Skyrim
Skyrim has arrived
Ooooh yes, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, or whittling your life away in BF3 (like I have), then you should probably be aware that another great game has arrived…the ubiquitous Skyrim. Released by Bethesda software, Skyrim is another great addition to the “Morrowind” lineup.
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- The ultimate PC game of 2011
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- Sexy Damsel
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- Troll vs fire
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- Here birdy birdy birdy
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- Who invited the ghoul?
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- Mage running into oblivion…get it?
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- C’mere and get sum!
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- Skyrim 2011 Banner
I read some large syndicate reviews prior to playing the game, I guess failedExE is near the bottom of that list since we received our copy from Bethesda only two days before release. In almost every review I read it complained that the graphics were good but not great, and I disagree. The graphics are superb because the game actually runs fantastic compared to unoptimized games like Rage (we literally did not cover the game Rage due to graphic issues which made the game completely unplayable at ANY resolution). At 2560×1600 4x AA 8x AS and all options on Ultra (or high where it was the max setting), the game runs like absolute butter, not a single hitch in the game what-so-ever. Sure Metro 2033 is a fantastic looking game, but it just doesn’t run perfectly.
Now mind you, I did have some problems, the water for instance, as you can see in the video below, “flickers”, with reflections turned off or on… It’s really really annoying. This effect is also seen on glints and glares, so when a ghoul is running at me like a savage beast, his shield looks like a strobe light and I just take him as serious as those teens that wear elmo necklaces and go to raves…
Another bug displaying a unwelcome “unpolished-ness” is seen in the image above, as a butterfly flew by my horse, my horse “bonded” to it and began fluttering about as well. This has happened several times to me.
I also have had issues with the interface, specifically not being able to properly equip items, and when items became equipped, not being responsive. *This was updated in the 1.1 patch and issues were corrected, although I still have the flickering issue.
UPDATE: The flickering issue seems to be a problem with the type of SLI rendering that your GPU utilizes, so if your using a Nvidia based graphics card and SLI, you can correct it by the following steps:
1. Go into the Nvidia Control Panel
2. Select Manage 3d Settings
3. Select SLI Rendering Mode
4. Select the 2nd frame rendering mode. Depending on how many cards you have in SLI, will depend on which mode to select, I have 3x gtx 580s, so I selected 3-GPU frame rendering 2 (or something to that degree)
5. Click Apply
Keep in mind that this kills performance in some other games, like Battlefield 3. I couldn’t figure out why my performance had dropped so greatly in BF3 until I remembered I had changed my settings just for Skyrim.
Even with all these issues, this does not take away from a completely awesome and immersing game experience. Running through the land of Skyrim may seem a tad linear, but there is nothing quiet as fun as sniping a deer with a bow and arrow while crouching a few hundred yards away. Like Fallout 3, Bethesda stuck with the “Bullet Cam” style of finishing blows however they polished it up quiet a bit, adding several (not sure how many) different final death blows in slow motion. It would have been a tad better if (like Fallout 3) the humanoid NPC’s said a final spew of profanity “oh fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUck!”. It just makes it that much better.
Touching on combat system and gameplay I have to say that it does feel a whole lot like Fallout 3 and you will notice how many assets (sounds, interface, and gameplay) are recycled assets. Picking up an items renders the same sound as in Fallout 3, as well as “Discovering a new location”, Fast travel too? Yes sir, same thing. To be very honest I’d say that it’s Fallout 3 re-skinned as a fantasy medieval game, with a bump up on textures and graphics. The interface for inventory has had a major upgrade and reminds me of Windows 8 (if you haven’t downloaded beta yet then basically it’s very minimalistic). There is even a workbench style creation and upgrade aspect just like Fallout 3.
Combat itself is a very familiar yet welcomed style and definitely utilizes the best approaches with a polished fluidness, and taking on a group of undead soldiers has never felt so invigorating yet intimidating. Taking side quests also doesn’t feel like I’m engaging (at least…not yet) in pointless and unrewarding time sinks.
