Character creation:
I had a few thoughts on how character creation could work. Oblivions attempt with actually playing out a bit at first was nice but when making new characters it quickly became annoying that you always had to go through the tutorial course. A way to solve this could have been simply going through the door the emperor went through skipping the entire beginning, but I want to focus on a different method that actually allows several different openings.


Dream sequence:
The entire character creation itself could be played out in the form of a dream sequence. This would also explain how you can change your race, six, face and several other details suddenly.
This dream sequence could start out in a small room or a hallway, all looking relatively surreal. In this room you have a bed (resting in it makes you exit character creation) a journal (where you can write details about your character) a mirror (editing your characters looks and race) and doors leading to “dreams” (scenarios where you can give your char a test run).
It should be possible to save in the dream sequence, that way you can go through various different characters without the risk of losing a edit you made before which happened often enough in Oblivions FaceGen.


Mirror:
When you click the mirror you see yourself, but since you're in a dream you can freely change your appearance, race, six and small details about you. You can access it any time and remodel your character.


Journal:
Here you can describe your character, the your name, age possibly, define your past and directly modify your skills, attributes and traits.

-Name:
There should be more details possible about your name, instead of just writing one name it should be possible to define:
-Name
-Family name
-Middle name
-Nickname/Call name
-Title

People will use the ones they see as appropriate, officials will likely use your family name, close friends possibly your name or nickname. If you made made yourself known they may also use the title you assigned yourself, though the title can also be something that is added during the game.
You don't have to fill in all names, only filling in one field would actually be required, after all you could chose to be a nameless street dweller.
Also a function to change your name officially in game would be nice, like paying a notary to officially change your name, this could even be a way to get out of some crimes.

-Age:
Another optional field, you can define how old you are or at least think you are, but it can also be left empty.

-”Class”:
This should be an optional field too, this however is just naming your class, you can leave it open though.

-Write your past:
This is a field I think is a very role play friendly way to make your character. In your journal you have a page where you can actually write your past, not actually type it down but you can chose things that happened in your past from a dropdown list.
Those then modify your skills, attributes and some character traits depending on what you chose. You can however also do it the classic way and simply chose your preferred skills and attributes and character traits.

-Playable past:
A friend got me onto this idea, instead of just clicking your past you could actually PLAY your past in a way. When you chose something in your past it uses a “default” for that like “I got into a fight with a gang when I was young”, it will use a default that you have been in a fight with several people.
However you can also chose to play the event out in your mind, doing so will create a doorway to a “dream” where you can then play this event, maybe you chose different, you fled from the fight, you managed to negotiate your way out of it, maybe you got beaten half to death, maybe you accidentally killed someone in the fight. All this will alter your character in some way, you got friends with people (your conversation skills increase), you ran away (you got more experienced in hiding and avoiding), you killed someone (you spent a prison sentence or got slightly traumatized from it)... There's tons of slight variables in there that can all change your character.
It would require to create a lot of small dreamscapes with various choices but just think of how much it allows you to actually get into your character more.
Again doing this would be purely optional, when you just want to make a quick character skip this and just chose your skills and attributes.


Dreams:
There could be a variety of “dreams” you can visit to test out your character, different than the dreams that define your past those don't alter your character, they are more or less a “test run” to see how your character plays out and where you'd want to alter it. Similarly to Oblivion though a dream could give you a “suggestion” how to change your character to make him more likely to play that dream successfully.
You can't really “die” in a dream, dieing simply sends you back to the starting chamber and gives you suggestions what you could do differently. Also you don't level up in dreams and obviously you can't take equipment with you from them.


The Bed:
This is where the actual game starts. When you feel your character is done you can chose to rest in the bed, doing so will cause you to wake up in the “real” world and the actual game to start.
If you haven' used the mirror and the journal till that point to define your race, six, looks, name and attributes/skills/traits it could either remind you that you need to do that or automatically open them allowing you a quick character creation by just letting you do those steps, ask you if you're happy with those choices and then either lets you revisit them or wake you up.


Different start outs:
Another thing the chosen past can do is alter how your game starts out. For example if one of your final choices was that you where arrested it's possible that the game starts you out in chains and you just get released into a new country (deported) similarly to how Morrowind started. If you had been arrested multiple times and it starts you out it could actually start the game by putting you in prison to sit out the remainder of your sentence (where you could possibly bribe a guard to let you go early, forcing you to steal to gain money from the get go and continue being a thief).
Similarly saying you always held on to an old family heirloom could start you out with this still in possession, maybe a valuable necklace or ring. This can do two things, one being in possession of it raises your luck a bit because you feel a tie to it, or you could sell it to gain some starting money but leave your character possibly feeling guilty and lowering your luck.

