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Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Society

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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Spoiler tags
Since this is a game with heavy story elements and various approaches to quests, please use spoiler tags when discussing quests but summarise what you're referring to as well.

The code is: [NOPARSE]

Spoiler

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Note: All information is compiled from Something Awful and NeoGAF.

Basic information

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Studies Game Director: Todd Howard
Skyrim Lead Designer: Bruce Nesmith
Composer: Jeremy Soule
Engine: Creation Engine
Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date: November 11, 2011

Reviews
Gamespot 9.0
IGN 9.5
Giantbomb 5/5
1up A-
Joystiq 5/5
Edge 9/10
Eurogamer 10/10
Gameblog 5/5
Rockpapershotgun: "New Best Elder Scrolls Ever."
GameTrailers 9.3 Careful of possible spoilers.
Jeusvideo 18/20
Anaitgames 10/10
pcgamers 94
Destructoid 10/10
Everyeye 9/10
Vandal 9.8
Wired 10/10
Computerandvideogames 9.5
G4 5/5
Thesixthaxis 9/10
Atomicgamer 10/10
Gamereactor 10/10
Oxm 10/10
Gameinformer 9.50
Rpgamer 4.5/5
Metro 9/10
Videogameszone - 90 out of 100
Gamer 9.5
Strategyinformer 9.5
Teamxbox 9.8
Meristation 10/10
Escapistmagazine 5/5

Official Links

ElderScrolls.com - The official website for The Elder Scrolls.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Official Site - The official website for Skyrim.
Bethesda Blog - What the developers are working on.
The Elder Council - The Facebook page for The Elder Scrolls series.
Twitter - Their twitter.
The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (UESP) - Quest, item, spells, skills, and any lore found within the Elder Scrolls page combined into a fantastic Wiki.
Skyrim Wiki - A Wikia for The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim.
Achievements for The Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim - Achievements for the Skyrim. Minor spoilers in the link.


Summary

Skyrim is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion, in the land of Skyrim. The province has erupted into civil war after the assassination of its king. Concurrently, the god Alduin, who takes the form of a massive dragon, has arisen to destroy the world. The player character is one of the last living Dovahkiin (Dragonborn), and must fend off Alduin and save Skyrim from destruction.

Skyrim is not a direct sequel to Oblivion; rather, it is a new chapter in the Elder Scrolls series, set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion. In the preamble to Skyrim, the Empire began ceding territory to the Elven nations it once ruled, because there was no heir to the Emperor's throne. The Blades had no one to defend, and gradually died, were murdered, or secluded themselves from the rest of the world. After the king of Skyrim was assassinated, a civil war broke out amongst the native Nord race the majority being those who wished for Skyrim to secede from the Empire, and the rest being those who wished for Skyrim to stay in the Empire.

As with previous Elder Scrolls games, Skyrim begins with the player character as an unknown prisoner, on the way to their own execution. The player eventually learns that Skyrim's civil war is last in a sequence of prophetic events foretold by the Elder Scrolls, which also foretell of the return of Alduin, the Nordic god of destruction. Taking the form of a gigantic dragon, Alduin is prophesied to consume the world with his servants, the Jills (a race of black dragons). The player character is the last Dovahkiin (Dragonborn), a dragon hunter anointed by the gods to help fend off the threat Alduin poses to Skyrim and Tamriel. Aiding the player is Esbern (voiced by Max von Sydow), one of the last Blades.

Skyrim's game world is the province of Skyrim. It is a northern province of Tamriel, the continent on which all the games in the series have taken place. Skyrim is roughly the same size as Oblivion's game world Cyrodiil, which is around 16 square miles (41 square kilometers) in area. Within Skyrim lie five cities, larger than Cyrodiil's cities, as well as smaller townships and expanses of wilderness. Much of Skyrim's topography is mountainous, and dragons are frequently encountered when exploring the wilderness. There are over 150 dungeons scattered across Skyrim, and when the player enters a dungeon for the first time, the monsters within lock to the player's level permanently, even if visited later at a higher level. Fast-travelling is a returning feature, allowing the player to instantly travel to any marked location that has been previously visited. Over 300 in-game books will be featured for the player to read in order to learn about the lore of the world.

