First of all before i dig into the business, I want to discuss the survival elements. It's always been somewhat controversial, because if not done correctly, survival roleplay can be down right annoying. I used to try a oblivion mod where you have to sleep or eat or you'll be getting crazy negative effects. After playing for a while I removed it, because it wasn't done right, those crazy effects totally broke the game for me.

The catch is that, in real life you enjoy eating and sleeping because it makes you feel really good, even though sleeping, eating and cooking are all time consuming and takes a lot of work.. Unfortunately, we cannot simulate that kind of pleasure you get from sleep and food in a game. So without that kind of pleasure and survival elements are added to a game, it becomes an annoying chore.

So how do we make sleeping more appealing to the player? maybe:

1. regenerate health through sleeping but not waiting.
2. create a fatigue bar (not stamina), and it slowly drains over time, say maybe three days, and when you are low on fatigue your running speed will slow down, your attack speed also slows down, your stamina and magika are damaged, but no more than that. when you are out of fatigue you pass out for several hours (passing out only gives you a little bit fatigue back so you still have to sleep), and the only way to restore fatigue is to sleep.
3. race's special powers can only be restored through sleeping (after one day of time constraint has passed, that is)
4. oh yea and healing disease not only requires a potion but also sleep.

5. By Alexandus: sleeping for long enough should give the player a well rested buff

I like these suggestions

I like the health regeneration concept. Of course, I'm the type that would like major injuries such as broken limbs, ribs, concussions, etc. Now you get to spend a week in bed recovering, and you contracted a disease because you couldn't afford a nice clean hotel room.

added one more

The fatigue bar and how it is handled in Fallout: NV are pretty good.

Maybe just have eating enough a day, and sleeping a few hours a day, give your character "well rested" and "well fed" buffs.

That way it gives survival incentives, but isn't annnoying because there's no aggravating detriment if you don't choose to eat and sleep.

I always laughed when I am down to my last hit point 1 out of 300 say, all it takes me is one hour to rest, and I have 300/300 again. Sort of breaks the immersion. I use to wait for 3 days straight, then the immersion was gone. Basically if Bethesda can't bother with time, why should I then? I hated you can learn 5 classes in a row and not one minute of time expires. At least Morrowind made each class 2 hours. Should be longer but it was something.

I would hope some races would let you sleep less, or more for sleep healing.

Something like this would be very cool, but also very annoying in the long run if not done right, as you say.

Goodnight inn. Goodnight bed.
Goodnight rival's severed head.
Goodnight sword. Goodnight candle.
Goodnight axe upon the mantle
Goodnight world. Goodnight snow.
Goodnight waters filled with Dreugh.

Goodnight Masser and Secunda.
Goodnight undead, six feet unda'.

Goodnight sugar of the moons.
Goodnight Bosmer whistling tunes.

Goodnight Dunmer with spikey hair.
Goodnight dragons everywhere.

i would like to see scars and burns to your character..if you take to many hits by a sword you will have a permanent scar or if burnt by fire then have fire burns

how is that related to sleeping?

Why can't I sleep in the wilderness without a bed in Oblivion, again?

He sleeps too close to the campfire and holds his sword like a teddy.

sleeping to regain health would be a new addition to the game so adding scars is similar

Wow, love the idea of the non-stamina related fatigue bar. Heres hoping Skyrim has it in a hardcoe mode or somesuch. ^_^

Ooh, and maybe if we get disturbed, like a monster or bandit sneaks up on you napping, a dice roll decides is you wake fit and ready, mildly groggy (blurry vision, slow movements) or not wake up at all. The "not wake up at all" could have you wake up to a bandit stealing from your bag, seeing you're awake and running away leading to a chase, or a critter eating out of your pack and your ingredients being gone.

I agree with all of these. I'd be happy to play with those survival rules.

Ah. A bard.

i like this alot better than FONV hardcoe

added one more, quoting Alexandus

Strange, here i thought Skyrim was a game, not a normal_boring_life simulator. Why the hell should i spend time on sleeping and eating IN A GAME?

Infact maybe we should have jobs in Skyrim and a schedule for cleaning your house. Perhaps we have to cut the grass in our back yard?

I really hope Betesda can see past this realism crap and make a fun game.

Holy [censored] if I have to eat and sleep in to order function in Skyrim i will not buy it.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..

...I'm sleepin'.

I all for it...it might make the game harder,and i like it harder.

Hang on ( and i like it harder ).that didn't sound right.
I'd like the game harder....there thats better

I'm all for a hardcoe mode that requires eating, drinking, and sleeping.

Given that we know you'll be able to sprint until your Stamina runs out, I expect Stamina in Skyrim will function similar to what you describe. Stamina is really the opposite of fatigue since the more you have of one, the less you have of the other. The length of a character's 'fatigue bar' ought to be based on something (Endurance, et. al.), as it is in Oblivion.

I like all of the suggestions in the OP, they would add to my game.

Should probably be toggleable, some people aren't into the whole 'alternate life' thing.

I LOVE the poem by Vamphaery. These forums are so cool.