darthsloth74
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Posts posted by darthsloth74
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wessideOyes: I think its entirely safe to say that you took what I said completely out of context. I pointed that due to the limitations of not having the CK was one of the main reasons for the large influx of texture replacer mods.
I also referenced hexidecimal modding since in these early days the majority of esp modders are those who have programming knowlege. True not every mod relies on that either. Nor did I suggest that those who mod without programming knowledge are in some way lacking. I am certainly not some disgruntled modder with a coding background either since I have absolutely no knowlege of programming. I used the term "wizard" because I have the greatest respect for people who change the game mechanics in a large or small way, whether they rely on hex editing or not, clearly without a CK its all workaround methodology.
In regard to this comment:
These sorts of distinctions lead me to believe that you yourself are a modder with a coding background and not one to take the path of textures and perhaps models.
Is this a joke? For clarification I am a 3d and Texture artist and while my work is strictly hobby orientated that does not mean that I don't have a great deal of experience in that field. So I'm sure you'll appreciate that when I comment on Texture related work that I am only putting my own opinion across and to be frank if you disagree with it then thats entirely fine.
You'll also note that I stated that there was nothing wrong with hobbyists and enthusiasts who want to get into texturing. I have no objection to anyone who does something in the spirit of fun or learning. Its how every artist starts. So I really don't see how you think I'm somehow being disrespectful if you felt my tone was unjust then that was not my intention at all and you have clearly made unfounded assumptions.
My objection as I clearly stated is to people who advertise their mods as something they're not i.e HD replacers when not all of them are really Hi res. I have issues with that behaviour as do a lot of other fellow texture artists because its not fair to expect people to download large texture replacer file sizes only to discover that they ended up with something which was entirely different to what was being advertised.
Finally the OP stated to be entirely honest and I believe I was in regard to texturing so if you really took offense to that well maybe you shouldn't have read the article in the first place, though I wonder if you actually did read my comments thorougly before accusing me of disrespectul behaviour and suggesting I devalue people because in my opinion you are very wrong.
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Unfortunately at the moment there are a great many people who want to upload textures. Some of is great. Some is not so great. The problem exists that texturing is one of the most straightforward ways into modding and any enthusiastic individual can jump on the Photoshop Texturing Wagon.
Maybe this is because theres no CK and only the truly skilled wizards who understand hexidecimal can create their own plugin esps at present. This is one of the reasons for this large scale uploading of mods.
It used to be quite easy to recognise the difference between someone who was truly skilled at texturing and someone who is merely keen and just wants to get their mod out there. Nothing wrong with that lots of people just want to make fun texture mods, putting their own stamp on something in game.
Now we have the so-called HD replacers. Well 90% of those are a big fat lie. My monitors HD sos my TV that doesn't mean it would make a good texture. Its important that people understand the difference between High Definition and High Resolution, not the same thing at all.
Textures generally should be painted at the intended resolution i.e 2048x2048 High res. 1024x1024 Medium res. 512x512 and smaller Low res. Some artists prefer to work at a higher resolution and then reduce down to a smaller one, I don't but thats down to the individual really.
Enlarging the Skyrim textures to higher than their intended resolution and running sharpening fiters on them is not texturing. Its sloppy, lazy and to be quite blunt a complete waste of even loading Photoshop. Shaming themselves further they then proceed to upload it and convince people of its High Res nature. Stupid and annoying to say the least.
Also another thing to bear in mind is that people are working with DDS Textures, that is textures that have been compressed. So many people just paint over the original and then save them again causing the texture to be compressed further. Then they wonder where all the compression artifacts have appeared from and demand to know why their work looks like complete pants.
Once the CK comes out this trend will start to die off. Until then I will say if you are unsure check the description of the mod in question and see if it says handpainted and high res ,not HD. Also try to see if screenshots have been uploaded so you can clearly see the difference between a low res vanilla texture and a high res one.
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You could take "Skyrim HD - 2K Textures by NebuLa" and then delete all directories except Windhelm.
Yeah, I have that one, but unfortunately it doesn't fix that particular texture.
Oh well, guess none of the texture artists read this forum.
I don't think its strictly fair to say that no texture artists read this forum. As a texture artist myself I can tell you that most of us are busy with large scale projects that do far more than fix one iffy texture. I would ask you to be patient in time vanilla textures will be a thing of the past you just to give us all chance to get stuff done.