Videos







Features


Radiant Story - Many quests are still completely governed by Bethesda, but the Radiant Story system helps randomize and relate the side quests to players to make the experience as dynamic and reactive as possible. Rather than inundate you with a string of unrelated and mundane tasks, it tailors missions based on who your character is, where you're at, what you've done in the past, and what you're currently doing. Radiant Story is also smart enough to know which caves and dungeons you've already visited and thus conditionalize where, for instance, a kidnapped person is being held to direct you toward a specific place you haven't been to before, populated with a specific level of enemy. Skyrim also tracks your friendships and grudges to generate missions. Do a small favor for a farmer and it may eventually lead to a larger quest. Some NPCs will even agree to be your companion to help you out in specific situations.

Combat - Combat in Skyrim has been majorly overhauled from it's predecessors. Combat physics have been improved, making it seem more realistic, combat A.I have been improved, making the enemy and allies smarter. Dual wielding has been talked about a lot, and it seems you can dual wield almost anything, and you can even use your torch as a weapon. Combat also features 'magnetism', which makes your attacks less likely to hit allies, which should make companions much more feasible than before.

Skills - Skyrim features 18 skills so we know that at least three skills from Oblivion are gone, and these are Acrobatics, Athletics and mercantile. With Acrobatics and Athletics gone, it seems your standard jump height and running/swimming speed will be set in stone, but this may be remedied with Dragon Shouts. Mercantile on the other hand, hasn't really been removed, but has been merged with Speechcraft. Weapon skills like Blunt and Blade have been converted to One-handed and Two-handed, while armorer have had it's name changed to smithing. Skills still progress like they do in previous Elder Scrolls games, as you use them.

Perks - There are more than 280 perks in Skyrim, of which you will only be able to pick 75 in one game. This means that if you want to test all the perks in the game, you will have to play the game four times. Now, that's replayability! But let's not get ahead of ourselves here; we also have to remember that this number includes perk ranks as well, and some perks have as many as five ranks. Perks are linked with skills, and to be able to master certain perks you will also have to master the skill the perk is associated with. So, to pick the latest perk in the speechcraft tree, you will have to be a master of speechcrafting. There are 18 different perk trees, all associated with their own skill.

Artificial Intelligence - The game uses the same Radiant A.I. system as in Oblivion but it appears to have been significantly updated. Townspeople won't be loitering around aimlessly in the towns in Skyrim and they will always have a task to do, like chopping wood, sawing, smithing or farming. Relationships between the player and NPCs have also been improved, and a friend of the player will, for instance, offer you lodging instead of demanding you to leave if you barge into their house in the middle of the night. They will also not kill you over a stolen apple. Another very unique thing about the A.I in Skyrim is when you drop an item, NPCs will react to this if they see it. If a boy sees that you drop it, they might come up to you and try to give it back, while two men might start a fight over the item, all based on what kind of item you dropped. It's not just the NPCs that have had their A.I improved - creatures also act more believable. The way creatures operate during a fight is based on how many they are, how strong they are or how strong you are compared to them. For instance, a pack of wolves will try to circle around you instead of barging head on against you. Relations between creatures also exist on a higher level than before. The giants and the mammoths travel together in packs, ignoring the player if left undisturbed. However, if you start a fight with one of them, you better come prepared, as they will all try to smash you to pieces.

Sound - Skyrim features a horde of voice actors! According to Bethesda, Skyrim features over 70 voice actors, more than 4 times the amount of voice actors in oblivion (including Shivering Isles). Among the cast of voice actors there are a few Academy Award nominees, including Christopher Plummer ('The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo', 'The Insider'), Max Von Sydow ('The Exorcist', 'Minority Report'), and Joan Allen ('The Contender', 'The Bourne Ultimatum'). There are approximately 60,000 lines of spoken dialogue in Skyrim, which is about 15,000 more than in Fallout 3. Oh, and as always, Jeremy Soule will be composing the music.

