The Elder Scrolls VI

[Static]

On 6/26/2018 at 9:03 AM, Edward Nashton said:

They just look so bland to me. What aliens are to Sci-fi, Elves should be to Fantasy. They shouldn't just look like regular humans with pointy ears, I think.

tfw someone says you're just a human with pointy ears.

Edited July 9, 2018 by Static

[Dryspace]

@Static

 

You forgot slanty eyebrows.

[Edward Nashton]

5 hours ago, Static said:

tfw someone says you're just a human with pointy ears.

Lol yeah, but Stark Trek lore explains why Humans and Vulcans look similar to each other, in almost all fantasy works Elves and Humans have completely separate origins, definitely in Elder Scrolls. You're actually illustrating @Dryspace 's post, Leonard Nimoy (R.I.P) had a unique enough look to him that all you had to do to sell him as an alien was glue some pointy ears on him and draw some angry eyebrows on his face. He looks way more interesting than these boring looking mofos 

(Maybe I'm missing something and there's a footnote in the Silmarillion that says elves and humans have a common ancestor???)

 

I'm just nit-picking, though - I actually really like the Peter Jackson films and I know the main reason the elves look the way they do is likely due to budget constraints, it would cost a fortune to use elaborate makeup or digital effects on every single one of those actors and extras in order to make them look 'otherworldly'. I do expect more creativity when it comes to video game elves, though, I really liked God of War's interpretation of light elves and dark elves, I was afraid they were going to go with the typical sexy lady elves and androgynous dude elves that I've grown sick of seeing in video games. 

[APB]

On 6/26/2018 at 3:03 PM, Edward Nashton said:

They just look so bland to me. What aliens are to Sci-fi, Elves should be to Fantasy. They shouldn't just look like regular humans with pointy ears, I think.

Be warned. You have been marked by the Thalmor.

[Dryspace]

Also, lol...I'm pretty sure that in Jackson's movies, almost 100% of the time the elves all take care to make sure their ears aren't obscured by their hair. "I'm an elf, dammit! LOOK AT MY EARS!"

 

To think, Sam may have unknowingly seen real elves before, except they happened to have their hair down.

[DarksunDaFirst]

13 hours ago, Dryspace said:

Also, lol...I'm pretty sure that in Jackson's movies, almost 100% of the time the elves all take care to make sure their ears aren't obscured by their hair. "I'm an elf, dammit! LOOK AT MY EARS!"

 

To think, Sam may have unknowingly seen real elves before, except they happened to have their hair down.

Well, if you've been alive for a few thousand years and never have to worry about hair loss...you probably figured it wise how best to wear your hair spent at least a few centuries developing the perfect conditioner and spray.

[qOjOp]

[markuISAN]

i think like its comes in 2023 because i would think taht anthro comes in roblox this year or 2020

[Mister Pink]

It's hard to tell how I would feel about a new Elder Scrolls. I loved Skyrim so much as it was my introduction to the Elder Scrolls. Just as someone who may have been introduced on to the series with Oblivion and grew accustomed to that world and style, they may not like Skyrim after. Will that be the same for me, I wonder? I'll miss some element from that I loved from Skyrim or the art-direction will have changed to a style I can't love. 

 

I'm going to remain optimistic but cautiously optimistic. I played ESO as wasn't impressed at all. I particularly hated the menu system/UI, especially during dialogue scenes. It felt like an arcade game. 

 

 

[Dryspace]

@Mister Pink

 

The ESO has as much to do with the Elder Scrolls games as an Elder Scrolls-themed video poker machine.

 

You say that you fear that you may not like the game that follows Skyrim because Skyrim was your first game. But what about the game that came before it--Oblivion?

 

Like you, Skyrim was the first Elder Scrolls game that I played. In 2016 I played Oblivion for the first time and ended up putting 180 hours into it--a longer play time than my first Skyrim play-through.

 

I'm not concerned that I won't like the next game because it will be different--I'm concerned that I won't like it because Bethesda will have gone even further in their attempt to appeal to every last person on the planet in order to rake in the last conceivable dollar. And considering how terrible Bethesda is with the technical side of development, I'm concerned that they will FINALLY use a new(er) engine, but that that huge change will defeat them and result in a highly compromised experience with even more bugs than usual.

