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So just before Christmas, I bought Skyrim. You know, to see what all the
fuss is about. Since this is apparently the best game that has ever been
made in the history of human existence...
In summary, Skyrim is identical to Fallout, except that instead of a
boring post-apocalyptic wasteland, it's a somewhat less boring Norse
wasteland. With dragons, for some reason.
It's interesting the number of names that have to have "dragon" in them.
It's like somebody is trying to be Tolkien, and failing. Dragonborn,
dragonstone, dragonsreach... Do you realise, the Jarl of Whiterun
employs a wizard named "Farengar Secret-Fire"? There's nothing more to
say about *that*...
The trouble with these mythical lands, much like Tolkien, is that all
the nouns sound so utterly identical that it's *really hard* to follow
what the *hell* is going on! Several times I wished there was some way
to replay what some character said, because I can't remember what it
was. (Or rather, I can't remember what the psuedo-Norse nouns were!)
The currency of Fallout is bottle caps, and you will never, ever have
even remotely enough of them. And even if you do, the stuff you want to
buy won't be available to purchase anyway. The currency of Skyrim is
gold coins. Now a *gold* coin sounds like it should be worth a hell of a
lot... but apparently it isn't. I guess because they're so ubiquitous or
something? Like, 1 apple is worth 1 gold coin. (Sometimes.)
In Fallout, the problem is that you'll never find anything valuable to
sell. In Skyrim, the problem is that you'll never find anybody who can
afford to buy your stuff off you. Like, I found a magical staff that the
game reckons is worth about 3,000 gold coins. I have yet to meet a
merchant of any kind who has more than 500 gold coins in total. So this
extremely valuable item appears to be totally illiquid.
Trying to amass 5,000 gold to buy a house was... challenging. There's an
achievement for managing to own 100,000 gold. From what I've seen so
far, you would actually, like, *win* something IRL for that!
Even just figuring out who to sell which items to is entirely
nontrivial. In Fallout, there is (as far as I can tell) only one trading
post in the entire world, and they buy and sell anything. In Whiterun
alone, there's a general goods place, an alchemy place and a hunting
supplies place. (There's also meant to be a blacksmith; I really need to
find that guy...)
One big difference between Fallout and Skyrim is that there are no guns.
The only way to hurt somebody is to physically walk up to them and hit
them with a mace. Apparently a lot of people have commented that combat
sucks in Skyrim, and I kinda agree; it looks more like you're swiping
air than actually doing damage, no matter what the health bar says.
I have no idea what a "draugr" is, but Bleak Falls Barrow is full of
them. And they're surprisingly hard to kill. It seems health
spontaneously regenerates on its own, so you just need to stand around
and suck your thumb for a while after you kill one. But if several
attack you at once, you have a problem!
Actually, it turns out there's quite a few caves and barrows scattered
around the place where you can go underground and loot stuff. And
they're almost all infested with draugrs. (Although I did manage to find
one cave that was spiders and mages.)
Trying to beat the draugr overlord of Bleak Falls Barrow was an exercise
in frustration. He's just unkillable! If you get close enough to swing a
mace at him, he'll cut you to bits before you can do anything to him.
Eventually, in desperation, I tried using magic. I knew from early on in
the game that magic existed, but I had assumed it would be extremely
complex and fiddly to use, and utterly useless in combat. It turns out
it's actually quite effective. To the point that I now no longer bother
carrying any weapons at all; I just set people on fire from afar.
None of that helps, of course, when you're occasionally required to kill
a dragon. Now those critters really *are* unkillable! It seems the only
way to harm them is with a bow and arrow - a weapon roughly as accurate
as a paper aeroplane. And it does roughly the same damage as a small
sheet of paper too. And has incredibly disappointing range. The dragon,
of course, breathes fire. (Except the ones that breathe ice? Wuh?)
So far, I've only managed to kill two in the entire game. Which is
problematic, because apparently I need another dragon soul to complete
the next step in one of the side-quests. That means it looks like I need
to go purposely *find* a dragon and kill it - and that's just crazy
talk. I don't know, maybe I just need to gather better gear or
something... but I have *no idea* what would actually help at this
point. Dragons are immune to just about everything except arrows, and
nothing increases their damage, accuracy or range, so...
Much like Fallout, it's quite hard to avoid all the people who dot the
land. Which is a problem, since whenever you meet a person, there's a
50% chance they'll try to kill you on sight. At least it's harder to get
lost in Skyrim; the scenery is much less repetitive.
