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Fun Stuff => CLIKC => Topic started by: Vuk on 25 Nov 2010, 10:43

Title: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Vuk on 25 Nov 2010, 10:43
http://kotaku.com/5697047/report-elder-scrolls-v-is-a-direct-sequel-to-oblivion

Haven't posted in this sub-forum at all before, but is anyone else stoked for this? I'm kind of disappointed that it's a direct sequel to Oblivion, since I was hoping for something like Morrowind's world, but perhaps that's still possible. Apparently, they're improving the engine, though, and they still haven't revealed much in terms of location, gameplay, etc. so I guess we can hope it will be awesome.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: JD on 25 Nov 2010, 11:17
I am moderately excited.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 25 Nov 2010, 11:43
When I see the engine in action, I'll be very excited.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 25 Nov 2010, 12:26
Kotaku thinks that Oblivion looked better than Fallout 3?

I'm not quite sure I agree. I never got bored with the wasteland. I got bored with the Tamriel forests, elf shrines and generally empty-feeling world rather early on. Also, Oblivion was too shiny.


The Blades were never particularly interesting as a story element, so if they're going to stick with them, they'll have to do something big. And they better but it in a new province, dammit. I can get excited with any part of the Elder Scrolls world except that damn central, bleak European place.

It'll probably be good, but I'm not expecting to get as immersed as I did in Morrowind.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 25 Nov 2010, 12:38
Apparently it is set 200yrs after Oblivion, so not sure what to make of that.  Will we see guns and steam-engines other than old Dwemer tech?

I agree (as prob everyone knows) that Oblivion's shit was too shiny.  I am actually impressed with what they've done between Oblivion and Fallout 3, so I also can't understand how Kotaku say otherwise.  I believe that I read somewhere that this game/the new engine has been in production for a while now and they're still using a tweaked version of the old engine & not an id tech one, which is pretty disappointing, but whatever.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 25 Nov 2010, 13:38
Maybe they felt that they got burned when they put Oblivion so soon after Morrowind (I'm not sure how long, but the emperor that dies in the beginning of Oblivion is the same as the one that's alive and kicking in Morrowind), and got quite a few continuity problems. I seem to remember that there was some stuff going on with the emperor in Morrowind that was just skipped in the next game, and it just felt like nobody could care less that Gods had been killed just yonder. And the stuff that was supposedly happening with the Nerevarine, him going to the lost homeland of the elves, seemed far more interesting than Oblivion itself. Hint to gamedevs: don't talk about stuff happening in the world that sounds more fun than the game itself.

Setting the game 200 years after Oblivion gives them much more free reins with what's going on. As I said, I hope, hope, hope that they've placed it somewhere interesting. If it's in the marshes, I'll forgive everything ever.

This reminds me that it's been too long since I checked out Tamriel rebuilt. It's pretty awesome, I hope they can finish it one day.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 25 Nov 2010, 13:54
I probably shouldn't be, but I am moderately excited. With Fallout 3 Bethesda showed that they're capable of improving their design to some degree, but Tamriel as shown in Oblivion is just such a dull setting.

If they're doing VA it's probably pretty far along.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Storm Rider on 25 Nov 2010, 14:15
Well considering it's been over 2 years since the last Bethsoft game they should be pretty far along with whatever their next game is. But I agree with John in general. Fallout 3 was a massive improvement over Oblivion in just about every aspect, but I have serious doubts as to whether they can make the extremely derivative setting of Oblivion into something interesting, let alone whether they can sufficiently address all of the gameplay and engine flaws. I can understand why someone would prefer the visual palette of Oblivion to Fallout 3 though, although Fallout 3 would look less oppressive if they took the green filter off of everything.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Spluff on 25 Nov 2010, 15:32
Pity that they're still trying to use the same engine.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this - if they can display the same level of improvement as between Oblivion and Fallout 3, then this could be a pretty dang good game.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 26 Nov 2010, 12:25
Heh, I was wondering how long this would take to make it's way here...the rumor wasn't exactly from a credible source, yet nearly every major game-centric media outlet reported on it.  I'm sure they're working on it, but I'm gonna hold off on believing any of the rumors about locale/story until Gamasutra covers it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 26 Nov 2010, 14:12
...although Fallout 3 would look less oppressive if they took the green filter off of everything.

There was a mod that did.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Felrender on 28 Nov 2010, 16:15
Death to Gamebryo.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: McTaggart on 28 Nov 2010, 23:47
It's not really Gamebryo's fault so much as Bethesda's use of Gamebryo. If Warhammer Online can do the seemless transitions and huge world and so on with it then I don't see why Oblivion 2 or TES V or whatever can't.

I guess you could argue that WAR has less detail polycount and shader wise but honestly I think it looks better overall. Art direction is far more important than technology.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: scarred on 29 Nov 2010, 09:26
Given that I played upwards of 200 hours of Oblivion, it's not really a question that I'm going to get this one. I can't not.

I did enjoy Oblivion a lot more than Fallout 3, though, and I don't think it was just the graphics (although I do enjoy wandering around prettyscapes over green-tinted desert).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: McTaggart on 29 Nov 2010, 10:24
Man I just played the demo for Divinity 2 which also uses the Gamebryo engine and it felt totally correct there. Gamebryo is not the problem at all.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 29 Nov 2010, 10:54
Which is weird, since (according to wikipedia) they've been using different versions of it since Morrowind. Assuming that took 2 years to develop, they have 10 years of experience with it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 29 Nov 2010, 11:51
Apparently it is set 200yrs after Oblivion, so not sure what to make of that.  Will we see guns and steam-engines other than old Dwemer tech?
That would be awesome.  Although they could handwave the guns part because the inventors in the world are just like "Why make an expensive, smelly and dangerous device when I could just use magic to do the same thing with lightning bolts?"
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jimor on 29 Nov 2010, 22:07
L.E. Modesitt in his Chaos and Order fantasy series "solved" the problem of gunpowder weapons becoming dominant by having one kind of magic able to detonate it from afar.

There's a lot about this game that I'm going to be curious about. Part of that is that I like seeing how the boundaries of the genre evolve, so I'm hoping they try at least one cool thing in that regard.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 29 Nov 2010, 22:23
I don't expect them to include steampunk elements or whatever in the new game. I can't remember what the exact term is but Tamriel strikes me as a world that exists roughly in the same era in perpetuity, which can be explained away in that the omnipresence and versatility of magic takes all the incentive out of technological advancement.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 30 Nov 2010, 00:43
Magic can have an industrial age.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 30 Nov 2010, 03:11
The thing about the Tamriel world is that it's had a steampunk age, and you see the remains of it in Morrowind - the ruins of the Dwemer race and their centurions killer robots. It's got a rusty feel, and it's not got guns, but it's still steam. It's creator race also died all at once, but who knows.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 30 Nov 2010, 03:46
And there is always the guys who only have very limited magical ability.  Up until now they've made do with crossbows and such, but I'd see those guys using guns.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Caleb on 30 Nov 2010, 08:48
I liked how wizardry 8 handled the "guns" in a fantasy game thing.  Only certain character types could get custom guns, they got better as the character leveled and tinkered with them and you could use more things as ammo.  Otherwise characters had to train up to use modern weapons.
 
(But that game had spaceships and aliens and stuff too so maybe that isn't the best approach for this game)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Inlander on 30 Nov 2010, 14:14
Magic can have an industrial age.

See: Thief 1 and Thief 2. (Not so much Thief 3.)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 30 Nov 2010, 14:33
Remember that Tamriel had a industrial age - the dwemer. And I guess people see technology as bad luck since that entire race got wiped out.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Odal on 01 Dec 2010, 02:17
I went from completely obsessed with Morrowind to playing maybe five hours at most of Oblivion.  Maybe I'm just bored of the play style, but I really think the location of Oblivion just didn't do it for me.  Give Oblivion's technical improvements to Morrowind and I would probably buy it again.

Guess it all depends on the setting, if I'll buy ES V.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 02 Dec 2010, 03:42
I spent ages in Morrowind just walking about, squatting in swamps, picking herbs and experimenting with them.  I liked that blunt, sword and axe were all different, that short and longswords were different.  I liked that you could fuck around with enchanting and if you were good enough at it you could create shit that let you fly, or make a Hulk ring, something that'd increase your jumping and give you a bit of levitate, so you could bound across the world.  I also loved the fast-travel system that was in the game, ie: the strider things.

Like, even if they didn't want that sort of thing to be able to be done in Oblivion there were plenty better ways to do it than totally gimping the skill system.  From the very beginning I was looking for mods to fix things.  Arrows and magic flew way too slowly, both at and away from me.  Magic was gimped to hell.  You had to hit everyone/get hit a million times in combat, and your shit broke too often.  Torches were completely useless, because you could see well enough in the dark.  Traps weren't scary because they'd just hit you and bounce off with a little damage.  

I appreciated the weapon mods that made everything hit harder and last longer, the arrow speed mods that made archery more dangerous, magic rebalancing mods that made facing off against mages more than constantly advancing while sidestepping their pathetic attempts at harming you, and both the darker nights/dungeons and more dangerous traps mods for doing exactly what their names would lead you to think.  I remember testing out a trap after applying the dangerous traps mod and seeing my dude get killed with one hit from a big fuckoff log with spikes on and thinking "ok yeah, now that's fucking great"

I hope that they have some way of looking at the sort of mods people used and taking them onboard as suggestions for what people want the new game to be like, but I seriously doubt it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 02 Dec 2010, 23:40
Quote
I spent ages in Morrowind just walking about, squatting in swamps, picking herbs and experimenting with them.
True story: I had about 70% of Morrowind explored before I figured out what the silt striders were.  That character was also the only character I've ever had in a TES game that achieved a natural 100 in Athletics.  Starting from skill level 5.  And no, I didn't use any skill trainers.

I'm also hoping they place the game in a region other than Cyrodil.  Pretty much anywhere would be good.  Argonia would be interesting.  Maybe even High Rock.

Hopefully they make racials and birthsigns fun again; Oblivion Breton with The Atronach was practically gamebreaking.  And FFS bring back artifact items.

Oh, and bring back the Morrowind difficulty, not this stupid level-as-you-level crap that was in Oblivion.  Make the game challenging again.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Boro_Bandito on 03 Dec 2010, 09:02
Man I don't know, Morrowind was a great game but there were parts of it that just made me want to tear my eyes out in frustration. For one thing if I walked around in the world for more than an hour I would just start getting depressed since the entire place looked so drab and ruined and sad, and then what the hell was up with the weapons? You swing your sword, it physically touches your opponent, it should hit them. Not have a 5% chance to hit them since you haven't spent an hour swinging at things to level up your sword skill.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: McTaggart on 03 Dec 2010, 10:09
You swing you sword to attack something. Then it rolls to see whether you hit and if you hit then damage is applied. Think of it more like a pen and paper rpg.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 03 Dec 2010, 10:17
Too low fatigue, man. If it's lower than half, you'll start missing a lot, and misscast spells. You could hit stuff pretty reliably with weapon skills in the thirties if you didn't go into combat with fatigue a 0 because you had been running. A lot of people just put on always run, and forgot pretty much all about the fatigue stat, which made hitting stuff seem much harder than it actually was.

One big flaw with the was quests and storyline is laid up, is that unless you go temple (which is kinda boring and not easy to find) or Televani, you won't start exploring the grasslands and other cool places before late, late into the questline of your factions. Temple is recommended since a lot of the quests are pilgrimages, and lets you see new, fancy places.

And seriously, it's main quest is meant for level 60ish characters, but Solstheim is awesome.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Boro_Bandito on 03 Dec 2010, 10:42
You swing you sword to attack something. Then it rolls to see whether you hit and if you hit then damage is applied. Think of it more like a pen and paper rpg.

That is such an outdated way to deal with combat in an interactive video game though.

Also i was exaggerating as far as the actual percentage of chance to hit and whatnot for just example purposes, it still doesn't mean its a good system, but then again I'm just not a fan of anything that turns a video game into a spreadsheet as far as stats go, which will always without fail cause people to min/max, whether it be D&D, gearscore in WoW, or the entirety of EvE online. I just don't think its a way to look at a video game.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: SWOON! at My Gravitas on 03 Dec 2010, 12:14
It's certainly a way to look at video games, just a way that mostly only appeals to a very specific part of people who play them
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 03 Dec 2010, 12:55
The thing about Morrowind wasn't that combat was dice-based, but rather that if you used a weapon your character wasn't proficient in, you sucked ass with it (surprise!) That is not acceptable for the modern gamer, and it presents a problem for RPG developers... Without some dice element, you can't differentiate skill between character builds. The easiest solution is to restrict the weapons you can use with certain classes, the way ME2 did, but you can also let every character be awesome with everything (see: Bethsoft games since Oblivion, where non-combat skills are the ones that differentiate builds more than anything else), thus negating the need for combat skill entirely, or you can let every character be awesome with every weapon and introduce magic powers for those who bothered to distribute skill points, or you make skill dependent entirely on builds and introduce magic powers dependent on skill, like Alpha Protocol did. Or you can have all weapons have "attribute floors" and make them unusable for builds that don't pump a specific primary attribute (Diablo 2 and Dragon Age did this).

Bethsoft has fared the best with their system - John Q. Public likes to be able to use whatever he uses whenever he gets it, and he dislikes having drawbacks to the choices he makes with his character, such as not being able to use mauls when he developed a character best designed for daggers.

That latter element is probably the single biggest factor in the changes in RPG design in the last 10 years or so. It's been fun watching Bioware, for example, incrementally tweak their design such that players can't fuck up in any way and different approaches being only slight variations on one another.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 03 Dec 2010, 15:53
I'm glad that F:NV at least tried to restore S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and skill checks for weapon use but they should've gone so far as to make those weapons unusable/ineffective if the PC didn't meet the criteria. It doesn't make any sense that my thief/sniper build should be able to rush into a highly irradiated battlefield with a minigun.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 03 Dec 2010, 17:17
There's no way to do that in a real-time game without angering people - Alpha Protocol and (to a much greater extent) Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines made you suck in real-time FPS/TPS combat with things you weren't proficient in (or sometimes in the latter case, what you were proficient in) and they got pegged as the very definition of bad combat.

weapon prereqs in NV affected accuracy / spread (in the case of guns and explosives) and attack speed (in the case of melee / unarmed / explosives), but going beyond that would have pissed off too many people.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 03 Dec 2010, 18:20
They need to have a different playstyle option, then.

1. John Q Public [default]
2. Person who is expecting an RPG

or release it as an official, optional day-1 mod for all I care.  I don't mind them going after more casual players, because that'll get them more money and mean that they'll be able to make more games.  I just wish there were more sliders for gameplay than just difficulty level (and sometimes gore).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 03 Dec 2010, 19:15
Gore is a stupid thing to toggle, devs should just be able decide what they want and then stick with it. The toggle animus blood on/off option in Assassin's Creed is mindbogglingly unnecessary. It has no impact on censorship and people who don't want to/shouldn't be seeing that low level of gore need to think about why they're playing a game where the goal is to kill people. I can't think why they'd include it. 
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: JD on 03 Dec 2010, 19:24
But Tom what about the children
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 03 Dec 2010, 19:32
I think having configurable options, no matter how lowly you may think of them for whatever reason, is never a bad thing to have.

I am pretty torn on the way to deal with RPGs and how they've changed. While I miss the days of picking a class and being limited in certain areas by that choice, but I can't really argue with being able to at least mess with whatever I want in game in as few playthroughs as possible. Personally I'd like a bit more of a balance than what has become the norm, but I think that for the most part I'm ok with the fact that the definition of what an video game RPG is has changed considerably over the last 30 years.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 04 Dec 2010, 00:52
Don't get me wrong, I do love the way that TES' world is.  I love being able to be a sword-wielding mage or a mostly-fighter that augments his abilities with a little magic, or perhaps a sneaky bow-wielding assassin that uses magic for misdirection and healing.  I love all that, but I just want to have to work at it if I want to be able to do it effectively.  I don't really want it just served up to be on a plate.  I think that Morrowind was pretty balanced in that way, Oblivion less so without mods.  I hope that the next one goes back toward Morrowind just a little, but I am skeptical for the reasons John mentions.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 04 Dec 2010, 11:52
I'm going to put this here for later. 

8-)

Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 04 Dec 2010, 11:54
Oh yeah, definitely. I'd like to have to put a bit more work in myself but I'm not sure how they could do it anymore without turning RPGs back into the super niche market and not being able to survive on that kind of market without making major visual sacrifices that would make them even more niche and then jut having a fanbase made up entirely of RPG Codex.

I wouldn't wish the RPG Codex on anyone.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 04 Dec 2010, 14:12
I don't know. I think it just requires some creativity. I mean I wouldn't have thought an old school puzzle platformer like Out of this World/Another World would be any successful but hey Limbo, awesome.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 04 Dec 2010, 15:09
When even a hack and slash oriented game like Dungeon Siege 2 can get away with saying "if you choose more than one field of combat you will SUCK", and still be praised for fun combat, an Elder Scrolls game should have no trouble doing the same. You don't have to make characters unable to hit with weapons they are not proficient with, just make them slower and do less damage per hit, and that should fix things up good.

I've always had a problem with how TES has managed swords, btw. In Morrowind, you had short blades and long blades, which didn't make a lot of sense since short blades covered everything from kitchen knives to short swords, while long blades covered normal swords to claymores. Oblivion just had "blades". Morrowind's division seemed weird and overly constrictive, while in Oblivion it just felt too open. I think that a two-handled/one-handled division is much better, both logically and gameplay-wise.

I also want spears back. A fantasy world without spears just feels weird.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 04 Dec 2010, 20:16
True, though Limbo is also a $15 game. Unless they wanted to start making budget priced RPGs, which I guess would be an option and I certainly wouldn't look down upon it, I'm not sure how else they could do it.

Also yeah, Oblivion seriously needed a massively overhauled weapon class system. It felt incredibly stupid that between Morrowind and Oblivion crossbows, spears and various other things just ceased to exist. Wouldn't be so odd if it was odd weapons and such but it was fucking weapons that made sense.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 05 Dec 2010, 03:45
Torchlight is a budget price RPG and by all accounts it's gone gangbusters.  When Torchlight 2 is released I'm gonna pre-order it, because the original was a bucketload of fun while still being at its core a very competently executed action RPG.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Peter Molyneux on 05 Dec 2010, 07:25
Whatever they do the system will still be inherently flawed.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 05 Dec 2010, 07:28
Yeah, Torchlight is pretty great, but it's also missing some of the deeper aspects and balance of some of the better games in the history of the genre. It also kind of made it's money off of being a picture perfect Diablo II clone, one of the more popular games of the last 20 years. I mean, tons of fun and quite happy to have purchased it, but I don't know if I'd say creative is the word to use for it.

I'm actually interested to see how well they pull off Torchlight 2 since they're adding multi-player to it and balance will actually be a real issue. Probably still pre-ordering it the moment I'm able though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 06 Dec 2010, 03:56
Molyneux you fucking hack, I will cut you.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: SWOON! at My Gravitas on 06 Dec 2010, 04:06
Why do you speak so to such a brilliant revolutionary

In his games, you can have sex with or without a condom
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 06 Dec 2010, 16:21
Playing the new Fable was like getting down with Christine O'Donnell.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Vuk on 11 Dec 2010, 18:56
I'm sure a lot of you already know, but it's been announced. It's coming out next November.

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGSmUH4_K_U
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: McTaggart on 11 Dec 2010, 22:41
Fuck dragons.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Storm Rider on 12 Dec 2010, 01:51
You should go to Deviantart if you want some of that.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Spluff on 12 Dec 2010, 04:13
ESIV: Skyrim AKA Fuck yeah vikings
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 12 Dec 2010, 04:43
At least it's not set in Cyrodil again.  I saw a fake trailer for something that looked really pretty great (Project Offset) while I was looking for more vids.  Shame that thing's been cancelled.  Even though it wasn't TESV it looked like it was gonna be fun to play.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 12 Dec 2010, 04:44
Also, the engine looked really great.  I'm almost certain that I'll be disappointed with the Skyrim engine by comparison.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 12 Dec 2010, 06:36
eeeee!

It's about time they actually included the Elder Scrolls in TES. Also Skyrim is pretty much the coolest thing. I'm hoping that they can make the place look interesting. I've got pretty high hopes, these are, after all, the guys who did Solstheim.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 12 Dec 2010, 09:00
There's definitely an Elder Scroll in Oblivion.  It serves as a major plot point in one of the guild questlines.

Anyway, Skyrim looks hella sweet.  Hopefully the Dragons are like a metaphor for the Akavari, though.  I'd much prefer fighting real Akavari monster-people over dumb dragons.  I can fight dumb dragons in virtually any fantasy RPG.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 12 Dec 2010, 09:45
Maybe the Akavir were dragons? Or the Akavir had dragons? I'm trying to imagine fighting dragons in an elder scrolls game, and I can't really see it happening, unless they change the whole "you hit thing, it takes damage" recipe of the games, since killing a dragon that way would be pretty boring. I... cannot really see a good way to do it, but if there's really dragons, they'll probably come up with something.

I'm aware of the Elder Scroll in the last thieves guild quest, but that was just "steal an Elder Scroll". that it, you stole one of the things the entire game series has been named after, and it was just used as a magical whatever of power to break a curse. Woohoo.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: McTaggart on 12 Dec 2010, 10:07
The Akavir were the dragon people I think. Then they all got killed by some snake people who's name I can't spell or pronounce.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 12 Dec 2010, 16:09
The snake people who now lives in the east where the nerevarine went?

TES lore :psyduck:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 12 Dec 2010, 16:28
I'm only playing if they have mudcrabs.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 12 Dec 2010, 17:18
There's a wiki for that. (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Akavir)

Edit:  Fixed that link.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 12 Dec 2010, 17:23
That sure is some deep lore.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 12 Dec 2010, 20:35
Bethsoft is apparently saying that TES V will use an "all-new" engine. I don't know if that just means it's a new version of Gamebryo or something else. Hopefully the latter.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 13 Dec 2010, 02:43
I'm gonna guess they mean an all-new version of the Gamebryo engine plus additional bits made in-house.  It doesn't really make much sense at this point to write a new engine from scratch, and buying rights to use an engine from someone other than id would be a be of a faux pas, wouldn't it?  (unless of course they bought it before the merger/acquisition)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 13 Dec 2010, 02:57
Not necessarily. Id may have some formidable programmers but different engines are suited to different purposes. It depends on the kind of game they want to make and the suitability of Idtech for it. One could certainly make the argument that Gamebryo was not the best engine for the games Bethsoft have made in the past.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 13 Dec 2010, 09:50
New engine or not, I bet it'll just be Fallout with swords.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 13 Dec 2010, 11:49
Not really sure how that is a bad thing.  Some of the best fun I've had in Fallout is when I creep around inside a building using a melee weapon pretending I'm playing Oblivion.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 13 Dec 2010, 12:21
I still haven't played more than a few hours of Oblivion, everyone is just so unbearably ugly and the VA was horrendous. I'll be happy if they at least fix these.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 13 Dec 2010, 12:44
Judging from the teaser narration, the VA is just as terrible as it's always been.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 13 Dec 2010, 13:19
That 1 voice is probably 1000.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 13 Dec 2010, 13:48
The consensus on the Bethsoft forums seems to point to that dude being Max von Sydow.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 13 Dec 2010, 15:49
All I really want from this game:
- big open world
- realistic physics
- gorgeous graphics
- ability to mod the inevitable bad decisions away and add in any glaring omissions

The best fun I had in Oblivion was just questing for guilds, tomb-raiding, dungeon-diving and exploring. Didn't really care about the story overly much.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 13 Dec 2010, 15:50
Didn't really care about the story overly much.

I feel really bad for anyone who did.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 13 Dec 2010, 15:51
Just realised that if it's a completely new engine there may not be any easy way to make mods :(
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 13 Dec 2010, 15:54
And tbh if there's no way to mod then I'll prob take a very long time to decide whether or not to buy it, because vanilla Oblivion was frustratingly awful in my opinion
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Scandanavian War Machine on 13 Dec 2010, 15:59
I've put probably around 300 hours into vanilla Oblivion, so I wouldn't say it's awful, necessarily.


Then again, I have the unique ability to ignore how much something sucks if it has at least one redeeming quality (Oblivion had many more than one, so it was easy)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 13 Dec 2010, 16:16
Just realised that if it's a completely new engine there may not be any easy way to make mods :(

...

It's Bethesda. They make modable games - that's their thing. Them not having a CS is like Molyneux not bragging about how revolutionary his next game will be; slim, slim chances.

They've made all of their last games by first making the construction set from scratch, and then make the actual game. I can't see any reason why they would do otherwise - if I know them right, the CS is already done, and will either be out at launch, or a couple of months later.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Spluff on 13 Dec 2010, 21:37
All I want is an individually designed world without any generic copy/paste locations.

A decent reward system in dungeons and the like would be good, too.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Storm Rider on 13 Dec 2010, 23:22
The consensus on the Bethsoft forums seems to point to that dude being Max von Sydow.

If he's their major 'get' for Skyrim that's kind of hilarious.

Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Liam Neeson, Malcom McDowell... and Max von Sydow.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 14 Dec 2010, 00:54
It's Bethesda. They make modable games - that's their thing. Them not having a CS is like Molyneux not bragging about how revolutionary his next game will be; slim, slim chances.

They've made all of their last games by first making the construction set from scratch, and then make the actual game. I can't see any reason why they would do otherwise - if I know them right, the CS is already done, and will either be out at launch, or a couple of months later.

It's been their thing on PC, yeah. But there were no modding tools for the console version of Oblivion, and I'm guessing it was the same for Fallout 3. Wonder how much DLC they sold on consoles vs PCs
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 14 Dec 2010, 01:44
Kind of a moot point actually, piracy is much easier on PC. I know I pirated all the DA:O add-ons.

I think it would be a really good idea for Bethesda to use the DLC menu option as a mod channel for console versions.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 14 Dec 2010, 02:16
The consensus on the Bethsoft forums seems to point to that dude being Max von Sydow.

If he's their major 'get' for Skyrim that's kind of hilarious.

Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, Liam Neeson, Malcom McDowell... and Max von Sydow.
Max von Sydow ain't nothing to sniff at. But yeah, Bethsoft loooooooooooves wasting voice talent (token exception being McDowell). I had no idea Terrence Stamp was in Oblivion, but he was.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 14 Dec 2010, 02:47
Tom, I would love it to go back the other way.  Make it so that the mods are universal and you can load them up via a USB stick or something.  That would be pretty great.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 14 Dec 2010, 02:50
I'm told there are ways of modding console games, since the actual game files on a console version of the game are basically identical to the PC version, but I have no idea of how you'd go about doing that.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: MusicScribbles on 14 Dec 2010, 23:22
In response to what the engine will be I show you this (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/12/12/bethesda-says-skyrim-engine-all-new/).
So yeah, the engine is not Gamebryo or id's new engine, but one actually created by Bethesda this time. That could be excellent, looking at Daggerfall. Right, right?
Dude says (Dude equals Nick Breckon), "It’s a new graphics/gameplay engine built internally. We’ll have more details down the road."
Man, I hope I can get through this one. Their Fallout showed me they can do a better job than Oblivion did.
So yeah, this geek is keeping his bits crossed in hopes that their Icewind Dale is pretty awesome.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 15 Dec 2010, 01:55
Not really sure how that is a bad thing.  Some of the best fun I've had in Fallout is when I creep around inside a building using a melee weapon pretending I'm playing Oblivion.
See, I was making a joke about all the people who said Fallout 3 was just going to be Oblivion with guns, so I flipped it around.  :{X
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 15 Dec 2010, 03:38
I dunno, man.  It takes a lot of skill to put together a good engine from scratch, as evidenced by how many people just use UE or Source or an id engine or a CryEngine or GameBryo or something else they can just buy and work with from the get-go.  Perhaps this new engine will be like, taking all the extra bits they created around the GameBryo engine to get it working the way they wanted and replacing the engine part with something of their own making?  I dunno.  I should just shut up and wait for screencaps/video, I could (and hope to) be wrong in my cynicism.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 15 Dec 2010, 07:36
I think a lot of the reason mot developers license engines has more to do with time constraints and time than anything to be honest. Not to say it is an easy task and they all have the right kinds of folks to do it, but the amount of money that has to be pumped into it is probably quite vast.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: scarred on 15 Dec 2010, 14:23
given their success with oblivion and fallout, i'm not so sure money is a problem. bethesda is gettin' big.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 15 Dec 2010, 15:11
Yeah, it's unlikely it's going to be a problem for them for a very long time.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 17 Dec 2010, 16:36
herpderp so friggin' excited for this

y'all have no idea

NO IDEA


 8-)

would put money on this being game of the year
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Storm Rider on 18 Dec 2010, 01:09
herpderp so friggin' excited for this

y'all have no idea

NO IDEA


 8-)

would put money on this being game of the year

It'd be a first for the series  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 11:29
Lifted from the bethsoft forums, where people have been analyzing the leaked Game Informer scans for the last 48 hours with no sleep:

Quote from: Some fanboy
Confirmed Features:
-18 skills. A couple skills have been removed and their requisite abilities/spells have been merged with others.  Enchanting is back, and there is a new skill, 'Smithing' that lets you create your own weapons, probably in a similar way to how Fallout used workbenches.  Blade and Blunt skills have become One-Handed and Two-Handed.

-Perk picking at every level-up, each skill lets you branch off in perk selection as you get higher up

-Finishing moves, unique to each weapon and enemy you fight.

-Dynamic Shadows on damn near everything

-Kids

-5 Major Cities (BIG)

-Improved Faces/Improved Models Example: Faces have been dramatically overhauled. Characters now exhibit more emotion show of distinctions between different races and just plain looks better.

-Updated Engine Snow falls dynamically (not as a basic texture on the ground) From the mag: it piles on objects based on their shape
Trees and branches move independently with the wind
Water flows and huge draw distances !  To use an example, there is a mountain called the Throat of the World the player has to go to on a quest and climb 7000 steps (to put that in perspective, the Empire State building only has 1400 or so), and this mountain is visible from pretty much anywhere.  Gone are the days of distant hills having low-res textures with a few billboarding trees.  Skyrim is a slightly smaller providence than Cyrodiil, but still pretty damn big.   Turns out overall scale is bigger even though it's a smaller province.  World boundaries are handled a bit better than before, partially because much of the province is lined by mountains.  Other than that, pretty much every visible area in-game is traversable.

-The Hero has a mentor: His name is Esbern and Voiced by Mark Von Sydow (Surviving Blade)  MAX von Sydow, geezus

-The game takes place 2 centuries after Oblivion

-Initiating a conversation between a NPC no longer zooms and stops time: Quote (Conversations aren't done in a zoomed in static shot anymore. Start a conversation with some and they will act like someone would in real life, looking at you occasionally and walking around a bit and also continue doing a task if they were doing one while talking.)  Other NPCs in the area continue moving about while you are talking to someone else

-Sprint is added and is based on Stamina (Fatigue's new name)

-Beards

- Dialog will pop up when you approach an enemy (as in, they'll talk to you while they're attacking you instead of pausing combat)

- You can't run backwards as fast as you do forward. This was done because they felt the third-person backpedal looked dumb, and also balanced the combat so you couldn't just strafe away at normal speed as a side effect.

- 10 races to choose from

- confirmed creatures: zombies, skeletons, trolls, giants, ice wraiths, giant spiders, dragons, wolves, horses Elk, mammoth, saber-toothed cats, Draugr (pissed off Nord mummies)

- presumeably open cities (as dragons can attack)

- cooking/farming/mining/woodcutting/blacksmithing

-Hud-free first-person view and improved third-person perspective

-very unique landscapes! Also unique dungeons! In other words, lots of uniqueness!  Skyrim is not just snowy mountains; there are tundras, beaches, deciduous forests, etc.  Dungeons have much more variance

-Plot: The plot is that you are possibly the last Dragonborn, a group characterized by their ability to hunt dragons. The Septim line was a prominent Dragonborn line protected by the Dragonguards which eventually became the blades. After the death of the Septim line, the Blades were hunted down and killed one by one and now are almost completely gone. The return of the dragons was foretold in the Elder Scrolls and was ushered in by the destruction of the Staff of Chaos, the creation of the Numidium, the events at Red Mountain and the Oblivion Crisis. The last event to unfold before the dragons return was the people of Skyrim turning against each other which is happening at the beginning of the game. Dragons start to appear in greater and greater numbers as the game goes on and will eventually culminate with Alduin possibly coming into the world, but we have no idea yet.

-Combat: The combat system has once again been overhauled. Now you may choose what you place in each hand, whether it be a sword and shield, dagger and sword, two swords or even a weapon in one hand and a spell in another. Assaulting with your shield is now apart of melee combat, being able to shield bash them to stagger them to give yourself an advantage in combat. Spells can now be dedicated to a certain hand meaning you can fight with your left hand aflame while your right hand is charged with lightning. Spells can be combined to greater effect.  Ranged combat has been improved by increasing the damage bows deal significantly, so much so that it is possible for one to one shot an npc from stealth but also so the draw time of your bow has been increased. Ranged combat shouldn't be able to be abused from stealth like in Oblivion due to the fact that NPCs are FAR more intelligent than any TES game ever and possibly any game to date, we shall see.

To elaborate a little bit because these giddy fanboys have a habit of repeating things they like and leaving out other details (I've also added some stuff in bold to the quotes):

-Dragons roam the land and will attack the player, nearby settlements, etc.

-Radiant AI is back; if you drop a sword in the middle of a village, someone might try to give it back to you, others might fight for it.  This expands to 'Radiant Story': the game collects a log of everything you've done and will begin to generate quests that take you to locations you haven't gone to yet and populate them with level-appropriate enemies.  If you kill a shopkeep who was offering a quest, a relative will inherit the shop and continue to offer the quest begrudgingly as well as probably raise prices.  Also, their daily activities actually have an impact on local economy as opposed to just being 'do this at x time, then do this' in the previous games.  

-Menu overhaul: opening the inventory pulls up a compass overlay with inventory, skills, map and I forget the fourth option.  There is also a 'favorites' menu where you can add frequently used weapons/spells/armor for easy switching (requiring the same amount of effort as hotkeys to use but lets you have more ready than just 8 )

-Each item you can put in your inventory has a fully viewable 3D model (alchemy ingredients, armor, everything.  Books are actual books that you turn the pages to read).  To use an example, there might be a puzzle in the game that requires you know the order of a few symbols.

-Perks are handled in a constellation grid that when you open in the menu causes your character to look up to the heavens

-Dragons have a manuscript wherein they use claw-marks to depict syllabic sounds (there was a riddle on the back cover of the mag using this).  As a Dragonborn, your character can speak these sounds and learn new 'dragonshouts' that have special abilities such as a force push affecting those in front of you, slow time, calling a dragon by name to fight for you, a whisper that lets you teleport forward a short distance, etc.

-Much improved animations.  Seriously.  You can't really tell from magazine scans other than that the stances used in some of the screens suggest better posing

-Speaking of magazine scans, I don't want to post them but the game has a more definitive art style than Oblivion and looks effing gorgeous, y'all should check them out if you get a chance

-For the systems nerds, here's how leveling works: attributes are GONE.  You don't level up based on how much a willpower-based skill increased.  Instead, leveling is driven through skills.  To paraphrase a quote from the article, leveling a skill up from 34 to 35 will cause you to level up as a whole faster than going from 10 to 11.  This encourages specialization of skills, as higher skill levels cause faster level ups.  You can level up a bunch of skills, but it will take longer because lower skill levels contribute much less to leveling.  Also, the level cap is 50 and is a soft cap, meaning you can keep leveling at a much slower rate.  When you level up you get a health boost, and can pick an additional boost in health, stamina or magicka.  This system essentially makes so that you drive the character based on what you do, not by what you selected at the beginning.  No classes, everyone is an 'adventurer' with their own organic skill set instead of being jammed into a predefined role.


So yeah...I knew I was gonna buy this as soon as I heard about it.

Everyone else can commence dismantling it and interpreting as many things as possible to be a negative change.

Some parts removed since they're not public knowledge yet
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 08 Jan 2011, 11:45
I am seriously excited for the inclusion of beards and improved facial models etc. I hope it will be as dynamic as they say it will be.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 12:07
I neglected to mention that there is also a little more variance in body types, if the screenshots are any indicator.  There's one scene of an inn where there appears to be a somewhat pudgy bartender while the foreground has a much more svelte looking beer wench.

I don't think it'd be out of place for me to say that the game looks (at least in stills) 2-3 times better than the old Gamebryo husk.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 08 Jan 2011, 13:05
This is interesting. They are taking a lot of stuff in an entirely new direction, and including stuff that makes me think of a lot of great features from other game. I hope (hope!) that stuff doesn't go the same way as Radiant AI went last time, when they realized that it took too much cpu power and wasn't going to be properly implemented by the end of the game anyways.

I've always liked the leveling and stats system of the Elder Scrolls games, but this sounds pretty damn interesting. It always bugged me that you had to train stupid, irrelevant skills to train certain attributes (speed and endurance was usually a bitch if you went light armor and/or long blades etc), so this might be an improvement. Do any of you have any links to the actual scans?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 08 Jan 2011, 14:50
They really just need to cut the Radiant AI bullshit. It's always been a big selling point of theirs and they've never implemented it the way they've promised to. Oblivion promised all the same things but the Radiant AI just broke the game entirely so they scaled it back. It's not an issue of platform power, it's an issue of implementation.

Some of that looks interesting, and Fallout 3 was much better than it had any right to be, but I can't expect much from TES these days.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 15:00
I was under the impression that they only took it out because they ran out of time to balance it.  They've had some 4 years or so to work on this (with actual final hardware, no less) and have likely made some huge improvements.  I don't see why they'd extend the Radiant AI to quest-giving and story if the AI wasn't itself working really well.

In any case, the lower your expectations, the more you'll be surprised.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 08 Jan 2011, 15:55
As far as I remember, back around Oblivion Radiant AI was mostly cut out of the game because they realized that high end computers had problems running it with everything implemented. With no time to optimize, they cut out most of the system, leaving a core that was fairly reduced. It's a great idea, though, and not undoable - Mount & Blade pulls off stuff like that pretty well, with all npc characters picking from a varied list of goals, and creating a fairly believable environment and an interesting world that way. It's just about making a robust system of controlling the NPCs without scripting their every move. It's designing genius - once you have the  system in place and working, you can rework it for different games, and get a much more interesting game world with much less work.

And, to be fair, it hasn't "always" been their selling point. It was one of their selling points for Oblivion, and I can't remember hearing anything about it in Fallout 3, although checking around, it's mentioned in interviews. I'm not convinced that the AI behavior will be much better than in Fallout 3/NV, but it will certainly not be worse, unless they fall into the same trap as in Oblivion of making 3 conversations for for the NPCs to pick from.

Stuff they must do for the game to work, though, is getting more damned people in the cities, making combat (and especially dragon combat) interesting, and make a decently compelling story. Morrowind had the first and third, Oblivion had, well, kinda the second, so they probably have it in them. Somewhere, maybe. Exploring the world will be good - Betehsda making exploration downright uninteresting would be like Sid Meyer making a game that won't steal away 5 hours without you noticing.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 08 Jan 2011, 16:51
The reason I recall them taking it out of Oblivion was because over an extended period of time, chances were that any given character ending up murdered somewhere reached 1. It would be like that bug in Fallout 3 where the guy you give scrap metal to in Megaton spawns off a cliff and permanently disappears, but multiplied dozens of times. I assume the "descendants" thing is an effort to remedy that to an extent, but if you're just going to make a carbon copy of a quest-giving NPC when they die, what's the point? Especially when character interaction is entirely numeric, as it always has been in TES. Kill my dad, will you? That's a -15 disposition penalty right there, buddy. I'll need at least 20 gold or the passing of an easily mastered minigame to forgive you.

Anyway, yeah, three things that I don't believe Bethsoft will ever improve upon - Writing, Voice Acting, and Character Building.

Hopefully this time you'll be the focus of the story and not the capable lackey of the focus of the story.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 08 Jan 2011, 17:10
Well, I would say that Fallout 3 was a huge improvement in all three categories (concerning VA that is kinda sad) but the writing was mostly impressive in the occasional side quest and not the actual main quest... which actually may not be an improvement now that I think about it since it was the exact same in Oblivion.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 17:25
Of course that'll happen when you don't have time to optimize/fine-tune it.  In any case, when has any non-scripted character interaction in a video game not been numeric?  The only difference between TES and other games is that they make it really transparent.

As far as story goes, there's been a lot of influence from Conan (and rightly so), so I imagine your character's a good deal more important than a lackey.  At best, savior of time itself; at worst, the most crucial participant in the final battle against Alduin.

Voice acting-wise, I'm pretty certain they can only get better considering how clunky it was in Oblivion and Fallout 3.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Scandanavian War Machine on 08 Jan 2011, 17:53
I just got done reading the the GI article and I'm really excited now. If they deliver on 1/5 of the things they said, it'll probably be my GOTY.

I am ridiculously easy to please though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 08 Jan 2011, 18:06
Super intrigued by the new levelling system. I mean, in practice, I'll probably hate it like I hate every TES levelling system, but it's an interesting thing conceptually and I'm trying to work out how it affects min-maxing.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 08 Jan 2011, 18:09
Yeah, i am definitely intrigued at least. Also I found scans and holy shit, it's a TES game where the human NPCs don't look like some horrible Ogre/Troll hybrid!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 08 Jan 2011, 18:14
Just looked up said scans too. I know screens are doctored and prettied up and stuff especially for a feature spread in GI but holy dang.

WTB FO4.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 08 Jan 2011, 18:20
Not sure I can make a proper judgement about the graphics until I see them in motion.  I am not as impressed though, was just writing up a negative thing, but I'll wait now until I've seen gameplay videos.

I just want gameplay to be great.  Cutting things down to 1h and 2h sounds shit.  Shield bashing sounds good.  Wielding spells at the same time as a sword sounds ok?  Depends on how it's implemented.  Same with two weapons.  Not sure how they are going to do it unless they use the same kind of method as the shield bashing with it.  Surely today's mice have enough buttons that we can have a Primary and secondary attack?  Not sure I like the idea of finishing moves.  It's an RPG man, I don't fucking care how I finish people off.  People play these games for 100+ hours, anything trite like finishing animations you can't stop is going to get old very quickly (but then again, I guess we can just mod them out?)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 08 Jan 2011, 18:23
Surely today's mice have enough buttons that we can have a Primary and secondary attack?

You have made the classic error of assuming Bethsoft cares about making it great for PC. They like the PC market, of course. They understand their most devoted audience is there. That's why they release the mod tools, because that audience will turn the game into whatever they want. It is not who they are making the game for, though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 18:38
The finishing moves, if I read the article correctly, are different based on which weapon you use, as well as which enemy you're killing.  So killing a troll with a mace is different than with a sword is different than with a dagger is different than with a hammer, and those are all different if it's a giant instead of a troll.  So it'll be kind of like those special moves in VATS you could do in New Vegas, except in real-time and an extra level of variety.  It could still get repetitive, especially towards the endgame when you're probably going to be  using one melee weapon most of the time, but I don't think it'll be as repetitive as something like Assassin's Creed.  And yeah, modding them out'll probably be one of the first things people do.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 08 Jan 2011, 18:47
That sounds better than I was expecting, though.  Maybe it won't get so bad?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 08 Jan 2011, 18:50
Also, re: the console, we have two trigger buttons, maybe one for each hand?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 18:56
All we have to go on right now is what the article said, but I imagine it won't be too long before they release gameplay footage.  They want to show this game off.  And yeah, that assumption's correct or at least not far from whatever it is they have planned.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 08 Jan 2011, 19:01
Despite my pessimism I'm open to the game being good in some respects. I know Bethsoft is open to criticism of their design and even when they fail to correct faults they usually at least give it a shot. Oblivion was good for about one playthrough before the shortcomings really started to become glaring. Fallout 3 remains relatively playable. I think the TES setting as it exists presently is pretty generic and doesn't give them a lot to work with. I'd like to know who the principal designers are, at least. Emil from FO3 is probably their greatest asset, to be honest.
In any case, when has any non-scripted character interaction in a video game not been numeric?  The only difference between TES and other games is that they make it really transparent.
Not at all. The thing with other games is that they're not trying to go as broad as Bethsoft does. In terms of choice and consequence (dun dun dunnn) other games will often give you direct feedback for your character actions - NPCs will comment directly on your character's identity, his or her skills, an the choices they've made. Up until FO3 Bethsoft was the absolute weakest studio in the industry in terms of this. They offered so much player choice in terms of character creation that all interface between character identity and the gameworld was sanded away, rendering the choice meaningless beyond skill stats and abilities. For example, in Icewind Dale 2 or Arcanum or Dragon Age, characters will comment on the PC's race / gender / class in conversation. In the latter two games, racism exists in the game world and it is directly stated against the PC. In TES games, conversations around the PC are as general as possible (beyond stock "Hello Breton / Greetings Dunmer / Nice to see you Nord" greetings) and all feelings about the player's identity and actions are numerical in nature. People are prejudiced against Dunmer? Play as a dark elf and go around talking to people, they will not think highly of you, but for reasons that are never stated, it's a simple mechanical check for race leading to a dock in universal disposition. In many cases the way they address you and speak to you may remain unchanged from normal but when it comes to dealing with the character in other ways the character will not be predisposed to you. You may as well be someone who just never bathes. The game never tells you beyond the fact that this person has only 30/100 Liking You points. Feed them a number of 10 gold bribes (Morrowind) or play a contrived minigame (Oblivion) and in less than 5 minutes you can completely turn their feelings for you around, and it will be as though the factors that led them to dislike in the first place never existed.

They create these big, unwieldy worlds and, in TES anyway, they've never figured out how to make the character interaction compelling, because they've needed a universal system that is easily implemented across the entire game to cut down on otherwise stratospheric development time. Unfortunately that system has really sucked in practice. In FO3 they were actively trying to follow the example of the older games of the series in terms of how you interacted with the world, and the game was much, much better for it. Barring some big changes to the TES system I'm skeptical of the amount of progress they can make. It's certainly a possibility, but I don't know the extent to which they're open to letting the FO3 design into TES. Hopefully more than a little.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 19:15
Ah, ok.  I misread that and thought you meant that there was something in character interactions in other games that wasn't decided by a variable or group of variables.  You're right, the games haven't been good about giving players a direct hint or message as to why they're unliked (except in the case of vampires, hehehe), but in my case, I was able to figure out the gist of it after reading a few books in-game.  There's a pretty solid history for the setting, it just involves finding the books and reading them; it's not quite as handfed to players as in other games.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 08 Jan 2011, 19:20
I definitely agree with pretty much all of that, John.  It's one of those things you don't really notice until you see it, then you can't unsee it, and everyone feels creepy and fake to you.  Having basically the one voice for everyone didn't help, either.  I would definitely like to see someone who just straight up won't deal with you because of your race, and makes it plain that that is why he's doing it.  No "I don't want to talk to you right now" or whatever, more like "Get out of here you filthy Dunmer" or "You scum killed my father in the Marshes, get out of my sight" (etc) and you have to find some other way to talk to them, like pay a mage to disguise you or get a proxy to talk for you.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 08 Jan 2011, 20:11
If only Bethsoft would hire Woody Allen to write for Max (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYHwoJQ5fpU&feature=player_embedded), that would be awesome.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 08 Jan 2011, 20:31
That would be sweet.  What would be even better is if he said it in character as King Osric.

A little update on what is known about Radiant Story, since it's obviously got a lot of implications:
Quote from: snip
Radiant Story in which if you kill a shopkeeper and he gave a quest, his daughter might inherit the shop and if she knows that you killed her father, she may not give you the quest that her father would have given you. If you killed him inside a secluded house and no one discovered you then she won't know you killed him and thus will be willing to give you the quest.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 10 Jan 2011, 18:56
I would prefer there to be far worse implications, like her just not dealing/talking to you at all other than to shout at you to leave her alone.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 10 Jan 2011, 19:20
It seems like a bit of a co-out. Yeah, you can kill people but you can still get the same stuff.

What would be neat is if some shops did Beth's thing, some threatened you when you walked in, and some just sat there abandoned and eventually had skooma junkies camp out.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 10 Jan 2011, 19:37
They may very well do that.  Since towns can be ravaged by dragons there's a pretty strong possibility that shops and houses might become abandoned until other NPCs find the place and move in.  It's just one scenario that was mentioned in the article; I imagine the NPCs are gonna be a bit more dynamic than I'll give you this quest/won't give you this quest because you killed my dad.  Bethsoft's probably going do some kind of video later showing just to what extent that whole system's gonna work.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 11 Jan 2011, 00:02
It's quite unlikely that the game will give the player permanent severe repercussions for events within the gameworld, especially when Radiant AI sort of inherently promises that such events can happen without the player's input. They've backtracked on such things consistently in the past and for legitimate reasons (most developers do the same thing, especially in this age of "diplomatic" and "harsh" solutions that chalk up to relatively equivalent outcomes). It's bad design. It's detrimental to the player experience - for evidence, read any player account of STALKER: Clear Sky, which was about as close to a Radiant AI game as we'll see. Total chaos. But it sounds good on paper.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 11 Jan 2011, 03:20
How did stuff work out in Clear Sky? I know that at least Shadow of Chernobyl (which I'm playing now) did something like that - anyone could and probably would die - quest givers and targets. They included some mechanisms to work around this - important quest givers was surrounded by allies, and would be okay unless you killed them or joined the opposing faction. if you had a quest goal to go see someone, and they died before you got there, you could check their PDA for the info you were looking for. If a quest giver died and you were doing a quest for them, you could still finish the job, and the money would get mailed to you. It's a brilliant shooter that manages a game world where shit goes down without your influence excellently. They could have fucked that up in Clear Sky, I've got that sitting on steam, so I might as well check it out once I'm done with SoC.

