southpointingchariot Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I try to play as immersively as possible. I have been considering disabling the compass and not using the in-game map and journal, instead using a physical map and my own notes. Is the game fully playable this way? Is there any situation that needs the compass or journal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QDX2000 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) In Morrowind, where such markers did not exist, NPCs used to tell you where they want you to go and sometimes even write notes with way descriptions. In Skyrim, I've sometimes been given way descriptions like "they have a camp in the reach, go there"... I was not even told to kill their leader, since I guess that's the goal of any quest unless stated otherwise in this game. I think you'll at least have to use the ingame map and the journals "show on map" function. Edited December 1, 2011 by QDX2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iv000 Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Depends.Sometimes NPC's just give you the name of a location without any tips on how to get there or where it is located on the map. So you need to open up your map and see where it's marked at.I recommend that you make a copy of your physical map so you can write down and pinpoint locations on it. You can also find a journal and write down some notes to help you out.You can easily disable the compass by opening the skyrimperfs.ini located in My Documents > My Games > Skyrim, and find the line saying "bShowCompass=1" and changing it to "bShowCompass=0". Personally, I'm just playing without the compass. I like the map like it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpointingchariot Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 Hmm, so it sounds like the compass can be gotten rid of - but the journal and map are necessary, even if I tried making my own map markers and quest notes? Really to bad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salawow Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Hmm, so it sounds like the compass can be gotten rid of - but the journal and map are necessary, even if I tried making my own map markers and quest notes? Really to bad... Yep, that's bad.. i'd like to play like that also, turning off everything, but it's not possible at all.. like most of the thieves guild jobs, the NPC just tell you something like "i give you the details, do that", and you have to open the journal to see what you got to do exactly, there's not even some kind of written note telling you what your job is. The objective markers can be turned off, but sometimes it's hard.. it happened once or twice that a NPC tells me to meet somewhere, or to go somewhere, but without any map marker.. so i got to open the map and see the objective marker which is somewhere in the wild, not near any known "place". That's bad.. i mean, i understand that voiced description of every "how to get somewhere" would have been pretty costly.. but they at least could have included some in-game written note or something.. i miss the "take the road, turn right at the big dead tree, then walk straight, etc etc" we had in morrowind. So that breaks immersion.. that, and fast travel, which totaly breaks immersion if you are not able to self restraint from using it (which is totaly my case) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hymhym Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Hmm, so it sounds like the compass can be gotten rid of - but the journal and map are necessary, even if I tried making my own map markers and quest notes? Really to bad... I've been playing without compass from day two. Makes for a much more immersive experience. And as a bonus, I occasionally get lost. I look at the map, look at my surroundings and plot my course and am on my way. However, 10 minutes later I realize that I made a slight navigation error, or read the landscape bit wrong and am off course. But I find it just adds to the Skyrim experience. One also starts to pay more attention to landmarks. It helps you to navigate. Disabling the compass also makes it easier to get nice screenshots. As others have noted, playing without the in game map and journal is indeed almost impossible. For some quest you don't even get a name for the place you are supposed to got to - the quest giver just tells you to fetch some item for him or her. And then a white arrow magically appears on your map designating a spot where this said item can be found. No info what the place is, or how you learned about, and you definitely were not given any directions. Is a bit silly, but that's the way it is in Skyrim. Just follow the magical white arrow of direction. I'd also suggest you turn off the clouds from your map, since you'll be using it a lot to get your bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southpointingchariot Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 Thanks for the info, I wonder if anyone will ever be willing to go through the tedium of creating a morrowind style notes mod to allow for this. I will be turning off the compass from now on :) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaypaul97 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I just GET super immersed. That's just me however. I get super immersed in pretty much all games. To the point where I'll turn my head IRL to look at someone behind me or point at something in the game for a split second expecting teh NPC to see my gesture. Headset and ultra settings maxed out helps. Aswell as super low HUD opacity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICERAY2000 Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I find the journal next to useless anyway; it is a dribble of the information and knowledge you acquire during the game - compared to Oblivion, it is embarrassing.I don;t see how a compass is not immersive; they are real you know! The REAL immersion problem is the interface - you can't get immersed in a game that you cannot control. Left is right, right is left, well sometimes; menus with holes in them; on and on with the interface problems. I find myself completely immersed until I actually have to do something other than run and fight.Immersion would mean you didn't spend frustrating extra minutes flying by selections in the perk menu - anyone that has played FO3NV knows what the perfect perk interface looks like, and Bethesda made it! With an interface like that, get in- do your business - get out, it would be much more immersive.At least as a PC player I can look forward to years of playing the community's MODs to correct the minions of errors in the game and get it to the point where immersion is really possible, so that you play and think about the mechanics. I would call Skyrim pre-immersive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenownedWolfman Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I find the journal next to useless anyway; it is a dribble of the information and knowledge you acquire during the game - compared to Oblivion, it is embarrassing.I don;t see how a compass is not immersive; they are real you know! most compasses don't point towards your objective in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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