Elder Scrolls: SKYRIM

[Texican]

Badger Nerds - You anticipating Skyrim? I know I am!

I thought this commentary from the Quakecon video was interesting.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGRn4zBSoto

[itsmedave]

I still need to finish Fallout 3 and Oblivion. I am looking forward to it though.

[Texican]

What race do you think you will play for your first character?

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Ahhhh, The Elder Scrolls - destroyer of social life.

Yep, I plan to not leave my house between November and January.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I honestly didn't even know about the existence of this game until about three weeks ago. It was a pleasant surprise.

I hope that it's more like Morrowind than Oblivion with more diverse environments. Everything in Oblivion looked the same. The map was pretty much uniform. One standard terrain. Morrowind had different milieus - mountains, ashlands, swamps. And the towns looked very different - Balmore, Vivec the mage towns... I liked Oblivion, but I liked everything about Morrowind more.

[kelton]

Pre-ordered w/release date delivery

[Texican]

I honestly didn't even know about the existence of this game until about three weeks ago. It was a pleasant surprise.

I hope that it's more like Morrowind than Oblivion with more diverse environments. Everything in Oblivion looked the same. The map was pretty much uniform. One standard terrain. Morrowind had different milieus - mountains, ashlands, swamps. And the towns looked very different - Balmore, Vivec the mage towns... I liked Oblivion, but I liked everything about Morrowind more.

From what I understand, Todd Howard (the creator of Oblivion and Skyrim; now the man who is spearheading the entire Elder Scrolls Series) said that was a common criticism that he wanted to fix. Cyrodiil represented the typical medieval fantasy world - although there are mountains such as along the border of Skyrim and High Rock as well as swamps down in by the Nibon river, it still was pretty much uniformed. From what I understand Skyrim will have diverse environments - taiga, arctic swamps, mountains, glaciers, etc. Furthermore, the environments generate randomly. Storms and weather patterns pop out of no where. And snow will accumulate on rocks, the ground, and foliage.

And yeah. I :001_wub: the mage towns in Morrowind as well. I have a lot of good memories building my own little mushroom tower.

[Jesus of Baghdad]

Preordered as well, special edition. Not sure if I spent more time on Oblivion or Fallout 3, but Skyrim is sure to waste a LOT of my time. I've already warned my wife, who met me a little before the Oblivion era, so she knows.

[blary54]

Super excited...way too many good games coming out. Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Bioshock Infinite, The new Batman game, and Mass Effect 3...But Im most excited for this game.

[chfair]

It is the game I have been waiting for actually. I thought Final Fantasy 14 would easily tide me over, but they dropped the ball and i have logged into that game 2 times this year. I even restarted oblivion the other day to play through my favorite factions again. Can't wait to dig into a new storyline and some major side quests.

[noahpictures]

Super excited...way too many good games coming out. Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, Bioshock Infinite, The new Batman game, and Mass Effect 3...But Im most excited for this game.

Modern Warfare 3 and Bioshock Infinite are the ones I'm waiting for.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

From what I understand, Todd Howard (the creator of Oblivion and Skyrim; now the man who is spearheading the entire Elder Scrolls Series) said that was a common criticism that he wanted to fix. Cyrodiil represented the typical medieval fantasy world - although there are mountains such as along the border of Skyrim and High Rock as well as swamps down in by the Nibon river, it still was pretty much uniformed. From what I understand Skyrim will have diverse environments - taiga, arctic swamps, mountains, glaciers, etc. Furthermore, the environments generate randomly. Storms and weather patterns pop out of no where. And snow will accumulate on rocks, the ground, and foliage.

And yeah. I :001_wub: the mage towns in Morrowind as well. I have a lot of good memories building my own little mushroom tower.


That's good news. The only climatic diversity that I remember from Oblivion was that one town at the top of the map that was surrounded by snow and the temple north of that. I was so deflated from the monotony of the rest of the map that I was stoked when I got there.

The other aspects I liked more about Morrowind were the level up system and the guilds. I liked the level up system where when you use a skill it goes up, rather than distributing points when you reach another level. In a way, the former is more realistic. For instance, the more I wet shave, the more skilled, more proficient I am at it. I don't reach a new level and distribute points into lathering ability, precision, etc. This was also fun, because I literally jumped everywhere like a frenzied rabbit in order to raise my acrobatics level. I can't remember why I liked the guilds more in Morrowind. Maybe there were more of them? Or they were more related? I just remember being disappointed with them in Oblivion.

Oh, and the addition of horses was pretty dumb in my opinion. I got that black, red eyed horse and he just totally vanished. I have no idea where he went. Stupid video game horse.

Don't get me wrong, I liked Oblivion. I played the hell out of it. It just seemed like a much inferior game to me.

[Badger & Bengall]

I've got it pre-ordered! I normally wait for a game to become cheaper or order from TheHut.com (much cheaper than Australian prices) but I just can't wait for this one!


What race do you think you will play for your first character?

Breton for me; magic was my favourite part of the game. The great thing about Elder Scrolls is that you're not stuck with just one specialised class.

[Rossmeister]

I want it so bad. I want a new PC for it though, don't want it on console.

[jwcarlson]

I bought Elder Scrolls for Xbox360. Terrible. How anyone can play a game that requires any sort of "shooting" or "aiming" with joy sticks is more skilled than me and I grew up playing all sorts of computer and console games.

I'm waiting for Diablo 3. :)

[Badger & Bengall]

I just watched the three part video on IGN. I haven't been this excited for a video game since Final Fantasy IX!


I bought Elder Scrolls for Xbox360. Terrible. How anyone can play a game that requires any sort of "shooting" or "aiming" with joy sticks is more skilled than me and I grew up playing all sorts of computer and console games.

I'm waiting for Diablo 3. :)

I learned to use a control pad well because I preferred (and still do) games on console. The fact that you don't need to upgrade consoles as often and the comfort of sitting on a sofa (as opposed to sitting in front of a computer) were the major factors for my preference. Of course, some games can't be played successfully on a console, particularly strategy games.

[rhmills]

I pre-ordered it a few months ago.

[BigRich]

I'm already planning a sabbatical from work for December!

[Angry__Panda]

I bought Elder Scrolls for Xbox360. Terrible.

I agree with this. I absolutely can't stand the Elder Scrolls games. I dislike Fallout as well. They are just not my style. I won't argue that they are good games (the amount of people who have bought and enjoyed the games I think really speaks to the fact that the games are good), they just aren't MY games.

That said, I am honestly not really looking forward to any games this year. I honestly refuse to pay Activision more money for the likes of another Call of Duty game with poor support and expensive DLC. Unfortunately Battlefield 3 looks like Bad Company 2 (game play-wise) which is not a good thing. Pretty much Uncharted 3 will be my one game I get this year.

Oh and just on a side note, Bioshock Infinite I think was announced for 2012, though I would be surprised if it made the release date, at least it is back in the hands of the people who created the original :) .

[Raedwulf]

It's going to be a difficult thing to ignore getting this, even more so when I know SWMBO is more concerned about 'should I get the collectors edition or standard'. She has played since Fallout.
I on the other hand await MS Flight!. Some sites indicate Oct 25... but the Official site has no indication, just awesome videos
I hope that my gear will handle it

[Raedwulf]

I bought Elder Scrolls for Xbox360. Terrible. How anyone can play a game that requires any sort of "shooting" or "aiming" with joy sticks is more skilled than me and I grew up playing all sorts of computer and console games.


