» Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:12 pm 1) The game has random crashes at least for the PC. I'm on just about 3000 saves now just because I have to constantly save.
2) I've noticed several mesh issues, things just showing up as purple instead of their normal design. These things include armor, dragons, walls, and more.
3) Quest bugs. I've seen several complaints about bugs with quests, but one in particular that stands out for me is the "Blood on the ice" quest. That quest will never start for me no matter what I do or how many new characters that I make. The worst thing about that is the second best player home in the game is dependent on that quest being complete.
4) Lagging. I would swear this was an online game with the amount of lag like issues that I keep having. Its strange, my CPU is under 25% and I know I'm not getting anywhere near my ram limit. The game started with smooth gameplay, but the more I play it, the more it "lags". The gameplay was good for my first three times through the game. After that, I need to restart a lot to get anything like smooth gameplay.
5) Vampires. The vampires in this game are a complete waste compared to being a werewolf. The werewolf controls are easy and fun. Its great to be able to transform into a huge murderous brute with cannibalistic tendencies. Being able roar and make everything cower is awesome. Not to mention you can kill anyone that you don't like as a werewolf and not get a bounty. The vamps, you get a few abilities once a day I think and can feed on sleeping victims. Really, Bethesda could've left that out rather than be so obviously uncaring with it.
6) Who wrote the dialogue for these quests? Bethesda does everything so well, but they really need to fire their writer on this one. Todd Howard you should have been looking over their shoulders or proof reading this stuff before letting it out. I promise you that I could have made the player/ NPC involvement and depth much better. I am a fairly good writer however, but I'd bet my last dollar that just about any dedicated Elder Scrolls fan could have written better than that. A players emotional attachment to NPC's is a critical part of player submersion in any RPG. I seen so much potential for a great story in this game that just gets decapitated like the stormcloak soldier in the intro.
7) Marriage. Whoever designed this aspect of the game failed beyond description. I'm guessing that its the same person who designed the dialogue. It seems to be of the same nature as the majority of the questing, boring, flavorless, and disappointing. Kind of like most girl's first time. You put on an amulet to show that your available and then it opens up a new option in the dialogue. "Interested in me are you.." yes, that Skyrim's best pick up line. Sad thing is that it works every time. The usual response is "Wont lie, I am. And you?". You can then return " Wont lie, I am". The lucky lady will then respond " Great its settled then, you and me. You should tell the priest that we're getting married". I'm willing to bet that a Las Vegas hoker would come at you with a better line than that and would likely sound more sincere about the fake emotional attachment. This is your characters wife, I believe the only one you get even if she dies. Shouldn't there be just a little more emotional attachment and dialogue? I don't think it should be a porm to bed your wife, but there should be at least something to let you know that your character is happy with it. Even something as cheesy making the screen go black and having your spouse say "Last night was great my skeever dumpling". Its horrible I know, but better that what we have now. I would gladly rewrite the whole game for Bethesda free of charge as long as they covered voice acting and I guarantee that the game would turn out much better.
Ok that's it, sorry Bethesda but those things had to be said. Its also a bad time for these flaws from what I'm hearing about MW3 being close competition for game of the year. Personally I don't care for anything call of duty related. Now I'm not simply going list a bunch of problems and just cry that Bethesda should fix it. I will make suggestions the hopefully other Elder Scrolls fans will agree with.
Solution 1) For the above issues 1-4, I hear that Bethesda has been working on a patch that should be available about one week after Turkey Day.
Solution 2) For the issue number 5. I think vampires could be improved by giving them a form that they can take as well. Maybe a monstrous combination of man and bat, and for God's sake please don't think that means Batman. The bat for should be able to fly and require a 50% or above blood meter to use. The blood meter could be kept full by consuming blood from any humanoid and it should slowly degenerate over time. Using any vampiric powers other than basic things like night vision should cause increased blood consumption. A full meter of blood could last for however many in-game days without using powers and NPC's could become hostile when the blood meter falls beneath 25%. Drinking blood should be an option even when targets are awake, but if they are awake, they should become hostile and an assault bounty should be implemented. This will allow players to use bandits and forsworn. The vampire could also have a usable fear aura and maybe a usable pacify ability to complement its charm legends.
Solution 3) It would be very difficult to improve storyline for faction quests now that the game has been released, but this could be kept in mind when creating expansions. Maybe the Morag Tong could make a return with a more in depth story line than the current factions. You could even add depth the current factions if done right.
Solution 4) Similar to the storyline, this could be hard to improve post release. If so, just add something in with an expansion. Make the storyline and seduction of the NPC something meaty and sincere. Make it part of the full expansion so the player has interaction with the NPC giving them a better sense of immersion. Give this NPC a unique personality that endears him or her to the player. Bioware doesn't do a horrible job of this but I'm sure Bethesda has the potential to do better.
