Making A Cat Cry: The Adventure
November 9, 2011 12:57 PM Subscribe
With Skyrim coming out soon, why not re-enter the world of the Elder Scrolls through the interactive webcomic Prequel?
Some highlights of the Khajiit adventurer Katia Managan's quest:
Fighting imps
Fighting mudcrabs with fire and apples
16-bit RPG exploration of Kvatch
Some highlights of the Khajiit adventurer Katia Managan's quest:
Fighting imps
Fighting mudcrabs with fire and apples
16-bit RPG exploration of Kvatch
I saw a mudcrab the other day.
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:11 PM on November 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:11 PM on November 9, 2011 [5 favorites]
Horrible creatures, I avoid them whenever I can.
posted by IjonTichy at 2:01 PM on November 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by IjonTichy at 2:01 PM on November 9, 2011 [2 favorites]
What's the news from the other parts of Tamriel?
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 2:31 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by Doublewhiskeycokenoice at 2:31 PM on November 9, 2011
I am completely certain that I can avoid buying this game until the inevitable Gb-sized patches and mandatory third party playability mods are out.
110% certain in fact...
posted by vanar sena at 2:32 PM on November 9, 2011
110% certain in fact...
posted by vanar sena at 2:32 PM on November 9, 2011
So, who wants to guess what percentage of the MeFi userbase will disappear from the site Friday?
posted by Rangeboy at 2:51 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by Rangeboy at 2:51 PM on November 9, 2011
So, who wants to guess what percentage of the MeFi userbase will disappear from the site Friday?
Well, i'll definitely be here. Although it might just be me, my bank account, and my mediocre video card hanging out.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 2:57 PM on November 9, 2011
Well, i'll definitely be here. Although it might just be me, my bank account, and my mediocre video card hanging out.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 2:57 PM on November 9, 2011
Thank you, lack of money! You have kept me from upgrading my computer that can barely play Morrowind so now I don't have to deal with the time suck.
Now, off to start my Dunmer Temple adept...
posted by charred husk at 2:59 PM on November 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Now, off to start my Dunmer Temple adept...
posted by charred husk at 2:59 PM on November 9, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oblivion was massive fun on the Xbox 360 even though it's apparently contrary to some kind of ethical agreement to play RPGs on consoles, and I predict Skyrim will be equally awesome, but I think I'll save my pennies for Saints Row 3 this pay cycle and get Skyrim a bit further down the track.
posted by tumid dahlia at 3:04 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by tumid dahlia at 3:04 PM on November 9, 2011
Rumor has it that all official screenshots and videos so far are from the xbox version so that console customers wouldn't be disappointed with the graphics when they first fire up the game. So not unethical, just suboptimal.
posted by vanar sena at 3:22 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by vanar sena at 3:22 PM on November 9, 2011
My god that was good, especially the last page for some reason.
I found Oblivion to be a definite 8/10 when I first played it. It's all of the mods and out of game content that makes it such an amazing 11.
I mean, OOO alone brought the game up a point or two.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 3:25 PM on November 9, 2011
I found Oblivion to be a definite 8/10 when I first played it. It's all of the mods and out of game content that makes it such an amazing 11.
I mean, OOO alone brought the game up a point or two.
posted by Orange Pamplemousse at 3:25 PM on November 9, 2011
I sorely missed the mods when my move to console gaming coincided with the release of Oblivion. I do not think, however, that I will miss the jump-jump-jump-jump-jump ruuuuuuuuuuun block-block-block-block-block method of skillbuilding, and hope it's long gone.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 3:29 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 3:29 PM on November 9, 2011
Rumor has it that all official screenshots and videos so far are from the xbox version so that console customers wouldn't be disappointed with the graphics when they first fire up the game.
