The Skyrim patch that went into beta last week is now live and free to download through Steam. The update adds new melee finishing moves and more slow mo kill cams to show them off. The patch also adds kill cams for ranged weapons and spells, so you can see the effects of your fireballs and frost bolts right up close.

Skyrim should get a bit prettier, too. The update allows shadows to fall on grass and improves the level of detail shift across snowy landscapes. There patch also squashes a few bugs and fixes a few quests. Check out the announcement post on the Bethesda blog for more. Steam's legions of Falmer are at the ready, and will update your copy of Steam automatically when you sign in.

Valve have just announced Steam Collections: a new feature which will let anyone create lists of Steam Workshop mods that let players subscribe to the lot in one click. You can make Collections of anything in the Steam Workshop, but right now only Team Fortress 2 and Skyrim have Workshop content live. Skyrim is where it works best: all the mods in the Workshop are available to play, and Collections make it even easier to get them into the game.

Case in point, we've created two to get you started and show how they work: The PC Gamer Skyrim Mod Collection: Improvements, for the community's best tweaks and touches, and another for our favourite New Content - much more substantial additions that change the game, but still for the better. You can subscribe to either in one click, add both, or even pick and choose from within our selections.

The idea is to let the community help filter the vast amounts of awesome player-made content coming out. You can rate Collections, so the community favourites will be easy to find and subscribe to. Future Workshop games can let players bundle mods, maps and campaign tools into a Collection, making it super simple for us to expand our games. They're already pretty diverse: our Skyrim packs are loadouts of mods that you can install and play all at once. The TF2 community, meanwhile, are making themed sets of content, sometimes by multiple authors, assembled into packs like Valve's class updates.

Expect more games to get support soon. Earlier in the month, Paradox announced that Gettysburg: Armored Warfare will ship with an editor and integrated sharing via the Workshop. And Valve have already mentioned they'll be using the Workshop for Portal 2 maps and Left 4 Dead 2 content.

Just like the Steamworks toolset and Steam Cloud features, it’s up to developers whether they’d like to use Steam Workshop and Steam Collection features in their games. As far as we can tell, it's a massive win-win for modders, gamers, and modding gamers alike. We'll be updating our Collections as we find more cool stuff, and starting a few new ones. In the meantime, here's Valve's blog post about them.

An Elder Scrolls MMO could be announced as early as May according to a report on Tom's Guide. An unnamed source has told them that Elder Scrolls Online is in the works, and will be set in the Second Era, hundreds of years prior to any of the Elder Scrolls games.

The source mentioned that the game will include three playable factions represented by a lion, a dragon and a bird of prey. Beyond that, details are scarce, but Zenimax Online Studios have been building an MMO for years. The Elder Scrolls certainly has the depth of lore to support a massively multiplayer world. This could be pretty special. If it's real. Bethesda have issued a "no comment." Would you play an Elder Scrolls MMO?

Ever suplexed a lizard? Me neither, which is a shame, as "suplex a lizard" is 26th on my grand list of things to do in games before I die. After installing Skyrim beta patch 1.5, I'm going to walk from house to house in Tamriel starting fistfights with Argonians until I have. Then I can finally cross that off my list and move onto number 27: "tickle a giant." Might not survive that one.

The patch adds a collection of new melee kill animations that'll let you finish off Skyrim's denizens with extra flair. The patch also adds kill cams for projectile weapons and spells, which look a lot like Fallout 3's dramatic long-shot cam. Shooting men off precarious perches is much more satisfying when you get to watch them topple to their doom in super slow motion.

To install the patch, select "Skyrim beta" from the beta participation section in your Steam settings menu. It's in beta, so it might be a good idea to backup your saves before making the switch, just in case. Here's the full changelog.

New features

New cinematic kill cameras for projectile weapons and spells
New kill moves and animations for melee weapons
Shadows on grass available (PC)
Smithing skill increases now factor in the created item’s value
Improved visual transition when going underwater
Improved distance LOD transition for snowy landscapes

 
Bug fixes

General crash fixes and memory optimizations
Fixed issue with Deflect Arrows perk not calculating properly
In "A Cornered Rat," the death of certain NPCs no longer blocks progression
Fixed issue where Farkas would not give Companion's quests properly
Fixed crash when loading saves that rely on data that is no longer being loaded
Followers sneak properly when player is sneaking
Fixed issue with weapon racks not working properly in Proudspire Manor
Arrows and other projectiles that were stuck in objects in the world now clean up properly
Fixed issue where "Rescue Mission" was preventing "Taking Care of Business" from starting properly
Fixed issue where certain NPCs would fail to become Thieves Guild fences
Fixed issue in "Diplomatic Immunity" where killing all the guards in the Thalmor Embassy before starting the quest would break progress
In "Hard Answers," picking up the dwarven museum key after completing the quest, no longer restarts the quest
Killing Viola before or after "Blood on the Ice" no longer blocks progression
Fixed issue where Calixto would fail to die properly in "Blood on the Ice"
In "Waking Nightmare" fixed occasional issue where Erandur would stop pathing properly
Fixed issue where letters and notes with random encounters would appear blank
Fixed rare issue where dialogue and shouts would improperly play
Lydia will now offer marriage option after player purchases Breezehome in Whiterun
Fixed issue where if player manually mined ore in Cidhna Mine, jail time would not be served
Fixed rare issue with skills not increasing properly
Fixed issue where the Headsman's Axe did not gain proper buff from Barbarian perk
In "A Night to Remember" it is no longer possible to kill Ysolda, Ennis or Senna before starting the quest
Fixed issue with the ebony dagger having a weapon speed that was too slow
Fixed issue with "The Wolf Queen Awakened" where backing out of a conversation with Styrr too soon would block progress
The third level of the Limbsplitter perk now properly improves all battle axes
Fixed a rare issue where Sanguine Rose would not work properly
In "Tending the Flames" King Olaf's Verse will no longer disappear from explosions

 

Sometime soon, I'm going to be called to defend the honor of PC Gamer against Notch, Robin Walker, Yogscast, Freddie Wong, friends of PCG Brian Brushwood and Veronica Belmont, and other people that are more important than me. The men behind TF2 Mix-up have organized another showmatch, a 9-on-9 battle royale between web celebs that benefits Child's Play.

Want to play with us? Donators are eligible to fill a vacant player slot. On April 1, the event's organizers will randomly pick three donors who will each be offered a place in the match along with some signed merchandise. Donate more, and you'll increase your chances. Donate here. The match's date is secret, but it should be held sometime in April. We'll post the match video once it's available, assuming I don't dishonor you all.

"We have settled the lawsuit over Scrolls and Mojang are Bethesda are friends again," said Mojang in a blog post on Saturday. Managing director Carl Manneh made the announcement, which confirmed that "yes, Scrolls is still going to be called Scrolls." It's the end of an argument that's been rolling on since summer last year when Bethesda first claimed that Mojang's card collecting/battling game infringed on the Skyrim trademark.

In fact, Mojang still don't have the "Scrolls" trademark, but they have the right to use the word as the name of their game. "For us this was never about a trade mark but being able to use Scrolls as the name of our game which we can" says Carl Manneh. "Yaaaay!" added Notch on Twitter.

The Minecraft creator originally invited Bethesda to settle the dispute with a game of Quake 3. In the end the challenge was settled with lawyers. Rocket launchers played no part in the process, as far as we know. "The actual document I signed was like a billion pages, so at least we know a bunch of lawyers got rich. Good, wouldn't want them to starve," said Notch on Twitter.

In the end it's a win for both parties. Bethesda's real concern was the security of the hugely valuable Elder Scrolls trademark that's formed the centre of their business for 18 years. It sounds as though they've kept that intact. “Nobody here enjoys being forced into this," said Bethesda's Pete Hines shortly before lawyers began negotiations. "Hopefully it will all be resolved soon.” Finally, it has. Now we can all look forward to seeing how Scrolls actually turns out.

Ever managed to sneak right up to an enemy's exposed back, only to have your companion stand up and start stomping around the place screaming battle cries and alerting the entire dungeon to your presence? The latest Skyrim patch insists that companions will "now sneak properly when player is sneaking." FINALLY. Hopefully that means lone rogues can roll with some company from here on in.

