Here at the Skyrim General Discussion forum we are exceptionally good at sharing our opinions and criticisms about various topics concerning the upcoming game. We spend a lot of time dreaming about possible features that will be implemented, and at times, point out things which we consider flaws in the development process which have a huge impact on the overall product come 11.11.11.

Let's mix it up a little and discuss the ways in which Bethesda has really hit the nail on the head in the development process (from what we can gather from official news). I'm curious to hear the things which really excite you about the road Bethesda is taking Skyrim. What ways do you feel the developers are improving upon previous entries in the the ES series?

Let's try to keep the discussion to specific things which make you feel as if Skyrim is going to be great as opposed to things which worry you about the way it's being developed. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts

I think we've given plenty of support to bethesda already. Look in almost any thread, there's somebody going YAY graphics and shaders are awesome or whatnot.
What really irks me is those who complain about complainers. If we don't complain or give criticism, the product will turn out to be crappy. Anyways, compared to other games forums I visit these forums are not very negative at all comparitively.

Well...kinda pointless, but anyway I'll play.

Dragons for one. I love that now we finally have good enough tech to see em in TES. They look amazing, along with being very unique. I hope all the dragonshouts we can use they can use as well. Time slow? Scary. Short range teleportation? Just picture walking along when suddenly a flipping dragon apears litterally right in your face from out of thin air.

Other than that, sounds like cave crawling will be more unique and filled with puzzles, which is good. Armor desings look pretty sweet so far. I like the new spell system. And besides those things... the simple ability to use thu-um excites the nord within me.

Getting rid of the class system is a good idea. Perks are a really good idea, and over 200 of them sounds completely epic.

The perk system will enhance the effect leveling up will have and make for a much more exciting character dynamic. Although I really liked the old system, I like the sound of this new system even more.

You misunderstood me. I in no way am saying that the forum community is being overly critical or negative, I'm simply interested hearing their opinions on ways in which the devs are making right choices...what makes them excited about what we know about Skyrim.

What really irks me is those who complain about complainers complaining.... Just kidding.

I think they really hit the nail with real time dialogue. Stopping the game for every little conversation was certainly not quite immersive.

And what I'm saying is that people like that aren't hard to find. There's always some in every thread.

I completely agree. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this will pan out in the end. This could definitely be a really cool feature.

Once, in Oblivion, I was talking to Martin when a Mythic Dawn agent was charging at him from behind with summoned armor and an axe raised above his head, frozen in time.

One of the things I'm most excited about is the potential for dragonshouts. Todd Howard actually stated that the dragons will be able to use the same shouts the we can....So yeah, the dragon fights could get pretty epic.

I love the graphics at this point, think the perks are an awesome feature, for the most part I like the dragons, love the return of older weapons and armor, and can't way to see the new radiant AI/radiant story in action! Overall I'm liking the direction the game is taking and I think both old and new TES fans will find a lot of joy in this game.

Epic.

They seem to heavily be going for a certain FEEL. I never really had a "feel" in Oblivion. By "feel", I mean the way the gameplay intersects with the in-game lore (the lore they actually bothered to represent in the world) and style of the game to create a unique feeling for the game. Skyrim feels extremely harsh, very dangerous, and has a sense of adventure and discover, something I believe Morrowind totally nailed. It also makes me feel small and not strong enough. Just looking at the harsh mountains, the kinds of enemies, and all that, combined with what we've heard of the way they're doing level scaling now (areas are separated by level, similar to New Vegas, or even Morrowind), it will definitely make the world a place that is explored, not plowed through.

Skyrim feels to me like TES is supposed to feel: huge, dangerous, and full of mystery.

Some things that I find extremely appealing:

Direct criticisms of Oblivion are being dealt with. For example, the travel system, level scaling, repetitive dungeons, and a generic setting.

Love the idea of perks, and how they're using them. Not to mention perks will possibly make customization much deeper than it has been in previous Elder Scrolls.

