Anticipating Skyrim

Originally Posted by Relayer
I was more excited about Skyrim early on. But the more video footage I see, the more it reminds me of Oblivion which is not a good thing. Graphically it looks good, but it doesn't look as improved as the first few images and videos on this latest footage. Or maybe it's just me. And the stiff movement in combat hasn't changed too much from Oblivion either, such as the way enemies attack.

Originally Posted by Madigan
First i'd like to say this is a matter of personal taste, I really don't have much anticipation for this game. After viewing over 200 screens, to me this looks like an updated Oblivion with some improvements on City and Ruins design but the general landscaping looks like the same rolling vistas found in Oblivion. I'm sure many like that particular layout but ive never been a fan of Gameworlds that in my perspective lack diversity.

I Guess i'm just Spoiled by PB games that create such great anticipation for whats around the next corner and i Felt DKS pulled this off pretty well too. I was really Hoping they would shoot for a more diverse world like they did in Morrowwind, but i guess that will have to remain a wish. I will definately buy and play Skyrim since i play just about any RPG that comes out (limited supply these days) but it's just not on my most anticipated list. After playing G1 every new Gothic game i salivated over until it's release and when word came out they were going to Make Risen the salivating continued. Currently i am chomping at the bit to get my hands on Risen 2 and am looking forward to KOA as well. Skyrim is third on my list.

If you truly hated Oblivion (I'm not only talking about the level scaling problem, but the core of the game), or if you were expecting some sort of God of War or DA2 style combat animations and hit detection, I would imagine you are probably not going to enjoy Skyrim.

Immediately after finishing Oblivion, the devs commenced the early stages of development of Skyrim's engine and made a laundry list of what they would like to improve, with Oblivion (not Morrowind) as the starting point.

Originally Posted by CountChocula
Immediately after finishing Oblivion, the devs commenced the early stages of development of Skyrim's engine and made a laundry list of what they would like to improve, with Oblivion (not Morrowind) as the starting point.

While this is plausible from the developer's point of view, it is still disappointing for me as a player…

I would have preferred, had they started from the Fallout 3 or better Fallout: New Vegas state of game techniques and filled that with the Elder Scrolls fantasy setting and lore (just dreaming).

I'll buy it even though I'm not liking what I'm seeing. I know somewhere down the line someone who loved Morrowind as much as me will add in Morrowind style combat and hopefully a few more skills as well as a better leveling system.

@JDR You're welcome. If you're looking for anything specific just let me know. I modded the heck out of it in about every category. Got a few really good quests recommendations as well. It truly is close to perfection now.

Skyrim has been rated ‘Mature’ in US. This is not really surprising but the following is,

“As players engage in melee-style combat, some sequences are highlighted by slow-motion effects, particularly for decapitations. Large blood-splatter effects also occur during combat, and some environments are stained with blood or body parts (e.g., heads impaled on spikes). Some sequences allow players to injure/kill nonadversary characters, including prisoners chained to a wall; they scream in pain amid splashes of blood or fire.

“As the game progresses, the dialogue and on-screen text contains references to sexual material (e.g., “. . . all the whores your heart, or any other organ, desires,” “She . . . raped the men as cruelly as Bal had ravished her,” and “Remember when you thought [he] was . . . intent on making you . . . into his personal sex slave?”).

“Alcohol such as wine, mead, and ale can be purchased and consumed by players’ character throughout the game; and in one sequence, players can engage in a drinking contest with another character, which eventually results in slurred speech

I wasn't expecting that kind of lines from TES games!

source,
http://theskyrimblog.com/?p=1449

Originally Posted by lostforever
Skyrim has been rated ‘Mature’ in US. This is not really surprising but the following is,



I wasn't expecting that kind of lines from TES games!

source,
http://theskyrimblog.com/?p=1449

In Morrowind a dramora tells you he's going to kill you and rape your dead body.

That is news to me!

I came across lot of raunchy stuff in books but never in dialogues etc in Morrowind or Oblivion.

