Skyrim is awesome, but one thing I think could be handled better is the speech stat, and how it affects the player in game.

So far I've seen that speech raises when you buy and sell without even bartering. That's not a huge issue, but could be improved upon.

The biggest problem is that the speech options have no real effect on the outcome of anything. Oh, this NPC wants to tell me information? I can:

Persuade: for response A
Bribe: for response A
Intimidate: for response A
Follow the rest of the dialogue tree (most likely): for response A

Where is response B, C, and D? In New Vegas we were allowed to have opinions, and those opinions cause the environment to react to us. In Skyrim, there is one destination, with a few paths to get there.

Also, I really liked the fact that your speech had to be a certain level to get certain responses or cause certain things. Playing as character strong in speech and barter was a viable skill in New Vegas as it opened up different ways to complete quests if you wanted. In Skyrim the biggest purpose I've found is the increased prices you get selling goods.

How do most of you feel about the speech skill?

Slight main quest spoiler:

There are instances here and there where it becomes useful, but they seem to be few and far between. I don't think that will make me want to create a character who uses his wits and slick talking ways to save (or hurt) Skyrim. In New Vegas, situations like the one you described would arise more frequently, which was, to me, a good thing. I think it just adds to the replayability, and to the immersion. And most importantly, the fun factor!

Indeed, speech was better in FNV and the speech interface itself.

What happened to being able to move about real time while in dialogue mode? All they have done is taken the speech box and moved it from the bottom to the side.. even though it was better on the bottom in the first place. Theres a lot of lag during speech too, too much having to wait for NPC's to finish lines Ive heard 100 times before I can choose a response.

To those that prefer Skyrim's style, can you elaborate as to why?

I prefer Fallout 3's speech system, I disliked New Vegas making the options available (But not selectable) when you didn't meet the requirements for them just to mock you. Also New Vegas additional options had no random % chance of success, they depended on fixed values.

Sadly, branched dialoge options (or their lack) has always been the weak spot of Elder Scrolls games, from the wiki-style of Daggerfall and Morrowind to the silly wheel in Oblivion. Skyrim is a tad better than that, but still greatly lacking in variety and flavour, not to mention alternate ways to solve quests or doing unique things you couldn't otherwise achieve. This is one point where Bethesda really should learn a lesson or two from Bioware and Obsidian.

I should have added that as a poll option when I was on my computer, but now I'm on my phone and don't think I can change it.

I liked and disliked Fallout 3's system, but felt that New Vegas's was superior. I liked knowing that if I was a slick talker I could get what I want, but I do think Fallout 3's was superior to Skyrim's.

You can tab out the dialog early and move while the NPCs keep speaking, then come back and reply. But yes, it does feel a bit clumsy to do that.

As much as i liked New Vegas' stat-checking system to see if you qualify for a special dialogue option I hated it sometimes.


Most of the time I would get into a 75 speech/skill check and fall short for 1 point - 74/75.
Moments like those made me want to incinerate the other person with a solar beam from heaven.

I hate the speech system in the newer Fallouts.

I like not knowing what my chances of success are. I also like that it is all up to a roll of the dice and not "Oh, well I see you have the minimum level required, so I guess I will tell you my evil plan."

Skyrim's speech system is much more like the ORIGINAL Fallout's speech system, which is more like a traditional RPG.

Haven't played NV but if it gives more possible outcomes then I like it :tops:

I dislike both lessons they should learn something from fallout 2

But sometimes there are some nice dialogues in both games

I like New Vegas' the best and I love the fixed requirement.

Why show us the option if we can't use it? To show that it's there, and to allow you to roleplay, like, I tried to convince someone to buy Skyrim, but my arguments weren't good enough so I failed that IRL speech check.

The % system that Fallout 3 used was horrible, cause it meant that with 12 in speech and 1 Charisma you could still have a chance to win someone over with the worst persuasion ever. So if I'm to convince someone not to shoot me despite hating me for various reasons I've done it means that I could use the argument "Hey, don't shoot me!" with a 1% succession rate and still be able to convince him. But with New Vegas it shows you that "Sorry, you don't have enough in this skill to get this dialogue option" but allows you to pick it anyway for roleplaying reasons, it's not like every character can win over everything with speech right?

And Skyrim's is an improvement for The Elder Scrolls but hardly an improvement overall for the two franchises.


Mentats? sixy Underwear? Speech magazine? Get an implant?

Oh, it does. Every play through is different depending on your speech choices. You could actually have an opinion on current events, and it forced people to react to you.

New Vegas was made by Obsidian...

New Vegas did it better.

Either you have the right level of talk to convince someone or you don't. Your not unsure if you can convince them, what the hell are you randomly rolling a dice in your head or something? If I talk to someone in real life I convince them or I don't. It's not some random probability. Neither is their opinion a random probability. Hence why I always cringe when I see stupid persuasion systems with more then a tiny 10% or less "random" bonus/penalty to speaking.

Yeah, but the games are similar and I think they made a superior speech option. It's not like Skyrim couldn't borrow a few ideas.

I really have no idea what you y'all are smoking. The speech skill in this game is done far better, in New Vegas, 95% of the time, you can get your way without speech and using a different skill which made the skill completely pointless unless you wanted to hear a line you never heard before.

But you were able to use your speech rather than other skills to complete the quest making speech a viable skill.

What in Skyrim makes it better?

Um...because it's realistic. Do you really want everything handed to you only when you need it?

I think the ideal speech system would be a sort of a hybrid between Skyrim's speech system and LA Noire's interrogations. There would be multiple options for trying to get what you want (pretending to be on their side, threatening them, appealing to their sense of pride, etc.), but it would still be a dice roll with a modifier based on your speech skill. The route you picked would just change the difficulty of the dice roll.

Anyways, on topic: as far as the system itself goes, I would like Skyrim's better if there were applications for it.

That's just the way it is.

Bethesda is very, very good at crafting lore and a world that makes you want to explore and delve deep in dungeons. They have never been so hot at giving the citizens inhabiting the world the same amount of depth though.

I love the new Vegas style

-Cheers

System itself in Skyrim is good, because even if values ae fixed, they're hidden. It's outcomes are bad though, because most persuasion attempts are meaningless alternatives to bribes.