If my skills extended to doing terrain I'd fix it for you right now but they don't. For the moment I suggest you just don't look at it. ;)
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sure there is change! as you walk by a guard
"psst,... hey you,... hail sithis! haha"
....wait,...
that was it... :wallbash:
EDIT: Bethesda doesnt like to punish its players... which is odd, cause a Daedric prince doesn't behave as he/she should in oblivion or Skyrim. And that stands out even more than the lack of reaction from being in the dark brotherhood.
You forgot to mention those guards say that in an Arnie accent which adds to the novelty. As regarding not wanting to punish their players I sort of disagree since they have the Psychic rent a cop guards in Oblivion which everyone hated, particularly those of us with shady activities.
Skyrim has the bounty hunters and the DB assassins. Bounty hunters for law breakers, DB for people who are far too nice. Really its just a thow back to Fallout 3 with Talon Co. and Regulators hunting you down due to your Karma meter. Yet another reminder of how good or bad we are being as players.
Just because there isn't a visible one in Skyrim doesn't mean its not there, it would explain a lot. Personally I don't quite understand the crime of slaying a chicken and getting a 5 gold piece bounty its rather messed up.
As I said in a topic I started Bethesda don't want to follow through on letting people be really evil, just semi-evil and when you are held accountable for your actions its only to go to jail or pay a fine. I think if you play an evil Necromancer who could dig up bodies from the local graveyard and then you got found out you should have the pitchfork armed mob at your door trying to murder you, burn you at the stake etc like the Dracula and Frankenstein movies.
So yes the conqequences of your evil actions as a player should be far more severe and have more influence on NPC's who have hear rumours of your dark reputation.
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Pushkatu: Valid points definately. I for one don't like the current RPG handholding that Bethesda seem to be adopting. I think its a console thing but to be honest if I was a console owner I'd like to think Beth would credit me with more intelligence. This X marks the spot mentality is really rather insulting when the game should reward players who enjoy exploration.
Also while I was glad to see the horse and cart travel service put in, since thats very much Morrowind and the Stilt rider service. The game continually lets you use fast travel too. Most people miss out on the new random encounters simply because they can open the map and click on their previously visited location and move around the world like theres an airport in every location. I myself have been guilty of using fast travel too which breaks immersion and means you feel even more detached from the reality of your character and the world.
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Dragon Age Origins was truly awesome but then I liked Jade Empire too that was a lot of fun and had the usual Bioware unexpected twist in it.
Actually I might add that Duncan form DAO is a real swine, "There is no going back" that was one seriously cool moment and there were loads like that in DAO.
Anyway must get some sleep now its been a great discussion everyone. See ya. :)
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I just loved the whole Luchien Lachance character in Oblivion so heavily overacted but absolutely priceless. " You sleep rather soundly for a murderer", may favourite TES questline ever. Oh and I have finished the DB questline in Skyrim so lets not mention any more.
Regarding the new DB I hate the fact that they all dress like Daredevil in stretchy spandex its really wrong they should dress like black robed monks, albeit monks carrying an arsenal of assassins tools.
BarefootWarrior: Yes I thought DA2 ending was really pants. I enjoyed the game itself though even if a lot of people panned it.
Moredhel: What about chicken justice? Kill a chicken its a 5GP bounty and a screaming mob after you. Nevermind theres foxes everywhere that eat chickens oh but you get bounty for killing them too. Is Beth concerned that are gaming antics may upset the World Wildlife Foundation?
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pavy: I'm also happy to a point too and I know I've pointed out that sometimes you get completely inappropriate responses from NPC's but at other time theres some real gems too. I wouldn't consider this a spoiler but I'm playing a DB assassin and this guard out of the blue says "I know who you are, Hail Sithis", had me in sitches so I wonder is the comment system from NPC's only partially working because that example was awesome.
El'derina: Yes they don't like bad press, but who does? Amazed me how quickly they shut down complaints on their forums that takes real skill.
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Moredhel: I know that drives me nuts total lack of respect for your station. I became Legate and its like "I don't think you need to be here." WHAT? Give that legionary 500 lashes. Skyrim is oh so bleak of course it doesn't help given the size of the communites. Solitude is practically a hamlet when you compare it with Vivec, actually Solitudes probably about as big as Ebonheart.
