Hello, I am new to these forums, just wanted to say I am a TES fan but even more I am a technology fan. I admit that creativity is not my strongest point so I wanted to see what people here think about how using the PS4/Xbox One (6-10 times as powerful as PS3/X360 as well as having modern API's) as the base development platform and NOT developing the next TES on the PS3 and Xbox 360 will affect the next TES game.

What do you expect from the next TES game that Skyrim lacked?

p.s, hoping the next TES will be TES VI: Summerset and that the creation engine is scrapped and a new engine optimised for next gen is created from scratch.

Bigger settlements, more content and less loading screens is what i expect. dont know a lot about consoles and what they can handle other than that.

Well that's the obvious stuff, graphics, draw distances e.t.c will be better but what will improve in terms of gameplay, immersion e.t.c

I am thinking destrucitibility will be excellent. So for example you cut a tree and it actually cuts deep into it and eventually the tree will fall, also you set a fire to a wooden house and it will catch and burn the house down (the owners if still alive will rebuild it a couple of months later). I'm thinking of stuff along those lines.

I hope this time they go frenzy with AI. I don't know how much it is about technology and how much about pure programming, but I know I want to see the Radiant AI fully unleashed (like in the Oblivion demo).

What I would like to see from the next Elder Scrolls...

- Detail/Variety -

I agree with larger settlements. I know this is highly unlikely for multiple reasons but what I've been craving in the games is to see a realistic city in terms of size and diversity. Think about how large Whiterun is, population...50? Maybe? A truly developed civilization equipped with encompassing walls, a city guard, etc. should have more than 50 or so people living there. Not just for the sake of having more people, but because there is a need for all the different merchants/services/etc. Carpenters, architects, millers, fletchers, thatchers, masons, tailors, cobblers, tanners, bakers, multiple smiths (blacksmith, bladesmith, armorer, locksmith, goldsmith, etc.), weavers, winesellers, so on and so forth. Realistically there should be hundreds of citizens per city if it is major city for varying reasons (located on a major trade route, port city, capital, etc.). Again, I know it's a high hope, but it's still my hope.

Another reason why a larger population great is large-scale battles. My favorite part of Skyrim was playing as a Stormcloak, driving out the Imperials one fort at a time. I'm all for being the lone hero, the one person who can save the world...but being a part of a battle where you're surrounded by enemies and comrades, everyone's moving, everyone's shouting, soldiers falling left and right, it's so energizing. My bloodlust level skyrockets and I wish the game had more big battle sequences.

A variety of different body types would also aid in this area. Surely not every dude in Tamriel has a 6-pack. Surely not every chick in Tamriel has D-Cups and an hourglass figure. Furthermore, surely not every child is the exact same age. Keep the kids, but add diversity. Add diversity to all the people.

Another aspect that increases immersion for me is variety in terms of weapons and armor. Remember in Skyrim how sometimes you'd find a set of Steel armor with pauldrons (shoulder plates), then you'd find a set withOUT pauldrons? That tiny bit of variation is excellent. But it can be taken a step further. No two smiths from different cities (or even the same city) are going to make an identical suit of armor. Little variations, modifications, etc. gives our characters more customization. Say you had four different versions of the same armor set. They can all have the same stats, but appearance-wise there is something unique about each and players can search for their favorite variation. Then apply the same concept to weapons. So many choices, so many treasures to find!

While on the subject of weapons, first and foremost...bring spears back. Spears, halberds, lances, flails/chain maces, throwing axes, etc. More weapon variety gives players so much to explore.

We have hoods in Oblivion/Skyrim, but who wears just a hood? The Nightingale armor has a sweet half cape. This can be expanded on. And it doesn't need to be attached to armor. Make them a standalone piece of apparel. Talking about variations earlier, you could have a cape, or a hooded cape, or a half-cape, a hooded half-cape, with/without a mask (also like in the Nightingale armor). Invent new garments of clothing native to the province.

- Destructible Environments -

HECK YES. Who wouldn't want that? What if you could actually cut a tree down? I'm sure the next game won't involve the Thu'um but what if trees splintered to pieces when you Fus Roh Da'd them? Thatched roofs catching fire when you carelessly shoot your destruction spells, furniture flipping over when you brawl in the taverns, etc, etc. What if your equipment rusted over time?

- AI -

I don't know if this is sadistic or not but I actually do want more reaction from the NPC's when I nail them with an arrow. Screaming in agony, losing usage of damaged body parts, etc. Have you seen Django Unchained? When the people get shot in that movie, it stirs a reaction, not only for the victims but for the viewer too. You know they're in pain. It's not that I want to inflict pain and see others in pain, it's that reactive AI like that makes the game more real and therefore the player is less detached to the concept of death. It's not all giggles.

