Lachdonin
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Posts posted by Lachdonin
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Alduin's will for dominance forced him to confront the Dragonborn
His will, or the rules forced upon him by another? Alduin is a hard worker, a fundikental element of the Mundus Experement, and what evidence we have is that he takes his job very, very seriously. The End must come, lest the Mundus decay into entropy and be unrecoverable.
The whole thing reeks of the Greedy Man's manipulation. All Alduin wants to do is eat the world and restart the cycle, but something is stopping him. And God dammit, he's going to stamp that something out even of he has to kill every mortal on the planet.
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In FO3, FONV and Skyrim, so often I'd find myself exclaiming "this is so cool!" in regards to both locations and stories.
We greatly differ in that opinion, then. New Vegas in particular lacked anything that made me stop and admire the scenery, or examine the details (even Big Mt. was lacklustre after the initial comedy wore off). Then again, i thought New Vegas was a thoroughly dull game and probably the lowpoint of the entire Fallout franchise (Blackisle and Bethesda combined).
But fine, to each their own.
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Divayth Fyr specifically mentions that some of the Mage Lords of Summerset may be older than him. And he also notes he wasn't alive when the Dwemer disappeared, which would make Yagrum Bagarn older by default. You also have Orgnum, kind of the Maormer, who was alive in the mid Mereithic Era, making him several thousand years older than Fyr.
Gelebor is unclear, as he may not even be alive, and Miraak can't really be counted since he spent most of his time outside of Mundus, and wouldn't have been affected by time in the conventional sense (he could be a lot older, or a lot younger, or the same age... depends on the whims of Mora). Ascended beings are also difficult to judge, as some, such as the Eternal Masters, could in fact be considerably older than Mundus, having escaped into Oblivion from previous Kalpas.
Individuals like Tiber Septim, the Champion of Cyrodiil, the Nerevarine, even Master Neloth, barely even make the long list though. There are a lot of old, batty wizards in general...
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The Jarl's are actually local Kings, not just subordinates of the High King. They maintain full autonomy in all things, and can even withdraw support from the High King is they so choose. This has, in fact, happened many times. For instance, during the Alliance War, all of western Skyrim officially rejects the alliance formed by High King Jorunn and functionally withdraws, having no part in the Ebonheart Pact.
Because of their autonomy, the lines of succession in the Holds will depend on the Hold its self. Most of them seem to be hereditary, as seen with Markarth, Morthal, Solitude and Windhelm, though at one point in Whiterun's history, the Hold was ruled by a Witch-Queen, whose association with Balgruf's line is unknown...
In the even a hold is conquered, however, the conqueror has the power to instate any line he/she wishes.
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Just my opinion, but it seems to me that Bethesda put so much effort into the workshop aspect (notwithstanding its various drawbacks) that they ignored storyline and complexity of locations.
Have you LOOKED around those locations? Fallout 4's quests may have been lackluster, but it's locations and the stories they contain are top notch, far superior to anything they've done previously. From patients at an asylum struggling to survive after being abandoned when the bombs fell, to rivalries between different Raider gangs, to a pre-war cult to dark powers, the stories that you can pick up by paying attention in the various environments are fantastic. No, they aren't always shoved in your face with expositional dialogue or journals, but they're amazing, and i think Bethesda really out did themselves this time.
Anyway... This is something we talk about from time to time on the Bethesda forums, and there are a lot of issues with trying to implement a Settlement Workshop model in TES. First and foremost is the art side of things... The fact that structures in Tamriel aren't cobbled together from scrap, but are actual, dedicated and architecturally distinct structures makes placement and design more difficult. You can't slap together a bunch of 'rooms' and call it a house in the same way you can in the post apocalyptic wastes of America. This has been handled in the past by Bethesda (before Modders ever tried their hand at it) and you could see a more structured approach to it, allowing you to place particular structures in particular places... but something quite as free-form as Fallout 4 isn't really appropriate for the world.