Anyways, it'll probably be hard to translate that kind of success to TES if Bethesda is going with what they seem to think is a good idea - voiced NPCs, every NPC (except guards) custom built etc. You simply won't have enough people to pick from to create a living, breathing world that's interesting enough to be an improvement over Oblivion.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: scarred on 11 Jan 2011, 13:25
I just got done reading the the GI article and I'm really excited now. If they deliver on 1/5 of the things they said, it'll probably be my GOTY.

I am ridiculously easy to please though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 11 Jan 2011, 15:22
I didn't say nothing about permanent repercussions...some areas might just be a little empty for a while before other NPCs move in.


I've been keeping up on the Game Informer updates as they roll out; today was some videos with their lead sound guy.  Some more voice over from Max von Sydow (really good, I might add), part of the new soundtrack (also really good), and the only clip of in-game footage so far: a Dwemer Centurion uncurling.  If that single animation is any indicator, the rest of the animations are WAY better than previous entries in the series.  Also, it means Dwemer ruins are back.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 14 Jan 2011, 17:09
Looking through the gameinformer stuff, it's quite clear that they're really going for the great epic feel this time around. Fighting dragons with a backdrop of a choir singing the TES theme? Yeah.

Hope they can pull it off.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 14 Jan 2011, 17:25
Game Informer expanded their site (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/01/14/the-sounds-of-skyrim.aspx) to include videos about the sound in the game. Gotta say von Sydow's VA sounds better (and better written) than anything in Oblivion.

Also looks like Dwemer Ruins will be back, so it's already 10x the game Oblivion was in terms of setting.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 14 Jan 2011, 19:49
Techno Viking's in the 4th video clip.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 15 Jan 2011, 08:49
Am I the only one that has flash player crash constantly while watching those videos? It's the only place I've ever had the problem, and it happens at average once per video. I'm using chrome, but that should probably not be an issue.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: FIXDIX on 15 Jan 2011, 14:08
Happens with me too on Firefox.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Felrender on 16 Jan 2011, 00:54
If this game lets me run around with a bearded axe fucking up monsters pulled straight from Norse mythology then that is all I need.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Felrender on 16 Jan 2011, 16:45
Also any SA users if you value your sanity avoid the Skyrim thread in games

*enters thread through saloon-style double doors*
*blasted back out by giant SPERG in Impact font*
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 17 Jan 2011, 17:01
The latest Game Informer update (http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim/b/xbox360/archive/2011/01/17/the-technology-behind-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim.aspx) goes into a little bit of the technical improvements they've made.  There's a little bit about how they apply a snow shader to the world based on what objects it's hitting, how individual branches in trees will react to wind differently, some stuff about HUGE draw distances and having dynamic lighting on everything...then it gets into the AI bit.  I'm gonna boil up some copypasta:

Quote from: Game Informer
You won't find townspeople loitering aimlessly in town squares anymore. Each denizen performs tasks that make sense in their environment. To impart the towns and cities with a greater sense of life, Bethesda has populated them with mills, farms, and mines that give the NPCs believable tasks to occupy their day. In the forest village we visited during the demo, most of the citizens were hard at work chopping wood, running logs through the mill, and carrying goods through the town.

The improved Radiant AI technology is also more aware of how a citizen should react to your actions. As you perform tasks for them or terrorize them by ransacking their home, the NPCs develop feelings about you. If you're good friends with a particular NPC and barge into his house during the middle of the night, he may offer you lodging rather than demand you leave the premises. “Your friend would let you eat the apple in his house,” Howard says. If you swing your weapon near an NPC, knock items off their dinner table, or try to steal something of value, they'll react with an appropriate level of hostility given their prior relationship to you.

**snip snip animation bit**

The increased animation fidelity and diversity has enabled Bethesda to ditch the awkward dialogue camera perspective that paused the game and presented you with an extreme closeup of the person with whom you were speaking. Now camera stays in the same perspective used during combat and exploration, and players are free to look around while engaging in conversation. Rather than drop their activities to give you their undivided attention, the NPCs continue to go about their business while in discussion. For instance, a barkeep may continue to clean cups while talking, and even move from behind the counter to a seat. A mill worker chopping wood may engage in conversation without turning away from his duties, only occasionally glancing toward you during the exchange.

Perhaps the most impressive use of the Behavior technology is how Bethesda is using it to create the dragon animations. Bethesda has worked meticulously to make sure the beasts look powerful and menacing when banking, flapping their wings, gaining altitude before making another strafing run, and breathing fire on their hapless victims. None of the dragons' actions are scripted, and Behavior helps make the movements look non-mechanical, even when the dragons are speaking/shouting.

**snip snip Radiant Story bit**

“Traditionally in an assassination quest, we would pick someone of interest and have you assassinate them,” Howard says. “Now there is a template for an assassination mission and the game can conditionalize all the roles – where it happens, under what conditions does it take place, who wants someone assassinated, and who they want assassinated. All this can be generated based on where the character is, who he's met. They can conditionalize that someone who you've done a quest for before wants someone assassinated, and the target could be someone with whom you've spent a lot of time before.”

The Radiant Story system also helps deal with untimely deaths. Predicting player behavior in an open world is tough, as many often stray from the main quests and get into trouble by murdering quest givers. In Skyrim, if you kill a shop owner who had a few quests to offer if you spend the time to get to know him, his sister may take over the shop and offer the quest that was formerly ascribed to him. The quest logic automatically picks up with pre-recorded voice work because Bethesda already assigned her that contingency role. Tread lightly though, because she's not oblivious to your dastardly actions. She will still recognize you killed her brother and perhaps even try to exact revenge later in the game.

Radiant Story is also smart enough to know which caves and dungeons you've already visited and thus conditionalize where, for instance, a kidnapped person is being held to direct you toward a specific place you haven't been to before, populated with a specific level of enemy. This helps Bethesda avoid repetition and usher the player into areas the team wants you to explore.

Radiant Story doesn't limit these new missions to encounters in towns. Like in Fallout 3 and Red Dead Redemption, a lot of random events occur while you're exploring the wilderness as well. "There are a wide variety of these random encounters," says design director Bruce Nesmith. "Many of them are things the player can interact with, some are not. You might save a priest who then tells you about a dungeon where there are people trapped that need saving. You might run across mammoth beset by a pack of wolves."

The article itself seems to be affected by Radiant AI, because that last paragraph has had a few different sentences thrown in.  Something about giants asking the player for help hunting mammoths or whatever.

Also included was this screenshot:
(http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/screenshots/The_5F00_Elder_5F00_Scrolls_5F00_V_3A005F00_Skyrim/The_5F00_Elder_5F00_Scrolls_5F00_V_3A005F00_Skyrim_5F00_Media/Markarth01.jpg)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 17 Jan 2011, 17:10
This could be great, but I'm worried that it's going to be buggy as all shit.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 17 Jan 2011, 17:13
It will be buggy as all shit, this is guaranteed. It is just kind of the natural way of things with most CRPGs.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Scandanavian War Machine on 17 Jan 2011, 17:18
i'm excited. How excited?

This excited:

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
:mrgreen: :-D :mrgreen:
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 17 Jan 2011, 20:14
that's pretty damn excited

I am likewise excited to a comparable if not necessarily equal degree
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: McTaggart on 17 Jan 2011, 20:51
But I like my untimely deaths :(
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 17 Jan 2011, 21:41
The only thing now is, getting all that to work on console hardware. Ever wondered why the Strip in New Vegas is broken up into, like, three 200-square yard chunks? It's because if the areas were any bigger the Xbox architecture would freak the fuck out, what with the lights and all. Even with a new engine, I'm skeptical. There's only so much optimization you can get away with.

If there's a silver lining to the "consoling" of games, it's that a PC rig that was top of the line 3 or 4 years ago can still handle most new games with ease. That was not the case 10 years ago.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Alex C on 17 Jan 2011, 22:33
No kidding. When my motherboard died last year it really only cost me around $300 to have a half decent system up and running again since my video card survived the incident. Back in '98 I would have been like "Man, I'm in high school and there's no way dad is pitching in on a $1,500 PC again."
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 17 Jan 2011, 22:46
You also have to consider that the original engine was only running on final hardware for 6 months before being shipped and had barely any optimization to speak of.  And there wasn't a lot of time between Oblivion and Fallout 3 for much, either.  If they can implement a good culling solution they will most likely be able to do away with splitting the world into chunks.  They also might be getting some help from the folks at id.  Not that you're wrong, I'm just saying they've got a lot of room for improvement and have had plenty of time to do it so far.

Someone on the bethsoft forums pointed out something I was already thinking: the original incarnation of Gamebryo had no object culling, just backface culling.  Basically the whole reason for all the chunks; everything in that chunk was being rendered even while it was offscreen.  Nowadays (and I'd bet this is what they did with Skyrim) most games use some form of frustrum culling, which stops the rendering of objects offscreen, more or less.  Just doing that alone would allow lots more geometry on screen at once with the same resource budget, let alone better LOD techniques.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 18 Jan 2011, 01:07
A few thoughts:
- henceforth I'm going to call their new conversation mode "Law and Order" questions mode, because god damn it you fucking cretins, stop what you are doing for a moment when I'm trying to ask you some goddamned questions
- the idea of different types/severity of reaction depending on how well you know someone is a welcome addition, if they can do it properly
- generating the location of quests based on your level so that there will be level-appropriate enemies, instead of just levelling up the fucking world to suit you is a very welcome change, if that is what they mean by that

I am still tentatively excited but expecting to be let down on some of the more interesting ideas.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Boro_Bandito on 24 Feb 2011, 09:53
New Video, shows gameplay. (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/game-engine-elder-scrolls/710872) AAAAAAAH!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 24 Feb 2011, 10:34
OMG.

Give Obsidian that shit, make me a Fallout 4. Make this happen, you fucks.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 24 Feb 2011, 11:38
Srsly, Bethsoft should just have this as their flagship title and let Obsid have Fallout as theirs. It's for the best.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 24 Feb 2011, 12:06
Ok yeah gimme
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 24 Feb 2011, 12:35
Lookin' pretty sweet.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 24 Feb 2011, 12:50
oh my gawwwwwwd guys

SO WANT
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 24 Feb 2011, 12:52
That looks a hell of a lot better than I anticipated. I may just buy this game for the graphics engine alone.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Boro_Bandito on 24 Feb 2011, 13:06
I had to run to class after I posted that so i didn't really have time to comment, but yeah that video sent shivers down my spine; good way to introduce the Dragon Shouts.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: scarred on 24 Feb 2011, 18:14
i fucking peed myself
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 24 Feb 2011, 19:15
You haven't seen anything until you've seen one of those dragons try to pin you on a mountain after you thought you'd escaped by running through a cave.  Todd's not lying when he says they're really friggin' cool.  Those spiders can also get the drop on you, no pun intended.

I'm glad they showed off some of the other locales; the first thing I'm gonna do now is try to wade that big-ass river.  And then eat a mammoth.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Scandanavian War Machine on 25 Feb 2011, 10:49
goddamnit, i want to play this game right now

it's all blizzardy outside and it's making me want to slay manly things in Skyrim with beards and....and blackjack


november is so cruelly far away



....good thing i bought Two Worlds 2 to occupy me for a while (seriously it's actually awesome. I know, I can't believe it either)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 25 Feb 2011, 23:48
Quote from: comments
I wonder what that highlander like moment after he kills the dragon is all about?

I was wondering about that, too.  I am kinda hoping it's tied to your Dovahkiin powers in some way, like they do not progress unless you kill dragons and draw their energies.  Having them as a separate line of skills would make sense, because there needs to be something to separate it from the normal adventurer style abilities.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 25 Feb 2011, 23:50
I mean, or else you could just keep running and jumping in a corner to level up your athletics and acrobatics skills, or keep casting certain low-level spells, then put your points into Dovahkiin shit when you level, which makes no sense at all.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 25 Feb 2011, 23:56
That's easy - they've confirmed that you'll get the bulk of your dragon shouts from absorbing the souls of dragons. I think the way it works is, every shout has three words, and every dragon nets you a word. You can also get them from the wall murals in ruins, I think.

Also dragon shouts are separate from magic.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 25 Feb 2011, 23:59
The general assumption right now is that the more you collect, the more of the different dragon shouts you can learn.  The actual wording from the devs is a little vague, but it would make sense.  It's definitely not tied to leveling.

That's easy - they've confirmed that you'll get the bulk of your dragon shouts from absorbing the souls of dragons. I think the way it works is, every shout has three words, and every dragon nets you a word. You can also get them from the wall murals in ruins, I think.

Also dragon shouts are separate from magic.

You can get them from the walls.  To further elaborate on what you said, I think the common perception is that each soul allows you to unlock one word (shouts start with one of the words, you have to get the other two via other means).

Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 26 Feb 2011, 00:03
That does sound pretty good, thanks.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: cyro on 26 Feb 2011, 02:40
(http://cdn1.knowyourmeme.com/i/000/056/754/original/Don_t-Know.jpg?1277786276)

I'm still horribly jaded from Oblivion. Though I liked Morrowind, I never had the OMG-Best-Game-Evarz! reaction to it.

Skyrim does look good though. I'll reserve judgement till closer to release.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 26 Feb 2011, 09:23
I just really hope they've done something with the horrible broken skills/leveling systems. If they can make that more natural and intuitively fun, and less "haha here's a level just cause you jump too much, and you're not allowed to increase your stats at all SUCKER" I'll probably be very happy with the game no matter what else they do with it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Ozymandias on 26 Feb 2011, 09:42
Yeah, it's hard to justify a leveling model where the best characters specialize in the things they do the least.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 26 Feb 2011, 10:36
Well, you no longer pick major skills; you just have skills, period.  You'll level up faster by leveling up the skills you have the highest ranks in. You could still opt to level up a bunch of things, but you'll level up slower, which means you won't get the health/stamina/magicka bonuses you get from leveling up as often as someone who specializes.  Plus the (soft) level cap's 50, and leveling goes a little faster than in Oblivion, plus many perks are likely locked by level, so there's an incentive to specialize in order to level faster.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 26 Feb 2011, 10:39
That really doesn't sound too bad. I'm assuming they also learned from their mistakes in having the world level with you a la Oblivion?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 26 Feb 2011, 11:58
They're claiming to use something that is much more like Fallout 3's system, meaning that the weaker enemies won't disappear when you get to higher levels, just have less of a presence.  They are planning on having the Radiant Story quests set the level of unexplored dungeons based on your character's progress, but they haven't elaborated much on that.  I'm also sure there are going to be some areas that won't be easily accessible at lower levels.  I could elaborate on that last part, but I fear retribution, so I'll shut it. 
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Boro_Bandito on 26 Feb 2011, 12:42
I'm just excited that they're taking the perks system from Fallout and using it in ways for Elder Scrolls, period. It couldn't possibly be a bad thing, right?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 26 Feb 2011, 17:45
The perks system is one of my favourite things from Fallout 3.  I like being rewarded at every level with something small, yet potentially tactically beneficial.  It makes the choices made during levelling up more meaningful to your character.

The only complaint & request I would make of them is to say, comparatively double or triple (meaning I guess effectually around 4-5x taking into account the 50 level cap) the perks, scatter their usefulness across a wider range of scenarios and put some things in that are basically just RP perks that don't necessarily make your character any better, just work to flesh it out more for your own edification.  At the moment I am basically running out of perks that I feel would apply to my FO3 character, and they are only level 24ish.  I'm taking all these things I don't care about just because I have to take something.  Perhaps let us skip a perk and take it later?  I dunno.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 26 Feb 2011, 17:55
Yeah, I'm hoping they tweak it at least a little bit. While perks are great in Fallout, they're not perfect. I do agree with your first statements entirely--it's nice to have something that not only gives you that feel of really controlling your character's growth and progress in a meaningful way, but also means you won't necessarily be screwed over by poor initial build choices. That's one thing I kind of hate about Morrowind/Oblivion: if you don't pick everything right at the beginning (or at least, if you don't stick to the "strategy" you intentionally or unintentionally chose then), you can wind up with a sharp disadvantage.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 26 Feb 2011, 18:11
I would love to see more ways to specialise your character in a certain direction, and would love to have the perks turn into more of a semi skill-tree situation, where more are dependent on previous perks in order to be selected.  The TES setting is very open-ended and so far I have only been able to discern rather limited differences in the characters I put together.  ie: "ok, this one is better at hitting things with a sword, this one has stronger magic, this one can open harder locks" but generally they all feel pretty similar in play style.  I know that is a feature of the TES setting, but as evidenced by the encouragement they are giving to people using their highest skills more often this time around I also think that they mean for people to have a great array of choice, but to eventually settle on a particular playing style for each character and specialise for that build.  So perks that let you add specialties in a very definite fashion would fit in well with what they are trying to do.

For example: for stealthy assassin types, perhaps there could be some sort of benefit/reward given for navigating through a dungeon or some other open quest without being detected, so as to compensate your more stealthy build for playing in-character.  Perhaps maybe just bonus XP or bonus skill-use for killing an enemy without them detecting you?  Sneaking up behind someone and shivving them/slitting their throat wouldn't normally give as much skill-up chances as a full-blown battle where you repeatedly use your bow, or magic, or sword & shield (etc), so it would be nice to get a perk that grants some sort of bonus.  Kinda like the Mister Sandman perk does, but for killing unaware enemies, not just sleeping ones.  Multiple levels of that perk to gradually add bonuses to damage, XP gain, stealthiness to encourage you to keep playing that character in that way.  I could see a character I build that way playing very very differently to one with perks for toughness or an added mental reserve they can use to tap more mana at the expense of faster fatigue or a large hit/drain on fatigue (that potions do little to help) after a certain amount of time has passed.

And yeah I know it's adding classes into the game by proxy, but the difference is that it's more like gradual specialisation into the class/class combination you want your character to become, not arbitrarily picking it at the start, and in my view that is what the TES setting is all about.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 26 Feb 2011, 18:25
I think there was some magazine that stated that all perks would be available to all characters. Probably with level floors but not with skill requirements.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 26 Feb 2011, 18:43
I think the running total of perks in Skyrim right now is something like 180-190, according to Todd in one of the magazines.  The perks are handled in branchlike structures (well, more like constellations), and many perks are locked by skill level/other perks/player level (not sure about the last one, but the first two definitely).  There hasn't been a list or anything by any means, but they claim they're trying to use the perks as one of the main ways you specialize your character (one perk in one-handed weapons would improve sword damage while another would ignore armor with a mace, etc.)



And yeah I know it's adding classes into the game by proxy, but the difference is that it's more like gradual specialisation into the class/class combination you want your character to become, not arbitrarily picking it at the start, and in my view that is what the TES setting is all about.

That's more or less what Todd is going for.  He didn't like seeing that players were playing for a few hours and then realizing 'hey, I should've picked this at the beginning instead' and although they haven't outright said it, they seem to be implying that there's no explicitly defined character classes in the game anymore.  He definitely wants the players' actions to drive their progress, and each iteration on the TES series is in many ways an experimentation with different ways of doing that.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 26 Feb 2011, 19:02
Well that sounds really encouraging.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 26 Feb 2011, 20:18
The perks are handled in branchlike structures (well, more like constellations), and many perks are locked by skill level/other perks/player level (not sure about the last one, but the first two definitely).

Talent trees?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 20 Mar 2011, 15:03
I don't this has been posted before, but here's (http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2011/02/03/toddhowardse.aspx) an hour long interview with Todd Howard. There's a lot of interesting stuff in there
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Inlander on 20 Mar 2011, 18:05
I'm sure this game will be cool and all just as I'm sure that I won't own a computer hardcore enough to run it for at least five years.

But you know what? Someone should just make a dragon flight sim. That'd be fuckin' wicked.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Damnable Fiend on 20 Mar 2011, 18:38
would you ride the dragon, or be the dragon?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Inlander on 20 Mar 2011, 19:22
BE THE DRAGON
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 20 Mar 2011, 19:25
RIDE OTHER DRAGONS TOO
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 20 Mar 2011, 19:25
THE SIMS: DRACONIA
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Inlander on 20 Mar 2011, 19:27
Okay imagine this video only with fire-breathing dragons and without shitty voiceover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tufnqWNP9AA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tufnqWNP9AA)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 21 Mar 2011, 03:41
How would it control? I'm imagining Just Cause 2's plane controls with spacebars for flapping your wings to rise, and the mouse to aim and fire flameblasts and lunges. I would play that game.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Inlander on 21 Mar 2011, 04:57
Where's J-Ho?

JOE! JOE! WE'VE GOT A GAME WE NEED YOU TO MAKE FOR US!!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 21 Mar 2011, 08:21
JOE! JOE! WE'VE GOT A GAME YOU WOULD GET RICH FOR MAKING!

Seriously, a well made dragon flight sim would probably be such a great seller.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Johnny C on 22 Mar 2011, 09:12
I'm sure this game will be cool and all just as I'm sure that I won't own a computer hardcore enough to run it for at least five years.

But you know what? Someone should just make a dragon flight sim. That'd be fuckin' wicked.

they did, it was called lair, it was terrible
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 22 Mar 2011, 13:19
According to wikipedia, game reviewers said that it had little lasting appeal due to a poor campaign. I might downoad the demo anyways.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 22 Mar 2011, 19:19
You can always play this http://www.choiceofgames.com/dragon/
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 02 Apr 2011, 13:45
Screenshots
http://www.kotaku.com.au/2011/04/these-new-shots-from-skyrim-are-no-laughing-matter/
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 02 Apr 2011, 17:18
I heartily approve of the soft-focus/lack of excess shininess going on in these screenshots.  That alone is a very big improvement over the last engine.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Eternal_Newbie on 03 Apr 2011, 15:44
It looks great, but it's a Bethesda game, so I'll wait for the inevitable GOTY version, so I get a decently patched version with most of the DLC. I have to confess I'm a little worried about how the dragons will end up working in the release version though, this is Bethesda, after all.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: scarred on 04 Apr 2011, 23:32
Fucking. Came.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 05 Apr 2011, 15:17
I absolutely love the armor.

Way better looking than a lot of the stuff from Oblivion or Morrowind.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 08 Apr 2011, 20:58
After watching that new Skyrim video...GIMMIE!!!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 10 Apr 2011, 19:54
The Nexus Forums (http://www.thenexusforums.com/index.php?/topic/286552-skyrim-information/) has a bunch of cited information.  Some interesting stuff in there.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: est on 10 Apr 2011, 21:24
Now that I can see more about what they are doing re: merging the blunt & blade into "1 hand" and "2 hand" skills, then giving specialisations in Sword, Axe, etc I like where they are going with it.  The basics of 1h and 2h fighting are pretty similar, and I am guessing that using perks to specialise will make people be more selective about which weapon they want to get good at, instead of just using whatever they want and fighting trash mobs to skill everything up.

That's gonna be a bit of a bitch for people like me who like to skill everything up, or someone who changes their mind from sword to axe/hammer/whatever if they find The Perfect Weapon or something, but hey, that's life.  This way there is also a conscious, intentional decision to be made at some point while levelling up, ie: "DO YOU WANT TO BE A SWORD DOOD OR AN AXE DOOD" so that even idiots can follow along and get a clear signal as to why their off-specialty weapon attacks do so little damage by comparison.


Quote
One shout lets you slow down time, or use a special whispered dragon shout to stealthily move close to an enemy in a mere instant


So we get access to both bullet time and shadowstep, then?  I can't decide whether this is kinda lame or totally awesome.  I'll have to see how it's implemented.

Quote
If you drop an item on the ground near NPCs they will react to that as well, such as a child might try to give you the sword back or two men will fight over it.

I hope they do something with this re: sneaking past guards or something.  I'd love to see other kinds of distractions like pinging a rock or an arrow off a wall and having a mob go investigate the sound, rather than instantly becoming aggro to the player.


Quote
Some locations will have enemies that are too strong for your level, and you will have to come back when more powerful, and vice versa.

This is really so fucking great.


