I think it does make a difference... im not a big poster here, but i come from time to time.... The developing cycle, as stated before, varies from company to company, but i dont think im wrong when im saying that they have been planing Skyrim Since Oblivion came out, Maybe not all the company, but a small team, trying to get new and fresh ideas. and i still think that some of the ideas we give here can be implemented in the game, for example, i have been reading a lot about werewolves lately (personally i'd preffer Vampires But), that idea might be already IN the game, and we might just be giving ideas to twek it in some way or another, to make it better. im sure not all of the ideas are really getting inside the game, but they are being noted and discussed, for a big part, perhaps not all but some part....

Well at last we can gathering nice ideas for mods there.

I think that it is complete arrogance to assume that Bethesda, a leading games designer, listens to anyone on these forums. They have a highly creative team of professionals, who have probably had and discarded every single idea that has been suggested in these forums. Sorry if the truth hurts. :whisper:

I agree, Bethesda doesn't employ just run-of-the-mill folk with run-of-the-mill idea's. Now I'm not saying peoples idea's on these forums are just that, nor am I saying the membership here is just that. What I am saying though is that Bethesda Employees are highly professional and creative people. Far more qualified than any of us on what should be in the game and what will be enjoyable for the people. I have no doubt that Bethesda have already covered many if not all of the idea's that we continually raise on these forums.

In my opinion, they know what will be good for this game. They know what worked in previous titles... plus they know what didn't work in previous titles.

Back to the original topic, I think that many of the idea's we put forth now won't make much difference seeing how late in production this game now is. But, speculation is something I enjoy and will continue to do regardless. Now, let me tell you.. Skyrim will not be perfect, and if they decide to continue with the series they will still strive to improve on what they get wrong.


edit: Like *cough* Spears *cough*

It's safe to assume that anything you thought of, they thought of it too. They got at least 5 years to work on this thing... they're being PAYED to think about stuff like that from 8am to 5pm (if not more). People have this idea that if something's not in the game, that means they didn't listen to the fans or that they didn't think about it... while in reality, they try most if not all ideas.

The Spear thing is a perfect example: They know the fans want them in but, after two games, there's still no Spears. Do they not listen? Of course they do! They just haven't figured out the best way to do it. Now, before you start writing a thread on how you think they should do it, take into consideration that they probably already thought of it.

They took out mounted combat near the end of Oblivion's development. They tried it, they tested it and, despite the fact that fans wanted it in, they felt the need to remove it.... and they're trying it again in Skyrim. Will they succeed? Who knows? Whatever happens, they know best.

The best thing you can do is share your thoughts on basic stuff. "the Security skill is useless", "My allies are always in the way when I try to attack things", "I want more voice actors", etc... Do they listen, yes. Will they implement it? Only if they found a way to make it work.

And the process continues for expansions and/or sequels...

Oh, it's this thread again.

Things like weapons, quests, armor, races and dungeons can be modified or added in 8 months. Small UI features also. To be honest there's a lot of repeat threads and pointless polls so whether anybody important actually looks at the forums is uip for debate... but what is useful is that "community leader" figures (so to speak) will see popular suggestions on the forums, and that may get up to higher places during interviews and such.

Actually, I suspect that they deliberately do -not- take any idea whatsoever from the forums, unless it is something so generic that no claim of IP misappropriation could be made.

To the OP's question, my best guess would be both yes and no. Anything that would require changes to the game engine itself is undoubtedly out of the question by this point in time. Certain environments, equipment, characters and capabilities (I'm thinking specifically of "I wanna ride a dragon" and things like that) are probably non-starters because they do not fit well with the dev's vision of the game, but are doable by the fan modders after release. Other things that might require only scripting changes or something along those lines are certainly possible, although they might need to wait on either DLCs or the modders, depending on how well they fit with the team's goals.

On the whole, I trust Todd and his team to release a rockin' game (been trusting them for 15 years and see no reason to stop now). The final product will undoubtedly *not* meet 100% of everyone's wish-list minutiae, but it *will* be something that I'll want to play (and play, and play, and play) and I expect that the majority of players will be of like mind.

It all depends on the size of the idea. Some things can be implemented without having to do a ton of work, others, not so much. Some ideas, even if they can't be added to the game, could always come in later as DLC. Also, many ideas will just give modders a base from which to begin working

They can always use some more ideas even if they don't come up on the next game they can be used in DLC's or who know's the next game as well.