I got a feeling that all those big mountains,etc will make the world feel ... more closed ... and smaller ... I hope we wont feel that.

I want lots of wild animals, lots of NPCs, villages,cities, ... Better conversations, different NPC voices.

ill be a svck up and say that bethesda had a great idea when they decided to fade the hud you aren't using. it's gonna be so nice to leave combat, look up at some mountain or something and have the distracting health and magicka bars disappear.

A post I made on another thread:
I think that you should be able to buy a dog and name it yourself. If it died you could buy another one(after going through several steps of anger and denial, and finally a funeral, off course). The dog could also be of either gender(more of a cosmetic thing, but still) and maybe even several breeds with different stats. Some dog would fit more with the warrior-type character and some with stealth characters.
Abusing the dog could turn it aggressive towards everyone, but if treated with respect it was more calm, yet more loyal. A more aggressive dog could have increased dmg while a calmer, more loyal one could have more stamina and health(none of these bonuses should make too much difference of course).
In the cities some would be afraid of dogs and aggressive dog might attack while a calm one would not react.
Just some ideas of the top of my head that I think would increase immersion quite a bit. Making some money breeding dogs would also be kinda cool.

To me one thing is important above all others. I truly hope monster scaling is addressed in a meaningful way in Skyrim. I did not play the fallout series, so I'm not familiar with how much of an improvement that system will be, but it sounds like sort of a middle ground.

I've played Elder Scrolls games from the beginning of the series with Arena, Daggerfall on down. Part of the allure of the series is not simply that the world is wide open and non-linear, but that the exploring of that world is *meaningful* and that there are cool and unique things to discover in that world. Things that stay static and have a purpose for existing in a certain place, as well as the inhabitants in those places. Not simply conjured up entirely by a behind the screen macro system that pits something random to your level.

If everything in the world is randomized to equivalent of your level, the integrity of the world is compromised. It has no meaning. Because no matter which direction you go, or which dungeon you enter, the enemies are going to be the same challenge. It defeats the purpose of having a large game world in the first place. Because the world has no well thought out locations. Everything gets plopped down entirely haphazardly depending when you encounter it. This does not create a believable, nor at all threatening, world.

In the early games in the series, there were always forms of level scaling but not the major storylines of the game nor important milestones. Some of the most enjoyable parts of those games were being sent on a quest or to a dungeon you might not quite be ready for, and realizing that you are up against something far beyond your power, that either took immense skill to defeat, or else sent you back to do other more routine adventuring before you were ready to return and tackle the challenge.

Parts of the world should be dangerous and require great caution, skill, and power to overcome. The feeling that no matter where you roam, you will be met with enemies within a couple levels of your characters just inspires no sense of adventure, or reward for exploring. It's dumbed down hand holding.

I understand that for a world as large and filled as most of the games in this series, some randomization and scaling is absolutely required, even expected. Such is part of the history of Elder Scrolls. And such systems are fine for the more mundane random tasks within a town you might stumble into in the wilderness. Even fine for something like raising within the ranks of one of the game's guilds or factions. But certain important areas (such as becoming the head of a faction, or facing a major game milestone, or important locations backed with game lore) should not be treated in this sloppy randomized fashion. The world needs these static locations and power checks in order to have character and remain interesting.

I know there have been enough complaints about this since the release of Oblivion, that the developers are not unaware of it. I hope it is being addressed in at least some meaningful way.

I'm going to do a repost of what I said in response to the proposition of Assassins Creed style cities and NPCs, as it is quite relevant to immersion.

Being able to play instruments, cooking, sewing, crafting, dancing, painting, getting my hair cut, taverns being more lively like in the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUa-71Mp7ko tavern from Korana's COV mod. Have much much more options when speaking with NPCs, and giving each NPC their own in depth history and background, because every person you meet has a story to tell. That goes for both video game people and real life people. I just want to see more crafting in the game. You see all this architecture but where are the people doing the maintenance on it? Where are the people cleaning the streets? And where is everybody's waste at? I'd like to see some outhouses and chamber pots in towns. When I walk into a shop, I want to see other customers in there too. And I want to see them talking with the shop owner. In big shops, like perhaps armorers or gem stores, I want to see other employees (if any) working on their craft, whether it be stitching together leather hide armor or chiseling a ruby gem. I want to see masonry, people working in fields, traders bringing in shipments from other parts of the province. When exploring, I want to by chance, come across caravans of traders. I want to see traveling performers and entertainers. There needs to be much more entertainment in TES, like plays, operas, musical concerts/festivals, carnivals. The word "opera" is too earth sounding but they could substitute another word for it. When I go into peoples' homes, I want to see them sitting around talking and laughing, or perhaps arguing and quarreling. I want to see their food cooking over the fire and the mother and daughter preparing the food on a table. I would like gentle text messages like in TESII Daggerfall where it told you what you smelled or heard or saw or felt when you entered a cell. You can't smell things in video games so using text to describe it for you is the next best thing.

I love that song in the Wailing Wench Tavern!

1st person viewable body for sure!

And TrackIR support on PCs would be great :thumbsup: