5 replies to this topic

[quinlan]

I think i have spotted a major flaw in Skyrim. It has been bothering me since when i started playing and i think something is very wrong with the design.

The Throat of the World is the biggest mountain in Skyrim, and possibly all of Tamriel.

This sounds pretty impressive, right? What would you compare it with in the real world? I would say Everest or K2.

Since the first day i started playing the game, something didn't feel right with distances when looking at them on the map and travelling and distance covered in time on the ground. I don't like to use a horse, so i expected it would take me a while to reach destinations. It never did. So i tested it to be sure. Here are two examples:

1. Travelling from Whiterun to Rorikstead. If you have a look at the map, it seems a pretty big distance.


Walking with Always Run toggled: 19th 07:14am - 19th 08:46am
Fast travelling the same distance on foot: 19th 06:58am - 19th 01:40pm
At least with fast travelling it took some more time to get there which is a bit better representation of the distance involved, but both examples show an unforgivable lack of attention to detail.

2. Travelling from Valtheim Towers to Helgen. According to the game, the biggest mountain in Skyrim sits right in between these two locations. Wrong again!


Walking with Always Run toggled: 19th 12:43pm - 19th 04:29pm
On the way back to Valtheim with fast travelling the same distance on foot: 19th 04:31pm - 19th 10:25pm

Conclusion. This is not a continent map, but a map of your county!!!
How could they make such a big mistake???
Especially when the game is so good in many other areas...

[Eleima]

Tamriel is a continent, yes, but Skyrim is still just a province.
That being said, you do have a point, but I still think you have waaaaaaaaay too much time on your hands!

[quinlan]

Noo!!!
You misundertood me!!!
The numbers I gave are in game date and time!
Real time it was something like a couple of minutes. I wish I had the time you thought I do.

Seriously now, if those numbers were in real time hours, i would be satisfied, not 100%, but the game would be more believable. And about the province thing, it is a province with the biggest mountain in the world. They should make a better job in time/distance between in game and real life. What we now have in Skyrim is the possibility to cover half the perimeter around the biggest mountain in the world, running, in only 4 hours (supposed to be real time duration of the trip according to the game). This means that heroes in Skyrim are capable to run around the biggest mountain in LESS THAN 8 HOURS!!! Imagine running arount Mount Everest in 8 hours!

Come on! This is a feat greater than killing all the dragons at once! I cannot believe they didn't see the fault in the game design. It is so essential!

It is such a huge blunder, it makes me want to scream!

Edited by quinlan, 01 March 2012 - 08:15 AM.

[Eleima]

Oh, I know that's game time, not real time! I still say you have way too much time on your hands if you're ferrying back and forth like that! Being the old Elder Scrolls fan I am, I restricted myself to walking and using carriages (much like the boats and silt striders in Morrowind) for a long time (until I hit level 40 and over 80 hours of gameplay), and walking around sometimes took forever. Walking to Windhelm, in particular always felt like such a drag.
I get your annoyance with it, and the comparison with Everest is apt, but then again, this is a game, after all, and there are logistical limitations which prevent having a bigger, taller mountain and a bigger, vaster province. I figure that crafting the world as it is must've been excruciating work, so I understand this fault and won't hate them for it.

[quinlan]

I most certainly don't hate them, too. This is why ferrying back and forth is what i do since i started the game. It isn't a matter of time for me, although i have to admit my hours of sleep have rapidly diminished since i installed Skyrim. I am 24th level and i still stay in Whiterun. I have done some side quests, but i haven't even contacted the Companions. I am taking the long view on this game. I really don't care how long it wil take me to finish it. Do you know what i do most of my game time. I grab my camping kit and start travelling everywhere. I have forgotten how many times i have climbed the throat of the world. When i encounter some place that has significance for future quests, i move away. I just want to travel and live in the wilderness. I don't care to proceed with the main quests. I set camp every night with this mod i found, i have a bag of holding with all the books i have found since the beginning and i just sit by the fire and read. I even go hunting for food when food from abandon places or the few side quests i have performed ends. I may complain for this specific matter, but i love this game. I feel like a role player again! I enjoy doing simpe things so much that until i get bored, i won't feel in a hurry to move on with the main quests.

[Eleima]

That's the beauty of the Elder Scrolls games, and that's exactly how I'm playing too (minus the camping, my character must've gotten 2 hours of sleep, tops, since I started, and I've played 91 hours so far, according to Steam's last tally). I didn't touch the main quest until last night (I consider both the Greybeards' summoning and the Civil War to be the main quest). And then they started laying siege to Whiterun and my only thought was not for the epic civil war I was fighting, but for my house, Breezehome and my husband inside (oh, and maybe Lydia ).
I do think that you will eventually come to the main quests (and from what I've seen so far, they're definitely worth a look), but in the mean time, I completely understand being satisfied with wandering around, picking up side quests and simply explore this beautifully crafted world.
Enjoy!