Well, I get what I paid for. Good thing is, if that's true then I'm pretty happy, because the screenshots and videos look great and having the textures more textured or the resolutions more resolved wouldn't add any extra enjoyment to the game, for me.
posted by tumid dahlia at 3:32 PM on November 9, 2011
Well, I get what I paid for. Good thing is, if that's true then I'm pretty happy, because the screenshots and videos look great and having the textures more textured or the resolutions more resolved wouldn't add any extra enjoyment to the game, for me.
posted by tumid dahlia at 3:32 PM on November 9, 2011
I do hope that Nondrick makes a return. Sounds like there's a lot of adventure to be avoided in Skyrim.
posted by Acey at 3:41 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by Acey at 3:41 PM on November 9, 2011
Great Post. I've been following Prequel for a while, but I somehow managed to miss 8-bit Kvatch ( It took a while to load up and I guess I forgot all about it). I also like this fanart comic, which is based on this Kate Beaton comic.
posted by gamera at 3:48 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by gamera at 3:48 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
I'm in the process of buying my first new desktop in about ten years. I'm all giddy with anticipation.
My last new desktop coincided with the release of Morrowind. So it looks like I'll be getting my next one when ES7 comes out.
posted by jiawen at 4:09 PM on November 9, 2011
My last new desktop coincided with the release of Morrowind. So it looks like I'll be getting my next one when ES7 comes out.
posted by jiawen at 4:09 PM on November 9, 2011
I've preordered the 360 version, because I don't have a PC that will run it. But one day I will, and I'll buy it again. Morrowind was, IMO, the Moby-Dick of video games -- a gargantuan, off-putting, intricate monolith of a thing that rewarded patience and effort in a way few games before it ever had. Oblivion, while a step backwards in many ways in terms of depth and atmosphere, was an enormously enjoyable time suck. If Skyrim combines the wonderful weirdness of Morrowind with the size and ease-of-play of Oblivion I'll be a happy man for hundreds and hundreds of hours. And from everything I've seen, it looks to do just that.
Midnight tomorrow. Can't wait.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:17 PM on November 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
Midnight tomorrow. Can't wait.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:17 PM on November 9, 2011 [4 favorites]
That's some tasty timing, jiawen.
Alright, since the time of my last comment, I've pre-ordered with EB and cancelled Amazon. Same price, extra (long) weekend.
(on preview, considered the midnight release at a location further away, but decided I was already being silly enough)
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 4:19 PM on November 9, 2011
Alright, since the time of my last comment, I've pre-ordered with EB and cancelled Amazon. Same price, extra (long) weekend.
(on preview, considered the midnight release at a location further away, but decided I was already being silly enough)
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 4:19 PM on November 9, 2011
So my last day of work is Friday... I am genuinely concerned about my motivation to find something else quickly when I could just play Skyrim forever. Think there's any way to get paid to do so?
posted by yellowbinder at 4:24 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by yellowbinder at 4:24 PM on November 9, 2011
It's all been a downward slope from Daggerfall. Now get off my lawn before it crashes and corrupts all my saves.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:25 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:25 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
I have the freebie Daggerfall sitting on my drive waiting for that graphics mod thing to be completed. Forget what it's called. NiceDagger or something. I never had the chance to play it originally, back in the day.
posted by tumid dahlia at 4:28 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by tumid dahlia at 4:28 PM on November 9, 2011
Between threads like this, the Skyrim reddit, and the many other Skyrim news outlets, my productivity at work is plummeting.
posted by straight_razor at 4:41 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by straight_razor at 4:41 PM on November 9, 2011
I have the freebie Daggerfall sitting on my drive waiting for that graphics mod thing to be completed. Forget what it's called. NiceDagger or something
Unfortunately, it's my impression there have been ton of these "update Daggerfall" projects (DaggerGL, Tamriel Revisted, etc.), all of which had some nice POC that never got within a million miles of being completed. I wouldn't hold my breath. Anyway, once you get past the primitive graphics and archaic interface and numerous tech issues that can permanently break the main quest and corrupt your saves it's the most immersive of the Elder Scrolls games. Sort of. The world is huge and weird in ways that for me were never recaptured in Morrowind or Oblivion (though Morrowind is still a fabulous game and Oblivion was fun if a bit samey-wamey after a while).
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:41 PM on November 9, 2011
Unfortunately, it's my impression there have been ton of these "update Daggerfall" projects (DaggerGL, Tamriel Revisted, etc.), all of which had some nice POC that never got within a million miles of being completed. I wouldn't hold my breath. Anyway, once you get past the primitive graphics and archaic interface and numerous tech issues that can permanently break the main quest and corrupt your saves it's the most immersive of the Elder Scrolls games. Sort of. The world is huge and weird in ways that for me were never recaptured in Morrowind or Oblivion (though Morrowind is still a fabulous game and Oblivion was fun if a bit samey-wamey after a while).