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El'derina: What worries me is not so much the randomness of it all but the similarity to other things. Ride a horse past Whiterun over the plains and the first time I did I thought I was in Rohan and looking at Edoras. The style of the guards etc so very LOTR. Whereas up in the mountain forests with all the snow its like the beginning of Conan, the original film not that dodgy remake. In regard to your last post Radiant story was just an overhyped lie.
pavy: That is a question I have always asked at least in Bioware games when they offer one line responses it doesn't bother you because they're not important to the over bearing drive of the story.
FastBlackCat: They leave me feeling flat too eventually but Skyrim has come faster its one redeeming feature is I enjoy walking around the realm more.
It makes me sad in ways because we all sound a lot like spoilt kids who weren't that happy with their Xmas present, though I ask myself if issues that are unrelated to this post are to blame for a lot. Forced DRM stealth downloads, an even buggier update than release. Having said that even if they'd got it right it still wouldn't satisfy everyone because of its overly generic nature.
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Moredhel: Is it Morrowind or is it just a tendancy to see past happy memories through rose tinted spectacles?
Funny you mention that, I heard that quite a lot :D No, I really REALLY like Morrowind, it's the best game I've ever played! When I get tired of Skyrim or any other game that's gonna come out soon (SWTOR, ME3) I'll pick it up again and start all over using no mods at all.
Ahhhh, getting Fargoth's ring, getting killed by a cliffracer on my way to Balmora, being Lord Indoril Nerevar again :D
Fargoth my you bring back the memories he was such a loon, that crazy wood elf Glarthir in Oblivion's Skingrad reminded me of him, that was a great quest. For me it was Baldur's Gate 2 that I have true RPG nostalgia for, loved that game still do, still play it to this day.
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BarefootWarrior: I think yours is a very good plan to adopt unfortunately in my case I finished the main quest.
Simple rule Beth games never finish the main quest I fall into the trap every single time. I also agree I loved the developed backgrounds that were put into play for Dragon Age, must revisit that again at some point. Having said that I also truly connected with Revan's character in Knights of the Old Republic so many mixed feelings I got, anger, betrayal the need for redemption at the time it was sometimes real easy to stray onto the Dark Side but I liked that aspect.
Sometimes the main quest works better though when you aren't the all conquering hero, even though you become Champion in Oblivion its never really your story its Martin's you only help him get to the end of it and I engaged far more with that concept.
El'derina: I agree at least they provide the option with the CK, but in some ways that reliance on it has made them a little lazy too.
Moredhel: Is it Morrowind or is it just a tendancy to see past happy memories through rose tinted spectacles? I had a game for the AtariSt Dungeon Master or something, loved it but if I looked at it know I'd be ripping it to shreds in contempary disgust. Yes Morrowind had lots of cool features but it also had that annoying autoblock feature that I hated until I became proficient in that skill. I was always rather detached from its combat, though the alien realm of the Dunmer I'll always remember as magical.
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pavy: So in some ways you could say Bethesda are in danger of stagnating in the realm of creativity or have they already gone off and we never noticed?
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Breeze home has multiple light sources that overlap, causing certain shadow anomaly. Not much to do to fix.
Well thats good to know thats what it is. I'm assuming the Solitude dining room issue is also due to the lighting effects from the windows overlapping then? Of course this is mute point since I'm sure it requires the CK to address.
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I think its fair to say given the majority of feedback in this topic that we all expected more. However is this really Bethesda's fault in making a general game with wide spread appeal or are we guilty of being spoilt for choice for years by mods hosted on sites such as Nexus?
Innovation costs money and yes it would have been nice if they had incorporated more ideas from the community. Unfortunately they are also guilty of making games with an open ended nature and a main quest that doesn't really engage some players so when the questing experience is over the illusion of a living breathing world starts to fade as players look for content that was simply never there.
Mod makers will always be the true innovators since their ideas aren't constrained by money and company decisions. I guess you could say Bethesda know this and thats why they only put the basics in there since they realise the RPG purists, sorry to use that term will always want a more detailed and enriching role playing experience that they don't have the time to provide.
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Mshai. I agree many of your comments are quite justified I think its important thing to note is high scores from reviews are can simply be due to them spending a limited amount of time with the game so maybe they cannot be judged too harshly for their oversights.
