I've been playing now for 2.5 days and spent maybe 8 hours or so with the game so far (I've been home sick the past few days and thus have had time to play).  Here's my short take on the game thus far:

I've played Oblivion, Fallout 3, and New Vegas, but Skyrim takes the cake hands down.  Never has an RPG so thoroughly captivated me before like Skyrim.  Just taking in the natural beauty has left me depressed with reality.  I long to live in Scandinavia during the middle ages, when the land was still untouched and pure.  I think I'd make a great blacksmith and I'd use my gold coins to purchase bread and soup for my family, especially my hot Nordic wife!  Ok back to the game now...  

Anyways...the first hour of the game was like, ok nothing much new here but let me keep playing.  Second hour was like, story is very interesting I'll keep at it but I'm still not getting the new features and mechanics.  By the time I reached the fourth hour, things started to click and now I'm hooked.  I'm playing on the console version so I've got no issues with the GUI.  I think it works quite well for this type of game and a much better improvement over Bethesda's other works, even New Vegas.  [New Vegas was definitely my favorite until this game came along]

This game is really going to ruin my life now!

Glad to see you got your system working

I rerolled and this time I'm going 2h-- perks in that, sneak and achemy as well archery--spead mine out too much on the first character and die too often.

my inclination was to go 2H, sneak and archery from the start. Good long distance sneak attacks and a massive sword to smite anything which gets too close.

Only up to level 3 so far, but ive already upped the difficulty level (from adept) as things are a little too easy.

Originally Posted By ghostryder

Glad to see you got your system working

 

I rerolled and this time I'm going 2h-- perks in that, sneak and achemy as well archery--spead mine out too much on the first character and die too often.

Yeah I re-rolled a big, lumbering Nord with a burly beard. I'm almost level 12 and so far have put all my perks into 2-handed weapons and heavy armor. I also found a pair of gauntlets that add an additional 25% damage with 2-handed weapon attacks. I'm starting to do some real damage on a lot of the early quests. My lock pick skill is over 30 as well just because I love to pick everything up that I can.

I've only trained a couple of times. The only reason I'd do that is to get a certain perk. It makes more sense than how it worked in Oblivion IMO. I'm up almost 10k gold because I gear out almost everything I pick up and rarely buy items.

I noticed that there is no wear and tear on items unless I'm missing it. FNV was a real pain in that regard, but it was balanced and part of the game. Not sure about Skyrim.

I still get a weird effect when I look around too fast. Some of you may have noticed this as well. But the lighting gets dark for a second and then gets light again. This is a strange oddity. Also depending on where I look when in dungeons, it can get really dark. When I look to a different direction, it gets light again. Very strange. I haven't found anything on the interweb about this, so it could just be my video card. Or then again, it could be the graphics engine the game runs on.

Originally Posted By Gusington

I almost pulled the trigger today and then reflected on how little time I really have to play it...maybe an hour a day if I'm lucky. How much can you do in an hour here? Is an hour satisfying?

I play about an hour most days. You can still enjoy it.  It's an easy 'pick it up where you left off game'.

Thanks Ghostryder, without your help I would have still been struggling.

Knavery,

So far I haven't seen any wear or tear on my weapons or armor either.  I think that's the way it is with this game.  I'm kind of glad though because realistically speaking, how much does a sword degrade in a few days time?  Even if you are fighting with it every in game waking hour, is a sword going to degrade to the point where instead of killing someone in 3 seconds, it will now take 3.678453 seconds? 

I've got the console version and I think I may have noticed that lighting issue you mention.  Not sure about the looking around too fast thing, I'll have to check tonight, but in dungeons and caves things can and do get dark.  It all depends on where you are though.  Some of the areas have their own inherent lighting, like candles, torches, etc. but some do not.  Have you found a torch yet that you can use or are you playing as the Khajit?  I think there was a torch at the early part of the game you pick up when fleeing the town in the beginning.  I've got one in my inventory, but since I'm Khajit I really don't use it.  Khajit have the ability to see in the dark which is one of their racial special powers.

Please, please, PLEASE! Somebody go back to talking bad about this game so I can resist it's alluring call.

There is no wear and tear anymore but you can upgrade weapons on a grindstone.

