Skyrim - GameInformer Summaries

Dhruin

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A number of readers are sending us magazine scans for the GameInformer Skyrim article, which unfortunately we can't link - thanks for taking the time to submit, however. What we can use is summaries that don't directly rip content straight from the magazine. With that in mind, Formerly Scrawl and The Escapist have articles that summarise content from sources such as the NeoGAF and Bethsoft forums. We can't be sure the detail is completely accurate but here's a sample:
Quests, like combat, also boast a more dynamic feel. You’ll be assigned quests depending on how you develop your character. For example: a frequent magic user may be approached by another mage and assign you a quest. Had you been a frequent melee fighter, the mage would not have approached you.
To better suit the player, quests will be modified depending on what you’ve done (see level scaling above, or the following example). An example: you must rescue a girl from a certain location. This location will be in an area you’ve yet to visit with enemies that are of or near your level in order to have the player visit a new location and be combatant with challenging enemies.
Also of note: in Oblivion, if you dropped an item, it would stay there forever. Depending on where you drop items in Skyrim, different events could happen. Another example: if you drop a dagger in a town, a young boy might pick it up and find you to return. Or in a different situation: a group of men could find it and fight over who gets to keep it.
Thanks, jhwisner and others who wrote in with scan links.
More information.
 
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Damn. Those Game Informer scans are a big letdown. It looks like generic Oblivion, but better rendered. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more creative…
 
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http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/01/10/video-behind-the-scenes-of-skyrim.aspx

Looks like a nice working environment.

I'm pretty envious of the food!

Thanks for posting that, it was interesting even though it really didn't add much new info about Skyrim, it does show what it's like for the people producing it.

I like what I'm seeing so far, looks like they're working on some of the major complaints. Unlike some people here, I don't really want it to be a lot different. I liked Oblivion as well as FO3 etc.. and I want more, not different. If I wanted different, I'd buy something else.
 
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I had no idea how nice of a studio Bethesda is. Seems like it would be a great place to work.

The information revealed so far sounds promising. I'm still curious about things not yet discussed, such as; will the interiors and cities be in different cells from the outside world (hope not), will the world have a much more hand-crafted feel to it (hand placement of non-random loot for example), will the PC UI be tailored for PCs, and what advances, if any, have been made with 'radiant ai?'
 
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390 lbs. elephant in the room: "So.. umm... if the Septim line is no more then shouldn't Oblivion gates be opening all over the place again?"
 
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Ooo this all sounds so good.

One thing, tho, that's not on the list (nor is likely to be) that would make me have to have Skyrim is...co-op.

Some day they'll let me and a few friends adventure together. Alas, not this day. Here's to hoping in another 4 years they will...
 
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LOL video , instant BSOD in old pc

lol'ed to that one too :D

Too bad the scans that exists are so low quality, would love to see the graphics in better detail.. At least the faces looks good this time around ;)
 
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Well, I suppose I've mellowed out a bit - as I don't expect miracles from the franchise like I used to.

I'm sure this will be a decent, and at least visually spectacular, mainstream CRPG.

I've sort of accepted that it will never be what I would wish, and taken it to heart. So I can probably appreciate it more this time around.

The only thing I don't really like is the area itself. Don't get me wrong, I love me some snowy mountains and what not - but it seems to me that's pretty much all there is at Skyrim. I had the same problem with Morrowind - which was largely grey/brown and the ashlands. I crave variety, and I prefer lush, vibrant areas if they have to limit themselves to these regions.

But, maybe they'll surprise me. I just think it goes against the "epic" nature of the TES series to focus on single regions - but I guess that's what they're about now.
 
I wonder if Orcs can have beards too :)
Skyrim is not only snowy mountains, there are fertile (not arid) low-lands (not sure if this is really an english word…) and on the scans we can see some woods and green meadows too.
 
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I wonde if Orcs can have beards too :)
Skyrim is not only snowy mountains, there are arid low-lands (not sure if this is really an english word…) and on the scans we can see some woods and green meadows too.

Sounds good, then :)

I'm not too familiar with the regional environments. I just assumed it'd be more or less all snow - based on what little I've heard of it throughout TES lore.
 
I am skeptical regarding the AI changes, especially regarding emergent behaviour. I wouldn't be surprised if Bethesda got rid of some features after seeing how player actions could lead to NPC deaths. The casual gamer might get confused, and it's the casual gamer they are after.

Also, more skills were removed. We will see how that works.

I am still certain this will be a good game.
 
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I am skeptical regarding the AI changes, especially regarding emergent behaviour. I wouldn't be surprised if Bethesda got rid of some features after seeing how player actions could lead to NPC deaths. The casual gamer might get confused, and it's the casual gamer they are after.

Also, more skills were removed. We will see how that works.

I am still certain this will be a good game.

Oh dear, they're talking about emergent behaviour? I think you're right, they'll probably can that. I recall all the hype around Radiant AI…I wonder if the hype around Skyrim is going to be the same of more than Oblivion on the Hype'o'meter?
 
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Radiant AI certainly had some goofs, but it also managed to do some stuff quite well, and on a scale that precluded manual coding.

I saw an article that talked about them evolving it - it's radiant story now or something like that.
 
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The information revealed so far sounds promising. I'm still curious about things not yet discussed, such as; will the interiors and cities be in different cells from the outside world (hope not), will the world have a much more hand-crafted feel to it (hand placement of non-random loot for example), will the PC UI be tailored for PCs, and what advances, if any, have been made with 'radiant ai?'

The GI mag said there was unique dungeons, so I suspect this mean hand-placed loot.

As for the AI, seems like they fixed behaviors. There was an example in the mag of what happen when you drop a sword in the street, sound eerily similar to Oblivion Radiant AI hype, but they had 5 years to work on it, so it might be accurate this time.

390 lbs. elephant in the room: "So.. umm… if the Septim line is no more then shouldn't Oblivion gates be opening all over the place again?"

The ending of Oblivion prevented that from ever happening again…or at least that's what the game said and it is confirmed in the novel The Infernal City: Nirn is sealed from the Oblivion realms.
 
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