urgumflux

i think that timing does help you absorb more damage though...otherwise these would definitely be great improvements.

also, i think you should somehow make smithing considerably less powerful. it is game breaking atm, and if you want to play with a challenge, you have to avoid smithing.

part 1: shallow class system i love skyrim. its great. however, it feels a little more like an action game than an rpg. i think that this is mostly due to the abolishment of the class system. now, i really like the idea of just playing how you want to play, and there's your class, right there. it gives a lot of freedom. but its really not an rpg. so, i thought of a class system that follows you. it should prevent you from being good at everything. here is an example of what i am talking about. lets say you play your character like a thief. you mostly use archery, one handed, and sneak skills. once one of these skills, for example, archery; gains a difference from your, lets say, 5th highest skill, that skill would become one of your 4 available "majors." this means that that particular skill will have: 1: its tier 4+ perks unlocked, 2: its mastery tree (more on this later.) unlocked, 3: skill advancements will advance your leveling progress, and 4: that skill will level faster. meanwhile, other skills (excluding the crafting perks; enchanting, smithing, and alchemy, as they are special cases. you shouldn't have to "major" in alchemy in order to utilize it) will 1: not progress your character through levels, 2: be unable to place points in the perk tree beyond tier 3, and 3: the skill will level slower. the idea behind it is to give incentive to specialize in certain skills, similar to a traditional class system, yet still allow you to use whatever and as many other skills as you want. your class skills being determined by difference in levels is so that you can overtake your other skills. lets say that you discovered that destruction magic had a rune trap spell, and, because that is awesome, you decided that you also want to use destruction. you can then level your destruction skill to overtake one of your "majors." some other notes -maybe you should be allowed 5 "majors," instead of 4? i am not sure. -because leveling is now a bigger deal, as you only have a few skills which will allow you to level, it would make sense to have a system of gaining more perks. perhaps a 1-2-1-2-1-2.... system would work well. maybe you could instantly gain an extra perk if you achieved a milestone in a skill. -people shouldn't be locked into their classes, yet they also shouldn't be able to be a master at everything. part 2: master perk trees. i think a better system than simply adding more perks or skill trees to the game would be to expand on a favorite skill with more detailed perks. once finishing the standard perk tree (getting one point in the last perk), you should gain access to more specific versions of that tree. for example, once completing the destruction tree, you could chose one of the master trees above it, such as specializing in fire, ice, or shock damage. one handed could be axes, swords, maces. sneak could be either focusing on assassination, or on bypassing enemies. that kind of thing. notes -some trees already have a light version of this (for example, the one handed tree has a perk each for improving swords, maces, or axes). these would have to be replaced with different perks.

TL;DR? sorry... hand to hand fists should be one handed weapons.

