imperistan

The only real difference is that the first one has a better cooling attached to it, so if you have a big case you'll get better temps' because the extra fan won't mess up your air flow. But if you have a smaller case, the other one won't mess with your air flow too much. - I pretty much pack whatever high quality textures that fit the look I like that i can find on the Nexus. A lot of it though is my own textures. - It helps with load times and can help stop drops in FPS, but it isn't necessary. Granted though most of the good ones aren't very expensive, so if you can spare the cash for one it wouldn't hurt whatsoever to go for one. - Pretty much just do what I said. Go through and pick and choose. Certain things don't need to be HD to still look great, so its worth it to save the space and the FPS by skipping those textures that turn out to work that way for you.

You're in denial if you believe Hammerfel would ever ally itself with the Empire after what it did. Hammerfel has every reason to be against the Empire. This is verifiable fact. To suggest that Hammerfel ally itself with the Empire again to anyone in Hammerfel would be met with, at best, a stoning. Hammerfel has no beef with Skyrim itself nor the Stormcloaks. If Ulfric proposed an alliance, it would actually be possible. Not so with any incarnation of the Empire. Also, Ulfric has no enemy in High Rock. High Rock doesn't really even care. And as for Cyrodiil, there isn't much hostility there either, funnily enough. Most of the conflict is between Ulfric and the Empire's leadership more than it is between Ulfric and the people of the Empire. - Except it is dying. Its lost its leadership, and as all current events show, it isn't going to be sustainable in the long run. The Dark Brotherhood is on the rise again. Assassinations are going to become common place again, and with no apparent heir to the throne, the power struggle will tear apart the Imperial leadership. The Legion is struggling to maintain order within the Empire, with unrest beginning to unfold in Cyrodiil, already happening Skyrim, and High Rock squabbling as much as ever. - The Dominion didn't hold a sword to Mede's neck and make him sign the WGC. He wrote it up and eagerly sent it to the Dominion without any consideration for what it would do to everything beyond CYrodiil's borders. He begged the Dominion for a truce by giving them everything they wanted when he was the one who just destroyed half of their invading armies. - That's missing the point of why I argued that. I argued that to dispute the idea that the Dominion both was and is capable of just rolling over Tamriel without even thinking about it without the Legion in its way. OF course the Dominion retreated because it wasn't worth it after 5 years of stalemate, but it completely disproves the idea that the Dominion was EVER so strong that they could just destroy whatever they wanted and that all that held them back was some stupid agreement to a truce. Fact of the matter is is that even with the conditions in Hammerfel, after 5 years if the Dominion was so strong that it could have wiped out the Empire if the WGC never happened, then it would have had ZERO problem dealing with Hammerfel. It doesn't matter what kind of war you're fighting. If you can conquer 3 entire nations after suffering half of your invading armies being completely destroyed, then you will not have any problem whatsoever taking on one nation that barely has an army and doesn't have anywhere near the resources you do. - Bad leadership is ending the war by conceding your enemies original demands when you were the one that just dealt them a massive and crippling blow. The Dominion had no forces that could report to the Thalmor in Cyrodiil after the War of the Red Ring. For all the Dominion would have known immediately following the war, the Empire still had most of its army still standing and ready to fight. Mede could have used this to his advantage to assert an unconditional peace. But even then, he also could have gone on fighting without expending any more resources or men. And not another Dominion troop would have touched Cyrodiil soil either. We already know through hindsight that Hammerfel was going to be able to hold out against the Dominion. Because of that, we can safely say that if Mede had had the balls to keep the war going, even if his forces in Cyrodiil (that could actually still serve that is) only stuck to a defensive position. Mede didn't have to win the war then and there. He only needed to maneuver into a position to demand an unconditional truce, and if he had taken the time to see what was going on in Tamriel before he rushed into the WGC, he could have done so. He had the scores to do it. He has the intelligence available to him if would have asked for it. He had the strength to do it. That he didn't is the mark of a poor, selfish leader. I don't have much a problem with Mede going for peace at this point. Its how he did it that was the problem. - Cyrodiil was the source of food for Valenwood and the Summerset Isles as well by the way, if you're going to use that as an argument. This is in part why Alinor wanted to strike against Hammerfel, and in particular the southern half. Southern Hammerfel is just as fertile as Cyrodiil is. It is likely that the Dominion was beginning strain its internal ability to feed its populace. The Dominion is in no better position economically than the Empire is, unless there's some magical resource wizard somewhere thats making up for Alinor's almost complete and total lack of any large amounts of farmland. - Economies are stimulated when wealth and resources don't become concentrated in any one area and can't easily drift across the continent. The very separation of the nations will encourage a wealth of trade, because if they don't start doing it then they'll die. Nations' do not have to be united to trade with each other, and without the blurred borders of the Empire, wealth starts moving around the continent more making things better for everyone. -

Okay good, it was just the textures then. VRAM is basically the amount of actual textures your card can keep displaying at once. And once you're displaying enough textures that your VRAM maxes out, your game crashes because its trying to load textures that your card can't take on. This is why Precision showed your usage spiking as the game crashed. Now, as far as HD textures (and models go for that matter) goes, what I would do if you aren't going to upgrade, is this (in this order): 1. Unpack all the High Res Pack .bsa's (I can tell you how to do this if you don't know how) into the Data files. This will give you a base to work with for high res and will cover whatever your mods miss. 2. Start with the essentials. SMIMM and Skyrim HD are basic essentials. IF you can run these two fine, you can start adding more until you hit your limit. (Which reasonably should be just before you start getting the crashes again) 3. Then, go for your NPC/PC textures. 4. After those two, go for your armor, clothing, and weapon textures. 5. Then whatever else tickles your fancy. Personally, I wouldn't recommend texture compilations like the Combined mod you were talking about. While they're certainly interesting, they're less customizable and often dropping that many HD textures into the game without knowing exactly what all is getting a new texture can help eat up your vram unnecessarily. Going about it in this way lets you get an idea of what all you can run, and also allows you to pick and choose what you can and can't live with visually. Some textures are fine in vanilla. Others, not so much. So if you aren't going to upgrade, you'll be able to tailor your texture selections to what works best for you visually and performance wise. If you are going to upgrade, however, then I definitely suggest at least a 3-4GB 680 (or some AMD equivalent. But I don't know AMD GPU's so you'll have to get a rec from someone else if you want to switch to AMD) as a bare minimum. The reason for this is that with all the texture mods you're running, you'll need at least another gb of vram to keep the game stable with them. My 580 has 3GB of vram, and it runs Skyrim extremely easily, and I have twice the texture content you do. This was why I was concerned it might have been your card dying. This is a good one to go for if you have a lot of room in your case (IE, its a full or super tower): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121705 Go for this one if its a smaller case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130798 SLI of couse is also an option. In that case, I'd find your exact card and get yourself another one. You can mix and match cards, but its easiest to just find your specific card and just get another one. Not only will you be assured that they will play together nicely, but it will also help keep SLI working as best as it absolutely can. SLI is a cheaper option, at the cost of less than perfect quality. (though micro stuttering isn't too hard to ignore) EDIT: If you can get that card for 400, go for it as long as its in good condition. Indeed, it was the one of the ones I suggested anyway xD

