Say you are about to do somthing small but important before a big battle e.g recharge you wepons reapir and all of that before a big fight but for some reason you do not. Before you would have to remember / check before you went into that battle that could be weeks later if you take a break. So now with this hopefull feature you will be able to write yourself notes to be easily checked before all land mark occasions.
and further for people who like to roleplay it may be interesting for them to write journals about their latest exploits not just "yay a killed a dragon" it will be "yay I killed a dragon I fell like writing a poem that depicts the epic battle".



sooo... Discuss

Like the idea, would be helpful if quests are more complex like in morrowind/daggerfall, if i were able to write down ingame-notes to help me.

i really doubt we'll actually be able to write in it ourselves
but i would like it to go back to morrowinds style where it actually sounded like a journal
oblivions was prety much just flavorless quest updates

but has a journal even been confirmed?

Exactly make it feel better so we dont have massive complex quest that are over the top hard or have a hundred quest updates.




I'm preety sure that in the game play footage where we saw the 3d view of the objects it had four catorgories before the inventory was opened they were Journal, Map, Inventory and Skills

Do I think beth will do this? No.

Would I like beth to do this? yes.

Being able to write in-game notes is useful for keeping track of long-term agendas, plans, and the like. In X3TC, I use self-written messages to keep track of big projects and set reminders of what my situation is like at certain milestones. Being able to do this in Skyrim would be useful for keeping track of Character arcs and my long-term plans for my character.

this

Thats will be actually desirable feature for PC UI.

simple, do not look at the journal and actually write stuff down yourself. problem solved.

YES! I had like six papers of scribbled notes when I played Oblivion.

Yeah, even if the game had such a feature, I'd write my notes on paper.... easier to quickly scribble small notes on a pad with a pen, than to futz around with the in-game interface.

(but, then, I'm going from the standpoint of maximum functionality, not roleplaying or "immersion")

Loved the journal mod in Oblivion so I'm hoping that there will be a writeable journal in Skyrim but I doubt Bethesda would do it. I didnt just use Oblivion's journal to write down notes but to voice my character's thoughts and write about important events etc. Sort of a diary. Oh the immersion.

If people want Immersion they should put in a feature that allows you to with the mouse or d-pad, trace the words or symbols. It would be inpossibe to use.

Can the consoles do this easily?

There's your answer. If the actually =do= make a PC UI, not a PC-fied console UI, then it might be possible....

Well, what if you write over your previous notes, spill ink, or otherwise ruin your journal?

What's wrong with actually keeping a pen and paper journal next to you as you are playing?
I do, I scribble down notes, from gossip, to alchemical, to historical, trivial, book hints, or religious info.

Why not just buy a notebook and pen and right the stuff down in there?

I love the idea but I fear Bethesda won't do this.

@JerZeyCJ It's not the same.

It's perfectly possible on consoles.

It would be nice, but it doesn't need to be there. I usually don't need to write in journals in games, in Morrowind and Oblivion there really isn't a need to. It would be cool nonetheless. I voted "don't care", because it doesn't HAVE to be there.

Exactly, and for the PC argument lets drop it there. Deus Ex:HR has been willing to keep features that work better on PC on console versions. And also let's go back to the first two games. Any such option? No.

It's a valid feature but can be just as done by an end user as switching to a notepad. Immersion breaking but the fact that your typing from a keyboard and not inkblots can be stated as the same.

Valid feature again, but why would they spend resources implementing it when PC users like us can use a notepad applications.

I'd rather they use the extra money getting a competant writer for gods sake.

Um, hope and think require two different answers. Yes I hope; no I don't think we'll be able to do it. Sure did like the annotatable markers in MW. At least I think they were there..it's been so long.

Why?

Because people have been BEGGING for Bethesda to not just let them keep journals... but WRITE BOOKS since at -least- Morrowind.

It's a good idea. It really is. And that's really all the reason you'd need to do it. How hard is it to create an in-game TEXT BOX what lets the player use their Keyboard (or a Playstation Keyboard, or the Chatpad Keyboard for XBOX 360 users) to input text? Honestly?

Do I think they'll do it... doubtful. Bethesda has a knack for missing ideas that have been being requested forever.

Do I wish they'd consider it? Oh, you bet.

I dont really care. I wouldnt use the feature but I dont think it would detract anything by being in.

yup,

to those who say use a notepad, the reason we want it in game is so that its easily managed, and readily available when i play my game. When I go to work or take language classes, i use a notebook, not when im playing a game. I play a game to have fun, part of that is making sure I have everything i need to play the game. With a game as complex as TES, id like one.
Secondly, telling the player to buy a pen and paper isnt in keeping with their streamline/apple policy.

I'm sure they've heard or had the idea thrown around. It's always a balance of features against resources, time, and direction. Not everything can be done. Plus again people like me would rather those resources be used elsewhere.

I highly know the immersion factor that would bring and I'd imbrace it in Fallout, which I hope they go all out in the work and resources department. I personally couldn't care less if The Elder Scrolls drowned in the Great Salt Lake never to rise again. I highly think it profits off innovations made by Wasteland and Fallout in the first place. I digress.

I discount it here because they do have limited resources and again think it's better served elsewhere. I mean I'm sure there's a thousand better uses you an think of.

And realistically they as you say haven't added it nor have the time to in these final months.

Yes I realize I'm circling about. The subject is one of those if it's not there by now forget about it until the next project comes ones.

I have a wacom tablet, so it would actually be really awesome.

EDIT: Anyway, as much as I would love to write things down in a journal, or even better type out notes that could be attached to location markers, I don't mind writing and scribbling in a notebook. There's very few games of which I've had to do that, usually adventure puzzle games like Myst, but it's enjoyable to have to do that for a video game.