am i the only one to think the swords shown are to fat and that some of the armour looks unwearable and stupid? (the armours that the orc and khajit are wearing)


make it look more... real please?

They're probably on the fantastic side of realistic, but they're much better than most games. I quite like the balance they've achieved between realistic and fantastic.

EDIT: The swords aren't really that thick at all, though I hope they've toned down things like warhammers since OB.

What's wrong with the armor? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_X8ZZwcs4k. :happy:

It's better than WOW, so that is something. I too would prefer realistic weapons and armor, but it's all good.

High fantasy means that the story takes place in a fantasy world and uses fantasy mechanics, often at the sake of real word physics.
Low fantasy means that the story takes place on earth, that the normal rules still apply, but that certain fantasy elements are injected.

Tolkien is high fantasy, Tanith Lee's books about the Scarabae are low fantasy.

I would expect daedric and glass armour and weapons to have ornamental bits and maybe look a bit fantastical.
Its magical material after all.
I wouldnt mind at all if steel and iron and the like looked a bit more down to earth.

This post shows how subjective and hard to define low vs high fantasy is. Merari is apparently unaware that Tolkien's Middle Earth is supposed to be our world thousands of years ago in a forgotten time. The whole "history becomes legend, legend becomes myth, and what once was is now forgotten" is not just about the story of the ring, but supposed to be talking about the whole Middle Earth world. Also, even though some main characters use magic, they are the exception and the vast majority of inhabitants of Middle Earth would use weaponry in the form of swords, axes, bows, etc. However, that Tom Bombadil character is definitely a strong argument for it being high fantasy.

So far so good. I think thay've struck a good balance. Contrast what you've seen with this from Kingdoms of AMalur, Reckoning (team includes Oblivion's Lead Designer):

http://www.reckoningthegame.com/#explore/2/Mage%20Staff%20Blast
http://www.reckoningthegame.com/#explore/2/Rogue%20Banshean%20Encounter%201
http://www.reckoningthegame.com/#explore/2/Rogue%20Banshean%20Encounter%202

Now that is High fantasy.

Que the disappearing act in 3...2...1...

Oh yes, I know that middle earth is actually our earth, just in a different era.
I did think of taking another example because of this, such as Terry Pratchett's discworld, but I thought Id better go for the more known example.
But take for instance Tanith Lee's books about the old gods. About 'when the world was flat, before it became round'
Arguably that also is low fantasy, because technically it is Earth. Though the circumstances, the rules, have changed so much that for all intents and purposes its a different world. Same with Tolkien, Id say.
While the actual fine tuning of low and high fantasy is debatable and sort of fluid, the literary definition is not.
And that is what I was referring too.
When all is said and done, the point I was trying to make is that 'high fantasy' does not mean surrealism or orcs or elves, it means a totally different world where our laws of nature are largely unimportant.
As opposed to low fantasy, wich does hold as a base reference our world with our rules, with fantasy injected into it.
A real good low fantasy for instance is 'I am legend' by Richard Matheson (book, not movie) in wich vampires are explained using real world physics and medical technology.

Yes im not a fan of elaborate and impractical armour.

simple leather and iron is best.

hate lookin' like some multicoloured pro footballer...

I prefer the strider from LOTR look. When you have enough skill with a blade, you dont need armour.

I think many medieval soldiers might disagree with you there.

It's often determined that when the predominant society and "world" (perhaps not literally a planet/universe but for all intents and purposes) is the fantastical element, it can be considered high fantasy. Harry Potter is something that is often debated whether it should be termed as High or Low fantasy.

Basic difference is High = set in fantasy world, low = set in normal world with fantasy elements

Nah, it's all good, the swords look grat, the armor isn't fantastical or stupid. It seems low fantasy to me.
Besides Jack254, you won't argue, you will dissapear as you always do.

I've disliked some of the armors in the past, especially the glass armor, but not due to "high fantasy" elements... just due to aesthetics -- they're ugly. Hopefully, the smithing options will allow for some true customization of the armor. (As an aside, I think it's kind of funny to criticize fantasy elements and then immediately reference orcs and man-cats.)

Pretty much!

I think they look great

play wow and u will realize they actually look low fantasy in skyrim :lmao:

I think the armor looks good so far. It's a happy middle ground of sorts.

If you want more realism then play a historical rpg or something.

Another thread by jack and another disappearing act.

I don't think it is all that bad...

Atleast we aren't wielding a massive 10 foot long 1 foot wide sword with one hand like some video game characters have in the past...

I like keeping the fantasy aspects in fantasy RPGs.
It is not over the top like many games anyway.
I think it would be boring if all we had was rea-life leather, chainmail, and steel.

This is TES, not Earth circa 1500.
TES - fantasy.

Huh ? Have you lost your contact-lenses, or something ? Nothing BETH has shown so far looks "unwearable and stupid" to me ! :down:
They are all fantasy-races in a fantasy world ! How should they wear anything, which is not fantasy ? This is, and was, always high fantasy since TES were invented. :rolleyes:
For me It's even vice versa: I was always astonished how credible and - almost - real the characters and their clothing (including armor) look so far; especially the gear of the Nord ! B) And that's really great and estimable work of the involved designers and artists, imo. - But, of course it's still fantasy and you won't find something identical in RL (unless some fans make a replica, or something). But that's nothing to complain about - that's what TES is (and ever was) ... and that's one of many things, why I :tes: .

Jack, what are some aesthetics that you would prefer? Some examples...

No.

It's not even over-the-top at all. It's just stylish armor design. I would find it incredibly boring if they just used real world armor all the time, and people often complain about weapon size, but I just don't see a problem with it. When the average player is a bulky Nord man, there's no reason he shouldn't be able to swing a giant claymore like that around. If you make a tiny female Bosmer and equip the same Claymore and then complain, then I'd say that's your fault. If you want a sense of realism, you have to suspend your disbelief. You have to cooperate with the game to achieve that, it can't do everything for you.

But in general, I like the high fantasy stuff, and it has been a high fantasy series for quite a while now. I mean, you realize you're asking for realistic armor on an Orc and a Khajiit, right?

Then again, nothing is satisfactory for jack254.

Especially with the Elven Armor, I really think they achieved a perfect balance of Practical and ceremonial. You could wear it to a wedding reception, and not have to change when Justin Theroux attacks.


The Orc Armor, I'd have to see in full Body, doesn't look Too bad though.

Haven't really seen enough weapons to really say, but the Claymore actually looks pretty accurate, the Glass Scimitar in the Orc picture is, both a perfect size, and if you look at the construction, it has some logic backing the lore that Glass makes fine blades, but is damaged easily.

The only weapon so far where a complaint is justified, is the huge Elven(?) Longsword. That is pretty disproportionate, but the techniques to forge it, or materials involved could still mean it's balanced well, and lightweight enough to be used with one hand.