You can tell the difference of old gamers and newer gamers.
Oldschool gamers prefer playing on the computer, newbs (anyone under 30, ;) ) prefer their consoles

1. As mentioned aiming is so normal with a mouse, instead of multiple joysticks. ASWD is simple... our fingers have adjusted to it over the years.
2. Need to patch a game, you download it and install over top of the existing game. I assume that upgrading is possible on the 2nd gen consoles, but you then have the game itself on game disk and the patch on a hard drive
3. Upgrades to the equipment is simple enough, sure you need to be computer savvy, I guess; motherboard, graphics card, RAM, bit by bit (hah!). But to upgrade a console requires an upgrade of the whole thing

[blary54]

I used to play a lot of Rainbow Six Rouge Spear on the computer when I was younger and Ill agree the mouse and the keyboard are better for shooters. But I have no problem what so ever using a controller to aim...you get used to it. Its not as precise but with practice you can get pretty good.

I would love a nice gaming computer but Ill stick with my console and my 50 inch HD tv.

[Mr_Amazing]

Modern Warfare 3 and Bioshock Infinite are the ones I'm waiting for.

Not me... I am jumping the Call of Duty ship and moving on to Battlefield 3. CoD has become one of those same s***, different year, type games with no real improvements. Plus, if you preorder Battlefield 3, you get 4 extra maps and some specialized goodies from specific retailers. I always preferred the larger maps on MW2, so the bigger maps is what really has me switching (plus the ability to control jets, helicopters, and tanks). The graphics look out of this world, too.

As for Skyrim, it looks amazing. There are some monster games coming out this Fall. I just saw that Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is coming out on October 11th, too, but I didn't budget for it. There's always Christmas, though.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Three days! :clap::clap:

I bought an Xbox 360 four years ago just to play Oblivion. I've got a PS3 now.

Ohmygod, I can't wait!

[DC_MPA]

I most definitely am.

[ruebis]

Producer for Xbox Live here. All I can say is, Skyrim is everything it should be. You guys will Love this game. Love.

[Mr. Flay]

Steam pre-loaded and ready to rock.

I upgraded my video card and now meet all the recommended specs.

Yes, I am a Bethesda fanboy, for good or ill.

[blary54]

Im really excited...Looks amazing. For the last week ive been debating in my head what gender, class, and specialty I want to be. So far Ive convinced myself my first playthrough will be a male, Nord. Now just gotta come up with a name.

[sifu]

So many games, so little time...

[Johan]

I have big plans for a Khajit thief and i´m a bit like a child before christmas these days.

But i´m not sure if i can get away with just living like a caveman then my copy arrives.
Theres female presence in this house. :-D

[Miles]

Aw yeah, I'm looking forward to getting into this one. Just another 5 weeks for this semester and then it's time to keep a beer cooler, blankets and provisions next to the couch for a big ol XBox campout.

[chfair]

can not wait, almost didn't as i found it on the shelves for sale today. (yes i am aware it is illegal for them to be selling but yet they are).

but i decided to wait since i already have a copy purchased from a local game stop.

[neverender2113]

I've got a day off next week since I've got a bunch of vacation leftover for the year, and I plan on using it (read: wasting it) playing Skyrim and listening to the OST's of the previous games all day long :thumbsup:

[Arcadies]

I absolutely loved Morrowind and Oblivion and wasted obscene amounts of playtime on both. That said, sadly I'll probably have to pass on Skyrim, with various changes in my life over the last year I just don't have time to play games anymore, hell I still have a dozen or so games from last years Steam Christmas sale that I haven't even installed, let alone played.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Speaking of which:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWuNf4gxwuM

This was pretty much the only music in the game, but it's such a regal theme that I never got tired of it.

I don't have the time to play this game, either. But you know what? I'm going to, anyway! :w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t:

[Timmy Dee]

I have my copy in my hands right now! I'm off home to play it in 10 mins or so.

I guess work will have to cope without me for a few months :D

[heybatter]

I have my copy in my hands right now! I'm off home to play it in 10 mins or so.

I guess work will have to cope without me for a few months :D

So...how is it?

[blary54]

IGN just posted their full reveiw of Skyrim....worth a read if you have time.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1212136p1.html

[Timmy Dee]

Awesome. Gigantic. I can Bethesda weren't grossly exaggerating when they said 300 hours of gameplay.

Fans of the previous games in the ES series won't be disappointed.

I'm doing a run through with a mage just to get a feel for the game and the skill (perk) trees. Defeated a dragon already, the shout abilities you get from them will come in very handy (the one I have already does, as it stuns enemies advancing on my weak-as-water mage). There are lots of enemies that can kill you in one hit, and the lockpicking is now in the Fallout 3 style (rotate pick then lock) as opposed to the tumbler-style of Oblivion. There are also lots of decisions to be made along the way - which affect the gameplay as you go along (helping people escape, there's even an awesome dark gift you can get early on, similar to the vampirism in Oblivion).

I won't reveal too much, but I'm dying to rush home and play again after work.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

You're killing me!

I want to get it for PS3, but no one has a PS3 review, because apparently the PS3 version was not shipped early. This makes me concerned that there's something wrong with it, like glitches. I can't deal with another Fallout New Vegas.

What is the skill leveling like? I preferred the Morrowind version where the skills go up when you use them. For instance, jumping around like an idiot raised acrobatics.

[Timmy Dee]

It's exactly like that, Salvador. Use the skills to level them, train with a trainer 5 times per level. The difference is that the skills aren't linked to attributes anymore, so you don't have to be meticulous about planning what skills (linked to what attribute) you are going to improve to get to the next level in order to get that +5/+5/+1 to max out all your skills.

It's just level up any skills you want until you reach the next level, and then choose a +10 boost to HP, MP or stamina, and pick a perk in a skill tree. Couldn't be simpler - except you won't be able to get perks for everything. There goes my heavy-armour-clad mage assassin......

[Angry__Panda]

You're killing me!

I want to get it for PS3, but no one has a PS3 review, because apparently the PS3 version was not shipped early. This makes me concerned that there's something wrong with it, like glitches. I can't deal with another Fallout New Vegas.

What is the skill leveling like? I preferred the Morrowind version where the skills go up when you use them. For instance, jumping around like an idiot raised acrobatics.

Funny, cause the XBOX is the only console I have seen to report problems with Skyrim. The problem is harder to cause than it is to solve (don't install the game to your haddrive until the next patch is the solution). I am trying to decide if I want it on PS3 or XBOX. Honestly I HATED Morrowind and all of the Elder Scrolls games thus far. After seeing Skyrim though I kind of want it. I want to believe that I didn't give the other games a fair chance and I need to give this one a chance. Oh and just to explain, I am not saying the Elder Scrolls games are bad (obviously sales figures would disagree with me if I were lol), I am sure they are good, I just personally didn't enjoy them :) .

[SalvadorMontenegro]

^ Honestly, if you didn't enjoy the previous two, I don't see any reason to buy this one. Some games aren't for some people. For instance, I don't give a hoot for Modern Warfare or whatever it's called. Call of Duty? I'm awful at first person shooters and don't get much of a kick out of: You've respawned!, you are DEAD!, you've respawned!, you are DEAD! all in the span of like 30 seconds. Those games may be wonderful for people who like that type of game, but they aren't for me. Same goes for Grand Theft Auto. I always buy the game, play it for a couple of hours and then put it aside. I don't think that I've ever beaten one.

As for Skyrim... I've got it and it's incredible! I like how they changed the skill leveling back to the Morrowind version, I like that they got rid of repair (always seemed more of a nuisance than anything else), I like the perks, I like the graphics, I like the environments. I already like it more than Oblivion.

As I predicted, it took me FOREVER to create my character. I probably spent an hour just trying to decide which class to be. I opted for Kajiit, because I've never played as one before.

I got it for PS3. No problems, so far.

[Angry__Panda]

Mreh I bought it. Like I said I just always worry I don't give games a fair chance. I am in the mood for some single-player anyways to compliment the multi-player games I have been playing. I'll update you all on what I end up thinking of the game.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Ha! I wish I had the money to have your problem. I had to whittle it down to a battle between Dark Souls and Skyrim amongst all the highly reviewed games that have come out in the past three months.