Damn you...damn you all, especially Ian F. I've embraced the fact that a purchase is imminent...now the next obvious question...physical copy or online? Any real benefits to getting a physical copy? If not I will download that mofo from Steam tonight. It beckons...

Originally Posted By W8taminute

Thanks Ghostryder, without your help I would have still been struggling.

 

 

Knavery,

 

So far I haven't seen any wear or tear on my weapons or armor either.  I think that's the way it is with this game.  I'm kind of glad though because realistically speaking, how much does a sword degrade in a few days time?  Even if you are fighting with it every in game waking hour, is a sword going to degrade to the point where instead of killing someone in 3 seconds, it will now take 3.678453 seconds? 

 

I've got the console version and I think I may have noticed that lighting issue you mention.  Not sure about the looking around too fast thing, I'll have to check tonight, but in dungeons and caves things can and do get dark.  It all depends on where you are though.  Some of the areas have their own inherent lighting, like candles, torches, etc. but some do not.  Have you found a torch yet that you can use or are you playing as the Khajit?  I think there was a torch at the early part of the game you pick up when fleeing the town in the beginning.  I've got one in my inventory, but since I'm Khajit I really don't use it.  Khajit have the ability to see in the dark which is one of their racial special powers.

It's funny you ask that. I'm playing a Nord warrior, but haven't found the need to use a torch yet. Of course most of the side quests I'm doing are for the Companions. I've already been shared the blood (for those out there that know what I mean) but do not know how to use it. Most of the caves where the Silver Hand hang out are pretty well lit already. I'm sure I'll need torches eventually. 

I will play as a the Khajiit my next play through. I did it twice on Oblivion and loved it. 

As for the lighting... It is a little better. I downloaded the new beta drives from Nvidia, which contains a Skyrim graphics profile. I also noticed the performance was a little better. I defragged my drive, and set my paging file to 12200 or so with 8gigs of RAM. It's much smoother.

How do you like the console version? I may get that as well.

I'll probably pick this up for my PS3, I can't rationalize upgrading my PC to play games anymore (its plays all the strategy/wargames just fine).

Judging by the sales breakdown, i'm not alone;

"... Skyrim has sold over 3.4 million copies in 48 hours, not including digital sales, 59% of units were sold on the X360, 27% on the PS3 and 14% on PC...."

Originally Posted By ratster1

I'll probably pick this up for my PS3, I can't rationalize upgrading my PC to play games anymore (its plays all the strategy/wargames just fine).

 

Judging by the sales breakdown, i'm not alone;

 

"... Skyrim has sold over 3.4 million copies in 48 hours, not including digital sales, 59% of units were sold on the X360, 27% on the PS3 and 14% on PC...."

I'm surprised by those figures. Almost every place in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area was sold out of the PC version and had plenty of copies of the console versions. Of course, it could largely be due to stores only being sent a few PC copies on top of those pre-ordered. But I wouldn't bat an eye over it if I were you. I heard the PS3 version is also very stellar. No point in upgrading your PC if you have the PS3.

Knavery,

Yes I really like it on the console.  I have a PS3 and while the graphics aren't as pretty as on a PC with a decent card, it does suffice.  When looking at your immediate surroundings, i.e. buildings, trees, animals, etc., it's quite amazing, much better than New Vegas on PS3 was.  Where you do see some issues is with draw distance.  When viewing fields from afar there is evidence of patchiness but as you walk closer the details gradually fill in.  I've grown accustomed to this however with these types of games on the console.  Not a big deal to me.

Character and object rendering is also amazing.  You can see if someone has bloodshot eyes or clear baby blues.  Furniture and food looks very realistic.  

As for ease of play I prefer this type of game on the console as well.  I'll echo what was said at the beginning of this thread, it's nice to loaf around on the sofa while playing the game on your flatscreen tv.  

Thanks for sharing the tips though with tweaking your PC and card to get the game to run smoother.  It's good stuff for the general knowledge category.  

ratster1,

Thanks for sharing the sales numbers.  I'm in agreement with you on the upgrade the PC thing for new games.  As long as I can play my strat/wargames on my PC I'm happy.  For massive games like Skyrim I'd rather play on my PS3.  I'm a little surprised at the delta between the Xbox and PS3 sales however.  I'm not a PS3 fanboy (actually maybe I am a little) but do more people in North America prefer the Xbox to the PS3 in general?  