It seems there's still lots more to learn about the game. (Alchemy,
enchantments, how to learn new spells, etc.) But for now, I've got two
quests open, and they're both stalled. One requires me to use a new
Thu'um I just learned, which apparently requires a dragon soul. (Yeah,
like those are easy to find.) The other requires me to infiltrate a
party somehow. Rather, I can get in, but then I need to create a
distraction somehow, and I've got no clue. I also need to figure out
what equipment I need to smuggle in, *before* I get there, so I don't
know what I'll need yet. I suspect that picking the wrong stuff makes
the quest impossible.
Oh well. Let's go watch the sunset or something...
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On 1/24/2016 11:16 AM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> It's interesting the number of names that have to have "dragon" in them.
My next door neighbour is called Dragan. </Trivia>
--
Regards
Stephen
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On 1/24/2016 6:16 AM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> So just before Christmas, I bought Skyrim. You know, to see what all the
> fuss is about. Since this is apparently the best game that has ever been
> made in the history of human existence...
>
> In summary, Skyrim is identical to Fallout, except that instead of a
> boring post-apocalyptic wasteland, it's a somewhat less boring Norse
> wasteland. With dragons, for some reason.
>
> It's interesting the number of names that have to have "dragon" in them.
> It's like somebody is trying to be Tolkien, and failing. Dragonborn,
> dragonstone, dragonsreach... Do you realise, the Jarl of Whiterun
> employs a wizard named "Farengar Secret-Fire"? There's nothing more to
> say about *that*...
>
> The trouble with these mythical lands, much like Tolkien, is that all
> the nouns sound so utterly identical that it's *really hard* to follow
> what the *hell* is going on! Several times I wished there was some way
> to replay what some character said, because I can't remember what it
> was. (Or rather, I can't remember what the psuedo-Norse nouns were!)
>
> The currency of Fallout is bottle caps, and you will never, ever have
> even remotely enough of them. And even if you do, the stuff you want to
> buy won't be available to purchase anyway. The currency of Skyrim is
> gold coins. Now a *gold* coin sounds like it should be worth a hell of a
> lot... but apparently it isn't. I guess because they're so ubiquitous or
> something? Like, 1 apple is worth 1 gold coin. (Sometimes.)
>
> In Fallout, the problem is that you'll never find anything valuable to
> sell. In Skyrim, the problem is that you'll never find anybody who can
> afford to buy your stuff off you. Like, I found a magical staff that the
> game reckons is worth about 3,000 gold coins. I have yet to meet a
> merchant of any kind who has more than 500 gold coins in total. So this
> extremely valuable item appears to be totally illiquid.
>
> Trying to amass 5,000 gold to buy a house was... challenging. There's an
> achievement for managing to own 100,000 gold. From what I've seen so
> far, you would actually, like, *win* something IRL for that!
>
> Even just figuring out who to sell which items to is entirely
> nontrivial. In Fallout, there is (as far as I can tell) only one trading
> post in the entire world, and they buy and sell anything. In Whiterun
> alone, there's a general goods place, an alchemy place and a hunting
> supplies place. (There's also meant to be a blacksmith; I really need to
> find that guy...)
>
> One big difference between Fallout and Skyrim is that there are no guns.
> The only way to hurt somebody is to physically walk up to them and hit
> them with a mace. Apparently a lot of people have commented that combat
> sucks in Skyrim, and I kinda agree; it looks more like you're swiping
> air than actually doing damage, no matter what the health bar says.
>
> I have no idea what a "draugr" is, but Bleak Falls Barrow is full of
> them. And they're surprisingly hard to kill. It seems health
> spontaneously regenerates on its own, so you just need to stand around
> and suck your thumb for a while after you kill one. But if several
> attack you at once, you have a problem!
>
> Actually, it turns out there's quite a few caves and barrows scattered
> around the place where you can go underground and loot stuff. And
> they're almost all infested with draugrs. (Although I did manage to find
> one cave that was spiders and mages.)
>
> Trying to beat the draugr overlord of Bleak Falls Barrow was an exercise
> in frustration. He's just unkillable! If you get close enough to swing a
> mace at him, he'll cut you to bits before you can do anything to him.
> Eventually, in desperation, I tried using magic. I knew from early on in
> the game that magic existed, but I had assumed it would be extremely
> complex and fiddly to use, and utterly useless in combat. It turns out
> it's actually quite effective. To the point that I now no longer bother
> carrying any weapons at all; I just set people on fire from afar.
