cremi - for the companions you dont HAVE to feed every night. I have yet to on my toon. Actually do be honest as a werewolf i dont think you need to at all. also at the end of the questline you can choose to "cure" yourself BUT to do so you have to had collected all the heads from these witches on another quest prior to that (same questline).
ala - in oblivion you could and i see no reason why they would change that, only 2 factions that you probably cant join at the same time is imperial and stormcloaks due to the war. I havent tested that one yet. I have completed the companions and dark brotherhood and currently working on the theives guild.
as for y'alls question on do the mobs lvl with you? yes they do. you want to lvl combat skills just as much as you do professions. yes professions are the easiest way to lvl (pretty much how i did it while running dw/bows) my first toon was at 79 before it got deleted. that was proly from me making another i was going to play and saving over it. i went back and did the same thing i did in the last one and im level 51 right now. they have quides on how to properly power level on a russian web-site. after a skill gets so high it levels really slow thats when you change to something else. like when i got my dw to 50ish i switched to destro/resto and damn near kept my restoration button pressed. yes i carried a ton of potions. a good way to make a ton of gold is when you pl you smithing make a ton of iron daggers (you gain points all the way to 100) chant them (also giving you a ton of points in chanting) then sell them (also increasing your speech). there you knock out 3 things at once. the level cap is 81 and its a bitch to get to. another good way to make some money is to just do the main quest line first. you will actually need to do unlock the dragons and certain shouts that make it easier to play. but thats pretty much how i do it, how i have gained lvls so quick. of course i played oblivion since its release and knew a ton of tricks (no mods or hacks) now my next toon will be a modded toon. im just waiting on the warglaives to be put in and frostmourne. yes in oblivion they had the warglaives and frostmourne. only thing was you could not trully dw in oblivion you had to have a mod and it sucked huge ass donkey balls.
Skyrim
Re: Skyrim
Ive been playing this game since the day after it came out, and I kept noticing to myself, the sound quality sucked. It was very underwhelming. I tried many configurations within the Audio settings, but nothing really worked. The music was cool and all, but I could hardly hear anything else unless my speakers were turned all the way up... and if I did, I would be able to hear NPCs talk, but everything else was glaringly loud. Tonight I finally got tired of hardly being able to hear NPCs, so I did some research to see if this was the way the game was designed, or if it was something I did wrong.
I found an article that helped a ton. Now it is incredible... I hear things I didnt even know were in the game for the last 30 hours of gameplay.... rain drops, stepping in puddles, certain spell casts, etc... and now I dont need subtitles on because the NPCs are clear as a bird. If any of you have had similar problems, do the following...
on the control panel > hardware and sound > sound menu
select your speakers then > properties > then go to enhancements tab > and check the loudness equalization, then re-launch skyrim, and check for differences on audio.
For me it made a world of difference. I can't wait to fight my next dragon.
Edit:
ZOMG, I just heard an NPC crunch into an apple she was eating, hahahahahahahah. What have I been missing?!
I found an article that helped a ton. Now it is incredible... I hear things I didnt even know were in the game for the last 30 hours of gameplay.... rain drops, stepping in puddles, certain spell casts, etc... and now I dont need subtitles on because the NPCs are clear as a bird. If any of you have had similar problems, do the following...
on the control panel > hardware and sound > sound menu
select your speakers then > properties > then go to enhancements tab > and check the loudness equalization, then re-launch skyrim, and check for differences on audio.
For me it made a world of difference. I can't wait to fight my next dragon.
Edit:
ZOMG, I just heard an NPC crunch into an apple she was eating, hahahahahahahah. What have I been missing?!
The Champ Is Here.
-
Darkrytez
Re: Skyrim
i never had an issue but i love the music in the game especially the dragon fight music.
Re: Skyrim
Hey Scorp, if you find that you are still getting pwned, do the following...
hit the tilda ~ key to bring up your console
type: "player.modav health 100" (without the "" of course)
Just a small change that gives you a little bit more health pool.
I have to add the "At your own risk" disclaimer to this. If you mess around too much in your console commands, you can really mess up your game saves.
hit the tilda ~ key to bring up your console
type: "player.modav health 100" (without the "" of course)
Just a small change that gives you a little bit more health pool.
