[dmegatool]

Originally Posted by Wrao Finished the main quest in Skyrim. All told put about 25 hours into it, maybe a little less. I'm not going to say it is a bad game, because it really isn't, it can grab your attention and pull you into its world quite effectively. But I don't think I'm going to be pouring much more time into it if any.

I didn't play Morrowind or Oblivion that way. I always start with factions and side quests. When I feel my interest is just starting to drop a little bit, I start the main quest. Once it's done, I've pretty much done everything cool. I don't say you played it wrong but I think it's best to not start with the main quest.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by JohnnyTheA Playing single player Minecraft. I have heard so much about it, I figured I should try. So far I have survived about a week, have a small network of tunnels, and am learning the basics beyond tunneling and making torches, and trying not to get lost all the time... So far it is pretty good, but runs REALLY slow on my 4 year old MacBook Pro. For low-res graphics, it should be fast as heck! I think its a java thing... John

I'll just second what the other guys said on the previous page: you should try out our multiplayer server! I played MC in single-player mode for a while before starting up the AN SMP server, and I haven't looked back since. Playing in a group setting is really a totally different dynamic since you can help each other out and find inspiration in each other's builds.

If you haven't already, play around with the various graphics settings. Change "Fancy" to "Fast" and reduce the render distance. There's also a client-side mod called OptiFine that gives even finer control over graphics settings to improve performance, but it hasn't been updated yet for Minecraft 1.0.0.

If you're interested in why MC feels slow, check out this blog post by the OptiFine developer. I started writing up a long post here explaining chunks and updates, but then I realized the OptiFine guy goes into even more detail on the latest post of his blog.

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by dmegatool I didn't play Morrowind or Oblivion that way. I always start with factions and side quests. When I feel my interest is just starting to drop a little bit, I start the main quest. Once it's done, I've pretty much done everything cool. I don't say you played it wrong but I think it's best to not start with the main quest.

This is my first Elder Scrolls game, but I'm playing it like I did Fallout 3. I'm about 25 hours in and have only really done one storyline quest. Instead, I explore EVERYTHING. I've only actually been to three of the holds so far. I do side quests, get to know the town, and sometimes I just start walking in a direction clearing out caves and towers along the way.

Everyone has their own way to play and for me, the storyline is secondary to everything else the game has to offer. When everything was said and done, I put over 200 hours into Fallout 3. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm on par to exceed that and I have no regrets.

[Wrao]

Yeah, I dunno, maybe I was 'doing it wrong' in a sense, I know these games are built around immersion, 'pure' role-playing and open-world dynamics. But I guess I just found far too many instances when the game's mechanics clashed with each other and ripped me out of the experience and/or felt otherwise out of place/unnecessary.

The only other game of this 'type' that I have really played was Fallout: New Vegas(Fallout 3 as well but New Vegas owned my soul for well over 100 hours, f3 was more like 20-30). Even though it is smaller, less detailed, worse graphics, fewer spoken lines of dialog, worse AI and there are no dragons, I still found it to be just considerably more immersive and addictive.

I could probably rant about the assorted things in Skyrim that felt awkward or out of place and hurt the immersion but it might sound like nitpicking. I can cite one example that I feel sums up the 'type' of problem that I found occurring far too frequently though.

Minor spoiler about dragons and random game world quests, probably should avoid if you haven't put about 20 hours in including a little of the main quest:

There is a cool moment that happens randomly when a "Fugitive" approaches you out in the wilderness and he asks you to hold on to something. Moments later someone else shows up and asks you if someone ran by there. You can lie, you can tell the truth or you can return the item that you have now learned was allegedly stolen. (or you can kill them both whatever). It is a neat example of the game trying to show you a richness to the characters and their lives.... at least it is the first time. By the third time it happens it just feels like a dumb scripted gimmick someone through in to show off their engine with, and by the time it happens *WHILE YOU ARE FIGHTING A DRAGON* and the forced conversation takes you out of the fight(which you are still taking damage from) and into some stupid bullshit you couldn't possibly care less about... It just kind of ruins the mood, ya know what I mean? (Also worth mentioning was the time when it happened on an isolated island in the middle of a blizzard in the middle of nowhere) And there were *so many* moments throughout the game where the "radiant AI" would have someone walk by me and trigger a bit of canned small talk while I am in an important conversation with a quest character. This type of thing where two otherwise good systems(the dialog system and the AI system) overlap not only happened a lot for me but it also created just the right type of mixture to completely kill the sense of immersion and just be annoying. In fact, Dragons in general also sum it up. The integration of Dragons into the combat system is amazing. One of the coolest 'big combat' type of enemies I've seen really. Their animations are fluid and intimidating, they are big and fast and you can hear them flap their wings and see their shadows and it all creates a brilliant effect. But somehow, even with all of that detail, by the time you have killed 3 or 4 of them, the 5th becomes a chore. Even as they level up and become harder to deal with, they simply became more of an annoyance for me than anything else. Not the least of which because AI barely even reacts to their presence at all. They'll fight them, they'll say "oh no! a drag-on!" but beyond that, it's just another area where one amazing aspect of the game sort of 'exposes' the less amazing aspects of the game in a way that an 'inferior' game can more or less avoid.