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 4:41 PM on November 9, 2011
A video card list for people who are curious and can't wrap their head around the arcane product numbering of computer parts.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 5:31 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 5:31 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]
Durn Bronzefist: "That's some tasty timing, jiawen."
Entirely intentional, you understand. I bought the last desktop for Lightwave and Morrowind. I'm buying the new one for Skyrim. (And, yes, because this ten year-old thing is getting long in the tooth.)
posted by jiawen at 6:22 PM on November 9, 2011
Entirely intentional, you understand. I bought the last desktop for Lightwave and Morrowind. I'm buying the new one for Skyrim. (And, yes, because this ten year-old thing is getting long in the tooth.)
posted by jiawen at 6:22 PM on November 9, 2011
A video card list for people who are curious and can't wrap their head around the arcane product numbering of computer parts.
Ooh! Thanks! My card just barely scrapes by, apparently. Good news for me, bad news for my wallet.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 6:34 PM on November 9, 2011
Ooh! Thanks! My card just barely scrapes by, apparently. Good news for me, bad news for my wallet.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 6:34 PM on November 9, 2011
Actually, I should probably hold off until I can play the game without it basically just being an amazing adventure in pixelland.
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 6:41 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 6:41 PM on November 9, 2011
Maker help me; I just ordered a seriously discounted neat-o HD 6870 (to replace an eVGA GTX 250) and pre-ordered the game from FutureShop (I'm going to lose 5 to 7 pounds of muscle weight this month from both not having any interest to exercise and that I'm not going to be able to afford to buy meat next month).
posted by porpoise at 9:11 PM on November 9, 2011
posted by porpoise at 9:11 PM on November 9, 2011
This is a really, really wonderful webcomic concept. The main character, Katia-- an alcoholic, down-on-her-luck would-be wizard-- goes from comedy sadness to genuine sadness incredibly quickly, and I kept finding myself thinking, It's going to be okay! Just hang on! And at the same time, I kept waiting for her to shoot herself in the foot by making yet another catastrophically bad decision.
The supporting cast is fun, too-- Oblivion fans will recognize most of them-- and some of them get their own decision trees.
The whole story is fueled by user input, which adds an extra touch of interest. Everyone wants Katia to do well, and you can almost feel people cringing in the comments when something goes incredibly wrong... and again, you just want her to do well, to find a true friend, to overcome her nightmares, to stay sober...
Did I mention it's funny, too? Because it's funny.
(And I'm hoping that Amazon's delivery time is correct, and that my copy will arrive Friday. My partner has been informed that I've got weekend plans, and anyway, he's taking an interest in Star Trek Online, so....)
posted by ElaineMc at 1:45 AM on November 10, 2011
The supporting cast is fun, too-- Oblivion fans will recognize most of them-- and some of them get their own decision trees.
The whole story is fueled by user input, which adds an extra touch of interest. Everyone wants Katia to do well, and you can almost feel people cringing in the comments when something goes incredibly wrong... and again, you just want her to do well, to find a true friend, to overcome her nightmares, to stay sober...
Did I mention it's funny, too? Because it's funny.
(And I'm hoping that Amazon's delivery time is correct, and that my copy will arrive Friday. My partner has been informed that I've got weekend plans, and anyway, he's taking an interest in Star Trek Online, so....)
posted by ElaineMc at 1:45 AM on November 10, 2011
So looking forward to Skyrim. Can't wait to see what Mojang have come up with.
posted by Nossidge at 2:12 AM on November 10, 2011
posted by Nossidge at 2:12 AM on November 10, 2011
Skyrim
Oh, it's a game thing! I thought it was a Mile-high Club thing.
posted by Grangousier at 2:27 AM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, it's a game thing! I thought it was a Mile-high Club thing.
posted by Grangousier at 2:27 AM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
16-bit RPG exploration of Kvatch
That... holy shit. Tucked away as an almost throwaway "feature" for one page of the comic. People amaze me.
posted by vanar sena at 5:30 AM on November 10, 2011
That... holy shit. Tucked away as an almost throwaway "feature" for one page of the comic. People amaze me.
posted by vanar sena at 5:30 AM on November 10, 2011
The artwork is just amazingly expressive for something apparently executed in MS Paint.