The Bethblog mentions that the patch has moved out of beta and will now apply automatically through Steam. The update also comes with fixes for a few mod issues, and will let you continue to download mods even when you're subscribed to 50 already, hopefully bypassing the pesky limit that some players were running into.

If you're interested in enhancing your copy of Skyrim, but don't know which mods to start with, check out our round-up of the 25 best Skyrim mods, and our guide to the best and weirdest entries so far in Steam's Skyrim workshop. Here are the latest patch notes.

LAUNCHER

Fixed issue with downloading mods when you are subscribed to more than 50 mods
Fixed crash when loading a subscribed mod that has been removed from Workshop by the author
Mod load order functionality

 
BUG FIXES

Fixed occasional crashes when loading a save that relies on plugins/master files that no longer exist
Fixed issue where controls would become unresponsive while charging an enchanted weapon
Fixed issue where controls would occasionally become unresponsive while switching from third to first person while using the Arcane Enchanter
Fixed issue where controls would become unresponsive if activating a crafting station with autorun active
Fixed issue where keyboard would fail if Rename Item was selected before choosing the number of charges, while using Arcane Enchanter
Fixed several issues with remapping buttons while using an Xbox 360 controller
Fixed issue where pressing Escape button after fast traveling but before the loading would cause certain menus to stop working properly
Followers now sneak properly when player is sneaking

 

If you're playing Skyrim and have an Nvidia card, you'll definitely want to grab the latest driver update. The Nvidia site boasts of significant improvements to Skyrim framerates. Indoor scenes should run 45% faster and Skyrim's grand outdoor vistas will see a 16% boost. The drivers also come with an improved version of the ambient occlusion effect added by the last set of drivers. This adds a subtle layer of extra shadowing and darken the deep cracks in Skyrim's rocky landscapes, boosting their cragginess factor by about 14%.

Modern Warfare 3 gets the same ambient occlusion treatment, boosting war torn grittiness by 32%. Additional AO for the Diablo 3 beta applies a chunky 35.2% hike to lingering sense of dread levels and PhysX fixes improve Batman: Arkham City's bat-punchiness with 10% extra Pow! 4% extra Zam! and a minor increase to overall levels of Biff! You can download it now from the Nvidia site, where they also have some fancy interactive screenshots that show off these Ambient Occlusion updates quite nicely.

The latest Skyrim patch has gone into Steam beta testing with a fix for the "issue with downloading mods when you are subscribed to more than 50 mods," which seems to suggest it'll fix the current 50 mod limit. That's great news for those of us who just can't stop whimsically adding user made updates, slowly turning our copies of Skyrim into a fairground of monocled mudcrabs and gianter giants. You can apply the beta patch by opting in via your Steam settings menu, though Bethesda warn that it is currently in beta, so you're applying it "at your own risk."

Also, if you're unsatisfied with Skyrim's map, or have the urge to perch an ipad next to your monitor so you can plan your route and scout ahead with a few gentle strokes, the Bethesda blog has word of a new official app that you can download to your Apple device right now. The free version will give you the map of Skyrim and the nine major cities. Interior maps and more locations can be bought as extras. You can grab that from the App store now. Meanwhile, here are those patch notes from Bethblog.

LAUNCHER

Fixed issue with downloading mods when you are subscribed to more than 50 mods
Fixed crash when loading a subscribed mod that has been removed from Workshop by the author
Mod load order functionality

 
BUG FIXES

Fixed occasional crashes when loading a save that relies on plugins/master files that no longer exist
Fixed issue where controls would become unresponsive while charging an enchanted weapon
Fixed issue where controls would occasionally become unresponsive while switching from third to first person while using the Arcane Enchanter
Fixed issue where controls would become unresponsive if activating a crafting station with autorun active
Fixed issue where keyboard would fail if Rename Item was selected before choosing the number of charges, while using Arcane Enchanter
Fixed several issues with remapping buttons while using an Xbox 360 controller
Fixed issue where pressing Escape button after fast traveling but before the loading would cause certain menus to stop working properly

 

Making a mod for Skyrim actually isn't that hard, and Bethesda are making it even easier with a series of 15 minute video tutorials. This is part 7 - if you're just joining us, see part 1 of the Skyrim Creation Kit video tutorial first.