» Thu Mar 06, 2014 12:48 pm Skyrim is an incredible game, but there's still aspects of it that I feel could be improved. So this thread is to keep track of my ideas and progress. Everything is largely in the planning stages, with some basic groundwork/proof of concept stuff already done. I'm not the best at putting my thoughts into words, so I will almost definitely miss bits out and/or generally not present things in the most clear way possible. The overhaul will cover a lot of aspects of the game, however I plan to make it as modular and compatible as possible. This means if you don't like a certain feature, chances are you can turn it off and stick with vanilla, or use your preferred mod. I plan on 'integrating' certain mods, such as Skyrim Immersive Creatures and Armoury of Tamriel. I will probably do this with SkyProc, so as to not actually require the mods. The idea of posting this thread is to get feedback as early as possible. Before release I'd like to do a closed beta, so I can fix any bugs and balance issues.
Skills
The main idea here is to 'smooth' things out. I find it particularly jarring that once you level up and pick a perk you are instantly better at something. It makes no sense that all of a sudden your character is able to cast spells for half magicka, or all of a sudden can create Dwarven weapons/armour. Every time you do something, such as attack enemies, cast spells, smith items, you will come closer to unlocking perks. The chance to unlock a perk will be random to a certain extent, however each perk will have a rough estimate of when you can expect to achieve it. Some higher level perks will require significant training with a skilled NPC to perfect. I do not have all the perks set in stone, but I will update this post as and when I 'finalise' things.
A vague example of what to expect is:
- You play as a battle mage who primarily uses a sword and destruction (mostly fire based) spells.
- As you play, the damage you do with one handed swords gradually increases (and to a lesser extent the damage done by other one-handed weapons increases too, and to an even lesser extent two-handed weapon damage is increased too).
- At the same time you find that the damage you do with destruction spells gradually increases, and the magicka cost gradually deceases. As you generally use fire based spells they burn enemies for longer and instill more fear.
- You have never crafted anything in your life, so creating anything slightly complex will take a lot of trial and error, or the instruction of a willing blacksmith.
As I don't have everything set in stone it's hard to describe what will happen for each skill, but I want it to feel as natural as possible, and I want there to be a feel of experimentation. For example, if you frequently summon deadra, you may one day discover that you can summon two. But the next time you try you are back to one, but as you gradually improve, the chance of being able to summon two increases, until you reach a point where you can reliably summon two creatures.
Your health, magicka and stamina will also increase smoothly. See my http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/25514/?tab=1&navtag=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nexusmods.com%2Fskyrim%2Fajax%2Fmoddescription%2F%3Fid%3D25514%26preview%3D&pUp=1 for an idea of how this will work. Carry weight will be more realistic, so you can't carry lots of incredibly bulky items (i.e. no hauling 5 or 10 sets of armour out of a cave).
'Specialised' Weapons/Armour
In the real world, some weapons are good in certain situations, others are good in other situations. I plan to (loosely) reflect this, both for the player and NPCs. From what I can gather reading the interwebs, swords are generally for cutting and slashing, maces and generally for bashing (through armour etc.) and axes are somewhere in between. A more detailed explanation is below.
- Swords are best against lightly armoured opponents, and are significantly less effective against heavily armoured opponents. However they are better than axes or maces for parrying. Swords are also weaker against things like skeletons and other creatures where trying to cut them would be ineffective.
- Axes offer significant bonuses against enemies with shields, and (if Papyrus allows it) can outright destroy shields. They are better than swords against heavy armour, but not quite as good as maces. The same applies to skeletons.
- Maces are your best bet against heavily armoured enemies, as they will be able to bash through even the highest quality armour. They are also excellent choices against skeletons. The downside is that looted armour of enemies who have been bludgeoned to death with a mace will require repair by a skilled blacksmith before they are usable.
- Two-handed variants of the above will be similar in idea, but will leave you more open to counter attacks.
- Daggers are generally useless against armoured enemies that are aware of your presence, though if you are highly skilled and are able to get close enough you have a chance of attacking the weak gaps in armour, therefore ignoring it.
- Long bows are better at piercing armour, and have longer range, but are heavier and take longer to reload. Short bows are lighter and have shorter range, less armour piercing capability but are faster to reload. Crossbows are much slower to reload but pack a decent punch.
All of the above will apply to NPCs too. Hopefully this will lead to more interesting and varied combat, and will require some actual planning in advance.
Loot/Enemies
It seems crazy to me that as you level up enemies start magically discovering better (and often) enchanted equipment. Deleveling solves this, but you do then have the problem Morrowind had, where after a certain point you are overpowered. I think everything should be available from when you start the game, just rare things will actually be, you know, rare. Like in OOO for Oblivion you should stick to roads and civilised places at the start. Head towards areas that are not well traveled and you should start to encounter stronger enemies. In addition to this, weapons and armour found in Draugr caves and other such ancient ruins will be rusted and largely worthless. Dead things aren't known to care for their material possessions well, and you'd have to be extremely diligent to prevent a steel sword from rusting for any length of time. That is not to say there will not be valuable gems and more durable items hoarded away in the depths of ruins.
Wild animals will generally be more cautious of you, and are more likely to flee if they start to lose, and destruction magic will generally scare away wolves and other such common creatures.
Economy
See http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1491705-wipz-how-to-fix-skyrims-economy/ thread. Though that mod will be available separately, some aspects that have been discussed are not really in the scope of an economy overhaul. But essentially the value of things will be adjusted to make more sense, houses will be rentable (as well as purchasable, just more expensive), and services such as using smithing equipment will cost (unless you purchase your own equipment for your house). It will be much harder to make money, and a lot of things will requite spending money. Also I plan on implementing 'smithing as a service' and 'enchanting as a service' i.e. paying NPCs to craft and enchant things for you.
I'm fairly sure there is more that I plan on doing but I can't think at the moment. The time frame for completion is between one and two years.
