So, drooling to get in and play the game, I rushed through character creation, assuming that the game would be like Oblivion and allow for recreating the character again after you finish the opening act (in Oblivion it happened when you left the sewer). I've just emerged from the cave, - no such option

OK, I'm asking the obvious, but does this really mean what I think it means? I have to go back to the beginning to reroll my character and fiddle with his appearance? Why did they ditch such a great option Hope this isn't a sign of things to come?

Yes, it does mean that unfortunately

And it's not a sign of things to come. Trust me, this is phenomenal.

You can save right before the guard calls your name to create your character. That way, at least, you don't have to sit through the cart ride all over again. Thats what I did. Then its pretty easy to just run through the level in a few minutes till your bindings are cut and you can actually see what your character looks like. But yeah, it a bit of a pain. Made my character 5-6 times because it just didn't look right right off the bat.

Really? I just used the preset, made the nose a bit smaller and changed the hair. I must not really care much, haha

Skyrim is suffering from a bad case of clunkiness. Too polished, too scared of bending to the player, more concerned with realism than FUN. GTA4 suffered the same thing.

Yeah, in the end it never really looks exactly how I want it though.... then i just end up starting the game with the slightly imperfect character.

showracemenu in the devconsole

Yes but this does reset your stats. I'm level 11 now and have 4 shouts, but I miss being a Khajiit like I always am on first playthroughs. I choose Argonian because they're so awesome looking, but I regret it. I can't relate to the character
The Oblivion method of saving while in the race menu to keep your stats doesn't seem to work in Skyrim.

thanks. guess i gotta restart

I tried it cause I wanted to make my breton bigger and it didn't seem to reset anything, at least my level progress was still where it was, why don't you make a save and try it out, and if you lose your perks then load your old save.

Yes you do. Sadly one of the many disappointing features of skyrim.