Just found out about the new add-on for Skyrim: Hearthfire
Basically, it's a little stronghold builder/domestic life package for those who like that kind of thing.
Out next week for XBoxers, hopefully a month later or so for PC and PS3 (though poor PS3ers haven't even gotten their Dawnguard release yet).
Looking forward to it for PC, I can build my dream house, slay dragons, and have my dear Lydia teach the adopted kids how to cleave things in half with a sword. (I'll have to give them the conversational skills though.)
Although given just yesterday, my Dovahkin tried to set one of the children of Whiterun on fire, she might not be the best parent.
(But it was an accident. I meant to Fus Ro Dah her, and accidentally had Fire Breath on instead. Don't ask me how it makes it better though.)
I read somewhere on the forums that it's only going to be around $5, which is great for my lack of a budget. PC players already have better tools in the Creation Kit, but for us console players, this is pretty darn cool
I read somewhere on the forums that it's only going to be around $5, which is great for my lack of a budget. PC players already have better tools in the Creation Kit, but for us console players, this is pretty darn cool
Yeah, on XBox it's going to go up for 400 points, which I am informed is about 5 bucks.
Not all PC players use the creation kit (I don't) so it's still a cool thing for them too. Player mods are awesome and it is part of why I like playing this stuff on PC but I also like official developer stuff like this as well.
I cant wait for next week. I wonder how the defend your house will work? Same with trophys. If you killed a bear/hag prior to monday will the game give you the option or will it only be going forward. Also hopefully theres some suprises in the DLC and that its easy to actually build the house you want
I read somewhere on the forums that it's only going to be around $5, which is great for my lack of a budget. PC players already have better tools in the Creation Kit, but for us console players, this is pretty darn cool
I've been using Bing Rewards to score free Microsoft points. You should check it out. So far, I've gotten around $30 in MS points over the last year or so. I'm essentially getting Hearthfire for free. Some of the related searches have taken me to strange places though.
|
Slightly off-topic: As a PS3 owner, I'm really annoyed by Bethesda's treatment of us. Xbox 360 had some glitchy dragons, it seems like they got their patch in a week. PS3 version becomes literally unplayable at higher levels, and we have to wait 6 months. WTF Bethesda?! Meanwhile there are still horrible glitches on the PS3 GotY edition of Oblivion and like three different DLCs that we simply never got.
Back on-topic: If this ever DOES come to PS3 (not holding my breath) it would be awesome. Like The Sims with dragons, the lack of which of course being the only reason I've yet to play The Sims.
Slightly off-topic: As a PS3 owner, I'm really annoyed by Bethesda's treatment of us. Xbox 360 had some glitchy dragons, it seems like they got their patch in a week. PS3 version becomes literally unplayable at higher levels, and we have to wait 6 months. WTF Bethesda?! Meanwhile there are still horrible glitches on the PS3 GotY edition of Oblivion and like three different DLCs that we simply never got.
Back on-topic: If this ever DOES come to PS3 (not holding my breath) it would be awesome. Like The Sims with dragons, the lack of which of course being the only reason I've yet to play The Sims.
I was reading earlier on the Escapist that there is some weird issue they cannot make work with Dawnguard and PS3 -- I don't know what the exact situation is, but there's some serious issue with porting. I don't get it myself. I'd suggest checking out Bethesda's forums for more info.
The official plan is that Hearthfire will be put out for PS3 though so maybe whatever issue that Dawnguard is causing, Hearthfire won't. I'll cross my fingers for you guys.
Seems like PS3 in general seems tough to port to.
|
I've given up on DLC for Skyrim with my PS3. If it shows up, great, but it's not worth freaking out over. Dawnguard sounds awesome, but Hearthfire looks like a maybe-kind-of-fun distraction. The only thing about it that really appeals to me is the potential to neglect my family and home for several months only to come home to find a swarm of skeevers feasting on my spouse's corpse while my adopted kid cries in the corner.
I really wish bear traps were a storable item because I really want to lay them all over the inside of my homes and then laugh at my housecarls as they blunder into them.
I really wish bear traps were a storable item because I really want to lay them all over the inside of my homes and then laugh at my housecarls as they blunder into them.
I'd just leave them scattered in front of my bedroom to keep the weirdos from watching me sleep.
Hearthfire's on Steam now.
Can you pick up bear traps through the xbox?
Ok. I picked up Hearthfire over the weekend. So how do I get there? I have been looking for it and I have yet to find it.
Where can I find stone and clay?
Never mind. I figured out where to get wood, stone, and clay.
When you reach a certain level you will get approached to purchase a house. First house is between Falkreath and Riverwood. The rumors of the next expansion have started and seem promising.
