[Jordan Fletcher]

Hey guys, i'm basically taking a ES forum survey regarding the TESV suggestion thread. i want to know how many people actually like using the aforementioned thread and why or why not, also what about these threads could be improved. lets avoid being little Bosmer troglodytes over this and have a nice, intellectual discussion. Cheers and heres hoping the mods take the answers posted here into consideration.

[Thomas LEON]

I find it to disorganized. By that you have people commenting about something, but I am not shure what they are talking about since they didn't quote the person. They get so many posts so fast different people talking about different things I get lost really easy lol.

[ANaIs GRelot]

Eh, it's ok, but I think it'd be nice if there was a thread for gameplay ideas and a thread for everything else (idea-wise)

[Stephanie I]

It's a disorganized mess.

I think the only reason that series of threads even exists is so mods won't have to close so many moronic "I have a great idea" threads, they can just keep it all in one place.

Beyond keeping this forum neat, it's mostly useless. No way in hell are the devs reading through that bloated, labyrinthine sewer of bad ideas.

[leigh stewart]

It's more organized than not having the thread and allowing people to post new topics for every idea they have. Given how often people start a thread (even today) with a laundry list of ideas I think this forum would be utterly useless without it.


I hate to say it but I don't think the devs are looking for TES V suggestions so much as thoughtful and constructive critiques of their existing games. Hearing what people do and do not like about a title let's them know what to work on and then they apply their own creativity and skill to this. A fair number of TES V (And FO4) suggestions to fall in to this category, either as explicit comments about previous games or at least generally comments on what the person does and doesn't like.

However quite a lot of the suggestions posted here are more developed and more insular. A new guild system proposed by someone may be cool but if it doesn't fit with what the devs have already decided then it's usefulness is up in the air. Whereas nowing that a certain element was widely enjoyed or despised is useful regardless.

I have a screenwriting book and one of the things the author points out is that if someone tells you that the end of Act I needs a car chase it may not need a car chase so much as the end of Act I needs improvement.

[cosmo valerga]

It's more organized than not having the thread and allowing people to post new topics for every idea they have. Given how often people start a thread (even today) with a laundry list of ideas I think this forum would be utterly useless without it.


I hate to say it but I don't think the devs are looking for TES V suggestions so much as thoughtful and constructive critiques of their existing games. Hearing what people do and do not like about a title let's them know what to work on and then they apply their own creativity and skill to this. A fair number of TES V (And FO4) suggestions to fall in to this category, either as explicit comments about previous games or at least generally comments on what the person does and doesn't like.

However quite a lot of the suggestions posted here are more developed and more insular. A new guild system proposed by someone may be cool but if it doesn't fit with what the devs have already decided then it's usefulness is up in the air. Whereas nowing that a certain element was widely enjoyed or despised is useful regardless.

I have a screenwriting book and one of the things the author points out is that if someone tells you that the end of Act I needs a car chase it may not need a car chase so much as the end of Act I needs improvement.

I definitely understand where your coming from. would it be possible for the mod's to consider making a TESV discussion category rather than just a single set of threads?

[Dalia]

I definitely understand where your coming from. would it be possible for the mod's to consider making a TESV discussion category rather than just a single set of threads?

Category? You mean a separate forum?

Until they announce such a game I don't see us getting a forum for it. I can only think of one time we've had a forum for a game that hadn't been officially announced and it had a number of extenuating circumstances. In that case an "Upcoming Elder Scrolls Game" forum was put up for Oblivion about a month before it was unveiled. However they had confirmed that an Elder Scrolls project was in the works (when they announced that they'd be developing FO3) and the new forum went up with a major forum upgrade. It's possible we'd have extenuating circumstances again (perhaps to settle people down if ZOS announces an Elder Scrolls MMO) but I wouldn't count on it. I also don't know if it would be a good thing, such a forum would be far more chaotic than the current TES V thread. That not only means it will be harder to manage but also to navigate, potentially making it less useful for the devs.

[Nick Jase Mason]

Category? You mean a separate forum?

Until they announce such a game I don't see us getting a forum for it. I can only think of one time we've had a forum for a game that hadn't been officially announced and it had a number of extenuating circumstances. In that case an "Upcoming Elder Scrolls Game" forum was put up for Oblivion about a month before it was unveiled. However they had confirmed that an Elder Scrolls project was in the works (when they announced that they'd be developing FO3) and the new forum went up with a major forum upgrade. It's possible we'd have extenuating circumstances again (perhaps to settle people down if ZOS announces an Elder Scrolls MMO) but I wouldn't count on it. I also don't know if it would be a good thing, such a forum would be far more chaotic than the current TES V thread. That not only means it will be harder to manage but also to navigate, potentially making it less useful for the devs.

