SSE A more realistic Skyrim Experience

[o0oNullo0o]

Greetings. First, let me start by saying that i've played rpgs for a long time. Over the years i've come to appreciate the struggle that some of these rpgs introduced; as it made me feel as though i were truly trying to survive in an alternate reality.

 

Lately, many games; including Skyrim; have made me feel like i'm moving a million miles an hour to rush through the content; not because i have to, but because it's hard not to. There aren't many reasons to hang around Riverwood, for example, and "live" there. Truthfully the fault lies in how the game is made. It's not a bad game, but everything feels heavily scripted to be a certain way, and never deviates from that routine.

There are some features that can help make the game feel more real.

{[ Power Gaps ]}

Or rather the lessening of these gaps. Currently many games suffer from extreme gaps in power that make fights either trivial or nearly impossible at various stages of the game. Bloated Health pools and extreme damage modifiers ruin the fluidity of combat. There should be a universal constant that makes the game challenging / rewarding at all levels.

Health / Damage should only rise by a slight amount each level. Every member of a particular species should have relatively similar stats with a few notable exceptions. (Ex. A legendary old bear that has killed countless adventurers. Maybe he has slightly higher speed, damage, health, and stamina to make him unique; but not so much so that he is un-killable)

Certain species should inherently be stronger than others. (If there is a bear fighting a wolf, it should be obvious who wins, unless the wolf is intelligent enough to roam with a pack) This means that you can die from anything, but can also kill almost anything at any level. (With the proper preparation of course)

{[ Combat ]}

It should be a constant struggle about outmaneuvering or outwitting your opponents, and not just about gaining stats / better weapons as you level so that you become vastly more powerful than everything else. The deciding factor should be about the choices the player makes in combat over an arbitrary stat check. (Ex. A skilled player will survive fighting a higher level bandit because he blocked / dodged and slashed at the right time)

Stamina should matter and be used by more things, (jumping / sprinting / attacking, ect.) and not just by the player. Npcs who are exhausted from trying to kill you / fleeing from another enemy will begin to tire and slow down, giving you more opportunity to slay them.

Weapon damage should remain constant with only a few variations. (a smith can only sharpen an axe by so much) An iron axe you found at the beginning of the game is still an axe, and you should be able to kill a bandit chief with it 30 levels later if you are skilled at combat. Different tiers of weapons should give advantages, but not so much that you are forced to use them just to survive.

Magic is strong but could be defeated by either dodging the spells if you're quick or blocking with a shield to lower the damage to your body. If you are a mage you can use magic to lessen the damage or just incinerate the enemy mage with your own deadly destruction spells. Sneaky characters can kill from stealth if they are skilled enough.

{[ Location Based Damage ]}

"Oh you're skilled at dodging and hit that Bandit Chief in the head with your sword 6 times? Too bad; the game is based on stats, he is still alive, and you're dead because you made one mistake and got hit in the wrist by a dagger"

An axe / arrow to the head = dead unless you're wearing a helmet; regardless if you're level 1 or 100.

Getting hit in the ankle / wrist with an arrow / spell / melee weapon should not kill you immediately. If anything; it should hinder your movement and cause you to bleed; along with minimal amount of damage because it is not a vital organ.

It shouldn't matter if the bandit that attacked is 30 levels higher than you and wields an ebony weapon; you were hit in the ankle / wrist; why would you die?

No instant death unless sufficient head-shot, low health prior to taking damage, or bleeding out from previous damage. (Bleeding damage based on location and power of strike.) ]

 

{[ Persistent Entities ]}

By this i mean that Npcs / creatures are the same individual until they are dead. (either from old age or combat) This would require that npcs and creatures copulate in order to reproduce. The upside to this persistent entity system is that you may encounter an old bear that has slain many wandering adventurers and has accrued vast experience, making it slightly faster / stronger than your average bear. Said bear would continue to dominate his territory until slain by time or combat. Offspring by this bear; should he mate; would carry over a percentage modifier of his stats, meaning they are naturally stronger. (To a certain extent)

{[ Wandering Npcs / creatures ]}

The world of Skyrim feels pretty stagnant because many of the creatures / Npcs are rooted to a specific area. Only by scripted special encounters will you see interactions from these Npcs / creatures outside their normal habitat. I wish to be looting a dungeon only to hear the footsteps, and conversations of a band of adventurers seeking treasure. I would have the option to hide from, help, hinder, or even join their band in search of fame and fortune. Conversely, maybe they are a roaming band of bandits and seek only to rob or kill me. To accomplish this, the A.I. of the Npcs / Creatures would need to be expanded so that the whole world is the sandbox, and not just the inn they were placed in. Obviously a "Responsibility" stat would been to be in place, or Hulda from The Bannered Mare would abandon her inn and wander Skyrim for seemingly no reason.

{[ Truly Radiant A.I. ]}

Npcs / Creatures should make decisions based on their own stats / disposition / aggression / confidence / responsibility / available time.

