I agree with you here. Maybe just make a Disintegrate "Lock" spell by X points. So my skill is 20, the lock is 25, I use my Disintegrate spell by 5pts. Now I can attempt to pick the lock. But you cannot stack the spell of course. And if you Disintegrate the lock lower than what it is needed to open it just opens, or you have to smash it open.

I like the Fallout 3 one the best but you cannot have a game like that in a game like this. The locks in Fallout 3 are too modern for Skyrim. For the times we are playing in the locks in Oblivion are the most accurate. I was fine with the game they had but the security skill really did not matter if you were really good at the mini game. Personally, I don't care which way they do it but having it more tied to your skill level makes sense.

I thought the mini game in Oblivion was nice, but after the novelty wore off, it became repetitive. The first thing I did in Oblivion was make a bee line for the skeleton key, so I could bypass the mini game. I think going with a mini game for those who want it makes sense and perhaps you get a exp point boost for going thru it. However, if your skill is high enough, you can bypass the mini game and just try to open the lock. Also, I can't recall which game it was, maybe DF or Arena, but there was a game...I think....where you could screw the lock up and then the chest couldn't be opened. I also liked the way MW handled it with different quality lock picks and probes. Maybe a mesh of the two types could be used and then a special set of tools to open a lock that has been jammed. I guess I lean more towards the way MW handled it and less towards Oblivions way of handling it.

I'd like something similar to Fallout 3, but not quite.

First off, tension should matter. The "probe" from Morrowind was more like a tension wrench, and it didn't make sense to me that you would use a probe to disarm traps. In my vision of lockpicking, you hold the left click to long, you put too much tension on the tension wrench and unless it's good quality will break.

Picks shouldn't break, but have durability. Even the best picks wear down and require filing from time to time, so a similar-to-weapons type durability would be nice. Eventually the pick snaps, but from wear, not tension. The pick itself is the part of the process with the least tension.

As far as locks, you should be completely blind. You shouldn't be able to see tumblers, but have to feel for them. On the PC you'd do this with sound, on the consoles with rumble. Fallout 3's was too simple in that aspect, because it was just turn, turn turn, twist.

It should be real time, of course, and there should be an option for people who don't wish to do it - BASHING. Just run up and kick the damn chest open, you don't need finesse unless you're a thief. On a plus side, it could be like splinter cell, that when you bash a door open/pick a lock and the door's unlocked, that you could knock the crap out of a person near the door. Thieves could use it as a means of knocking out patrolling guards, and everyone else as a method of getting the damned door open.

Thieves get very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, little. You warriors and mages don't need to ruin one of the few fun pass times that theives get, damnit. This game shouldn't cater to the majority only - THIEVES DESERVE SOME LOVE. And fixing lock picking = love.

How about you can attempt the mini-game at any experience level, and you'll gain some small amount of XP for doing so, but if you are more than ten points below the required level for the lock the mini-game cannot be won by any means. You'll simply be sacrificing tools for some XP and some realism.

That would be acceptable. Some locks you just can't figure out on your first go, and prior experience would take play. I could live with it. But the minigame still needs fixed.

Personally I want mini-games removed completely. However, what you described would be acceptable. I want the character skill to actually have a purpose and unless you make it so you can't unlock something without the proper skill than the character skill will have no purpose.

If the lock-picking is moved into real-time (and I'm really hoping it will be), and the mini-game consists of a smaller overlay menu (since it doesn't need to occupy the whole screen), and they provide an actual animation that doesn't look like you are stabbing the lock and tie that animation to both the mini-game and the "auto-attempt" button, then pushing the auto-attempt button would pretty near duplicate Morrowind style skill based lockpicking, with the only sacrifice being the presence of the lock graphic off to the side of the screen.

Assuming they don't turn give an option to disable the mini-game entirely.

I think the "ten point" rule would work well because it would be like rolling a twenty sided die. Your Skill + Dice Roll = Lock Level + 10 in order to open. Someone with ten points less skill than the lock level needs a perfect twenty to open it. Somebody with skill equal to the lock has a 50/50 chance on each attempt, and someone with 10 points more is guaranteed to open it on the first try.

All they need to do then is create a decent mini-game that can simulate the dice roll odds in a reasonable way.

In my opinion it's a waste of time to put in the min-games. They weren't in Arena, Daggerfall or Morrowind. All 3 of those games were very successful without them. Mini-games are a waste of time that could be used to improve other things in the game.

This is an RPG, not an FPS. Mini-games aren't needed in an RPG, what's needed is a better and improved Role Playing experience.

They were in Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. All three of those games were very successful with them.

It's now a hybrid action RPG. It's winning awards for being that. Mini-games are simply an attempt to involve the player in the non-combat skills the same way they are now involved in the combat skills.

I can accept either way, personally, but I don't see why the developers should have to make a choice when it's possible to make both methods work. I just find that they make the mini-games way, way too easy with no way to adjust them.

Which of course leads to the major complaint about the "Difficulty" setting only affect combat damage for and against, rather than having a way of making the game itself more or less difficult to succeed at.

You should be able to attempt any lock at any skill level with the lock difficulty and your characters lock picking skill determining your likely success or failure. no attempt should be automatic success or automatic failure only vary between highly likely to highly unlikely.

Also lock picks should be less readily available than in Oblivion and there should be more than one type, with higher quality ones boasting your lock picking skill and/or take more failed attempts to break.

Lock pick attempts should be in real time so that guards etc have a chance to catch you in the act.

And lastly the separate lock pick skill should be integrated into sneak in light of the new perks for each skill system..

MORROWIND! for one reason only. Because you don't NEED a key if there is a key specified for a certain chest, you can just lock pick it. Which is how it should be.

None of the above. I prefer the dice roll over the minigame, but that's just me.