>
> None of that helps, of course, when you're occasionally required to kill
> a dragon. Now those critters really *are* unkillable! It seems the only
> way to harm them is with a bow and arrow - a weapon roughly as accurate
> as a paper aeroplane. And it does roughly the same damage as a small
> sheet of paper too. And has incredibly disappointing range. The dragon,
> of course, breathes fire. (Except the ones that breathe ice? Wuh?)
>
> So far, I've only managed to kill two in the entire game. Which is
> problematic, because apparently I need another dragon soul to complete
> the next step in one of the side-quests. That means it looks like I need
> to go purposely *find* a dragon and kill it - and that's just crazy
> talk. I don't know, maybe I just need to gather better gear or
> something... but I have *no idea* what would actually help at this
> point. Dragons are immune to just about everything except arrows, and
> nothing increases their damage, accuracy or range, so...
>
> Much like Fallout, it's quite hard to avoid all the people who dot the
> land. Which is a problem, since whenever you meet a person, there's a
> 50% chance they'll try to kill you on sight. At least it's harder to get
> lost in Skyrim; the scenery is much less repetitive.
>
> It seems there's still lots more to learn about the game. (Alchemy,
> enchantments, how to learn new spells, etc.) But for now, I've got two
> quests open, and they're both stalled. One requires me to use a new
> Thu'um I just learned, which apparently requires a dragon soul. (Yeah,
> like those are easy to find.) The other requires me to infiltrate a
> party somehow. Rather, I can get in, but then I need to create a
> distraction somehow, and I've got no clue. I also need to figure out
> what equipment I need to smuggle in, *before* I get there, so I don't
> know what I'll need yet. I suspect that picking the wrong stuff makes
> the quest impossible.
>
> Oh well. Let's go watch the sunset or something...
You should play Fallout New Vegas, not Fallout 3.
Also, a lot of people called Fallout 3 "Oblivion with Guns" when it was
released, after the previous Elder Scrolls game.
Mike
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> The trouble with these mythical lands, much like Tolkien, is that all
> the nouns sound so utterly identical that it's *really hard* to follow
> what the *hell* is going on!
I wonder where they got a silly idea like that!
BedfordshireBerkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Derbyshire
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire <--- 1 whole character different!
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Shropshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
East Riding of Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
South Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
--
/*Francois Labreque*/#local a=x+y;#local b=x+a;#local c=a+b;#macro P(F//
/* flabreque */L)polygon{5,F,F+z,L+z,L,F pigment{rgb 9}}#end union
/* @ */{P(0,a)P(a,b)P(b,c)P(2*a,2*b)P(2*b,b+c)P(b+c,<2,3>)
/* gmail.com */}camera{orthographic location<6,1.25,-6>look_at a }
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On 1/24/2016 7:32 PM, Francois Labreque wrote:
> East Riding of Yorkshire
> North Yorkshire
> South Yorkshire
> West Yorkshire
Tsk tsk.
You’re mixing modern and ancient.
There are only three ridings in Yorkshire. South Yorkshire was not
created until 1974 so it is too new to take account of.
--
Regards
Stephen
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On 24/01/2016 11:16 AM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
> Actually, it turns out there's quite a few caves and barrows scattered
> around the place where you can go underground and loot stuff. And
> they're almost all infested with draugrs. (Although I did manage to find
> one cave that was spiders and mages.)
This is slightly weird, actually. Like, you go to Whiterun, enter their
"Hall of Ancesters", and you're in a regular dungeon fighting zombies
and stuff. But if you think about it, you're slicing up Whiterun's
revered ancestors, looting their corpses and stealing all the grave
goods. And then you walk into the main Whiterun shop and sell the stuff
back to them. And everybody is... OK with this?
> So far, I've only managed to kill two in the entire game. Which is
> problematic, because apparently I need another dragon soul to complete
> the next step in one of the side-quests. That means it looks like I need
> to go purposely *find* a dragon and kill it - and that's just crazy
> talk. I don't know, maybe I just need to gather better gear or
> something... but I have *no idea* what would actually help at this
> point. Dragons are immune to just about everything except arrows, and
> nothing increases their damage, accuracy or range, so...
Well, it seems if you wander around for long enough, eventually dragons
come and find you! And if that happens in a populated area... yeah, just
get all the armed guards do the work for you. ;-)
So I managed to unlock the required Thu'um and use it on the Wind Stone.
Which summoned a beast that's really hard to kill - not least because it
has regenerating health. (!) Fortunately I found an AI glitch where he
just stayed rooted to the spot until I finished him. Unfortunately, at
the next Stone, there were two of the damned things. I think I need to
go find some better armour or something...