I'm forcing myself to take a break. Will sally forth into the land of Skyrim this evening. /dork

[blary54]

I'm having alot of fun with this game...the world is so vast and detailed. Im impressed that each area I visit you can tell its not just cut and paste. I often am on my way to a quest and come across some cave or dungeon and get sidetracked for an hour...or see a butterfly or firefly and run after it trying to catch it because I can. I have made zero progress on the main quest and probably been playing it for 10 hours. I have off Mon, Tues and Wed and fear a large chunk of my time will be spent playing this game.

[Arcadies]

I often am on my way to a quest and come across some cave or dungeon and get sidetracked for an hour...or see a butterfly or firefly and run after it trying to catch it because I can. I have made zero progress on the main quest and probably been playing it for 10 hours.

Grrr, I want this game so bad but this quote is exactly why I won't bother buying it. I loved Morrowind and Oblivion and they were the same as far as getting side-tracked, and I also have gaming OCD and have to find every single dungeon and do every little quest and I spent 400+ hours on each (counting add-on content as well) and I just don't have that kind of free time anymore. :sad:

[heybatter]

Amazing game. Like the tweaked leveling system much more, although I do miss upgrading individual SPECIAL stats a pit.

[blary54]

Grrr, I want this game so bad but this quote is exactly why I won't bother buying it. I loved Morrowind and Oblivion and they were the same as far as getting side-tracked, and I also have gaming OCD and have to find every single dungeon and do every little quest and I spent 400+ hours on each (counting add-on content as well) and I just don't have that kind of free time anymore. :sad:

Sounds like this would be a bad game to get then if you get addicted easily...because its super addicting. While at work all I think about is getting home and playing some more Skyrim. There is a fast travel system exactly like Fallout. If you discover a place you can fast travel back there. A very welcomed addition.

[Mr_Amazing]

Sounds like this would be a bad game to get then if you get addicted easily...because its super addicting. While at work all I think about is getting home and playing some more Skyrim. There is a fast travel system exactly like Fallout. If you discover a place you can fast travel back there. A very welcomed addition.

I've logged almost 60 hours on Battlefield 3 since it came out a couple of weeks ago.

[Angry__Panda]

So far so good. I am only a couple hours, maybe three, in but it is fun. A little slow to start which I think has maybe been part of my problem with the previous games. Slow and not much direction. This game, however, does give you some direction and I feel like everything is well balanced, in the sense that I don't feel under-powered fighting the stuff I have encountered (I.e. the stuff scales to your level). I will say some of the AI is quite dumb though and it was easy to defeat some things due to the stupidity. Anyways I'll be putting more time into this and keeping you all updated. So far though Skyrim may have changed my mind on Elder Scrolls.

[Miles]

It's a great game. I was supposed to be working on my organic chemistry studies yesterday, but lo and behold I found it was suddenly midnight...

I'm playing a Breton with perks in one-handed weapons so I can run up on folks, blast em with fire from my left hand and chop em with my axe at the same time. So far so good except when I get ganged up on by bears and lions and whatnot. Remember to save often guys!

[blary54]

Im playing a Nord mage/thief that also uses one handed weapons. I love breaking into shops/display cases and stealing everything. Just realized I couldn't sell stolen goods back to storekeepers though...so when I get home from work Im gonna try to find the thieves guild.

[Timmy Dee]

My Altmer (high elf) mage has just hit lvl 27, and he's getting to the stage that he can take on dragons solo. Still can't summon the courage to take on a couple of giants and their mammoths just yet.

blary54 - if you level your speechcraft up to get the high-level perk, you can sell stolen goods to anyone, and I'll bet that's a great way to get that cash that's really hard to come by until you're really far into the game (of course, that perk isn't available until you're pretty far into the game....grrr).

I wholeheartedly recommend alchemy as a great way to earn cash - some of the potions my guy makes can sell for 900 gold each.

[blary54]

I think im about level 12. I saw that speech-craft perk, but im still a ways away until I could obtain that. Thanks for the tip on the alchemy.

[Timmy Dee]

No worries - if I'm low on cash, I go round to the herbalist in the major cities, buy all their cheaper ingredients (anything under 50g) and use their alchemy table to make potions. Not only does this increase your alchemy skill, but it reveals additional uses for ingredients if you use three ingredients in a potion instead of two. Then you sell the potions to the herbalist to make some great scratch.

When your alchemy is good enough to hit the perk that allows you to ascertain two uses for an ingredient by eating one, grab it. It'll expand your recipe list in no time at all, and you'll be crafting dozens of potions at a time.

[Johan]

IT ARRIWED TODAY!!!! ...Cough
I´m installing it right now. :-D

[Amer]

Is there a recipe list anywhere in game for things? I've just been randomly combining stuff I've come across for alchemy and have come up goose eggs. I have the guide, so I could always look it up, but I was just curious if you ever learn any recipes anywhere or if you just have to figure them out. Haven't spent a lot of time with Alchemy but if it's a big moneymaker I might consider it.

[Miles]

I know that if you eat one of each ingredient you can discover one of its inherent alchemical attributes, and then later on as you level up there is a perk to reveal two properties upon eating ingredients. Not a fast cheat, but it might help.

[Timmy Dee]

You can buy recipes from alchemists in each city - they're under 'Books', and reading them doesn't add them to your cookbook, unlike spellbooks. You keep the recipe until you have the ingredients, then once you make that potion, it's added to your cookbook. Then you can sell the recipe for few septims.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Thanks for the alchemy tips. I actually did that in one of the past games, but forgot about it.

I have perk commitment issues. I had like eight saved up, used four and now I've got about six saved up. I don't know what to use them on! My character is a Khajiit thief, one handed, archer sort of dude. I'm pretty much avoided magic, though I think I'll get recall or whatever if that's still in the game. Too many options!

[Timmy Dee]

Yeah, it's certainly a tough one - you really have to choose a style of play and stick with it. My mage is just a tester-run, and even with him I've neglected enchantment and alteration a lot. Right now he's either adept or expert in speechcraft, alchemy, destruction and restoration, and in the mid-40s for sneak, conjuration and illusion. I've invested my perks in a fairly concentrated manner, but now that he's level 30, I've not got many points to waste until he's maxed out.

I've read that there are quests that will give you bonus perks in addition to those you get from leveling, but I haven't come across any as yet.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

This game is so beautiful and the map is so well designed that I often don't even want to fast travel and actually walk from place to place. I never felt like that in Oblivion.

Does anyone know how many perks you can get? Or, rather, how many perk selections you can make? I mean, you can get one per level, so how many levels, I guess? I read 50 somewhere, but I also read 70.

[heybatter]

I read up to 70 as well for available perks....

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Yeah, I think it's like 50 is where they expect you to beat it and 70 is possible. I couldn't find a real concrete answer.

So, does anyone else think that archery pretty much sucks? Occasionally I'll get a one shot sneak kill, but as a whole, I do very little damage and have to whip out my sword and fight the dude in close combat after he runs across the screen, absorbing arrows totally unfazed. So far I've only invested my perks in One Handed and Light Armor.

[neverender2113]

Yeah, I think it's like 50 is where they expect you to beat it and 70 is possible. I couldn't find a real concrete answer.

So, does anyone else think that archery pretty much sucks? Occasionally I'll get a one shot sneak kill, but as a whole, I do very little damage and have to whip out my sword and fight the dude in close combat after he runs across the screen, absorbing arrows totally unfazed. So far I've only invested my perks in One Handed and Light Armor.