In a way, a game like Fallout(and I would cautiously say Oblivion as well without having played it) despite being 'inferior' in most respects, manages to escape some of these moments for precisely that reason. Skyrim is an incredible game in so many ways, but you almost get the sense(at least I did) that its depth, detail and complexity start to hurt it as situations and scenarios are given such a high resolution and fineness that you expect them to behave beyond that capabilities of what they are programmed to do. Maybe that's just me though.

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by dmegatool I didn't play Morrowind or Oblivion that way. I always start with factions and side quests. When I feel my interest is just starting to drop a little bit, I start the main quest. Once it's done, I've pretty much done everything cool. I don't say you played it wrong but I think it's best to not start with the main quest.

Same here. I have little interest in the main quest, so I only do main quest stuff when I'm bored with exploring. I played Oblivion the same way. I probably logged well over 200 hours in Oblivion before I ever finished the main quest. I'll probably finish Skyrim's sooner than that, but I know I'll have loads of other characters after this one that I'll play in entirely different ways.

That said, this type of game isn't for everyone. It'll probably hold my attention for years, but it won't do that for everybody.

[ezkcdude]

Amazon is now saying Zelda won't come until 12/14. It was supposed to come before Thanksgiving. Argh.

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by Wrao The only other game of this 'type' that I have really played was Fallout: New Vegas(Fallout 3 as well but New Vegas owned my soul for well over 100 hours, f3 was more like 20-30). Even though it is smaller, less detailed, worse graphics, fewer spoken lines of dialog, worse AI and there are no dragons, I still found it to be just considerably more immersive and addictive.

That's funny because after putting so much into Fallout 3 I felt New Vegas was a sad followup. It was fun, but wasn't nearly as immersive and addictive as 3 was. I played New Vegas enough to complete each of the factions, but didn't really spend the time just exploring like I did with 3. Everyone's got their own tastes and things their looking for in games.

[tomoe]

I sort of liked Fallout 3, with the exception that it had terrible gunplay and offered no challenge. New Vegas was such a buggy piece of shit (on the PS3) that I didn't bother finishing it.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by ezkcdude Amazon is now saying Zelda won't come until 12/14. It was supposed to come before Thanksgiving. Argh.

Ah, I should've posted my advice in this thread. When I realized Amazon wasn't going to ship preorders early, wifey and I organized a quick effort to grab a copy from Target Sunday morning and cancel on Amazon as soon as it was in our hands. Easy peasy. Apparently Target had plenty in stock even of the gold controller bundle. If your Amazon order STILL hasn't shipped, I would strongly encourage you to do the same!!

[Wyatt]

Originally Posted by Brad Ah, I should've posted my advice in this thread. When I realized Amazon wasn't going to ship preorders early, wifey and I organized a quick effort to grab a copy from Target Sunday morning and cancel on Amazon as soon as it was in our hands. Easy peasy. Apparently Target had plenty in stock even of the gold controller bundle. If your Amazon order STILL hasn't shipped, I would strongly encourage you to do the same!!

That's what I did with Skyrim, even though Amazon was promising release date delivery. I took the release day off work to play the game, and I decided I didn't want to sit around waiting for it all morning. Canceled my order three days before release and showed up at Target before they opened on release day.

[Wrao]

Started playing the Skyward Sword. I have encountered several... frustrations with the control scheme. It works well enough for most of it, but when it gets out of calibration or whatever it can be a real nuisance. Everything else is top notch, but the motion controls have been getting in the way of the game more than I would have expected(considering how good Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Donkey Kong Country utilized motion controls)

[Maciej]

I am a little overwhelmed by Skyrim. Feels like theres more depth, or just confusion. I want a Pip-Boy.

[tomoe]

I'm loving Skyrim so far. Got my smithing up to 100 and made a full set of Dragon Armor for Lydia. Right now trying to join the Dark Brotherhood.

[Maciej]

So is there a limited number of levels? Thus limited number of perks?

[tomoe]

No clue. I'm at 31 right now and have barely scratched the surface.

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by tomoe I'm loving Skyrim so far. Got my smithing up to 100 and made a full set of Dragon Armor for Lydia. Right now trying to join the Dark Brotherhood.

Just got that dragon armor today. It's nice! Also did my first run with the Dark Brotherhood. It would be wise to do those with the Thieves Guild at the same time.