Quote
When opening the menu, instead of returning you to the last page you visited as it did in Oblivion, you are now presented with a simple compass interface that offers four options. (Right: Inventory | Left: Magical Items | Down: Map & Quests | Up: Skills)

Do not want this.  Very console-like, which would work great on consoles but not make much sense to keyboard+mouse controls.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 10 Apr 2011, 23:19
Don't worry, even if they do do that in the PC version they'll probably still have the standard J/Q/S/M/C shortcuts as well. If not someone will mod it within as little time as possible after release.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 11 Apr 2011, 00:48
yeah, they were fixing the interface for the pip-boy within a week of release, without tools
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 11 Apr 2011, 13:47
I imagine that it would be something like the Crysis compass.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Damnable Fiend on 11 Jun 2011, 12:46
here's a 15 minute demo by Todd Howard for G4.  if you can bear to sit through Sessler and Morgan and other G4 people being super-annoying for that long, it's pretty informative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic6dKnv3WdU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic6dKnv3WdU)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 13 Jun 2011, 12:48
Hmmm 16 square miles of travelable regions? Sold.
Adaptive world based on your characters actions and play style? Sold.
An explorable world featuring my favourite Elder Scrolls race as the main people? Sold.
Dual Wielding swords....I might be foaming at the mouth at this stage, someone please hand me a tissue.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 13 Jun 2011, 14:31
Well, to be fair, Fallout 3, NV, and Oblivion all had 16 square miles, too.  And they all hyped up their world adapting to your character's actions, and even had it implemented to some extent.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 19 Jun 2011, 15:34
I went to ozgameshop to pre-order this and:
Quote
This is a pre-order - Game will be despatched to you on or before the release date of 26th November 2011- Subject to change by the publisher. (http://www.ozgameshop.com/xbox-360-games/the-elder-scrolls-v-5-skyrim-game-xbox-360)

wait, what?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: KvP on 19 Jun 2011, 16:36
There's often a delay in Oz releases. The other possibility is that the retailer is talking out its ass, or covering said in case they take more preorders than they can fill
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 19 Jun 2011, 17:40
Maybe, they also have the pc version as 11/11 and the ps3 version as 26/11. It's the same on their NZ and UK sites but I can't find this anywhere else. Stupid xbite.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 26 Jun 2011, 17:00
Why, alduin, why? (http://skyrim2011.info/)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 26 Jun 2011, 18:04
Why, alduin, why? (http://skyrim2011.info/)

Yep, a countdown is going to drive me crazy. Damnit, I want my Nord Warrior crushing his enemies, seeing them flee before him and to hear the lamentation of their women!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 27 Jun 2011, 17:39
So I'm starting up Obliv with the hope of playing more than 10minutes this time. I need a level scaling mod other than OOO becuase the world levelling with you is all kinds of dumb and I don't want to use any major overhauls until after I've finished the vanilla with sprinkles version. On second thought, that mod doesn't look anywhere as near as much of a problem, so I'll probably go with that.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 27 Jun 2011, 17:56
You do that. I'm going to reinstall Morrowind tomorrow and destroy Dagoth Ur and the Tribunal. And then hopefully I'll be able to play with some werewolves.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 27 Jun 2011, 18:06
So I'm starting up Obliv with the hope of playing more than 10minutes this time. I need a level scaling mod other than OOO becuase the world levelling with you is all kinds of dumb and I don't want to use any major overhauls until after I've finished the vanilla with sprinkles version.

Seriously, the vanilla with sprinkles version is not worth the effort. Save yourself the frustration and go with the good mods. Most of the good ones don't unbalance anything any more than the vanilla version.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 28 Jun 2011, 07:01
As far as I remember, OOO is really well balanced. I think Bethesda hired the buy who made it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 28 Jun 2011, 07:05
yeah, OOO is a good fix for the most common complaint.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 28 Jun 2011, 16:26
Is there anything else that is basically require to significantly improve playthrough quality? I've still never gone farther than closing the first gate with one character.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 28 Jun 2011, 20:26
Uhhh, there were lots of little mods I used to use but I can't remember if OOO covers most of them or not. I remember using one that made plants that you harvest ingredients from change so that you didn't keep seeing the same motherfucking plant which didn't have any fucking ingredients that a goddamn motherfucking 2bit back alley game designer could have done in the vanilla fucking game aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 28 Jun 2011, 20:42
It's truly amazing how much dumb stuff ends up in hugely popular AAA titles. I've been playing GTA IV on and off because it's design flaws are exhausting (here's a freaking huge map and here's your spawn point all the way over here).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Damnable Fiend on 29 Jun 2011, 06:51
I would recommend installing a super-mod called FCOM Convergence, which includes:  Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, Martigen's Monster Mod, Oblivion WarCry, and Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items.

at least, if you think it's worth the hassle.  

http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/FCOM (http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/FCOM)

The Unique Landscapes mods are pretty cool, too

http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/Unique_Landscapes (http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/Unique_Landscapes)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 29 Jun 2011, 18:25
Uhhh, there were lots of little mods I used to use but I can't remember if OOO covers most of them or not. I remember using one that made plants that you harvest ingredients from change so that you didn't keep seeing the same motherfucking plant which didn't have any fucking ingredients that a goddamn motherfucking 2bit back alley game designer could have done in the vanilla fucking game aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
you're thinking of Harvest Flora and Harvest Containers, which are part of OOO but might be in the optional section and will probably need updating
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 02 Jul 2011, 05:56
So I just did a few dungeons and got tangled up with a couple guilds, I think I get this game now :D
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 02 Jul 2011, 09:59
I would recommend installing a super-mod called FCOM Convergence, which includes:  Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul, Martigen's Monster Mod, Oblivion WarCry, and Francesco's Leveled Creatures-Items.

at least, if you think it's worth the hassle.  

http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/FCOM (http://www.oblivionmodwiki.com/index.php/FCOM)

Was a bitch to make this work, but I think I did it. I crashed instantly upon leaving the starting sewers, turned out that having Living Economy in both OOO and as a stand-alone install (that's included with Fransesco's, I think), kills everything. Really bothering me that the install page hasn't been properly updated for newer versions of the parts, so I had to do some figuring out. There's some better help on a forum, if someone wants to, I can try to find the link again.

I think I'll have to redo some settings - for someone who's held anything close to a realistic replica of real swords, the reduced swing time just seems ridiculous. Of course, the game claims that the claymores weigh 50 fucking  pounds (check wikipedia for longsword - a heavy one is up to 4,5 pounds - 2 kg), but whenever I see someone swinging a sword and using two full seconds moving it from one side of their body to the other, I just want to run up and stab them a million times in the face before they are ready for another swing.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 02 Jul 2011, 11:27
I wouldn't mind having a nice and convenient link to a better thread explaining how to do that without breaking anything, no sir.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 02 Jul 2011, 14:10
Also looks like I fucked something up, cause it crashes a lot. I'll mess around a bit more with the load order.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/924363-the-elder-scrolls-iv-oblivion/48544847 is the site I used.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 19 Jul 2011, 02:49
Look, I think Oblivion is a solid game. I really dig the whole do what you want character creation, it's fantastic that I can have mage-race (Breton) character and train in stealth and augment my physical abilities with a wide assortment of spells from several schools. I'm also one of those gamers who never has an unread codex entry so all the books scattered throughout the provinces of Cyrodiil have been like manna from heaven. The Lore is fascinating and rich in contradictions so trying to sort reality, perceived reality and fiction is an enjoyable sport.

Unfortunately, this game can be a little problematic if not out right lazy. I'm fine now with the whole "you gotta go here at some point but feel free to do whatever" but when you have huge game world filled with 1-D NPC's and repeating dungeons with maybe a small note but near generic indiscernible character I get left feeling rudderless. I have virtually no incentive to explore the random dungeons and caves unless I have a (quest related) reason to go near them.

And another thing, the VA is the most distracting piece of shit I've ever encountered in a current gen, AAA Western RPG. There are all but 5 actors by my reckoning all with very obvious accents and affectations for their character types. It gets bizarre when a random guard starts talking to me with the voice of a major NPC. It gets even weirder when I'm talking to someone and their voice just outright changes in conversation seemingly at random, like all the beggars who it seems are maybe just down on their luck nobles who adopt an irritating voice to get money but forget that's what they're meant to be doing.

I get that a lot of these things have been tweaked and fixed for Skyrim, which is still looking like a zero-day/pre-order purchase for me, but Oblivion even with mods seems hugely sub-par for such a well respected company.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 20 Jul 2011, 03:07
Yeah, Bethesda have this knack for building really great worlds and giving you lots of little things to tinker with but then pretty much calling that a day.

except the dungeons kinda blew. Cut and paste stuff. They say they've hired a dungeons team for V though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Katherine on 20 Jul 2011, 13:21
I bought Oblivion when it first came out and the laptop I had at the time couldn't handle it so I gave up and went back to WoW.  I just bought a new laptop after my PC died and decided to give Oblivion another shot.  I feel like I am going to repeat this same storyline come November, sans the WoW relapse.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: JD on 20 Jul 2011, 13:52
Oblivion had all of one person creating the dungeons. I would cut and paste a bit if I had that job too.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 20 Jul 2011, 21:09
That doesn't make it any less shit.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 20 Jul 2011, 21:22
So I found a town called Hackdirt and the associated quest was called "Shadow over Hackdirt." This is probably one of the most disposable, totally half-assed Lovecraft references I've ever seen. The full extent of it's crazy were thuggish nord troglodytes and their "Old Ones" were just Daedra/Deadric Princes.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 20 Jul 2011, 22:47
Can't expect every quest to be a winner.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: JD on 20 Jul 2011, 23:38
That doesn't make it any less shit.
Well no of course not.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 21 Jul 2011, 01:15
Quote
Dual Wielding swords....I might be foaming at the mouth at this stage, someone please hand me a tissue.
This will be a feature that I will flat out refuse to use.  Dual-wielding just turns games into easymode.  What I WOULD like to see is a balanced use of two-handed weapons so that people will quit automatically overlooking them as "big slow low dmg weapons" and going for the shiny fast pewpewlazorz dual-wield.  I mean, two-handed weapons in Oblivion were a joke.

That and attacks that hit multiple targets, like Zeal from Diablo 2 or Cleave from WoW or Whirlwhind (from both games).



And on the subject of weapons, can we get some awesome badass axes and maces/hammers while we're at it?  Oblivion (and Morrowind to a lesser extent) was sorely lacking in them.




Oh yeah, some of us want spears and crossbows back, too.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 21 Jul 2011, 02:04
Can't expect every quest to be a winner.

But I'm sure as hell going to hold these guys to higher standard.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 21 Jul 2011, 05:08
About the weapons, I think Bethesda is selling themselves a bit short when they cut weapon types. The arguments they have are solid - they weren't different enough to warrant an own class, but instead of seeing that as a reason to cut them, they should see that as a reason to change the weapon classes. Make spears have a really long reach, high damage, but relatively low attack speed. Do similar things with thrown, axes, and so on.

And dual wield is stupid. Don't listen to Drizzt.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 21 Jul 2011, 05:13
Eh, dual wielding melee weapons actually makes sense historically and as a very effective martial art skill. It's not like it's dual wielding guns where in actuality it makes shit goddamn stupid (most things) or fantastically over the top (Max Payne).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jimmy the Squid on 24 Jul 2011, 01:38
Yeah I'm good with dual-wielding. I do hope they bring back things like spears/halberds and the other projectile weapons like throwing knives and shurikens and darts and stuff. That would be cool as shit.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 24 Jul 2011, 02:48
I'm pretty sure none of that's in game, at this time. Who knows, perhaps they might include it with a patch or DLC.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 24 Jul 2011, 04:33
Bombs like in The Witcher would be pretty great. There will be AOE spells, of course, but they're strictly magical and not the kind of thing Sven Dragonpuncher would use.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 24 Jul 2011, 04:45
Eh, dual wielding melee weapons actually makes sense historically and as a very effective martial art skill. It's not like it's dual wielding guns where in actuality it makes shit goddamn stupid (most things) or fantastically over the top (Max Payne).

As far as I know, the only place two weapons has been used historically has been in dueling situations - rapier/dagger combos or such. I could be wrong, though. As long as they don't have two swords give twice the damage output as one, I'm all for kinda silly combos.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 24 Jul 2011, 05:06
Depends whether they consider being able to use spells with one hand balance enough
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Tom on 12 Aug 2011, 16:30
http://www.reddit.com/r/skyrim/comments/jh6oh/list_of_all_the_press_created_characters_direct/

Character creation is looking pretty swell, so far.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: JD on 12 Aug 2011, 21:19
Destructoid you are now my favorite.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Buttfranklin on 09 Nov 2011, 20:57
So two days.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 09 Nov 2011, 22:40
Less than 7 hours for the Australians.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 10 Nov 2011, 04:14
20 hours and 47 minutes
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 10 Nov 2011, 04:18
Less than 7 hours for the Australians.
yeah but everybody broke on the date anyway
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: smack that isaiah on 10 Nov 2011, 04:28
Special edition unboxing, and some more stuff afterwards (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK4HMZIDvYM&feature=channel_video_title).  i haven't yet watched the whole vid, so maybe potentially spoilery towards the end bits, but i doubt it (really, tho how much could really be spoiled?  i mean, these games' plots aren't really what everyone's playing for).  view of your own accord.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jimmy the Squid on 12 Nov 2011, 13:24
I sunk around 3 hours into this last night. It was aweeeeeeesome. I can't wait until my exams are over so I can really get to grips with everything.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LeeC on 12 Nov 2011, 15:05
yup killing dragons in a fantasy game, why hasnt anyone really done this?! :roll:  Skyrim did a great job.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: IrrationalPie on 12 Nov 2011, 15:07
How to conquer a dragon in Skyrim. (http://www.dorkly.com/comic/27206/how-to-conquer-a-dragon-in-skyrim)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 18 Nov 2011, 03:16
I've had some random... it's not exactly crashes, the game just closes. I'm not sure if I'm mistakenly pressing f4 while sprinting, or if it's something else, still weird.

I need to get down my thoughts about the game. What do you guys like and dislike?

So far I'm having a lot of fun. The big gameplay changes from Oblivion - removal of attributes, new UI, perks, new spell system, are all excellent. The random quests you can ask for all takes you to new places and lets you see cool stuff - unlike Oblivion, where the random sidequests were basically "enter another gate and close it". The crafting influences from the Fallouts work out pretty well - smithing, potions and enchantments are meaningful, and it's cool to run around in gear you made and improved. I miss some of the cooking stuff from the Fallouts, though - compared to potions, there's no real reason to ever drag around food that I've found. There's definitely going to be a mod for that, though.

The game looks really good, too. I've on some occasions walked into places and stopped to go "this place looks good". The... epic or enchanted or whatever reality Beth has gone for is really shining through. Yesterday I found a ruin inside a cave on a ledge above a waterfall. The sun was shining though the top of this cave, and trees were growing on the little spot in the bottom of the cave where enough light got through. You'll see this place during the main quest - it looks Amazing.

But while looking good in the strict pretty sense, the game also brings back some of the things about exploring that I missed from Morrowind. Places look... different, and outright alien at times. While not as profoundly alien as the daedric ruins or ashlander camps from TES3, the ice caves and dwemer underground complexes are still weird enough to be interesting - unlike the elf ruins from Oblivion.

The dragons and giants and mammoths also gives a really different feel to the game. These creatures are immense, and immensely dangerous. They really define the landscape around them, and fit in really well with the big landscapes of the world. All just blends to create a visually satisfying experience that it's fun to play in.

Man, this game is good. There's details that bother me - suicidal horses, how you put your equipped pickaxe in the belt and magically spawn another one while mining, a bit stupid AI at times (bow in hand to hand combat? Wielding a hunting bow with an elven one sitting on the table in front of you?), some confusing quests (which of these women you are talking about were your dead daughter, your dead wife, your new wife, that other woman who might be a vampire?), and the guards simply not getting that they will probably get shouted at if they get in between me and a dragon. And so on. But these are minor inconveniences, the only major one is the one I think I mentioned earlier about quest items weighing stuff stuck in the inventory. Still a must-buy.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 18 Nov 2011, 04:53
The UI is literally the worst UI I have ever used. If it weren't so bloody overdesigned I'd call it broken, but I have to assume it was designed that way. Oblivion had a lovely interface (after you modded the font size down) that let you sort everything in five or so different ways, so you could see immediately what was weighing you down and whether it was worth carrying around. Something that simple takes considerably longer because only one item can ever be displayed at once. Also, you can't just click on something and jump to it, everything has to be slowly scrolled through.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 18 Nov 2011, 09:53
I've played out the mainquest :) pretty awesome!

I agree with what is said by snalin, the game looks awesome :) I don't like the inventory where sometimes you need to scroll through to equip a sword instead of a bow when fighting. I want to be able to do that with a button-push :P

Horses are stupid. And not needed. Just fast-travel and run/walk it yourself. Also... Falling is stupid. I went down from that top hill where you learn shouts all the way to the ground climbing rocks... thats ridiculous :P
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 18 Nov 2011, 10:17
Also, you can't just click on something and jump to it, everything has to be slowly scrolled through.

I can click on things without scrolling after I downloaded the day one update.

I really like the way the UI and map look, which I've seen a lot of people complain about on the internet, but it doesn't always work in the best way.  Pretty easy to tell it was designed for consoles.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 18 Nov 2011, 15:33
that doesn't really work when you consider Oblivion and Fallout 3's UIs were developed for consoles. I think it's that they were designed by the team responsible for making box art.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jimmy the Squid on 18 Nov 2011, 18:03
I miss some of the cooking stuff from the Fallouts, though - compared to potions, there's no real reason to ever drag around food that I've found. There's definitely going to be a mod for that, though.


Are you sure? I've been cooking away whenever I get to an inn or clear out a bandit camp (they usually have cooking pots/spits over their fires). I found a recipe book as well for different dishes that replenish magicka as well as health or that increase your sneak and other attributes.
My brother is doing an interesting thing where he's decided to make his Dunmer mage a vegan. He's not using any leather armours, just magic robes. He's not killing any animals unless they attack him and he's not using any animal products in his potions or foods.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: imagist42 on 18 Nov 2011, 19:14
That sounds like a fantastic idea.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 19 Nov 2011, 00:58
that doesn't really work when you consider Oblivion and Fallout 3's UIs were developed for consoles. I think it's that they were designed by the team responsible for making box art.

I'm only saying it 'feels' like it was made for consoles, regardless of whether it was or not.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 22 Nov 2011, 14:19
PC users: go here and download the mods needed for better play or better graphics :)

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 26 Nov 2011, 05:49
Interesting. (http://ppsh-41.tumblr.com/post/13145143504/entire-tamriel-landmass-built-into-skyrim)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 26 Nov 2011, 06:34
In my mind the game becomes ONE. Srsly, the engine etc will all be the same, just go from game location to game location: Skyrim -> Tamriel etc etc :)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: cyro on 29 Nov 2011, 06:52
(http://cdn1.knowyourmeme.com/i/000/056/754/original/Don_t-Know.jpg?1277786276)

I'm still horribly jaded from Oblivion. Though I liked Morrowind, I never had the OMG-Best-Game-Evarz! reaction to it.

Skyrim does look good though. I'll reserve judgement till closer to release.


I hate you prior me. This game is excellent.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 11 Dec 2011, 13:46
I just found the copy I ordered earlier in my mailbox. It was wrapped in nothing but ribbed cardboard, so the plastic box is really busted up. The good news is, the map is ok, and so is the cd. There being a map is a nice surprise; the rest of it might as well be run through a shredder for all I care, just as long as I can still read the cd key.  :laugh:

So, any good mods that I can start with?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 11 Dec 2011, 14:37
http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=667 - kinda fixes the inventory, can sort items by something other than name
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 12 Dec 2011, 03:51
It does have some known bugs last I checked, with the alchemy/enchantment interfaces.

There's also a program that lets you start the game with 4g ram enabled (instead of 2), but that's going to be fixed in the last patch (is it out yet?), so it's not really going to make that much of a difference.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 12 Dec 2011, 04:10
I've gone ahead and installed a crapload of custom texture mods as well, so the extra RAM could come in useful. But first I need to do the dishes and vaccuum my room, then I'll treat myself to Skyrim.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 12 Dec 2011, 04:13
I used to vacuum, but then I took an arrow to the knee.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 12 Dec 2011, 07:34
Aw, damn it. The mods I installed crash the game after a few seconds of getting started. A few oh-so-pretty seconds. I guess I'll have to eliminate some...

Oh wait, it just needed the Large Address Aware patch. Problem solved, continue modding...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 12 Dec 2011, 13:51
I used to install mods, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

 :mrgreen: Fos-Ro-Dah!

Someone said it's shallower thean Oblivion. I agree with those persons because srsly, the storylines for all the side-quests are so short and the 'infinite' quests just suck.
Also, there's no epic city like Oblivion had :X
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 13 Dec 2011, 03:04
The Elder Scrolls Syndrome, aka "everything was better when I was young!"
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 13 Dec 2011, 11:17
No, that's a syndrome EVERYWHERE ANYHOW
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 14 Dec 2011, 08:15
The bandits in this game can be real pussies sometimes. Does this look like a lethal injury to you? (http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/649874153586252464/202CC23D48380114E6E0AE18BE3848AB1C12D5F8/) Nah, it's just a flesh wound! And still he's dead as a doornail.

Also, it's incredibly jarring to go through such a dramatic change in UI efficiency. Before this I played Serious Sam 3, which controls as tightly as a hummingbird's flight. Skyrim's controls are more akin to a horse-drawn carriage. With a particularly lazy and stubborn horse in front.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 17 Dec 2011, 15:15
Is everyone done with this game already? I killed my first dragon yesterday! I stood on top of the watchtower and riddled it with arrows while it was on the ground roasting the Whiterun guards, then walked down to finish it off with a few blows of the Ancient Nord Battleaxe of Cold. I freaking love that thing. Caused me to invest heavily in Stamina so that I can use more power attacks.

I'm occasionally surprised by how much tactical depth there is to combat. Before arriving in Whiterun I made a stop at High Hrothgar (took a detour circling around the Throat of the World), and found a Frost Troll on the way up. I had no chance of going toe-to-toe with it, so I tipped an arrow with a paralysis potion 3 I picked up somewhere, which knocked him out for seven seconds. That was enough time to give him a good clobbering with the axe, but he still got up, so I just had to roast him with a fire spell in two hands.

Do creatures in Skyrim have elemental weaknesses, or just resistances? It made sense to me to use a fire spell on a frost troll, and the lightning spell (love that as well) seemed to be particularly effective on arthropods. I did verify that the undead are immune to poisons, but the cold damage from my axe didn't seem to be more or less effective on the troll. So what's the deal?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 17 Dec 2011, 16:53
Oh, I'm not one to run from a fight. Although sometimes I feel a little bit bad about getting into fights with creatures that are just minding their own business. Like that family of trolls in the goldmine near Valtheim Towers. (On the other hand, they did massacre the original inhabitants, so I guess it evens out.) And I think it was rather nice of me to not kill any of the bears I encountered. Not before someone asked me to do just that, anyway.  :angel: :evil:

But I only managed to get a horse after descending down the mountain. I took one from the Stormcloak camp east of the mountain; they didn't seem to mind. But it seems to have wandered off while I had to go talk to the Jarl. Damn it, those things don't just grow on trees!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dazed on 18 Dec 2011, 11:16
Shadowmere is basically immortal.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dazed on 18 Dec 2011, 11:17
Also, the decapitation finisher animations are about 60-65% of why I play this game.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 18 Dec 2011, 11:22
I've spent maybe 5000 gold on horses alone because THEY KEEP DYING AFTER ATTACKING MY TARGETS.
Here you go, a cowardly horses mod (http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1522).

I haven't been able to decapitate anyone yet, Dazed. Plenty of other finisher moves though, like sweeping someone's legs out from under them before planting the axe in their skull. Do you need a specific weapon or a specific skill to do decapitations?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dazed on 18 Dec 2011, 11:39
Perks in the 1-handed and 2-handed trees.

I've basically decided at this point that my Nord Berserker has gone insane from all of his various contacts with Daedra/other weird shit, so now I pretty much just leave a wake of headless corpses in any town/major city I go through.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 18 Dec 2011, 12:51
Maces have a really great killcam where you crush whomever you're fighting's knee, and then wack them in the face as they fall. Win!

My gaming rig is down for the moment, so I can't play (oh no!). Got to level 49 before that, and I've had fun all the way. I had a horse for a while, but a dragon showed up and I ducked into a nearby cave. Back out the dragon had roasted the horse, a nearby guard, and went it's merry way. I think I'll get that cowardly horses mod, as I stopped using the things because of the constant wild, lone charges against dragons or bears was kinda silly.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dazed on 18 Dec 2011, 12:58
If you do the dark brotherhood line, you get the baddest-ass/most immortal horse there is.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 18 Dec 2011, 16:09
you can't. it emerges from a lake after a quest
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 19 Dec 2011, 04:34
What.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 19 Dec 2011, 05:16
as far as I'm aware, it doesn't exist in the gameworld until you get up to a certain point in the dark brotherhood storyline. When you trigger the appropriate line of conversation, upon exiting the sanctuary Shadowmere emerges from the small pond immediately outside by way of a scripted event.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 19 Dec 2011, 05:24
Oh, is that all. I thought it would be some kind of freaky lady-of-the-lake business, only with a horse.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 19 Dec 2011, 07:00
how does it compare to the thieves guild horse?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 21 Dec 2011, 05:07
If the Thieves' Guild horse is Frost, then the wiki tells me Shadowmere has more strength. Probably means health.

I have now actually bought a horse from the stables in Whiterun, but keeping it with me is becoming a bit of a problem when I keep passing through tunnels and passes to the other side of a mountain. Yesterday I went into a cave populated by Falmer (whom I all relieved of their soulssss, yus yus) and released an imprisoned Argonian within. When I emerged from the other side, I found a frostbite spider fighting a skeever. It didn't matter who won because a blood dragon came and roasted the two of them. Afterwards I managed to kill it with judicious use of potions and poisons, and of course a battleaxe to the head. It helped that Lydia was there to draw its fire. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Lydia since I killed the dragon...

