Oblivions Lockpicking mini-games needs to come back! That was so fun to do! You should also be able to re-lock doors. I think it would be a good way to ensure that a person cant get to you if you were trying to be pacifist. The Idea came to me when I released that not all creatures can open doors in Fallout 4. So I figure it'd be neat to be able to block off enemies if you're trying to get away.

Although I prefer Oblivions Lockpicking if they really want to make the game more of an RPG they should remove the video game and make it a "roll" based on your skill whether you can open a lock. That way if you're playing a master thirf but happen to be bad at the minigame it doesnt matter since you character is good at it.

I agree. I generally thought that Thief (the new one) had the best Lockpicking i've seen in a game. At base, it's not much different than Skyrim's or Fallouts, but if you invest in Dexterity (the characteristic that governs your lockpicking) then you can actually unlock a more Oblivion-esque option and see inside the lock. Slap on an 'Auto Attempt' option, and you're basically set.

One thing i think i should clarify, because i tend to reference it a lot, is the difference between Actions and Interactions. At least from where i'm comming from.

Actions are specific commands that you, the player, give to the game and the character. Things like Attack commands, Move, Jump, etc. are all Actions. Simple basic orders that are given by the player, to the character.

Interactions are the result of Actions and their particular circumstances. Things like Parrying, Climbing etc. Different circumstances can cause a particular action to react differently, and that's something that dramatically expands the range of options available even with a relatively limited control-set. While Interactions have the potential to make up the bulk of gameplay, i do think there is a threshold of feasibility to them.

I hate to be that guy that says "they need to bring back old Morrowind spells", but... well, they need to bring back some old Morrowind spells. In particular, the ones that rounded out Illusion, Mysticism and Alteration. Burden, damage or absorb speed/strength, blind, sound, silence, feather and jump come to mind. It was beautiful to cast sound at a mage and have them waste their magicka trying to cast spells that they were too disoriented to pull off properly, or to blind a two-handed opponent so they missed all of the time. Granted, the way that this was represented in-game left a lot to the imagination, but with newer mechanics and visuals these could really shine, and none of these were terribly imbalanced (except that damage strength was better than burden in every way, but that could easily be tweaked).

Jump spells or feather spells in addition to the ability to dodge would be very, very good. A whole new type of nightblade playstyle could be opened up with such things. Blind, sound and silence would be excellent not only to cast on other people, but to have cast on you as well. We would be much more wary of mages if our vision was dimmed in the dark, or if our spells went haywire.

To the point about surrendering/fleeing and the problems caused by a Fame and Infamy system: can anyone think of a better set of perks for a Speechcraft skill tree? I mean, some random bandit will not know how merciful (or terrible) you are from rumours until you are a huge deal in the world, but your ability to coerce and convince people could definitely have an impact on combat. You could take perks to make yourself incredibly threatening in combat, which would cause people to flee more easily among other things, but the downside would be that they don't accept surrenders. Or, you could convince them that you don't really want to fight, which would make a bunch of enemies more likely to surrender.

Quick thing about lockpicking: I would prefer no mini-games, but if there were I would be ok with them as long as they happened in real time. Picking a lock should feel dangerous, should make noise, and should punish you with a bad surprise if you take too long in a patrolled area.

Oblivions had an auto-attempt option, which was a dice-roll

Isn't that always the biggest problem? Haha. As I see it though, they need to think outside the box in terms of spells anyway, by creating more than just a few different versions of 'fire beam from hand(s)'. Maybe starting level offensive spells be castable as a shield, weapon buff and regular spell moves people toward creating viable magic-using characters, but I'd like to imagine they could still think up cooler things to give players late game. Granted, I don't want the game to turn into Dragon Ball Z but I think there's room for more than just 'bigger fireball!' at level 50. To be fair, Skyrim's shouts actually had some interesting ideas. Summoning an entire lightning storm is pretty damn badass.

Also, as we all know the series used to be great at having more interesting spells than just typical fireballs and shields, but the gameplay back then was so primitive that it never really fused into a smooth, elegant gameplay system. Which is why I mentioned blink as a kind of overhauled teleportation; likewise water-walking, feather etc could all be designed in such a way that they feel good in combat, rather than just broken.