Character Generation - When first creating your character, you are presented with a bunch of sliders which changes different aspects of your appearance. You can change the size of your nose, the shape of your ears and even how fat or muscular you are. Now, that's the visuals, and then I guess you want to know about the other aspects of Character Generation... Well, there are none. In previous Elder Scrolls games, you were able to pick a class , choose which skills were your major ones and pick a birth sign. All of that has been removed, so you define your character as you play, and all skill advancements contribute to a level-up.

Frequently Asked Questions

What system should I buy Skyrim on?

This is actually an easy answer! Buy and play it for whichever system you prefer. If you are still undecided, weigh your priorities. Ask yourself, can my machine run Skyrim at a decent setting? If so, then you might want to get the PC version since you get additional modding capabilities, higher textures, and so on. If you don't have (or don't want to invest in) a new PC, then a console version would be best. As for which console version, it doesn't matter.

Do I have to purchase through Steam for the PC version?

No, you can purchase it through any retailer for the PC version, but ultimately you will have to register Skyrim on Steam, and play through Steam.

Can my system run Skyrim? What are the specifications?

The official specs are as follows:

Recommended Specs

Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
4GB System RAM
6GB free HDD space
DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher (i.e GTX550Ti); ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).
DirectX compatible sound card
Internet access for Steam activation

Minimum Specs

Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor
2GB System RAM
6GB free HDD Space
Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM
DirectX compatible sound card
Internet access for Steam activation

Editions

Standard Edition:


Includes the game and a standard paper map. Pre-orders get a premium synthetic cloth map.


PC: £27.99
Consoles: £39.99

Collector’s Edition:

Also known as the “Who needs food, anyway?”-edition. Includes the game, a synthetic cloth map, a “Making of Skyrim”-DVD,
a 200 page art book and a statue of Alduin.


All platforms: £129.99


Downloadable Content
Two future DLCs have been confirmed, and will be released on the XBOX 360 exclusively for at least 30 days.


(edited 12 years ago)

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Nice lot of info in one post.

Have rep.
Reply 2
Wooooooo!!!!
Reply 3
'It’ll then set enemies that are appropriately matched to your strengths and weaknesses.'

'Yes, you can fast travel to previously explored places.'

Oh.

However, I shall not naysay. I'm just going to pray to Bethesda for the next 10 months.
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
There's going to be a lot of information regarding the game (features, graphical look, content, story and hopefully, gameplay) in the upcoming few months. Thought I would create a thread which I, or anyone else, can update regularly with whatever snippets of information that are released. The first piece of information to come out was the trailer and since then GameInformer have covered it exclusively with a few pages worth of content on the game.

Trailer | Sons of Skyrim - Trailer Soundtrack

A few days late but...

Magazine scans

Elder Scrolls V Game Informer Magazine scans



Screenshots

Screenshots


Maps

Maps


Skyrim: Secrets of Alduin's Wall - http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/01/12/skyrim-secrets-of-the-wall.aspx

Features


Related threads: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, what do you want to see?


More Elder Scrolls news!! Thank you Ape Gone Insane - I'll have to rep you for this! :smile: Those screenshots look amazing, I'm just hoping that the new features will work out quite well.
Reply 5
Sounds good, its been 2 years since I played Oblivion. I WANT MOAR.
Reply 6
Sounds much more interactive which was the main part of the game for me. I never really did the main quest line. Epic epic game though. :biggrin:
Scaling will be like fallout 3 more so than Oblivion? Get in!!! Getting rid of class system? Get in!!!!

:biggrin: I liked gothic 3 as much as oblivion because of things like that...
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
:blah:


Ape you legend, have a :cookie: and some reputationses

It be lookin gurd :bunny:
wonder how big the map is compared to oblivion, looks x4ish at a glance
NERDGASM, JIZZ ON THE SCREEN! Damn this looks fantastic! They're removing all the flaws of Oblivion and adding tons of new content and features! Plus characters that actually look believable and dare I say hot!
Reply 11
Original post by Ape Gone Insane

Original post by Ape Gone Insane
There's going to be a lot of information regarding the game (features, graphical look, content, story and hopefully, gameplay) in the upcoming few months. Thought I would create a thread which I, or anyone else, can update regularly with whatever snippets of information that are released. The first piece of information to come out was the trailer and since then GameInformer have covered it exclusively with a few pages worth of content on the game.