To be honest I spent nearly a year playing Oblivion before I even tried any mods, Skyrim the only reason I load it up now is simply to check the texture work I'm doing, although I still enjoy exploring the odd dungeon I haven't previously visited.
I know its not fair to compare it because the games are very different but I think I put more hours into replaying Mass Effect 2 many times over than I have spent on Skyrim simply because I clicked with the main character more and had a certain degree of flexibility in my decisions even if the world is nowhere near as open ended as a TES title.
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nandchan: True you make a very good point for not renvisioning things. Modular is also good because it allows people to be flexible with select things for example a complete vanilla overhaul but still leaves an option to download an alternate DB set , steel plate set from elsewhere if the individual user wishes.
Also I noticed the rather sly comment in regard to clothing. ;) You'll know doubt be pleased to know that I've started my clothing high resolution mod. Unfortunately theres so much to do its going to take time and I don't neccessarily want to do stuff like beggar and chef clothes because they seem raher irrelevant. Plus I have some outfits to finish for the Mage and Monk robes mod.
My texturing work is distinctly average and I know some whizz kid is going to have every clothing item reworked at master level within the next fortnight because this always happens when I start something.
Sorry to go off topic. However this combined mod idea sounds very good and I wish you all well with your endevours.
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i've still got my copy of morrowind installed in my computer, i hardly ever play it though. i downloaded to many mods that just change it too much. and i added my own music and failed to realize until later that i killed the immersion on my own. it wasn't until i installed & played oblivion that i even noticed. as far as doing every single little thing in the whole game.
when i make a character i create a personality for each one, that determines what they do, what quests they take etc. i just try to avoid doing stuff they wouldn't. i will say an option to drop quests would be useful. because you don't often get the option to decline to take a quest after they told you what it is. or even if they do you get a quest to accept the quest. lol
i find that quite annoying.
Yes I know what you mean I did that with Fallout 3 too. While theres a lot of excellent mods I think too many can kill the original spirit of the game a lesson I learned to my shame.
Regarding declining quests I think that should be a major option. I personally haven't forgotten the Choices and Consequences mod that let you deliver the amulet of kings. Jaffre asks if you will help, you answer no way and he sounds most put out when he said "fine then". Hilarious but an essential option.
Playing the all conquering hero is fun but gets boring so fast its not funny.
Morality and the methods you choose to achieve your goals are what define heroes and villains and the backstory you invent for them is what makes you empathise with them. I guess I've played too many limited PC RPG's that I forgot that most important thing.
To move forward I think some form of definate class structure needs to be in order which I don't feel needs to be as restrictive as Morrowind or Oblivion but it still needs some rules. For example a fighter should not use magic period that perk set is restricted. However a Paladin may take combat skills and restoration magic but not to the full extent that a dedicated mage would. However a fighter may be able to benefit from more secondary combat skills such as archery or could also develop their skills as an armourer through smithing.
I would also like to see more perk options for roleplaying, namely speech, lore and languages. You shouldn't even be able to read Dwemer or Elven books if you don't have their relevant language perk. Lore is cool because a lack of that skill stops you identifying every single longsword+2 etc.
I don't actually think the game is that broke to be honest, melee combat is the most fun I've had in an Elder Scroll game period, magic is pretty good but limited in certain areas, stealth is also once again a mess. I think someone who had real skill could tweak most of this to give us RPG diehards what we really want of course there really needs to be some form of main quest delayer/stopper and alternate starts for people who want to play a more ordinary character. More dialogue choices and consequences is equally important as are guild level advancement restrictions.
Finally I feel something that Brittainy mentioned in another post there needs to be far more customisation of characters in terms of look, build age etc as well as a possible trade/profession for them.
Hope I haven't ranted on I'm just trying to generate ideas for discussion.
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I think in principle this is a very good idea. I do agree that its very important in many ways to stick to the vanilla style, however I don't think in all cases its neccessary to embrace tunnel vision either especially if an artist reinterpretes something in a new way that would potentially have widespread appeal.
A personal irritation of mine is the new Daredevil costume wannabbe wearing Dark Brotherhood, I don't care for the look at all, personal preference true but a lot of people feel they should look more Oblivion in style.
Of course on the other hand texture sets such as Chris2012's awesome reworking of Whiterun has much love and appeal because it sticks so well to the original style albeit it in a new remastered format.
