Anyone have insights into this, i find the arrows behave strangely, have little to no Arc and are just plane odd.

Thoughts?>

There is a line you can add to Skyrim.ini in your My Documents\My Games\Skyrim folder, but I'm at work right now and can't remember where I read it. I'll search and update this post. Basically, there is some set distance to the target where the arrow ignores any firing arc you give it. But of course you can't really judge that distance manually, so it's best to turn it off and make it work like it did in Oblivion.

Edit: Here's a http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/11/getting-skyrim-skytrim/#comment-847080.

Basically, edit Skyrim.ini and add these two lines in the [Combat] section:

f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.0
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.0

Sounds interesting but I'm not sure I understand. Do you mean that if you're within a set static distance, lets say for arguments sake 50m, there is no parabolic curve? However beyond that set distance the arrow suddenly starts dropping?

I seem to remember in Oblivion that the arrows acted quite realistically, in that they did have a parabolic cuve from start to finish? Is that what the .ini tweaks you posted will do?

Thanks

Has anyone else noticed a bug when firing arrows at enemies on which arrows don't stick (Dwemer constructs etc.)?
When I fire an arrow at a Dwemer spider for example, the arrow just falls down in front of my feet, but the spider takes damage as if it was hit. Really weird.

Correct. If you're within that set distance, the game "corrects" for the distance, and the arrow hits exactly at the spot you aim at. Outside of that distance, you need to calculate the arc manually.

Silly mechanic! Will be editing the .ini when I get home, so thanks.

M'Aiq, so the arrow is falling at your feet but still causing the target damage? Sounds like a bug relating to certain hard target materials, like metal. It's probably supposed to clatter off the target at a distance, like arrows did with skeletons in Oblvion. It seems the bug just causes the arrow to fall at your feet, rather than targets feet though.

UGH no wonder I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn outside of 100 yards its been babying me.
Wheres the Creation kit? I need to fix some crap

is there any way to fix this at the time being?

Heh, he posted the fix a few lines above the post you quoted!

Rgr. it seems my ini is prety much empty in the my docs/games folder do I edit the default ini or add it to the empty skyrim.ini in my docs

Well I've got a Skyrim.ini file in C:\users\[my name]\Documents\Skyrim.

However, it didn't contain a [Combat] section as detailed in the link that Seal posted. I've added it though, will check if it works.

My Skyrim.ini now looks like this:

[Display]
sD3DDevice="ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series"
[Grass]
b30GrassVS=0
[Water]
bReflectLODObjects=1
bReflectLODLand=1
bReflectSky=1
bReflectLODTrees=1
[General]
sLanguage=ENGLISH
[Combat]
f1PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.0
f3PArrowTiltUpAngle=0.0

After seeing a similar tip on reddit, I think the source I quoted gave the wrong .ini file. I think the correct one is the SkyrimPrefs.ini file in the same location, My Documents\My Games\Skyrim. Do not modify the file under the Steam directory.

I'll be able to verify which file I changed when I get home. Sorry for the confusion!

I think that's intentional. You are attempting to fire an arrow at something made entirely of metal so instead of dealing damage by impaling the target and causing physical pain the arrow is instead striking against a metal surface and scratching/denting/dislocating things until the construct ceases to function.

I find it cool actually that they took into account that the constructs are solid metal as my sword sends up sparks when I strike one instead of blood or oil (former being a lazy option while the latter would still be acceptable).

As for the arrow trajectory, I'll try that fix out and see what it does, really annoyed that I can have my crosshair on the lower part of an enemy's torso and the arrow will still fly over their head sometimes.

OK, I'm home now. The file I changed was definitely Skyrim.ini. There was already a [Combat] section in it before I added the two lines.

I changed both with no ill effects, it seems to be working nicely. The only problem is is that the arrow velocity is very low (which is a bit unrealistic for a longbow) so you really need to aim well above the targets head if they're at any sort of distance.

Still, it's far better than the original 'auto-aiming' guff so cheers Seal!

Mods will no doubt fix all sorts of things about bows in the near future.

It doesn't bounce off the Dwemer spider or anything like that? If you'd hit skeletons with arrows in Oblivion the arrows would also bounce off I think, because there's nothing soft to pierce.

I got the impression that it will clatter off harder surfaces (which is good). However there is a bug which means that after clattering off the hard surface 20 yards away the arrow 'warps' back to your position and lands at your feet, rather than clattering off and landing at the targets feet (which is bad).

It's almost like there's some mechanic in the game that makes the 'clattered' arrow become a new entity in the worldspace and it should then drop where it hit, however it warps back to the shooters position.

I know nothing about scripts etc so this may be a load of tosh but that's the impression I got based on the bug the poster experienced.

Thanks for that hint. I was wondering why arrows were acting so erratically. Good thing i've only wasted iron arrows so far

Another point for the "TES for Dummies" impression

No, it just falls at my feet as if I released the arrow without drawing the bow properly. I can see it move forward limply for about 10-20 cm and then dive downwards and end up right in front of me. As I said, "when shooting at enemies on which arrows don't stick", not "when shooting at enemies arrows don't stick". I wasn't saying that there was a bug with arrows sticking, the bug is that the arrow doesn't travel anywhere. It doesn't happen every time, though, but maybe 1/3 of the times.

EDIT: oh, and the ini changes above made archery much more realistic.

The above ini tweaks for archery really cut down the speed of the arrow I find. I just did a quick test and before tweak, the arrow travels further and faster. With the tweak, the arrow travels slower and drops down after like 10-15 yards!

I had the same Dwemer bug, it falls straight in front of me, doens't bounce off, doesn't make a clang noise. Another thing, I don't know if it's always jsut archery, but when trying to assassinate a woman in Dawnstar for the DB while she was sleeping, I found arrows would go straight through her. I got out an orcish sword after about 15 shots and stabbed her to death. I could then take the arrows out of whatever they hit after going through her but it was really annoying how they just wouldn't hit her.

Urg. So is there any way to add the tweak to stop the auto aiming, but also increase arrow velocity?

Also, how slow are the arrows with the tweak. Still somewhat realistic or just so bad it's not worth it?

i dont see anything better about oblivion archery and arrows because oblivion archery and arrows fakest things i ever seen in a game

So I wonder if this get's better/worse based on your distance slider in the options? Doubt it, just throwing it out there. It seems like either a memory saving thing, or a game balancing thing. Either would pi$$ me off. Archery is so fun otherwise, but I was a crack shot in Oblivion -could hit a flea off a wolf's rear at a full run 200 yards away! Practicing those shots and learning the arc was a fun side game for me. Of course so was jumping to places I should be and that too has been taken away... Still a great game. Hopefully this is fixed soon.

I'm still jumping to places I shouldn't be x). There are a lot of places one can mountain climb and not use the "official way."

And to stay in topic; I have wondered why archery seemed so weird. Now I know, ty. Though if changing the values drop the arrow speed I don't feel like doing it.