I liked Skyrims openning, it was a nice change of pace. I really like the reveal in Oblivions openning, but it would have felt kind of silly if they went with the same gimmick. I will agree that the way they shoe-horned in the the chracter creation was "clunky" to say the least.

I'll be happy when a mod comes out that lets me skip the beginning.

... I still think Skyrim has the better intro than Morrowind

I spend what feels like less time running Helgen than I do in the Census and Excise office. And as much as some people complain about the "Depth" Morrowind's class system, "hand-made" quests, slow "Dump you at the start" method apparently added... I found it tedious. Especially because I'm still not familiar with the skill mechanics. I didn't have that problem in Daggerfall, due to its of the "rule of three" to make decisions a bit easier. (What are the three most important skills, what are the three next? What are the two sets of three meh-skills?)

Personally, I find most open-world RPGs have the same problem: An optimal "Jack of all Trades" build that requires a great deal of restraint not to use. (Fallout 1 was the worst in this regard, and Oblivion's alchemy has tinted my perception of it as well). Or even "Must have" skills that I'd otherwise consider out-of-character. Usually the skills everyone else says are useless (Speechcraft, Mercantile, Athletics, and Acrobatics come to mind)


I find Skyrim lacks that problem for the most part: Sure, Smithing, enchanting, and Alchemy can be horribly broken, but I can't figure out how to actually use them.

At least Fallout 3 makes an automatic save at the exit of Vault 101, so even an unwary user will have a backup save for new characters without need to go through the tutorial.


Though I would say that I can listen to Colonel Tigh over and over again, that much I like Skyrim's intro

Somehow I'd prefer not having to play through a 45min dungeon every time I start the game. There's nothing wrong with the starting dungeon in itself, it was just more fun in Morrowind where you could just start the game and do whatever you like right from the beginning. Maybe I'm just impatient, but sometimes I abandon a new character just because the starting dungeon I've cleared a million times simply kills my buzz. The same thing with Oblivion, especially with all that dialogue that made no difference regarding anything in the game, save for the birthsign selection.

Skyrim's beginning is better than Oblivion's, though - there's less fighting and I believe the dungeon is shorter than it was in Oblivion. However, I just wish there was a beginning where you don't need to do anything except the character generation, in order to start a new character.

Given that the intro to Oblivion is all I could get myself to play (it was a friends game and well you don't kill off Captain Picard and expect me to play more...and I didn't know I could play it in third person...long story) aside from the painfully long wagon ride, the intro to Skyrim was really gripping, giving a good sense of danger in the world. I wish more dragon encounters were like that instead of high hp punching bags that they really are, but still, it's a great intro, it shows that dragons are supposed to be scary and badass, and it introduces the faction quests a bit. All in all rather good. Although I would have really liked some more reason for the Imperial Captain to act like a [censored] as opposed to she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something.

IMO Morrowind has the best intro. I haven't played Daggerfall yet so I don't know how its intro is.


I agree.

Depends on what you're looking for.

Skyrim is definitely more eventful and story driven.

But if you're looking to just get into your character and toy around with it, Morrowind's is the best.

Daggerfall's intro was pretty much alike Oblivion and Skyrim. A hell of a lot more difficult, though - the whole game, I mean.

As soon as I got off the wagon and I'm standing there, I made a save that I don't mess with - that way I don't have to sit through the ride again. It was ok, once, but after that I think it's kind of a waste of time.

Daggerfall.
Morrowind
Skyrim
Oblivion
In that order.

No need to do that, the game makes the save for you.

Fallout3 is my winner. TES has always managed something new, which I like. But the removal of the ability to tweak before exit - one of my most missed features actually. Must have played through the whole intro and starter dungeon thing 20-30 times, snapshotting the settings and trying to recreate the character then applying minor tweaks. :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: :thumbsdown: for that Wth were they thinking? Character creation is extremely important for many people oo: You tweak your guts out, only for later to start getting annoyed by something that is just a tad little off. Back to full recreation. It svcks!

I don't think I'm gonna make a new character until it's built into the game. If warpaint is supposed to be tattos, and thus unremovable, then so be it - I can live with that since it has an explanation. But hairstyle?

I personally like Oblivion's better. Morrowind kinda threw you at the dude you need to talk to. Skyrim, you're just captured. Oblivion, you get in trouble for being in a cell that is actually a secret escape route, and you know the rest. Actually, the starter dungeon is the only time I get enjoyment out of oblivion..

I disable auto saves.

NO.

I don't like cinematic intros. They do nothing for me, and they're a pain when you want to make multiple characters. And I don't like tutorial intros either.

Morrowind has the best start by far. It's nice and quick, and you're left stranded in a strange gameworld, unsure where to go.

It's a hardsave. Unless it falls under the auto-save category. But it sounds like you have your situation dealt with.

As far as the end of dungeon tweak - am I the only one who doesn't miss it? I'll be honest, there's plenty of times playing Morrowind or Oblivion that I forget the end of dungeon character tweak is even there.

I mean, it -could- be in Skyrim, and I wouldn't care, but I don't care that it's gone either.

I can't stand Morrowind's intro for most of the reasons people like it. Namely, the lack of a Tutorial/Starter dungeon. Oblivion's "Character Confirmation on Sewer Exit" was the best thing ever, because it's even more "instant Start" than Morrowind.

Every time you want to make a new character in Morrowind, you have to go through between five and twenty minutes going through the Census and Excise office, dealing with a pop-up tutorial as intrusive as Oblivion's (Without the benefit of situational context), and possibly looting everything to maximize your "Starting Package".

In Oblivion, just bring all the weapons, armor, and other usable items with you to the end of the sewer once, save, and new characters take less than a minute to make, disregarding the time spent menu-surfing to tweak your character to your liking. Just load, hit sewer grate door, tweak character to your liking, dump unwanted gear, and off you go.

If Skyrim had a chance to adjust your character at the end of the cavern like Oblivion did, It would win hands-down in the "Starting Experience" department.

Yeah. Unsure where to go.

Except for the guard that you have to talk to that tells you to meet Caius Cosades in Balmora, and basic directions on how to get there and where in Balmora to find him. Oh, and a package in your inventory that tells you exactly what to do and where to go. And once you talk to Elone in the tradehouse (another person you are directed to), you have specific directions and a map marker telling you exactly where to go.

Oh you...

It's better than Skyrim where you just follow an NPC.