Maybe have synergies too. Like if I blink while using ice shield, it creates a trail of frost in my wake. Or if I levitate with fire, it sets the ground on fire beneath me. These could all be awesome late game "ramp up" perks, which would free up the staples mentioned previously to be given much earlier in the game.

Players could be allowed to carry a realistic amount of money in their pocket, or some sort of wallet could be purchased instead of wandering about in caves with enough money to buy a small island.

Why walk to a dungeon?Why fight enemies yourself and click buttons/keys or use your mouse?With your logic it is just a waste of time.I don't see playing my Char as an annoyance,maybe if I would powergame, but I don't play an RPG to do that I play it because I want to Roleplay my chars .And weapon and armor degradation(unless it is as fast as in Oblvion) and banks are things that help me doing that.It actually makes you pay attention to your armor ,weapons and your finances.I like to RP my chars as actually being Adventures that plan their adventures and not just run into a dungeon as soon as they see it.

Banks could just issue traveler checks.

I'd like to be able to play as a Tyrion-esque character who can talk his way out of any situations. Basically, I'd like Speechcraft to be greatly expanded upon, and allow you to even persuade random bandits not to kill you (provided your Speechcraft is high enough). There should also be more Speechcraft options. Adding dwarfism would be a nice bonus, but I doubt that'll happen.

Oh, and I'd like to make a left-handed character.

But Tyrion remains largely in social and political arenas where dialogue and persuasion reign supreme, and which RPGs have always struggled to execute. Even Dragon Age Origins, which devoted an entire chapter to the political wrangling of the Landsmeet, relegated it mostly to a few mini dungeons and errands, because trying do deal with the depth if dialogue and interaction in politics is something that no game (to my knowledge) has ever succeeded in. You really need a good GM to accomplish hat sort of thing... Even then, there have been many situations where Tyrion HASN'T been able to talk himself out of a fight, and has had to rely on the skill at arms of others around him. And that dynamic already exists in TES.


That's not to say that the Speechcraft Skill, and how it is utilised, doesn't need to change and grow, but trying to use Tyrion as an example of what to aim for it not really a feasible goal yet. Someday, maybe, but even in text-dialogue you're looking at way too many options and variables.




Speechcraft is a skill that, I think, needs to be reinvented. It's usefulness has never really been sufficient to justify a skill, and it's only gotten worse as time has gone on. It's impact in social interactions, persuasion, commercial interactions and even in battle are things that need to be reexamined and made more active, rather than the whole system just being a passive thing that increases on its own.


Using Speechcraft as a way to get information is one solution. I talked about it last thread, using Disposition values as gateways to dialogue, but being able to bypass those values with successful Persuasion actions. It makes the actions more common, and serves as a better training platform for those all-important quest related Persuasions. Then you can also use it to unlock Haggling options, issue commands to followers, and even engage with combatants (depending on control schemes). There's a great deal that CAN be done to make Speechcraft a fully functional dynamic... It's just a matter of interacting with other systems.






I think both of these are very much in the same vien, and I agree. Skyrims biggest failing in terms of Magic wasn't it's basic mechanics (which are frankly the best we've had in the franchise) but the lack of enough spell effects to allow Magic to stand on its own. I definately think that Shouts had a role in this, as many Magical Effects were limited to Shouts, seemingly to keep them relevant, but a lot of it too comes from the changing underlying mechanics and is spell effects worked in the past. Burden spells, for instance, ranged in effect to essentially Paralyze to absolutely useless, dependent more on what you were fighting rather than their power. Levitation spells broke level design, AI and environments with abandon. Control spells were ludicrously over powered. Open spells rendered Lockpicks entirely pointless.


That's not to say that these effects were BAD. The ideas behind them were great. But the effects didn't change along with changing mechanics elsewhere, and remained largely locked in time. Looking at them again, and updating them to modern mechanics, could go a long way in making Magic more viable and interesting.




And some people DON'T want to role play. Some just want to explore, collect loot, complete quests, etc. Those players shouldn't be punished, or forced to play by YOUR rules, just because YOU (and I, for the record) like to pretend to be someone else.