[Forty]

That's an incredibly cynical view of Bethesda considering how much you've said you loved the past two Elder Scrolls titles. Their games have always had bugs, but rarely has that stopped hordes from playing them for hundreds/thousands of hours. I hope it does have a new engine. I was disappointed to learn F76 is on the same old engine, even if they claim they've done an overhaul.

[Dryspace]

@Forty

 

I'm not sure if you really meant 'cynical' or 'pessimistic', or both, but I don't see how what I said indicates such a view of Bethesda.

 

For one, what I said was an honest viewpoint based on what I understand to be facts. Sure, I'm exaggerating when I reference a video poker machine, but my point was that the ESO was not created because someone had what he thought was a great idea for a game that would advance the state of the art, and that he was passionate about developing; rather, it was created for literally no other reason than to generate revenue. There's nothing in the slightest wrong with making as much money as one can--it's how one goes about making it that matters.

 

Further, and I think this is something that people often overlook: Things change over time, and that includes companies. You mention that I loved the last two ES games (I've never characterized either as among my most favorite games, but I freely admit that I've had much enjoyment out of them), but just because I like what a company did in the past doesn't mean I approve of what they are doing now. And in fact I do not approve of the decisions Bethesda is making of late.

 

Even though this is Bethesda we're talking about, I don't want to believe that they are planning to put ES6 on Gamebryo. But then again--and this is not pessimism, it's a bald statement of fact--they absolutely will if they believe they can get away with it. So far they have gotten away with it, every time.

 

When I mentioned a new(er) engine, I wasn't just referring to bugs. What I meant was that I fear that dealing with a different engine would have many different repercussions that could compromise any and all aspects of the game--leading to something like three steps forward and two steps back.

Edited August 2, 2018 by Dryspace
Typo

[Typhus]

I really want the marriage and adoption system to get an overhaul.

Give us less people to marry, but those we can have far more personality, unique quests, and a real impetus for players to actually wed them. Make it a big event, make it hard work, so it has some real meaning, rather than it being a completely interchangeable character with the exact same lines of dialogue as every other character.

And when it comes to adoption,we should be able to take our kids hunting, and have Argonian or Orc children, too, not just humans.

 

It was such a nice element of Skyrim, and with a little tweaking can become even better.

[Forty]

23 hours ago, Dryspace said:

@Forty

 

I'm not sure if you really meant 'cynical' or 'pessimistic', or both, but I don't see how what I said indicates such a view of Bethesda.

 

For one, what I said was an honest viewpoint based on what I understand to be facts. Sure, I'm exaggerating when I reference a video poker machine, but my point was that the ESO was not created because someone had what he thought was a great idea for a game that would advance the state of the art, and that he was passionate about developing; rather, it was created for literally no other reason than to generate revenue. There's nothing in the slightest wrong with making as much money as one can--it's how one goes about making it that matters.

 

Further, and I think this is something that people often overlook: Things change over time, and that includes companies. You mention that I loved the last two ES games (I've never characterized either as among my most favorite games, but I freely admit that I've had much enjoyment out of them), but just because I like what a company did in the past doesn't mean I approve of what they are doing now. And in fact I do not approve of the decisions Bethesda is making of late.

 

Even though this is Bethesda we're talking about, I don't want to believe that they are planning to put ES6 on Gamebryo. But then again--and this is not pessimism, it's a bald statement of fact--they absolutely will if they believe they can get away with it. So far they have gotten away with it, every time.

 

When I mentioned a new(er) engine, I wasn't just referring to bugs. What I meant was that I fear that dealing with a different engine would have many different repercussions that could compromise any and all aspects of the game--leading to something like three steps forward and two steps back.

 

I said you had a cynical view because in your previous post you said this:

 

On 8/1/2018 at 12:12 PM, Dryspace said:

I'm not concerned that I won't like the next game because it will be different--I'm concerned that I won't like it because Bethesda will have gone even further in their attempt to appeal to every last person on the planet in order to rake in the last conceivable dollar. And considering how terrible Bethesda is with the technical side of development, I'm concerned that they will FINALLY use a new(er) engine, but that that huge change will defeat them and result in a highly compromised experience with even more bugs than usual.