i like the combat overhaul. bethesda specifically stated that they were trying to make it seem more visceral... making combat more lethal (yeah, fights to the death are usually lethal for one party, i know... but i am talking about it feeling more lethal, as if your enemies really were able to kill you and the only reason you prevail is through your greater skill, rather than your character being simply better.) -the dismemberment also helps the visceral feel. also, disarming should be more common, and you should actually drop your weapon on the ground (but with code to rebind it to favorites/keybinds on pickup). it could be worth your while to carry a lightweight dagger as an equippable backup weapon (i am suggesting an actual equipment slot for a backup weapon). you also mentioned some confusion as to what people without shield would do.... in oblivion, there was a popular mod called Deadly Reflex which had a similar solution; they added a unique "special action" key, which handled dodging/kicks/such. perhaps there could be a similar solution to enable dodging (direction + dodge key). as for parrying, i think it could be a one-handed only ability where you would hold special action/dodge key and press a mouse button. it should stagger the enemy shortly, like blocking with a shield does (i think it does...it did in oblivion, at least), at the cost of requiring stamina, quick reflexes, and timing (to compensate for dual one-handed specs doing more damage than sword and shield combos. we wouldn't want dual wielders doing 2x damage and have the same blocking capabilities...) however,i think some kind of disrupt maneuver would be needed. i can see two people just staring at each other over their shields, not taking swings at the other because they are afraid of getting killed during the recoil. perhaps a swift kick to the legs, or smacking aside their shields. side note - i think the characters ability to dodge well should be dictated by not only the weight of their armor, but also a new skill, sort of replacing acrobatics from oblivion. perks could include different rolls, fall from higher places and taking less damage, things to do with having better footwork, that kind of stuff. i also really like what you said about mages being easily sliced in half if they cant dispose of their enemies quickly. i think the only fallible aspect of more lethal magic (while necessary, considering that pure mages don't wear much in the way of armor) would be that the other skills could potentially become less useful, which would be bad. i firmly believe that all skills should be viable ways to play, without one being significantly better or worse than others. for example, unarmed should be a playstyle. =[ i think something else that would enhance the realism as well as make it physically harder to use would be forcing the removal of the crosshairs during archery. im not entirely sure what you mean here. could you please explain what you had in mind more? what i think you are saying is that you could specialize in a specific finishing move, which you could work towards during combat. again, im going to reference Deadly Reflex here; building "momentum," or advantage, in a specific way, to the point where you could then manually use your finisher when you have the opportunity. if that is what you meant, then i wholly approve and think it is awesome. for the realism/immersion part (ahhh, realism... over time i continually crave more and more of it for some reason. i don't know why.), i like your ideas very much. i would like to see water skins being refilled automatically on entering towns, and perhaps being able to siphon off some water from slain human(oid) enemies (they need to drink too!). i think the overcoats, while a cool idea, are unnecessary, since you would more or less be quickly traveling between campfires, towns, and (comparatively) warm caves and crypts. also, you are already wearing armor. probably. i mean, maybe if you were running around naked, diving into snowdrifts and cramming ice into your mouth, it would be a pretty big deal. also, Khajiit have fur, and Argonian are probably cold-blooded, so they are already in deep trouble. instead, i think combat should be more difficult in the cold (have you ever tried typing with cold fingers? it doesn't work. it just kind of comes out as "guii;ajsdjha." you may as well just use your forehead to type.) dodging and parrying could be harder, swords could swing slower or do more damage. i like the whole "getting rich isn't easy" idea as well. in my opinion, its too easy to just crawl through a dungeon or two and be set for life, especially late game. money should be harder to make. also, on a similar note, stealing should be harder as well. you really just kind of walk in during the day, say "sup," wait till midnight, and then take what you please. its not satisfying. i like the "blocking the wound aspect" as well. you are going to have to stop the bleeding somehow. drinking a potion or eating food shouldn't magically seal up your wounds. in fact, i think the whole health idea should be revamped; wounds should also decrease your total amount of health, and cause you to bleed health until they are fixed. potions should function more like painkillers, increasing your health total, rather than actually restoring vital juices. the only way to restore health should through rest or healing spells. your percent remaining health should function more like your will, or ability, to fight. if you're bleeding out, you would have a hard time running, swinging a sword, or raising your shield. death should result only from your health total dipping below zero. if your percent remaining health reaches zero,bleeding will stop, and you will be rendered unconscious for a few hours (and hoping that some wolf doesn't amble by and decide to take a bite). also, rest should also be available from chairs or benches (so that you don't have to camp out in dungeons. hunting, fishing, and cooking should also become real skills, with purchasable equipment from vendors. also, leather should play a part in creating tents. maybe this could all be a part of one skill, like "outdoorsman," or something. tents should be able to be fast-traveled to, but only allow a campsite to be deployed for a few days (wildlife or bandits would destroy it if it is left alone for too long). more cooking recipes, that don't need as much salt (maybe non at all), or require different spices that you could gather from plants or something. at the moment, diseases feel like "whaaaat, i got Ataxia again? pfffft. better stop by the temple next time i'm in town." i definitely approve of making it so that diseases are actually taken seriously. i.m with you on the inventory thing. especially the bit about carrying extra backpacks/rucksacks (into dungeons, and dropping them before initiating combat), saddle bags, or leaving/packing stuff up with your tent. however, i am a bit on the fence about item durability. on one hand, its a realism thing, and makes immersion into the game much easier. makes combat feel like it has more impact than just the actual encounter. on the other hand, it can be a pain to have to make stops in town to repair items. also, what happens if you have a favorite weapon, or some enchanted gear? when that gets broken, you are forced to use a backup (not to mention carry the backup gear around with you!). maybe if they degraded quite slowly, and you could touch them up at your campsite with a skill separate from smithing (which would be aimed at making or improving weapons), perhaps the proposed "outdoorsman" skill.) i think another realism/player choice (rpg elements) improvement, sort of along the lines of your ideas, and just occurring to me now, would be to include smiths, enchanters, and alchemists in towns who you could bring money or reagents to, and have them create potions, make/improve gear, enchant your weapons, etc. i don't really like the idea of my character being forced to smith, enchant, and mix ingredients to gain an advantage over his enemies. in short, if my character doesn't want to be, for example, an enchanter, there should be someone in town who could do it for him. -on the subject of enchanting, i think there should also be an extra amount of "utility" enchantments which you could always, regardless of enchanting skill, place on items, such as "the weapon corrodes slower," "or less chance to be disarmed," stuff like that. -moar side notes! - should also be able to smith utility/improvements onto your weapons/armor, such as a counterweight for your axe, a chain to pull your weapon back immediately after getting disarmed, some spikes on your armor, some lightweight metal bits on your leather for added protection, etc. definitely agree with the more atmospheric dungeons idea. i want to scream and wet my pants like a little girl when a draugr sneaks up on me in a pitch black crypt (à la Amnesia). also, torches are a useless item as of now (maybe they could be attached to your backpack, or you could relight existing torches in dungeons). TL;DR: i like your ideas. - if you (or anyone) actually read that wall of text, thank you. i think ive spent almost an hour writing it now.

