|
Picking it up Friday.
What's everyone playing first?
Torn between Orc dual-axe weilding healy-barbarian type or a Redguard Magus-ish swordsman/spellslinger, both heavily good/benign leaning.
Probably going to veer away from the main quest early on for a bit to find the region most fitting as "home base".
My first will be a Redguard sneak archer. I also have no intention of finising the main quest until my 3rd or 4th character.
|
I started with a Sword/Spell/Talk Redguard since ES2, but I played TwoWorlds the last weeks with a similar character, so I might try something different this time, perhaps a North Two handed fighter or an Imperial mage.
I always have difficulties playing something other then benign leaning. As for the quests - wait and see, but up to now, the main quest was never the main attraction in an ES (or any Bethesta) game.
Only two days now...
My copy shipped today, not sure when it'll arrive. I just got back into Dark Souls though after being stuck for a while. So I'm not sure when I'll actually start Skyrim.
As for character build, I've played a mage/ warrior type in bot of the previous games, so I'd like to try a big brute sort of guy this time. I've recently grown to love orcs so that will probably be my pick for race.
I most certainly will be playing on friday. The way they changed up the system (no classes) means I guess I'll be building whatever I end up using a lot. I'd almost like to play a dedicated mage - it's the only thing I've never done in TES. I always end up starting out melee and sliding into magic in the upper levels. Combat system looks great so far, and I really didn't care for Oblivion that much (after loving all the other games) so hopefully this one is a little more on track. Oblivion was obviously a good game, I just didn't care for it much is all.
Were the face problems fixed?
Sweet, mail brought it for me a day early! Now off to resist the urge to power up my PS3 before working hours are over...
Sweet, mail brought it for me a day early! Now off to resist the urge to power up my PS3 before working hours are over...
Ha ha, good luck with that!
RPS's take on the game so far. They are very impressed by it, far moreso than they were by OBLIVION.
Oh for first class?
Gish! Gish all the way baby!
Breton Conjurer with a side of warrior. Kinda like a battle Summoner would be for Pathfinder. That's what I mainly played in Oblivion and what I want to play again starting out.
|
RPS's take on the game so far. They are very impressed by it, far moreso than they were by OBLIVION.
That's good, because Oblivion sucked.
Picking up my pre-order at the midnight release. Wish I had tomorrow off. :-(
Just finished Uncharted 3 a few min ago, just in time for Skyrim :)
Were the face problems fixed?Won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow, but what little I've heard is that everyone is still a bit in the Uncanny Valley, though it's still lightyears ahead of Oblivion.
Thing I'm wondering about is how well it looks in third person, animation-wise.
The demo videos look okay. I really hope the new engine driving the thing takes care of some the whacker rendering and model problems that have plagued thier older games.
Darn it Valve! Let me play early! Unlock it already.
|
|
Darn it Valve! Let me play early! Unlock it already.
As much as I love Valve with all my heart, they're probably the last people you want to ask for that. ;)
As much as I love Valve with all my heart, they're probably the last people you want to ask for that. ;)
I just checked the Steam Store page, still says aprox 1 hour. So 10 my time instead of 9. Well back to Starwars Battle Front 2 for me... maybe a nap.
|
|
Your system will probably be able to handle the game just fine, as long as you are willing to fiddle with the configuration and accept a few drops in fps here and there. I have a pretty outdated system myself (Dual Core 4200+2,21 GHz, 1,5GB Ram (yeah, somehow blew 1/4 of my ram last week,grrrr...) GeForce GT430, XP) and I can run the game fine with slightly reduced high preset.
Were the face problems fixed?Won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow, but what little I've heard is that everyone is still a bit in the Uncanny Valley, though it's still lightyears ahead of Oblivion.
Thing I'm wondering about is how well it looks in third person, animation-wise.
Light years ahead of Oblivion is like saying the ice in your freezer is an inferno compared to the Antarctic.
I haven't seen much but from-behind third person trailers, but I hope the faces compare reasonably with other non-Bethesda games of this era.
I'll have to fiddle with the setting but on Low the faces are alright. Bodies seem solid though. I did have a few oddities with teleporting rats in the first plot dungeon. Not bad all things considered.
I was having so much fun I forgot to level up and was wondering why I was getting my ass handed to me more of then I would expect on Master difficulty (Ya I'm one of those people).
Just installed it (bought it at midnight because I'm off today), have coffee..... going in....
PC specs for those interested...
Core I7 2600K "Sandy Bridge"
8GB Corsair XMS3
Asus GTX460
Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Game is running at 1680X1050 at High settings. Looks fantastic and runs silky smooth with no ill effects.
I mention this because the rare shooter causes me temporary light nausea when I quit the game. ID's Rage was the last shooter to do this to me. I'm not sure if its connected to the way the game refreshes or not.
Thankfully, Skyrim doesnt do this to me.
Anyway, the cinematics and in-game graphics looks great and are very detailed. The animations are pretty good and some combats end with finishing move animations that are very nicely done.
I chose a Dark Elf throwaway character just to see what the game is like (I always do this). I'll restart it with a main character in abit.
Overall, a great (and bug free) release.
I have a new quest. I will purge the world of frost spiders. They are worse then Oblivion's Trolls.
|
One thing I am loving more than Oblivion is the scale. There are Wooly Mammoths in them thar hills, and they are HUGE. I love thinking about when my character is a high enough level to finally take one of those bad boys down. Honestly, that was my main gripe with Oblivion; no matter what level I got to, it never really felt like I was that much more powerful than at level one.
Then, just when it looks like you're going to fight something ENORMOUS and intimidating, the game snatched it away so you could keep fighting the same schmoes you'd been fighting since you crawled out of the prison. It Final-Fantasy-Thirteened You!
I'm having a hell of a time. I'm going through my usual motions of playing through the introduction five or six times until I can settle on a character. I always forget how often I need t quicksave with the Elder Scrolls franchise, 'cause getting dumped back to the start of the dungeon is no fun at all. I'm thinking I'll settle on my Imperial Bard for now.
I'm having one problem though. The environment (distant mountains and the skybox when I look directly at it) are constantly flashing, and it's giving me a hell of a headache (as well as ruining the awesome environemtns for me). Anybody have any ideas as to a cause?
I tried asking /v/ but... well you can imagine how well that went.
|
I'm having a hell of a time. I'm going through my usual motions of playing through the introduction five or six times until I can settle on a character. I always forget how often I need t quicksave with the Elder Scrolls franchise, 'cause getting dumped back to the start of the dungeon is no fun at all. I'm thinking I'll settle on my Imperial Bard for now.
I'm having one problem though. The environment (distant mountains and the skybox when I look directly at it) are constantly flashing, and it's giving me a hell of a headache (as well as ruining the awesome environemtns for me). Anybody have any ideas as to a cause?
I tried asking /v/ but... well you can imagine how well that went.
You playing it on PC? Make sure your video drivers up to date.
You playing it on PC? Make sure your video drivers up to date.
d'oh, yeah. THat'd certainly be a start. Installing now. Cheers. :)
I call hax on dragons! Feeling all good swaggering out of a dungeon just got level 18... BAM death from above ice breath!
Actually wasn't as bad as that. Had the enemy (dragon) music start, my my fire archon starred going nuts, and all the animal started making a run for it. It actually devoured a mud crab before it came for me. At least I think it eat it some trees got in my line of sight.
On subsiqmet load on the save it revered to a fire breath so I'm not sure if my graphics are just glitchy or what. I'm going to take a break for dinner now before going head on with it again. I may have to just run in the end.
Seriously, this is why most adventures in D&D/Pathfinder doesn't make it past 1st level. They don't get quick saves.
====
I've notched a... shadow ripple... if that's the to discribe it. Like CRT monitor that's outside it's refresh rate. For me only happens occasionally when there seems to me some lighting issues on rock surfaces. Defiantly check drivers and try fidding with view distances on lighting. I'm shooting in the dark with that but that's what if "feels/looks" like to me.
Meet a levitating horse at the Solitude Stables. :-)
I found out that draugr are really light sleepers.
I managed to kill 2 giants and 3 mammoths at level 9 using a rock they couldn't get to and the games very stupid AI.
It took me about an hour and a half and about 150 iron arrows.
I managed to kill 2 giants and 3 mammoths at level 9 using a rock they couldn't get to and the games very stupid AI.
It took me about an hour and a half and about 150 iron arrows.
Ya... Don't try that with the saber tooth tiger things. They jump.
I'll give Bethesda credit, AI patching on complex geometry is hard without letting the AI just out right ignore obstacles. It seems better then it was in Oblivion (see giant cats above). And thank the goes the auto-enemy leveling with you crap is gone (or much reduced). I can actually kill things that used to make me scream like the little girl I''m playing.
My perception is skewed as I'm playing on the Master (I think that's the highest) difficult mode. Giants were one shooting me at that level.
So far tried the Dark Elf Wizard/Rogue type, Orc Warrior type, and a High Elf straight Wizard type. I'm sticking with the High Elf as my main character for the game.
Destruction spells and dual casting is pretty fun. I also like having the ability to heal without relying on potions. My archery (bow range is better than spell range atm) and lockpicking are pretty decent too.
The favorites menu could use a fix though. Dual wielding different spells (sparks and fire for example) takes too many keys to shift on the fly. You have to first hit one of them twice to dual the same spell, then choose another hotkey number to change one hand to the other spell.
It would be easier if we could hotkey a loadout insted. Say equip sparks in the left hand and fire in the right hand, then save it to a number.
Is it just me or do Dragons seem to fly kinda spastically. I seem to be loosing respect for their majesty as they noise dive into the ground.
This game is a blast and then some. An insane amount of things to do and places to go. I'm about 13th-14th level w/ my Breton mage, and I'm still just exploring Whiterun. One of 9 different Holds.
Best character death: be outside, let a Giant hit you w/ that massive club. Enjoy your trip into the stratosphere!
Playing on an Xbox, and so far only had 1 major glitch where I had to shut down and restart the machine. Happened around 9th level I think, and luckily I had just left a dungeon so there was an autosave I could come back to and not lose progress.
Still on Whiterun myself at level 4-5. Iam sidetracked doing the Companions Vampire quest with my High Elf Mage. There are so many side quests in Whiterun.
And there almost as many in the other holds. Level 23 Breton Conjurer/Sneak/Archer. Sneaking actually works in this game, just gotta keep moving so when the AIs goes to check the spot they don't blunder into you.
I've stated doing some wider ranging exploration into the other holds. If you think Whiterun is beefy just walk into a bar anywhere and "look for work". I've already hunted one dragon for a bounty and got another one lined up.
I also take back what I said before. The two dragons I fought that made me think they were mentally handicapped must have really been brain damaged because I've had two dragon fights since and that made me streak in terror, punctuated with lots of cussing and quick loads.
Best Death to date: Getting flung off the top of a mountain after begin a dragon chew toy.
Scarest thing seen/fought: Giant Frostbite Spider bigger then most Dragons. O_o (Mommy!) I fully admit I ran like a little skeever and hid in side tunnel until it died from environmental (floor flame traps) effects and atronach spam.
|
|
Enjoying. Still trying to figure out the best way to make this orc dual-axe weilder/light armor wearer work. Heavy armor just doesn't feel right for this character. Hoping alchemy can pick up the slack there. Focusing on One-handed/Light Armor/Archery/Sneak/Alchemy/Smithing so far at LVL 10.
Best death so far is getting knocked across Whiterun tundra by a giant during my post-dragon kill touchdown dance. While on fire. Right after I probably saved his life.
Can't believe I just found a Link hat.
Not sure if I've run into a bug or not but there are still
I know that they're usually hostile in previous games, with like one exception that I can think of, but I really hope there's a quest where you team up with Spriggans after that little trek to Orphan's Rock. Freakin' yikes.
Really, really want to take on the Thalmer or whatever they're called. They seem to be the source of the majority of the problems that aren't dragon related. That and they're uniformly jerkasses so far.
