The quest compass appears to be gone : V

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:58 am

Edit:

Turns out the Quest Compass is always at the top of your screen, and your health and other stats appear during a fight, and only disappear again after you've, say, had full health for a specific amount of time.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2011/02/03/toddhowardse.aspx

Not sure what GI was on about when talking about no HUD, maybe it really was just disabled for their playthrough. Oh well. :shrug:

Oh and I know others here already mentioned that your stats appear during a fight, but none of you guys ever gave me a source to back up those claims. If you know me you know I need a source for things like this, but I'm sorry I couldn't have believed you guys earlier.

Original post:

Spoiler

The opening paragraph of the Game Informer article says:

"Only a few moments into observing The Elder Scrolls V in action, the game takes our breath away. Whether you're looking at the world from the HUD-free first-person view or the improved third person perspective, the world of Skyrim is meticulously detailed."

And if you look at every single screenshot that's in the article (and the ones online), you'll see that, indeed, there is no HUD. At all. At first I thought they might just be press screenshots with the HUD toggled off, but the article did say there wasn't any HUD to turn off. Ever since I read the article, I've been cautiously optimistic that this means there is no http://www.tweakguides.com/images/Oblivion_2.jpg. But now I think it must really be gone. http://www.gameinformer.com/games/the_elder_scrolls_v_skyrim/b/xbox360/archive/2011/01/28/skyrim-menu-system-overhaul.aspx, they go over how the menu system works, and seem to confirm that quest markers are still in:

Pressing down in the compass menu pulls the camera perspective backward to reveal a huge topographical map of Skyrim. Here players can zoom around to explore the mountain peaks, valley streams, and snowy tundras that populate the northern lands. Pulling the camera as far away as possible gives you a great respect for the size of the game world. From the map view players can manage quest icons, plan their travel route, or access fast travel.

But they don't actually mention any compass we have to follow. The markers are still there, but there's nothing on our HUD that we have to follow. Also note that this "compass menu" they're talking about is the way the you navigate the menu using directions on the d-pad, that's all.

So if this is true and the quest compass is really gone, how do you feel about it? I think having to check the map a lot to see where I'm going is a much better option than having an arrow on the bottom of my screen that points directly where I have to go.

Edit:

And now we have some more evidence for it being gone:

-it seems he says that when most NPCs give you a quest, they'll give you precise directions or accompany you to the road showing you which direction to take to go on on you quest.

Edit #2:

But it seems that it's only gone when you're not fighting:

-the hud appears only when you fight. you will see the three status bar and the compass (sigh)

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:20 pm

I sure someone will have a blast walking around in circles for hours on end.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:23 pm

I actually hope its gone too, i preferred the morrowind style if nothing else. it ads immersion too. I just don't like it being there pointing out the exact location of where i'm headed.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:48 am

i mean thats gonna be cool for the serious players, so they learn the map back and forth BUT for the new players its gonna be hard to find where the quests are or how much magic and health you have. It should be an option to turn on or off.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:00 pm

Happy. But the clincher will be if the quest markers aren't a replacement for directions given in dialogue.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:37 pm

Good riddance, assuming they give us better dialogue options.

"Can you mark the location on my map?" goes a long way alone. Being able to ask NPCs where other NPCs live or spend their time would also help.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 5:05 pm

i mean thats gonna be cool for the serious players, so they learn the map back and forth BUT for the new players its gonna be hard to find where the quests are or how much magic and health you have. It should be an option to turn on or off.

Even the map in red dead redemption wasn't as exacting as the oblivion compass, and that's a much more casual friendly game.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:28 am

Depends. I dislike the quest compass, especially in situations where the quest is like "go here and find my friend, I sent him to this cave and he hasn't come back" and then the quest marker is sitting right there ON TOP OF the guy you're trying to find, completely removing any idea that you're actually searching for him and have no guarantee that he's even still there.

However, if there's no quest marker AND no map marker and we're stuck with Morrowind-esque directions, then that kind of svcks. More often than not, the directions of Morrowind quest givers were kind of misleading, and there were times I can remember spending half an hour walking in circles trying to find where I needed to go because the quest giver said "south" when he should have said "south and really far east."

I don't think the latter is going to be a problem with Skyrim though. Hopefully we'll get a nice combination of the two that allows us to find quest locations with relative ease without holding our hands and taking us directly to where we need to go without even needing to pay attention to what anyone says.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:40 pm

Definitely hope it's gone.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:12 pm

i mean thats gonna be cool for the serious players, so they learn the map back and forth BUT for the new players its gonna be hard to find where the quests are or how much magic and health you have. It should be an option to turn on or off.

Agreed. And the existence of a "HUD-free first person" view doesn't mean there isn't also a first person view with a HUD.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:28 pm

Agreed. And the existence of a "HUD-free first person" view doesn't mean there isn't also a first person view with a HUD.

Considering Game Informer said "the HUD-free first-person view" and not "one of the several different HUD options" I'm pretty sure this is the only HUD we're getting, and it appears to lack a quest compass, or anything for that matter. Maybe the compass can be activated in the menu but so far nothing has suggested such a feature.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 8:17 pm

Considering Game Informer said "the HUD-free first-person view" and not "one of the several different HUD options" I'm pretty sure this is the only HUD we're getting, and it appears to lack a quest compass, or anything for that matter. Maybe the compass can be activated in the menu but so far nothing has suggested such a feature.

