Realism Suggestions

Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:02 pm

These are just a few areas in Oblivion where it seemed like there was opportunity to make things more realistic. Sorry if all these ideas have already been voiced.
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1. Stamina-
One thing I always wondered about in Oblivion, was how my character managed to keep running through the various areas of wilderness for days on end without ever needing to sleep. (Beyond the one hour required to level up.) In college, I once went two nights without sleeping, but when 3am rolled around on the third night, I was admittedly a little loopy. And no, I hadn't been running throught the wilderness all day. The time I did a five day hiking trip in the Tetons, I was tired and ready to sleep when night came. Admittedly, the Hero of Cyrodil, or the last Dragon-born is hopefully in better physical shape than I am, however, I think tying fatigue regeneration to when the last time you got 6-8 hours of sleep wouldn't be too far out there. Here's some more thoughts on that:

First 12 hours of wakefullness: Stamina regenerates at maximum rate
Second 12 hours: stamina generation rate will slowly deteriorate to 3/4 normal level (doesn't have to be linear)
Next 48 hours: stamina generation rate will slowly deteriorate to 0 (no more regeneration - also not necessarily linear)
After 72 hours: Your stamina will start draining away, hence forcing you to seek rest somewhere.
(These times and rates could/should probably be affected by characters Endurance level.)

Why is this a good thing?
-It requires more active notice of how long you've been wandering around questing, etc. (Some players might hate it, but you can always have it listed as an option that can be turned on and off. Or better yet, when you start your character you choose to play in realism mode.)
-I think that most players want their characters to be awesome (strong, sneaky, good at what they do) but also believable. I want my character to at least seem human. Again, I can't speak for everyone.
-Having a sleep mode that is active introduces a lot more options.
-Sleep in an inn or your own bed: Should be a safe and comfortable way to do it.
-Sleep in a alley in the street: If you are a weak character (low level or otherwise) maybe you get mugged while you are sleeping.
-Sleep in the wilderness: Same theory as before. (Unless you are a high level guy camping in a low level area. Or perhaps you have a companion who can keep watch while you rest.

I think that where you sleep could open up a lot of opportunities for more encounters and/or quests. Actually eating food should also play into the stamina thing.
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2. Bank
Some players may not like grind killing bandits/mud crabs/other random enemies in order to get loot to sell as their only/primary method of making money. I think a bank that offers some sort of interest on money in savings would be a simple and helpful addition. Maybe you could even pay a small fee for 'secure' storage. Perhaps this doesn't fit with the mentality of Elder Scrolls. I don't think I know enough of the lore to say yes or no to that.

Why is it good?
-New source of income.
-Makes player 'budget' how much money to carry around with them.
-If you have 1,000,000 gold on you, you better be a beast of a fighter, because every thief/cutpurse in the city should be tailing you.
-If you have 1,000,000 in the bank, but 50 in your pocket, then you won't have enough cash on hand.
-New opportunity for quests.
-Could rob the bank if you are a thief character.
-Could get robbed if you pick the wrong bank to put your money in. Then have follow up quests to find the thieves.
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3. Encumbrance
I sometimes wonder how my character carries around 500 (pounds?) of goods on his person. His backpack (which he doesn't have, has to be huge to have 20 sets of leather armor stashed in it. Would it be possible to make this system a little more realistic.

Ideas:
-Character carries 2x (or some other ratio) of his strength attribute.
-As character is burdened with more and more, he will actually slow down until at max encumbrance, he can only walk and also is hampered in his fighting abilities. Magic users can of course ofset this somewhat with spells.
-This can be circumvented through the use of 'beasts of burden'.
-could be some of the companions Bethesda has mentioned are coming.
-Personality could actually be important now for driving loyalty in your companions
-This will determine whether they just take your loot and leave or not.
-Donkeys/horses/some other actual pack animal
-Can carry a lot.
-May require a companion to stay behind to guard
-Could possible send companion back to town with donkey burdened with loot to sell. (Again need loyal companions)
I think this would help make the game much more believable. And a little frustrating the first time you get ripped off. But theoretically, you could then follow the guy who just stole your stuff and get it back.
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4. Your House
I think the fact that the house you end up buying is seemingly Fort Knox simply because you own the only key is a little fake. Isn't there a Thieves guild who would probably find out pretty quickly that there's this idiot warrior who keeps coming back after looting rich dungeons and depositing his loot in nice chests in his house? How is the lock on my house's door impossible to break? So, how could this be helped out?

Ideas:
-Different locks of different difficulty. If you have a 'Very Easy' lock on your door, don't be surprised if you come back and are robbed. Spend the cash for a better lock because it will stop quite a few of the common crooks.
-But some thieves will always get past the door, so how do you stop them?
-Set physical traps
-Set magical traps
-Hire guards (Loyalty is an issue for this of course)
-Use bank vault for most valuable treasures.
-Possibly hire a mole to infiltrate the Thieves guild and find information on when they plan to rob you. Meet and greet wannabe thieves.
-Join thieves guild to gain their friendship/loyalty so they will stay away from your stuff.
I think this would improve realism as well.
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5. Other
This is just a list of other things that would be cool to include. (Maybe under the quest category of mundane living.)
-Help a farmer out by planting a field for him. Watch the crops grow over time.
-Go out and actually log trees for use in building a settlement. (Be able to see the settlement grow over time.)
-Could have quests to protect the settlement from some type of attacks for say, a week, to allow it to be built.
-If the settlement gets built, then the locals of that area will love you and it will be a good place for you to live/trade/etc.
-This protection quest would be a large time commitment, but it would pay large dividends in the end.
-It might require you to have some companions with you to help out.
-Any other things that bring the world to life. (seasons, plants that grow, environment that isn't totally static. Ie, you never spend points on luck, so one day as you are walking through the forest, a tree falls on you and kills you. And it's obvious how you died after the fact.)
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I guess that's it for now. I suppose if Bethesda leaves all these things the same as in Oblivion, then maybe some modders will step up to the plate.

