Elder Scrolls Topic

Xathan · November 19, 2011, 09:56:21 AM

Not just implied - if you watch the calendar, it takes time off it, depending on how far you travel. Also, Skyrim's designers did a great jib making you not want to fast travel, because you see so much less dragons that way - its a good tool when you have only an hour to play, but I ignore it if I have more time.

beejazz · November 19, 2011, 12:28:31 PM

Also, they put flowers and butterflies along the road. So if you walk a lot, you get better at alchemy. I've got a bunch of 3 or 4 property ingredients so far. Though I wish there were faster ways to learn about the expensive ones, without wasting them on failed potions.

Mason · November 20, 2011, 10:12:54 AM

[spoiler=just in case]

I'm playing a nord that looks pretty much like Kratos from God of War. Red war paint, bald, scarred. I got the game last night and dropped about 8 hours into it. I'm playing PS3 version and have hit a ton of glitches. The game froze twice on me which has been mildly annoying. Textures often fail to load and I've seen NPCs just disappear from a room. My friend (who had the game at release) said it was far worse before the patch... glad I waited a bit.

I've only done one dungeon (barrow something or other) and killed the first dragon at White Run. Overall the game is incredibly immersive. No more bland npcs...the landscapes are freaking beautiful and detailed. (This is one of the few games I would pick up the concept art book for) I can remember running through oblivion totally skipping the dialogue, but in Skyrim I can actually bear to listen to 5 minutes of dialogue before a quest.

Is anyone else experiencing glitches/freezes?

[/spoiler]

Elemental_Elf · November 20, 2011, 09:29:42 PM

Quote from: Sarisa
[spoiler=just in case]

I'm playing a nord that looks pretty much like Kratos from God of War. Red war paint, bald, scarred. I got the game last night and dropped about 8 hours into it. I'm playing PS3 version and have hit a ton of glitches. The game froze twice on me which has been mildly annoying. Textures often fail to load and I've seen NPCs just disappear from a room. My friend (who had the game at release) said it was far worse before the patch... glad I waited a bit.

Is anyone else experiencing glitches/freezes?

[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I'm playing it on the 360 and have yet to encounter a glitch. WHich is quite shocking considering Oblivion ruined my old computer and Morrowind crashed like every 20 minutes.

As for NPCs disappearing, it can be that they are going outside. I've noticed that the don't have to be as close to a door to exit as a player does. [/spoiler]

beejazz · November 20, 2011, 10:48:11 PM

I've had maybe two freezes and a guy on horseback flying through the air as I walked through the mountains. Plus occasions where I maybe encountered like four random encounters (sabretooth, bandits, wolves, dragon all at once). I kind of like the ease with which I can sometimes avoid encounters I'm not interested in, between sprinting, whirlwind sprinting, and stealth.

Has anyone else seen the [spoiler]headless horseman?I ran halfway across skyrim trying to catch him, but he never stopped and when he paused I still couldn't talk to him.[/spoiler]

Elemental_Elf · November 20, 2011, 11:15:38 PM

Quote from: beejazz

Has anyone else seen the [spoiler]headless horseman?I ran halfway across skyrim trying to catch him, but he never stopped and when he paused I still couldn't talk to him.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I too have seen him, and chased him but he eventually got away from me when a Dragon showed up. :( [/spoiler]

Superfluous Crow · November 21, 2011, 12:38:33 AM

Something I have been wondering about...
is the choice of race more than a cosmetic/perk choice?
Do different races interact differently with the environment?
Do they have different speech options and do the locals react differently?

Elemental_Elf · November 21, 2011, 01:08:37 AM

Quote from: Superfluous Crow
Something I have been wondering about...
is the choice of race more than a cosmetic/perk choice?
Do different races interact differently with the environment?
Do they have different speech options and do the locals react differently?

Primarily its cosmetic and mechanical (each race has a different power and a smattering of skill bonuses).

Nords are treated to slightly different vocals (since you're a local/native rather than an outlander) but none of it is that major.

Interestingly, At the start of the game, an NPC calls a player whose playing an Argonian a "Lizard" where as every other race is called by their proper racial name (Nord, High Elf, Breton, etc.).