I was disappointed in Hearthfire. Felt like the options were really kind of gimmicky. Also had the issue with my family constantly under attack.
Publisher, Chief Creative Officer
|
Yeah, Hearthfire is pretty boring. It'd be much better if you could build houses with different architectural styles. I was really disappointed that my house near Falkreath and my house near Dawnstar basically look exactly the same.
More styles, the ability to build bigger houses, and more options for customization would have made the expansion better, but at the end of the day it's pretty much just MOAR GRIND.
|
|
I was also disappointed with Dawnguard. It felt like they just plugged cool ideas in without thinking of setting and plot, forgetting the coolest part of Skyrim was the immersion of it all. From the very first mission, the free will that made the game great was removed when you had to do something that made no sense.
I love Skyrim. Played the hell out of it. I was chomping at the bit for Dawnguard. Haven't played once since I beat it and had no interest in Dawnguard.
Complete opposite of Oblivion and Morrowind where the expansions really improved the game and got me re-addicted.
Some of the player made mods and quests I found on http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/ sound and look good,
but I have not had the chance to try them due to work.
Yeah, Hearthfire is pretty boring. It'd be much better if you could build houses with different architectural styles. I was really disappointed that my house near Falkreath and my house near Dawnstar basically look exactly the same.
More styles, the ability to build bigger houses, and more options for customization would have made the expansion better, but at the end of the day it's pretty much just MOAR GRIND.
Even beyond architectural styles, the fact that one choice precluded another was disappointing.
"Oh, you want a library? Then you can't have _____."
No mention of the fact that homes are uninhabitable for your family, because they are under constant attack. After I lost my first spouse to it I stopped having any interest.
That's a shame folks are disappointed in it. I hadn't picked it up yet, but was still very interested. For $5 I will probably still try it... I like the weird day to day of crafting and such so I think I will get something out of it, but it is sad it is apparently not living up to its potential. And if your homes are under constant attack like Peter Stewart says, that is very annoying. I get the idea of occasional threats but that's a bit silly. (Although I'm confident Lydia could drive most of them away. :) )
Someone pointed out that if anything, it provides more Bethesda-built assets for modders to work with.
That's a shame folks are disappointed in it. I hadn't picked it up yet, but was still very interested. For $5 I will probably still try it... I like the weird day to day of crafting and such so I think I will get something out of it, but it is sad it is apparently not living up to its potential. And if your homes are under constant attack like Peter Stewart says, that is very annoying. I get the idea of occasional threats but that's a bit silly. (Although I'm confident Lydia could drive most of them away. :) )
Someone pointed out that if anything, it provides more Bethesda-built assets for modders to work with.
The house under attack isn't as big of an issue if you married an essential character like Lydia, but if you married someone not essential it is not uncommon to return home to find them dead.
As an aside, just because I'm on the skyrim thread, probably the single coolest moment in the game for me was when I - having just become the Harbringer, came under attack by a group of dominion justicars and mages. I was getting my ass handed to me, when over the hill just behind my attackers comes charging half the companions. They jumped in and slaughtered my enemies - saving my life in the process. Pretty epic.
Okay, I got this during the Cyber Monday sale along with Dawnguard.
I'm actually enjoying it for the most part, but I get sucked into building stuff and gathering crafting materials and such pretty easily. It's interesting when you're level 53 and you get very excited about finding an iron ingot. I'm getting far too much pleasure out of getting a cow or chicken or whatever as well. Of course more customization would be nice but this is the Elder Scrolls, not the Sims. In a way I like that I have stuff to look for because otherwise I was at a point in the game where most further treasure was useless to me, and I now I'm collecting stuff to put in my house or upgrade things or gift my creepy AI robot child.
What bugs me most are bugs. I've already hit some whacky bugs, including the thing where your spouse gets kidnapped and then when you get them back they're constantly doing the funky chicken dance. I wouldn't mind except that it overrides all over functions including FIGHTING which is making Lydia a well armored chicken dancer and not my faithful ass kicker. I could reload to an earlier save but there's no guarantee it wouldn't happen again. Hopefully maybe a patch'll come along with Dragonborn (although of course I'm sure that'll come with its own interesting bugs). Maybe she'll fix herself or I'll figure out a console command to help her. (MY GOD I am so glad I have this game on PC. I don't fiddle with the console much but when an item or quest or whatever goes buggy, it's a godsend to be able to access it.)
My mostly-true adoption experience in Hearthfire:
- Lonely child looks lonely; adopt out of pity.
- Winstad manor under construction, so off to Breezehome they go.
- FOR F*!$'S SAKE, GET OFF THE STAIRCASE!!
- Child refuses to go play with the other brats; off to Vlindrel Hall they go.
