18 replies to this topic

[EBrown]

Skyrim.


I have started playing this game recently, and I must say, it's not bad. Although, I don't understand the hype about it, probably because I was never an Elder Scrolls fan, but I do enjoy the mechanics and design of the game itself.

The game starts out with an interesting cut-scene, and then continues with you going to the executioner for your crime. (Won't go into more detail about that for spoilers.)

Needless to say you don't get executed, you pick your race and name and whatnot and then from there you are sent into the group to be executed.

The game levels differently from most, where your level is actually a composite of your skills. This means you have to level a certain amount of skill levels before you can advance in main level.

The skill tree is, interesting, to say the least. You spend points in helping to advance certain skills in certain ways, this allows you to determine what your strengths are, with little limit on that fact. For example, I prefer the use of Maces, so I selected the "Bone Breaker" trait in the "One Handed" skill tree, as it discards 25% of enemy armor when I attack with a Mace. (The next level of it discards 50%, which means I will dominate even more.) I also selected "Fighting Stance" in the same tree, as I use power attacks as often as possible. This tree seems to be of an extremely advanced design, I don't think they put it together in 10 minutes.

Spoiler

There are apparently 13 "Standing" or "Guardian" stones that allow you to choose a certain trait to give you bonus' in. This can allow you to advance in a set of skills more quickly, or benefit from a better carry-weight, etc.

Another nice aspect of the game is the "Shouts," which allow you to use certain powers from exploring, finding the shout, and getting a dragon soul to unlock the shout.

Yet anther aspect of the game, for better or worse, is "sicknesses," where the player can get sick and lose certain stats, powers, etc. This can be detrimental in some cases. (As was mine when I had 25% stamina loss due to a sickness, and a slower stamina recharge as well.)

Dragons are actually a nice fight. (At least in the beginning, from what I have heard it get's overly repetitive.) They present a good challenge when you are fighting them, giving you an interesting battle, as they don't just run around like most of the other NPC's.

I'll continue to explore and update with pictures, (maybe videos, but I doubt it as I can only record at 20-25FPS.) the game itself, anything really.

Graphics are AMAZING in this game, the textures are high def, and it has a beautiful aura to it. In fact, this may be one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen.


(Spoiler Alert)

Spoiler

So far I have beaten the first temple/dungeon thing, got the first shout, dragonstone, killed the first dragon, and become Thane (hero) of Whiterun.

More updates later.

(Edit: Posted a few screenshots.)

Thanks,
EBrown

[mudmanc4]

I played all the prior games they had, maybe sometime I'll try this one, looks good.

[EBrown]

Not gonna lie, it's very pretty.

I explored more of the world, and there are some very nice scenes and images throughout. The textures are purely HD, beautiful images. It does create a stunning visual appeal. Even the snow is high definition.

I came across a very nice river when I was exploring. (Which now I have covered a small section of the huge map.)



I then started investigating a mountain, although the location I was attempting to climb was entirely wrong for where I was supposed to climb, I got a few nice shots.


As I tried to climb the mountain incorrectly, it started snowing. Such pretty snow.


Lastly, (at least for this entry) I was wandering this forest area. The trees look pretty cool up close. Very nice textures. (And my Mace has blood on it.)


I'll post more later on. So far the visuals are very appealing.

Thanks,
EBrown

[CA3LE]

I seriously need to get Skyrim.  I promised myself that I was going to get C.O.D. MW3 first.  But, I've beat that already, level 80... golden AK, etc...  I don't want to prestige so I think I'm going to go get Skyrim now.  My nephew Darrick keeps telling me I need to get it... after seeing the videos he showed me, I agree.  Looks siiiiiiick!

I think I'm going to pick Skyrim up this week.  

[EBrown]

CA3LE, on 27 November 2011 - 09:48 PM, said:

I seriously need to get Skyrim.  I promised myself that I was going to get C.O.D. MW3 first.  But, I've beat that already, level 80... golden AK, etc...  I don't want to prestige so I think I'm going to go get Skyrim now.  My nephew Darrick keeps telling me I need to get it... after seeing the videos he showed me, I agree.  Looks siiiiiiick!

I think I'm going to pick Skyrim up this week.  

The graphics are the best I've ever seen. Some good power went into this game.

Thanks,
EBrown

[mudmanc4]

Needs what it claims as far as video memory. Iv'e got it running on OS X w/ the nvidia 8600M GT 256 MB card, it runs but I can see it will eat a hell of a lot more vram if supplied. The minimum I believe said 512 no ?

