Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[TheSlugFormerlyKnownAsNap]

But nothing happened in that journey, save for me dying twice and killing a polar bear in the most cheap and stupid way possible (though it was amusing to see the body slide down the slope past me). I didn't feel that I'd achieved anything whatsoever. I'm all for finding secret new places but two of the locations I've found so far have seen me battered by monsters I'm clearly not equipped to tackle yet (and my companion got killed to boot in one of them). Oh, and I got caught in an infinite death-loop when the autosave kicked in after a bit of experimental rock-climbing led me to fall a bit too far.

Has to be said, the soundtrack and atmosphere is quite something. Also nice to see sparse flakes of snow gently falling as I climbed, and then night falling and me rounding a corner to see two moons above me. As a piece of digital sightseeing, it's pretty special - I've just not been impressed by the actual game elements so far.

Well, the bugs are pretty unforgivable but the rest which you describe is pretty much classic Bethesda stuff ... you're free to go where you want, and this means you can also get involved in some bad shit you're not ready to face. But sometimes you can still get out on top, by going invisible, making a break for it, use that elusive one shot KILL EVERYBODY spell, spam health potions or whichever more tricks there are. Personally I love entering an area I'm not 'supposed' to be in and try to see how far I can get. With some luck you can get epic loot you wouldn't acquire until much further in the game, giving you a huge benefit. It's all in the game. I guess the lack of structure alienates some as much as it endears others.

[Exit Chamber]

It only absorbs white souls

That's not entirely accurate, it depends on how you completed the quest.

[drkbfhmmr]

btw, how do I put hotkeys on the l+r of the d-pad? I can only seem to assign favourites...

Hold down left or right on the item/spell you wish to assign while in the favourites menu.

[sir stiff_one]

Has to be said, the soundtrack and atmosphere is quite something. Also nice to see sparse flakes of snow gently falling as I climbed, and then night falling and me rounding a corner to see two moons above me. As a piece of digital sightseeing, it's pretty special - I've just not been impressed by the actual game elements so far.

Digital sightseeing is a good term. And although I feel you're missing the point of the game a little, yes, the 'game' part is in the main pretty basic really. It's sort of like a singleplayer MMO.

[mr_woo]

Well, the bugs are pretty unforgivable but the rest which you describe is pretty much classic Bethesda stuff ... you're free to go where you want, and this means you can also get involved in some bad shit you're not ready to face. But sometimes you can still get out on top, by going invisible, making a break for it, use that elusive one shot KILL EVERYBODY spell, spam health potions or whichever more tricks there are. Personally I love entering an area I'm not 'supposed' to be in and try to see how far I can get. With some luck you can get epic loot you wouldn't acquire until much further in the game, giving you a huge benefit. It's all in the game. I guess the lack of structure alienates some as much as it endears others.

Which is something that was sorely missing from Oblivion. The enemies scaling with you for that was very disappointing, there was no real excitement of getting done over by some big bastard who was 20 levels too high for you to kill. Nice to see Skyrim actually have that danger to it.

[sir stiff_one]

I wish there was more variance in terms of difficulties of certain areas.

[Rudderless]

Digital sightseeing is a good term. And although I feel you're missing the point of the game a little, yes, the 'game' part is in the main pretty basic really. It's sort of like a singleplayer MMO.

Well, I like being given the freedom to express myself in a game, but I think I'm realising I'm the kind of player who prefers a little bit of guidance. I feel a little lost and slightly overwhelmed in a way I didn't with Oblivion or Fallout or any other sandbox game I've played. I'm not giving up just yet, though. I am tempted to start again with a new character and a fresh approach, though. From asking around on Twitter, it seems magic or arrows-and-stealth might be more suitable for me.

[Beitel]

Well, I like being given the freedom to express myself in a game, but I think I'm realising I'm the kind of player who prefers a little bit of guidance. I feel a little lost and slightly overwhelmed in a way I didn't with Oblivion or Fallout or any other sandbox game I've played. I'm not giving up just yet, though. I am tempted to start again with a new character and a fresh approach, though. From asking around on Twitter, it seems magic or arrows-and-stealth might be more suitable for me.