(Ex.1 Brenuin the Beggar from white-run finally saves up enough coin to purchase a weapon and set of armor and begins to train on the training dummies at the companions hall until he is confident enough to adventure. You may eventually encounter him on your travels; provided he survives. Another possibility is he is caught attempting to steal the Argonian ale himself from the Bannered Mare and is seen fleeing from the guards / slain / or jailed)

(Ex. 2 Hulda from The Bannered Mare may decide she actually wants to wander Skyrim or join the Stormcloaks or w/e. She would then allow someone to take her position so that she may do as she pleases.)

(Ex. 3 Bandits may occasionally attack a settlement in an attempt to either steal goods, take over the town, or simply satisfy their lust for the kill. Certain Npcs that live in said settlement (guards / capable citizens) may attempt to defend it provided they have enough confidence in their abilities.

These interactions can use a probability matrix to determine what choices the Npcs make with the variables present.

{[ Memory ]}

Npcs and creatures should actually remember the things you've done for them or around them; very much like the Nemesis system from Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor; both positive and negatively.

(Ex.1 I attack a bandit encampment and wound the leader there, upon returning he recognizes me and charges with renewed fury, or perhaps he stalks me and then ambushes me while i'm looting a dungeon, or hires assassin's or mercenaries to "teach me a lesson".

Ex. 2 I beat the crap out of Mikail for Carlotta and she decides to not only give me discounts at her stall, but occasionally gushes about how helpful i was to her friends; which in turn boosts my disposition with them slightly.)

{[ Movement ]}

While the acrobatics of Oblivion was arguably laughable (jump 15 feet across a huge ravine?) if used correctly it can open up an incredible amount of opportunities. Imagine being able to use your acrobatics / agility / strength / endurance skills to jump up and grip a ledge, then pull yourself up or shimmy across? Imagine an assassin that has been tasked with slaying a paranoid noble that resides in a multi-story home; guarded by strong mercenaries. One obvious way is to attempt to break in near the bottom and sneak or fight your way up to the noble. Another, however, is to use your acrobatics to climb the steep walls; gripping tightly on the window sills and indentations in the stonework. Making it to the window at last, you pick the lock and stealthily slip inside to slit the sleeping noble's throat and escape without them ever knowing you were there. Conversely, a thief could use this method of movement to access places with valuable treasure, or escape certain death.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this if you made it this far. I am interested to hear your thoughts on whether or not games like Skyrim can be enjoyable with a brutally realistic approach. If nothing else is it worth providing the options for players who like this sort of hardcore experience in the mainstream games to be turned on / off at will; so that both types of players can be satisfied.

Edited April 13, 2018 by o0oNullo0o

[audiodef]

o0oNullo0o,

 

The movement/parkour idea would necessitate an entirely different game engine, but I like the idea a lot.

 

Using the game's difficulty level and a combination of mods would go a ways toward many of the things you mentioned, but would definitely still leave room for improvement.

 

One thing I'd like to see that I have yet to see, like you, is better location-based damage. It's always bugged me that no matter what combination of mods I used, I - or any actor - could literally walk around with an arrow in my/their head. No, I'm sorry, arrow in head = dead. Unless guards start talking about how they used to be an adventurer like me but then they took an arrow in the head. Also, I've killed vampires by shooting them in the leg, without poisoning my arrows.

 

I also really love your giant sandbox + responsibility idea. It would add a lot of life and immersion to the game.

 

I wonder if Requiem - The Roleplaying Overhaul will ever get ported to SSE. Requiem makes Skyrim a far more challenging and realistic place.

 

These are great thoughts, thanks for sharing. :smile:

 

Cheers,

Audiodef

Edited April 13, 2018 by audiodef

[o0oNullo0o]

I'm glad to see there are others who share my desire for a more realistic gaming experience. Last i saw, Ogreboss (creator of requiem) didnt seem in a hurry to port it over to se just yet. It may have something to do with skse64 being in alpha.

 

As for parkour my real wish is to see it implemented in The Elder Scrolls 6. I feel like they could bring back skills like acrobatics and athletics, and perhaps even attributes (strength / endurance, etc) to be the foundation of this new type of movement.

 

For instance, someone skilled in acrobatics and has a high amount of agility / endurance (maybe strength too based on weight of equipment?) can climb a mountain or house faster / easier than a novice.

 

I am most interested to hear your thoughts on the matter. Perhaps Bethesda will even catch wind and implement such a feature if enough people get behind it.

Edited April 13, 2018 by o0oNullo0o

[audiodef]

SKSE64 is now in beta, so we can hope...

[o0oNullo0o]

SKSE64 is now in beta, so we can hope...

 

Splendid!

[audiodef]

It's been working well for me so far. Some mods need to be updated - for example, Frostfall doesn't currently work with SKSE64 2.0.7. But other things like Wet and Cold and EFF are working well. In my current mod list, Frostfall is the only thing I'm not able to use.

[o0oNullo0o]

It's been working well for me so far. Some mods need to be updated - for example, Frostfall doesn't currently work with SKSE64 2.0.7. But other things like Wet and Cold and EFF are working well. In my current mod list, Frostfall is the only thing I'm not able to use.

 

i'm currently playing with the CC Survival Mode. I didn't like it at first, but with a few mods to tweak hunger values on some foods it's working out very nicely.