Yup, I started off as Bosmer and was really disappointed in the Archery mechanics, so I swapped chars immediately.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Glad it's not just me. I'm far enough along (level 13) that I'm not gonna swap characters. Thankfully, I only invested one perk in archery. Unless they patch it, that will be the last. It's too bad. My archer dude in Morrowind wrecked bad guys.

[Angry__Panda]

Mechanics or not, I am still going archery. I am gonna end up archery, one-handed and sneak. I just hit level 8 or 9 heh. I have plenty of time to work on it. I like the leveling system and the skill system. Basically you can use everything but you get a bonus by investing a perk point in the tree. I kind of got lost for about an hour this morning, that was a great feeling in a game heh. Having lots of fun, just hard to divide my time between this, MW3 and Saint's Row 3 heh.

[Timmy Dee]

Angry__Panda - I agree with you that it's a tough one re: the balancing of games.

I've taken a break from Skyrim to polish off SR3, as it's a LOT shorter than Skyrim (but then so is reading A Paradise Lost)

[heybatter]

Yup, I started off as Bosmer and was really disappointed in the Archery mechanics, so I swapped chars immediately.

I just restarted my character after about 10 hours and created just that...a Bosmer Archer/Thief. Liking it a lot so far. Nothing like sneaking around in Dungeons and sniping baddies with bows unseen. Gotta put some points into the tree to see benefits.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Ugh. Now you guys are convincing me that maybe I gave up on archery too soon. Maybe I need to ditch the iron arrows and actually spend the perks I've saved up... So far I've put everything into one handed and light armor, but have several saved up. I was going as a Khajiit, archer/thief who also used one handed, but ditched the archery.

I don't know how I'm gonna do Dark Souls after this. I've only been to three cities (Whiterun, Windhelm and Riften) and I've got about 20+ quests on my list. I'm level 15. This game is gonna go on forever. Not that I'm complaining!

[heybatter]

This character creator tool might help a bit....

http://www.ign.com/builds/the-elder-scrolls-5-skyrim/create

[Angry__Panda]

Angry__Panda - I agree with you that it's a tough one re: the balancing of games.

I've taken a break from Skyrim to polish off SR3, as it's a LOT shorter than Skyrim (but then so is reading A Paradise Lost)

SR3? Saints Row 3? How are you almost done with it? I put about five hours into SR3 and am at like 5% lol. Either way it's been a while since I had this many games to choose from, I like it. I finally started investing points and it makes a HUGE difference in being effective and the game feels way better. I just got attacked by the Dark Brotherhood, this may be bad...

[Timmy Dee]

I'm not quite done SR3 yet - just doing the zombie mission atm, but have completed most of the activities, and have used my jet-bike to nab all the collectibles. A friend is picking it up today, so will probably start a co-op game this evening.

[Edcculus]

A bit late to the party here...but you guys are making me jealous! I somehow completely forgot my days of playing Morrowind back when I was in high school. My brother and I built a computer for gaming that was much better than the "downstairs family computer". I played for hours exploring the huge landscape. I didn't do too many of the official quests, just running around, goofing off and killing guards. I managed to carefully kill enough of the guards to put together an entire suit of their really sweet magical golden armor. Although if I ever went within sight of one after that, they rushed and killed me...

At this point, I don't have a computer that could run this game, or the time to play it, but it looks like a lot of fun!

[Angry__Panda]

A bit late to the party here...but you guys are making me jealous! I somehow completely forgot my days of playing Morrowind back when I was in high school. My brother and I built a computer for gaming that was much better than the "downstairs family computer". I played for hours exploring the huge landscape. I didn't do too many of the official quests, just running around, goofing off and killing guards. I managed to carefully kill enough of the guards to put together an entire suit of their really sweet magical golden armor. Although if I ever went within sight of one after that, they rushed and killed me...

At this point, I don't have a computer that could run this game, or the time to play it, but it looks like a lot of fun!

While I will probably take some hits for saying this, get a console. Most of them can be had pretty cheap and there is no need to upgrade every three months for the next biggest game heh. Don't get me wrong, I love gaming on a computer, but financially it just makes less sense now than it used to IMHO. A console is something you can play the game on, not worry about if it will play or not, and in the end it still looks great (not as great of course) and you obviously will get the same story and play time from it.

[Gissy]

This game has made it to the top of my Christmas list.

[Edcculus]

While I will probably take some hits for saying this, get a console. Most of them can be had pretty cheap and there is no need to upgrade every three months for the next biggest game heh. Don't get me wrong, I love gaming on a computer, but financially it just makes less sense now than it used to IMHO. A console is something you can play the game on, not worry about if it will play or not, and in the end it still looks great (not as great of course) and you obviously will get the same story and play time from it.

Yea, thats probably the best idea. I own a Wii and already have a standalone bluray player. If I was in the market for a bluray player, I'd probably just pick up a PS3 and be done with it. I may still look out for one since I could probably find one for a very good price these days. PS3 plays PS2 games right? I wouldn't mind playing Kingdom Hearts again either.

[Angry__Panda]

Yea, thats probably the best idea. I own a Wii and already have a standalone bluray player. If I was in the market for a bluray player, I'd probably just pick up a PS3 and be done with it. I may still look out for one since I could probably find one for a very good price these days. PS3 plays PS2 games right? I wouldn't mind playing Kingdom Hearts again either.

Nope, only the original PS3's were backwards compatible. They have been putting a lot of their PS1 library up on the marketplace, but I haven't seen a whole lot of PS2 games yet. Those backwards compatible ones were going for like 1000 dollars on ebay a while back heh, I should have sold mine, but I do love Amplitude (the only reason I have my backwards compatible one...). Either way, I would say it is worth it for this game to get a console if you want to play it on the cheap (200 versus a new gaming computer at 1500 if you build it yourself).

[Timmy Dee]

I play mine on a console (360) and although the graphics aren't incredible like on a comp, and there exist some load times (not too bad), to me it's a small sacrifice for not having to upgrade until an entirely new console is released.

[blary54]

Ugh. Now you guys are convincing me that maybe I gave up on archery too soon. Maybe I need to ditch the iron arrows and actually spend the perks I've saved up... So far I've put everything into one handed and light armor, but have several saved up. I was going as a Khajiit, archer/thief who also used one handed, but ditched the archery.

I don't know how I'm gonna do Dark Souls after this. I've only been to three cities (Whiterun, Windhelm and Riften) and I've got about 20+ quests on my list. I'm level 15. This game is gonna go on forever. Not that I'm complaining!

Once you figure out the bow.(Just gotta aim a little lower) And develop the sneak and archery skill trees its quite fun to play with. I started out the game thinking I was gonna concentrate on magic but after sneaking around alot my skill went way up and I started using the bow and one handed weapons w/ shield. You can get a great sneak/stealth bonus damage.

Having a lot of fun with this game...almost too much fun. Ive been playing this game way more than I care to admit. Loving the Dark Brotherhood missions/companions missions.

[Timmy Dee]

Once you figure out the bow.(Just gotta aim a little lower) And develop the sneak and archery skill trees its quite fun to play with. I started out the game thinking I was gonna concentrate on magic but after sneaking around alot my skill went way up and I started using the bow and one handed weapons w/ shield. You can get a great sneak/stealth bonus damage.



Great advice. I think my next character is going to be a stealthy one - looking at the perk tree for sneak, some of the bonuses you get (especially if you're using a dagger) are crazy! I think enchantment would be a great complementary skill for that class, so you can kit yourself out in gear that makes you virtually invisible and silent, and rack up the stealth kills.

[xXClockwork]

Question to you all. Is there a particular order needed to go in in this series, or could I just pick up Skyrim and not have missed anything?

[Miles]

Question to you all. Is there a particular order needed to go in in this series, or could I just pick up Skyrim and not have missed anything?