- Pets/Mounts -

I've personally never been a fan of pets/mounts in TES, not even followers. But the option to have them is cool. It all ties into the immersion factor. The horses were too clunky for me to use them, but I loved how it fit the aesthetic of the game. If they had a smoother mechanic (similar to horses in Assassin's Creed) I think it would fit wonderfully - Even more so if the game takes place in Hammerfell/High Rock. Imagine the elegant desert steeds striding across the baron wasteland! Perhaps add a new beast to mount, like a Dewback (Star Wars), or a desert version of a Taun Taun!

- Gold -

It would be nice to have some mega expensive things to save up for other than training/houses. That's all I can say on that subject. Surpise me.

I for one am against destructible environments, for the most part. We're not talking GTA here, where no one cares how that light-post managed to be replaced in the time it took you to circle the block. If things were destructible in TES, they would have to STAY broken. But that hurts long-term play, because eventually everything would be reduced to a barren wasteland.

It's interesting because this isn't a classic "what are your favorite features that you want to see in the next TES" kind of thread,but a more realistic "what do you expect to see" kind of thread.

Now regarding gameplay and immersion,I believe the first thing Bethesda will do is to look in these forums for player feedback about Skyrim and what are the most popular complaints about it,and fix these things or add / remove features according to what the players say.

That's what they did for Skyrim. They removed the persuasion mini-game all together because people said that it svcked in Oblivion,they changed the lockipicking mini game because people also said it svcked,they put stricter restrictions on how someone can customize the appearance of their character because people said that Oblivion had ugly characters,they changed the leveling system because people said in Oblivion it was broken,they added werewolves because people said they didn't liked that Oblivion didn't had them,and they made it so you can join the Imperial Legion because after people seeing the badass Imperial City guards,they wanted to become like them.... You can see how player feedback ended up shaping Skyrim.

So what are the most common complaints and asked features Bethesda reads on these forums about Skyrim ?

Here are a few:

# uninteresting NPCs

# very small quest type variety (go there,get that back to me)

# NPCs don't recognize player's status

# Skyrim is dumbed down

# players want to fight the Thalmor

# players still say the combat needs improvement

Based on these,I would guess that for the next Elder Scrolls game,Bethesda will try to give more personality to their NPCs,perhaps adding more background for each one,we will most certainly see more quest types except fetch quests,more comments and special dialogue lines from NPCs commenting on the player's status,some changes in the combat system,maybe a 'hardcoe' mode,and very maybe,a fight against High Elves.

I'd like to say, with the exception of quest variety... most of those complaints are total bull...

Specifically NPCs. NPCs in Skyrim are a huge improvement over yester year. Even in Morrowind, there ware only a handful of people who weren't mindless drones, whereas ever NPC in Skyrim (and Oblvion) has a story, even if it's only a minor one.

The funny thing is NPCs had the best personalities in Skyrim compared to the rest of TES titles.

Quests perhaps need more variety. sort of like Oblivion's quests. and the AI needs tweaking too.

I think what made NPCs in Skyrim less interesting,is to a point the fact that while Skyrim has in it a large variety of facial animations set to represent emotions,they are mostly unused.

Looking in Skyrim's content with the Creation Kit I found out that there are many different animations already done and included in the engine,but for some reason while I played the game,I rarely noticed any emotion from the NPC's faces.

That is an important factor I think,to communicate the emotions of NPCs by looking at their faces,because if this isn't happening you are only left to understand by the tone of the voice actor alone.

As far as character development goes,I was only really impressed by Cicero. Cicero I think was the most unique and well-written character of Skyrim.

He had so much to tell,and he communicated his views,and what's about him better than anybody else. I wish everyone was as developed as Cicero.

Interesting ideas guys, I really like some of these.

Bigger cities and more armor slots. Other things I want to see aren't limited by console capabilities. I don't care about destructible environment.

NPCs can be killed by the environment, not only by the player. Dragon attacks? Vampire attacks? Schedules that make them travel from one city to another? They need to be protected. I unessentialed Delphine once and she never made it to Kynesgrove, effectively breaking the MQ. Admittedly, protected status would work just as well as essential and the player would still be able to kill NPCs. This is what they should use in the next game. Warn us that the world is doomed when we kill an important questgiver, like in Morrowind, and all will be fine.

Cities are easy enough to handle, yes, as are dungeon chests and bandit camps. But what about trees? If you go around shouting trees apart (seriously though, i hope shouts aren't in the next game) you're going to leave swaths of ruin which can't come back in the same manner. You don't have villagers running around planting 70 year old oaks because some nancy adventurer decided to test out his new axe. Limited destructibility would be alright, but wholescale would be a disaster waiting to happen.

