The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Official Thread [11/11/11....It's time!]

[jnhay]

Depending on the age of your video card you might be OK. Since the PC version of Skyrim is likely to be an Xbox360 port instead of the other way around, the game will have to run on Xbox360 hardware which is about equivalent to a decent computer in 2005-2006. So if you have a video card that would have been top of the line back then (e.g. an Nvidia 9800 GTX) you should be able to play the game just fine. Probably not at the highest settings, but it will still be playable.

Sadly, my card was medium spec when I first bought it. It's a 8800 gts 320MB, so I really doubt it'd be able to play the game at a respectable level considering the top-of-the-line cards at the time struggled with Oblivion.

I think my rig will be fine otherwise, but I guess I might have to settle for the PS3 version because I don't plan on buying a new PSU (hopefully I'm wrong about the lack of power connectors).

[blitzpackage]

Got pumped after this thread last night, priced a new PC. Based it on what is recommended for high settings on Crysis 2. $1900 for all the components, jeez that's depressing. Only one video card but may SLI eventually. I want to try to build my first rig and I think I can pull it off.

Yeah the mods are what made Oblivion for me including OOO, better UI, better textures, etc. I want a new PC for this and Battlefield 3, heck the PC I bought for BF2 and Oblivion lasted me five years. I guess it's not a bad investment.

[Stew]

I liked all the little things about Oblivion and Morrowind. For example, the Umbra sword that you have to beat Umbra for in Morrowind, you come accross again in Oblivion, plus the Ebony armor. I also liked the Warewolf/Vampire aspect of Morrowind/Oblivion. The open cities of Morrowind was one aspect that made it better then Oblivion.

You could create very powerful spells and artifacts, and actually cast permanent spells on yourself (i think it was a glitch, you could make a very powerful spell and cast it at your feet by directly looking down, and it would be a permanent effect, but you had to tweek some of the spell settings when creating it, like "for 1 second" kind of options) like permanent night eye, jumping, etc. By the end of the game I was able to jump from the top of the Red Mountain in the middle of the map, into the ocean at the very south of the map, past Vivec, and because I landed in the water, I wouldnt die.

Morrowind was epic. I didn't like the encomberence limits in your house though. It was brilliant that you could place artifacts and plates and silverware and candles and whatever you wanted in your house. You could stage your domicle any way you wanted to, with artifacts from all over the world... until you placed one too many. Then a brown bag would appear in your house at the spot where you placed your last object, and it would contain everything in your house after it had reached it max capacity. Very uncool. However, you could scatter armor and skulls and whatever you wanted all over the town you lived in, and make it look like a huge battle took place, and because the town is an open world, they would stay.

I hope that Skyrim takes the best elements of both games, and creates something great. Oblivion just looked like it was rushed to production and kind of lazily done in some aspects that Morrowwind showed great promise in.

Either way, Im excited. It will easily be GOTY, and a great gaming experience.

[Tweedr01]

Oblivion was good, can't beat the ending, but oblivion gate after oblivion gate after oblivion gate was boring as hell, with all the dungeons looking the exact same. Oblivion was a chore to beat, I wasn't having fun with it until the very end.

Yeah, that is the only thing wrong with games these days, it seems they have you do the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over ....

and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over

[Conn]

I'm glad you guys brought up mods...I've been trying to get into those. I know the theory behind getting them to work, I just need to test some and see what I like.

I've already been thinking about the standard ones like OOO, MMM, Midas Magic, Deadly Refexes, one that changes the beginning to be like Morrowind so you just get off a boat instead of doing the stupid tutorial every time you start a new character...

Big Blue Joe and blitzpackage, you guys seem to be the resident experts on mods so far haha...care to explain what really makes the above mods, and others that you always use, so important, in terms of improving the game? I get a lot of what they do, but I'd like to hear it from you guys what specifically they do that you love, different from vanilla Oblivion.

It does seem, however, that mods are what can really make Oblivion a game you could play endlessly...and I've done that already on standard, vanilla Oblivion on the 360 But I decided to grab the GOTY edition for the PC (it was $20.00, I'll finally be able to use mods, and I've never played either expansion). Its feeling like a great choice, though I'll have to get used to the controls being keyboard and mouse.

[blitzpackage]

The mods for me basically just create a better game. For instance Color Map was a good one - it replaced the vanilla brown and tan map with a color one. Better UI (called BTMod) made it so the default item display showed more items at once in your inventory. The inventory in the original only showed a handful(probably because of console ease) but it was difficult thumbing through it once you had a bunch of items. It aslo showed more of local and world maps so you didn't have to scroll from side to side.

OOO was basically a mod pack where one guy collected all of the good mods to extract and plug-in all or just pieces - it fixed a bunch of things but to me the enemy leveling fix was best. They didn't level with you, it got ridiculous towards the end of the vanilla game that every bandit had on glass/elven/orcish armor. Other mods also made the gold look better, potions look better, remove the ridiculous looking enchanted armor/weapon glow and in some case replaced them. Also used the remove annoying messages mod which removed "loading area" or "your horse is stabled outside the city gate".

