Ok then, well I didn't mean it precicely the way I said it then, I meant to say keep the cap system the way it is in Oblivion and Morrowind. I wouldn't mind a higher skill cap though, but that's just me.

Well, I agree to some degree that the system of jail and level up can be exploited to some extent but I still don't see that it's really a glitch as there is a definite cap of 100 on your attributes and once reached the game won't let you level up further so the devs must have known about it. If exploited correctly you can have a really godlike character which some may call cheating, I call it strategic play.

Stephen.

Among many other things, I'd like TESV (or any future Bethesda game for that matter) to have an open beginning. Meaning that you won't start in a compulsory dungeon. And the tutorial phase, every bit of it to be exact, would be of the players choice to do. Like, starting in a village where someone tells you that some of the villagers may be in need of help - and the few quests the village (or whatnot) offers are parts of the tutorial (helping dude 1 offers basics to combat, helping dude 2 gives first touches in alchemy and so on). You could leave them undone, but by doing so you'd miss the benefits from them.

I would like to see the return of time based side quests as seen in Daggerfall, where you are given a quest by a noble to rescue his daughter from bandits and if you don't complete the quest within a certain number of days she is killed, and when you rescue her you are given the choice to return her or hold her for higher ransom than the bandits. Where you are given a quest to find a gem that was stolen before it is sold and lost, when you get the gem you can either sell it for a higher value than the reward offered or return it. Lots of quests like that from random npcs would be nice, so that they randomly generate, giving you something to do besides faction and guild quests, and something to do once the main quests are done. With a time limit that is well thought out for each quest you'll have difficulty in completing them in time if you decide to rest to restore health or if you travel in the wrong direction. For example, the noble doesn't know who took his daughter so you have to ask around a bit, find information from his neighbours and then head in one of three possible directions as the information isn't clear, if you choose the wrong direction you lose time and risk failing the quest.

Stephen.

Oblivion's opening was actually quite open.

1. The guards were surprised that a prisoner was in that cell since they ordered that cell to remain empty.

2. Emperor Uriel Septim said "Perhaps the gods placed you here so that we may meet." There is no set background for your character and you can easily make up any story for how your character got in prison in the first place. You can say that there was a mistake for which cell you were put it and that you committed some type of crime, or you could say that your character follows the law and was just placed in that cell by TES gods. There is no set background and the beginning is actually very open.

In that way yes, but what I meant was that in the beginning you wouldn't have to crawl through a dungeon or perform a series of stuff before you could venture to the world, if you didn't feel like it - but instead you could skip the tutorial phase right off but lose the benefits it offers.

I think what is meant is that you can start the game in village A or village B or in dungeon A or in cave A or mine A or dungeon B. No actual starter dungeon, just starter quests in each place you COULD start. And I think this would be good. As you choose your race you start in a different area, say you're an orc, you start in a village or orcs or a mine being run by orcs, say you're a high elf, you start in a noble town or in a village, a bosmer may start in a treetop village, etc.

Stephen.

That is an interesting idea.

Thats not a bad idea.

That's what I meant. Basicly, and all the starter quests would be free-to-do.

About the provinces, I think it would be nice to have 3 provinces, say Elswyr Valenwood and Summerset Isles, they are about the same size as Cyrodiil and not just that the variety of cultures would be immersive. In Morrowind there were around 6 cultures, possibly more, the Ashlanders, 3 Dunmer factions, Imperial culture and Imperial Legion and Imperial Cult cultures, this is what really made Morrowind immersive, the diversity. I think it could be done, and I suggest those three provinces because little is seen of them in previous games and they are close together so you could walk across Summerset Isles then swim to Valenwood and walk from there to the other side of Elswyr, all the while running across different styles of dwellings and people who give you random quests based on their culture of origin.

BTW bandits could also give you quests.

Stephen.

Following on from what some one sugested earlier. I think there shoud be bodily functions. Caughing, Sneezing, yawning, eating, drinking, snoring, going to the toilet, slipping over, tripping on things, stretching, waking up in the middle of the night and needign to go for a piss, opening the windows, cooking, skinning, baking, hammering, playing, teasing, arguements, yelling, gettings things stuck in thier eyes, shakig thier heads, squinting at the sun, sunbathing, relaxing, fiddling with thier hair. and on and on and on... Theres sooooooo much character and emotion that can be dispalyed with body language that we all do. That games these days sadly lack. Except for Half Life 2, Alyxs character was excelent with her body language at the start of the game. I want to see more animations like that in future TES games. Not just mindles robots walking around town.

