I've recently tried Penumbra: Black Plague and I think it would be so cool if Skyrim had physics based environments. I love how you can pick stuff up and move it around, but it would be cool if you could move desks, chairs, tables, etc. Also doors would be another part of this. Say you are sneaking around in a castle and you come up to a door that you know people are on the other side of, instead of the game just opening the door fully open, it would be nice to just inch it open to look inside without compromising your stealth. There are just so many possibilities where this could come in handy. Of course, when you leave the room/house/etc the game would reset all the furniture to its original place (however in player owned houses, the furniture would not reset).

What are your thoughts on something like this? Suggestions? Comments?

There will be some physics, but I doubt almost everything will be physic-ed. Things like opening the door with the mouse, or a drawer like in Penumbra/Amnesia will definately not happen.

Desks, chairs, tables, etc: That would cause AI problems with the NPCs, they use these objects.

That said, physics interaction in the level of Penumbra/Amnesia won't happen, that's for sure.

My only demand in this topics is my items don't go flying when I touch the table.My biggest pleasure in MW was that I was able to lay my loot on tables and create a gallery.I tried it in Oblivion,but they'd launch at high speeds when I entered the home.I know I have lost some of my items having them launch into walls.In the end there was no choise but to store them in crates and look at their icons...
Seriously,Half Life 2 level is enough and stable.

It'd be cool to have in your house. You don't know how many times I've tried to make a museum out of my house, just to drop things behind a dresser never to be seen again...

R.I.P. Skeleton Key :'(

Yeah and it didn't get any better with FO3. I too hope they have stabilized the physics of objects. I'm guessing they have.

Weren't even safe in those display cases nice idea not so good in reality would have loved Umbacano's cabinet to keep my rare books in. Still, who cares about household physics if you can see a dead mammoth roll miles down a mountain

even half life 2 from 2004 had movable tables, it aint that hard bethesda!!!

I do.The Mammoth did roll in Oblivion,and Bethesda definately isn't going to take a backstep when it comes to technological sh!t.So make it better in terms it svcked.
"People who play role-playing games need more than some pretty graphics and nonstop action to whet their claymores; they want depth and character and wit and drama. They want the thickest, most involving novel that they've ever read translated to their 15" screen, with themselves as the hero."
-Daggerfall Manual

Yes but HL2 was not an RPG with character schedules telling NPCs to use said tables.

HL2 had NPC's interact with objects.Having a large world wouldn't really effect it.Furnished areas are mostly closed cells anyway.

It doesnt work in the same way.

It would break the game's AI package.

I'm not talking about NPC's opening drawers,its the items not launching randomly when touched.

I like the door idea.

The idea of moving furniture around, however, I don't see what use it would be other than in your own house.

I am not talking about NPC opening drawers neither.

I was refering that moving tables that could be attached to the AI package of certain NPCs would break or create a glitch on the AI.

This. Moving furniture in the game that complex NPC AI has to interact with just has too many variables to deal with. Maybe in 5-10 years it will be easier to deal with all the variables but at this point, no.

The reason it fits so well in Penumbra and Amnesia is that these are horror games. You feel unnerved whenever you turn your back on a door for too long, and since you have to spend time opening drawers and such, you're often forced to do exactly that; and you never know when a monster will appear in the doorway.

In TES, this mechanic would be fun initially, but become a frustratingly boring chore over time.

So? It's a reference, it has 3D coordinates and orientation, having the NPC use those to find how and where to use furniture would be fine, in fact, the addition of NPC schedules telling them to use the furniture would aid the game in cleaning up after the player, in that the NPCs who use/own them could check when they come home or go to sit down if their table and chairs are oriented right, and if not, pick them up if they were fallen over, or turn them to be in the right position. It would be tricky but only until they got the formula right, it's really not impossible, these people can code much more challenging stuff.

Heck, it could even be set in packages, either as tags like the "Lock Doors at Start of Package" or as an actual "tidy up" package. This could involve sweeping areas of floor wide enough to be swept, correcting misplaced furniture to a certain degree, maybe depending on how picky the NPC is, then going over with a rag any tables and counters, picking up loose items on the ground and whatnot. Could be cool to watch, no?

Go Crysis!
I wanna be able to pick up chairs and turtles and throw them at people

More Physics? Yes Please:

Maybe in some main quest set-pieces like cutting ropes to drop chandeliers and more of those rolling and swinging log traps from Oblivion that were barely used.

Also I would like torches and other flammable items to be used as weapons (blunt + fire damage?).

The door physics would definitely be the most useful. But I was kind of thinking that you could possibly use furniture to build a barricade or cover. But like others have said this would probably cause too many problems.

However the door physics doesn't seem like it would be terribly difficult, since the door isn't actually moving, it'd just be a variation of how the doors work now.

I would be happy with Half Life 2 style phyiscs...still a bit of an upgrade from OB

Maybe if you are crouching (in stealth mode) you'll automatically open doors slowly and quietly.

Something I'm a little interested in is actually whether interior and exterior space is still seperated by a blackscreen, or if it's more of a seamless transition.
Same with cities. Open Cities for Oblivion worked wonders for immersion.