LEVELLING:
Skyrim‘s level system works on a 1-50 scale. Though, level 50 isn’t the limit; when you reach level 50, you’ll gain experience much slower, making leveling a much more difficult process.
Each time a player levels, they’ll earn extra health. Additionally, they can also pick one of the following traits to boost: stamina, health, or magic.
There’s no class selection at the start of the game. Every skill a player earns will help contribute to their overall level. Every time a player levels, new perks are unlocked. Sound familiar?
“Since people are asking, wanted to briefly touch on level scaling. All our games have had some amount of randomness/levelling based on player level. Skyrim’s is similar to Fallout 3′s, not Oblivion’s.”
- Bethesda Community Manager
Level-scaling makes a return. Meaning: “The game eventually logs a huge storehouse of knowledge about how you’ve played, and subsequently tailors content to your capabilities and experiences. Entering a city, a young woman might approach you and beg you to save her daughter from kidnappers. The game will look at the nearby dungeons you’ve explored, automatically set the mission in a place you’ve never visited, and designate opponents that are appropriately matched to your strengths and weaknesses.”
Scaley.
SKILLS:
There are 18 skills for players to learn, which is three down from Oblivion and eleven down from Morrowind.
Skills will try and accommodate the player who wants to put their focus into a single profession, as well as allow room for players who prefer to do a little bit of everything.
The mysticism skill is gone.
The enchanting skill remains.
Shiny.
STORY:
The game is set in the Nord region of Skyrim, 200 years after the events of Oblivion. The player, as one of the dragonborn, is called upon to stop the prophetic return of the dragons. The player’s mentor is one of the last blades.
The world includes five massive cities. Its dungeons, caves, underground areas, etcetera ad nauseum - will have far more variation than past games.
Mmm...choicey.
CONVERSATIONS:
Conversations do not zoom into the person’s face anymore. (YAY!)
They’re more realistic in Skyrim; the person you’re talking to will do things such as walk around, perform tasks whilst in conversation, glance at you every now and then, etc.So, good news all 'round - faces are heavily improved. ie: They don’t look shit anymore.
Verily chatty.
COMBAT:
Combat is more dynamic and tactical; each hand is assigned a function (ex: magic in one hand, a weapon in the other). The team is putting a lot of care into the different feel of each weapon in the player’s hands. They’re also putting a heavy emphasis on improving combat in Skyrim.
Enemies include: zombies, skeletons, trolls, giants, ice wraiths, giant spiders, dragons, wolves, horses, mammoth, saber-toothed cats, and other creatures.
Weapon-y. (Yes, I made that up - so what?)
QUESTING:
Quests, like combat, also boast a more dynamic feel. You’ll be assigned quests depending on how you develop your character. For example: a frequent magic user may be approached by another mage and assign you a quest. Had you been a frequent melee fighter, the mage would not have approached you.
To better suit the player, quests will be modified depending on what you’ve done (see 'level scaling' above, or the following example). An example: you must rescue a girl from a certain location. This location will be in an area you’ve yet to visit with enemies that are of or near your level in order to have the player visit a new location and be combatant with challenging enemies.
Also of note: in Oblivion, if you dropped an item, it would stay there forever. Depending on where you drop items in Skyrim, different events could happen. Another example: if you drop a dagger in a town, a young boy might pick it up and find you to return it. Or in a different situation: a group of men could find it and fight over who gets to keep it.
*cough cough* Questy.
ENGINE:
The engine is indeed...completely new. Snow falls dynamically, trees and branches move independently according to the wind, and water flows beautifully. There's talk of 'dynamic shadows', as well. Wow.
...Enginnneneney.
OTHER...STUFF:
Third-person view has been vastly improved.
There is an option to remove the HUD for players who want the entire screen to be taken advantage of. (Get in!)
Players can sprint if they feel like going fast. Or they could fast-travel, allowing them to transport to any previously visited location on the map.
Dragons can attack a town, meaning that towns may (I'm guessing) also be open to other creature attacks. You can also duel an NPC in town, western styley, if you’d like. Yee-haw.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go dust-off my chaps.
