Skyrim - The Elder Scrolls V

[generalstaff]

Anybody else hate Windhelm? It's just snow and walls over there.

The only thing I disliked about it was the Blood on the Ice quest. There are elements minor elements about it still need to be helped with a patch and it can be completely undermined by a thief character.

The "snow and walls" element of the city seem to fit it very well considering it is the center of the Stormcloak rebellion. Although, I feel like they could have made the Grey Quarter feel like more of a slum; other than some poor repairs on some of the buildings, it looks too similar to the better parts of the city.

 

[sophie]

The only thing I disliked about it was the Blood on the Ice quest. There are elements minor elements about it still need to be helped with a patch and it can be completely undermined by a thief character.

The "snow and walls" element of the city seem to fit it very well considering it is the center of the Stormcloak rebellion. Although, I feel like they could have made the Grey Quarter feel like more of a slum; other than some poor repairs on some of the buildings, it looks too similar to the better parts of the city.

I thought they did just fine. The rest of the city is open, with nicely apportioned lots, straight streets and towering, impressive buildings. The Grey Quarter is smushed together, cramped, crooked, and confusing, with lots stacked on top of each other. To me it feels like venturing into a different neighborhood, almost a different city unto itself. My only complain is that they could have made the rest of the city larger to drive this home, although, as I said above, I also really like the sense that the city as a whole is a shell of its former self. There are a lot of dimensions to Windhelm that I think you guys aren't giving credit to just because it's not sunny and built on a hill like the other "unique" cities are.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

There are a lot of dimensions to Windhelm that I think you guys aren't giving credit to just because it's not sunny and built on a hill like the other "unique" cities are.

It's nice in terms of story, but the gameplay (the point of a game) implications are less than stellar. I hate navigating that damn city.

 

[Rub'Rum]

It's not as confusing as Markath now is it.

 

[DaemonDD]

I agree, Markarth is easily the hardest city to find anything in. I had alot of problems finding my own house, and I never found the Jarl's hall before after the whole Thalmor-ordeal.

 

[sophie]

I hate navigating that damn city.

Really? I find its layout too simple.

 

[Akka]

How can people find confusing cities with three streets and ten houses ? 0_o

I mean, if that is sufficient for you to be lost, how the hell can you manage the real world ?

 

[Double A]

They can't, that's why they play video games.

(this is why I don't play open world driving games)

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

How can people find confusing cities with three streets and ten houses ? 0_o

When they look nearly the same, that happens.

I mean, if that is sufficient for you to be lost, how the hell can you manage the real world ?

Normally the real world has more variety, so it is easier to distinguish different places and it's more interesting to take a walk there. Do you understand how that works?

 

[Rub'Rum]

Navigating the real world takes a lot more time. It's equally confusing but it's not simply because you have time to figure it out and your real world perspective. In a videogame you go pretty fast, there isn't nearly as much to see and time to think, so very quickly the slight feeling of frustration can set in if it's not immediately obvious. So really, videogames are a lot less confusing than the real world, but they can feel like they are simply because you hit that potential wall of confusion way faster and you do so more often.

 

[DaemonDD]

I mean, if that is sufficient for you to be lost, how the hell can you manage the real world ?

Because the real world has actual maps for the most part? And because some of the cities have so different designs and roads that you have to get used to them by time?

 

[Azale]

Or maybe you guys just protest too much.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Ugh, I have no idea why I'm being so crabby on this forum lately. So, let's change the topic to something more pleasant, like your favorite unique weapons. The Nightingale Blade has helped me kill my way through the Dark Brotherhood missions. Is there even a better one-handed weapon for sneak attacking someone (aside from obviously the god blade you made from a maxed Smithing skill)?

 

[MoonFlare]

Let's talk about the best part of this game - different mods.
Here are a few good mods:
1) Better female characters. Pretty textures for female faces. No porn here
http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=2812

2) SkyUI. This one is a must because the default UI is piece of unholy crap.
http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=3863

3) Swearing Mudcrabs. It fits mudcrabs quite well
http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=1709

 

[salty mud]

I thought everyone knew Akka as the Elder Scrolls troll... he seems to get some kind of masochistic pleasure out of playing a.game he clearly hates.

 

[Akka]

I'm wondering about how people can be lost in game city that have approximatively the size of a hamlet while they navigate just fine in real cities, and that makes me a troll ?

Oh, you're a fanboy that has been deeply hurt because I pointed some flaw in your game previously and now is looking for some kind of childish revenge, that's it ?

 

[Rub'Rum]

Dat tone.

 

[salty mud]

I'm wondering about how people can be lost in game city that have approximatively the size of a hamlet while they navigate just fine in real cities, and that makes me a troll ?

Oh, you're a fanboy that has been deeply hurt because I pointed some flaw in your game previously and now is looking for some kind of childish revenge, that's it ?

The butthurt is strong with this one. How do people like you have fun, if all you do is and moan? especially when people make a valid point of getting lost in the cities. You know damn well it's possible, you're just being pissy.

 

[sophie]

The butthurt is strong with this one. How do people like you have fun, if all you do is and moan? especially when people make a valid point of getting lost in the cities. You know damn well it's possible, you're just being pissy.

The only town I've ever gotten lost in is Markarth, and even that city is pretty easy to understand once you take like 2 minutes to figure out the layout. He has a point, Windhelm is pretty damned easy to navigate. I'd say Riverwood is more convoluted than Windhelm.

 

[Disgustipated]

I have gotten lost in Solitude I think it was after I killed the bride at the wedding. I was in a hurry to get out and away from the guards without killing them. I got a bit lost trying to find my way out of the city.

Windhelm isn't that confusing after the first couple of times. It's fairly rectangular, and not too 3 dimensional (like Markarth). It's pretty easy to find your way around. Markarth is probably the most difficult city to find your way around.

As for why it's easier to get lost in games rather than real life has been mentioned above. Speed. Most games are on a very small scale. No street in real life is as short as streets in Skyrim (or other games). You can run (I'm talking running, not even driving) down a street in like 3 seconds. Name a street in real life you can run down in 3 seconds. So when you only have a few seconds to process visual information, it tends to go by in a flash. So it's more difficult for the brain to remember visual cues. I never played Grand Theft Auto, but I did play an online game called APB, and I could easily get lost in that game. You are driving so fast, and your brain doesn't have time to remember the visual layout of each street.

I think my brain is slower than other people's however, it's why I don't excel at First Person Shooters. One reason is I can never learn the maps. As good as graphics as games are now days, they still can't simulate reality. And I still find games abstract and nothing like real life. I never get lost in the real world. I'm an avid hiker. Even when I'm driving in my car, my car isn't fast enough that I can get down an entire street in 3 seconds. Now if I was driving my car 400 miles an hour, then I could see myself getting lost.

Until they make a game on a real world scale where it takes a minute to run down a street, games will never approximate reality. The thing is, no one wants a game where it takes a minute to run down a street. As much as I love Fallout New Vegas, the scale is laughable. I can sneak from Goodsprings to Las Vegas in about 12 hours (I get there right when it gets dark), when in real life that would take over a day.