Volume is also an issue, as Tamriel is largely settled. It's not a ruined world picking up the pieces, it's an inhabited, almost industrialised world with people and cities having been present, and established, for thousands of years. Setting up shop isn't something that's as easily done in Tamriel as in Fallout, and in order to really make it appropriate, you'd probably be looking at far fewer locations. One or two major settlements, for instance (previously having been ruined, like was the original intent for Helgen and Kvatch) would be best. Other, minor options include some attachment to factions, allowing you to renovate and redecorate Guild Halls and maybe even a faction Stronghold of some sort, but that depends on the setting...
The main advantage to the Workshop model in TES, however, is in decoration. Being able to place and manipulate otherwise static objects within your personal space is something that modders have worked on with TES since Morrowind, and implementing it into the base game probably the biggest step forward Bethesda has made in player housing since the House Strongholds. There are of course engine tweaks to be made to better handle placing non-static objects in the world, to keep all your cabbages from exploding all over the room, but whatever...
There is a lot of potential for a Workshop-like model in TES, but in a far more focused way. Tying it into faction management and a dynamic economy also offers a great deal of options for what you want to do and how you want to do it. It's a system which currently exists in something of a 'proof of concept' phase, but definitely deserves attention.
So long as that attention doesn't mean more generic NPCs with no life. This is TES, not The Witcher, we should see NPCs with at least superficial identities, not cardboard cutouts that are just there to take up space.
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ÂMorrowind had underwater combat. You only could use certain weapons, spears was one of those.
Not true. You could use any weapons or spells you wanted, though some spells would trigger weirdly under water. You can fight just as well with a shield and mace underwater as you do above it... Which frankly is incredibly stupid.
Anyway, the issue, as I understand it, stems from how the game recognises where a character is, and under what circumstances they are. It's similar to how it recognises when you're falling, or on solid ground. Under specific conditions, particular actions are enabled. You can't jump while falling, for instance. While swimming, attack commands are disabled, which isn't something you can easily mod away. In order to change it, you have to get into the base operations if the game and rewrite the actions for those conditions, something which isn't permitted in the Creation Kit.
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I came beginning 2014 to the party and really love Skyrim for the world and gameplay (with mods mostly).
You are about to be executed by the Imperials as a witness, because they plan to execute Ulfric Stormcloak without trial
He's a traitor and the leader of a rebellion. Who needs a trial, his guilt is known.
Should I first continue to do the radiant quests of the Greybeards or join the Stormcloaks and 'free' Skyrim? I read the world permanent changes after the war, will I be able to learn to know all the npc and quests after some of the towns are destroyed?
The Civil War doesn't impact the ability to do quests. All it does is change the guards in a few towns, and who gives you bounties. I'm pretty sure Balgruf's kids keep wandering around Dragonsreach even after their father is in exile (though i'm not positive, because i can't stand siding with the Stormcloaks).
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The Pantheons (Aedric, anyway) of The Elder Scrolls rely heavily on the concept of Mythopoeia. That is, the myths of mortals shape the expression of divine figures. Kyne and Kinnareth are both faucets of the same 'god', but are at the same time independent entities linked to their own pantheons. Tsun is the Nordic Zenethar, just like Sthun is the Nordic Stendar. They are both distinct from their Cyrodiilic counterparts, but aspects of something greater.
This is a product of Creation, when the Aedric spirits gave themselves to the creation of Mundus. They are bound to it, and to those that live within it, and are subject to the power of belief because of their sacrifice.
The most fragmented of the Divine-Spirits is the Aka-Tusk, pieces of which include Akatosh, Alkosh, Auri-el, Alduin and Tosh-Raka.
At least, that's how we currently understand how the Gods work in TES.
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Most games are inherently flawed. They use poor mechanics to achieve their goals, fail to maximise the potential of the mechanics they DO use, lack optimisation, are riddled with dubious design choices, etc. etc. And generally, the more a game tries to do, the more problems it has with these sorts of things. This is true of the Dark Souls games, TES, Fallout, Assassin's Creed, The Witcher, Mass Effect, Far Cry and so on and so forth.
The only major exceptions to this, well, rule, are games that have refined and even perfected rather niche game designs. Mario. Call of Duty. Forza.
That's not necessarily incompetence, however.
