[mattyb]

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna 

I'm not an RPG player, so take this with a grain of salt guys, but everything I read about Skyrim sounds negative to me. It's loaded with all the stuff I hate about RPGs (the grind, the endless gear management), plus absolutely crazy bugs and design choices like mattyb's example. I'm already overly critical of games, so I think Skyrim would make me tear my hair out.

While there is 'the grind', the gear management, its also packed with so much other stuff. The fact that I get a choice to fight a battle that I can never win is annoying, but its such a small part of the game overall (as Dakar's figures show in the Gaming news thread, there seem to be a hell of a lot of people playing and presumably liking it). Its not perfect, but no game is. There is no camaraderie - which made an already great game like Borderlands even greater, although I don't see how you could have 2 Dragonborn trying to do one Dragonborn's quests.

What I like most about it (this could also be seen as a drawback I suppose) is the uniqueness of the Skyrim experience. Your choice of character type, your interactions with NPCs, your use of sneaking or archery or two-handed weapons or spells change the game and what you can do in the game dramatically. At least thats the impression I get.

Those that I know that have started playing it all love it.

[P]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

What I like most about it (this could also be seen as a drawback I suppose) is the uniqueness of the Skyrim experience. Your choice of character type, your interactions with NPCs, your use of sneaking or archery or two-handed weapons or spells change the game and what you can do in the game dramatically. At least thats the impression I get.

It might be unique today, but a better term might be oldschool RPG - that is, RPG with actual role-playing in it - and all the ES games have it. The opposite is a game like Bioware or Obsidian makes them - or made, before Bioware went on this trip of "RPG lite", where DA2 really isn't an RPG at all any more - where telling the story is the important part, and whatever choices you make have to be shoehorned into one or two possible progressions. It's great, but it requires some investment in time. I'm holding off on Skyrim until the holidays, when I hope that I can really dig in to it.

[gradient]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Stupid question, but how do you see the time that you have spent on this game? I can only find the number of days (Skyrim days) passed.

The time played is listed next to each saved game.

[mattyb]

Cheers Gradient.

This is maybe too late for some here, but I've come across a pretty interesting solution for getting money - not a glitch or a hack.

You need a bow and arrows. Having poisons is good as well. Sneak everywhere. When you come across an animal, arm the bow (use a poison if its a big/dangerous animal), sneak up to it and shoot it with the bow - double damage if you do sneak attacks. Get the skin and anything else from the dead animal. Goto the nearest blacksmiths and use the tanning thing to make leather and leather straps. Goto the forge and make leather bracers. Sell the bracers to the blacksmith.

This levels up loads of stuff : sneak, archery, smithing and speech. Plus you get money AND you explore. I've been doing this a bit recently and not doing the quests. Even though you aren't killing 'enemies' you still level up pretty fast since you are increasing other skills. I'm also adding to my map since you come across mammoth camps and other stuff while hunting.

I wonder if the animals that you killed can respawn, cos Skyrim is going to run out of wolves if I keep on doing this.

[Jawbone54]

How much money have you brought in doing this? I'm itching to buy the first 5,000 gold house.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

How much money have you brought in doing this? I'm itching to buy the first 5,000 gold house.

It takes a while to get the 5000 from just selling leather bracers, but whats good is that you're ranking up, increasing skills and discovering at the same time. As well as the actual buying and selling of the bracers, you'll also discover other stuff, maybe kill a few more people and therefore sell their stuff. If you have a companion, it makes it easier because he/she can do some carrying so you don't have to go back to Whiterun (or where-ever you do your smithing) as often.

Depending on how tough you are, the giants always seem to have gold in the hundreds stashed around.

I'm also a flower/mushroom/insects collector anytime I get the chance. You can make some potions and sell a few of them for some pretty good coinage. I wasted quite a lot of stuff trying different ingredients before I decided to use an ingredients list for potions found on the internet. There are some potions that can sell for 200 gold even when your speech skill isn't that high.

