Today in Skyrim..., Epic battles, mudcrab sightings, anything but spoilers. What did your Options

[ghastley]

ghastley, congrats to Jenassa and the Dunmer! What’s his name?

He's in the habit of only giving that to the judge at his trial. Then he's surprisingly honest - just in case that counts for something - and tells him it's Galen Vhoth. That could be just be an alias, of course, but it is the one he used at his wedding.

I downloaded the "Slave Leia" outfit to see how the "harem" looked wearing it, but it has issues with clipping the legs, and a weird problem where it looks like it's lit from below, instead of above. I suspected a normals issue, but it was more trouble than it was worth to fix it. So no screen-shot after all. Must do some soon.

[Renee]

I loved the Forgotten Vale. It really is a huge place, and there is a lot of little nooks and crannies you can miss.

Definitely. There's a lot to explore. I was dreading it to be honest, but I've found some rare things (books mostly) in FV that I did not expect to find. Fighting falmer is pretty fun, too. Occasionally there'll be one way up high on a bridge, and he'll fall right off as he gets too excited and the computer makes this NPC over-react somehow.

I think the Atronach Stone provides excellent incentive for a mundane warrior to target magic-users such as vampires and necromancers. Actually you’ve given me an idea for an orc paladin who uses magic only for defense. Stendarr’s Aura and healing spells. Hmmm…

There's an Atronach stone?

That does sound fun, the orc paladin idea.

[ghastley]

Galen and his harem of ladies have adopted some kids. I made a modified head, with adjusted ears, chin, and a head shape change that's too subtle to see! The skin shade is a work in progress, currently just a tint over the human one, but will be replaced with an elf base when I start on Altmer and Bosmer. In that first shot, the girl looks like she just got a retexture, because the hair choices all cover her ears, so I'm making more child hair now. This one is getting close.

To keep it simple, I just replaced Sofie and Alesan with Dunmer kids. If I release a mod, it will be extra urchins around the map. Those two make sense as Dunmer, so those changes could stay.

The head shape alterations were minimal to avoid the need for extra expression morphs. The deltas for the human child heads work OK. But I believe there's only one set for adults, so maybe more change can be tolerated before it looks odd.

I'm trying out Amazing Follower Tweaks to provide clothing at home, so Jenassa doesn't sleep in her armour, etc. I may have to check off Dragonborn, and go fetch some Dunmer outfits from Solstheim. Then I'll see if I can shrink one to kid size - especially for the boys, where the standard outfit is too baggy, and needs a belt.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Dec 9 2013, 03:44 PM

[Grits]

Oh my gosh, ghastley! Elf children, how awesome! I love the hairstyle you’re working on for the little redhead. It shows her ears nicely like you said. Those Dunmer outfits would look great! Wow, this is very exciting!!

Renee, I put my orc paladin news in the Spoilers thread as there are minor spoilers about the Atronach Stone, but nothing too major. I know how exciting it is to discover something, and I don’t want to ruin it!

[Colonel Mustard]

New game started! Technically was started a few days ago in Skyrim and I hadn't got round to updating until today, but new game! Hush!

Anywho, after extensive modding, I booted up Skyrim on the new machine, and started a game as Theudebald Gro-Chenniere, Breton mercenary with alteration spells and a big hammer. My gameplay strategy boils down to using the 'skin' spells to beef up his armour before a fight (and, thanks to the Character Creation Overhaul mod, I've got an extra +50 armour from the Lord sign aw well), softening the enemy up with some archery and the closing to dish out some hurt with his warhammer. I'm investing points in magicka, so he hasn't quite got the same offensive capabilities as a pure warrior (fewer power attacks, for one), but the tradeoff is that his spells make him way more resilient, which is worth it in my books.

Things that have been done so far:
-Woke up in a cave full of Falmer thanks to the Random Alternate Start mod (I don't know why, but half the time I start new games I end up in Falmer caves with that mod)
-Nabbed the Dragonstone from Bleak Falls Barrow
-Killed a dragon
-Slain many, many bandits (I started out chasing bounties for Jarls as a moneyspinner before I decided to go and do the main quest)
-Got Uthgerd the Unbroken as a follower
-Just begun the pilgrimage up High Hrothgar

[Grits]

Today in Skyrim I started using headphones, and oh my gosh audio really brings the awesome. Now I can hear everything that people say. And people are hilarious.

“I wonder if we’ll come across some bandits who just finished roasting a rabbit on a spit. Maybe they’ll have a keg of ale, too.”

Yeah, maybe.

[Renee]

“I wonder if we’ll come across some bandits who just finished roasting a rabbit on a spit. Maybe they’ll have a keg of ale, too.”

Mead mead mead. I'd pay to get some skooma up here in this stinking hovel.

[SubRosa]

Today in Skyrim I started using headphones, and oh my gosh audio really brings the awesome. Now I can hear everything that people say. And people are hilarious.

