I've made companion mods, from my experience with Oblivion there were actual in-game physical limitations NPC's had that made having a companion difficult(unless it was compensated for using tricks). This would be terrain and unreachable areas that only a jumping player character could reach or pahtfinding issues. Maybe Bethsof's new engine allows NPC's to overcome it in a manner that doesn't take players out of the gameworld.

I'd really prefer to do my adventuring alone. I think Fallout's setting is what made me most interested in having companions, but by comparison Elder Scrolls feels a lot more interesting as a lone hero.

Yes, they should do companions like NV or better.

Yes, if they are optional, for those who aren't keen on companions, and if they matter. If they have backstories, if you can build trust and a friendship with them, yes. If not, yeah, bot it won't be that interesting.

Yes, but optional plox.

:thumbsup:

For an example, I really love Julan companion mod for Morrowind. Really adds a whole new level to the MQ. Just don't get him drunk......

I votes "yes", but if they do bring in companions, I would like them to have deep and interesting personalities, such as the companions in dragon age origins, and have the voice acting to match.
The companions in DA were my favourite part of the game, as well as the excellent voice acting, and I would love to have this in the next TES game.

As long as I don't have to use companions to get things done I don't mind, I always liked the fact that in The Elder Scrolls series I was a lone wanderer of sorts and I don't want to lose that, not that adding some companions is bad or anything I just don't care for it in my Elder Scrolls game

Heck no save the space for more intersting stuff like better quests or more cooler unique weapons and armor.

Elder Scrolls bring solitary feelings to me. A group or party is not a must for a good RP game. It is a path, yes. But there also is another path, sometimes even more immersive because whatever your hero\protagonist has is whatever you have. Being alone in a mysterious and\or dangerous environment takes the player\person who experiences deeper, cutting the threads between other people who shares the same experience. And this is a totally different thing from multiplayer experience.

Also, group interactions and quests can be distracting from the main experience.

A lonely hero can be very effective if done right. And I hope Skyrim will have a very good story for a lonely hero.

Sure. I always can use a pack mule..er..stalwart comrade.

Keep it optional to prevent the whining, give me decent AI, and New Vegas style character quests.

Hired mercenaries would be cool. You have to pay them the more dangerous the job the more expensive it is!

I had to vote "Maybe".

I hate companions, I really hate companions, I really really hate companions in any game by any developer I've every suffered them on.

With that said, others like them.

Personally I want character iteration and developed relationships, not pack mules, not shoehorned badly implemented quests by way of pack mules etc. *sighs* You can have all I hope for with normal NPC without being forced to babysit them.

Companions with their own backstory, personality, etc. would be cool as it allows you to think of your companion more as a companion and less as a pack-mule or tank.

I pretty much agree with you, I always tried to keep my companions alive in Oblivion so they felt like more of a burden than a help in most cases. In higher levels they'd get owned by a dremora pretty quickly anyway.

I mean this isn't Dragon Age, nor is it Mass Effect, companions in the Elder Scrolls will probably never be that integrated into the system to where they are as a big part of game-play.

Rather than a companions following you around in the field, a relationship npc in town, like a husband wife type character or even just a friend with some back story would be better I think. Rather than being forced to baby sit some character who is helplessly trying to follow you through the woods and getting hung up as he tries to find a way to you only slowing your own progress down...

I think companions would be nice. As long as they were fleshed out, and the A.I. was improved.

Nothing like Fawkes getting stuck in a rock to kill the immersion for ya.

Why would I want a companion? This game is about me, not some garbage hireling who isn't even worth their money.

Should be like fast-travel. There for people who want it, but not forcing itself on you like a horny dog.

I personally loved my companions in modded OB and there was nothing like coming back from a dungeon crawl to have a few drinks in the town tavern

Then again, I'm quite lonely in life so maybe I just like the companionship :laugh:

Honestly companions is more of a BioWare thing and less of a Bethesda thing. The adoring fan is really as much of a companion as I need in TES. He is comic relief and he dies in the most outrageous ways. Never gets old.

A nord companion that turns into a werewolf would be cool if you're part of a werewof tribe or something. Or they might just still offer what oblivion did and have followers that die easily and often with horrible a.i

I've yet to encounter any Bethesda game that has acceptable companion A.I.

Running into my line of fire and getting killed by me is a Bethesda companion trademark don't you know

Being both a Bethesda and BioWare fan. I say yes to companions.

Not sure. I kinda like traveling by myself in TES, but after seeing how well F:NV handled companions, I guess I wouldn't mind having the option. As long as they are developed and you can fully manage their inventory etc.

Tentative no. I don't need no stinkin' kill stealer hobbling along beside me. Or making random remarks. Or colliding with something and getting stuck. Ah, but if they manage to impress somehow. I wouldn't mind Charon coming along. Can I have him? :biggrin:

Being able to have a companion should be a privilage i think. The companions should cost a lot of money to get, like houses in oblivion, so that you get that upper-classed i-have-enough-gold-to-have-a-bodyguard mindset. However, the AI really should be improved greatly in order for this to be a benefitial thing. Like, i would disagree with having compainons in oblivion, because i wouldnt want my thief bodyguard to attack me if i pickpocket an old lady. Also, i would agree with the main quest giving you a companion, as long as they are temporary. Either they leave you eventually, they die (as part of the story), or they were just there to help you through the beginning. Having a sidekick all the way through would feel too much like a crutch, or maybe even a thorn in the side at times.

I would absolutely love companions, like in Fallout: NV, but much more fleshed out. The companions in New Vegas were really cool. I liked the dialogue with them and their side missions. But the problem was that they really weren't involved with the story much like "companions" in BioWare games, and you could burn through 95% of their dialogue as soon as you got them, and the remaining 5% was from their side mission. After that you would never talk to them, and unless your companion was Cass you would almost never hear them talk again for the rest of the game. So, like someone said earlier, they quickly became walking turrets.