I always have the pickaxe, that way you can do some mining and sell the ore - I don't have the spell that transforms iron into silver into gold yet.

===================================

For those that like the magical side of Skyrim, the Ice Spike spell is the dogs bollocks. Dual casted its awesome, not just inflicting damage but stopping an attacker in their footsteps. Giants can be easily handled with a shout and a few Ice Spikes.

BUT, a word of warning : even when a dragon is on the ground, and has very little health left and you're hitting it or spell-casting :

DON'T STAND IN FRONT OF THE ****ER!!!

Just before death, this blood dragon decided that I'd make for a tasty snack. It got the whole of my body except for the feet in its gob and then died (there were some guards around). You have been warned.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

How much money have you brought in doing this? I'm itching to buy the first 5,000 gold house.

Another thing to remember is that there are fittings for the house to pay for, and these aren't cheap either : 250 dining room, 300 bedroom, 250 kitchen etc. The Alchemy table is 500, I decided that I didn't need it. I sold all the gear that you get with the fittings (plates, cups, swords etc) and used all the food to make stews and stuff. Why keep a platter that you'll never use if you can sell it?

You can then store your stuff in the chests and cupboards. There's even a bookshelf that you can store (IIRC) 20 books in.

[Kevin Bogues]

Although i've never purchased a game from Toys R Us...(I will be this week)


Skyrim $39.99

[mattyb]

From here : Skyrim Gets Shouted Out as GameSpot’s Game of the Year

One of the comments :

I've put 250-plus hours into Skyrim (yes I have no life at the moment) and have done almost everything there is to do in the game, and I can't decide how I feel about it.

250 hours, over 10 days and he/she cannot decide how they feel about it?!?!

I'm nearing the 50 hours myself, and its a glorious game. Not something that I expected since I was such a CoD whore AND I couldn't get into Fallout 3.

[mattyb]

Arnold mod : Play as Arnold Schwarzenegger in Skyrim - YouTube

[gradient]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

From here : Skyrim Gets Shouted Out as GameSpot’s Game of the Year

One of the comments :



250 hours, over 10 days and he/she cannot decide how they feel about it?!?!

I'm nearing the 50 hours myself, and its a glorious game. Not something that I expected since I was such a CoD whore AND I couldn't get into Fallout 3.

Pretty silly analysis if you ask me. Not because the issues he mentions don't exist, because they do, but simply because it's even possible to get TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY hours of gameplay our of a single-player title that costs the same as other games that give you a fraction of that.

As far as I'm concerned, any game that gives you an enjoyable fifty hours or more of single player campaign is by definition a 'good game', based solely of pound for pound value. Consider a COD title that gives you, what, maybe 10-15 hours of single player play? COD titles are going to be slicker and more finely crafted, sure, but at the end of the day you just spent $4/hour for your entertainment, as opposed to $0.24/hour. For a sixteenth of the price, I sure as heck expect some bugs and lackluster voice scripting and will never complain about them.

The PS3 lag issues, on the other hand, are obviously unacceptable.

[mattyb]

And we'll try not to pollute the GOTY 2011 thread anymore with Skyrim experiences ...

Very very very apt analyses from Mr. Kaiser in a post at at Kotaku : Skyrim and the Compass to Nowhere

At the moment I am basically doing 'things' to enable me to create dragon scale armour with enchantments so that I can do the quests (follow the arrow) without having to consume food and/or potions when the health or magika or stamina gets low. Or at least reduce the need to eat stuff / cast a healing spell.

I basically play the game as a very very nice person and there are quests that in other games (like Fable 2 where you had a good/bad slant to your character) change how people treat you. From what I understand even if you do the cannibal quest, you still have a certain type of 'karma'. Maybe stuff like this is just too complex for a game the size of Skyrim.

