This thread is for ideas and suggestions for future Elder Scrolls games, and to keep all the discussion in one series of threads.
Now that Skyrim has been released the number of suggestions and ideas for the next ES game are starting to show up. We have a long way to go before we get another ES game and all topics like this will be closed and either transferred or referred to this one.

Please keep any discussion of Skyrim in the correct forums.

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1151519-official-beyond-skyrim/
Thread # 2

Suggestions:
- a dark room is pitch black dark. you need to use a torch or lantern. if you hide in a room like this while being chased, the pursuer must light a torch in order to see. same with closed dungeons.

- travel by carriage in real time, you see the scenery and have the option to get off anywhere or skip to destination by clicking a button.

- deformable environment such as trees, boulders, etc. use the environment to unlock hidden areas, to access high places, a sort of Half Life 2 intelligent use of physics to unblock a path. use fire to set houses on fire to distract nearby people.

I think for the travel system boats and the like should sail about in real time, and to use them, you have go on them at one of their departure times and rest until arrival, and if you don't, you get to sail with the boats and occasionally you can be attacked by pirates or have some other boat related random event occur.

This. I always found the dungeons in oblivion too bright with a magical source of light.

Having to use a torch, lantern (another thing gone since MW) or light spell in a dungeon would be great, if any human or non-nocturnal living-creature occupants had to do likewise. It would be a pain to have to use a torch, only to find that the bandits inside all have magical "see-in-the-dark" powers.

The OPTION of riding a carriage, taking passage aboard a ship, or otherwise utilizing in-game travel, and seeing the world around you pass by in real time, would be a nice touch. Being forced to sit through it every time would bore 95% of the players to the edge of violence.

Have the Quality of Apparatus and tools affect the CHANCE of performing actions, as well as the quality of the result, where using tools at or below your skill level allows 0% failure chance, but attempts with harder apparatus or tools to produce better results would be "iffy". This would be a way of re-implementing RPG mechanics without forcing most players to face frequent failure rates, or without a lot of obvious numbers in your face. Using a simplistic pass/fail system like in OB, where you can't even attempt a task at 24 skill, but can't possibly fail at 25 skill, takes any sense of challenge right out of the game. Gaining a rank from Novice to Apprentice, or from there to Journeyman, should unlock the possibility of trying the next harder set of tasks, but would indicate that you had "mastered" the ones at your current level.

Uh, if you sleep/rest, you don't have to sit through anything.

I would love to see the Psijic Order make some kind of appearance . I don't know if it can be a joinable faction considering what it takes to be in the PSJJJJ compared to the mages guild. What would you think?

It's premature I know, but I'd really really hope the next game can make use of the wonderful hardware capabilities of its time. Tessellation, hair and cloth physics, beautiful water, and who knows what other spectacular things will be made available by then. Another dream of mine is zero loading on big cities, it would be very immersive to be able to escape an angry mob or get into a town where you're wanted by sneaking or climbing a wall without clicking a door.

That would prove to be a problem more than likely though. Cause by then, TES will be even more advanced that it already is now in terms of tech, graphics, and design, so zero loading would, I think, be even less of an idea as it is now. But I could be wrong. And what Pedro said about lighting in pitch black places seems like a very good idea. It would also give new ideas about the stealth system. If its that dark, then if there are bandits, or enemy soldiers in a cave or dungeon, or abandoned castle, they would then in turn, need to use a light source as well. Where as, we as the player/hero, have a enchanted ring that grants some form of lightsource instead of using a torch. Where the player would be able to attack from shadows and know exactly where the enemy NPCs are due to their lightsource. I dont know. I need to think out that plan more

Basically what others have said. Though i think Bethesda have held off making a game set in the Summerset Isles due to hardware not capable of doing it justice. I'd like to see water greatly improved, hair and cloth physics. Really slick animations and i think it's only a matter of time before Bethesda's environments become destructable.

Oh yeah, and i guarantee Altmer will become by far the communitys favourite race if it's set in their homeland

Yeah, seems to be a pretty fickle bunch, I didn't see such a huge amount of Nord love until we saw the first trailers, seems a lot of people change their minds based on which race did something cool last they saw.

I was thinking something involving the Ayleids, the Heartland High Elves. Say like 800-1000 years before the events of Oblivion, and all the ancient Ayleid Ruin that you saw scattered across Cyrodiil would be then in full form. All the unique architecture, etc would be in place.

Towards the end of the Main Quest, perhaps would then BE the actual demise or downfall of the Ayleids, the results of which are evident in Oblivion.

What do you guys think? :tes:

Sounds like a good plan. But it might be hard to do that because some things such as Ayleids can arguably fall into lore, and alot of people dont like the idea of runing things that are great when it comes to lore and in-game stuff. But if done correctly, I think that being around and seeing the Ayleid civilization from within would be badass. Good idea Jovian

Thank you, kind sir. :foodndrink:

I think it'd be awesome, though I agree with your point about the lore. Would have to be careful if it were done.

