Problem: A big percentage of fans want player skill to matter more than character skill, and a big percentage of fans see it the other way.

What's the best way to solve this dilemma without Bethesda losing current or future fans?

Problem: A lot of people don't want their game to feel like what is often described as a "math calculator RPG", but then a lot of people do.

What's the best way to solve this dilemma without Bethesda losing current or future fans?

Problem: The smaller a game world is, the more detailed it is likely to be... The bigger it is... Well the more bland and uninteresting it's likely to be. Sorry but it's true, and that's cause, making something the size of a real life city, be as detailed, and unique as say Morrowind would... Take possibly, I don't know, 30 years? 60? 100? 300? If even possible... And at that point... Other issues may arise. The other hypothetical problem is: If the game world is more detailed than both Morrowind and Skyrim combined, but the size of say, your bathroom... Then... Well if it's that small, that would ruin it of course.

So it seems like there's a golden ratio in that regard. It has to be big enough, that it boggles the human mind, and can make people feel very lost and disoriented, but small enough, that the developers can hand place everything, and add lots of details. And... What size do you think this would be? Interestingly, perhaps this is a rather psychological and scientific matter in fact. Because it seems something has to at least be a certain size, to successfully immerse the average person in a place large enough to be disorienting.

A huge part of answering this question is answering this question: How big does an in game world have to be, to make it feel like another world, or to feel immersive?

Problem: Radiant AI... I'm not saying they shouldn't have used it, but it does indeed cause massive problems with the games that as of yet, haven't had a real solution found for them. With Radiant AI they can wander off and get killed, and Morrowind in some ways actually benefitted from not radiant AI because everything could be killable.

With Skyrim and Oblivion lots of NPCs are literally entirely invincible- flagged as essential. Some people feel like flagging them as PROTECTED instead, making it where only the player can kill them is a better solution, but then some people find this even more immersion breaking, when their lvl 1 can kill a character who can't be killed by the vampiric dracolich demigod empowered by Dwemer implants. (No, the TES series never had a vampiric dracolich demigod with Dwemer implants, I made that up, just to describe a ridiculously powerful character).

Judging by looking at the CK it might be possible to have an in game option that flags NPCs as either protected or essential depending on which bothers the player less, but turning OFF and ON radiant AI or wandering, would probably be way way way too complicated. What exactly CAN be done about the crisis of NPCs either always being in the same place, or wandering off, and either getting killed, or an immersion breaking thing like essential or protected being used?

I have an alternate idea... Which isn't perfect but may be better than either of those. What if said NPCs are randomly "killed" by another NPC while wandering, they later show up in a Temple where they are recovering from their injuries? That way there can be... At least slight consequences like that, yet the player can still kill the NPC. The alternate idea is in case nobody can think of a better solution. It'd be slightly similar to the hospital in GTA- only temples of healing cause this is the TES series, only for NPCs who die randomly, and them "dying" would be more significant than in post Morrowind games, but could be a compromise to not have to sacrifice radiant AI.

Or maybe you have some ideas about a solution for that?

Problem: There's a widely held debate, that less factions means more detailed factions, and more total quests, but on the other hand the debate, that this has the potential to take a turn for a game that's supposed to be a complex world, whichs in game store is little different from Red team vs Blue team. Because no matter how epic the factions, quests or character are, it's still too much like red vs blue.

What do you suggest as a proposed solution? Or how do you think this issue should be balanced?

Problem: I could be mistaken but if I remember right it seems like Bethesdas AI historically have lots of problems when the player levitates or jumps, and I mean, they seem to lose their thinking abilities if fighting the player, Morrowind is my favorite single player game of all time, but that was one major problem I think it did have. And what about the issues with NPCs having problems with being unable to jump or levitate themselves? (In hindsight it just seemed odd to me that only cliffracers other than the player could fly, and maybe literally just one or two NPCs with levitate potions my memory is kinda blurred on that though).

Any ideas whatsoever, on how to make that less of an issue?