The Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim

[godhugh]

I just wondering what approach Bethesda will take to geography this time; will it be a much smaller area like Oblivion's or a full continent like Morrowind. Transporting to different locations on the continent in Morrowind captured my imagination much more than the series of towns and mountains surrounding a small lake featured in Oblivion. That said, I can't say I care for the World Map approach Bioware took with Ferelden in DA.

Technically, Oblivion covered a larger land mass than Morrowind. Take a look at the map above. Morrowind didn't cover even half of the Morrowind province, but was set only on the island. Oblivion on the other hand covered pretty much the entirety of Cyrodiil, the largest province in the Elder Scrolls world.

As an aside, Daggerfall covered only a minor part of the Hammerfell province, while Arena covered the entire world.

While I'll agree it did technically, it didn't really in terms of in-game area. I could transverse the area around the lake in Cyrodiil in a very short period of time -discounting horse travel- whereas it took a decent amount of time to cross Morrowind. That's what I didn't care for in Oblivion - that they took a large land mass and virtually distilled it down to a very small area. I'm sure that was done in Morrowind too, but the game world just seemed that much bigger.

Actually, technically, Oblivion is much larger then Morrowind. Morrowind seems larger due to the more limited travel paths and heavy fog that obscured the LOD. If you walked in a perfectly straight line from one end of the map to the other it would take you much longer in Oblivion then Morrowind.

[metallicorphan]

I honestly didn't think Fallout 3 was much better than Oblivion when it came to voiceovers.

really?...in Oblivion apart from the famous people,they used what seemed like a total of 5 other voices for all the NPCs,the Fallout 3 voices no one seemed to share the same voice

[TiLT]

I honestly didn't think Fallout 3 was much better than Oblivion when it came to voiceovers.

really?...in Oblivion apart from the famous people,they used what seemed like a total of 5 other voices for all the NPCs,the Fallout 3 voices no one seemed to share the same voice

Oh come on, it was the same few people all the time. For example, IIRC they only used one voice actor for all the old men in the game.

A different example: In Fallout New Vegas, try visiting the army base in the southwest. Every male character there is the same voice actor.

[CeeKay]

besides, Fallout 3 was just Oblivion with guns 

[metallicorphan]

I honestly didn't think Fallout 3 was much better than Oblivion when it came to voiceovers.

really?...in Oblivion apart from the famous people,they used what seemed like a total of 5 other voices for all the NPCs,the Fallout 3 voices no one seemed to share the same voice

Oh come on, it was the same few people all the time. For example, IIRC they only used one voice actor for all the old men in the game.

A different example: In Fallout New Vegas, try visiting the army base in the southwest. Every male character there is the same voice actor.

well i mustn't of noticed as i did in Oblivion

IMDB listings for Fallout 3 have 35 people doing the voices(Included Famous people)..Oblivion have 15(Included famous people)

[CeeKay]

might as well throw those of you who don't venture into the PC forums a bone:

GameInformer breakdown on Neogaf.

[kathode]

Game Informer's been putting up some pretty cool video interviews with Skyrim developers.  The Mark Lampert sound interview is particularly great, and he plays some of the new theme from Jeremy Soule - http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/01/14/the-sounds-of-skyrim.aspx

[skystride]

Level scaling is coming back?  Why do they keep bringing it back?  I haven't heard a single person say they loves this feature.

[metallicorphan]

Level scaling is coming back?  Why do they keep bringing it back?  I haven't heard a single person say they loves this feature.

level scaling?...not entirely up on this(although i may very well of played many games with the feature),does this mean you wont be able to get past a certain level until you get past a certain point in the game/story?

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Level scaling is coming back?  Why do they keep bringing it back?  I haven't heard a single person say they loves this feature.

level scaling?...not entirely up on this(although i may very well of played many games with the feature),does this mean you wont be able to get past a certain level until you get past a certain point in the game/story?

No, it means that, in the broadest sense, mobs/quests will scale to your current level. For example, a wolf at level 1 will be just as hard as a wolf when you're level 10, because the difficulty of the encounter matches your current level.

[Razgon]

There's a rumour going around that they have the Dark Messiah team working on this, due to them being bought up by Bethesda. That should be interesting, since I kinda liked how the game felt in its gameplay.

[CeeKay]

There's a rumour going around that they have the Dark Messiah team working on this, due to them being bought up by Bethesda. That should be interesting, since I kinda liked how the game felt in its gameplay.

I always got a kick out of Dark Messiah.

[metallicorphan]

Level scaling is coming back?  Why do they keep bringing it back?  I haven't heard a single person say they loves this feature.

level scaling?...not entirely up on this(although i may very well of played many games with the feature),does this mean you wont be able to get past a certain level until you get past a certain point in the game/story?

