Skyrim

From: af (CAER)15 Nov 2011 11:35
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 152 of 773
Level it up loads then apply some lethal poisons on your blades :D
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)15 Nov 2011 11:36
To: af (CAER) 153 of 773
Yeah but: 30 levels and 15 perk points spent in alchemy to put poisons on my blades.

Vs.

30 levels and 15 points on stabbing shit.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)15 Nov 2011 11:38
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 154 of 773
The poisons do sound cool though! Poison arrers!
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)15 Nov 2011 11:56
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 155 of 773
They would be cool if they lasted for (significantly) more than like 3 shots. I would use them mainly for wizards. Some anti-magicka potion and then see how they like fighting me.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)15 Nov 2011 12:01
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 156 of 773
So you apply them and you get about 3 arrows with poison on? Can you separate them out of the normal arrows? Can you enchant arrows? I LIKE ARROWS.
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)15 Nov 2011 12:14
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 157 of 773
Yes and no and no. Not sure about enchanting.

Poisoning is rubbish. There are perks to make the poisons last for more strikes/arrows etc. but... it's not enough. If I could poison a whole quiver or /permanently/ poison my blades then yeah, sure. But no. So fuck you alchemy.
From: Dave!!15 Nov 2011 12:59
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 158 of 773
I tend to use Alchemy for the odd poison for tough enemies (or when there's a lot of them to help me quickly dispatch a couple), and for making shit to sell. It's also useful having a few health potions, but I do like that you can now cook food to restore health and fatigue - even if it is a bit unrealistic to stop in the middle of a battle and scoff half a dozen stews!
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)15 Nov 2011 14:08
To: Dave!! 159 of 773
Aye, all that is true, but you're still essentially putting skill points into something that can be bought for very little money. Which seems unideal.
From: DrBoff (BOFF)15 Nov 2011 16:13
To: ALL160 of 773
I definitely haven't just gone and bought a new computer so I can play this...
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)15 Nov 2011 16:43
To: DrBoff (BOFF) 161 of 773
:'D

So worth it.
From: graphitone15 Nov 2011 17:09
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 162 of 773

I started following this thread with only a passing interest, but you bastards have got me wanting this game.

 

However, I'm fairly naive when it comes to RPGs. The last one I played was Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn, which was awesome, but would seem to pale in comparison to this new offering.

 

So, has the RPG genre moved on massively from then? I remember character creation, exploring, fighting, fiddling with inventories, sleeping in inns, collecting swords, choices between good and evil, hamsters and using magic.

 

From what people are saying it sounds similar and because of that it appeals to me.

From: patch15 Nov 2011 17:27
To: graphitone 163 of 773
Pretty much the same, except replace hamsters with mudcrabs, which aren't quite as friendly.
From: graphitone15 Nov 2011 21:26
To: patch 164 of 773

:D

 

I'll get right onto buying it. As soon as I've finished the other games I've bought but haven't had chance to play yet. :C

From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)16 Nov 2011 03:32
To: graphitone 165 of 773
It kind of is but also not really. It's similar that it's a game in an intriguing fantasy setting which you can explore at your own pace.

But Baldur's Gate was Bioware and Bioware games are extremely narrative-heavy and linear. You kinda choose what order to do some things in, but what you do is pretty much set in stone from the start (with the illusion of 'moral' choice).

The modern version of that is Bioware's Dragon Age. Which is ideal because it's the exact same story as Baldurs Gate (and all Bioware games, actually) so it'll bring back memories! (I'm trying to be objective but I can't stand Bioware games. Bioware want to tell you a story and they want you to have only a bare minimum of interaction so that you can't ruin their story for them. I find them very restrictive and tedious (with the exception of Mass Effect (just the first one) which was alright.)

Bethesda games on the other hand... ahh Bethesda games. They're simulations, really. They simulate a fantasy world and then ... let you do whatever you want. The massively overwhelming proportion of your experience of the game will be emergent. And will also diverge massively from anyone else's experience.