You can just jump right in without any prior knowledge of the series.

[Timmy Dee]

Yeah, the previous games will give you a head-start with the controls, and fill in the history of the Elder Scrolls saga, but they're certainly not necessary. If you're a fan of rpg games, you should love this one. Jump on in, but be prepared to donate HUGE amounts of time to this game. Every time I finish a quest, it seems there are two more people around to give me new ones. My current quests list is getting out of control.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Yeah, the previous games will give you a head-start with the controls, and fill in the history of the Elder Scrolls saga, but they're certainly not necessary. If you're a fan of rpg games, you should love this one. Jump on in, but be prepared to donate HUGE amounts of time to this game. Every time I finish a quest, it seems there are two more people around to give me new ones. My current quests list is getting out of control.

Oh yeah! I'm actually at the point where I dread talking to people, because I'm scared the person will give me a new quests.

No, you definitely don't need to have played the previous games. Skyrim occasionally mentions the events of the past games, but its story is entirely separate.

I haven't given up on archery. I'm going to check out the perks again the next time I play.

[xXClockwork]

The Fable games (maybe excluding 3) are probably my favorite of all time. I think that is why this game looks so interesting to me. I have heard great things and am thinking about jumping in. I watched a little bit of game play on Youtube, and it looks really cool.

[blary54]

The Fable games (maybe excluding 3) are probably my favorite of all time. I think that is why this game looks so interesting to me. I have heard great things and am thinking about jumping in. I watched a little bit of game play on Youtube, and it looks really cool.

This blows fable out of the water(and every other RPG ive played)...just go buy it.

[Timmy Dee]

It's a pretty great feeling when you take down a dragon. Has anyone here settled down and got married in the game yet?

[blary54]

It's a pretty great feeling when you take down a dragon. Has anyone here settled down and got married in the game yet?

I just Proposed to Aela (the Huntress) right before I had to goto work. Didnt get married yet though.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Has anyone fought a @#$% Draugr Deathlord, yet? I'm trying to fight one in Saarthal and he's three hit killing me. I'm level 18. Dude is wrecking me. I've fought him like six times and he wipes me out every time. I think I'm going to leave the place and come back when I'm a higher level. I had 0 problems with the rest of the dungeon.

[CyberJCM]

I just got the game for PC! I dabbled with Morrowind, but skipped Oblivion, so I really want to give Skyrim a go.

I turned it on, watched the intro prisoner cart ride, and when it got to the "who are you?" character creation I kinda freaked out, like I always do with character creation. I have an "idea" of what type of character I want to create and play, but I get too OCD over making the right choices. I tend to get hung up on the little things. Probably because it kinda sucks to find out you've crippled a character when you're really getting into a game. Though I know we've all been there. So I'll ask you vets your opinions.

I want to play as a big heavy sword swingin', battle armor wearing, get the hell outta my way or I'll pound you badass kinda character. At least I think I do LOL. What would your character build suggestions be to accomplish this best?

[raisindot]

My son got this for the PS3. It didn't even past the first cut scene before freezing the console entirely. Have there been any tech updates for this?

[neverender2113]

I want to play as a big heavy sword swingin', battle armor wearing, get the hell outta my way or I'll pound you badass kinda character. At least I think I do LOL. What would your character build suggestions be to accomplish this best?

Nord, Orc or Imperial. Smith yourself some Daedric Armor and a sweet-lookin' Daedric Warhammer and you'll be ready to kill anything and look good while doing it.

raisindot, I have the PC version but I can also confirm lots of technical issues; mine crashes frequently, at random intervals. I find myself having to verify Steam's game cache at least two or three times whenever I play for a good stint.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I have read that there have been issues with the PS3 version, but I have it and have had zero, thus far. Knock on wood x a million. I've had some occasional visual lag, but that's it. Nothing like what I had with Fallout New Vegas, which was basically the game freezing every ten seconds.

[Miles]

The first time I put the disk in my XBox360 there was a game update. I'm guessing this fixed a lot of the the issues because the game has worked great for me so far. Can you check for updates via the PS3 home screen?

[blary54]

Supposedly there is also a new patch coming after Thanksgiving.
Read it here:

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/121/1213008p1.html

[blary54]

I saw these Skyrim comics today and they kinda cracked me up. Funny because they are all true.


http://i43.tinypic.com/25grmus.jpg (http://i43.tinypic.com/25grmus.jpg) (thats pretty much how my first dragon fight happened. )
http://i.imgur.com/FnixP.jpg (Funny but salty language-moderately NSFW)

[xXClockwork]

Oh my gosh this game is good so far (that would be in all caps if it was allowed). Picked it up for PC. Love my 9800 gtx+ oc.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

The daedric quests in this game are awesome. I've only done Sheogorath's and Molag Bal's, but I loved both.

I'm about level 25. I've started having some frame rate issues in congested areas. Particularly Whiterun.

Oh, and I invested in a lot of sneak and archery perks and it's making archery a lot more fun. Still have nine unused perks, though...

[Badger & Bengall]

I wish I had more time to play Skyrim.

My Breton is at lv22 and specialises in destruction magic, stealth, lockpicking and one-handed weapons. My favourite active weapons are a destruction spell in the left hand and a scimitar in the right.

I'm playing on the 360 and I've only had two issues; it has frozen twice when loading a new area (autosave already completed both times) and some minor graphical issues (blue streaks where a texture should be).

Has anyone else found a mask? I've got a yellow one I found when I killed some mage after where I fought a dragon near a word wall. They're pretty sweet.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

So, it's probably a bad sign that I wouldn't mind skipping the whole going out of town for the holiday thing and just sitting in my apartment, eating microwave dinners and playing Skyrim, right? It's not gonna happen, but there was a slight temptation to all of a sudden get "sick."

[heybatter]

So, it's probably a bad sign that I wouldn't mind skipping the whole going out of town for the holiday thing and just sitting in my apartment, eating microwave dinners and playing Skyrim, right? It's not gonna happen, but there was a slight temptation to all of a sudden get "sick."

I'm by myself tomorrow so my day will be very similar

[Bigsurprise]

So, it's probably a bad sign that I wouldn't mind skipping the whole going out of town for the holiday thing and just sitting in my apartment, eating microwave dinners and playing Skyrim, right? It's not gonna happen, but there was a slight temptation to all of a sudden get "sick."

Naw, that just shows your dedication to tackling new things as they come up. Good to know you have it in you!

[Angry__Panda]

LOL. So...I am definitely at 33 hours of play time now. Definitely a great 60 dollars spent here. Almost done with the Companions quest lines (I think). Really enjoying it and I will probably be starting the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood stories next. I still haven't even gone off to talk to the Grey Beards or whoever they are for the main story lol. I also just started smithing to see if I could maybe get some upgraded weapons and such through that. Haven't invested any points yet but we will see.

Oh and I know we were talking about levels the other day, my friend told me 100 was max level. You MIGHT only get 91 skill points total? The strategy guide doesn't actually tell you the max level but mentions 91 points to max something out (kind of unclear).

[heybatter]

The max level is somewhere around 81 assuming you max out all skills.

[YetiDave]

I'm Dave, also known as dovahkiin, and I have a problem

SKYRIM IS RUINING MY LIFE. Damn you, Bethesda, damn you.

[blary54]

I'm Dave, also known as dovahkiin, and I have a problem

SKYRIM IS RUINING MY LIFE. Damn you, Bethesda, damn you.

Skyrim is not ruining but consuming my life. Spent my whole day off yesterday playing this game...im a 32 level Nord. That specializes in archery and sneaking and im just destroying people. I'm thinking about turning up the difficulty. Definitely getting my money's worth. I also bought MW3 and haven't played it much...because ive been so consumed with this game.