If you didn't choose a past the game would simply use a default starting setup.


PS: I don't think actually being able to write your past would destroy the old “Stranger with a mysterious past” way TES usually begins with (though this is bunk since Daggerfall started you out as a old friend of the Emperor). After all almost everyone made up a past for their character in their heads, this way it would at least be possible to actually tie this into the game.

I personally dislike dream sequences appearing in anything from movies to video games. it always seems like a quick cop out. After waiting years for this next installment id be angry if i spent more than 10 seconds in a dream sequence, although there are good ideas in there about other forms of fleshing out your charavter, such as past actions. A real twist in character creation and beginning dungeon would be cool....maybe something that has nothing to do with upcoming main story and instead begins with you as new 'cattle' for a vampire clan. You were ambushed previous night and enslaved, but now other cattle and yourself revolt and face off against lower level vampires and vermin while escaping.

Age should also have a part in character creation: as a younger character, you start off with slightly higher base attributes in strength ,speed and endurance, but intel, pers, and willpower remain same as well as skills. A fairly aged character will have slightly lower attributes in strength, speed, and endurance, but higher boosts to some specific skills resulting from years of training.

I think rdr doesnt have nearly the same amount of immersion as oblivion has. RDR recycles same random encounters constantly, with little to no reward and therefore arnt random encounters anyomore...theyre repeating scripted events that are far more annoying than they are enjoyable. I cringe at the thought of chasing after 2 more escaped prisoners and returning them to the 'lawman' that repeats the same justice of shooting them and hobbling off. Oblivion is alot more random when you take into account npcs wandering near oblivion gates, npcs fleeing or fighting random bandits, or just the way missions play out. In oblivion, you can conversate with almost every character you see...and even though alot is repetitive, it beats the canned greetings in rdr. Im still playing rdr, and enjoying it despite my gripes, but the open world doesnt offer a fraction of what oblivion has to offer.

Combat in Oblivion was a step forward, but a few improvements i feel could be done : Parrying, similar to Dark Messiah, which could have its own skill, or run off the weapons skills, while as said skill increases you could parry faster, stronger attacks, a very new starting character wouldnt be able to parry an attack from a very power warrior class, but as you improve you could eventually block an arrow which is travelling towards you. Magic to me didnt feel powerful in Oblivion, as it did in Morrowind, although i did like hurling a lightning bolt at a highway man and watch him get blasted back and get thrown of the bridge. Give the Mysticism a push spell, i wouldnt mind ebing able to push a bandit off a cliff. I feel acrobatic is good, when you hit 50 skill you could start to dodge attacks. Skill levels for weapons being more then just attack damage, but could also influence attack speed, a master at Long Blade skill could swing a sword faster then a regular bandit. While at combat also a Shield Bash could run off the Block skill, and if a shield isnt being worn you could add a quick punch, or kick, if you only have a sword equipped, i could see an assassin give a quick and powerful jab while in combat if you continue to block/parry his attacks, while a warrior would give you a smack across the head with a shield.

Locational damage, similar to Fallout, but with some side effects for having your arms attacked, temporary attack speed being lowered, legs running speed lowered, head i feel would be an insta kill, but for balance or fairness a slight blur effect to act as a concussion.

Crossbows and Bows could have their own benefits, a Crossbow would be loud, slower to reload, but do more outright damage and be more accurate. Bows would be silent, easier to get a second shot off too.

Little bit better Sneak skill, ide give a Sneak attack to a bandit, if it didnt kill him, he would automatically know where i am, it frustrates me.

Ide also second the return of seperate gauntlets, pauldrons and boots, i like to mix it up

Also ide like a choice for quests too, which could lead to a quicker promotion or demotion in a guild.

