This happens on the PC, as well. It was save 0 or 1 - your character is named 'prisoner' for it. Just don't overwrite that one and you'll be fine.

I think what they're getting at is the entire run through that first area. After doing it about fifteen times, it gets old, and repetitive. It would be great if at that point right after you exit the caves with either Ralof or Hadvar, you could save right before the game gives you one last chance to edit your race. That way you could start new characters there, and not have to go through any of that Helgen dungeon at all.

Heh, it wasn't clear from the title.

I thought the opening was pretty good. Great even. I enjoyed it a lot the first time. And the second (picking up on things I missed the first time round). Third even. Though I do with there was an option to "skip it" as it were if I wanted. Of course you get the chance to collect plenty of stuff as you escape, should the game just dump everything on you, nothing, or a random selection?

Still, not as bad as having to do Irenicus dungeon multiple times in BG 2. Now that was a long starter level.


It never seemed to take that long to me, even after doing it a few times (helps if you remember were things are you want so you don't waste time searching). But 2 hours? I'll have to time it next start I do.


I don't see why it should. It was a time of emotion. You wake up in a wagon, less than 10 minutes later your on your knees about to loose your head when a dragon attacks and everything is on fire. In the confusion you follow whoever wants to help you, then when you have a quite moment you can reflect. But when the dragon is flaming everything one might not be thinking philosophically about the civil war. Someone shouts "follow me" and I follow them (on my very first character I didn't even realize at first who I was following as I had my character run around in a panic for a bit, it was pure chance I ended up with who I did - wait, I thought, aren't you the guy with the list?).

Who you choose to follow has no real impact on anything, it is just flavor and tutorial rolled into one.


But the dragon, you'd never survive!... heh, I guess it is fine to feel that way. I never did to be honest. Few of my characters woke in the prison wagon with a side already picked. One was solidly imperial but who was badly shaken by the whole event (lived in the wilderness for ages after escaping - he the character I mention above when I had no idea what I was doing and I ended up with Hadvar seemingly by chance), another two were in the wrong place at the wrong time and had no stake in it at all (not first at least). The fourth was in the right spot at the wrong time.


Well that is easy enough - if your character actually cares about the civil war then they throw in with the person that matches your leanings. If they bonded with Ralof in the wagon they follow him. If the site of Imperial armor comforts them they follow Hadvar. If they aren't there with any loyalty to either side they they grab the first hand offered to pull them to safety and cling on for dear life.

Not sure if this counts for you, but there is an auto-save at the point where Hadvar asks, "Who... are... you?" Basically, the point right before you create your character. Even with auto-saves are turned off, it always auto-saves at the point.

I tried to hit "Escape" to escape Helgen, but it didn't work.

There's a point at the end of the character setup where socucious asks you to make sure all the info is correct. You can change anything about your character at that point.

Most people never save there anyways because the intro is maybe 5-10 minutes at most.

This.

Hum. My savegame list is full of autosaves made just before the proper character generation. I use those to skip the carriage ride when I make new characters.

I agree 100%.

However I believe this to one of the "forced" things Bethesda introduced because they put a lot of work into this introduction "cut scene", pretty much how they forced lockpicking on everyone because the little lockpicking game engine thingy is "cool".

The opening tutorial in this game does not take as long as it has in past games.

However, I would still like to be able to have a save point from just before I go off in to the world so I don't have to go through it again if I choose not to but still be able to recreate a character. I wonder if it screws up the skill progression in this game. Even though it did not in Oblivion.

I agree too, I would like to skip the intro or even have alternate starting points like the start game mod somebody made for oblivion with gates to various starting cities. I am sorry for the console people.

1. Save the game at the earliest opportunity. This can be done long before any significant choice has been made.
2. Load that early save.
3. showracemenu.
4. Do as you will. Your stats will reset - who cares, you really haven't done anything yet anyway.
5. Save your new character.
6. Play.

Yeah, there should be a re-roll auto-save at the cave exit.

Its not like the choice to go with the Imperial or Stormcloak dude means anything.

Nah...I like the intro...but I'd have liked more if it wasn't stuttering. Given that it's forced and computer-run it should be!

*looks for "showracemenu" on 360/PS3*

Hhhm. [/facetiousness]

Not that it effects me, as I am a PC player, but for those who it does effect, they need a viable option.

For PC only:

You cannot gain a level in tutorial. The choice between Hadvar and Ralof becomes meaningless very quickly. Loot everything that isn't bolted down in the keep, then as soon as you exit the caves, save and use that as a reroll point. Since you haven't gained a level yet, showracemenu is safe, you will lose 1-2 skill points at most if you switch races - you don't yet have any perks and your Strength, Magicka and Stamina are all 100.

I agree. I have one save set right before character creation that I keep just for new characters. Even then, I have to waste 10 minutes getting out of Helgen.

This was also a problem in Oblivion, though. Bethesda likes their intros.

They DO give you a save point to rebuild from, silly! See that save that says "Nord Prisoner, Level 1"? lol, load it...

Yeah, this is really annoying. IMO they shouldn't force you to do a tutorial dungeon - at all. Morrowind did it best: you got off the ship, talked to a couple of people, and were on your way. You could be done in under 5mins.

At least Skyrim's tut dungeon isn't as bad as Oblivion's or Daggerfall's.

Did you even read ANY of the posts, or just post this? Because if you had, you'd realise how ridiculous this is. Making a useless save BEFORE I DO THE STUPID QUEST is precisely irrelevant. I hope you're being trolly.

You can save at the end of Oblivion's, which means I only ever have to play it once.

Oh, shoot. I thought you just wanted to skip the intro movie, not the whole entire introduction quest where you have to make the escape. I made a similar post about starting from that auto-save, but it was much more polite.

Sorry!

This would be ideal, but I think it should reset the skill advances because some people are pretty close to level 2 at this point.

Being forced to do the same quests every characters is annoying. I wish Bethesda would include a point where you can have all the important loot in the game and then re-roll your character's race and reallocate his stats.