Yup. Up close, stuff looks pretty ugly (not quite RAGE bad, though), but goddamn if there aren't some incredible scenes in this game. The first optional dungeon had some really amazing looking areas. I love the art direction in this game. It runs perfectly smooth on my PC, too.
Anyway, time for me to call it a night. I just spent the last 4 hours immersed in Skyrim! I'm level 5 now and just made it to the first large town. I've already had some really fun adventures just roaming the countryside. So far, it's much easier to feel immersed in the world than any previous Elder Scrolls game. So good...
Oh, and the music is absolutely fantastic. Really adds to the atmosphere.
Game runs great on my pc. Only thing I don't like is how all the character creation options had my character looking 35+ with wrinkles on their forehead....is that intentional? Or was it just my Breton?
Wow, made a Wood Elf dude... got him to level 6. Four and a half hours and haven't even touched the main quest - actually, I've only done one single quest in the first town
the quest to help the shopkeeper get his golden claw back, lead to a really fun dungeon romp where I was killing tons of undead - ended up learning my first shout at the end
. Afterwards I ran around a while and was experimenting with the crafting stuff - I had been selling all my nuggets and hides not knowing I could convert them to metals and leather. It's very cool having all these crafting stations around the town; grinders, blacksmiths, leather tanners, workbenches, I don't understand the point of the log cutter but it works pretty cool
Anyways, having tried not to spoil myself before the game came out I had no idea the skill system was going to be so drastically different. I actually thought you still chose major/minor skills at the beginning like in the old game and was surprised it was totally free-form now. I'm trying to focus my Wood Elf down Archery/1H plus Alteration and Illusion but I'm getting a lot of level ups thanks to Blocking and Light Armor that I wasn't really planning on.
Couple of gripes:
- The menu controls really suck with the mouse/keyboard. Great with the Xbox controller but I much prefer a mouse for actual gameplay.
- Uh... maybe I'm missing it but I can't find any Character Status. I mean, I buff myself with Alteration, but there's no way to read how it effected me or how much longer it'll last.
- No way to hot key items that I'm aware. The Favorite thing works (nice for the controller) but it could be much more eloquently down with keys on a keyboard.
- If you switch from 1h/shield to spell/shield your character sheaths the shield temporarily instead of just swapping the right hand. Makes blocking really hard when trying to weave spells into melee combat.
- Uh... maybe I'm missing it but I can't find any Character Status. I mean, I buff myself with Alteration, but there's no way to read how it effected me or how much longer it'll last.
- No way to hot key items that I'm aware. The Favorite thing works (nice for the controller) but it could be much more eloquently down with keys on a keyboard.
You do this from the Favorites menu. Once you put whatever you want in Favorites, pull it up (default Q), highlight the thing you want to hotkey, then press the key you want to hotkey it to (1-8 num row are the only valid hotkeys that I know of).
Ugh, at least oblivion had a final chance to change everything after the first dungeon, so you could make a savegame there. Why doesnt Skyrim have that? Not like i would ever want to replay that escape from the dragon part again.
Found a beautiful little waterlogged dungeon near the start that I am obvious not able to take at level 2. Got my ass handed to me by some necromancers and I loved the feeling of "I can't wait to come back and take this place apart." I really have to believe the game is best enjoyed on Master difficulty. The thought that I could just tone the slider down and clear this place out is almost depressing- won't be touching it.
So I'm gonna be mostly dual-wielding daggers and using minor magic to augment my stealth and heal. Can't wait to get my hands on some decent gear.
Forgot to mention- The X360 Controller Emu solution works perfectly with this game, so if you have a generic Dual Shock 2/X360-style gamepad and want the shiny 360 pad experience- which I admit is better than mouse and keyboard even if aiming with a bow is tougher - you can do it quite easily.
You do this from the Favorites menu. Once you put whatever you want in Favorites, pull it up (default Q), highlight the thing you want to hotkey, then press the key you want to hotkey it to (1-8 num row are the only valid hotkeys that I know of).
You're a beautiful man. Thank you! Getting to that Active Effects menu is a little annoying, I guess pressing P and then down a few times is the fastest way.
Darako - Level 6 Bosmer
BTW, this game looks real good... and I'm only playing on "High" settings
Just started this game...got the the end of the tutorial and said goodbye to Rafor or however you spell his name...the VA is already so much better.
I saved on top of a mountain, I haven't even looked at skills or info yet, and I'm studying for my midterm today. Using this as fuel to get my shit done and get back home to play it.
Is it possible to break down items into their parts to use for other items? I need to know if I should hang onto to armor and weapons I pick up for recycling or just sell it off.
Blackface said:
Anyone dual wielding, how is that? It seems a bit gimped with no blocking.
Sword and shield. I have a bow with me for when I want to engage an enemy from afar (mostly dragons and other high-powered creatures), but I mostly just charge in and hack things to pieces.
Wow. I'm in the Reach and it's early in the morning, with a fog hanging over everything. I cross a high bridge, stopping to take in the sights, when I suddenly see a familiar shape flying through the fog, right at me...
Dragon number eight, here I come. Why the fuck do these guys only appear when I'm already loaded to the brim with loot?
Played a few hours. Game looks good. Don't rant about textures or whatnot, the game is just pleasing to the eye. The environments are loads better than Oblivion.
DAT CRAFTING SYSTEM. I love me a good crafting system, and since my dude is a warrior, I'll be primarily be doing smithing with him. And I love that they added in the animations for everything you can craft/do.
And the dialogue system is so much better than Oblivion's. I'm not right in people's face.
Also, I'm on PS3, and is there a way to zoom out further in 3rd person that I'm just not getting? When weapons are out, it zooms out a bit, but with them sheathed, it's right behind his back.
And holy god, everybody learn from Bethesda. You can map any button you want to any command you want. Whether it's needed or not, every game ever needs to do this.
About the dialogue system, it still isnt great. You can have npcs queueing up to talk to you (like a highwayman), or have other npcs try to talk to the npc you are talking to.
And you can start a conversation when someone is exiting an area, and they begin the to speak to you but go through anyway.
