» Thu Nov 18, 2010 11:27 am Thanks to Armagedd0n who posted part one last week and did an excellent translation. Sadly, the translation below for part 2 is pretty bad, mostly google translation with some corrections. Let me know if you have any further corrections, or if you know what "ferdighetstre" or "tidssakking" means
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1185722-part-01-todd-howard-interiew/
Translation of Part 2 (google translation with some errors fixed)
- Changes in the seasons? Another thing: when you used the bow before you had a zoom effect, and that time went slower as you would shoot. Are these special abilities?
- The seasons do not change, just the weather. In relation to the arrow and bow system they have two different properties. They also have different levels so that you can get different degrees of zoom or bullet time [tidssakking].
- Are there mounts in the game?
- There are boats, but you can not sail them. In relation to horses and other mounts, it is something we want, but we are still experimenting with how. We exclude them, definitely not, but we will ensure that the game adds something. Horses have evolved much in the game, and we will do it properly if we choose to include them.
What about guilds and organizations in this game?
- This we do not talk about yet.
- What was the idea behind designing a skill tree that resembles constellations?
- I worked with the interface and wanted to take a step away from Excel spreadsheets and the typical system we find in RPGs. So I tried a number of options, including one where you look over your right shoulder to look at your weapons, left shoulder to check out the magic and the stars to see who you are. It was the foundation. In the previous Elder Scrolls games, we have also had the asterisk, and we would gather all these into one system.
- Can you say a bit about the differences between the caves?
- We stock them still in kit form, and it's something we've done since Terminator: Future Shock. The difference is that we have become better at it. We have been better to make the environment more organic and uses several building blocks. For example, many types of caves in the game. Overgrown moss caves and ice caves are a few of them. We also have a cave inside a glacier and an imperial fort. Altogether there are probably five or six general construction sets, but within them there is much variation.
- How do you handle the level design of the game differently from Oblivion
- In Oblivion we let the visual designers take care of the caves, also we had a couple of specific "level designers" who went over them afterwards. There was nothing wrong with them, but they could have been better. So now we have a bunch of the eight-nine is really talented. At last count we had about 120 real caves, and more than 100 common points of interest outside. The game is actually too big.
- Is there a set number of dragons in the game?
- No, there is an unlimited number of dragons. One of our designers actually put in a random event I encountered, where I ended up being chased by three dragons and I thought "who the hell did this?" I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and was really frightened. So I asked him to remove it. But no, dragons are generated automatically (in addition to that there are a number of specific encounters, of course).
- Are all dragons aggressive towards the player?
- All dragons speak, it's actually what they do when they are spouting fire. Fighting games are debatering for these creatures. There are some dragons who speak the "common tongue" and make themselves understood to people, I cannot divulge more right now.
- Can you say something about the fauna in the game? We've seen fish in the rivers and dragons, there are other animals?
- Yes! We have a couple of designers who only work with "world interaction." Say you lose a sword. It happened once before we let you zoom in on the weapons that I would inspect the appearance of a sword. So I throw it on the ground, and before I know someone picks it up and gives it back to me because he likes me. Another example of world interaction is how we have wolf packs that hunt mammoths, and it takes us fifteen minutes to implement something like that.
- When you killed the dragon you said you had to take his soul. Can you elaborate on this?
- It's a very interesting topic, but unfortunately I cannot talk about it yet!
- Why did it take five games before we got to see dragons?
- Everyone asks us about - multiplayer and dragons. For one thing, we think that it is a bit cliché. We have never seen a game dealing with dragons as Jurassic Park handles dinosaurs. We wanted to do it properly. What happens if they chase me? How does a city if I go on? How does it feel to fight a dragon? When we first decided to take them so was Skyrim right setting.
- Can you say a bit about the factions and reputation system?
- This is also something we cannot talk about yet.
- Is there a skill for voice capabilities, such persuasion game in Oblivion?
- There is a skill for it, but there is no such persuasion wheel. We cannot talk much about it yet, but I can say that it is a far simpler system and not a mini-game.
- How do you lockpicking?