Very true, oh well i can dream...

[Rhi Edwards]

I wish you had another choice because I agree that it's hectic and hard to keep up with, but it's not that I don't like it.

I think the main purpose should be to list our suggestions and concerns so that the devs can read it on some down time.

But people use it to argue with each other for pages and pages, even though there's no point, and a lot of valid ideas get lost in the mix. This results in the devs spending more time weeding through the crap than actually reading suggestions and ideas.

I think, if you disagree with someone's suggestion, you should quote it and say you disagree and explain why, but don't keep going back and forth.

If someone disagrees with you, don't comment because people already know what you think. Only comment if you have more to add your original suggestion. Because if you just disagree and re-post your suggestion, it becomes pages of two groups posting the same two, conflicting suggestions. And, in the end, the devs ultimately decide anyway, so it's totally pointless.

I think that it should be a rule to just post your idea and then shut up until you have another idea.

Then the thread will be good.

I admit I've fallen prey to temptation and joined in on these pointless bicker-battles. But I'm a changed man and I'll say it again for emphasis:

I think that it should be a rule to just post your idea and then shut up until you have another idea.

Then the thread will be good.

[Lewis Morel]

Unfortunately if Bethesda opens a forum for an "Upcoming Elder Scrolls Title" people will assume the game's unveiling is right around the corner - even if Bethesda explicitly tells them it isn't. This of course will quickly result in a sour situation as people get hyped up, deflate, and then snap at every new member who stops by and gets hyped up.

[Anna Kyselova]

What about a game suggestions forum in general? A place to exclusively talk about features you didn't like in any game and suggestions on better ways to do it.

[Jesus Duran]

Like HD said, it'd be pretty chaotic. People would make whole topics for even the smallest suggestion, and for their every suggestion. There would be so many threads, made so often, that it'd just be ridiculous.

[Emily Jeffs]

I think the suggestion thread is absolutely useless, noone reads it (except for a few "fans" who keeps posting in it over and over until their throat is sore, their fingers bleed or whatever) and it's just a waste of bandwidth.

Unfortunately if Bethesda opens a forum for an "Upcoming Elder Scrolls Title" people will assume the game's unveiling is right around the corner - even if Bethesda explicitly tells them it isn't. This of course will quickly result in a sour situation as people get hyped up, deflate, and then snap at every new member who stops by and gets hyped up.

Yeah, and then there would be a whole forum that noone reads instead of a thread.

I think, if you disagree with someone's suggestion, you should quote it and say you disagree and explain why, but don't keep going back and forth.

And that's the main reason why noone reads it, people keep posting way too much junk. Everyone have their own unique point of view of what makes TES5 "perfect". Mixing them all together is impossible.

[Dark Mogul]

Hectic and disorganized, impossible to keep up with.

A game like TES has so many aspects and facets - not just "talk" and "kill things" - that one thread cannot possibly organize diverse suggestions into any useful format.

[maya papps]

I think the suggestion thread is absolutely useless, noone reads it (except for a few "fans" who keeps posting in it over and over until their throat is sore, their fingers bleed or whatever) and it's just a waste of bandwidth.


Yeah, and then there would be a whole forum that noone reads instead of a thread.


And that's the main reason why noone reads it, people keep posting way too much junk. Everyone have their own unique point of view of what makes TES5 "perfect". Mixing them all together is impossible.

Well it's not completely useless, I mean, moderators have said in the past that the devs read it at least occasionally. Though, with Bethesda likely far into development of TES V by now, they probably don't look at it anymore. It seems it would have been pretty useful after Oblivion was released.

[Gavin Roberts]

I didn't mean a forum for suggestions. Post those on the thread and just don't debate because it's poitnless to debate.

I meant a forum if you want to criticize/praise certain features and suggest improvements.

All of the silly "Add Pirates" or "Make an MMO" threads would be immediately locked. Because, as you may have noticed, threads dedicated to criticizing certain features and suggesting how you want it done differently actually survive without being locked. Like voice acting and mini-games.

A new generalized forum, maybe even segregated by series', would allow for a little more leniency, which would reduce the amount of bickering on the suggestion thread.

[Colton Idonthavealastna]

I didn't mean a forum for suggestions. Post those on the thread and just don't debate because it's impossible to debate.

I meant a forum if you want to criticize/praise certain features and suggest improvements.