mat
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{Richies Mommy}
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:36 pm

Mind if I add to your list of things in Oblivion/Morrowind that should be in skyrim :D and welcome to the forums :D Have a http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r105/Enoil/DarkFishyStick.jpg



Since they are overhauling the Magic system and adding environmental effects such as lightning stunning and draining magicka or fire continuing to burn, here is a list I hope with regards to current spell effects. using the Oblivion and Morrowind spell effects archives. its more like a detailed hoped ect ect. again this is the HOPE that they are keeping spell effects and not shelling us with saome fable esq crap where you can only cast so many spells and not make your own, trust me after 10 mins its going to get annoying casting the same fireball spell, ands context sensitive spell casting is a cheap cop out to me.

Really spells are from research an art even, not that you bought them from a person that sells spells, at any point if spells are sold they should only be from scrolls, where then if you are not associated with the Mages guild (now Synod and Whispers) then you memorize and incorporate that spell, rather than buying it from some store. and of course you can be *taught* the a spell or rather spell *effects* from other trainers, but ultimate what spells you have are what you concentrated and formed yourself. i made a post about this somewhere ill edit it into this one.

I envisioned a spell making system were it was ACTIVE.

The Player would muster a large portion of their Magicka and a concentrate it into a specific kind of Spell effect, the amount of magicka Mustered would be diminishing so a kind of trail and error or you'll have to know exactly what kind of spell you want to make before you make it apporach would be needed. you couldn't do it on the fly, a form of contcentration of focus would be needed to even start the process, meditating or being at rest and utilizing the magicka. quiet area's with no disturbances or unusually large amounts of risidual magicka would be helpful

so during the task you control

Concentration- whether or not its densely packed / and if that affects a wide or limited area

Sustained or not - deciding whether or not its a flame thrower or a fire ball, an arc of lightning or a sustained flurry

Intensity - Frequency would control whether the effects lasts after the intial caste, such as setting things on fire, or effecting a persons mind after using a very powerful charm spell.

the more adept you are at spell making / being a mage/That School of Magicka the more effects you can utilize while making a spell and the less likely you are to backfire during the process spell effects are taught by their respective guild schools (each Chapter in Oblivion speciallized in a school) or by Books/Scrolls.

You would be able to make spells beyond your scope, but it would be difficult and taxing to your character in making it and casting that spell. certain spells depending on how you made them would be difficult for you to caste at first, but with more use you become more proficient at using your spells. continuing on taxing the player certain perks could be availible that allow you to reach into deeper pools of magicka where otherwise you would simply run out and not ble able to caste. and even further more casting spells frequently with little magicka would fatiuge your character from draining stamina, making focus harder, to draining your health.

You could still be taught spells from other mages or learn from scrolls bought at varios stores as a way for the individuals not proficient in Magick to have access to such.


School of Alteration

Burden: Increases the weight of an object or all objects on an opponent. can be used to increase your standing power or keep an object out of an opponents use, failiure results in a higher than normal burdening possibly culminating in crushing of user or casted object, or lack there of.

Feather: Decreases the weight of an object or all objects on an oponent, can be used on self to lighten weight and move faster or jump higher in difficult situations, failiure results in unstable field, unwarrented deactivation

Fire Shield: Evokes a Field/Sphere of FIRE around the user, effective at staving off localized frost hazards and attacks. can increase dmg done by fire attacks both incoming and out going, as well as potentially killing the user in hostile environments where heat/fire is in excess. can be nulled by Dispel if its higher then the casted shield, failiure results in burning

Frost Shield: Evokes a field/Sphere of ICE around the user, effective at staunching off Fire based attacks, Can increase dmg done by Frost based attacks both incoming and outgoing, can kill or dmg the user if used for too long in frost hazards IE Blizzards. can be nulled by Dispel if it is higher than the casted shield, Failiure results in frost damage or possiblity of temporary freezing

Open: magically opens a locked container or door. lower levels can unlock doors not sealed by magical means, Higher levels require dispel or great profieciency in open when used with telekinesis, doors can be opened at a distance, allowing the user to gain ground from a pursuer

Lock: magically Seals an open door or Container, when used with Telekinesis doors can be locked at a distance giving the user some repreve from an extensive chase or lock their hapless victim from continuing to flee, it is different from physical lock in that the seal is reinforced by magicka and takes more than a key to open, however without local enchantment or certain perks, the magicka reinforcement will run out, leaving the lock level to remain. note a lock spell cannot increase the level of lock already on a door.