The Dark Brotherhood to return, i like that guild, it was good at what it did

add something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Nxi0Wjjps&feature=fvw

Not gonna happen. It would be nearly impossible to get the CS onto consoles, as for how possible it is for mods to be put on, i'm not sure. As of now, modding TES, and most games, on the 360 and otherwise is illegal. And I'm guessing if Bethesda would even want to go through the hassle to get console players the CS and mods, they would have to go through tons of time and money sorting out legal affairs, when the time and money could be used to make the game better and to make proper expansions. So would it be worth it to get the CS and mods onto consoles? Oh, and they'd probably need to remake the CS with a new UI, since there's no way you could navigate it as it is on a console. So that's two CS's they'd have to make, (as the console version UI wouldn't work too well on the PC), and then they'd need to find a proper way of sharing the mods for free between platforms, or at least between the same console. Again - that time and money could be spent on the game and expansions. It's just not worth it for them to even consider trying to get it to happen.

I would like realistic aiming with the bow and arrow, to actually look down the length of the arrow and see the flight path rather than having to rely on the horrible UI.

The randomness in Oblivion is pretty broken, considering you'll always find the same NPCs generally doing the same things. Rangers will always end up fighting one another or chasing a deer like mad fools. That damn argonian in Leyawiin will always end up dead because she stole a piece of bread.

Besides, helping an NPC that gets attacked by another (that isn't a bandit) ends up being a crime no matter what. You can't help out at all. You get to sit and watch someone get murdered.

I'd actually like an improved lock picking system: With a 3D lock, which is more detailed complete with safety pins. I'd like to have a lock-picking set with different types of picks and tension wrench sizes which you could buy from certain thieves guild members. You'd be able to buy different and better picks to suit your picking style. And this is just with tumbler locks, it would be interesting to add other types of locks to the game too. Also - how about magically locked containers, and a way of breaking the ward if you were a powerful enough mage. But then I also like the idea of just being able to break in the door/window. Perhaps both could be incorporated by having breaking in contribute to your infamy or making guards more alert/nosy/less lenient somehow. And then on the other hand picking the lock is more low profile. It'd be nice if a similar thing happened if you stole lots of stuff/value from one house - the guards more alert/nosy/less lenient/+infamy (harder to sneak past them, heavier fines and punishments if you're caught), but if you steal a little from each house they may not notice/report it.

I'd like more in game customisation. Enchanting items is great and should stay but I think it would be cool to be able to physically change weapons. You could start off with your basic iron/fine iron sword and then go to a blacksmith and make it single edged - stronger less likely to break, double edged - easier to break than a single edged but can slice on both sides, serrated - could add to parry or add to stab damage (imagine ripping that out of a goblins stomach). Sharper tip - better for stabbing and piercing armour, broader tip - heavier more powerful swing. Different engravings on the blade - e.g. The blades name. Different pommels - mostly aesthetic, and guards/cross-guards - these could also make parrying more effective (and improve aesthetics). Having some nice sheaths would be good too.

I want more factions!!! Oblivion felt a little restrictive in that respect - they don't have to be as big or as deep or as big as the main factions but interesting and join-able. I liked all the factions and families in Morrowind.

I always enjoyed running into daedra wandering about near a oblivion gate and having a intense battle between my followers and daedra...i cnsider those random encounters as well. RDR random encounters were cool first time they happened, but lassoing a horse thief for the 200th time isnt so cool anymore. The five bucks i get for helping out really doesnt help much for the annoying chase i went on either. I found that after about 10 hrs of play in rdr theres nothing much more out there to do thats actually worth doing. Its easy to max out your ammo, get alot of cash and get best weapons. I really wish they made the game more of an rpg...that would be awesome. Leveling up in single player, alot more weapons, experience for completing side quests instead of just an achievement, etc.

having finally seen it in action, I can say resoindingly to AVOID KINECT AT ALL COSTS!

I can't stress that enough. Terrible idea. Boo.

Are we already at #168? Last time I was active we were at like, 40 or 80 or something

What I'd really like is weapons that encourage different play styles. Sure, we have short blades and long blades and blunt weapons and axes and bows - but the only real difference between weapons is melee/ranged, with the decision based on skills. Yes, I know they have different ranges and whatnot - but I'd like more defined distinction. Short blades could stab people in the back and slit their throats, axes could be very slow but deal out A LOT of damage, and maybe keep long blades as the "standard" category? Same with bows: bring crossbows back, and have crossbows as the slow firing but precise one and bows as the rapid but arced one, that you'll actually need to aim above your targets to hit.

More detailed ideas (draft, and based on Morrowind weapon skills.)

• Spear - Longer weapon. Good at keeping enemies at a distance, but when they come within that radius, a lot less useful.
  
