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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |OT| Het Kos Dovahhe

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CyReN

Member
nickbreckon said:
There'll be notes when the time comes.

Not sure if this is your area but why aren't there any Skyrim posters for sale? Gears, Halo, Uncharted etc get them but nothing for Skyrim yet.
 

Luthos

Member
Izayoi said:
Bethesda intentionally left in bugs so they'd have something to patch on launch day just to add more 1's.

BRILLIANT.
U4Hgb.jpg
 

Ploid 3.0

Member
People that started early won't have the full stats. New feature. Joking, that would be messed up for people that play at midnight when the patch isn't available.
 

Izayoi

Banned
zethren said:
Patch removes item scaling.

Believe.
I've always wondered about this, and maybe I'm missing something super obvious, but how do you make a game truly open world without level scaling? If you remove it, by default some areas will be off-limits because they're too high level for you. Seems to kind of defeat the point, really. I understand the want for tailor-made unique weapons and gear, but it seems a small price to pay for a game that is completely open.
 

zethren

Banned
Izayoi said:
I've always wondered about this, and maybe I'm missing something super obvious, but how do you make a game truly open world without level scaling? If you remove it, by default some areas will be off-limits because they're too high level for you. Seems to kind of defeat the point, really. I understand the want for tailor-made unique weapons and gear, but it seems a small price to pay for a game that is completely open.

Was joking, really. Yeah, I'm completely fine personally with how scaling is being done in Skyrim. I'm a huge fan of how zone scaling is being handled in particular, and think it's much more effectively done than in Oblivion.
 

Eusis

Member
Wait, so the map is just really nice paper?

... I think I'll take my chances then and wait to see if a decent deal pops up sooner than later. Or just get it on Steam and have it ASAP, whichever.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
Izayoi said:
I've always wondered about this, and maybe I'm missing something super obvious, but how do you make a game truly open world without level scaling? If you remove it, by default some areas will be off-limits because they're too high level for you. Seems to kind of defeat the point, really. I understand the want for tailor-made unique weapons and gear, but it seems a small price to pay for a game that is completely open.

Erm, what's the point of a game that is completely open if you can go everywhere without consequences?
 

Eusis

Member
Something to add to that: having the ability to slowly crack open a world. Maybe, like, 3 different zones are practical to tackle at your point, but then more are reasonable after you clear those, and you keep getting good enough to take on anything in the world eventually.
 
EviLore said:
Erm, what's the point of a game that is completely open if you can go everywhere without consequences?
In an open world, I want to have that feeling of danger if I'm going off that beaten path. I want to know that at any moment I could become a smear of blood on a boulder as punishment for going somewhere I shouldnt have.
 

Izayoi

Banned
EviLore said:
Erm, what's the point of a game that is completely open if you can go everywhere without consequences?
That's what the difficulty slider is for!

Well, sort of, but there can always be bosses and dungeons that are increasingly difficult as you progress inside of them. Some areas of the map can always have enemies that, despite scaling, are always a step ahead of you.

The story still has some sort of linearity, I would imagine, and will get progressively harder as you make your way through it. The same goes for quest chains (again, speculation).

Scaling doesn't necessarily make the game easy mode no matter what. Granted, I don't know if that's how it's going to work in Skyrim, but I'm just saying that it's possible to make an open world game with scaling and still retain an element of difficulty.
 
EviLore said:
Erm, what's the point of a game that is completely open if you can go everywhere without consequences?

Exactly..see Dark Souls. There are plenty of places that you shouldn't go to until much later in the game. But if you want, you can still risk it, especially for running in and trying to grab a bit of gear before you die.

All optional, and extremely fun and rewarding to do, especially when you don't realise you are not supposed to be somewhere...but succeed anyway.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
AzureNightmare said:
In an open world, I want to have that feeling of danger if I'm going off that beaten path. I want to know that at any moment I could become a smear of blood on a boulder as punishment for going somewhere I shouldnt have.
Yeah can that not be found in this game?

