Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[Kail]

Oh one other thing that was added as well in the DLC. YOu can hit things while on horseback. Woohoo.

I think that's from a patch, you can do it even without the DLC I believe.

[brellium]

The point system for enchanting, I had a nice daedric tower shield 180 enchanting points, 1 click would trigger a damage spell that fired off 5 different damage spells at 30 points of damage with a 20 foot radius.

That brings me back to Morrowind.  I'd steal some expensive soul stones and make some ridiculous gloves that would just spam out a nuke.  Made the whole game easy mode at the start.

re-reading that I don't think I was exactly clear, the shield pumped out 30 points of damage per spell, so 150 points of damage that at most things would resist 2 of them.

It ended up being a game of "lets see what survives!"  With the answer just being another click.

[Sir T]

By the way I've found what the Vamp lord is really good at, taking out big groups of enemies. Its blast might "only" do 87 odd points of damage, but when theres 3 or 4 of them around you its doing it to each of them AND transferring that health to you. Quite fun actually 

[Sheepherder]

I think Bethesda is trying to tell us something with the Troll armour.

Now that I actually have a reason to play a vampire, I need to unfuck the way that the vampirism script adds and deletes spells rather than incrementing the damage with hidden perks.  Anyone who's ever tried to quickbind one of the vampire abilities knows what I'm talking about.

[Sheepherder]

So, it looks like the source for the new player vampire scripts is simply not there until Bethesda releases an updated editor.  That kind of fucking sucks since I don't like doing hackjobs and I don't trust decompiled then recompiled code to not shit itself.

[Lucas]

New DLC revealed: "Hearthfire" . Available on Xbox from September 4th.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gXwNVpDmfo

So You Want to be a Parent? :P (and an architect, and an interior designer, apparently :P)

[Xuri]

House-building thing looks interesting. However, surprise, surprise - it's a 360-exclusive.

[Lucas]

House-building thing looks interesting. However, surprise, surprise - it's a 360-exclusive.

It will cost 400 MS points ($5):

http://twitter.com/nickbreckon/status/240456388164325376

[Yoru]

Dawnguard was also 360-exclusive.

Either way, I'm actually kinda interested. I'd like to build a little wilderness outpost and defend it from wolves and stuff. Sounds like fun.

Guess I'll have to reinstall Skyrim and dig out my old save from the archive drive.

[koro]

It will cost 400 MS points ($5)

That's more like it.

[Kail]

Kinda torn.  On the one hand, I'm all for anything that makes the game more world-y, and this seems like it.  Unless it's seriously fucked up, I'm almost definitely getting it for PC on launch.

On the other hand, unless the systems associated with it are really deep, I don't see why I'd care about this when I can already build my own house in TES Construction Kit without worrying about funding/decorating it with the wonky in-game interface.  The whole "raise children" thing has a lot of potential for virtual dollhouse nerds like me, but given that interaction with other people has been arguably the weakest aspect of the series since Daggerfall, I'm getting the feeling that it's going to feel really tacked on.

[Rendakor]

This actually sounds pretty cool; once this drops for PC I'll probably buy HF + DG and start a new character up. Having to adopt kids but not actually being able to have kids of your own just seem strange but oh well. Given the general track record, this should come out on PC in early October, right?

[Kail]

Having to adopt kids but not actually being able to have kids of your own just seem strange but oh well.

I assume that's down to not having models or voices for non-Nordic kids, but yeah, definitely a bit weird.  Double extra weird that it looks like you have to go up to them in the street and invite them to live with you...

[Stormwaltz]

A raft of features implemented months ago by PC modders.

Years ago, if you want to include Oblivion.

[Lucas]

A raft of features implemented months ago by PC modders.

Years ago, if you want to include Oblivion.

True, but on the other hand is good to rely on official mods that have less chance to cause conflicts, with developers that have access to the code they created themselves (not saying that means a "bug proof" product, especially in bethesda case :P)

[Mrbloodworth]

Why is this not a MMO yet?

[Lucas]

2-4 co-op sandbox scenario (no quests, just wildlife and monsters) with randomized dungeons (each time you access them, much like torchlight, Diablo etc.) and the rest is up to the modding community 

[koro]

Why is this not a MMO yet?

Because Todd Howard hates MMOs.

Even co-op with more than two people would significantly raise system requirements and necessitate a pretty radical change in design to accommodate it.

[Mrbloodworth]

Why is this not a MMO yet?

Because Todd Howard hates MMOs.

Even co-op with more than two people would significantly raise system requirements and necessitate a pretty radical change in design to accommodate it.

There is a multi-player mod.

[Ingmar]

How does it deal with fast travel? That would seem to break badly with multiple players since time is supposed to pass when you do it.

[koro]

Why is this not a MMO yet?

Because Todd Howard hates MMOs.

Even co-op with more than two people would significantly raise system requirements and necessitate a pretty radical change in design to accommodate it.

There is a multi-player mod.

There have been multiplayer mods for Elder Scrolls games since Morrowind. I have yet to see them get past the early alpha/proof-of-concept phases (which the Skyrim one is currently in) though, due to the hurdles required to get the engine to do anything other than "Yep, I can see that other guy." As long as everything has to be done via the hacky synchronization methods that the mods have to utilize, I don't foresee them really getting anywhere.

[Tebonas]

Todd Howard is my hero.

There are enough Mmogs for those inclined to play them, there will be a multiplayer Elder Scrolls as well. They don't have to ruin single player games as well.

Balancing Skyrim would be a bitch. And not balancing it would mean endless bitching about overpowered Builds and cries for balancing tradeskills. Fuck that shit.