Originally Posted By Gusington

Damn you...damn you all, especially Ian F. I've embraced the fact that a purchase is imminent...now the next obvious question...physical copy or online? Any real benefits to getting a physical copy? If not I will download that mofo from Steam tonight. It beckons...

I got the boxed version, no difference really I guess, apart from the download time.

I'm not an avid fan of Roleplaying Games (I am though a long-time fan of tabletop pen & dice RPGs) but there is something very nice about this game.

The open-endeness of it, the complete wandering-adventurer thing. I spent an hour and half today: left town, tried to buy a horse, didn't have 1000 gold, fought bandits, ate cheese & drunk wine, battled a necromancer, skeletons, then helped a man clear his ancestral subterranean tomb of an evil sorceror and made over 1000 gold plus goodies, scrolls, potions and more cheese along with meat, various wines and veg. Fought Wolves, a troll, found a villiage in the mountains and now I have enough for a horse.

I got my game from Amazon 

Played for about 2 hours.

The ability to easily remap the controls is absent from the PC version.  I play left handed.  I remapped the move controls to the arrow keys (not the ones on the numpad).  But when picking locks I still have to use the "A" key.

Still, the game is beautiful and is very enjoyable in the brief time I have spent playing it.  The scripted actions by NPCs are excellent thus far.  I'm sure that when you are away from the main quest that the scripted actions are not as compelling.

I've played every Bethesda RPG going back to Daggerfall.  I'm not sure yet if Skyrim is better than Morrowind.  But I am hopeful.

Since I'm going duck hunting this weekend, I probably won't have much time to play until Thanksgiving Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

I'll probably be asking Santa for this; that will allow time for a few patches and some mods to mature (perhaps including some mega-total-overhaul ones).

You had me at cheese and meat Ian. OK my resiliance is gone...downloading from Steam tonight and will then get the physical guide book. I'm weak!

Originally Posted By Gusington

You had me at cheese and meat Ian. OK my resiliance is gone...downloading from Steam tonight and will then get the physical guide book. I'm weak!

I can't say anything....my nose is firmly pressed to my front window awaiting Mr. Fed Ex to bring me my copy today!

Just bought the only copy of the guide available...the soft cover version. Will dl the actual game later at home! Dare I start to play before the guide arrives? Amazon said it could take up to 3 weeks!

Liar...you said hard copy.

Gus, you broke us!

Originally Posted By Knavery

 

It's funny you ask that. I'm playing a Nord warrior, but haven't found the need to use a torch yet. Of course most of the side quests I'm doing are for the Companions. I've already been shared the blood (for those out there that know what I mean) but do not know how to use it. Most of the caves where the Silver Hand hang out are pretty well lit already. I'm sure I'll need torches eventually. 

 

I will play as a the Khajiit my next play through. I did it twice on Oblivion and loved it. 

 

As for the lighting... It is a little better. I downloaded the new beta drives from Nvidia, which contains a Skyrim graphics profile. I also noticed the performance was a little better. I defragged my drive, and set my paging file to 12200 or so with 8gigs of RAM. It's much smoother.

 

How do you like the console version? I may get that as well.

I'm playing a Nord too (Level 12) and haven't found the need for a torch yet either. I have two I found on my travels but all the dungeons so far have been well lit.

I think it's the first guide I have ever purchased. Honest.

The Wife just called and is at Target, she asked if I needed anything.

Beyond the obvious I said 'if you see a copy of a PC game called Skyrim please pick it up.'

I may as well have been hailing a cab in Timbuktu. Let's see if there's a hard copy waiting for me when I get home.

^You have just given your wife the supreme test we men give all our wives and girlfriends.  If a woman can figure out what computer game thingy you're talking about and bring home the correct item to you from their shopping time, then she is a true keeper.  

Well the gauntlet has been thrown, then. I want to type so many other things in this space but since this is the open air section...I'll just refrain. 

Oh you do dice with death Gus! We wait with bated breath to see what game soooo opposite to Skyrim you end up with

EDIT: Apologies Mrs Gus