spork542

Honestly, as a straight male, it doesn't make a difference for me if not for the fact that I can't help but try to make my female characters pretty or at least cute. It's a huge waste of time so I tend to play as male characters because at least then I play as the character rather than endlessly fussing over their appearance. I can see myself playing as a female character if not for the fact that a lot of people who would see me playing would think I'm either perverted or confused regarding my gender. I probably have enough people thinking I'm weird and have no life, I'd rather not have people questioning why my female characters' rear ends are always on my screen. Or for instance why they would or wouldn't have large... tracts of land. Really, I feel like I can make a male character have whatever weight I like, but I feel like a weirdo changing a female character's weight and seeing the result.

Really? I thought to install it you needed to either activate the ESP files or go into the skyrim.ini file and set it up so it reads the texture pack BSAs. Either way, I wasn't under the impression that it was something you'd need to reinstall the game to undo. Does the high-res texture pack really still apply when you deactivate the ESP files and/or delete the BSAs from skyrim.ini, depending on the installation method?

I know there's a huge quest. I know these characters are important for these quests. I don't have to play those quests with every character. Personally, I don't care that they're important for some quests. I can destroy the Dark Brotherhood. It should be possible to destroy the thieves guild too. I know why Maven is made essential. It just feels like such a waste because there's no way to help Mjoll clean up Riften.

I don't like Steam because it seems both authoritarian (yes, I really said that) and an example of poor software programming. It's supposed to allow you to choose whether or not to patch games, but either they just don't care about making that feature functional or they don't know how to. Either way, it's a problem. If software is malfunctioning, it needs to be fixed. The only reason why I let them get away with it in the case of Skyrim is because the only way around it is illegal and immoral. And guess what? I don't think they'll fix it. People will buy their games no matter how much Steam malfunctions like that. The patches, as many of you I'm sure are aware, often do more harm than good and the ability to conveniently tell this piece of trash software not to update games would be good, to say the least. They seem to build the software to be usable by the lazy and computer-illiterate, and by trying to make everything foolproof they make it impossible for those that are competent to do what they want to do with the software they legitimately bought. I'm computer literate and I can mostly get my games to work without some piece of trash software telling me what to do. I'm sure there are many who are in the same situation. So in conclusion, I'd prefer to get the game in a box, installing it from a DVD and using that to play. At least then I don't have Valve telling me they know my games better than I do and that they know better than I do what is best for my games.

My primary issue with the Thieves Guild in this game is as follows. I want to annihilate it. I want blood to spill all across Riften and the Ratway. I want Maven Black-Briar and her cronies to die. I'm not given the option to effect this. The times are indeed harsh, so I can understand the organization using harsher methods. But if they act confrontational around the Dragonborn, they shouldn't be surprised if violence breaks out, given all their threats towards a no-doubt fearsome character. But no, it's not permitted, not because of the law (the guards don't seem to care when I assault Maul), but because characters like Maul and Maven are essential, and their downfall is not an option the developers have put into the game.

Hey guys, I've been trying to make a character a potential follower. My goal was to make it possible to, after a little dialogue, recruit them. I created a script that puts a really basic twist on the favor system; once you activate this script, you gain the favor of the speaker. So I've attached the script to a sort of recruitment offer speech. In my own preliminary testing, it works. Since the character is already in the game and voiced, I used the existing voice, which meant I had to use voice files from the original game. However, I can't select voices from the original game files in the voice selection box in the Creation Kit since the box is grayed out and only environmental sounds and the like appear in the drop-down box. So I'm using a workaround for now: I extracted the FUZ files in question, unpacked the XWM and LIP files, moved them where my mod expected them, and renamed them so that the mod found them. In basic testing, this works. I would rather point the game to the audio in the FUZs from the original BSAs, however, for three reasons. 1. I am unsure of the legality of posting XWM and LIP files from the base game here. I expect it's not legal, but I don't know. 2. It's fundamentally inefficient. If the voice is already in one of the BSAs, I should be able to point to it rather than in essence duplicate it and trick my game into thinking it's separate from the duplicate. 3. Download size, maybe. This portion would be 37-40 KB in size. It's pretty negligible, but still an inefficient use of resources. Any input or things I should know about? What should I do now? The mod is basically done, I just wanted to test it a little and see if there would be any demand. Edit: Three reasons. I originally said two but now I realize it seems I can't count.

