With the coming of latest technologies, a new engine with optimized AI, and especially DX11 tessellation -a technology that allows to lower of increase the geometry of an object depending of the distance you're at- (which allows to do things like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQQpCd_vvGU), it seems that making massive battles with hundreds of characters in both sides seems more possible than ever. So, what do you think? Will there be such battles in the game? Do you want them to be?

I'm totally in, of course. I've never played a "massive battle" worthy of that name in any game, and I'd love the first one to be in Skyrim

Skyrim is on consoles too.

Consoles use DX9.

Hundreds of Characters on screen would be over kill.

Almost everyone would have troubles running something like that. I just hope that they don't have something where it's supposed to be a 'Huge and Epic battle to save the world' and they have 12 guys defending against 15 enemies.

Like in Oblivion.

I would like to see them, but not fight in them:

1) I always end up hitting friendlies, whom I'd need to kill as well

2) My dad taught me that when there's a big brawl, to grab a beer and head for the rafters to enjoy the show

Definitely but if they can't do it properly then they shouldn't try to. I'd hate to end up with a Battle of Bruma 2.0.

YES!

There was sort of a "big battle" in oblivion, but not only did it dramatically break the FPS but also hard to join the battle without hurting friendlies. If it's a shooting game you can aim precisely, but for hack and slash it's difficult to manage a crowd

Even oblivion had too many "large" battles imo, I dont wanna get involved in that and dont care to see it. Personal opinion but it wont hurt if they do have it.

I would LIKE to see it, after all there is supposedly a civil war going on. Will we see it? Depends on the new engine, I suppose.

No.

I feel that there's two thing that can happen with big battles:
1. You don't spend enough time on it and they end up svcking.
2. You accidently create a RTS not a RPG.

I don't care if its realistic, the question was would you like to.

And I say yes!
Whats the point of modding in hardcoe AoE spells if you don't have armies to unleash them on?


But not for the main quest line. I'd kill someone essential or end up with a huge bounty...

Yes, the Battle for Bruma was...not good. Many soldiers just stood still due to engine limitations.

I would want to see a few big battles connected to the main story or civil-war or something like that.
But I don't want big battles just because there should be big battles. It must not be overdone.

Still Oblivion's "big" battles were pathetic. But we all know that was because of the engine.
I'm expecting this new one being capable of something like 40-60 characters, which is enough I think.
Hundreds of NPC is, as someone else said here, overkill.

Exactly this. Either have a good non-laggy battle, or don't even try to tell us theres gonna be a huge, epic battle.

Arrrh, not so likely, but if it can be done well with no lag... Hell yeah.

No. I dislike "epic battles" in movies and I don't care for them in games. I usually feel they are boring and mindless, and if the characters are involved it's usually because they didn't do enough or weren't smart enough to avoid it in the first place, and maybe deserve to fail. I want no part of it. I'll try to let the AI deal with it if there is a battle.

Alas i dont think TES has been able to do large scale battles very well... the battle of Bruma leaps to mind. From the info released so far the big fights seem to be single combat with dragons but of course thats just speculation.

Also as a marksman fan I found it tricky to hit the enemy, often you end up hitting the backs of allies who swarm the enemy in melee.

But if they manage to pull it off it'll be amazing.

I would like to see battles with 15+ people.

Depends on how many people the engine can handle before it gets laggy.

This^^^^^ I would love 1 big battle at the end of the main quest. Like in the game 'viking'.

With 20 or so people having a dispute like a tribe of barbarians for example.

There's suppose to be a civil war in Skyrim, if there aren't big battles in the game it will be a humongous fail :gun:

I don't know... If they're well done. Let's take an example, end of Oblivion. Martin haranguing the troops near the Great gate. That much felt right, being among those guys, that vibe of expectation. Or inside the gate - although it's kind of a personal experience : completely freaked out by the timer, as usual, I mishandled things terribly, got lost and ended up running, trailing behind me what seemed in retrospect a hord of screaming daedra ; great visual, and for once in that whole game, at least a oh[censored]sogoingtodie feel.

I'm not saying always, but once or twice, at the right time, battles you witness, battles you can take part in. It is, after all, a civil war.

... Although I damn well hope the friendly AI gets battle-smarter. :blink:

It'd be cool, but it'd probably be laggy as [censored].

maybe 30 40 guys on each side

its not EPIC but its still pretty cool