Join a guild or two and head to some cities first. Staying a bit in Whiterun is not a bad idea really. That way you have some long quests to guide you throughout the world. When you follow them you are bound to get distracted by a lots of other stuff and you settle in a rhythm. That's how previous Bethesda games always worked with me. And working on secondary skills like enchanting and smithing is fun if you're into building your character and making some coin, this aspect of the game is one of the biggest improvements.

[gospvg]

The problem I have is that my spare gaming time is at a premium, so anything that wastes any of it I get a bit frustrated with. Finding new places just seems to be a case of being thorough in your exploration rather than solving any kind of environmental puzzle or anything. Not sure if this is for me, though I'll persevere a bit longer. I quite liked Fallout - though I found the setting a little depressing - and I rather enjoyed what I played of Oblivion (around 20 hours, as I recall), but I'm not feeling this at all so far.

Maybe just stick to the main quest & you should finish that quickly?

[drkbfhmmr]

Seems gay marriage is legal in Skyrim. I was wearing the Amulet of Mara in Windhelm today and was surprised to find that while none of the ladies went for my sexy Argonian green skin, there was not one, but two guys hitting on me within quick succession of each other. I was frankly a little bewildered by their suggestions, and could think of little else to do than rob them from behind.

I'm surprised christwire didn't even mention this in their analysis of homo erotic sex maneuvers in Skyrim.

[Monkeyspill]

I'm stuck on the companions quest "Trouble in Skyrim." I'm supposed to kill a bandit leader, but I killed him ages ago so it won't let me complete the quest and continue with the companions stuff. Has anyone had this problem and is there any way to fix it?

[Ravern]

I'm stuck on the companions quest "Trouble in Skyrim." I'm supposed to kill a bandit leader, but I killed him ages ago so it won't let me complete the quest and continue with the companions stuff. Has anyone had this problem and is there any way to fix it?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Trouble_in_Skyrim

Bugs

There may be issues if you've recently cleared an assigned area. This bug will become evident when the marker points you to the leader's dead body. Console commands can serve as a workaround, as can waiting for 30 game days to reset the area.

If you have already killed the target NPC prior to obtaining the quest, you may find that Farkas never provides the option to complete the quest. Consequently, other Companions will not allow you to start new tasks, thereby making further progression with the Companions impossible. However, you may use the console to manually enable the next stage in the "main" quest line. First use the console to enter the command "setstage C01 0"; then, speak to Skjor. This seems to work, though other issues may or may not arise later (has not been thoroughly tested).

[Girth Certificate]

edit: yeah, what he said

I had Annekke carry a couple of staffs earlier cos I was overloaded, didn't think she'd actually use them. She went mad dual weilding fire and ice balls and laid waste to everyone.

it was pretty weapon.

[sir stiff_one]

Well, I like being given the freedom to express myself in a game, but I think I'm realising I'm the kind of player who prefers a little bit of guidance. I feel a little lost and slightly overwhelmed in a way I didn't with Oblivion or Fallout or any other sandbox game I've played. I'm not giving up just yet, though. I am tempted to start again with a new character and a fresh approach, though. From asking around on Twitter, it seems magic or arrows-and-stealth might be more suitable for me.

I shan't spoil with names but during my general adventuring I built up a pretty cool little friendship with an in game couple. Later a quest (optional obv), insisted I needed to be really horrible to them. I didn't really want to but I did it anyway to see what would happen and I was really surprised by the level of shame and of how bad I felt. I'd betrayed them. I did it again to another guy as part of the same quest, we had been pretty good acquaintances up till then. I felt really genuinely horrible and sad. To me, the opportunity and the ability for a game to make you feel like that is very special. In my head my character just would not do those sort of things, and I am my character, he is my representation in the game world in the same sort of way Master Chief is, they are roughly sketched outlines and it's up to you to do the colouring in. Except in this game you can pretty much just spend your time colouring in. You don't have to do any of the pre scripted quests, you can make up your own life and do things how you want to a surprising degree.

