Skyrim Features "Perk" Trees Instead of Weapons Skills

[BehattedWanderer]

Skyrim is due out on November 11, 2011. Time to think about putting in your notice for vacation time that week.

Wait...All this constant attention and "we don't have time" talk when the game still has the better part of at least 10 months? I thought it was due out like...mid summer, or so. Wow, that a lot of discussion for a game with most of a year left. Rather surprising, actually.

Not really. I remember when Morrowind was just a couple of half-textured wireframe screenshots on a website. This is rather late in the game for Bethesda.

I've never picked up the others, so I can say that I keep reading, but it just seems odd to me to know every decision the dev is making on a game. Can't really think of any other devs that keep us this informed.

 

[SwagLordYoloson]

Question: How does unarmed fit in to this?

NOW, I'm intreasted.

I also like quoting people,

OT: This could be very interesting, i just hope that they don't limit the system too much. By making it that you can only chose one of the two perks, maybe rather make it that you can go back and choose the perk you didn't choose last time to even out your fighting style

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Honestly, I wish they just used the Morrowind system, but whatever.

 

[The_Fezz]

Can I run like hell and take up EVERYTHING.

If so I'll buy it.

If not I'll probably still buy it.

I love Elder Scrolls.

Please don't ruin it.

 

[anonymity88]

Goddammit Bethesda. I was hoping to be back at uni by November. -_-;

 

[Wolfpocalypse]

so basically its the same as fallout..... the old system was excellent... goddamit

 

[vongola_mist_daemon]

they better not reack the game im sick of good games be destroyed cause of changes they think is better but the people hate

 

[Therumancer]

As the requirements people demand for Animations increase I think we're going to see increasingly less variety with weapons. Swinging an axe, sword, mace, etc... can reuse a lot of the same animations. On the other hand weapons like Spears, Whips, etc... represent totally differant ways of wielding them which requires a lot of work, not to mention making it work with hit and collision detection if you have a real time component to combat. Whips in paticular are problematic... back in earlier eras where people expected less from graphics it was a bit easier to work with.

Truthfully I expect the actual reason they cut spears from the game is because if they threw them in with the current engine you'd probably wind up with something like "Everquest II" in that it had people using their spears as clubs, and looking especially awkward while doing it. They might have changed that, but I doubt it.

That said, despite the intensity of the animations involved I've wanted a game with a decent simulation of whip or morning star/mace and chain wielding. I like flexible weapons, and think concepts like entanglement or simply whirling a ball and chain to pick up velocity/force are missing not only from RPGs/Actiion RPGs, but action games as well.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

*Begin rant* More proof that things are changing for the sake of changing. A fe wpoints, because I don't feel like fighting against a lost cause at this point.
1) Different weapons have different styles. Nunchucks are one handed. Do they work the same as a Short Sword? No.
2) Leveling by hitting things makes sense. First time you cut a tomato you probably didn't do a good job. Practice and training help
3) I don't want "Generic Fantasy Game" that looks like "Generic Post Apocalyptic" or "Generic Science Fiction" with a couple changes in texture. I want The Elder Scrolls
*End Rant*
Logical rebuttals welcome

I have no faults with this post other than nunchucks being one handed. someone fighting with them one handed would be hilarious.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

This is sounding interesting, I'm interested to see something more in depth.

*Begin rant* More proof that things are changing for the sake of changing. A fe wpoints, because I don't feel like fighting against a lost cause at this point.
1) Different weapons have different styles. Nunchucks are one handed. Do they work the same as a Short Sword? No.
2) Leveling by hitting things makes sense. First time you cut a tomato you probably didn't do a good job. Practice and training help
3) I don't want "Generic Fantasy Game" that looks like "Generic Post Apocalyptic" or "Generic Science Fiction" with a couple changes in texture. I want The Elder Scrolls
*End Rant*
Logical rebuttals welcome

I have no faults with this post other than nunchucks being one handed. someone fighting with them one handed would be hilarious.

I'm not sure I follow, nunchucks are handled with one hand, otherwise you'd pretty much have to be choking someone from behind with them.

I also didn't totally follow the rant, I agree that even though nunchucks are one-handed and one-handed swords are too, that they're noticeably different weapons... but that's probably why they didn't include spears, because they function that differently from other basic 2-handed weapons.

I think this perk tree has a lot of potential, I think if done right, it'll be really good.

 

[Cheesepower5]

Unfortunately, Howard said that spears are not included in Skyrim, at least not currently. "Something like spears is really cool, it's just something with where we're putting our time with the other weapons. It just didn't make the cut right now."

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

 

[dr feelgood03]

Why dont they just put spears under two hand weapons? if spears arent in the game imma rage quit on life....

 

[Jezzascmezza]

Eh, it sounds as though Bethesda know what they're doing.
And I cannot wait.

 

[meowchef]

Reminds me of Mount&Blade. You level up 1-handed, 2-handed, Bows, Crossbows, and Polearms separately. Leveling up with a 1 handed sword will increase your skill with a 1 handed mace.

