Skyrim - Sneak Peak @ E3

[Tragos]

You can't go wrong with skyrim, even if it takes a few months more after launch

you mean Beth isn't making a game but a gaming platform for people to add content...

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

you mean Beth isn't making a game but a gaming platform for people to add content…

Well, as much as I criticise Oblivion, one can't really blame them to not have delivered a playable game. But its true, that on the PC at least, that tinkertoy called TES Construction Cet is for quite a few people the greatest part of the package, and both players and Bethsoft profit enormously from that. I wish I still had time to mod myself. Had so much fun in the MW days.

 

[DArtagnan]

Considering that mods aren't possible on consoles, I think one can easily blame them for an unplayable game.

However, I don't think Oblivion was unplayable by any means. It just wasn't a very interesting game in terms of mechanics.

I spent at least a week being immersed in that world - until I realised how hollow the actual gameplay really was. But what a week

They're really good at the immersion aspect and freeform structure. Here's hoping they've learned a thing or two about mechanics from Fallout.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

Considering that mods aren't possible on consoles, I think one can easily blame them for an unplayable game.

Is there a "not" missing here, or am I simply missing what you are trying to say?

My experience with Oblivion was similar. I had a good time and finished it, but it just never developed the magic that DF and MW had, and the dearth and shallowness of lore and some really outrageous handholding are mostly to blame in my case, I don't mind the mechanics so much actually.

 

[DArtagnan]

Is there a "not" missing here, or am I simply missing what you are trying to say?

My experience with Oblivion was similar. I had a good time and finished it, but it just never developed the magic that DF and MW had, and the dearth and shallowness of lore and some really outrageous handholding are mostly to blame in my case, I don't mind the mechanics so much actually.

I think I misunderstood your original point

Re-reading it, I can see you really meant that they made a playable game - and not that you couldn't blame them for the (in that case) NOT playable game

 

[Khalus]

I'm ecstatic for Skyrim, but knowing Bethesda and most their past games, it usually takes a few months for the modding community to fix, make better and add all the little things the devs just don't seem to think we PC gamers want most. {or they just don't bother with it, cause they know all of that will be cleaned up for free from the modders....heh} I'll still own it day one and fool around with it, but I'm not going to worry about defeating the main story for awhile.

Back when Oblivion released my PC sucked so bad that the main cinematic with the king in the beginning was tearing and the game itself was barely pulling 5fps even on the lowest of the low settings. Had to end up using Oldblivion to finally be able to play, and all I ever did was play through just the main story, with very little exploration. When you have a wall of grey blocking your view only 20ft from your char cause your PC couldn't handle a further draw distance it was not very fun. {I did revisit it a few years later and had a grand time}

Anyway, since then I've become quite the enthusiast, custom PC builder, and I now have a PC that has cost me nearly $3700, which I built last fall for FFXIV primarily, but that ended up sucking...lol Last part that I've been holding out on is a new GPU to finish the build, and I've thought about waiting on Kepler, but those will be really expensive and may not arrive until Spring 2012. I recently learned that there are new HD classified vers. of both the EVGA GTX 570 and 580 releasing in the next few months, so I'm saving to get one of them instead. {my current GPU is the EVGA GTX 275, which is still a pretty damn good card for its age!}

 

[Dez]

I'm sure to pick this up. Benthesa is one the last remaining devs who make these sort of open gameworld rpgs and i wish to support this direction. I want games to remain as games and not turn into wannabe films where gameplay is spoonfed to player.

Skyrim shows tons of promise and it looks like a fun game to play. I've tried not to follow too much hype, but I've to admit that the these videos look stunning. Still its too early to draw any conclusions about gameplay, but the feel is good. I keep my fingers crossed that they've listened to oblivion criticism carefelly.

 

[joxer]

Although I didn't "feel" Oblivion and will always tell that Morrowind was 100 times better, Bethesda skipped the strategy "making the game stupidity friendy" like Bioware seems to be doing.

That's why Skyrim will definetly be a part of my games collection.

 

[Khalus]

Bethesda skipped the strategy "making the game stupidity friendy" like Bioware seems to be doing.

Absolutely one of the primary reasons I love the Elder Scrolls series. There is no hand holding, highlighted objects, or glowing trails everywhere telling you exactly what to do, what you can interact with and where to go.

I mean sure the NPCs do kinda tell you where ya need to be to advance the storyline, but getting there is on your own, by foot/horse the first time, can be quite dangerous, and at least for me, can take me days or weeks to get there because of all the "oh cool what is that, or look a cave" along the way. Many times I've ended up going the opposite direction or being so entranced in exploring, I've ended up on the other side of the map before I realized it.

