Intro/Thoughts Updated!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello, as well as mention a few thoughts on skyrim i have.

I'll start by saying i've been gaming for about 22 years, and I'm 25. I started with Intellivision and moved on to PC gaming with some old DOS games and then to the Super Nintendo and eventually Sega as well.

My main gaming genres are shooters like CS:S and TF2 and then I went through an MMO phase playing literally every major one out there, and many of the smaller lesser known ones out there too. I've played WoW since beta, and still do on and off.

My other main genre is RPGs. I've been in love with them since Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy. I still play a ton of them, and really love what Skyrim is doing to bring some of the old school concepts into modern visuals and popularity.

Now let's get into the "Meat and Potatoes" as it were, off the record.

I originally bought it for PS3 so I could play it on my 42" tv and I was a bit worried about how it would run. Then I traded a friend a few boxes of Warhammer 40k models for a copy on Steam while it was on sale at Christmas. And I've mostly played on PC ever since.

I originally made a caster that I decided was a necromancer/conjuration master on my PS3 copy. I loved playing this way and really enjoyed standing back and letting my raised zombie tank all the damage and then finish mobs off with dual wield electricity, Palpatine style. This character got to around level 17-19 before I got my PC copy, and then was interrupted due to a move across the country.

I then developed alta-holicism. I've been playing a bunch of characters trying to figure out what I like playing the best, and just kinda developing some character story lines and ideas. Some have been garbage, but some have been a blast.

My most recent character is NOT the Dohvakin. I've gone out of my way to keep dragons from becoming part of the world, and I've not done any of the main questline. I've made a true Nord that abhors ANY sort of magic use, including resto and shouts. I don't use any enchanted weapons or armor. It's all completely upgraded through blacksmithing and just general stats. I stick to heavy armor, 1 handed weapons and a shield. This character is like a breath of fresh air honestly. I can just charge in, not worry about needing a bow, or checking my mana or stamina, i know my stam is super high and don't worry about it. I can just charge into battle, take off heads, and not worry about taking damage. My mage would take like 5 times longer for every fight, and to get ready for them, so this character hit level 17-19 in about half the time as the conjuration mage. This character hasn't really chosen a path as far as what questlines to follow yet. I haven't done any major quests and i've gotten to around level 25. I'm going to likely do the civil war on the imperial side in the least.

I'll continue this tomorrow, but for now, the wife says I must quit.

Again, hello, and I love the podcast guys. Thanks for keeping me inspired to play the game. I'll be posting more about that tomorrow as well.



EDIT:::

Continuing on my previous post...

To answer the question of mods: I currently have 17 installed. The Whiterun Trees, sounds of Skyrim set, 2-3 houses (seabreeze and the one near whiterun), blood, dwarven engineer, fletcher, enhanced kill-cam, and a bunch of other non-game changing things. I didn't want to alter the gameplay much from the original release.

My favorite section of the podcast, definitely the meat and potatoes. I enjoy the first part where the guys all discuss their week in Skyrim and about the things they experienced. I always enjoy this part of any podcast, and honestly it's the main reason I listen to most.

While I've completed the civil war, and done a large bit of the dohvakin, as well as some daedric weapon quests at around level 16 on my conjuration mage I've barely scratched the surface of the game. I'm going to try to inject some of my own thoughts on some topics you guys (podcast hosts) have touched on in the shows, and a few topics I've heard go un-discussed.

Some things I'd like to have added to the game:

Spears.
I mean really? This is a nordic culture where there is not a SINGLE spear to be found?! I realize this is a difficult weapon to implement, but I feel like the game is really incomplete without this in it.
I don't expect to have things in the game that I can't explain a solid implementation plan for myself. It's unfair to ask things of developers blindly.

How spears should work from my point of view:

Lower damage rating than most weapons at base level to balance range.
Slightly longer range than 2H weapons
Can be paired with a shield or possibly include 2H spears with higher damage and same range.
Increased armor penetration

When used - Spears excel at standing power attacks giving the weapon increased range by a bit and greatly increasing damage done.
Can be used in a running lunge.
No sideways power swings. (results in normal thrust)
Reverse power swing creates a strong, but normal range attack.
High stamina consumption to compensate for single target killing potential.

Skill Tree - Spear Mastery

Possible skills (please feel free to make suggestions)

Steady Arm - Increased speed on thrusts
Spear Mastery - Reduced stamina cost for power attacks
Impale - Increasing small chance to impale a target with a killing blow (kill-cam heaven)
Powerful Blows - Power attacks have an increasing chance to stagger opponent
Twisting Retrieval - Power Attacks have an increasing chance to cause bleeding (opposite tree arm to powerful blows)
...to be continued...


Fire Arrows

These are actually already in the game. When you start a new character, take a minute to watch the archers shooting arrows at the dragon just before you go into the keep. They're shooting fire arrows at the dragon.

I believe the cause for this is that they don't have a "living fire" working the way they want in the game. It only appears when a burning lamp is knocked from the ceiling. This is a controlled event, and thus they were ok with using it.

I think we can expect this in the next expansion.

I'll add more to this again soon. For now, good night!

Awesome Acefisher! Did you buy the standard or collector's edition?

Are you using any mods?

What's your favorite part of the podcast?

I personally like to hear the emails and crafting table.

Cheers!

I too am guilty of creating lots of alt characters.

But whatever, it's not like I get penalized for it. Hell, I create a new character for the billionth time yesterday. I had been creating different characters with different play-styles. I had a woman who was a thief and assassin/archer, then a wood elf who was an archer who joined the Imperials and killed Ulfric(finally). But I wanted to get back into the up-close-and-personal style. So I created a nord and gave him a sword.

At first it was one-handed and a shield, but now I've switched to two-handed. This is the first time I've used two-handed weapons this much, so it does keep the games..... somewhat fresh... sort of.

I just think it looks waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cooler to use a two-handed sword than a one-handed. When I killed the first dragon, I charged straight at the beast, Steel Greatsword drawn, like a true Nord warrior.

It's cool.

I wouldn't worry too much about what questline to do...as I have played roughly 190 hours of Skyrim without completing any major questline.

That includes my level 50 Nord. At least I killed Mercer earlier this week! I'm getting closer to finishing something!

I've mostly just been doing whatever side quests are in the area and trying to minimize fast-traveling as much as possible. When I see that that next location is on the other side of Skyrim, I consult with my journal and map to see what is nearby and on the way.

Welcome!

You mentioned the wife telling you it's time to quit -- this is one of the main reasons I don't have eleventy alts. Since I only have a finite amount of time to spend on playing, I have to make one character and stick to it if I mean to level it up in any capacity. (I just made level 35 on my second character after 125 hours of play.)

Minus2Degrees wrote:Welcome!

You mentioned the wife telling you it's time to quit -- this is one of the main reasons I don't have eleventy alts. Since I only have a finite amount of time to spend on playing, I have to make one character and stick to it if I mean to level it up in any capacity. (I just made level 35 on my second character after 125 hours of play.)

I can empathise with this one. Between my job, my wife, my second job and my two blogs, I just don't have the time to play as much as I want to. Work hard now, so you can reap the benefits later!

Minus2Degrees wrote:Welcome!

You mentioned the wife telling you it's time to quit -- this is one of the main reasons I don't have eleventy alts.

Women are the debble.

Mistress Lebeau wrote:Women are the debble.

HAIL SATIN