I seem to see two different lighting mods that may or may not be playing nice with each other. Try disabling those to see if any thing improves. Going by the looks of those screenies, it may very well be that you're maxing your vram and the game crashes as a result. Try going back to some vanilla textures and see if this helps. (If it does, I'll give you some decent upgrade ideas) I'd also suggest turning off AA if you have it on. (At that res you really don't need it) As for the armor problem, verify that they installed correctly (IE, manually install over whats in your Data Files). If that's fine/doesn't fix it, I'd check to see if the files are corrupted. (Redownload and reinstall is the simple way of doing this) Presuming the above doesn't fix it, see below. First thing I'd suggest is to invalidate your BSA's if you haven't. I have a feeling that the High Res pack might be stopping mod textures/models from loading. I'd also verify integrity in Steam. Right click on the game in Steam > Properties > Local Files > Verify Integrity. Those two should make certain that it isn't something silly causing this. If those are all fine/done, and it still is causing issues, then what I would do is to do a clean reinstall, and check that the game is running right without any mods. If it is, then it is definitely mods that are causing this. If it isn't, then its hardware. Presuming its the mods, start adding on your basic graphics mods first. IE, just texture and model improvements. Then, check the game again. If its not working at this point then its probably some corrupted files and/or files not being installed correctly. (If you're using NMM this could be a possibility) OR, its hardware, as touched on above. If its still fine, then go on to lighting and other graphics mods. Then check again. And then go for everything else. And keep going like this until you restore all of your mods. If its fixed at this point then obviously some of the gears and cogs got gummed up as you installed your mods. If its not, then its hardware. (or Skyrim just being an insufferable ass no matter what you do) NOW, presuming its hardware, and upgrade would probably do well, both because your card probably can't handle all of the mods, but also because its very possible you're card is dying. Particularly if you're overclocking it (Which seems to be the case). The 670 is a good card, and frankly on its own it should be taking on the game fairly well even with mods. With what you have now (and not knowing the logistics of your case), I would suggest getting a second 670 and going SLI. That should take a lot of the load off and make easier to keep your mods going. However, SLI can also be problematic on its own, and I'd only recommend it if you have the room in your case and can't find a good single-card solution. Single card wise, going to a 680 (or, if you have no budget, the GTX Titan) should be a fair upgrade that will handle the game easily. This would be a good option just because single card solutions, though weaker than SLI, generally just run more efficiently despite the power loss, and not only that, if your card really is dying, then going for a second one won't help, and you'll end up buying a third one. And of course, if it is the card dying, you could just replace the 670 with the same one and then invest in some better cooling if you haven't already if you're going to keep overclocking. (I don't know what kind of gamer you are or what you want out of it, but with a 670 overclocking is overkill for most games)

Stormcloaks the army and Stormcloaks the small organization (personally I've never seen these Nords that say this) are not the same thing. - Yes, it did win the war. Phyrric may be, but still a win, enough of a win that they could have demanded unconditional truce from the Dominion had Mede not so eagerly handed them everything without even considering what was going on elsewhere. The Empire isn't just Cyrodiil. You can't act based on the situation there alone. - Still speaks volumes about their capabilities. Fact of the matter is, if you pro-Imperials are going to continue to use the argument that the Dominion could have waltzed over everyone after the War of the Red Ring (Or could so even now in the present), then you have to explain why they didn't waltz over Hammerfel. 25 years isn't enough time for a country like Alinor to build back up the strength required to just waltz over Tamriel, even without the Empire in its way. - Strength is irrelevant, an alliance between the remaining armies would be just as strong as the Legion is now. What matters is leadership, and the Empire has proven to be inept in this regard. And before you say it, one general having a clue (Tullius) doesn't mean the rest of the Legion nor the Empire itself has as much of a clue. Tullius is subordinate to several people who are likely stupider than he is (and in the case of the Emperor, definitely is), and he'll likely never come to rise above them. I for one wouldn't be averse to seeing a truly Legion lead effort (IE, the Legion at the top), but for that to happen the Empire would have to collapse anyway. The Legion at least could carve out a strong state post Alinor (and so could the Stormcloaks). But if the Empire goes on to victory in the Civil War, then that wont' happen. All we'll get is a continuation of the same, weak, inept state. Even if it somehow manages to break Alinor, eventually the Empire will collapse. Carving out something new now is going to leave everyone better off than trying to scrap together something new after the old collapses with no warning. - You'd have to pull some real rabbits out of a hat to convince me that Hammerfel would ever ally itself with the same thing that: A. Abandoned it to be destroyed by elves. B. Isn't even needed by them. (You know damn well the Empire would try and absorb Hammerfel) To say that Hammerfel has no beef with the Empire is a complete lie. - The Empire is collapsing because it isn't sustainable anymore. Hammerfel already proved independence was possible even against approximately all of the odds and without help from approximately no one. The Emperor is dead, and no heir is apparent (same situation that killed the last Empire). The Legion is struggling to maintain peace in all 3 provinces that now make up the Empire. The Empire's might on paper might seem well, but in reality its failing. Might isn't sustainable when the infrastructure to support it is collapsing. Sticking together is all well and good, but not if what holds everyone together is the same thing that allowed all of this to unfold. (there was a reason the Septim dynasty died out. The Empire wasn't meant to survive)

This is very strange. With that setup (presuming the rest of your rig is equivalent) you should be running what you say you are without much of an issue. Unless I'm missing something it may very well be one of two things: 1. Skyrim is just being a troll like that. (It happens) 2. Your hardware is messed up. (Worst case scenario) Seeing what Precision is telling you will help me see whats going on with it though. (AS well as get a general idea of what mods you're running) What may have to happen if its number 1, is just a clean re-install of the game (and as a precaution, updating your graphics card drivers if they aren't already lastest)and optimizing how you install your mods. If its number 2, then you'll have some bigger issues than running Skyrim modded.

