Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Message Board older than one year ago

Of the literally thousands of mods I've seen for Skyrim over months, this is probably my new favourite, by virtue of the fact it adds giant monsters, turning the game into a very Nordic Shadow of the Colossus. Each mythical beast has its own lair - a location on the map you can fast travel to - and each is enormous. There are giant crabs, giant fish, giant ice beasts and...giant horkers. As you can see above. There are quests, salty old sea captains who whisper about the giants of the deep...it's the kind of thing that should have been an amazing expansion, but is now even better, because it's free. Here There Be Monsters [Steam Workshop, via RPS]

This Skyrim mod is actually called “Here There Be Monsters“, and it adds nine huge sea monsters into the Ghost Sea to the north of Bethesda’s chilly realm. But I’ve focused on the Horkers because, well, just look at that screenshot. It is a giant beast with a huge tooth. Look, though. Really look. See? He’s not a beast. He’s just a thing that society deems to be big and scary. And so he acts as society imagines he should, and tusks everything and everyone. To be fair, he is part of a society of angry Nords fighting dragons and in the midst of a civil war. He should probably move somewhere nicer.(more…)

Skyrim was a ridiculously large game, and so it makes sense that a comprehensive look at how developer Bethesda built it would be equally large. And lo, it is—this massive breakdown posted by Bethesda senior designer Joel Burgess goes deeper than the deepest crypt and farther afield than the farthest… field. The article, which is based on a talk co-written with Nate Purkeypile and given at this year's Game Developers Conference, is pretty technical, but if you're even casually interested in how games get made, it's worth a read. I liked an early bit about how they approached reducing "art fatigue," their term for when players begin to notice the cookie-cutter design and reused art assets in the many repeating dungeons. We've found some ways to delay the onset of Art Fatigue. One of the big ones is simply doing away with copy and paste design as much as possible. When I first joined Bethesda, Oblivion was poised for the home stretch of its development cycle. Oblivion was of similar scope to Skyrim, yet built by a team of about half the size. One of the ways the dungeon art team coped with this disparity was to create a number of “warehouse” cells in the editor. These warehouses contained fully lit and cluttered rooms to copy, paste, and then arrange to create "new" dungeons. While efficient, this method left much to be desired, and many players rightfully called Oblivion dungeons out as being “cookie-cutter”.One thing we noticed was that players were quicker to react negatively to repeated detail elements, as opposed to broad architectural repetition. Consider the following three screenshots, each taken from a separate Oblivion Dungeon. In each, you’re more likely to pick up on repeated clutter first, then the repeated architecture. This is especially true in actual gameplay from a first-person perspective. To minimize needless repetition, we abolished the use of warehouse cells as they existed in Oblivion. Beginning with Fallout 3, we staffed up a group of level designers and got tool support to make sure we were able to build spaces more quickly, and with the most granular art available, reducing the amount of repetition as much as we possibly could. The whole thing is worth looking over; check it out here. Via Cliff Bleszinski, image via Dead End Thrills

Bethesda Softworks announced this morning that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition, which includes all the game's downloadable content, will launch this June. The full package will be available for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on June 4 and 7 in North America and Europe, respectively.

Skyrim: Legendary Edition is priced $60 in North America. The game costs £39.99 (€49.99 / AU$69.95) in Europe and Australia for consoles, with PC priced at £29.99 (€39.99 / AU$49.95).

The bundle includes the original game, official expansions Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn, as well as "added features like combat cameras, mounted combat, Legendary difficulty mode for hardcore players, and Legendary skills - enabling you to master every perk and level up your skills infinitely." Bethesda recently announced it was "moving on" from Skyrim, which it began working on in 2006.

A new version of Skyrim containing all of the game's DLC will arrive this summer for $60, Bethesda announced today. June 4 for North America; June 7 for Europe and Australia. The Legendary Edition of Skyrim will be released on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. This edition of the massive RPG will include the game and all three of its DLC packs: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. That'll be the last of Skyrim's additional content: earlier this month, Bethesda said they were done making DLC for the popular role-playing game.

Chris Gallizi has gotten Skyrim running on the Oculus Rift, ushering in a new, dark age for the human race.

Thousands of people will now banish themselves into a harsh virtual world for days at a time, emerging only when they remember that the sweet rolls and porridges they've been desperately snarfing will only satisfy their imaginary dragonman body, and not the one that wastes away outside of the game world.

