So how do you want the main storyline to pan out?

Have more choice and options in what happens (Fallout 3)
-Alternate Endings
-More Decisions to Make (like blowing up Megaton)
-Karma (it was in Oblivion, but didn't really do anything)

One giant quest (Oblivion)
-Do what people tell you
-No choice (pretty much forced to save Skyrim)

More of a big path feel to it (Half Life?)
-Pretty much self explanatory
-Not much free roaming while doing the Main Story

It's kind of hard to explain, but I think you guys get what I'm trying to say.
Discuss.

I want Skyrim's story to be structured like Skryim's story. To be honest I found Fallout 3's "choices" to be kind of meaningless. They're nowhere near as important as choices are in other games. They felt kind of shoehorned in.

I voted more choice and options in what happens.

Though I found F3's MQ storyline pretty bland and uninteresting, particularly the later part. Also: the choices in F3 had no real effect on how the story unfolded, neither did the choices have a real effect on the game world. (Apart from karma perhaps, but that's not necessarily related to the MQ.). So I'd hate to see anything that resembles F3.

Agreed. I never felt FO3 had more choices than OB, I mean I know it did for never really made an impact on me, I only felt that everything I did had an impact in either DA or ME...that's it.

Fallout 3 type option Except not the same karma system at all. A reputation system, yes, but it only comes into play if someone recognizes your act of good/bad. In Fallout if you stole something, even if someone did not see you, you lost karma. Which kind of annoyed me. Other wise, more options, conflicts, outcomes and decisions to be made, the better.

A hybrid of both MQs? (Both meaning F3 and Oblivion). With both small choices and a long, involving story, and hopefully the ability to continue the game afterwards (Like Oblivion.) without having an ending. (Which was a bummer in Fallout 3)

What a vague poll.

It'd be great to have options. Its way more enjoyable having a discussion that goes like "What, YOU CAN DO THAT?" as opposed to just "Did you kill 'x' yet? Yeah it was cool."

how about mass effect style choices?

i loved doing something that gets somebody annoyed, forcing you to kill them, later on you then get shunned for killing him

How about an FNV style main quest with many endings?

Ummm... Fallout 3 had absolutely no choice in it(atleast no choices that affected the outcome), or do you mean New Vegas. I want it to be like New Vegas where you actually choose the outcome.

What, Fallout 3's main quest had choices?

"Blowing up Megaton" isn't part of the main quest, by the way. It's just something to do when you're bored. Enjoy the fireworks.

How about...No ending? I've yet to see and hope that it never comes, a definit Ending to the game once you beat it, my hopes it plays to the same beat OB and MW did when it comes to the ending so that if there are *choices* that effect the outcome, you can see them, not in some slide show..(my apologies FO1-2).


FO3's Main storyline waited on you hand and knee, so did OB and NV, this is been there and done that. there was a thought pre-Oblivion that stated because Cyrodiil was being invaded, the longer the player dallied about the worse the crysis would get, cities would come under fire, and you'd lose certain liberties, making it quickly into a game of survival as the Dawn and Dagon forces overan Cyrodill.


we know how that turned out.


I hope I can caste my hands into events, and choices I make drastically (or not) affect the outcome, I take it the player is playing the destined hero again, so instead of saying I'd like to be powerful and influential, but I'd like the world to say F you, your one person and not all that important, UNLESS I am important as in climbing my way up there./ but since it looks like the player is the destined Hero, what we choose to do / say probably will have some weight......but who knows.

I want a main quest with tons of choices that affect the ending.

If this were a Fallout game, I would want the game to end, but since this is an Elder Scrolls game, I am against a definitive ending.

I do however, want much more meaning to my actions, I don't a repeat of:

"All hail the champion of Cyrodiil!"
"You're the devine crusader!!!!!"

I want much more meaning to my actions.

I liked the way Oblivion was set out. While you could jump straight into the storyline, you werent forced too, and could go off and explore if you wanted. Heck, you could even finish all the Guild Quests, and save the main storyline till last. (I have done that several times). I hope they leave the Main storyline open ended, and let you choose when you want to continue on with them.

I hate Oblivion's Main Quest, because for it to make any sense, you DID have to rush straight into it. When did Jauffre ever say, " Ah we got time, no worries. Why don't you go join a guild and do some other stuff, you know, get some actual experience before you go off into Oblivion and save all of Tamriel."

