E3: Skyrim

[Kahunaburger]

If you can point out five ways that Morrowind is superior, I will be impressed.

Spellmaking, enchanting, non-generic setting, great houses, and moddability*. But for all we know Skyrim will have some advantages over Morrowind too - I'm really curious to see how the magic system actually ends up working.

*no terrible voice acting = community can mod more seamlessly.

Spellmaking has been in the series two times now (I believe, I haven't played the first two games), so I don't think it's going away. Skyrim doesn't really look like other RPGs except maybe that it has trees and grass. It has a distinct Conan the Barbarian feel.

... I'm not quite sure what you mean by "great houses," but it sounds like pure opinion to me, so I'll leave it at that.

When was it confirmed that Skyrim would not be moddable?

Spoiler

Well, on the subject of setting generic-ness, Skyrim looks like every other fantasy setting in that it's a chunk of Medieval Europe with the serial numbers filed off. It's certainly not as unique as a setting divided between foreign imperialists, a theocracy where you can walk over to a temple and see gods in person, a volcano-dwelling disease-cult, and machinating noble houses. (Incidentally, the "great houses" I was talking about are Redoran, Telvanni, and Hlaalu, which are about 10x more interesting than the assorted guilds.) I haven't seen anything in Skyrim as bizarre and awesome as people living in giant crab shells or riding building-sized fleas everywhere, for instance.

Spellmaking I've heard a couple of things about - basically, if it still exists, it will have to be considerably limited to allow the new spell mechanics to work. It's not necessarily a bad thing on balance, but it certainly means the system is less customizable. Same holds true for the enchanting system.

The moddability thing is the voice acting - that was sort of a problem with Oblivion. The voice actors were bad enough to make the game less immersive, not more, and they created a problem by making it a lot harder for modders to add new dialogue seamlessly to the game. Even if (as I hope) Skyrim has better voice acting, you still have the drawback that it becomes difficult to seamlessly insert new NPCs.

But I don't think that Skyrim is going to be a bad game - I just think that we can clearly see some ways Morrowind is almost certainly going to be better. That's not a huge problem, because there are ways that Morrowind is better than most games. Skyrim will also be better than Morrowind in many ways - the melee system, obviously, and likely the spellcasting system.

 

[Thnelis]

Does picture 3 remind anyone else of Edoras from lord of the rings (where king Theoden lives)?

 

[Zakarath]

Btw, there's a typo on the main page title for this article. It says "Edler Scrolls."

*twitch*

 

[Thirsk]

I'm pretty sure I feel like parents do when their offspring grows to become successfull in a line of work completely alien to the old folks. I am happy and proud for the Elder Scrolls franchise for where it've gotten, but I can't help the feeling that it ain't the son I loved back when he called himself Morrowind. Of course, I love The Elder Scrolls no matter what, so even though I realize there's no hope he'll be like he was back in the day, I'll stick with him no matter what he desides to do with his life.

Sigh... Can't help a slight tint of melancholia though.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

It was actually a hands off demo, but it was the 360 version running. It ran beautifully, but this was also an orchestrated demo, so the chances of embarrassing whoopsies was pretty low.

That's unfortunate. I was hoping for some real world confirmation of game stability. Given how Oblivion and the two Fallout games turned out. Still, thank you for answering.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I predict this will be like every other Bethesda game since Morrowind.

It will be very pretty, wow console players, and get great reviews. Once you get past the eye candy you will see the gameplay and story are fairly generic genre tropes. After there is about a year's worth of community mods, bugfixes, and content patches the game will enter the "fun" or "finished" category. The initial interface will be unusable on the PC because Bethesda (and every other developer) does not consider that playing a game with keyboard and mouse at 18 inches is completely different than playing at 10 feet with a gamepad.

However to Bethesda's credit they do release all the tools the community needs to fix their game, unlike GSC not supporting STALKER modders at all.

Expect a bunch of really bland DLC shoehorned into the game in the months following release. And while the DLC will be lame by itself the assets will be effectively used by modders.