People complain about the game being full of crap. I know Joyrex for example couldn't help looting and hoarding everything. That's a compulsive and learned gaming habit, a sickness if you will. It's part of the unwritten rules of games that you might need it later. In Skyrim, if you want you can earn an honest living, never kill anyone, fuck off every quest and just live as a sort of trader type. You can buy yourself a house, you can become friends with people in your home town, roleplay the fuck out of it. That's possible because there are so many options. I totally get how it can be overwhelming, especially when most games have a relatively simple set of mechanics, checkpoints, power up systems etc underneath which give the player security and confirm they are doing the 'right thing'.

I stressed earlier that you cannot play this game 'wrong'. Ok I laughed at the people storing a bunch of stuff in random chests around the world, but you know what, you can do that, so why not? I've also been greatly amused by the tales of other adventurers. From my lofty point of view as a basically unkillable badass who has travelled to the ends of the earth I think 'how cute'. But I also know I'm not playing in any 'righter' a way than anyone else, just another way. I know that as long as you're having fun that's the only important thing, whether you're scampering away from skeevers, being bludgeoned by trolls or getting lost up mountains because you are an adventurer who can't read a map. The game and the way you play it definitely reflects back a lot about each player.

[Aardvark]

Seems gay marriage is legal in Skyrim. I was wearing the Amulet of Mara in Windhelm today and was surprised to find that while none of the ladies went for my sexy Argonian green skin, there was not one, but two guys hitting on me within quick succession of each other. I was frankly a little bewildered by their suggestions, and could think of little else to do than rob them from behind.

I'm surprised christwire didn't even mention this in their analysis of homo erotic sex maneuvers in Skyrim.

It's more sordid than you realise, I appear to be in ménage a trois.

[Monkeyspill]

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Trouble_in_Skyrim

As I have the 360 version and no possibility of console commands I suppose I'm just going to have to wait for a patch somewhere down the line that might fix it?

[sir stiff_one]

I wouldn't hold your breath.

[Uzi]

It's funny going from the Skyward Sword thread to this and it seems a good few of the folk who loved SS don't really get on with Skyrim. The games have been compared a good few times, which I've thought has been unfair on both counts seeing as how different they are in both aim and execution but it does make a thing clear to me about Bethesda games, and Skyrim in particular.

The actual bulk of the games, just on the bare gameplay alone, can be pretty shallow- tedious even if you decide to just tackle it head on without any thought about what your role in the world is. The sheer scale of the game and locations will mean, if you divide the content by the scale you'll find a lacking amount of variation. That's simply taking into account how insanely large and packed the game is, in terms of scale, it pretty much destroys anything else that is on a console that isn't much simpler or MMO in nature. In something like Zelda which can be handcrafted for every inch that you're led down to be dense with mechanics and puzzles from the game. The enjoyment is far more immediate in a game like that.

You'll find two types of people describing the world in Skyrim, those who say they had the same uneventful stroll, got killed by a big enemy or simply got lost. And then you have others, like Sir Stiff Bro, who manage to make an adventure of each journey. You really need to put in a good amount of imagination and work yourself to enjoy Skyrim, it has a toll in that sense that if you don't bother paying, or even refuse to, you won't enjoy as much. If you do, no other game will most likely give you as much freedom to do so. It's utterly unique in that way.

An example is on one journey over to a location, I saw something ahead of me move ever so slightly in some taller flowers/grass. I thought my eyes were tricking me since it was so subtle. I cast detect life and noticed there was someone fucking crouching ahead of me on the side of the road in the greenery waiting to pounce. I snuck my way around him and pickpockets him wondering what his deal was.

I found a contract on his person. I snuck away so I could read it in peace in case he turned around. It said something like:

"We've been ordered to kill some poor fool named Uzion. Must have angered the wrong folk, the ritual has been completed, don't let him see you coming".

Ha, the dark brotherhood. Standards have dropped if you're hiring untrained argonians.

I cast detect life again and noticed not too far ahead was a pack of wolves, using an arrow and the throw voice shout, I managed to lure them over to the argonian. I then took out an apple I had accidently stolen off someone and ate it, because I needed something to replicate popcorn while they tore the shitty assassin up. I walked up to the wolves, cast Kynes Peace and strolled ahead of my friendly glowing green attack dogs, chest full of pride.

Now, take the same scenario and place it with someone who plays the game expecting to provide all context for them and that scenario would have just been a "a dude attacked me while i was walking up a road and three wolves got into a fight with me right after- BORING!!"

