How long does corn take to grow?

Question

Is it safe to plant in public lots, or do I need to get a house first? Is it different for different crops?

Answer

Corn takes six hours to grow. It does depend on what crop it is.

As far as I can tell, you've got a bit of leeway in the public gardens, but not a heap.

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Is the amount of followers limited?

Question

I've just got my first follower, and I'm wondering if I can get a second person to follow me. Is the game limited to one or two follower(s) or does it allow for a large number of followers? It really seems handy to me to have some followers protect me when I draw attention from a larger group, or when I try to steal something where I really shouldn't...

Answer

PC players can use the console to allow more than one follower at a time. After obtaining a follower, the PlayerFollowerCount global varable is set to 1. Setting it back to 0 will enable you to obtain another follower.

To set PlayerFollowerCount to zero, open the console (default ~), type in set PlayerFollowerCount to 0, hit enter, then close the console ~.

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Where to sell Dragon Bones and Scales

Question

There's a great question on what to do with dragon bones and scales, and there's even a question on whether you can buy them, but the question I'm after:

Question: Where can one sell those blasted Dragon Bones and Scales? Is there a list of merchants that will buy them?

Edit: I'm not looking for just a vendor, but preferably a list of vendors (as I've collected about 25 of the them). The ultimate answer would also have an indication of (approximate) amount of gold available on the merchant.

After some searching I found a list of merchants on the Skyrim Wiki, but that doesn't answer my question. The page on Dragon Bone gives a little bit of info on selling them, but no clue on where to sell them.

My follower would certainly be very thankful for any answer to this question, as she's probably getting tired of hauling this loot around...

Answer

Any general goods store will take them: the two ones you'll hit early on are the Riverwood Trader in Riverwood and Belethor's General Goods in Whiterun. Others include:

• Arnleif and Sons Trading Company in Markarth
• Gray Pine Goods in Falkreath
• Pawned Prawn in Riften
• Sadri's Used Wares in Windhelm

General goods stores, without the "Master Trader" perk, generally seem to have around 750 gold.

I just confirmed LessPop_MoreFizz's suggestion that apothecaries (potion shops) take them, too: Arcadia's Cauldron, for example. Others include:

• Thaumaturgist's Hut in Morthal
• Grave Concoctions in Falkreath
• The Hag's Cure in Markarth
• The Mortar and Pestle in Dawnstar
• Angeline's Aromatics in Solitude

Apothecaries, without the "Master Trader" perk, generally seem to have around 500 gold.

Beyond that, if you invest in the "Merchant" perk in the Speech skill, you'll be able to sell them anywhere you want, and if you invest in "Master Trader", every merchant will have a ton more gold.

The easiest thing to do is do a circuit amongst the general goods stores and apothecaries (or, if you have "Merchant" and/or "Master Trader", all stores in an area). By the time you're done fast traveling, you'll likely have spent 48 hours and can sell to the original merchant again. But if that's still not convenient, sell to a merchant, and wait 24 hours twice: (relatively) instant restock.

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How do the Skylanders figurines work?

Question

What technologies do the Skylanders figurines use? NFC, Bluetooth, RFID, something homegrown?

What would it take to hack that? I don't want to buy all the figurines, but I want to experience the content.

I'm not trying to cheat other players, just experience the full gameplay available.

Answer

The figurines work through RFID, they've already been hacked by someone but he got and C&D from Activision so the project is pretty much dead.

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Is there a way to fine tune a kinect?

Question

I just purchased a Kinect for the Xbox360. It is a bit over sensitive. I currently have the 6 required feet. I want to know if there is a way to 'fine tune' or correct the sensitivity of my movements.

Answer

If you mean how to calibrate the Kinect, then here is the website describing the process.

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Will I lose my escape pod if I use it?

Question

I've now got a ship and it's TOTALLY AWESOME, ahem.

It's got an escape pod that I can interact with. For some reason I'm not sure why you can interact with it, what it does or why it's intractable.

If I use it, will it jetison me? Or will I lose the pod? Usually, I'd stick a quicksave, hit it and see, but with the MMO aspect, I can't save to see what it does.

Anyone tried using it yet?

Answer

When I try to use my escape pod, an error message shows, saying “The escape pod is unavailable at this time.”

My guess is that it's either for some mission, where you will have to use it, or it serves no purpose at all (for now?).

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What are the main differences of Hardcore Mode?

Question

I was curious as to what the differences in gameplay there are between regular mode and hardcore mode?

From what I understand is that you require sleep, food, and water. What are the penalties(other than eventual death) if you are sleep deprived or starved also?

