Moja

As for mods via DLC, that really depends on Microsoft/Sony, not on Bethesda. It might happen eventually but I wouldn't count on it for any time this year, and likely not even before the next gen consoles are launched. As for sreamlining... An example of good streamlining is removing explicit classes in Skyrim in favor of free-form leveling through the skills you actually use. An example of potentially bad streamlining is replacing 8 attributes with 3 if there's no way for the player to customize the variables originally controlled by attributes: the difference between max magicka and magicka regen, for instance. Maybe it's controlled by a perk or some cumulative count of your skill levels or whatever, but it removes the player another degree from personal custimization, which is bad. For flying dragons, you can use dragon shouts to take it down

Huh? I doubt that anyone would hateyou for that. But considering that this is (primary) a modding site, and skyrim is part of a series with a VERY strong modding community. Most are going to get even this game on PC so they can mod it. Oblivion with and without mods are pretty much 2 completely different games. If you ever hear any hate against consoles it is likely directed to the trend among developers to "streamline" games (read: dumb down) by focusing on the consoles first and foremost. The most recent example would be dragon age 2. But even most console players didn't like it. We don't hate you! If anything you have our pity for all the modded content you'll be missing... I only had Morrowind for console and it was fine though. Oblivion imo needed a lot more mods to make it work well. I think with Skyrim you'll still get good value playing the vanilla.

Not enough! I want to triple wield staves with my tail as a khajiit/argonian!!

Uhm.... If you watch actual gameplay footage, that alone is enough to tone down some of the claims of the article. Revolutionary AI isn't some guy standing still with sword drawn, staring stupidly at his companion who just got hit by an arrow. Much like Radiant AI of Oblivion, Radiant Story is going to be a great asset for modders, but I'm skeptical of how well Bethesda itself will do. It sounds too much like the old promises of Fable... I really hope the info about multiple fighting styles based on race/weight/etc. is true though... That's something I've wanted in TES games for ages: characters who are competent with weapons, with a bit more finesse than 5 year olds swinging sticks... Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised when the game comes out ^^

It's not difficult per se. Just extremely time consuming...

1) Depends on the thief... If he's some cold hearted killer I'm going to treat him differently than if he's an orphan stealing potions to heal his sick grandmother =P Need more info ^^

This is just speculation, but I would bet there are several factions for each Nordic "House" of Skyrim, since the country is in civil war.

Well if they had a platforming system in, then by all means acrobatics should be included. However they don't, so from my perspective it's reasonable to remove a mechanic that encourages you to jump everywhere you go instead of walking. And btw acrobatics wasn't only used to cheat. It was used to get to places that you otherwise couldn't (thief). Its proper place, imo, is as a platforming skill, ranging from the basics of climbing and hanging, to advanced maneuvers like swinging from pole to pole, wall jumping, and wall running. Considering Skyrim has zero platforming elements, acrobatics doesn't make much sense. Maybe one day....

I don't mind the removal of athletics and acrobatics due to the way they were levelled, since it encouraged weird situations like jumping everywhere you went. What I do mind is condensing 8 attributes into 3 IF there's no way to get the same level of customization elsewhere. Todd always uses the example of intelligence = magicka. Well that's great, but how do I differentiate between increasing my magicka pool vs increasing my regeneration? How do I speed up my rate of attack vs increasing the damage of each hit? How do I run faster or jump higher? It CAN all be done by perks, but my guess is it won't. And even if it is, it's much less clean than keeping attributes. I wouldn't mind if attributes were hidden, and levelled behind the scenes through skill use, with no direct user contact at all. But perks are too blunt an instrument for such fine degrees of customization.

You can create new worldspaces but they have to be linked by access points (doors, for example). This means that each worldspace has to be sealed off, and that's obviously a problem if it consists of a giant plain. Mountain passes and forests give opportunity for separating each space though, if necessary.

They could easily go through a loading screen through the top of the city... Maybe the city loads in all directions. Or they just might attack small towns/settlements which are open, and avoid the big cities. Or it could be a scripted event. Or they are clever enough to use doors! :O

The major cities in Skyrim will NOT be open. This comes directly from an interview with Todd where he was talking about what Bethesda could have done if they waited for a next-gen console.

Well if you consider how the character screen looks in Oblivion, where you can rotate your character 360 degrees, I'd think it would be the same thing. Hopefully they'll add Z axis rotation too, but it shouldn't require extra models or textures.

I would expect the menu to use the same model as the game... I have a hard time seeing Bethesda needlessly doing double work on item modeling.

o_O Would you need more space than Cyrodil? I imagine it would be possible to close off separate world spaces via mountain passes and/or impassable forests too, if necessary. Or even invisible walls over rivers. It's not pretty but it could be functional :) @OP: if you can assemble a team that is big enough and competent enough to make this feasible, I'll be happy to contribute for cities and quest creation.