The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

[krise madsen]

Just in case anyone missed it:

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been announced.

Teaser

[WytchDokta]

Hell yeah!

Let's hope they keep the formula of Oblivion and just update everything! Things I'd like to see in ES5:

- Horseback combat. This includes BOTH ranged AND melee combat from horseback.

- Dual wield melee fighting style, like in Dragon Age: Origins, with respective skill tree. At Novice through Expert skill level, the off-hand weapon should be restricted to daggers/shortswords only, with a damage reduction to the off-hand weapon. At Master skill level, the wielder can dual wield two one-handed swords (although the off-hand sword deals less damage.) This should also incorporate torches which should deal minor fire damage on strike.

- Companion system ala Fallout: New Vegas - having certain companions in your part affects what factions become hostile to you, you can give them FULL orders etc. Different companionms granted different party boosts etc. Different companions refuse to join you on certain on certain missions while others will follow you (so for a example, a Their companion could help you loot a random NPC's house, while a Warrior companion would strongly disagree with this, threatening to report the player/leave the party.) A dog or wolf companion is highly essential.

- Dragon Age: Origins style advanced order system (customisable), whereby you can set your companions to switch between weapon stes for certain situations, to heal when their health drops below a certain amount, go back up certain weaker party member (so you could have a your Warrior go help your Mage if your mage is receiving melee damage), find higher ground for a sniper position, go stealth and flank to get behind enemies, etc etc.

- New races - MOST DEFINITELY Dwemer (Dwarves) and perhaps a winged race whose special ability is limited flight. However, I personally can't see how a Dwarf's stats would be different to an Orc's stats. The special ability for Dwarfs should be something to do with the ArmoUrer skill, perhaps allowing them to repair enchanted items for a short time from the outset OR all of their equipment decays 50% slower.

- Crossbows. Because.

- Throwing knives. Again, because.

- NPC and companion damage levels need to be massively tweaked. Like, I can kill an Imp in one hit and one time I saw 3 NPC's piling on one Imp as I watched. It took all 3 of them atleast 1 minute to take down a single Imp and they were all hitting it.

- The Critical Damage system needs to be rebalanced - Thief/Assassin type classes have it in their favour due to the Sneak skill. For Warrior type classes perhaps it could rebalanced so that Warrior type classes have a higher chance to stun enemies with a power attack. Then, a single successful follow up blow on a stunned enemy is a critical hit with x6 damage. Or something.

- More voice actors, not just the same the four voice actors doing the voices of over 100 NPC's (Nords and Orcs have the same voices, Imperials and Reds have the same voices, all three DIFFERENT types of Elves have the same voices, etc)

- Enemies suspicious of outside presence actually go investigate, not just continue on their defined path. So, if the player knocked over a heavy object near some enemies, they go check it out. Overall vastly imrpoved AI, including friendlies. What's with friendly archers hittg me/ their AI teamate with and not enemies their arrows?

- Enemies in darkened area carry torches. ONLY Khajiit enemies can see in the dark; enemy Khajiit are more likely to see the player because of they Night Eye ability, which the AI Khajiit should use.

Skyrim is Nord territory. ES5 is going to be brutal. I see a dragon, end boss anyone? Should make for some cool Beowulf moments (or Gandalf 'You shall not pass!' moments (yes I know, a balrog IS NOT a dragon))

[Parabellum]

It's about time!

[WytchDokta]

Let me just expand on one of the points I made above about what I'd like to see - the order system. Ideally this should considerably more indepth than the Fallout: New Vegas order system.

I'm going to give an example of how Dragon Age: Origins did it because the order system works very well in that game and was highly customisable aswell as indepth.

So let's say for example, I choose to be a human, warrior class. For versatility I'm always gonna take a mage and a thief (can't bypass locks unless the player is a thief or has a thief on the team), and in the fourth companion slot I'll usually take another warrior type class (this includes Shale the tank/superheavy hitting gollem and the very fast Mubari warhound), depending what I'm coming up against. In this example, the companions are: Wynne (mage/healer specialisation), Leliana (thief/archer) and Shale the gollem.

