So TES is generally completely single-player, and companions seem like an afterthought. Companion mods for these games are extremely popular though, because they help to feel like you're actually with somebody while you're playing, and they bring more into the world. A few in-depth party system mods have been made for Oblivion and Morrowind, but they still don't seem perfectly integrated.
Some of Bioware's games function entirely on working as a party and switching between characters. Some of the mods I've seen try to emulate this.
I forget which one it was, but there was a mod that allowed the player to set certain companions as team-leaders, and they would in-turn lead a group of followers. If commands were given to any of the leaders, they and their companions would carry out the order. They also had several functions that let them travel to specific inns and such, which I think was a great social addition to the game. "Hey, you guys go hang out in town a while, we'll catch up later."

Another thing that's rather bothersome is that NPCs barely have any concept of where other companions or the player are facing, so it's easy for them to walk in the way of spells or attacks. Likewise, in reality if a person is trying to touch a person (casting a spell) it's much easier to keep track of where the person is going, thus easier to touch them if they move. In the game, if someone moves out of the way of a restorative spell (or destructive for that matter), it's hard to track them.
Sometimes, companions are just kind of stupid.
Here's an interesting afterthought I just had; design dungeons and AI to where an NPC has the capability to dungeon-delve if he decides or if the player tells him to. If he feels used or neglected, he could steal some of the treasure for himself.

Do you think the Elder Scrolls series could benefit from such an integrated party system, either as DLC or in future games? What aspects do you think would be most beneficial?
Would switching between party members break immersion? Perhaps it would be like fast-travel; use it if you want, but roleplayers choose not to?
Or does the whole idea just not feel very Elder-Scrolls?


Edit: In this, I mean optional additions, rather than changes to the base formula. Though, if you like the idea of full changes, feel free to support them.

Eh, it's a single player game, the idea is you play the hero by yourself. I think they could flesh things out a bit when you're escorting someone somewhere, but other than that, leave it for mods if people want to completely change the game mechanics.

No thanks. If I want to play a party-based game I'll play a game other than TES.

I don't mean to say that everything would be changed to be party-based, but a few small additions would be made to allow companions to function better. After all, why risk your own life when you can afford to hire someone else to risk theirs?
Entirely optional, too.

I hate companions in general. All they do is get killed or walk into walls or alert enemies when I'm trying to be stealthy. I don't want some gormless idiot following me everywhere I go

Other people are just unreliable. That swings over into gaming too

I'd like a couple of well thought out companions with good backstory's and differences between them, each with their own skills, that can accompany you, as well as MAYBE tactical orders but definitely no switching between characters, and no forcing the player into using the companions. The AI would have to be improved a lot as well. Overall, it would be nice to see if integrated well but its not top of my priority list; mods will come out when the game is released anyway. :shrug:

I don't really want companions or followers in a TES game.

None/Very Limited
I don't mind companions so long as I don't have to control them
Games like NWN2 where you run a full party often feel more like a tatical fantasy wargame than a RPG

None. I'd rather Bethesda worked on creating better NPC AI. As it is, NPCs and creatures have one combat behavior: suicidal attack.

I don't like having to micromanage battles and inventories and crappy AI. Battle becomes a chore instead of a one-on-one first-person experience.

While I'd enjoy better AI and options for influencing NPC behavior, I don't want a full party system. It's not something you can just choose not to do, since having a group of characters you can fully control, command, and equip has a dramatic effect on game balance and area design; fights meant to be fought with a group, areas that are flatter so that every party member can move on. If you want them to be actual characters and not just typical npc's, you have things like personalities and party interactions to work on. Those characters become a major part of the game, and it's unlikely that any player character would be able to just "ignore" them, limited roleplay and general freedom options. There's a reason that Bioware games tend to revolve around the party as much as the game itself. There are plenty of ways the game could be modified to allow for greater NPC interaction and control, but I really don't think full party mechanics would benefit TES.

Ah, I don't mean so much like Bioware games in controlling characters' actions, but the same TES experience with a few additional features for convenience. NPCs would still act on their own (with much better AI, of course), but you could also them to meet you somewhere, or have them go back to what they were doing if they get lost. And an easier time with friendly-fire. Or enemy-healing for that matter.

Companion Sharing mods can really be abused as they are, but with a sort of community inventory, it would make it harder for the player to steal other characters' items, but allow the freedom of giving 'gifts'. This would kind of balance the player's new ability to take on more difficult dungeons and such, since they won't be rewarded nearly as much while using companions. It would also make such companions a bit more immersive, I think. They're doing fighting too, so they want some of the gold.

"Hey Ruined-Tail, your iron armor svcks. Want some steel?"
"Meeeh.... actually I think I'm going to take my gold and go back to Black Marsh."

Limited

I feel as though the whole point of TES is to be able to do things on your own, travel where ever you'd like at any given point. Even though I have voted for a Romance system in the new TES, I dont want them with me while I'm traversing the globe killing things.