Given, hosting mods on Steam might deter pirates at first. DLCs haven't been safe from piracy, though, so if there's enough demand the hackers will probably find a way. Also, since many mods are .esp or .esm files, it would probably be easy to put them online without the modder's authorization. If a popular, in demand mod is at first SW exclusive, I suspect it won't likely stay that way for long. You can also get in touch with people on the Nexus. The convenience argument really isn't that great either, since it's also pretty quick to install mods from the Nexus in many cases, and very large, heavily customizable mods similar to FCOM will be nightmares to install from the SW. I also don't really get all the fuss about having only one account. The last time I checked, people do tend to have logins to many different websites. I could understand the criticism if you needed, say, 5+ logins for the Nexus and SW to both work for you, but one more internet account is really not a big deal. For one, you don't know that to be true. You're speculating on what MAY happen in the future. That's not the current situation. You think it will meet your modding needs. How will it meet the needs of mods like FCOM for Oblivion? Not all mods are essentially simple to install. FCOM is a monster to install and it will not work properly if it's downloaded and activated like many mods could be on Steam Workshop. There's a lot more work to be done. So are all of my modding needs for, say, Oblivion met without FCOM? No, because FCOM is an excellent mod and I'd prefer to use mods like it. I disagree with your assertion that the Nexus is a place uniquely degraded by low-quality, adult-only, or "niche" mods. First of all, how can you claim your own tastes to be so superior to those of others in this gaming community? I don't see what harm people having different tastes does. People are downloading mods on the Nexus. Why? Probably because they like them. If you don't like specific mods, don't use them. I don't like every mod I see. You know what, though? Some people do. And you know what? They have the right to do that. People have differing tastes in mods. Mine aren't superior to anyone else's. Neither are yours.

I honestly don't understand how they expect this to work. How long before a newbie installs 50 mods, notices his game installation no longer works, can't figure out that there are mod conflicts and load order problems, then blames Steam for it? The Steam Workshop seems partially designed to make mods more widely accessible. If they don't have a conflict detection feature and an automated load order feature, however, how can they make sure the users don't completely bork their installations as a result of their own ignorance? It seems to me like telling a five-year-old to hop into the swimming pool even though they don't know how to swim. Is it going to be any surprise if they drown? Having said this, I may be wrong. I must confess I haven't had time to play or mod the game since the SW became available. So if I'm wrong, don't be afraid to correct my misconceptions. Also, if it seems like I'm trying to be patronizing to non-habitual modders and mod users, that's not the intent. I have made mods for Oblivion and Skyrim, though I made them for my own use alone, so I never posted them. There are probably mods that do the same things anyway. Even so, I did start from a point at which I didn't know how to make or use mods. I would suggest, though I don't have evidence for it, that this is a universal experience for those who make and use mods. The point is that it takes time to learn the methods of troubleshooting modded installations. I'm not stupid, and it can still sometimes take a long time to realize "Oh, I must have changed the load order so that Skyrim.esm loaded after my file." So I'll admit it, I make mistakes and I believe everybody does in modding. The question is, is everyone willing to take the time to determine their mistakes and fix them? I don't think so. Given what I've seen from people in the USA, I would say this because of the popularity of tech support services. A lot of people don't want or don't have the tech savvy to solve their own problems, so services like Geek Squad are in demand. What services are there for Steam Workshop? Steam's tech support? Give me a break. I wouldn't trust them to figure out why an unmodded Skyrim installation won't start up. Why would they ever be able to help a user with a heavily modded installation? I suspect their tech support is already strained. Given the number of Skyrim players, I can only see this worsening the strain. So what is my point here? My point is that I don't know if they are doing this in a way that will benefit users who aren't already habitual modders and mod users. They've made mods more accessible, but have they made them more easily used? It is not necessarily the case that mods are now more usable; the availability does not change the intricacy and fragility of a modded installation. So finally, I'm worried that new mod users will bork their installations and come complaining to Steam and perhaps even to the Nexus about how their mods aren't working, when more likely than not they either haven't installed them correctly, ordered them correctly, or paid attention to mod conflicts. Most issues can be easily solved with basic knowledge of mod conflicts, load order, and potential causes for particular issues like CTDs. As far as I've seen, this knowledge is, more often than not, not possessed by the common user. When and if huge mods with many potential conflicts like FCOM appear on Steam Workshop, it seems to me there would be a lot of potential for tech support problems.