On each character's journal/inventory there is a page called 'Tactics' - this is the orders area. Each character has multiple 'Tactics' slots whereby orders can be assigned and then that character AI CONTROLLED will enact the orders themselves. So, I'll have it set up something like:

Wynne (mage/healer)

Target: Enemy / Type: Any / Grouped: Clustered - 3 or more / Action: Use Ability - Fireball

Target: Character / Type: Any / Situation: Health <25% / Use Ability: Group Heal

Shale (Gollem: tank/superheavy hitter (Warrior class in theory))

Target: Enemy / Type: Mage / Sight: At Range / Action: Attack / Use Ability: PulveriSing Blows

Target: Character / Character: Wynne / Situation: Melee Damage Received / Action: Assist/Attack

Target: Self / Situation: Surrounded, 3 Or More Enemies / Use Ability: (I forget the name of it, but it's a crowd control area of effect ability)

Leliana (Thief/archer)

Target: Enemy / Type: Any / Sight: At Range / Action: Swap To Ranged Weapon Set

Target: Enemy / Type: Officer / Sight: At Range / Action: Attack / Use Ability: Pinning Shot

I'm probably speaking in code here for those who've never played DA. But what the above orders ('Tactics' in the devs words) means is the following:

I'm coming up on a group of enemies. I have visual: A large group of 8 or more enemies. The enemy goes into a random behaviour pattern and decides to hold rather than attack. Wynne decides to drop a fireball on the enemies at range, which also knocks them down briefly. She then goes into a holding stance and stays back, firing ranged attacks from her staff and from her abilities list. Leliana also stays back with her, switching to her bow. She engages the enemy officers with her Pinning Shot ability, pinning the officers in place momentarily. Meanwhile, I'm charging forward with Shale. Shale, being the most heavily armoUred is the prime target for the enemies now scattered from the fireball. He gets surrounded and drops a crowd control area of effect ability to get them all off him. He then runs over and pounds on the mage in the group, while I'm cutting down (literally in this sense) enemies picking themsleves up off the floor trying to attack Shale while he's attacking the mage. In the midst of things, a few enemies branch off and flank, and are now attacking my second line of defence - the mage and the archer - both of which switch to melee weapons. Shale, immediately stops beating the enemy mage into a pulp (leaving me to finish the half dead mage off) and runs back to assist Wynne. After the fighting is over, Wynne will use her group heal ability to well, it should be obvious, heal the team.

So, you see how it works. And it's all automatic, you don't need to cue them in, you don't really need to put in there orders to switch weapon sets as they do it automatically depending on the situation. An order system like this would make the Elder Scrolls series infinitely better. IMHO.

[WytchDokta]

Also, I'd like to see NPC's that are more 'alive'. So, no longer wandering around aimlessly, then stop and stare at a wall for 20 minutes. So in a sense, add in more NPC idle animations. And when buying a property with a butler or maid (like the Skingrad mansion or Battlehorn Castle), those butlers/maids could benefit from being more 'alive' - in the sense that when I've returned to the mansion after a few days away, they could comment on this and ask where I've been/what I've been up to. They could go on to say, 'Oh, while you were away, I did this, this and this.'

A character import system like in Mass Effect 2 would be desirable too.

[WytchDokta]

Some new (albeit scant) info from SentUAMessage on Xbox:

- ES5: Skyrim is [currently] due for release on 11/11/11 in the UK which is er.... What's that date in the US considering you put your months/days the other way round?

- ES5: Skyrim has brand new in house engine built by Bethesda. Or atleast, they're calling it brand new. Might just be a marketing strategy play on words to mean buggy as hell Fallout Engine recycled [again] but heavily updated.

I know one thing - I am going end up loosing my job in 2011 no thanks to games developers who think it's funny to release ES5: Skyrim, Breach, Brink, [the mighty] Dead Space 2, Dragon Age 2, GoW3, and maybe ME3 (although that will more than likely be 2012) all in 2011. Although I might deliberately boycott DA2 if they don't have the Mubari warhound as a returning companion.