So it's a good thing my horse wasn't there, or it probably would've ended up as a dragon snack as well. It's a miracle that Argonian survived as well.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 01 Jan 2012, 15:02
Hey, I can't be the only one still playing this, can I? I've only just formed a bit of an opinion about the whole Imperials vs. Stormcloaks business, and I'm level 38. What's your take on that conflict? At which point were you sufficiently informed to take a side?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 02 Jan 2012, 02:34
about three hours in when the main quest takes you to the Thalmor embassy and you learn that Stormcloak is secretly a Thalmor asset and the civil war is all about weakening the empire from the inside

and no, i'm not playing it any more. It, like every other TES game, got dull pretty quickly because pretty much everything is the same, and outside of the longer quest chains, nothing means anything beyond whatever small reward you get from it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 02 Jan 2012, 02:36
honestly, i'm considerably more entertained by the caves in Minecraft because, despite only using four different blocks, you never really know what you're going to find when you explore, and your exploring has a significant effect on the surrounding area. The random caves create a real sense that you're actually exploring somewhere, not just hacking through a short series of small rooms to get to the end of it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 02 Jan 2012, 06:03
about three hours in when the main quest takes you to the Thalmor embassy and you learn that Stormcloak is secretly a Thalmor asset and the civil war is all about weakening the empire from the inside
Yes, three hours in when you do nothing but the main quest. I put off getting the horn of Jurgen Windcaller for some time because its barrow was reallly out of the way, and I had no quests to do in the area. I did get around to reading their notes on Ulfric, but you need to remember that being an 'asset' doesn't mean he's collaborating with the Thalmor. If anything, he must hate them more than the Empire. After all, if it weren't for the Aldmeri Dominion and their White-Gold Concordat, he'd have a lot fewer reasons to instigate a rebellion. But you're right on the other count: It's in the Thalmor's interest to maintain the state of civil war, and either side winning would allow the Empire (and possibly an independent Skyrim) to fortify themselves against the Aldmeri Dominion.

So if we consider our real enemies to be the Thalmor, then the worst option is to do nothing. Who, then, had we better support?

honestly, i'm considerably more entertained by the caves in Minecraft because, despite only using four different blocks, you never really know what you're going to find when you explore, and your exploring has a significant effect on the surrounding area. The random caves create a real sense that you're actually exploring somewhere, not just hacking through a short series of small rooms to get to the end of it.
Yeah, the whole dungeon layout is quickly becoming a trope of itself. Enter, kill the mooks, kill the chief, loot the big chest, and open the secret passage that leads back to the entrance. But even if every cave and barrow follows this layout, they're doing a pretty good job of making the individual locations feel unique rather than just copy-paste jobs from a cave you encountered three hours earlier. I recall critics saying that other Elder Scrolls games were far more guilty of this.

I like exploring caves in Minecraft as well, but I disagree with the notion of 'you don't know what you're going to find'. I know exactly what you're going to find: More caves, more lava, more ores, maybe an abandoned mineshaft, and almost definitely not a stronghold. Minecraft gives you the thrill of going where no man has gone before, which entertained me for more than a year before getting old, but  you really can't compare it to exploring an expertly crafted world-stage that is alive with stories both past and ongoing. Even if all you really do is kill the majority of the performers.

I want to mention the thing I found in the glaciers around Winterhold that really cements the feeling that the world of Skyrim has a history. You know what I mean?

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 02 Jan 2012, 06:03
I'm at level 56 and still enjoying myself. Some of the lower Dwemer ruins you visit towards the end of the game looks amazing, I've just finished exploring every corner of them. Also finished the main quest, which was cool and all, but I still got more excited when I found
(click to show/hide)
as a part of another quest, but I guess that's just nostalgia. I also feel kind of too powerful, but I guess that's the danger of having to design the game so it's still playable even if you don't focus your perks to work very well together.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 02 Jan 2012, 06:16
Quote
and no, i'm not playing it any more. It, like every other TES game, got dull pretty quickly because pretty much everything is the same, and outside of the longer quest chains, nothing means anything beyond whatever small reward you get from it.
If you want to play a fantasy RPG that actually gives your actions consequences, play the Witcher 2. It's often mentioned in contrast with Skyrim because of the question of what makes an RPG a role-playing game. Skyrim allows you to go out and have an adventure on your own, or be a hero, or be a heartless criminal, or anything in between, but the breath of possible experiences excludes the depth of immersion in your particular role. You can be the most wanted criminal in all the holds of Skyrim, but other bandits will still attack you just the same. The Witcher 2 puts you in a predefined role in a Deus Ex style staged open world, but allows you to fill in this role in with your own moral nuances. This approach really resonated with me, and got me thinking about my actions and personal goals much more than a game where you just go around doing what people tell you to.

Snalin, what's the name of the quest? I want to know if I can open the spoiler.  :angel:

Oh, I forgot to mention: On the Skyrim map that came with my boxed edition, there are red crosses on certain locations. I've sought one of them out and found a shipwreck. The other crosses might be shipwrecks as well, or they can be something else entirely. Does anyone else have the map to look for them?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 02 Jan 2012, 07:46
I forgot about those! They were there on the Morrowind map, and those places had some really big treasures (like the cave off the coast of Solstheim filled with gold). I'll check them out next, I think. Time for some off-roading anyways, the game looks amazing at Ultra+ graphics.

The quest I was talking about is a side quest you do for one of the guys at the mages College, where you start out collecting dwemer stuff and progress for there.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 02 Jan 2012, 09:40
Oh right, I was just in the middle of those. Gotta get the staff of Magnus now. I still don't get how they got the goddamn orb from underground all the way up to the College of Winterhold. Funnily enough, I wouldn't even have bothered to go to the College if I didn't need the Gauldur amulet fragment from Saarthal. And it was only by chance I, a burly bearded battleaxe-wielding Nord, was carrying a spellbook for Firebolt that I needed to pass the entry test, because I bought a whole lot of spells from a wizard earlier to trade some magic staffs for.

Speaking of magic staffs, Wabbajack. Wabbajack wabbajack wabbajack wabbajack. It's a lot of fun to use against the occasional wolf or bear, even if it eats up all of my soul gems. But seeing a charging bear explode into a shower of gold coins makes it all worthwhile.

Anyway! Still wondering where you all stand in the Imperials vs. Stormcloaks. Has anyone picked a side yet? I haven't myself, only on account of not wanting to kill the soldiers on the other side, who've got just as good of a reason to fight.

(By now I've probably been mulling over imaginary politics way longer than over real politics. I guess it's good practice.)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 02 Jan 2012, 11:33
Oh, I'm definitely eventually going to go for the Cloacks, simply because they are directly opposed to the damn elf wannabe overlords, and the whole Talos worship thing. I did read a mention about starting that questline activating some sieges and such, and that'd get in the way of quests, so for now I'm just putting it off until later.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 02 Jan 2012, 12:11
Those were my thoughts as well. Religious persecution by a foreign power in Skyrim isn't doing the Empire's image any favors. But then, who do we really want to fight? The Imperials, or the Aldmeri Dominion?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Skaltura on 02 Jan 2012, 13:23
Specifically, the civil war quest fucks up the main quest until you have completely finished the civil war. If you do, you willl then miss a small part of the main quest.

I am currently level 70 and still havent even started the civil war quest ... I'm having too much fun exploring every little nook and cranny in this awesome world. I think I didn't even advance in the main quest after Whiterun until I was like level 50 or somesuch.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 02 Jan 2012, 14:11
The shouts are totally worth advancing the main quest for, though. I mean, for 20 levels or so I only knew Fus and Ro, which are as useful as a shield bash and a power shield bash respectively, but Da quite literally hits it out of the park. One time I shouted an Orc in full plate armor off the top of a tower. I don't know whether a suit of armor makes you less or more likely to survive after a fall, but he sure as hell wasn't getting up. I now know two words of both the Fire and Frost Breath shouts; if the third word makes as much of a difference as it does with Unrelenting Force, I think I might go mad with power.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 04 Jan 2012, 07:15
STILL haven't gotten to this yet. I know the PC version is far superior because of mods and better graphics and probably better controls etc. etc. but is the 360 version similarly great? Buying a new computer soon and if I wanted to play Skyrim on it, I'd have to get a more expensive one than I was planning to, is why I ask.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 04 Jan 2012, 07:29
I can't objectively compare the two because I've only played the PC version, but my instinctive reaction is a resounding NOPE. You need only look at some of the screenshots for some of the most popular mods (http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/top/alltime.php?adult=2) to see the difference in looks. But control-wise, the PC version is sorely unoptimized. Most of the menus have been left completely unaltered from the console version, meaning that you can often only have one item selection on screen at a time. It's honestly torturous to use on the PC version. Fortunately, there are already a number of excellent mods to remedy this, such as SkyUI. Installing it got rid of all my inventory woes.

Also, if you keep your eyes peeled you could probably find a PC version of Skyrim for half price of the console version, which slightly compensates for the cost of your computer.  :wink:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 07 Jan 2012, 18:52
ok so the next question is, is it worth paying more than I was planning to for a new computer (which I'm getting anyway) in order to play this? Obviously that would mean I could play a bunch of other cool games with high systems reqs as well but I'm pretty busy these days so I don't have time to juggle lots of different games. Is Skyrim really, really awesome or just quite good? Or is it not that good? Because if it's one of the latter, I'll save my money but of it's the former I have some tough decisions to make.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 07 Jan 2012, 19:31
Keeping in mind that I'm getting rather jaded with keeping up with the PC market, I'd vote 360 as long as you have a HD television. The vanilla game is really well done compared to past vanilla builds and there hasn't been a single thing that's offended me in the quality of the game thus far.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 08 Jan 2012, 01:35
Depends on how high a hit your pc budget is going to take, I guess. I bought a brand new pc just after Skyrim, and while it was expensive as fuck, ultra graphics looks really good. But I played for a while on the old pc, and that ran Skyrim on medium, which is still good looking, and that pc was midrange price a bit over a year ago. I'd go to this site (http://uk.geforce.com/optimise/optimal-game-settings/elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-geforce-gtx-560-ops) to check what to expect - the other specs than graphics cards is at the bottom of the page. If a pc that's within your budget range looks like it will reasonably run stuff at medium-high settings, I'd say go for it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 08 Jan 2012, 04:33
You can also look at the PC Gamer rig (http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/01/07/new-year-new-rig/) for some good value components, but only if your budget is roughly similar to theirs. I could use a graphics card upgrade, but there's no way I'm spending €220 on one when the one I have cost €80 back then. A 1GB version is affordable, but since I already have that much VRAM there wouldn't be much point in buying one with just as much.

Wait, I forgot I was going to elaborate on the Imperial-Stormcloak conflict. It's easily summarized though: Ulfric Stormcloak is a giant dick. Took me a while to come to that conclusion, but he is. This is why:

(click to show/hide)

I don't know about you, but I definitely don't want that guy as king. Ulfric Stormcloak can get sucked by a slaughterfish.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 14 Jan 2012, 17:56
So uh after about 148 hours into this game I can safely say that there's something missing from this game that doesn't quite give it the same sort of quality that I initially had it staked out to be. I'm finding the NPCs to be pretty boring garbage. Every now and then there's some fun interesting quest here and there, or some random encounter that makes me laugh a bit, but at the same time it's difficult for me to remember any particularly memorable characters in the game.

I never played enough of Oblivion to make a qualitative judgement comparing the two, but what I have played quite extensively are both Gamebryo-era Fallout games, and I can probably count the number of NPCs I remember for each game on more than one hand - which is more than can be said for Skyrim. The biggest disappointment to me are probably the followers/companions; at most there's one quest that requires you to fetch an item or talk to someone about something, or kill something else, and then you have some dude who follows you wherever the hell you want. The most interesting companions I think I've gotten so far is the random woman (I can't even remember her fucking name) in the Whiterun tavern who you have to beat up in a fistfight before you could recruit her, and Mjoll the Lioness - simply because there was backstory, something to attach a personality to the character.
On that note, the first follower you get from the main quest, Lydia, is a goddamn doormat with as much meaning as a two-by-four plank. Not to trivialise her voice actor's efforts, though. At least she tried. But, you know, in the Fallout games there's a sense of companionship where you're travelling and maybe the dude in your 3-man party brings up something and goes "heyy remember when I told you about X, and I really didn't like Y? Well, have a quest Z".

This is something Bioware does much better: character development. I was initially thinking of saying that Bethesda's writers lack the talent, but Fallout 3 sure as hell proves that hypothesis wrong. It just feels missing from Skyrim in particular. It makes me a sadpanda.

Addendum: I guess you could argue that they made this a purposeful design choice, and that the proper mindset to play it in is just to project whatever you want onto the characters. I suppose in that context there's a method to the madness, but at the same time I don't personally think a gargantuan investment into a mahoosive digital sandbox for you to splash around in and smack some wooden dolls together resonates with a large portion of players who do just want a fleshed-out, character-rich world. But now I'm just arguing with myself  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 14 Jan 2012, 19:39
I don't know if I like the fact that the Stormcloaks are a kind of trap for people first getting into the game.  I personally leaned towards them until I did some book reading and now the Imperials seem an outright better choice.  There are no redeeming qualities about the Stormcloaks besides the initial "FUCK YEAH FOR THE NORDS!"
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 15 Jan 2012, 02:33
Depends on how much you come to hate the Dominion. I'm not sure if it's a flaw on Bethesda's side that they've made a civil war where I'm not seeing any redeeming qualities for any of the sides, other than "they don't murder people for the same bigoted reasons that the other group does". I think what made me go with the Stormcloacks in the end was talking to that Dominion guy that's patrolling the throne room in Markarth looking for Talos worshipers (We want to show the world the superiority of Mer over Men), and then seeing the legion bring a dominion representative to the peace talks later in the main quest. If they bring a group that's actively, outspoken racist towards Nords to a meeting about the future of the province of the Nords, they pretty much don't even think themselves that they are doing what's best for the Nords.

On the NPC issue, yeah, there's definitely something lacking on that track. The way characters acted in that game was so horrible that you instantly stopped living in the world every time two NPCs talked to each other, and half the times you talked to them. I can still only remember details about three characters from that game - the adoring fan, because he was so irritating that you wanted to take him to a cliff and push him off, the leader of the thieves guild and the orc that you fight at the end of the arena, both because their back stories were pretty cool (and sad). Compared to that, I've noticed a lot more characters and their stories in Skyrim, but nothing is close to Fallout 3 or NV, where I remember a lot of people. The Skyrim companions were definitely less interesting, but I think that's an active choice - Fallout 3's story was about the people in the wasteland, while Skyrim's story is about, well, Skyrim.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 15 Jan 2012, 03:42
Yeah, the elves are really racist against men, but that's different from men being racist to men. Elves are a wholly different species, who's to say they can't be superior to men? They won the freakin' war, that kind of makes it hard to ignore their influence. One time I was fighting a dragon and a group of Thalmor joined the fray. The dragon was dead in less than 30 seconds. Say what you want, but they're a hell of a lot more effective than any man I've seen fighting a dragon. (Except me of course.)

Earlier I was wondering if there was actually any proof that Talos had ascended to godhood. We have no reason to believe this is the case apart from the shrines to him having some effect, but that doesn't preclude the citizens of Skyrim being influenced by a MASSIVE placebo-effect. And what about the other gods, then? Do we have reason to believe they exist? I've had about six different Daedra speak to me in the coure of the game, but never any god. I don't know about you, but that makes me strongly doubt whether the gods even care at all (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FlatEarthAtheist).

I'm at level 56 and still enjoying myself. Some of the lower Dwemer ruins you visit towards the end of the game looks amazing, I've just finished exploring every corner of them.
I've gained access to those now as well, with the thing that Septimus Signus gave me. The place is mindboggling! I just can't figure out how that giant and the two frost trolls ever got in there.

Also, I have an Elder Scroll now, woo!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 15 Jan 2012, 07:00
The inclusion of an actual Elder Scroll as a plot item in Oblivion (final thieves guild quest is to steal one) got me really excited. That one had such a central role in Skyrim was just plain awesome. And they've still been able to keep the lore about them pretty low-key, which is cool - there's still mystery to the world.

As to the divines, they are definitely active - see the end of Oblivion. According to lore (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Nine_Divines), the eight are actually weaker than the other Aedra, their weakened state being because part of their souls went into shaping Nirn, the world. The ability of a human to rise to divinity or near-divinity is also apparent - Sotha Sill, Vivec, Almalexia and Dagoth Ur all did exactly that.

Actually, when reading about Dagoth Ur right now, I notice that his goals are very similar to the Stormcloacks. He wanted to sever his province from the Empire, return to the old religions, and had a clear "Morrowind for the Dunmer" ideal (although he actually wanted to completely eradicate all none-Dunmer population in the province). Looking at some versions of the story told in Morrowind, he wasn't even the bad guy.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 15 Jan 2012, 08:12
Also we have Alduin who is the son of a Divine.

While reading about the Aedra I came across this:
Quote
In the Elder Scrolls universe, a "plane" and a "planet" are one and the same; that is, there is nothing in the mortal plane of Nirn except for the planet Nirn. What mortals see as the moons and planets are nothing more than the mortal brain's attempt to interpret the presence of the divine planes surrounding Nirn.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Melodic on 15 Jan 2012, 09:31
So uh after about 148 hours into this game

dude after 148 hours i don't care what you say, you either really like the game or live in antarctica.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 15 Jan 2012, 12:53
As to the divines, they are definitely active - see the end of Oblivion. According to lore (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Nine_Divines), the eight are actually weaker than the other Aedra, their weakened state being because part of their souls went into shaping Nirn, the world. The ability of a human to rise to divinity or near-divinity is also apparent - Sotha Sill, Vivec, Almalexia and Dagoth Ur all did exactly that.

Actually, when reading about Dagoth Ur right now, I notice that his goals are very similar to the Stormcloacks. He wanted to sever his province from the Empire, return to the old religions, and had a clear "Morrowind for the Dunmer" ideal (although he actually wanted to completely eradicate all none-Dunmer population in the province). Looking at some versions of the story told in Morrowind, he wasn't even the bad guy.

Okay, so given that Talos did rise to godhood, why is he connected to the Eight Divines? Because that seems what the Thalmor are miffed about; that 'our' gods are inferior to 'their' gods and shouldn't be considered of the same stature.

Quote
In the Elder Scrolls universe, a "plane" and a "planet" are one and the same; that is, there is nothing in the mortal plane of Nirn except for the planet Nirn. What mortals see as the moons and planets are nothing more than the mortal brain's attempt to interpret the presence of the divine planes surrounding Nirn.

That's interesting. We'd better hope neither plane ever develops spacefaring technology!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 15 Jan 2012, 16:00
About the eight - earlier in lore, the mer prayed to other Aedra than men. There's also the different views on Lorkhan, the creator God, as he is seen as evil by mer and good by men. All in all, to me it seems like this is just another tool the Dominion i using to break the empire apart.

This whole conflict has me thinking - maybe there could be a RTS or some other kind of strategy game set in the Elder Scrolls universe, where the different provinces fight? That could be cool.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 16 Jan 2012, 16:33
Huh. Apparently there's a Dark Brotherhood quest...

(click to show/hide)

And I finally visited the peak of the Throat of the World. Found a really cool pickaxe there!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Jan 2012, 02:03
I forgot to look for that one up there. Gotta go do that.

Also, this (http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/skyrims-opening) Extra Credits on the opening of Skyrim is pretty spot on.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 18 Jan 2012, 00:01
Seen that, yeah. It's strange how they managed to mess up a game's intro so badly. Fortunately it gets better.

I've gathered six of eight dragon priest masks. Can't wait to see what happens when I have all eight...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 18 Jan 2012, 03:25
*coughLabyrinthiancough*
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 18 Jan 2012, 03:37
I'm actually more irritated by the fact they didn't place the character creation in a more convenient spot, like they have with Morrowind and every RPG with their name on it since.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 18 Jan 2012, 07:33
dude after 148 hours i don't care what you say, you either really like the game or live in antarctica.

It's more of the fact that once I explored the majority of nooks and crannies to go "ooh, aah" at I just realised that Skyrim itself is a beautiful thing but the people inhabiting it are just like those movable cardboard fixtures in those pop-up picture books

See I like the game but that doesn't mean I can't think there are shitty things about it. And there are definitely shitty things about it, imo.  :mrgreen:

My favorite quest so far was the infiltration into the Thalmor embassy, simply because I was all James-Bond-ing up in dat shit and leaving an untraceable trail of Altmer corpses with the Thalmor disguise
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 18 Jan 2012, 07:37
*coughLabyrinthiancough*
Yeah, how else did you think I knew that there were eight? ;)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 18 Jan 2012, 14:40
Good point. I'm impressed with my own ability to not go on the wiki and find where the rest are - I have five or six myself. I'm guessing that you'll get a really good mask, but since that can't be equipped together with a helmet, I won't be using it, as removing any piece of my daedric armor cuts the armor class from above one thousand to under five hundred. I'm going to have to increase the difficulty, as there's nothing in the game that's remotely dangerous anymore. I haven't drunk a health potion for twenty levels.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 18 Jan 2012, 15:40
A full suit of daedric armor? Daaaaaaang. I've just passed level 50 and only found my second piece of daedric forging: a mace. The first thing I found was a pair of gauntlets, but I stored them away since I specialize in light armor. I was thrilled to finally find a higher-tier weapon - ebony weapons have become ubiquitous now that every Draugr is a Deathlord - but when I went to refine it I noticed it's exactly the same as the ebony mace. Then what's the point of using daedric weapons at all?

I did manage to find two dragonscale shields; the first was 70% resistant to shock and the second unenchanted. Just when I found the first, my smithing skill became high enough for the Arcane Blacksmith perk, which is immensely useful for me because I specialized more in enchanting than smithing. Everything that I wear is enchanted, and now that my smithing skill is steadily increasing, I don't have to discard my entire loadout because I can refine things to Epic level now. Which I can do because I enchanted a whole bunch of apparel with smithing bonuses. Did you know you can give custom names to items when you enchant them? It's really useful, I'm using a lot of jewelry with different bonuses, and you can't really tell them apart otherwise.

Difficulty-wise, I seem to be hitting a cap as well, but today I decided to revisit Arcwind Point, where there was an Ancient Dragon who gave me a bit more trouble than the usual dragons. Fortunately there were also deathlords emerging from crypts everywhere who practically did all the work for me. To keep it a bit more challenging, I switched from using my main battleaxe when I hit 100 on the two-handed skill, and started using a war axe and shield instead. You get to have some variety in combat, and your neglected skills will skyrocket as well.

Also, mask number seven. But not from Arcwind Point.  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: look out! Ninjas! on 18 Jan 2012, 19:48
Good point. I'm impressed with my own ability to not go on the wiki and find where the rest are - I have five or six myself. I'm guessing that you'll get a really good mask, but since that can't be equipped together with a helmet, I won't be using it, as removing any piece of my daedric armor cuts the armor class from above one thousand to under five hundred. I'm going to have to increase the difficulty, as there's nothing in the game that's remotely dangerous anymore. I haven't drunk a health potion for twenty levels.
you can improve them quite well with enough smithing skill
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 19 Jan 2012, 01:02
Oh, the drop is because of the loss of 50% bonus for heavy armor and 50% bonus for set.

The daedric mace does the same damage as the ebony one, but the armor is far better - better even than the heavy dragon armor. I made all of my pieces at the forge, I'm not sure if I have found a full set when playing. The cool thing about daedric is that you forge it from the same stuff as ebony, but you need one daedric heart for every piece you forge. A bit of extra flavor.

I think part of the reason that nothing is hard is that I combine 100 in smithing with 100 in enchanting. The mace does 183 raw damage plus 25 fire damage and 20 health drain (I should be able to get higher fire damage now), with the additional +25% standing power attack perk, I probably top 300 damage per power hit (ignoring 75% armor). I figured out that with the mace, a quick strike followed by a power strike is about as fast as two normal hits. Combining those things, I think the elder dragon can take six hits, the draugr deathlords takes about the same.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 19 Jan 2012, 02:27
I've cheated the armor and everything once, just to see whats the best and stuff!

Well... What Snalin said is true, Deadric is just better armor wize but the enchantments could be the same.
If you wanna test all the goodies... don't. It makes it a boring game. Dont cheat.
Anyway, in the end I had full deadric armor, weapons, bows... the lot ^_^ and with a bow of paralyzing you are undeafetable! Except maybe by some dragon that doesnt get paralyzed...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 19 Jan 2012, 03:06
And I finally visited the peak of the Throat of the World. Found a really cool pickaxe there!

Apparently a reference to Minecraft, if the wiki is to be believed
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 19 Jan 2012, 08:37
Oh, the drop is because of the loss of 50% bonus for heavy armor and 50% bonus for set.

The daedric mace does the same damage as the ebony one, but the armor is far better - better even than the heavy dragon armor. I made all of my pieces at the forge, I'm not sure if I have found a full set when playing. The cool thing about daedric is that you forge it from the same stuff as ebony, but you need one daedric heart for every piece you forge. A bit of extra flavor.