Maybe 6 months after the last DLC is released integrated "overhaul" mods will show up that transform the game from a pretty engine into an actual immersive substantial gaming experience. By then most of the people who care have moved on or were burned out on the buggy, unfinished vanilla release and will never experience the fruition of the great potential the game had.

You and me both. I have been saying stuff like this since Skyrim was first announced. It does seem like the games come off more as lazy PC ports than anything else. Its kinda funny that the games only really become playable after the modding community puts in all the features Bethesda promised would be there at launch.

 

[anonymity88]

It's like Bethesda don't want me to have a life.

 

[Inkidu]

The lettering does seem out of place, but I just love how clean it is.

Yeah, It's bare bones, but that's so you get in, get out, and get on with it. I'd rather have a modern clean font than an over-elaborate muddling font any day.

 

[MadCapMunchkin]

If they were going to rip off the menus from New Vegas could they at least rip off the leveling system. Swinging a sword at enemies four hundred times doesn't suddenly make me better at it. Okay, so maybe it does, but I prefer the system of getting XP for things I kill and then getting a set amount of points every level to distribute how I wish. That just runs cleaner for me.

Other than that, no complaints. Looking forward to November.

 

[Jason Danger Keyes]

The title on the front page is misspelled 'Edler'

Besides that, this game looks so sweet you can bet your ass I'll be there on release date.

 

[T8B95]

Spoiler

Well, on the subject of setting generic-ness, Skyrim looks like every other fantasy setting in that it's a chunk of Medieval Europe with the serial numbers filed off. It's certainly not as unique as a setting divided between foreign imperialists, a theocracy where you can walk over to a temple and see gods in person, a volcano-dwelling disease-cult, and machinating noble houses. (Incidentally, the "great houses" I was talking about are Redoran, Telvanni, and Hlaalu, which are about 10x more interesting than the assorted guilds.) I haven't seen anything in Skyrim as bizarre and awesome as people living in giant crab shells or riding building-sized fleas everywhere, for instance.

Spellmaking I've heard a couple of things about - basically, if it still exists, it will have to be considerably limited to allow the new spell mechanics to work. It's not necessarily a bad thing on balance, but it certainly means the system is less customizable. Same holds true for the enchanting system.

The moddability thing is the voice acting - that was sort of a problem with Oblivion. The voice actors were bad enough to make the game less immersive, not more, and they created a problem by making it a lot harder for modders to add new dialogue seamlessly to the game. Even if (as I hope) Skyrim has better voice acting, you still have the drawback that it becomes difficult to seamlessly insert new NPCs.

But I don't think that Skyrim is going to be a bad game - I just think that we can clearly see some ways Morrowind is almost certainly going to be better. That's not a huge problem, because there are ways that Morrowind is better than most games. Skyrim will also be better than Morrowind in many ways - the melee system, obviously, and likely the spellcasting system.

Don't let the rose-coloured glasses of nostalgia blind you. Yes, Morrowind was a good game, a great game even, but it had some serious flaws. Swinging a sword a billion times at an enemy two feet away just to hit it, a UI that made me want to cry sometimes, and about a billion skills that you will never ever use because Long Blade and Spear were the only skills needed to destroy the game (because they had all of the best weapons), get pretty annoying after awhile. Morrowind's big strength was its high level of immersion and appropriate alien feel.

I think that Oblivion had some major improvements over Morrowind. The thing that people seem quick to forget is that it was released in 2006. I didn't get it until 2008, and it was still one of the best-looking games I'd ever seen. People like to ***** about the bugginess, but Morrowind was a billion times buggier than Oblivion ever was. Oblivion also featured a much better interface, and vastly improved melee and magic combat.

I don't have a problem with making the game more streamlined. There's a difference between streamlining a game and dumbing it down. The features that they are cutting are non-essential, and it improves the game tenfold.

