Natzat hit it right on the bullseye. If forging is like that it would be perfect.

I wouldn't mind seeing a Spore type of weapons creator. Bethesda can give us blanks, much like many weapons smiths work with now adays, and the player can warp those blanks to whatever shape they desire and do the same with hilts. There can be some presets for people who do not want such an in-depth editor, but for those of us who want to create custom weapons in-game it would be nice.

There is so many possibilities that could make forging so cool.

as long as you can forge all weapons and armor in the game along with unique weapons / armor with enchantments i will be in heaven.
i like what lord of destruction's idea

You do know Spore looked terrible...

IT'S LIKE A DREAM COMING TRUE :intergalactic: :celebration: :intergalactic: :celebration: :intergalactic:

I'm not talking about looks I'm talking about mechanics and yes spore did look terrible, but the customization was new and it would be interesting to see it used well.

I want it to be fully animated and to be an improved variation of Runescapes forging.

A Tale in the Desert (a very nice little social MMO, for those who don't know it) have a pretty awesome forging system: You get materials, a blueprint, and different sized and shaped tools (which you have to make yourself or buy from other players who made them, by the way). You then go and start hammering, chiselling and so on the raw material - which starts out as a block of metal - to match the given blueprint shape, in 3D. The closer you get to the "perfect" shape, the better the stats of the forged item are (chiefly durability, since the game has no weapons). You can at any time decide to scratch the work, and won't lose any of the material if you do, but you will of course lose the time and your tools will still suffer the wear and tear.

I personally want there to be a menu for it, even if it isn't an actual menu like how spellmaking was in Oblivion. I have no problem with it looking fancy and stuff but I still don't want it to take forever to make a sword, even it it would take a long time in real life. This is how I see it.

• Initial Menu (Shows you looking at a forge) - asks you what type of material you want the item to be made of, only showing options of ores you currently have. Choosing one makes you put the ore in the forge and brings the next menu.
  
• Item Menu (You with the ore in the forge) - Asks you if it will be a weapon, piece of armor, jewelry, or repairing equipment (or whatever else you can think of, some choices limited by ore type). Choosing an option makes you remove the ore and go to an anvil.
  
• Detailed Item Menu (You with the ore at anvil) - Asks for specific details on the item, with final ore prices (Longsword - 4 Ore, dagger - 1 ore, etc.) From there you choose from a few preset models, including the stock model for the weapon. Choosing one gives you 2 choices. You can either finish the piece (Shows you dunk it in water) or you can refine it if you have the right skill level (go back and reheat the blade then hammer it again). This would let you change it from Rusty Iron Dagger to Iron Dagger, then to Fine Iron Dagger, then to Pristine Iron Dagger, the to Flawless Iron Dagger. Of course having a certain skill level would reduce the costs of refining the piece and make so you forge a nicer item by default.
  
• Finally, the Naming Menu - The item name appears on the screen (If you made an Iron Dagger it says Iron Dagger), giving you the option to rename it right there.

Basically I want menus without menus. I DON'T want to dike around with a hammer all day trying to smith something.

this is a good idea except from the rusty iron to iron because well. when you smelt ore for the first time its not rusty yet u know.