» Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:47 pm I also want to say that I am very happy with the streamlining of skills and attributes; what others call "dumbing down" I call logical progress in the development of the genre (it's not perfect, but Beth is going in the right direction). Even as a hardcoe RPGer, I don't like spending hours in menus, I like RP-ing.
It is a "towering achievement", as another forumite says, no doubt about that. But there are some serious issues in gameplay that can be addressed in patches, DLC, or at least in the next TES which is no doubt already being discussed by Todd & co. Hit it, violin man! >>> :violin:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1286332-i-love-skyrim-but-thread-1-magic
Factions/Questlines
The Civil War
Why oh why was there not a Thalmor faction? The Morrowind (yes I’m going back there but bear with me for a sec) 3 Great House system was fantastic in terms of questline. Each corresponded to one of the 3 archetypes (mage, thief, warrior) but their quests also intertwined and fought each other, etc.
You could have made a Thalmor faction that sought to secretly sabotage both sides and keep the turmoil going, rather than resolve itself by having one side win. You could also have sided with Thalmor in other questlines (like Ancano at the College) to give them more paths/endings as well, rather than having the Thalmor ALWAYS be an enemy. This same problem existed with Necromancers in Oblivion. (I want to be a Necromancer, specializing in Conjuration and raising undead minions to fight for me. Wait, the only magic faction bans necromancy, and necromancers are automatic enemies. RP fail)
Instead of being associated with only one archetype, the three factions could have been associated with two (Stormcloaks = Stealth/Combat, guerilla war; Empire = Combat/Magic, putting down rebellion; Thalmor = Magic/Stealth, sabotage and political intrigue).
The biggest problem for me personally was picking a High Elf for my mage (+50 magicka bonus!) only to find my character entirely unbelievable as I progressed through the story, especially the Civil War quests. I realize, of course, that as a High Elf (or Khajiit or Wood Elf) I don't have to be associated with the Thalmor but given the political situation and racism present in society it felt way too easy to be accepted as the Dragonborn, let alone either the Empire or Stormcloaks, as an Altmer.
The Main Factions
So once again, 1 Warrior guild, 1 Mage “guild”, 1 Stealth “guild”… wait, 2, and one’s evil (well both really). At least this time the factions are apolitical enough that it’s not too unrealistic to be the leader of all them, but I would rather they had been somewhat political and have conflicting interests and you actually had to make some choices rather than follow a linear line and become head or effective head of each one. Fun the first time but boring :snoring: for replaying with a new character, because there are no other "real" choices to make (except choosing a side in the Civil War).
You also forgot to add a “do-gooder” faction to be opposite of DB like they “patched” into Oblivion with KotN; I thought when I first encountered a Vigilant of Stendarr and the Silver Hand that they might be joinable factions but alas, no.
Also what happened to faction screens, showing your rank in each faction. This could also be useful for organizing the twenty thousand active quests I currently have listed and have to sort through when deciding which to do next.
In conclusion: Oblivion’s replay value was terrible for a TES game. I had one main character who was “good” for the most part and did all the quests except Thieves and DB, which I created a stealthy second character exclusively to do those two factions. Skyrim is a little bit better in replay value, but MOSTLY because of the specialization of the perks system, only slightly because of the two factions in the Civil War: More factions with more meaningful choices that have REAL consequences, please!
Discuss, criticize, praise at your leisure, dear forum community :user:
