CaptainPatch

Community-wise, I think they wanted to have distinct zones for "rural lifestyle", "suburbs lifestyle," and "urban lifestyle" in both games. Compare the areas around Concord and Megaton. Then compare the areas around Bethesda and Bunker Hill. Then lastly compare downtown DC with downtown Boston. The tighter people are jammed in next to each other, the more friction is evident. We wouldn't be able to see that differentiation as well if the rural areas were deleted.

That's on Earth. What I said was "about the size of Australia"; NOT also ".... and therefore likewise the smallest continent on Nirn." In point of fact, Tamriel is one of -- if not THE -- largest continents on Nirn: http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Nirn

Where is it stated that Tamriel is the smallest continent? To be honest, the ONLY other continent I know of is Atmora, and that only because of its connection to Tamriel's History. I don't even know how many continents there are.

In terms of city proper, Boston is actually bigger than LA: 4,497 square km to 4,320 square km. http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-area-125.html But in RL, the population of LA is nearly 3 times greater than the population of Boston. When you start to factor in the satellite communities that ring major cities to make what constitutes the Metro area, the area covered in HUGE. Washington DC is several slots down the list, comprising just 2,996 square km. Still, all three cities are, in fact, in the top _11_ largest cities in the world. (WDC being #11.) If you want to compare apples to apples, then compare FO3's Metro Washington DC to FO4's Metro Boston. The feel that I get is that the population of Boston is > the population of Washington DC. As for a building count, it feels to be about the same for both cities to me.

To be fair, the Empire also must rely on divine intervention (the DB) in order to have any chance to win.

I recall talking to a game designer (John Hill) many years ago describing a game mechanic for Squad Leader. The question was, "How long is one turn in the game?" His answer was, "The duration is such that the following things can occur during that time period:" and then he went on to list the turn phases that occur in one turn. In short, one turn is however long it takes for all the turn elements to transpire. Geography in TES is much the same: It is as big as it needs to be to contain everything on the map. One needs to remember is that Tamriel is NOT the entire world. It is just ONE continent. In Real Life terms, I tend to think of it as being about the size of Australia. On that scale, Skyrim would be about the size of Queensland, if it switched places with Northern Territory. http://www.mapsofworld.com/australia/australia-map.gif

If you look at Skyrim as an example. the city of Whiterun has only <50 residents and consists of just about 20-30 buildings. The city of Solitude, the provincial capital, isn't much bigger. By comparison, metro Boston in FO4 is HUGE, with a population of hundreds/thousands. But still only a fraction of Real Life Boston. How many buildings are there in RL Boston? Imagine having to do code for each and every one of the RL buildings, rendering the graphics to account for a nuke war and 200+ years of no building maintenance. A LOT of those buildings had to be trimmed out, just to make the project manageable. And if I am correct, the ONLY historical buildings in FO4 are explorable and usually have story content as well. Given the resources they had available, some things -- A LOT of some things -- needed to be left out.

There were also a LOT of buffer states that were NOT client states in Medieval times, but you seem insistent to totally ignore those in favor of the the model you have chosen to present; there are plenty of historical examples you can go read about if you want to spend a few minutes on Google. Do you realize that by arguing that the Empire can potentially survive without Skyrim actually undercuts your argument? Because if the Empire CAN do that, it's not nearly as decrepit as you suggest. And if events transpire to where the Empire is gone and its just the AD and Skyrim facing off, then if you think Skyrim can succeed where the Empire failed, you're living in a Fantasy. (Oh, wait! That is precisely the situation!)

This is called "bypassing". I use a word that has one meaning to me, but upon reading it, you apply your definition which means something else entirely -- and then proceed on the assumption that we are using the term identically. We exist now, and the commonly accepted definitions of NOW are the ones that apply -- unless an alternate definition is specified and clearly stated as being the interpretation being used. Or should we assume that the definitions of Old or Middle English should be used? Your argument is NOT that all buffer states = client states. Rather that some buffers states in Ancient times were also client states. My point is that it is usually a Good Thing to have somebody else situated between two political entities when one or both are aggressively confrontational. If the AD defeats a weakened Empire, there would be nobody between Skyrim and an aggressive AD that really, really hates Talos worship, and would like nothing better than to see it eradicated everywhere. The British signed the Westminster Statute because they knew both Australia and New Zealand were expecting independence, and to not sign it would have caused some tensions. So to say that Britain separated from Australia and New Zealand (and not the other way around), since they signed the statute granting their independence, is a bit misleading. Your argument would carry more weight if the Westminster Statute of 1931 applied to only Australia and New Zealand. But it doesn't. It included Canada, the Irish Free State, the Union of South Africa, and Newfoundland as well. In the cases of Australia, New Zealand, and Newfoundland, there was the requirement that their legislatures officially adopt the Statute before they shifted from Dominion to Commonwealth status. Which Australia didn't do until 1942. Further, section nine of the Statute included the Colonial Laws Validity Act of 1865 which permitted the UK's Parliament to create laws that applied to all of Australia's States. That provision wasn't rescinded until the passage of the Australia Act of 1986. To demonstrate just how much independence these Acts gave to to Australia, a referendum on secession held in Western Australia in April 1933 was approved by 68% of the voters there. The results of the referendum were presented to Parliament -- which refused to do anything on the subject... which is precisely what became of the referendum: nothing. And today, Australia and New Zealand are still UK Commonwealth nations.

Definition of "buffer state" according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:-- a usually neutral state lying between two larger potential rival powers So technically, we're both wrong... and both somewhat right. I really don't think you can call Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg "client states" of France when it comes to facing off with Germany. In terms of Skyrim's security, it is advantageous to have somebody else between it and the AD. Skyrim abandoning the Empire markedly weakens the Empire. A weaker Empire is more likely to be overrun by the AD, thus putting the AD right on Skyrim's border. What happens next do you think? What would Skyrim's chances of resisting an AD invasion be without assistance from the Imperials and Bretons? (After all, why should they come to Skyrim's aid when Skyrim had abandoned them?) In fact, all things considered, they may actively and enthusiastically help the Thalmor invade Skyrim, just so the Nords get to share the misery they have after being abandoned by Skyrim. As for the Anzacs, you really need to study History better:Australia became a Dominion of the British Empire as a confederation of former colonies in 1901. This made Australia internally independent of the British Parliament, although external relations were still handled by the Imperial Cabinet in the UK. With the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, Australia and the other Dominions became fully independent countries, although still within the empire. In the late 1940s the Commonwealth of Nations replaced the British Empire as far as the independent former colonies were concerned, so in effect, Australia did not leave the empire, the empire left Australia.

"We must all hang together or assuredly we shall all hang separately." -- Benjamin Franklin So instead of everyone pulling together to support Cyrodiil -- the province that most directly faces off with the AD -- Skyrim should go it alone? Thus assuring that the Empire will have NO chance to block the inevitable AD advance. Eventually leading to having the AD -- which would then include Cyrodiil and whatever else it grabbed in The Great War, Part II -- right on Skyrim's border. That would be sooooo much better for Skyrim. Ever hear of a "buffer State"?

Actually, going to any location that requires going through a portal (going from one graphic cell to another) or simply fast traveling away will get you out of the storm. Not an elegant "solution", but one that works.

So helping the Empire to crumble faster is a Good Idea why?

In two different games now,

Hmm. I doubt that Vault-Tec would want to have the suit provide any kind of armor. After all, all things considered, the Overseer WILL eventually be facing off with a large population of Vault-dwellers. It wouldn't be wise to give the residents anything that makes them more resistant to Security's weaponry. That being the case, the Vault-suit is actually better armor than it should be.

I either just pop a RadX if I'm sticking around. Or else fast travel to pretty much anywhere. Doing that reloads the weather subroutine, and rad storms are a lower prob weather event. [Hmm. Maybe try fast traveling to where you already are. Hmm.]

Did you assign a settler to Supply Line duty? If so, he still remains a "citizen" of the settlement he started in.

There's two factors in play on this issue. First is, who has the criminal in custody? A fugitive wanted for capital crimes in multiple jurisdictions, each carrying a death sentence is going to leave a number of disappointed jurisdictions. Because a convicted criminal can only be executed once. Everything after that is moot. [chuckle. Ulfric finally got his Moot!] Second is the severity of the various crimes. Murder trumps kidnapping which trumps Grand Theft, etc. The Empire wanted Ulfric for high treason, which among other things is a domestic crime. The Thalmor wanted Ulfric for apostasy and is a foreign claim. Stand in line foreigners! Elenwen would have/should have understood these things. Other than diplomatic bluster, there wasn't much that she could do about the situation. Except maybe to try heavy-handed direct bribery to the official in charge. (We're sorry, Emperor. There was a paperwork snafu and the prisoner fell through the cracks.") Which may be very well what Elenwen was attempting -- and falling to accomplish because Tullius was 100% loyal to the Empire.

Now I remember the scene. I'll grant that Elenwen's presence is significant. I will grant that the Thalmor could even submit a request for extradition, based on the fact that Ulfric was an apostate. But they would have to stand in line behind the Empire who would get to prosecute him first for treason, high treason, rebellion, and responsible for the deaths of hundreds/thousands of Empire citizens. And as all those crimes carry a death sentence, all they would be getting is Ullfric's corpse. So, if not diplomatically, just how could the Thalmor interfere? Elenwen on the scene would actually make it harder for her to orchestrate any kind of attempt to free Ulfric. The Thalmor wouldn't/couldn't be so heavy-handed as to use Thalmor to forcefully take Ulfric from the Imperials. (Nor would it be typical of the Thalmor, being known for subterfuge as they are.) About the only option would be for the Thalmor to hire some Nord bandits, dress them as Stormcloaks, and have them ambush the Imperial possession. But for them to do something like that they would have had to know about the procession in advance. They would have had to know in advance that Ulfric was going to be ambushed (possible) AND be captured (highly unlikely). And as there would have been combat involved, the last place that Elenwen would want to be is in the center of the Imperial formation. (Escaping Stormcloaks, weapons, and the #1 Thalmor in Skyrim? What would be the chances that at least one of them would conclude that trying to kill Elenewen when the opportunity arose would be a Good Idea?)

The AD has to be concerned about how much military strength the Empire can deploy to the AD/Empire border. Imperial forces tied up in an ongoing civil war in Skyrim are forces that can NOT be sent to the Western borders of the Empire. The vast majority of Nords would understandably be more concerned about the martial affairs in Skyrim, rather than Empire concerns outside of Skyrim. Traditionally, the Empire relied quite a bit on the fact that much/most of the Legion's strength was provided by Nords. If the Great War, Part II was to start, an active civil war in Skyrim would keep nearly all Nord forces in Skyrim. If the Stormcloaks win, even though Skyrim was independent, MANY Nords would still go enlist in the Legion, simply for the opportunity to kill Thalmor with impunity. ("This is for my cousin, Jens, who you bastards murdered!") If the Empire wins the civil war, then Skyrim would be reunited in its entirety, and the greatest number of Nord volunteers would be available to move to the Empire's western borders. So when determining the AD's preferences, a 1-2-3 ranking seems pretty obvious. I don't seem to recall that the Thalmor had any intention to interfere in Ulfric's execution at Helgen. How could they? Ulfric had only just recently captured and then quickly transferred to Helgen. There wouldn't have been enough time for the news of Ulfric's capture to get to Elenwen (the senior Thalmor official in Skyrim) in Solitude, much less for her to organize any kind of intervention.

If you read the file closely, you will note that it doesn't say that he is their agent. That is, that he isn't on their payroll, nor does he follow their orders. Rather, they let him escape, expecting that he would prove to be a disruptive element to the Empire in Skyrim. It was a calculated bet on their part. They released a prisoner for whom they no longer had any use. And once he got back to the Empire, who knows? Maybe he would do something crazy, like start a rebellion against the Empire.

Arlen Glass, the inventor of Buttercup and father of Marlene. Wow. How did I ever miss such an obvious connection?

know a few raider windmills . . . Maybe not a Raider windmill, but I know the Gunners have at least one.

I didn't see anything to suggest that he had any interest in the holotape. And why would he? All it says is, "When are you coming home, Daddy?" Nothing about Buttercup that I recall.

Take a look at Magic/Active Effects. Red labeling generally indicates that there is something reducing the effectiveness of a Skill. That's usually because of a disease or injury. Oops. That's a Skyrim answer. But red labeling probably still means that there is something hindering your use of that perk.