That would reduce the lifespan of TES series. Cyrodiil should be much bigger if it is proportionate to Daggerfall, but it isn't In this same sense, I think an individual province that is smaller than Cyrodiil could easily be stretched out and become bigger than Cyrodiil. The provinces don't have to be proportionate to a province in a previous Elder Scrolls game. Also, all three of those provinces would have to have different cultures, ruin types, and architectural designs, and that is more work. Having three provinces in one highly detailed Elder Scrolls game just shouldn't happen. It ruins future Elder Scrolls games and takes too much work.

we need more argonians. actual argonians. ones that swim in water.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:City-Swimmer? no.

So are you suggesting we have only one province and one culture within that province despite what Morrowind showed us was possible?

Stephen.

No, there can be as many cultures in one province as Bethesda wants. THAT is what Morrowind showed us is possible.

2 provinces in 1 game isn't happening. 3 provinces in 1 game isn't happening. All of Tamriel in one game isn't happening. Maybe someday, but that will be many years from now, and ONLY AFTER Bethesda has made a game devoted to each province individually.

People complain about Oblivion looking all polished and shiny, while Morrowind looks dirty and bleak. I'd like a mixture of the both with TESV. If it takes place in Skyrim, then it's perfect, because not only does it have beautiful landscapes, but it's also a war-torn province with loads of ruins. If Bethesda can strike a balance between pretty and gritty, I'll be happy.

Edit: Whoops, sorry for the double post.

One other thing, it would be nice to see more ships and things with the ocean, more fish life, coral even, a ship battle or merchants bringing in food. Pirates on the sea and stuff. And as said before, more monsters, since there is magic and this is a different world it would be nice to see magical creatures, werewolves and dragons already in the game with no mod download or anything.

Whoa, seriously, when did it become Bethesda's problem to make TESV in two provinces instead of one?

Personally, I'd rather have one beautiful province in Skyrim or Summerset Isles, one which is full with those multiple cultures you guys are talking about, rather than two that feel rushed or empty. Asking for two provinces is asking for a WHOLE lot for Bethesda to take up, and it's not going to happen.

Personally, I can think of plenty of diverse culture in Skryim alone. You'd have the Empire still holding reigns up there. You'd have the Dunmer from Solthseim likely to have a foot in the province. You'd have a split in the Nord populace, between those who side with the empire and those who don't, as well as the awesome culture they showed us in Bloodmoon with Nordic tribes.

What about all that hand-placed detail in the wasteland? Blasted-out scenery and environs and loot that tell a story all by themselves. Dungeons that don't feel like dungeons due to having a believable purpose in the world. Perfectly nailing the "stranger in a strange land" feeling. Those three sound an awful lot, IMO, like Morrowind, no?

Is that your suggestion/wishlist? or do you know something I don't, because last time I checked we're all here to tell gamesas what we want, not tell other people what is or isn't going to be in the game.

Stephen.

EDIT: and I want to see Valenwood Elswyr and Summerset Isles in TESV, if not the whole of Tamriel and several other continents complete with provinces of their own.

Thanks for your constructive criticism. I personally dont think Bethsedas been doing a good job at making a main quest that supports different type of characters since daggerfall. I would like to see something on that kind of level in the next game instead of being thrown into a situation because you're someones lapdog

All I'm telling you is that it's very, very unlikely that TESV will have more than one province. Furthermore, there are some suggestions that are just plain bad. Bethesda isn't a super big, super powerful developer yet, and as much as I love them, they simply couldn't make a quality game featuring 2 provinces, with both being as detailed and diverse as they should be, in a reasonable amount of time. Maybe in a decade or so when TESVI comes out, but for now, it's just not possible.

--------------Excuse me if this has been discussed at great length elsewhere---------------------
A crazy but maybe sane idea:

Back awhile ago we were on the topic of skills that we would like to see in TESV. Why not have a mounted or riding skill. As your skill increases you can go from basic horseback riding to horseback fighting. A higher level would increase your speed. Maybe at high levels you could ride other things (brace yourself for the crazy part) besides horses: bears, cliff racers, or dolphins. I said this was kinda crazy in some aspects, but like sword fighting and spell casting, riding a beast takes a certain amount of skill that would seem appropriate for an RPG like TESV.

Not a bad idea.
A quick thought: Why not put as part of the perk for each combat skill separately at... say 50 and improve it from there on. As in showing that you can handle the skill well enough to manage it from horseback.

As I mentioned earlier, Fallout 3 is basically Oblivion+ in a setting I'm not as attatched to (However ironically, unlike Oblivion Fallout 3s story really only works in its setting) one other feature, aside from locational damage and its attendant animations that shopuld be transferred to TES is this sense of struggling to survive, particularly when adventuring. In the Vvardenfell thread I was reminded of the water radiation and thought, why not have water do simillar things, but if it's in skyrim water that was too cold (or magically cold) could give you hypothermia, or river water could be tainted by dead things (or sorceries) higher in the mountains, and in the far east the residual ash from red year makes the water bad?