- Returns to Markarth and is immediately fined for housing Forsaken. "There's no Forsaken in my hom--Why was a hagraven going through my things? I don't care if she was reading you bedtime stories!" Off to Proudspire they go.
- Returns to Solit--"Put the Wabbajack down!!" Flees and doesn't return until Winstad is complete; off to Winstad they go.
- Child complains about home, but secretly sneaks hordes of skeevers into cellar; wife dies, housecarl bedridden, and steward runs from lost giant.
- Wonders if the Falmer would trade one of their own for a 4ft snack.
Iron ingots are worth more than gold when you're trying to build a house. I wish I would've stockpiled those things prior to Hearthfire being released.
Next DLC should be released tomorrow.
My mostly-true adoption experience in Hearthfire:
- Lonely child looks lonely; adopt out of pity.
- Winstad manor under construction, so off to Breezehome they go.
- FOR F+~~'S SAKE, GET OFF THE STAIRCASE!!
- Child refuses to go play with the other brats; off to Vlindrel Hall they go.
- Returns to Markarth and is immediately fined for housing Forsaken. "There's no Forsaken in my hom--Why was a hagraven going through my things? I don't care if she was reading you bedtime stories!" Off to Proudspire they go.
- Returns to Solit--"Put the Wabbajack down!!" Flees and doesn't return until Winstad is complete; off to Winstad they go.
- Child complains about home, but secretly sneaks hordes of skeevers into cellar; wife dies, housecarl bedridden, and steward runs from lost giant.
- Wonders if the Falmer would trade one of their own for a 4ft snack.
You're lucky. Someone in the Bethesda Boards came home to find their kid enacting the Dark Ritual.
Sometimes my kid thinks she's living in Breezehome instead of Winstad. She talks about the "tree in the park" being so pretty... I'm like kid, there's a swamp full of horkers there, and a shack where I murdered some people in cold blood, and a boat I sort of accidentally forced to crash aground and.... yes, you know what? The tree in the park is pretty.
Was there seriously a Hagraven going through your stuff in Markarth?
In other news, I discovered the fix for the spouse doing the chicken dance thing post kidnapping -- PC only. Bring up the debug console, click on spouse, then type "resurrect." That resets them to the proper state (even though they are not actually dead).
Was there seriously a Hagraven going through your stuff in Markarth?
No, but the child did run through the house and kick a kettle into my character reducing their HP by half; thankfully, that's the only time I've been seriously mauled by Skyrim's kitchenware. However after the injury, the character began to see hagravens in the strangest of places.
I have yet to get this DLC working properly. I can't buy child accommodations for any of my existing houses. The stewards just take my money and nothing happens. Just like with that face changer NPC from Dawnguard.
I've read that when you pay the Stewards for furnishings, that it takes time for the furnishings to appear, like several in-game days or something. Maybe go clear out a dungeon on the other side of the map and come back.
All my vanilla game furnishings were there instantly. (and I should know that. I purchased and maxed out all available houses from the vanilla game)
Also the dialogue option for the children's bedroom for all stewards says "(... gold)" instead of an actual number.
I just said "To Hell With It!" and built everything myself.
I don't know if this is the issue, but as long as you have the single beds and a dresser and wardrobe in the Main Hall, you can adopt a child. Building the bedroom wing is not required--it just creates extra bedroom space. In particular if you change your Small House to an entry hall, the bedroom wing adds additional sleeping spaces to replace the bed you lose, ensuring all your retainers have a place to sleep (retainers will always leave a bed free for a child, so will "sleep" in chairs if there aren't extra beds).
For the one house I've been working on so far, I've built all the rooms and accommodations myself, using the steward only to buy wood and stuff like barnyard animals. That seems to be the fastest way to do it, apart from the time it takes to get a bunch of iron ingots for nails and things -- and avoids the most bugs. If it keeps not working, I'd suggest hitting the drafting table yourself.
----
On a different note... I wish there was a little more you could do for the adoptable kids in the game. I know this is the Elder Scrolls, and they would never bother to write the scripts to add this feeling of immersion or completeness, but, in my dreams...
Since you can only adopt 2 kids, I still feel sorry for the other kids you can't adopt. I wish you could donate money to the orphanage so it could add more space or have more accommodations for the kids. I wish you could send the street urchins you don't adopt to the orphanage, or find other homes or jobs for them. Like the little girl in Whiterun, she's already sleeping behind the inn, why can't you ask the lady who runs the Bannered Mare to hire her as a scullery maid? It'd give her work and a place to sleep. Or maybe convince Blaise's employers to treat him more kindly.
It would also be a nice option for people who aren't interested in adopting a kid for their own gameplay (I mean really, my assassin is really probably not a good role model for the child, and I can imagine few dovahkiin who probably make truly good parents) but who still feel sorry for the kids when they run into them.