- It isn't about living a perfect life. Its about freedom (which isn't even remotely perfect mind you), as well as the fact that its banning of Talos and the lack of believers in him that will destroy him. In either case, to allow the worship of Talos to be banned in anyway is an abomination. - 1. They never took Hammerfel as a whole, only the southern half. Big difference. 2. Lady Arrannelya's army was never drawn from to bolster Lord Narrafiins. Their objective remained the exact same throughout the entirety of the war, even with the new focus on the Imperial City. (This is proven by how her army was still pushing into the north of Hammerfel in full force by the time forces were called into Cyrodiil. If her army was fractured by this call or if the Thalmor had decided to abandon it as an objective, she would never have pushed across the Alik'r. It would have been suicide to do so against general orders and with a fraction of her original army) - No. The entirety of the Cyrodiil occupation army was destroyed in the assault on the Imperial City. Unless you're suggesting that the Dominion was standing by with a fresh army to send into Cyrodiil again (which would be a complete lie, as Hammerfel shows us), then Mede had nothing but time to take in the situation. The Dominion couldn't even take Hammerfel after accepting the Empire's concessions. It wasn't going to fight them both. - No, there was no Stormcloak army before Torygg was killed. PERIOD. The rebellion did not start until his death, as such, THERE WAS NO STORMCLOAK ARMY. Yes the men existed and had their training, but there is a MASSIVE difference between several, divided forces of differing sizes under multiple banners and one unified army. It takes time to consolidate so many forces together and establish a chain of command for them (as well as all of the infrastructure required to support that army) and if their enemy responds fast enough to them (Which the Empire did) then they're prone to fail quickly. This is why rebellions are never started before they're planned, and the ones that are almost always destined to fail without something that will give them the time they need. - They didn't have to bring them to a stalemate. THEY ALREADY WON. The Empire had no obligation to concede them ANYTHING. The Dominion would have been foolish to even demand anything after the War of the Red Ring. (But they didn't have to. Mede begged them to take the spoils of a war they didn't win) - It doesn't matter if you sit in the dark and make fun of your slavers. You're still just all talk. - It was both. - Life means nothing if you aren't free. And in this case, if you aren't free in the way that you're being denied, you're already dead. - He only said that in relation to the terror that was Alduin. The war is still just, its just bad although prophesied timing (something Ulfric would not have had any control over). There's also the fact that at that point he's already lost anyway. It isn't hard to say you've made a mistake when you're dead because of what you chose to do, even if it was just. - The rebellion is the only thing fighting against man's downfall. - More of this nonsense that every one outside of Windhelm is fighting for Ulfric, rather than for their homes or families or beliefs. Ulfric is a red herring. The people of Skyrim fight for Skyrim, not the Empire or Ulfric. Only those closest to either one actually fight for them. - And that is why the Mede Empire is not the same Empire Tiber Septim forged, and hence lacking in any virtue whatsoever. - Problem is that you can't only have just one goal. Yes, the Dominion decided to focus on Cyrodiil, but that took nothing away from their intentions in Hammerfel. - :facepalm: Lets just ignore what Hammerfel did by itself and then pretend that that wouldn't have happened if the Empire supported Hammerfel. - It does when they make the bulk of the crucial fighting forces that forged the Septim Empire, and allowed the Mede Empire to continue its existence. When Nord's are the largest portion of the Legion's. - IT doesn't matter if you get to worship in private. Without open worship, the belief will die. This is what killed Norse Paganism as well as almost every other pagan religion in the real world that was in the proximity of Christianity. And that is what will happen to the belief in Talos if this oppression is allowed to continue. - 1. We don't know yet that the Dragonborn is Talos reborn. That is just speculation based on what he's done. 2. Even if he is, this won't stop the belief from dying if the oppression is allowed to continue. The Dragonborn is doomed to fade into the world, just as all the other great heros of old did before him. Unless Beth decides to literally show the Dragonborn ascending into godhood (and with everyone knowing it), Talos will die if the status quo is maintained. As such, man will die. And even then, this does't stop the ban from still being an injustice forced upon the people for no reason other than to save one single province from one more moment of war. The Empire must answer to its oppression. This cannot happen if the Empire is allowed to continue to exist, because no Empire is going to condemn itself. - Doesn't stop the Mede Empire from being the Septim Empire in all but the name of the Emperor. Doesn't stop the Mede Empire from using the exact same infrastructure and methods as the Septim Empire. It doesn't matter if Beth is self-owned or owned by Zenimax (note that's probably all backwards, but lets just ignore that for sake of argument), they're still Beth. Without a complete change in how the Empire is structured (to the point where it is definitively NOT the Septim Empire anymore in any way whatsoever), then what Talos said has not yet been fulfilled. - Hilarious that you'll admit that but then continue to insist that the Dominion will just roll over Skyrim. Pretty hypocritical.

1. There were two invasion armies. One falling does not weaken the other to the degree you're suggesting. It doesn't work like that. And again, they had 5 years to resupply and reinforce. If you can't sustain a war that isn't even on your own turf when you have 3x the resources to draw from than your enemy does, then you're not going to beat them regardless. 2. Don't make things up. Hammerfel was always their goal. ALWAYS. 3. Hammerfel could have done more than stalemate if the Empire had not thrown them to the wolves. - Clearly you don't know your ES history. - The Thalmor doesn't have to be allowed. They're doing it whether the Empire lets them or not. You're a fool if you think the Thalmor get to run around the Empire like they can and aren't undermining the Empire where possible as they do so. The Thalmor aren't stupid. If they get such unprecedented access to a place they inevitably intend to invade, they WILL use that to their advantage. - I know for a fact that you didn't read that book. Namely because if you had, you'd realize that it isn't so simple as "the Dunmer get treated like s#*!, thus they dont' help the Nords". - Don't start taking things out of context just so you can skirt the issue. Religious oppression is wrong. We all know it, and you'd be a liar or some kind of awful if you said it wasn't, but you won't admit it either way because it defeats your argument. That is no way to argue. - Its the lack of belief in Talos that would result in man's downfall. That's what you won't see. - No, you didn't. You equated what was clearly meant to be the complete disbandment of the Empire with a simple change in dynasties. That is not valid.

Both. There's no reason not to do both.

Nice to see that you'll throw the freedom of the people under the bus. Very nice. - 1. I never disputed that there wasn't Legion soldiers in Hammerfel. But that was one Legion that wasn't even at capacity. 2. No, you're wrong. Hammerfel was their main target. It always was, and that's why the actual bulk of the initial invasion bypassed Cyrodiil proper entirely (it didn't even attack Skingrad, Anvil or Kvatch on its way to Hammerfel. It just marched straight through) and went straight to Hammerfel. The only reason there was any fight in Cyrodiil at all was to tie up the Legions and break their response time. Cyrodiil only became more of a focus because the Legion really got kicked in its ass, which even the Dominion didn't expect to happen. 3. Yes, and thats why it was wrong that Mede went on to do what he did. Because those conditions that provide for Hammerfel's success were not only available to him, but were also starting to literally show. But no, he rushed peace and gave the Dominion everything, all to protect precious Cyrodiil. - You're also wrong here. The Stormcloaks did not come into existence as a unified army until after Torygg was killed. Yes, the forces were always there, and most of them probably all had the similar mindset of rebelling. But that didn't mean they were sitting there preparing. If the Stormcloaks truly did have 30 years to prepare, then nothing would have stopped their rebellion. Ulfric is no idiot when it comes to war, nor are his generals and lieutenants. If they had 30 years to prepare, they would have given the Imperials a much harder fight then they were able to. You can argue that Ulfric was stupid not to prepare as some argument against his ability to lead Skyrim after his victory but that's just backtracking and changing the argument so you don't have to concede that you weren't correct. - 1. If Imperial arguments that the Dominion can just walk over Cyrodiil and Skyrim are true, then nothing is stopping them from doing it. Right now. IF they can so easily stomp everyone in the ground, nothing is stopping them from doing so and logically if they could they would. We all know what the Dominion wants to do. If the Dominion has that kind of power, there's no reason to keep waiting, and frankly, I don't believe the Thalmor are stupid enough not to realize that presuming they do have that kind of strength. 2. If the Thalmor can force themselves on a meeting that they have absolutely zero reason or right to sit in on, shows that they are indeed heavily ingrained into the Empire. - You're wrong: The land is theirs. You cannot dispute this. - Not only is that the most obvious strawman ever, but it also shows that you put no stock whatsoever in freedom. - It isn't his fault that the war must be fought. No man can be held responsible for starting a war when war is inevitable. - OF COURSE ITS WHAT THEY WANT. THEY WANT THE EMPIRE TO DIE. THEY SEE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT HARMS THE EMPIRE AS GOOD. THEY'LL HAPPILY APPLAUD THE GOD DAMN COMMON COLD IF IT SO HAPPENS TO MAKE ITS WAY TO THE EMPEROR. That. Does. NOT. Override. the. Legitimacy. of. the. rebellion. :wallbash: - He is insignificant. He's weak and lost belief in the legitimacy of his cause years ago, instead replacing his will to fight with his own ambition. He is a good warrior sure, but that is all he ever was. The only reason he was ever important at all was just because he happened to be the one who started the inevitable war. He's replaceable with virtually any Nord that believes in fighting for Skyrim and Talos. - And the Mede Empire is the wrong idea. (Namely because its the exact same as the Septim Empire, sans the legitimate leadership) -