I think part of the reason that nothing is hard is that I combine 100 in smithing with 100 in enchanting. The mace does 183 raw damage plus 25 fire damage and 20 health drain (I should be able to get higher fire damage now), with the additional +25% standing power attack perk, I probably top 300 damage per power hit (ignoring 75% armor). I figured out that with the mace, a quick strike followed by a power strike is about as fast as two normal hits. Combining those things, I think the elder dragon can take six hits, the draugr deathlords takes about the same.
You don't lose one of the 50% bonuses if you equip a dragon priest mask that's labeled as Heavy Armor. I think half of them are Heavy, and the other half Light.

And, holy crap, 100 in smithing and enchanting? How do you have skill points left for anything else?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 19 Jan 2012, 14:59
50% for having boots, gloves, helmet and curiass from the same set (iron, steel, dwarven, ebony and so on), in addition to the 50% for heavy armor only. Or does the dragon priest masks actually work with those? I can't check, as I've put all of the ones I had in their slots.

I tried to make my perks here (http://skyrimcalculator.com/#61791), but I'm at level 60, so I must have picked one too much, not sure which. I've been avoiding stuff that I wouldn't use - light armor smithing, better prices (lifetime gold found - 650k, curent gold - 50k, most gold at once - 110k), and so on.

I cranked the difficulty up and went over to wielding Wuuthrad, it's made things a bit more difficult, but health drain still keeps me alive easily.

EDIT: the next patch is coming up! Check it out here (http://www.bethblog.com/2012/01/19/news-on-the-creation-kit-and-game-updates/)

One line on the list was pretty funny: "Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally not fail"
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 19 Jan 2012, 15:40
50% for having boots, gloves, helmet and curiass from the same set (iron, steel, dwarven, ebony and so on), in addition to the 50% for heavy armor only. Or does the dragon priest masks actually work with those? I can't check, as I've put all of the ones I had in their slots.

I tried to make my perks here (http://skyrimcalculator.com/#61791), but I'm at level 60, so I must have picked one too much, not sure which. I've been avoiding stuff that I wouldn't use - light armor smithing, better prices (lifetime gold found - 650k, curent gold - 50k, most gold at once - 110k), and so on.

I cranked the difficulty up and went over to wielding Wuuthrad, it's made things a bit more difficult, but health drain still keeps me alive easily.
Oh? When I exited the mask chamber, all the masks that I placed in their slots were returned to my inventory. Did they get left behind for you? The masks give you the bonus for +25% when wearing all heavy armor, but not the +25% for a matched set.

That skill calculator is pretty useful. I'd say the quantitive difference between us is that I put some points into Archery, and you put those in Speech and Restoration. My Block skill also has 4 points less. See here. (http://skyrimcalculator.com/#61817) I assumed that skills that increase money weren't going to be very useful because there always comes a point where you have enough capital, in coin as well as items, that any money you lose can be immediately replenished by selling what you already own. I reached this point when I owned about 20000 gold. By now I've probably got about five hundred gems of different kinds, and I've resorted to buying filled grand soul gems from any merchant I come across just so they can give me enough money to take the rest of my stuff. I even own every player house in Skyrim, fully decorated, (except the one in Windhelm, forgot about that) and I'm still left with about 40000 gold.

Wait... if you say you don't need better prices, then why did you put those five points into the merchant tree of the Speech skill?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 20 Jan 2012, 09:44
Those are all towards giving the merchants more gold, so I don't have to visit ten of them to sell all of my loot. It's a convenience thing. The initial +10% perk is just needed to get access to all of the ones giving them more moneys.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 20 Jan 2012, 14:55
Can't imagine you'd be hard pressed for money either way. The only time I resorted to bribing someone in order to complete a quest, I received almost triple the amount I paid as a bribe, as the reward. That just don't make no sense.

I just discovered that the Dwarven sun is actually a giant bell. I'll let you figure out how to ring it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 21 Jan 2012, 14:53
I play on expert and every fucking spider, ice wraith or ice wolf :X Fuckem.

Anyway, I'm going up the stairs, I come across a spider, fuck that, im passing and moving on! Then comes an ice wrait directly followed by an Ice wolf! Argh, fuck em both.

Also, Killed a thief whilst a guard was just standing by and doing NOTHING! I killed him by playing the bad AI trick with some rocks in the neighbourhood :D
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 21 Jan 2012, 16:30
Three words: Kan Drem-Ov!*
*Kyne's Peace shout

I really wish we could shout from horseback. I used to dismount every time I encountered a wild animal, shout at them, then continue, but now I just keep riding and outrun the bear/wolf/troll for long enough that they give up. It helps to mod your horse's stamina so it won't seem like it has heart problems. 18 seconds of galloping and it's tired out, seriously? To do this, open the console, click the horse, and type 'setav stamina 1000'. Makes it a lot less annoying to get around without fast travel.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 22 Jan 2012, 03:20
The idea is supposed to be that they have a lot of stamina, not speed, but since that stamina isn't implemented in any specific way (except that they can run up cliffs much easier than you, which is probably a bug), it doesn't make much sense. I haven't checked, but I suspect that you sprint faster on foot than you ride normally. Combine that with high stamina and the restore stamina when you heal yourself perk, you can sprint across the world, which renders horses completely obsolete.

Speaking of horses, I saw a horse armor mod the other day. Bethesda fan-base: still rubbin' it in.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 23 Jan 2012, 02:40
(http://i.imgur.com/izUd7.png)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Skaltura on 23 Jan 2012, 15:08
Still working on max level (I'm 78 now), but all that's left are the stealth skills and archery, and somehow I'm having a really hard time leveling these, I don't know why.

http://skyrimcalculator.com/#66433

Don't really know what else to spend points on, so I've got the rest saved up now. You guys got any suggestions?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 23 Jan 2012, 15:36
I'd either do some sneak, or max up the heavy armor bonuses - you have 20%+, the maximum is +100%+25%+25%. I'm not sure if that adds up to +150% or + 215,5%, but it still makes the difference between, well, ever needing to use health potions or not. I'd also look into boosting the weapon type you use the most, axe, mace or sword. They are pretty useful.

If you use as much destruction as it looks like you are doing, investing in the masteries would let you pause less for mana potions, unless you've got so much mana that it doesn't really matter.


I'm thinking of redistributing some of my perks (got a nice little third party thing to do just that). While Soul Squeezer and Siphon was nice to have when I got them, Azura's Star has rendered them pretty meaningless. Not sure where to put them, probably into sneak, possibly master trader.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Skaltura on 23 Jan 2012, 15:46
I have 4 +29 destruction enchantments, destruction spells are free to cast for me, I'm also well over at the armor cap (567, I have 700+), so no need for more armor perks. The thing about the weapon perks is that, because I use axes, that bleeding damage is useless, everything is dead in one hit even on master level difficulty (Ebony War Axe dual wield power attacks do around 4000 damage).

I'm more looking into things that are fun, I might troll around with Conjuration, you know, drown them in Dremora Lords or such nonsense. :P
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 23 Jan 2012, 16:07
Find Angi's camp south of Falkreath, she'll give you some archery training. Actual training, not that buy-to-win crap that passes for it most of the time.

I'm spoilering this bit about Angi because encountering her at level 53 was rather surprising. I think you're actually supposed to find her early in the game.
(click to show/hide)

You have an interesting build, Skaltura. What is your playstyle and equipment? To gain skill levels more quickly, you should keep Well Rested at all times, but there's not much else you can do for Archery and Sneak, save for putting a crapload of money in trainers. The two skills can be combined very well by making sneak attacks with a bow. Maybe you can practice on wildlife, or bandits patrolling the walls of a fort. And muffle your boots, Shor damn it.

As for the perks, I've found that Quick Draw makes the largest difference in combat efficiency. For Sneak I couldn't say, I haven't put any points in that.

But are you really raising every skill to 100? I can't imagine how that's anything but excruciatingly tedious. I'm level 55, with three skills at 100, two above 90, and 3 above 80. Alduin is dead, Ulfric Stormcloak is dead, and I've done all the quests that don't require you to be a massive jerkwad. (Those being the Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Boethia's and Molag Bal's quest.) I can't think of much else left to do.

Also, have you ever found one of those insects in a jar? If you completed the game, you might be interested in knowing that...

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Skaltura on 23 Jan 2012, 17:05
Phew, okay, I'll answer in bullet points if that's ok with you. :-D

Playstyle: It's alternating between dual wield One-Handed (which, as mentioned, kills everything in one hit, even Ancient Dragons on master level difficulty) and is thus pretty boring and dual-cast Destruction, which is a LOT of fun, but deals pathetic damage in comparison, though you're equally as untouchable because of the Impact perk (enabling you to stunlock everything). I don't sneak, unless it's quest related, and then I use Muffle & Invisibility from the Illusion school. The points in Restoration are for enhanced magicka regen, increased spell damage against Undead and obviously healing, but that's no longer necessary since about level 60. Alteration is for the 30% magic resist and 30% magic absorb, making me practically immune to spell damage.

Equipment: Legendary Dragonplate Armor (because Daedric looks just silly) and two Ebony War Axes (same base damage as Daedric War Axes, 15, but nicer looking in my opinion), smithed to Legendary with 4 +29% Fortify Smithing enchantments and +130% Fortify Smithing potions and enchanted with a +32% Fortifiy Enchanting potion.

My enchantments are:

+29% Destruction & +72% Magicka Regen on helmet
+29% Destruction & +72% Magicka Regen on chest
+47% One-handed damage & +72 Magicka on gloves
+47% One-handed damage & +72 Stamina on boots
+23% Magic Resist & +29% Destruction on ring and necklace
+81 Fire Damage & +81 Shock damage on both weapons (interesting tid bit: because these are executed by the game as regular Destruction spells and I have >100% Fortfiy Destruction, they don't consume charges, and never have to be recharged with soul gems, they also profit from all spell damage perks and potions)


Skills: Yes, I've leveled everything but Sneak, Pickpocket and Archery to 100, things like Speech, Lockpicking and such came naturally while playing, the only thing I've had to consciously spend time on was Block (requiring me to stand in front of 2 giants for about 20 minutes) and magic skills like Illusion (done by repeatedly casting Rally on a Jarl for about 30 minutes) and Alteration (casting Detect Life and Telekinesis in each hand and taping down both mouse buttons for 15 minutes while getting a shower :P).

The points in Illusion are for Aspect of Terror (+10 Fire dmg, +15 with perks) because fire spells have a fear component and Quiet Casting to let me cast anywhere without being detected.

Insects in a Jar: Four so far (two moths, a butterfly and .. a bee I think? not sure)


As for having finished the game, not quite yet, I'm still doing the Dark Brotherhood Quests and the Thieves Guild Quests, and still haven't even started with the Civil War.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 23 Jan 2012, 19:02
Quote
One time I was fighting a dragon and a group of Thalmor joined the fray. The dragon was dead in less than 30 seconds. Say what you want, but they're a hell of a lot more effective than any man I've seen fighting a dragon. (Except me of course.)
You know that dark elf chick at Azura's Shrine?  I watched her wtfbbq (literally) a dragon in less than 10 seconds.  

Why are mages so overpowered?  :?

Quote
The inclusion of an actual Elder Scroll as a plot item in Oblivion (final thieves guild quest is to steal one) got me really excited. That one had such a central role in Skyrim was just plain awesome. And they've still been able to keep the lore about them pretty low-key, which is cool - there's still mystery to the world.
And if you try reading it, your eyeballs explode.  I honestly thought my character died when I tried reading it out of curiosity before getting to the quest you have to use it in.

Quote
A full suit of daedric armor? Daaaaaaang.
I had a full set and weapon before lvl 30 because
(click to show/hide)
for me to level Enchanting, which went from ~28 all the way to 50 using just soulstones I'd found in my adventuring up to that point, and none of them were self-filled.

Build if anyone's interested. (http://skyrimcalculator.com/#66647)

Quote
To keep it a bit more challenging, I switched from using my main battleaxe when I hit 100 on the two-handed skill, and started using a war axe and shield instead. You get to have some variety in combat, and your neglected skills will skyrocket as well.
I'm doing that too, with 2-hand and archery, since I've maxed heavy armor, 1-hand, block and smithing.  I've realized it's rather hard to keep leveling as a straight melee character, so I'm branching out.  Currently working on light armor, pickpocket, enchanting and sneak.  Resto I'd be using too, but like others have said, it's been levels since I last drank a health potion.

Quote
You don't lose one of the 50% bonuses if you equip a dragon priest mask that's labeled as Heavy Armor. I think half of them are Heavy, and the other half Light.
There's a perk that gives an armor bonus if wearing a matched armor set, so yeah, a mask would reduce your armor if you broke a set.

Quote
And, holy crap, 100 in smithing and enchanting? How do you have skill points left for anything else?
I'm doing it (and currently have 6 unspent points).  I simply took only one point in the initial perk of each of my primary (and secondary) trees.  Sure, I'm missing out on a ton of damage and armor, but seriously, even at lvl 49 there really isn't a lot that can hope to goosh me or that I can't overcome, so why waste the points?  And it allows further specialization so you can have a "back-up spec".

Besides, a Nord with The Lord sign, maxed heavy armor, carrying Shield of Solitude (I LOVE that shield) and resist magicka-enchanted armor isn't going to be taking much damage, period :lol:

Man, now I miss Morrowind Nords, the ones that were immune to frost and 50% base resistance to shock :-(


Quote
Also, this Extra Credits on the opening of Skyrim is pretty spot on.
I dunno.  He sounded a little whiny and I couldn't see what was wrong with the problems he listed.  Me, personally, I thought it was a great opening, the perfect start to an epic saga.  My only complaint would be that character creation isn't right at the start and you don't get a 'second chance' to modify your character before setting out into the world.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 24 Jan 2012, 01:50
I had not noticed the extra pockets perk. Holy moly.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 24 Jan 2012, 16:47
I know, right?  I buffed out Pickpocketing to 50 just for that perk.  Gotta love being a compulsive dungeon diver and collector of loose armor and weapons :-P
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 25 Jan 2012, 15:53
I got the Steed Stone for that. Also gives you +100 carry weight, for free! The perk that makes light armor weightless is pretty useful too, it allows me to carry around two entire sets of armor with different enchantments. If I ever need to carry more than 500 units, I can equip a necklace, ring, boots, and/or gloves of fortify carry weight, without sacrificing the set bonus. Even though I leave all the loot behind that isn't immediately (or in the near future) useful to me, it still has a way to accumulate. Usually, when I get home to Whiterun I unload the entire Ingredients tab into the satchel on the alchemy table. You'd be surprised how much lighter that makes you.

What Guardian Stone do you rely the most on?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 25 Jan 2012, 17:38
The Lord stone.  Not that I actually need the resists at this point, though.

I dunno if I've even found The Steed stone yet :?  But then again I've only been to about half the locations in game so far.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Skaltura on 25 Jan 2012, 18:10
Started with the Warrior Stone (+20% combat exp), after becoming a werewolf I switched to the Lover Stone (+15% all exp), now I'm using to the Thief Stone (+20% stealth exp).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 25 Jan 2012, 22:35
I just installed a 4x EXP mod just so I don't have to bother and do some serious questing  :angel:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: blanktom on 26 Jan 2012, 09:54
I got the Steed Stone for that. Also gives you +100 carry weight, for free! The perk that makes light armor weightless is pretty useful too, it allows me to carry around two entire sets of armor with different enchantments. If I ever need to carry more than 500 units, I can equip a necklace, ring, boots, and/or gloves of fortify carry weight, without sacrificing the set bonus. Even though I leave all the loot behind that isn't immediately (or in the near future) useful to me, it still has a way to accumulate. Usually, when I get home to Whiterun I unload the entire Ingredients tab into the satchel on the alchemy table. You'd be surprised how much lighter that makes you.

Oh my. I need this, I have a follower and I still get overencumbered (mainly because I can't help but lift all the dwemer metal I can get my hands on). That and the fact I exclusively wear heavy armour. To the north!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 26 Jan 2012, 15:27
Get the perk that makes worn heavy armor weigh nothing :-P
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 28 Jan 2012, 13:21
Oh right, I just wanted to share this about Mjoll the Lioness as a follower.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 28 Jan 2012, 15:06
I don't use followers, since they keep getting in the way of my crosshairs right as I hit Attack.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 28 Jan 2012, 15:50
Then get Derkeethus. He's a crack shot with a bow, and he almost never got in my way. I think I first ditched Lydia in favor of Derkeethus, and I stuck with him a long time.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 02 Feb 2012, 13:54
Seeing these Dead End Thrills (http://deadendthrills.com/page/12/) shots for Skyrim makes me want to seek out that spot at the College of Winterhold.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 04 Feb 2012, 07:15
What/where is this location??

(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6101/6355192351_6da0441db0_b.jpg)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 04 Feb 2012, 07:22
Thats behind Windhelm around Snow Veil Sanctum
http://images.wikia.com/elderscrolls/images/8/88/Skyrimmap.png
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 05 Feb 2012, 14:17
Ok, 'behind' is relative with no cardinal direction :-P

Still haven't been down to Falkreath yet.  That entire hold is basically the last unexplored region in the game for me.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: blanktom on 05 Feb 2012, 16:30
Still haven't been down to Falkreath yet.  That entire hold is basically the last unexplored region in the game for me.

You're not missing much, that place is pretty dead.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 09 Feb 2012, 11:44
Just to have some fun
go to console ~
enter:
TCL
player.setav speedmult 1000

Go up. Fly! And then go that high mountain and discover Skyrim from there :)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 11 Feb 2012, 18:31
There are some moments that really make this game even more worthwhile. One example was when I joined the Imperial Legion and was charged with clearing an old fort of bandits. Fair enough, I kill the bandits (and rather disturbingly getting the decapitation kill-cam for all of them), except for the leader who is holed up in a tower firing arrows at me. So I make my way up the tower and decide to Fus!Ro! him and then attack him while he was stunned. What I did not expect was catching him in the feet with the Shout and watching him getting blasted off the tower, down the cliff and hitting every rock on the way down.....

Or even better, in the same playthrough, I was on my way to one of the Dwarven ruins as part of the Mage's College questline (yes, I am a Nordic, ebony armor wearing warrior with little magic beyond heal and the flames spells, what of it?), and I decide to travel to Kynesgrove as it was the closest settlement to the village. Only what happens? The town is attacked by not one, but two dragons, an Elder and a blood dragon. Naturally, part of me is going "CrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrapCrap!" but another part of me is going "Oh this is nice, I'll get enough dragon bones and scales to finish that Legendary level dragon armor for Aela". I get off my horse and fight one of the dragons as it faceplants into the ground and just as I'm about to kill it, my horse does the deed instead.... And prompted gets killed by the other dragon as it burns the horse to a crisp.

Incidently, Goats + The Seven Thousand Steps journey + Fire Breath = Lots of laughs as you watch the goat gets blasted off the cliff  (I like to think they all end up hitting Temba Wide-Arms)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 12 Feb 2012, 05:47
Oh man I want to play this again, but I can't until skyboost is up to date, as my game is HORRIBLY laggy without it. Also CREATION KIT YES YES YES!

Anyone want to hang out in a chat room and plan out a mod? Or make a thread for it? I'm thinking a straight up content mod - cave or fort or player home or something like that. I really want to get into modding this game, as it has proper tools to support it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 12 Feb 2012, 06:35
Seems like fun Snalin!

Im up for it but where is this chatroom?

Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blue Kitty on 12 Feb 2012, 10:06
Space core in Skyrim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CfxIa_7jDnM)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 12 Feb 2012, 12:49
Oh man I want to play this again, but I can't until skyboost is up to date, as my game is HORRIBLY laggy without it. Also CREATION KIT YES YES YES!

Anyone want to hang out in a chat room and plan out a mod? Or make a thread for it? I'm thinking a straight up content mod - cave or fort or player home or something like that. I really want to get into modding this game, as it has proper tools to support it.
I'd be down for that. Do you just have an area in mind, or a quest to go with it as well?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 12 Feb 2012, 13:16
Oh man I want to play this again, but I can't until skyboost is up to date, as my game is HORRIBLY laggy without it. Also CREATION KIT YES YES YES!

Anyone want to hang out in a chat room and plan out a mod? Or make a thread for it? I'm thinking a straight up content mod - cave or fort or player home or something like that. I really want to get into modding this game, as it has proper tools to support it.
I will perform whatever unholy acts you want if you can make the paladin Judgement Armor from WoW into a mod:

(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081028233808/wowwiki/images/2/22/Paladin-tier-II.jpg)
(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070711225903/wowwiki/images/thumb/4/48/Apaladin-tier-2.jpg/351px-Apaladin-tier-2.jpg)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 13 Feb 2012, 13:38
Oh man I want to play this again, but I can't until skyboost is up to date, as my game is HORRIBLY laggy without it. Also CREATION KIT YES YES YES!

Anyone want to hang out in a chat room and plan out a mod? Or make a thread for it? I'm thinking a straight up content mod - cave or fort or player home or something like that. I really want to get into modding this game, as it has proper tools to support it.
I'd be down for that. Do you just have an area in mind, or a quest to go with it as well?

I've got a rough idea about it - I want to experiment with dungeon layouts (probably caves) with multiple routes through them, to see how that can work.

The reasoning behind this is that while Bethesda has made some great dungeons overall, with nice vistas, a great buildup of tension, and has made the choice (that I'm very fond of) of letting you have a shortcut back at the end, the dungeons are mostly linear. The only branches are usually dead ends with some extra loot. There is one dungeon in particular that stands out to me as great, which is the one you get to if you take the job from the obviously sketchy khajit Je-Raa in Solitude, and follow the quest line all the way through (called "light's out"). You get to broken oar grotto, which in addition to a cool housing for the locals, has some great alternative paths - there's water in the bottom of the cave, and you can walk along either the right side of the cave wall, or on platforms in the middle. It makes for some great bow-battles with cool views.

So, I want to make a cave, not necessarily with a quest to go with it, where you have multiple (as in more than two) angles of attack to get from the entrance to the loot chest - not only in direction, but also with regards to how you get through, and what challenges you face. Mainly I want to play around with the kit and make a dungeon, but this is the main point. For now. If anyone wants to give feedback or help make the thing, that could help a lot, and would probably be great fun.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 13 Feb 2012, 13:55
DID NO ONE SEE THE EPIC BIG CAVE?

THE ONE WITH 1000 FALMAR? and some churarhahres (or what they are called)



not to shout but srsly, you missed some epic cave. With even more caves and buildings (like churches) inside...

forgot the name tho lolz
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 13 Feb 2012, 14:26
Yes, we saw it.

I've got a rough idea about it - I want to experiment with dungeon layouts (probably caves) with multiple routes through them, to see how that can work.

The reasoning behind this is that while Bethesda has made some great dungeons overall, with nice vistas, a great buildup of tension, and has made the choice (that I'm very fond of) of letting you have a shortcut back at the end, the dungeons are mostly linear. The only branches are usually dead ends with some extra loot. There is one dungeon in particular that stands out to me as great, which is the one you get to if you take the job from the obviously sketchy khajit Je-Raa in Solitude, and follow the quest line all the way through (called "light's out"). You get to broken oar grotto, which in addition to a cool housing for the locals, has some great alternative paths - there's water in the bottom of the cave, and you can walk along either the right side of the cave wall, or on platforms in the middle. It makes for some great bow-battles with cool views.

So, I want to make a cave, not necessarily with a quest to go with it, where you have multiple (as in more than two) angles of attack to get from the entrance to the loot chest - not only in direction, but also with regards to how you get through, and what challenges you face. Mainly I want to play around with the kit and make a dungeon, but this is the main point. For now. If anyone wants to give feedback or help make the thing, that could help a lot, and would probably be great fun.

I went through that one too, though without the quest. An excellent cave. But it does require having it all in one wide-open space, which kind of takes away the sense of progress.

You know what else I liked? White River Watch, the cave you walk into right as you cross the bridge when leaving Whiterun via the road to the east. Ultimately linear, but it keeps winding paths into the same large atrium, while also providing numerous interesting side-rooms. Wolfskull Cave does this as well, to a lesser extent, but cheats a bit by putting an entire fortress inside the cave.

I think there's a lot of potential for this kind of bandit hideout cave; I can't really think of any barrows that stick out in my mind the same way. I ought to mull this over to see if I can come up with any good designs for what you're thinking of.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 17 Feb 2012, 23:51
after spending 228 hours in skyrim i can safely say i am thoroughly sick of dwemer ruins in general
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 18 Feb 2012, 17:58
after spending 228 hours in skyrim i can safely say i am thoroughly sick of dwemer ruins in general


Which is why I always take a break for a couple of days when I get something like 20 hours of play done. Maybe watch a film instead, or play another game (At the moment I've got Age of Empires 2 or Age of Mythology on my laptop while I take a break from the console)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 19 Feb 2012, 06:15
It's also partially because a lot of my memories of Dwemer ruins include me walking with a drawn bow with 1200/600 weight capacity, hauling an absurd amount of dwemer junk.

