Just wanted to create a happy thread where I'm naming some of the good aspects of the game, so as not to leave an impression that I'm only pointing out the bad ones.

What I like the most is that there is A LOT of things to do in the game and you don't have to play it in a linear fashion if you don't want to.

I also like that some quests give you a choice, for instance the one where you get to choose to help either the redguard woman or her adversaries. I haven't joined either the imperial legion or the stormcloak rebellion yet, but I'm thinking of joining the latter just because I'm playing an imperial character and I want to see what happens. So yes, having options is a good thing and other games should learn from this.

I enjoy the sound effects, voice acting and music. They're really well done and deserve a lot of credit.

And of course perhaps the most important thing I like is the fast travel teleportation feature, which I use almost always because I don't have a lot of patience. It's nice to teleport from Riften to Solitude in a matter of seconds and not have to walk/ride all the way over there. Kudos for that.

It's nice that you have some good things to say.

In general, I love exploring and playing adventurer. Along with killing dragons, bandits, and whomever the Night Mother commands, I like raiding dungeons and completing the major questlines that aren't simple fetch quests.

Skyrim is beautiful, and I love the weather effects, which are all enhanced by hearing them through headphones. It's all too easy to feel as if I'm actually walking through Skyrim and not just controlling an avatar. Often, when I come across rivers, lakes, and scenic views from high in the mountains, I have to stop and admire the scenery.

Before I know it, I've gone from creating a new character, to having over 400 hours spent with them. Much of that comes from wanting to do everything with them and refusing to fast travel anywhere, as I don't want to skip anything and rush the experience of adventuring with my Nord Dragonborn. I enjoy being ambushed by assassins, thieves and dragons on the many trips from Riften to Solitude and back, along with simply admiring the scenery along the way.

first, let me say Im happy to hear there are features you enjoy

Secondly, You say you enjoy fast travel, but in an earlier thread you were talking about how you were angry about all the Dragons.
Dragon and Vampire attacks are more and more likely to occur the more you fast Travel.

just FYI

I agree that alot of the VO work in Skyrim is top-notch.

Esbren, Areingar (or whatever the name of the greybeard that talks to you is), Nazir, Parthanax, Jarl Balgruf, Irelith (Jarl Balgruf's Dunmer housecarl), Farengar, and especially Neloth and Molag Bal are all very, very, very well done. A++ work.

I'm a bit of a voice acting nazi, so I don't hand out this accolade lightly.

Not you too? Seriously, the CW is the biggest timewaster and budgetwaster Beth ever made.

Well time wasting is kind of the name of the game for video games. It's supposed to give you something to sink your time into.

Although you might be talking about from the development end. If so, I don't entirely agree.

The Civil War could have been much better probably, but I think it's good for what it is. It has caused a lot of debate about which side is right, so I say mission accomplished.

But it's your opinion not mine. I just used yours as a starting point for myself.

To the OP, kudos to you my friend. There needs to be more threads like this instead of "this needs to be fixed, there's a glitch here, destruction is underpowered".

While I do feel certain things need to be addressed, I STRONGLY feel that more people need to just enjoy the game and think about all the great things that makes this game so great instead of focusing on all the negatives.

I have only been playing for about eight months so I'm still discovering new locations and easter eggs in vanilla Skyrim. I've also worked through the Dragonborn DLC though I don't feel I've exhausted it by any means. It's just amazing how many different ways you can approach this game. Whether you want to play a pure warrior, a mage, a stealth character or a hybrid of all three, each pass gives you a different challenge and requires a different strategy. The flexibility of the environment and the skill trees in combination with the various quests makes me feel like this is a bunch of games, not just one. Very nice work Bethesda!

Yes its great to have the option to fast travel even if I prefer walking all over the place. Some times though real life is tight and I just want to squeeze in as much gameplay as possible. I really should ride horses and do horse combat. Guess that's one of the new "things" I will enjoy when the time comes

Quick word of advice about horses - if you dismount and melee, they tend to charge and fight alongside you. Sadly, this means they die quickly at higher levels (for example, you stumble onto two or three trolls). If you dismount a considerable distance from an outdoor fight, the horse can stay safe. All together, it was more trouble than fun because I would revert to an earlier save every time the horse died. Eventually, it died in a fight and I didn't know. By the time I realized it, it was too much trouble to revert so I let it go. I do keep a horse in the stable of a Hearthfire house 'cause I like the feeling of an occupied stable rather than a vacant one but I never ride those horses. They are just for show.

Thanks for the advice kami12 It will be interesting to see if I grow a fondness for my ride and reload my save in such situations. Then again I will probably go the gritty grim consequences route and get a new horse unless I like em in which case I will do as you suggest keeping him/her at a distance depending on the enemy.

You're welcome! A couple other thoughts: it's tough to collect alchemical ingredients when you ride a horse. You see much more when you are on foot. The horse never becomes encumbered so even if you are encumbered, once you reach the horse, you can fast travel to known destinations. I initially started riding for this reason but once you have enough money, there's no need to loot so extensively. Good luck!

You had to post this happy thread after I set my eyes on the Lusty Argonian Maid Volume One, didn't you? I can't unread it! No amount of great sound effects, voice acting and music can save me now...

Yes, this game has some excellent features, including the books. Whenever I check one out, I find it quite difficult to not read it all the way through to the end right away.