[Mrbloodworth]

I just want the minecraft model of multiplayer.

[Kail]

I just want the minecraft model of multiplayer.

Yeah.  I'd say the same thing about 90% of all MMOs, for that matter.

It also looks like the PS3 might not be getting Dawnguard, as in, not ever.  Or any other Skyrim DLC.  Possibly.

http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1407614-update-on-ps3-dlc/

We have tried a number of things, but none of them solve the issue enough to make Dawnguard good for everyone. The PS3 is a powerful system, and we're working hard to deliver the content you guys want. Dawnguard is obviously not the only DLC we’ve been working on either, so the issues of adding content get even more complicated. This is not a problem we’re positive we can solve, but we are working together with Sony to try to bring you this content.

[Ingmar]

Ouch. I can't decide if this reflects worse on Sony or Bethesda. I lean towards Sony.

[koro]

You could potentially shift blame either way, really. The PS3's had problems with every Bethsoft game on it since Oblivion (I know people with Oblivion GOTY boxes that still won't work on their PS3s, with no solution or recourse), so I guess you could blame Sony for making shitty-to-develop-for hardware as much as you could blame Bethsoft for not going the extra mile to retool their games to make sure they work 100% on Sony's shitty-to-develop-for hardware, but release them on it anyway.

[cmlancas]

Todd Howard is my hero.

There are enough Mmogs for those inclined to play them, there will be a multiplayer Elder Scrolls as well. They don't have to ruin single player games as well.

Balancing Skyrim would be a bitch. And not balancing it would mean endless bitching about overpowered Builds and cries for balancing tradeskills. Fuck that shit.

Why balance anyone?  Isn't that the beauty of Elder Scrolls games? 

One of my favorite DIKU MUDs is a pseudo multi-class where you can perform any of the trinity.  The genius of this is that while mages can tank, warriors and the like are better at it.  But, better is a relative term-- anyone can be good at it once the gear gets good enough.

One can dream.

[Lucas]

Yeah, I know it will never see the light of the day, but whoa, nice job:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/20/skywind-mod-aims-to-bring-morrowind-to-the-skyrim-engine/

More pics here:
http://morroblivion.com/forums/conversion-to-skyrim/conversion-to-skyrim/2606

[Ingmar]

I would hope with Skyrim mechanics?

[Lucas]

I would hope with Skyrim mechanics?

I think so, but in the mini-faq on the forum, for example, you can read:
http://morroblivion.com/forums/skywind/skywind-development/2817

6. Q: Could I use smitings objects and other craft possibillities like it was in Skyrim?

A: yes, you could. But crafting system will be rebalanced.

7. Q: What about fast-travel and markers?

A: You could use fast-travel, but if you don't want, you could turned it and compass off.

8. Q:I have heard  that the armor system will be similar to the Morrowind's one, is that true?

A: Yeah, indeed. All armor have a 2 pauldrons, greeves, boots, 2 bracers, cuirass and helmet.

[calapine]

Coming back to it since a long time, never finished the main campaign (but having more than 100 hours /played).

Is anyone still tinkering with this? Which are you using?

[Kail]

Coming back to it since a long time, never finished the main campaign (but having more than 100 hours /played).

Is anyone still tinkering with this? Which are you using?

I still putter around occasionally (trying to get 100% achievements).  What do you mean with "which am I using?"  Mods?

I didn't mind the default UI (if that's what you're looking for, SkyUI seems to be the go-to mod for that), so I'm mostly just using atmospheric and gameplay mods.  A fair bit of sound stuff (Sounds of  Skyrim, for example, though it looks like it's been pulled), and the "live another life" mod that junks the startup sequence so you don't have to go through the cart ride every time you create a new character.

Probably the most fun mod I use is Frostfall, which adds a tiny amount of cold weather survival to the game.  Basically, it's enough to make the cold seem uncomfortable, like you don't want to be out in it, but it's not so bad that it interferes with the gameplay (the way a lot of the more hardcore survival mods do, like Imp's Complex Needs).

EDIT: Another one I like is the "Spend Dragon Souls for Perks" mod.  It's not cheap (generally, it's way easier to level up than collect the thirty or so souls you'll need for a perk) but it's a nice way around the whole "I'm at level cap and can never get any more perks, while I also have every shout and can never spend any more dragon souls" problem.

[Stormwaltz]

The Sounds of Skyrim mods were pulled en masse because of a game-breaking error introduced in the third one, "Sounds of Civilization." He had some kind of scripting on a snore that, when the mod was removed, caused a crash 100% of the time. Reinstalling the mod doesn't fix this. Other modders have helped him identify the problem, but no fix has been released yet.

I'll list my mods once I'm not the only adult in a house with three hyperactive boys under 7. Things tend to spin out of control when I try to write large posts.

[Stormwaltz]

I typed a whole bunch out, and then for some reason my browser went back a page and I lost it all. Fuck it, I'll do this tomorrow. 

[calapine]

I still putter around occasionally (trying to get 100% achievements).  What do you mean with "which am I using?"  Mods?

Yes, of course. Don't know how that mistake slipped by.

I typed a whole bunch out, and then for some reason my browser went back a page and I lost it all. Fuck it, I'll do this tomorrow. 

Bah, that sucks. Thank you very much for going through all the effort, I really appreciate it. 

On second thought, if it is easier to just screenshot your load-order that is enough too. Can go from that and google the appropriate mods. I am not lazy, just feeling overwhelmed by the myriad of overhaul/game balance/realism/perk-replacement etc etc options out there.