^ this is great! however, i dont think that unarmed scales as if you were getting new weapons... also, it seems like it would make more sense to have the perks from one-handed tree be applicable, because, after all, you dont need both of your hands to use just the one.

ahhhh i didnt realize. thank you very much!

it also occured to me that there should be a way to create a preset. maybe a seperate section in the favorites where you can bind your magic/weapon setup to a single hotkey.

for sure. this is essential, and simple too. good post

this was done in oblivion, hopefully it will come back. this is a good idea.

really like the carriage thing. never thought about it, but it is an excellent idea. overall, i think everything you said is well thought out, and should be in the game, good post.

i would like to see different weather more often. it shouldnt change daily, but over longer spans of time. dont switch weather at midnight every day, but rather have weather changes happen over larger periods of time, and persist (it shouldnt rain for an hour, and then be sunny), with maybe a few static weather patterns (fog near coasts, rain in swampy areas, snow in high mountains, etc.)

i really like the favorites organization thing. that is much needed. however, i am afraid of a minimap blocking off too much of the screen, or making the game less immersive.

spells leave remnants all the time! stuff gets chared, ice crystals form on it... i think if we can do that, we can leave footprints, too. at least the pc. hard part is telling when your on snow (probably).

maybe a power or something, with a short cooldown (like 5 seconds or something) to call your companion/horse/conjured minion. i like this idea

i recall that there were mods for this in oblivion. hopefully it will return, i thought it made the game a bit more immersive. seconded.

i think hotkeys should work like this: if you hold the hotkey down, you can then press a mouse button to assign it to that hand. eg: i hold 2 to select my fire spell, and then press left click to equip it to my main hand. then, i decide i want a shield in my left hand, so i hold 3 to select my shield, and then right click to equip it in my off hand. this should also work for equipping a spell in both hands, by holding down the binding and then pressing both mouse buttons. also, it would help to be able to put our own custom key bindings for hotkeys, instead of just 1-8

Unarmed combat is dead and shouldn't be. sadly, unarmed combat is not a viable playstyle, which is a shame, because it already has plenty of excellent animations, a perk in heavy armor, and adds more immersion to the game. unarmed combat is a unique and underrepresented playstyle pursued by many, and sorely missed by those who enjoyed it oblivion. already, people have said that unarmed should be a skill, with its own perk tree. however, i think it would be much easier and simpler to have fists function as one-handed weapons. this way, no new perks are needed (but they would be appreciated) because the one-handed perks are already applicable. for example, dual flurry (dual wielding attacks are faster) would affect your fists. having no experience with modding, i would guess that the tricky part of creating this would be assigning damage to unarmed. it has to scale as if you were finding new, better weapons. therefore... here are 2 solutions which yours truly, as well as some members of this community, have imagined: Solution 1 one way to do this could be making fists an actual weapon which you could equip. perhaps a monk somewhere could "train" (give you better fists) you in unarmed combat. this would open up interesting opportunities, like weapons such as brass knuckles, and enchanting or poisoning your fists. issues with this could include the question of what hapens when you try to sell one of your own hands, preventing the pc from finding fists lying around during his travels, other npcs utilizing unarmed combat, and the question of whether or not it should be posssible to improve your own fists through smithing. balancing might be difficult, although, in theory, it should be possible to match unarmed dps with one handed dps, even with varying attack speeds and damage. Solution 2 another option, which has already been brought up by this community, would be creating an entirely new skill for unarmed combat, with its own unique perk tree. damage would be decided based on users' skill levels in unarmed combat. however, this seems much more intimidating to enact, as it entails creating a new skill which will be leveled via smacking enemies around(which might not even be possible without extending the existing script), creating new perks (these also have to be coded into the game somehow, im not exactly sure how this would be done. again, i have no experience with creating mods.), balancing the scaling of damage and skill level, balancing the effectiveness of the new perks, balancing pre-existing boosts to the skill (such as enchantments and the khajiit racial), creating npcs and/or books which would train this skill, and, inevitably, other issues which i am not aware of. ------notes-------- -there are three skills in the one handed tree that specifically deal with blade, axe, and blunt weapons. perhaps it would be pertinent to add a perk for unarmed into this tree. -it might also be more fitting to transfer the heavy armor perk "fists of steel" (unarmed damage is increased based on armor value of worn hand armor) into the unarmed combat perk tree (if one is made), or somewhere in the one-handed tree. -these potential solutions may not be the best, or simplest to mod, they are merely ideas aimed at inspiring or aiding more experienced modders to fix an issue that is important to a number of people, myself included. of course, it ultimately comes down to the choices and actions of modders, as they are the ones working to create and share what they feel should be added into their own games. - i realize that the CS is not avaliable as of this post. this is merely food for thought. hopefully it will inspire someone who feels similar.