By far one of the best things about the open world in Dark Souls.
 

Izayoi

Banned
Another example would be wildlife getting progressively more aggressive and powerful the further you stray from the beaten path, despite your current level or gear - again, speculation, but scaling does not make a game inherently easy.
 

nickbreckon

Bethesda Community Manager
Hawkian said:
Yeah can that not be found in this game?

By far one of the best things about the open world in Dark Souls.

I'm getting my ass handed to me pretty often in this game and I'm not even on the highest difficulty. Actually, I have a pretty funny story to share if you guys are cool with a spoiler-texted anecdote.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
nickbreckon said:
I'm getting my ass handed to me pretty often in this game and I'm not even on the highest difficulty. Actually, I have a pretty funny story to share if you guys are cool with a spoiler-texted anecdote.
hit me
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
RukusProvider said:
PC brethren! Who has the best deal going on for the PC version?

D2D has it for $54, with an additional 15% off if you're an IGN Prime member (note that there is sales tax). That's the only legit deal as far as I know. I won't discuss the region-exploiting cd key sites.
 

Eusis

Member
Izayoi said:
Scaling doesn't necessarily make the game easy mode no matter what. Granted, I don't know if that's how it's going to work in Skyrim, but I'm just saying that it's possible to make an open world game with scaling and still retain an element of difficulty.
Actually, the real problem with scaling is difficulty on a whole, not just making it too easy. If it predicts correctly you can maintain a steady challenge, but if it fucks up the game can get extremely easy... or it can get extremely hard. Late game Oblivion was me having to constantly dial down the difficulty slider because enemies were too unreasonably strong/durable, meaning if I didn't adjust it'd be nigh unwinnable.
 

Izayoi

Banned
EviLore said:
I won't discuss the region-exploiting cd key sites.
Oh, forgot about those.

Yeah, that's probably your best bet if you're really strapped for cash.

RukusProvider said:
I want Amazon and the developer to make money on the game though. I doubt they can with such steep discounts.
I didn't think about that. You make an excellent point.

Eusis said:
Actually, the real problem with scaling is difficulty on a whole, not just making it too easy. If it predicts correctly you can maintain a steady challenge, but if it fucks up the game can get extremely easy... or it can get extremely hard. Late game Oblivion was me having to constantly dial down the difficulty slider because enemies were too unreasonably strong/durable, meaning if I didn't adjust it'd be nigh unwinnable.
Right, but that was Oblivion. It's entirely possible that they fixed it for Skyrim, right?

While initial impressions may not be too terribly positive, there's always hope!
 

DTKT

Member
Eusis said:
Actually, the real problem with scaling is difficulty on a whole, not just making it too easy. If it predicts correctly you can maintain a steady challenge, but if it fucks up the game can get extremely easy... or it can get extremely hard. Late game Oblivion was me having to constantly dial down the difficulty slider because enemies were too unreasonably strong/durable, meaning if I didn't adjust it'd be nigh unwinnable.

But it's also incredibly "strange". When you see bandits with leather armor and later on, glass armor, it totally breaks any illusion of a "real" world the game had. Not to say that a constant challenge can be really tedious at times. You don't necessarily want the player to always have to fight for his life. High and lows are also fun. :)
 

Dresden

Member
I think Skyrim has set level ranges for each area where the enemies start at a certain level and can scale up to a certain level before being capped to prevent the whole 'bandits in daedric armor' scenario from happening.
 

Chris R

Member
Dresden said:
I think Skyrim has set level ranges for each area where the enemies start at a certain level and can scale up to a certain level before being capped to prevent the whole 'bandits in daedric armor' scenario from happening.
Scumbag Lannisters, providing bandits with daedric armor!
 

Eusis

Member
Izayoi said:
While initial impressions may not be too terribly positive, there's always hope!
Honestly, I'm leaning towards fixed just because of how they simplified it from how it sounds (probably for the best, Fallout's system felt less like having numbers for numbers sake), as it'd be better to have the game get too easy than too difficult due to scaling.