To you may be. Not everyone is so unsure of their beliefs that they wont' fight for it, even if their lives are at stake. Don't use your own unwillingness to die for freedom as an argument against those that would. - Yeah, but they just gave that power to the Empire. That is still just as wrong. An external entity has no right to enforce such a thing no more than an internal one would. - Humans survive, but they become oppressed. That is not an equal trade, period. No life is worth living if you are not free. - More ignoring the actual facts and what each entity was actually capable of following the War of the Red Ring (something pro-imperials never even try to integrate into their arguments. They just insist that Dominion > Empire and that the Empire just barely survived, when both sources from during and after the war said that was complete BS). Mede didn't even BOTHER to take in the actual situation in Tamriel before he rushed to hand the Dominion their original demands. Hammerfel was fighting back the invasion army there (Do remember that Hammerfel was the Dominion's original target. The bulk of their initial invasion army was in Hammerfel. Most of what ended up in Cyrodiil was drawn from elsewhere) on its own by the time the War of the Red Ring concluded (Before the Dominion was struck the blow, if you didn't notice). That alone proved that the Dominion wasn't so strong as it seemed to be, and that sustaining the war, if only to establish that it was the Empire's right to dictate the terms of peace (which it completely was) and to act on that right. - That only proves that the Emperor only cares about Cyrodiil, and further, that the leadership of the Empire doesn't even give a flying f*#@ about the people its claims to be protecting. - Thats the problem, and one of the points of the war itself. - When one nation spends hundreds of years relying on the structure of the Empire, it isn't hard to say that to break off would cause problems. That happens when you break dependence, and its a hurdle every true believer in independence accepts. - Funny that that proof also contradicts the constant insistence that Torygg would have declared independence if Ulfric had merely asked him. Too funny how Imperial arguments are always contradictory. - These are not issues that can be solved one after the other. A victorious Empire isn't going to stop insisting their victory, and that means that a free Skyrim is an impossibility if the Empire wins. (Unless it collapses on its own anyway (which it will no matter what happens. Its inevitable) in which case Skyrim is even more f*#@ed than it would be if it had gained its independence earlier, where at least they'd have a chance to develop their independence) - ITT: The Nords weren't a part of the Empire and had no part in the War of the Red Ring nor any other battle that threatened the Septim and Mede Empire's. They also apparently weren't instrumental in the forging of the Septim Empire in the first place. - And the Council is corrupt and weak (as proven by the collapse of the Septim Empire, and the fact that it was a member of that Council that ordered Mede dead). - More ignoring facts and making things up. - No, it shows the Imperials lack conviction. An actual cause. The war to them is just a job. The war to the Stormcloaks is a fight for freedom. That shows that the Empire is dying, when even its soldiers (who are specifically trained and expected to be loyal, mind you. And loyalty isn't merely following orders) aren't enthusiastic to fight for it.

Nothing can do better for the Stormcrown than a cloak that will keep him warm in a cold and hostile world. :cool:

To not be able to express your beliefs openly and without fear of being dragged away in the night is the very definition of oppression. It doesn't matter if Ulfric caused the crack downs, because the fact that any Nord coudln't go out in public and exclaim to all that he believes, even if he could still do so in his own home, makes that Nord oppressed. Just because a bunch of know-nothing peasants don't understand that they're being oppressed doesn't stop them from being so. Any real life implementation of what the Empire did would be met with outrage by thousands if not millions of people. - Hammerfel barely had an army, had already lost influence over half of the entire province, and were right next to Alinor. They also had nowhere to retreat to. That they were able to stalemate the Dominion at all, even despite the blow struck during the War of the Red Ring, speaks volumes about what Hammerfel was capable of, and indeed, what Alinor was capable of. They fought that war for 5 years. Alinor had all the power to resupply and reinforce its armies. Hammerfel had nothing to draw reinforcements or supplies from. Under those conditions, a consistent stalemate of 5 years is amazing. Unless one side is inherently weaker than the other, that is. - It isn't hard to crush a rebellion that barely had much of a start. And more than that, it was prophecy that the war should continue. Alduin could not have fulfilled his destiny without the Civil War continuing as it did. So no matter how you spin it, the rebellion would only ever be able to be down in an actual war, rather than at the end of a string of minor battles. Whether or not you support them being put down is the debate, and whether or not a post Rebel victory would be sustainable. - Can't be much of a military build up if the Thalmor are ignoring it. (And don't give this crap that its secret. With the Thalmor being as ingrained into the Empire as they are, it would be a total disservice to suggest they wouldn't notice military activity along their borders. Hell, that they wouldn't notice ANY activity at all along their borders, particularly when its likely they're doing the same damn thing anyway) - Nice to see that more people are pretending that the Dominion would ever reach Skyrim, very much less penetrate it. Fact of the matter is that, even despite how easily Cyrodiil would fall to them, by the time the Dominion would be able to sustain the infrastructure necessary to not only invade Skyrim, but actually defend the land they would acquire in Cyrodiil, Skyrim will already be marching south into Cyrodiil. You can't invade a country by just ignoring the entire province between you and it. It won't work and you'll put more effort into sustaining the ability to invade than that of the actual invasion. And thats when you completely ignore the geographical problems that would completely throw logistics into a grinder. - The problem was that anyone had to suffer at all for doing nothing inherently wrong. One person or a thousand, its still completely wrong. - Its a war between the Nords and the Empire. Not between Skyrim and the Empire. Big difference. The banning of Talos is a Nord concern. - The Dunmer aren't Ulfric's people. The Grey Quarter isn't even a part of Windhelm anymore, nor was it ever since it was given to the Dunmer as refuge. Ulfric's only obligation to them is their protection from external threats, which he has kept up. All internal problems are up to the Dunmer to solve for themselves. - No one should be forced to ignore or hide their beliefs. EVER. To say they should just because its going to cause problems is just disgusting. Disputing a problem like that would always cause more strife, but that isn't justification to just let it go. That makes you a slave. - Support for Ulfric as King is irrelevant. Let the people decide who gets to be king, or have Ulfric carve his way to the throne. It doesn't matter. There are bigger issues at stake than who gets to sit in some stupid chair, issues that will eclipse and obscure who gets to sit on the throne. - Saying that is like saying that anything that isn't directly and openly helping the Empire in its endeavors makes them a pawn of the Thalmor. Problem is, that logic is absolutely ludicrous. Just because Ulfric is benefiting the Dominion with this war doesn't make the war a bad thing. - I also like how people continually use the argument that "Hurr they suppressed the Dominion until Ulfric came along", but then never seem to realize that if the Empire actually had that ability, then some insignificant asswipe from Windhelm wasn't going to stop them from doing it. - Lastly, I'd just like to point out that even Talos himself agrees that the Empire is ready to die and that something new must take its place. So, not only is the war even more justified already, but it also destroys the entire argument that the Stormcloaks are acting against Talos by fighting the Empire.

