@mALX: Thanks mALX! That's exactly what I was thinking when I made this video. You get to see her face at the end of the video, and you get to see much more of her later in other videos.

@Grits: Yep, Aravi still doesn't like the boots. That'll never change. Now I'm curious, what did you see that you haven't before? Thanks!

@liliandra nadiar: I tried to keep only the interesting parts. Thank you!

@SubRosa: I don't know if it is possible to kill the Legion soldier after he unties you, but Aravi certainly didn't try. He's a good man. Now if it was the captain that sentenced her to death, she'd have definitely gone with the Cloak.

Aravi went through the torture chamber. Aravi was glad that the torturer did not come with and opted to stay in his little cave.

Yep she's loose! Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: So good to hear that from you! There was so much happening that she didn't get to stop and take a breath there until the end there. Thank you!

#######################

Not sure what else to do, Aravi goes down to the town and meets the Legion soldier at his uncle's home.

TIME: 12:12

I like how the conversations go on without the world stopping and zooming in on the player. That is a big improvement over Oblivion. It also sounds like the same actress doing the Nord women's voices as from Oblivion. The one doing the legion soldier sounds really familiar too. I have probably heard him in another game.

For a moment when you were in the inventory I thought it said Road Apple! Good thing it was a Red one instead...

And NPCs give you directions again, just like in Morrowind. That is nice. It is a lot more immersive. Does his directions get updated into a journal? Can you disable to quest marker from the hud as well?

So was that a giant? It went down pretty easy, considering what people usually say about them. Let alone the vids I've seen of them launching people into orbit. And Aela? I wonder if she is transgendered in Skyrim as well?

The village looked really neat at night. I loved the lighting and smoke from the fires.

So food heals damage? Another idea from Fallout 3. I am surprised that they don't have hand to hand anymore, and HTH weapons. The brass knuckles, spiked knuckles, death claw gauntlet, etc... were really good ideas in FO3. They made a hand to hand character viable. I know you can do more damage if you wear heavy armor gauntlets, and I read that a Khajiit gets a bonus to HTH damage as well, so much that if they have the gauntlets, they will do more damage then any weapon they can pick up in the early game.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 21 2011, 01:23 AM

Stuff I hadn’t seen: In the escape, Aravi looked up in the cave at an opening to the sky, and she looked back and saw the passage collapsing behind them. In this video, I never heard Sven being such a jerk. Also I’d heard about the ants, but never seen them before. It’s really neat how the same tutorial and area can be different through another character’s eyes.

What a pretty night to walk to Whiterun. I’m excited to see what Aravi decides to do in Skyrim.

This vid ought to excite anyone who hasn't played Skyrim yet, lol. I feel so sorry for Hilde having a son treat her that way. I am very tempted to tell Camilla what I think of him - and that was before I knew he uses book pages for something other than reading, lol.

That is the same room Maxical stays in when in Whiterun - really nice room, especially with the balcony overlooking the greatroom !!

I found out something very funny from my son today. Anytime you go into the keeps and the throne is empty - get into 3rd person and sit in the throne, you will choke laughing !!!

Awesome Vid, KC !!!

Ahhh! This is what I’ve been hoping for. Just to see Skyrim through the eyes of my friend, Aravi!

She looks great by the way. A very feminine walk and just the most adorable little swish to her tail!

Anyway, Skyrim seems to have a smoky, rustic and (brrrrr) cold feel. Thanks for sharing Aravi’s day!

Ahh, we finally get some video action.

Aravi looks adorable!

I see I'm not the only person suffering that stupid lighting glitch where lights occasionally don't light the terrain.

SubRosa: Against a normal foe, giants cream them before sending them to their afterlife on Masser. They are REALLY tough, simply because a single whallop can deal a good 150+ damage. No joke.

@SubRosa: The directions NPCs give you are not updated to your journal. You'll have to either just remember or write it down yourself.

Either that giant was nerfed for that encounter, or as TK suggests, the companions there are really tough.

Oh and I think Aravi actually would do more damage with her paws right now than with the swords she's been using. lol. Thank you!