I think that Skyrim will be superior to Oblivion, and that Oblivion was, except for immersion, superior to Morrowind. Feel free to disagree, but please keep it civil.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Spoiler

Well, on the subject of setting generic-ness, Skyrim looks like every other fantasy setting in that it's a chunk of Medieval Europe with the serial numbers filed off. It's certainly not as unique as a setting divided between foreign imperialists, a theocracy where you can walk over to a temple and see gods in person, a volcano-dwelling disease-cult, and machinating noble houses. (Incidentally, the "great houses" I was talking about are Redoran, Telvanni, and Hlaalu, which are about 10x more interesting than the assorted guilds.) I haven't seen anything in Skyrim as bizarre and awesome as people living in giant crab shells or riding building-sized fleas everywhere, for instance.

Spellmaking I've heard a couple of things about - basically, if it still exists, it will have to be considerably limited to allow the new spell mechanics to work. It's not necessarily a bad thing on balance, but it certainly means the system is less customizable. Same holds true for the enchanting system.

The moddability thing is the voice acting - that was sort of a problem with Oblivion. The voice actors were bad enough to make the game less immersive, not more, and they created a problem by making it a lot harder for modders to add new dialogue seamlessly to the game. Even if (as I hope) Skyrim has better voice acting, you still have the drawback that it becomes difficult to seamlessly insert new NPCs.

But I don't think that Skyrim is going to be a bad game - I just think that we can clearly see some ways Morrowind is almost certainly going to be better. That's not a huge problem, because there are ways that Morrowind is better than most games. Skyrim will also be better than Morrowind in many ways - the melee system, obviously, and likely the spellcasting system.

Don't let the rose-coloured glasses of nostalgia blind you. Yes, Morrowind was a good game, a great game even, but it had some serious flaws. Swinging a sword a billion times at an enemy two feet away just to hit it, a UI that made me want to cry sometimes, and about a billion skills that you will never ever use because Long Blade and Spear were the only skills needed to destroy the game (because they had all of the best weapons), get pretty annoying after awhile. Morrowind's big strength was its high level of immersion and appropriate alien feel.

I think that Oblivion had some major improvements over Morrowind. The thing that people seem quick to forget is that it was released in 2006. I didn't get it until 2008, and it was still one of the best-looking games I'd ever seen. People like to ***** about the bugginess, but Morrowind was a billion times buggier than Oblivion ever was. Oblivion also featured a much better interface, and vastly improved melee and magic combat.

I don't have a problem with making the game more streamlined. There's a difference between streamlining a game and dumbing it down. The features that they are cutting are non-essential, and it improves the game tenfold.

I think that Skyrim will be superior to Oblivion, and that Oblivion was, except for immersion, superior to Morrowind. Feel free to disagree, but please keep it civil.

Yeah, I don't disagree that Skyrim may (on balance) be better than Morrowind, and will certainly have things it does better than Morrowind did. I was mostly just responding to this one guy's request for "5 ways Morrowind is better than Skyrim" for fun haha. Ofc, for all we know Skyrim will have awesome and flexible spellmaking, steller voice acting, and Telvanni. Really, we should withhold judgement on it until it actually comes out.

On the Oblivion vs. Morrowind thing, I actually played Morrowind first, then Oblivion, then went back to Morrowind with enough graphics mods to make my laptop cry, and ended up liking Morrowind a lot better on balance. There's just more stuff to do, and the NPCs are a few steps further away from the uncanny valley. IMHO, Oblivion was a step forward on graphics and melee, and a step back on aesthetics, setting, magic, and everything else. But I definitely think there's room for difference of opinion on this issue

 

[infohippie]

I wasn't too fussed on the shouts, but then they tie in with the main plot (don't they?) and I'm probably going to play this the same way I played Oblivion - totally ignore the main questline and run around the world finding dungeons, doing quest chains I stumble across, and just generally exploring and making up my own story as I go along. I still haven't got around to trying to finish Oblivion's main plot.

Although, it looks like melee combat still sucks. I wish they'd totally changed the way melee works, maybe used something like the system in The Witcher 2. Swordplay in the Elder Scrolls has always been exceptionally bland and this doesn't look much different.

Nitpicks aside, I'm still very excited for Skyrim, it's easily going to be my own personal Game of the Year.

 

[jimahaff]

I can't think ofSkyrimanything that I can say that willSkyrimaccurately express my excitement/glee... so I'm justSkyrimgoing to keep drooling into my keyboard Skyrim.

