OT: Attention Fantasy RPG Fans

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

If anyone here has played Dark Messiah.... Skysim has a real feel of that game to it (which i consider a huge plus)...and where have Locks been picked like this?..Ive done that before...but it ain't Oblivion!

[itifonhom 6]

Hey Hellshade, do you buy armor and weapons for her?

[Hellshade 110]

Hey Hellshade, do you buy armor and weapons for her?

 

No. I just give her whatever heavy armor and weapons I can find that are an improvement over what she has. The good news is that she never seems to run out of arrows, but she will switch to sword and shield when the enemy closes in.

 

I love the smell of dead dragons in the morning. Smells like....victory.

[Von Paulus 8]

From what I've been reading most PC players is complaining with the s**tty UI.

It seems is better to wait for the first patches and for some UI mod.

http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/EricSchwarz/20111111/8866/Skyrim_or_How_Not_to_Make_a_PC_Game.php

[Hellshade 110]

From what I've been reading most PC players is complaining with the s**tty UI.

It seems is better to wait for the first patches and for some UI mod.

http://www.gamasutra...e_a_PC_Game.php

 

Nice article. Skyrim has flaws, but they are absolutely nothing like this author suggests. The vast majority of his article is patently false. Not even arguable. Just plain false.

 

The first sign things aren't as good as they could be comes before the game even begins. The main menu is as sparse as can be, but is lacking features as basic as the ability to change settings before jumping into the game.

 

Actually when you launch Skyrim you get a window that pops up with the word "Options" right under the word "Play". If you click Options, you get all the display options for you to change before the game itself launches. Total lie on his part and too obvious, in my opinion, to be "something the reviewer accidentally missed", especially given the constant rant agenda that is laced throughout the entire article. See the picture at the bottom for proof.

 

Other issues, like mouse acceleration being forced on and impossible to remove without an INI tweak, or the game defaulting to "Xbox 360 Controller - On" when started, even without a controller plugged in

 

Not in my experience. The 360 controller was Off by default. I had to turn it on when I plugged in my 360 controller. But it's a great way for the author to make it sound like Bethesda can't get anything at all right. Too bad it has nothing to do with the facts.

 

Using the console in games to manipulate quest variables, add items to the inventory, to noclip through walls, and so forth has been a standard practice of players for many years, and even more so for Bethesda games - not because Bethesda players are damn dirty cheaters, but because the number of bugs in Bethesda games almost necessitates the occasional use of the console in order to avoid running into problems, whether that's getting stuck on the terrain, a critical item being lost or disappearing, or a quest not functioning properly. Again, no hard feelings; it's an open-world game and sometimes things can go wrong.

 

Bethesda provides toolkits for players so they can make mods. Been there since at least Morrowind, if not before. The console is there so mod makers can debug their own code. Nice spin by the author to make it sound like it's only purpose is so players can arduously work their way through Bethesdas hopelessly broken products.

 

That's right: get stuck in a Bethesda game due to a bug, and you have to choose between getting un-stuck, or losing out on your achievement.

 

I haven't gotten stuck yet once in 18 hours of playing. I can't verify if your forced to choose between getting unstuck or losing your achievement or not. Interesting that he uses the more grandios "Bethesda game" instead of just saying "Skyrim" as if the problem sweeps across every product they have ever made despite the fact that none of the previous Elder Scrolls series had Steam support. Apparently he knows this bug (which I can't for the life of me duplicate) is inherent in every Bethesda product that has or ever will exist. No agenda going on here.

 

Granted, restarting the game and avoiding the tilde key will allow you to continue on to earn achievements, but this introduces an additional level of tedium, as you'll need to restart the game every twenty minutes because you explored just a little too much in an Elder Scrolls game.

Every twenty minutes huh? Again, I've been playing for over 18 hours and the only bug I've witnessed was my companion attacking a quest NPC that had challenged me to a one on one duel. And that didn't even break the quest. "Every twenty minutes" is a great way to make it sound like there is no stability in the game whatsoever though. Let's see, I've read about 20 Skyrim reviews, PC and Xbox 360. How many of them said bugs happened every twenty minutes? That would be "none." Most, if they said anything about bugs at all, said they were rare, and non game breaking.

 

but when Skyrim's new "Creation" engine has been so hyped up, one would expect it'd be possible to introduce some sort of counter-measure to prevent cheating, without forcing players to avoid the console entirely. Apparently, expecting this was too much, and so now players who want to get around bugs in the game are being inconvenienced and punished for it, either by being denied their achievements, or by repeated game restarts.

First: How do you "cheat" in an off-line only, single player only game? But whatever. Oh yeah, players need cheat codes to deal with all the massive bug ridden Bethesda code that denies them Achievements. You know, the game failures that I haven't seen once but, in the authors world, occur every 20 minutes. More pure horsecrap.

 

In order to change the FOV to a usable setting in Skyrim, I have to use console commands... which in turn means that I have to choose between basic playability, and achievements plus motion sickness and disorientation. Thanks, Bethesda.