I did the same thing with Oblivion. Used the world and certain NPC or item placements or situations to make stories out of them. The games do require that you take these templates and canvases and you can make your own fun. Like Sir Stiff, I was once given a mission to frame a former companion of mine. I broke into her house with some hesitation and was about to blame her for a crime she didn't commit. I thought of the guards coming over to arrest her and sticking her in the dungeon in Whiterun. I had seen the place earlier, she didn't deserve that. I went back to the mission holder and told them to go fuck themselves. I got a big message on the screen saying QUEST FAILED, but I didn't give a shit. Friends 4 life.

I don't even hang around my house that long due to this stupid imagination/roleplaying shit. I get home after some questing, wait until I've settled in and put any extra stuff away in my chest before thinking it's appropriate to see my wife and ask her for money. Our relationship has been getting worse. She did stop cooking for me a little while ago. I think this was a bug but I blamed it on the fact that we have Lydia living with us, and there is this extremely uncomfortable love triangle where I wake up from sleep sometimes (with Lovers Comfort natch), see a beautiful lady at the foot of my bed having her breakfast before realising it's Lydia and not my wife who is downstairs in the alchemy kitchen trying to make us a living while I lust over my given female ...well combat slave pretty much from some big nord dude who sits around all day pretending to be some concerned king. What can I do for you my thane? Oh baby, wouldn't you like to know...

I knocked over a jar the other day at home and I got scolded really harshly by her (my wife). I didn't break the fucking thing. It got to me so much, I pickpocketed some gold off her while she slept and went drinking at the local tavern, trying to pickpocket the clothes off the local bar maid. I got caught and I had to embarrassingly explain to the guard I was an important political figure to avoid jail, but now he knows of my shameful ways. I keep avoiding running into her when I come home and I think it might be best for us to move to solitude to save our marriage, can't have Lydia's dutiful smile if we have any hope for the future.

This is how these "lifeless talking heads"(I think this is what Scott called them on twitter) can be used to create real stories. I'll be the first to admit the game can seem really bare and repetitive if you take it as it is and isn't for everyone. The world is gorgeous but it isn't perfect or dense in detail or variation (impossible given the scale) but it can be if you're willing to let go a little and let your imagination run wild. Or if you're a little sick, like I probably am. I do think in an overall sense though, the game is too big and there is little to work with in all of the dungeons etc to change things up, they're all pretty linear loot/fight em ups that 70 hours in I'm beginning to tire of going into another dwemner fucking ruin so I'm leaving those to a minimum (though finding epic loot now and again has real meaning, something sorely lacking in Oblivion, a lot of my best gear I've found from wandering about) and just enjoying the other side of things like described above.

I did to be honest enjoy the quests and writing more in Fallout New Vegas too, I think Obsidian, while on the tech side suck balls, do really know how to write and create interesting scenarios and fun multiple ways to complete quests and would love for them to do their own version in the future like they did with Fallout.

Anyway, TL DR, you can make a lot of your own fun and stories in Skyrim if you want to.

[boxoctosis]

Plus you can loot dungeons with the Pink Panther in tow. (Though he's not pink).

[Gringo]

I did have a foursome going on at one point in my game. My wife kept up the homestead in Riften and it seemed that Iona had moved herself in. Coupled with Lydia following me about I did start to feel like the Dark Elf Hugh Hefner. Alas I had to end it as I realised three women was too much for one mere Dark Elf and cut Lydia loose.

I had begun to have my doubts about Lydia anyhow as when we got into a fight it seemed she spent more time down on her knee than in the throws of battle. I ultimately chalked it down to her being battle weary with all the scrapes I get into but in the back of my mind I did wonder whether the allure of the bandit bad boys began to seem a more appealing prospect than constantly lugging my dragon bones and scales about.

[Distinct muttering]

Seems gay marriage is legal in Skyrim. I was wearing the Amulet of Mara in Windhelm today and was surprised to find that while none of the ladies went for my sexy Argonian green skin, there was not one, but two guys hitting on me within quick succession of each other. I was frankly a little bewildered by their suggestions, and could think of little else to do than rob them from behind.

