Dear Bethesda, one thing that has always bothered me in your games is the inability to toggle off the combat music. Please let us toggle it off in Skyrim.

It always feels uncalled for to go in to an epic combat soundtrack for every enemy that attacks you. Especially the small-times enemies that can't even harm you.

Maybe I'm in a minority here but interrupting the current music for trivial battles always feels abrupt to me and breaks the flow in the atmosphere.

It makes you feel more badass when your level 32 character slays a mud crab with 7 slashes of his sword.

What irritates me is nobody has developed intelligent playlists yet. You should be able to tell the game what to que up when a fight comes on, and have very simple scripts that switch playlists to adjust to the needed level of intensity. Music has an important role to enhancing the experience, but hiring an orchestra to record a couple hours for a 100+ hour game is plain stupid. Give the user the ability to use their own extensive library.

Yes, I hope the games become smarter when deciding what music to play.

For instance if a monster is much lower level than the player, then it should try to hide or flee, so no mud crab pests should attack the Champion of Cyrodiil, in the first place, so when a monster is fleeing then we should see no changes of music.

But if you attack that mud crab, or another monster decides to attack you, the game can calculate the threat ratio of the attack and decide if the music needs to change to battle music or not.

So for instance if your high level character attacks the mud crab, or a relatively low danger critter attacks your character, then there should be no change in the music, or the adventure musics could have a version that adds a bit to the tempo, or some such small changes to show that there is something happening but it is of no importance.

The next level would be attack music for regular foes, which would pose a bit of threat to the players but not much.

The next level would be for the regular bosses, which would be of higher danger level for the player, so they should have another category of attack musics.

The last level would be the boss attack music, suitable for the unique bosses, and some scripted battle scenarios.

the music in general kills athmosphere.

I turn it off.

when your around an old ruin on a cold foggy night with only the wind in your ears. THAT is atmosphere.

Yes! And player configurable playlists as well, even if only a few players actually use it.
As Aeroflux said, music goes a very long way, not just in quality but how it's implemented.

THAT is well said my friend.

It worked for great effect in Demon's Souls. The game really has you svcking in the atmosphere of a cursed land where civilization is no more.

While I like the battle music it does send a big RED ALERT signal.

Without it, imagine traversing along a snowy woods one night and suddenly seeing red and noticing your health drop. Was it a rat? An arrow from the dark? A trip wire? No, a stealth assassin who from a hundred meters back just backstabbed you. With the music, he wouldn't have gotten so close without triggering your spidey sense.

Meh. Whatever system Bethesda uses for the music in Skyrim, I'll just end up putting in my own music. Or leave it out entirely, but only for when I'm exploring the wilderness. In towns, talking to numerous NPCs, bartering, stealing, murdering, etc. it helps to have some background music for me.

That'd be really cool. You're walking around a city, you hear music being played by some band with lutes and drums, and such, and then when you leave, and head out into the wild, the music stops. It's just you, and the trees, and the monsters now.

That is a great idea. No more battle music(Except if you run into an evil band of bards or something ) and it adds to the atmosphere.

Exactly.

Although, when it comes to the final showdown with whoever/whatever the main baddy of Skyrim is, I'll definitely want music, and will absolutely be selecting my own for it.

Heh. Maybe I'll even record my own song for the occasion. :rock:

Well you could always just turn the music all the way down... I did that in a couple of playthroughs of oblivion.

Or they could do the combat music like they did in borderlands... small threats=small combat music large threats=bigger music. I liked that the music helped tell you when you where in a tough battle or in over your head, the music would start to go crazy...

That's a really interesting suggestion, but without a sort of warning before all the battles, the game play would put too much stress for me to really enjoy the game for any long stretch of time.

I think that most enemies should warn about their where-abouts in a fashion, like talking to each other, or letting out an oath, or growl as they us, or their foot steps, and so on...

Those sneaky snipers would be nasty surprises no doubt.

I know I am gonna put the Final Countdown as that song, provided we actually get to fight the final fight this time.

Battle music shouldn't start until you hit your enemy, or you are hit by an enemy.

As it is currently.

*battle music*
*Spin around until I find the enemy*
*kill enemy*

mods........ :hubbahubba:

Absolutely. At least for most of them. Some should keep relatively quiet because they know we're about or something. For non-NPCs, it would help separate the "I'm just territorial" animals from the "I enjoy killing mortals" Daedric/undead creatures.



As they should be. Kind of hard to put an arrow into some unsuspecting person's face when you scream "Die fetcher!" before letting loose.



:blink:

Wow, if you walk for a hundred meters before noticing you were stabbed... Just wow.

He meant that an NPC managed to stab him with a dagger from an unbelievably great distance away. Like, if I were to throw a wad of paper in your direction, and it actually hit you, even though there's a good chance you live in a whole other state/country. Knowwhattamean?

combat music optional

great idea!

Please no combat music. it ruins immersion when i know im being attacked before i can see my attacker.