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Procedural Animation? That's a pretty hefty order. I've seen some rather state of the art use of it in motion capture, but actually in game? The only possible example I can think of is Dead Island's analogue combat, and it was janky as hell.
Procedural Generation, on the other hand, is something they have used in the past, with mixed results.
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Which was one of the points of the other thread I started which barely anyone replied to. lol Would one say that Umaril was chosen for his values, or because of his 'lineage' or power? Would one ask however why Meridia didn't sway him from taking vengeance on the Divines for championing Pelinal? I do not know how much 'free will' stands in this universe.
Daedra choose their champions based on loyalty first. He was a loyal follower, who prayed to his god for salvation, and was granted it. What he chose to do from then on isn't necessarily her concern. He was a faithful servant, and was bailed out by her as reward for his service.
It's possible that, given Pelinal's somewhat unnatural existence, Meridia may have had something of a beef with him, but for the most part it seems that Umaril was simply a champion of a Daedric Prince, and used that power for his own goals, rather than reflecting any particular agenda of the Prince themselves.
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Fair enough on the Reach. I think that such ancestral claims are shallow at best, but realistically the same can be said for the Israel-Palestine conflict. Both bodies, Nord and Reachman, have historical claims to the region. First is somewhat irrelvant, because the Nords took it by force from the Falmer, and then (it can be argued) the Reachmen and Drenni took it from the Nords, and then the Cyrods reclaimed it and gave it to the Nords, though neither Nord nor Reachman have been driven from it entirely since.
It strikes me as extremely bizarre that we can trace Nedic presence in numerous parts of Tamriel, including Easten Skyrim to before Harald, but the lack of written accounts of their presence in Western Skyrim is sufficient to discount their presence. I can see the interpretation based on the written accounts, but the Anthropologist in me screams that population distribution doesn't work that way.
That said, i cannot disagree that the evidence can support that conclusion.
Taking advantage of the internal strife in Skyrim, the Hegemony began taking land north and south of High Rock, claiming portions of Skyrim and present day Hammerfell.
-"claiming portions of Skyrim", the Reach??
Though this likely refers to Haafingar, as the Reach is directly east of the Hegemony's holdings.
TO be totally hones, i can't even remember what the whole argument was about... Something something historical claims to the Reach? The matter is, frankly, largely irrelevant, because the people who hold the oldest historical claim have been driven to near extinction by the Nords, and both Nords and Reachmen have been living there long enough to have legitimate claims of their own.
I disagree, but i don't think we're ever going to see eye to eye on the subject.
Out of curiosity, what exactly do you disagree with? With me doubting the book of Arrianus? My interpretation of Braig´s dialogue? ...
I disagree with the claim that there is a lack of evidence to support Arrianus' implication (which, while clearly biased, do reflect what happened following the Markarth Incident) of Ulfric's culpability in the acts against the Reachmen.
The crown rejected Asurn. It literally refused to be placed upon his head. In a rage, Asurn summoned his loyal followers and threatened to kill every member of the Moot if they didn't name him as the rightful king. He refused to be rejected by a crown. A soft-spoken member of the council rose from his chair. He challenged Asurn to combat, according to the law. The battle was short and to the point: Asurn was struck down. When the soft-spoken man took the crown and placed it easily upon his own head, a new High King of Skyrim was born. That was how Kjoric the White rose to power.
- so we actually have a semi precedent for Ulfric´s challenge of Torygg
I've never claimed otherwise. The problem stems from his use of the Voice, and the means by which he learned it. Ulfric's position is one of Nordic Tradition, yet he picks and chooses which traditions he whats to uphold, so long as they serve him.
Admittedly, i've become acutely aware over the last 2 years that i am acutely Orwellian when it comes to the notion of rebellion and revolution. It has almost never, in history, brought about change for the better. Which does, i will freely admit, make me inherently biased against the Stormcloaks.
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Well, they HAVE opened a second studio, and are expanding more than we've seen in over a decade, so we may see a shift in their development patterns...
But one thing i find people don't seem to recognise is, Bethesda's staff is minuscule for a AAA studio. They've employed, since Oblivion, about 200 people. Compare this to the almost 500 who worked on The Witcher 3, or the more than 1000 that churn out Assassin's Creeds on an 18 month schedule.