[WytchDokta]

Guys, you have got to see this, new info regarding ES5: Skyrim:

Story

Skyrim will take place 200 years after Oblivion and isn’t a direct sequel in the traditional sense of things – from a story perspective.

You take the role of one of the supposed last remaining Dragonborn, a true dragon hunter, and will no doubt be tasked to stop the huge dragon God, Alduin, also known as the World Eater.

Esbern, your in-game mentor of sorts, is one of the last surviving Blades and will be voiced by Max Von Sydow (Minority Report, etc)

Your hero will be tasked with walking 7,000 steps to the high retreat of High Hrothgar to get dragon slaying training from a group of mysterious old men that reside there called the Greybeards.

Game World

There are said to be “six or seven really different environment looks” in Skyrim, says Bethesda's Todd Howard.

There are 5 massive cities to explore. Yes, you can fast travel to previously explored places.

There are 10 races in Skyrim.

There are a variety of tasks to do in Skyrim as well, including crafting new weapons at the forge, creating poisons and potions through alchemy and you can enchant items with magical powers.

You can also get involved in mundane tasks if you wish, like farming, woodcutting, mining and even cooking.

Dropping weapons in the street can end in different outcomes; for instance, it could remain there forgotten, it could be picked up by a small boy and returned to you, or two men could fight over its ownership.

The game world is said to be much more alive and detailed than in Oblivion, and boast incredible draw distances. Everything is said to be traversable.

The game world is populated with a variety of animals from saber-tooth cats to woolly mammoths.

Lesser dragons roam the game world, meaning they will play a far more significant part this time around. They are a big part of Skyrim and won’t be held back until the end.

Missions

Thanks to something Bethesda are calling the Radiant story system, the game’s lesser missions will react to who you are and where you are, and present you with quests that are “flavoured dynamically.”

That’ll take into account where you’ve been, who you’ve killed, what skills you’ve upgraded, who are your friends and who are your enemies. For instance, a magic user may give a fellow magic user a quest, but not someone who levelled up their weapon skill.

If you kill a shopkeeper that was going to give you a quest, his sister will inherit the store and may give you the quest out of anger or frustration instead.

The ability to duel in the streets is mentioned.

Through missions, the game will encourage players to go places they’ve never visited. For instance, a woman might ask you to save her kidnapped offspring and the game will send you to a dungeon you’ve never been before. It’ll then set enemies that are appropriately matched to your strengths and weaknesses.

NPCs

Faces have been dramatically overhauled, giving them more emotion and making them as realistic as they ever have been in a Bethesda game.

Conversations are revamped and no longer zoom in on a rigid character. Instead, characters will often get on with what they are doing with the occasional glances at the player character, for instance.

Characters can overhear details from other people’s conversations that they can do with as they see fit, from hearing about missing items or unusual situations. All of which are stored in a log.

Combat

Skyrim welcomes the two hands/two options approach, enabling players to mix and match what each hand holds, whether it’s a spell/weapon combo, a weapon/weapon combo, a spell/spell combo or a weapon/shield combo. Whatever you want is possible.

You can setup loadouts and change them in combat with only a momentary pause.

There are finishing moves now that are weapon and opponent specific.

Bows take longer to draw back this time, but are much more powerful.

There are only 5 schools of magic in Skyrim – there was 6 in Oblivion – with Mysticism being cut. Howard insisted that with them jiggling stuff around, it became redundant.

Bethesda has slowed down how fast you move backwards too, so you can’t just backpedal in combat. Apparently being able to move as fast backwards as you can forwards made your character look ridiculous in third-person view.

Enemies don’t necessarily charge at the player when they see him this time and some will have unique patterns and tendencies.

Players can learn unique abilities called “dragon shouts” by absorbing the souls of dragons – one of the benefits of the dragonborn - of which there are over 20 in the game and each is formed from three words of power. They can push enemies away, slow down time, transport you and even summon a dragon, amongst other things.