- We have a mini game for it. I hate the concept of mini-games! "It's also a mini game for battle!". What I mean is that if there is a skill for it, then there must be some kind of interaction onscreen, so it is not a [behind the scenes] roll.
- The inventory system looks very good, but you can compare objects?
- Right now there is support for it, but it is about halfway complete. You will see green and red arrows indicating whether items are up-or downgrades, but you have to compare objects individually. We want to organize it in a list where you see all the objects that are better than your current one.
- Can you say something about alchemy system? Is it improved from Oblivion?
- It's improved, but we will elaborate on it at a later date.
- What can you say about the game's cities? In Fallout 3 screenshots from different cities were very iconic. In Oblivion, they were less recognizable. Have you worked with this?
- Definitely! We have five major cities, and they are very, very unique. Have you seen the trailer? There you will see a couple of them. Furthermore, we have nine different regions, each ruled by its earl. Five of these cities, also we have four with some smaller villages. It's probably eight or nine small towns combined.
- When items are found, are they random or fixed?
- We vary it. Sometimes we want to give you a special item that fits with the area you are in. Sometimes you get random objects that match the level of the area you are in, like in Fallout 3 The enemies will drop a corresponding amount of different items as in our other games.
- You have mentioned that the dialogue system is simplified, and that players learn much of the backstory by passive calls. Can you say more about this?
- One thing we've noticed is that a few people will lose something, then we will arrange it so often that you have a dialogue choices that are like "would you like to hear my life story?". Sometimes they give you the background story of such a cave, and when we feel it is better to present it as a normal conversation that you can only listen to.
- Does crime work in the same way as in Oblivion, with burglary and theft and such?
- It's a little different, they share many similarities, which unfortunately I cannnot talk about yet.
- Is there a way to determine the characteristics and weaknesses of different creatures?
- In relation to the interface - no. We try to collect the books. For example you can find lore about the various enemies that give you information about their weaknesses. We try to package it into a more gentle way than "this is stronger, it is weaker" so many games do.
Can you finally sleep in someone's bed when they are dead?
- This is actually on our to-do list, and I have personally suggested it!
- Have you considered being able to ride on dragons?
- Have we considered it? Yes. Do we allow it right now? No. But we can decide to support it at some point.
EDIT: second page
- How many characters can we kill? Is it possible to go on killing expeditions and wipe out entire cities?
- Yes, you can wipe out virtually the entire city. I think that is one thing that everyone says that they will do, but nobody does. And it takes us months of development to make it possible. But yeah, we try to accommodate and incorporate this as best as we can.
- In Oblivion, it was possible to find a unique unicorn. Is there such a thing in Skyrim too, for example an abominable snowman?
- I will not reveal everything here, this is a treat in the game! But yes, we have a hidden content, and it's not a unicorn.
- Morrowind and Oblivion had huge modding development community among the players. Is there anything they have created which you have chosen to integrate into Skyrim?
- Yep, a lot actually. Much of what goes on the balance sheet. For example, where quick progress should be, or how difficult the game is. One modification we've learned a lot from is actually very simple, and played on how archers works. Bows were much harder to draw back and cause more damage. It's something you feel good in Skyrim.
- In Oblivion game performance began to decline after a while. Have you fixed this?
- This is actually something we sorted out with a patch for Oblivion. I feel that we have much better grip on the platforms we are developing now. This is still a game people can come to play over 500 hours, and it is a challenge for us. We are much better, but cannot guarantee that you can play so long without problems.
If one core attributes such as strength and endurance in addition to the more specific?
- Okay, so you have 21 different skills. Then there are three core attributes: magic, health and stamina. A fan can come to say "you removed my eight favorite capabilities," and I reply "what do you want?". "I must have intelligence, because it affects my magic." Well, now you have a simple statistic of magic. Want to increase your skills in magic as you put points in magic, you do not have to detour through intelligence.
- Skyrim will be the first involvement many have with The Elder Scrolls series. Do you do anything to make the start of the series smoother?