Playing on an Xbox, and so far only had 1 major glitch where I had to shut down and restart the machine. Happened around 9th level I think, and luckily I had just left a dungeon so there was an autosave I could come back to and not lose progress.
Playing on PS3 because I thought it would be more stable than my mid-generation Xbox360 and my PC has been a bit squirrely lately. TWO freezes so far, the first of which was when I first started playing
This has made me a little save-crazy.
Is it just me or do Dragons seem to fly kinda spastically. I seem to be loosing respect for their majesty as they noise dive into the ground.
Dragons are the Cliffracers of Skyrim. They're everywhere, really annoying and not that hard to kill.
Really, really want to take on the Thalmer or whatever they're called. They seem to be the source of the majority of the problems that aren't dragon related. That and they're uniformly jerkasses so far.
Thalmor, with an O. Kinda feels like a curse coming off the tongue, good choice for a group you want to love to hate. The one at the Mages College in Winter Hold is particularly pompous.
It's why joining the Stormcloaks is very tempting... if Ulfric wan't such a racists ass. I'm for Whiterun. Someone over on Penny-Arcade put it well, he needs to attend some sensitivity classes.
=====
For bugs, I now have a dragon body flopping around the outside of Whiterun. I'll get some screens or video of it when I get home. I also saw a Mammoth catching a ride on Blood Dragon's tail, that flat flap on the tip.
I think a good sub-sub title to this game would be The Elder Scrolls:Skyrim, Where Animals Fly
@ Xabulba, as I said I kinda take it back. Some times the AI on the Dragon wigs out, other times it doesn't. So far it's been 50/50. They mainly don't seem to like working near the base level of the game and water. One I fought near Solitude (just a random guy not named) in the marshes on the other side of the river kept diving into water and getting caught on ice chunk geometry. It kinda feels like the game doesn't take water height into account in some 'distance above the ground' calculation. Just from behavior modeling stand I'd love to see what those algorithms look like.
Give them some elevation and keep them away from water, and the result is much more impressive. Also if I were to do a mod I'd look at giving the unnamed dragons some draconic smack talk.
|
|
** spoiler omitted **
Oh snap, I thought I was the only one! (knightsOfTheNineAncestor-rage that is)
Sympathetic to elements of both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks, but both sides are too dirty for me to back wholeheartedly. I've just been staying out of that conflict. And +1 on being for Whiterun.
Also, all of that sympathy I had for Spriggans
Are the wandering Khajit merchants tagged as unkillable? I just keep finding them in harm's way. Managed to take down a dragon with them in the early levels, but got absolutely curb stomped trying to save them from a giant that was just walking down the road. Three minute long running battle before it killed me with the first hit it managed to land...
Found the Thalmor Embassy. Even their buildings and walls look pretentious.
Curious about the Thalmor. Where is this embassy?
I'm also very keen to get my hands on some Redguard garbs and a scimitar. Has anyone ran into any Redguards so far? Do they have some kind of settlement?
|
|
Curious about the Thalmor. Where is this embassy?
I'm also very keen to get my hands on some Redguard garbs and a scimitar. Has anyone ran into any Redguards so far? Do they have some kind of settlement?
Thalmor Embassy:
They're coming across more and more like some sort of High Elf Gestapo.
Redguard garb:
|
Are the wandering Khajit merchants tagged as unkillable? I just keep finding them in harm's way. Managed to take down a dragon with them in the early levels, but got absolutely curb stomped trying to save them from a giant that was just walking down the road. Three minute long running battle before it killed me with the first hit it managed to land...
Interesting perspective about the giants here
- Made a high elf 80%mage/20%rogue after playing to lv16 with a Nord two-handed warrior
- Spells look awesome, bound sword looks awesome, no need to haul around heavy gear. ^^
- Just got Elven Smithing perk! ...no quicksilver in all of Skyrim. >:(
- Find Thalmor prison escort, dressed primarily in elven armor.
- Murder them all for their gear! >:D
Good fun