Game seems to have so much more character than Oblivion, with more detailed environments, (interior and exterior) and much more variation within those environments. Also the character models, the faces and bodies, look incredible.

More weapons and armour sets.

Both-hand weapon system seems as if it will play out really well, and result in fun and varied combat.

Graphics are stunning and are still going to improve with polishing.

The musical score from what we have heard so far are some of my favourite video game compositions.

Seems as if their time-scale is dead on. With Oblivion much of the time was spent developing for unknown hardware to be a launch title. They won't be plagued with that this time around, and will most likely result in a smoother development process, and ultimately a better game.

It just seems that Skyrim is improving upon every aspect of The Elder Scrolls series that has received criticism over the years. This is going to be a very special game.

They did the right thing with getting rid of the major skills system, it was (to say the least) annoying.
And they really hit the spot with spiders :shocking: :chaos: :shocking:
I [censored] love their looks and can't wait to fight them in their lairs!

I always thought it would be really cool if there were no major or minor skills and that it would make the game more of an rpg rather than less of one. I always felt trapped by the skills I picked in the beginning of the game rather than empowered by them. The new system will let choice over time, not at the beginning of the game, shape your character. I think this is exciting because there is a possibility that your char will become something that you didn't expect. The perk system is also a great way to make sure you cannot have it all without having to make those decisions at the beginning of the game.

The armor in IV was also a big disappointment because it was so bulky and bland... glad to see some style this time around.

I was never a big fan of Nords, but it looks as though they will be really cool in this game. They seem much more mystical than the imperials. The imperials were just too bland, which made things less immersive in OB than MW for me.

couldn't agree more

Melee combat.
I like that they have changed blocking to a reaction based system, and the flow to more of a 'taking moments of opportunity to strike' type. It reminds me of Condemned Criminal Origins, and that is awesome, because Condemned had the best melee combat I have ever experienced (even if it was occasionally buggy). It was adrenaline fueled and kept you on your toes, something I never really felt in Oblivion.

I'm of course basing this on the tidbits of info we've heard about it, but this is by far the thing I look forward to the most in Skyrim.

I'm also looking forward to seeing how dual wielding works and just what kind of tricks it brings to the table.

This. The melee and magic combat sound so much more fun than in the previous games. Seeing as how combat is part of this game you will be doing the most (usually) its great that they improved on it.

This....Oh lord, THIS

As mentioned already, real-time dialogue sounds brilliant.

The landscape and city shots I've seen looks beautiful... maybe the graphics shown so far aren't state-of-the-art in a technical sense, but the design team have really outdone themselves. Breathtaking vistas.

I think that dropping character-classes altogether makes sense, especially if races are quite distinct gameplay-wise. I can see the appeal of picking a class and linking it to your character's history, so I can imagine that not everybody will like this change... but I think it will make the start of the game more fluid. Just learn as you go, getting loads of perks early on to specialize quickly.

Personally I'm loving the sound of the interface, that shot of the skills is with the nebula resembling the mage is gorgeous. Also the greater variations between the races sounds great, I'd like to be able to differentiate between Bretons and Cyrodils by sight alone.

Definitely this ^
Dragons may get repetitive after a while, but I know for sure every single spider fight will increase my blood pressure to the roof.
I'm also thrilled about the carriage transport system.

I gotta say I'm right there with you on combat. Visceral and realistic, I can't wait to get into some cool fights. Also love the direction they are going with bows this time making them more deadly (as they should be :celebration: ). This is probably the most exciting feature to me.

I think they hit the nail on the head with believable environments this time now that all of the NPCs have jobs that you can believe, and will have an economy (and through this perhaps we can presume they will have real food sources?). Just sounds like such a great idea, hope it's well done when we see it.

Another thing I am really happy about and fully support are the adding of puzzles to their dungeons and giving them an "Indiana Jones" feeling. I can't wait to see some of the puzzle mechanics they implement. My favorite games are steeped in puzzles, and I have yet to see a game use riddles very much but would love to see some of that in Skyrim.