I have to add the "At your own risk" disclaimer to this. If you mess around too much in your console commands, you can really mess up your game saves.
Last edited by Cremate on 24 Nov 2011, 15:09, edited 1 time in total.
The Champ Is Here.
-
Thondar
Re: Skyrim
Cremate wrote:Hey Scorp, if you find that you are still getting pwned, do the following...
hit the tilda ~ key to bring up your console
type: "player.modav health 100" (without the "" of course)
Just a small change that gives you a little bit more health pool.
I have to add the "At your own risk" disclaimer to this. If you mess around too much in your console commands, you can really mess up your game saves.
Dont Cheat until you actually played the whole game
Re: Skyrim
Thondar wrote:
Dont Cheat until you actually played the whole game
Thanks for the words of wisdom grandma
But for some people who unknowingly screwed up their game, by levelling non-combat professions, and therefore increasing the level of all creatures in the game above them, a little saving grace with 100 more health is a minor assistance to get them back on track. If one were to take it to the extreme, and add 500 more health, or something like that, I can see how it would take some of the fun out of the game.How about this... for those that dont want to "spoil" themselves, I have placed my console command advices in "invisible ink". If you want to see them, highlight the paragraphs with your mouse... if not, leave them alone.
Below is another minor irritation fix...
For anyone who wants to carry multiple sets of armor, for varying situations, you can do the following...
Tilda ~ key to open console
player.setav carryweight 400
It will increase your carry capacity to 400. Such a low starting carry capacity irritates me about this game. A good stock of potions and your heavy armor set eat up like 70% of your bag space. If you are like me, and like to farm up every ingredient or enchantable piece of armor you can find... a little more carry capacity comes in handy.
Knock yourself out!
Hope that helps!
The Champ Is Here.
-
Steelwarlord
Re: Skyrim
I have a 42 1H/Archer with level 100 Smithing. made alot of shit super easy. quick leveling smithing can be done by either buying all iron bars and leather stips and making irom daggers at a 1/1 cost(can also be used for chanting levels with low level enchants, sell them 1 by 1 to level speech quick) or leather gloves(bracers w/e) done much the same as the daggers. as a warning, this does cost a bit of gold but is pretty easy.
The theives guilds major "draw back" is that most of the missions are crimes and if you get cought, well........oh and becoming guild master is a bit of a pain cause you have to do the main missions and side missions till you have done the 4 special missions. To make it easier on you have a fairly good lock picking, pick pocketing and steath, or carry stat boasters.
Warewolf has no major draw backs besides people being hostile is you ARE in wolf form and if your seen changing its a crime. Also you can't become a Vamp if your a wolf, can't get rested bonus' from sleeping and while a wolf you can loot, pick locks, or heal yourself. You do get a passive immunity to desises(I'm sure I misspelled that).
Vampire is the one you need to feed or your stage increases to the point people will try to kill you.
As of yet I don't think theres a major difference in picking Imperial vs Stormcloak, but that may change with DLC/Addons all I really saw was a change in Jarls in some cities since they lost, and if you work with the Empire one Jarl is killed at the end, won't say who due to spoilers.
This game will eat your time very effectivly. apperantly theres around 300 hours of content, give or take.
The theives guilds major "draw back" is that most of the missions are crimes and if you get cought, well........oh and becoming guild master is a bit of a pain cause you have to do the main missions and side missions till you have done the 4 special missions. To make it easier on you have a fairly good lock picking, pick pocketing and steath, or carry stat boasters.
Warewolf has no major draw backs besides people being hostile is you ARE in wolf form and if your seen changing its a crime. Also you can't become a Vamp if your a wolf, can't get rested bonus' from sleeping and while a wolf you can loot, pick locks, or heal yourself. You do get a passive immunity to desises(I'm sure I misspelled that).
Vampire is the one you need to feed or your stage increases to the point people will try to kill you.
As of yet I don't think theres a major difference in picking Imperial vs Stormcloak, but that may change with DLC/Addons all I really saw was a change in Jarls in some cities since they lost, and if you work with the Empire one Jarl is killed at the end, won't say who due to spoilers.