Lol well you know it would have to be the Thalmor behind the evil Big Underwear conglomerate XD Little was it known by the people of the Imperial Provinces that, as a secret part of the White-Gold Concordat, the Aldmeri Dominion requested to set up a monopoly on underwear. The little-known Aldmeria's Secret underwear company made massive profits off of the mass distribution of its underwear. Due to lack of a displayed brand-name, the people never suspected a thing. As part of citizenship of the Empire, all citizens were to change underwear styles. Before this, the people all purchased underwear from an Imperial company, known for manufacturing incredibly ugly underwear. It was most well-known for its use in Cyrodiil. Aldmeria's Secret designed better-looking underwear, but the Aldmeri Dominion didn't want the people of the Empire to think they were actually doing something good, so they tried to keep it a secret. It's not a secret any longer though!

I'll say no because I just don't care what others do with their game and cosmetics. If they want to play the game with scantily-clad characters, or even nude characters, I won't tell them that's wrong. I honestly don't see what harm their presence does. Some people like tuna fish. I don't. Does that mean I can tell them tuna fish is bad? Not particularly. If it's a crime to like things like nude mods, it's pretty much certainly a victimless crime, similar to liking tuna fish. As for the point about male mods being harder to find, that may be true, though I haven't noticed it. I don't mod the appearances of male characters in my game, I think they look fine. Personally, I'm a straight male, and so I pay more attention to making female characters not look completely hideous. It's just more noticeable to me because I don't look at male characters and think "wow they're ugly" or "wow they're hot." 1. Sexual depravity? Give me a break. Is wanting aspects of a game to look nicer a sign of sexual depravity? No, it's a sign of not being satisfied with the aesthetics of a game. Who here liked the underwear of Oblivion? I, for one, didn't, and I preferred to use more, ahem, shapely models. While I do not get off to my games, I don't see the harm in someone doing so, if they choose to. 2. Gender confusion? I've played characters that are not of my gender, as have many people. That doesn't mean we're gender confused. How can you reach that conclusion based on our choices in a game? The objective of a game is to have fun. The objective is not to reflect reality. If fun involves playing as a female, then as far as I'm concerned, so be it. In these games it's mainly an aesthetic choice anyway. 3. Well, if someone wants to do that, I see no problem with it. As with 1, I think it's an aesthetic issue. Personally, I don't much care, but I do like to have characters that don't look as unattractive as many real life people are. The game is not, however, reality, and it is changeable. If it can be changed, and if it is singleplayer, then what is the harm in someone else changing it?

I like some aspects of Steam. For example, I like the occasional very low prices for games. I won't lie, I have many games on it since it's a very cost-effective means of getting games. For games like Skyrim, though, I really don't like the idea. The auto-patching "feature" is really a bad idea for Bethesda games. Remember the dragons flying backwards? I do. Remember how you could tell it not to auto-update and it would do so anyway? I do. You could do a work-around, sure, but that's just terrible in terms of programming and work ethic if they wanted to make not updating an option and couldn't be bothered to actually make the option work. I don't want to be force-fed something that will make me vomit, and likewise I don't want to be forced to get poor-quality patches. We know how bad Steam support is. They just don't seem to care. Once they have your money, you're just another user who needs to be kept on a leash like all the good PC gamers. I don't like the idea of the Steam Workshop thing, either. I don't think it was needed. It could bring some benefit, but I don't think it was worth integrating the game into the cesspool that is Steam. Steam as copy protection? Don't make me laugh. Pirates can easily get Skyrim and they could do so pretty much when it was released, maybe earlier, I wasn't paying much attention. And guess what? They don't have to deal with being treated like criminals from the get-go. That's right: they don't need to run a resource-hogging worthless program to be able to play their game. As for the things you mentioned at the beginning, I don't really see the value in those things. They can easily be done outside of Steam anyway. Edit: I would have preferred the game without any silly copy protection schemes like Steam. As far as I'm concerned, any DRM more draconian than a simple disk check would be pretty much useless. Anyone who wants to pirate a game will do so anyway, and a simple disk check will stop many simple-minded users from doing things like sharing their game. Edit 2: Looking at this post again, it might seem like I'm defending piracy. That's not the point. I support game companies and I don't do piracy. My point is that draconian DRM only hurts the people who actually buy the game. I made the same argument years ago about StarForce. Admittedly, Steam isn't as bad as StarForce.

