The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (1 Viewer)

[Ralphie_B]

Keep it up and enjoy the heck out of it... then prepare for even more enjoyment with New Vegas! I think I finally put down F03 (w/ Broken Steel expansion) after about 3 characters/play-throughs, and probably well over 200 hours.
Got New Vegas for Christmas, but didn't actually open it up till a couple months back... am up to probably 100-ish hours, with my first character. I "cheated" a bit by doing tons of sidequests and leveling prior to the main quest, which enabled me to then use the same character to pretty quickly explore all 4 main faction endings. Looking forward to starting a new character, and playing on hardcore mode...

 

[Radioman970]

Hey thanks, I will. It looks better than NWN2, but I feel obligated to get my money's worth out of NWN2...

I think I'm on my 3rd character but the other 2 I didn't play a whole lot. This one I have... but I'm a slow player. I don't even use quick travel. Gets tiring going back and forth sometimes...but that's life after the war!

NV has about 25 minutes before it's installed on steam. Gonna give it a spin to make sure it works. 5 or 10 minutes. Heh, yeah right! But I will put it off until I've played FO3 more fully.

 

[Don Giro]

My only real issue with Skyrim is that Bethesda ALWAYS releases Elder Scrolls games right around the time my PC is no longer up to the task of running the game at highest graphics...I SO wanted to use season-changing mods and more beautiful landscapes available on the 'net. Of course, none of that hampered the 200+ hours I put into Oblivion...and mostly ignoring the main quest to the point that I don't even remember what the quest WAS!

Most of my fun with RPGs is the sense of discovery. It's all about exploration. The fact that I get to kill things is a bonus. I had no problem with Oblivion's leveling system, in fact, I liked it a lot. I never stood in place jumping up and down to enhance a certain skill, it just came over time.

Also, I liked that the baddies I encountered didn't increase in attributes as the game progressed. I found it immensely satisfying to have a target run away from me out of fright because I had grown more powerful. Of course, they never really got the chance: my avatar was a female who became SO adept with stealth and proficiency with her bow that she was all but invisible (she had a ring of invisibility, too, but I didn't let her wear it because I didn't like the way it made her arms disappear on the screen). One shot was all it took to take out even the most fearsome baddies...they NEVER saw her coming and were hit the floor long before they even realized an arrow had just mortally wounded them. I realize that most of you would find that a very boring way to play, but for me it was nirvana. I just saw her as a medieval Batman. I imagined minions running to their leader and saying "she is HERE..." in a fit of panic. I would have her walk up to her victim, imagining it was in the throes of death. and telling it to mention her name when it got to hell, before yanking the arrow from its neck for reuse...

 

[Radioman970]

^ that's why I play them too, discovery.

Sometimes you just have to run the thing at lower settings for your first playthrough. that's what I do. Then when you upgrade later you can give an all new spin with all the mods loaded it, now graphic textures, etc and it'll seem like a whole new game.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I's been a long time since I've played Oblivion, so I don't remember too well. Ken wrote "everyone rises with you" and Don wrote "the baddies I encountered didn't increase in attributes as the game progressed." Which is it?

 

[joshEH]

My only real issue with Skyrim is that Bethesda ALWAYS releases Elder Scrolls games right around the time my PC is no longer up to the task of running the game at highest graphics...I SO wanted to use season-changing mods and more beautiful landscapes available on the 'net. Of course, none of that hampered the 200+ hours I put into Oblivion...and mostly ignoring the main quest to the point that I don't even remember what the quest WAS!

Yeah, I have so little time to play any more that I typically pick up the Xbox 360 version right at launch, then a couple years later, I'll pick up the PC version, and install some mods. That said, as far as mods are concerned, I usually don't go for anything massively game-altering -- typically texture-packs, loot-distribution, some landscape adjustments, and the like. I hate changing the game too far from the developers' original intent.

I's been a long time since I've played Oblivion, so I don't remember too well. Ken wrote "everyone rises with you" and Don wrote "the baddies I encountered didn't increase in attributes as the game progressed." Which is it?

Technically, the enemy classes you encounter don't rise in level, but the enemy types that you encounter do. So, what this means is, at the beginning of the game you'll run into wolves in a certain region, but once you hit Level 20 or 25, they'll be automatically replaced by bears or Minotaurs, for example. Also, the bandits you encounter will suddenly start wearing stuff like enchanted glass armor and carrying ebony hammers, but won't demand anything more than a few paltry gold from your now-likewise-incredibly-wealthy character.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Ah, interesting. Thanks for clearing that up.
I envy you guys who have time to play through a game TWICE.

 

[Sam Posten]

Yeahhhhh.... No.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050SYNYQ/?tag=amazon0b53-20
$150? Not a chance. I bit on the CE for TOR but I can't see me doing that for ANY other game for a long long time.

 

[Radioman970]

$150!
Nope. I'll be waiting until the game is $40 or less.

 

[Sam Posten]

Booya, Steamworks confirmed!
https://twitter.com/#!/ElderScrolls/status/103844894413557760

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by Sam Posten /t/306737/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim#post_3841973
Booya, Steamworks confirmed!
https://twitter.com/#!/ElderScrolls/status/103844894413557760

I'm not sure what that means ha ha.