Giving Gold weight forces players to limit what they carry (and remember that carry weight is already an often-complained about aspect of RPGs) which forces those same players to use banks and engage in a system they may not want to. In the same way that not everyone wants to have to eat regularly, not everyone wants to have to contstantly repair their weapon which shouldn't be breaking anyway, not everyone wants to have to spend 20 minutes of walking the exact same road just to get to an adventure, implementing a feature that forces a particular approach is a poor decision most of the time. If YOU dont want to carry all that gold with you, then don't. The games offer plenty of ways to hide, store or otherwise stash your wealth, even early on.


That doesn't mean Banks can't have a role, but it should be as an entirely optional dynamic that gives you some kind of non-essential benefit, not as a core, mandatory element of weight management.

If Obsidian is going to make it, expect more of the same. Expect more homely, robo-puppet-script npcs going nowhere fast. Expect to descend down to the left of a cave only to emerge from the top right [Red Eagle Redoubt, Firelight cave, Nonwyll Cavern, Fingerbowl cave. No doubt made by the same individual].

How about bringing back and maximizing the full potential of Oblivion's RAI that almost seemed like I was in ESO with other players?

I have no idea how you got that sensation. Oblivions Radiant AI was, at its best, as good as mediocre scripting, at its worst it was an absolute nonsensical mess that erroded every foundation of Character the bland NPCs had.


It's a good idea, and something that should continue being developed, but Oblivion was (for me, anyway) a shining example of the fact that you can't build a game on that kind of system yet.

Rather than simply being a way to store your cash, what if the player could take out a loan? You could get a loan so you can buy an obsidian sword that showed up in a shop at low level, then have to pay it back, possibly with interest, in a week or be attacked by bounty hunters or something along those lines.

I'm picking away at the idea of Banks right now, and may have more to say later... Bear in mind, I personally think they have little to no functional role, and serve a better role as atmosphere, but I am trying to find a practical application for them that isn't a one-dimensional slap in the face (like the Weight solution) or entirely superficial (like the simple storage solution).


Loans, a tie-in to the Investment concept, maybe some application with being stolen from... We'llwhat I come op with... Though whether I'm happy with it or not, I'll be sure to share it.


Part of the problem I'm already seeing is, in order to make it anything but window dressing it requires some rather substantial changes to other areas...

Here is something that I think would make the new game more fun to play.

Armor and weapon

they should get damaged and eventually fall off or break if not maintained.

Dual Wield:

Only left mouse button for both hands. Makes it more natural fluent and easy to dual wield.

Dual sheath:

(etc. two daggers or two daggers and the bow)

Sheath/ holsters for the blades or axes or hammers

Unarmed/melee:

Unarmed attacks should be a martial art and not just hitting. But different combos and techniques.

Daggers should also be in this category as you never really slice or cut with a dagger (unless the throat) but you stab.

Magic/skill hot keys:

Would be nice with 1,2,3 keys to cast magic quick (esotu) instead of having to equip it.

Athletic skill:

The more athletic the more agile. Like climbing walls and parkour (Mirrors edge and Assassins Creed) and jumping longer distances and holding your breath longer.

Fighting style:

Instead of just swinging a sword or what ever weapon, the character should make different combos and different fight style to each type of weapon (to make it more fluent and nice to look at)

Player should be able to train in different fighting styles like a knight (heavy armor) slow but powerful and can take more hits. And a sword dancer (light armor). Sword dancer should move around quicker and kind of dance with the sword (Assassins Creed).

V.A.T.S

During melee combat the player builds up vats. When the bare is sufficient full you can target specific areas on the opponent and cripple, chop off or instantly kill him/her.



Survival:

Making a survival mode would be awesome. You would have to eat and drink, stay warm and dry, sleep. Hair would grow if not maintained and you will get more and more dirty and smelly if you do not wash. Affects interaction with npc and morale. Can only carry few item so must acquire a pack horse for more storage. You should also be in risk of catching a disease.


More realistic guard and justice system:

If you are disguised with a head piece that covers your face you will not be as easily recognized. But full helmets and face concealment are illegal in cities as they actually conceal your identity.

Certain armors should be illegal as well. Like Dark Brotherhood.

Keep:

would be cool if the player have the opportunity to become a Lord with a castle and a village.