This game will eat your time very effectivly. apperantly theres around 300 hours of content, give or take.
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Alrcari
Re: Skyrim
Bleh I bet Steelwarlord was behind this video: ( 
)
How to punch a dragon to death in Skyrim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJuCjhqCWI
LOL still get a good chuckle out of this video.
-Al
)How to punch a dragon to death in Skyrim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avJuCjhqCWI
LOL still get a good chuckle out of this video.
-Al
Re: Skyrim
I have now finished Skyrim (and I use the word "finish" lightly), so I figured I would give my official review of this game...
Plot
4 out of 5 stars
-----The story was incredible, much better than I had expected. Many pieces of the story give the gamer the feeling of "epic". There were fewer cliches than you see in most of today's RPGs. The biggest cliche was the "chosen one" syndrome that we see in most RPGs. One character (of course you) was born with the amazing abilitiy to combat whatever gloomy circumstances that have befallen the planet. In any case, the story was still incredibly intense at parts, and it sucked you in, as though you were watching a movie in which you controlled an actor. Every nook and cranny was brooding with backstory. The climax of the story was exactly that... climactic. The story, especially the ending, made you feel important, in a way that is far less cheesey than most RPGs.
Gameplay
3.5 out of 5 stars
-----The game played like a gem. The open-world system allowed you to lose yourself for hours and hours in meaningful quests that didnt advance the main story whatsoever. Many times I found myself engaging in long quest chains involving deep backstory of a random shopkeeper or barmaid at the bottom of some random mountain town. Quests that you would think are mundane, actually tie into the story in some distant way that sometimes you dont find out about until later. Quest rewards were lackluster though. You would often receive a meager 100 gold reward or piece of armor you dont need, for clearing a 2 hour dungeon.
-----Many games incorporate the "your actions effect the story" gameplay feature nowadays, but it was done splendidly in Skyrim. You weren't punished for your choices, regardless of what they were, as you would be in other games. If you declined to help someone with their random quest, failed to rescue the random wanderer you come across from the bandits robbing him, or even decide to kill the very family you were protecting from sabre cats... you can, with little to no long term consequence. With the exception of city gaurds, you were hard pressed to find a single NPC that did not have a backstory intertwining them with other characters you happen to run across in the world of Skyrim; Which, in itself is an impressive feat considering the sheer magnitude of the play-area, and the many 100's, yes many 100's of NPCs in the game.
-----The skill advancement was done very well, with a few exceptions. You could create any type of character you wanted. Daggers, Bows, 2 handed swords, Spells, Dual Casting spells (for extra effects), Sword+Spell, Sword+Shield, Dagger+Sword, etc... the combinations went on and on, and each one was viable for gameplay. The levelling system was a bit akward. There are many times I wanted to just sit there and work on creating some cool armor or enchantments... but I held back because improving those skills too much, would level your character, and therefore increase the level of all in-game enemies. You had to pace your levelling of non-combat skills with your "professions"... which was an odd annoyance at times.
----- One thing that this game could have improved on was the variety of armor and weapons available. If you found a decent weapon, it could very well be the same weapon you are using at the end of the game. The difference between armor and weapons was lackluster... so much that you could probably finish the game in your starting gear. In fact, as a mage, you play the game with robes and gear that give absolutely 0 armor... and you do so just fine. Gear just didn't have an effect on the gameplay as much as I like to see. In my games, I enjoy finding an amazing piece of gear or weaponry on a hard boss I just killed. In this game you just find the same gear you can already make, possibly with a semi-helpful enchant that you can probably already do yourself.
Combat
3 out of 5 Stars
-----The reason "Combat" didnt receive a higher rating was do to the interface. You couldn't even bind potions to hotkeys, for quick usage, which is extremely odd for a live combat system. You also had to "equip" spells in either your right or left hand before using them. If you were using a Two Handed Sword to fight, and you wanted to heal yourself with a spell... you would need to actually equip the spell, which unequips your sword, cast the spell (during which time you could still be killed), then re-equip the sword. Each step in these actions added undesireable breaks in your combat, as switching between weapons or spells takes a second or two, plus cast times. This made healing yourself with spells undesirable in most fights. Simply going into the menu and drinking a potion from your inventory was instant health or magicka, and at least didnt come with the side-effect of having to equip and unequip your current weapons.
