» Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:28 am So, since I went offline after leaving work yesterday, a whole ton more questions were asked. I'll do my best to answer as many as I can find. If a question you asked isn't dealt with here, then... sorry, I missed it! Ask again though, I'll get to it asap.
So, on with the show...
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1233644-sammus-eurogamer-qa/ | http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1233862-sammus-perk-trees-qa-2/ | http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1233890-sammus-actual-eurogamer-impressions-finally/
Q: KillerGymSox: i want to know about the crime report system. you said you hacked people up in riverwood. Did you instantly have a bounty and did the guards instantly run for you or did they have to physically report you before you were infamous?
A: Slightly confused about this. I did get a bounty in Riverwood - when I killed the two citizens it said at the top left "xxx bounty added to Riverwood". The confusing thing is that I didn't see any guards in the town, so I'm not sure who would collect the bounty. It could be that the guards didn't see me commit the murders - which is a step up from Oblivion's psychic guards - or alternatively the bounty might just be a way to remind the player which towns he's welcome in, and which towns' citizens will attack him on sight.
Q: Daegor: Sammu, if you read this... can you please create another thread to continue your Stealth gameplay discussion? Thanks
A: Feel free to continue it here. I've added links at the top to the three previous threads.
Q: jkruse: Okay, I have a question. It seems unlikely, but did any perks require a certain amount of health, magicka, or stamina before you could get them? Also on that note, could you upgrade your HMS without also using your perk points?
A: Perks required the previous perk in the chain to be unlocked and/or a certain skill level. None required a certain level of health, stamina or magicka. Yes, when you enter the "level up" screen you are prompted first to assign 10 points to health, magicka or stamina, and THEN you can assign your perk - or you can just leave the menu and save the perk for later.
Q: -Henrik-: Master Sammu by any chance...did you ever went to prison, ingame that is?
I keep reading that when you have to go to prison you'll likely lose some experience/skill or what not and by doin' that can level again and get an extra perk point?
A: As before, I didn't see any guards in Riverwood, so I didn't get arrested though. I tried though! It's not every day I murder two in cold blood. I'd imagine the Morrowind skill-loss-in-prison exploit will have been fixed, although I can't confirm it.
Q: alceryes: I'm seeing a lot of stuff that should make the game more immersive (read: harder) but all the hands on experience I'm reading refers to the player feeling that his character was MORE powerful than at the start of say, OB.
Sammu, could you elaborate?
A: From my personal viewpoint, we were extremely powerful because the enemies were at level 1, and the game was on the Novice setting. I did see a lot of players die though. One guy got OHKOd by a Giant (the whole queue laughed, he got absolutely flattened), and I saw a bunch of people die by taking on more enemies than they could handle. A lot of the players were alarmingly skill-less though.
Q: Otheral: I was really worried about a lack of variation there. Can you elaborate if there is differences in the base builds of the races, are the Nords bigger, the Orcs bigger, the Altmer taller, the Bosmer smaller. Are the all built different before you edit them with the muscle slider.
A: Yes, definitely. Each race has a set height - i.e. all Nords are taller than all Bosmer, all male Bosmer are the same height. Nords are naturally chunkier than Bosmer as well. It's as you'd expect really. Bosmer, Khajiit, Argonians, Altmer and Dunmer are naturally slender; Orcs, Nords and Redguards are naturally bigger; Imperials and Bretons are somewhere in the middle.
Q: spunk and sparkle: Hey sammy, someone mentioned that the caves no longer have doors on them, any detail on how that works? oh and a quick one does the player still stand in his sleep?
A: I saw caves with no doors, and the cave I entered had a door. There are big caves with wide openings, where you just walk in - no button press required. The load screen is triggered automatically when you get far enough in. The cave I entered worked just like any dungeon in Oblivion, except the doors had an opening animation when I pressed A on them. And I didn't have time to sleep - sorry!
Q: Vel Maranus: -What does the dungeon map look like? 2d or 3d?
-Did you see any armor that we haven't seen yet in previews? What about weapons? Besides the 2h broadsword
-Did you notice a variation in voice actors?
A: Dungeon and local maps are 2D - white detail on a black background, if I remember correctly. I saw the Iron armour that the standard Dovakhiin wear in all the promotional artwork, and I also had a set of Hide armour to begin the demo with. It had a single pauldron. I later picked up Fur armour, which was a Conan-like skirt with no top, along with a hood, which looked awesome. Much baggier than Oblivion hoods, and it hung down the back a bit. I did notice a variation in voice actors - I hadn't heard the voices of the Redguard bandit manning the cave entrance, and I hadn't heard the voice of the woman I killed. We've heard the voices of Alvor and the other guy I killed in Riverwood.