And... yeah, not constantly fighting for my life IS good, though I imagine they'd have a bunch of easy pushover enemies mixed with tougher ones around anyway, rather than a little imp being as troublesome as a troll.

EDIT: Actually, the "level scaling by area" thing sounds like a good compromise. Places too high for me crush me unless I'm just really damn good, places that are supposed to be pushovers ARE pushovers, and a bit of wiggleroom in between.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
toddhunter said:
Exactly..see Dark Souls. There are plenty of places that you shouldn't go to until much later in the game. But if you want, you can still risk it, especially for running in and trying to grab a bit of gear before you die.

All optional, and extremely fun and rewarding to do, especially when you don't realise you are not supposed to be somewhere...but succeed anyway.

I'm glad Dark Souls is turning people onto this sort of game design philosophy. Feels like we're having a bit of a resurgence of genuine hardcore gaming when I see people so enthused about lack of handholding.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
DTKT said:
But it's also incredibly "strange". When you see bandits with leather armor and later on, glass armor, it totally breaks any illusion of a "real" world the game had. Not to say that a constant challenge can be really tedious at times. You don't necessarily want the player to always have to fight for his life. High and lows are also fun. :)
I swear Todd said something about returning to old areas and cleaning up and just feeling overwhelmingly powerful.

EviLore said:
I'm glad Dark Souls is turning people onto this sort of game design philosophy. Feels like we're having a bit of a resurgence of genuine hardcore gaming when I see people so enthused about lack of handholding.
It seems to have sold rather well. Feels good.

I think a new game that adheres to some of its unconventionally hardcore design decisions but with a completely different atmosphere- something not necessarily even scary or dark- would be pretty successful through word of mouth. When I talk to people about Dark Souls it reminds me of how I would talk about Battletoads and Mario 3....
 

zethren

Banned
nickbreckon said:
I'm getting my ass handed to me pretty often in this game and I'm not even on the highest difficulty. Actually, I have a pretty funny story to share if you guys are cool with a spoiler-texted anecdote.

Would love to read it.
 

nickbreckon

Bethesda Community Manager
Dresden said:
I think Skyrim has set level ranges for each area where the enemies start at a certain level and can scale up to a certain level before being capped to prevent the whole 'bandits in daedric armor' scenario from happening.

The system is similar to the one in Fallout 3. You're going to hit scenarios and enemies that get pretty tough, and some that make you feel pretty powerful.

Hawkian said:

Okay, here's a hilarious thing that just now happened to me. More of a unique systemic confluence and less of a real spoiler, but of course don't read if you want to go in 100% fresh.

It was the dead of night and I was trudging west out of Riverwood, winding my way up a small foggy hill and idly lighting plants on fire, when I heard someone screaming in the distance. As I approached the crest of the hill, a roaring campfire lit the unsurprisingly grim scene: a circle of bloodied bodies decorated the threshold of the encampment, the flickering of firelight the only sign of movement.

I approached the periphery of the post and began systematically looting the victims, because that's what you do when you find a murder scene in Skyrim. I stripped the first fellow bare, feeling pretty good about this little find, pocketing gold and a number of other sentimental objects like a thieving undertaker. And then I heard the sabrecat.

Out from behind one of the tents comes this giant goddamn beast, and immediately I'm thinking about running for it. These things are as large as bears and tough as hell, and it was late and I had places to go. Skyrim has taught me not to be insecure about these decisions. Sometimes I am an orc warrior god; sometimes I am just dogmeat.

I'm about to beat feet when my trusty companion, my beloved Nordic battlegirl, shoots the thing in the eyeball with her bow, draws a glowing sword and charges straight for the bastard. Now I'm in for it, because hey, nobody messes with my girlfriend and doesn't at least get shouted at a little. So I grab my greatsword, down a strength potion and sprint forward, fully expecting to be in for a close fight, if not a reload.