The writing is wonderful as well. The build-up and subsequent release of tension in the scenes leading up to the appearance of the Imperial Guardsman was just exquisitely timed.
I will be picking up my pre-ordered copy of Skyrim tonight at 12:01 am and immediately embarking on a 3-day weekend. Life is good.
posted by tdismukes at 8:05 AM on November 10, 2011
The writing is wonderful as well. The build-up and subsequent release of tension in the scenes leading up to the appearance of the Imperial Guardsman was just exquisitely timed.
I will be picking up my pre-ordered copy of Skyrim tonight at 12:01 am and immediately embarking on a 3-day weekend. Life is good.
posted by tdismukes at 8:05 AM on November 10, 2011
I previously had no interest in Skyrim, having blundered around in Oblivion for a while and then set it aside with a "meh". Now I want to buy it and make a female cat-person character and name it Katia Fucking Managan.
Bethesda should talk this comic up. I have no need to believe that it's actually viral advertising, but nevertheless its brilliant viral advertising.
posted by gurple at 9:39 AM on November 10, 2011
Bethesda should talk this comic up. I have no need to believe that it's actually viral advertising, but nevertheless its brilliant viral advertising.
posted by gurple at 9:39 AM on November 10, 2011
Skyrim has been available for 2 hours and I have resisted buying it!
What? Oh, -2 hours then.
posted by ersatz at 2:44 PM on November 10, 2011
What? Oh, -2 hours then.
posted by ersatz at 2:44 PM on November 10, 2011
How do I put this... Skyrim isn't very "good".
posted by codacorolla at 7:31 PM on November 10, 2011
posted by codacorolla at 7:31 PM on November 10, 2011
What do you mean by that codacorolla? It's getting universally positive reviews. I'm sure it will have many of the same issues as past Bethesda games, but I know most fans of the series wouldn't really care if this was just another Oblivion with better graphics, and it seems to be more than that. And that's all leaving aside the subjectivity of "good."
posted by yellowbinder at 7:43 PM on November 10, 2011
posted by yellowbinder at 7:43 PM on November 10, 2011
Trying to get used to the two-handed (independent left and right mouse buttons), and I'm liking it so far despite a steeper than expected learning curve. Too bad an Assasin's Creed-like footwork-triggered attack/defense combo moves system wasn't in the game. Still, it's nice to finally have a pretty "true" dual-wield FPS (and with magic similar to handhweld weapons, with defineable left/right-hand triggers).
It takes a bit of getting used to, but the console-friendly menu system is forgiveable, but the inventory system feels lobotomized, but I'll likely forgive it this after a few more days.
Haven't had to fight up a spiral tower yet, but the left/right hand thing feels good and real and limiting so far.
Surfaces of moving water (streams) and the background (pine-ish forrests, with lighting and fog/snow effects are pretty darned good, even with older hardware.
I'm looking forward as much how they've power-leveled (or not) the game. The scaling in Oblivion broke the game for me.
posted by porpoise at 10:52 PM on November 10, 2011
It takes a bit of getting used to, but the console-friendly menu system is forgiveable, but the inventory system feels lobotomized, but I'll likely forgive it this after a few more days.
Haven't had to fight up a spiral tower yet, but the left/right hand thing feels good and real and limiting so far.
Surfaces of moving water (streams) and the background (pine-ish forrests, with lighting and fog/snow effects are pretty darned good, even with older hardware.
I'm looking forward as much how they've power-leveled (or not) the game. The scaling in Oblivion broke the game for me.
posted by porpoise at 10:52 PM on November 10, 2011
Not sure exactly how enemy scaling works, it's not like Oblivion though. So things will be able to kick your ass or be easy pickings instead of consistently difficult.
