Still, clicking on another quest is a workaround for a flawed feature that a player should not have to make.

So basically what I get from this is that the OP is easily distracted by shiny objects.

LOL :foodndrink:

If someone else had to explain how much of an effect it had on your experience...doesn't that really clearly say that it didn't have much effect at all, and now you've hopped onto someone else's bandwagon? :blink:

This is your problem.

I understand why they have the compass, some people cannot for the life of them, figure out what to do unless they are lead by the hand from spot to spot, and they need them to get thru the game, and I feel sorry for these people, because they are the ones who never discover anything, or get the cool side quests, because they will never go exploring out of fear of loosing the main quest line, they are the ones that you see in other forums going, "help I have been playing this game for an hr and got no clue where to go next", like that aint the coolest feeling in the world in a game world, nothing beats being able to get lost, and then find cool ass [censored] to do in some unmarked corner of woods or hills ! JMO

I agree.

If somebody thinks compass and quest markers have ruined the "getting lost" feeling, they haven't played without the map...

seriously, that things helps a lot more than those arrows on the screen the only difference is that you don't have to get in and out of the menu...

Well, I explored whenever I felt like it in Oblivion...

But then again, I agree, just put a [censored] toggle. How hard can that be, seriously? Even scripting the whole thing takes less time than drinking a damn coffee!

I personally dislike Oblivion pinpointing to a T where a location I've never been is located. However I also dislike Morrowinds lack of compass and vague directions, even checking my journal before leaving the NPC in case they didn't add up. I think Morrowind and Oblivion didn't get it right on either attempt.

I hope Skyrim takes the strong points of each game in this area though-

• Interacting with NPCs more to get directions
  
• Areas you haven't been to are marked on a map in the "general" area they are expected to be found. Once you discover them they are accuratly updated on the map.
  
• The compass is used solely for gauging your directions. No glowing dots.

I can't see how a majority of Skyrim players would want to go back soley to the Morrowind system.

These are all things I am hoping will be included in Skyrim (and consequently improved for FO4).

Imagine this, people - an NPC tells you to go to dark cavern, and to retrieve the ancient sword of epicness. You do not have the compass on, so therefore it is almost impossible for you to find this cave - as the only directions are the map markers. The problem is not the compass itself, but the lack of any other viable option.

A toggle would be needed if there are quest markers, as long as NPCs actually give us directions. directions should be written in the journal too.

That's a fail if they don't make quest markers toggleable. even in fable you could turn off the golden quest-path thingy.

There is almost always some direction given, even if its just a wave of a hand to the east and it turns out to be more south then east,... thats where exploration comes into play, I remember one such direction given in Morrowind, when trying to find an epic ring or staff cant remember exactly, but they guy (dead guy) turns up in a shallow area on top of a mt a long way off the beaten path, and well away from where you were directed to go looking, felt good to find that after searching for like a wk straight for it.

put a piece of tape over the screen where the compass is then

Personally I have absolutely no problem with adding a toggle button for quest markers and if that turns out to be implemented in Skyrim, totally fine by me.

From the dev team's perspective, however, this would probably be seen as a redundancy. If there were no quest markers, then what would be the point of making any quest your "active" quest? Just to make it highlighted with a little star in your quest list?

You are already toggling the quest markers on and off when you make a quest active. Essentially you're asking for two different ways to toggle quest markers.

In Morrowind, there were detailed directions, like "Continue up the road to Pelagiad, and turn right at the jfork in the road. Climp up the hill and the cave will be there." In Oblivion, it was "There is a place to the west. Here, let me mark it on your map (magic compass)." Without the markers, it was impossible to know exactly where to go west, and when to stop.

There is no way to toggle a quest marker from a single quest. You can only do this if you have multiple quests, and then be forced to be distracted by another quest marker as well.
There is also no way to toggle compass icons.

An option under gameplay settings would solve both of these problems and make tons of people who hate quest markers and compass icons very happy... and at what cost? The afternoon of a programmer?
It would be hella' worth it and the other solution to select different quests only work if there are multiple quests. You can't deactivate a single quest. Also, you can't deactivate compass icons in any way at all.

That's why a simple toggle option under gameplay settings would be the absolutely best solution for EVERYONE.

Personally, if they implement this, great, I have absolutely no problem.

IMHO, an objection the dev team might raise is that this function would be redundant.



Keep in mind
1. nobody plays the game with only one single quest, as it would be almost impossible to go through the game without collecting any quests
2. when you first get a new quest, in order to activate it, you have to consciously make a choice to turn the quest markers on by clicking on it



Can you clarify what you mean by compass icons? Are you referring to the early warning system that tells you when there are enemies nearby, or an unexplored inn or dungeon in the distance?

I understand what you mean, but honestly, there have been plenty of times through my gameplays when I've only had just one quest taken. Either when I've finished others, or when I have started a new one after finishing every other quest. I like to focus on one thing at a time in my games, so it happens a lot.

Compass icons is the "radar" of your compass. How the compass magically knows where and exactly what everything nearby you is, even if you don't directly see it yourself. It removes the possibility of being surprised by suddenly finding a hidden dungeon while exploring.

The simplest and best solution for everyone, including the devs, is to simply add a toggle option under gameplay settings. Takes very little time and pleases everyone, as long as there's a way to do what you want to do WITHOUT compass icons and quest markers.

I am looking for the best Elders Scroll Experience to date.

Skyrim will provide this for me.

BTW...I didnt read your post

I did not say that the game would fail, but that the "sandbox" aspect would fail without taking some measures to change features from Oblivion.

Well games have gone up a notch since Oblivion so things will change. Bethesda seems to always take the lead in Sandbox...in terms of the feeling.

I really don't buy the idea that quest markers remove the motivation to explore. If anything, for me it had the complete opposite effect. Whenever I saw a marker on my compass for a new location I wanted to go find it and add it to my map, so I kept exploring and exploring to find them all. Actually, in the case of Fallout 3, probably the most fun I had with that game was when I made a character and used her solely to wander the wasteland searching for every last location, adding all the markers to my map so that I could see what it looks like when it's completely filled up and "done". I have a lot of memories from exploring the wastes with her, and if it wasn't for the compass markers I probably wouldn't have even bothered trying to do this in the first place. So what I'm saying is that, for me at least, the markers increased the amount of exploration if anything

They could have the old Fallout 'fog of war' map that would show locations on the map if you travel near them. That way you can still check if there is a notable location near you as you explore and not have the 'chasing arrows' from a magic compass.