Reader Chris has one of the early development releases of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. He has done what the people want, and recorded himself playing Skyrim on the thing. I'm trying to think of a better way to spend a rainy day, and I'm finding it hard. Skyrim on Oculus Rift [YouTube]

Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn are all in the bundle according to a Polish retail site.

Eurogamer Poland reports that Polish retailer Ultima has put up a listing for TES V Skyrim: Legendary Edition, a compilation for PC/PS3/Xbox 360 said to include the main game and all three DLCs. A June 7 release date is also listed. We're contacting Bethesda for comments, and will update this post should they respond.

That Skyrimajigger, huh? Who’d have thought it’d ever catch on, what with all its burly men, dragons, viking imagery, and infinitely memeable sights and sounds? In an industry that prizes quiet, civil ruminations on modern issues and abhors such savage flights of fancy, the very notion was ludicrous from the get-go. And yet, somehow, for some reason, people ended up thinking it was OK. So Bethesda stuck around and churned out buttery dollops of DLC, even though it desperately wanted to move on to its next speculative installation about a world in which nuclear bombs were never used nor created, and you explore places like Washing D.C. while constantly remarking how normally proportioned all the roaches are. Now, however, Bethesda feels its next big thing demands every last bit of energy it can muster, so Skyrim’s a done deal. Next up, something completely unknown and shrouded in mystery but no seriously it’s probably Fallout 4.

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If you were hoping more DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was still on the way, you're out of luck.

Bethesda Softworks stated this morning it's "moving on" from Skyrim, which it began working on back in 2006. The developer will continue to provide "minor updates to Skyrim as needed," but don't expect any more official downloadable content.

Skyrim produced three pieces of DLC, with the vampiric Dawnguard, homey Hearthfire and (the only really good expansion) Dragonborn, which included the entirely new land of Solstheim with Lovecraftian tones.

"Parts of our team have also been in pre-production on our next major project, and that game is at the point where it requires the studio's full attention to make it our biggest and best work yet," reads a statement on the company's website.

Fallout 4 is expected "before 2018."

The folks behind Skyrim say they're off to the next adventure, which could very well mean there's no more content planned for Bethesda's massive role-playing game. In a blog post today, Bethesda's Skyrim team writes that they're moving on: "For the last year and a half we’ve been working on new content for Skyrim; from the game updates, Creation Kit, Steam Workshop, Kinect support, to DLCs. Parts of our team have also been in pre-production on our next major project, and that game is at the point where it requires the studio’s full attention to make it our biggest and best work yet. "Even though we’re moving on, we’ll still have minor updates to Skyrim as needed. We’ve invested so much of ourselves into Skyrim and will never truly say goodbye to it." Does that mean no more downloadable content? Bethesda has released three DLC packs so far—Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn—and only Dragonborn really felt like the expansion pack-sized DLC promised by lead designer Todd Howard. We've reached out to Bethesda for confirmation, but it sure sounds like there's nothing else coming.

Update 1.9 for Skyrim is now live on Xbox 360, with the PS3 patch expected to drop later today. Apart from numerous bug fixes, the update's hallmark features are the new Legendary difficulty setting and Legendary Skill system. In the new system, once a skill reaches level 100, it can be rolled back to level 15. As Bethesda points out in the patch notes, this technically removes the level cap from Skyrim.

The patch went live on PC last month.

Dovahkiin, if you've yet to set out on the expanded adventures of Skyrim on your Xbox, now's the time to grab the immense RPG's expanded content for 50 percent off.

Both the vampiric Dawnguard and the Lovecraftian Dragonborn packs are 800 Microsoft Points ($10), while the home live of the Hearthfire DLC is 200 MSP ($2.50). The sale ends on April 1, which we are assured is not a Daedric trick.

Skyrim's 1.9 patch - which adds a tougher Legendary difficulty setting and allows players to reset skill progression - is officially live on Steam. PC players will also find the latest version of the game squashes several bugs, including a variety of issues affecting companions and several quest glitches.

Bethesda says it's aiming to drop this patch on console Skyrim players "later this month," presumably simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PS3 now that the latter is all caught up. For now, use that free time to study for your Norse midterms.

