This is a good point, which could be averted by your journal listing the same directions that the NPC gave you when he or she was telling you where to go, with the addition of your map highlighting exactly where you and the NPC were when you received the quest. Then it would simply be a case of travelling to the spot where you were given the directions, and then following the directions in your journal! That way it wouldn't matter if you couldn't remember who gave you the quest, or where you were when you received it- you would just look at your journal to find the exact spot where the quest was given to you, before travelling there and then using the directions in your journal to find the desired location.

Part of this is a difference in maps. Morrowind's was more of a topographic style, a vague representation of the Island. Oblivion's, on the other hand, was a road map. It had every pathway marked down leading up to any particular destination there might be.

In the former case, it made sense that q quest giver couldn't put an exact mark on your map because it would be a wild guess as to how precise it was. Far better to just give you simple instructions and maybe mark a landmark or two as a point of reference. In oblivion, with all the roads laid out, it made sense to mark individual locations exactly where they were. Well, at least those that were on the road. The precision markings of caves deep inside a forest, far away from any signs of civilization made far less sense.

I preferred Morrowind's map. In Oblivion I felt like I stopped in a tourist information center right before I came into Cyrodiil.

I only ran into a handful of quests where the Journal did not log the directions given in addition to the quest goals. I suspect the other times were mostly oversight on the devs part or times when the player forgot to select the location information from the conversation list.

No, I don't think it defeats the purpose. Those who don't like the quest arrows can turn them off by option (considering they have such an option, which I bet they will) or we can do just like in Oblivion, turning quest off through the journal. What I like about this system is that it makes both sides of this issue happy. It gives those who want to find their own way that possibility, but it gives the less hardcoe player an option too.

Also, there's the possibility of bad instructions given like in Morrowind, so that players can use the quest marker if they are taking hours to find a location, or just given bad directions.

Me, personally, will choose to turn marker off most of the time, as long as the instructions are not too poorly given.

I understand what you're saying, although I don't think that I would like to play the game without the quest arrows if that's not the way in which the game has been designed to be played. I want to play the game the way Bethesda intended for people to play it, and going into the options screen and fiddling about with the game isn't what I have in mind. I simply hope that the vanilla version of the game has, as default, a less "helpful" quest arrow.

I really like the idea of more reliance on paying attention to directions given by NPCs. I think the best way to serve everyone would simply be to make quest markers something that can be toggled on/off in the options menu. That way, you can get the realistic feel of searching all around for a hidden cave entrance but then toggle on the marker when you get frustrated and want to continue on with the quest.

It depends on whether a quest arrow would lead directly to the destination, or just a general region/area.

The reality is society has corrupted most peoples sense of time invested-results ratio. I have written about this extensively elsewhere but just to briefly surmise:

People like instant food, instant communication and fast response now. Few people growing up in industrialized nations are willing to devote the time it takes to study anything that requires scholarly work or invest time into playing an instrument. This is translating over to games where people can't be bothered to read a paragraph let alone follow simple directions. In an age where Google is finishing your thought and Wikipedia is a source of knowledge instead of your memory, simple human mechanics like paying attention are now becoming a strength to put on your resume for a job.

It's sad, but that is corruption for you!

I have to admit often I completely ignore the directions being given to me based purely on "Bah, I'll have the quest arrow anyway". That or the fact that anyone who isn't a named NPC is completely useless to me, find someone with a name and I'm set.

Yeah of course, because EVERY single person has time to sit round on their fat arses reading about the history of Skyrim dont they ?

I enjoyed the challenge of trying to find the locations.
The problem was with bad directions. What was that one House Redoran quest where you had to find the guar farm or something like that? :shakehead:

Hello,

I always thought that a good way to implement quest compasses, and quest markers, map tools, etc was with an in-game skill. Make a skill that allows you to better fast-travel, perks that add things like a quest compass, and then you have an in-game mechanic that ties this gameplay design to the character. This would both, increase the game's RPG prowess, and also give the player the independent choice to decide if such a feature is something they want for their character.

Also, having such a skill, where perks and abilities vary how useful the skill is, leads to players not having to max the skill. Just get it to a relative level that aids them, whatever that may be - and the player decides(probably on separate play-throughs), and suddenly it's a functional way for the player to determine how much of an aid they want.

Of course this would take some added time to implement. However, such a skill would certainly not take as much time to implement as combat skills. The basic requirements are already in place. You just need a few icons, some perks, and relative balancing to make it a playable system. Not to mention, some of the perks might do things like increase fast travel time, improve character regeneration while traveling, automatically label the names of specific places, or record the events(such as the items gathered, quests completed, etc) for all locations. Truly, the possibilities are limitless and the result is far more dynamic and fun than the current system.

;P

Edit:

This could even pave the road for a 4th role (mage/thief/warrior/other) where skills such as mercantile, speechcraft, cartography(from above), etc fit into better. Sometimes simple in-game alterations, even when the overall function is minor, can have positive results on the experience. Not everything needs to be some sweeping, mass integration into the game's underlying systems. Plus, a 4th role could easily fit into the lore of the series. Talk about untapped content!

I hope it rids us of the dreaded GPS compass. However, if there were to be quest markers, then I agree with some people that it should only highlight the general area but not indicate where to go inside buildings or dungeons. I don't want a little green arrow telling me exactly where the lost sword of mystery is in a cave. Kind of defeats the purpose of "lost" and "mystery". :ermm: .