There are very many quests to do, from one off errands to full plotlines. But you choose what you want to do and how you want to do it. You're free to go anywhere in the world right from the start.

I started playing with a friend, chatting about what we were doing and stuff. And within 5 minutes (after the intro) we'd gone in totally different directions and were experiencing totally different things. He ended up at some village and ended up recovering some ancient Daedric artifact and then getting drawn into the affairs of a nearby city (he's now hunted by one of the city's factions and he's not entirely sure why). I stumbled on a farmhouse which turned out to sit on top of a bandit's den with a system of caves underneath and, at the very end, a treasure room. And I spent the subsequent 3 days (3 real-life-days) just exploring the country, visiting each of the cities, trying to get a feel for the politics before I get too involved.

So...

quote:
So, has the RPG genre moved on massively from then? I remember character creation, exploring, fighting, fiddling with inventories, sleeping in inns, collecting swords, choices between good and evil, hamsters and using magic.


Yes and no. Bioware are still making the same game but others have moved on. Must stop bashing Bioware. I actually won a copy of Dragon Age: Origins and I still felt ripped-off. Ok, I will stop.

All that stuff is in Skyrim (aside from the hamster (and the horrible, trite, overly sententious, stodgy, overwrought, mannered Bioware writing (I just can't stop))). And so much more! If you like being thrown into a simulated world and deciding what you want to do (and then getting massively distracted from that to the point where 3 days later you remember that you intended to do it) then you'll like Skyrim.
From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)16 Nov 2011 03:46
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 166 of 773
quote:
They simulate a fantasy world and then ... let you do whatever you want.

Whatever I want? Really?


Can I piss on a dog?

Can I mount a dragon (ns) and go flying?

Can I build a castle with wood obtained by punching trees?

If I push over that big arch that Steve visited, does it create huge waves?

I can push it over, right? Cus I want to.

Can I make a wing suit and jump off a really high mountain, then glide into underground caves, splash through a waterfall and land on the back of a white stag?

Can I persuade everyone on the whole continent to follow me, then walk into a big lake and see who can hold their breath the longest?
From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)16 Nov 2011 04:15
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 167 of 773
Ten minutes is more than long enough to say yes seven times. Why are you ignoring me, bitch!? :@
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)16 Nov 2011 04:20
To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) 168 of 773
You seem to be misunderstanding the following things:

1. The English language (and human language in general)
2. What a simulation is

"let you do whatever you want" is contextualised by "They simulate a fantasy world".

For example. If I say: "Here, take these keys, use my house for a week, you can do whatever you like". Do you take that to mean that you can become a tiger? Or destroy the moon with the power of your mind?

No, you don't, unless you're severely mentally ill. You realise that the possibilities are limited by the terms of the premise. You realise that I am saying "you can do anything which physics and other restraints will allow - I am not imbuing you with superhuman power, I am merely indicating a degree of freedom". Similarly when saying someone can do "anything they like" within a simulation, it goes without saying that that is bounded by what is possible with in the simulation.

A simulation where you could do, in the way you're reading it, "anything you like" is inherently impossible (what if 'I would like' to both do X and not do X simultaneously?). Your reading makes 'you can do anything you like' meaningless in all usages. And given that it's a fairly common construction either you or the entire of humanity for most of its existence is wrong. Statistically, your chances of being right here are slim.
From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)16 Nov 2011 04:23
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 169 of 773
That was a rubbish reply.

I'm not playing Skyrim now. :@

When can I pick up the keys?
From: Drew (X3N0PH0N)16 Nov 2011 04:24
To: Peter (BOUGHTONP) 170 of 773
Will you become a tiger and/or destroy the moon with the power of your mind?

If not, whenever you like (<-- yes, I mean that quite literally. Including the past)
From: Peter (BOUGHTONP)16 Nov 2011 04:34
To: Drew (X3N0PH0N) 171 of 773
The moon is officially under my protection now. Do not try to destroy it! :@