Another must have for me was the Landscape LOD and Normal LOD replacement mods. The vanilla textures in the distance on mountains and rocks looked terrible and were low res. With the LOD replacement it was just more realistic looking but of course required a better PC. Must have if your PC can handle it, from what i understand the later versions had better performance.

I never added any new user created enemies, maybe tried a few armor packs. Never added dragons etc. I just wanted to make the vanilla game better.

[Conn]

Thanks, blitz, that's exactly the kind of stuff I wanted to hear. Awesome. I'm actually downloading OOO now, and I've been using the Oblivion Mod Manager to make things easier. Already got OBSE, Keychain, and the Alternative Start...although I may have to get rid of the Alternative Start if it conflicts with OOO. We'll see.

My understanding is that OOO makes the game much, MUCH harder and realistic, but also more fun. This seems to be your experience as well? I'm wondering, does it change item drops and stuff as well to compensate? If I go balls out and manage to kill a Minotaur or something ridiculous at a low level, will I be rewarded with appropriate loot?

Also, did you get the Unofficial Patch series? They seem to be essential to fixing many of the games bugs, etc., but I can't tell if many of these things are already included in OOO.

[Forehead]

I'm in the middle of playing Oblivion now, so don't ruin this for me with spoilers, but I have a question. Am I making things worse for myself by not bothering with any of the Oblivion gates? I'm just running around doing a lot of other quests and avoiding them. If I wait too long, are more of them going to spawn and make it impossible to navigate around without running into them?

Just curious if I should stop ignoring them or not.

---------- Post added March-1st-2011 at 03:56 PM ----------

Oh, I was also going to ask, why is everyone against enemies leveling up with you? I'm at level 35 or so and I kind of enjoy all the loot they have. I mean, I have to make a lot of trips back to towns to sell it, but I have a metric ****-ton of money and a ton of really cool magic rings that I don't sell because they don't weigh much of anything.

[Conn]

No, you aren't making it worse by waiting on those. Except that when you do decide to close them (even if you only actually close the ones required for the main quest), all enemies inside will be the hardest ones possible. But that's all.

And on the leveling enemies thing...its because it just doesn't make sense. It should feel more rewarding to complete that glass or ebony armor set, etc. than just killing a few bandits. Or finding a single bandit cave and getting all geared up at that point. Because then you're running around for the next 50+ hours with the best **** you can get, rather than having to actually work to acquire it.

And again, it bugs some people just because it doesn't make sense. Why would bandits have all this cool stuff? And having it, why are they still bandits? They could sell it and have gobs of gold. I know this is nitpicky, but a game like this is supposed to be immersive and as realistic as possible, and this aspect isn't.

And, to add to that, in Morrowind there was a great feeling of accomplishment when you managed to sneak past/kill/whatever a high-level group of enemies to get that high-level piece of loot hidden there, or held by that monster. In Oblivion, you can't find anything above your level range except for the statically placed unique items, like Umbra, etc. Want elven armor or weaponry? Too bad, you aren't level 6-10, or whatever. But when you are, every Joe Schmoe bandit will have it...until you hit level 20 or whatever, and then they'll all be wearing Glass. At which point you'll probably never see elven armor again.

So you never feel like you're really progressing beyond anyone else or becoming this hero, or even working for it, because every lame NPC has stuff equal to yours, on a base level.

[Forehead]

I guess I see your point...I didn't really notice because I have mostly specialized stuff at this point. Also, because I'm playing as mostly a tank type character (though with light armor) I'm able to smash people pretty quickly.

[Conn]

I guess I see your point...I didn't really notice because I have mostly specialized stuff at this point. Also, because I'm playing as mostly a tank type character (though with light armor) I'm able to smash people pretty quickly.

Are you playing on the PC, or 360? You can do a lot to improve the combat system, etc. on the PC with mods, even if you want to keep the leveling system the same.

[Forehead]

PC...I mean, I bought the game so late (last Christmas) that I figured most of the bugs would have been fixed by now. I certainly haven't noticed any problems. I may mod a little if I try to play again as a different character, but I'm going to try to beat the game as is my first time through.

[Conn]

PC...I mean, I bought the game so late (last Christmas) that I figured most of the bugs would have been fixed by now. I certainly haven't noticed any problems. I may mod a little if I try to play again as a different character, but I'm going to try to beat the game as is my first time through.

Oh, I'd definitely beat it the way its intended the first time through, mostly so that, if you decide to start again, you know exactly what you did and didn't like about the original game. If you don't like it, I guarantee that you can find a mod to change it.

And yeah, most of the bugs aren't a big deal, although there are unofficial patches that are recommended. But mostly, the mods add new content.

Whether its adding thousands upon thousands of items/weapons/unique stuff, etc. or improving the magic and combat systems, a lot of it is apparently very worthwhile. I can't wait to start a new game with this stuff, I just have to finish adding the mods.

[grantarchy]

I'm much more excited about The Witcher coming out. I am playing Oblivion right now, and really don't get the love for the game. It is OK, but I have found it to be pretty tedious. However, the graphics do look pretty incredible.