@Grits: That's the only place I've seen the ants. This next video is in Whiterun still, but the one that comes after is off to Bleak Falls! Thanks!

@mALX: Hilde, that's the 'I saw a dragon' lady right?

Until Aravi can afford a home of her own, she's going to be staying at inns. That is one of the nicer inns though. Aravi likes that room, she just wishes there was a door to the balcony to muffle some of the sound while she sleeps. Thanks mALX!

@Acadian: That last episode was made with you in mind!

I'm glad someone else loves the little swish in the tail. Thanks Acadian!

@TK: Thank you!

The most annoying problem I've been having is Aravi's head and body suddenly going translucent. What is up with that?

I think that they made that giant weak so that a level 1 could come along and put it down.

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Aravi speaks to the Jarl of Whiterun and finds that he has a job waiting for her.

TIME: 8:40

This post has been edited by King Coin: Dec 23 2011, 04:17 PM

Yes, that was the "I saw the dragon" lady.

WOO HOO !! Aravi was smart to take the "help you" approach right away with Adrienne, Maxical thought the option would be there later and ignored it to go to the "Sale" topic. When she got out of it the offer to help never showed up again.

That Jarl is so nice! Both he and Ilisif the Fair are my favorite Jarls of all.

Great Vid !!

For that giant, I think the idea is that the Companions have almost finished it off before the PC arrives. It was dead already before my first two characters even got there.


Aravi’s reaction to Irileth was priceless, and pure Aravi. I think you're choosing what to show of the dialog very well. It’s so fun to go through this adventure with her! I’m really looking forward to how she handles the Barrow.

If you have an AMD card, this problem is known to be caused by the CCC's adaptive Anti-Aliasing. Turning that off should stop the flickering.

That was a neat little gazebo type place surrounded by water channels at the very start.

Aravi showed a lot of restraint when faced by the guy who drew his sword and started advancing upon her. I'd have been tempted to kill the fetcher.

I see more FO3 influences. The drum beat when you complete a quest stage, and the way the quest name flashes on the screen.

Don't forget that she likes her meat rare!

That wizard certainly looked the part. But the voice-acting, argh! He makes me miss the old days of Morrowind, with nothing but text.

The smith helps her father in more ways than people imagine! I can imagine quite a bit!

I see the User Interface is just as awful as I remember. I take it you are still cannot use the mouse to navigate through any of it as well? The way you had to scroll through your skills like that was painful just to watch. Bethesda really went out of their way to make playing the game difficult. It would have been a whole lot easier just to give you a list of the perks available. If they wanted to, they could have put it all on one screen. That would make it a lot easier to compare them, not to mention keep you from overlooking any.

Actually, Rosa, that's what skill menu navigation is like WITH the mouse. Easy to use on a console, but for a M+K PC interface, Skyrim's is one of the crappiest ports I've ever seen (I've already laid out my grievances, as well, if you want details). Still, we have modders working on getting a half-decent interface worked up. SkyUI has finished an excellent Inventory menu overhaul.

Indeed, that wizard... I wanted to ram my boot up his rear listening to him, and not because of how stuck up he was. I think I cringed the first time I listened to him.

So, now that Aravi has her new honed dagger to compliment her bow, it's time to adventure to the famous Bleak Falls Barrow.

And the Gildergreen is probably my favorite spot in Whiterun. If only that preacher would just shut up....

I don’t know what a Jarl is, but he seems nice enough and he’s got a really big house! Poor Aravi. Looks like a fetch mission. Probably to some place dangerous. It was interesting to see how some of the interface, inventories and leveling up work.

It is the Nord equivalent of a Burgermeister.

@mALX: Aravi checked out what Adrienne had for sale first as well. Then she decided to learn a little something from the blacksmith. The Jarl is nice, but his children are brats!

Thanks mALX!

@Grits: Glad you liked that. She didn’t like some armed person, especially a Danmer, approaching her like that. Then she decided that it would be better to run than to get into a sword fight in the middle of the keep if it did come to that.

Thanks Grits!

