2011-01-08, 12:01 AM
[video=youtube;B0fQWkk9Z6s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0fQWkk9Z6s[/video]
Almost a month after TES V: Skyrim was announced, the latest GameInformer issue has dumped a ton of info on us all.
Since I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to post magazine scans and all of that, I'll post a summary of what we know thus far, courtesy of the people at NeoGAF. It's a lot of information, and it's likely not everything.
---
On leveling:
- Totally revamped, no more class selection at the start of the game, every skill you level contributes to your overall level. And each time you level you get extra health plus the ability to get either more health, magicka or stamina.
- Each level also brings you perks (like Fallout 3?)
- Also, the leveling was moved from 1-25 or something like that to 1-50, but 50 is soft-capped, you just advance really slow after that.
- Level scaling is back, but it's unclear how noticable it will be this time around. Similar to Fallout 3?
On skills:
- Mysticism is gone (redundancy is cited as a reason), and it's implied that its spells have been allocated to the other remaining schools of magic.
- Enchanting returns from Morrowind.
- 18 skills, down from 21 on Oblivion, and 27 on Morrowind.
- Tries to accomodate players who want to specialize in a certain proffesion (like mage or thief), while at the same time giving room for players who like to do plenty of everything. They want to keep a special care so that this feels good, not prone to cheating and organic.
On the story and lore:
- 200 years after Oblivion. Set in Skyrim, a mountainous region north of Cyrodiil and west of Morrowind, where the Nords live.
- A civil war has broken out in Skyrim, since the king is dead. The war is between those who want Skyrim to secede from the Imperial Empire, and those who want to remain.
- The dragons are returning, as it was prophetized in the Elder Scrolls. You will be trying to stop the wicked dragon god Alduin, the World-Eater.
- You are a dragonborn, Dovahkiin, one of the last true dragon hunters. Your mentor is one of the last Blades, voiced by Max von Sydow (from Shutter Island and Minority Report).
- Individuals known as Greybeards are mentioned, living atop a distant retreat at a high mountain known as the Throat of the World. They are highly versed in the powers of the dragons, and it is likely that you will have to "take the 7,000 steps it takes to reach them and be trained".
- Enemies include were-yeti's, giant spider, dragons and other cool creatures.
On combat:
- They want to make it more dynamic and tactical. You have to assign each hand with a function, either a spell, 2 spells, 2 weapons, a weapon and a shield, etc.
- You can also waste stamina by sprinting, allowing you to get access to tactical postitions.
- Emphasis on really improving the combat this time around.
- They are also putting care on how each weapon feel on your hand.
Other:
- Third person view has been improved.
- There is an option for no HUD.
- Fast Travel is back.
- You can now sprint.
- 5 massive cities, more variation in caves and underground stuff.
On quests:
- Quests are much more dynamic now.
- The quests are now more determined by how you build your chracter, individual actions and overall much more dynamic.
- Examples provided: If you are more of a magic user, some other mage may approach you who may not have had if you were just a melee character.
- Or if you killed some dude who owned a store that was gonna give you a quest, his sister would inherit the store, but she may resent you before giving you the quest.
- Also, if you drop a weapon in the street instead of selling it, it may just dissapear, some kid may get it and give it back to you, which would lead to a series of stuff, or some dudes may fight over who gets it.
- "Radiant Storytelling": "The game eventually logs a huge storehouse of knowledge about how you've played, and subsequently tailors content to your capabilities and experiences. Entering a city, a young woman might approach you and beg you to save her daughter from kidnappers. The game will look at the nearby dungeons you've explored, automatically set the mission in a place you've never visited, and designate opponents that are appropriately matched to your strengths and weaknesses."