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Skyrim: New Screenshots (Races)

MOAR SCREENSHOTS:











Update, brah: Here's some new info, courtesy of the Bethesda forums' GnrlKhalid.

Our time with Bethesda was limited so we couldn’t ask every question you all wanted, but I think we did a pretty good job. We’re sorry if we couldn’t answer your questions this time around. We could have asked them questions for hours, but did the best we could. One of the guys told us that our questions were the best string of questions by one media outlet he’s ever heard. I credited the NerdTrek readers and he said he was very impressed. Great job guys! Here you go:

The only question that Matt Carofano smiled at with a resounding “No comment!” was Gyrhjörn’s question about Lycans (Werewolves) being in the game. It was the last question I asked and he had gone above and beyond by that point.

Toney asked: Will there be Daedric Shrine quests?
This question opened a can of worms. Matt said that they have intentionally avoided confirming or denying this. He said that they have NOT really talked about it yet. Since the press demo we played had an Easter Egg of a Daedric reference in it, he sighed and said that since we were aware and asked him on the spot, he’ll go ahead and tell us: YES! There is involvement with “The Prince” and challenges along the way that should satisfy the Daedric fans.

xBUMMx wanted: Clarification on the hand-to-hand matter, lethal or not?
Murder Death Kill, people aren’t just getting knocked out by fists, you can beat them to death in this one.

Ploppy asked about armor degradation being a possibility or gone for good…
Matt said it is a POSSIBILITY, but not a probability. The focus in this area is on Smithing as a skill. You’ll be able to modify items. I’ll elaborate on Smithing soon*

Matt had 2 good questions:
When given the opportunity, will we be given the chance to turn down being the Guildmaster?
The answer is No.
Will being Guildmaster be more rewarding than in Oblivion?

Yes, previously you were done with an area of play once you become a Guildmaster, but in Skyrim you will be able to continue with specific guild gameplay after becoming the head of a guild.

Corby asked: Will dragons be able to utilize every shout that the player can?
Short answer: No. Long answer: The shouts are the language of the dragons. Many dragons for many years have used many different shouts. It is possible to assume that every shout has been used in the past by a dragon, however during the game, the dragons only use certain shouts that make sense for the situations. They are incredibly intelligent AI creatures that use what is appropriate. Some shouts don’t make sense for dragons to use in this game and won’t be used. WE get to learn and use them though. Not all of the shouts are released yet, they are keeping some secret for now…

Brett asked: Can you summon more than ONE creature (at once) with Conjuration?
Conjuration has it’s own skill tree. You start off only able to summon ONE. Eventually you WILL be able summon up to TWO Atronachs or Reanimated Zombies though.

Khalid asked: Where can we safely store our loot?
In our personal houses.

The General asked: Can we dye our armor or clothing?
The answer: No.

Luke asked: Does Skyrim boast an array of underwater content… Also, how many species of underwater critters are there?
Yes, you will be able to explore and interact with an underwater environment. There are “fish and stuff” you can find. There are ingredients to collect and although the underwater section is a small part of the game, you can knock your self out exploring if you like. Matt likes the barnacles.

Ray Johnson, you want to know about the pickpocketing skill? Prepare yourself because I took care of you and I expect your mind to be blown…

The entire pickpocketing skill tree list (Seriously):

Light Fingers (0/5)
Pickpocketing bonus of 20% – Item weight and value reduce pickpocketing odds…
Night Thief
Pickpocketing sleeping people almost always works…
Poisoned
Place poisons in other people’s pockets silently to harm or kill…
Cutpurse
Pickpocketing gold is 50% easier…
Extra Pockets
Carrying capacity is increased by 100…
Keymaster
Pickpocketing keys always works…
Misdirections
You can pickpocket equipped weapons…
Perfect Touch
You can pickpocket equipped items…

Steve asked: From what we’ve seen, dragons behave like animals, but will they use tactics and strategy with the terrain and dragon shouts?
Short: Yes.
Long: Dragons ARE an intelligent race. They provide a nice challenge to the player and it is rewarding to successfully kill them. Dragons use the shouts that suit them and interact with (and are affected by) the situations and environments they are in at the time.

Hey “ThatNeonSquirrel” (SQUIRREL!!)… Can we enchant arrows?
You can enchant bows, which affect the arrows shot from them, so even though you can’t enchant the individual arrows, you should have the enchanted range attack that most people want. I hope that’s ok. Pete and the Bethesda team are sorry they can’t respond to everything, it’s crunch time for them.

Jadis232 asked if we can use finisher moves wielding MAGIC like we can with melee weapons…
No, we don’t have special magic finisher moves, but you can combo using magic to deal damage and finishing with a weapon.

Ward… Any love for the lefties?!
Much love for the lefties! We at NerdTrek love nerds, we love weirdos, we really love nerdy weirdos!! You CAN wield a weapon in your left hand and a shield in your right, but the opposite is default as usual. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out the lefty wielding on 11-11-11, but you must be deliberate in your choice.