That could also mean "the HUD-free first-person view" to differentiate between the options (if there are options).

I sincerely hope it's an option. I do like having a compass to figure out what direction I'm in, and I don't want to have to keep bringing up the map to make sure I'm still going south.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:01 pm

Considering Game Informer said "the HUD-free first-person view" and not "one of the several different HUD options" I'm pretty sure this is the only HUD we're getting, and it appears to lack a quest compass, or anything for that matter. Maybe the compass can be activated in the menu but so far nothing has suggested such a feature.

You could be right, but "the HUD-free first-person view" could be the way it was referred to in order to exclude from comment the other first-person view either because the comment didn't apply to the other view or because the commenter simply didn't have access to the view with the HUD. Parsing the grammar is inconclusive. I'm hoping a HUD is optional.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:52 pm

Don't care one way or the other about the compass, but [censored], that menu sounds like it'll be terrible on the PC.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:09 am

After reading the HUD-free claim in Game Informer, I thought it must have been an error. Will there really be no compass (aside from quest markers, I like seeing which direction I'm traveling) or health bars?

I think I'm going to miss those two things, however, I don't think I've played any similar games without the health bar visible so I've never given the HUD-free thing a chance. Hopefully the omissions are for the best.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:52 pm

The HUD is going to be off when not needed (etc, when not in combat or when your health is not low...) but there will be a hud in combat (at least) beacause, you know, not knowing your health status is kinda confusing and stupid.

edit:

The crosshair is also part of the HUD.. not having a crosshair is... I don't know how to properly describe it...

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:34 pm

The HUD is going to be off when not needed (etc, when not in combat or when your health is not low...) but there will be a hud in combat (at least) beacause, you know, not knowing your health status is kinda confusing and stupid.

edit:

The crosshair is also part of the HUD.. not having a crosshair is... I don't know how to properly describe it...

Really? In every game I've played that has a health bar, I always found it weird in itself. I mean, how do I know if the next hit will kill this thing? How do I know if I can take exactly three more hits before I die?

I'd like phyiscal representations of health status instead of an actual bar. It makes more sense to me at least.

As for a crossbar, i'd rather have a circle that shows me my spread. Once again, irl you don't have a clue what way that arrow could go...but I do admit you need something in game to help you shoot.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:22 pm

Really? In every game I've played that has a health bar, I always found it weird in itself. I mean, how do I know if the next hit will kill this thing? How do I know if I can take exactly three more hits before I die?

I'd like phyiscal representations of health status instead of an actual bar. It makes more sense to me at least.

Ehm, common sense? Maybe you would like to have a numbered health bar if you find it hard to determine your health upon a graphical one?

I'd like phyiscal representations of health status instead of an actual bar. It makes more sense to me at least.

How on earth would you represent the health status of a game character physically? Even if it were possible you would still have a HUD...

» Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:04 am

All I would really like is the compass itself.

"Hey my friend is missing, he was last seen heading south"

"Okay, I'll look for him"

*head south*

As long as it's not too vague like

"He was last seen in the forest" and it's a huge forest, that would be ridiculous.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 10:48 am

Health of the player in shooters is represented by blood on the screen. Doesn't sound impossible to me.
I'm not bashing the health bar, it should be optional for people who like to have things there way, but having an in game representation would be pretty entertaining too. I'd rather have blurry vision due to blood loss rather than a little red bar telling me I have one health left.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:45 pm

Ehm, common sense? Maybe you would like to have a numbered health bar if you find it hard to determine your health upon a graphical one?

How on earth would you represent the health status of a game character physically? Even if it were possible you would still have a HUD...

I think he means in a more realistic sense, that the character him/herself wouldn't know that they can withstand exactly three hits before death.

I do prefer a health bar, though.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:42 pm

Health of the player in shooters is represented by blood on the screen. Doesn't sound impossible to me.
I'm not bashing the health bar, it should be optional for people who like to have things there way, but having an in game representation would be pretty entertaining too. I'd rather have blurry vision due to blood loss rather than a little red bar telling me I have one health left.

Ok.. and how exactly would that help you determine how much more hits you can take? :blink:

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:49 pm

Ok.. and how exactly would that help you determine how much more hits you can take? :blink:

...huh? My point is I shouldn't know exactly.

If it is hud free, which it is, then blood on the screen and enemies reacting acording to the damage they are taking makes sense.

» Sat Feb 12, 2011 2:11 am

Health of the player in shooters is represented by blood on the screen. Doesn't sound impossible to me.
I'm not bashing the health bar, it should be optional for people who like to have things there way, but having an in game representation would be pretty entertaining too. I'd rather have blurry vision due to blood loss rather than a little red bar telling me I have one health left.

Definitely agree with this. I've never liked health bars, they're unrealistic. Visual representations would be much better - blurry vision, limping, bloody clothes... with HUD, less is more. No HUD could be great, if done right.

Regarding quest markers, I wouldn't be surprised if they left them in on the map, but the compass was removed. I'd like to see them gone entirely in favour of more detailed directions, but I can see why they'd keep them in.

» Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:13 pm

I'll certainly be happy if this really turns true. Now they've only got to add the ability to view more of your own body and we'll be getting near a very good first person experience.