It has been a good week to be a Skyrim fan. Bethesda’s next Elder Scrolls game has been trickling out in fresh screenshots and previews over the past few days, and with the November 11 release date drawing closer, the flow of new information looks set to pick up rather than slow down.
The most eye catching drop came on April 1 in the form of six new screenshots. One shows an adventurer squaring off against at least three ice wraiths, and another captures a stealth kill in progress. Given the date, more than a few fans suspected a prank, but Game Informer, which has been the home of much of the game’s early coverage, vouched for the new screenshots after checking them out.
Horses, Paid Rides And Fast Travel Return
IGN also published a fresh look at what has changed since Oblivion, with a focus on how players get around the province. Horses are back, travelers can pay for a ride from the stables, and fast travel to previously discovered locations remains an option for anyone who would rather skip the long walk across the tundra.
Those additions build on a foundation laid out over the winter. Skyrim was announced at the Spike Video Game Awards in December, and Game Informer’s cover story in February filled in the story and the big new ideas. The game is set some 200 years after Oblivion, as dragons return to the northern province, and players take on the role of the Dragonborn, able to learn shouts in the dragon tongue by uncovering words carved into ancient walls.
The Creation Engine Builds A More Reactive World
Under the hood, Bethesda has replaced the Gamebryo technology used for Oblivion and Fallout 3 with its own Creation Engine. As UESP’s summary of the technology explains, the studio rewrote the major systems behind the game to deliver longer draw distances, better lighting and shadows, more varied terrain and plant life, and improved weather. A new Radiant Story system tailors quests to where you are, who you have dealt with and what you are good at, while an improved Radiant AI and Havok’s behavior technology drive how characters and creatures, dragons included, move and react. Bethesda has also confirmed a Creation Kit for modders in the tradition of the old Construction Set.
The world itself is also more reactive. According to RPGFan’s rundown of the early details, the game no longer freezes around you when you strike up a conversation, a small change that should make towns and roads feel far more alive than they did in Oblivion.
For now, Bethesda is playing the long game, releasing a few screens and previews at a time rather than showing everything at once. With E3 two months away and a release date locked in for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, expect the trickle of Skyrim details to become a flood well before November.