[blary54]

A couple tips for beginners. Don't invest any points in lockpicking...waste of points. Lockpicking may take a little longer but Ive never not been able to open something. Even master locks.

Also you can upgrade your Smithing very quickly by making iron daggers. Iron Igot and Leather straps are cheap then you can sell the daggers back to the blacksmith.

[heybatter]

I don't find the lockpicking tree to be completely useless, I have a few points in there only to get to the second tier with the extra gold and especially the Treasure Hunter perk. Of course, these could prove to be less interesting than I originally thought but at least I don't have to waste time fussing around with breaking picks. Also works well with role playing and my thief character.

[Timmy Dee]

Well my mage has hit level 52 - I cannot stress highly enough how good alchemy is for making LOTS of cash, and how good enchanting is once you have it maxed. The ability to throw 2 enchants on each item is exceptional. Between my helm, necklace, ring and armor, none of my spells from either restoration or destruction schools cost me any mana. Once you get the master-level destruction spells, you'll appreciate just how valuable the free-casting is. I have polished off the mage's guild, fighter's guild, dark brotherhood and thieves' guild quests, and am about to pick a side in the civil war. Has anyone played much through the empire vs rebels campaign?

[xXClockwork]

I'm up to a level 9. Chose a Khajiit, just because I thought they looked cool. I am dabbling in both use of magic and up close ax and sword combat.

[blary54]

Well my mage has hit level 52 - I cannot stress highly enough how good alchemy is for making LOTS of cash, and how good enchanting is once you have it maxed. The ability to throw 2 enchants on each item is exceptional. Between my helm, necklace, ring and armor, none of my spells from either restoration or destruction schools cost me any mana. Once you get the master-level destruction spells, you'll appreciate just how valuable the free-casting is. I have polished off the mage's guild, fighter's guild, dark brotherhood and thieves' guild quests, and am about to pick a side in the civil war. Has anyone played much through the empire vs rebels campaign?

Ive played a few of the civil war quests. Pretty fun.... I chose the rebels because my character is a Nord(and because after the beginning of the game kinda hold a grudge against the Imperials). I have been saving the main quest for the end. Not sure if this is a good idea or not. Only played the first mission of the main quest and have finished the Dark Brotherhood, fighters guild and one mission away from the thieves.

[Timmy Dee]

Despite my char being an Altmer, I'm leaning towards the rebels as well. Just seems more....rebellious :)

[Badger & Bengall]

I finally got to put some time in today. My character is now level 35 with maxed pickpocket and smithing. Even though I made Dragon Armour, my enchanting skill is low so I can't match the benefits my (exquisite) Nightingale armour gives me. I've got the Krosis (sp?) mask and my destruction skill is about 60 so dragons aren't much trouble.

If you find a scimitar, use it and upgrade it. It's the best 1-hander I've found yet and it was the first weapon I found in the wild (killed those Redguard blokes).

I'm not sure how to 100% the Thieves Guild quest and I've done a bit of everything except for the Companions (meh) and Dark Brotherhood (can't find them yet).

Thanks for the tip on enchanting, Tim. I'm trying to get better at it so I can buff my smithing skill to get my better equipment to Legendary. Free casting sounds like it'd be worth the effort.

Does anyone have a formula for smithing or enchanting buff potions? I could look this up on the Internet but that's too easy; it's far better to discuss our finds amongst friends.

[Timmy Dee]

I'm confused, Leigh. What do you mean by smithing or enchanting buff potions? Do you mean formulas for making alchemical potions that increase skills, or do you mean how do you enchant items that increase your alchemy output/potency?

If it's the former, it all depends on what stats you want to increase. If it's the latter, you have to find/buy an object that increases potion potency and disenchant it at the enchanter's table.

[Amer]

I'm somehow only level 19, even though I feel like I've been putting in a few hours into this game every other night or so. I stopped doing the main story after visiting the Greybeards, but have taken down about 5 or 6 dragons that I've just stumbled across. I've switched from a heavy armor, shield using, one hander to a light armor duel wielder - probably because of all the thieves guild quests I've been doing. About to join the DB as well.

While I liked the Stormcloaks at first, I think I'm now siding towards the Imperials after visiting both cities and learning more about the conflict. The Stormcloaks racial prejudice practically borders on Aryanism, most apparent in their treatment of the Dark Elves in Windhelm, but voiced by many non-Nord characters throughout Skyrim. I don't like that the Empire has outlawed Thalos worship, but when you lose a war you have to make some concessions and the Thalamor seem pretty powerful right now. Either way, I've not joined either faction yet.

[heybatter]

"I'm not sure how to 100% the Thieves Guild quest"

Have you unlocked the city specific quests? You have to do five of the jobs that Vex and Delvin give you in any given city for it to open up. Then when you go back you'll have the option to ask for a special job.

[Angry__Panda]

The Stormcloaks are, pardon my French, assholes. I won't be joining their crappy fight, I will be killing as many as I can.

Next is a random quest I stumbled on, maybe a spoiler so turn away if you don't want that. It is a side quest and has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the story or even a large set of quests (took me about 30 mins for the entire quest);

Met some random guy in Solitude who suggested we partner up to rob some ship. Pretty cool cause he double crossed me so I killed him and his family, you know, to make sure everyone knows not to double cross me lol. Seriously a cool little event though.

I just hit level 40 heh. Definitely been investing most of my free time in this. I am maxed in stealth, almost there in archery, but now I will have a ton more perks to use, not sure if I want to do smithing/enchanting or if I want to do some other combat skills, I can't tell what would be worth it and what would end up better.

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Has anyone had issues with Steam? Seems to be a very common gripe with this game. It concerns me because while I don't live in the boondocks, I do live in a semi-rural area that even some ISPs won't serve. I don't want to end up buying the game and then find out it's unplayable and unreturnable.

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Has anyone had issues with Steam? Seems to be a very common gripe with this game. It concerns me because while I don't live in the boondocks, I do live in a semi-rural area that even some ISPs won't serve. I don't want to end up buying the game and then find out it's unplayable and unreturnable.

Ugh, ignore that one. After reading more, it seemed the gripes about Steam came from customers that either didn't even know what it was and had never used it before or didn't know what purpose it served. That's what I get for reading arguments on Amazon :lol:

Carry on.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I had to take a one week break from this game while doing the whole family thing. How dare they interfere with my quest to save Tamriel?

Anyway, I'm back at it. I'm doing Meridia's Daedric quest. Having a hard time fighting the necromancer boss. Dude is one hit killing me.

[raisindot]

You guys kill me. I've spent most of my ten hours on this running aimlessly around trying to figure out how to first-time travel to places on the map that always seem to be blocked by impassible mountains.

[heybatter]

Troll Fat looks like MdC.

203961

[Angry__Panda]

You guys kill me. I've spent most of my ten hours on this running aimlessly around trying to figure out how to first-time travel to places on the map that always seem to be blocked by impassible mountains.

Best part of this game, getting lost and finding random quests, dungeons, or stuff. It is pretty cool cause I have spent quite a few hours just doing random stuff lol.

[xXClockwork]

Best part of this game, getting lost and finding random quests, dungeons, or stuff. It is pretty cool cause I have spent quite a few hours just doing random stuff lol.
This is what i'm doing right now. Just running around randomly and finding new places to fast travel for later. That, and just listening to the music while wandering the beautiful landscape is very therapeutic. Also trying to level higher so going in random forts and killing everyone. Level 15 at the moment.

[Badger & Bengall]

"I'm not sure how to 100% the Thieves Guild quest"

Have you unlocked the city specific quests? You have to do five of the jobs that Vex and Delvin give you in any given city for it to open up. Then when you go back you'll have the option to ask for a special job.

Ah, that's where I'm up to then. I've done a few of those quests but I didn't think it would get me anywhere. Cheers!