That is a cynical view of Bethesda because you expect them to be money hungry and technically inept. It's not an attack on you to say that.

[Dryspace]

@Forty

 

Whether it is or isn't an attack doesn't concern me at all. I was simply attempting to respond to your comment, as I took it to mean that what I said was an unjustified or unfair perception. I believe that both pessimism and optimism are invalid, both being colored perceptions of reality, with realism the best option. As far as cynicism...

 

...having considered things a bit more, I do think I should clarify. I do actually have a cynical view of the modern video game industry, which I think is perfectly valid. It is simply a fact that the very way in which games are made under the modern publisher-controlled paradigm, and the motivations for making them, are not at all those of the earlier studio-controlled paradigm.

 

Basically, because of the changes I have seen in the industry, I hope for good games, but I don't expect them, unless and until there is a fundamental change in the industry. An exception would be CD Projekt RED, because they develop and operate under the old studio-controlled paradigm.

 

They make money because they make good games. Whereas others make games only because they make good money.

 

@Mister Pink

 

You never told me--did you like Oblivion?

Edited August 3, 2018 by Dryspace
Addendum

[Mister Pink]

On 8/1/2018 at 6:12 PM, Dryspace said:

@Mister Pink

 

The ESO has as much to do with the Elder Scrolls games as an Elder Scrolls-themed video poker machine.

 

You say that you fear that you may not like the game that follows Skyrim because Skyrim was your first game. But what about the game that came before it--Oblivion?

 

Like you, Skyrim was the first Elder Scrolls game that I played. In 2016 I played Oblivion for the first time and ended up putting 180 hours into it--a longer play time than my first Skyrim play-through.

 

I'm not concerned that I won't like the next game because it will be different--I'm concerned that I won't like it because Bethesda will have gone even further in their attempt to appeal to every last person on the planet in order to rake in the last conceivable dollar. And considering how terrible Bethesda is with the technical side of development, I'm concerned that they will FINALLY use a new(er) engine, but that that huge change will defeat them and result in a highly compromised experience with even more bugs than usual.

 

... You never told me--did you like Oblivion?

 

Hey, sorry I read your comments but wasn't in a position to reply. Oblivion was the first ES game I saw being played and the idea of it, the map and exploration sounded amazing but never played an RPG when it came out and I had little or no interest in anything fantasy. Admittedly, Skyrim was my introduction to D&D-style fantasy. So, I probably compare everything fantasy like to Skyrim's lore/style even though I know it's borrowed from many other sources and isn't always exactly original. But to answer your question, no, I've never say down to play Oblivion and I gave it consideration the other day. 

 

I intend one picking up a One X  and I'll most likely give it a go on that as the graphics look decent on there. I prefer to game on my console, so suggesting PC isn't an option, not yet anyway as I've nowhere to even put a PC right now. 

 

But yeah, it's kind of encouraging that Skyrim was your first ES game and that you went on to love Oblivion. 

 

 

[Dryspace]

@Mister Pink

 

I feel obligated to make sure you don't think I'm heartily recommending Oblivion as an amazing experience.

 

I'm not claiming that Oblivion is as good as Skyrim overall. It didn't impress me at first (but to be fair, neither did Skyrim), and there are several aspects that are poor, and those that Skyrim did much better. I will tell you straight away that the dungeons and most of the monsters are as generic as they come. Skyrim is hands-down superior in this regard.

 

But as I stuck with it and continued, I ended up being drawn into the world, mostly because of the well-written characters and quests, which are arguably better than those of Skyrim. If these aspects are not important to you, you may find Oblivion dull.

 

I'm an archer, and I almost quit in disgust early on, because I couldn't kill anything. I'm not exaggerating when I say that in the beginning I could spend five minutes making a porcupine out of a low-level sorceror, he continually healing up every time I nearly micro-chipped him down to zero health. Fortunately, this situation rectified itself after a few levelings.

