Good Morning: Sunrise in Skyrim Wallpaper

Nice morning for some fishing.

Click the pic for the wallpaper.  Hope it brightens your day.

Skyrim 1.8 Update Beta Available on Steam

Bethblog has announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim 1.8 Update Beta is now available for download on Steam.

According to Bethblog, the Skyrim 1.8 Update includes:

• General memory and stability improvements
• Fixed rare crash when using vampiric grip
• Fixed issue where Arnleif and Sons Trading Company could become permanently locked
• Fixed issue related to duplicate NPCs
• Fixed rare issue where exterior door would not open properly

Of course, the Skyrim 1.8 Update is only available for PC on Steam for the time being.  Bethblog says that console owners should stay tuned for an announcement about availability of the Skyrim 1.8 Update for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  PS3 owners probably shouldn’t get their hopes up too soon, IMHO.

Here are Bethblog’s instructions for participating in the Skyrim 1.8 Update if you are a PC gamer:

If you’d like to download the 1.8 Beta Update on Steam, you’ll need to follow these steps:

1. Log into Steam
2. Click on Steam in the upper menu
3. Select Settings
4. Under the Account tab, go to the Beta Participation section and select Change.
5. A drop down menu will appear. Select Skyrim Beta.
6. Select OK.
7. Steam will now restart. After Steam restarts, Skyrim will 6be updated to the Beta version currently available.

If you opt into the Beta, be sure to back up your saved games or simply be careful not to overwrite your existing saves. If you decide to opt out of the beta program, your old saves will still work with the current release of Skyrim on Steam (v 1.7).

If you decide you don’t want to run the Beta anymore, redo steps 1 – 4. At the drop down, select NONE – Opt out of all beta programs. Let Steam restart, and Skyrim will automatically update itself back to the latest released version.

There are already comments on Bethblog’s page disparaging the update as too little, too late, especially for PS3 players.  Many of the comments repeat the typical (and justified) criticism of Skyrim for its many bugs, some major, some minor.  That said, we personally tend to cut Bethesda a LOT of slack on these issues as 1) the Elder Scrolls & Fallout games are freakin’ brilliant and obsessively fun, and 2) Bethesda’s refreshing support for the modding community which has allowed for not only the repair of the aforementioned bugs, but a massive expansion of the Elder Scrolls & Fallout worlds by enterprising gamers and fans of TESV and Bethesda.

Check out the update and please let us know what you think.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Dragonborn Vinyl Figure Available Now from Symbiote Studios

Dragonborn Figure from Symbiote Studios

The Bethesda Blog announced on Thursday that the Dragonborn vinyl figure produced by Symbiote Studios is now shipping.  The officially Bethesda-licensed action figure stands 3″ high and features articulated arms and head, iron helm, axe, sword, & Nord studded armor.

Add this dual-wielding Nord to your merry band of adventurers for a mere $12.99, available at www.symbiotestudios.com.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Video Walkthrough of Whiterun with HD Textures & ENB Effects Enabled

If you’ve ever played through the grainy, grey/brown morass that is Skyrim on console and then made the switch to vanilla Skyrim on PC, you are well aware of how much more beautiful and immersive the world of Skyrim is when visited via a solid, gaming PC.  Those with performance gaming rigs can take the next step, and install some of the host of available HD texture, water texture, climate, & lighting mods that are available via Skyrim Nexus or the Steam Workshop.

This brief video demonstrates what Skyrim’s Whiterun looks like with HD textures, Climates of Tamriel (a weather & lighting mod), & Project_ENB (a lighting processing mod designed to work in conjunction with CoT) enabled.

We apologize for the slight graininess in full screen view due to the compression software we used to upload; we recommend using the large viewer rather than full-screen.  Nevertheless, you should be able to get a good sense of how the HD textures & ENB effects are an upgrade to vanilla Skyrim.

Skyrim Lego – Regaining the Pale by Derfel Cadarn

If you’re a fan of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Lego, this might be one of the best Lego diorama’s you’ll ever see.

Flickr user Derfel Cadarn posted a photo series of his gorgeous work in recreating the “Regaining the Pale” scene from Skyrim in glorious, HD Lego.

Check out the entire “Regaining the Pale” series, as well as Derfel’s other work on his Flickr page, and drop him a nice comment if you appreciate his work as much as the OGGeeks do.

Take a Rest from your Skyrim Adventures with this Mod

 

Check out this sweet screenshot of my hunter character chillin’ next to a waterfall (with a view of Whiterun) as he takes a brief rest from the arduous journey from Riverwood to Whiterun.

This “rest stop” is one of several new locations added to the world of Skyrim by talented modder countercruel, in his mod “Sincar Barrens – A Resting Place.”  This, and several other of countercruel’s gorgeous mods are available for download at Skyrim Nexus.

Countercruel’s Sincar Barrens features:

• A wide selection of resting places spread out across Skyrim
• Elder Scrolls lore-friendly design and aesthetic
• Out-of-the-way locations for improved player immersion
• “Great for relaxing and reading a book or two” per countercruel
• Random encounter system around the seating areas
• “Compatible with most mods including ‘Lanterns of Skyrim’” according to countercruel

We can confirm that thus far we have not run into any conflicts or bugs related to installing Sincar Barrens.  If you really appreciate tuning the already lovely aesthetic experience that is Skyrim, you will enjoy the color and life that Sincar Barrens – A Resting Place will bring to your world of Skyrim.