There are many companions available to pick up along your quests through Skyrim, and while in the beginning the companions are stronger than your own character, they often go running like a wild teenage protestor at your enemies, either dying (getting knocked unconscious) or killing your enemy before you get a chance to throw in a blow. Also your companions are foot-bound, meaning that while you can hop on a horse and ride across the map, you’ll often have to wait for them to catch up a few minutes later. I already can’t count how many times I would mount my horse, gallop to a point on the map, engage in combat, and then once I’m done and almost had died, here comes the idiot.
There is also no ability to really control the “awareness” of the companion, so when I am crouching and stealthily creeping through a cave about to shoot an arrow into the head of a thief, here comes my retarded companion like Will Farrel screaming ” HEY GUYS WERE GOING STREAAAKING!”, alerting the entire cave to my presence.
In Skyrim Bethesda introduced the option to get married, which I’m not exactly sure why yet. It doesn’t provide anything rewarding, there is no sex, there is no nipple shots, so I am still curious as to what it accomplishes for my character.
Now while there are issues and I could say “Cmon, 4 years in development and these minor issues should have been caught by Quality Control”…wait I did just say it…I can say that this does not ruin the game. Skyrim is completely immersing and will suck you in like Lisa Ann in (insert any type of Milf video here). You will be engaged and regardless of what type of gamer you are, you will enjoy the storyline and openness of Skyrim. While most games these days offer poor repeatability, Skyrim provides numerous opportunities to complete the game in various manners, be a mage or a warrior, or a thief, or stealthy assassin.
I didn’t want to mention some aspects of the game so I wouldn’t have to be gay and say things like “Spoiler Alert”..shit I just said it… but there are many aspects of the game that are just plain awesome and make it almost magical (see I used the word magical without sounding gay). I would highly recommend the game, even to be actually purchased..which is saying quiet a bit from failedExE.
Cheers,
David Leach
FailedExE has an official app coming soon to the Apple App Store! Make sure you register to know when the app is officially available! (It's FREE)
If anyone is having problems with the install.exe being not compatible, use phoenix sid unpacker, to extract the sid files to any folder.
I used Phoenix_14beta8, available from http://www.multiupload.nl/3ZTE1IXPFB
made by http://cs.rin.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=56599
Check youtube for intructions on how to use it.
I have a problem with my skyrim rendering the foliage in front of everything… It’s all I see on my screen.
Oh yeah… running on Win 7-64-bit, Intel Core i3, 4g RAM, 2.13GHz
Hi! What graphics card do you run and what version of graphics driver?
Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator HD (Core i3) Version: 10
Do you ever respond??
Or does it take you a long time to run diagnostics
What did you want me to respond with? I don’t have a intel graphics chip to test it with, nor do I run parallels on any of my apple machines. I asked my subscribers to test and verify whether or not they are running the same setup as you and play skyrim.
Thank you for some type of response at least. It’s good to know that work is being done to help with the situation I am having.
Sorry for the impatient response, but I have been troubleshooting the problem for over 2 weeks now. Hope a solution is near… Thanks again.
I’m not running on a parralel or anything so that’s not the issue. I am running on a pc laptop. I don’t know if that will help or not, but I hope it does.
It’s a Toshiba Satelite, straight factory everything.
Hey I have a macbook pro and boot camp windows 7 (64 bit). I downloaded the iso file, I used daemon tools and mounted it. When I try to open the Install.exe file I get this error “The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you’re running. Check your computer’s system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.” I tried everything
I really don’t know what else to do! can someone help me please?
Hi Roham, it has been mentioned by a few visitors that Skyrim does not work on parallels or boot camp, Im not exactly sure why but I imagine it to be deficiencies in how the software addresses the CPU.
For those with parallel or bootcamp issues you might want to try installing “Q” which is a pc emulator for macs… I don’t know if it will fix your compatiability issue or not. Post and let me know.
Also its free…
here’s the link. The download starts automatically.
http://www.kju-app.org/builds/download.php?download=Q-0.9.0a89.dmg
I’m also receiving the message, “The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you’re running.”
I’ve read through the posts here, but I’m still unsure of what I need to do. Can anyone offer advice?
