Anyone Actually Like Horses in Skyrim? : V - Skyrim

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:12 am

i dont use skyrim horses because despite there appearance they are weak little fluff balls with flesh as weak as foam and the grace and speed of a drunken mammoth. and yet they believe themselves to be unstoppable juggernauts and end up getting themselves killed by charging into situations even i fear and bringing me 1000 septims closer to being a beggar.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 6:45 am

The horse is fine, the fact your followers have to slog it out on foot is terrible. It makes the horse useless because you have to keep waiting/retrieving stuck or slow companions.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:14 am

Dunno about poor AI since they don't move..

but things I hate about them are
-Useless in all terms again RP is the only reason to use them. Possible uses that could be easily implemented are Storage like a companion has where you can give items.
-Speed of the Horse is laughable even though the speed is locked now compared to what Oblivion's was for the PC they are slow as hell.
-3rd person locked. This even drives some of the RP purposes away resulting even less use for them for those who solely play First person.
-Animations/movement of the horse is like driving a tank there isn't any turn animation so looks ugly when you turn. (this also applies to PC as well)

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:51 pm

I'm nearly 50 hours in @ level 28, and haven't mounted a horse yet. I'm sure I will eventually, but reading of some of the challenges associated with horses has tempered any enthusiasm I might have had.

I concur with an above poster who mentioned the thought of adding saddlebags.

This is a quick list of what it would take to make me interested in using a horse:
- saddlebags (beast of burden)
- ability to fight from horseback
- tweak horse's combat a.i.
- horse whistle

Wishlist for horses:
- option to add a stable to your house
- ability to have horse "stay" in place, if that's not already in the game
- have horse level up, make choices to add points to attributes such as stamina/carry capacity, loyalty, speed, wits/survivability, etc.

I did see a grey at an Imperial outpost last night that almost tempted me, almost.

I really like your ideas about having the horse level up with your character. It'd be nice to "level" differing types of horses, stabled near my house for various occasions. A fast horse with great stamina, used for long-distance travels, or a hardy, strong horse for pack-mule utility when needed. But that's a next-gen pipe-dream or "wishlist" as you said.

I really wish Skyrim's equines had better AI (no rambo horses, responds to being called), better animations and more realistic idiosyncrasies and locomotion (see RDD), as well as greater utility (storage, mounted combat).

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:06 am

I wish they were a little faster.

The best horses in a video game in terms of looks, feel and control are the ones Rockstar created with Red Dead Redemption

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:22 pm

Give it a lick! Mmm. It tastes just like raisins!

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:43 am

After reading several topics about horses, it seems very few players actually use or enjoy them in Skyrim.

Is it the poor AI?

As a sneak archer, i hate how my horse charges into battle and will get in my line of sight, or give away my position. Anyone else dislike how eager horses are to engage in combat... and often die?

Is it the lackluster design or animations?

Skyrim is a beautiful game with great design elements. Horses, however, look ugly. They also move and behave unrealistically. Anyone who played RDD knows what I'm talking about. Rockstar's horses looked and behaved realistically (though they maneuvered too well at speed). I loved watching my RDD horse swat flies with his tail, graze when hungry, etc.

Is it because Skyrim's horses aren't very useful?

Horses can't maneuver over certain rocky terrain and often get caught on a small rock. This limited mobility forces the player to stick to roads, which inhibits natural exploration. No mounted combat makes wilderness encounters a more tedious process, since you have to dismount to engage. Horses also have a tendency to wander off, and we can't whistle to call them back.

So with all of that, does anyone still use and like/love horses in Skyrim?

I use my horse all the time. I am also a sneaky archer ranger type character and I avoid my horse getting into combat by dismounting some distance away from my intended target. For example if I am going to be raiding a bandit camp I will dismount my horse and leave her in a secluded area with her line of sight blocked from me and my intended targets. Then I will get into position and engage.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:53 pm

No, I don't use them for a combination of a lack of first-person riding (Seriously Bethesda... what the hell?!) and them simply being something to babysit. Therefore, I find them a hindrance and a burden and subsequently not very useful.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:20 am

no sprint meter.

dies if you fall 3 ft.

if you see an ingredient, something attacks you, or you want to talk to a traveler, you have to dismount. lead to the odd situation where a thief wouldnt try to rob me until i dismounted.

has problems navigating rocky terrain, which is about all of skyrim that isnt a road.

way too aggressive and intrusive in combat.

when you up your stamina and have whirlwind sprint, accounting for having to dismount and stick to roads, you can get places faster than the horse, negating its only damn use.

they focused way too much on making the animations closer to RDR and not at all on making horses useful like RDR. as it is, theyre just a hassle.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:43 pm

Dont like and dont use them. Bethesda just cant get horses right in their TES games

:D

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:17 am

i dont use skyrim horse because despite there appearence they are weak little fluff balls with flesh as weak as foam and the grace and speed of a drunken mammoth. and yet they believe themselves to be unstoppable juggernauts and end up getting themselves killed by charging into situations even i fear and bringing me 1000 septims closer to being a beggar.

