One thing I had trouble relating to in Oblivion: There I am, an escaped convict, potential axe murderer and prime suspect in the assassination of a king and everyone is so pleased to to meet me, more than pleased, their little orange faces were positively beaming.

In Morrowind, apart from an unfortunate misunderstanding over an apple, my only crime was being a stranger in town yet I was continually greeted with the most virulent, and humorous, string of insults I've ever experienced in a game. From the simple N'wah through the terrifying 'We're watching you scum' to the brilliantly delivered and dripping in sarcasm 'Oh, how nice, a tourist'. Certainly added to the atmosphere, didn't need a GUI to check my reputation either.

So, what do you think guys and girls, did sarcasm and insults help your game along or do happy people make for a happy day?

Edit: Yes, happy people will still say happy things, but should unhappy people be more obvious in showing their displeasure?


A little music while you ponder and as a thank you for reading the first post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3CHi_9sxj0

Honourable mention goes to: 'You look half dead. Here, let me finish the job' lol

I agree. Why is an escaped felon being greeted with smiles, yet some guy/gal who just got off a boat (to everyone) treats me like another worthless meat bag?

People need to take a harsh tone in quests. For Assassin's Creed they had a quick beat-up quest where the woman said "My drunk husband is hanging around those [censored]s again, kick his butt for me."

why not both? some times i see happy people in the street and sometimes i see harsh people. they should also make it more realistic by making some people look at you when you walk by and also make some people look elsewhere or at the floor like in real life. everyone acts differently in real life this is why we need diversity. to make it more socialy realistic

Sometimes I just thought it was because I was a Khajiit...

EDIT

Then again not all strangers are treated equally.

I think it should depend on the race your playing as,
Hell Nords always seemed to be yelling, and cursing at my Khajit for no reason whatsoever.
I like a bit of racial banter, of course dependant on the context
(Just don't go and implement some sort of Breton KKK, or Redguard Israelites.)

I'd go for the racial aspect above, along with more varied dispositions overall. If there is that kind of prison release, it would make sense for the people who are aware of it (say, the guards and those living close enough to the prison to know what's gone on) to be a bit wary of me - or, if more like MW, for some people to be more hostile just because I'm a stranger to those parts. But there should still be people who are just generally nice, either because that's just what they're like or they know nothing about me which would cause them to instantly dislike me.

[Edit]: Didn't vote, because there was no "both" option - I know, I know, [censored] or get off the pot

"I heard a rumor that you're an idiot. Any truth to that?"

Yeah ... we need more of this.

I agree, I think that if Oblivion had that in it then It would have been rated mature right off the bat.

In oblivion there technically was a difference way you where treated if you were really infamous. The guards would say something like, "I've heard of you, just keep your weapon put away and we wont have any problems." But you bring up a good point.

The nice greetings were more interesting too in Morrowind.

Morrowind NPC: Under sun and sky, outlander. We greet you warmly.
Oblivion NPC: Hi! :wavey:

IF (and that's a big if at the moment) people are in the middle of a civil war, then everyone should be miserable, cynical and rude. I enjoy people having personality though, so perhaps a mix of both the lifeless happiness from Oblivion and the seemingly over hostililty from Morrowind; combined, would work.

I'm not gonna vote in this poll because I'd like to see a good mixture of both happy, nice people and sarcastic, mean people.

I'm all for a bit of variation in how npcs greet you based on your reputation, but one of the things I detest in games is the shopkeeper who always gives you a sarky comment, even after you've traded a gazillion golds worth of loot with him. They should be [censored] grateful. Sarcasm gets old really quick.

Of course some NPCs will be naturally friendly, some indifferent. The thrust of the poll, so to speak, was to ask if the counterpoint, be it racially motivated or otherwise would be welcome in these politically correct days.

I swear the game will go straight back in the box if at least one Nord doesn't ask 'Seen any elves? Hahahahaha'




'Greetings friend, the day is yours. What shall we talk about?'

May you walk on warm sands.

I just love that line; makes me feel cozy (especially since it's cold out right now)

I just want "we're watching you scum" back(although it would not be as cool as in morrowind without raspy dunmer voices;).

A mix, sure, to maintain a sense of realism, but I love the sarcasm and the insults... they're the NPCs I tend to remember, because they made me laugh... or made me want to kill them. :chaos:

"Oh, look, a fly, buzz, buzz. Hey everybody, I'm talking to a fly... buzz, buzz, buzz". Classic.

While I agree to an extent, how the hell is someone supposed to know you were from prison? Or even anywhere near the Emperor for that matter.

Well it's hard for me to understand complex speaking, so I think that the NPCs should only tell the truth, I wouldn't want to get confused.

I always figured that some gossipy folks in the IC would have heard something - Emperor dies and the jail is one prisoner short - maybe a guard on duty talked about a missing prisoner, something like that. It always seemed weird to me that you ended up just walking out of prison with no repercussions though, I mean, they must know your name/face if you were arrested, no? Or maybe the Blades got you a pardon/early release or something. It would also be cool if they mentioned your prison garb (i.e. wrist manacles or whatever they were) if you were still wearing them when you talked to someone

I think Morrowind handled it best. When you were fresh off the boat nearly everyone's reaction to you was negative. After you did some quests, spread a little coin around, and had proven yourself to them they reacted much more favorably toward you. In a word: Perfect.

Skyrim being filled with Nords would be the perfect opportunity to return to this style of greeting system. Seen any Elves? Hahaha

I definitely want a wider variety in personality, but once again personality varieties isn't Bethesda's specialty, never really has been. They tend to give everyone a similar personality in their games with a few exceptions for some main characters. I guess I'd prefer the sarcastic insult filled individuals for rough but necessary comic relief, and because its more easy to immerse ones self in a hostile or passive world then it is in a world where everyone is always happy. However, I really think this is another place bethesda could learn a little from Bioware and add some variety...