I like the idea of bringing home the bacon to my potential sweetheart for TES, that's just the image I get in my mind when I think about the party system/romance system.

This.

I thought Fallout 3 had a great system, since they are completely optional, unlike something like Dragon Age.

I think 8-10 companionable characters that have a similar depth to what you get from a Mass Effect/Dragon Age character, and each having some personal side quest you can help them with and are romance-able depending on certain factors. But they have to be totally optional for the reasons others outlined why they like to go it alone. Even if they've joined up with you you can have them simply wait for you somewhere while you go off to do some adventuring. Therefore, the quest-based AI would have to be pretty well-implemented if you bring two or three of them with you on your journeys. Hopefully they'd be programmed to comment and have opinions on the various things happening in the story. Without them at your side you don't get that input but it doesn't majorly shift the story.

However I would not want to be able to directly play as them, like a more traditional party-based RPG as that breaks immersion (I never did it in DA and that worked out just fine). The ability to command them to an extent (not the intense micro-managing of DA but a system like ME might worked where you can basically command them to use some ability they have or take a certain combat stance.

Also, if you guys have played the mod for Fallout 3 "Enclave Commander" you'll know how fun it is to have your own private army at your disposal, haha. Would be cool if you can be in control of a fort or castle and have guards/soldiers of different classes you can bring with you when you need them. Also the companion AI in Fallout is really good at not engaging or alerting the enemy when you're sneaking and they are surprisingly great at keeping up with you and getting over difficult terrain.

I would like to see an extension on the FO3 system. I think that system worked great with the open world in FO3, so it could work well in ES. However, I would like to see drastic improvements on AI and such, and I want in-depth back stories so I actually like and care about my companions. They need to be able to interact with eachother, and myself. I want, essentially, the charector AI, dialog, story, and depth, of a bioware party member, with the equip and and go attitude of FO3.

I'm happy with the party system that's in past elder scrolls games.

I think the Companion Share and Recruit mod would make a good template to use for implementing a party system. I definately wouldn't want to switch between party members to command each one of them. I'll paly Final Fantasy if I want to do that.

Fallout 3 style please :disguise:

I'd like companions as in being able to order faction members around, I don't want to quest in a party. I use almost every companion that comes with the Morrowind MCA mod, not for following me around though I take them to my stronghold and let them perform various tasks (to increase immersion)


but for the love of god do not include switching :ahhh:

I dont want to party with any one. I like just playing as me by my self in TES. Partys should not be forced. I'd like compainions only for certain quests where it fits into the story, like quests to go help a fellow fighters guild member like Maglir, or the final battle.

Even then, I felt my own side was in greater danger than the enemy, because they almost ALWAYS jump right in front of where I am cutting someone, or right into the line of missile fire. The only time I didn't repeatedly curse a NPC companion is Burd, and that was only because he was unkillable.

Fallout 3 style is more than enough for an Elder Scrolls game. If I want a party based rpg I can always play a Bioware game.

Single-player solo missions are where TES shines, and I think they'd be opening an industrial-sized 55 gallon drum of night-crawlers by trying to turn it into a party-based game.

Unfortunately, managing companions in combat with the present AI is about as productive as herding cats. They don't do anything even remotely like what you'd want or expect them to, especially in OB, where I was trying to engage the opponents one by one as much as possible, while the companions insisted on charging the FARTHEST opponent, thereby "activating" every last one of them in the cell. They would then proceed to chase a straggler through the entire dungeon or forest, until they encountered something or several somethings that were way beyond their abilities, at which point either the chase would switch into reverse, or they would end up dead somewhere 2 or 3 cells away.

I'd like to see more "limited" involvement in combat by most companions (most importantly, STAY NEARBY), unless specifically instructed (or naturally inclined) to get into the thick of it. Babysitting someone with no sense of self-preservation through a fight is not my idea of "entertainment".

I'd actually prefer to see more "useful" tasks for companions: either offering healing, providing edible food or food-like ingredients (tending a garden or farming), repairing equipment, sewing clothing from cloth (or "upgrading" existing clothing), standing "guard", and other "household" activities. That would make it more along the lines of: I'll go out and loot treasure to earn a living while you mind the fort.

Better companion AI is what I'd like. It could add more depth to it if you ask me. As long as they're smarter and don't constantly get in the way it would be nice. When you get to know this companion better he/she could give details of their life, in essence creating a new quest/quests. I imagine that after playing 100 hours or so with this companion, it would be quite heart wrenching if they were to just die.

Just keep forced companionship to a minimum. I always have to paralyze companions before fights to avoid jeopardising the whole situation. It seems that all my characters work best alone.

It seems Fallout 3 has a popular system. I've never played it myself, but it sounds like what I'd envisioned.

As far as character-switching goes, I think I'd only like that if the player's alternate characters can be used as party members. Each of your characters exists in the world, and I would like to see my Argonian and my Breton team up together. But sometimes the Argonian has to go do things alone, while the Breton has to do other things. They don't both have to be the single champion of the game; or perhaps they could be champions together.