Lol. I empathize with you.

The horse is fine, the fact your followers have to slog it out on foot is terrible. It makes the horse useless because you have to keep waiting/retrieving stuck or slow companions.

I forgot to mention this in my OP. That's another big oversight in the horse design: followers are left behind to hoof it.

Dunno about poor AI since they don't move..

but things I hate about them are
-Useless in all terms again RP is the only reason to use them. Possible uses that could be easily implemented are Storage like a companion has where you can give items.
-Speed of the Horse is laughable even though the speed is locked now compared to what Oblivion's was for the PC they are slow as hell.
-3rd person locked. This even drives some of the RP purposes away resulting even less use for them for those who solely play First person.
-Animations/movement of the horse is like driving a tank there isn't any turn animation so looks ugly when you turn. (this also applies to PC as well)

That's right, I forgot about the forced 3rd person perspective. Another poor design choice, in my opinion. Why remove the option to ride in 1st person, especially since the horse animations look awkward from behind.

Yes, the lack of a turn animation is a subtle killer. I hate to keep referencing RDD, but their horses had excellent turning animations. You could see the player move the reins and the horse's head and neck react appropriately. The starting/stopping animations (basically anything involving locomotion) were much more realistic in RDD.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:28 am

For me they're too damn slow and I haven't found a way to stable one when I don't want it popping up every time I fast travel or zone from inside to outside.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:17 pm

Even the manual I think stated that the horses aren't known for their speed, but their endurance in climbing and rough terrain.

And my horse runs out of stamina right about when I would... I think the horses' stamina is equal to your own.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:48 am

I don't use horses because: What's the point if they just vanish and you can't find them? I did the entire Dark Brotherhood story line just to get Shadowmere. Randomly, Shadowmere has vanished and I can't find him anywhere in the world. I've searched everywhere. So much for the hours invested into that murderous quest line...

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:32 am

Dont like and dont use them. Bethesda just cant get horses right in their TES games

:D

Agreed. Bethesda surely has a few console gamers on their staff? All they needed to look at was Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption horse models and controls to get a few ideas. Redemptions horses were just amazing.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:30 am

I like eating them, if that's what you mean. :sb:

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:56 pm

I like horses in Skyrim, though I may never ride one because riding in third person doesn't appeal to me.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:27 pm

I'd like to use my horse but I find it too annoying.

1. They have a huge turning circle, which is a pain in the [censored].
2. You cannot do anything from horse back and the horse can't attack while you're on it. Dismounting is a pain, so slow.
3. My flame atronach has exploded a few times, aggroing my horse and then Lydia proceeds to kill it. Even if I get on the horse and ride away, she will hunt me down and kill it. Grrr...
4. They're not much faster than sprinting.
5. I always lose my companion if I ride the horse because they're too slow (companions can't sprint?). Plus it looks stupid.
6. They cost 1k gold... my first horse died like 1 hour after I got it because I parked it outside a dungeon. Came out and there was a dead horse and dead wolves. Bleh.
7. They force 3rd person view, which I really don't like.

There are probably other reasons... but that's all I can think of right now.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:04 am

Horses svck.................implemented very badly.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:26 am

Don't use them as they die too fast. /:
Why use a Horse when you can turn into a Werewolf and run? C:

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:16 am

Look at my horse, my horse is amazing!

Will it take me around the Universe, and all the other places too?

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:10 pm

No, as I said these http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1284819-rambo-horse/page__p__19390639#entry19390639 get on my nerves.

Stopped playing 2 hours ago because my horse charged into a group of bandits which I wanted to avoid and deliver a quest, otherwise I may have been playing until now.

» Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:43 pm

I don't leave my house without a follower so that means horses are out of the question. Once I get Shadowmere I might use her for combat. But other than that I'll just stay off the horse until followers can use them too.

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 2:55 am

I'd like to use my horse but like other people said.. it died too quickly,
you can't kill enemies while you're on your horse
(it's such a pain to get off the back of your horse every time a wolf attacks or something..)
The graphics of the horse could look better.. (as good as Assassin's Creed would be good)
Also I wished I could whistle to call my horse instead of going after it if it ran off or something..

» Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:42 am

I never bothered to buy a horse in my first run through the game. I got given one after a guild quest, and even though every time I fast traveled and it showed up next to me, I never used it after the first time I tried. First turning the horse kind of svcked, and is way too touchy with the mouse. Second the horse charged into battle the second I jumped off, but I couldn't fight from it? Screw that. So I never used the thing again except to draw attention of dragons because it was stupid and charged them.