-----The uninviting interface made me just stick with my 1 or 2 "go to" spells to handle every situation, instead of possibly utilizing a variety of fun spells at the press of a button. That was the biggest downfall, as there are so many cool spells in this game that it's sad they aren't more conveniently available to use mid-fight. Even as a strictly spell using mage, throughout the game I maybe used half a dozen of the 30+ spells that were available to me, simply due to the inconvenient spell and weapon equip system. And in some fights, you simply couldn't afford to let your gaurd down to allow for the equipping times.
---Combat was difficult in early stages of the game, which was enjoyable. However, their was not enough variety of enemies. As the game progressed, you started to learn the habits of AI, and could easily kill dragons, bears, or mini-bosses, because you had encountered the same type of enemy in a previous dungeon. In many dungeons you just fought skeletons, bandits, and/or spiders.... over, and over.
Visuals/Atmosphere
4.5 out of 5 Stars
-----The game looked GREAT. Absolutely stunning. It made me want to purchase a newer computer, with updated graphics. Even on my 5 year old system, and 3 year old video card, the visuals blew my mind. You can easily get lost in this world, forgetting it is a video game. The open-world was just that, open... there were no loading screens, and the graphics would draw at a very impressive distance... meaning, you could see the silohuette of a mountain top when you were still a 10 minute trek from it. Wandering into nearly any direction was rewarding... I dont recall a single time that I walked from point A to point B without discovering a camp site, blessing stone shrine, or cave dungeon along the way.
-----The reason this category didnt receive a perfect score was due to it's lack of creativity of the dungeons. As immensly breathtaking as the outside world was... when you entered one of the dozens of dungeons, it was always one of a handful of themes... ancient tombs, underground cavern, ruins of some sort of jail or excavation site, etc... The dungeons themselves were well designed, but with all too familiar decor. There are some exceptions, especially along the main quest line dungeons. One dungeon towards the end of the game was noteably unique, and probably the best looking atmosphere I have seen done in a game to date.
-----Sound quality in this game was stellar, despite my audio problems for the first 20 hours of gameplay. The music was award worthy, and the ambience was incredible. You would hear the one-off conversations between two bandits as you crept closer... or the wings of a dragon circling high above you, even before you saw him. The voice acting was very well done as well. NPCs would speak to you as you ran past, and many would make comments regarding actions you had taken in the game. They would praise you for slaying a dragon, or honor you for becoming guild master of some random faction. Unfortunately, NPCs did also suffer from repetitive commentary. The same woman in Whiterun will always say "Its a fine day, with you around." every time you run past... and many NPCs will say the same thing someone else just said to you.
Overall
4 out of 5 Stars
-----This was a great game, and the replayability is tremendous. Not only that, but you can continue playing your current game for hundreds more hours. I completed about 80 hours worth of side stories and quests, and then decided to finish out the main quest line to tie up my experience... Steam sets my total played time at 99 hours. I still have not even began to explore at least 6 of the major city hubs, so there are 1000s of quests left to complete, and stories left to hear. For me, personally, I will probably not dabble too much further in this game. With lackluster quest rewards, and little difference in gear to be collected... it just doesnt have the carrot-on-a-stick that I need to keep playing for even longer, though it was a great experience that I think was well worth the money. I highly advise RPG lovers to pick this great game up.
.
Plot
4 out of 5 stars
-----The story was incredible, much better than I had expected. Many pieces of the story give the gamer the feeling of "epic". There were fewer cliches than you see in most of today's RPGs. The biggest cliche was the "chosen one" syndrome that we see in most RPGs. One character (of course you) was born with the amazing abilitiy to combat whatever gloomy circumstances that have befallen the planet. In any case, the story was still incredibly intense at parts, and it sucked you in, as though you were watching a movie in which you controlled an actor. Every nook and cranny was brooding with backstory. The climax of the story was exactly that... climactic. The story, especially the ending, made you feel important, in a way that is far less cheesey than most RPGs.
