New Interview
Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:54 am
I'm not sure this is the right place for it, but I just saw an interview that was posted yesterday at the Elderscroll Forums.
You can find it here:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/inde ... pic=223640
And here are a couple of snips.
I can't say I'm happy they are cutting down on the books in favour of voiced information...
Persuasion as portrayed by the E3 demo was shown to be exceptionally easy, is it like this with all npcs? Are some npcs reactions harder to read than others? Are there any hidden extras to persuation? E.G. PC talks with a warrior orc, and in order to become better friends, PC chooses to intimidate the orc instead of choosing admire or joke. Could the orc eventually come to respect PC? Could this respect come to lead to a greater friendship than admire and/or joke could have led to? Also can you please explain a bit more about the recent changes that have been done to the interface of the Speechcraft minigame? What about the demand button?
The persuasion minigame is very different from what was shown at E3. It plays much more like a game now. Similar to the one we showed, the game still uses a circular interface divided into four quadrants for the different persuasion types. The art is completely different and fully animated now. Each of the four quadrants will fill with wedges of different sizes. The size of the wedge reflects the scale of the potential effect of your choosing an action. Choosing a large wedge has a great effect; choosing a small wedge has a small effect.
As you highlight in turn the Admire, Boast, Joke, and Coerce quadrants, the person 's face shows his reaction to each of the actions. For each of the four actions, he will Love one, Like one, Dislike one, and Hate one. Don't take too long, because the person 's disposition is steadily falling. The person 's disposition goes up when you select a Loved or Liked action and goes down when you select a Disliked or Hated action.
The potential gain or loss for each action is based on your Speechcraft and how full the wedge is. Try to select fuller wedges when they are aligned with actions the person likes. Try to select less full wedges when they are aligned with actions he doesn't like.
How many of the 400+ books are new titles, what is the general ratio of fiction to non-fiction, and are any written by new authors, or is everything still written by the old hands (Ted Peterson, Michael Kirkbride, etc.)? What updates can we expect for the 'Pocket Guide to the Empire', especially considering recent history? Are there any specific subject areas that have gotten some more love, such as this 'Argonian Compendium' we have heard about? In what other ways will the the lore be communicated apart from through books?
We commissioned around 50 books from Ted and Michael this time around. In addition, our designers here have cranked out all manner of texts, including notes, letters, books, newspapers, and more. With full voice for all characters, we’re trying to rely on NPCs for exposition, and keep books for more background and world atmosphere.
You can find it here:
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/inde ... pic=223640
And here are a couple of snips.
I can't say I'm happy they are cutting down on the books in favour of voiced information...
Persuasion as portrayed by the E3 demo was shown to be exceptionally easy, is it like this with all npcs? Are some npcs reactions harder to read than others? Are there any hidden extras to persuation? E.G. PC talks with a warrior orc, and in order to become better friends, PC chooses to intimidate the orc instead of choosing admire or joke. Could the orc eventually come to respect PC? Could this respect come to lead to a greater friendship than admire and/or joke could have led to? Also can you please explain a bit more about the recent changes that have been done to the interface of the Speechcraft minigame? What about the demand button?
The persuasion minigame is very different from what was shown at E3. It plays much more like a game now. Similar to the one we showed, the game still uses a circular interface divided into four quadrants for the different persuasion types. The art is completely different and fully animated now. Each of the four quadrants will fill with wedges of different sizes. The size of the wedge reflects the scale of the potential effect of your choosing an action. Choosing a large wedge has a great effect; choosing a small wedge has a small effect.
As you highlight in turn the Admire, Boast, Joke, and Coerce quadrants, the person 's face shows his reaction to each of the actions. For each of the four actions, he will Love one, Like one, Dislike one, and Hate one. Don't take too long, because the person 's disposition is steadily falling. The person 's disposition goes up when you select a Loved or Liked action and goes down when you select a Disliked or Hated action.
The potential gain or loss for each action is based on your Speechcraft and how full the wedge is. Try to select fuller wedges when they are aligned with actions the person likes. Try to select less full wedges when they are aligned with actions he doesn't like.
How many of the 400+ books are new titles, what is the general ratio of fiction to non-fiction, and are any written by new authors, or is everything still written by the old hands (Ted Peterson, Michael Kirkbride, etc.)? What updates can we expect for the 'Pocket Guide to the Empire', especially considering recent history? Are there any specific subject areas that have gotten some more love, such as this 'Argonian Compendium' we have heard about? In what other ways will the the lore be communicated apart from through books?
We commissioned around 50 books from Ted and Michael this time around. In addition, our designers here have cranked out all manner of texts, including notes, letters, books, newspapers, and more. With full voice for all characters, we’re trying to rely on NPCs for exposition, and keep books for more background and world atmosphere.