I’m running Vista
x64
Hello. I have a problem and i’m trying to install Skrim for the past 2 weeks, but i CANT! because Razor1911 install.exe dont WORK! I tried executing exe inside drive but it didnt work.
Any help would be appreciated .
Exempt.. What was the Setting, How do I fix it ?? Where is the Post ??
It depends on which setup you have, crossfire, SLI or none, which one are you running?
I am running neither SLI or Crossfire, I just get the error stating that my version of windows is not compatible, when ever I try to run the exe.
How did you fix it with a settings change? I need to know?!? Thanks by the way, this post is awesome
Do you have SLI or Crossfire? (or neither)
I am not running either Crossfire or SLI on the 64 bit. I also have Win 7 32 boot camped on my mac and the Install.exe opens a dos window for half a second then closes. I’ve upgraded my display drivers and tried to run it from winrar but nothing works. If you know anything about it I would appreciate it. PS. I’m using Power ISO for the virtual drive.
To all the ppl having the version compatibility error, you HAVE to “create” the file in windows, don’t copy/download it from any other OS, this was causing the problem for me.
GL out there!
Thanks, yes your correct do not copy from another OS, also for those of you using parallels on OS Lion, there have been known compatibility issues with Skyrim
and how to do that, please reply, its like stuck forever
forgive me for being an idiot, but that doesn’t make sense. how can i “create” the file?
I too would like to know what this means. I re-downloaded the file on the Windows side of boot camp and I get the same error. What gives?
TO all people having incompatibility issues as mentioned, ive successfully installed skyrim and played this at HIGH settings smooth. Just install bootcamp 3.1, then update to 3.2 and 3.3 respectively. Download it from the apple support page. i used the same Razor iso from torrent and used daemon to load iso. Hope this helps!btw, i was experiencing failed installation with that compatibility message… cheers!
Thanks for the tips, can anyone else verify that this is a working solution?
[...] of enjoying your family and friends over, you’ll be enjoying a highly caffeinated marathon Skyrim gaming session, or testing out that new release of LinuxMint. You and me are cut from the same [...]
Ello,
was wondering whether you can help…
I saw your extremely potent and helpful guide with regards to installing Win7 and the associated loader stuff one has to go through.
Now, I’ve got a problem with Skyrim.
I’ve literally just installed another (new) Win7, because the first one gave me the following error whilst running install.exe on the Skyrim RZR1911 release:
The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you’re running. Check your computer’s system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher.
I’ve got a 15″ Macbook Pro Model A1286, Intel, unibody, the works, running Snow Leopard 10.6.7 or 8, 4GB RAM etc.
I downloaded Win7 Ultimate 64bit (as far as I was aware), torrent name:
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail(Final) x86 and x64
I installed this, installed the MacOSX original CD software/drivers for boot camp, then ran the DAZ loader, then installed the newest NVIDIA drivers, then installed Avira Antivirus whilst doing Windows Update.
Got myself Daemon Tools, loaded the iso of Skyrim up, double clicked ‘install.exe’ and got that error message.
So I thought ‘Well, maybe that torrent was full of shit and I’ll just get another version’ [Note: I checked the System Properties and they confirmed 'Authentic 64-Bit OS'.
So I downloaded this torrent, because I thought 'Well, maybe it's better if I get a scene group's release, more official, yaggeddy ya:
Windows.7.ULTIMATE.SP1.ALL.EDITIONS.32-64.bit-MAFIAA
Burnt, installed 'Windows 7 Professional 64bit [not any of the other 8-10 options from Home, Home Premium, Ultimate, x68, x64 blablah] (formatted previous version), no loader required, System Properties check ’64-bit operating system’, installed MacOSX boot camp original software/drivers, installed newest NVIDIA, Daemon Tools, mount Skyrim iso, double-click install.exe:
Same fucking error message.
Now I’m thinking:
I’m on a 64bit architecture dual core Intel mac, I read somewhere I would need to be installing Win7 x64bit version NOT x68, seeing as the hardware demands it, and I get that error message when installing Skyrim.
Now Razor have been around for donkey’s years and they rarely fuck up the releases, so I doubt the install.exe is corrupt, seeing as the hundreds of comments below the torrent suggested otherwise (and that it worked).
