The compass of all knowing... : V

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:12 am

So in oblivion and most likely coming in skyrim we'll have a compass floating to the top of our FOV that knows that there are locations of importance ahead of us or in X direction, but how does it know these things?

Is it a magic compass?
A deadric compass?
Has it been to these locations before?
If not how does it know they are there?

So many questions, yet so few answers.

And if one wished to roleplay you come into the inevitable question of the compass which is not explained at all.

Same thing with the magical green markers.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:13 pm

Ignore it. Just like I ignore the voices in my head. Don't tell them about us! But Imust its the only way! You are mine! Kill them all!HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
*cough* ahem sorry

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:06 am

Well apparently, you can get rid of quest markers. (Not sure if this is confirmed or not.) Whether or not that extends to location markers remains to be seen.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:52 am

So in oblivion and most likely coming in skyrim we'll have a compass floating to the top of our FOV that knows that there are locations of importance ahead of us or in X direction, but how does it know these things?

Is it a magic compass?
A deadric compass?
Has it been to these locations before?
If not how does it know they are there?

So many questions, yet so few answers.

And if one wished to roleplay you come into the inevitable question of the compass which is not explained at all.

Same thing with the magical green markers.

obvious question is, its a game mechanic it is as non existent as you/the menu/numbers are to the game world.

since this is the same Omnicient compass as the one in Oblivion, what exactly is the point of Clairvoyance.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:34 pm

You do not ask questions about the compass ok? Else the compass will deal with you.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:40 am

You do not ask questions about the compass ok? Else the compass will deal with you.

lol. Just consider it your internal compass.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:14 am

magic compass svcks ass

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:36 am

magic compass svcks ass

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:41 am

Fantasy built in cyborg GPS for the let down.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:03 am

the compass is the reincarnation of th adoring fan, annoying, hard to get rid of, and impossible to live without (impossible if bethesda writes crappy diologe again)

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:22 am

I think they put it in Oblivion because you couldn't see things far away and the interesting locations were so spread out that after that first ruin you could travel across the map and find nothing interesting if not for the compass. (That literally happened to me the first time I played, was depressed when my buddy said "yeah, you kinda need to watch the compass...")

The Skyrim previews showed off that you can now see a lot of things from far away which should give a reason to allow the compass to be optional or at least ignore-able.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:43 pm

Why ask an NPC for directions when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look at a sign post that's an actual part of the gameworld when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look around for a hidden entrance to a dungeon when you can just follow a marker?
Why spend time familiarising yourself with the world and learning where things are when the game can do all that for you?
Why walk around and explore when you can just fast-travel and get straight to the action?

The game is aimed at people who don't like open-world games.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:18 am

Why ask an NPC for directions when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look at a sign post that's an actual part of the gameworld when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look around for a hidden entrance to a dungeon when you can just follow a marker?
Why spend time familiarising yourself with the world and learning where things are when the game can do all that for you?
Why walk around and explore when you can just fast-travel and get straight to the action?

The game is aimed at people who don't like open-world games.

I love open world games. They're my favorite type of game. I love the compass and wouldn't have it any other way.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:08 pm

If only real gps's were as accurate as our all-seeing friend

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:04 am

I love open world games. There my favorite type of game. I love the compass and wouldn't have it any other way.

Bethesda likes to create giant, open-world games, and then (since Oblivion) give you tools that make the world seem much smaller and insult the user's intelligence. I find them annoying myself, but I'll withhold the majority of my judgement til 11-11-11.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:17 pm

Bethesda likes to create giant, open-world games, and then (since Oblivion) give you tools that make the world seem much smaller and insult the user's intelligence. I find them annoying myself, but I'll withhold the majority of my judgement til 11-11-11.

My intelligence isn't insulted at all by the compass. It is insulted by comments like yours though. I've gotten hundreds of hours of satisfaction from exploring Oblivion and I still do to this day.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:17 pm

i dont know why you care.ITS JUST A FRICKIN COMPASS!

