Fatalmasterpiece

A Dragonborne is possibly anyone of the line who hunts and kills dragons, and or protects the world from them, such as the Blades perhaps. As the main character is trained by a Blade in Skyrim, it's possible you are the last Blade, ala return of the Jedi and thus the dragons fear you.

Quests not to be constantly broken by poor chicken and egg logic, resulting in having to use the console to fix said quest and thus completely destroying whatever immersion you had. :wallbash: "We need you to kill these bad guys over here" "I already killed them like a week ago" "Oh... well then I am going to just stand here because you broke the quest and now the game doesn't know what to do" opens up console...

There are deffinitaly some Blades, what has been confirmed. The man talking in the teaser trailer who guides you supposedly in the beginning of the game is a Blade. I like your idea though. They did that a little bit with the Dark Brotherhood, which was really cool. You could tell an assassin to follow you and they would be your little lackey.

I couldn't imagine playing Bethesda's games without mod capabilities. Infact, I wouldn't play them. I got bored with Mass Effect only about half way through because the extreme limitations of mods. To me Oblivion was less a fully functional fantasy game and more a open canvas for creativity. On the same note however, I don't own any consoles, nor plan to. I'de rather have Photoshop open than a game most of the time. Oblivion, Fallout 3, and NV allow me to merge both worlds. Oh and just so it's been said. I fully plan to at some time have Skyrim full of attractive women in bikinis, not becuase I really need to but because it's fun and I'm an adult who enjoys adult things.

So, tell us. Just what do you expect exactly from a video game? Of course it represents a narrow view of Nordic culture... It's a video game. It's not a virtual representation of Wiki-Vikingia or some kind of pretence at a history lesson. You're taking your analogies to extreme levels (there's pyramids so it's Egypt) to try and prove your point. The Nords are obviously based on the Viking era culture. If you want to try and deny that, go ahead, but that's pretty futile. Despite what you might think, it is not a fallacy. A fallacy means that a relationship is false, qualitatively false, and that no correct inferences can be made. This is obviously not the case. Everyone can see that there is a relationship between the Nords and the Norse. What we are talking about here is How Much. Your attempts to ridicule that by coming into this discussion with the radical denial of any and all justifiable connections ("fallacy") are rather ungrounded. http://www.thenexusforums.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/rolleyes.gif So, what exactly is your point, really? That this whole thread is unjustified because since the Nords aren't Norse-speaking Scandinavians we can't extrapolate issues for our own pleasure? Of course we can. Example in point. One might think, well the game is going to be set in Skyrim, the land of the obviously Viking-inspired Nords, then what else might we expect to see? Giants? Trolls? Dragons? Duels? And you'd be right. Hypothesis tested and working. Since they're in Skyrim, now there is the inclusion of other aspects of Nordic mythology and folklore, due to the inclusion of undead/draughr, trolls, giants and dragons but is that too shallow as well, since we...what? Since we see them? Video games are visual media. "Seeing stuff" is very important. If you, personally, want to have more substance than that--and by the way, that is exactly what we are talking about--we either have to wail until everybody speaks Norse in the game, there is no Empire, the Nine Divines don't exist, and we get to virtually celebrate a blot to Thor, at which point then we're all playing another game...OR we discuss what we like, don't like, and would like to change accordingly and then mod the Hel out of it, just like we're doing the first steps of now. We can't pretend too much. No Odhinn, no Thor, no Midgard serpent. No oath rings (probably), no blots to the Aesire and Vanir (though maybe to the TES gods), not a lot of things, and that's all right. It's a game, not a history lesson, but to deny all such connections between the Nords and the Norse as false or superficial leaves one wondering exactly what kind of an experience you expect from The Elder Scrolls V. Actually, a lot can be expected of a video game. A video game is just a compilation of many media types into one, literary, cinema, graphic design, illustration, animation, theatrical, musical... That's like saying why should I expect a film about Vikings to be historicaly based. There's no reason it cannot be. I expect a lot from video games, which is why I enjoy Bethesda games. They deliver. There is no reason for instance you could not create a video game entirely and authenticly based upon the Poetic Edda and have it be a decent representation of some Norse beliefs and culture. I'll just have to educate you as to the real meaning and application of the word fallacy used in this scenario. Fallacy –noun, plural -cies. 1. a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.: That the world is flat was at one time a popular fallacy. 2. a misleading or unsound argument. 3. deceptive, misleading, or false nature; erroneousness. 4. Logic . any of various types of erroneous reasoning that render arguments logically unsound. 5. Obsolete Firstly, your interpretation of the word is incorrect. It means more than "that a relationship is false". In this instance it means that a relationship is misleading, or unsound, which is it. Take for instance the original poster's implication that since the Norse people had no unified system of civil and criminal justice, than Skyrim, being inhabited by Nords must not as well. This leads back to my point about the pyramids. One could infer than if a fictional society has pyramids, they must mummify their dead, because the Egyptions did that and they also had pyramids. You see now why this is a fallacy of logic? Because there is one similarity, it does not guarentee more. Furthermore, you could remove the image of the Norse from the Norse, and give them different weapons and attire, which are functionaly the same but different artisticly, and they could still be the Norse. They could still honor the Aesir, believe they would cross bifröst into the realm of the Asgard where they would await Ragnarök etc etc etc. However, if you were to take away that culture, those beliefs and the history of the people, only then would they cease to be the Norse. These things are what make them who they are. And it is without these things that make the Nords only similar in apearence. To believe the similarities go further is.... a fallacy :thumbsup: I really do hope you are able to see my point, though it differs from your opinion it isn't a very difficult concept to understand. However, it doesn't seem to be getting through very well to you. If you need further explanation I would be happy to simplify.

I find your lack of faith in the mod community disturbing.

The primary thing to me is quality voice acting. Without voicing acting its a real immersion killer when you go from talking to some noc to reading this chunk of often poorly written text... Which is why I have never used or will use and mod made companions. I don't mind the companion wheel but agree there must be a better way of handling interaction which can foster a natural approach.

No, actually, they don't stop at simple looks. That is why the Nords are fighters, the Imperials are like Centurions and have their society based on Imperial rule spread out over all these different cultures (like ancient Rome) but in a fantasized way, and why the Bretons are seen as heavily into magic, as Britain itself strongly holds that archetype of magic and wonder for a lot of people (Merlin, druids, and it also can't be referred to as the "Race of Knights" because since the Empire is fantasized, the Centurions get the "knight look"). There is substance behind the appearance. It only gets extrapolated into a fantasy context. So, the connections aren't as shallow as they might at first appear. It's only necessary to remember that they are fantasy extrapolations built upon very real archetypes for people, and with a new game, especially a new game built with a new engine that from the information they've already released is going to be able to accomplish a far greater gaming experience, it's only logical to wonder how far will the game developers take the design based upon the original archetypes and how far will they develop them separately. It's a two-edged sword, but that's also why two-edged swords are deadly: not because you have an edge "pointing towards you" but because you have many options (some of which might bite you in the behind if you don't work them well). The winged and horned helms pre-date Hollywood. Their use became standardised by the painters of the Romantic revival in all things Germanic that happened during the 1700s and 1800s. Horned and winged helms did in fact exist, but they were almost exclusively (according to what remains, afaik) pre-Viking, and ceremonial wear, which of course had nothing to do with battle-use. So, the helms did in fact exist, their extrapolation however has been fantasized, much like the other material we are conjecturing about. Just like Wizards' Pointy Hats, I might add, which did in fact, actually exist.http://www.thenexusforums.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/biggrin.gif This portrays a rather narrow interpretation a the Nordic cultures. if I make a fictional civilization with pyramids that lives around the silt fields of a large river, they must be very similar to the ancient Egyptians right? Hardly... Of course I am familiar with neo classical romanticism and its false representations of historic figures. Like the Nords of Skyrim, they are based on a superficial understanding of a much deeper and broader culture. A culture which goes far beyond being "fighters" and running around with fancy helmets.

I wouldn't say that. Yes, they aren't exactly the same; Skyrim is only based off of the historical Norse. That doesn't mean that in the creative process of making Skyrim believable, Bethesda isn't turning to historical Norse stuff for inspiration. That probably is what they're doing, after all! So it makes sense that we would be making conjectures about how this is going to be done, as we have been doing on this thread thus far. The similarities of Norse and Nord end at the aestetic aspect, and even then it's from a Hollywood perspective, thus the winged and horned helmets, which never would have actually apeared.

Depth of field and Ambient occlusion. You mean that's not already going to be there??? :huh: The screen shots released thus far do not display a very noticable DoF effect, and if it is, it is probably not dynamic, meaning it may only blur far away things, instead of near when focusing on far and vise versa. Evidence points towards no but we will have to see.

Depth of field and Ambient occlusion.