#cosplay The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was one of the best games of 2011. 2011? It's 2013! No matter, Skyrim lives on, thanks in part to its fancy outfits. More »

#music Jeremy Soule, the composer of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is a genius. Kotaku named his work in Skyrim one of the best game soundtracks of 2011, and with good reason; his ability to bring game worlds to life through his music and deeply immerse players into the adventure is truly remarkable. And now, he's planning to move beyond video games. More »

Winter Summer is coming. Hmm. It doesn’t have the quite the same power as “Winter”, does it? Shorts and flip-flops are hardly solemn. Basically, if you’re a season that encourages Cliff Richard songs, then you’re definitely not scarily atmospheric. You are lacking in portent. Which means that this impressive tropical overhaul of Skyrim might change the tone of the game. The dragon shouts will be a bit less gruff and a bit more “Fus Ro Ice-Cream!”. Instead of the aggressive mammoths, they might be frolicking in the meltwater, squirting each other with trunkfuls of water and grabbing tails. My magical renaming software is suggesting “Far Cryrim” as a suitable alternative, because Tropical Skyrim Overhaul is too boring for such a sunny delight.(more…)

The Dragonborn - or simply "Dovahkiin" to his pals - is available now for pre-order as a 16-inch statue from GamingHeads.com. Inspired by Skyrim's official artwork, the poly-stone statues is hand finished and hand painted. The Dov also comes dressed in "hand-tailored fabrics for unparalleled realism." No off-the-rack nonsense for the dragonborn. It's all couture.

And, as we all know, couture costs copious amounts of cash. The "Standard Edition" of the statue is $299.99, limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide. For those who believe a dovahkiin uses magic, then they'll want the $329.99 "Exclusive Edition," which adds an alternate arm with fireball that "illuminates and pulses like real fire."

The statues are expected to ship via invisible dragons to doorsteps in the fourth quarter of this year.

#theelderscrolls Now available for preorder from the fine folks at Gaming Heads, this $299.99 statue of Skyrim's champion would not be possible without the PC modding community. You just don't get this sort of visual fidelity with today's game consoles. More »

If you’re anything like everyone else in the world, you’ve probably put at least 347,867 hours into Skyrim. Now you’re pressed up against the level cap, face like a grape about to burst against its impenetrable ice. Yours is the hardest life. But soon, you’ll never have to stop leveling ever again. In short, legendary levels will “effectively remove the overall level cap.” Also incoming: a new legendary difficulty mode to match. But how will it all work? Well, wouldn’t you like to know. And you can, but only if you’re capable of braving the notoriously merciless difficulty of the unforgiving realm beyond the break.

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The latest version of Skyrim is up and running in beta mode on Steam, available to those who opt-in through their Steam clients now. Aside from various bug fixes, the update adds a new Legendary difficulty mode and the ability to roll skills at level 100 into Legendary status, resetting those skills to level 15 for continued development.

Console versions of Skyrim should get version 1.9 later on this month, the Bethesda Blog says. Last month, the PS3 version of Skyrim was updated to 1.8 and finally started catching up on DLC, culminating in the release of Dawnguard on February 26.

#skyrim If your guess was "play Skyrim while on a treadmill"—yes, sort of. The device you see in the video above is called the Omni, and it's a virtual reality/treadmill hybrid that allows you to walk and look around naturally in a game. More »

#theelderscrolls I don't own an iPhone anymore. I suddenly wish I did. This case costs $40, but the joke makes it almost totally worth it. More »

#theelderscrolls It's one thing to look at screenshots and gape, but video of Skyrim looking like a next-gen game is something else entirely. More »

#watchthis The modern fighting force must be highly adaptable to enemies capable of asymmetrically modifying the theater of combat at any time. No general in history has ever said that, it's just some official-sounding jargon-laced bullshit I thought up to explain why Pac-Man, Skyrim and Team Fortress 2 all fit together in this video by AndrewMFilms. Hang on until the punchline. More »

#skyrim Video games can be wonderful when you need someplace to decompress, when you need to tune the world out. That's exactly what Redditor lb-Cyber needed during a tough spot in his life. More »

#theelderscrolls Forget about compulsively collecting every useless bauble, or heck, even normal adventuring in Skyrim. That's not worth going back for. This is. More »

#skyrim Prop master Harrison Krix has outdone himself this time. What begins as a replica Skyrim shield - and an impressive one at that - soon evolves into something a lot more practical. More »