I'm surprised christwire didn't even mention this in their analysis of homo erotic sex maneuvers in Skyrim.

Thats what they are calling it these days?

[moosegrinder]

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3538

Kinda wish I had it on PC now

[Stig]

Last night my follower died. RIP Faendal, you were a good friend.

[Distinct muttering]

I lost Lydia as well. She had been missing for a while, had no idea where she buggered off to. I was gutted as I had loaded her up with loads of heavy/expensive goodies (some super duper shield which was valued at about 1200). Then last night I got a message saying some to the effect of “your follower has got bored waiting for you and has buggered off”. I must have told her to wait at the entrance of some dungeon or something and totally forgotten about her 

I think on balance I cant be arsed with the companions. Think Im just going to go the lone wolf route from now on.

[Duckula]

I got sick of Lydia living under my roof so I sacrificed her.

[Beitel]

I lost Lydia as well. She had been missing for a while, had no idea where she buggered off to. I was gutted as I had loaded her up with loads of heavy/expensive goodies (some super duper shield which was valued at about 1200). Then last night I got a message saying some to the effect of “your follower has got bored waiting for you and has buggered off”. I must have told her to wait at the entrance of some dungeon or something and totally forgotten about her 

I think on balance I cant be arsed with the companions. Think Im just going to go the lone wolf route from now on.

She probably returned to Whiterun then, so there's a chance to get your gear back. She's a pretty useless companion though, I now have a mage with me which is an incredible improvement and pretty fun to have around.

The marriage thing in Skyrim is not very well handled, but can be very funny. Resolving a love triangle by marrying the girl yourself is a perfect Elder Scrolls dick-move.

[scottcr]

Uzi - good post, and I'd agree with that. When I've got something to do in the game, in a cave,castle or whatever, I do find it very enjoyable. So far, I find the world less interesting to walk around in than either Oblivion or Morrowind. Mainly because I thought they had more imagination and colour and variation to them... also, I thought Fallout 3 was mind meltingly dull... I think a lot of my enjoyment of games comes from how imaginative and colourful they are! Probably explains a lot.

But, the game is starting to get its teeth into me as I get more into the companions quests that I'm doing. Playing for a good while yesterday and really enjoyed it. I've also learned to live with the map as it is. I think the quest for the greybeards was the worst example. I haven't had the same kind of problem since then... The main reason for my difficulty there is the path actually takes you away at first from where you want to go, but I'm used to just pointing in one direction and pushing forward for a while...

I've also started to take little deviations into grottos and stuff and find that really quite cool. I'm a bit worried about heading into bandit caves and clearing them out due to the bugs though. I've done quite a bit of that so far and I'm a bit worried I've broken the game in places... Which really is inexcusable for a game like this.

I do wish though that the fantasy and characters just weren't so generic. I'm not asking for Xenoblade levels of world design, but something a bit different from what, to me, seems like a complete Game of Thrones rip off. The characters are dull, difficult to tell apart and generally humourless.... I want some more unusual, quirky and memorable characters, ones I enjoy having conversations with and actually end up caring about... So, if they end up in some kind of dilemma I feel a motivation for helping them out rather than just for epic loots or skill bonuses. This side of it is something that Bethesda don't seem to care about... Making gamers fill in the characters themselves. Some see this as a real positive, but to me it's a wasted opportunity.

Still... Deciding to stick with it has been worthwhile and I'm sure by the end of it, I'll have played it more than any other game this generation...

[Cosmic_Guru]

@Uzi. Brilliant post, says it all.

[robdood]

Wtf is moosegrinders post about? Goth mod v1?

[Naysonymous]

Just as I was about to gloat about the PC version of this game being miles better than the console versions, the fucking thing wont launch. I had an hour or so in which to have a crafty game before going out (it is now about half an hour) and I am just infinitely stuck on the "Preparing to launch The Elder Scrolls V: Syrim" screen on Steam.

Fuck knows what has caused this. Has there been a patch since yesterday I havent noticed because it worked fine yesterday. Cant launch from the .exe in the games folder either, it just throws up the same error. I have restarted Steam, I have restarted my PC and still the same error. What next? Reinstall?