 

You can change the FOV with a simple FOV XX command in console or you can edit the .ini file so it's always how you want it. Motion sickness and disorientation? Amazing how a problem so overwhelming that it makes the author sick wasn't mentioned once by a single professional reviewer or even in any of the player comments to the reviews. But hey, fortunately we got this guy to set us all straight about how we all have motion sickness while playing and just never noticed it.

 

Right from the bat, I knew that something was wrong when my high-end system was getting framerates in the low 20s from time to time, and when performance did not improve upon lowering the graphics options. Things became even more suspicious when I realized that there was no rhyme or reason for any of the framerate drops - whether I was outside in the overworld, the terrain stretching into the distance, or inside a tiny shop the size of a prison cell, the game's framerate fluctuates all over the place. There's no question about this: Skyrim is badly optimized.

 

I run 60 FPS on High settings 99% of the time. Never dropped below 55 as I recall. Even on Ultra I'm in the 50s most of the time. I don't what his "high end" system is, but I can tell you it runs smooth as glass on my system. Either his system is jacked or he's just spouting off more outright lies. Again, do a search for Skyrim PC Review and see how many of them complained about low frame rates? None that I saw. Huh. Not suspicious at all, Mr. Author.

 

A second issue I immediately ran into was an intense audio distortion - crackling, skipping and popping most commonly heard in dialogue, but also in many of the game's environmental sounds. No in-game audio options helped and there seemed to be no relevant settings in the game's INI files to help. On a lark, I went to my Windows Sound Properties page and dropped my sound card's bit rate from 96,000 Hz to 44,100 Hz. Instantly, the problem was gone - and instantly, I was frustrated at the fact that once again, it was clear Bethesda had foregone so much as basic compatibility testing.

 

Verifiable horsecrap. I changed my audio settings to 96,000. Not a crackle, pop or hiss anywhere. It sounds just fine. Bethesda didn't do basic compatibility testing or the author has an agenda? I'll leave that one to you.

 

"Mods will fix it" is a phrase commonly uttered when Bethesda games are mentioned, and it's certainly true that their often-buggy and occasionally-broken games have been substantially improved by their extremely dedicated fan community - I probably would not have got through Fallout: New Vegas or Oblivion if it wasn't for the countless hours fans spent overhauling the game's interface and fixing the bugs Bethesda refused to officially acknowledge.

 

True their are tens of thousands of mods out there for Morrowind and Oblivion. The overwhelming majority of which either adds some form of new content to the game or changes gameplay to a style that is more satisfying to the modders tastes. I don't find many mods at all that were "bug fixes" because something just plain didn't work.

 

Now the author does make a few valid points and I'm happy to agree with him on them:

 

The UI is definately a direct console port.

Sometimes things look like buttons to click but they aren't. It's confusing and I personally agree it shouldn't have been shipped that way.

Some of the keys cannot be re-mapped and I can't for the life of me figure out why. You ought to be able to remap any key to any function you wish. Definately valid complaint.

 

After that, well...there's less fiction in Star Wars than in the rest of his article.

 

Below is the picture of the graphics settings changes that, according the the author, you can't make before launching the game. Really? If you're going to make crap up, you might at least want to make it something that can't be verified as false by a 6 year old. But that's what have an agenda against a particular company will do to your sense of logic.

Edited November 12, 2011 by Hellshade

[Von Paulus 8]

I'm passing a list of mods that I gather in another forum:

 

I don't use it myself but this disables the kill animations.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=33

(Author would like to enforce first person as a alternative as well but will wait until the Creation kit is available as far as I've read and understood it.)

 

I do use this additional face detailing though, crude but effective.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=26

 

Unsure about this one but it cleans the skin texture up pretty well.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=23

 

I use this too due to the ugly compression artifacts on the faces.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=30

 

I liked this in the previous titles so I added it recently, improves some blood effects.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=60

 

(I avoid a lot of stuff though since I don't believe just sharpening the hell out of the texture will be very productive - http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=62 )

 

Some might like this but I think it's too blurry once I compared the texture files, blur / smoothing does help though but it reduces detail which is just as bad as over sharpening textures.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=58

 

This is something I also don't use but it slows skill advancement for those who want that.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=49

 

This is a stable of most any RPG but I don't use it myself.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=45

(I remove it altogether but it's pretty crude, not surprisingly at all. - http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=38 )

 

Might use this if I ever do a female character, prefer warrior builds and realism after all, probably too bulky for most but in line with how the males look.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=44

 

Similar to the further above male texture clean up this is the same but for females and also not via blur effects as some other have done, might end up using it.

http://skyrimnexus.c.../file.php?id=43

Edited November 12, 2011 by Von Paulus

[Shiloh 12]

Thanks Hellshade and others for all the time you're taking to bring us up-to-date. I think I'm going to put this one of my Christmas wish-list based on what I've seen so far and maybe it will have come down in price. The night scenes are absolutely amazing as are the other landscape shots I've seen.

[itifonhom 6]

I can confirm that there´s no drop at FPS on my system and I run it at ultrahigh. The only change I notice from time to time is how loud the fan of my graphic card goes, but I get no FPS drop. And I stop every 2-3 hours or so to let my system cool down a bit. The only "bug" until now, after 17 hours of playing, my companion got stuck in a cage, but as soon as I passed the next door, she was right behind me! I got to say, best RPG ever! 17 hours of wonderful gaming and I hardly touched the main storyline!!!

