Skyrim feels... Plastic?

craybest · July 2020

I mean it's supposed to be a cold windy place. There is some wind sounds, but trees don't move at all.they stay still like fake Lego trees. Clouds don't move either, the water in the coast barely has waves. It all feels very plastic and static. I know nothing of this is new for ESO, but in Skyrim not was specially important to get it right for the mood.
Also for a game that puts so much effort in lighting and shadows mostly everywhere, and the mood in general, this falls really flat.
Nothing will be done about it, bit hopefully in the future devs can give us a more vibrant alive setting.

Kittytravel · July 2020

Just curious why it was any more important for Skyrim than any other zone? This wasn't exactly the do-or-die zone of the game nor was it the pièce de résistance of the entire game; some would argue Elsweyr was more important while others would argue it was Summerset or Vvardenfell.

If anything the ball was dropped on Summerset since the buildings as described in other games books were "as fine as insect wings, made of glass and crystal that would refract every color of the sun" but of course something like that would definitely murder lower end computers with all those lighting effects.

Western Skyrim feels like any other part of the game, not worse nor better in my opinion. It's the same game engine with the same trees and the same graphical appeal and thus the same immersion looks-wise as any other part.

craybest · July 2020

Kittytravel wrote: »

Just curious why it was any more important for Skyrim than any other zone? This wasn't exactly the do-or-die zone of the game nor was it the pièce de résistance of the entire game; some would argue Elsweyr was more important while others would argue it was Summerset or Vvardenfell.

If anything the ball was dropped on Summerset since the buildings as described in other games books were "as fine as insect wings, made of glass and crystal that would refract every color of the sun" but of course something like that would definitely murder lower end computers with all those lighting effects.

Western Skyrim feels like any other part of the game, not worse nor better in my opinion. It's the same game engine with the same trees and the same graphical appeal and thus the same immersion looks-wise as any other part.

Oh I meant just because of the actual wind part since it's supposed to be more windy than other zones. But yeah totally agree with your example too.

Sylvermynx · July 2020

I actually don't remember real Skyrim as more windy than anywhere else. Then again, I spend most of my time there (ah.... in the SP Skyrim just to be clear) in Whiterun, unless I'm after stuff for LotD's museum.

RazielSR · July 2020

West Skyrim is one of the worst(if not the worst) zone in eso. Really bad design,lazy,ugly,wasted,bad lightning...bad tone...I was extremely dissapointed. Felt like a joke zone. I didnt expect that taking into account the good job zos made with new zones since the beginning.
[snip]
[edited for bashing]

Dusk_Coven · July 2020

All that costs performance and additional programming. And if you start with swaying trees because of wind, people will start noticing other things that don't react to the wind and changes in wind direction, like water, your clothes, fires, or whatever. It becomes more and more of a commitment to implement and you have to adjust each object to make it react.

It's like voiceovers. As soon as you commit to doing them, people immediately spot it when you don't have a voiceover for a dialog line or if an actor's voice changes. Those become viewed as flaws and detract from the experience.
Games where they use dialog boxes you read have less cost because when they do actually use a voiceover for a special occasion (e.g., scripted scene / cutscene) then players treat that as a bonus.

RefLiberty · July 2020

craybest wrote: »

I mean it's supposed to be a cold windy place. There is some wind sounds, but trees don't move at all.they stay still like fake Lego trees. Clouds don't move either, the water in the coast barely has waves. It all feels very plastic and static. I know nothing of this is new for ESO, but in Skyrim not was specially important to get it right for the mood.
Also for a game that puts so much effort in lighting and shadows mostly everywhere, and the mood in general, this falls really flat.
Nothing will be done about it, bit hopefully in the future devs can give us a more vibrant alive setting.

Probably the Havok Physics Engine (no this not debatable, ESO uses this, go check Performance Improvements Preview – Update 27 thread) has not been updated much in a way of adding new animations or effects since the game has been launched so your post does not make much sense.
If they are going to update it, it needs to be done on a full game level, not on Skyrim map.

Also, they probably did not used full potential of Physics so the game is playable to broader market and for people with not the mid/high and high end hardware.
I doubt they will update that anytime soon, since there are mayor issues with performance in general.

ArchangelIsraphel · July 2020

Actually if you stand and watch them, the trees do sway slightly. Even the ones you buy from the housing editor have subtle movement.

I found the lighting and textures in skyrim quite dramatic and impressive so I'm not really seeing it the way you are. I was quite enamored with how chilly and cold everything seemed, the ice on the roads, the mountains looming above.