Ninja D! · November 21, 2011, 01:21:28 AM

I know that time passes but that doesn't matter when time still doesn't mean anything. There should be some quests that expire to give it some significance. Even better, have seasons with changing weather. Maybe the entrance to some mountain dungeons could be covered by snow in the winter so you can only get to them in the summer. Anything to make the time mean SOMETHING would make the fast travel a little better. Without question, your travel should be able to be interrupted by creatures, just like resting in Morrowind. I really miss that, it added a lot of believability.

In the end, teleportation and fast travel amount to pretty much the same thing except that fast travel is less useful. I think that with the new carriages they should have done away with it.

Anyway, each race has a few minor skill modifiers that mean nothing after a few levels. They also each have a power and maybe a could of other things. Nords can use a battle cry to scare enemies away for a short time. The also resist disease 100% (meaning they don't geet to be vampires) and resist frost damage something like 50%. Khajiit can still trigger a nighht eye like effect at will and argonians can breathe under water. Those are the only ones I'm certain of in Skyrim right now.

Ninja D! · November 21, 2011, 01:30:50 AM

Actually, I think "high elf" would be on about the same level as "lizard" since the proper term would really be "Altmer." It make no difference, though.

Elemental_Elf · November 21, 2011, 01:39:06 AM

Off the top of my head the "cool" radials are: High Elves get +50 Magicka, Bretons 50% Spell Resistance, Dunmer get a power that harms nearby enemies with fire, Orcs get Battle Rage (which is very, very fun), Nords get a Battle Cry, Wood Elves can charm animals, Argonians get a minor heal power and the ability to breath underwater, Kajiit get Nigh Eye and claws, Imperials have a Calm power, Reguard get a power that fortifies their Stamina.

Quote from: Ninja D!
Actually, I think "high elf" would be on about the same level as "lizard" since the proper term would really be "Altmer." It make no difference, though.

Its the name the Imperials use to designate their race, so its not that bad (Altmer call them selves High Elves occasionally but I've never heard an Argonian call himself a Lizard).

If you listen, the Imperials also call the Altmer homeland "Summerset Isle" rather than calling it "The Dominion". Subtle little jab at the Altmer there.

Superfluous Crow · November 21, 2011, 02:14:42 AM

A little sad to have that entire racial panoply and then not have any differences between them. Like, the way I hear it both the Altmer and the Imperials are stirring up some trouble in Tamriel at the time when Skyrim is set so would be cool to see some reactions to that. And of course Argonian and Khajiit racism feels like it might be a fit for the setting (considering the Argonians are constantly referred to as "weird lizard people we know nothing about").

But we have to realize that there are always going to be programming limitations and everything you can abstract from gives you more power to play around with the important things in the game. Having seasons and the like would be a nice touch, but would ultimately add too little to be worth it I fear. (especially since they already have random weather in place)
Time-based gameplay is interesting as a concept, but I seriously doubt it would work well for an open-ended sandbox RPG. It would force people to play by certain rules and less experienced players might miss out on things because the game was unfairly restrictive or required too much. Simply put, I think it'd detract from the overall appeal of the game. (I think it'd be pretty cool myself, but from a game design/entertainment point of view it sounds messy)

I have never played a Bosmer. That guy in the beginning of Morrowind annoyed me way too much for me to ever consider that an option.

Ninja D! · November 21, 2011, 04:26:30 AM

Which guy in the beginning of Morrowind? The first person you see is dunmer.

Also, the home of the Altmer IS the Summerset Isle(s?). The Aldmeri Dominion or whatever seems to be their new government. It's sort of like Cyrodil and Skyrim are part of the Empire.

Superfluous Crow · November 21, 2011, 05:43:31 AM

I can't recall his name but I seem to remember him having something to do with a magic ring or a romantic proposal or some such...
EDIT: he is in the starting town. Never said he was the very first person you see in the game. You see him fairly early though, he is right outside the imperial office IIRC.

O Senhor Leetz · November 21, 2011, 06:03:21 AM

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