 

[Ghengis John]

We didn't get to see what the map inside a dungeon looks like, but the demo did feature the Clairvoyance spell, which will create a glittering trail pointing toward your next quest event in case you get turned around in one of Skyrim's 150 dungeons.

Hah, it sounds like Peter Monlyneux has had a bit of influence here! Having played Fable 2 and 3 I actually have come to miss the glittering trail at times when playing other games. Yes there's a degree of hand holding that comes with it, but there's also quite a lot of frustration saved. Glad to know that won't be a problem here.

 

[ChupathingyX]

If you can point out five ways that Morrowind is superior, I will be impressed.

Challenge accepted.

*Much larger variety of weapons including spears, crossbows, halberds, throwing knives and staffs being capable of melee.
*In the main story you're not just some errand boy who gets all the glory taken away at the end.
*Clothes can be worn underneath armour.
*Much more joinable guilds with different requirements and friendly/enemy factions.
*More realistic fast travel system (boats, silt striders, guild guides)

OT: Still no pictures of Argonians?

 

[Kakashi on crack]

Sounds like I'll absolutely love this game, like I had expected.

Though I have to say... It almost seems like there was a main art "Style" but different artists working on it. (I understand the need, but like, artists with differing visions) For instance, the mountains just don't seem to mesh very well with the skies.

Also, extremely glad that they fixed the female shoulder thing, though the faces still almost look masculine.

I get the feeling I'll be restricted to the Nord race. That's fine, but at the same time I liked having the choice of race, as it exemplified my character.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

*Much larger variety of weapons including spears, crossbows, halberds, throwing knives and staffs being capable of melee.
*In the main story you're not just some errand boy who gets all the glory taken away at the end.
*Clothes can be worn underneath armour.
*Much more joinable guilds with different requirements and friendly/enemy factions.
*More realistic fast travel system (boats, silt striders, guild guides)

More != Better,

The ending to Oblivion didn't 'take all your glory away', you simply weren't the only hero of the story.

Who cares about clothes being able to be worn under armor? I mean, okay, it took away a lot of slots for you to put oodles of enchantments on your gear so you're stupidly overpowered. A tragedy, I know.

Having a ton of guilds likewise didn't make Morrowind a great game. Don't get me wrong, I like Morrowind, but let's at least praise it for things that actually make it better, not 'It had more of X'. A guild is just a quest chain, and Oblivion had plenty of non-guild related Quest chains.

I'll give you the fast travel, though. I don't like Oblivion's fast travel system.

 

[cybran]

The game looks like a step up from Oblivion, but still a major step back from Morrowind again. The UI seems horrible and I still dislike the leveling system. I have being disappointed with everything from E3 this year. Well, everything from the gaming industry over the last few years TBH. Need to lower my expectations a lot it seems with the current age of gaming.

its made for consoles.... thus the UI with big, BIG bars so it can be played on the smallest of TVs -_-

http://www.gamersmint.com/bethesda-consoles-to-be-the-lead-platform-for-skyrim-aim-to-make-it-really-accessible

 

[banksy122]

The game looks like a step up from Oblivion, but still a major step back from Morrowind again. The UI seems horrible and I still dislike the leveling system. I have being disappointed with everything from E3 this year. Well, everything from the gaming industry over the last few years TBH. Need to lower my expectations a lot it seems with the current age of gaming.

its made for consoles.... thus the UI with big, BIG bars so it can be played on the smallest of TVs -_-

http://www.gamersmint.com/bethesda-consoles-to-be-the-lead-platform-for-skyrim-aim-to-make-it-really-accessible

This is my issue. They shouldn't be making it for the lowest denominator. That is the worst design philosophy, it leads to no advancement and making the game worse over all. DICE have a good design philosophy for BF3. They are making it for PC and taking it down, making it a more polished product for everybody.

More developers should be like Eidos. They are making Dues Ex for PC and making a Console version separate from it. This will lead to the best possible product they could make, and from what I have heard from the beta, the new one rivals the first one.