I'm getting excited for this, I might book time off work to really dig in to it. Depsite my fear at thinking I'm screwing up all the missions since I tend to wander around aimlessly as much as actually doing quests!

 

[Sam Posten]

I don't buy physical disks any more. If something isn't on Steam, GOG, or sometimes Impulse/D2D/Amazon digital I don't buy it.
But Steam is by far my platform of choice.
BUT, Steam preorders are rarely discounted.
Steamworks games come in a physical box but register and get tied to your Steam Account. You can type the key in and never touch the disks. Sometimes these physical boxes come with pre-order gifts (physical or DLC) and are often discounted (or include discounts for future purchases) when you buy on Amazon.
It's the best of both worlds, get the best price, some tchochkes and register on steam and never install from disk.

 

[Ruz-El]

Ah I see! I have heard of Steam, I should of realized what you were talking about ha ha. I never play on a PC, so I'll buy the disc for my PS3 and hope that when DLC comes out I'll get a discount through the PS+ program. I usually wait on games like this for the inevitable re-release with all the dlc in one pack, but I can't wait on this one and if I'm honest with myself, I'll be lucky to finish the main game, forget about the extra DLC ha ha. So I'm alright paying the full price for the regular edition.

That said, I picked up Borderlands with all it's DC on a PSN sale for $15 a couple weeks ago. Good fun, and a great deal for the game. It's no Elder Scrolls, but it's a good time playing 2 player co-op split screen with a friend and beers

 

[Ruz-El]

Just read this article on Skyrim. The games sounding insanely deep. Collecting ore to hammer into ingots to make armor with? Catching a fish, cooking it at camp to get more benefit from it? I'm getting scared! I'm having horror flashbacks to collecting a bunch of roots in Oblivion and wasting them, not realizing I'd need them on a quest later and having to collect hundreds of them!!

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/119/1191763p1.html

Can't wait for this to come out. I've fully geeked out and booked time off work. Can't travel over seas this year, this will be the replacement.

 

[Radioman970]

Arx Fatalis had all that cooking stuff. I quite liked that. Cooking food made it heal you better. Personally, I'd like RPGs to adopt food/drink like they should. it would add to the immersion if you had to rush out of the forest and find a pub. Add to that, sleep! basic needs. I never knew why that has been so limited. go a whole game week without food or water? Just weird.
My first sort of role player (hack and slash really) was Dungeon Master on my Amiga. And I remember despirately back tracking to find food and water, having to draw maps so I could get back. RPGs today do al lthat for you. I hate that! A truly deep RPG would make me drop all these I've been playing or plan to play.

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm ok with the new games mapping themselves, I don't miss the reams of graph paper I used to have to use on some of the old apple IIE text and role players ha ha.

I like the idea too, though I wonder if it will get overwhelming? That was my problem with Grand Theft Auto 4. I got so side tracked trying to maintain all thiose friendships that I was spending more time playing pool then doing the actual missions. :S

 

[Radioman970]

The more real the better for me. I also like very tough combat where I have to keep coming back and trying new things. Mowing down enemies in a shooter like Painkiller or Darksiders is great fun but with an RPG I really want to work for it. Oblivion and Fallout are amazing/fun but both got way to easy after a short while. I believe in working up to better weapons. I'd love to have to sneak around the game world just to stay alive...find a new route to somewhere instead of taking the obvious since I'll be taken out by some advanced creatures or a pack of lesser ones.
I do follow you on things getting hard to keep up with. Better journal/etc systems are a must. The old game Ultima Underworld had a map you could type messages to yourself on. I miss that too. An in game tab of writing paper would be amazing...

 

[Ralphie_B]

Have you played FO:New Vegas on hardcore mode yet? I started a game, then got sidetracked, but it seems like it'll add some depth for a new play-through. Adds in food/water/sleep needs and changes healing mechanics a little bit, which presumably will make combat a bit riskier. Looking forward to digging into it once I clear a few other things off my plate. My character is going to focus more on survival skills, so the cooking/crafting aspect should be accentuated too.
(Getting back on-topic, I have to wonder if the success of this in FO:NV contributed to implementing similar things in Skyrim.)

 

[Jeff Cooper]

Originally Posted by Russell G /t/306737/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim/30#post_3845800
I'm ok with the new games mapping themselves, I don't miss the reams of graph paper I used to have to use on some of the old apple IIE text and role players ha ha.

You are in a cave. A hollow voice says 'PLUGH'.

 

[Radioman970]

My first text was Adventure (I think it was called) for Vic-20 on a big cartridge. Loved that game!
Another trend of recent RPGs I don't like is how you're led everywhere thanks to the miracle compass that shows you every single thing to lead you around. Elder Scrolls is especially bad. I really hope I can turn that off almost completely (just direction). Imagine having to find the place for real, having to ask around, look for land marks, ... I really want that in an experience but I think developers are too chicken to produce something like that or the bigwigs won't let them. ... a shame... . at the very least add it as an option. I don't think I ever found a MOD for Oblivion that quite allowed it. But I don't think there should be a MOD.