Levelling Up

There is no class system per se in Skyrim and how a player plays depends on what skills the character gains. Use a one-handed weapon, watch that skill increase, etc. You get experience for everything.

Skill increases contribute to your overall level growth. Each level gives you a boost in health and a chance to boost health, magika or stamina.

There are 18 separate skills in Skyrim, including such things like Illusion, Destruction, Restoration, Enchanting, etc.

It seems like there are 50 main levels, with Howard mentioning levelling up to 50 is roughly the same time as it would be to level an Oblivion or Fallout character to 25.

You can level up past 50, but it’s a dramatically slower increase than before once you get past that threshold.

Todd Howard confirms that Skyrim will use the perk system that they used in Fallout 3, noting that there was an automated perk system in place in Oblivion, but in Skyrim, the user has control over it. There are dozens of perks to choose from, that may increase dagger damage during stealth attacks and may mean your mace attack may ignore your foe’s armour skills.

On the official forums, Bethesda responded to questions about the game’s scaling system that many didn’t like in the original. “All our games have had some amount of randomness/levelling based on player level. Skyrim's is similar to Fallout 3's, not Oblivion's,” said Bethesda’s Senior Community Manager on the forums.

From Xbox360A

Skyrim welcomes the two hands/two options approach

Excuse me Bethesda, that was MY idea. Where's my credit?

[Pave Low]

10x Screenshots released today on Bethesda blog

Nothing says “I love you” like a screenshot

Forget flowers and chocolates. To help celebrate Valentine’s Day a little early, this week we released 10 Skyrim screenshots online. Enjoy!

Loooove,

Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks

[krise madsen]

Some new (albeit scant) info from SentUAMessage on Xbox:

- ES5: Skyrim is [currently] due for release on 11/11/11 in the UK which is er.... What's that date in the US considering you put your months/days the other way round?

Bethesda: "So, how was the game received in the UK?"

UK Distributor: "With two minutes of silence, nationwide".

[WytchDokta]

A to the W to the E to the some! They've really pushed those graphics. I think that second pic is a Troll, and the seventh is a Goblin.

Hopefully they'll show the new character models for the playable races soon, although they've already said ten playable races - which is the same amount as ES4. Unless one or more races has been omitted and replaced for some reason. I was hoping to see dwarves in this iteration. Nevermind.

Roll on 11/11/11, I'll sure be ready to take on the role of the Dragonborn (and of course, dragonslayer).

[WytchDokta]

Fine, I'll be the news correspondant for this game then.

First gameplay trailer released:

"And when the truth finally dawns, it dawns in FIRE.... But there's one they fear. In their tongue he's 'bovatine'(?) - DRAGONBORN!"

Looks like the legend of Beowulf has been a big influence.

Edited February 24, 2011 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

OMG. Look at the new(ish) screens! Is that an Argonian player character I see in the first picture at the top left?

Look.

It would seem the male Nords or male Redguards have the build of Conan now too.

Edited April 3, 2011 by WytchDokta

[Pave Low]

Pre-order bonus revealed

Making real maps of our fantasy worlds is an Elder Scrolls tradition. As Todd Howard said all the way back in a Morrowind blog post, “There’s something about having a physical object in your hands that feels like it’s part of this other world, that you are that person in the game, finding your way among the hills.”

With that in mind, today we are announcing that anyone who preorders Skyrim will automatically receive a premium quality world map with their copy as a no-extra-cost-to-you bonus.

To guarantee your copy of your premium quality world map, please pre-order today.

[WytchDokta]

Skyrim. Do want. I'm all over this like a rash.

I've seen the pics of the Khajiit and Orcs in Skyrim, the Orcs deffo look more fearsome.

I still haven't seen any info regarding the voice acting though. I hope this time they DO NOT reuse the same voice actor (don't get me wrong, recycling is good for the environment and all that) to do the voice of twenty DIFFERENT NPC's without adjusting their accent slightly for each one (like I said in a post above, in Oblivion, ALL voice acting for Orcs and Nords is done by the same voice actor, same with Imperials/Redguards and Khajiit/Argonians, and it's obvious. Each race shoulld have a unique voice IMO, as should certain NPC's. And to keep things believeable, accents should be present.