Shield: Creates a Magical Shield that universally protects the user, however it is impermable and does not allow for magical attacks in or out the field, can be nulled by Dispel, little protection from environmental hazards. failiure results in an unstable field, allowing objects/attacks to penetrate the field. perks are availible to extend the natural caste time of this spell as well as add push back force to heavy blows incured on the shield

Shock Shield: Creates a Sphere of Magical Electricity, able to damage opponents coming to close to the user, Shock based attacks are doubled going out but do not penetrate the field, does not protect against environmental hazards /fire/frost. failiure results in an unstable field lashing out an anything in its reach and potentially damaging the user

Water Breathing: allows the user to utilize Magical breath sustaining the user under area's low or devoide of Oxygen, can resist air/inhilation based poisons, failiure invokes astral vapors disease

Water Walking : allows the user to walk on water, lower levels restrict the user to *walking* higherlevels give greater stabilization to allow running and even sprinting or extended combat over water. failiure results in a lost of effect.

School of Conjuration often this school of magick requires both hands be free for spell casting

Bound Armor and weapons: ability to pioritize a set of weapons/ Armor for instant equip and use during combat for mages that cannot use armor effectively. the Bound Objects are specialized for the mage to allow maximum magicka usage and mobility despite that armors type, is vulnerable to dispel and disintegrate but are more resistant. the armor can be fortified with additional magicka, Failiure results in dispersion of the armor, greater levels of Bound weapons allows the user to summon unorthodox weapons and armors from the Deadric planes with the required teachings/perks.

Summon Ancestor Guardian: a Purely Dunmeri Ability, a Dunmer is able to call upon its ancestors for aid, Ancestor ghosts can aid in battle, provide council, possess enemies or buff the users with its blessings, the Ancestors are giving strenght through offerings and reverence made at local Temple shrines. failiure results in summoning the wrong Ancestor, potentially from another family, or no ancestors at all. Higherlevels can evoke 2 more ancestors to aid the user.

Summon Animal - Spiderlings, Bears, Wolves etc etc: depending on type of summoning a Prexisting animal from a nearby location can be called to aid the user, otherwise a magical summoning is brought fourth which is more vulnerable to magick disrupting attacks, preexisting animals leave after their service has expired, and only familiars stick around to continue aid. various animals have different abilites and are helpful in a variety of ways. failiure results in the summoning turning on you and or phasing out of existence in terms of magical based summonings

Summon lesser Deadra: understood as low caste Deadra, these include deadra of what mortals believe as limited intelligence deadra, Daedroths, Clanfears, Scamps etc etc, these Daedra are bound to the user when summoned, many are aware of the situation and will do as told, however unexperienced casters have found how smart these individuals can become, and bringing fourth to many can have dire consqeuncess if you don not posses the required skills/knowlegde.

Summon Dremora: summoning Dremoras is a risky business, and often are possible through prexisting pacts with a particular Dremora or common summoning speech used to bring one forth, while lower tier Soldier Dremora are common but no less risky to call fourth, Dremora Lords are a whole other animal and are best done by highly skilled practitioners with a clear goal of what they want the Dremora lord to do, otherwise the Lord will show little hesitance to strike at anything in range if left at its own devices.

Summon Atronach: Atronach's are similar to Dremoras in the risks involed when summoning them, they are often silent, and obidient, which makes them fairly deadly as they are not as predictable as the Dremora Counterparts, each Antronach form has a different cognitive type. as with all Daedra a modicum of caution a preparedness is essential for survival.

Summon Undead: encompassing ghosts, wraiths, skeletons, zombies, Summoning Undead can be done on the fly with a weaker magically summoned varient, or one from a disturbed area were souls roam, by using summon undead and culminate of apporpriate assemblance of bones and weapons, flesh and cloth, or a spirit will come to your aid, Failiure of such results in either a dude casting, or another opponent to clash blades with. (or run from)

Turn Undead: Lesser instances of this spell effect will send undead creatures fleeing from your sight, greater instances burning them and banishing them from their corporeal forms. failiure results in..failiure and a mad spirit.


School of Destruction

Damage Attribute/Health/Magicak/Stamina: this is a purely magical effects handy-capping its related target, where its applying unseen damage to a targets health, breaking their Magicka, or Stamina a target without the appropriate defense will find themselves falling really fast, Single caste Damage spells take a significant amount of Magicka use and more often harm other effects in addition to their intended targets but to a lesser degree, while temporary damage takes less, and is well...temporary. is extroadinarily useful with other destruction based attacks or those used in succession with debuffing spells. this effect is not pleasent for the victim and is not harmless like absorb.

Disintegrate Armor/Weapons / Area: does as it says, this Spell degrades armor, weapons, barrier doors, anything inanimate is subject to this spell effect, when used in conjuction with out destruction spells, that particuler effect is enhance, and can chip away defences vulnerable to its type, like a disintegrating fireball on a barrier, however because of its purely magickal nature residual effects like frost, burn and frost only last the duration of the entire spell, failiure results in a wild cast or destruction of personal equipment. resisted naturally by enchanted weapons/armor.

Absorb(Restoration)/Drain: works similar to Damage, but the damage is done overtime consistently, Drain is not instance, and in its use the users magicka pool is reduced, however the effects can easily turn the tide of battle and are useful for items to gain a charge, store it , and apply to yourself on an enchanted object. failiure results in a dud caste, or polarized Drain/Absorb. this effect is also harmful unlike absorb.