 

I would definitely recommend that anyone who enjoys Skyrim at least try Oblivion. I would also recommend, though, that one do some basic research on the leveling system. I did not follow a careful system or do anything special regarding character creation and leveling, and I completed the game without issue, but it is apparently possible to run into significant difficulties resulting from choices during character creation.

[Mister Pink]

@Dryspace 

 

I appreciate what you are saying. 

 

And yes, I would find well-written characters and quests quite valuable. Unfortunately, Skyrim gets a little repetitive in so that there are a lot of fetch-quests. And this didn't bother me too much because I'm empathetic to the notion that in a video game with so much content, quest-wise, it's kind of unavoidable to not have similar style quests, especially in that world where you are restricted to walking/running and basic hand-to-hand combat and magic. 

 

But you stuck with it and you got drawn into the world. And that's the magic of a good game. I'm not someone to normally give up on something too easily. I'm surprised I did with ESO. And maybe there's still some value in that for me undiscovered but fundamentally, the UI kept reminding me I'm playing a game and seeing other people online doing the same stuff as me just seemed so unrealistic. At the start it felt like we were cosplaying in an Elder Scrolls digital theme park because you could see other people that were level 1 and 2 like me just going through the same intro quests.

 

I'll give Oblivion a go. But I'm not going to get too disappointed if I don't complete it. Or perhaps I'll aim to just complete the main quest so at least I can get a flavour of it. 

[Dryspace]

@Mister Pink

 

"seeing other people online doing the same stuff as me just seemed so unrealistic. At the start it felt like we were cosplaying in an Elder Scrolls digital theme park because you could see other people that were level 1 and 2 like me just going through the same intro quests."

 

That was precisely the same impression I had when I tried ESO! I've never been a serious MMO player, but I know that my experience starting ESO was nothing like my experience starting WoW, nor did it feel anything like an Elder Scrolls game.

 

My experience as I remember it was of a bunch of people just moving to and fro like automatons, nobody paying the slightest attention to each other. I walk up to a door that I'm apparently supposed to pass through, and I watch one after the other after the other person hunch over and do a little 'fiddle-dee-dee' animation, and then disappear.

 

Really, I just don't think modern MMOs are created to appeal to players like me--at least, if they are created to be like modern WoW. I liked WoW (pre-Cataclysm) because of the adventure, the journey. I loved the fact that everyone talked to each other and everyone helped each other, because they needed to to survive.

 

Apparently there are a lot of people that like playing such a game only for the loot acquisition, which is what the gameplay is tailored entirely around now. I'm not denouncing that preference; I'm saying that it doesn't appeal to me. But for that reason, I confess that I am quite (guardedly) excited about the announcement of WoW Classic.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Dryspace
Two typos

[Clem Fandango]

I've actually been really deep into Oblivion lately. With Better Cities, Unique Landscapes, OOO, MOO, Supreme Magicka, Middas Magic, Morroblivion, Deserts of Anequia and all of Betty/Elbethien's Asian and tropical mods it's definitely an amazing experience. 

 

At the risk of sounding like a whining nerd, I can't really recommend vanilla Oblivion as an Elder Scrolls game because it f*cks with the lore so much. Skyrim is a bland medieval fantasy as well, but the region of Skyrim was never meant to be anything else. Cyrodiil is a jungle whose culture is a blend of Renaissance Italy and Rome with Asian influences added in the Nibenay, not medieval England. The quests are much better than Skyrim though. Like, in a totally different league. Skyrim had zero interesting quests, flat none. 

 

With the mods I mentioned it sh*ts on Skyrim.

[APB]

I'm going to revive this one since we got a sneak-peak at the technology (and place) of TES 6:

 

8:30 and onwards. 

 

My guess is that it takes place in Hammerfell judging from the teaser and now this deserty environment. (Also a big yay for Skyrim Grandma being in TES 6.)

[Dryspace]

I don't like to crap the camp meeting, but these days, exposing myself to the influence of Bethesda's hype just makes me feel like I need a shower.

 

For my part, I don't want to see or hear anything from that company that doesn't take the form of a solid, honestly-designed game.

