The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim "And your beard's beard has beards too" - Games

[quote]Cities in Skyrim will all be unique, shying away from the reusing of assets we popularly saw in Oblivion.[/quote]Hmm I'm all in favor of diversity, but people who complain about "copy and paste" are people who don't understand game design priorities, and I'm sure thats why this is being mentioned. The cities could a lot bigger and content filled if there wasn't such emphasis on making every last model "unique." The modelers/content artists could spend more time doing map design instead. I mean, it's good that they are doing it and I'm sure it'll be amazing when it's done, but the scope of having to create a new model for every building, it's pretty absurd. It's hard to create a big and equally detailed game world when you're focused on trivial pursuits such as making a bunch of unique models rather than just reusing models assets and swapping their textures. I'd rather see a few reused assets as long as it means the cities are 2-3 times as big. Then again, maybe Bethesda is overstaffed and has no trouble doing it. [editline]27th February 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Chekko;28326904]I hope the guards in Skyrim has some good lines.[/QUOTE] I hope the guards are corrupt this time. The imperial watch are always super srs, but this is like 200 years later after the relative collapse of the empire. Maybe get in good with the gaurds, and bribe the guard with precious gold instead of paying the full fine or going to jail.

[QUOTE=Aerkhan;28326658]Oh god I want the Lusty Argonian Maid one with an Argonian with a rape face.[/QUOTE] We all want The Lusty Argonian Maid...

[QUOTE=Dovahkiin;28326854]"how are you?" "stop talking!" :v: [/QUOTE] "I heard the emperor died" .... .. "NOOOOO!"

[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;28327005]We all want The Lusty Argonian Maid...[/QUOTE] You still didnt show me your morrowind char :v:

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;28326922]Hmm I'm all in favor of diversity, but people who complain about "copy and paste" are people who don't understand game design priorities, and I'm sure thats why this is being mentioned. The cities could a lot bigger and content filled if there wasn't such emphasis on making every last model "unique." The modelers/content artists could spend more time doing map design instead. I mean, it's good that they are doing it and I'm sure it'll be amazing when it's done, but the scope of having to create a new model for every building, it's pretty absurd. It's hard to create a big and equally detailed game world when you're focused on trivial pursuits such as making a bunch of unique models rather than just reusing models assets and swapping their textures. I'd rather see a few reused assets as long as it means the cities are 2-3 times as big. Then again, maybe Bethesda is overstaffed and has no trouble doing it. [editline]27th February 2011[/editline] I hope the guards are corrupt this time. The imperial watch are always super srs, but this is like 200 years later after the relative collapse of the empire. Maybe get in good with the gaurds, and bribe the guard with precious gold instead of paying the full fine or going to jail.[/QUOTE] I agree, but there's still a lot of time for them to finish the cities, but it would be nice to have big cities, the imperial city was big, but not that much. and about the corrupt, it would be pretty cool, that way we wouldn't have to worry about the guards that much. And I really wish they still say "stop right there, criminal scum!" because it's kinda the guards catchphrase.

It would be awesome if there was some kind of hermitage in the mountains somewhere, with two citizens just constantly having Oblivion-like conversation.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;28326922]Hmm I'm all in favor of diversity, but people who complain about "copy and paste" are people who don't understand game design priorities, and I'm sure thats why this is being mentioned. The cities could a lot bigger and content filled if there wasn't such emphasis on making every last model "unique." The modelers/content artists could spend more time doing map design instead. I mean, it's good that they are doing it and I'm sure it'll be amazing when it's done, but the scope of having to create a new model for every building, it's pretty absurd. It's hard to create a big and equally detailed game world when you're focused on trivial pursuits such as making a bunch of unique models rather than just reusing models assets and swapping their textures. I'd rather see a few reused assets as long as it means the cities are 2-3 times as big. Then again, maybe Bethesda is overstaffed and has no trouble doing it. [editline]27th February 2011[/editline] I hope the guards are corrupt this time. The imperial watch are always super srs, but this is like 200 years later after the relative collapse of the empire. Maybe get in good with the gaurds, and bribe the guard with precious gold instead of paying the full fine or going to jail.[/QUOTE] The fact that this game has been in development for a long time eases my worries about this, they've had a lot of time and the Bethesda team are always ultimately devoted to their games. It's not like the InfinityWard and Treyarch "churn out new games every year" bullshit we've been seeing with CoD over the last 4 years.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;28326429]I hope the finishing move is enabled when your oppoenent is going to die.[/QUOTE] It is, it was posted... somewhere. So much news everywhere. If you damage your opponent until one final blow will finish him off, you do a finishing move. That's how I remember it.