Edited June 24, 2011 by WytchDokta

[Pave Low]

Today we've got answers to the Skyrim fan interview!

Big thanks to Todd Howard, Matt Carofano), and Bruce Nesmith for tackling the questions. Also want to thank Lady Nerevar for helping grab questions from the community.

Without further ado...

Skyrim Fan Interview

Todd Howard, Game Director

Bruce Nesmith, Lead Designer

Matt Carofano, Lead Artist

1) Will the character be able to change into certain creature?

Todd: We’ve done various things like that in our previous games, and it’s something that we probably won’t be talking about specifically on this one. Don’t read anything into that, we just prefer to not discuss this one. We’d like to leave that an open question until the game is out.

2) What sorts of cosmetic options, like beards, tattoos, or body proportions, are available? Can we edit them later in the game?

Matt: There is large amount of customization available for each race. You can choose from multiple hair styles, beards, scars, and face paint. Each race and gender has a light and heavy build and you can pick any level in between. We’ve completely redone our facial system, and we’re really excited to show off the results.

3) Is armor handled like in Oblivion (with each body part being welded together) or in Morrowind (with each body part separate)? Will you be able to wear both clothes and armor at the same time?

Matt: The armor system is very similar to Oblivion’s. The main difference is that the upper and lower body armors, the cuirass and greaves, have been combined into one piece. This helps create armor styles that have the look we needed for Skyrim. In most of the Nordic designs we created, the upper armor would completely cover the lower armor, making it unnecessary. We get much better visual results combining those pieces, and it renders a lot faster too, so we can put more people on screen, so that was an easy tradeoff for us. We can also make a lot more armors now, so the number and variation types are more than we’ve ever had.

4) Are the main and faction quests branching or linear? What about side quests?

Bruce: We’ve focused on telling one story well. There are decision points in all the quest lines that can change things, but overall it’s a single story. Because the side quests are smaller stories, they are more likely to have major branches. For example, you can decide to save or betray someone, which changes the whole end of the quest. Overall the quest structure in Skyrim is closer to Oblivion than Fallout 3, in that there are many more quests, but they have fewer branches.

5) Are loot and quest rewards level scaled, like in Oblivion? Will there be any powerful un-scaled items?

Bruce: We’re handling leveling stuff similar to how we did in Fallout 3, but with a few new twists that we hope players won’t even notice. The enemies and loot are based on the “encounter zone” you’re in, so it could be higher or lower level than your current level. We do have a new concept of epic or “special” loot that you can randomly find in many cases, regardless of the zone, and you will still get better stuff in the better zones with your level higher. Same goes for quest rewards. We try to make them appropriate for what you did. Sometimes that is random, sometimes that is a set item. There’s a lot of specific stuff that is very powerful, like the Daedric artifacts.

6) Will items present in Morrowind but not in Oblivion, such as spears, medium armor, and mark/recall spells, be making a return?

Todd: They are not in Skyrim for the same reasons we didn’t include them in Oblivion. I’ll address each one. First spears, the truth is we’d love to do them, but it becomes a priority and development time thing for us. We feel it’s better to spend our time right now making sure the gameplay for the other play styles is really solid. That includes sword, sword and shield, two-handed weapons, and bows. You can also add magic to that list. Getting those all working well together, while feeling different, is our priority.

As far as medium armor, that’s not a time or polish thing, it’s a design choice to focus on two armor types and making sure those feel different and the player appreciates them. We try to make your character move and feel different between light and heavy and having a 3rd one in the middle just muddies it up in how it plays, as well as visually. And even now, we still have to tweak those two armor types so they feel different, while remaining fun. Every time we slow down heavy armor more, it feels bad, but it’s the main way of balancing it. We’ve added other ways of balancing it that feel right—like different stamina drain rates when sprinting and such.