:facepalm: I'm done. I'm not arguing with someone whose going to ignore established facts and definitions, as well as context. Particularly when they're not going to even keep an open mind. (and before you even try to say it, notice how my entire system was designed around approaching a middle ground. Your ideas are far and away from that middle ground)

He was everything he was ever called. Ascending to Godhood (and being combined with several people) lets you do that.

- Not every creator knows how to use his creations, nor would, even if they do know the in-depth functions of their creations. Most of the smiths I know don't even have any interest in learning how to use the weapons they make. They just like creating them. - You've got it backwards. I never said that the ability to enchant or smith be tied to the skill of the item being made, but that the actual use of the item being made being tied to the skill. IE, the use of the base sword to long blade, the use of its enchantment to enchanting. (With a special case for pre-enchanted items, such as uniques or generic magic items that allowed them to be used regardless of enchant skill, but with the caveat of either A, being relatively low level (in the case of generics), or B, being hard to obtain and harder to use.(in the case of uniques) ) - 1. I'm not designing any of my systems for use on consoles. Period. 2. The controls wouldn't be so that you'd be basically shaking your screen just to move your weapon. Combat lock would lock your look on your current enemy (or enemies), and your mouse would only control your weapon's movement. A hat switch would be present (using middle mouse) to allow you to override that so that you can look around your character as you fight. 3. My idea was just an alternative to Skyrim's take on combat. Not a fix or development of it. - I dont' think you've ever played Runescape. Otherwise, you'd know how some of the most successful players in the game are still level 1. As well as how non-combat in that game (non-combat isn't just crafting, if you didn't know) doesn't just fuel combat characters. - You're refusing to see the point in role-playing (nothing that I've suggested can possibly harm the ability to play a certain character. Only enhance it), as well as why role playing makes the only redundant systems those that aren't fleshed out enough to stand on their own. Designing an entire skill around the sole mind-numbing system of fishing in Skyrim would be dumb and pointless. Designing an entire skill around a wide array of fishing based activities and systems is not. - The point is to make it so the game doesn't become too easy, too fast. The difference between level 80 and level 90 in a skill should be very very different (because of the way the power scale would work), and if you're still leveling that skill at the same rate as you were at level 50, then you'll end up blowing through levels 80-90 and seeing your power jump substantial with no more effort than you were originally putting in. It would also help this system to add in more functions that can help level your skill, rather than the basic use=xp point that is present now, basically creating an actual XP system. - Same thing. Yes, high level content should be more fun than low-level content, but not to the point that low-level content becomes pointless. - 1. Seeing as TES doesn't follow real world cultural trends, this point is rather moot. 2. Nothing wrong with radiant quests, and further, who the hell says that all of theses quests HAVE to be radiant? That isn't very creative, both on your part and whoever would actually say that. 3. Please show me how you intent to jump down that half a foot wide water well. As well as how you plan on getting through that grate. Do tell, how you plan on using your bow and arrow to kill something that lives far too deep for an arrows force to stay consistent while travelling through the water. Do tell, how you plan on explaining to that man why you killed the fish when he just wanted to catch it for the challenge, not to just kill it. - As I"ve said before, this system is based around the assumption that all skills and mechanics put in the game are fully fleshed out. And before you try and point out the amount of skills I listed originally do remember that I also said those were just there for the sake of argument, not as a literal list of skills. Its hard to take your criticisms seriously when you're basing those criticisms on non-literal examples. - I'm guessing Arena, Daggerfall, and Oblivion missed the point then, right? I'm also guessing is downright impossible to be a savior of the world and also be non-combat. Gods forbid good writing actually exist and that you aren't shoehorned into picking up a sword just to progress in a game. :rolleyes: - Please stop ignoring the context of this system. Your criticisms hold no weight when you're taking this system completely out of context as you purposely simplify definitions and ignore the contextual condition of the mechanics this system would govern. - Pretty graphics an in-depth game does not make. This is partly why Morrowind is a more believable world, even if its visual and audible properties aren't of the highest quality. (which in turn is more due to its age. Few games back then looked much better than Morrowind did outside the animation department. (but even back then Morrowind's animations were bad by the standards of the day)) - The development of player skill in games doesn't mean that character skill should be forgotten. And more than that, real roleplaying is creating a character distinct from yourself. Its an off shoot of writing where you get to actually play out the character's life, moment by moment, rather than just thinking the character up and imagining his story all at once. Without character skill, this idea is diminished. (And no, doing this requires more than what you think. All systems must support this effort, and to take away or simplify even one of them unnecessarily diminishes this) - Make a little more sense please. Endurance doesn't exist in Skyrim. Unless you're talking about fatigue, but in that case all attributes got rolled into their derivatives and actually lost all connection with skills almost entirely. That is very different from what we were discussing in this particular string of -. - What you suggest makes the world less alive. That is bad. Its not about enemy variety, its about variety in what you actually see. Seeing different things in the same place adds more variety than a continual stream of the same things. Fact of the matter is, any number of things could move in to a cave that's been vacated. To say that only one type of thing would ever, ever go there isn't realistic and makes for more static worlds (and if the over joy at seeing NPC's move around and do things in-game shows us anything, static worlds are not good). - Its a matter of introducing actual danger, and situations that change as to force the character to change his usual tactics and adapt. Should still be able to be completed by the same character, but you should have to do it differently. For instance, a warrior can just charge in and fight some bandits pretty easy. But then if he wants to kill a giant or some bears he'd have to change how he's using his weapons or how he approaches his targets. Taking on a single giant is easy for a warrior to do. Taking on the entire tribe, not so much. As such, the warrior must find a way to take out the giants one by one or indeed, some other solution. Its not so much a matter of forcing the warrior the stop being a warrior to progress, but more a matter of a making him change how he wages that war. Or not. Nothing's stopping him from charging in anyway, even if the situation says that isn't the most ideal tactic. - Why you ever felt compelled to have athletics and acrobatics at 100 (beyond simply wanting to actually level the skills that is, which doesn't seem to be the case here) is beyond me. IF you don't want to level it then don't. Well polished skills? Really? Thing was, you do not use the same techniques with a short blade, as you would a long blade, and certainly not a mace, or an axe...... The skills weren't "vague", they were rather specific to the weapon they governed. Athletics: Determined running/walking speed, etc. How is that vague? I find it more reasonable than EVERYONE having the EXACT same walk/run speed..... Same for acrobatics. (I will grant that it could use some tweaking though....) I am more comparing to Morrowind here than Daggerfall though. Daggerfall also had a selection of language skills, which I never did ever find any real use for.... Yeah, some of the skills in daggerfall WERE useless. Daggerfall suffered the problem of having most of its skills be WAY, way too specific and specialized (language skills, prime example), as well as turning certain mechanics and (what should be) perks into actual skills. (Backstabbing and Critical Strike for instance. Make zero sense as skills)

