I was thinking...since Fallout 3 the ending of the game has made it where the player is cut-off and not allowed to continue on in their playthrough...but later on an add-on comes out to fix that; well with the fight with Alduin, in Skyrim, (not sure if we will, this is a prediction) will be like the ending of Fallout 3, whereas the player has to banish into an Oblivion gate/portal in order to defeat it and we get svcked in. This would put it so that there would be another add-on that branches the game into a continuous state, where your character gets stuck in Oblivion and has to find the way back into the real world. This would be a cool idea on how to re-imagine the world that is Oblivion and make it actually interesting then in The Elder Scrolls IV...and they could make an area the size of the Shivering Isles in this Oblivion realm. I wouldn't really want it to be like this...but it is an interesting way to bring back that realm of Oblivion with the new engine capabilities.

I'd rather the ending continue without the need of a $10 DLC

I really hope not. I don't want the game to end when the main questline ends. I dont BGS would do that. I may be wrong, but I thought the reason they made 'broken steel' which allowed you to live beyond the original ending was because people hated dying at the end of the main quest.
If the game ends at the completion of the main quest I think you lose some of that freedom, the choice to do eithe the main quest or side quests isn't there so much becuase if you don't do the sidequests before you finish the main quest you won't be able to do the side quests unless you start a new game. I absolutley hate that system. I very nearly didn't buy Fallout: New Vegas when I heard you game ended after the main quest.

yeah and neither do i want to have the game cut-off at the end...im sure they'll have something entirely unique then before...but this is just an "if" they do the same ending scenario

I really hope that Bethesda will take a slightly different approach to Skyrim, considering how many people have been playing Oblivion for years and never finished the main quest. It sounds like the climix of the story will be epic, however, and it's clearly possible that gameplay will end on completion of the main quest/conquering Alduin.

Also, although the leveling process will very different from the Fallout series, the fact that you get a perk with each level up means that Skyrim will have a finite number of perks, so it's possible they would institute some sort of level cap that is increased with an expansion that adds more perks.

I hope they try making it fun.

The ending of Fallout 3 was one huge load of... you know what. For me it was the last nail in the games coffin. If they as much as think about making the same "good hero is a dead hero" thing again I'm going to start a riot Both in Morrowind and Oblivion the end of the main quest was when the fun really started - all the best story mods are mostly end game orientated, so I hope they learned with Fallout and will make us a descent ending in Skyrim.

No. Considering the reason they changed it in Fallout 3 with DLC was because of the overwhelming negative reaction to not being able to play after the end.

It's important to note that New Vegas was developed by a different studio, Obsidian entertainment.

This is Elder Scrolls not Dragon Age. And in my opinion that was the worst thing about Dragon Age - beat the main quest and you're done. Bleck.

I know that but they have the same ending process...I just brought it in because I needed another example to show what I mean

I wasn't even thinking of that game...pssh way to compare the two also get with the program

Well, Fallout 1 had no continued play due to time constraints and Fallout 2's world hardly changed if you opted to resume play. That's my explanation for the New Vegas design choices, anyway. Shouldn't read into it too deeply for TES.

I think it was a rather bold and fresh ending for a game in FO3 (never played the prequels). First, shock and disbelief, then just "whoa - that was awesome" Afterwards I also heard it was kind of a tradition. But for Skyrim? No I don't think so. In TES it's the *start* that has a certain sense of tradition in it

Well there won't be an ending that keeps us from continuing on with our game, that's for certain. As for getting svcked in an Oblivion gate, that would be cool to watch the Daedra Princes to have their fun with Alduin but seeing as how portals into Oblivion are impossible open now, it won't happen either. I think the final battle will probably be epic with the new combat system and Dragonshouts now.

I doubt that the plot in this game will provide the player with as much choice as Fallout New Vegas did.

THIS! and hopefully this game wont have any DLCs and instead have massive expansions.