I wouldn't mind something like Morrowind's, which I suppose was basically a linear quest like Oblivion's, but at least at the beginning you had the choice to go do some other stuff first. (I know in Oblivion you didn't "have" to do the MQ right away, but all the npc's told you to do it right away.)

But I agree on the many choices as the best pick. Alternate endings and outcomes of choices would definitely make it more interesting, plus really ups the replay value. Just as long as they can fit it into the lore properly. I have no idea how they're going to explain Sheogorath now...

far as I know this guy isnt Sheo same as the COC wasnt nerevarine, akin to the Daggerfall character not being the eternal Champion.

The story should start off extremely linear. You should escape from a village that is being ransacked by some enemy. Afterwards, the world should be completely open, you should be able to do whatever you want, etc. There Should not be "Karma" or any stat saying that you are evil. You should become evil by doing evil in quests or completing certain challenges, etc. For example, you should get a pulsating red blood vein on your forehead for completing a challenge that requires you to slaughter a village etc.

You should not be told to go to any specific place to continue the quest. You should go to a major city, and when you do, you trigger the next quest, which is to escape another raid, this time with a giant fireball (from a dragon, but you don't see it) destroying half of the city. Somehow you survive, and then you are dragged to the forest nearby by a greybeard, who then has you follow him up a sacred mountain. During this time he does not speak. When you reach the top, you arrive at a small village in which you stand in the middle and they surround you. The leader then speaks, looking at you, but not speaking to you, more like speaking through you. He conveys upon you a message to some important person. You can then go about the game as you want. After you send the message, the person is killed, and you take his place. You must gather an army. You can gain this army from anywhere you choose, though you should probably unite the people. You could even employ vampires, etc. that you align with. This part of the main quest would be extremely open ended. The quest should end in an extremely large battle that is pretty linear. Afterwards, rather than the people sitting around and the game seeming unchanged, there should be celebration, battle-scarred wastelands, mourning, angry widows, etc to keep you preoccupied along with any side quests you neglected to do.

In other words= linear--> Open--> linear--> Very open--> Linear battle-->Very open

Interpret my "Other" vote as "Have more choice and options in what happens (Fallout New Vegas)". Fallout 3 really had no major plot-influencing decisions for the main quest before the very end. That's kind of lame.

Ideally, what I'd like to see is for the main plot to be faction driven, especially since we know that Skyrim is in a civil war. A main quest driven by competing faction quest chains could be very cool.

Make it like oblivions but longer and more involved, with more interesting character interactions and more in-depth lore and backstory, as in morrowind or nehrim. Oblivions was completley unmoving and uninteresting, and the only reason to complete it is the sigil stones you can use to get 100% spell absorb. Morrowinds could be slightly tedious at times with the poor follow ai and pathing (buying the slave for an ashkhan), but as with nehrim's, it was interesting and rewarding, and left you with a deep sense of acomplishment after finishing it.

I want it like Oblivion, but I didn't vote for that because I refuse to call Oblivion's main quest "Giant"'. I could probably complete Oblivion's main quest in one afternoon.

Personally I want it to be one extremely long, linear, well written, exciting adventure. What I don't want is to find it ending all of a sudden, FAR too soon, and with my inventory bursting at the seams with loot I collected for the challenging final stages of the game that never actually materialized (Oblivion/Fallout3/Dragon Age/in fact most RPG's since about 1998). I also am not too keen on lame, repetitive cut and paste content (ie: the Oblivion gates). Morrowind was about as close as I've seen to a good main quest for a long time.

The ability to ignore it if one wanted so that there are no major bad things or areas you have to avoid in order to ignore it (like in Oblivion).

The ability to be a bad guy through the main quest(s) - and I don't mean the NWN style where you get paid gold instead of fame. I mean being mean to people and manipulating events for yourself.

The ability to mess things up - but not permanently.

Multiipathed and slow and steady.

I didn't like Oblivion's approach of OMG the emporer's dead what are we all going to do - the fate of the empire is in the hands of one lowly criminal hurry up ... or not.

I would like alternate endings with significant difference.

I only went to Kvatch once I think in 4 years playing Oblivion

Took the words out of my mouth. I want them to do their own thing with this game just as they did with Fallout and Oblivion. I am hoping for something new and fresh. I don't care if it has a straight storyline like Oblivion, i found that story more interesting than F3's storyline. But as long as the story flows well and has a lot of adventure and looting involved I will be just fine.