• Axe - Attacks much slower, but can dish out a lot of damage. Good for large, barbarian characters.
  
• Blunt Weapon - Can break armor and knock people unconscious, but in addition to its slower attack speed it doesn't dish out a lot of actual damage to people unless their armor is broken or if they're unarmored.
  
• Long Blade - The "default" melee option.
  
• Marksman - As explained above, with the difference between bows and crossbows.
  
• Hand-to-hand - Ka-ra-te! Don't deal a lot of actual damage, but can make enemies harmless in a few attacks if skilled enough - disarm, disorient! The Plan B for non-combat classes so they can get away.
  
• Short Blade - For sneaky people. Dishes out a lot more damage when undetected or from behind. If both, you can quietly slit their throats without being noticed... Good for sneaky people.

how about all non-magical, not elemental damage would come from collision damage: Your weapon would be swung at a certain speed and have a certain weight and sharpness, and the same exact equations used for colllision damage (which they also need to add) could be used to calculate damage. Jumping onto something soft would hurt less that jumping onto a pit of spikes, but running into a vertical pointing spike (for example even if you didn't fall on a spike in an Oblivion tower it hurt) wouldn't do any health damage because you weren't hitting the sharp part. Blunts would make up for their dullness with weight. strength would let you hit with a weapon harder but less accurately, agility would help you hit faster with more accuracy, and speed would help you hit much faster.

This could be coincided with advanced locational damage and animations: hitting any of http://www.dnwalcker.com/Lab%20Four/Major-Arteries.jpg should leed to constant damage health at a slowish rate, hitting http://www.nfra.net/images_templ/neuro_exam.jpg would paralize that part of your body, and hitting http://www.gtchild.co.uk/content/images/stories/human_body/organs_colour1.jpg would lead to instant death after a set amount of time, but they would have to be hit hard (to either peirce or bash in the rib cage or the skull)

I think everyone needs to see this picture, it really puts into perspective the size of the game world:

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/05/ubwcz.jpg

Thoughts and opinions? Looking at the pattern between technological advancement and date, I'd personally hope TES 5 has a game world roughly the size of Just Cause 2.

Lay the Daggerfall map over that

I'd say that's s nice size map for an open world video game. Oblivion was 80 % of that size.. My Ideal size would probably be about double the size of Just Cause with Bookoo's of worth while explorable areas, Several Cities and other populated area's and it does not count if they are all identical either. lol

I was previously thinking how handy the ability to climb ladders and such would be. It seems like a logical, and not too difficult addition to the character move-set.

But I'm not about suggesting such small additions. No sir, I had to expand upon this concept. I started thinking about Daggerfall's wall-climbing and crawling through small spaces in Ocarina of Time. I thought about rope physics and spelunking down vertical chasms.

Todd has gone on record to state that he doesn't really focus on the domestic. He likes to focus on the heroic. Hence why we have yet to see farm simulation or in depth interior decorating make it's way into an ES title. Fair enough, but personally, while I'm all for the heroic, that is not why I play Elder Scrolls games.

While it's nice to save the world and have everyone adore you, the reason I play ES games is for the exploration. Striking out into the unknown and discovering new things and hidden dangers. I enjoy the thrill of treading places I have not yet seen, and where others dare not go. This is what drives me, again and again.

In previous games, everything seemed far too convenient. All dungeons had plenty of head room, and with the exception of the occasional trap or underwater segment, danger presented itself as merely more and/or stronger baddies. Entrances to these places were practically paved for you, with a nice welcome mat at the door. An dungeon romp boiled down to merely kicking the door in, chopping down anything in your path, looting anything that could be looted, then strolling calmly past the bodies to the entrance as the encumbrance forced you to walk.

Imagine a yawning vertical chasm in the ground. This place was once a mine, but time and age has caused the wooden scaffold that once spiraled downward for easy access to crumble and fall. You ready your rope, attach it to something solid, and begin to rappel yourself down the sheer face into the darkness.

As you descend, the light above you gets smaller, and the darkness envelops you. You can hear the scurrying of bats clawing at the cool, damp walls. Further and further you drop, until you once again feel solid ground beneath your feet. It is pitch black down there, the light above doing little to illuminate the depths, so you ready a torch and ignite it. The flickering orange light illuminates your immediate surroundings, but does not help reveal what lies further down the tunnel.

