Skyrim: Gone Gold.

[Atlas-]

My natural playstyle lends itself to stealth, and archery. I prefer to kill things before they even know I'm there, whenever possible.

As for Pacifism being boring ... I don't know, it sounds CHALLENGING. Think about it ... you can't even kill dragons, to get souls with which to unlock new Thu'ums.

You can't do any of the quest lines think about it:
Main Quest: must kill Draugur overlord
Companions: must kill hargravens
Dark Brotherhood: need I say more
Thief: Must kill Mercer faye
Bard: First quest you have to kill someone.
Collage of winterhold: many, many people you have to kill
Civil War: must take cities and castles by yourself.
Daedric artefacts: they're daedra what do you expect

If you take out all that plus most other miscellaneous quest require someone's death, then there really isn't must to do.

[_Pax_]

Some folks who do pacifism, rely on their companions to do the necessary deeds. Or summoned creatures.

And in the meantime? You can still explore nearly every corner of Skyrim.

[Atlas-]

Some folks who do pacifism, rely on their companions to do the necessary deeds. Or summoned creatures.

And in the meantime? You can still explore nearly every corner of Skyrim.

That guy didn't allow anyone to die, so he couldn't complete any quests.

I've started another new profile as the dragonborn you see in the trailer. On a side note do you think I should get oblivion.

[_Pax_]

That guy didn't allow anyone to die, so he couldn't complete any quests.

Not true - he could complete SOME quests. Just, not a lot of the "major storyline" quests.

I've started another new profile as the dragonborn you see in the trailer. On a side note do you think I should get oblivion.

Oblivion is good. IMO, the UI is a bit cumbersome and not terribly intuitive. But it's a good story, and if you liked playing Skyrim, then Oblivion and even Morrowind are games you should consider, at the very least.

Especially, of course, get the GOTY edition - has all the official DLC.

[headkase]

The Creation Kit is coming out later today (it's the wee hours of Tuesday morning as I type this) and there is supposed to be a "surprise" to go along with it. Totally unconfirmed gaggle has it being a high-resolution texture pack for the PC version. If that's what it turns out to be then I think I'll be very happy about it..

[_Pax_]

Given how nice the things that came out withut the official CK, I am very excited for what the best mod-authors will be able to do WITH an official CK.

[headkase]

Yup, once that Creation Kit is out then the biggest thing to happen right away will be modders making whole new locations and dungeons and quest lines to go along with them. Those are the kind of things that just haven't been able to be done so far as so far it's just been editing text files - not manipulating scenery.

[_Pax_]

Hahaha, Headkase, there already WERE some modders making whole new locations. Mostly houses and such, but still.

The one I use is here.

[headkase]

The "surprise" is now official! It IS a high-resolution texture pack! It's a free DLC you add in Steam!

I know some modders have added a few locations but it just got a whole lot easier _Pax_ !

[brxbrx]

So who has Skyrim for PC? How bad is the consolitis?
What kind of machine are you running it on?

[headkase]

I just tried out the high-res pack: noticeable difference! brxbrx, the user interface could be more optimized for PC but I haven't really been able to point my finger at something and say: "consolitis.."

[_Pax_]

So who has Skyrim for PC?

I do.

How bad is the consolitis?

IMO, pretty much nonexistant.

Oh, sure; if you use TAB to access the main "get to X menu from here" thing, it'll look obviously console-like. But there are direct keybinds to take you to each of the four places that leads to, anyway (i for inventory, m for map, and so on).

Certain folks around here will insist otherwise, though. Font sizes, scrolling menus, anything that isn't absolutely the way they would have liked it perfect .... is "consolitis". *shrug*

What kind of machine are you running it on?

AMD Phenom II x4 (955 Black Edition) factory clocked at 3.2GHs;
8GB of DDR3-1333 memory, a generic-ish brand;
NVidia GTX 275 video card with 896MB of GDDR-5 VRAM;
a Samsung LCD-LED monitor, 1920x1080;
Logitech G510 keyboard;
the OEM-branded mouse the PC came with.

So, pretty nice, but nothing to drool over anymore. It does let me play the game at absolute max settings. Or DID; I haven't tried it with the high-resolution pack yet. It'll probably still go balls-to-the-wall just fine, but there's always the chance I'll have to dial something back to 8 or 9.