@TK: Adaptive Anti-Aliasing was the problem, thanks for pointing that out. I turned that off and I’ve had no flickering since.

Interface takes some getting used to. Then again, so did Oblivion’s. Definitely made with a controller in mind. I plugged my 360 controller into my computer just to try it out and it was very nice. Not going to use it however, because it has less control over the camera. I like to be able to zoom in and out.

Thanks TK!

@SubRosa: That place with the water and the tree is very pretty, especially when you get the tree healthy again. That’s another quest.

I always liked that drum beat in FO3, glad they brought it along for Skyrim.

That voice actor is absolutely terrible. He’s the only one that bad though, thank goodness. Or if there is another, I haven’t met them yet.

I was using ‘A’ and ‘D’ to scroll through the skills, but you can use the mouse. You just click either to the left or right of the center of the screen.

Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: He’s got a small castle! Of course it’s dangerous! Nobody can ever leave anything in a nice field of flowers without a threat in sight!

I think in Cyrodiil a Jarl would be called a Count or Countess.

#############################

Back in Riverwood again, Aravi sets out for Bleak Falls Barrow.

TIME: 11:34

That's exactly where I crossed too! (and took the nirnroot too, lol). I was trying to beat Camilla and kill the bandits before she ended up dead. Was that the "Mistwatch" the frightened woman was talking about? I didn't see a name pop up, but when Maxical was there it just said "Bleak Falls Barrow."

Aravi is unbelievable with those two swords !! That is some amazing fighting, Maxical has never tried to use two at once !! Awesome !!

Oh, we got a great look at Aravi’s face in the Riverwood Traders. Beautiful! Camila must really like Aravi, I’ve never had her offer to guide my character. I met the frightened woman at dusk after coming out of BFB. Scared the crap out of me. Aravi was much more composed!

How clever of Aravi to approach that tower from the other side, in case any bad guys were watching the road. I was really hoping that one of them would have a steel sword for her. She seemed very tempted in Riverwood. OMG, a Khajiit with two swords, I don’t think that can be improved upon! She is so fast!! That bird shadow made me jump. Watch the skies, traveler!

The Barrow exterior is a great place for an archer fight. It was fun to watch her use the cover. And now we're going insiiiiide... I'm enjoying the heck out of Aravi in Skyrim.

I was entranced by how real the chicken looked in the opening scene!

Dual-wielding swords! And a bow as well! I see she has lost none of her quick reflexes. This was great fun to watch.

This post has been edited by Acadian: Dec 27 2011, 02:11 AM

One thing that I keep noticing in Skyrim is that the Khajiit have much longer tails, and a lot fluffier as well. Best be careful around rockers!

I have to say that the NPCs conversations are much more fun listen to: "Care to have a drink with me sweet Sigrid?" That beats hearing about mudcrabs any day.

So is that claw one of those random quests? Or a regular one? Bleak Falls Barrow? Oh, I have heard of that one. That's a regular one. It is one that sets off the dragon attacks, isn't it?

I like how the doors open slightly when you go through them.

I understand that you can take a 1 pound ingot and create a 20 pound suit of armor from it. Just love how Skyrim physics work!

Is it just me, or does it seem like there are times with Aravi's head becomes transparent? Is that the AA issue you said you were having?

Whoa, that bandit at the top of the steps was swinging for the fences! Good thing he was not Babe Ruth, and missed!

Are distant objects all blurry? It seems like all the bandits are long range are just blurry shapes. Is that because of the weather, or is like that all the time?

Rosa: given the overall quality of the game's textures, everything is blurry. As far as graphics go, this is probably the weakest game in the series to be released in its hardware generation graphics wise.

As for the transparent head, yes, it is a bug in how the game engine handles AMD's adaptive anti-aliasing setting. This was probably recorded before KC knew that. There's also certain transparency AA settings that might cause things like that to happen, too.

The Golden Claw is just a sub-quest taking place in the same area as the quest that sets off the dragon attacks. (The Main Quest equivalent is Bleak Falls Barrow).



Nice to see some of that trademark Khajiit agility at work in combat! Two swords? I would never go that far if I were not one of them.