Originally Posted by Maciej So is there a limited number of levels? Thus limited number of perks?

There is, at present, a 50 level cap (I believe). If it's anything like Fallout 3, the level cap will be raised by about 10 or so with some sort of massive DLC in the future. But plan your perks wisely. I'm around 34 and haven't spent a perk (save for smithing) in about 5 levels. I'm curious to see if skills continue to level up even after the overall level hits the cap.

[tomoe]

Originally Posted by jdcfsu Just got that dragon armor today. It's nice! Also did my first run with the Dark Brotherhood. It would be wise to do those with the Thieves Guild at the same time.

I gave Lydia the full set of dragonplate armor. I'm rocking the Arch Mage robes and the Morokai(?) mask—trying for a pure mage character. Slowly leveling up my enchanting ability and once it reaches 100 hope to make Lydia's armor ultra rad.

Dumb question re guilds: do you know if can join more than one guild at a time?

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by tomoe Dumb question re guilds: do you know if can join more than one guild at a time?

Yeah. I've already completed all the Champion quests, am in the middle of the Thieves Guild, just started the Dark Brotherhood, and have just joined the College at Winterhold. So do whatever makes you happy. As I mentioned above, doing the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild lines in tandem might be of some benefit, especially if you're into sneak/light armor/etc.

Also, regarding Lydia, have you read this yet? "The Life and Death of Lydia."

[Maciej]

Spoilers people, spoilers.

[jdcfsu]

Skyrim FYI - If you start the College of Winterhold quest line, (not the first, simple one, but the first real one) then be prepared to do nothing but that for a good bit. All the quests flow right into the next one and a number of them involve heavy objects that you can't let go of until completing the quest.

So far these quests were the only ones I've been frustrated with the game, mainly because I had no desire to do them in the first place, but basically got trapped into it.

[Xaqtly]

Skyward Sword, WoW and a little Forza 4. We played some Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One a while back but it was not as fun as Crack in Time. Oh I've also been playing the Xbox Live Arcade version of Perfect Dark - the original one remade for the Xbox 360 with way better graphics and framerate. Oh man is that game so much better with a usable framerate.

As a side note, it's fascinating to me what happened to Rare. They were easily the N64's best developer outside of Nintendo themselves, but when MS bought them all they did was produce crap after crap. They did nothing for the Xbox that was any good.

The irony is that I can play some of Rare's better games like Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day on the Xbox 360 and they're great - and they were ported from the N64. But given the chance to make games for the 360 from the ground up, they couldn't make anything worth playing.

I figured it was from large groups of personnel leaving Rare over the years, they must have had exactly the right magic mix of people in the era of the N64.

[Eugene]

Wrongfully accused.

[torifile]

I picked up Skyrim last week for my PC (I had initially gotten it for my PS3 but after talking to Wyatt decided I should just go PC). I think I know why I find these games so engrossing but ultimately exhausting - I get totally sidetracked by the side quests. I'm 7 hours in and I'm not sure I've done much of the main quest at all. This happens to me in all these Bethesda games. Come to think of it it happens to me in all western RPGs. I'm so worried about missing something important that nothing ever gets accomplished.

I'm like 45 hours into ME2 and I'm still not done. I never finished Oblivion or Fallout 3 or NV because of the same issue. I've got problems....

Part of the issue is that I never feel like I've mastered the combat or magic stuff. Forget the potions in the Elder Scrolls games. But Skyrim is beautiful and engrossing. I hope I can finish it.

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by torifile I think I know why I find these games so engrossing but ultimately exhausting - I get totally sidetracked by the side quests. I'm 7 hours in and I'm not sure I've done much of the main quest at all.

I'm now around 110 hours and have MAYBE completed half of the main storyline quests.

Engrossing is a good word for Skyrim.

[gsxrboy]

iMame for iOS, now on the Appstore, for how long? who knows..

[Bryson]

I wish Skyrim would tell me the total weight of items in each "section". I have a bad feeling I'm carrying 100(lbs? Kgs?) of useless potions.

[Maciej]

I hate potions. And I can never sell all of them... *sigh*

[jdcfsu]

Originally Posted by Bryson I wish Skyrim would tell me the total weight of items in each "section". I have a bad feeling I'm carrying 100(lbs? Kgs?) of useless potions.

I know I am. I got a perk that makes heavy armor weightless when it's being worn or carried and after you take away weapons, soul gems, and quest items that can't be removed, I'm rocking a good 100+ lbs of healing potions.

[torifile]

Tiny Tower. Free to play with in app purchases. I like it. My son loves it. My wife will be addicted once she sees it. She loves these sorts of games.

[Maciej]

I've gotten to the point where I one hit almost all opponents except dragons, at level 36. The game is losing its fun. Feels like all the quests are just go get this item, etc.