[Chris_3_16]

I wish PS3 had mods... oh well just have to tough it out I guess. I joined the dark brotherhood with one of my characters and found that I really like all the people I had to kill so all other profiles they'll have to die on.
I'm thinking of starting a Redguard, one of the few races I don't have an account for yet.

No need for Mods to be honest, the game is fairly easy I reckon. Just spam the ☺☺☺☺ out of iron daggers for your smithing skill, leather strips and iron ignots from warmaidens or skyforge k:

[headkase]

...It does let me play the game at absolute max settings. Or DID; I haven't tried it with the high-resolution pack yet. It'll probably still go balls-to-the-wall just fine, but there's always the chance I'll have to dial something back to 8 or 9.

I've been playing a few hours now with the high-resolution textures: it's nice, not super super nice - just nicer. The minimum it says on the DLC page is 1GB of graphics card memory. You have 896MB so that might not work that well for you. I'm running a Radeon 6870 1GB here. The DLC is 3.1GB to download and in the "Data Files" section of the Skyrim Launcher you can uncheck them if you're running out of graphics memory and getting stuttering. Once you add the free DLC it's tied to your Skyrim install forever - but, like said: you can uncheck the 2 files in the launcher if it doesn't work out good for you.

Here's the DLC page:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/202485/

And the recommended requirements:

Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU
Memory: 4GB System RAM
Video Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher)

[_Pax_]

If it says a GTX 260 or higher? My GTX 275 makes the cut - sure, it's short on dedicated video memory, but I've got system memory to spare, with which to make up the difference.

[headkase]

If it says a GTX 260 or higher? My GTX 275 makes the cut - sure, it's short on dedicated video memory, but I've got system memory to spare, with which to make up the difference.

I guess you'll have to try it to see if you get stutter? System memory is much slower compared to dedicated memory..

[Atlas-]

No need for Mods to be honest, the game is fairly easy I reckon. Just spam the ☺☺☺☺ out of iron daggers for your smithing skill, leather strips and iron ignots from warmaidens or skyforge k:

I don't find it hard it's just mods can make it more interesting like new houses and things like that.

[_Pax_]

What Atlas- said.

Mods can add new quests, new places to go, new goals to achieve. They can add convenience, without adding difficulty - like the House mod I use, which puts every crafting object into a single modestly-sized room. No more having to leave home in Whiterun to use smithing stuff, or worse, running all the way up to Dragonsreach to use an enchanting table. One-stop shopping ... not any "easier", but a DAMNED sight less inconvenient!

And more ... mods can not only make the game easier, they can also make it HARDER. Picture, for example, changing how you unlock Shouts. Instead of "1 soul, 1 word" ... what if the first word cost 1 soul, the second cost 2, and the final cost 3? Suddenly, getting a full three-word Shout would cost TWICE as many dragon souls. Coupled with a mod that increased Dragons' difficulty (more HP, higher Defense, etc) ... that could make for a VERY challenging game, if you rely on Shouts at all.

There's also mods to simply change how things look.

Or mods that fix egregious oversights, like the Smithing perks. Did you know that in Vanilla, if you get Steel Smithing ... not everything made of Steel, benefits from that "improve it twice as much" perk? And where's the leatherworking perk?? I use a couple mods that fix that (as well as letting you smelt weapons down into their primary material - and seriously, if you have a pile of fifty iron swords, shouldn't you be able to melt them down into SOME quantity of iron ingots??).

[Vito_Lucente]

I wish you could mod it for the Xbox 360. All this talk of modding makes me sad to have a ☺☺☺☺ computer.

[_Pax_]

I feel your pain, Vito I don't want to have to buy FO3's GOTY edition just to move from my Xbox, to the PC ... so I could use mods.

My girlfriend bought me the collector's edition of F3, for my xbox. She had no idea I wanted it for PC instead. And I didn't have the heart to tell her she'd gotten the wrong version at the time. (Plus, lunchbox and PipBoy bobblehead ...!!)

[_Pax_]

Well, I checked out the new high-res pack; did one tomb-based quest (not feeling well, so, only the one for now).

No stuttering, no problems at all. Other than a bit of eye strain from trying (despite not feeling great) to focus on the higher detail level of everything.

[headkase]

Well, I checked out the new high-res pack; did one tomb-based quest (not feeling well, so, only the one for now).

No stuttering, no problems at all. Other than a bit of eye strain from trying (despite not feeling great) to focus on the higher detail level of everything.