[Hellshade 110]

My companion got lost once. I used the Wait option for 1 hour (which is about 1 second of real time) and poof, she was right there again. I knew she'd find me anyways, I just didn't feel like waiting for her to catch up.

 

Hellshade

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I couldnt resist it any longer!!...Downloaded it on Steam last night...have to say....stunning!!!!

[Hasse Wind 46]

Please do good work with reporting bugs so that the game will be perfect when I buy it.

[itifonhom 6]

The companion can actually die, happened to me once. And now I'm a vampire too! And, there are no bugs! No broken quest so far and I'm more that 20 hours in Skyrim.

Edited November 13, 2011 by itifonhom

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

I am hoping to be a snivelling little toerag as my first charecter...a thieving, weak willed spineless little rat...who lives off thievery and pickpocketing...but good at spells and magic...a bit like Blackadder in the original series...I hope I can model him resonably accurately

Edited November 13, 2011 by UK_Widowmaker

[Olham 164]

Can you choose the companion, or do you just get what they give you?

[Hellshade 110]

Can you choose the companion, or do you just get what they give you?

 

Some companions must be hired if you want them. Others will go with you willingly if you help them out with a quest and so they decide they like you enough. Others still can be assigned to you temporarily because it's part of the quest that they go with you and at least one is given to you by the King to protect you. You may only have one companion at a time though.

 

Hellshade

[Olham 164]

So, when you have one follower, and the next quest gives you another companion - what happens to the first?

[itifonhom 6]

I only found Lydia so far and I'm really happy with her. I've read that you can even marry her, don't know for me though, since I got a female character (and she looks even better than Lydia!). Got stuck with this goat look around at the moment, my vampirism and the fact I have no idea how to "tame a leather helmet" or something like this. Need to find some more cities I suppose and gain more experience, I really love this game! It's challenging, not boring, you see new things all the time and the ambient and atmosphere are overwhelming!

 

And not to forget, I found a dog!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

 

And not to forget, I found a dog!

 

As in a Dog that sticks with you?.....wow!

[Olham 164]

Sounds more and more like it's worth the money...

[Hellshade 110]

So, when you have one follower, and the next quest gives you another companion - what happens to the first?

 

Well I have Lydia as my follower too. But I had to give her up for a bit while I was doing another quest that required a certain companion. When the quest was over, I went back to the place that I first found Lydia and she was there. Not sure if that's how it always works or not though. She's never died on me yet. Brave girl and a great little fighter. I have her all done up in Dwarve armor now, except the gloves which are still steel. I gave her a blade that does lightning damage every time it stikes too. Looks awesome at night.

[itifonhom 6]

I found her at my house at Whiterun after I bought it, at first she was always at the Jarrl's place. So I suppose she returns there. As for the dog, well, don't want to spoil it but ...... speaks! This game is really full of surprises guys, worth every penny!

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

OOOOOOO I want the DOGGIE!!!!!!! :lol:

 

One of the things I love about the free-roaming Bethesda games, is acting out my character's personality...I decide very early on, how I wish my charecter to behave...and stick with it!...If I am Pious...I would never join a thieves guild for instance!....If I want to be evil...I will be just that!

 

If an adventurer, seeking fame and fortune..thats what I'll do!...and because it's so huge...if you play again as a different person...the game changes with you to some extent!...I have two chaps at the moment...an evil, scheming little Rat...and an adventurer....who I play as at any one time, just reflects my mood!...wonderful stuff!!!

Edited November 13, 2011 by UK_Widowmaker

[itifonhom 6]

Hehehehe Widow, I'm afraid you have to search good then! Skyrim is really big and the dog a bit small and I won't spoil! :-)

[UK_Widowmaker 571]

Hehehehe Widow, I'm afraid you have to search good then! Skyrim is really big and the dog a bit small and I won't spoil! :-)

 

I'll find him m8...don'y you worry!!...I have a pocketful of Dog-treats!!!

[Bullethead 12]

I decided to try installing Skyrim on my laptop, which is only 2 years old. It runs fine but has to be in low detail so I'm eagerly awaiting my new desktop to really crank things up.

 

Anyway, I managed to spend some hours yesterday playing it while at the fire station. On Saturdays, it's only 1 guy on duty so the work outside of calls is light and calls were few until well into the night when the drunks hit the road. Managed to reach 5th level without trying hard, as my habit is to talk to every NPC in every town I come across and do any quests they have, or at least add them to the list to do later. So I haven't seen much of the world and, of course, am gaffing off the main quest until much later.

 

And as usual, my 1st character has turned out to be a sort of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. He's fairly decent at sneaking because I learned several games ago that just charging in isn't a good idea. I tested that in Skyrim and it's still true. However, he's not a thief, he's just tactical. Sneak up, take a sniper bow shot, run away and hide. Repeat until the enemies are thinned out, THEN charge in with melee and a bit of Destruction magic. And in between, make better weapons and armor.

 

So here's my guy, Snotr One-Eye. Everything he's got he made himself.