I hate how the game pretty much pushes the main quest storyline into your journal and game from the start in most situations. Why do you always have to talk to Balgruf right away? I know you can ignore his request or not see him in the first place, but then it is kindof naging you in the background about what you should do. They should have just given the player a clean start unless we choose to really push into the mystery of the dragons on our own.

you are told, and i quote, "we should part ways" by whoever you escaped helgan with, it is far from pushed

Yeah I agree. Oblivion did this too. I kinda liked how Morrowind did it. There you got a little note saying "go talk to this guy", but it didn't say "do it NOW" and there was nothing in-game compelling you to do it right away.

It doesn't. At all.

really... is this something worth making a thread over? you're complaining that the game keeps track of your active quests and that it 'forces you to pay attention to words written in your journal'. read your post again and tell me how ridiculous it sounds.

You can't progress in the Stormcloak/Imperial Legion questlines unless you do the first main mission.

It's not ridiculous, it does push you into the main quest in most choices from the start. You are told "we should part ways", but then the guy runs forward and stands still on the only road going out until you get near him basically forcing you to run with him.

So what? You don't have to do those quests either.

It cuts out a reasonably important part of the game though. If you go by that mentality, you can just sit outside of Helgen and defend yourself every time a wolf walks up to you, because you don't actually have to do anything.

Going to riverwood is hardly part of the main-quest guys... It only actually matters if you go to whiterun and do something for a mage there, that's when things will start. Not before it. You can't possibly say the game pushes you towards that event. It's like saying you are pushed towards the dark brotherhood because you hear from them in riverwood. :facepalm:

Not to say that in Morrowind you was "pardoned" by a direct order from the Emperor. Here's a part of the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Directions_to_Caius_Cosadesr that you receive in Seyda Neen:

"Remember. You owe your life and freedom to the Emperor. Serve him well, and you will be rewarded. Betray him, and you will suffer the fate of all traitors."

That should be enough to give you a motive to deliver that Package to Caius.

its called a tutorial for new players. The game doesn't force you into any choices about the game besides pick npc a or npcb to have this tutorial with. Complaining about this is like complaining about the gaming making you a dragonborn, 'why the heck did bethesda make me the dragonborn, why was I forced into being a hero again, and why did my mother have an affair with a dragon'.

I have one large page with lots of quests, and I do one or two when I feel like it. Don't care if it's the main quest or not.

Some days, I go into one dungeon after another and don't do quests.

So, I don't consider this a problem. I think I have 3 or 4 of the different "main" quests (Winterhold, dragons, etc.) going on at the same time. That's what I like about this game. You can do things at your pace, when you feel like it.

It never pushed me into it. If you follow Hadvar/Ralof into Riverwood and follow them while they talk to their family, then yes it will push you into the main quest (only if you choose to go talk to the Jarl), but for me I split with Hadvar as soon as I could. I took the first left fork there was, and found myself over near Falkreath. I did at least 40 hours of gameplay/exploring before I actually talked to the Jarl.

its not pushing you I feel its letting you know the urgency of the threat that is looming on the horizon while you go around doing things that you want to aldiun is resurrecting dragons and getting stronger no matter how much you want to do stuff you want the dragon threat is priority and thats why they push it so to speak because if you dont take care of alduin then the world you want to explore will end

Saying you don't want to be pushed towards the main quest is like saying you don't want to be pushed toward a big pile of gold and loot at the end of a hard dungeon... it's kinda the main point of why you're there and you should really get around to it at some point, but you're free to explore rest of the dungeon as you see fit and at your own pace.

this makes no sense. A wolf doesn't help you keep track of things to do in the game. IT tries to kill and stop you from playing the game. You can't ignore a wolf. You can however stop paying attention to your journal if you so choose. Just because words are listed doesn't mean you have to do them.

What? I never felt that the game pushed me into the main quest. I went to Riverwood, and then moved on to do whatever the heck I wanted.

Not like in Oblivion where you're being told that you're special right from the beginning. In Skyrim I actually felt quite insignificant until I started doing some of the guild quests.

then why defend yourself from the wolf if you dont have to? I would personally prefer to stand in one place for 500 hrs+, aww yeah!

No because at that time Hadvars uncle will tell(almost beg) you to go to Winterhold. Then, from Winterhold to Bleakfalls, then to highrothgar, etc.
Each time it compels you to do the main quest. Where as in Morrowind, Ciaus will tell you to go explore and do guild quests.

:grad: please you some punctuation! my head got dizzy from your run on sentence. :wacko:

Again, it's the same thing with the dark brotherhood in Skyrim. Are you seriously saying it pushes you towards it.. Because it follows the exact logic as you saying we are pushed towards the mainquest.

Ive seen people complain about that here. no word of a lie



really? so helping Farengar with his dragon research was so compelling you couldnt just say "Imma just going to go check out that mammoth over there first"


So people want an epic and compelling MQ line that adds significance to our world, but, we dont want to feel too pressured to do it by NPCs and journal entries :confused: . The quest line itself provides plenty of "down time" to make you feel like you can go and do other things without the world ending.

After speaking with Balgruuf, having the dragons attack and the greybeards summon you it does feel pretty urgent. Hard to ignore when role playing. Oblivion did the same thing but it was even worse then.

Morrowind started out slow, gave you time to explore and do quests. Theres even a part where youre told to go practice, gain some experience and do some quests before proceeding with the mq. Only after a few missions did the mq start feeling urgent.

Couldn't disagree with the OP more.

The immediate start of giving the player a quest to begin with is practically vital for anyone not used to playing previous Elder Scrolls games. Being thrown into a completely open world can be rather daunting otherwise; "Okay so I am here, now what? Where do I go now? What do I do?" I remember it (With Morrowind for me) as a combination of a daunting/lost and freeing feeling. The inclusion of at least one quest (the usually insignificant opening of the main quest line) at least offers one some guidance as to what to do, at least something positive to do if one feels completely lost and overwhelmed; a purpose.

Remember; not everyone is used to the style of these games, having not played previous such games. It is also better I think that one does not have to wander around blindly in order to find the primary storyline of the game, this would only frustrate some (even if some of us are now more used to going our own way in these games.)

In fact it can even be rather fun:
"Okay here I am, completed the 'tutorial' opening sequence, and have this one mission - 'head North to...' I am free to head that way now, or turn around and head off due South (or any direction I wish) going my own way, doing what I want, as I want." So right way one if free to play a bit of the rebel if that is what you want to do. Imagine this is your first such game; practically every other game puts you right on the set track; you have to follow the set path and complete the set tasks as scripted. Even in relative open world games you are far more tied in to doing it 'their way.' Being given the opening mission only goes to highlight the fact that you can do whatever you want including directly going against the 'scripted' intent of the game itself, right from the staring gate!