“I wonder if we’ll come across some bandits who just finished roasting a rabbit on a spit. Maybe they’ll have a keg of ale, too.”

Yeah, maybe.

I was meaning to ask you, what kind of headphones do you use? I started playing Dragon Age: Origins, and I often have trouble hearing what the companions say to one another. Of course none of their dialogue with each other is subtitled either. I tried it with some earbuds from old walkman, and I was amazed at how much clearer the sound was. But they are so old the foam is falling apart, so I was thinking of buying a pair of actual computer headphones. The wireless ones look pricey, but they would make things a lot easier.

[Grits]

Sennheiser HD 280 PRO. They’re cheaper on Amazon. I’ve waited over a year to get these, and I absolutely LOVE them. I have a big, square head and they still fit me. The Skyrim music sounds incredible. And the wind! Skyrim has a lot of different kinds of wind.

[SubRosa]

Wow. I have a Sennheiser HDR120 that I use for watching television. I got them about a year ago because half the time with blu-ray movies I cannot hear what the people are saying because the music and sound effects drown out the dialogue. And if I turn up the volume to hear the dialogue better, that just makes everything else louder too. But when I watch with headphones on, I can hear everything just fine. Also, Freya does not like the sound of the tv. She usually leaves the room when I turn it on. Except when I use the headphones.

I tried playing Dragon Age with my tv headhones. Wow, what a difference. Like you said, I can suddenly hear what everyone is saying, even the people off in corners. I think I will go out tomorrow and look for a second pair of headhones. It is just too much trouble to move the base unit back and forth from the tv and computer all the time.

[Thomas Kaira]

Since we're talking headsets, here's my new one:

Turtle Beach Ear Force PX-22

And let me tell you, WOW. Incredible sound quality, a built in microphone, independently adjustable controls for master volume, treble, bass, mic input and mic output. Corded this time so no need for batteries.

I bought this headset for my PC gaming needs, had evolved to the point of requiring a mic. I was using a cheap one, but it broke fairly quickly (because it was cheap, whodathunkit). So I decided to kill two birds with one stone and get a proper gaming headset to replace it, one that would be exclusive to the PC. My older TB headset is now relegated to being my console audio (which means it is also my movie headset). Being wireless, it makes an excellent "relax and enjoy" sound solution, while the PC set provides the more hardcore needs.

Yup, I take my hobby very seriously.

[SubRosa]

You people really went all out. I bought a cheaper $50 Turtle Beach X12 today. So far so good. I can actually hear what everyone is saying! This one is wired one too. Like you TK, I am using my wireless Sennheiser headset for watching tv. It doesn't have batteries though. It charges up on its little docking station, which is also what plugs into the tv. The Turtle Beach gets its power from a usb cable to the PC, and the cord is long enough for me to reach my second PC, so I can still look things up on the web while I am playing on the first. I like the adjustable sound on the cord too, it is a lot easier than having to fiddle around with the audio levels my games.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 1 2014, 01:40 AM

[Elisabeth Hollow]

Right? you should celebrate your find by reading the newest chapter of my story.XD

In all seriousness, my husband has our xBox plugged into our stereo, and has his headphones plugged into that. The cord he uses is super long, but they work super well, and you can also hear the sound outside of the headphones through the television if you want.

[Renee]

Yup, I take my hobby very seriously.

me too!

I've tried headphones with other games, and if (for some reason) I absolutely have to use them I will, but I usually wind up with a headache within an hour or so. Instead of headphones, I'm thinking of getting some sort of surround sound in my room. Friend of mine has several speakers in his gaming room, good lord, it's like being in a theatre.

This post has been edited by Renee Gade IV: Jan 1 2014, 04:15 PM

[Grits]

Today in Skyrim I got a complete shock.

My homemade NPCs are in all of my games, but they’re placed out of the way so I tend to forget about them. I have a new character who’s joining the Companions since Jensa can’t be bothered with them this time around and I want to see what happens after the end. Hopefully she’ll live. Anyway she’s a whelp, so Farkas gave her a task.

I was kind of crossing my fingers that it wouldn’t be a vampire quest, since that’s what killed Brynja two years ago and this character is level 2. It wasn’t a vampire quest.

[Acadian]

Grits, that's priceless! But, by Azura, I sure wouldn't want the task of trying to 'intimidate' Lildereth! Think I'd rather face down vamps than get on the bad side of Lil!

[SubRosa]

That is amazing that the game would pick Lildreth. Not to mention hilarious!

[King Coin]

I'm glad it didn't choose Aravi!

[Renee]

Wow, that's amazing Grits, it's really too much! Must really make you feel like your gameworld is 'yours', too.

[ghastley]

Radiant quests are great at incorporating mod-added content into the rest of the game world. I've had one of my characters find Unna's lost amulet, before anyone even told her it was missing. That was gratifying proof that my own mod conforms to the rules, too.