Fire Damage: Produces the Magical elemental version of Fire, as potent and just as dangerous, magical fire remains as long as its duration/power of the spell, with some naturally heat produced flares remaining behind, Fire damage can be focused into a stream, a volitile ball, or an explosive bolt. touch based fire damage can be utilized in strikes or grabs, burning the area of choice and potentially instantly killing depending on the area. failiure results in a dud caste or fire damage.

Frost Damage: similar to Fire Damage can freeze on contact, used on the ground can create a slippery area for opponents, will naturally evaporate after its duration is over.

Shock Damage: ditto can be used on bodies of water for an even greater effect on enemies occupying that area.

Weakness to: reduces resistances


School of Illusion

Calm: the user whipes the mind of his/her attacker and evokes a sense of disinterest, the effect is increased when utilized with chameleon or invisibility literally forcing the target to forget you were their long enough for you to disappear., greater levels are required for high INT individuals or excessively aggressive animals. Failiure results in a dud spell. higher levels can extend the effect beyond the victim, sudddenly becoming disinterested in their current tasks, Zoning out, laxness, or even sleep when combined with Drain fatigue and Drain Stamina

Chameleon: makes the user into a shilouette(sp) of sorts, you are still able to do actions such as attack and pick items up, but such will allow your opponents to focus on you more, the greater distance between you and a target, the less chameleon you require to sustain, opponents with abilities like Detect life or being hit by marking attacks such as spider webs, or projectile vomit will paint you out despite the Chamelon. some animals have a greater degree of senses and can locate you. failiure results in partial chamelon casts or dud cast.

Charm: Charm Hijacks your targets mental processes and luls them into having a greater degree of being persuaded, Animals are drawn to protect you and people are placed into a sense of ease around you, high INT can negate this effect and animals with higher senses /smell/sight etc etc can shake themselves out of the effect. Higher levels of Charm can have undeterminal effects on the victim, including near insanity, incoherent babbling, etc etc.

Command : the greater cousin of Calm, Command Hijacks the victims cognita and forces them into service for you, some higher INT opponents may be well aware that they are under your controll unwillingly and will generally try to resist, too strong of a Command can completely stupify its intended victim leaving you with a useless husk, like Charm, permanent Casted Commands take more magicka and are prone to resistance while durations are cheaper and gradual, allowing for greater control.

Demoralize: Scaring your opponents bowles clean, this spell effect evokes an irrational sense of fear or hesitation in your oppoents, where lesser creatures require little Magicka for use, Greater opponents like Dremora are nearly impossible to scare witless, Demoralize may not always work as intended as some animals and people as well will flail against their fears, putting a overly confident user into a bind. the effect is increased when used on Weapons, armor or even another individual. failiures include dud casting or simply pissing off the intended victim even further.

Frenzy: Invoking an overwhelming sense of rage into your opponent, this is an excellent alternative to taunting, due to some opponents being resitant to taunting and some animals (they don't know you are taunting them) it can be used to force an enemy to expend more energy, and lose focus making them slip up, make mistakes, or not notices things (like the Fire trap I just layed on the floor) animals also lose touch and focus with their senses allowing you to sidestep them and evade them easily, or plain just tire them out and put them out of their misery, like most spells, Duration, touch and or short range spells take less magicka than do range spells, making spell such as a light fire damage spell and a frenzy can cause nearby enemies to lose moral at seeing a flaming raging beast of a man/animal. failiure includes a dud spell or in a perfect world, your character getting pissed and going on a killing spree out of your control(jk)

Invisibility: this spell effect phases out the user, they are still tangible but not obeservable in the physical world the effect persists so long as no extensive action is taken interacting with objects outside the players field will disrupt the spell, although undead/ghosts/spirits can still see the user, most other enemies not using spells like detect life cannot see the player but can hear them, unlike chameleon invisibility's optimal range is all whether close or far, but factors like projectile markers (vomit/spit/webs) can signal out the player, animals with heightend senses can also detect where the players general area is, but cannot focus on them, ranged attacks also generally miss. like other spells Invisibility can be used on objects to conceal them from thieves, or their seekers, but because of the magical endowment can be detected by Detect enchanted objects spell. failiure includes dud casting (example casting invisibilty and levitaion instills near total nullification of being detected by physical means...as long as you don't bump into a chandiler, doing so could spook unaware npc's in their homes, and can cause them to react in a number of ways.)

Light: Illuminates the area via light Orb or object that the spell is applied to (rings, swords, Shields, clothing) the spell persists under duration or as long as magicka is feed into it from the enchanted item or player, Light can be intensified to stave off light sensitive creatures/abominations, it can also be combined like other spells into forms like fire damage combined with light gives Solar burst, an intense daylight effect useful for keeping vampires at bay(those sensitive to light anyway), you cannot sneak while illuminated unless you cancel the spell or pocket/drain your items with Drain Magicka.