Gameplay
3.5 out of 5 stars
-----The game played like a gem. The open-world system allowed you to lose yourself for hours and hours in meaningful quests that didnt advance the main story whatsoever. Many times I found myself engaging in long quest chains involving deep backstory of a random shopkeeper or barmaid at the bottom of some random mountain town. Quests that you would think are mundane, actually tie into the story in some distant way that sometimes you dont find out about until later. Quest rewards were lackluster though. You would often receive a meager 100 gold reward or piece of armor you dont need, for clearing a 2 hour dungeon.
-----Many games incorporate the "your actions effect the story" gameplay feature nowadays, but it was done splendidly in Skyrim. You weren't punished for your choices, regardless of what they were, as you would be in other games. If you declined to help someone with their random quest, failed to rescue the random wanderer you come across from the bandits robbing him, or even decide to kill the very family you were protecting from sabre cats... you can, with little to no long term consequence. With the exception of city gaurds, you were hard pressed to find a single NPC that did not have a backstory intertwining them with other characters you happen to run across in the world of Skyrim; Which, in itself is an impressive feat considering the sheer magnitude of the play-area, and the many 100's, yes many 100's of NPCs in the game.
-----The skill advancement was done very well, with a few exceptions. You could create any type of character you wanted. Daggers, Bows, 2 handed swords, Spells, Dual Casting spells (for extra effects), Sword+Spell, Sword+Shield, Dagger+Sword, etc... the combinations went on and on, and each one was viable for gameplay. The levelling system was a bit akward. There are many times I wanted to just sit there and work on creating some cool armor or enchantments... but I held back because improving those skills too much, would level your character, and therefore increase the level of all in-game enemies. You had to pace your levelling of non-combat skills with your "professions"... which was an odd annoyance at times.
----- One thing that this game could have improved on was the variety of armor and weapons available. If you found a decent weapon, it could very well be the same weapon you are using at the end of the game. The difference between armor and weapons was lackluster... so much that you could probably finish the game in your starting gear. In fact, as a mage, you play the game with robes and gear that give absolutely 0 armor... and you do so just fine. Gear just didn't have an effect on the gameplay as much as I like to see. In my games, I enjoy finding an amazing piece of gear or weaponry on a hard boss I just killed. In this game you just find the same gear you can already make, possibly with a semi-helpful enchant that you can probably already do yourself.
Combat
3 out of 5 Stars
-----The reason "Combat" didnt receive a higher rating was do to the interface. You couldn't even bind potions to hotkeys, for quick usage, which is extremely odd for a live combat system. You also had to "equip" spells in either your right or left hand before using them. If you were using a Two Handed Sword to fight, and you wanted to heal yourself with a spell... you would need to actually equip the spell, which unequips your sword, cast the spell (during which time you could still be killed), then re-equip the sword. Each step in these actions added undesireable breaks in your combat, as switching between weapons or spells takes a second or two, plus cast times. This made healing yourself with spells undesirable in most fights. Simply going into the menu and drinking a potion from your inventory was instant health or magicka, and at least didnt come with the side-effect of having to equip and unequip your current weapons.
-----The uninviting interface made me just stick with my 1 or 2 "go to" spells to handle every situation, instead of possibly utilizing a variety of fun spells at the press of a button. That was the biggest downfall, as there are so many cool spells in this game that it's sad they aren't more conveniently available to use mid-fight. Even as a strictly spell using mage, throughout the game I maybe used half a dozen of the 30+ spells that were available to me, simply due to the inconvenient spell and weapon equip system. And in some fights, you simply couldn't afford to let your gaurd down to allow for the equipping times.
---Combat was difficult in early stages of the game, which was enjoyable. However, their was not enough variety of enemies. As the game progressed, you started to learn the habits of AI, and could easily kill dragons, bears, or mini-bosses, because you had encountered the same type of enemy in a previous dungeon. In many dungeons you just fought skeletons, bandits, and/or spiders.... over, and over.