[QUOTE=AimlessGiant;28327532]The fact that this game has been in development for a long time eases my worries about this, they've had a lot of time and the Bethesda team are always ultimately devoted to their games. It's not like the InfinityWard and Treyarch "churn out new games every year" bullshit we've been seeing with CoD over the last 4 years.[/QUOTE] 2-3 years is the magic number for me. I do a lot of game design aspects (modeling, map design, sound design, texture assets) and frankly the thought of working on a game for four years, and only having a bunch of "unique models" to show for it scares the crap out of me. It's just not efficient at all. At some point a game will be "too beautiful" for me, and part of me actually feels bad knowing some poor bastard had to sit there making "unique" models for the better part of two years :saddowns: And if the cities are small and sparsely populated, then it was all in vain. It's a game not a meticulously crafted Michelangelo art masterpiece. Part of the art of game design is knowing where and where not to be efficient and creatively and craftily cut corners, frankly seeing a game that cleverly reuses art assets impresses me more than a game where every last thing is unique. I want to play a game, not walk through an art portfolio. One again, I'll be very impressed if they have both quality and quantity in the cities, but knowing how long it would have taken to make something almost makes me feel bad for playing the game. [B]Takes 4 years to make but only takes me a few days to see everything[/B]. It's really humbling, in a very bad way.

[QUOTE=hypno-toad;28327937]2-3 years is the magic number for me. I do a lot of game design aspects (modeling, map design, sound design, texture assets) and frankly the thought of working on a game for four years, and only having a bunch of "unique models" to show for it scares the crap out of me. It's just not efficient at all. At some point a game will be "too beautiful" for me, and part of me actually feels bad knowing some poor bastard had to sit there making "unique" models for the better part of two years :saddowns: And if the cities are small and sparsely populated, then it was all in vain. It's a game not a meticulously crafted Michelangelo art masterpiece. Part of the art of game design is knowing where and where not to be efficient and creatively and craftily cut corners, frankly seeing a game that cleverly reuses art assets impresses me more than a game where every last thing is unique. I want to play a game, not walk through an art portfolio. One again, I'll be very impressed if they have both quality and quantity in the cities, but knowing how long it would have taken to make something almost makes me feel bad for playing the game. [B]Takes 4 years to make but only takes me a few days to see everything[/B]. It's really humbling, in a very bad way.[/QUOTE] yeah, I find that kinda sad too. I hope the quests make up for it, I mean, the sidequests are what keeps us playing after seeing everything in the game and finishing the main quest.

am I the only one when watching the trailer I just skip to 1:06 to hear the FUS RO DA and when the trailer is done playing, skip to 1:06 again.

[QUOTE=Arvuti;28328133]am I the only one when watching the trailer I just skip to 1:06 to hear the FUS RO DA and when the trailer is done playing, skip to 1:06 again.[/QUOTE] I do that too. I downloaded the trailer just to do this, I watch it every morning :v:

[QUOTE=Dovahkiin;28328156]I do that too. I downloaded the trailer just to do this, I watch it every morning :v:[/QUOTE] TBH that trailer really gets me pumped up and listening to the main theme makes me finish my assignment what would take 30 minutes normally be finished in less than 20 minutes.

Skyrim = Scandinavia? ;) I mean it got a fuckton of norse mythology.

[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;28328219]Skyrim = Scandinavia? ;) I mean it got a fuckton of norse mythology.[/QUOTE] you could say that about basically any fantasy rpg [editline]27th February 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=hypno-toad;28326534] Dark messiah was a great game, but it was ultimately a dead end franchise. I don't want to outwright say that TES: V is copying their ideas (though, I guess I just did) but they really should and there's no problem with it. Some of those game mechanics should not fade into obscurity.[/QUOTE] Agreed. The only thing lacking about dark messiah was the story (and the voice acting), so transplanting awesome mechanics like that into TES, which usually has good stories and looks to have good voice actors now, is a good path to take.

[QUOTE=Brage Nyman;28328219]Skyrim = Scandinavia? ;) I mean it got a fuckton of norse mythology.[/QUOTE] Most of the artwork, armor, and weapon design is celtic, not norse. Albiet they are somewhat similar cultures. There's a bit of both, but I see a lot of celtic knot patterns on the armor and weapons. Mythology and Architecture = Norse Culture, Weapons and Artwork = Celtic/Pict

If skyrim actually has different and varid landscapes instead of oblivions boring copy paste woods then I wont even use the fast travel. I remember when I traveled across oblivion, from town to town on my horse. Took me like a hour or more to get through the map.

