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Fantastic Skyrim bugs #1: Horse rides a dragon
Look, just because dragons are massive, ancient and deadly creatures doesn't mean they can't also have a sense of humor. After all, what's the point in all that power if you can't engage in a little horseplay every now and again?
Bethesda squinting at Skyrim's texture scaling issues on Xbox
Poor vision and awareness may afflict some of Skyrim's population, but your bellowing, dragonborn protagonist is meant to have 20/20 vision. Blurry textures on the Xbox 360 version, which aren't replaced with higher-quality versions as they come into closer view, may be a symptom of having the mammoth RPG* installed on the hard drive, Bethesda now suspects. "Skyrim uses a lot of dynamic streaming systems, including textures," says a Bethesda community manager posting on the official forums. "We've seen a few reports of certain textures temporarily scaling down on the Xbox 360, and not scaling back up. We have verified that this issue does not occur when playing off the disk and when the game is fully cached (not installed)." For now, it seems the streaming glitch can be avoided if you play directly from the disc, and imagine the loud whirring emanates from Dovahkiin's vocal chords warming up. According to Bethesda, a solution is being prepared for installed Skyrim in the next title update. The patch notes for the most recent update are available here. * Sorry, we just wanted to share that we've been thinking about turn-based tusk battles between customizable mammoths all afternoon.
The unseemly side of Skyrim's Dragonborn origin revealed
So, the main character of Skyrim is a "Dragonborn," which essentially means he (or she!) is part dragon. But have you ever thought about what that means? Like, what it really means?
The Joystiq Show - 012: Desert Bus to Skyrim
Big games are still hitting shelves, and at least one member of this episode's Now Playing segment would argue that one of them is a hurdle to marriage – see what you've done Todd Howard? It's not all Justin pouring love on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim though, Griffin has a few things to say about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Richard has some kind words for Rayman Origins. In Part 2 Richard chats with Jamie Dillion, Project Manager at Child's Play. If you are not familiar with this Penny Arcade-founded charity for children's hospitals, you may just be a bad person, but here's where you can turn it all around. This week's show final segment continues the philanthropic trend with an interview with LoadingReadyRun's Graham Stark, Paul Saunders, and Kathleen De Vere about their annual masochistic charity drive, Desert Bus for Hope. Part 1 (1:40) - Now Playing: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Rayman Origins Part 2 (47:22) - Interview: Child's Play Part 3 (1:04:09) - Interview: Desert Bus for Hope Get the podcast: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes [Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace [RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Host: Richard Mitchell (@SenseiRAM) Guests: Jamie Dillion, Graham Stark (@graham_lrr), Paul Saunders, and Kathleen De Vere (@kathleen_lrr) Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily) Production Coordinator: Richard Mitchell Music: Trash80 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim View the full guest list and stream the show after the break.
Wanted: Buckets, accomplices to theft and murder in Skyrim
Whether it's post-Oblivion or post-apocalypse, the humble bucket remains an insidious tool for the despicable. Be on the lookout for the voluminous accomplice to all manner of crimes, and remember that no ill deed is truly beyond the pail!
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim review: Paths of desire
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail" – Ralph Waldo Emerson We live in a world of pre-blazed trails, of Google Maps and endless shelves of travel books detailing every motel, every restaurant. The most amazing discovery most of us are likely to make is a great new burrito place, and even that we would have heard about if we checked Yelp more often. Whether or not you know it, that same wanderlust that whispered into the ears of your ancestors and led them into the forests, into the oceans, still calls out to you. In those moments when all seems at peace, all seems safe, it's that persistent, ceaseless call of "Yes, but what else?" The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the answer to that call. %Gallery-139026%
New Skyrim toon by Harry Partridge
Harry Partridge has produced a new Skyrim ballad, likely to be appreciated most by those watching the clock, waiting for the sun to set Thursday and seeking to obtain the new Elder Scrolls game shortly thereafter.
Skyrim behind the scenes animation vid
The latest trailer for Skyrim is supposed to have our eyes focus on the animation, but we can't help but notice all the visceral monster mashing going on. How are we supposed to appreciate the subtle work of the animators when watching a sword glide through a giant's head?
Bethesda's Pete Hines on Skyrim, sports, and specialization
With the video game industry seemingly headed toward smaller, cheaper, more casual and less complex game experiences, it's somewhat of an anomaly to see Bethesda Game Studios continuing to hit the ball out of the park with games that are the exact opposite: long, expensive and incredibly dense. Starting with the 2002 release of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Bethesda has focused almost exclusively on lavish RPG experiences. Ten years later, Skyrim looks to continue that trend to a round decade and beyond. I recently spoke with Bethesda VP of Marketing Pete Hines about what makes the developer's RPGs "bulletproof" against gaming's current "less is more" trend. "We do what we do best," said Hines. "We make big, crazy RPGs, and fortunately for us the previous ones have done really well so there's no reason for us not to keep making them. If that's what we loved doing and nobody wanted to play them, we'd have a problem on our hands."
