Elder Scolls V Skyrim

[Disgruntled Intern]

Madness. I think I spent a good six months on that game at least.

[Dynamithix]

I tried to get in to the story, I really tried, but I just couldn't. It was fun to punch innocent people though. Oh oh, and stealing shit.

[Mr. Bungle]

It seems like, when it comes to Oblivion, you're either on the same boat as DI or Dynamithix. I had the same situation as DI, where I couldn't stop playing for months, yet many of my friends found it very boring, like Dynamithix.

Don't think I've met anyone in the between.

[Bullet Magnet]

I'm in-between. I am enamoured with the idea of Oblivion, but I haven't yet sussed it out and let it under my skin they way I would like to. Otherwise I wouldn't give two hoots about Skyrim, but I certainly do. At least three hoots.

[Disgruntled Intern]

Hopefully the Dark Brotherhood lives on. Those quests were pretty fun if played as steathily as possible.

[T-nex]

Yea.. Oblivion was a semi-thing with me too... I think Ive spent some months on it to... But I haven't really finished the main quest line. I spent a long while in Shivering Isles cos I liked the sheer oddity of it. But I have this problem with games... I get distracted and don't play them for weeks, and then I sort of get out of the loop x_x With oblivion, I had to start over twice now cos I kept forgetting where I got to

[Wings of Fire]

I get distracted and don't play them for weeks, and then I sort of get out of the loop x_x With oblivion, I had to start over twice now cos I kept forgetting where I got to

Same. I think with RPGs you always keep a kind of metaconcept of the game in your head and you're always thinking two moves ahead. When you restart after you forget where you're going and where you've come from it can be very disorientating.

[MeechMunchie]

I third that. Every time I've restarted Morrowind it's just been because I forgot what I was doing. You should be able to annotate your Journal. If Skyrim features a Journal you can actually write in I will buy it without question.

[T-nex]

On the other hand, usually so long goes before I start up oblivion again, that I forgot almost absolutely everything It was like that last time, and it was as if I was playing the game for the first time, so i really didn't mind.

[Disgruntled Intern]

Yea.. Oblivion was a semi-thing with me too...

I've got a semi-thing for you right here, baby.

[metroixer]

SCREENSHOTS SCREENSHOTS LOOK AT THE PRETTY SCREENSHOTS

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...VG-General-RSS





Also a gaming magazine called OXM UK is going to cover skyrim in its next issue. A little preview...

Info

* There is a perk that will lower the sound of your footsteps.
* Perk for Axe that enables deeper cuts, which means prolonged bleeding. You can hit someone once and they will eventually bleed out.
* Eventual perk upgrade for Maces that will allow you to hit for full damage, ignoring armor stats.
* The article mentions placing runes on the floor (that we know already) but in particular talks about 'lob a frost rune down and if an enemy wanders over it, shards of ice will be launched through its body'
* Telekinesis is an available spell.
* 'No more agility to build up so don't have to keep jumping around to level up' (I assume they mean no longer skills like acrobatics and athletes but they use the word agility)
* When you kill a dragon you're able to absorb its soul which will make you learn a new dragon shout.
* There is a dragon shout called 'Unrelenting Force' which pushes anything standing directly in front of you backwards.
* Dragon shouts have cooldown periods after each shout performed. Individual shouts will have their own cooldown time.
* In the northern parts of Solitude is the Bard's College. The city is a busy port and there's event similar to bonfire night that has the burning of an effigy of King Olaf.
* Windhelm is the largest city. It has a palace that should look spectacular. This is also apparently the hangout for the Imperial Guards who monitor the path to Morrowind.
* Bleak Falls Barrows is a dungeon, with ancient Nord catacombs which features rivers, tree roots coming through the ceiling and light coming through odd cracks.
* 120 Dungeons and they claim that 'no two areas will be alike'.
* Just to re-confirm this fact straight from Todd Howard. Oblivion had 1 dungeon designer with artists doing the rest. Skyrim has 8 dungeon designers.
* Whole world is hand-crafted. Oblivion had some generated landscapes and there is NONE of that anymore used in Skyrim.
* The Shivering isles expansion inspired the team that unique, hand-crafted cities, where no two buildings look the same, was the way to go.
* Example of a 'Radiant Story'. OXM UK recieved a quest to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve a golden dragon claw antique and take it back to shopkeeper Lucan. If you killed Lucan, the quest would change to his friend Camilla instead.
* The Snow. Has been a lot of confusion about this. OXM UK says that snowfall is dynamic. Instead of a texture with a bit of white added, landscapes realistically get dusted with snow landing in appropiate nooks and crannies.
* There are one-off puzzles in certain dungeons.
* Example of new AI: 'Wolves have a den. Few times a day they go out and do a patrol and hunt in a pack. If they kill something then they'll hang out there. If you go outside and they're on patrol they will come after you. If they've killed something they will guard that and not chase you down as they want to look after it.