Awesome. I'm enjoying Hi-Res so far too! I know there were a couple community hi-res ones but I'm happy, and would rather, to get the pack straight from Bethesda. I'm sure there's a few disappointed people out there who put a lot of work into creating their hi-res mods though..

[brxbrx]

I think I'm going to have to pass on Skyrim. My computer probably isn't up to the challenge, and I don't want to run a TES game on low graphics.
2 gb RAM
Nvidia 9800GT
Intel Core Duo E7500 2,93 ghz

When I got it it could play all contemporary games on maxed out settings- in fact I asked my brother, the tech guy in the family, to plan it out so that it could play any new games coming out in the next few months.
Unfortunately, it came with a corrupted stick of RAM, so instead of 3.5 gb (why did he insist I use 32-bit?), I'm left with 2 gb. I ordered another stick from Newegg, but it too eventually proved to be problematic, which leads me to suspect that it's the slot that's the problem. Of course, I acted to late to get anything out of my warranty like the damned procrastinator I am.

[headkase]

I think I'm going to have to pass on Skyrim. My computer probably isn't up to the challenge, and I don't want to run a TES game on low graphics.
2 gb RAM
Nvidia 9800GT
Intel Core Duo E7500 2,93 ghz

When I got it it could play all contemporary games on maxed out settings- in fact I asked my brother, the tech guy in the family, to plan it out so that it could play any new games coming out in the next few months.
Unfortunately, it came with a corrupted stick of RAM, so instead of 3.5 gb (why did he insist I use 32-bit?), I'm left with 2 gb. I ordered another stick from Newegg, but it too eventually proved to be problematic, which leads me to suspect that it's the slot that's the problem. Of course, I acted to late to get anything out of my warranty like the damned procrastinator I am.

From it's page:

Minimum:

OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)
Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor
Memory: 2GB System RAM
Hard Disk Space: 6GB free HDD Space
Video Card: Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM
Sound: DirectX compatible sound card

Here's the thing: PC-low-settings are console-normal-settings. AND you'll eventually upgrade your PC and your Steam account will follow you.. What'cha think? Of course, for now, the high-resolution texture-pack would be a no-go..

The thing to keep in mind: consoles are getting on 6 years old. Processing ability with chips double roughly every 18 months. So, 6 years = 72 months ÷ 18 = 4 doubles. So, a top of the line PC is on average 8 times more powerful than a console which hasn't changed at all in 6 years. That's where I get the "pc low settings are console normal settings" statement from.

[brxbrx]

That's the thing. I don't want console graphics. I don't want to watch the mountains render as I walk, I don't want to see pixellated floor tiles, and I don't want to see butt-ugly spell graphics. I'm a PC man, and that means I'll have to wait until I get the money for a nice PC, preferably with more RAM than the size of its hard drive or something.

[headkase]

You don't actually have a "bad" processor. You could put in just a better graphics card and still be able to play most games on "PC-medium" settings! Your only other choices are not play it at all, which is what you seem to have chosen, or play on console. If you choose console then your PC is just as good plus you get modifications.

[brxbrx]

You don't actually have a "bad" processor. You could put in just a better graphics card and still be able to play most games on "PC-medium" settings! Your only other choices are not play it at all, which is what you seem to have chosen, or play on console. If you choose console then your PC is just as good plus you get modifications.

I'll be fine without Skyrim. I have plenty of games to play already.
Thanks for the tips, though. It's always good to have a tech wiz tell you what's what, that way you know what's what.

[headkase]

My Nephew's computer is getting old in the tooth. It's an Athlon 64 (single core!) 3500. The system has 1GB of memory and I put into it - because it was just lying around - an AMD Radeon HD 5670 1GB. That card has the same amount of memory as his system! It's definitely not being utilized as much as it could be. The actual framerate you get from games not only depends on the graphics card but also how well the processor can feed that graphics card information. With my Nephew's computer: the processor is the limit not the graphics card. Your processor is "good enough" (starting with the Core series processors took a big leap) that you could reasonably feed a modern graphics card with it. It's no i5, or i7 series but that thing's good enough!

Here's an idea of the "good enough." Just previous to the Intel Core series - which is what you have, Core 2 Duo - was the Pentium D. The Pentium D was basically a dual-core Pentium 4. A Core 2 Duo processor at 1.8Ghz is about equivalent to a Pentium D 3.0Ghz. When the Core series came out it came with a complete overhaul of the "architecture." How the chip processes information. So, going by the clock - Ghz - a Core processor does much more work per clock than a Pentium D processor does. And the above minimum requirements? Just say "Dual Core 2.0Ghz" so that would include a pithy Pentium D.