All of the silly "Add Pirates" or "Make an MMO" threads would be immediately locked. Because, as you may have noticed, threads dedicated to criticizing certain ideas and suggesting how you want it done differently actually survive without being locked. Like voice acting and mini-games.

A new generalized forum, maybe even segregated by series', would allow for a little more leniency, which would reduce the amount of bickering on the suggestion thread.

You only have to look at what the New Vegas forum was like when it was first made to see a suggestion forum gone wrong. And to an extent what it's like now. People will not put suggestions in the designated thread if it's not on the first page, and some do even if it is. And the threads they make aren't immediately locked, it usually takes a little while, and besides, the mods have enough work to do as it is. Some people even make threads and tell people to put suggestions in them, even though the existing suggestion thread is still on the first page. A suggestion forum, even if you call it a criticism and suggestion forum, would be far too chaotic.

[Neko Jenny]

A game like TES has so many aspects and facets - not just "talk" and "kill things" - that one thread cannot possibly organize diverse suggestions into any useful format.

When people start to start a general discussion about a certain topic we usually allow it - but the key phrase there is "general discussion." So a thread discussing where people want to see the next game set is generally fine while a thread saying that the next game should be set in Hammerfell and here's why will usually be directed to the suggestion thread - or better yet, directed to an active thread discussing game locations since that's a great place to post why you think Hammerfell would be a great choice.

Threads discussing a topic are usually far more productive than a thread discussing one person's idea about one thing - or even worse one person's ideas about a dozen unrelated things. Allowing the latter would also result in dozens of disparate topics, many of them repetitive and most of them lacking any real discussion. In fact it would probably have all of the problems of the current thread but spread across far more room.

This isn't to say we need an official thread for a dozen general topics concerning TES V, while better it's still congestive. However if there are a few general threads, particularly if they're cast as a general "what would you like to see" rather than "what would you like to see in TES V I think this forum can maintain that discussion you're looking for without causing problems. In fact I'd say this forum already manages to accomplish just this quite often.

Well it's not completely useless, I mean, moderators have said in the past that the devs read it at least occasionally. Though, with Bethesda likely far into development of TES V by now, they probably don't look at it anymore. It seems it would have been pretty useful after Oblivion was released.

That was true when the thread first started but I don't know how long the devs checked it out.

That isn't to say the devs aren't looking for people's opinions about their games, they just looking elsewhere

[Lynette Wilson]

Category? You mean a separate forum?

Until they announce such a game I don't see us getting a forum for it. I can only think of one time we've had a forum for a game that hadn't been officially announced and it had a number of extenuating circumstances. In that case an "Upcoming Elder Scrolls Game" forum was put up for Oblivion about a month before it was unveiled. However they had confirmed that an Elder Scrolls project was in the works (when they announced that they'd be developing FO3) and the new forum went up with a major forum upgrade. It's possible we'd have extenuating circumstances again (perhaps to settle people down if ZOS announces an Elder Scrolls MMO) but I wouldn't count on it. I also don't know if it would be a good thing, such a forum would be far more chaotic than the current TES V thread. That not only means it will be harder to manage but also to navigate, potentially making it less useful for the devs.

Sorry to be a weird-o here, but what was the date that they stated another TES game was in the works but wasn't yet announced? I'm collecting development dates and announcement dates...

[Kayla Keizer]

It's a disorganized mess.

I think the only reason that series of threads even exists is so mods won't have to close so many moronic "I have a great idea" threads, they can just keep it all in one place.

Beyond keeping this forum neat, it's mostly useless. No way in hell are the devs reading through that bloated, labyrinthine sewer of bad ideas.

I agree. Its a flytrap but necassary. Aside from that I think folks get bit too specific. If someone lays out a quest or storyline do they think Beth is honestly going to take it and use it? Even if they liked it I'm sure there is some legal reason they wouldn't.

[Michael Russ]

I found it interesting to read when I first joined the forum. Now I rarely read or post in the thread because it is so repetitive and cluttered. There are some genuinely good ideas, but you have to sift through some rubbish to find them.

[Harinder Ghag]

polling on existing threads?

beth for the love of god we need information, this board is getting ridiculous

[rheanna bruining]

polling on existing threads?

beth for the love of god we need information, this board is getting ridiculous

Hahaa, that is almost verbatim what went through my mind when I saw the topic of the thread!

[Darlene DIllow]

The reasons for the single 'Ideas and Suggestions' topic has been explained as has the fact that until there is an announcement about any new game and a new sub forum is started things are not going to change. So I am closing this as redundant.