» Wed Mar 09, 2011 8:03 am Caution: May contain info that could spoil minor parts of discovery.
Spoiler
* Unlike the previous games where melee combat were free-for-alls prone to friendly fire, “Skyrim” will feature a context-sensitive melee system described as “Magnetism” in the French PSN, where your melee attacks will automatically target foes instead of slashing everything in your path. This is somewhat similar to the autotargeting system in “Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood.”
* Unique weapons will possess hidden effects that you will only discover upon using the weapon.
* Players will be unable to block attacks if they are wielding a weapon in one hand and a spell in the other. Only players who wield two handed weapons or a sword and shield can perform blocks.-(however I have found sources mentioning a parry counter, but none are officially confirmed or denied)-
*The “Spell Shield” ability will see a return in “Skyrim".
* Taverns will serve as important locations in the game. Players will be able to overhear conversations, collect rumors, begin quests, acquire information and much more.
* Players can stalk non-player characters and chart their routines, and break and enter into their homes when they aren’t around.
* The information quest givers provide you will depend upon their disposition towards you. Friendly NPCs will provide you with more information while hostile or distrusting characters will provide you with a lot less.
* A dungeon described as “Bleak Falls Barrow” is inhabited by Draugr–undead Nord warriors. Players can expect to encounter a ghostly dragon priest and fight a giant Frostbite Spider. The dungeon has been described by Bethesda as “terrifying.”
* The quest to Bleak Falls Barrow is provided to you by a shopkeeper named Lucan who wants you to retrieve his priceless Draconic family heirloom–a golden claw.
* “Skyrim” will see the inclusion of new area-of-effect spells such as “Ice Trap,” which is triggered when an enemy walks over it; “Circle of Protection,” an area-of-effect spell which pushes enemies in your vicinity away; and “Fury” which causes enemies to fight amongst themselves.
* With a strong emphasis on melee combat, “Skyrim” will feature the addition of finishing moves, one of which has been described as “plunging your sword into the enemy’s chest.”
* As a game that’s more or less an open sandbox, players will be able to perform free-form activities like cooking, woodcutting, mining, and blacksmithing.
* One of the new “Dragon Shout” abilities slows down time, and is similar to Bullet Time.
* One of the first cities the player visits is called Riverwood, and is decried as “a smattering of timber buildings, including a sawmill.”
* The new “Radiant Story” feature of Skyrim–which generates side-quests based on player actions–is inspired by the random encounters in the Fallout series.
* “Skyrim” contains exhaustive environmental effects, such as the effects of wind on water and the creation of waves. The game will also contain meteorological effects, with clouds clustering around mountaintops and so forth.
* It will be possible to raise all skills to the maximum 100 points but it isn’t possible to get every perk in a single playthrough.
* With regards to the story, the death of the King of Skyrim has caused a civil war to break out in the country.
* Dragon encounters will not be scripted events. These Dragons may attack towns and cities during its travels, which may cause it to be set ablaze.
* Every large settlement in the land of Skyrim will be unique. The city of Marketh Side is set into a cliffside, with buildings teetering on the edge. Haarfingar is said to be home to the largest trading port in Skyrim. One of the cities in Skyrim is even said to be heavily inspired by the Dunmer architecture of Morrowind.
* Bethesda intends to bring back a sense of eccentricity into the world of Vvardenfell, as each Nord faction will have its own customs and styles instead of being carbon copies.
* The economy of “Skyrim” will be better developed than the one in previous games. If you destroy a city’s means of income (for instance, by razing their crops), its inhabitants will have to purchase crops from a nearby city, thereby raising prices.
* Archers will be able to hold their breath–an action which consumes stamina–while aiming in order to increase their accuracy. This ability is similar to the sniping abilities in games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the Call of Duty series.
* Wounded dragons have a chance of crashing into the ground.
* It is possible to cut dialogue short by simply walking away from a speaking NPC.
* Dragon Shouts are assigned to the R3 button on the PS3 gamepad.
* Most NPCs will not have a complete set of dialogue, with only “important” characters having substantial dialogue.
?Just because a dragon flies by doesn’t mean automatic death to you. When Todd compared them to big daddies, he wasn’t kidding. This one quote says:
“In theory, you can engage a dragon whenever you see one simply by pelting it as it flies past, but make sure you’re ready for the fight.”
Basically that states that the dragons (not all of them, anyways) won’t attack you immediately on sight. This also comes up again in a later point.