And just as I leap into the fray, right as I'm in mid-power swing, a world dragon drops down from out of nowhere, promptly offs the sabrecat with a flick of its wing, picks me up in its jaws and throws me a hundred yards to my death.

I'm calling that a night.
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
nickbreckon said:
Okay, here's a hilarious thing that just now happened to me. More of a unique systemic confluence and less of a real spoiler.

It was the dead of night and I was trudging west out of Riverwood, winding my way up a small foggy hill and idly lighting plants on fire, when I heard someone screaming in the distance. As I approached the crest of the hill, a roaring campfire lit the unsurprisingly grim scene: a circle of bloodied bodies decorated the threshold of the encampment, the flickering of firelight the only sign of movement.

I approached the periphery of the post and began systemically looting the victims, because that's what you do when you find a murder scene in Skyrim. I stripped the first fellow bare, feeling pretty good about this little find, pocketing gold and a number of other sentimental objects like a thieving undertaker. And then I heard the sabrecat.

Out from behind one of the tents comes this giant goddamn beast, and immediately I'm thinking about running for it. These things are as large as bears and tough as hell, and it was late and I had places to go. Skyrim has taught me not to be insecure about these decisions. Sometimes I am an orc warrior god; sometimes I am just dogmeat.

But just as I'm about to beat feet, my trusty companion, my beloved Nordic battlegirl, shoots the thing in the eyeball with her bow, draws a glowing sword and charges straight for the bastard. Now I'm in for it, because hey, nobody messes with my girlfriend and doesn't at least get shouted at a little. So I grab my greatsword, down a strength potion and sprint forward, fully expecting to be in for a close fight, if not a reload.

And just as I leap into the fray, right as I'm in mid-power swing, a world dragon drops down from out of nowhere, promptly offs the sabrecat with a flick of its wing, picks me in its jaws and throws me a hundred yards to my death.

I'm calling that a night.
Ahahaha...

Sometimes, as they say,
you're just food for something bigger than you.
 

GhaleonEB

Member
nickbreckon said:
And just as I leap into the fray, right as I'm in mid-power swing, a world dragon drops down from out of nowhere, promptly offs the sabrecat with a flick of its wing, picks me in its jaws and throws me a hundred yards to my death.

I'm calling that a night.
Hah. This is exactly the kind of emergent gameplay I'm hoping to find, and one of the reasons I'm going wandering, rather than questing, right out the gates. Great story.
 

Mastperf

Member
It's just a random event not tied to any storyline. Sort of a "You never know what might happen." moment.
I think you're doing it right. I didn't watch any of the streams for the same reason.
 

NBtoaster

Member
Have Bethesda said when the mod tools are being released? People wanting quick mods will probably be disappointed. Didn't it take them 3 months to release the tools for Fallout 3?
 

Fjordson

Member
nickbreckon said:
Out from behind one of the tents comes this giant goddamn beast, and immediately I'm thinking about running for it. These things are as large as bears and tough as hell, and it was late and I had places to go. Skyrim has taught me not to be insecure about these decisions. Sometimes I am an orc warrior god; sometimes I am just dogmeat.

I'm about to beat feet when my trusty companion, my beloved Nordic battlegirl, shoots the thing in the eyeball with her bow, draws a glowing sword and charges straight for the bastard. Now I'm in for it, because hey, nobody messes with my girlfriend and doesn't at least get shouted at a little. So I grab my greatsword, down a strength potion and sprint forward, fully expecting to be in for a close fight, if not a reload.

And just as I leap into the fray, right as I'm in mid-power swing, a world dragon drops down from out of nowhere, promptly offs the sabrecat with a flick of its wing, picks me up in its jaws and throws me a hundred yards to my death.

I'm calling that a night.
ig9dhu.gif
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
NBtoaster said:
Have Bethesda said when the mod tools are being released? People wanting quick mods will probably be disappointed. Didn't it take them 3 months to release the tools for Fallout 3?

Bethesda reps in this thread have said it won't be day 1, but shortly after release as soon as possible.
 