Mark and recall is one where it’s a lot of fun, but like levitation, was removed so we could design better gameplay spaces and scenarios. We were really limited in Morrowind because the player could recall or levitate out of many situations and break them. There was a lot of good gameplay and level design work that we just couldn’t do and now we can. Back then it seemed like many good ideas we had were shot down when another designer would say “oh yeah, I just levitate or recall away.” So we got rid of them.

7) Will we be able to have relationships with the NPCs, romantic or otherwise?

Bruce: Absolutely! You make friends with people by doing things for them. Friends in the game will treat you differently. Some of them will even agree to go with you into dungeons and on adventures. You can even get married. If you own a house, your spouse will move in with you.

8) Are there any new armor/weapon materials unique to Skyrim?

Matt: One of the most prized and rarest sets of armor is made from dragons. It can be forged in both a light and heavy variant. You’ll see a return of many armors from previous games, such as leather and steel, however these have been redesigned in the Nordic style.

9) Can we have some specifics about the PC version of the game? How will it's UI be different? Will there be a 64-bit executable?

Todd: 64-bit specific exe? Not at this time. As far as UI, it visually looks the same across the platforms, but the controls are entirely different. There’s also a lot of “power user” stuff we do with the keyboard from how favorites work, to quick saves, and more that is similar to what we’ve done before in that area. We’re packing a lot of info on the screen and the whole interface is much less ‘look at giant fonts!’ than, say, Oblivion. The PC version also gets higher res textures, larger render modes, and a bunch of other effects you can scale up if your machine is a beast. Last but most important, is the Creation Kit we’ll be releasing for the PC. Modding the game and making it your own is very important to us and our fans, so we’re going to keep doing whatever we can in that area.

10) How will enchanting work in Skyrim? Will we have to constantly refill our enchantments with soul gems like we did in Oblivion, or will it be more like Morrowind in which the weapons recovered after a certain resting period?

Bruce: The method in Oblivion worked really well, so we kept it. Magic weapons use charges and have to be refilled with soul gems. Magic armor is always on and doesn’t need to be recharged. Soul gems and their lore and usage are a staple of the Elder Scrolls.

We have revamped the enchanting system though. Enchanting is now a skill. The better your skill and perks, the better you are at creating enchanted items. You’ll be able to find enchanting stations all over the world, which will make it much more accessible.

There are some changes from Oblivion, including the effects you can use when creating items, as well as how you learn effects. You now learn enchanting effects by “breaking down” a magic item you find, as opposed to them coming from spells you know. This allows us to separate enchanting from the other magical skills better.

11) What are the differences between the races? I guess they'll have different skill bonuses, but will they also start with different perks or have different "hard-coded" attributes, such as different running speeds or maximum encumbrance, etc.?

Todd: They each start with some skills that are higher by default, but those aren’t hard to overcome with another race in a short time. They also have different starting spells and each has its own passive abilities, like before, as well as powers, like before. So Khajiit can see in the dark, Orcs have a berserk power, Redguards have Adrenaline Rush, and so forth. They work differently in the new system, but the flavor is the same. We kept all the racial movement speeds the same, that’s now a factor of what you’re wearing and have equipped. And starting max encumbrance is the same and is based on your Stamina attribute.

12) Is there any game content (story, quests) that might be locked for a character based on race/faction/politics allegiances/morality/choices? Or one can experience all the content in one single play?

Todd: We do have some stuff that gets locked out based on decisions you make. It’s wherever it felt natural. It wasn’t a goal that you could or couldn’t play everything with one character. The game’s honestly so big that we don’t think about it much.

13) To what extent will our racial / gender selection at the start of the game will affecting our gameplay? Are there relationships affected by these choices?

Bruce: Your race is very important. It’s more than just how you look. Each race has a bias toward certain types of characters. If you want play a wizard, it will be easier with a High Elf or a Breton. If you want to play a warrior, it will be easier with a Nord or a Redguard. However, just like in Oblivion, we don’t force you to follow that bias. If you want to be a Nord wizard, that’s completely viable.