Blind: Obscures the Vision of the victim, often causes a slight demoralization for eye reliant enemies, has no effect on *blind* targets such as blind moths or those with high perception, negates the use of vision enhancing effects like night eye , detect life, detect magicka. when used with Light, it literally becomes blinding light, obscuring the foes vision in the appropriate intensity of the spell, enemies afflicted lose all focus on the player and will generally flail about, those with higher INT, Levels or well trained will at times calm down to better improve their chances of striking the player, sound plays a huge role at this point and taunting oh throwing objects can sway the enemy, to prevent the enemies recolection its best use in conjuction with frenzy or demoralize. spell failiure includes Cast Dud.

Night-Eye: a spell effect used to mimick Khajiit's natural ability to navigate the darkness with little trouble, such requires a steady flow of magicka or releveant enchanted items equipped, it comes in intensities from low light illuminations to complete near daylight like hues, however the spell effect Light as well as other light sources can disorient the user or anyone using night eye. failiure results in *blind* spell effect.

Paralyze: this spell/effect can range from making movement extremely difficult (coupled with burden) to nigh impossible applicable by poisons, Inhilation, injection. this effect as a myriad of transmissions, it can reduce the effectiveness of a combatant in battle, inhibite mages from hand castes, and make them vulnerable to attack, combined with Frost, it could indefinently entomb and kill an opponent, or burn them alive for the more sadistic practitioners. failiure includes dud caste of paralyzation on self.

Rally: The opposite of Demoralize, Rally can invoke an overwhelming sense of bravado and courage into its target, at higher levels such can become near zealous or suicidal Higher INT *enemies* may notice something is wrong but they are compelled to carry out their fearlessness onto the duration of the spell unless they are able to resist and shrug off the spell, when used with Charm or command they are more susceptible to Rally, Rally does not substitute for a true leader however, who is able to invoke true bravery and zeal, but the spell is an excellent alternative to those with low speechcraft and charisma. one thoughtful way to employ this spell is to caste it on a sword, with an area effect and caste on activation not hit (or you'll be making your enemies more willing to kill you) then brandish your sword in a rally call and the effect will boost their moral. failures include dud casting

Silence: Does exactly what it says, it prevents vocal castings and doubles the lenght of time it takes for castes that require vocal and movement casting, it also prevents foes from calling for help or rallying others to their position, if they die during the silence caste, they will generally make no sound depending on the intensity for some opponents this can reduce moral in combat. casting silence on an NPC will not enable them to talk, where it would be a decent show of superiorirty to your percieved lessers, casting it on an citizen is generally a crime and not well recieved. Failiure includes back fire silence, one inventive way to utilize silence is in combination with paralysis leaving the individual fully aware but helpless as you pifler their store, blind is also useful aslong as they did not observe you prior, thus forgoing having your image posted all over town.

Sound: apart of the casting inhibiting spells, Sound creates a thought scattering noise on the victim, disabling thought evoked spells (spells casted by recalling them or remembering them) much of the enemies or players spell repetoire is disabled for the spells duration, and combined with the other spells of its kind can be quite potent, in addition sound combined with a fire ball can have a demoralizing effect on lesser creatures and enemies. spell failiue includes self infliction of sound, and *shell shock* type of effect.

School of Mysticism I know its gone

Detect Life : Allows the user to see living things through solid objects. whether they are cloaked by darkness or Magic, so long as they have life, they will glow. failiure includes spell dud caste.

Dispel: depending on the casters proficiency, this spell can severely weaken or utterly abolish any Magicka based spell present on an object, from falling shields, wiping away buffs, and Enchanted weapons (effective when used with Drain can completely remove the enchantments) Dispel is essentially voiding Magicka from an object or area. failiures include spell dud caste.

Absorbtion/Reflect Damage/Spells are inherent in magicka Shield, certain birthsigns and combination of certain perks as well.

Soul Trap: makes the smallest applicable soulgem active for the target in question as to which it will encase that living targets soul upon death. spell failiure includes spell dud caste or soul escaping based on its strenght

Telekinesis: you to pick up an item or individual from a distance based on strenght of the spell. from there you can bring them to you and send them flying at another target, higher levels allow for multiple/heavier objects to be utilized as either shields or projectile weapons, even as buidling blocks to access other areas. spell failiures include dud cast, uncontrolled telekinetic throws, application on self and afformentioned Throws, or wild cast.


School of Restoration

Absorb: from Magicka to health, attributes and skills Absorb allows to user to gain strenght from other individuals/Objects for a temporary boost, the effect is not harmful and is somewhat symbiotic like drain, where the victim / source ceases so are the gains, like drain spell effect failiures include polarization of the stream, this spell is useful for absorbing magical items or friendlies with strenght to spare.

Cure Disease/Poison/Paralysis: this spell effect reduces or removes the effects of their appropriate relations, Reduced spell effects are able to comback in intensity for low cost duration cures while removing them completely or reducing them completely takes more Magicka, Failiures include dud spell cast.

Fortify: Like Absorb, Foritfy gives a substantial boost to the user whereever the deem relevant, the spell is dependent on the amount of Magica availible to the cast, because both temporary and permenant fortify are based from magick, their effects can be nulled by dispel and or damage/drain magicka. the spell draws from the amount of magicka applied to it for a duration, or drains on the fly until the duration ends or you run out of magicka, its infact a buffer so even losing health beyond the amount you had already wont neccesarily kill you out right, and instead from your magicka pool or fortify spell

Resist: resist nullifies detrimental effects pertaining to their caste type (shock, fire, frost,etc etc) as with all the other spell effects in Restoration it can be permenant or duration and can be nulled by Dispel, spell failiures include spell dud.