?Telekinesis spell confirmed. I don’t remember if it was just speculated or not, but it’s confirmed to be in the spell list. Specifically, OXM said there were 80 spells, but for those of you keeping up with the news, there’s certainly a lot more versatility in the spells now.
?Speaking on dragonshouts: “The first strain of this new magic that we’re shown is the ability to slow time. As you approach the carvings, one word in particular begins to glow. Once its been examined and equipped, a tap of RB slows the entire scene down for eight seconds, allowing you to casually plant arrows in the skulls of any surrounding enemies. Learn the rest of the phrase and you’ll get even longer to play at being a medieval Max Payne.”
?It also mentions the Unrelenting Force dragonshout, which is of course the ‘knockback’ shout, and also briefly mentions there’s a cooldown period after each shout you do. Then it says:
“Also, if you think you’re the only one wandering around Skyrim with the ability to turn words into magic, think again.”
Now are they referring to dragons, the graybeards, or something else (and by that something worse)? I’m interested.
?The mag talks about how you actually feel like you’re hitting the person with metal to flesh with each hit of the weapon. Nothing otherwise ‘new.’
?You have quick menus for each hand. The example they give is say, you switch your left hand immediately from a shield to a fire spell while retaining the sword in the other. Apparently you can switch from the gritty, up-close melee to magic in almost no time spent.
?“Bethesda has struck a masterful balance between the straight-forward accessibility of placing items on each trigger, and a system that clearly offers depth and flexibility. Naturally, two-handed weapons do exist, at which point the left trigger may, for example, block with a broadsword or allow you to aim with a bow.”
?There’s also new dragon screen. I think it’s been mentioned before, but I had yet to see the screen myself. It’s basically the dragon sitting on that stone pillar, much like the one at the end of the Official Trailer that it flies off of, the one in the GI mag. Only this time it’s from under and from the front, with the dragon’s wings partially outstretched and his head looking away, roaring.
?“Skyrim is going to be a slightly less dangerous landscape to negotiate this time around. Rather than initiating a zany chase every time you wander near the local wildlife, many of the creatures (including giants) will simply ignore you unless you give them a reason to attack. Certain breeds are permanently pissed off, though, so don’t go trying to shake hands with a frost spider.”
?The article retouches on the fact that everything is being designed by hand, from the world itself to the dungeons. For the dungeons mainly, they also reiterate what we’ve heard in that none will be exactly alike. They then mention ‘burbling underground rivers, tree roots punching their ways through walls, and odd glimpses of light from the world above’ in the ‘ancient Nord catacombs.’
?Supposedly Bethesda has also focused more on pacing and variety to ensure that you don’t ‘just find a dark corner to curl up in for a snooze.’ The dungeon which they explored was Bleak Falls Barrow from the demo, and this time around there are ‘far more traps and puzzles’ in dungeons, which gave Bleak Falls section ‘a distinctively Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade vibe.’
?*Spoiler here*
It says instead, as they went to exit a cave, they found themselves to face to face with ‘an enormous, dark gray dragon.’ They point out that you can’t escape these looming baddies. At some point or another, you’re going to have to take these bad boys down, and it’s not going to be easy.
?OXM then mentions how unlike in Oblivion, people will actually have proper jobs and schedules now. Like how, in the small town of Riverwood, it will feature such things as chopping wood, cooking, and running a sawmill. You can perform these jobs now too, ‘so if you want your hero’s story to include eight-hour days cutting up hundreds of logs, the option is there.’ Each settlement has its own economy, and apparently you can, for example, ‘ruin Riverwood’s financial state by choosing to sabotage that sawmill.’
?That whole ‘drop a sword in the middle of a town’ deal has more weight to it, too. If the NPC that picks up the sword and likes you, they might offer it back to you in case you dropped it by accident. A neutral-feeling NPC might ask if they can have it, and one who dislikes you ‘might simply nab the weapon and take off.’
Then, if you choose to kill that person, the radiant story will then search for his/her relatives ‘and may even send one of them in pursuit of you to avenge the murder.’
?Also, OXM isn’t even mentioning the hints Bethesda kept dropping during the interview. Apparently there’s a lot more they want to talk about but can’t yet. For example:
“We’re expecting something very special from the faction system, which the team seemed to be itching to talk about.”
And that isn’t referring to the Dark Brotherhood as they mention that later. I don’t know what stops Bethesda’s pulling on the faction system, but I’m eager to find out.