Now I’m stuck in the shit. I’m thinking:
Do I reinstall another version of Win7 (possibly x68 – if that’ll let me), or do I ask that guy on failedexe for some help, seeing as he was so helpful in responding to all the other complete newbs with regards to the Win7 problems they had whilst installing the sumbitch. 8)
I didn’t know whether to post it in the Win7 thread/article or here, so I’m just going to do it in both.
Thanks a million for any help, I really appreciate it.
Hello and welcome to failedExE. You don’t need to download another copy of Skyrim or Windows, your problem lies within the custom installer from Razor, it’s most likely a broken connection when looking for the default “C:\users\document\my games” which it needs to install a folder for Skyrim in order to play (it’s your settings files and save location). On a dual boot Mac/win system, the default directory is most likely not C: anymore, but “I” or “H” etc. While you can tell Skyrim to install to different drive letters, it always attempts to install the game settings folder on C:, which is lame because I use SSD’s for my OS drive, and I hate that shit gets installed on it when I am installing my software to other HDDs. I’ve seen quiet a few people install Skyrim with the Razor release so I know it works.
If it isn’t that then I’d have to decompile the installer and take a look at exactly what it’s requesting during it’s install to pinpoint the error.
Amazing man, that’s exactly the type of type 3 reply I had hoped for. Thanks a lot a lot!
This still leaves me in the dumps a little, because I can’t really de- and recompile the installer can I, with all the correct dirs? However…one thing that stumps me, the ‘Local Harddrive’ in Windows shows up as C:, if I remember correctly, is this only because it’s ‘virtually’ C: and not *really*?
Man I went into such great lengths and broke my UBERvow of never installing Windows on me mac and now I can’t seem to play Skyrim…even if I bought it, it wouldn’t make a difference, would it? :[
Dude I’m having the exact, EXACT same problem. Also broke the no-windows-on-mi-mac vow and now here we are..
Imma keep an eye on here, if I find a solution I’ll keep you posted. Would appreciate of you would do the same!
GL
Problem has been fixed with a setting change
I’m literally updating the post right now 
any news on the bug fix? i cant seem to find any solution to this problem…
What is your Graphics card and are you running SLI or crossfire? (or neither)
hi, thx for the replay. im running in BootCamp and i have a GT 300m on this mashine. i read in a fourim that a similar problem was fixed by installing through Parallel, so ill try that out now. ill let you guys now how it went in a bit.
(sry for bad english)
didn’t work with parallels :S
and im not using crossfire nor SLI
thx in advance for any help on fixing this problem Exempt
Did this ever get resolved? I have the exact same problem two months later and I haven’t found a solution anywhere online. This board is the closest thing to a solution I’ve got!
Hey there I receive this message when I try to open the game, “The version of this file is not compatible with the version of windows you are running. Check your computers stsyem info to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x64(64-bit) version of the program, and then contact the software publisher” I am a noob at this so could you easily explain what I need to do in order to get the game running. Thanks
I’m having the same problem, but I’m on a dell laptop with win7 home premium 64bit installed. Help how to fix please?
For starters, under Skyrim options disable “reflections” under the settings for water, and lower the visual range for objects to 75%, let me know if that corrected it.
Ditto on being sarcastic
, good point though
Nice Use Of Capitilisation, No Sex?!!! OUTRAGEOUS
I was being a bit sarcastic, however keep in mind that sex in video games was introduced a long time ago in videos games, heck Duke nukem introduced tipping topless strippers ( with no ESRB ratings mind you ) back in 1993. Fallout the original introduced drug addiction and sleeping with prostitutes in 1997, I think it’s ok that in 2011 in a fantasy game we can safely introduce a in game benefit ( health regeneration, debuff of negative effects ) to having marital “sex” . I say it in quotations because I don’t expect (nor desire) to actually see it, but a quick cutscene to the after math would suffice. Grand theft auto San Andreas introduced it more aggressively by showing the car bouncing and a woman moaning as your character nailed a prostitute in the back seat of a car, for a full health regen. That was 2004.
Ditto on being sarcastic , good point though