[_Pax_]

As far as new PCs go? Show around on NewEgg.

When a new generation of hardware comes out, alot of times OEMs will seek to unload the prior generation - in order to make warehouse space for what they think will be the "new hot seller". One way to do that, and possibly create a new loyal customer? Build cheap systems with the no-longer-bleeding-edge parts.

My system is exactly that. The GTX-400 series was coming out from NVidia, so the 300-series wasn't a top-dollar part anymore. So they put together a very basic system, using the GTX 275's they still had in stock.

I wound up with an AMD Phenom II x4 "955: Black Edition" processor (quad core, 3.2GHz/core), 8GB of generic-branded DDR3-1333 memory, a 1TB "bargain model" Hitachi hard drive, and one of those GTX 275's they were looking to get out the door. With a freebie keyboard and mouse thrown in (and I'm still using that very mouse, and used the keyboard up untila month ago when I got my Logitech G510 - so they weren't crap quality, at all) ...?

$1100, three years ago.

Super bargain cheapo price? No. However, a pretty muscular gaming machine, reasonably future-resistant (I still play games on "dial it to 11" for every setting possible), and quite reliable.

Well, except for the crap Power Supply, which I did have to replace when it failed, two years in. But that was a seventy dollar part, for a modular Thermaltake in the 700W range. Easy, peasy upgrade ... even for folks like me, who're still relative novices when "tinkering under the hood" with a PC.

[brxbrx]

My rig was about 700$ three years ago. I don't have anywhere near that kind of money now.

[_Pax_]

Well yeah, times are hard. I'm not saying "hey, it's only a grand, just throw some money at it, Mister Richbags" ... just, pointing ut a place and a way in which yu can get a bit more "bang"-per-dollar when buying a new computer, whenever it is yu DO have the wherewithal to do so.

[headkase]

A new graphics card by itself isn't all that much. You have a decent processor, the RAM will get you by - a graphics card would be a cheap upgrade.

[Vito_Lucente]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMSdg...66FAAAAAAAABAA

DEAR GOD, I want a gaming PC ten times more now.

[_Pax_]

Nah, this is a MUCH better Skyrim video:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...rd-Mead-Skyrim

^_^

[headkase]

Nah, this is a MUCH better Skyrim video:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/vide...rd-Mead-Skyrim

^_^

Totally +1 for you! I've shared it wide and far!

[Codex]

Grab a jug of mead, and another jug of mead and another jug of mead till you fall down.

MiracleofSound is win.

[_Pax_]

CHUG, not grab. The Escapist page has the lyrics below the video.

Chug a mug of mead
And another mug of mead
Chug another mug of mead
Till you fall down
Chug a mug of mead
And another mug mead
Chug another mug of mead, warrior!

And meanwhile, MiracleofSound has gone on my "find ways to give them more of my money" list, Music-wise.

[2K David]

Finally playing this game after upgrading my PC. Feels really good to be playing (and wandering around in) an Elder Scrolls game again, and I'm already liking the dungeon running better than Oblivion.

[headkase]

Finally playing this game after upgrading my PC. Feels really good to be playing (and wandering around in) an Elder Scrolls game again, and I'm already liking the dungeon running better than Oblivion.

I remember seeing in one of the Dev diaries that in Oblivion the dungeon's were designed by the artist's who did like textures and models and such. In Skyrim that was different: they actually had dedicated mappers do the dungeons. Oblivion wasn't bad but you can understand right away that the approach taken in Skyrim is just a better way to do it..

Congrat's on upgrading your PC Whenever that happens it's always a good day for ALL your games!

[Codex]

CHUG, not grab. The Escapist page has the lyrics below the video.

Bleh, I hadn't listened to the song for several days when I wrote that :P He has a cd out that you can buy from him with his first like, 20 songs including Sovngarde song as well as a few other really good ones (he has an amazing Portal 2 song). I don't think he'll be stopping any time soon given the reception that he has....

To get back on the main topic, however, I fired up Skyrim after a two week break last night. My Khajiit thief is pretty darned epic. I love sniping people with my bow, standing completely still next to where I was standing and still not be seen. I have an insanely high sneak skill for a level 17 character...