- While I initially conceded you this (as I didn't really think about that), as I hammered out my concession I started to get some ideas for how to deal with this issue, as well as some revelations that haven't been pointed out just yet. First and fore most is simply connecting enchantments to the same limitations of the base stats. IE, low armor skill = less effective enchantment. To make this more fair (and more sense), I would say that the effectiveness of the enchantment would only go down to about 50%, whereas the base stats would go down to 25%. (again, arbitrary) This makes it so that even powerful enchantments can still be useful even on an unskilled character, but while also preventing it from being nothing more than a free and consistent attack. Building on that, instead of item skill setting the limitations, one could instead set the limitations with the enchanting skill itself. Enchant in Morrowind already governed how efficiently you recharged your items as well as the decay rate of the enchantment itself, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to tie the effectiveness of the enchantment to it as well. Not only would this solve the problem you pointed out, but it would also help to make the use of staves and scrolls a more viable combat mechanic. Now obviously doing that runs into the problem of pre-enchanted items being used by non-enchant characters. My simple solution is just setting a flag on certain enchanted weapons that allow them to be used at full effectiveness regardless of enchantment skill. For balance, these items would be limited to uniques (Which make sense to work this way) at full power, and generic enchanted items that are limited to relatively low level enchantments. Still useful, but not necessarily the best. - This is only goes to show the need for better AI in the game, as well as the ability to actually miss. Hell, better combat in general. Morrowind made it easy, because dice rolls were an easy way to emulate your character not knowing jack about using swords. (Yes if you managed to actually connect with your sword you'd do damage, but connect is the key word, and this is not represented in Skyrim) Lets face it, Skyrim is still using Morrowind's combat system. Its just that now its been tweaked to where you never miss and the chance to hit was converted to damage. Frankly, this is way too simple of a combat system, whose blunt simplicity actually diminishes other parts of the game in order for them to conform to it. An idea I had for combat a while back was to basically make a hybrid between player skill and character skill type combat. It would be built around two or more characters being literally locked in combat with each other (with the option for any to break combat and run away, naturally), and the actual physical part of combat being controlled by the player, but augmented by character skill. To elaborate, the combat lock would be akin to to the aim assistance in Skyrim that helps keep you on target (Though I can't remember if this was a mod or not, but either way) and away from companions, but would be slightly more aggressive. And the reason for this would be so that it would be easier for the player to actually engage in the actual combat without doing finger gymnastics to keep on target while doing combat. Now, the reason for that combat lock is because of how the physical combat would work, which could actually work in one of several ways. The main method would be something similar to Daggerfall/Arena's system where you used to mouse to swing your weapon. You would lock with your enemy, and as you used the movement keys to strafe/dodge (and move in closer, as to connect with your weapon), you would use your mouse to swing your weapon. Your enemies would strafe, dodge, and move forward and backwards as you would and would have just as much an ability to miss as you would (though for them, their skills would determine this entirely). The basic idea behind combat would be to close in and connect, causing as much damage as possible if not outright striking a killing blow. Locational damage would be required for this, naturally. Skills (and perks) would augment your weapon wielding in different ways. Swinging will become more smoother (thus easier to do) and forceful (damaging) as you level your skill, and the perks you choose will affect this further in more specific ways. IE, preferring more damage over more speed. Preferring to expose rather than use brute force. Wide sweeps or more brutal bashes. Etc etc. - Why not? Because, apparently, they don't enhance combat? Again, this system makes a point of making non-combat an actual, viable meta-playstyle. Not just something you do on the side when you're bored killing things. For that to work, non-combat skills need to exist. Say what you want about the game, but Runescape does a pretty good job of doing just what I describe. Refer to that if you need to see how such non-combat skills could be fleshed out. - What you're suggesting hurts variety. That isn't good. - No, it wont' matter by end-game. Mid game is when your leveling picks up and caps off, and then begins to decay. - If high-level content is the only good content in your game then you're doing it wrong. - Much of non-combat would center around interaction with NPC's, rather than creatures or NPC's. Stories can still exist (For instance a good murder mystery doesn't need combat. Nor do political stories), and to say that all it would amount to is just radiant fetch/delivery quests is just bluntly admitting a lack of imagination. Smithing quests could center around further developing your skill and learning unique recipes. Discovering ancient knowledge and tapping into the power to create things that only a master could even think of. Cooking can be involved in quests to help the downtrodden. Temple quests to help the wretched out of their darkness. Fishing can surround contest quests, as well as quests about old men trying to conquer a fish that eluded them. Could also be instrumental in puzzles and finding hidden objects as part of other quests that don't necessarily revolve around fishing entirely (if at all). Wood cutting is obvious. It'd be related to building quests. All in all, all manner of quests can be devised to center around these skills. But the thing is is that not every skill needs a quest surrounding it. It CAN just be a skill for the sake of being a skill, and there's nothing wrong with that so long as its fleshed out fully, even if there's no epic quest line to accompany it. And as for MQ issues, this would only really be a problem for MQ stories where your character is supposed to be the savior of the world (Ala Skyrim and Morrowind), but even then, Morrowind at least you could reasonably travel with a company of companions and still logically come to be the Nerevarine. (Hell half of becoming the Nerevarine requires mostly non-combat methods anyway) Skyrim it isn't so easy, but considering how rather poorly Skyrim was written as well as the game's focus on combat (of which virtually every quest is also centered around), it isn't surprising that this wouldn't work. BUT, even then, you could still hammer it out even if it wouldn't be too great. One could still travel with companions and become the Dragonborn. Thu'um under my system would be considered a legendary skill, independent from either meta-playstyle. Not necessarily combat, not necessarily non-combat either. (The Thu'um can do more than destroy) So either character could reasonably use it and not really break the meta-playstyle. It should also be noted that non-combat doesn't necessarily mean your character shouldn't be participating in combat, but more that they couldn't be directly in it. IE, they'd be in more a support and/or leadership role. (IE, playing the conjurer, except expanded so that you can lead NPC's rather than just creature summons) - Keyword here is: Can. They CAN be moved. But that doesn't mean they SHOULD be moved. There is no sound reason to consolidate other than to simplify, either for the sake of space or technical limitation (Which isn't relevant here, as this is discussing what Beth could have been moving towards, not whether they're capable of putting out this system 100% as is) or for the sake of simplification. (Streamlining is nonsense that only applies to systems that never got fleshed out, which is also not relevant here) And besides, that is still ignoring the logical reasons for maintaining their separation (Which you seem to be ignoring). - Considering modern RPG's (at least western ones anyway) haven't even remotely come close to developing something equivalent to DND (and have in fact moved far and away from that, though in most cases not in ways that maintain them as RPG's) that isn't DND, your point is moot. Show me an RPG that goes (or can go) as in-depth as DND can that does things completely differently from DND (IE, isn't DND nor based on it in anyway) and may be you'll have a point, but unless some marvelous gem of development has slipped under my radar (Fat chance. I've played just about every noteworthy RPG made since the late 80's) That, plus I take my cues from DND anyway. DND defined RPG's for me, and as such I go by the standards it put out. - Because they make skills do something they, by definition, aren't supposed to do. A person's skill with a blade is not = to that person's strength, even if the former feeds the latter. - That goes for the lack of change as well. Except with the lack of change, the fact that its all the same is readily apparent regardless of your memory. Combine that with the severe lack of enemy variety we see in Skyrim and the problem is exacerbated. I would rather forget a dungeon and not notice a change than remember a dungeon and notice absolutely no change whatsoever. At least the former allows for change to actually happen. - That's a result of simplistic gameplay. - The solution is to make athletic skills (Such as athletics (duh), acrobatics, climbing, etc) scale and level differently from other skills, with the logic being the simple fact that everyone does end up using them fairly constantly, so to have them level at the same rate wouldn't work, nor would having the same output scale. (also idk about you, but in Skyrim I hardly ever had to jump)