* Unique weapons will possess hidden effects that you will only discover upon using the weapon.
* Players will be unable to block attacks if they are wielding a weapon in one hand and a spell in the other. Only players who wield two handed weapons or a sword and shield can perform blocks.-(however I have found sources mentioning a parry counter, but none are officially confirmed or denied)-
*The “Spell Shield” ability will see a return in “Skyrim".
* Taverns will serve as important locations in the game. Players will be able to overhear conversations, collect rumors, begin quests, acquire information and much more.
* Players can stalk non-player characters and chart their routines, and break and enter into their homes when they aren’t around.
* The information quest givers provide you will depend upon their disposition towards you. Friendly NPCs will provide you with more information while hostile or distrusting characters will provide you with a lot less.
* A dungeon described as “Bleak Falls Barrow” is inhabited by Draugr–undead Nord warriors. Players can expect to encounter a ghostly dragon priest and fight a giant Frostbite Spider. The dungeon has been described by Bethesda as “terrifying.”
* The quest to Bleak Falls Barrow is provided to you by a shopkeeper named Lucan who wants you to retrieve his priceless Draconic family heirloom–a golden claw.
* “Skyrim” will see the inclusion of new area-of-effect spells such as “Ice Trap,” which is triggered when an enemy walks over it; “Circle of Protection,” an area-of-effect spell which pushes enemies in your vicinity away; and “Fury” which causes enemies to fight amongst themselves.
* With a strong emphasis on melee combat, “Skyrim” will feature the addition of finishing moves, one of which has been described as “plunging your sword into the enemy’s chest.”
* As a game that’s more or less an open sandbox, players will be able to perform free-form activities like cooking, woodcutting, mining, and blacksmithing.
* One of the new “Dragon Shout” abilities slows down time, and is similar to Bullet Time.
* One of the first cities the player visits is called Riverwood, and is decried as “a smattering of timber buildings, including a sawmill.”
* The new “Radiant Story” feature of Skyrim–which generates side-quests based on player actions–is inspired by the random encounters in the Fallout series.
* “Skyrim” contains exhaustive environmental effects, such as the effects of wind on water and the creation of waves. The game will also contain meteorological effects, with clouds clustering around mountaintops and so forth.
* It will be possible to raise all skills to the maximum 100 points but it isn’t possible to get every perk in a single playthrough.
* With regards to the story, the death of the King of Skyrim has caused a civil war to break out in the country.
* Dragon encounters will not be scripted events. These Dragons may attack towns and cities during its travels, which may cause it to be set ablaze.
* Every large settlement in the land of Skyrim will be unique. The city of Marketh Side is set into a cliffside, with buildings teetering on the edge. Haarfingar is said to be home to the largest trading port in Skyrim. One of the cities in Skyrim is even said to be heavily inspired by the Dunmer architecture of Morrowind.
* Bethesda intends to bring back a sense of eccentricity into the world of Vvardenfell, as each Nord faction will have its own customs and styles instead of being carbon copies.
* The economy of “Skyrim” will be better developed than the one in previous games. If you destroy a city’s means of income (for instance, by razing their crops), its inhabitants will have to purchase crops from a nearby city, thereby raising prices.
* Archers will be able to hold their breath–an action which consumes stamina–while aiming in order to increase their accuracy. This ability is similar to the sniping abilities in games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and the Call of Duty series.
* Wounded dragons have a chance of crashing into the ground.
* It is possible to cut dialogue short by simply walking away from a speaking NPC.
* Dragon Shouts are assigned to the R3 button on the PS3 gamepad.
* Most NPCs will not have a complete set of dialogue, with only “important” characters having substantial dialogue.
?Just because a dragon flies by doesn’t mean automatic death to you. When Todd compared them to big daddies, he wasn’t kidding. This one quote says:
“In theory, you can engage a dragon whenever you see one simply by pelting it as it flies past, but make sure you’re ready for the fight.”
Basically that states that the dragons (not all of them, anyways) won’t attack you immediately on sight. This also comes up again in a later point.
?Telekinesis spell confirmed. I don’t remember if it was just speculated or not, but it’s confirmed to be in the spell list. Specifically, OXM said there were 80 spells, but for those of you keeping up with the news, there’s certainly a lot more versatility in the spells now.