Restore: Returns attributes/health/Stamina back to normal, if used while under duress from a drain/damage effect the spell will be continous natively until the opposing effect cease, duration ends, or magicka supply runs out. spell failiures include spell dud.
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Stephani Silva
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:22 pm

1. No thanks for me personally, unless it is a hardcoe mode thing.
2. Yes. In addition to that I would like to be able to put a down payment on a house. I get the deed and the key but the person will harass me about paying the rest off and eventually send debt collectors after me.
3. Eh I liked having 500 Encumbrance at 100 Strength. I suppose I could drop it down to about 300-400 though. If they make weights for things realistic (at least for stuff we can find out how much it weighs, like a steel chestpiece)
4. All of your ideas like traps and guards and stuff, but with no risk. I buy a house because it is supposedly a safe place to store loot. If it isn't I won't bother.
5. I like.

Edit: Not even gonna bother with yours Omega. I am familiar with your posts though so I'm sure it makes sense and is at least an interesting concept, even if I disagree :P
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Czar Kahchi
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 2:34 pm

The trailer made it seem like there is a sprint. Hopefully this means you won't be running at top speed all the time. At least it would get annoying to hear that panting all the time.
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Sammi Jones
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:26 pm

The ideas sound cool, and not too realistic (as in, it'll still be a game, some suggestions take realism too far.). Some of the ideas may be implemented on a lesser scale and I think that'd be awesome! :)
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Latisha Fry
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 9:31 pm

I'd say no to the stamina unless hardcoe mode, and no to the bank idea. I doubt many banks would exist, as it'd be somewhat easy to break in or destroy, and I doubt many of them even knew of percentages. Other than that, yes.
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Leanne Molloy
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:03 pm

The trailer made it seem like there is a sprint. Hopefully this means you won't be running at top speed all the time. At least it would get annoying to hear that panting all the time.

There is a Sprint button. On console speed will be determined by how far you push the anolog stick, as well as having a button that lets you run faster than normal running at the expense of Fatigue. On PC I would assume it will be the same as Oblivion, but with a key for sprinting too.
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Stu Clarke
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:36 pm

lets worry about getting things in that were in previous titles before we implement all this "realism" stuff. Not to mention some of the stuff you mentioned were in previous TES games.
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Tyler F
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 1:24 pm

There is a Sprint button. On console speed will be determined by how far you push the anolog stick, as well as having a button that lets you run faster than normal running at the expense of Fatigue. On PC I would assume it will be the same as Oblivion, but with a key for sprinting too.

It could work like Stalker were there is a key for walking.
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Eileen Collinson
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 1:40 pm

I suppose I only have legitimate experience with Oblivion, and very minor experience with Morrowind. So if some of these things were taken out by the time Oblivion arrived, it theoretically was warranted. I suppose most of these options would have to hinge on whether a player selected 'realism'. Cause it would probably be 50-50 love it / hate it. I could see myself getting annoyed with the Stamina and Encumbrance options after a while.

I think the random events based on luck would be cool though. I would love to see the Adoring Fan approaching only to have a flower pot fall off a window sill a few stories above and clock him.
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u gone see
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:38 pm

There is a Sprint button. On console speed will be determined by how far you push the anolog stick, as well as having a button that lets you run faster than normal running at the expense of Fatigue. On PC I would assume it will be the same as Oblivion, but with a key for sprinting too.
Yes, pretty much every game allows you to control speed of movement on how far you push the stick. Pretty much the whole point of it. The sprint function will most likely be initiated clicking the left stick.
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Hope Greenhaw
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:52 pm

1. Meh. Hopefully, it'd only be in a hardcoe mode, but if it wasn't I might actually use a bed for something other than raising levels or triggering "sleep in that Inn" quest stages.

2. Never really had that much money in OB, so this doesn't matter to me personally.

3. Nope. Packrat here. I always go for lots of strength (and things like Strong Back in FO3) so that I can pick up lots of stuff. Also not a fan of the Diablo-style "tetris" inventory grid, for the same reason. TES games have lots more Stuff in them than other games. I want to be able to grab a good amount of it. :D

4. I'll probably just grab a basic "utility" house mod, like I did in MW & OB. And if the "risk of thieves" thing was high enough, I'm sure most house mods just would make the door impassible to NPCs.

5. Eh. I think someones's made (or started on) a "build a town" mod for FO3. Never bothered trying it, since I'm not playing SimCity. :shrug:
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naomi
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:55 am

These are just a few areas in Oblivion where it seemed like there was opportunity to make things more realistic. Sorry if all these ideas have already been voiced.
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1. Stamina-
One thing I always wondered about in Oblivion, was how my character managed to keep running through the various areas of wilderness for days on end without ever needing to sleep. (Beyond the one hour required to level up.) In college, I once went two nights without sleeping, but when 3am rolled around on the third night, I was admittedly a little loopy. And no, I hadn't been running throught the wilderness all day. The time I did a five day hiking trip in the Tetons, I was tired and ready to sleep when night came. Admittedly, the Hero of Cyrodil, or the last Dragon-born is hopefully in better physical shape than I am, however, I think tying fatigue regeneration to when the last time you got 6-8 hours of sleep wouldn't be too far out there. Here's some more thoughts on that:

First 12 hours of wakefullness: Stamina regenerates at maximum rate
Second 12 hours: stamina generation rate will slowly deteriorate to 3/4 normal level (doesn't have to be linear)
Next 48 hours: stamina generation rate will slowly deteriorate to 0 (no more regeneration - also not necessarily linear)
After 72 hours: Your stamina will start draining away, hence forcing you to seek rest somewhere.
(These times and rates could/should probably be affected by characters Endurance level.)