Leaving the rope behind to aid your eventual ascent, you step forward into the black tunnels. The tunnels twist and snake, every step a perilous exercise in surefootedness, as one wrong step could spell your doom.

With the help of a map given to you by the commissioner of this job, you navigate the tunnels until they narrow. You can no longer stand here, so you proceed into the depths on your hands and knees, the walls closing in like a grave.

After what seems like an eternity, the narrow tunnel opens up and you drop down into an open cavern. You hear running water. Nearby, something moves, a wet, clawing, slithering sound. With timing that could only be brought on by someone with a low luck stat, your torch flickers and dies. You hear something closing in as you scramble to light another. The torch flares, and you ready your weapon just as an enormous serpentine beast prepares to strike. It is not your weapon, but the light that causes the beast to recoil and circle you outside the it's flickering range. You press forward, hoping that the light continues to keep the creature at bay.

I think you get the picture.

Basically, I want the environment itself to be another enemy, and I want more control to better combat the environment.

Fame and Infamy should factor in as well.

just cause 2 didnt have anything in it though. it was just a buncha buildings and some stuff you could blow up. TES have detailed maps, you kno how long it would take them to fill and make a map that size with unique features? it seems like theyd have to delude everything about TES to fit it into such a huge map.

On a little side not here because it has been mentioned before. Axes aren't slow, just search for "timbersports" and you will find people who can chop axes damn fast, and those are heavier than usual war axes.
Oh and I mean REAL war axes, not those huge things you usually see in fantasy games, those are silly.
Same for Warhammers, they're always portrayed as a anvil on a stick, but you know waht an actual warhammer looks like? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Moritz-von-Sachsen-1578.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:War_hammer2.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bec_de_Corbin.jpg. Maybe not as "impressive" (or rather silly) as the ones seen in usual fantasy but they do what they are supposed to do.

And on that note a little something on the weapon categories/skills, I really don't like the old grouping because it doesn't take different sizes of weapons into account and also HOW weapons are built. A warhammer for example would be grouped as blunt, however warhammers have a pike, and for a good reason, they are built to PENETRATE armor, so obviously it's NOT blunt.
And why should a small hatchet be in the SAME skill as a big two handed axe? They don't handle similar at all, just because they LOOK similar isn't a good reason really.

EDIT: Oh yea and on that topic, a halbert is NOT a axe, it's more a SPEAR (just mentioning that because it's often mistaken). You don't really use the broad end to attack with you use the pike or the spike on the top.

i'd like to see the whole http://backfortwoseconds.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/tamrielmap.jpg, not just a section of it, though it might be to big to make, unless they have more than one disc like mass effect.

then you could start kind of faction missions, where you chose who to help in wars etc, and can be rewarded with large houses, castles or islands etc

I actually had a similar idea for a dream sequence, such as being on a battlefield, and picking a weapon up off the ground or from a rack, therefore selecting one of your skills. Then you would be told that you look like your father/mother, and asked to "remember" what they looked like, then choosing your race/facial features, armor, etc.

What is the reason for the modding of console games to be illegal? Unless it has something to do with the ESRB, I can't believe there's a problem, since the company that runs most PC programs (Microsoft) is the same that makes the Xbox.

Frankly, I think modern digital media will necessitate more communication between PCs and consoles, and games without it will find themselves in the stoneage. Companies will realize that free content from players (made at no cost to themselves) will lengthen the playing life of their game, attracting more customers and creating a longer demand for add ons that they do charge for.

The easiest way to go about it would be for Bethesda (or any other company) to host a free download of the modding software, and for Microsoft to allow the uploading of files from such programs onto Xbox Live. Then, from the console, you would access your Live Account and apply whatever modifications you've made. This eliminates the need for a second CS to be developed for consoles.

I think the main reason is that the console companies don't WANT user made mods on their consoles, maps used with a map maker tool are an exception but they are by default limited to the map making tools and not new scripts, textures and models.

If the 360 slim has the built in WiFi, and even in current gen consoles, maybe the PC could act as a second DLC port that could not upload to the Marketplace (avoiding game break and support legalities) but still add mods to some of the single player, or even multi-player games.

As for coding, write the stuff in a PC construction set - transmit - read - and convert it either in the console or via the disc.

Beth would have a head start with its modding community, and even multi-player games could add mods if server connections had the power to automatically default everyones settings. Not button configuration or sensitivity mind you.