[TriRan]

mudmanc4, on 01 December 2011 - 02:45 PM, said:

Needs what it claims as far as video memory. Iv'e got it running on OS X w/ the nvidia 8600M GT 256 MB card, it runs but I can see it will eat a hell of a lot more vram if supplied. The minimum I believe said 512 no ?

my friend has SLI 480GTX's

and it uses 1GB or more from each card with the graphics maxed at 1920x1200

[EBrown]

TriRan, on 01 December 2011 - 06:05 PM, said:

my friend has SLI 480GTX's

and it uses 1GB or more from each card with the graphics maxed at 1920x1200

mudmanc4, on 01 December 2011 - 02:45 PM, said:

Needs what it claims as far as video memory. Iv'e got it running on OS X w/ the nvidia 8600M GT 256 MB card, it runs but I can see it will eat a hell of a lot more vram if supplied. The minimum I believe said 512 no ?

Oh yeah. It uses a buttload of VRAM.

Thanks,
EBrown

[mudmanc4]

TriRan, on 01 December 2011 - 06:05 PM, said:

my friend has SLI 480GTX's

and it uses 1GB or more from each card with the graphics maxed at 1920x1200

EBrown, on 01 December 2011 - 06:29 PM, said:

Oh yeah. It uses a buttload of VRAM.

Thanks,
EBrown

Holy shitballz ! Had to google the SLI 480GTX as I don't have the time to keep up right now, but 2 gigs vram at 1400mhz is astounding. I dare to bet that is a very immersive screen.

I should have built up a gaming system instead of getting the PS3, I knew it was a mistake before we got it. Games , great  , graphics , stink on ice .

[TriRan]

Yeah! Also skyrim had a hack before the last patch that allowed you to bypass the 2GB system memory limit to allow the game to use more ram but apparently that no longer works

[mudmanc4]

How can a local hack not work anymore ? On PC yes ?

[TriRan]

mudmanc4, on 02 December 2011 - 12:05 PM, said:

How can a local hack not work anymore ? On PC yes ?

well if you want to run the newest version it disables it, the dev's said they don't know if they ever will officially increase the cap for system memory even though people saw huge performance gains by doing so

[EBrown]

TriRan, on 02 December 2011 - 05:46 PM, said:

well if you want to run the newest version it disables it, the dev's said they don't know if they ever will officially increase the cap for system memory even though people saw huge performance gains by doing so

What? You could increase the memory limit on Skyrim? That would have been useful before. Lol

On a side note, I will be posting more images later.

Thanks,
EBrown

[EBrown]

So here's some more pictures of Skyrim. It's looking very stunning.

I took a cute little picture of the moon, just for fun. It's one of those awe-inspiring aesthetically pleasing images. Makes you wonder in amazement.


There's also  couple picture of me on my way to Ivarstead on my horse. (It's a fairly fat horse.)



And then a few pictures of the vista of Skyrim.



Thanks,
EBrown

[mudmanc4]

Yea nice pics ! Although images just don't do the graphics justice

[EBrown]

Here's some more pictures of my exploring.

Spoiler

The view of High Hrothgar as you enter.



The blue thing around the Compass is the result of using a Dragon Shout. It's the cool-down timer. Once the blue and white all goes away you can shout again.

Pictures of me on my horse.




I've been doing some pretty beast exploring, which I will post a screenshot of my map later. I am filling in the blanks pretty quickly.

Thanks,
EBrown

[EBrown]

Several more pictures of Skyrim.

The first one is the "Bannered Mare" which is an Inn in Whiterun.


Then we have Rorikstead which has a group of men who ask you to do a quest to locate a woman in Whiterun.


Then more pictures of the landscape and my horse. (I actually ended up killing this one. Sadface)




Thanks,
EBrown

[mudmanc4]

Might get this for PS3 after Christmas

Iv'e played through all the past stories, so this is what I forgot I have been waiting for.

[Blako]

Nvidia's Skyrim Tweak guide
Skyrim: Anisotropic Filtering example
Skyrim: Detail Presets Low/Ultra
Skyrim: Distant Detail
Gpu-z reports 571mb of 768mb video memory used at 1920x1080, textures on high
Task manager reports use of 830mb of system memory
Just a reminder if your running sli/crossfire each card needs its own copy of the game data so it always uses twice the video memory.  

Mud is right, a picture can't capture the slow blowing into your eyes or the way a flickering candle lights a room.  I want to show off my ... conquests but the joy of skyrim is exploring and learning for yourself.  If I told you whats around the next corner it wouldn't be as special as if you experienced it for yourself as your eyes widen, your jaw drops and you say "Holy ... "

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Edited by Blako, 13 December 2011 - 10:51 AM.