I'm hoping Valenwood will be the next game. I keep hearing that land is so feral, I think it would be awesome. And since Wood Elves look totally awesome in Skyrim, and aren't annoying anymore, I think it would be awesome. I know I shouldn't say this, but nowadays the Wood Elves kind of remind me of the Na'vi. That's a good thing, don't worry.

I used to be all forValenwood if it looks like this [post='this']http://www.collectorscache.com/StoreModules/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=53312&CategoryID=877[/post] and [post='these.']http://geog1202pandora.blogspot.com/[/post] and make it about a war between the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire.

But now I'm starting to fantasize about the possibilities that th new consoles could offer us and how well Bethesda could do Elsywer. It would be hard but if they were able to find a good balance between the activity of the large cities and tribal villages and the barrenness of the desert and badlands it would be excellent...

The story could be anything really... we got the AD, Empire, and Blackmarsh as our borders. We have the southern isles to the... well... south, an intricate and complex web of politics and social structure, a bunch of intervening gods that have a tendency to [censored] sheet up. I think it could be a great opportunity for Bethesda to "get back to their roots" (Daggerfall/Morrowind)

First, I would like to see the deadly swamps of Argonia.
Gameplay wise I would like more stealth&assassin features implemented such as climbing, ladders, ropes, grappling hook, thrown weapon, chain weapon, knocking down guards without killing them.
Environment: I would really love to see actual seasons implemented, even if the length of a playthrough would only cover 2 of them, I would like to see changes in weather, trees, water, animal life and town activities from one season to another.

I dont feel like major advances when it comes to stealth and other things of that nature are too far off. With what Ive heard about for the stealth system in Skyrim, things like you say shouldnt be too far off. And depending and WHEN they release another TES game, the tech for game engines will probably be even better than it is now. So id say hoping for better implemation of stealth/assasination type things will be rewarded. And seeing Black Marsh is what Im hoping for as well. Because of lore, in game books/stories, and The Infernal City, Id like to see Black Marsh more than any other one at this point

I got to play a little bit of Journey by That Game Company at an event recently and the sand tech was the most amazing thing I'd seen. I have a feeling when the TES crew sits down to play that, they're going to look at each other and say "Elsweyr" (well i can hope, anyway!)

Summerset -freakin- Isle, please

Many people vote for Black Marsh in the "next-elder-scrolls-game-contest". And while that would be really cool, I think it would be too dark and too... swampy (:P) for a game. I mean Skyrim is a dark game. A Black Marsh-game would be that too. I just think it's time to go to a really bright, magical and shining land!

Summerset Isle could probably be more diverse, with mountains, meadows, forests, magically abnormal landscape and possibly a (black) marsh area somewhere too! Here are some images of cool landscape variants that could be used in some extent:
http://www.epilogue.net/cgi/database/art/view.pl?id=109578
http://aliceleegraphics.com/_img/water_island.jpg
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14749353/images/1304053210610.jpg

The cities could made of either elven, coral (sload-ish), crystal and even insect architecture. Very interesting. Very alien (like Morrowind), but still being a lot more bright, and thus delivering a different theme and feeling. It's still unique!

The Crystal Tower would make a perfect "Mages Guild"-faction.

There are tons of possibilities for imagination, as it is the magic land of the altmer. (Wouldn't it be cool to encounter a huge crystalized crater with floating rocks and a floating island above, where some magic experiment has gone out of hand. Or perhaps the land is just so heavily affected by magic in places that it behaves really awesome. Waterfalls going backwards? ^^) Since daedra worship is becoming increasingly popular there, I can imagine high elven mages walking around the streets of Alinor with their daedra servants. There could be tall wizard towers spread across the land, some having a small village belonging to them, others being remotely located.

And the main quest could be a sload invasion? ^^ Or something a bit more imaginative. Bethesda could probably think of something better than me when it comes to that!

I don't recall such a thing happening with Oblivion and Imperials :shrug:

The Imperials never did anything badass in Oblivion, though. They were just all "Oh dear, the Deadra are invading! Better chill in my home town and talk about it to random strangers!"

I like the idea of real time travel. A carriage that you click on that triggers a loading screen is too 2003'ish. I want to watch the landscape and jump offwagon when I see something of interest. I'd also like the carriage (and or boat) to be fully controllable by the player, in case I want to slaughter everyone aboard and race other carriages. The carriage should have a luggage box as well, that can be used for storage. GTA a carriage, take it to the nearest dungeon and load it with tons of loot.

• Spears, thrown
  
• New attributes system
  
• Cloth & hair physics
  
• Bigger map (1.5x would do fine)

This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially if the game is in Black Marsh spears are a must! They serve many gameplay mechanics besides the nostalgia/aesthetics factor. Mounted combat, for example. Or sailing a boat on treacherous navigable canols and using the spears to harpoon the underwater predators that attack your boat.