Answer

Hardcore mode has a few differences. They fall into three main categories: Sustenance, Healing, and Ammo. In general, the main additonal challenge provided by Hardcore mode is a significantly increased importance in inventory and resource management. Staying within your weight limit while carrying all of the food, water, and ammunition you need to survive becomes a challenge, and you will need to plan your expeditions, and consider what you loot and carry much more carefully. The need to carry Doctors Bags and/or Hydra can add additional strain here. Perks such as Pack Rat become substantially more valuable, as do skills like Survival (as Campfire cooked food is often far more nourishing - and less irradiated - than the pre-war garbage you'll often otherwise rely on.)

For reference, since the term will be used repeatedly, by default, one 'game hour' is two minutes in real time. This can be adjusted by changing the Timescale using the console, or via a mod, but is not recommended for Hardcore Mode players.

Sustenance:

• This is the most widely touted feature of Hardcore mode. Essentially, in Hardcore, you gain three additional meters to watch in addition to your Health. Hunger, Thirst, and Sleep Deprivation. These will rise over time, and upon reaching certain threshholds, you'll be subject to negative effects. (Mechanically, this works very similarly to radiation exposure.) If any of these meters are allowed to reach 1000, you will die.
  • Hunger increases over time, at a rate of 4/game hour and is reduced by consuming any food item. (If an item reduces hunger, it's description on the Pip Boy will read 'FOD -x', where x is the number of points of Hunger reduces.)
    • If your Hunger increases above 200, you will receive a -1 penalty to Strength.
    • At 400, this becomes -2 STR, and -1 Charisma.
    • At 600 this becomes -3 to STR, -2 to CHA, and -1 to Perception.
    • At 800, you'll lose another point of Perception, for -3 STR, -2 CHA, and -2 PER.
    • As with Sleep and Thirst, if you reach 1000 Hunger, you will die.
  • Thirst also increases over time, at a rate of 12/game hour and is reduced by consuming many, but not all beverage items. Several beverages, such as most Alcohol, and Nuka-Cola, and many food items will actually increase your thirst. (If an item reduces thirst, it's description on the Pip Boy will read 'H2O -x'. If it increases thirst, it will read 'H2O +x'.
    • If your Thirst increases above 200, you will receive a -1 penalty to Endurance.
    • At 400, this becomes -2 END, and -1 Perception.
    • At 600 this becomes -3 to END, -2 to PER, and -1 to Intelligence.
    • At 800, you'll lose 2 points of Agility, for -3 END, -2 Agi, -2 PER, and -1 INT.
    • As with Sleep and Hunger, if you reach 1000 Thirst, you will die.
  • Sleep Deprivation increases at a rate of 2/game hour and is reduced by sleeping in a bed, at a rate of -60/hour slept. In addition, there are several items that will reduce your sleep deprivation, most notably sodas such as Nuka-Cola and Sunset Sasparilla and the Atomic Cocktail -- these items are indicated on the Pip Boy with 'SLP -x'.
    • If your Sleep meter increases above 200, you will receive a -1 penalty to Agility.
    • At 400, this becomes -2 AGI, and -1 Intelligence.
    • At 600 this becomes -3 to AGI, -2 to INT, and -1 to Endurance.
    • At 800, this rises to a final penalty of -2 END, -2 INT, and -3 AGI.
    • As with Hunger and Thirst, if you reach 1000 Sleep Deprivation, you will die.

Healing:

• Hardcore mode introduces a few changes to the way healing and healing items work.
  • Stimpaks and other healing items (including food) heal over time rather than instantly. This is represented on the Pip-Boy with a pair of number such as 5hp(12s). This represents the magnitude and duration (in real time, not game time) of the healing effect. Once used, the item will heal you for the first amount, every second, for the duration listed. Thus, 5hp(12s) would heal for 60 health, but over a period of 12 seconds. Multiple healing items will stack. Thus, two 5/12 items will heal for 10 per second over the same 12 seconds.
  • Rad-Away removes radiation poisoning over time. This mechanic is identical to the heal-over-time mechanic for stimpaks.
  • Sleeping provides no healing whatsoever. It does not restore health, or limb condition.
  • Crippled Limbs also can not be healed by stimpaks. The only way to heal a crippled limb is with a Doctor's Bag (which provides less restoration than on normal mode), Hydra (which restores limb condition over time), or by visiting a doctor.
  • Companions will not simply wake up and heal themselves after taking fatal damage in combat. If they die, they stay dead.

Ammo:

• All ammunition has weight. Carrying around a few dozen missiles will leave you severely over encumbered (for instance).

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