[mattyb]

A YouTube vid from the comments in the article cited above (warning strong language) Arrow to the Knee - YouTube

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

And we'll try not to pollute the GOTY 2011 thread anymore with Skyrim experiences ...

Very very very apt analyses from Mr. Kaiser in a post at at Kotaku : Skyrim and the Compass to Nowhere

If anything, that's good fodder as to why it shouldn't be GOTY.

[mattyb]

Then you'll get people arguing about what a GOTY should and shouldn't be. While I agree with his analysis, I still find the game awesome. AND, I bet thousands of others would agree. Some would say that the PS3 problems would preclude it from being GOTY.

[P]

What weapons are you all using? One hand with shield, dual, or twohander - and is it swords, daggers, maces or axes? They all seem to have their advantages.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Then you'll get people arguing about what a GOTY should and shouldn't be.

Seems like a valid question to me. Didn't the thread start as to whether a glitchy as **** game should even be considered?

[Jawbone54]

If you regard it as a 360 game, then sure, it's game of the year. If you regard it as a PC game, sure. If you regard it as a PS3 game, then no, obviously.

So the question is do you vote based upon what is presented on the 360/PC versions, or do you nominate a cross-platform game altogether? Should the debacle of the PS3 version prohibit it from consideration?

I'm not sure, myself.

[The Final Dakar]

It's a cross-platform game. If someone hears "Skyrim is GOTY" there shouldn't be a ****ing asterisk that denotes "On the 360." Either it's a great game on all platforms or its not a great game.

[Jawbone54]

I have less of a problem with Joystiq placing the 360 version atop their top 10 list than I do about them leaving Uncharted 3 off completely, while Saints Row: The Third, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Shadows of the Damned, and Mortal Kombat all made it.

[The Final Dakar]

I guess Uncharted is officially too successful then, much like Call of Duty.

[Jawbone54]

The same could be said of GoW3 and Arkham City, especially the GoW series.

[The Final Dakar]

I'm sure Arkham will be done after CIty. I could already hear stirrings of "It's just the same only bigger."

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by P 

What weapons are you all using? One hand with shield, dual, or twohander - and is it swords, daggers, maces or axes? They all seem to have their advantages.

I'm 90% magic (destruction stuff), 8% archery and 2% Elven Axe for when the magic runs out and the bastard is close. My companion Lydia has a Battleaxe than takes stamina and health away from her opponent. And she shoots arrows at distant targets as well.

Even with 350 magika, I can't ensure that I can kill all enemies without using weapons. I wonder if it is actually possible to be a pure magika using mage.

PC playing mate of mine only uses a bow, nothing else. He kills giants with 2 shots now, unpoisoned. He hasn't raised magika from his starting level.

[Jawbone54]

That's part of the beauty of the game. You can play it any way that you'd like. It's fun comparing stories and skills with friends.

[Jawbone54]

Oh, and I'm a one-hands sword/axe guy, with a shield in the other hand. Next time around I'd like to play as a sneaking archery specialist.

[P]

I eventually settled on swords, as they're so much faster than the others. The skills for swords are pretty terrible though - the ones for maces are so much better, which is why I was tempted.

I played sword&shield for a long time before switching to dualwield sword+dagger when a glass dagger dropped into my lap. That was always the plan, however - switch once my armor rating was high enough to survive without the shield. Saved up points and did the switch, including retraining, in the middle of an assault.

As for the magic...this game conveniently locates all of the useful warrior support spells in one school - alteration. I will probably have to invest some time in that. Now that the rebelion is over, I guess I'll have to find something else to fill my time.

[mattyb]

Just wondering what level people are and how long they've played.

I'm at 28 and have been playing for 75 hours. While there may be those that mock the low level for the time played, I have Destruction at 98, Enchanting at 51, Smithing at 75, Archery at 32, Light Armour at 28, Sneak at 43, Lockpicking at 27, Speech at 32, and Alchemy at 34. The others are all around the 20 mark.