I'm confused, Leigh. What do you mean by smithing or enchanting buff potions? Do you mean formulas for making alchemical potions that increase skills, or do you mean how do you enchant items that increase your alchemy output/potency?

If it's the former, it all depends on what stats you want to increase. If it's the latter, you have to find/buy an object that increases potion potency and disenchant it at the enchanter's table.

I mean creating potions to increase the skills of smithing, enchanting and alchemy. My smithing skill is at 100 but I can't upgrade all of my items to legendary, even with some enchanted items. The main one I'm interested in is the enchantment increase because I find it the most difficult to raise through use.

[Bigsurprise]

Has anyone else noticed a sweet glitch?

Here I am enjoying Skyrim(level 18) when my older bro decides he wants to play. His video cards bests mine and I wanted to see the game on max video settings so I let him use my cd key. Anyways, turns out that we can both play on the same cd key. When the second person logs on, it merely brings up a steam box on the first persons game instance saying that I am logged in on another computer and need to verify my password. You can just shift + tab to get rid of the box and continue playing as if it never came up. Me and my bro have been playing for two days now for free off of my cd key.

[Timmy Dee]

Hahaha really? I play on xbox so I've not had that one (obviously there are lots of other, significantly less-sweet glitches that I've experienced) but that is just dynamite work by Steam.

[franz]

I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.

[Timmy Dee]

As the collective groans begin to subside, I will say that I was wondering when that was going to come up on the thread

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Is anyone playing on PS3? IGN is reporting huge problems with the game once you get about 60 hours in. I have had some lag, but I don't know how many hours I've played it for. IGN is talking as though the game gets to the point where it's unplayable. I'm concerned about spending any more time playing this if it's going to wind up that bad. By the time I finished Fallout: New Vegas, I was ready to shoot the disc with a shotgun, it was so laggy. I don't want to get to that point with this game. If it's that bad, I'd rather stop playing it.

EDIT:

Great Googly Moogly! Apparently I've played the game for 80 hours. I had no idea. Wow. Wow! I thought I'd played for like 30 hours, or so. 80 hours, already?!?! WOW! So, I've had only one game freeze and minimal lag in that time. Maybe it's because I have the slim PS3.

[Angry__Panda]

I am on the PS3 and have had one or two freezes and some REALLY bad frame rate lag here and there...But it seems to have been isolated I think I am around 70 hours right now? Also, IGN are XBOX fanboys, everything they ever report about PS3 is negative and suggests that the same game on the XBOX is better. I think for Skyrim they are almost the same (my friend has had more problems with his XBOX version than I have with my PS3 version, though I have other friends who have it on XBOX and have had zero problems). I debated what system to get it on originally but it ended up being a kind of whatever thing.

And yeah Timmy I was kind of wondering myself about the arrow in the knee thing lol.

[camjr]

My son picked it out for Christmas and watched as I promptly locked it away in my gun safe until Christmas actually arrives. You would think I took the meth away from an addict...

[franz]

Yep, I'm having fun. I am playing a pure mage. Setting things on fire is fun.

Boy, this is a big game.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I am on the PS3 and have had one or two freezes and some REALLY bad frame rate lag here and there...But it seems to have been isolated I think I am around 70 hours right now? Also, IGN are XBOX fanboys, everything they ever report about PS3 is negative and suggests that the same game on the XBOX is better. I think for Skyrim they are almost the same (my friend has had more problems with his XBOX version than I have with my PS3 version, though I have other friends who have it on XBOX and have had zero problems). I debated what system to get it on originally but it ended up being a kind of whatever thing.

And yeah Timmy I was kind of wondering myself about the arrow in the knee thing lol.

I don't know whether they're XBOX fan boys, or not, but I did question whether there was some agenda with the big article they posted. I haven't seen anything akin to it on any other video game Website. Here's the link: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/121/1214016p1.html

I, honestly, have not had much of a problem. I had one freeze in Markarth (or however you spell that) in Calcelmo's Tower on a load screen. I had some real bad lag in Whiterun, went out of town for a week, came back and downloaded the patch and the lag seems to have abated, though not gone away entirely.

I really thought I had only put about the 30 hours into it, so when I read the IGN article, I sort of freaked. Fallout New Vegas was almost unplayable. I only kept up with it, because I had nothing else to do. I assumed, based on the IGN article, that Skyrim would be like that. Now that I'm over 80 hours into it and have not had that much of an issue, my anxiety is alleviated.

[Badger & Bengall]

I read an interview on IGN with some bloke who worked on New Vegas. He reckons some of the PS3's issues may stem from having divided memory; RAM and video memory are treated seperately on PS3 and treated as one on the 360. That should have been fixed prior to release, but when it comes down to it, how many other forms of entertainment could entertain people for ~80 hours for only US$60?

Either way, whatever system you play it on, it's a fantastic game. I'm hoping to do everything I want to do before I return to work after Christmas so I can get back into Dark Souls!

[blary54]

Is Televangelist Benny Hinn Skyrim’s Dragonborn?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=YOxVjbGvUpI

LOL!

[Greyfox]

Just picked this up today for my PS 3. I am hoping it is as good as you guys make it sound. I enjoyed EverQuest years ago, Assassin's Creed, Gods of War and Dragon Age. Hope this one is not over my head.

[AABCDS]

I just found out what a great money maker alchemy is. I talked to the NPC in Windhelm who can train you on Speech to level 50 and the guy had over 8000 gold of my gold from training. I used this online alchemy profitability calculator (http://www.endoftheweb.se/skyrim/index.php) to start making potions with ingredients that I had a lot of, over 20, and was able to sell all of my potions to him and get my money back.

Of course, I had the speech perk where you can sell any type of item back to any shop owner. One tip that I've read is that whenever you can, buy all ingredients that cost ~10 gold or less because the ROI is really high.

I tried making money enchanting iron daggers and it's a fairly good money maker but as your enchanting skill gets higher, the value of the item you create goes down. Go figure.

[Angry__Panda]

Alright guys, restarted a character (actually got the game on PC...Long story)...Going unarmed/heavy armor on this one, it is AWESOME. Just picked up the heavy armor skill for damage based on my gauntlets' armor rating. Gonna focus on getting my armor crafting skill up and grabbing the Daedric gauntlets, then focus on the main story line (which I haven't done yet), and proceed from there to enchanting/alchemy so I can make my armor better before starting the Dark Brotherhood (which I also haven't done yet :) ).

[xXClockwork]

PC is so great. This type of game is perfect for it. The graphics and being right up close and personal with the screen. It's so easy to get immersed in the game and forget where you are haha.

[Angry__Panda]

PC is so great. This type of game is perfect for it. The graphics and being right up close and personal with the screen. It's so easy to get immersed in the game and forget where you are haha.

That was already easy with the PS3 version lol. And it does look better though I really need to get a few more gigs of ram and a new video card and it will be even better :) .

[hypnoz]

Can't wait to get this game later this month!!

[njpaddy]

How stable will the PC version of this game run on an XP system with a GeForce 8800GT (512) video card? My eyes aren't young enough to be concerned with optimal settings, I just want it to run. I don't buy many new games, but it seems like every time I update my video drivers fewer of my old games will run. Today I tried to install Sacred and Hellfire and couldn't get either to run. I'm tired of playing Diablo 2, Hellgate London and L4D. I need to break down and buy a new game since Diablo 3 isn't out yet. Steam is not an issue as I have no problem with it.

[Angry__Panda]

Hop on Steam or the Elder Scrolls website and check the requirements. I run mine on a 240gt right now (cause I am too lazy to upgrade lol) with only 512mb and it runs at high settings, though I should probably set it a little lower and it would run smoother. The worst that could happen is you need to upgrade your graphics card, you could do that for probably a couple hundred bucks and get a really good one (at least really good for Skyrim).