Gender does not change any initial skills or abilities. There is nothing that men do better than women or vice versa in the game. Other characters will recognize your gender and address you properly. Some may have prejudices for or against a particular gender as a part of their character, but it won’t change what you can or can’t do.

14) Do you plan to include non lethal ways of defeating opponents??

Todd: Depends on what you mean by “defeat”. We have various stealthy ways of getting past people, and the various poisons and spells allow you to basically render enemies harmless to you, whether that is casting a calm or fear spell, knocking them down, or something else.

Oh, and we now have tavern brawls that are non-lethal! I love those.

15) Will boss fights involve interesting mechanics involved as opposed to just more health and hits harder?

Todd: We have many new combat behaviors in our AI that makes fights with certain enemies very dynamic and interesting. It matters what the enemy can do. Dragons, for example, can do lot of things from multiple shouts, bombing runs, picking guys up, and more. An enemy that has a sword and shield, a bow, magic spells, and potions will use all of those things, and those fights are the most interesting. But we also design some combat encounters where the player simply may get mobbed by more simple enemies, and those have a different pace and strategy.

16) Do companions have skill and perk trees we can train?

Bruce: No, you only manage your own. Though companions often have certain perks so they behave different or better.

17) Is the culture in Skyrim strictly Nordic, or are there places (like Cheydinhal in Cyrodiil) that show influence from other cultures nearby, like architecture, religion, etc?

Matt: While there are pockets of other races in the game, we focused on the Nordic culture and their regional differences. The architecture between cities is dramatically different and reflects how the Nords live in that area.

18) So, the dragons are big and powerful. Did you include some destructible environment so they could leave marks and scars everywhere they attack? Can they demolish buildings, break trees, start avalanches, burn houses, things like this that emphasize their power?

Todd: They do leave marks and scars everywhere, but as far as destroying buildings and such, it’s rare. It does happen, but not a lot. Systemically destroying our spaces is something we have not found a good way to handle yet, because it’s so dynamic. We’re dealing with places that we have NPCs living, and providing quests and other game services. It’s something we avoid in every game unless we can specifically wipe it off the map, like Megaton.

19) Will there be any difference between the animation sets of male and female as well as human-like and 'beast' characters?

Matt: The animation system is completely new and dramatically improved. You will notice huge difference from previous games. There are differences between male and female animations, and even beast races have some specific animations.

20) Will any sort of karma system be incorporated like there was in Fallout, or will it be the Fame/Infamy system of Oblivion?

Bruce: We don’t provide a numeric score that you can track, but the game knows if you’ve been naughty or nice. We felt that a number really didn’t do your fame justice. Characters in the world will acknowledge the specific things you have done rather than just a generalized reputation. If you are a criminal, they’ll know that too. But if you pay your debt to society, all is forgiven.

21) Will crafting (weapons, armor) be effected by the tools you use as well as the ingredients used in the crafting? Such as the hammers and clippers, mastery level of the weapons and your level? Basically, will I be able to produce a more powerful, or even unique, weapon if I use a master hammer or clipper as opposed to novice?

Bruce: The blacksmith’s shop includes a forge, a grindstone, and a smithing bench. You can improve your weapons at the grindstone. The higher your skill, the more you can improve them, and the more damage they’ll do. Same thing for armor with the smithing bench, only the armor rating gets better. The forge is actually used to create new weapons and armor from raw materials.

22) Will your character have a voice? So that you can hear yourself having a conversation with other people?

Todd: You do have a voice, but you only hear it in grunts and shouts. So we have recorded for each race and sex you can play, all the different combat grunts, as well as the dragon language shouts.

23) Obviously every character is "Dragonborn", but not every character will be playing the same way. The question is: Will dragon shouts support all types of characters? Are there long ranged shouts? Some kind of stealthy "shout"?

Todd: Yes, the shouts support all character types. We’re not ready to talk about the other shouts yet, but soon enough.

24) Are there going to be places where you can use nature to your advantage? Like make a trap out of a fallen tree or climb a tree to stealth attack an enemy?