[QUOTE=acds;28326331] [quote]* Graphics engine for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is "all but written from scratch".[/quote][/QUOTE] Oh shit, should we worry about this one?

[QUOTE=jimhowl33t;28328489]Oh shit, should we worry about this one?[/QUOTE] No, no you should not. The chances are this whole game engine is going to be a lot more stable than Gamebryo. Gamebryo is an archaic engine that had layers and layers of new code lazily plastered on top of it to keep it "looking" fresh, but it was unstable and unoptimized garbage. Since they had an opportunity to build their engine ground up, the codework is probably going to be much cleaner, and the engine will probably utilize more modern visual features.

[QUOTE=Aerkhan;28327062]You still didnt show me your morrowind char :v:[/QUOTE] Would you prefer her in a dominatrix ensemble or vanilla armour? Also, I hope telekenisis can be used on NPCs, I want to magically pick somene up and put them on the roof of a building while I'm hinding in the shadows giggling.

[QUOTE=DiscoInferno;28328704]Would you prefer her in a dominatrix ensemble or vanilla armour?[/QUOTE] :byodood:

[QUOTE=jimhowl33t;28328489]Oh shit, should we worry about this one?[/QUOTE] From the gameplay in the trailer, no.

[QUOTE=jimhowl33t;28328489]Oh shit, should we worry about this one?[/QUOTE] I don't think so. But they really couldn't completely throw away Gamebryo, could they? I mean they just [B]had[/B] to keep a little bit of it.

[QUOTE=acds;28328760]I don't think so. But they really couldn't completely throw away Gamebryo, could they? I mean they just [B]had[/B] to keep a little bit of it.[/QUOTE] It doesn't work like that. You cant necessarily cut and paste code Gamebyro was only licensed to Bethesda as well, so I'm not sure it'd be legal for them to utilize any of it in their new game engine.

I would prefer that as much Gamebryo is lost as possible, I don't like the engine at all.

The engine itself might not be bad, but Bethesda used it and modified it for so long that it just ended up as a tangled mesh of code updates full of loose threads and redundant variables that would make the game crash, and these issues were only exaggerated on PCs because of the expanded hardware array. This is why building their own engine from the ground up makes so much sense, it keeps the engine clean and well optimized, and they can build it in a way that makes future updates easier and cleaner. It may not look that different from Bethesda previous gamebyro titles, but that's because of the art assets. The innovation is going to be in the practicality of their new built-in tools (their speed tree clone, and the havok animation engine) and just in the overall stability of the game engine.

Some thing I noticed in the trailer, it seems that scabbards and internal lighting (rahter than dull, lifeless windows) will be in the game. Wait, were there scabbards in Oblivion?

Speaking of interiors, any guesses as to what the chances of having seamless transitions from the world to homes etcetera?

[QUOTE=AimlessGiant;28329492]Speaking of interiors, any guesses as to what the chances of having seamless transitions from the world to homes etcetera?[/QUOTE] Nope, not going to happen. It's been confirmed that there interior and exterior cells. That said, I hope that cities aren't in their own exterior cells again. Cities should be seamlessly joined with the rest of the wilderness. To be honest, I don't even know why they ever did that. They should just enclose cities inside a "high detail box" so the surrounding wilderness will be set to a low detail priority, it'd basically serve the same purpose as having cities in their own little world, except you wouldn't need the stilted load point. As for interiors, there is ways of making you feel less separated between interior and exterior cells. For example, they could create a "model" of each city and place it around the corresponding position of the given interior cell, that way you can look out the window and see a convincing version of what's outside. Would make it feel like you're actually inside a building, seeing whats outside.. instead of just being in a limitless black void, trapped in a room. Likewise they could make it so doors are animated, that way people will actually open doors and walk inside, then be transported to the interior cell; though, the inside from the outside and visa versa would need to be Either black, or just a fire-lit glow. It's all about how you fake it. There's no reason an interior cell can't "feel" connected to the outside world. They just need to work on making the transition feel more realistic.

[QUOTE=acds;28326331][quote]* All of the established Elder Scrolls races will return in Skyrim. [/quote][/QUOTE] Do they mean the non-player races, too? Like Sload, or Winged Twilights?