[blitzpackage]

Yeah I installed OOO basically for the immersion. If you do manage to kill higher level enemies they will drop loot according to their level. It is harder in some areas at first but you'll also bump into enemies that are far lower in level later in the game so I think it balances out. I played as a stealth character so it was a lot easier getting the stealth multiplier with the first hit and running and hiding like a coward, lol. I got the first unofficial patch that fixed some quest bugs because it was taking Bethesda forever, but after the official was released I went with it.

As far as the Oblivion gates I basically did what you are doing FH. I knew from spoilers at what point in the main quest the gates would start opening so I just did all my exploring before that - it made it a little harder in the gates but you can make it through anything if you save often

[scottie]

Holy ****! Did I just see a stealth kill in the trailer?

My Bosmer thief is gonna go Solid Snake on that ass in Skyrim.

[Conn]

Holy ****! Did I just see a stealth kill in the trailer?

My Bosmer thief is gonna go Solid Snake on that ass in Skyrim.

Yes sir you did. And there are other finishing moves as well, specific to weapon type and creature.

[Forehead]

I don't know if anyone here played Dragon Age: Origins, but the Messy Kills feature on some weapons was awesome, especially if you were playing as a tank fighter type. Finishing a guy off with a spinning sword swipe and lopping his head off was visually gratifying...all those mouse clicks were worth it. Oblivion is basically just a bunch of swiping, watching the life meter go down. If Skyrim included a messy kills type feature, that will be great.

[Conn]

I don't know if anyone here played Dragon Age: Origins, but the Messy Kills feature on some weapons was awesome, especially if you were playing as a tank fighter type. Finishing a guy off with a spinning sword swipe and lopping his head off was visually gratifying...all those mouse clicks were worth it. Oblivion is basically just a bunch of swiping, watching the life meter go down. If Skyrim included a messy kills type feature, that will be great.

I'm not sure how far it will go, but Skyrim will have more blood and be more mature...its already being said its getting an "M" rating, which can only be good.

And there are some mods out there to make it possible to decapitate in Oblivion, as well. I know there's one called Ultimate Violence. Totally changes combat and allows stuff like this, and makes combat more than just *block* *click* *hope for critical hit* over and over again.

[grantarchy]

Oh, I was also going to ask, why is everyone against enemies leveling up with you? I'm at level 35 or so and I kind of enjoy all the loot they have. I mean, I have to make a lot of trips back to towns to sell it, but I have a metric ****-ton of money and a ton of really cool magic rings that I don't sell because they don't weigh much of anything.

What I don't like about the leveling system is the concept of "efficient leveling" -- http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Efficient_Leveling

in which you consciously try and target attributes for +5 bonuses, which then leads to artificial gameplay. I tried it for awhile and it greatly diminished my enjoyment. But the problem is, if you don't concentrate on it, creatures begin to overlevel you which make things unfun as well. Any system where it is advisable to stand there and block a creature 50 times to increase your block skill enough to where you get a +5 bonus is stupid, in my opinion. And then there is the "overleveling" in which you level too much, which potentially causes you to not skill up enough later.

[Conn]

What I don't like about the leveling system is the concept of "efficient leveling" -- http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Efficient_Leveling

in which you consciously try and target attributes for +5 bonuses, which then leads to artificial gameplay. I tried it for awhile and it greatly diminished my enjoyment. But the problem is, if you don't concentrate on it, creatures begin to overlevel you which make things unfun as well. Any system where it is advisable to stand there and block a creature 50 times to increase your block skill enough to where you get a +5 bonus is stupid, in my opinion. And then there is the "overleveling" in which you level too much, which potentially causes you to not skill up enough later.

Right. Which is why the leveling system is broken, outside of even the monsters leveling with you.

The math geeks are always going to figure out how to squeeze out every advantage in a level-up system...but when the most efficient way to improve your character (which is almost necessary if you actually want to kill the later creatures without carrying around a hundred potions and hitting them 30 times first.) is an artificial fun-sucker of a practice....well, that's not a good sign.

They're changing all of that with Skyrim.

[Conn]

Happened across this great thread on the official Skyrim forum, the OP at this link is updated constantly with every bit of confirmed news about the game. Lots of cool stuff that I hadn't read about yet, from cool little details to huge game-changing ones.

http://forums.bethsoft.com/index.php?/topic/1170249-confirmed-features/#entry17246960

I'll put it in my OP as well, here.

[Forehead]

I never did figure out how level up bonuses were determined...all the +2's and +5's and so forth. I just played the game. I assumed they were determined randomly.

[Conn]

I never did figure out how level up bonuses were determined...all the +2's and +5's and so forth. I just played the game. I assumed they were determined randomly.

Nope. It was how much you used the skills effected by that attribute. Use blade a lot, your strength gets a higher multiplier, Athletics for speed, and so on.

[Forehead]

Nope. It was how much you used the skills effected by that attribute. Use blade a lot, your strength gets a higher multiplier, Athletics for speed, and so on.

This would explain why I got no bonuses when I just trained in specific skills to get another level.