Honestly, it's not the game's fault it can't cater to my needs and wants. But that's just my personal experience of Dwemer ruins.  :mrgreen: all the Dwarven gear just has to be ridiculously heavy compared to everything else.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: DrPhibes on 19 Feb 2012, 06:42
Install the mod that makes you melt down dwemer stuff! :)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 19 Feb 2012, 13:06
I should, I should. But then again, I promised myself I'd only start modding things in the event I got really bored out of my mind -

huh. Can't already be at that point, can I?
I guess I'll look into it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 20 Feb 2012, 20:20
It's also partially because a lot of my memories of Dwemer ruins include me walking with a drawn bow with 1200/600 weight capacity, hauling an absurd amount of dwemer junk.

Honestly, it's not the game's fault it can't cater to my needs and wants. But that's just my personal experience of Dwemer ruins.  :mrgreen: all the Dwarven gear just has to be ridiculously heavy compared to everything else.
It's even worse as a lower level melee char and getting jumped by half a dozen Falmer at once.

But man did I level smithing fast (gogo daedric armor in mid lvl-20's)...so it was worth it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 20 Feb 2012, 23:12
Which reminds me - I have a little over 300 Dwarven Metal Ingots now

I should probably do something about those
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 20 Feb 2012, 23:13
Throw them in a big pile and them Fus Ro Dah them.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 20 Feb 2012, 23:19
i could

or I could power level my Smithing and Enchantment and Fus Ro Dah a hundred and fifty Dwarven Bows enchanted with Stamina Damage
and then pick all of them up again and maybe go around making a fortune

a coherent plan is taking shape
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 21 Feb 2012, 01:29
My golden moneymaking combo was buying gold and silver, making jewlery with the one thousand gems you get lying around after a while, enchanting it, and selling it off. I'm not sure, but I think that the sneak enchantment is the best moneymaker I found, followed by archery if sneak wasn't available (for circlets and such).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 25 Feb 2012, 15:56
Throw them in a big pile and them Fus Ro Dah them.
I've got a couple hundred gold and silver ingots, which I want to eventually get enough of to stack up against the walls of my house so I can have a solid gold house...but I think I like that idea a lot better  :-D

Even better, do it off that one drop, the one where you get free speechcraft points from the ghost bard for jumping off and into the pool half a mile below. :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 05 Mar 2012, 21:05
Holy.  Fuckfarts. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhEsa9Learw&feature=related)  :-o

Morrowind, eat your heart out and move over.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 06 Mar 2012, 08:13
The difference is that the Morrowind thing was just a poorly thought through feature - this is a straight up bug with a relation between different fortifications. Pretty cool, though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dollface on 17 Mar 2012, 04:52
There is kinda proplem that puzzles me cause when i enter in combat my character goes dark and fumes black smoke (i think its black smoke) but when ene hits me he takes some damage back at him. so can anyone tell what the heck is going on.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 17 Mar 2012, 09:17
@dollface: did you recently choose the Shadow Warrior perk from Sneak during a level-up? I think that causes the smoke. Also apparently it could be caused by certain kinds of armor. I know some items have a damage rebound effect of sorts as well.

OK so what the hell up the deal with those snake-whale-eagle pillar puzzles? Is there actually any logic to them or some obvious environmental clue that I'm just completely missing? Because they really just seem random...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 17 Mar 2012, 09:44
Yeah, the correct sequence can be found somewhere in the area.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 17 Mar 2012, 10:30
I guess I'm just really bad at finding the clues. Granted I've only been in a handful of dungeons with the pillars but I really thought I searched. Oh well, will keep looking!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 17 Mar 2012, 11:04
And now the 1.5 beta patch is out. Everyone get ready for some magic kill cams and punching kill cams! Oh and a shield bash of death kill cam.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dollface on 18 Mar 2012, 03:21
@dollface: did you recently choose the Shadow Warrior perk from Sneak during a level-up? I think that causes the smoke. Also apparently it could be caused by certain kinds of armor. I know some items have a damage rebound effect of sorts as well.




I have half orc warrior who specialises on heavy armor and i have full ebony armor except helmet i have its from that quest that has talking dog.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 18 Mar 2012, 09:51
Oh, the smoke is from the ebony armor. It's also what's damaging people who attack you. I'm not positive why but it's an attribute in any case. If you want to get rid of it, I think there are some mods (assuming your on PC?) that get rid of that texture. Your attackers will still take extra damage, you just won't see the smoke.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Cire27 on 18 Mar 2012, 10:34
You might have an Ebony Mail chestpiece.

http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Ebony_Mail_(Skyrim)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 18 Mar 2012, 20:46
Oh, the smoke is from the ebony armor. It's also what's damaging people who attack you. I'm not positive why but it's an attribute in any case. If you want to get rid of it, I think there are some mods (assuming your on PC?) that get rid of that texture. Your attackers will still take extra damage, you just won't see the smoke.
There is a mod (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=8991) that gives Ebony Armor its Morrowind enchantments, along with Morrowindizing a few other artifacts. 
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 02 Jul 2012, 09:41
...also The Masque of Clavicus Vile (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Masque_of_Clavicus_Vile_(Skyrim)).

God help me, I've been playing this game way too much, even this far in. I've beaten the main quest, and the other main quest, and all of the faction quests, and so may miscellaneous quests... but still I must quest.

I go into a town and they're like "go talk to this lady in Solitude", and I'm all like "YOU GOT IT!" even though I'm an unkillable demigod millionaire who owns land in literally every major city. "I'm all about chatting up some nob for 500 stupid Septims!"
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: maxusy3k on 02 Jul 2012, 23:50
I don't know what the split on console / PC is in here but has anybody started playing Dawnguard yet?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 03 Jul 2012, 01:03
Dawnguard. Right. I forgot that existed. I forgot they're not bringing it to the PC release for 30 goddamn days. Thanks for reminding me.

You know, as much as I'd like to roleplay as a power-hungry, racist, murderous Altmer mage for a new character, I've simply already seen nearly everything worth seeing in Skyrim. I don't enjoy the combat very much and I don't want to do the same quests again either, so I don't think I'm going to bother.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 03 Jul 2012, 03:20
Sorry. Glorious PC-gaming Master Race here.
I don't know if I'll play Dawnguard. I've looked at the previews and read all about it, and aside from going "Hey, Crossbows! Suck it, Oblivion M'aiq! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=betsj_4Bp-M&feature=endscreen&NR=1)" nothing is really selling me.

[lamejoke]
Also, Mount & Blade tweeted that they want their mounted combat back.
[/lamejoke]
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 03 Jul 2012, 10:12
Mount and blade has the best mounted combat. It's not very refined, but it feels oh so satisfying to lance people in the face at full speed. CRUNCH 300 damage, bitch.

I hadn't noticed the joke at Fable's expense from M'aiq. "M'aiq always enjoys a good fable.M'aiq has yet to find one, though. Maybe some day". Heh.

This looks cool, I'll definitively get it. I was planning on picking Skyrim up again anyways, and this is as good a reason as any.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: maxusy3k on 03 Jul 2012, 23:06
I haven't played very much of the actual questline so far, but the main changes are you can now make arrows at a forge which is pretty cool. NPCs are no longer hostile to the player during later stages of vampirism which makes it much easier to play as a vampire, and finally there's now random encounters where a group of vampires will be attacking the guards and NPCs in a town - similar to the appearance of thieves in towns when you start progressing the thieves guild questline.

Crossbows are insanely overpowered but awkward to use in proper combat due to a long reload time.

I'm enjoying the additions but I still haven't managed to really play very far through the game anyway - I kept trying to actually play a role and with the consequence-free environment it wasn't very fulfilling for me. Now I'm playing more just how I want to play, with the sole aim of actually experiencing the content, and I'm progressing much further.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jace on 05 Jul 2012, 13:49
I actually got killed by an Ancient Dragon I encountered on my way to the Twilight Sepulcher to return the skeleton key. I was flabbergasted since I pretty much kill everything and don't get hurt.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 05 Jul 2012, 18:21
Yeah, those ancients can put a hurt-on. That's why I double-destruct impact stun-lock them. That and Shadowmere distracts them...

I love how the smallest threats sends everyone following you apeshit. Have a housecarl, a horse, and a fire and storm atronach all go ballistic and stomp a mudhole in what, after the dust clears, is a wolf. I'd half expect for the pelt to convert DIRECTLY into leather strips.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jace on 06 Jul 2012, 00:22
Oh, I never have any followers because I like sneaking around too much. Which sucks because I can never get a sneak attack on dragons when they fly overhead.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 06 Jul 2012, 06:51
You should try one of the more stealthy followers, like Jenassa. I gave her an ebony bow and a Dragonsting Sword and Dagger (JaySus Swords mod), and a full set of Dark Brotherhood armor, and she's all good. Quiet as a friggin' cat.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 06 Jul 2012, 10:54
Who the heck is Jenassa?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 06 Jul 2012, 13:05
She's the Dunmer mercenary in the Drunken Huntsman (the bow shop across from the blacksmith) in Whiterun.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 06 Jul 2012, 14:13
Oh, right, that one. It didn't ring a bell for me because I'm way too stingy to get a follower that I also have to pay, so I passed up every merc I came across.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 06 Jul 2012, 16:59
She's marriable, however, so you can eventually recoup that loss rather quickly and then start making a tidy profit.

I shouldn't talk, however. I more or less refuse to enlist any followers at all. Not my style! So far it's worked out nicely. If I find the energy to start a new game at some point, I'll probably play as a Breton battlemage with multiple followers (using that mod that lets that happen), just to have wholly different experience from my (beloved) sneaky Bosmer archer.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 19 Jul 2012, 17:36
I don't have mercs/followers because they get in the way, and due to my mountain-climbing/wall-walking method of taking shortcuts, can't keep up with me.

Hell even just plain old running for thirty seconds is enough to lose them. 

As such, the only time I've ever had a follower with me is for escort quests and
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 20 Jul 2012, 02:07
It feels like everyone uses that one-eyed psychopath for that.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 27 Jul 2012, 15:44
Bethesda's basically saying (http://twitter.com/DCDeacon/status/228527108681502720) "No no no, we never said when, or even if you could get Dawnguard on other platforms, whatever gave you that idea?" Fuuuuuuuuu.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 27 Jul 2012, 16:31
I'm more annoyed by that as a matter of principle than anything else. The new content doesn't seem particularly enthralling to me. While I would like to kick some vampire ass in a new faction, I still have so much to do and see in the ordinary game that I'm not sure I'd even get to the Dawnguard stuff for some time anyway. So I don't care all that much that I'm missing out on some content. I DO care that they're privileging certain platforms above others, however. It seems unfair to devoted fans of the series to not be given access to Bethesda created content (note that this doesn't jar at all with my notion that console gamers should stop whining about us PC players having access to all the mods). The fact that they seem to be deliberately evasive about it only makes it all the more irritating. They surely know if they're going to adapt Dawnguard for PS3 or PC and the fact that publicly they're saying "well we don't know when or even if..." seems disingenuous, especially considering how much of the fan commentary that emerged around the announcement of Dawngaurd was along the lines of, "well obviously it'll be 360 first but PS3 and PC versions will follow shortly thereafter." Bethesda knew about fan expectations and it helps no one for them to be silent and, considering the tone of that tweet, even a little dickish about it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 28 Jul 2012, 07:36
Dawnguard is Bethesda's way of apologizing and making up to PC players for the horrible menu and UI systems on the PC version.

Also, MOTHER FUCKING CROSSBOWS!!!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 28 Jul 2012, 10:27
Man, I fixed the menu/UI problem before I even started playing - there are some really solid mods that make the whole system much clearer and more user friendly. I've never even seen the vanilla system. Which actually goes to my point - if Bethesda never released Dawnguard for PC, I'm not sure I would care all that much (although I WOULD like crossbows, it's true).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 28 Jul 2012, 11:54
I still can't help but think that it's nothing but pure laziness on their part of why they've cut down on the weapon selection so damn much.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Jace on 28 Jul 2012, 12:31
I don't see much of a reason for me to use crossbows unless they have something insane like a repeater crossbow.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 28 Jul 2012, 13:03
I still can't help but think that it's nothing but pure laziness on their part of why they've cut down on the weapon selection so damn much.

The more cynical answer would be so they could release new weapons that they've already coded as filler for DLC in order to make it seem more impressive than it actually is.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 29 Jul 2012, 01:26
It's probably a cost/benefit thing - it probably costs a lot to do the whole 3D modelling and rendering for other weapons, so the analysis they did for the inclusion of other weapon classes probably ended up with them not gaining the game much, while costing a lot. I also know for a fact that they cut the whole left/right pauldron, left/right glove, curiass deal after Morrowind because animating it in Oblivion got too resource heavy for most modern graphics processors back then.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 29 Jul 2012, 05:36
...or they just knew people would be modding in weapons that outshine the stuff they put out, like JaySuS Swords (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/1002).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 29 Jul 2012, 05:49
To be honest, my biggest complaint with The Elder Scrolls is how much Bethesda relies on the modding community.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 29 Jul 2012, 18:48
To be honest, my biggest complaint with The Elder Scrolls is how much Bethesda relies on the modding community.
Eh, that's a good point.  If only they did what they did in Morrowind in terms of gear diversity, and with today's engines and graphics...

Also, has anyone installed and played Moonpath to Elsweyr (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9782)?  If so, what are your thoughts?  I'm looking at getting it.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 30 Jul 2012, 09:46
The quality difference is noticeable but not unexpected. You're talking the difference between a major studio with a budget somewhere between $25M and $100M, and a free mod with a budget of whatever can be scraped together and some Cup Ramen. It can still feel a little jarring going from the smooth, polished professional voice acting in the main game to the voice acting in this mod, but as far as the content itself, they did a very good job of making an entirely new area with new mobs, quests, and ingredients.

The biggest complaint I have is the poison you get from the spiders in this area. It's a paralyzing poison that paralyzes for upwards to 30 seconds, a crazy amount of time. That poison is overpowered and needs to be nerfed a bit.

Other than little nitpicky details like that, it's fun overall. Give it a go.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheFuriousWombat on 30 Jul 2012, 10:13
Sounds cool! I've always wanted to explore Elsweyr and Valenwood and the Black Marsh - areas more exotic than Cyrodil or Skyrim. Morrowind helps, but southern Tamriel has been neglected for too long!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 02 Aug 2012, 17:38
Dawnguard is finally available on Steam. Thinking I'll probably wait for a sale.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: satsugaikaze on 11 Aug 2012, 20:02
^ Steam's un-sale'd prices are getting on my nerves. 28 AUD here is almost half the price of the full game at the mo. I don't pay that much for a single blob of DLC. Not even main-plot-relevant DLC, which iirc this isn't.

But still, definitely a future purpose. Why the fuck didn't crossbows exist proper before, anyway? I spent like an entire three days trawling the Nexus for a crossbow mod.  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 31 Aug 2012, 21:08
So there is a strong likelihood that PS3 users won't be getting the Dawnguard expansion, possibly because Bethesda are either to lazy to do their job probably or because Microsoft have paid them off, while all the while their PR department runs from the fanbase.

Neither option is what I believe, but as a PS3 gamer, all I'm getting are flashbacks to Fallout 3 and Bethesda saying they wouldn't be releasing the DLC for that game on the PS3. Its a little frustrating if you ask me.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 20 Sep 2012, 13:59
Okay - so I just picked this up for the 360 a few days ago.  I got up to level 5 on the first night playing, and it's actually pretty funny, because my kids all gathered around the TV to watch me play, and they stayed there the whole time, until I sent them to bed. 

One thing to note, is that I played this a few months ago, right after it came out, for about 3 days straight on my brother-in-law's PS3, and got to level 13, but I avoided playing the storyline, because I knew almost immediately that I would want to play it on my system later, so I'm not completely and totally new.

I really am enjoying replaying it, because A - I have a 50" plasma, and B, I have surround sound, so my apartment shakes when a dragon gets close.  When I initially played it, it was on a 20" HD screen, and yeah, it's much more immersive when I can see everything so clearly.  I'm still avoiding the storyline, because I read some things on here, and because frankly, I want to just explore for a while before I address the 'DECISION'.  Still not sure what I'm going to decide, when the time comes.

One thing I'm curious about, I see multiple entries about how to tell someone something - does it make a difference in their response if you use different ones, or is it just a linear script, pretty much no matter what? 

Anyway - having a great time, and it really is entertaining to me that my kids actually like to watch the game.  They just about ran out of the room when that first dragon appeared at the watchtower, and started breathing fire at me.   :lol:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 20 Sep 2012, 14:12
You've got some minor choices here and there. There's actually TWO main storylines, and I'd suggest following the one that has you going to the throath of the world, as it's necessary for a lot of the combat awesomeness. The other one, where you go to one of the two sides of the civil war, can definitely wait.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 20 Sep 2012, 14:45
Will definitely do that then Snalin, thanks.  :D  I can't wait to get back at it. 

So, holy shit!  I read a lot of what was being entered here in this forum, and thought I had some idea of what was going on, but damn I had no real idea the SCOPE of things happening.  Just fucking wow!

As spoiler free as I can do it:

Went to High Hrothgar, then to their quest - got distracted and ended up in Morthal - whole lotta drama in that place!  Got my third piece of the first shout, and took down a dragon like it wasn't shit.  Still trying to catch my breath.  Damn this is fun. 

 :psyduck:
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 27 Sep 2012, 11:17
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 29 Sep 2012, 18:56
Married Jenassa, and then she went back to the Drunken Huntsman.  I didn't realize she lived there.  I know I could just leave her there, but I'd feel bad about that.  I gotta go about buying a house somewhere...

 :-o

ETA: Wow, those Whiterun guards get really pissy, even if you accidentally killed someone... whilst slaying a dragon.  My bounty ended up at 3000 gold, and they didn't even TRY to arrest me, just came on swinging.  Mind you, I didn't even fight back, but while I was running away from them, my little companion mage was killing the fuck out of them right, left and center.  I finally just got the hell out of there, and when I came back, I was able to pay my fine.  There are now a shitload of dead guards laying around Whiterun, including inside of my house.

Definitely a HOLY FUCK moment when all was said and done.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 24 Oct 2012, 11:30
Paarthurnax was definitely a surprise. :-o
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Gregorio on 30 Oct 2012, 23:46
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FujNzhs3TE0

So... beautiful. It's like staring at heaven.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 15 Nov 2012, 17:48
Next DLC is on Solstheim. YESSSSSS. There's screens of an STILT STRIDER. OH MY GOD!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 15 Nov 2012, 17:51
I'd prefer some news from Bethesda that they've hired some proper writers.

But this does look nice!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 15 Nov 2012, 18:41
Yeah, I'm going to have to get my internet back on, and my xbox live back - the DLC for this game, and few others I'm playing are just too damned pretty not to.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Rockman on 15 Nov 2012, 19:21
I am extremely happy that I can finally return to Solstheim.  I've got Skyrim for PC so I'll have longer to wait for Dragonborn, which means I have time to wipe my Bosmer archer and start over with better perks choices.

SILT STRIDERS EFF YES

*ahem* Sorry. Please continue.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 06 Dec 2012, 14:58
I've discovered something interesting, and I'm not sure if it's a bug, or a feature.

In my game, I seem to have killed all the mammoths, and they don't seem to be respawning.  I've talked to several people, both friends that I work with that play, and other people that I know online, and it seems to be to about half of them are like me, where they can seemingly hunt giants and mammoths to extinction, and the other half has regular respawns of both, within about a week of game time.

This is just very odd to me, but again, I don't know if it's supposed to be happening, or if something is just wrong with my game.

Something to note, the people that I've talked to that have them respawning (at least, my coworkers) have all gotten DLC, and I have not.  Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but maybe?

Anyway, carry on.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: henri bemis on 06 Dec 2012, 17:55
I haven't noticed it myself one way or another, and now that I think about it, it's really just a theory I can't prove, but most giant camps (where mammoths tend to hang out as allies) are labeled map points, and once you clear those, the hostile elements don't [usually?] re-spawn.  Or, at least, I've never run into any real resistance if I return to a site labeled 'cleared.'  The absence of giants is probably more noticeable after you've cleared most of their camps because they don't populate cities, and because mammoths tend to stick with them, I guess they go permanently, too?  Unlike the wolves and bears & such that aren't tied to a location, they don't re-spawn.

The DLCs could change that or reload some things (disclaimer: I know absolute crap about creating games or how the coding works), and I'm playing on 360, so it could also be different on other platforms.  But that would be my guess. 
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 06 Dec 2012, 18:58
It does show as cleared, and that seems to have solved the mystery, as my friends at work are telling me that theirs are not showing cleared.  Yep - I seem to have unknowingly hunted my mammoth to extinction.  You'd think I would know better, being native american and all...

I guess I'll have to restart if I want them back.

Ah well, I was thinking High Elf anyway.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: riccostar on 09 Dec 2012, 08:13
Does anyone have opinions on the horses?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 09 Dec 2012, 08:38
They should be able to gallop for longer. Fortunately, there's a mod for that.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 10 Dec 2012, 11:49
Shadowmere is pretty awesome - before that I had Frost, and a couple of nameless horses.  All have died on me while trying to join in fights against WAY TOO MANY foes, except for Shadowmere.  He seems to be quite the badass.

Also, started over.  I'm now a High Elf, and I think things will be a little easier for me combatwise this time, considering how I play.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 12 Dec 2012, 14:20
 :-o

I did not know the Companions' secret.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 19 Jan 2013, 14:22
PS3 users should be happy (I know I am). Bethesda has announced a Febuary release for the three DLC, with a 50% reduction in the price for all three in the first week.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 21 Jan 2013, 15:40
As far as horses go, gravity need not apply.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ackblom12 on 15 Apr 2013, 10:53
Soooooo, Bethesda has officially stopped working on Skyrim and has put all their workforce into their 'New Project' that's been in pre-production for a while. I'm assuming this means they'll be announcing Fallout 4 sometime in the next year.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 15 Apr 2013, 12:18
Probably right, and I did recently queue all of the Skyrim DLC to download to my 360 once I connect it again.  Got them all at half price.
 :-D
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 15 Apr 2013, 13:42
Somewhat disappointed by this. Hopefully there is some work done on a final dlc, there just seems to be so much still in the air that hasn't been answered, namely the prospect of war against the Aldmeri Dominion and the Dragonborn's fate. And frankly, I'd rather not see Bethesda go and lump everything into the eventual Elder Scrolls 6.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 15 Apr 2013, 15:34
The war is too big a thing to be a Skyrim DLC. If they want to do it as 6, that's better, but who knows. Maybe they'll want to branch out into other genres, or maybe license the IP out - a strategy game or RTS maybe? About the fate of the Dragonborn, Bethesda has traditionally kept quiet about the fates of the heroes from the games - the Nerevarine went on an expedition, never to be seen again, and the hero from Oblivion is probably just remembered as a prominent blades member. It is probably for the best that you don't hear much about the hero of the last game in the next one.

I hope 6 is not about a war against the Aldmeri. I didn't find them very interesting (we are racist elves because we are and we are evil). I also really, really, really want to see a game set in Black Marsh. The entire northern part of Tamriel has been explored in games by now (Daggerfall had High Rock and Hammerfell, Morrowind had... Morrwind, Oblivion had the Imperial Province, and Skyrim had... Skyrim. There was an action game in Hammerfell too, called Redguard), so 6 will probably be Valenwood/Elsweyr or Summerset Isle, but I have a thing for jungles.

EDIT: there's also a bunch of lore they can build on that would make compelling game play. There is other continents out there - another attempt at colonizing the eastern continent would be interesting, a war against the sea-dwelling sload could be cool, and while they probably won't do tundras for their next game, a game about reclaiming the ancient northern continent of the nords would probably be amazing (the Morrowind expansion pack Solstheim had a very compelling part where you helped build a colony, and basing a game around that concept would probably be great).
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 15 Apr 2013, 16:35
Soooooo, Bethesda has officially stopped working on Skyrim and has put all their workforce into their 'New Project' that's been in pre-production for a while. I'm assuming this means they'll be announcing Fallout 4 sometime in the next year.
Most likely going toward TES Online.

Hopefully, if TES Online becomes a reality, they don't abandon the single-player games like what happened to Warcraft, 'cause I really want a game that takes place on Summerset Isles and involves toppling the Aldmeri Dominion.

Since TES Online takes place before Arena in the timeline, this keeps the possibility of TES VI alive.


In Skyrim-related news, I've started an Imperial assassin/thief character.  Haven't gotten around to doing the DB starting quest yet...I'm spending more time getting used to the stealth playstyle.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 15 Apr 2013, 18:04
Most likely going toward TES Online.

Hopefully, if TES Online becomes a reality, they don't abandon the single-player games like what happened to Warcraft, 'cause I really want a game that takes place on Summerset Isles and involves toppling the Aldmeri Dominion.

Since TES Online takes place before Arena in the timeline, this keeps the possibility of TES VI alive.

The Elder Scrolls Online is being developed and produced by ZeniMax Online Studios, while the Elder Scroll games such as Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim were all developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, so that's not it. Its more likely that its going to be Fallout 4, which they've been hinting at for about a year.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 15 Apr 2013, 20:43
I can say with a good deal of certainty that Elder Scrolls Online is a real, tangible thing.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 16 Apr 2013, 01:40
I'm looking forward to the stand-alone Fallout game Obsidian will make based on the Fallout 4 engine.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Sorflakne on 16 Apr 2013, 07:34
Quote
The Elder Scrolls Online is being developed and produced by ZeniMax Online Studios, while the Elder Scroll games such as Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim were all developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, so that's not it. Its more likely that its going to be Fallout 4, which they've been hinting at for about a year.
Did not know that...so how much involvement does Bethesda have with it then?