Timed quests:

some quests should be timed. So if you do not complete them within the time limit you fail them. (example) Like if a person gets kidnapped and a note is left saying "pay 10.000 septims in 10 days or she dies". And you do not pay in time. She dies.

vampire/werewolf:

When you choose race you should be able to start as that race as vampire/werewolf. And then the game should mostly take place in the night. And vampires/werewolves Should not always attack you. Maybe a big quest line and different clans.

Contracting vampirism:

If you contract the disease while adventuring you should be more and more sick, feeble and pale. At last you actually die for some time and you rise as a vampire.

You should be able to actually play as a complete evil character helping evil to win or destroy the evil and become someone more evil. Or of cause as a good character.

feel free to comment and add additional improvements

I am jonesing for a true Elder Scrolls experience badly. The fantasy setting of ES and the way Bethesda builds games is just something else. I'm halfway hoping for that remaster of Skyrim lol.

To the point, and before I drift into unconsciousness, I wanted to mention that I hope we get much more robust aesthetic options for the character creator this time around. I feel like Skyrim was the first earnest attempt at doing this, but it was horrific. Everyone had the same basic body structure, which meant my elf looked like Henry Cavill. I don't even have that much chest hair and my family are all germanic/nordic in our ancestry ha ha. Here's hoping we get a few more robust options in terms of morphology, specifically between the three main classes of men, mer, and beasts.

On that topic, I don't know how everyone else felt about the non-human races in Skyrim (face-wise) but I think they butchered the elven races. Beast races were spot on and orcs were pretty good too (although I'm not sure my opinion on orcs would vary too drastically... unless they made them look too good). I think the problem was the angularity of the faces and the inherent gauntness. It was tough to make a "brawny" looking elf that didn't seem like he was an abomination. Combine that with the extremely weathered face and it just felt off. I think the round, youthful, homogenized look from Oblivion was pretty awful too, so here's hoping for middle ground... or honestly, the chance to have all options back on the table. I mean why limit anyone, in terms of character creation options?

Well, since my cats have decided that I am not permitted to sleep tonight...

The concept is good, but the system needs to be radically changed, because as-stands, the general implementation in games is rubbish.

These i'm not really on-board with, for the following reason...

1; Handling Dual Weilding in such a way really restricts what you can do with it, how you can react to different actions, the type of interactions you have available and so forth. It also falls into the weirdly automated combat you get in many games like Arkham and Assassin's Creed use, which is just so unnecessarily limiting.

2; Difficult to do without going full-on Fighter, and even harder to do with a First Person element. Hand to hand does definitely need some work, but trying to make it more kung-fu (which i assume is what you mean by Martial Arts, as there are dozens of unarmed martial arts out there and some are little more than brawling that would actually make Skyrim's boxing seem elegant). As for the dagger thing... well, it depends on the Dagger. There are literally hundreds of different variations on the dagger, some are better at stabbing, others at cutting.

3; Activatable skills on a power bar are a no-go for me, i'm afraid. Mainstay of RPG's or not, they're a rather sloppy and archaic concept that TES has never really used, nor does it need them. A better Favorites menu for Items and Spells, sure, but no quick cast hotkeys or power bars.

4; Virtually impossible to do in First Person. And, frankly, it goes too far into that automated combat that has become endemic in games these days. It takes away the ability to have manual and meaningful control of your actions for the sake of being flashy and in doing so also limits the other variables that can be attacked to actions, weapons and armour.

5; Could be interesting, mechanically, but without a justification for it being in there, i don't think it has a place. A better and more responsive basic combat system would fulfil it's functional role, and be less intrusive.

6; Game Modes are too limiting in their concept. Having a range of toggleable features is a far better approach that allows you to include all the same variables, but also allows players to tailor their gameplay more to their liking.

7; Vampires and Werewolves are exceptionally rare beings in Tamriel. An adventurer, picked at random, would be more likely to be an Imga than a Vampire. Being able to start as one just makes them seem more plentiful than they are, and causes all kinds of problems with the early game.

8; I am against the notion of Alternative Endings and having the game that gives you too many mutually exclusive options to big decisions. If you want to be evil, fine, but the game shouldn't be giving you equal opportunities and attention for basically playing it wrong. You do that at your own risk, and face the consequences of that decision.

These i agree with, with a few caveats.

