There are topics being discussed around here that I, as a person who hasn't bought a copy of GameInformer, yet, am wondering about. I was hoping some people could clarify a few things for me, beginning by stating EXACTLY what was stated in GameInformer and then interpreting it. First off, do we really know if snow will have physics or will snow just react to solid objects by not going through them? Will it stick as a texture but not have physics? How will this work? Second, did GameInformer really say that each and every dungeon will be unique? They sure weren't close to that in any of the past Elder Scrolls games, unless unique means rearranged. Third, are the graphics really nothing special? I know it won't be a Crysis rival, in terms of graphics, but surely the graphics must look pretty good. What do people who have actually seen the article itself, think? How does the water look? I've seen some discussion about that, in particular. Fourth, did GameInformer mention the size of the gameworld? What about that map which we've seen? I've seen some people trying to estimate its size and I was wondering what factors were being used to so. Please distinctly separate what was factually said and what was interpreted from what was said. Thanks.

i believe it is safe to assume snow will not go through objects and it may have physics, somebody confirm? Graphics are fantastic. i think that most dungeons will be unique. confirmed that the map is larger than oblivions. water looks as good if not better than oblivions

1. Snow falls naturally on objects like stones and branches and is not a preset texture.

2. They did not state that each and every dungeon will be unique. They did mention that underground areas are very varied. From icy caves to forgotten crypts.

3. Graphics seem darker and a little rugged or lonely in some areas while breathtaking and vibrant in others (but not nearly as bright as LotR-meets-Bloom in Oblivion). Kinda like a mix between what I would expect a Nordic settlement would look with varied landscape, but without the overly bright and colorful. It feels very natural. When looking at the pictures I got a real sense of seeing the 13th Warrior mixed with Conan the Barbarian. Can't say much about the water, apart from seeing waterfalls that drop in layers and seems to bend around rocky outcroppings. They did mention that the water flows in swift currents, imparting a sense of energy and life to the world.

4. No mention was made regarding the size of the gameworld compared to Oblivion or previous TES titles; unless I missed something while reading the article again.


Greetz,

Milt

Thanks.

By that first statement, though, do we know if the snow is static, then? Would it fall and just stick where it lands, becoming somewhat of a dynamic texture, if that makes sense?

I seriously dislike the city of Bruma in Oblivion, I really really hope all Skyrim cities are not frigid wood-and-granite houses. There has got to be some Leyawiin or Skingrad like cities that gives you a warm fuzzy feel! =/

My response to this overblown snow talk is here: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1158033-amazing-snow-and-enviroments/page__view__findpost__p__16971345

This is probably about the sixth thread I've seen on this topic, only the second I've replied to.

The sentence in GI is worded funnily. "Snow falls" does not actually mean "Each snow particle in the air falls", rather "The snow that forms" or "The snow that has fallen".

TL;DR version is roughly: "Better snow particles than Oblivion's 2D view space mess. Snow shader ala Crysis Warhead. Not much else is possible in realtime on today's hardware."

Someone mentioned seeing some autumn-like woods in one of the screenshots, so I'm sure we'll see some warmer environments and just because it's an Elder Scrolls game, I expect architectural variety, as well.

You mean like the kind of architectural variety we saw in Oblivion? <_<

Your best bet is to set a 'watch' on this topic:

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1156675-what-we-know-until-now/

It appears to be the most straight forward facts as we know them. The opening post is generally free of embellishments and interpretation. Lets hope the OP keeps it that way.

Yeah. There was quite a bit. All the major cities had distinct architectural styles. What are you referring to?

1) We can't say for certain but by the information given it seems to be that it will build up but that can't be confirmed.

2) Yes, all of them will be unique.

3) We can't know until we get a full resolution screen shot instead of those given in GI mag. Don't listen to anyone that says they can tell that it's not/is as good as crysis or any other game at that resolution (resolution meaning size), because they can't.

If you need any more in-depth explanation of the information we know about Skyrim, go http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1157211-skyrim-information-explanation-and-compilation/.

Sadly they didn't go into detail on how the snow was presented. They merely mentioned that it falls naturally and exactly as it would onto an object given its shape and size.