?Speaking on dragonshouts: “The first strain of this new magic that we’re shown is the ability to slow time. As you approach the carvings, one word in particular begins to glow. Once its been examined and equipped, a tap of RB slows the entire scene down for eight seconds, allowing you to casually plant arrows in the skulls of any surrounding enemies. Learn the rest of the phrase and you’ll get even longer to play at being a medieval Max Payne.”
?It also mentions the Unrelenting Force dragonshout, which is of course the ‘knockback’ shout, and also briefly mentions there’s a cooldown period after each shout you do. Then it says:
“Also, if you think you’re the only one wandering around Skyrim with the ability to turn words into magic, think again.”
Now are they referring to dragons, the graybeards, or something else (and by that something worse)? I’m interested.
?The mag talks about how you actually feel like you’re hitting the person with metal to flesh with each hit of the weapon. Nothing otherwise ‘new.’
?You have quick menus for each hand. The example they give is say, you switch your left hand immediately from a shield to a fire spell while retaining the sword in the other. Apparently you can switch from the gritty, up-close melee to magic in almost no time spent.
?“Bethesda has struck a masterful balance between the straight-forward accessibility of placing items on each trigger, and a system that clearly offers depth and flexibility. Naturally, two-handed weapons do exist, at which point the left trigger may, for example, block with a broadsword or allow you to aim with a bow.”
?There’s also new dragon screen. I think it’s been mentioned before, but I had yet to see the screen myself. It’s basically the dragon sitting on that stone pillar, much like the one at the end of the Official Trailer that it flies off of, the one in the GI mag. Only this time it’s from under and from the front, with the dragon’s wings partially outstretched and his head looking away, roaring.
?“Skyrim is going to be a slightly less dangerous landscape to negotiate this time around. Rather than initiating a zany chase every time you wander near the local wildlife, many of the creatures (including giants) will simply ignore you unless you give them a reason to attack. Certain breeds are permanently pissed off, though, so don’t go trying to shake hands with a frost spider.”
?The article retouches on the fact that everything is being designed by hand, from the world itself to the dungeons. For the dungeons mainly, they also reiterate what we’ve heard in that none will be exactly alike. They then mention ‘burbling underground rivers, tree roots punching their ways through walls, and odd glimpses of light from the world above’ in the ‘ancient Nord catacombs.’
?Supposedly Bethesda has also focused more on pacing and variety to ensure that you don’t ‘just find a dark corner to curl up in for a snooze.’ The dungeon which they explored was Bleak Falls Barrow from the demo, and this time around there are ‘far more traps and puzzles’ in dungeons, which gave Bleak Falls section ‘a distinctively Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade vibe.’
?*Spoiler here*
It says instead, as they went to exit a cave, they found themselves to face to face with ‘an enormous, dark gray dragon.’ They point out that you can’t escape these looming baddies. At some point or another, you’re going to have to take these bad boys down, and it’s not going to be easy.
?OXM then mentions how unlike in Oblivion, people will actually have proper jobs and schedules now. Like how, in the small town of Riverwood, it will feature such things as chopping wood, cooking, and running a sawmill. You can perform these jobs now too, ‘so if you want your hero’s story to include eight-hour days cutting up hundreds of logs, the option is there.’ Each settlement has its own economy, and apparently you can, for example, ‘ruin Riverwood’s financial state by choosing to sabotage that sawmill.’
?That whole ‘drop a sword in the middle of a town’ deal has more weight to it, too. If the NPC that picks up the sword and likes you, they might offer it back to you in case you dropped it by accident. A neutral-feeling NPC might ask if they can have it, and one who dislikes you ‘might simply nab the weapon and take off.’
Then, if you choose to kill that person, the radiant story will then search for his/her relatives ‘and may even send one of them in pursuit of you to avenge the murder.’
?Also, OXM isn’t even mentioning the hints Bethesda kept dropping during the interview. Apparently there’s a lot more they want to talk about but can’t yet. For example:
“We’re expecting something very special from the faction system, which the team seemed to be itching to talk about.”
And that isn’t referring to the Dark Brotherhood as they mention that later. I don’t know what stops Bethesda’s pulling on the faction system, but I’m eager to find out.
This info is from multiple sources.
Few more from OXM from these forums (old) in case you missed it.
Spoiler
-There is a perk that will lower the sound of your footsteps.
-Perk for Axe that enables deeper cuts, which means prolonged bleeding. You can hit someone once and they will eventually bleed out.
-Eventual perk upgrade for Maces that will allow you to hit for full damage, ignoring armor stats.