Dragon Shouts

The fact about the 'absorb soul of dragons to learn new shouts' has caused a little bit of confusion.

The dragon shout phases, of up to three words, can be found inscribed on the walls of ancient Nord dungeons. When uttered by the Dragonborn (the player) the words invoke powerful magic powers. For many of the shouts you can learn more phases which in turn will allow you to unleash a lengthier or more powerful version of the shout by holding the shout button down.
This appears to be the main way of learning shouts, by finding the word inscriptions. However the OXM article also mentions that you can learn new shouts in the process of absorbing dragon souls. The article doesn't mention anything else about this, maybe not all dragons give shouts, we don't know yet.


Key Map Locations visible on page 34

* Solitude
* Markarth
* Dawnstar
* Winter Hold
* Windhelm
* Whiterun
* Riften
* Falkreath



edit - These map locations may very well be outdated as OXM have used the old skyrim map with a new colour scheme.

Confirmed Skills

* Alchemy
* Illusion
* Conjuration
* Destruction
* Restoration
* Alteration
* Enchanting



New Screenshots

* Page 31 - We see a dragon on top of snow covered ruins. There is a huge backdrop behind it showing off mountains, new clouds and fog. Draw distance looks great.
* Page 34 - There is a picture of the skyrim worldmap which lists the locations listed above. On 2nd look they've used the same map as the one on the UESP wiki, so it may be outdated.
* Page 38 - A player appears to be wearing Elven armor and dualwielding a sword and staff. The staff is able to cast light along a corrider. (Was in gameinformer but bigger shot here and addition info)
* Page 39 - 2 new screenshots here, we see a hooded stealth character performing a stealth execution (Assassin's Creed style, blade to the chest up close). We see a new dungeon called the 'Hall of Stories' which features a locked door and a puzzle to open it. Stonework looks fantastic with spider webbing across the walls.

* Whole world is hand-crafted. Oblivion had some generated landscapes and there is NONE of that anymore used in Skyrim.


thank god

[Manco]

I've only been loosely following this thread up until now, but god-damn those are some pretty screenshots.

Looks like Skyrim is shaping up to be a pretty good game.

[Daxter King]

Those people look like people!

[Dynamithix]

Oh shit, looks good.

[Disgruntled Intern]

Has there been any word on confirmed races yet?

[Bullet Magnet]

Come on digitigrade beast-races!

[metroixer]

Has there been any word on confirmed races yet?

I highly doubt the races that have been in the elder scrolls series from the start will be altered. They're pretty balanced I think.

[MeechMunchie]

I hope they do damage modelling on those shiny new models. I'm tired of having an apparently flawless sword break in half when I try and slice a worm.

EDIT: Also, breasts.

[Dixanadu]

Plot wise, nah. I really liked the lore, though. I bought so many books.

The screenshots look great, I like the idea now no two caves/dungeons look the same. I really didn't like that in Oblivion.

And yay, Imperial guards are back.

Hopefully the Dark Brotherhood lives on. Those quests were pretty fun if played as steathily as possible.

That has been confirmed.

[Mr. Bungle]

Well. I'm certainly glad I'm not the only one who noticed the addition of breasts.

[T-nex]

God this game is one of the few that Im truly impatient for x_x Blargh.

[Dixanadu]

Hopefully there'll be more lifelike NPC to NPC interaction. I don't want to hear:

"What's the word from the other provinces?"

"Nothing I'd like to tell you."

"Take care."

[moxco]

Considering all games so far include those daedric quests and that Skyrim will probably be no different: How do you think they will implement Sheogorath?

[MeechMunchie]

Same as the others: Shrine in the middle of nowhere, fight off some cultists, gain his attention somehow, talk to his manifestation/personification/representation, go on some bizarre quest.

[Dixanadu]

And get the Wabbajack.

[moxco]

What, ignore the events that occurred in the shivering isles?

[MeechMunchie]

There are three simple solutions: Either Jyggalag got a nasty knock on the head and went nuts again, your hero from Oblivion has settled into their job as the new Lord of Madness and shapes themself to suit the role, or the hero collapses under the pressure of the job and goes genuinely insane, becoming a true replacement for the old Sheogorath.

More screenshots:







HOLY SHIT STARSIGNS

[Disgruntled Intern]

Awesome.

[MeechMunchie]

Awesome indeed.

[Dixanadu]

Is that second last screenshot an Ayleid ruin?