Todd: Yes and no. You can’t make things, but our environment is so dense, you’re almost always using the natural terrain to get an advantage, especially with stealth.

25) Will you be able to carry on after the main story?

Todd: Yes, absolutely.

[WytchDokta]

Some of that info I had posted already.

Tavern brawls? Good way to grind my hand to hand skill for my Khajiit. LOL @ 'Nord wizard' - that's almost like a heavily armoured stealth Orc, that you can hear coming from a mile off. Can I get an F to the A to the I to the L?

[WytchDokta]

Check out the UK Collectors Edition for 129 squids. Definite day one purchase for me.

Now to just complete the remaining Thieve's Guild missions on Oblivion, so as to obtain 100% achievements for the game.

Can't wait to take on the role of the one they fear... In their tongue he is "Dovahkiin", Dragonborn! Not long now, 11/11/11 is just around the corner.

[WytchDokta]

More new screens

Check out the latest screens! Argonians looks more like dinozorz than evar, and the Orcs for some reason now look more human than Orc. It also shows Khajiit, Dark Elf, Wood Elf and human races - as a player characters.

[Parabellum]

Can't wait! *droooooool*

[WytchDokta]

Hey Para, which race are going to play as in Skyrim?

One month to go! You know, bearing in mind this game is set a different timeframe and region, I really hope Shadowmere (the horse with red eyes that actually seeks out and attacks your enemies, awarded to you along the Dark Brotherhood questline) will return along with the mysterious M'aiq the Liar (a Khajjit NPC of the rarely conversational type, found running away outside one of the towns. If you catch him, he doesn't say much, and what he does say is rather vague and cryptic)

I hear one of the new Dragon Shouts will allow you to summon a dragon familiar that will fight alongside you, but requires first that you slay a dragon. How cool is that?

I want the Dragon Shout where he says 'Here I come *****es!'

EDIT: apparently that word has not been included in the swear filtre. Don't mind me, I'll filtre it myself.

Edited October 9, 2011 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

(Just over) Three weeks. Get ready to touch the Skyrim.

More new screens on that link. Look at that bow with a frost damage enchantment! Looks like that new game engine puts the new Frostbite Engine to shame.

[WytchDokta]

Okay dragonslayers, I've seen the Skyrim concept art that Bethesda put up on Facebook - Nord armour/clothing seems to be inspired by that of the Vikings (the weakest Nord armour makes the Nords look more like Celts/Picts though (that is of course minus the woad bodypaint)), and Imperial Legion armour seems to be inspired by that of the Romans (in fact, Imperial Legionnaires in the concept art look just like Roman soldiers). The Dark Brotherhood armour seems to be inspired by ninjas. Orc armour is, well, quite the sight to behold - atleast in the concept art anyway. Hopefully some armours are based on Spartan armour and some are based on Angle/Saxon armour too, although I haven't seen evidence of that yet.

Cannot wait (for the game of all games to be released).

Edited October 28, 2011 by WytchDokta

[WytchDokta]

Bethesda have started posting mini making-of vids on FB, the full version of the making-of video will be available in the Collectors Edition. There's a couple of things I've learned from the mini making-of vids that hasn't been released with the available game info yet:

- There are over 300 locations to visit in Skyrim; the largest game environment conceived by Bethesda to date.

- They have over 70 voice actors performing around 120 roles (meaning roughly, each voice actor plays two characters). They said that Oblivion only had 12 voice actors, which one of the largest complaints about Oblivion (as in, everywhere you go in Oblivion, you hear the same voice actors). This is the largest cast Bethesda has assembled to date.

[Knightfall]

Paid off my Collector's Edition of Skyrim the other day when I paid off Future Soldier!

[WytchDokta]

Six days to go.... Then six months off work/everything while playing this game.

Collectors Edition is f'in expensive, but worth it. Hence, I haz ordered one. I'm guessing that dragon statue, of Alduin the World Eater, represents the 'end boss' of the main quest in Skyrim.