Hit a midnight release with a friend, made a kitty, got through the intro, killed a necromancer in a mountain pass and cleared out a bandit fort, took out my first mudcrab, then got reamed by a sabretooth tiger. Bed time. Soon.
posted by yellowbinder at 11:19 PM on November 10, 2011
Hit a midnight release with a friend, made a kitty, got through the intro, killed a necromancer in a mountain pass and cleared out a bandit fort, took out my first mudcrab, then got reamed by a sabretooth tiger. Bed time. Soon.
posted by yellowbinder at 11:19 PM on November 10, 2011
It's a lot for fun for me so far. I like it a lot better than Oblivion already.
posted by tdismukes at 11:16 AM on November 11, 2011
posted by tdismukes at 11:16 AM on November 11, 2011
Turns out it takes a lot of arrows to take down a mammoth.
posted by cortex at 7:22 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex at 7:22 PM on November 11, 2011 [1 favorite]
How do I put this... Skyrim isn't very "good".
posted by codacorolla at 7:31 PM on November 10 [+] [!]
This is not ... "true".
It's the best bits of Morrowind and Oblivion and Fallout 3. Levelling is great fun, areas are level scaled properly so there's always a brutal challenge or an easy romp round the corner, spells are wooshy, crafting is oddly compelling, voice acting is solid, conversations are way less creepy than Oblivion, the main quest is interesting, environmental dialogue is great (eg: cast a spell in an inn: someone says to their friend "That's why we hate mages round here")
Negatives: People have complained about the menus; use the keys rather than the mouse to navigate them. Hand to hand combat is a bit flaily. The quick menu system for changing weapons and spells needs a mod to make it really work.
There's a bunch of useful .ini tweaking you can do to improve the pretties in threads round the internet, here's a few:
- fix the tunnel vision effect by typing ~ in game to bring up the console and 'fov 80' without the quotes.
- fix shadows by changing the shadow map resolutions to 4096 instead of 1024.
- turn off mouse smoothing and Xbox controller.
- add SSAO by downloading the latest beta patch and Nvidia Inspector
And so on, a quick google will give you lots more.
But really - it's pretty awesome.
posted by Sebmojo at 12:13 PM on November 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by codacorolla at 7:31 PM on November 10 [+] [!]
This is not ... "true".
It's the best bits of Morrowind and Oblivion and Fallout 3. Levelling is great fun, areas are level scaled properly so there's always a brutal challenge or an easy romp round the corner, spells are wooshy, crafting is oddly compelling, voice acting is solid, conversations are way less creepy than Oblivion, the main quest is interesting, environmental dialogue is great (eg: cast a spell in an inn: someone says to their friend "That's why we hate mages round here")
Negatives: People have complained about the menus; use the keys rather than the mouse to navigate them. Hand to hand combat is a bit flaily. The quick menu system for changing weapons and spells needs a mod to make it really work.
There's a bunch of useful .ini tweaking you can do to improve the pretties in threads round the internet, here's a few:
- fix the tunnel vision effect by typing ~ in game to bring up the console and 'fov 80' without the quotes.
- fix shadows by changing the shadow map resolutions to 4096 instead of 1024.
- turn off mouse smoothing and Xbox controller.
- add SSAO by downloading the latest beta patch and Nvidia Inspector
And so on, a quick google will give you lots more.
But really - it's pretty awesome.
posted by Sebmojo at 12:13 PM on November 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, and you can play hide and seek with the kids in the towns. And when it's their turn to find you they go 'ten... nine... eight... 7654321 COMING READY OR NOT'
It's cute as hell.
posted by Sebmojo at 12:38 PM on November 14, 2011
It's cute as hell.
posted by Sebmojo at 12:38 PM on November 14, 2011
I decided to (finally) finish Oblivion earlier this month. Spent 10 levels trying my best to efficiently level my most important attributes, then spent another 5 levels failing. Found myself wasting 10 minutes repeatedly casting a custom Weakness to Fire spell on myself, gave up, and downloaded the All +5 Attributes Modifiers mod instead.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:46 PM on November 14, 2011
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:46 PM on November 14, 2011
I'm so glad they finally overhauled the levelling system so you can play instead of gaming the system. Removing the attributes was needless and the interface on the pc is offensive, but someone will mod it sooner or later. On the other hand the natural environments are great and they have have improved on the characters you meet (though still not at Fallout 2 levels of course). Quite pleased so far.
posted by ersatz at 6:05 AM on November 15, 2011
posted by ersatz at 6:05 AM on November 15, 2011
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posted by Uppity Pigeon #2 at 1:05 PM on November 9, 2011 [3 favorites]