Is SKYHOLD from Dragons Age Inquisition done right? -Shadiversity

Haha, aren't you contradicting yourself? To come across as believable you must be comparing it to something from real life, right?

To be fair to the creator, I think he made the video because it's something he's passionate about (castles and medieval times) and not because he wanted to judge it hard. He does judge it, of course, and he admits to nitpicking, but it's all coming from a fun place. In the video he acknowledges that the castle was designed to be simplistic for players (so that we don't get lost, though that never seemed to help me much) and to be open (even though that's a waste of space) for our benefit. 

I found the video so fascinating because I didn't put much thought into how much the thought the developers put into minuscule details of Skyhold before. They are some minor things that take away from the realism, but the amount of research and effort that went into the place is really spectacular. Plus, I like history, so the video was engaging for me in that way, too.

I was thinking the same thing When he brought up the kill floor possibly not being able to hold the weight of everyday castle going-ons, I was like "MAGIC!" and the diamond shaped holes at the bottom of the merlons... they're there for magic users! The top of the towers jutting out and the waste of space can't really be explained away with magic though 

I discovered this guy's videos last week and was just thinking about about posting this one on the forum this morning funnily enough, lol

I watched his other interesting (and fun) videos about other game castles too, like the Witcher 3's Kaer Moren and Whiterun from Skyrim. I also watched his Game of Thrones video..

He does nitpick, as he admits, but he does praise them when they do something right.

I, personally, don't have any standards for fantasy or magic.

It would have been nice if there was more to skyhold (secrets and rooms) and it was seamless instead of a mixture of closed and open areas.

I found the video interesting. Some of the things that were lacking, like stairs/doorway to the gatehouse overlook, were probably just due to lack of time/resources. It is only worth investing effort if something is ever going to be used. If the castle had been intended to suffer an attack then they would likely have dealt with it. I think the grill/floor is more likely where instead of dropping people down they could start a fire beneath them whilst they are trapped by the second portcullis (pretty nasty really).

What was funny is that the reviewer never mentioned about the fact that you cannot actually reach Skyhold unless the tower at the far end of the bridge is some sort of lift mechanism, which would render all the other defences rather superfluous since you merely have to block/jamb the lift and there would be no way up.

To be honest, historical accuracy was not a big deal for me, since it doesn't take place in our world, and considering it was originally an elf castle built with and to defend against magic, there might be any number of reasons why design features are a little different from conventional ones in our world. The big disappointment for me was that Skyhold never played an important role in the fight against Corypheus except as an aesthetic base of operations. All those upgrades were simply cosmetic and the castle was still half finished, with holes in the roof and walls, at the end of the game. First run, I was convinced that it was going to be like ME2, where if you omit to do the tedious resource hunting that allow you to upgrade your base, then there are consequences down the line. Mind you, it is possible that was originally the intention and then it was cut due to lack of time, etc.

I do my best to ignore the unrealism mistakes of Skyhold. Which is hard for me because I'm the type who pays attention to detail no matter how nitpicky it is.

Leliana - unknown
Josephine - unknown
Cullen - in the loft above his office

Cassandra - on a cot above the blacksmith
Blackwall - barn hay loft
Iron Bull - in a room on the battlements before the entrance to The Herald's Rest, unknown where the rest of the Chargers sleep

Dorian - unknown
Solas - unknown, but speculated that he sleeps on the sofa in the gallery
Vivienne - on the chaise longue in her area

Cole - doesn't sleep (or eat) at all
Varric - unknown
Sera - in her room in The Herald's Rest

Yet I got the impression that the blacksmith's loft was the place where Cassandra hung out. We even went there for our romantic assignations after our night out under the stars. I did feel that for someone who was really into romance, the blacksmith's loft left a lot to be desired. So if she had another bedroom then she kept it well hidden from the Inquisitor.

It's not propped up though is it? I always got the mental image of Sera just flinging the book under Cassandra's bed

And I do think she sleeps there and chose that location, but I imagine that it's because she doesn't want to be located in the same sleeping area that the visiting dignitaries and upper class scions would be. I guess it's not too much of a stretch to call that little area her quarters, but I can't believe she wouldn't have been offered more suitable quarters.

I watched this video when it was linked in a different thread. I enjoyed it (as well as the one about Whiterun and Kaer Morhen). It's clear that he analyzed this for fun, because he loves castles and loves video games. He didn't do it to be a buzzkill or to convince anyone that these games are bad because the castles aren't "realistic."

Also, I think learning is fun, period. I liked this video for the same reason I love watching videos/reading articles that analyze the physics of sci-fi movies.

As far as the missing bedrooms and wasted space, I always just figured we are supposed to use our imaginations and pretend that those towers contain plenty of bedrooms for everyone living at Skyhold.