gain when you max out your skills? For instance, what happens at the highest level of mercantile, heavy armor, alchemy, axes, security, acrobatics, marksman, etc.?

Gavin Carter: Every skill has a system of four perks that unlock when you raise in skill level. From zero to 25 you're ranked as a Novice, and at intervals of 25 from there, you rise in rank to apprentice, journeyman, expert, and master. The perk features themselves run the gamut. The magic skill perks open up access to higher level spells, while perks for a skill like athletics allow you to regain fatigue levels faster while running. Other skill perks open up new abilities. A master of block can do an automatic counter-move after a successful block that disarms an opponent. A master of armorer not only can repair magic weapons and repair weapons up to 125% condition, but his or her repair hammers never get used up."

Tired of spending hours looking for a decent mod?  Let our resident Khajiit show you to the real gems in his weekly special - mod of the week.

When Morrowind was first released there weren't that many custom made mods out there, but as time went on and the modders started to get familiar with the construction set the modding community started to grow rapidly. One year after release Morrowind had without a doubt the largest modding community on the internet with tons of new content available for download every day, such as armours, weapons, new buildings and a lot more.

The construction set used in Oblivion is very similar to the one used in Morrowind. This is a great plus since all the talented modders out there will be very familiar with the new construction set from day one. Of course there's a lot of new features that you'll need to learn how to use, but that won't stop you, will it?

Believe me, Oblivion will be no exception when it comes to modifications, in all honesty I think that Oblivions modding community will be the largest modding community ever!

This is why we will bring you the mod of the week. We are here to guide you through the endless web of mods that is going to be available for Oblivion, picking out the finest gems that are really worth playing and review them in great detail for our readers.

Mod of the week, soon on a computer screen near you.

Just check this out guys....  Incredible. Who else is getting hyped?

Gamers Hell: How are area transitions handled? Is the entire game world cut up into cells which load upon entry like in Morrowind, or is it a bit more seamless this time around? As an example, will there be loading times as you move from one part of the Imperial City to another? Will cities be completely separated from the "wilderness" parts of the game, in that when you enter them it takes you to a loading screen, instead of being able to enter like you were able to in Morrowind?

Bethesda: The world is structured similarly to Morrowind in that the interiors and exteriors are separated into separate "worlds"? by loads. In addition, major cities are now walled off and separated from the "wilderness"? by a load. This allows us to dramatically raise the level of content density for areas. We originally had cities out in the main exterior world, similar to Morrowind, but found the sacrifices in visual quality and density that we were having to make to maintain a seamless exterior experience were too great. However, there are about 25 settlements that exist out in the wilderness that use the Morrowind model.

Computerandvideogames: We've heard the PC version will have an advanced physics engine. Will the 360 version also include this and can you give us some examples of how it will affect gameplay?

Gavin Carter: The Xbox 360 and PC versions both take full advantage of Havok physics. We've integrated them into just about every aspect of gameplay. We've got ragdoll physics for dead NPCs and our level designers took advantage of that to great effect. Every clutter item in the game has full physics on it, so you can toss them around, knock them off shelves with your sword, or artfully arrange them in the home you just bought. Wide-area spells will send objects and enemies flying through the air with force and some spells like Oblivion's version of telekinesis are exclusively made possible through the integration of physics.

Xbox.com: One of the coolest parts of the game is the hyper-intelligent NPCs. Mind describing a few characters we'll meet and just how smart they are?

Howard: I wish they weren't so smart, actually. We spent forever making them really smart, and probably the last few months making them dumber, because they like to go off and do things that really mess the world up. A few weeks ago there was an instance where a player dropped the "Skull of Corruption," an artifact that when used on an enemy makes an evil clone of that enemy. He was just testing and wanted to make sure the object used the physics correctly when dropped. So he drops it and an NPC runs up, grabs it, and shoots the player with it—creating an evil version of the player who starts killing everyone. It was hilarious.

Recommended:

* 3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 1 GB System RAM
* ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

Minimum System Requirements:

* Windows XP
* 512MB System RAM
* 2 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
* 128MB Direct3D compatible video card
* and DirectX 9.0 compatible driver;
* 8x DVD-ROM drive
* 4.6 GB free hard disk space
* DirectX 9.0c (included)
* DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
* Keyboard, Mouse

Supported Video Card Chipsets:

* ATI X1900 series
* ATI X1800 series
* ATI X1600 series
* ATI X1300 series
* ATI X850 series
* ATI x800 series
* ATI x700 series
* ATI x600 series
* ATI Radeon 9800 series
* ATI Radeon 9700 series
* ATI Radeon 9600 series
* ATI Radeon 9500 series
* NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
* NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
* NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series
* NVIDIA GeForce 6200 series
* NVIDIA GeForce FX series

It's becoming a common theme for games to fully embrace the achievements system with up to fifty goals, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is no different. Much like Condemned: Criminal Origins or Kameo: Elements of Power, Oblivion is fully a single player experience, so you'll find its achievements spaced out between the natural course of the storyline as well as more specific faction goals that not only round out its achievements, but also help push you in new and interesting directions. Here's a comprehensive breakdown of what achievement goals you'll find in Oblivion.