» Sun Dec 12, 2010 1:30 pm Setting: Morrowind and Oblivion both had great settings, but what made Morrowind stand out was the uniqueness: the culture was so real and believable and unique. Oblivion seemed like another boring medieval knight game in comparison. Skyrim really needs to flush out the culture the way Morrowind did; unique plants, books, ancient customs, ruins, etc.
Major Changes from game to game:
- Weapons: Morrowind had better weapons. More varied weapon selection, and more types of weapons made you feel like you were taking to a particular fighting style. Knifes and claymores, hatchets and war-hammers should not have been in the same category. This was probably Oblivion's biggest mistake. Also, spears. After thousands of games where the noble knight and his holy sword save the day from the army of darkness, it was nice to kick some ass with the lowly, humble spear or staff. They need to bring that back, along with thrown weapons and crossbows. Also, it was nice how not every weapon was made out of every material.
- Travel: The Stilt Striders fit well with the Morrowind culture, but Oblivion's fast travel is simply more efficient and fun.
- Skills: Enchanting should be brought back. Most people found it a bit annoying, but the rest of us loved the "enchantment successful" message that would pop up when our efforts succeed. Also, not all clothing should be Constant Effect and not all weapons should be Cast on Strike. Cast on Use has it's place, too.
- Money: Morrowind's system was broken. Remember the Drunken Mud Crab Merchant? Yeah. Oblivion had that going for it.
- Factions: Morrowind had a great number of factions, both playable and non-playable that gave the world life and made it feel real politically and socially. Plus, it was fun to be a legionnaire or a priest or an Archduke of a Great House. Skyrim should have the Legion as a joinable faction. They would be more popular in the south and in the trading cities than in the wilderness of the north, and would possibly have a Hadrian's Wall-type fort.
- Horses: I like horses, but they were mostly a novelty because you couldn't shoot from them. I'd like to see them add that, if possible.
- Equipment Scaling: This was not at all fun. The best part of Morrowind was scouring the earth looking for that epic sword or piece of armor. As soon as you turn 20, you get it from bandits. Everybody's character looked the same. No uniqueness.
- Clothing: I want to be able to put a shirt on, a piece of armor, and then a robe. A robe should not make a metal briastplate more cumbersome than it already is.
- Armor: It would be nice to see pauldrons return as separate pieces of armor from the cuirass. Also, tower shields. They were cool and I doubt it would be a hassle to add them.
- Magic: Oblivion nailed it. Keep on keeping on in that category. I like the recharging Magicka.
- Potions: I don't like how the ingredients need to have some similar effects, like a game of dominoes, but I like poison, so I'm fine with the system staying as it is.
- Monsters: No [censored] Cliff Racers, nor anything remotely similar to Cliff Racers in numbers and annoyance. There are literally DOZENS of mods made to take cliff racers out of the game.
So this was a list of major changes/points of Morrowind and Oblivion. My top5 need-to-have would be:
1-Spears, understandable weapon categories, and staves that have a combat use.
2-No equipment scaling.
3-Clothing + Armor + Robes. There is no reason not to add it: it isn't game breaking and makes characters look cool.
4-Many complex factions: Oblivion was too simple on the factions.
5-Medium Armor.
Bethesda needs to remember that people want their character to be unique, and tower shields, spears, cloaks and armor, faction association and other simple things will go a long way to making the game much more fun. Also, if they really screw up on it, we can always find mods to fix it. Some times it seems they're afraid of making it too complex, but too complex is more fun than too simple.