Also downloaded Daggerfall since it's freeware now and holy god, the controls in that game are messed up.  Mouse or keyboard to move, strafing (an essential element to movement for me) is very hard to do, weapon attacks not very responsive...even just looking around is a pain in the ass (especially up or down).  The people who played this game and got good at it were cut from a different cloth...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 16 Apr 2013, 08:02
Quote
The Elder Scrolls Online is being developed and produced by ZeniMax Online Studios, while the Elder Scroll games such as Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim were all developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, so that's not it. Its more likely that its going to be Fallout 4, which they've been hinting at for about a year.
Did not know that...so how much involvement does Bethesda have with it then?

Bethesda Softworks are publishing the game, its just that Bethesda is a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. So most likely, there are several staff that act as liaisons between Bethesda and ZeniMax.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 16 Apr 2013, 16:49
Bethesda Game Studios, the company that actually made the The Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3, is not the same as Bethesda Softworks. Bethesda Softworks is the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, and is again owned by ZeniMax Media. Bethesda Softworks are publishing The Elder Scrolls Online, which is being made by ZeniMax Online Studios, which is a daughter company of ZeniMax Media.

It looks like this:

ZeniMax Media Inc      |
                               | - ZeniMax Online Studios
                               |
                               | - Bethesda Softworks |
                               |                                    | - Bethesda Game Studios
                               |
                               | - Other stuff (like Id Software and many others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZeniMax_Media#Development_studios))

Because corporations are weird that way, that's why.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 16 Apr 2013, 17:31
The other part of that is that Bethesda Softworks is the publisher for all of those games.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 16 Apr 2013, 18:25
Bethesda Game Studios, the company that actually made the The Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3, is not the same as Bethesda Softworks. Bethesda Softworks is the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, and is again owned by ZeniMax Media. Bethesda Softworks are publishing The Elder Scrolls Online, which is being made by ZeniMax Online Studios, which is a daughter company of ZeniMax Media.

I never said Softworks made them, but that it published the games. You'll notice earlier that I mentioned Bethesda Game Studios made the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 16 Apr 2013, 19:32
I was commenting more on the inadequacies of Snalin's diagram.  Our company's structure is really damn confusing.  As far as liaisons go, there's definitely a lot of communication about lore.  I played soccer with Pete Hines once; that guy is fast.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Apr 2013, 01:15
I never said Softworks made them, but that it published the games. You'll notice earlier that I mentioned Bethesda Game Studios made the Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3.

Wasn't implying that you did - I was just trying to go a bit deeper in my explanation.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 01 May 2013, 05:22
>implying
This is a pretty nerdy thing to argue about. Seems like there is just a slight misunderstanding from confusing corporate dickery.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ev4n on 19 Aug 2013, 10:29
Restarted this this weekend, as a Nightblade-ish character.  Upped the difficulty, too.  Hopefully I'll get to see another side of the game.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 19 Aug 2013, 11:24
I also restarted the game over the weekend, this time with a Nord Sorcerer/Necromancer. She was level 2 going into Bleak Falls Barrow, level 7 when I got out. Conjuration leapt up 15 points. The Magic-heavy characters are ridiculously overpowered, especially if you give them the Thalmor armour early on.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ev4n on 26 Aug 2013, 11:21
My first playthrough was conjuration and I really enjoyed it.  It felt natural - armor and sword for easy stuff, break out the magic for the tough stuff.

Playing now as stealth/archer on higher difficulty.  The eye in the centre is cheese, but at the same time some elements of stealth are suprisingly well done.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stybar on 26 Aug 2013, 12:16
If the eye annoys you, get a mod. I played everything exept mage (I don't like it)
On my stealth run, I found a mod that makes the eye move to just below the compass. I also found mods that enhance sneaking, like less chance to be found when hiding in shadows, more sneak noise when closer to enemies, etc.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ankhtahr on 26 Aug 2013, 16:23
I loved playing stealthy. It made me sad that I could barely use my daggers. When playing stealthy bow and arrow are incredibly powerful.

Somehow I like stealthy characters. When given the choice I'll most likely choose the Rogue/Assassin/whatever it may be called. My favourite guild in MTG's Ravnica is the House Dimir.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 26 Aug 2013, 16:36
I tried that with a new character I started recently. Stealthy, backstabbing, magicky Dark Elf. On a whim, I installed a bunch of additional mods, but it never seems enough. When I started looking for magic overhaul mods I realised that the Skyrim that I could play was never going to be close enough to the Skyrim I wanted to play. So instead of playing Skyrim with Dishonored powers (http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/35564/?), I just went back and played Dishonored again.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stybar on 27 Aug 2013, 02:32
I loved playing stealthy. It made me sad that I could barely use my daggers. When playing stealthy bow and arrow are incredibly powerful.


Daggers are hugely underpowered. The only way to get some power out of them is to get the backstabbing perk, which powers them up x15. But that's a level 50 sneak skill, and requires three other perks. Bow and arrow are way more powerfull, considering that crossbows get more power (200+) and use the same stealth techniques. With fully upgrades bow and arrows, with Archery at 100, and sneak at 100, and the Deadly Aim perk (sneak attacks with bows x3), I could kill a Dragon with one shot
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 13 Mar 2014, 19:30
oh god help it's got me it's got me i can't feel my legs i can't remember the sun and and and

VICTORY OR SOVNGARDE

(so yeah I'm late to the party but having fun)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 16 Mar 2014, 02:17
Hell I still keep this in the rotation.  It's a hell of a lot of fun to play.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 16 Mar 2014, 21:17
I was a little disappointed yesterday.

First off, there were TWO dragons, but the cowards didn't fight for my amusements.

Then the one I was fighting *ran away* and decided a nearby giant looked like easier prey.  :facepalm:

I almost let the giant walk away as a sort of 'hey good job killing the dragon' but then I was all 'BUT IT WAS MY DRAGON DAMNIT'
p.s. holy shit guys Drelas is kind of a badass.. Weird that he has nothing to do with anything.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Mar 2014, 04:08
I don't know about you guys, but I'm really stoked about Skywind:

Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Schmee on 17 Mar 2014, 04:27
Skywind looks amazing, I really hope it gets finished. It would be a shame to see it go the same way as Morroblivion.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Mar 2014, 04:52
I think Morroblivion didn't get as much traction because the Oblivion engine simply wasn't that impressive. The Skywind project is hosted at morroblivion.com, but last time I checked, the team had 70 members, and they're further along than I think Morroblivion ever was.

Now, the really interesting thing would be if they could port Tamriel rebuilt. Of course, the rebuilt project would probably have to get a shine up, since stuff in the Skyrim engine needs a lot more clutter than stuff in the Morrowind engine did (see the official development video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJwpaVwOaHM)), but the promise of all of Morrowind in an actual game would be great.

Urm, for the uninitiated, Morrowind the game contained about half of Morrowind the province. Check this map (http://pc-overware.be/Frenrir/Images/Jeux/The%20Elder%20Scrolls%20Map.jpg), where Morrowind is in the north east. The Morrowind game was contained on the Vvardenfell island (plus the city of Mournhold and the island of Solstheim). Tamriel rebuilt is a Morrowind mod that seeks to make the entire province of Morrowind into a playable game area, fully built out with quests and all of that good stuff. They're still going strong, and are done with large parts of the world.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: 94ssd on 17 Mar 2014, 06:39
I'm not a big mod person, but if Skywind comes to fruition I will buy a PC copy of the game just to play it.

Actually, I seem to recall hearing you need Morrowind installed as well?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Mar 2014, 09:56
Yeah. The old Morroblivion project tried to just... give you the Morrowind files as a part of the mod, and understandably got massively shut down by Bethesda. So they need a Morrowind install to pull the Morrowind game files from. It's $20 on Steam.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: 94ssd on 17 Mar 2014, 10:06
Yeah. The old Morroblivion project tried to just... give you the Morrowind files as a part of the mod, and understandably got massively shut down by Bethesda. So they need a Morrowind install to pull the Morrowind game files from. It's $20 on Steam.

Do they have to be Steam downloads, because I could get a used disc of Skyrim for $20 and one of Morrowind for like $10.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Mar 2014, 10:25
Nope, although Skyrim requires Steam anyways. The Steam tip was just for "if you don't have Morrowind" already.

EDIT: though you would probably need a Morrowind GOTY edition - I think a Morrowind version without both Bloodmoon and Tribunal won't be supported. But why would you want a version without Bloodmoon and Tribunal?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: 94ssd on 17 Mar 2014, 12:03
I have the GOTY edition for Xbox.

Was that $20 for GOTY on Steam or for the base game?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Mar 2014, 13:29
GOTY. I don't think vanilla Morrowind is sold anywhere anymroe.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: HauntingPoem on 17 Mar 2014, 17:42
I'm not a big mod person, but if Skywind comes to fruition I will buy a PC copy of the game just to play it.

Actually, I seem to recall hearing you need Morrowind installed as well?

I am a current voice actor and am part of the modding team for Skywind. Yes a copy of the GOTY Edittion of morrowind, as well as a copy of skyrim will/is required to play the mod.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 17 Mar 2014, 18:08
Do you know why the public alpha was taken down?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 22 Mar 2014, 22:40
So there I am, wandering around off...somewhere. And I show up at a mill, a courier is waiting for me, and gives me an inheritance letter! Adrienne Avenicci died. :/ I'm all 'wtf mate', and I go back to Whiterun, not only is she dead but Sigurd's body is lying in the street.

I dunno if it was a vampire attack or bug or who knows what. But that's *my* town Talos-damnit. No one gets to kill my NPCs *but me*.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: 94ssd on 23 Mar 2014, 05:50
So there I am, wandering around off...somewhere. And I show up at a mill, a courier is waiting for me, and gives me an inheritance letter! Adrienne Avenicci died. :/ I'm all 'wtf mate', and I go back to Whiterun, not only is she dead but Sigurd's body is lying in the street.

I dunno if it was a vampire attack or bug or who knows what. But that's *my* town Talos-damnit. No one gets to kill my NPCs *but me*.

I consider Whiterun to be under my protection as well. It's a shame I wasn't around to stop that werewolf attack. Strange that it only killed Nazeem.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: GarandMarine on 23 Mar 2014, 07:01
I've never had werewolf attack issues. Namely because I'm usually howlin with the pack and any of my wolves wot touch my humans are gonna get crumped.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Dimmukane on 23 Mar 2014, 09:36
So, kinda related...I've been involved with this (http://elderscrollsonline.com/) for almost four years and we launch in two weeks. We have mainland Morrowind! Has anyone here tried it out? I've honestly not had the time to sit down with it myself for more than an hour in the last 18 months  :-P
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 23 Mar 2014, 13:23
I'm not sure if I love TES enough to get over my general distaste for mmos.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 23 Mar 2014, 13:30
Strange that it only killed Nazeem.
You sure the asshole didn't just insult the Companions one too many times?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Schmee on 23 Mar 2014, 14:52
Strange that it only killed Nazeem.
You sure the asshole didn't just insult the Companions one too many times?
"Do you ever get up to the Cloud District - Oh what am I saying, of course you don't."
*quicksave*
*killing spree*
*quickload*
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 03:13
So I killed Alva while she was asleep and alone at Morath's. Aannnd.... I think the townsfolk of Morvath or whatever are actually a little irritable about it.

Which is funny, but hey. Screw 'em if they can't take a hero.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 24 Mar 2014, 06:30
Sometimes I think I'm the only person who doesn't go on random killing sprees in games when people piss me off. Or just because. Then again, that's probably because I'm to afraid I'll do it in real life some day. Though there was that time, after about the 5000th time hearing it, I had to quick save and shoot one of those damn guards in the knee with an arrow...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: GarandMarine on 24 Mar 2014, 06:45
I've made the streets of Whiterun run with blood a few times
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 13:36
My thing, I was doing them a *favor*. Just trying not to state super spoilers outright.

Mind you I totally have went on 'I wonder if I can take them all out' sprees before. Sometimes get a little frustrated with the game's immortal NPCs. Of *course* I want them to be immortal when, say, dragons try to kill them, and mortal when *I* want to kill them. So uh. Double standard?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 24 Mar 2014, 14:09
One of the funniest things that happened to me was this:

I noticed the high elf guards marching a prisoner right outside of Whiterun, near one of the local farmhouses.  I'd opted to simply leave them alone, when out of nowhere a dragon attacked.  My companion (who was the early wizard character) and I immediately attacked said dragon, and my shout blew it into one of the guards, smashing him up against a wall and killing him.  The rest of the guards attacked me, and I defended myself and then proceeded to loot their corpses, because why the fuck not?  Well, I was pretty close to being overburdened so I fast traveled to Whiterun, and that was my mistake.

Rather than give me the chance to pay my fine they attacked.  Now I ran through the town, trying to get away from them, and not attacking anyone - but my little companion had other ideas, and he proceeded to chain lightning the shit out of everyone that saw fit to pursue me with a sword drawn.  Needless to say it did not end well for them, and the entire town was littered with dead guards (including two that chased me into my home) and people going, "Oh my!  What happened?" every time I went back there.  I have since learned not to fast travel with a fine due.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 24 Mar 2014, 14:13
Wait a minute, since when is attacking elves a crime? And how did the Whiterun guards know about it?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 16:12
Didn't you hear? Attacking Friend Comput...er, I mean, 'Friendly' Thalmor is treason, citizen!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 24 Mar 2014, 16:23
Since the Thalmor pretty much have the Empire's nuts in a vice... Still, Whiterun is pretty much neutral over the whole Stormcloak/Empire war at least in the start, so it's kinda weird. I've wound up killing that Thalmor patrol before, oddly enough just down the road at the guard tower where you first learn to Shout. I never had any guards come after me over that. I guess because you were right there at Whiterun, someone saw you? Beware the chickens... They're all stool pigeons.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: GarandMarine on 24 Mar 2014, 16:27
but they're ELVES!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 17:20
Joking aside, I'd bet it's because they're flagged as non-hostile (until they inevitably decide to Inquisite you). Probably fair game once they attack, but until then...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 17:22
also all this talk about being mean to elves reminds me that we used to call our old roleplaying gang back home the 'He-Man Elf Haters Club'.

I'm sorta sad that no one else appears to have used that idea on the internet much, according to a cursory Google search.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 24 Mar 2014, 17:26
But elves are cool!
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 24 Mar 2014, 17:29
Since the Thalmor pretty much have the Empire's nuts in a vice... Still, Whiterun is pretty much neutral over the whole Stormcloak/Empire war at least in the start, so it's kinda weird. I've wound up killing that Thalmor patrol before, oddly enough just down the road at the guard tower where you first learn to Shout. I never had any guards come after me over that. I guess because you were right there at Whiterun, someone saw you? Beware the chickens... They're all stool pigeons.

The first time I encountered a group of them near Whiterun I buried my axe into their heads and nobody ever questioned why I suddenly turned up wearing a full set of glass armour.

But elves are cool!
Yes, and they know it all too well.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: GarandMarine on 24 Mar 2014, 18:06
No sense crying over dead elves, especially if there's more of them around to kill off.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 24 Mar 2014, 18:35
*puts on a hood to cover pointy ears and tries to find an exit*
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: GarandMarine on 24 Mar 2014, 19:00
I blame D&D for my innate hatred of elves. It's not your fault Ali, and as you know I have bits and pieces of a high elf army, but I cannot stand those annoying Mary Sue magnets for the most part.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 22:15
it occurs to me that i'm playing an orc.

So uh.

I guess I'm sort of an elf in this game?

damn.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 24 Mar 2014, 22:21
Also this guy is am amusingly large part of why we hated elves.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4q0FucX2B9Q/UYpSTf-0DSI/AAAAAAAALhQ/CT0kQINC2Wg/s400/d&d+movie.jpg)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 25 Mar 2014, 09:46
Was he supposed to be an elf?

Well, that explains... nothing.


I've got a distaste for most kinds of elves, but the Dunmer is something else entirely. The dwemer were also elves - steampunkelves - so I cut them some slack.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: LTK on 25 Mar 2014, 10:07
If you want to get technical, all the merpeople are related. But when people think of elves, then they're usually thinking of either hippie elves (Bosmer) or smug elves (Altmer), for Elder Scrolls context.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 25 Mar 2014, 10:42
Yeah... pretty much all the non-human, non-beastpeople races in Elder Scrolls seemed to have started out as elves, at least. The orcs and Falmer were mutated into their current form. I'm not sure why the dwemer/dwarves look so different from the Altmer, Bosmer and Dunmer though...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 25 Mar 2014, 13:20
Was he supposed to be an elf?

Well, that explains... nothing.

No worries, it's a movie reference. Was just fishing to see if anyone else got it.

Also is it me or are Giants probably Mer-based as well?
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 25 Mar 2014, 13:41
hmmm. A quick check of various lore sites says... Nobody knows. They have elf-like ears, but human like features. They are inter-fertile with humans though. Lyris Titanborn is half-giant. I'm not sure if any of the mer races can breed with human races? I can't remember any references to half elves, so if that's the case then giants are not likely of mer decent. Apparently the dwarf name for Dwemer comes from giants, since they were about the same size as a human.

I recognized the character and the movie you showed... I was just trying to forget that horrible thing...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 25 Mar 2014, 17:30
Yeah... pretty much all the non-human, non-beastpeople races in Elder Scrolls seemed to have started out as elves, at least. The orcs and Falmer were mutated into their current form. I'm not sure why the dwemer/dwarves look so different from the Altmer, Bosmer and Dunmer though...

There's also the Chimer (Dunmer before they were cursed by Azura) and the Snow Elves - both look very different from the others.

I still really want to see a game set in Akavir.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 25 Mar 2014, 17:52
Spoilered in case people didn't know about the Snow Elves.
(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 25 Mar 2014, 19:43
Yeah... pretty much all the non-human, non-beastpeople races in Elder Scrolls seemed to have started out as elves, at least. The orcs and Falmer were mutated into their current form. I'm not sure why the dwemer/dwarves look so different from the Altmer, Bosmer and Dunmer though...

There's also the Chimer (Dunmer before they were cursed by Azura) and the Snow Elves - both look very different from the others.

I still really want to see a game set in Akavir.

YES. Though I'd admit, Elswhyr or Black Marsh would be cool too.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 26 Mar 2014, 20:10

I recognized the character and the movie you showed... I was just trying to forget that horrible thing...

I'm just saying, those elves saved the *white* man from the door of death.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: snalin on 27 Mar 2014, 03:14
I thought D&D was a great movie!

I was 8 or 9 at the time, so...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 27 Mar 2014, 16:30
Have you seen it since? I thought Captain EO was a great movie when I was 8, too.

Back on the subject of Elder Scrolls Elves, there's also the Bretons, which - if I'm reading this right - are half Nord and half Aldmer.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Blyss on 15 Jun 2014, 20:46
So, I ran into something I hadn't in any other playthroughs (which seems to be a repeating theme) at the lighthouse in the north.  If you know the one I mean, then you know what I found.

It got me thinking.  That scenario could have literally been a game, by itself.  It could stand alone with no problem whatsoever.  But it's just a FRACTION of Skyrim.  This game just continues to amaze me, even after a couple of years.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 18 Jun 2014, 10:19
Have you seen it since? I thought Captain EO was a great movie when I was 8, too.

Back on the subject of Elder Scrolls Elves, there's also the Bretons, which - if I'm reading this right - are half Nord and half Aldmer.

Not quite, in one source they're Nedic/Aldmeri, while others put them as Atmoran/Aldmeri. The difference is that the Nedes were the descendants of the Atmorans, while the Imperials are the descendants of the Nedes. The Nords are the descendants of the Atmorans after they settled in Tamriel.
But the Bretons aren't half Human, half Mer, the elven part of their bloodline has become diluted over the generations, to such an extent that they pretty much lumped in as Human.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: explicit on 22 Jan 2016, 23:03
Anyone still playing? I started a new play with a thief build, but got bored 30 hours in (how many games can you say that for?) and have started a mage build.

Getting 100 sneak may be the easiest thing to get 100 in.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 23 Jan 2016, 07:06
I started up a new game a week ago. Redguard sword and board mercenary. I haven't had much of a chance to play yet though because of work. I've only gone as far as Bleak Falls Barrow. I'm kinda thinking of ignoring the main quest to fit with the mercenary concept... Just wander from town to town killing bandits and monsters or whatever they will hire me for and more or less just stumble on major plot points? What's that? Dragonborn? Sounds like Nord superstition to me.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Stryc9Fuego on 25 Jan 2016, 16:05
The funny thing is that the Dragonborn, when you get right down to it, IS a Mercenary. Every thing you do, you do for some form of reward.

Are there ANY quests that don't have any form of reward (aside from loot and experience in the dungeon itself)? I don't think there are...
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 25 Jan 2016, 16:18
Yeah, but I meant in a less meta sense. Basically I was thinking of ignoring the main quest line after meeting with the Greybeards, and staying out of the whole Imperial/Stormcloak war as much as possible. Nearly being excited because she got stuck in the middle of that kinda putting her off wanting to sign up. Just wandering from hold to hold, doing the little stuff and slaying the odd dragon, exploring dungeons as I go.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: explicit on 25 Jan 2016, 18:57
40 hours in - have not met the greybeards :D
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 25 Jan 2016, 19:12
It was my understanding that random dragons didn't start spawning until you do? Which would make it kind of hard to learn new shouts. Besides, RO DA is awesome.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: explicit on 25 Jan 2016, 20:59
No, dragons appear after get attacked by the first one.

At least, in any case, I've always at least done the dragonstone quest.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 26 Jan 2016, 15:43
Dragons definitely can start appearing before you meet the Greybeards, but I've never figured out exactly what triggers it.

It certainly seems to be *rarer* before you make the climb, though. That might just be RNG, though.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: maxusy3k on 26 Jan 2016, 21:34
Dragons appear any time after you fight the first one (after the Dragonstone quest), as explicit said.

They start to become more frequent the further you get in the main quest.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: ChaoSera on 27 Jan 2016, 03:59
I have never managed to finish Skyrim's Main Quest (or any Elder Scrolls' Main Quest, for that matter). I always get distracted by side quests and eventually lose motivation.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: de_la_Nae on 27 Jan 2016, 04:46
Dragons appear any time after you fight the first one (after the Dragonstone quest), as explicit said.

They start to become more frequent the further you get in the main quest.
'
I have the BEST reading comprehension some days. Thanks
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: Neko_Ali on 27 Jan 2016, 07:45
I'm pretty much the same. I never finished Oblivion, Skyrim or Fallout New Vegas (Still working on Fallout 4, so no counting that.) I never could get very far in Morrowwind. I want to play it, but the outdated graphics quickly turn me off. I'm not graphics snob but I have my limits.

My biggest problem with finishing these big, 60+ hour games is to many distractions, and to much 'sameness'. You spend to much time basically doing the same stuff.. falling into a routine of fighting the same way, vs similar enemies over and over. Then another game or project comes along and distracts me, and when I return I start a new character, or I decide I want to try a new way of playing and start a new character...

Though in fairness, the reason why I've never completed the Fallout New Vegas main quest is once I get my revenge on Benny, I just can't care about who takes over the place, or find interest in dealing with all of the people involved. All of the factions are screwed up one way or another, and I don't want to take over myself. So... I just go do side quests and DLC missions.
Title: Re: Elder Scrolls V
Post by: TheEvilDog on 28 Jan 2016, 15:38
To be fair, I do try and complete Bethesda games (finished Morrowind, as well as Fallout 3, New Vegas and Skyrim. Never even got through the first dungeon in Oblivion because of ALL! THE! POTATO! FACES!)

Skyrim-wise, I've been using the Ordinator Perk Overhaul mod to change the game. While SPERG was a simple enough overhaul that did reduce the damage done by weapons (for example, instead of 5 perks giving you 100% extra damage, you got 2 perks allowing for 40% extra), but a mix of mods and you were basically a god by level 20. Ordinator forces you to focus on a couple of skills and even then only a couple of branches of each skill tree.

I've been using a couple of different builds, with some varying success.
Nord Warlord build (Heavy armour, Block, One Handed (swords), Two Handed (greatswords), Archery and using the Elemental Fury and Fire Breath shouts, using a 70:30 split for Health and Stamina). And he is an absolute combat monster, just destroys enemies without taking much damage.

Vampire Necromancer (Alteration, Destruction, Conjuration, One Handed (daggers), Marked For Death and Slow Time shouts and an even mix of Health, Stamina and Magicka. Mixed bag, she's great at short burst damage but even with high Alteration, she's also a glass cannon.

Altmer Glass Paladin (Light Armour, Archery, Two Handed (greatsword), Restoration with Elemental Fury and Become Ethereal Shouts, 20:50:30 mix of Magicka, Health and Stamina. Definitely a glass cannon. Utterly devastating against Vampires and Undead, but against living enemies, she really does have a hard time.

Still, overall they're fun.