As for NPC's... They tested out a system with Skyrim which solves most of the problems. 'Protected' NPCs can only be killed by the Player. Other NPCs and creatures can 'defeat' them, but are unable to land a killing blow. I expect, and hope, that this becomes the norm for the future. Though, why people feel the need to kill everyone is beyond me. 'Assassin' seems to have become Mass Murderer at some point...

But none of this is talking about next generation. Destructable environments, NPC protection, larger worlds etc. are all more than doable in the previous generation. Next-Gen technology offers other... possibilities.

For instance, Smart-tool integration. Being able to link your Journal to your phone or tablet, allowing you to take notes or review them out of game, or even have the information up and tracked AS you're playing. Maybe even linking your compass to your smart-tool to clear your HUD.

Then there's voice integration. Imagine sneaking around and using a whistle or a taunt to draw an enemy off a patrol route so you can kill him easier. The Xbox has a fantastic vocal integration system already, and it would be simple enough to make one for PC, since most gamers already have headsets.

The amount of trees in the game is huge, do you actually think that the player will cut down thousands of trees? I am not suggesting for trees to be made out of tissue paper. It should require effort on the side of the player to cut down a tree. At most (assuming it's somebody who has a life) a hundred or so trees will fall around the entire game (mostly in huge battles).

This series does emphasise freedome so players should be free to kill whoever they want, though when I think about it now main quest NPC's should be unkillable but side quest NPC's should be. It would ruin the game to kill a main quest NPC but killing a side quest NPC you will get over it.

I don't really have any interest in the next-gen features you are suggesting but that's just me.

I think some environments should be destructable, like some wooden platforms. I would rather have destructable items instead of shouting and having plates and baskets fly all over the place. In fact, I would do away with the whole clutter items everywhere. Baskets, cauldrons, plates, candlesticks should not be moveable, but they could be takable. You could place them where they should be placed. When I'm running through my house, I don't want cauldrons flying all over the place.

One thing I would like is bigger battles along with some bigger cities. Enemy AI should be very good, but enemies should work like a pack and have different strategies. Falking, charging, shooting arrows from high points, shield walls, stuff like that. Some cities should be bigger and maybe open, but other cities should be more like a fortress, king of like in Game of Thrones. Castle blacksmith, castle wizard, a few shops and a few houses around the castle. That's how I would deal with the smaller cities. Don't just have a slightly bigger village and call it a city. At least not all of the smaller cities. Unique castles with a few houses inside or outside the walls would work better. Also, siege battles with siege engines. Those bridge ballistas from the ESO cinematic trailers would be interesting to see and defending walls from enemies coming with a siege tower would be interesting.

The jurnal would be an interesting addition. Having all your quests ritten down and taking notes about things you discover. Learning about the Dwemer? Have what you just learned written down in your jurnal. Important character died as part of a quest, have it written down. Perhaps even choose what you wirte down, be it negative, positive or indiferent.

Large-scale battles, multiple enemies and allies, roving war-parties, and factional conflicts. Skyrim's Civil War was merely Bethesda getting their feet wet for proper AI vs AI vs PC battles.

I expect better AI overall. A huge load of script into each one, with conditions how they'll react and what they'll do, rather than essentially the same no matter who you are or how many of their friends are dead.

One of the things I'm hoping for is the addition of things we usually only see with mods. Like cloaks, more armor variations, etc. Of course I want a bigger game, graphics, etc.

Edit: quote didn't work for some reason.

I think Bethesda Game Studios should be developing The Elder Scrolls video games for PC first then scale them down to the consoles. Because the PC is the most powerful gaming system and I am sick and tired of video games being developed for consoles first then being ported to the PC.

Here-here! Of course, part of the problem with designing games for PC is the lack of knowing what you're working with... Consoles have set hardware and software, so game designers know exactly what they have to work around, but no 2 PC's are the same. If designing games for PC, the developer has to essentially pick a hardware and software configuration to work off of, and then try to accommodate as many other potential hangers-on as possible.

It's more complicated, but as a PC gamer (ok, so i'm a bit biased) i think it's the most rewarding.

I agree that consoles are slowing down the development in the gaming industry, but bare in mind that consoles have given a lot more people the opportunity to play the games given the low price of consoles as opposed to a good PC. That brings larger sales, and therefore more money put into development of games and large staffs at the gaming studios.

I think they should do Skyrim on next-gens first. Everybody is doing it anyway. GTAs, Diablo 3 etc. So why not Bethesda too.

GTA? They never confirmed whether or not it would be released on next-gen. Rumors don't count because they are... well... rumors.

Also, just because other companies are porting their games doesn't mean Bethesda should. I think it's for the best if they concentrate on their future projects than work on previous ones.