Trailer | Sons of Skyrim - Trailer Soundtrack

A few days late but...

Magazine scans

Elder Scrolls V Game Informer Magazine scans



Screenshots

Screenshots


Maps

Maps


Skyrim: Secrets of Alduin's Wall - http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/01/12/skyrim-secrets-of-the-wall.aspx

Features


Related threads: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, what do you want to see?


:coma: :sogood: :coma: :sogood: :coma: :sogood: :coma: :sogood: :coma: :sogood:

Good work bro, loving the info :cookie:

Thanks :h:
Reply 12
Wow!! It looks exactly the same!!

Shame it seems as though enemy level-scaling is staying in. I'll still be giving it a whirl though
Original post by Ape Gone Insane

Original post by Ape Gone Insane
You dislike fast travel? :tongue:


It's important to have a mechanic that allows you to move around the map relatively quickly, but the fast travel system as implemented in Oblivion was completely immersion breaking. I'd prefer something that isn't just a loading screen, but something like a flying machine (or animal) where you can fly over the map and really get an appreciation of it's grandness.
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
Something like ... the dragons that will feature heavily in the game? :tongue: Yeah, that would be much better than a loading screen.


That would be AWESOME...

Having like stables of dragons outside each city that you can jump onto and soar over the cities would be really immersive.

Or just my own pet dragon that can act like Fawkes(from fallout 3) at times and help me in battles and then become my flying machine when i want would be awesome.

He'll be even quicker than the unicorn...(From oblivion) and he won't run off if i leave him for a second...
Reply 15
Why don't they get rid of fast travel? It makes the game seem less epic. Bring some form of taxi like the siltstriders.

And get rid of the fricking radar. You don't even need to think when it comes to quests. If you had to go into a dungeon to retrieve an object you'd just follow the arrow. In morrowind you had to find the objects yourself which was good.

Remember the dwermer puzzle box from Morro? :smile:
Original post by ilyking

Original post by ilyking
nd get rid of the fricking radar. You don't even need to think when it comes to quests. If you had to go into a dungeon to retrieve an object you'd just follow the arrow. In morrowind you had to find the objects yourself which was good.


Yeah, I'd agree with that. I ignored so much crap just on a direct line because of that radar, another thing that totally breaks immersion.
Reply 17
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
There will be a HUD free option which solves the radar annoyance and enhances the experience I guess.


well... the fact that the radar arrow is available will force me to use it, because I know it is there.

Similarly with fast travel, I could always run by foot if I wanted to, but since the fast travel option is there I just have to use it.

OP, did you play Morrowind? If you did I'm sure you'd agree with me!

I'm sure you miss the Mage teleport/ Boat rides to Soltheim (around morrowind too) and the Classic siltstriders.

And I also think they should bring back levitate. It makes the game feel more... GREAT :wink: I used to levitate and then throw my magic down/ arrows. It was also fun to use because you could get to higher places and take special armor, and the fact that you levitated to get the armor/weapon makes it feel more valuable. Like the armor in Tel Fyr.

And also you should be allowed to kill Main quest NPC's so that when part of the main quest comes up and you had to go to person X but person X is dead and you know you're screwed, then suddenly the sky turns red and a message comes up saying that some paradox stops you from fulfilling the prophecy and Ah!

I'm getting carried away... Morrowind memories. :daydreaming:
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 18
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
I'm extremely ashamed to make the confession that I did not play Morrowind.


It's not too late. You can play Morro now on your PC and use the Morrowind graphics extender mod. It's quite literally Morrowind modded so that it has Oblivion graphics. The graphics are exactly the same as Oblivion.

Look at Youtube videos for the graphics extender, you'll be amazed :smile: Mind you your PC has to be pretty nifty so that it can handle it!
Reply 19
Original post by Ape Gone Insane
You're the second person to recommend me the graphic extender mod with Morrowind. Anyhow, I had a look at some Youtube videos (of the most recent mod release) and it looks really good. Think I might invest some time into this in the run up to Skyrim. :h:


Also when you kill a main quest NPC you get a quest that offers you one opportunity to fix the paradox!

Sorry, that was random and unnecessary but I had to let out my inner-nerd. :colondollar:

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