Considering what he became, its likely that all is true about him now, even if in the past that wasn't the case, and indeed, even though in the present's past that wasn't the case. (Wrap your mind around that one)

- This is why I suggested that skills override your crafting depending on the levels. It shouldn't matter if you have a Daedric Sword of Pwn if you only have level 5 in Long Blade. Throw in my spawn system and any issues beyond that are negated. - Its not a matter of damage. Its a matter of your character actually being able to use the weapon at all. As I said before, realistically even if you have the best sword in the (real) world, if you don't know how to use it then it won't help you in a fight. I know that first hand, as my instructor in sword fighting let me use his sword (Which in my experience has come to be proven as a very well made sword) and he beat me in every fight I had with him until I had learned how to fight. And for a more direct answer to your question, the point should be that it shouldn't be enough to merely have something of great power. You should be required to be powerful enough yourself to make use of it. Mechanically in-game, this would be represented by your item's health increase over 100% being mitigated and/or ignored if your skill isn't high enough. Where to set the skill requirement would take some thinking, but in a pinch I would say a minimimum of level 40 (note that that number is based on Morrowind's numbers, where skills started at 5 and with class bonuses would reach upwards to 40 or 50) in whatever skill would be a decent enough start. - Unless you're suggesting that EVERYONE plays a MOAT/JOAT (Which isn't true. Yes a lot of people break traditional class rules, but that doesn't change the fact that they probably are only using a fraction of the entire skill list. In a game like Skyrim or Fallout 3 where there aren't very many skills at all, yes people would probably end up using most of them, but thats due to the low amount of skills. But look at the suggested skill list of my system. There's well over 3x the amount of skills with room for more. You'd have to be pretty good at the game to use ALL of those skills to the point where you couldn't say there isn't a real set of skills that you could say you use the most. But before you say it, no, dabbling does not count. You can still dabble in my system even when you take a class, but dabbling does not = fully leveling. To fully level and use a skill would mean that you're either integrating it into your playstyle, or you're just trying for a MOAT (Whether you'd admit or not). And as for the difference in xp gain, it would work somewhere along these lines (note these are again just arbitrary numbers). Say the base XP gain is set at 100xp per real hour. This is what the xp rate would be sans class for the beginning of the game. With class, it would go be 110xp per real hour. And then in the mid game, and I don't think I mentioned this detail before, when you're presented the option to change or choose a class, the xp rate for class would stay the same, but the xp rate for non-class would go to 105. And as you level past that mid point, xp gain will decay for individual skills (IE, xp gain won't slow down for a skill only at 5 just because you're approaching 100 in another. This would have a more visible effect for non-class characters) back down to the base xp gain, with perhaps the xp gain decaying even further at some point after level 100. All in all, after the mid game is approached, the xp gain differences are relatively small, but enough to be worth it for those who want the roleplaying aspects of a class (and have a gameplay reason to do so) but without alienating someone who just doesn't want a class period. - Eh, that's more just opinion based on preference, rather than opinion based on approaching what is most ideal for the gameplay itself. Leveling rates will never be perfect for absolutely everyone, but for Dev's there is a sweet spot that can be attained that will satisfy how they want their game to be. What the player themselves want beyond that is up to them to change in the game for themselves. Personally, I would lean more towards the slower side of the scale, but make up for it by changing the rewards to not necessarily accurately reflect the effort required, but rather downplay it. IE, make the rewards great enough for the player that the slower leveling doesn't seem as slow as it really is, but without making them so powerful things just get silly. Its more fun this way, not only because it allows the rewards to be more fun, but also because it still provides for the sense of accomplishment. This system is all about approaching that middle ground between the different meta-playstyles as best as we can, but without downplaying any of the legitimate virtues of any of them. IE, don't take away the casual's fun, nor the roleplayers depth, nor the meta-gamers ability to power-game. - Remember the emphasis on non-combat being fleshed out to the same degree as combat? This system allows for non-combat to be a viable gameplay option that will let you progress through the game without actually having to put any focus on direct combat. There would be just as many quests centered around non-combat game mechanics as there would be quests centered around combat. Combat and Non-combat do compliment each other, but the point is to make it so that to reap the benefits of mixing and matching combat with non-combat that you actually have to put effort in both. A 100% combat character shouldn't be able to smith himself a Daedric Sword of Pwn nor should a 100% non-combat character be able to even swing it, very much less do any damage with it. The thing that would solve the obvious void in that relationship is overhauled companions (as well as a slight emphasis on their use) that would actually help your character at his shortcomings. And as for the actual gameplay of a non-combat character, much of it would actually be mundane (which is pretty much the point of a non-combat character), with the truly extraordinary only coming at high levels of mastery as well as progress in questing. - You don't get attributes because you're probably used to Beth's take on them. From wikipedia: Attributes behave very, very differently from both skills and perks. Or rather, they should. Again, attributes define what your character has the ability to do. The pure, raw power behind skills. Skills define what your character actually can do. To what degree attributes are actually reflected in the character's output. And perks are a combination of both that define what your character is actually doing. Simply, attributes are what you could do. Skills what you can do. Perks what you are doing. This is why certain things, like those in your examples, can't just simply be rolled into skills or perks. Just because the logical absurdity of doing so isn't great enough to the point where it becomes stupidly obvious that the absurdity is there does not mean that there is no absurdity. - Not all giants necessarily have to behave the same. And not only that, it isn't like most giants in virtually every other fantasy world tend to hang out in caves anyway. Skyrim's take on Giant behavior is actually rather unique. And as for dragons, well, I need only point you to Smaug (and Vulthuryol) if you need the reasoning for that. - Ideally you would see the leavings of all and/or most previous inhabitants. But ideally this would actually be logistically possible. Barring the ideal, exceptions and less than perfects must be made. The same idea is still there working as intended, but because of technological limitations it would be unreasonable to say that the ideal must accompany this system or bust. And this isn't to mention that unless you're farming a specific dungeon (or specifically revisiting it, either for roleplay reasons or because you're testing the system) you probably won't have the memory of that dungeon as it was when you first entered it. - I don't follow how my system would be more repetitive than what we have now, when my system would actually make the spawns fairly unexpected (unless you've played the game to the point where you remember most of the enemy types for that particular dungeon) and would probably change how you approach the same dungeon between two different visits, (IE, you can sneak through and stealth kill a bunch of bandits and walk out without causing a stir. Not necessarily so with giants or a dragon) whereas in the status quo every dungeon that respawns is still the exact same dungeon it was when you first visited (except perhaps with traps turned off/already tripped). My system doesn't offer say, 100 levels more variety than the status quo, but it at least adds some more variety, even if it isn't a lot.

There's also the fact that Hammerfel (Hammerfel isn't just made up of Reguards people!) also fought them to that draw within 5 years (though the sources on it actually indicate that the stalemate occurred earlier in that 5 years and after 5 years both just gave up and made peace). Frankly, if you're supposedly able to take on the rest of Tamriel, and you can't defeat a single province (Whose army consists of a single, fractured Legion and militia) after 5 years, then you are in no way going to take on the rest of Tamriel without it being complete suicide within 20-25 years (IE, the time it takes to get to Skyrim's events).