There's a reason why Bethesda has shown a tendency to focus on a single game at a time. Because they're basically still running on 1990's roster scales.
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Did any war crimes happen in Markarth?
I say it cannot be proven and thus shouldnt be made a major point in CW discussions, a scholar who came to the city later claims so, anyone else who was there doesn´t mention it, what we experience ingame contradicts it - not the first example of imperial propaganda.
Fair enough. I disagree, but i don't think we're ever going to see eye to eye on the subject. Based on the exact same information, I see Ulfric as at least complicit in the events being described as War Crimes. Whether or not it was conducted under his order is irrelevant, because that's not part of the criteria for responsibility.
Yes, before the founding of modern Skyrim during Tiber Septim´s reign.
Before the founding of the Alessian Empire.
Not my point exactly, but the quote from MK or another dev "Nedes =/= Atmorans, its propaganda of a bygone regime" is quite clear IMO.
That was actually a statement from Kurk Kuhlmann, delivered in-universe through a scholar that is notorious for being unreliable. Fal Droon even goes so far so to deny the existence of Dragon Breaks.
IMO wrong, the first nordic empire clearly also encompassed the Reach. Harald is accredited with having conquered all of Skyrim and we see ancient nordic ruins in both Falkreath and the Reach, two regions traditionally rather associated with the Colovian estates and the Forsworn. So clearly the ancient Nords had control over all of present day Skyrim. Even the Dwemer were chased from Skyrim following the Aetherium wars by the Nords for a time. We do not hear of Harald conquering any human tribes.
It's actually not nearly as clear as that. We know that Dwemer presence in Skyrim persisted well into the 4th and 5th centuries of the 1st Era, and likely right up to their disappearance. Nordic 'victories' against them were mostly under King Gellir, who held the Title of High King and thus had to come after Harald (though his actual reign is unknown). The Dwemeri presence in the Reach thus indicates that the Nords did not have total claim over the region during the period.
Similarly, we're told that Hestra was the one to first pacify the Reachmen, which wouldn't occur until centuries AFTER this.
The Emperor's Guide also indicates that it was Reman who divided the Reach between the states of High Rock and Skyrim in order to divide the local Chieftans.
So the Reach being part of Skyrim, historically, is dubious. As is their surprise at discovering mannish races elsewhere during their initial conquests, since we know there were already enslaved tribes in Cyrodiil, and the Nedes had almost wiped our the Chimer PRIOR to their collapse into the Tribes which were present during the First Nordic Empire.
So we know, for a fact, that other mannish populations existed before Harald unified Skyrim, and that these populations were widespread well before the First Nordic Empire. In fact, considering the bequeathing of the Eastern Reach to Skyrim seems to have happened under Reman Cyrodiil's reign, it's likely that the earliest conquests of High Rock under the First Nordic Empire would have been campaigns against the ancestors of Reachmen, as well as against the Dwemer who had a foothold in those same mountains.
Ironically the Ayleid, who worshipped Meridia, were huge fans of necromancy and lichdom.
SOME Ayleid worshipped Meridia. Some worshipped Molag Bal. Many others (possibly the majority, given the nature of the Imperial Palace and the 10 Ancestors, as well as the Cult of the Divines) worshipped the Aedra.
The Ayleid were not a unified people, they were a collection of city states, each with their own religious preferences, armies and Kings. Some of these states went so far as to side with the Alessians against their own kin-folk.
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Unlikely. They have stated that they expanded their DLC plans for Fallout 4, and that they're hopeing for more DLC than any previous game they've done. . That would imply that Far Harbour is at best the middle point. Which means Fallout 4 is going to dominate BGSs lineup for 2016.
They hit a good point between announcement and release with Fallout 4. Expect an announcement the E3 following them being done with Fallout 4, AT THE EARLIEST. Bethesda Game Studios just doesn't havr the bodies to squeak out a TES game while working on Fallout 4.
Bethesda as a publisher still has plenty to talk about even without an Elder Scrolls announcement.