Basically when I think about it and have a chance I am probably gonna upgrade my RAM and my graphics card early next year and probably not have to worry about upgrading my entire computer (as long as your computer is around 0-5 years old you shouldn't have a problem with your CPU, motherboard, or drives, just the RAM and video card that get you :) ).

And while I don't endorse downloading a game, I did to make sure it ran on my computer heh. Kind of sucks but these companies basically give you zero choice since sometimes PC games can be so finicky in the sense that even if you meet the requirements sometimes a game won't run. Plus I of course bought the game when it did run.

[njpaddy]

Thanks, Panda. I built my system 4 years ago and it seems to meet at least the minimum specs. I prefer more of a structured hack & slash (Diablo) to a true RPG, but I've been watching some videos on youtube and Skyrim looks like a cool game. I'm watching Steam for a holiday sale. I know what you mean about being lazy. My system could really use a reformat, but I don't have it in me to do it. Years ago I used to reformat once or twice a year. Nowadays it takes a total system crash to get me to do it.

[Angry__Panda]

Thanks, Panda. I built my system 4 years ago and it seems to meet at least the minimum specs. I prefer more of a structured hack & slash (Diablo) to a true RPG, but I've been watching some videos on youtube and Skyrim looks like a cool game. I'm watching Steam for a holiday sale. I know what you mean about being lazy. My system could really use a reformat, but I don't have it in me to do it. Years ago I used to reformat once or twice a year. Nowadays it takes a total system crash to get me to do it.

Welcome to my world. Way too much time to do a lot of maintenance and I just don't have it lol. I'll probably buy a video card soon, but I have a lot of stuff I could buy instead...Oh and let's just add that the dentist just cleaned me out, and will again in a few months (stupid teeth). At least in Skyrim there are no dentists ;) .

And yeah this is definitely less like Diablo and more do whatever you want, but that is part of the good that is Skyrim. With that freedom there is so much to do and see and enjoy. Don't want to do some hard quest you are working on? Screw it, move on to the dark brotherhood or one of the guilds. Enjoy yourself and don't worry about things that may end up being frustrating.

[blary54]

Alright guys, restarted a character (actually got the game on PC...Long story)...Going unarmed/heavy armor on this one, it is AWESOME. Just picked up the heavy armor skill for damage based on my gauntlets' armor rating.

Did you mean Unarmed/heavy armor or two handed and heavy armor? I can imagine fighting a dragon without my bow...let alone using just my fists. Lol!

[Angry__Panda]

Oh I definitely mean unarmed. I just punched a dragon right in the face till he was dead. It is amazingly fun, need to work on my smithing so I can get my daedric armor and do better damage :) .

[blary54]

Hmm that would be a challenge. Im level 49 and the combat is becoming too easy. Still having fun though...

If I do another play through I might try your way.

[AABCDS]

Hmm that would be a challenge. Im level 49 and the combat is becoming too easy. Still having fun though...

If I do another play through I might try your way.

You could always turn up the difficulty.

[njpaddy]

You guys are really a bad influence. I just ordered the game (one day delivery) from amazon. Should have tomorrow.

[blary54]

You guys are really a bad influence. I just ordered the game (one day delivery) from amazon. Should have tomorrow.

Say goodbye to your social life...But it really is a great game.

[heybatter]

Oh I definitely mean unarmed. I just punched a dragon right in the face till he was dead. It is amazingly fun, need to work on my smithing so I can get my daedric armor and do better damage :) .

like this guy?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhBiNx749Zw

[AABCDS]

like this guy?
...

That video is pretty funny hilarious!

[heybatter]

He's insane but there is actually good advice mixed in with his pugilistic ramblings! :lol:

[AABCDS]

He's insane but there is actually good advice mixed in with his pugilistic ramblings! :lol:

I didn't know you could do so much damage barehanded. His accent is the icing on the commentary cake.

[njpaddy]

That video was something else considering I got the game today and spent the last few hours wandering around in novice mode and having a hard time just trying to figure out the controls.

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I'm making a real effort to get tired of the game and beat it before I go away for Christmas. My goal is to reemerge in society in 2012.

I think my character is level 53, 54 or 55. Something like that. I've got 100 on sneak, smithing, enchanting and one handed. Working on getting archery, light armor and alchemy there. The goal is to make myself some really bad ass light armor before I actually do the main quest. I've not even met the Gray Beards, yet.

I have finished the Thieves' Guild, Dark Brotherhood and Companions' quest lines. I'm working on the Winterhold College line, right now. I have also played this game for way more hours than I am willing to publicly admit. Privately, too. I'm afraid to even look.

With all the sneak perks and almost all the archery perks, I pretty much just sneak around and one shot kill everything. Provided that the location is fairly dark, I can stand right in front of a dude facing me while in sneak and he won't even notice me. It's also fun to sneak up behind guys and slit their throats with my dagger. Dear Mods, please be prepared to edit/delete that if I ever decide to run for office.

[Angry__Panda]

And this is why I tend not to play stuff on the computer :( . Totally just lost all of my stuff :( . My PC crashed a few days ago and quite frankly, this is the first time I have no idea what happened to it. So instead of wasting time trying to fix it myself (I built it myself so I am the tech support lol) I went over to the Apple store and drank the kool-aid so to speak. So, I am debating if it is worth it to dual boot and install windows on this computer to play Skyrim or if I am just gonna say screw it and play on my PS3 again...

[njpaddy]

When mine crash I usually buy a new hard drive and hook up the old drive as backup to pull any (uncorrupted) files off. I also have cables to hook up old drives via usb.

I need to reformat mine to clean the junk out and freshen Windows. My son-in-law offered me a WD 1TB Black drive, so I will probably install it next week if I can stop playing Skyrim long enough. Seems like I've played forever, but I'm only at level 8. Leveling takes a long time in this game (or maybe it's just me). I still haven't quite figured out what to carry, sell or equip or what skills to take. I'm spreading perks out, which I know will hurt me later on. I'm mostly just working on minor quests to experiment.

[Arcadies]

If there are any pc gamers that want Skyrim and have been holding out for a sale it's 33% off on Steam, which brings it down to $40.19. The sale has been going since yesterday, so there is only a few hours left I believe.

[xXClockwork]

Every time i fire up this game, I am still amazed. The graphics, the beautiful landscapes, the gameplay, it's all spot on.

[jwcarlson]

You can tell the difference of old gamers and newer gamers.
Oldschool gamers prefer playing on the computer, newbs (anyone under 30, ;) ) prefer their consoles

1. As mentioned aiming is so normal with a mouse, instead of multiple joysticks. ASWD is simple... our fingers have adjusted to it over the years.
2. Need to patch a game, you download it and install over top of the existing game. I assume that upgrading is possible on the 2nd gen consoles, but you then have the game itself on game disk and the patch on a hard drive
3. Upgrades to the equipment is simple enough, sure you need to be computer savvy, I guess; motherboard, graphics card, RAM, bit by bit (hah!). But to upgrade a console requires an upgrade of the whole thing

I just turned 27. :) I've been going through a gaming total recall. I loved the first Call of Duty but had never played CoD2. So I bought and beat that on my laptop. Reinstalled Stronghold 2, a castle sim that is pretty interesting. Next on my list is probably a trip back to the likes of either Rome Total War or Medieval Total War. Although I do have a future gaming date saved for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri at some point. I really really liked Civilzation 2 but never played any of the subsequent games in the series.

It is very true that I'm a PC gamer at heart. But I do own some sort of refurbished xbox360 so I can play a few games (mainly Madden... although I picked up Portal 2 on sale after I enjoyed the Orange Box edition). Sold Orange Box after it became necessary to "aim" while playing HL2. :)