Why is this a good thing?
-It requires more active notice of how long you've been wandering around questing, etc. (Some players might hate it, but you can always have it listed as an option that can be turned on and off. Or better yet, when you start your character you choose to play in realism mode.)
-I think that most players want their characters to be awesome (strong, sneaky, good at what they do) but also believable. I want my character to at least seem human. Again, I can't speak for everyone.
-Having a sleep mode that is active introduces a lot more options.
-Sleep in an inn or your own bed: Should be a safe and comfortable way to do it.
-Sleep in a alley in the street: If you are a weak character (low level or otherwise) maybe you get mugged while you are sleeping.
-Sleep in the wilderness: Same theory as before. (Unless you are a high level guy camping in a low level area. Or perhaps you have a companion who can keep watch while you rest.

I think that where you sleep could open up a lot of opportunities for more encounters and/or quests. Actually eating food should also play into the stamina thing.
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2. Bank
Some players may not like grind killing bandits/mud crabs/other random enemies in order to get loot to sell as their only/primary method of making money. I think a bank that offers some sort of interest on money in savings would be a simple and helpful addition. Maybe you could even pay a small fee for 'secure' storage. Perhaps this doesn't fit with the mentality of Elder Scrolls. I don't think I know enough of the lore to say yes or no to that.

Why is it good?
-New source of income.
-Makes player 'budget' how much money to carry around with them.
-If you have 1,000,000 gold on you, you better be a beast of a fighter, because every thief/cutpurse in the city should be tailing you.
-If you have 1,000,000 in the bank, but 50 in your pocket, then you won't have enough cash on hand.
-New opportunity for quests.
-Could rob the bank if you are a thief character.
-Could get robbed if you pick the wrong bank to put your money in. Then have follow up quests to find the thieves.
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3. Encumbrance
I sometimes wonder how my character carries around 500 (pounds?) of goods on his person. His backpack (which he doesn't have, has to be huge to have 20 sets of leather armor stashed in it. Would it be possible to make this system a little more realistic.

Ideas:
-Character carries 2x (or some other ratio) of his strength attribute.
-As character is burdened with more and more, he will actually slow down until at max encumbrance, he can only walk and also is hampered in his fighting abilities. Magic users can of course ofset this somewhat with spells.
-This can be circumvented through the use of 'beasts of burden'.
-could be some of the companions Bethesda has mentioned are coming.
-Personality could actually be important now for driving loyalty in your companions
-This will determine whether they just take your loot and leave or not.
-Donkeys/horses/some other actual pack animal
-Can carry a lot.
-May require a companion to stay behind to guard
-Could possible send companion back to town with donkey burdened with loot to sell. (Again need loyal companions)
I think this would help make the game much more believable. And a little frustrating the first time you get ripped off. But theoretically, you could then follow the guy who just stole your stuff and get it back.
----------------------------------------

4. Your House
I think the fact that the house you end up buying is seemingly Fort Knox simply because you own the only key is a little fake. Isn't there a Thieves guild who would probably find out pretty quickly that there's this idiot warrior who keeps coming back after looting rich dungeons and depositing his loot in nice chests in his house? How is the lock on my house's door impossible to break? So, how could this be helped out?

Ideas:
-Different locks of different difficulty. If you have a 'Very Easy' lock on your door, don't be surprised if you come back and are robbed. Spend the cash for a better lock because it will stop quite a few of the common crooks.
-But some thieves will always get past the door, so how do you stop them?
-Set physical traps
-Set magical traps
-Hire guards (Loyalty is an issue for this of course)
-Use bank vault for most valuable treasures.
-Possibly hire a mole to infiltrate the Thieves guild and find information on when they plan to rob you. Meet and greet wannabe thieves.
-Join thieves guild to gain their friendship/loyalty so they will stay away from your stuff.
I think this would improve realism as well.
----------------------------------------

5. Other
This is just a list of other things that would be cool to include. (Maybe under the quest category of mundane living.)
-Help a farmer out by planting a field for him. Watch the crops grow over time.
-Go out and actually log trees for use in building a settlement. (Be able to see the settlement grow over time.)
-Could have quests to protect the settlement from some type of attacks for say, a week, to allow it to be built.
-If the settlement gets built, then the locals of that area will love you and it will be a good place for you to live/trade/etc.
-This protection quest would be a large time commitment, but it would pay large dividends in the end.
-It might require you to have some companions with you to help out.
-Any other things that bring the world to life. (seasons, plants that grow, environment that isn't totally static. Ie, you never spend points on luck, so one day as you are walking through the forest, a tree falls on you and kills you. And it's obvious how you died after the fact.)
----------------------------------------

I guess that's it for now. I suppose if Bethesda leaves all these things the same as in Oblivion, then maybe some modders will step up to the plate.

mat

I actually didn't like any of your ideas...
They are just too realistic for me, some sound good at first but then when I think about it they could be boring to most players... Skyrim is indeed a harsh environment, however, it doesn't mean it has to have realistic systems like "No sleeping? then suffer for it" kind of gameplay. I don't know, I don't see it happening + I don't really like it... sorry, just my opinion.

