What is the point of this thread? What are we discussing?

RABBLE RABBLE!!

On a serious note, most games do try to push a player in one direction because its for their own good, this is what i love about sand-box/open world games, the freedom to go past these influential boundaries and explore off the path.
Game devs "Suggest" going this way.. but you CAN go the other way if you want. It may be harder, it may be faster, it may even be less fun but you CAN do it. Which is awesome.

the dev post only confirmed this:



That doesn't confirm or deny whether mountains will only be accessible via set paths.

...


:rolleyes: Right. If everyone doesn't follow the exact same path up a moderately sized mountain in Wales, they're all going to die.

Sounds to me like you've never been up a mountain in your life, and are making assumptions based on the most extreme examples.

What could YOU, a Bethesda employee, possibly add to the vast knowledge of the armchair pre-release reviewers!?

I'm not sure what your beef is with some mild corridoring. Considering most games tend to corridor you using invisible walls or feeble barriers like a few crates or a strange line of boulders, I'm quite happy for Beth to use a beautiful MAHOOOSIVE mountain to block my path.

sure it corridors you a bit but you can simply go around it if you're really set on getting to the other side. Like in MW, the mountains around Balmora corridored you in a way so you didn't happen to immediately walk through ghostgate and immediately get pwned by an ash vampire. Also the red mountain stopped you from taking a direct route from say, Balmora/caldera to Sadrith Mora. Just like in real life there are natural barriers to limit where you can and cannot go.

Lol, this.

I... uhh... what number are we on now? Fourteenth this?

That's kinda how mountains work, you know, OP. In the real world. Who cares about logical, setting friendly natural barriers? Especially since knowing Bethesda, we'll still be able to scale each and every peak in the game?

Mountains are an excellent way to help your world feel larger, when used well. And Bethesda are the undisputed masters of natural landscapes.

Read dev post. Rinse. Repeat.

As it has already been stated (and also backed up from a bethesda member), the game takes place in skyrim, so, there obviusly are mountains.
Now, please, people, answer me this; if you HAD to put mountains in a sandbox game, which obviusly work as some kind of surpassable "barrier", how would you place them? Would you simply place them randomly, or would you see an opportunity in it and place them so they gently guide the players towards the direction you feel they'll have the most fun (aka: main quest), even if its not mandatory for them to go in that way?

When I heard the "We wanted to add mountains to block the player and control the experience" quote, what sprung to mind was: Yes! Tighter gameplay!



I kind of had to answer to this, haha. As much as I'd love to see some climbing, I believe that saying that the fact that the TES series are also avaliable in third person takes away the possibility for climbing, is a bit of a stretch.

Did you read his last post, which was a direct reply to yours?

I remember how I was herded around past Ghostgate.. man I hated that..

....

I'm sure the game opens up later on. Absolute freedom is no better than chaos. Rather have some guidance with tons of freedom than TOTAL freedom at the expense of a lesser game/story.

So I could run up http://preorderskyrim.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/skyrim-camping-trip-skreenshot.png from any starting point, without having to look for a path? (I say run, because there's no actual climbing skill)

If so, that's great news.

I think he probably meant that there would be multiple ways to go up. But, as you're an experienced climber, you should know that you can't free climb a mountain that big from any starting point without having to look for a path.

its not a bad thing, I live in a mountainous country and getting "herded" and stumbling into hidden valleys that look like Rivendel is not a bad thing.

obstacles are a part of life, and thus including them in a game will make the game more life like and enjoyable..

of course we can't scale every cliff or jump over every craves, if we can we might as well replace dragon born with superman and fly everywhere.

There's your problem...Scotland and Wales? So you think that every mountain in the world can be climbed from every direction?

Also...if you build a temple, tomb, castle, fort etc. on a mountain...you wouldn't make a path that everyone could follow? I think you should put on some armour and take a sword and shield and go climb a mountain in Norway...tell me how it goes

Skyrim is a very rugged area with lots of mountains and cliffs...always has been. Should they make it flat so you have the option to go in EVERY direction ALL the time?

Vsions scores again!

Seriously though, this is good to hear. Not that I had any real concerns before. Definitely stoked to do some mountain exploring come 11-11-11.

Mountain plunder ho!

So multiple set paths then... which is basically confirming what i've been saying all along. We cannot find our own way up, and instead have to look for conveniently placed paths.


I think our definition of paths differ slightly. You seem to be referring to any safe passage up the mountain, whereas i'm referring to actual paths - almost like a road that you could take a horse up (like the one we saw in the e3 footage).

Im glad I made your day

:clap:

lmao bliviongate: , smack down

.....so......?
Mountains are infamous for doing that, damn nature!

So you're saying you won't be happy unless you can just go crashing up a mountain any damn way you please? I guess any path in real life is conveniently placed and thus totally lame and unrealistic.



Shabam! :teehee:

I guess the enviroment work a bit like roads: It is easier to follow them, but you don't have to.

You have indeed. :thumbsup: You've put one of my biggest concerns about the game to rest. Excellent news.


I won't be happy if I have to follow set roads up the mountain (like in the e3 demo), but vsions has confirmed that isn't the case, so i'm VERY happy.

Sounds like this may be a single quote taken out of context. It makes sense to place mountains so that natural pathways would form, and for those pathways to lead towards area's of interest.

From what we have been lead to believe most of these barriers are surpasable in some way. Or at least they'd better be, or the reputation of TES as a sandbox game with free form gameplay is over.