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

On 8/1/2018 at 4:12 PM, Mister Pinkerton said:

I played ESO as wasn't impressed at all. I particularly hated the menu system/UI, especially during dialogue scenes. It felt like an arcade game. 

started playing ESO this week after reading that a new DLC with dragons is coming up in June. sucks to start from zero since the last time i played was a couple years ago in the PS4 and you cant transfer accounts

 

 

On 8/5/2018 at 4:30 PM, Dryspace said:

My experience as I remember it was of a bunch of people just moving to and fro like automatons, nobody paying the slightest attention to each other. I walk up to a door that I'm apparently supposed to pass through, and I watch one after the other after the other person hunch over and do a little 'fiddle-dee-dee' animation, and then disappear.

that is normal in any MMO, and even more if you are in a low level with other people that just want to grind to reach the endgame. i never had a hard time finding a group of people to play with in ESO and in my last months i even caved to the PVP side with massive groups against each other.

im sure if you start a new DLC that came out recently you will find people paying attention to everything around them, and not grinding the third  or fourth character

Edited May 6, 2019 by HaRdSTyLe_83

[Dryspace]

4 hours ago, HaRdSTyLe_83 said:

that is normal in any MMO, and even more if you are in a low level with other people that just want to grind to reach the endgame.

I'm willing to believe that, and that's why I went on to say that I don't think modern MMOs are geared toward players like myself. It's not an exaggeration at all to say that WoW, when I checked in ~2015, was a different game--a different genre--then it was in 2009, which was the last time I spent a significant amount of time in the game. It's become a Massively Single-Player Online Looter. That seems to be the template that (almost?) all "MMOs" use these days. I would imagine it's a genre more conducive to certain practices lately in vogue--who knows?

 

4 hours ago, HaRdSTyLe_83 said:

im sure if you start a new DLC that came out recently you will find people paying attention to everything around them

No doubt...no doubt. My concern is finding people paying attention to everyone around them!

[Static]

@Dryspace

 

So you gonna try out Classic then?

[Dryspace]

11 minutes ago, Static said:

@Dryspace

 

So you gonna try out Classic then?

I have always intended to. I haven't heard anything about it since the original announcement, though.

[APB]

 

 

-Will be more than a decade between it and Skyrim, won't be on PS4 and Xbox One.

-Will last as long as Skyrim, for at least 10 years. (So TES 7 will be at least another 10 years out from TES 6)

- At 01:05:35 Todd becomes a Rap GOD, give this man a beat already!

 

Btw, they recently settled the trademark war for "Redfall" with the author of the books, so that's what TES 6 will likely be called. 

 

Starfield bits:

-In dev for at least 3.5 years.

- Different tone compared to TES and Fallout.

- Basically a space game you always wanted to play.

- Mad lad asks what year it is...

 

 

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by APB

[The N. Bellic Man]

On 8/1/2018 at 8:12 PM, Dryspace said:

In 2016 I played Oblivion for the first time and ended up putting 180 hours into it--a longer play time than my first Skyrim play-through.

You make it sound like it's a lot of time. Well, it isn't. It took me more than twice as much to finally complete it. Still there is some minor quests and Shivering Isles DLC waiting for my attention. And I actually used quite a lot fast traveling. If you don't use fast travel and explore every cave and so on, it would easily be somewhere around 500 hours. Especially if you use stealth.

 

But that is not necessarily a bad thing. It's great that game offers more than a decent amount of exploring. On the other hand it is hard to complete it. Originally I played Oblivion around 80 hours in 2010 and didn't finish it. Then when it came backward compatible I said to myself that I have to finally complete this game. But because so much time had passed I thought that I must start it from the beginning.

 

I started it early 2017 and finally completed it last weekend. Of course I didn't play it all the time and took some major breaks from it. However it was exhausting and fulfilling at the same time. I view it as a some kind of long time project that I managed to complete. Even if Fallout games can be pretty time consuming, they don't come close to how much time the Elder Scrolls consume.

 

So, how I feel about Oblivion then? It's definitely one of the best games I have played (but haven't yet completed Skyrim which I started around same time). But the point being that if you have a life, you must really be persistent with these kind of games.

 

And yeah, Oblivion looks pretty amazing in 4K considering it's a 2006 game.

 

 

[Dryspace]

2 hours ago, The N. Bellic Man said:

You make it sound like it's a lot of time. Well, it isn't.

