It seems #87 got lost in the early morning spam-purge. Since it was already 6 1/2 pages in, I figured might as well roll over to the next one..

I'm actually starting to hope that Bethesda is going to take the most used mods into the equation for the next game and implement things people seem to really want, such as Alternate Start and Open Cities. I mean, if a modder can do it, surely a large team of employees who made the game can just implement things everyone seems to be asking for. I hope we get things like this.

Open Cities is definitely possible, as it seems the decision to go to enclosed cities was because of console limitations, which have been largely addressed at this point. It depends on overall size and what's going on, but we may see that shift finally happen. I for one would definately embrace it, because there's a lot you can do with a more open environment like that.


I don't see Alternate Start though. They're still trying to tell stories, in one form or another, and too many starting points causes problems. It complicates tutorials, story hooks, character introductions, and overal continuity, and frankly requires more work than I really think it's worth. It's something I always see as being left up to Modders.


Generally speaking, though, most of the popular mods focus around graphical enhancements and tweaks, things that Bethesda is always working on anyway. They're just not particularly good at it. I can see them continuing to work on those areas, but I doubt it will ever satisfy modders enough to make a difference.

I'm completely fine with closed cities as long as Bethesda make them big enough so they feel like they need to be closed. Cities need to be 2-3x times larger than they were and feel unique. Alternate Start isn't going to happen though, it's going to be another prisoner story as that's Bethesda's ongoing theme since Morrowind. I don't really mind it kinda a neat familiar way to start each series.

I would like not really alternate starts, but the option to choose between a full length Oblivion/Skyrim style start and an abbreviated Morrowind style start would be great. New players do benefit from the long-form start because it functions as a tutorial. Experienced players have no need for a tutorial and would be better served by allowing them to get straight to the game.

It's TES tradition that players start behind the bar isn't it? I think a generic cell (with no background story) you can escape with basic sneak/combat/magic mechanic would do just fine as a tutorial. Once player gets out of there one way or the other, he can find for himself what he wants to do.

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Anyone in for Diablo style linked chests? you can store your junks in there, and access it at any major cities + places you own

just do tes 6, inform us on twitter..86 pages already....tes should be yearly like sport game fifa/pes...we need fantasy land....to escape from real world

just do tes 6, inform us on twitter..86 pages already....tes should be yearly like sport game fifa/pes...we need fantasy land....to escape from real world

Some of my favourite Morrowind characters stayed behind the bar for quite some time, too, perfecting their mixed drinks and getting to know the local drunks before moving on to bigger and better things, like Dagoth Brandy and skooma.

In seriousness, though, I think you're right. Starting as a prisoner is a staple of the series. It gives you a little bit of adversity (and rats!) to fight against at the beginning of the game, and being 'processed' is a great, immersive way for you to fill in character information.

Oh please, no, just, no

Yeah... frankly, Bethesda barely manages to squeak out a playable game every 4 years, asking them to rapid fire them like Assassin's Creed or EA Sports would be a disaster.

Like horse whistles, i'm not really a fan of linked storage. There's such a thing as too much convenience, and especially in a game with such easy Fast Travel, they aren't really necessary.

Yeah, the ability to skip the tutorial or intro sequence would be nice. Oblivion did it, and it was frankly one of the few things that game did right...

You can skip the tutorial in Oblivion?

Uhm, how did you skip the tutorial in Oblivion??

Honestly, i don't even know if you actually can. I haven't played Oblivion since 2007, and have maybe 90 hours in the game (I've played Stardew Valley for more than twice what i've put into Oblivion). It's something that's come up from others in one of my many rants about how Oblivion shoves your Chosen One status down your throat from the get-go, while people gripe about Skyrim's delivery of it.

But you're not the chosen one in Oblivion, Martin is. The Emperor saw you in his dreams, but that was just prophecising his death. He knew he was supposed to give you the amulet, but nothing else in the game makes out you're the chosen one. You're the guy who helps the chosen one, like in Daggerfall. Morrowind and Skyrim are the games where you're the chosen one, with an emphasis on it from the get go in Skyrim. I don't mind being the chosen one, as long as you're not forced into the role two quests in and have to earn the status.

"In your face I behold the Sun's Companion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright glory may banish the coming darkness."

You and Martin are a pair. Two sides of the same coin. Without you, he accomplishes nothing. Without him, you have no course. Your character is just as Chosen as he is.

Skyrim is the only one of the Modern-3 that does not tell you this before completing the introduction sequence. It may remind you of it a bit more once it drops the bomb (though, it doesn't actually. it reminds you of your nature as Dragonborn, not what you're supposed to do, at least not until more than half-way through the main quest. Before that, you're just conveniently good at killing Dragons) but it's far more reserved with the revelation than it's predecessors.

You couldn't skip the tutorial on your first play-through, but you could make that all-important save before you exited the sewers and skip it on all of your subsequent play-throughs. I don't know why they didn't keep that feature in Skyrim.

Ok, so it's more of a work-around than an actual Skip Feature. I definitely think taking the full step forward and making the introduction entirely skipable would improve things, even alleviating some of the character imposition that goes on.

Actually accomplishing that while maintaining character-creation options, which i also think should be radically expanded (that's a lengthy discussion in and of its self) is a touch more problematic though. It may require cutting out the gradual character establishment we've had since Morrowind, and going back to a full on, front end Character Generator before even getting into the game proper.

Uh, you can just save as you leave the cave after the tutorial, just as in TES:IV?

Won't work, in Oblivion before you exit the cave you can completely redo your entire character while in Skyrim you need to start a new game and go through the tutorial again if you want to make changes.

I prefer that approach. The step-by-step character creation process in Oblivion was a cute idea but it wasn't a good roleplaying character creation mechanic, in my opinion. A character doesn't suddenly gain new abilities or increase existing ones by having a conversation with the Emperor and they don't get massively better at seven skills and learn new spells by talking to Baurus. That makes no sense whatsoever.

I don't know about other players but the characters I play have histories. They've lived life before the game starts. They didn't pop into existence minutes before the start of a game. Our characters should have been warriors and thieves and mages in the prison cell. Mages should have known their full complement of spells in the prison cell.

I thought New Vegas and Morrowind handled this pretty well. I would like to see a return to that kind of bare-bones beginning.

i think i remember having a saving slot that started on the guy asking me who i was it said nord level 1 it seemed to appear there with every new character i think skyrim did have a that.

That's at the very intro of the tutorial, you still have to do everything all over again if you want to make a new character!

oooh yaaaa!!! My mistake

The Oblivion and Skyrim saves also have the disadvantage of being saves in a game where saves are easily broken by adding or removing mods, so you need to start over again every so often anyway.