My dream of an Elder Scrolls with M&B's combat engine may be getting closer to being a reality.

What this guy says. Mount & Blade is awesome. Nothing better than setting up your army of cavalry, swordsman and archers and getting the two armies to engage and then swinging your cavalry in from behind and slaughtering them.

 

[concrete89]

Damn!
I want to stab things with sticks with pointy things on them!
How hard can it be to let a guy stab things with sticks with pointy things on them?
I will never forgive Bethesda if Skyrim wont let me stab things with sticks with pointy things on them!
Just saying.

 

[Do4600]

This sounds really cool, like the bonuses you get from skills in Oblivion but more of them and you choose which ones you use. I also miss spears, whoever says a spear isn't useful in combat has never seen anybody trained in using a Qiang or a Yari.

 

[The Rockerfly]

eeeee I can't wait till November

...

EEEEE *fanboy squeel*

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Question: How does unarmed fit in to this?

This times a thousand.

I'm quite confused by the number of people interested in the unarmed tree. Unarmed (and unarmored in morrowind for that matter) has always been the worst options available. Especially in morrowind where you had to deplete an enemies fatigue before being able to do any real damage.

Simply a matter of preference and practicality for me. I was always poor in Oblivion, so I couldn't afford to fix the godly weapons that I kept breaking. Eventually I just kinda stopped using weapons(other than a bow) all together and yeah. Plus it makes for great fights. And my best experiences in Oblivion came about because of this preference. Though in morrowind, i actually had to use weapons.

I understand that it was a matter of preference, it's just that I am confused as to how it became a preference. Saying "I couldn't afford to fix my weapon" just seems like a silly justification. The game pours money at a player. By the time one gets a weapon that is truly expensive to fix (if taken to a vendor), they also have enormous sums of money at their disposal if they've done anything save wander the wilderness and bludgeoned monsters to death with whatever was handy.

I understand that someone might have fun with such a system. Perhaps understand isn't the proper word. What I do grasp is the idea that someone might be able to derive pleasure from playing a game in a way that said game repeatedly iterates is "wrong". Hand to Hand attacks, even at enormous levels of mastery, are incredibly weak with respect to a contemporary axe or sword. Using such an attack makes blocking all but useless for most of the game (it causes a stumble but no damage reduction. Worse still, the block is easily pierced even if one's block skill is incredibly high!). But even in spite of this, people play plenty of games in ways that make it more difficult for reasons I don't understand and for which the game offers no reward.

I suppose the heart of the matter is simply that I don't understand why someone plays a game in a sub-optimal way. I get that they derive pleasure from it in some capacity, but I just don't understand they why part.

 

[Lullabye]

Question: How does unarmed fit in to this?

This times a thousand.

I'm quite confused by the number of people interested in the unarmed tree. Unarmed (and unarmored in morrowind for that matter) has always been the worst options available. Especially in morrowind where you had to deplete an enemies fatigue before being able to do any real damage.

Simply a matter of preference and practicality for me. I was always poor in Oblivion, so I couldn't afford to fix the godly weapons that I kept breaking. Eventually I just kinda stopped using weapons(other than a bow) all together and yeah. Plus it makes for great fights. And my best experiences in Oblivion came about because of this preference. Though in morrowind, i actually had to use weapons.

I understand that it was a matter of preference, it's just that I am confused as to how it became a preference. Saying "I couldn't afford to fix my weapon" just seems like a silly justification. The game pours money at a player. By the time one gets a weapon that is truly expensive to fix (if taken to a vendor), they also have enormous sums of money at their disposal if they've done anything save wander the wilderness and bludgeoned monsters to death with whatever was handy.

I understand that someone might have fun with such a system. Perhaps understand isn't the proper word. What I do grasp is the idea that someone might be able to derive pleasure from playing a game in a way that said game repeatedly iterates is "wrong". Hand to Hand attacks, even at enormous levels of mastery, are incredibly weak with respect to a contemporary axe or sword. Using such an attack makes blocking all but useless for most of the game (it causes a stumble but no damage reduction. Worse still, the block is easily pierced even if one's block skill is incredibly high!). But even in spite of this, people play plenty of games in ways that make it more difficult for reasons I don't understand and for which the game offers no reward.

I suppose the heart of the matter is simply that I don't understand why someone plays a game in a sub-optimal way. I get that they derive pleasure from it in some capacity, but I just don't understand they why part.

Well, like you said, its the pleasure. I mean, you get a warm feeling when you murder a small army of demons with nothing but your fists. And on teh whole "blocking" thing. It did provide a counter that made the opponents stumble, for a rather long time. And teh rate at which you perform special attacks was much higher than with weapons. Besides that, I won't say I wasn't also cheap. I was a master of illusion and had a 1000 chameleon spell. Consecutive sneak attacks were, regardless of weapon choice, pretty damn strong.
Also, the game didn't "throw money" at me. You can go collect it, but I never bothered. It wasn't a "justification" since me playing how I want really doesn't need one. It was simple fact, i was poor in that game.