[P]

21 or 22 (not sure) with 23 hours played.

[mattyb]

Clairvoyance spell is well worth it.

When you're traveling at night and there's snow everywhere, its really very difficult to see where you should go. A bit of clairvoyance and Bob's your uncle.

[gradient]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Just wondering what level people are and how long they've played.

I'm at 28 and have been playing for 75 hours. While there may be those that mock the low level for the time played, I have Destruction at 98, Enchanting at 51, Smithing at 75, Archery at 32, Light Armour at 28, Sneak at 43, Lockpicking at 27, Speech at 32, and Alchemy at 34. The others are all around the 20 mark.

I'm at level 35 after about 120 hours. Seems like maybe I'm at a pretty low level compared to some, but I haven't really put any effort into levelling my character as it takes much of the fun out of it for me. Besides that, I've probably stunted my growth a bit by leaning on the Sanguine Rose quite a bit.

[gradient]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I'm 90% magic (destruction stuff), 8% archery and 2% Elven Axe for when the magic runs out and the bastard is close. My companion Lydia has a Battleaxe than takes stamina and health away from her opponent. And she shoots arrows at distant targets as well.

Even with 350 magika, I can't ensure that I can kill all enemies without using weapons. I wonder if it is actually possible to be a pure magika using mage.

PC playing mate of mine only uses a bow, nothing else. He kills giants with 2 shots now, unpoisoned. He hasn't raised magika from his starting level.

It is definitely possible to be a pure mage. I've put almost all of my levelling points into magicka so have it up to around 480 or so right now after clothing bonuses. Combined with the Sanguine Rose, I'm a pretty much unstoppable mage.

I can't say that I'm a totally pure mage, because I do carry around a health draining glass sword just for times when I feel like hacking a few limbs off. That's just out of preference on rare occasion, though.

[Jawbone54]

Is anyone else noticing a ton of pop-in, particularly with the grass?

I'll see a completely barren (green) plain, then as I get within 20 feet, grass starts loading everywhere. I'm also seeing a lot of nasty textures in snowy areas, at its worst in the mountains.

[mattyb]

Grass, trees, mountains all get more and more detailed as you get closer. I started shooting at something far away with the bow and arrow only to discover that it was a rock. Of course when I got closer I couldn't believe that I'd actually mistaken it for anything killable.

Inventory management is now getting to be a grind. And so is the buying selling enchanting smithing to get the skills up. Sneaking around with an enchanted bow and capturing souls is good though.

[P]

This is why it's worth it to game on a PC - you can mod in an interface system that works.

(the minor downside is that I had to actually hack in a new graphics driver to make it crash less is beside the point, and mostly Apple's fault anyway).

[Jawbone54]

I'm talking about standing on top of a rock that looks like a grey smudge of jaggies and blur.

[skyrim]

this game is so addictive. If you can max the settings, there will be no weird grass and rocks.

[boy8cookie]

Playing this in wine on my mac now. Plays surprisingly well on maxed settings. I'm focused on sneaking and archery, level 9. I solo'd a mammoth (took like 35 arrows) at level 7 by running him around a pond, apparently mammoths don't like getting wet.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by boy8cookie 

Playing this in wine on my mac now. Plays surprisingly well on maxed settings. I'm focused on sneaking and archery, level 9. I solo'd a mammoth (took like 35 arrows) at level 7 by running him around a pond, apparently mammoths don't like getting wet.

I know a few people that are doing very well focusing on sneaking and archery. If you choose the archery skill tree you can have some really interesting advantages, in particular for close quarters stuff.

[mattyb]

Dustman's Cairn is the toughest quest that I've come across so far. Endless Draugr, and tough ones at that. Took me about 6 or 7 goes to beat the bastards.