Disguise and overall presence is something which can be determined and influenced by several things, from what you're wearing to certain stats, to local status, and have them essentially impact the distance at which you are identified. Making it TOO simple could make it easily abused, but making it too complex would make it impossible to understand and unnecessarily convoluted, so it's something that needs to be somewhat carefully considered.

Timed quests, similarly, are a good concept which can be problematic if not managed properly. Attaching time limits to actual quests is problematic, but it's a good regulatory tool to manage Radiant Quests.

I generally agree about customization... I think games like Black Desert and EVE Online set the standard for what we should expect (even if we aren't likely to get it) from character creation in games. Chronicles of Elyria is looking interesting as well, but i've seen very few actual videos showing their character creation and can't really pass judgement yet...

In terms of the overall designs in Skyrim, however, i think i disagree. I thought they were the best in the series by a very wide margin, particularly after the absolute abominations of Oblivion. The angularity and exaggerated cheekbones made them look haunting and regal at the same time, and they embodied what an Elf should be; not some overly pretty super model, but a terrifying and grotesque beauty that was visibly inhuman, but hit enough of those elements of attractiveness that they were hard not to admire. They DID suffer from the fact that everyone in Skyrim was filthy and looked like they hadn't slept in a week, but i much preferred their design over previous iterations.

As I live a barefoot lifestyle, I like to keep my in-game avatars barefoot as well. However, that makes me lose the benefit of an extra enchanted item. That's not so bad, but still having it would be great. That's why I'd suggest anklets. They're like bracelets, except they're put around ankles, and they don't cover the foot. I suppose they could be used in place of shoes, and could also be parts of sandals or other footwear. Also, toe rings would be awesome.

Want to visit Kenia?The jigger would like you.

But honestly I don't see them doing that for soemthing this minor and silly,espcially not toe rings.

I wonder if the emphasis on chems in Fallout 4 might actually spur them to look more closely at the more esoteric magic skills in the next TES.

After all, when you look closely at it the chems and alcohol involve a surprisingly large amount of functions that Alteration/Mysticism/Illusion cover - especially inasmuch as a non-fantasy game can. It'd be nice to see them flesh out that whole realm of alternative, non-destruction based skill trees which have been eroding since at least Morrowind.

Obviously, they might also offload it completely into alchemy.

I also think Skyrim had the best elves. My only complaint is that they still used the generic human body model and texture. I think that elves (including orcs) should keep that not-quite-human look below the neck. Giving Khajiits and Argonians unique bodies would also be nice.

I have to back up a second, because reading this and thinking upon it, I would also agree that I liked the overall aesthetic of elves in Skyrim. I just disliked how everything was "Skyrim-inized" for the game. I would like to have a broader range of options when it comes to character customization, rather than having a single set elf or human look, that I can then iterate on modestly. I think facial customization in Fallout 4 was fantastic and I expect they will bring that forward for ES VI. If they do, that would probably fill all my needs. I just want to be able to make an elf that isn't so gaunt looking, if I so choose. For instance, maybe my elf is a hybrid between man and mer? In fact, that was the back story for my favorite character in Skyrim.

In my opinion, they just need to keep building off their base. Add to your games and make the additions richer. We've had enough pruning between Morrowind and Skyrim, now is the time to capitalize on whatever vision you have for ES.

Between Daggerfall and Skyrim, you mean. Most of the pruning in the Elder Scrolls franchise happened between Daggerfall and Morrowind. Morrowind is the most streamlined game in the series relative to its predecessor.

And for the better, many would argue. (For Daggerfall to Morrowind, at least. Many seem to approve of those changes, but at the same time anything after that is 'dumbing down' and 'hand holding')


I actually think that the series has improved with the streamlining, for the mist part... It's not been pruning, but rather breakking things down into their simplest elements. From there you can build more meaningful differences...


The problems stem, I think, from the amount of time between games which are using what basically ammounts to experemental disassembly of ideas, and the ensuing mishmash of good foundations and antiquated categories that we tend to get.


One of those rather common things where the philosophy is good, but the execution is not so much...


I actually think we need more disassembly of base componenets before we can really unleash the potential of the system, though...


Of course, that's all assuming there IS some driving philosophy and vision involved, and Bethesda isn't just doing things at complete random...