On the contrary--you're making it sound like I make it sound like it's a lot of time, lol. Whether it sounds like a lot of time to someone is a matter of relativity. I only stated my play time, and the fact that it was longer than that of my first Skyrim play-through.

 

However, since you bring it up, I believe that only the tiniest fraction of players put ~400 hours into a single playthrough of a Besthesda game. I would also imagine that a minority of players do 150 hours or more. Mind that I'm only considering players who finish a game--it's my understanding that a significant number of Bethesda game players never finish a game.

 

2 hours ago, The N. Bellic Man said:

It took me more than twice as much to finally complete it.

With this type of game, I think there is always going to be a wide variation in play time among all players. The two extremes would be the player who has no concern for aesthetics and always attempts to move from the beginning of a game to the end as quickly as possible, and the completionist.

 

In open-world games, I try to pace out the main quest. I like to complete quests that I pick up, but I don't force myself to do things that I find uninteresting or unrewarding. I also don't explore everything the instant I find it. I tend to play the way I would act in reality: If I have something that needs to be done, I focus on that unless a rare opportunity needs to be taken advantage of, or something more important pops up. If I see something interesting, I'll take a note of it, but I don't go wandering around, following up on every new scent like a feral dog, lol.

 

2 hours ago, The N. Bellic Man said:

If you don't use fast travel and explore every cave and so on, it would easily be somewhere around 500 hours. Especially if you use stealth.

But that is not necessarily a bad thing. It's great that game offers more than a decent amount of exploring.

That's the thing about Oblivion: As you said, there's a decent amount of exploring, but so much of it is just plain ugly and uninteresting. The dungeons are a real failure, and even the overworld is lacking in environmental variation. What made things worse for me is that I could not stand the realm of Oblivion. It repulsed me in a weird, visceral way. I hated closing the gates, and did only those that were required.

 

Oblivion's strength, to me, is its characters and quests. I also like that there is still a lot of customization that Skyrim abandoned. I like Acrobatics. People who argue that it's okay to leave Acrobatics out because it's unrealistic aren't thinking things through. Sure: simply jumping in high, slow arcs like Buzz Aldren is somewhat silly, but that's only one interpretation of Acrobatics. Another interpretation would be to make it more like parkour, with an increased ability to mantle, wall-run, etc. One would also be able to jump higher, but the physics would be realistic, with quick, powerful springs upward.

 

2 hours ago, The N. Bellic Man said:

And yeah, Oblivion looks pretty amazing in 4K considering it's a 2006 game.

I have to honestly say that I find that surprising. I have a 55" 4K display that I sit very close to, and my experience has been that the increased resolution generally causes the simple geometry and textures of older games to stick out more. However, the main advantage of a large high-resolution display is the ability to experience a much higher field of view. This really breathes life into older games.

[Pesos]

On 7/9/2018 at 4:44 PM, Edward Nashton said:

Lol yeah, but Stark Trek lore explains why Humans and Vulcans look similar to each other, in almost all fantasy works Elves and Humans have completely separate origins, definitely in Elder Scrolls. You're actually illustrating @Dryspace 's post, Leonard Nimoy (R.I.P) had a unique enough look to him that all you had to do to sell him as an alien was glue some pointy ears on him and draw some angry eyebrows on his face. He looks way more interesting than these boring looking mofos 

This is a very late and spooky reply, but every race in Nirn actually share a single common ancestor (except arguably the Argonians) - man and mer don't have separate origins. The more striking differences are usually down to Aedric or Daedric influence after the fact.

 

Moving on to more recent discussions...

 

I'd much prefer TES VI take cues from Skyrim as opposed to Oblivion, because the latter was utter garbage on many levels as a long time fan and required excessive modding just to salvage an enjoyable playthrough. That's not to say that Skyrim is without its faults, it has many also; a lot of the mechanics it brought to the table were potentially interesting but largely half-baked (houses anyone?). I'll be hoping that whatever the story ends up being in TES 6, that it stays on a more personal, individual level; both Oblivion and Skyrim were littered with battles and these "large scale" moments just fall flat in the game engine and the narrative suffers as a result.