- We assume always that you have not played any of our previous games. All games are on their own feet. I think that this is easier to get into because of the way it starts. Many players are introduced to our games because they are might be accustomed to the Call of Duty and thinking "alright, I will try role playing." Our experience is that these players can handle the depth after a few hours.
- Do you have anything gameplay-wise out of the game? For example, through websites or IOS applications.
- This is something we've thought a bit about, and we continue to play with.
- Is it possible to buy a house?
- It is possible to buy a currently unspecified number of houses.
- Will the reducing the attributes make it easier to combine, for example, sword fighting with magic? Is it easier to be a hybrid?
- It's up to you! You will start out with equal points, but to upgrade the various skills via the new system, you need to have a certain number of points in the skill. If you want the most awesome perks, you need to invest in that skill. What our system does first and foremost is let you change your mind.
- How are sword fighting? Can you choose to swing your sword to the left or right?
- Yes, you choose the direction with the control stick. It is also possible to perform different combo attacks, jump back and stuff.
- If do you get perks by increasing the skills or by going up in level?
- It's by increasing skills. You invest points in them, and given the opportunity to select various special attacks and such things. It is basically like a regular perk tree, just that there are certain requirements before you can unlock various perks. What they typically do, so you can see if there is a special attack you like, before deciding whether to use the sword more often to unlock it.
- In previous games many were increased skills by casting the "unlock door" fifty times on a door, and the like. Is this still possible?
- We have resolved most of these issues. Some of the skills we have, for example, gotten rid of, like "Athletics" and "Acrobatics". For who creates a character and think "I'll role-play a guy who runs"? Much of the repetitive action program is usually just removed.
- How much freedom does the new game engine provide compared to Gamebryo ?
- Many believe Gamebryo is a game engine, and it is not - it's a middleware. When we used it to Fallout 3 and Oblivion so we did a lot of graphics work, now we're doing everything ourself. We notice it most in flexibility. Do we want to add new magic effects, we have far more leeway now. We also have a new system to make trees now. We previously used Speed ??Tree, which has been replaced with our own system that allows us to create more detailed flora.
- Much so-called "middleware" is very good, and I like it well. We use such as Havok physics engine yet. The problem is that they must create solutions that work for everyone and we want something that is tailor-made for us in the greatest possible extent.
- Can you damage the limbs of your enemies?
- How should I answer this? Yes, there is a kind of system, but not like in Fallout 3
- Can you change your gender?
Changing gender? Do you choose? If so - yes, you can choose to be a man or woman. It will not be possible to change gender.
- Would your gender have a huge impact on the game?
- There will be some differences, but they are small. Some characters behave differently, but it will pretty much be the same game.
- Are there big changes to the game when you once really high level of experience, or just do more damage? Have you introduced any new systems for this?
- The game is changing! This was something we wanted to change, and part of the reason why we introduced these perks. There were perks in Oblivion as well, four for each skill, but they were locked up automatically. In addition, there are a lot of new spells and the shouts, so it will be very different.
- In the previous games many characters shared the same voice acting. Have you improved this?
- Definitely. We are continuously working on this since Morrowind and it was better in both Oblivion and Fallout 3 We have many more voice actors this time.
- How do actors react to this? Will they engage more?
- Yes, it's something we've noticed. We can imagine, "Liam Neeson would be a wonderful father for this game," and actually be able to get Liam Neeson on the team. It is probably because the series has become more well known, but video games have generally been given more leeway in the collective consciousness. For many actors, it is cool to do voice acting for video games, and it's not about money. It's good art, and the agents tell them that it's good for their career.
- Can you say something about who we hear?
- Well, Max von Sydow's announced. We will reveal a lot in the future, and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. I say this not just as a publicity stunt. The cast list looks really interesting.
- Have you changed anything in the user interface that you have not mentioned?
- You have such as how the accused works when you sneak. Previously you only the extent to which you are discovered, now you see what mode the enemies are in, among other things, whether they are suspicious or aggressive. This is affected by your sneak skill.
- Are there children in the game?
- Yes, there are children in the game.
- Can they be knocked unconscious?
- No, they can not be unconscious. This system is like in Fallout 3
