SKYRIM HYPE THREAD: UNDEAD CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE DRAGON'S SOUL

author=SmileWithStyle
Anyways, for people playing Skyrim on PC, how can you get over the horrible consolized controls/UI.... After playing it on PS3, even if my PC can run it and it would make aiming with spells/bows easier, I will still probably stick to my PS3, simply because the PC version feels really crappy.

You can't. This is something I am really hoping gets addressed either with a patch of a mod. I like the quick favorites menu, but I wish I could also hotkey a full setup to the number line. There are some interface bugs as well. I changed some of the hotkeys but it still shows the old ones in the menu. For example, I use F to sheathe my weapons and G became my perspective toggle. As a result, the menus say F sets an item to my favorites menu when it is in fact G. Sometimes mouse control stops working during dialogue and I can't highlight an option, so I have to use W and S to cycle through my choices. I am also lacking inventory sorting features and a method of quickly identifying stolen items in a long list (I have to actually highlight a stolen item to see the tag). The game still excels in spite of these problems which is a testament to how good the content is.

Just got raped by the trap spiked wall in that ruin you try and get the golden claw in.

Goddammit...

Can anyone answer, without spoilers, approximately how long each questline is? Abstract terms are fine. I'm hoping against hope that the answer is "really long" because I absolutely can't get enough of this game. Even if they're a little on the short side, I still don't think I've made any progress in any of them.

My absolute refusal to fast travel, ever, really pads out the game nicely.

I got a shout that lets me throw my voice to distract guards without revealing my location. This is completely useless because I already have 100 Sneak. The thieves guild quest netted me a pretty neat power. It's basically a mass frenzy that lasts 30 seconds. There are two other powers you can choose from as well, but Agent of Subterfuge seemed the most entertaining.

The dungeons are AMAZING. Even random ass dungeons in the fucking woods are fucking AMAZING. I did two that had absolutely nothing to do with the main quest and they were AWESOME.

The game is really not kind to players who decide that their character is "not the dragonborne" and purposefully avoid going to Riverwood and starting the "Before The Storm" questline, since the main reward of every long gruelingly difficult dungeon is a Shout which you may not be able to use...but who cares. (Besides, you could easily play until the death of Mirmulnir before doing your own thing, the only reason I didn't is because I felt that ignoring the main quest entirely made more narrative/roleplaying sense.)

I rolled a third toon today. Reincarnation of my oldest successful Morrowind character; Malek, Redguard assassin (and at the time, Grandmaster of the Morag Tong assassins guild. The final save file of his career is a screenshot of him crouched on top of the dead body of King Helseth (holy fuck was he tough to kill) and all of his guards at the end of the Mournhold questline. Motherfucker tried to have me killed. Ain't no forgiveness.)

So that's...for an update on the juggling...

Toon 1) Lysander, Breton Necromancer, College of Winterhold (maybe).
Toon 2) Cyath, Imperial Spellsword, Imperial Legion, Main Quest
Toon 3) Malek, Redguard Assassin--plans for Thieve's Guild and Dark Brotherhood.

Which leaves at least the Companions and the Stormcloaks, plus some other stuff that seems suspiciously like they might be quest-lines (the whole Alik'r business, the Bard's college, other random hints I've found lying around). I have at least two more characters planned right now (a Nord Stormcloak Companion based pretty explicitly on Eddard Stark and an elf (not sure which kind but probably Dunmer) artificer who is going to spend most or all of his time crafting) but I refuse to roll either of them until Toon 2) who I'm designating as my main finishes the Main Quest, which won't be any time soon. I am just playing Toon 3 who I just started until he's established in his factions (he has just arrived in Riften for the first time, meaning I'm seeing it for the first time, and haven't been to Windhelm or several other cities yet), then I'm going to switch to Cyath for the duration of his career. At least that's the plan. I have character ADD and I have it bad.

So far, I'm enjoying the Spellsword playing style the most, although Necromancy is fun and Stealth Kills, while hard to get, are super satisfying.

I love this game!

I found a Shout (Elemental Fury) which awesomely makes your weapon power-attack about ten times as fast for a short while. It's like Speed Cola for Power-Attacks (Nazi Zombies Reference). It was hands down my favorite Shout until I was sad to learn it counts as a temporary enchantment, and therefore doesn't work on enchanted weapons.

This game is completely and utterly dominating my life. I have played from early afternoon to early morning (3-5AM) for the past three days with only short breaks. I never thought I'd say this, but good thing I don't have a real fucking job. I'd probably have lost it by now. I am literally helpless to do anything but play this and enter a frothing pleasure coma. It's ridiculous how happy I am and and how grateful this game makes me feel to be alive.

That's the way people should feel about...nature and shit, right? This just feels deeply, deeply unhealthy.

Fuckit, gonna go play Skyrim.

PC users can still use hotkeys? Not fair! PS3 users only get two "hotkeys" this time, d-pad left and d-pad right. It's one of the few changes that can make a PS3 user really miss Oblivion.
I don't care for the favorites menu. The text is impossible to read. I have to memorize the positions of items on the favorites menu because the text on an SD TV is unreadable by humans. (even on a TV with a very big screen!) That combined with the changes to magic that make it more cumbersome* cause me to not bother using magic at all. It's just me and my warhammer. Okay, me and my warhammer & Lydia and her warhammer.

* In order to cast a soul trap you would first need to put away your weapon, then "wield" the spell, then charge it, then aim and cast, then switch back to your weapon...and wait for the excruciatingly long delay before your character actually pulls it out. An enemy can kill you during that time. Forget that. I'm buying filled soul gems from stores from now on.