OK, this is really starting to bug me. I've played this game for a while now. I have no mods besides graphical mods. Every single time I go on the road to go East from Whiterun to somewhere else (or to Whiterun in the opposite direction,) there's a random encounter near White River Watch. It was kind of cool at first, but it's really stupid that every single time I pass by there's something happening. There are ancient Nord weapons and Imperial soldiers in their underwear all over the place, and then every time I go there's another stupid random encounter. I mean this literally. If I just go to Breezehome and then go back, I have another random encounter at the exact same place. By the gods, can't thieves, criminals, corrupt Imperial soldiers, Vigilants of Stendarr, rogue mages, and everything else that appears in random encounters find someplace else to congregate? This is just absurd. Following that rant, I have three questions. 1. Does anyone else always experience random encounters here? 2. What would cause this? Do different random encounter spots have different probabilities for encounters? 3. Is there anything I can do or do I just have to accept that this place is a magical place where strange things always happen?

Hmm, I see the point in doing that, to some extent. My beef with the difficulty, and my reason for not doing something like that is that there are things out there, like high-level mage enemies, that can be quite frustrating even at the appropriate level. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't like being OHKO'd by enemies. I don't want to turn all enemies into bosses just to compensate for the game not being ridiculously hard. Regarding repetitiveness, I see your point, but there's a fine line between keeping the game fun and making a system like Oblivion's, where you would level up but still be at a disadvantage against enemies. Also, regarding the assigning perks, stats, and crafting, I do think perks and stats should be important. They're there to be chosen and customized. Crafting, though, I kind of see as an issue of the playing style of your character. I don't do crafting as my pure mage, for example. Not everybody needs to be a blacksmith or enchanter, but I see no reason not to encourage players to assign perks and stats carefully.

As far as challenge goes, I'm finding the game pretty playable on Adept, as long as I do as follows. A. Not using/abusing smithing and enchanting to create godly equipment B. Not using/abusing equipment that reduces spell costs to 0% C. Not using enchanted weapons much My reasoning is as follows for A. I believe it to be an exploit. I don't know for sure, and it's an arguable point. But it's a semantic argument, and it makes no difference to me whether or not the issue was intended, a "fundamental design flaw" or otherwise. The point is that, regardless, it unbalances the game to an enormous extent. We can probably agree on that, so an obvious solution to the issue is: Don't craft ridiculously powerful items! It's pretty obvious, I think, that there is a cap on the strength of any material. You can't take any iron and make it more than a few times (at max, it might be much less, I'm not a materials science expert) tougher or harder than the original material. I cannot conceive of any way of taking a sword that would normally kill a dragon in 100 hits and then making it so strong (and still made of the same material) it can easily kill the dragon in one hit. It would break immersion for me. I don't mind the idea of making a weapon's edge slightly finer, or an armor slightly more durable, but come on, there should really be limits. The weapons you can make would make a Daedra Lord envious. There is quite simply no precedent for a blade that deals out thousands, or millions, of damage at once. For B, it's pretty obvious there's something wrong with free master-level destruction spells. It's just plain broken. A berserker type character should not spend 35 levels slicing and dicing with dual swords and then be able to all of a sudden lob master-level destruction spells for free and become the greatest mage in Skyrim without any previous skill in magic. C is just a personal choice. I've never liked enchanted weapons much because the charge goes down over time. I haven't found them to be necessary at all anyway. My dual-wielding warrior got through the entire main quest with two flawless Dwemer swords. Anything dies within seconds anyway. Disclaimer: I have only used two characters so far. These are a dual-wielding warrior and a pure mage. I can say nothing about assassin/thief type characters. Having said all that, I've gotten far enough with my dual-wielding warrior that the game does become pretty easy past level 15 or so. Everything that approaches dies in a few seconds of slicing and dicing, and everything that does not approach will be approached by my character, then sliced and diced. On one hand, I feel like my character, after gaining a lot of levels in an RPG, should be more powerful than pretty much anything. But on the other hand, it's not that much fun if I just own everything. In fact, I kind of stopped playing my dual-wielding warrior character for that precise reason. And please, don't take what I'm saying as intolerance for others' playing styles. That's not the intent. To me, all of these things, except for C, are immersion-breaking, and I've explained why. Obviously, you can do what you want, and I have no issues with that, as long as it's fun for you. I've just explained what isn't fun to me. Edit: When I say you can do what you want, I mean that you can do that because it's a singleplayer game. What you do, therefore, doesn't affect my experience or any else's.