 

[JDR13]

Absolutely one of the primary reasons I love the Elder Scrolls series. There is no hand holding, highlighted objects, or glowing trails everywhere telling you exactly what to do, what you can interact with and where to go.

Huh? Are you sure you've played Oblivion?

If a compass and quest markers telling you *exactly* where to go isn't hand-holding, I don't know what is.

 

[Moriendor]

This is looking really promising. I hope they get the dual wielding/casting right. Otherwise it might quite easily turn into a level scaling 2 debacle. I'm also a bit anxious about the free roaming dragons. It has potential to either become one of the coolest features ever or the exact opposite.
Other than that it looks like they are creating a kind of fantasy sim for "real" role-playing again. Want to just hang out there in the wild and trot along with some mammoths? Here you go. Have at it!
It looks like people who are expecting nonstop action or a guided experience (in terms of story and quests) will once again be disappointed but those of us who just enjoy immersing themselves into a massive world and slipping into the role of their character to literally play our role in that large world might be in for a real treat with Skyrim.

Leaves me with just one question: Will there be a CE and when can we pre-order? OK, that was two questions .

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

I remember being really offended by the Pale Pass quest. It sounded nice in the beginning, following the map and diary notes to the lost entrance to the pass. Instead, you were greated by a giant popup at every "node" of the path telling you where to go next. Ack!

 

[skavenhorde]

It's a very pretty game. I knew it would be even before this "sneak peak". I'm reserving judgement until they actually talk about the gameplay and skills. I want to see how many skills they put on the chopping block this time. God forbid they actually add any

I will admit that I am interested in seeing what they have done with the level scaling. I remember reading something about how it's been improved.

 

[crpgnut]

One of the nice things about Skyrim, is that it's keeping the nif format and many other features that will allow quick conversion of scripts. I imagine BOSS, WyreBash, OBMM, etc will be converted within a couple weeks of release. One of the new problems to deal with is the various versions of games.

Steam was a great help last time in helping the community get steam-compatible versions of the various mods up and running. I'll buy a CE and a Steam copy for sure.

I'm hoping for a little less hand-holding this time too. It really depends on the feedback from the console players though. Bethesda listens to them more closely because they get more sales from that group. I don't believe it is 90% as Toddles claimed, but it's more than 50-50 for sure. Damn pirates.

 

[Khalus]

Huh? Are you sure you've played Oblivion?

If a compass and quest markers telling you *exactly* where to go isn't hand-holding, I don't know what is.

Yeah, but with a mod that turns those off, there is no hand holding then… There are no mods in the Dragon Age series that I've found to turn that crap off!

 

[jhwisner]

I don't believe it is 90% as Toddles claimed, but it's more than 50-50 for sure. Damn pirates.

Steam really does not like to release those sales figures - neither do most online distributors. The only game where you can really even come close to guessing is Fallout New Vegas because Bethesda made an announcement regarding steam sales. That plus PC retail sales lets you estimate roughly 1.5 million PC copies sold. Compared to 2.5 million Xbox360 and 1.7 million PS3 copies and that gets you somewhere around 26%.

Of course any suggestion that this is in some way accurate or representative is a bit of a stretch. What it does suggest is that they're probably not just saying that the PC is the single smallest market for the enjoyment of annoying us PC gamers out there.

At the same time it suggests that the platform MIGHT deserve at least as much attention as the PS3 - god help us all if they ignore the PC version that much.

 

[DeepO]

Yeah, but with a mod that turns those off, there is no hand holding then…

But then you´re often screwed because the game usually doesn´t offer enough information on directions in some other manner.

There are no mods in the Dragon Age series that I've found to turn that crap off!

At least in the case of DA:O, that´s probably because you can turn the crap off in the game´s options.

 

[Khalus]

But then you´re often screwed because the game usually doesn´t offer enough information on directions in some other manner.

Thats where all the fun is though, and increasing the longevity of the product for many many months if not years. Eventually you'll just stumble upon the next part, as if it were just another quest at first....I love it!

 

[crpgnut]

I like the idea of being led to many quests by NPCs. If someone led you out of town, pointed at a path and said something like, "Take this path and follow the left fork and you'll soon reach the dungeon.", that'd be cool. I'd be fine with well-known dungeons being on your map, but everything else should require getting directions from nearby towns or villages.

I also love dungeons within dungeons. Following an abandoned sewer leads to ancient ruins or a bandit's hideout, etc.

 

[DeepO]

Thats where all the fun is though, and increasing the longevity of the product for many many months if not years. Eventually you'll just stumble upon the next part, as if it were just another quest at first….I love it!

Your concept of fun is in this regard very different from mine then.