Looking at it from this point of view something similar to VATS or ironsights could be implemented to the aiming of a bow without departing from the Medieval atmosphere. It would be representative of a marksman's ability to squint one eye and focus on his target. Just change the sound effect from that hydraulic-like thing to the sound of a bow string being pulled and you'd have yourself a winner. Exactly. I usually play a stealthy bow user and it gets pretty boring just firing volley after volley of arrows at targets, espectially at higher level when it may take 100+ arrows just to kill something. Using something similar to VATS would make it interesting again and give it some kind of tactic. I'm already really excited about the higher arrow damage but slower pullback time. This means your shots will really count. 8)

One thing I haven't really seen touched on are vanilla companions for Skyrim. Now before people get all up in arms about how it would change the way TES has always been a solo adventure game consider for a moment that you could very well choose not to have any companions, just like you can choose not to in FO3. Companions are one of the most popular mods for Oblivion, and it's obvious Bethesda picked up on this while making FO3. I am wondering if they will carry over into their new game. I for one hope they do because non-voice acted bland companion mods just arn't as fun or interesting as some of the cool companions you can get in FO. Personally I don't want to see Oblivion 1.5 with improved graphics. A new game needs some new features, not just improvements on an old rehashed model. Anyone seen any evidence point either way?

Sounds like a hardware issue to me. I always saw building from fairly far away without any kind of stutter or mod helping out.

Comparing the Nord with actual historical old Norse is a fallacy. It's like comparing the Empire to the actual Romans. Sure there are a lot of similarities but it ends at the superficial level. So any speculation about the Nords based on actual world history is like speculating what is actually in your Taco Bell tacos because tradition Mexican beef is prepared a certain way.

Why couldn't TES have VATS? Do you seriously think by that it's meant that the game should have a PIPboy and vats? :teehee: Of course it doesn't have to be called that or even look like that, it just should give the user the ability to target certain body parts for different effects. Maybe you like mundanely swinging away time after time at enemies, just knocking off hit points with each blow, but I would personally really like to see the combat system advanced upon and given more depth. The ability to aim for an enemies legs to slow him down or cripple that sword arm he is using would really make it interesting. Case in point. TES already has perks and other things you "don't" like from Fallout 3. They are just introduced differently and have a different facade. All the cool new features from Fallout 3 can be implimented without breaking the TES immersion and give the game more depth and interest. Seriously.

DoF and AO, different shaders, are probably one of the primary mods I will be wanting. It's essential for the right ambience in these games. I am really hoping Bethesda finaly introduces a full fledged weather system, but that has been a long time coming. If they don't end up delivering on that, weather is a major mod I'll be looking for.

energy/magicka weigh nothing :) Very true. :) I'm hoping playing primarily magic using character is more viable in Skyrim as it was exceedingly difficult in Oblivion.

I just hope they tend away from the habit most games have now of huge oversized weapons that no human being or orc could even fit their hand around let alone swing. I mean cmon, a real sword is 3-10 lbs...

I think the sword talks to you already during the tutorial, but I might (probably) be wrong. If you are referring to the blade voiced by Max von Something, I'm pretty sure they meant blade as in Member of The Blades, not as in sword. :thumbsup: Wow, got a good laugh out of that... :)

I would really like to see a body part targeting system similar to fallout 3, so one could attack the arms, legs etc. It's already been done by them so I couldn't see it being that hard... And, I hope that your treatments go well and you have a great 2011.

Considering the security issues the Nexus is known to have I would feel very unconfortable sharing CC details on it... As someone who also boycotts Paypal an alternative would be really welcome.

Have to admit I am somewhat dissapointed by Bethesda's seemingly hesitant stance on using more shaders. For me, thigns like AO and DOF and pallets make a huge difference.

With all due respect to the admins and members of the Nexus in general, the common assertion of user's own PCs being infected with spyware causing annoying pop up ads and even the occassional but rare melicious ad popup is really getting old. I've been visiting the Nexus for some years now and there has always been a minor issue with ads at times becoming melicious and as always rather than look to the problem ad in question, it is always suggested that the user should up his internet security and change this or that feature of his browser, or browser all together in order to avoid these dangerous ads and melicious popups... Arn't we missing the point that the ads in generally need to be more scrupulously handled? I go all over the internet, admitedly to some places that can be pretty damned dangerous, places like filestube, megaupload etc... but I can honestly say that the Nexus sites have the most annoying and obtrusive ads of any place I've been. It's understandable why there needs to be ads to help Robin pay for this great collection of web sites and they really are amazing and I appreciate them. But really, the ads need to be reviewed, not just now, but on a regular basis.

Agreed about the zombie ad thingy. I've made several complaints about the ads on this site, and it's not complaining thats there's ads in general, I understand they are there to help fund the site. It's that many of the ads are extremely intrusive and some actually carry malicious software. I believe these ads have finally been removed but in the past there were some that used a backdoor adobe reader software update feature of your internet browser to infect your computer with malware. Unfortunately many people's response to that kind of problem is to just tell you to get a different browser or better virus protection, but that really isn't the point... I think in general the ads (or ad providers) on this site need to be more scrupulously monitored and removed when necisary.