As Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s draws closer, we continue to get more exciting information regarding the game. Today there is more exciting news, including information on the AI, engine, and more.

Skyrim will run on the new “Creation Engine”, which is focused primarily upon foliage, draw distance, lighting, and an overall sense of a realistic environment. According to Bethesda Studios’ Creative Director Todd Howard, the game definitely will succeed in creating a realistic environment, where [Elder Scrolls IV:] Oblivion failed.

“The big things for us were to draw a lot of stuff in the distance so we have a really sophisticated level of detail, more so than what we’ve had in the past for how things stream in and how detail gets added to them as they get closer to the camera,”

Skyrim’s AI has also received an upgrade, using the name “Radiant”.  NPCs will now perform tasks that are relevant to their location in the world, rather than simply walking around to no end.  As mentioned in the past, NPCs will continue to perform these tasks upon starting a discussion with you. Additionally, you can’t go into someone’s house, jump on the table, and start throwing things around without consequence. Thankfully, Bethesda has made it so that NPCs will respond to such actions with a level hostility relative to their prior relationship with you. Though I enjoyed running into castles and wrecking havoc on royal dinner tables, this will certainly be even more enjoyable.

Animations are also immensely improved, using Havok Behavior.  This increases the quality of animations across the board; from the simplest of tasks being performed to the dragon attacks. “We looked at a bunch of [animation solutions], and this is about the tippy-top state-of-the-art stuff out there,” Howard said. “I think we’re the first real big game to use it.”

There has also been a lot of talk concerning the missions, which will be based heavily upon your actions so far in the game.  From who you’ve met to where you’ve been, players can experience the same missions in very different ways:

“Traditionally in an assassination quest, we would pick someone of interest and have you assassinate them,” Howard says. “Now there is a template for an assassination mission and the game can conditionalize all the roles – where it happens, under what conditions does it take place, who wants someone assassinated, and who they want assassinated. All this can be generated based on where the character is, who he’s met. They can conditionalize that someone who you’ve done a quest for before wants someone assassinated, and the target could be someone with whom you’ve spent a lot of time before.”

Skyrim uses a Left 4 Dead style AI system to direct the elements of the story, and even how people act. This creates a wide variety of each quest, and even whether or not you get a certain quest at all.  This increases the replay value immensely.

“There are a wide variety of random encounters,” said design director Bruce Nesmith. “Many of them are things the player can interact with, some are not. You might save a priest who then tells you about a dungeon where there are people trapped that need saving. You might run across mammoth beset by a pack of wolves.”

For more information, visit GameInformer’s article on these new details.