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 3:55 am

Why ask an NPC for directions when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look at a sign post that's an actual part of the gameworld when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look around for a hidden entrance to a dungeon when you can just follow a marker?
Why spend time familiarising yourself with the world and learning where things are when the game can do all that for you?
Why walk around and explore when you can just fast-travel and get straight to the action?

The game is aimed at people who don't like open-world games.

I wonder what's next...

Compass icons for legendary and hidden artifacts? So we can't miss any?
Long-tracking quest markers for dragons?

I wonder what Bethesda is thinking with sometimes...
Sure, they should strive to make the game accessible (they shouldn't spoil the chance at making much more money), but they shouldn't alienate the fans either, which they clearly are.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:09 pm

Bethesda likes to create giant, open-world games, and then (since Oblivion) give you tools that make the world seem much smaller and insult the user's intelligence. I find them annoying myself, but I'll withhold the majority of my judgement til 11-11-11.

That's exactly it. They make a great open world, then add a ton of crap to it that's completely detrimental to the open world experience.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:28 pm

My intelligence isn't insulted at all by the compass. It is insulted by comments like yours though. I've gotten hundreds of hours of satisfaction from exploring Oblivion and I still do to this day.

As have I. That isn't the point. Things like the compass marker and fast travel (to anywhere, I don't mind carriages) are tools that make the world seem much smaller. You didn't even need to ask questions in Oblivion, or read your quest journal for that matter. The magical compass showed you everything, which annoyed me. It might not have insulted your intelligence, but making a game rated M and then making it easy enough for a 5 year old to finish a quest seems odd to me.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:24 am

That's exactly it. They make a great open world, then add a ton of crap to it that's completely detrimental to the open world experience.

Yes, an open fantasy would should be filled with wonders that you have to explore on your own with just enough information and hints from knowable towns folk or other well experienced explorers. It kind of does detract from the potential experience.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:35 am

As I said in another thread about this, the compass and markers should be a player aid that can be utilized as much or as little as possible, NOT a forced substitute for an adventurer's will to explore and be surprised.

It comes down to whether it is a support mechanism or a primary mechanism for exploration. Unfortunately for many of us, it is a primary one in these games.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:47 am

Yes, an open fantasy would should be filled with wonders that you have to explore on your own with just enough information and hints from knowable towns folk or other well experienced explorers. It kind of does detract from the potential experience.

I agree. I miss this dynamic more than anything. Reward and personal satisfaction are hollow when every person in the world and your compass/map know EXACTLY where that legendary relic is and how to get there down to the last inch. I mean, why hasn't anyone ever just gone and got it before then?

It is like the reward and the challenge are independent of each other. That fundamentally needs to change.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:08 am

And as I said somewhere else, it even detracts from the flavour of the game as landmarks get robbed of their cultural identity. Why tell anyone of the "eye of the needle" he should use guidance when you can just mark things on his map and the quest marker will do the rest? No need to have landmarks wih names - but in an actual world, they would have names.

» Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:31 am

Why ask an NPC for directions when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look at a sign post that's an actual part of the gameworld when the game can tell you exactly where to go?
Why look around for a hidden entrance to a dungeon when you can just follow a marker?
Why spend time familiarising yourself with the world and learning where things are when the game can do all that for you?
Why walk around and explore when you can just fast-travel and get straight to the action?

The game is aimed at people who don't like open-world games.

^this

My intelligence isn't insulted at all by the compass. It is insulted by comments like yours though. I've gotten hundreds of hours of satisfaction from exploring Oblivion and I still do to this day.

it's not exploration if you always know what is directly in front of you

I wonder what's next...

Compass icons for legendary and hidden artifacts? So we can't miss any?
Long-tracking quest markers for dragons?

I wonder what Bethesda is thinking with sometimes...
Sure, they should strive to make the game accessible (they shouldn't spoil the chance at making much more money), but they shouldn't alienate the fans either, which they clearly are.

Probably a prompt when you go into a certian dungeon that states " THERE IS A ARTIFACT SOME WHERE IN THE DUNGEON USE CLAIRVOYANCE (or osme other spell) TO FIND IT."

making money = having to cater to the lowest common denominator