Visuals/Atmosphere
4.5 out of 5 Stars
-----The game looked GREAT. Absolutely stunning. It made me want to purchase a newer computer, with updated graphics. Even on my 5 year old system, and 3 year old video card, the visuals blew my mind. You can easily get lost in this world, forgetting it is a video game. The open-world was just that, open... there were no loading screens, and the graphics would draw at a very impressive distance... meaning, you could see the silohuette of a mountain top when you were still a 10 minute trek from it. Wandering into nearly any direction was rewarding... I dont recall a single time that I walked from point A to point B without discovering a camp site, blessing stone shrine, or cave dungeon along the way.
-----The reason this category didnt receive a perfect score was due to it's lack of creativity of the dungeons. As immensly breathtaking as the outside world was... when you entered one of the dozens of dungeons, it was always one of a handful of themes... ancient tombs, underground cavern, ruins of some sort of jail or excavation site, etc... The dungeons themselves were well designed, but with all too familiar decor. There are some exceptions, especially along the main quest line dungeons. One dungeon towards the end of the game was noteably unique, and probably the best looking atmosphere I have seen done in a game to date.
-----Sound quality in this game was stellar, despite my audio problems for the first 20 hours of gameplay. The music was award worthy, and the ambience was incredible. You would hear the one-off conversations between two bandits as you crept closer... or the wings of a dragon circling high above you, even before you saw him. The voice acting was very well done as well. NPCs would speak to you as you ran past, and many would make comments regarding actions you had taken in the game. They would praise you for slaying a dragon, or honor you for becoming guild master of some random faction. Unfortunately, NPCs did also suffer from repetitive commentary. The same woman in Whiterun will always say "Its a fine day, with you around." every time you run past... and many NPCs will say the same thing someone else just said to you.
Overall
4 out of 5 Stars
-----This was a great game, and the replayability is tremendous. Not only that, but you can continue playing your current game for hundreds more hours. I completed about 80 hours worth of side stories and quests, and then decided to finish out the main quest line to tie up my experience... Steam sets my total played time at 99 hours. I still have not even began to explore at least 6 of the major city hubs, so there are 1000s of quests left to complete, and stories left to hear. For me, personally, I will probably not dabble too much further in this game. With lackluster quest rewards, and little difference in gear to be collected... it just doesnt have the carrot-on-a-stick that I need to keep playing for even longer, though it was a great experience that I think was well worth the money. I highly advise RPG lovers to pick this great game up.
.
Last edited by Cremate on 28 Nov 2011, 08:41, edited 1 time in total.
The Champ Is Here.
-
Zerstoerer
Re: Skyrim
Great review Cremate - I'm going to have to try to find some time to check this game out, sounds like something I would enjoy. I played SWTOR all weekend and between that and your review it kind of confirms what I've been feeling about wow for a while - there is no depth to it anymore. Blizz give it a new paint job every now and then, but I've really been missing the meat. There are techniques, quest details, interactions, etc in SWTOR that just kind of give me the feeling of immersion I haven't had with wow since right at the start of WOTLK.
A shame really with as much time as I've invested to feel like it's fading...
-Z
A shame really with as much time as I've invested to feel like it's fading...
-Z
-
Darkrytez
Re: Skyrim
Right now with skyrim im at a standpoint. Completed all of the factions (yes you can join them all for those who were wondering) completed 68 quests with a ton more in my log still, finished the main quest line twice. grinded past 70 twice, hit level cap once. Only thing that now would relish me playing more is when they come out with the warglaives and frostmourne for the game. I will totally agree with cremate on everything. This game is so vast it kinda wears down on you. I do have to say I HATE that you cant have a 2h equipped or DW then hit one button to cast a healing spell. Something I miss from oblivion oh so much. The switching back and forth can be painful at times. Right now I am working on finding all the rare items which is a task in itself. I know of 3, mace, dagger, and one of the masks. There are a total of 8 masks. One of them you get from a quest line from the mages guild or college.
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Steelwarlord
Re: Skyrim
I have 4 of those masks, with the one from the College being a 5th that I know of and the one from the dragon quest line being the 6th. 2 more to track down!
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