No, it means that, in the broadest sense, mobs/quests will scale to your current level. For example, a wolf at level 1 will be just as hard as a wolf when you're level 10, because the difficulty of the encounter matches your current level.

ahh thanks i think FF8 was like that

[kathode]

Good info on how level scaling worked in Fallout 3, which sounds like what they're using at least as a base design for Skyrim.

http://www.thedragonborn.com/game-details/tes-v-skyrim-level-scaling-a-fallout-3-based-explanation/

[TiLT]

I'm mostly fine with the Fallout 3 level scaling system (though we're talking about my pain treshold here, not what I enjoy), but I can't stand the way that game spawns enemies based on your level wherever you are. Go back to the starting area in the late game and you'll find powerful enemies suddenly wandering the landscape there for no good reason. It makes it feel like the world revolves around you, and that's not a good thing in RPGs.

[kathode]

In Fallout 3, areas lock in their encounter levels once you visit them specifically so that doesn't happen. 

[TiLT]

I'm talking about outdoor areas. I know I've seen this happen.

[kathode]

It can happen, but the majority of areas, including outdoors, were covered by encounter zones that should lock down as I said.  Even locked down zones can still spawn surprises, but it wasn't like you go back to Vault 101 and it's surrounded by Supermutants and deathclaws.  That would've been the case with Oblivion   In any case, I think you'll see Bethesda continue to push on procedural methods of doing content in the future.  Hopefully the improvement between Oblivion and Fallout will be repeated with Skyrim.

[TiLT]

Well, I know better than to argue details of the Fallout 3 mechanics with you. I'm sure the game will work fine, as much as I'm sure I'm going to install a mod that reduces the level scaling at some point.

[CeeKay]

MO reacts to the teaser (nsfw) 

also, supposedly no dynamic difficulty.

[TiLT]

also, supposedly no dynamic difficulty.

Stop getting people's hopes up! He's saying one thing and thinking something else. There is dynamic difficulty, but it gets locked down once you visit a location. Most of us already knew this.

[metallicorphan]

MO reacts to the teaser (nsfw) 

LOL,not far off,but i have a red T-Shirt

[Nonnahob]

Pre-ordered my copy from Amazon today. I spent countless hours in Oblivion, can't wait to get this game!

[metallicorphan]

you must see this trailer at 2 minutes 54 seconds,it has just made me mess my pants all over again

shows Gameplay and Dragons and listen out for that Elder Scrolls music,now with full Choir

GameInformer


Looks fantastic


EDIT:Video isn't working for a few people on GI site,so here is the Youtube vid of it,just incase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSRtYpNRoN0&feature=player_embedded

[farley2k]

I am excited but cautious.   What propelled Oblivion was user mods so I am expecting this will make Skyrim great too but that is the kind of thing you don't see right away.  Plus now that Gavin Carter isn't with Bethesda we will have to see if they can produce as high of quality stuff. 

[kathode]

Plus now that Gavin Carter isn't with Bethesda we will have to see if they can produce as high of quality stuff. 

Clearly they will now be unblocked and able to achieve even more

[CeeKay]

It'll probably just be Fallout 3 with swords and spells.

[Andrew Mallon]

There's a rumour going around that they have the Dark Messiah team working on this, due to them being bought up by Bethesda. That should be interesting, since I kinda liked how the game felt in its gameplay.

I always got a kick out of Dark Messiah.

LOL

[Captain Caveman]

I just watched the trailer.

Hetzboner Unlocked!

[metallicorphan]

i asked one of the UK Inside Xbox guys on Twitter if the trailer was going to appear on the Xbox Marketplace,and he replied that it should be going up today...i can't wait to see/hear that baby on my TV

[mytocles]

From CeeKay's link:

Inheritence: When you kill a shopkeeper, his/her family member will inherit the shop and will be angry about you, but stil give you missions.

Thank gods... I hope it also includes something where you don't have to worry about the items you are trying to sell to the vendor.  In Morrowind, I could never remember which place I stole stuff from - and there were sometimes vendors who were mad at you for something you did to the guild or another vendor.  Of course, later, I'd go back in and find out I'd done something wrong, when all hell broke loose.

On skills:
Mysticism is gone.
18 skills, down from 21 on Oblivion, and 27 on Morrowind.

I'm ready to see fewer skills, and hopefully something less than a billion potion ingredients.  It seems like every RPG does that, some to such an extreme it's ridiculous.

I also would prefer the area 1, level 1, wolf to remain that, or at least a few levels below me, because otherwise, farming for crafting ingredients will be a pain.  I think I'll end up "okay" with it though; I'll do my normal thing of being extra strong, not just in level number, but also in weapons, armor, potions, enchanted rings (yay), and all that jazz.  Almost every game I play I need to do that anyway, plus it's always easier to kill an enemy after you've seen it lots of times, so I doubt it will be terrible.  If they have difficulty changing on-the-fly, I'll choose Easy for farming, and Normal for the rest.

November, sigh...   

[Kagath]

I just watched the trailer.

Hetzboner Unlocked!

Hmm, not sure that's an achievement I want to unlock. 