*Smithing elaboration: Caleb, you’re getting the entire Smithing skill tree:

Steel Smithing
Create Steel armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Arcane Blacksmith
Improve magical weapons and armor.
Dwarven Smithing
Create Dwarven armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Elven Smithing
Create Elven armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Orcish Smithing
Create Orcish armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Advanced Armors
Create scaled and plate armor at forges. Improve by double.
Glass Smithing
Create glass armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Daedric Smithing
Create Daedric armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Ebony Smithing
Create Ebony armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
Dragon Smithing
Create Dragon armor and weapons at forges. Improve by double.
You can collect dragon bone and other parts to make really powerful armor and weapons using this skill, it sounds amazing. Matt was pumped about it and I trust his judgment.

Rexx, the team does not have plans to release a Skyrim soundtrack, however I told them “Rexx will buy one if you release it,” not to mention many other people that will buy it. It should be easy to put together some music and upload it to iTunes AT LEAST, so I asked them to. The guys were extremely polite and said they would consider it. Cross your fingers!

Sarah Donner, come with me if you want to… know the answer to your questions…
Applying upgrades, as in smithing weapons and armor to be improved will not change the appearance. Enchanting them will make them glow but you’re not looking at customization of appearance.

Why did they remove spell-making?
Because… The team worked really hard on creating unique spells. The magic system has been completely revamped and MUCH improved. They want us to focus on our immersion into the world of Skyrim. Matt is confident that you will have a great time using magic in this game.

Mike, your question about marriage ended up yielding some fantastic feedback!
There are hundreds of people that you CAN marry, if they want to marry you. They can become your companion. Having a companion offers awesome perks. Your wife can fight by your side, helping you attack or defend. She can carry stuff for you increasing your inventory capacity. She can cook for you once a day increasing your health. There are many “Lovers’ bonuses” available. Possibly the BEST thing: you can delegate tasks and send your followers to do things for you, such as attack, collect food, buy weapons, and more… Unfortunately for you there are no “brown-chicken brown-cow” relationship animations.

Sabre asked: Will the persuasion system be revamped?
Answer: ”Elements of it will be better.”

Michael asked. Can we play instruments for money?!
No, but you can go to a tavern and pay for a NPC to play an instrument for you. Further, you can tip them to play special requested songs for you! I seriously doubt it’s in the game, but I expect characters to be hanging out in the back of a tavern while someone yells “Free Bird!” (shoot, I’ll do it from my couch, even if my wife asks me why I’m yelling “Free Bird!” at Skyrim for what must seem like no reason to her…)

Ricardo asks: Will we be able to sail or at least board ships?
Nope.

How about being able to use portable bedrolls to sleep in the wilderness?
You can sleep in the woods but there are no portable bedrolls. Part of the game’s experience is finding a bed to get fully rested. Sleeping like a camping trip is possible, but it will yield less benefits compared to sleeping at home and/or in bed. Possibly with your in-game spouse?

Khalid Yassin asks: Will there be . . . Bananas?
No joke, the Devs gave it some serious consideration. The team debated many foods, however the age old topic of appropriate climate and environment kept coming up… It is way too cold in Skyrim to grow something tropical like a banana. Some Devs would really want to include a food item and others would fiercely debate how unrealistic it would be to include that piece of food. The attention to detail is phenomenal.

I hope we’ve been helpful! Thanks everyone for such great questions and impressing THE guys that are putting out what looks like a lock for Game of the Year…

Jerry Loveless

MOAR UPDATE: Here's a peek at what you can do with the character creator:

Nord:
13Qjf.jpg


Imperial:
BToSj.jpg


Redguard:
wFx8W.jpg


Breton:
gAebS.jpg


High Elf:
dsfIM.jpg


Wood Elf:
zlEXZ.jpg


Dark Elf:
TXLXF.jpg


Orc:
SinoQ.jpg


Khajiit:
guvII.jpg


Argonian:
yjemj.jpg


For higher-res versions, check out Bethesda's Flickr.

UPDATE: More news, you say?

Per Darklord:
-Joinable Factions: Rebels with branching path quests (Stormcloaks) and Riverwood Tavern Warrior Clan.

-Pickpocket skill provides greater RP opportunities and much more realistic thievery for thieves.

-Myriad options for face-paint.

-Even minor NPCs have much more complexity and depth compared with Oblivion.

-Character Generation remembers your settings when switching between races

-You can persuade various random NPCs to accompany you and they feel like fleshed out, interesting companions.

-There are six different stages to crafting items. The first two are: Refining crude ore and Assembling materials.

-More realistic alchemy labs.

-In addition to alchemy ingredients there are also reagents.

-Some spells can be learned by reading spell tomes, while others can be bought from merchants.