Hopefully as a group you can come together and make informed decisions going forward with this. Sounds a very worthwhile concept. I for one am getting rather tired of texture enlargers and sharpeners its seriously going out of fashion its dissapointing because it tars all "HD" textures with the same brush in a lot of cases due to people having poor experiences with those not as advertised sets.
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This is something I'd definately like to see, ever since I read the Hawk and Fisher novels I always wanted to have the option to join the local watch in RPG's. I cause you could do a lot with this, raids on Skoomer traffickers etc, domestic disturbance. Amok wizards terrorising locals. Sounds awesome.
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A very cool idea. I can't script write so can't help but I do like your concept since it reminds me of D&D Ravenloft and even a little of the old Hammer Dracula films. Hope you find some modders who can help you with this.
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The ending just left me feeling empty. Then again the Stormcloak or Imperial questlines caused me the same issues. I at least expected to be the new ruler of Skyrim after all the fetch and carry work I'd done. I thought the actual main quest was pretty good all the same but I still thought I should be regarded as a champion like in Oblivion.
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I agree.
And although I DO find myself able to role-play very easily in Oblivion, even there it irks me that I really can do...well...everything. And that just isn't immersive.
If I side with one faction, then I want to have to absolutely - if I can at all - grovel my way into a new one. All sins forgiven isn't so much fun. I want to 'earn' my way, not be continually given a free pass.
While I love an open world with very non-linear gameplay, I do crave some - for want of a better term - moral ramifications for my actions. For example, it gets very old very quickly just being arrested by some guards, paying a fine and then it's 'slate wiped clean'.
I actually miss the way it was in Ultima IV (ancient gaming talk, I know.) If I killed that snotty little kid who was begging for coins I'd have to not only deal with the wrath of the guards, but I've have to do a fair bit of penance at the shrines to get back in the good books!
I almost wish games would drop all the voice-acting and go back to text. It allows for SO much more dialogue and - consequently - immersion.
When you have to struggle to get into the mood of your character and create what you want for them, it's not a good thing.
Anyhow, forgive the lack of a suggestion as to how to better roleplay in Skyrim...I still haven't found an answer yet.
To be honest I don't think the question of good and evil is particularly well defined as you say theres no moral ramifications for what you do. I kill a few people in an inn a guard comes in, I can go to jail, pay the bounty, new option to bribe the guard or I can simply say I'm the Thane.
Hmmn. Positions of power don't neccessarily allow unwarranted murder if the local lord is pretty decent. I think Bethesda give you the option to be potentially bad but really don't want to follow through with the consequences. Its like you can do a little evil, quasi evil but not be really cruel and sadistic, rule with an iron fist etc.
I preferred the more grey area of options within Witcher 2 to be honest that sometimes doing something noble can lead to harm and sometimes doing evil served a greater good. Anyway its good to know there are other people who like the game but have their concerns about aspects of it too. I miss the language ability from Morrowind so I've ordered it for Xmas since I haven't played it in years.
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So another Beth game needs to be modded out the wazoo in order to be enjoyable? Is anyone really all that surprised at this point? The aim is obviously at console gamers because those guys buy anything while the PC gamers are left wondering "Should we be getting paid for this amount of work?"
Maybe maybe not. At least the game looks better in several areas. The point I'm making is are there other options that maybe I haven't discovered yet or maybe it just relies on needing a different mindset when choosing perks etc.
Being evil has no consequences
in Skyrim LE
Posted · Edited by darthsloth74
This is very true even though the Dark Brotherhood are a mere shadow of their once powerful selves, the whole organisation is clouded in mystery and secrecy, look at how you are recruited as an example. That everyone is privy to your membership in such a group is totally ludicrous and destroys a great deal of the evil and terror of the Brotherhood.
I know we have talked about Karma but I don't think thats really the answer since I personally hated the audio cue every time I stole a stimpak from somebody's house in Fallout 3. How did they know? Is stealing to survive really a crime? No what we really need are more dialogue options to roleplay good or evil characters with more definement. A serious task for any modder since it affects so much.
For me The WItcher 2 strikes the right balance with its themes of doing evil can lead to good and that doing the right thing can sometimes cause evil to flourish. Unfortunately such a system would be a real challenge to adapt to Skyrim's very large game world.