[P]

The quest where you're supposed to retrieve a book for the Bards was really hard. My follower Lydia died on that one, and that battle was so hard that I actually didn't want to reload. Since she was carrying a lot of my gear, and it was all valuable stuff, I simply picked it all up and walked slowly out - all the way to Whiterun. First I went werewolf for a while, but that ended when I didn't want to eat innocent villagers. The I used the Whirlwind Shout to storm forward and cut yet more time off the slow walk. When I finally was on the stairs going up to Whiterun, a guard came forward, asking me to please stop shouting because I was scaring people.

The Daedric artifacts are surprisingly balanced this time around. I have Dawnbreaker, which rocks against undead but since it is only Ebony and it does not benefit from the perk for tempering Ebony weapons, it will be outclassed when I get to Daedric quality weapons. Mace of Bolag Mal is much the same, except less situational, and Azura's Star was never a gamebreaker. There seems to be no Umbra and no Goldbrand, so the best blade you can get is likely a Legendary Daedric blade of whatever type you prefer, with some nice enchantment on. I have Legendary Orcish gear generally, plus Dawnbreaker, so it doesn't feel like I'm very far off.

[mattyb]

Well, I found out today how slowly I'm progressing. People who have played half the hours that I have are at the same level or above me. I must have ADD or something.

[P]

1) Bring back stuff from caves based on the value/weight. This gets you lots of money
2) Use that money to pay trainers in the things that take long to increase on their own (like smithing). It's fairly cheap up to level 50.
3) Pay for the best gear, or make it yourself. Just tempering the stuff you find can make a difference.
4) Cherry-pick the quests you do. The Daedric ones are good and the longer questlines. Avoid the silly fetch quests.

[boy8cookie]

I've quickly lost interest in this game. It's basically devolved into exploiting the terrain to kill shit I shouldn't be able to (giants/mammoths/guards). It's a cool game, but I kind of treated it like a medieval GTA; killing anything that moves, stealing whatever looks shiny, evading the authorities. Oh well, I can always go back if I get the urge to rape and pillage.

[mattyb]

Sad really, but last night I got to 100 smithing and was able to make some legendary Dragonscale armour - the satisfaction level was high.

Now I need to get from 87 to 100 in enchanting so that I can double enchant the armour. May need to purchase some filled grand or black soul gems before doing this though, IIRC I only have 2. Should make battles a bit easier for me.

[gradient]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Sad really, but last night I got to 100 smithing and was able to make some legendary Dragonscale armour - the satisfaction level was high.

Now I need to get from 87 to 100 in enchanting so that I can double enchant the armour. May need to purchase some filled grand or black soul gems before doing this though, IIRC I only have 2. Should make battles a bit easier for me.

Armour is for wimps.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by gradient 

Armour is for wimps.

Enchanted Armour to reduce cost when casting Destruction spells as well as increasing archery lethality is for Pros. I like to keep enemies at a distance.

=========================

I hear people sniff as I walk by sometimes. No idea why. Last time they did this I was (inadvertedly) naked, but I've got full armour on now.

[P]

Are you a werewolf? They do that around me, but I thought it was the werewolf thing.

BTW, I read up on the 'net, and it seems that there is one gamebreaking Daedric artifact: Spellbreaker. Funny, I remember it being fairly pointless in Oblivion.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I was (inadvertedly) naked

Did you get mugged?

[gradient]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Enchanted Armour to reduce cost when casting Destruction spells as well as increasing archery lethality is for Pros. I like to keep enemies at a distance.

=========================

I hear people sniff as I walk by sometimes. No idea why. Last time they did this I was (inadvertedly) naked, but I've got full armour on now.

It was a joke. But on a serious note, that's the beauty of this game. I like keeping enemies at a distance, too, but my Archmage Robes combined with some summoning spells do the trick nicely; different strokes. Battles really are pretty easy, I end up reloading saves nine times out of ten because my Companion did something stupid, usually running into friendly fire, to get himself killed. Companion AI is easily my top pet peeve.