AceLegacy

Member
nickbreckon said:
It was the dead of night and I was trudging west out of Riverwood, winding my way up a small foggy hill and idly lighting plants on fire, when I heard someone screaming in the distance. As I approached the crest of the hill, a roaring campfire lit the unsurprisingly grim scene: a circle of bloodied bodies decorated the threshold of the encampment, the flickering of firelight the only sign of movement.

I approached the periphery of the post and began systematically looting the victims, because that's what you do when you find a murder scene in Skyrim. I stripped the first fellow bare, feeling pretty good about this little find, pocketing gold and a number of other sentimental objects like a thieving undertaker. And then I heard the sabrecat.

Out from behind one of the tents comes this giant goddamn beast, and immediately I'm thinking about running for it. These things are as large as bears and tough as hell, and it was late and I had places to go. Skyrim has taught me not to be insecure about these decisions. Sometimes I am an orc warrior god; sometimes I am just dogmeat.

I'm about to beat feet when my trusty companion, my beloved Nordic battlegirl, shoots the thing in the eyeball with her bow, draws a glowing sword and charges straight for the bastard. Now I'm in for it, because hey, nobody messes with my girlfriend and doesn't at least get shouted at a little. So I grab my greatsword, down a strength potion and sprint forward, fully expecting to be in for a close fight, if not a reload.

And just as I leap into the fray, right as I'm in mid-power swing, a world dragon drops down from out of nowhere, promptly offs the sabrecat with a flick of its wing, picks me up in its jaws and throws me a hundred yards to my death.

I'm calling that a night.

Thats just awesome.
 
To me, on a philosophical level, level scaling is a sign of poor game design. Any form of level scaling. Part of why you play an RPG is to feel a sense of immersion, and level scaling is one way to remove that immersion. You look at a game like Dark Souls, and all that is required to kill stuff is skill, and sometimes certain abilities / equipment. You can level up all you want but if you aren't good, enemies will always be hard. On the other hand, you can go into some of the hardest areas right off the bat and actually make progress if you're good.

This is what games should be like.

Level scaling is basically the designers saying "we don't want to put in the effort to make a system that is actually somewhat believable because it's too much work". It's a shit concept and I hope it eventually disappears from gaming.
 

Lakitu

st5fu
Damn... so much stuff to catch up in this thread.

I'm not worried about item scaling, everything we've heard so far points to the fact that it's similar to Fallout 3 in that respect, and you can find items that are more powerful for your level. That was one of my biggest disappointments of Oblivion, most of the time, loot-collecting and exploration didn't feel as good as it could have been.

nickbreckon said:

That story made me laugh.
Sabre-tooth Cat sound especially mean, but I can't wait for my first actual Dragon encounter. I'm glad Dragon's can pick you up also.

Einbroch said:

Great impressions! Thanks. I know you've only played 6 hours so it's kind of difficult to get a grasp on how the dungeons are, but repetitive dungeons in Oblivion really annoyed me. Have you experienced a varied amount of dungeons here?

Bootaaay said:
Yeah, it seems that way, as if you're arrested all your stolen items are confiscated.

One cool thing though, I stole some stuff from a persons house while they were in another room and
a few hours later 3 'Hired Thugs' attacked me, I killed them (barely) and found a contract from the NPC hiring them to beat me up or kill me if necessary.

Few more random screenshots;

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/Bootaaay/Blah/DSC_0088.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/Bootaaay/Blah/DSC_0090.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v224/Bootaaay/Blah/DSC_0092.jpg

Thanks for the impressions and screens. Look so nice.
 
MrBelmontvedere said:
DX9?!?!

sorry but I just noticed that. $%#^!&# consoles *shakes fist*

hopefully some intrepid modder can fix that (add DX11 shaders that is)

It has nothing to do with consoles. Battlefield 3 came out on consoles and uses DX11. Also, adding DX11 support is far too complex for a modder to come in and do without source code to their engine. It would be a huge overhaul, practically a rewrite of their entire engine.
 
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