For skyrim info,

1. By adjusting the opacity of the HUD display you can effectively ‘turn off’ your compass, cross-hair, or health, stamina, and magicka bars. So those who feel the HUD we’ve seen in the demos is a bit ‘in your face’ have a solution.
2. After you pick flowers, they are removed visually from the plant. Cool. That needed a mod in Oblivion
3. The much hated and derided Speechcraft mini-game from Oblivion has been replaced by a system of speech checks developed from that used in Fallout 3. That’s excellent news in my book. Keep in mind that the Speech skill will have a perk tree too!
4. You can’t just brew up potions whilst wandering through dungeons. Alchemy must be done at an alchemy lab or ‘station’ – probably more annoying, but also more realistic
5. Pete mentioned that his character was given a ‘Choose Your Adventure’ type book BY A CHILD in the game – so in addition to regular books, there would appear to be ‘interactive’ books in Skyrim
6. Although dual wielding requires to have the weapon in your right, you can have a weapon in your left hand - and presumably nothing in your right.
7. The third person finishing moves that appear randomly in the game can not be turned off

• - you can disable quest markers without disabling the HUD (I'm assuming on your compass)
• - you can hold a shield in your left hand and a spell in your right

source
http://theskyrimblog.com/?p=1468

I Like 3 and 4. Looking forward to see what they do with 5.

Originally Posted by lostforever
The third person finishing moves that appear randomly in the game can not be turned off

This irritates me. Why? It's easy enough to put in an option to turn it off. I really loathe finishing moves and believe it has no place in an RPG. This needs to be one of the first things that gets modded in my opinion.

Originally Posted by lostforever
[*]By adjusting the opacity of the HUD display you can effectively ‘turn off’ your compass, cross-hair, or health, stamina, and magicka bars. So those who feel the HUD we’ve seen in the demos is a bit ‘in your face’ have a solution.

That would be a lot better if you could choose to do it to individual icons, rather than just the entire HUD. Things like health and magicka bars are pretty much a necessity to most people.

Originally Posted by Motoki
This irritates me. Why? It's easy enough to put in an option to turn it off. I really loathe finishing moves and believe it has no place in an RPG. This needs to be one of the first things that gets modded in my opinion.

I guess you really don't like finishing moves eh?

It's not a big deal, imo. They had such things in The Witcher games and they fit in just fine. I do support the idea of having an option to toggle them on/off though.

I don't mind finishing moves if done right. I despise them if they "pause" the game for long, and especially if I can't skip them somehow.

I hated the Dragon Age over-the-top ones, for instance.

In the end, it all comes to down to how they do them. The slow-mo shit is something I hope can be disabled.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I don't mind finishing moves if done right. I despise them if they "pause" the game for long, and especially if I can't skip them somehow.

I hated the Dragon Age over-the-top ones, for instance.

In the end, it all comes to down to how they do them. The slow-mo shit is something I hope can be disabled.

Oh god the Dragon Age ones are probably a large part of why I loathe them so much. They made me want to murder someone

I can tolerate finishing moves if they are subtle and flow well with the gameplay and are used sparingly. I've watched some of the Skyrim videos and saw way too many finishes for random generic fights. Sorry but you don't need a fancy finishing move for a mudcrab.

What's worse is if you are fighting a crowd and finishing move fucks up your timing and positioning. Batman, anyone? NERD RAGE!

I know this topic has died down a bit, but this was the only relevant thread I found pertaining to my curiosities.

Have there been any graphical comparisons between the PC and the "flagship" 360 version yet? I still hold some hope that what Todd says is true (about the PC version appearing much prettier), although I'm still concerned about the console version being the lead SKU.

Originally Posted by Ragnaris
I know this topic has died down a bit, but this was the only relevant thread I found pertaining to my curiosities.

Have there been any graphical comparisons between the PC and the "flagship" 360 version yet? I still hold some hope that what Todd says is true (about the PC version appearing much prettier), although I'm still concerned about the console version being the lead SKU.

Yes, the Dec 2011 PC Gamer just had a big spread based on a review of the PC version running on an i7-980x with NVIDIA GTX 470 @ 1680x1050. Quite positive review and lots of comments about how much better the graphics looked compared to console, better UI, etc.

Also, the following PC screenshots have been released previously, both have been confirmed to be actual in-game screenshots:

PC Screen #1 (3580x1000)

PC screen #2 (1600x900)

Wonderful news, thank you. I'm running on an i7-2630QM processor, with 1900x1200 resolution, so I suppose it might be worth looking into the system specs as well. Supposedly they've been revealed, and, if true, then I barely meet the recommended requirements.

New Screenshots have surfaced.

Oh, very cool.

Originally Posted by Jaz
Oh, very cool.

Very cool indeed. I'm really looking forward to … to … what? Stop staring at me like that. I haven't done anything.

STOP IT!!!

Whaaaaaa … *runs away crying like a baby*

Hey, come back! I just wanted to play …!

ooh i like dragon armour.