From what I see in the pictures, the houses feel much more natural and rugged and are mainly made of wood with big support beams and thatched roofs. It might be that I see some cobblestone wall at the back; but it could be the shadows playing tricks on me. But mainly rugged wooden beams and planks. So a bit more Morrowindesque looking; like a cross between Skaal village and Hla Oad in terms of structure and exterior design. The interior gives off a natural and warm feeling with what seems like rich brown counters and tables, rough-hewn benches, some kind of whitewashed/plastered walls and more wooden support beams.



I'm wondering where you get all that information from, as this sounds like speculation and making assumptions. Nowhere in the article do I find mention of snow building up or not; only that it falls naturally. Also, I would love to see where you got the 'yes, all of them will be unique' from. In the magazine it is said they were rich in variation, ranging from icy caves to forgotten crypts. But no claim was made (that I can see) that each will be unique. Unless you have information from a different source.

Well, it seems intriguing, regardless.



A friend of mine mentioned some cool looking ruin in a picture with a waterfall. Do you know what he was referring to? Was that a dungeon, a city, or what? What is its architecture like?

We believe that it is a ruin of a past city of Man. Sure looks beautiful even on a low resolution picture.

If.. "Snow falls naturally on objects like stones and branches and is not a preset texture.", then I interpret it as this:

If there is no preset snow texture on the ground, the ground can only be covered in snow by snow actually falling.
To make this possible, the snow needs to fall and stay on the ground; greating some sort of layer. If it will have physics; not sure. I think it will to some extent, as seen in Uncharted 2 and Crysis. You would leave footprints, and when you walk though denses of snow, you can see the snow "move".
That's what I think it will be like.

Another thing to note is the body types, at least I'm of the impression that there's different body types.

In any case, in one of the warrior player characters you can see some very impressive realistic muscular formation, as well as veins on the lower arms. In general the graphics have a much more "natural" theme.

From the actual article, it's seemed to me that what they meant by this was that the snow isn't handled the way that it was in Oblivion (stuff with snow on it would have white bits of texture on it), not that snowfall actually accumulates. The latter seems kind of ridiculous to me, unless they have seasons and variable weather patterns (and even if they do, that's a bit excessive - the kind of technology needed to make snow actually fall on and accumulate on objects the way that people seem to think it will would be extremely hard to develop and likely very hard for a platform to actually handle, and given how slowly snow in a realistic timeframe it simply wouldn't offer any real benefit).


Comments from Bethesda on dungeon variety are one thing that I'd definitely take with a grain of salt, since it's something that they promise (and fail to deliver) with every game. The outdoor environments certainly look more varied from the screenshots alone, though.

EDIT:
There are. Article confirms that you'll be able to adjust your character's body as well as their face.

Well I made sure to make it clear that it is all speculation about the snow but that from the wording in the magazine it makes it seem like it will settle on objects thus it would only be logical that it would also build up. It would be an amazing feat in a video game but like I said, it's all speculation. It's all how the information is supposed to be interpreted, the snow is a vague thing to try to interpret but the way they worded the information about the dungeons, they all but confirmed that the dungeons will all be unique. Whether that will be "unique" like those in Oblivion or truly unique we just can't say. If I had my mag on me I would quote. Once my fiancee gets home, I can quote it since it's in the car.

Did they mention anything about hand-placed loot in the dungeons, at least?

That sounds interesting (the body adjusting part). Do the people have more believable faces this time? That same friend I mentioned said the art style looked "cartoony". How do you see it?

They didn't mention anything, and given that they've brought back random quests I doubt that most of the loot will be hand-placed.


To put it bluntly, Skyrim's the first 3D game in the series that doesn't take place in a universe full of hideous mutants, going by the one character face that was visible in the magazine scans.

Again, I stress that you read the post I linked above. It only states facts. If it isn't in that post then nothing is known. What is stated is all that is known. Everything else is speculation.

I lol'd thinking of the female nords in Oblivion.

I think that ruin in the pic is surely Falmer or Dwemer. Falmer started using metals after all before their extinction.

Nope, no mention of that as I can see. I'm also holding my breath and hoping that we'll get to see handplaced loot and artifacts (that are not levelled)



Cartoony? Far from it actually. It feels very natural, old and ancient when looking at the ruins with the waterfalls. In my opinion TES4 looked a lot more cartoony than these images from TES5 if I had to make a comparison.

The faces also look much more natural. So more in terms of seeing actual people and less Puffy-cheek-roundface the Barbarian

I agree with the face thing. In the magazine there's this bar maid which is really well done, she sports an impressive set of....eyes.