The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[MartyG]

Er, see below ...

[MartyG]

No, it's not broken. It's never been "broken" there are some glitches, certainly more if you're playing unpatched (and Bethesda didn't help themselves with the 1.2 patch introducing some issues). Not to say you won't run into some things such as quest items that can't be dropped, odd physics, invisible walls, but progress stopping isn't going to happen on the main arcs. Well probably, unless you're planning to play on PS3

I solved my house decision in the only sensible way: I bought the house in Solitude and the one in Markarth The fancy house in Solitude for me and the wife, the one in Markarth as my manly, macho, slightly homoerotic battle den for me and my butch housecarl.

I prefer the house in Markarth, but the one in Riften isn't too shabby. Being unable to buy a house in Windhelm is a bug I encountered, due to completing the civil war quest line before trying.

[MrMarbles]

Is skyrim still broken then? Seems ok to me. I'd best look it all up to make sure I don't fall into any glitch traps.

I think most quests have minor glitches and known issues to some extent but nothing serious.

I've personally got a few more severe issues with regard to quests that can't be completed but, again, nothing that's going to impact me too seriously - the worst I'm currently experiencing is probably related to the Bard quests due to me grabbing all of the items before even reaching the Bard college. I'm now stuck with a quest to "Investigate the Bard college" that I can't proceed past. Woops.

Can't get the third piece of the Gauldur Amulet either, as I killed the chap in possession of it in Geirmund's Hall prematurely.

There's a fair few other miscellaneous quests that I can't complete too, but I'm not so bothered by these.

I've got plenty of other things to be doing in the meantime, though, so I don't mind waiting for these to be resolved by patch. For now. Who wants to be a bard anyway!

[dataDave]

15 hours of wasted time? Me thinks that's a bit of an exaggeration. I'm sure half your problems have been carried over in your save from playing the unpatched 1.0 version of the game.

I'd have given up playing with 15 hours of (unworkable)workarounds.

I did give up. 15 hours was being lenient - taking into account all the rolling back and repeating I had to do to either resolve or avoid problems entirely. Granted, a bit of this may have been caused by the 1.0 version as you say, but I certainly wasn't going to start with 1.2.


I think I'm waiting for GOTY versions of any future releases from Bethesda, and even then I'll try to avoid the consoles. The saving every two minutes isn't my idea of immersion and subtract what little challenge there is. I believe there are usually fan mod AI patches on the PC.

[Hartley Hare]

Now zelda has been finished can I ask if this is now playable on 360 or do wait a little more ???

[Team Andromeda]

Can I ask Why?

Well right at the start it wasn't very clear where I had to go bit of wadering around and I was met with glitches and frame stutters and the Combat at times seemed very hit and miss . I'm enjoying it more tbh, but so far I think Oblivion is the better game . That said I simply love the game setting and Art (on the environment) It's truly breathtaking at times

[Supergoal]

I think some of the problems you mention are individual experiences not necessarily the same as someone else's.
In my experience I've had no stuttering and very few bugs or glitches. None of with actually broke the game or the experience.
I think the combat is fun.
I played oblivion for about 10 hours then forgot about it but skyrim is so much better, more refined and more enjoyable. Though everyone has like I said a different experience.

[Daragon]

At this point, I'm unsure which game floats my boat more. I didn't think I'd like Skyrim's setting quite as much as Oblivion's as I much prefer a traditional fantasy setting, rather than a dark and gritty one - that said I've been unable to put down Skyrim since I started pretty much. The game is breathtaking and runs awesomely even on my modest laptop - Bethesda have done a great job of optimizing it for lower to mid range spec systems.

[QualityChimp]

So my wife was kind enough to get me this for Christmas and I've a few questions.

Have the patches made this stable now?
Does it look best run straight from the disc or installed to the HDD?
Do you have any tips for starting out? Which characteristics are worth going for, etc.

[dataDave]

So my wife was kind enough to get me this for Christmas and I've a few questions.

Have the patches made this stable now?

That depends on what your idea of stable is, and how lucky you are I suppose.

Does it look best run straight from the disc or installed to the HDD?

Lots of mixed reports.

Do you have any tips for starting out? Which characteristics are worth going for, etc.

The beauty of these kind of games is that you cater the skill sets around your most common actions. Just spend skill points on what you feel best, ideally on what you naturally find yourself using most as those branches will level up faster.

[PeteJ]

The patches have made it pretty good on PC and 360 but if you have the PS3 you best trade that in for another version. There are still some bugs but I haven't come across anything gamebreaking, other than a few lockups which have happend about three times in 70 hours.

Install the game and it'll look as good as running from disc now.

And as dave says, just play and enjoy the game. There is no wrong way to play it - happy adventuring!

[Charlie]

Finally beat the campaign and while there's no denying the scale and scope of the game is impressive, and the landscape is beautiful and begs to be explored, ultimately I feel there's a distinct lack of imagination. I can't remember being amazed or surprised once, and elements like the dragons or conversing with Gods (which should and could have been memorable affairs) are so frequent and badly done that they're just tedious. In many ways the game is Oblivion's inferior. Least there was no boring Oblivion gates this time around and at least the final act was pretty decent. Too bad you can't go back to beautiful

->Open Spoiler<-

Sovngarde

once you're done but I imagine DLC will put paid to that.

[Adam Stone]

Ah man, Charlie, really? Such a shame, i feel like i want to give you my experience so you can be shocked and delighted. It sounds like we are playing very different games ? much of what I have witnessed has been incredibly mindful - im often totally shocked when introduced to a scenario or event or quest or character that was way beyond butterfly catching. Sometimes it may even be just stumbling across a couple of NPCs having a chat about the on-going madness around or a random hut that houses nothing but a dead husband, a dead wife and a note.

In my opinion it is the little things that transcends a title from good into greatness and Skrim is FULL of little touches that can, at times, turn out to be quite immense.

[Charlie]

I want your experience too! Hehe. I notice you usually have high praise for the games you comment on so I guess it's a matter of perspective. I suspect you're more open-minded when it comes to videogames, where as I'm a miserable bastard who, if a game isn't doing something better or substantially different to an existing game, feel I'm wasting my time.

[Adam Stone]

:-)

I am actually quite bitter at times, haha! Believe it or not. I can be really negative.... only when it is due, mind.

BUT! the reason why i am so postive is usually because I have a slight insight into what makes these games tick, the troubles the devs have.... the resctrictions they face, the external voices that doom upon everything.... so, to me, Skyrim is something else indeed. It does so much right, in so many of the areas that push my buttons, that i can forgive any of the negatives I have - and i do have many. They just arent worth mentioning.

For me, to improve upon a title changes dont have to be substantial - the changes just need to work. However in my mind Skyrim is a huge step forward since Oblivion - perhaps not on a grander scale, but with so many little details, little touches that add up to something else.

I would say, personally for you, perhaps reinvent your perspective, there's no harm in that, and perhaps look at the world of skyrim differently. Maybe seeing it all with a fresh perspetive, just how it is, no comparisions, will enhance your experience.