-Hand to Hand attacks have a much improved gravity and physicality.

-There are more ways to complete quests.

-Lockpicking mini-game is improved.

-There are bards in the game.

-You can choose not to spend perk points each level, and hold onto them instead.

-During Character Generation you can add laugh lines to your character.

-There are dozens of sliders for character creation.

-Aurora Borealis is confirmed.

-You can have animal companions.

-Bosmer “Animal Allies” Racial Ability confirmed.

-NPCs can throw rocks if they are on a bridge above you

-Glow Worms confirmed.

-Killable Bees and insects confirmed (you can harvest bees from beehives).

-Fast Travel costs money.

-Perks do not stop at level 50.

-There are more types of poison.

-Bosmer are immune to most types of poison.

But wait, there's more!

- Mud crabs are in the game.
- You can have as many or as few quest markers active as you like.
- Magicka, health and stamina slowly regenerate over time.
- You no longer need to sleep to level up.

For the master race-gamers among us: this game will use Steamworks.

ORIGINAL POST: I figured the new flood of screens will be worthy of a new thread, especially because so many people will want to take a look at the races. So, without further ado, here's what we've got so far.

Argonian
1dxHK.jpg


XR5ft.jpg


07Zxc.jpg


Orc
EpBdz.jpg


fKzTc.jpg


NoPXV.jpg


Dark Elf
mtCau.jpg


yQoOV.jpg


Kw3c3.jpg

(Thanks racemixing!)

Khajiit
cYswb.jpg


JqHIO.jpg


Wood Elf
jfpkv.jpg


KdRfO.jpg


Nord
r3LnG.jpg

(thanks EteRnal_PAL!)

XWSNH.jpg

(thanks callmedave!)

UZsGy.jpg


Redguard
qm2bw.jpg

(thanks EteRnal_PAL!)

RZoWf.jpg


I'll update as more screenshots are released. We should have pretty much every race covered after that.

If you haven't seen some of the older shots yet, check out this Imgur album.
 

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
The Orc looks a little funny, especially with that hair cut.

The character models are a huge improvement over Oblivion, though. The Oblivion characters look like they were crudely molded from goop.
 

Nix

Banned
I always thought it would be cool, if you could lead an entire clan into war against other clans and essentially, subjugate every other clan. If you could do that, I'd be rolling an Orc, just for the shits and giggles.
 
dat argonian.

i liked the way they looked in oblivion (but khajit was my choice for every character) but now they just look bad ass.

lol orcs with hair.
 

erpg

GAF parliamentarian
Other than the hair on the orc, I love it. Especially the new looks for Dark Elves and Argonians.
 

Jeels

Member
I think I will stick to human, these all look deformed.

Then again, the humans in Oblivion were never that attractive.
 

GreekWolf

Member
Drazgul said:
Posting this here as well, because that Kotaku pic is NOT doing orcs any justice:


Posted in the other thread -

greekwolf said:
I disagree. It looks suspiciously like a half-orc from the D&D universe, which is a fairly impressive feat for the ancient and creaky Gamebryo. I'm suitably impressed.

wild_bill.jpg
 

ironcreed

Banned
Very much worthy of another thread. I am simply amazed at the improvements here. Before, I always selected a Nord, Redguard or Imperial because the others all appeared just a bit too ridiculous for me. Now, I am actually going to have a hard time choosing because they all look so great. Oh well, even more replay value.
 

johntown

Banned
GreekWolf said:
Posted in the other thread -
I like the half Orc theory and that is what I am going with until either Bethesda says otherwise or the game comes out and I find out for myself.
 
female lizard!

i can't wait to rent it and have fun with the awful NPC coding, if it's anything like Oblivion. i saw some seriously hilarious things playing that game

you kill the entire town, and you get a small fine. so awesome
 

Sennorin

Banned
Akainu said:
Why does that lizard have breasts?

What I came to ask, lol.

Maaan, I don´t know if I should buy this game. Skyward Sword will be plenty of adventure and exploration, but Skyrim is even bigger. So much time to invest...

Btw. any recommended PC specs known yet?
 
OMG OMG OMG OMG!!! YEEESSS!!! The Argonians look completely bad ass. Almost resembles a velociraptor but without the long snout.
 

Drazgul

Member
johntown said:
I like the half Orc theory and that is what I am going with until either Bethesda says otherwise or the game comes out and I find out for myself.

It's probably just a plain regular orc with a poor choice for hair - the Kotaku article mentions it's the player character with randomly picked attributes (so the char gen picked hair 'meant' for human races).


Nord(?) male:
cHOj6.jpg


Nord or Imperial females:
bklES.jpg

mBRQR.jpg

f0YfM.jpg
 

Izayoi

Banned
It's 2011 and we still can't use .PNGs for screenshots, apparently. Those ElderScrolls.Net screenshots are the worst offenders, though. What the fuck?
 
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