[metallicorphan]

This is a pretty interesting read,talks about how fans have always wanted two things for The Elder Scrolls,Dragons and Multiplayer(i don't want MP in my TES thank you!!)..and also mentions that fast travel will be back for Skyrim,but carriages are also a way of travelling.....I don't know why Bethesda don't bring back those Silt Striders that look like huge Fleas from Morrowind

Skyrim-why there is no multiplayer

[mytocles]

Interesting.  I was just reading up on "Rift" which happens to be an MMO, to see if it might be coming to the 360, and much of the discussion revolved around the idea that the Rift world was too big to work on a console.  I don't get that, because, for the most part, FFXI on the 360 worked fine. 

A quote from Metal's link had me scratching my head as well:

Oh, and you can forget horse armour - Howard revealed that Skyrim DLC will offer a unicorn for $100 and a levitation ability for $300.

He was joking.

Morrowind had levitation (after all, it's magic, shouldn't magic do whatever your skill allows you to do?)  And Oblivion had a unicorn, so why not?

11-11-11 can't come soon enough for me just the same. 

[metallicorphan]

Interesting.  I was just reading up on "Rift" which happens to be an MMO, to see if it might be coming to the 360, and much of the discussion revolved around the idea that the Rift world was too big to work on a console.  I don't get that, because, for the most part, FFXI on the 360 worked fine. 

A quote from Metal's link had me scratching my head as well:

Oh, and you can forget horse armour - Howard revealed that Skyrim DLC will offer a unicorn for $100 and a levitation ability for $300.

He was joking.

Morrowind had levitation (after all, it's magic, shouldn't magic do whatever your skill allows you to do?)  And Oblivion had a unicorn, so why not?

11-11-11 can't come soon enough for me just the same. 

i think its more to do with the prices than the actual items/things....as the Horse Armour was quite expensive for what it was and was Oblivions first DLC and met with a lot of complaints and they know that and are teasing here,the Horse Armour is still the only DLC i haven't got for Oblivion....now if they saw fit to take the price away.....

[mytocles]

i think its more to do with the prices than the actual items/things....as the Horse Armour was quite expensive for what it was and was Oblivions first DLC and met with a lot of complaints and they know that and are teasing here,the Horse Armour is still the only DLC i haven't got for Oblivion....now if they saw fit to take the price away.....

That was unusually dopey, even for me.  I didn't notice the $100 and $300 in that comment or I would've caught the joke... I think, dur. 

I never got the horse armor either, btw - that whole DLC and Avatar Store thing just annoys me all to hell.  I finally shelled out a few MS points to get a Boston Celtics jersey and a leprechaun prop for my Avatar (cheap and/ or on sale), but I think that is the only Avatar content I've ever bought.  As for DLC, I play the games I like to death, so that's usually more than enough. 

I also hate that guide books for this type of game are getting almost mandatory, but I strongly suspect that - despite all my outrage - I'll be IN! for All Things Skyrim.

Sheesh.

[metallicorphan]

i love guide books for a good RPG...the Morrowind guide book(thx Myto)is pretty damn brilliant,as is the Oblivion one,even though i didn't buy the GOTY Oblivion game as i already had all the DLC(apart from said Horse Armour)...however i DID buy the GOTY guide ......Shivering Isles was more an expansion than normal DLC,so there was a lot more in the guide

one day i will probably find and pickup the Fallout 3 GOTY guide....and no doubt a GOTY guide for Fallout New Vegas will be released when the GOTY edition of the game is released(or whatever they will call it)

[TiLT]

I also hate that guide books for this type of game are getting almost mandatory

Huh? Wh... HUH?

How did you come to that conclusion? My own experience with guide books is that they're next to useless. Reading them only spoils the experience. The only game I've played in recent years that almost demanded a guide was Demon's Souls, but that's part of the game's design.

[The Grue]

I also hate that guide books for this type of game are getting almost mandatory

Huh? Wh... HUH?

How did you come to that conclusion? My own experience with guide books is that they're next to useless. Reading them only spoils the experience. The only game I've played in recent years that almost demanded a guide was Demon's Souls, but that's part of the game's design.

+1, except for the Demon's Souls guide.  I never buy guides and never will as I like just experiencing everything naturally.  If there is some sidequest out there that I miss...well, I just miss it.  I'd rather just explore on my own and let the chips fall where they may.

[hepcat]

I also hate that guide books for this type of game are getting almost mandatory

Huh? Wh... HUH?

How did you come to that conclusion? My own experience with guide books is that they're next to useless. Reading them only spoils the experience. The only game I've played in recent years that almost demanded a guide was Demon's Souls, but that's part of the game's design.

+1, except for the Demon's Souls guide.  I never buy guides and never will as I like just experiencing everything naturally.  If there is some sidequest out there that I miss...well, I just miss it.  I'd rather just explore on my own and let the chips fall where they may.

+2  I bought a guide for Fallout when it came out and almost immediately stowed it away after reading the general info on character creation, combat, etc..  I don't read the script to a movie before watching it, so why on earth would I want to ruin a good game the same way?  If you get stuck, gamefaq.com.