Skyrim - Snippets @ SegmentNext

Zohain sends in a couple of Skyrim items from SegmentNext. The first is titled Creatures, AI, Races, Alchemy and NPCs and offers a short summary of known information. The second has some snippets of possibly new information taken from PC Games.de:

Recent preview of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in German Magazine PC Games revealed some obvious and some interesting tidbits. Skyrim will re-invent the way you go through the map by introducing 3D map in the inventory similar to Google Maps but you can’t add notes on the Skyrim World map.
Traders will respond to what has been harvested. So, if a cornfield in the city gets destroyed by fire, traders will run out of corn and the prices will shoot in response to supply and demand.

More information.

Supply and demand makes up (somewhat) for removing base attributes so I might get this game.

I can't really give a rat's arse about the price of corn. Instead of wasting hours trying to come up with a LARP-ish living economy they should try to for once have a balanced economy for the player that doesn't make money useless past lv10.

They haven't said yet whether the economy is screwed or not but maybe you should burn out their crops and cause them to starve to death in retribution if they do.

boo on no note taking on the map… that is such a useful feature for just about any CRPG.

Originally Posted by TheMadGamer
boo on no note taking on the map… that is such a useful feature for just about any CRPG.

Agreed, was annoyed when this wasn't in previous TES games, hopefully a mod will help out.

Skyrim will re-invent the way you go through the map by introducing 3D map in the inventory similar to Google Maps

Probably rather "stolen" from Drakensang, I expect … I don't have the magazine right now.

Originally Posted by KapitanUnterhosen
they should try to for once have a balanced economy for the player that doesn't make money useless past lv10.

Indeed, that would be very refreshing.

Originally Posted by KapitanUnterhosen
Instead of wasting hours trying to come up with a LARP-ish living economy they should try to for once have a balanced economy for the player that doesn't make money useless past lv10.

Wrong targets. The developpers answer the players' demand.

The players' demand emphasis is put on open gaming, not closed gaming. Level 10 or more (in a level 25~30 levels game) characters are established characters in their game world, characters for whom balancing budget against their 'daily expenditure' should no longer be an issue.

Money mattering request from the player to accept that a hunter has to hunt to be a hunter and make a living, thus engaging in regular activity. That is RP of course but incompatible with the demand of players for whom the label "hunter" is enough to claim RPing. The character is predefined as a hunter hence they RP a hunter, even though all game long, the character does not get involved in hunting. At this point, who cares?

Save by narrowing the characters population to characters who make a living out of the gameworld by questing only (professional questers), it is extremelly hard to get a balanced economy beyond level 10 as players demand money no longer matter beyond a certain level so they can be free to dedicate their characters to activities that is not the character's 'job'.

In the same vein, I am curious of knowing how they deal with the factions and whether or not, a character, member of a faction, has some regular duty to the faction to perform. Or if they only retain Oblivion's model with only promotion quests.

I see Skyrim as a tool box allowing players and modders interested in RP to mod a gameworld supporting RP. I certainly not expect Bethesda to deliver a RPG.

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
Probably rather "stolen" from Drakensang, I expect … I don't have the magazine right now.

Well other games had similar maps before Drakensang, so stolen would be too strong a word!

Okay, but I'm a fan !