For me, this problem stems from the total lack of anything like Skyrim or any other ES game (or F3). If the market were saturated (or just plainly had more than the one) with more open-world games with the interactivity of an Elder Scrolls game I doubt either you or me would have this problem. (Unless, naturally, Skyrim ended up being the best out of the pile, but that's worst case scenario)

- Crafting under my system wouldn't be so readily exploitable, if at all. Skyrim's crafting suffers from Beth deciding not to stop the increase in effectiveness at any point. In Oblivion one can only repair up to 125% of the base stats, which is actually a pretty fair system (presuming level scaling is gone that is). In Skyrim you can indefinitely increase an items strength, and this isn't right. You could say that limiting that limits freedom or whatever, but fact of the matter is is that realistically you can only make a piece of armor or a sword only just so effective before you either A, can't do anymore, or B, outright break the thing (especially in the case of swords). And obviously for gameplay reasons that would follow through logically. Freedom is good, but if we're presuming to create a gameworld that's supposed to be even remotely believable, allowing stupidly powerful weapons to be made like that without any in-game/in-lore explanations (For instance, requiring a very high smithing level as well as ultra rare materials, recipies that are hidden etc etc) simply cannot be done without undermining balance entirely. One could also reason that if you haven't leveled your combat skills, then any items that are dependent on any of those skills still won't be effective even if you exploit crafting to the point of making them 1 step away from being the stomping boot of Talos himself. Even in real life you can have the most well made sword ever and still get bested by someone with nothing more than a half-rotted wooden club if you don't know what you're doing with it. Same with armor. This doesn't necessarily solve the problem you pointed out (more of a band-aid really), but it would be a fair safeguard if for whatever reason crafting is allowed to be stupidly exploitable, as well as against the possible problem of crafting still becoming slightly unbalanced as you suggested, just at a very different level. - Further, when combined with my spawning system, you're never guaranteed that you're daedric sword of pwn will actually help you, even with stupidly exploitable crafting. - Thats the entire point of picking a class, is to stick to that class. And if you don't like it, you are given the choice (Somewhere down the line. You should be able to change it at will after a time, but you should be required to at least give what you chose a chance before you change it within the same game) to change or abandon. - There's nothing that says that things either have to be a total grind or lacking in any discernible difference. There is a sweet spot (There has to be. But without the ability to actually sit and playtest this system, all we can do is guess) that can be found. And besides that, the point in even allowing the player to not choose a class at all is so that they can define their class as they play, and then after a certain amount of time, establish that class for their character. Unless you're specifically playing a MOAT/JOAT/Dabbler In All Things (at which point neither way is better than the other), after a certain amount of time playing you're going to establish a set of skills that you'll actually be using the vast majority of the time, and at that time there would be little reason not to establish that set of skills as a class. If not for the XP gain increase, then for the fact that not to do so would just be denying that you're playing a class (when in fact you are). - Again, the point of this system isn't just to kill things. Hence the the development of the non-combat half of it. But anyway, Perks (and do note that Skyrim's "perks", or more accurately, skill trees, are not perks in the traditional sense though the names have become interchangeable) have always been define as the culmination of your skills and attributes. Attributes define what you have the ability to do. Skills define what you can do. Perks define how you do what you can do. Granted, Skyrim and the past ES games don't necessarily take this approach to the attribute/skill/perk relationship, that's the basic idea of it, and something my system is trying to approach. But anyway, with perks being designed with that ^ in mind, perks augment your skills by designating how you're using those skills (Rather than designating the actual damage output by it). Perks become the difference between being an elemental or arcane mage. A more nimble swordsman or a berserker. Someone who hides among people, or hides among the shadows. In essence, perks become what makes one class different from another, even if the skill selection is the same. But even more simply, perks just become the main thing in this system that delivers the raw fun in gameplay. Perks are the cool things you can chose that will allow your character to do cool and fun things with your skills and attributes. And the reasoning behind this is that perks are what allows the player to interact with his character beyond just telling him what to do. Attributes and skills are what governs the math behind your character, and in this system, they're handled automatically as you play (as they should be), whereas perks are what differentiates the gameplay, and in this case the choice to engage in one kind of gameplay over another is given entirely to the player. - Of course they can but that's not the point, and further, it all goes back to the A.S.P relationship. Attributes are what your character has the ability to do. If your character is not very agile, then logically you would be very easily detected while running/sneaking around even if you were invisible. As such, if you have a skill and/or a perk saying contradicting this, then the system would be rendered completely illogical once you realize that in order for that skill or perk to say that you wouldn't be very easily detected would require that your agility ALSO say this as well. The three systems that define your character are and should be connected, and as such cannot logically contradict one another. And if we're going to presume to actually put all three of these systems within the game, then all three most be developed and fleshed out. Just throwing certain things under one system's umbrella, when logically they are more appropriate under another, goes against that idea, regardless of whether or not the system in question (In this case, your stats being reacted to by the world) could conceivably be put under any of the systems. It doesn't make one system "weaker" than another, namely because that kind of logic only applies when there is a lack of systems for these three to govern. But even then, saying one system is "weaker" or "stronger" than another just because its governing less or more is just silly. If a system cannot logically govern any more than what it already does (Or has been given to govern anyway), then there is no problem with that. And its same going in the opposite direction. If a system can logically govern a system that the other 2 can't, then by all rights it should even if it means one of the other two systems dont' get to govern it. - Not necessarily, though you raise a good point. One could design the system to cater to the region X dungeon resides in. That alone would limit what would actually spawn within the dungeon and make it far easier to manage. And then, you could take it further, depending on your intentions behind the dungeon's design itself. For instance, a small but fairly open cave residing within Whiterun Hold would mostly only spawn small creatures and lower leveled bandits/marauders, with a low chance of spawning may be a giant or a dragon. But then, you could go to the Pale in the Mountains, and find a large dungeon where anything from draugr to creatures to giants to bandits to dragons could spawn. Small dungeons could be designed to only be able to spawn only one kind of enemy at once. Larger ones could have several different kinds of enemies. (with perhaps logic checks to prevent absurdities, like Bandits being at the heart of the dungeon and high level draugr or dragons in the beginning room) You don't need to have the props change entirely to suit the new tenants, nor do you need to have the leavings of the even more previous tenants. For instance, I'd be more interested in seeing bandits once, and then coming back and finding bears standing among their things, especially if I didn't kill all of the bandits. Makes one think that the bears moved in and ate all of the bandits! And naturally one can reasonably presume that after a time the leavings of previous tenants would just fade to dust (or get stomped or burned into it) or just somehow disappear as the new tenants moved in. Ideally speaking you wouldn't want that, but ideally there'd also be a system in place that would automate all of this according to parameters. Rather than designing every possible combination or spawn, you'd just set up your basic dungeon layout and then set parameters within it that the spawns would conform to. Barring such a thing however, one can do the above and wear down the amount of actual work needed by a fair bit. But regardless of all of this, not all dungeons would fall under this system (nor could they really, especially when quests become involved). This system would be limited more to dungeons that are just there for the sake of having a dungeon, rather than to dungeons that are there to be a part of a quest and/or quest line. So even if we ignore the above and do none of it, the work would STILL end up being far less that you suggest. (See how nice it is when discussions actually go somewhere?)

Its not an image lol, I was just emphasizing the importance of what you posted.

^That

Do a clean reinstall (uninstall game and delete both the Skyrim directory as well as the Skyrim folder in your My Documents folder) and try again. IF it isn't fixed after that then it isn't the game's fault, in which case I'd be no help unfortunately.