Please bring back Morrowind-like quest descriptions!
As far as i remember most Oblivion quests lacked way descriptions...the goal was just marked on the map and that's it!
Making map markers optional won't cut it...the quest description should at least state in which direction to look for.

I think it should be optional. If it is optional, we need better directions from NPCs.

I don't see why there couldn't be a bit of variety - some quests where the questgiver says 'Let me mark this on your map', others where he gives only vague directions, and still others where the quest giver doesn't have a clue. Surely that would be realistic and add variety.

I agree that always having the quest marker and arrows gets boring - but I wouldn't want to go to a system where you never know where to go next.

:celebration: :celebration: :celebration: Yes!

+ 1 for making the Quest Compass optional, and always having NPCs describe what way you are going.

Making the Quest Compass optional will give the devs the incentive to not give us decent directions.

Remove the quest compass COMPLETELY and only give us a simple compass, similar to Morrowind.

Well, in Morrowind they seemed to try very hard to give us decent directions, but you still ended up running around for hours looking for something right under your nose, sometimes.
It would be nice with good directions, and then the ability to just turn on the Quest Compass once you got sufficiently frustrated and that damn Tomb was still nowhere in sight, and the dragon had eaten you lunch, and the mammoth had dysentery

Yes!

How about a compromise? They mark it on your map and a quest marker points to it till you get there. For example: a woman begs for your help rescuing her boy from kidnappers. She tells you they've taken the boy to their hideout which is in old ruin X. They told her to bring the money there or they kill the boy. You accept and the quest begins, a map marker pointing you to said ruin (meaning the woman marked it on your map). You get there and the map marker goes away, it's up to you to search through the ruin for the boy. There's no 6th sense telling you exactly where he is.

This way you avoid the aimless wandering some criticized in MW but you're not held by the hand the whole time.

I would like the marker optional and no pop up window when the quest is updated. For me the pop up window is even worse than the marker. A discrete message that the quest has been updated would be enough, I will open the journal myself when I need indications. I see the quest journal like a built-in walkthrough. In Oblivion this walkthrough is imposed which breaks immersion because I have the feeling that it doesn't matter if I understand or not the meaning of the quest or the puzzle, the pop up window will spoil it for me everytime something new happens. When I open a quest book the pop up window summarizes the important info for me, so I don't need to read it at all. This is wrong. I want to read and discover myself the clues, and only when I'm clueless and ready to give up should I consult the journal.

That's very true, I never thought about it that way. In Morrowind you had to actually listen (read) to people and know what you're looking for in order find it in your journal.

No. Quest markers just need to not be inside the dungeon or building and they shouldn't be attached to people and follow them. Quest markers should just be there to show you where the dungeon is and not what is in the dungeon.

I disagree. They should be removed completely. Or only exist as optional.
I wouldn't want quest or map markers while being in the wilderness. It would very much hurt any kind of self-exploration/discovery to me, which I rank as vital.
Add some directions instead please, and let me think a bit for myself, and maybe explore/discover on top of that

In fact it'd be better with the opposite - markers for NPC's ONLY. Since that's the only situation where markers is actually of any use and doesn't RUIN GAMEPLAY. Bugs and deaths might make people very hard to find, so markers is a great way unless Bethesda implements some GENIUS way of giving us the ability to ask NPC's about other NPC's whereabouts like in Arena/Daggerfall.

:goodjob: THIS :goodjob:

Who really would want someone to give you verbal directions if they knew where to go and had a perfectly good reason to be able to mark it on your map. It would make perfect sense, so how would that be immersion breaking. I'm not saying quest markers are a good idea, but are perfectly logical in some instances.

I think it should be optional, i hate when i get stuck on a game not knowing what to do because the directions weren't clear enough.

Mah bran hert from derektions plees no back bring dem.

Contrary to the popular belief among the L33t cabal that believes following directions is the height of intellect and those who do not like them are obviously simps who drool over their controllers some reasonably intelligent players find that game mechanic boring and unnecessary since a far better one exists.Point to my map.Let me decide how to get there.

This mechanic can be improved and or tweaked.Use the Red Dead Redemption model and give an area to look instead of an arrow.If you talk to a scout the area could be narrowed.

If they go back to the NPC directions method I will deal with it.I know someone will make a mod to correct this giant step backwards.

To be fair I hope those who enjoy this sort of thing get the directions,maybe as a journal entry,they desire.Exception the ones that equate not liking that method with being a window licking simp I hope there game ships with the yellow dots from Fable.

Easy son, you're dribbling poison all over your keyboard.

On topic, there is no reason for not having both, other than devs not having enough time to write instructions. Personaly I enjoyed the Morrowind instructions more but there were times the instructions were wrong/innacurate so I would have to search forums and the like. Having both, you could just turn the markers on when you really need to.

just go north or south east is good for me cause I don't plan on using the GPS crap.

pretty nice idea, too

Well, considering Skyrim is not going to have a HUD, which is to say, health bar, magicka bar, magic compass etc. I don't think we really have to worry about it. :shrug:

Why not just have it both ways? Quest markers optional and at least some directions in the quest descriptions...
I just don't like the way it was done in Oblivion...sure I could install mods that would turn off quest markers and that silly compass but then I would be totally lost xD
All I'm asking for is a simple "south of city X...near landmark Y"...this is not about casual vs hardcoe or sth like that...it's about exploration!
Just let me find that damn cave myself! Let me waste hours searching for it if I want to! PLEASE