Howard: Skyrim offers infinite procedurally generated quests
You've already been assured that you'll never run out of slayable dragons in Skyrim. In an interview with Wired, director Todd Howard revealed that the game features an inexhaustible supply of quest content, as well. Using the "Radiant" quest system, the game randomly generates missions for each of the in-game guilds, as well as tasks offered by other NPCs. Examples cited by Wired include collecting flowers for an alchemist or hunting for bandits. This likely comes as bittersweet news for people who have experienced Bethesda games in the past. Sure, you'll never run out of content, but how long before you have to defeat a monster who's embedded in a tree, or go on a quest for the dagger of ^^^^^^ARTIFACTNAME?
Skyrim is getting a day one patch, more DLC than you can shake a giant sword at
For those of us currently slaying dragons in the frigid realm of Skyrim, pushing ever towards the review embargo this Thursday and launch thereafter, a game patch was spotted upon initial startup. Bethesda reps tell reviewers that the patch "fixes some minor stability and quest progression issues," and that it will be received automatically by players on day one. If fixes to "minor stability and quest progression issues" don't get you excited, perhaps the prospect of "bigger and more substantial" downloadable content will, as teased by Bethesda creative lead Todd Howard earlier this week. "We're not going to do be doing a lot of it. Our high-level thinking is that there'll be not as many," he told Wired, before he explained the company's Fallout-esque approach to Skyrim's DLC. "We'll start hitting on everything after vacation," Howard added. Looks like we'll just have to busy ourselves with infinite dragons in the meantime. Darn.
Watch the sounds of Skyrim get made, pre-order the four-disc soundtrack
We appreciate all the work that went into the sounds of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, as seen in the developer diary posted above. It seems a bit excessive though -- the only sounds and music we need are ones to accompany us breaking into every house, and stealing every pair of pants. Regardless, if you want the powerful hymns of a barbarian choir to make your working day that much more enthralling, you can pre-order the four-disc Skyrim soundtrack through DirectSong right now, for $29.99. That's a lot to pay for a soundtrack, but just imagine how great you'll feel as you fold your laundry as ninety dudes shout "DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIIIIIN!" at you.
Skyrim teases 'making of' video
Want the "making of" Skyrim documentary? Better have the cash for the $150 Skyrim Collector's Edition. If that's not good enough, the Ultra Edition at $250 has The Making of the Making of Skyrim documentary.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Collector's Edition unboxing (or: Here, there be dragons)
$150 is a lot of scratch, there's no two ways about it. But if you've got the coin, the Skyrim Collector's Edition is a fancy piece of gear. The massive box opens to reveal a 200-page soft-feel art book, that's as heavy as it looks; a cardboard DVD sleeve, which always irks us; and the main attraction which is, of course, a 12" plastic dragon that's sure to upset your significant other and/or co-workers. The DVD case also packs a cloth-like map of Skyrim, as well as a making-of DVD. Is that enough to command a $90 premium over the regular edition? That really depends on both your financial security and your fondness for plastic dragons, doesn't it? Hopefully our photo gallery below will help you with this most difficult of decisions. %Gallery-138017%
Skyrim trailer transitions concept art to in-game footage
From artistic fantasy to digital reality, the latest trailer for Skyrim shows the transition from concept to in-game. There's also a gallery if you're looking for a shiny new wallpaper to hold you over until 11/11/11.
Skyrim PC system requirements delivered via internet parchment
Will your PC be ready to render all those Skyrim dragons being torn asunder? Head on past the break for Bethesda's recommended (i.e. "real") PC requirements and minimum specs.
Cower in terror or stand tall against Skyrim's totally real dragon
We read about "infinite" dragons, and we think it's more than enough. But Bethesda says, "Let's go get one more dragon to promote our upcoming game, Skyrim! And let's make it a real one."
Skyrim: I fought the dragon and the dragon (mostly) won
Ever since Skyrim was announced, I've had one thing on my mind: dragons. You see, I need to kill them. I need to kill an infinite number of dragons. I don't know what it is that is fueling this need within me, but there it is: I'm a genocidal maniac and every last dragon must die. Turns out, it's way easier said than done. %Gallery-136691%
Skyrim can be beaten in just over two hours (if you're a developer)
It's true: in two hours and change, Sam Bernstein, a member of Bethesda's QA team, managed to reach the end of the main campaign in Skyrim. Sam's time was 2:16:10, a mere 20 seconds faster than his competition, level designer Jeff Browne. The two are actually no stranger to the Bethesda speed run circuit, having participated in a similar event a few years ago in Fallout 3, in which Sam was also victorious. So what does Sam win, aside from immortal glory on a video game blog? Well, he gets a pumpkin pie from Todd Howard and he also gets the trophy you see above. What's Dragon-speak for "winner?"
Skyrim manual leaks, reveals details about the game
If you see every rotation of this heavenly body we inhabit as one more step in a dance leading to the release of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you're probably hungry for every info-morsel you can dredge up. Here's a relatively big one: Someone has uploaded the entire instruction manual for the game onto Imgur, revealing a few details about how integral game mechanics will function in the final product. Which is to say, how does cooking work? There are also some salient details about the new follower command system, as well as some explanations of Skyrim's unique UI. Check it out now, because come November 11 you're not going to waste any time on reading.