-The article mentions placing runes on the floor (that we know already) but in particular talks about 'lob a frost rune down and if an enemy wanders over it, shards of ice will be launched through its body'
-No more agility to build up so don't have to keep jumping around to level up (I assume they mean no longer skills like acrobatics and athletes but they use the word agility)
-There is a dragon shout called 'Unrelenting Force' which pushes anything standing directly in front of you backwards.
-Dragon shouts have cooldown periods after each shout performed. Individual shouts will have their own cooldown time.
-In the northern parts of Solitude is the Bard's College. The city is a busy port and there's event similar to bonfire night that has the burning of an effigy of King Olaf.
-Windhelm is the largest city. It has a palace that should look spectacular. This is also apparently the hangout for the Imperial ---Guards who monitor the path to Morrowind.
-Bleak Falls Barrows is a dungeon, with ancient Nord catacombs which features rivers, tree roots coming through the ceiling and light coming through odd cracks.
-120 Dungeons and they claim that 'no two areas will be alike'.
-Just to re-confirm this fact straight from Todd Howard. Oblivion had 1 dungeon designer with artists doing the rest. Skyrim has 8 dungeon designers.
-Whole world is hand-crafted. Oblivion had some generated landscapes and there is NONE of that anymore used in Skyrim.
-The Shivering isles expansion inspired the team that unique, hand-crafted cities, where no two buildings look the same, was the way to go.
-Example of a 'Radiant Story'. OXM UK recieved a quest to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve a golden dragon claw antique and take it back to shopkeeper Lucan. If you killed Lucan, the quest would change to his friend Camilla instead.
-The Snow. Has been a lot of confusion about this. OXM UK says that snowfall is dynamic. Instead of a texture with a bit of white added, landscapes realistically get dusted with snow landing in appropiate nooks and crannies.
-There are one-off puzzles in certain dungeons.
-Example of new AI: 'Wolves have a den. Few times a day they go out and do a patrol and hunt in a pack. If they kill something then they'll hang out there. If you go outside and they're on patrol they will come after you. If they've killed something they will guard that and not chase you down as they want to look after it.
-Perk for Axe that enables deeper cuts, which means prolonged bleeding. You can hit someone once and they will eventually bleed out.
-Eventual perk upgrade for Maces that will allow you to hit for full damage, ignoring armor stats.
-The article mentions placing runes on the floor (that we know already) but in particular talks about 'lob a frost rune down and if an enemy wanders over it, shards of ice will be launched through its body'
-No more agility to build up so don't have to keep jumping around to level up (I assume they mean no longer skills like acrobatics and athletes but they use the word agility)
-There is a dragon shout called 'Unrelenting Force' which pushes anything standing directly in front of you backwards.
-Dragon shouts have cooldown periods after each shout performed. Individual shouts will have their own cooldown time.
-In the northern parts of Solitude is the Bard's College. The city is a busy port and there's event similar to bonfire night that has the burning of an effigy of King Olaf.
-Windhelm is the largest city. It has a palace that should look spectacular. This is also apparently the hangout for the Imperial ---Guards who monitor the path to Morrowind.
-Bleak Falls Barrows is a dungeon, with ancient Nord catacombs which features rivers, tree roots coming through the ceiling and light coming through odd cracks.
-120 Dungeons and they claim that 'no two areas will be alike'.
-Just to re-confirm this fact straight from Todd Howard. Oblivion had 1 dungeon designer with artists doing the rest. Skyrim has 8 dungeon designers.
-Whole world is hand-crafted. Oblivion had some generated landscapes and there is NONE of that anymore used in Skyrim.
-The Shivering isles expansion inspired the team that unique, hand-crafted cities, where no two buildings look the same, was the way to go.
-Example of a 'Radiant Story'. OXM UK recieved a quest to go to Bleak Falls Barrow and retrieve a golden dragon claw antique and take it back to shopkeeper Lucan. If you killed Lucan, the quest would change to his friend Camilla instead.
-The Snow. Has been a lot of confusion about this. OXM UK says that snowfall is dynamic. Instead of a texture with a bit of white added, landscapes realistically get dusted with snow landing in appropiate nooks and crannies.
-There are one-off puzzles in certain dungeons.
-Example of new AI: 'Wolves have a den. Few times a day they go out and do a patrol and hunt in a pack. If they kill something then they'll hang out there. If you go outside and they're on patrol they will come after you. If they've killed something they will guard that and not chase you down as they want to look after it.