Q: POLE7645: You mentioned a Redguard voice you never heard before. But I wonder, did you ran into any familiar voices (particularly those from the previous games in the series)?
A: Yeah, the Redguard voice was good - sounded higher and younger than Baurus, Azzan or Cyrus from Oblivion. It took me by surprise, in a nice way. The bandits in the cave sounded like the standard Nord from Oblivion. Alvor sounded... just like he did in the demo
Q: colddog04: And a followup - can you describe the Redguard voice? Is there a dialect or style that it sounds like?
A: He still had an American accent, but in a higher and younger pitch than the Oblivion Redguards. He sounded a lot less stereotypically "African American".
Q: GorbadPS3: How can it [levelling up] be optional? Explain a bit further, thanks
A: This seems to be confusing quite a few people - I'll explain it as clearly as I can. There's really three stages to it.
1) You get a skill increase, which pushes you over the experience threshold for that level. A message appears on screen saying "You have reached level X". All enemies' levels are adjusted accordingly (plenty of other threads explain how level-scaling works, so I won't here).
2) You can then - OPTIONALLY - press the menu button (B on Xbox) to bring up the 4-point menu Todd showed us. You press up to go to the "Skills" menu - now called "Level up". You are prompted to put 10 points into either Health, Magicka or Stamina. There did not appear to be an auto-increase in any of the three stats - I apologise for spreading that rumour a few weeks back.
3) You can then - OPTIONALLY - buy any of the available perks. Perks are available if you have bought the prior perk on the tree, AND if you meet the required skill level.
Q: deaded_: I think Sammu said that leveling up restores your health, magicka and stamina. But if you can level up during combat, couldn't this be abused to get a full heal during a hard battle?
A: I think someone else must have said that - I didn't say it myself. I'm reasonably sure it does replenish your meters though.
Q: Eps: Please describe how the magic shield spell looks (animation), cause it seems that Spellsword characters will be using it A LOT.
Also, here, this is for you.
A: I didn't use it, but I saw enemy necromancers using it a lot. It was a bright blueish white. It was circular (or perhaps slightly oval), in a sort of concentric circle (oval) pattern. The magic sort of swirled around it. It seemed to work exactly as a physical shield, except it didn't knock back the PC's weapon, it just absorbed damage (no animation that I can remember) until it disappeared. I don't remember if there was an animation when the shield broke. It looked really good. The necromancers were able to use other abilities while the shield was up - I'm not sure, however, if they needed to manually maintain the shield spell though.
P.S. thanks for the fishy stick - my first ever!
Q: GorbadPS3: Oh, so you can actually stay as level 1 forever?
A: Already been answered correctly by others, but just to confirm - NO. You automatically level up, but you manually assign the stat and perk increases AFTER you level up - or not, if you so choose.
Q: GorbadPS3: But that means that you technically do level up mid-combat, right?
A: Technically, yes. You can assign the stats and perks whenever you want - mid-combat or after.
Q: skyrimaddict31: Did you attack anything non-human with a bow while in stealth or did you just see the cows being attacked with melee weapons and fire?
A: Sadly not. I got the impression - although I can't confirm it - that animals are more difficult to hide from. They seem to spot you quicker - see the hunter's dog in my impressions post. All the deer/foxes/rabbits/wolves I walked past were coming the opposite direction, so had seen me before I could get into Sneak mode.
Q: Bigbossbalrog: If you would not mind....Could you describe this greendal creature..Im A BIG Fan of beowulf...
A: Sure thing. The Grendel comparison was really in terms of its general build. It wasn't fleshy like Grendel, but was slim and long-limbed and gangly. It was made of wood and covered in leaves, and was an assortment of greens, browns and greys, rather like an Ent from the LotR films. It was far less bulky in the trunk than an Ent though - it wasn't ACTUALLY a tree, more like a man made out of wood. It was difficult to see its full extent in the loading screen though, as it was in a crouched pose.
Q: KillerGymSox: I would have liked to know whether or not the crimes are reported instantly to every single guard in Skyrim or do they have to physically be reported before the guards know you are a criminal? Go into any houses? See any bear skin rugs or antlers on the wall?
1) None of my crimes appear to be reported, although I didn't get a chance to finish my spree and experience the consequences. I didn't see any guards in Riverwood.
2) No time for houses - demo ended before I could explore Riverwood.
3) See 2).
Q: Azuleme: All i want to know is how am i going to make a mage/archer/warrior/stealthy guy... [not really a question, but there we go]
A: Use magic/archery/melee/stealthy skills! I think specialisation will be needed to make The Most Powerful Character PossibleTM but I'm sure Jacks of All Trades will be viable, if a bit trickier.
Right, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask away!