About the luck thing: I did like that idea, but not in the manner of actually DYING while a tree falls on you, could be irritating as hell... having all these adventures, then going on some road to some city to finally rest for a while and from nowhere a tree falls on you(?). It leaves in a "WTF" feeling, and not a good one. Though if you could take it to some other directions, then it could be nice, having luck actually effecting the gameplay.

Last thing: About carrying too many objects on you... it's enough that Beth puts Encumbrance in, I mean it could be annoying like hell to see how little I can carry, so what if it's not realistic? if you can't carry two sets of armors on you to sell them and earn some money then you're limited only for the things that are actually on you. (Besides, set aside the fact that a bag can't carry even one single armor in it, so if you want it realistic... you actually want it annoying in this aspect of the game)
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NO suckers In Here
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 3:42 pm

I kinda dont like any of your ideas
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STEVI INQUE
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 11:46 am

I'm happy for the feedback, positive or negative. I can see how quite a few of the realism effects would take some of the fun out of the game. Sleeping would probably become a chore, pack animals would get annoying if they weren't implemented well, and perhaps it is good to have one safe haven for storing your loot.

So, maybe the nay-sayers are winning me over.

I still stand by the things in part 5 though. (maybe toning back the negative effects of luck a little.)
Anything that makes the world more dynamic, hence alive, is good. If we want realistic weather and character animations, then doesn't in make sense that some of the other elements in the world would also change? Crops growing and houses getting built sound cool. But perhaps they are more work than they are worth for the development team to consider.

And if the effects of luck would be a little more than "I think my level 70 luck may have helped me get that Ring of Perfection, but it could have just been random chance since my level 25 luck character found it as well." Perhaps they should add a dicing Tavern game. Or maybe at higher levels of luck, bandits accidently trigger their own traps more often, or a mage misses with a silence spell. Things that could happen normally, but are more likely at higher levels.
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kat no x
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:21 pm

I like a lot of these ideas. I'd especially like to see the wagon from Daggerfall make a return. But no to getting robbed, either through burglary or disloyal companions. In oblivion, I'd always put any unique items I wasn't using in the display cases in Battlehorn Castle and Rosethorn Hall. Having my stuff stolen when I couldn't do anything about it would probably frustrate me enough to make me stop playing the game permanently and return the game to Gamestop.
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Thema
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 12:01 pm

I think that boats should either move (gotta wait till they dock to hop on, swim and board them, or just jump onto them) and or have them rock in the water.
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Claire Mclaughlin
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:59 am

All of your ideas are interesting.

BUT:

This is a game and I personally just like to enjoy it without "too much realism", I get enough of that in real life.

I want to be able the loot as much as possible, have many armors and weapons on hand if I like to switch etc.
Having a house is mostly for storage, and hence I wouldn't want some NPC taking that specific armor I worked my A** of to find and collect etc.
The sleeping part is also something that would become a nuisance after a while, when the novelty wears off, nothing worse that feeling forced to do something in a game.
All of a sudden your not at your peak and you have to sleep away the night or day and you have a quest that happens that night, not really going to work.

If the option is there to sleep then you can role play that fantasy that you HAVE to sleep and then do it. They could otherwise have a hard core mode that requires things like you mention but of course optional.
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Bigze Stacks
 
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Post » Thu Sep 02, 2010 1:09 am

I like a lot of these ideas. I'd especially like to see the wagon from Daggerfall make a return. But no to getting robbed, either through burglary or disloyal companions. In oblivion, I'd always put any unique items I wasn't using in the display cases in Battlehorn Castle and Rosethorn Hall. Having my stuff stolen when I couldn't do anything about it would probably frustrate me enough to make me stop playing the game permanently and return the game to Gamestop.

Then you simply wouldn't put your [censored] in places where they could get stolen.

I'd like to see other heroes who would raid dungeons, rob houses, do assassinations etc to make the world feel alive. In Morrowind we had nothing and Oblivion only Adventurer (and that was ridiculously rare sight), but that was rather due to the performance/dated engine rather than not wanting the idea to be put in. I hope I can see that in skyrim.
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Jani Eayon
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 10:45 pm

Then you simply wouldn't put your [censored] in places where they could get stolen.


I like to be able to display my stuff where it can be seen; on tables and display cases and such, not have to hide it in a Very Hard locked chest because of some stupid mechanic that causes the sword/armor I spent 5 hours getting to randomly vanish.
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Lindsay Dunn
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 1:40 pm

Those ideas are too realistic. I like them in theory but it would make the game too hard.
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Emilie M
 
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Post » Wed Sep 01, 2010 4:09 pm

i like ur idea.
not all, but good ideas...some of them i am sure the modders will add later

i would add Weather effects like rain.
Gathering option...but not only "herbs"...i want mining/blacksmithing...
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AnDres MeZa
 
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