> It seems there's still lots more to learn about the game. (Alchemy,
> enchantments, how to learn new spells, etc.)
So today I went on a nature hike and collected every ingredient I could
find. I tested each and every one, and... almost none of them go
together to make a potion. Oh, except lavender + tundra cotton. That
does something.
After much travelling to various remote lands, I've now discovered one
or two combinations that actually do something. It's kind of an
adventure! And considering that most ingredients can be bought or sold
for not more than 5 coins, the potions they make are remarkably
valuable... I particularly enjoy the potion that restores 22 stamina and
does 15 health damage. Yeah, like that's really useful to me. Still, it
sells for a good price.
I wasn't actually trying to, but I happened upon a few more dungeons and
sold the stuff I found, and sold the not-so-good potions, and now I have
over 10,000 gold. So I bought lots of upgrades to Breezeholm. It's
looking quite nice now.
However, I'm still getting my arse handed to me in combat, so I think
it's time to actually go join the mage college...
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On 24-1-2016 20:32, Francois Labreque wrote:
>> The trouble with these mythical lands, much like Tolkien, is that all
>> the nouns sound so utterly identical that it's *really hard* to follow
>> what the *hell* is going on!
>
> I wonder where they got a silly idea like that!
>
> BedfordshireBerkshire
> Buckinghamshire
> Cambridgeshire
> Cheshire
> Derbyshire
> Gloucestershire
> Hampshire
> Herefordshire
> Hertfordshire <--- 1 whole character different!
> Lancashire
> Leicestershire
> Lincolnshire
> Northamptonshire
> Nottinghamshire
> Oxfordshire
> Shropshire
> Staffordshire
> Warwickshire
> Wiltshire
> Worcestershire
> East Riding of Yorkshire
> North Yorkshire
> South Yorkshire
> West Yorkshire
>
>
Yes! and then they mash up their pronunciation too! ;-)
--
Thomas
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On 24/01/2016 07:32 PM, Francois Labreque wrote:
>> The trouble with these mythical lands, much like Tolkien, is that all
>> the nouns sound so utterly identical that it's *really hard* to follow
>> what the *hell* is going on!
>
> I wonder where they got a silly idea like that!
>
> BedfordshireBerkshire
> Buckinghamshire
> Cambridgeshire
> Cheshire
> Derbyshire
> Gloucestershire
> Hampshire
> Herefordshire
> Hertfordshire <--- 1 whole character different!
> Lancashire
> Leicestershire
> Lincolnshire
> Northamptonshire
> Nottinghamshire
> Oxfordshire
> Shropshire
> Staffordshire
> Warwickshire
> Wiltshire
> Worcestershire
> East Riding of Yorkshire
> North Yorkshire
> South Yorkshire
> West Yorkshire
...and yet, The Shire is in New Zealand. Go figure.
Still, at least these are *pronounceable*! :-P I'm still trying to
figure out Aragorn and Arwen. The way they pronounce them in the films
is nearly indistinguishable...
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>> BedfordshireBerkshire
>> Buckinghamshire
>> Cambridgeshire
>> Cheshire
>> Derbyshire
>> Gloucestershire
>> Hampshire
>> Herefordshire
>> Hertfordshire <--- 1 whole character different!
>> Lancashire
>> Leicestershire
>> Lincolnshire
>> Northamptonshire
>> Nottinghamshire
>> Oxfordshire
>> Shropshire
>> Staffordshire
>> Warwickshire
>> Wiltshire
>> Worcestershire
>> East Riding of Yorkshire
>> North Yorkshire
>> South Yorkshire
>> West Yorkshire
>
> ...and yet, The Shire is in New Zealand. Go figure.
>
> Still, at least these are *pronounceable*! :-P
Yes they are all pronouneable if you know how to pronounce them :-) Ever
heard foreigners trying to pronounce the ones with "cester" in them? I
still find place names around here that I have no idea how to pronounce
correctly, or worse find out I've been saying them wrong, and I was born
here! Imagine what it's like for foreigners...
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>> Still, at least these are *pronounceable*! :-P
>
> Yes they are all pronouneable if you know how to pronounce them :-) Ever
> heard foreigners trying to pronounce the ones with "cester" in them? I
> still find place names around here that I have no idea how to pronounce
> correctly, or worse find out I've been saying them wrong, and I was born
> here! Imagine what it's like for foreigners...
Particularly amusing is Towcester.
(Many people try to pronounce it "toe-sester". It's actually "toaster",
which is still a pretty stupid name...)
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