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Let's be clear about something. A commander does not have to issue the order to be responsible for War Crimes committed by his forces. Knowledge of the action, and a failure to act in its prevention (successful or not) is sufficient to be found guilty.
Regardless of differing accounts and opinions, it is undeniable that Ulfric commanded a force that retook Markarth from the Reachmen in 4E176. That same force, whether under Ulfric's order, Ingmund's or their own volition, engaged in activities which are described as War Crimes. Specificity, the violence against a civilian population.
Ulfric's presence at the time the Thalmor objected to the failure to enforce the Talos Ban indicates that Ulfric was still present in the area. This means he had to be aware of what was being done (if he wasn't, well... that's not a resounding indication of his mental faculties). There is no indication, from ANY source, that he objected, opposed or otherwise tried to prevent the force he had assembled from committing the actions accused of them.
Men have been executed for War Crimes with a less direct association to the act. And under current law, Ulfric WOULD be found guilty of War Crimes. That is, of course, assuming the standards for a War Crime in the real world apply. Tamriel's seen some really heavy s#*! and no one's been taken to task for it before (hell, Tiber became a god for unleashing a literal crime against nature on the Altmer, and the Nords exterminated most of an entire race) so it's unclear what actually constitutes a War Crime.
Braig's testimony is also dubious, for several reason. For one, he never indicates a place of residence. We know Ingmund had pressured Reachmen throughout the region, not just in the city, following the Rebellion. Second, the fact that his time-table does not line up with any other source casts doubt on his memory. Third, he's been in prison for a protracted period, something which, particularly under the conditions they are kept, has been known to affect an individuals concept of time.
Finally, a note about the Reachmen, the Nedes and the Nords. It is still unclear how Men came to spread across Tamriel, and whether the Nedes are a decent group from the first wave of Atmorans, native to Tamriel, or something else entirely (see theories on the Bird Men of Cyrodiil). That is clear is that the Reachmen and the Proto-Nords existed within the area of the Reach before the founding of the nation of Skyrim. Who came first isn't clear, but the Reachmen certainly existed there before Skyrim, or any Empire, had claim over the region. That would make their situation very much like the Palestinians. They've always been there, and other nations have claimed authority over their homes at various periods throughout history.
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Alright, it's been too long since i typed this up, and since Bethesda's threads get locked, it's of more use here than there.
First off, something of a disclaimer as to what i'm doing, and why i do it. This is not a 'My perfect TES' or a 'This would fix TES'. This is the product of many discussions, and many hours of pondering, and is what i think would be useful, characteristic or otherwise interesting for TES. I do this sort of thinking in my free time, for fun, and i find that it helps me understand and appreciate the games i play. I have no illusions that any of this will affects Bethesda's design (though, i have to admit, it would feel nice) and do not mean it to insult or dismiss others opinions on the subject. I hope to encourage discussion, comprehension, and maybe inspire some better modders than i (i've never published anything, but do my own modding).
Second, i should broadly speak about my inspiration. Basically, anything's game. I play a wide range of games, read a wide range of material, and generally have diverse interests. Though i am, technically, an Anthropology Academic, i do a lot of reading from things as diverse as quantum physics and carpentry. Generally, i tend to favour new over old, as older things (games included) tended to be mechanically or conceptually inferior, and suffered from being driven by their limitations rather than embracing their possibilities. Because i tend to draw inspiration from wide sources, there's going to be elements of FPS, RTS, 4X, maybe even mobile gaming involved in various elements, so bear that in mind. If you are the type that thinks that there is a 'Proper' way to do make an RPG, don't read any further, it's not worth either of our time. Also, i hate Dark Souls (not because it's hard, i've beaten 1 and 2, i just think they are poorly made games that just aren't fun) so there's not going to be much inspiration coming from there, and i know many people like to compare TES to them.
Before i go on, some formatting notes. I'm going to break this up into Spoiler tabs to save everyone's eyes. Each bracket will contain a basic concept, followed by some more technical notes, and maybe examples. So, you can pick through and read what you want more easily, without having to stare through an entire wall of text.
Concepts
Every game, movie or novel has some broad ideas which guide it's structure and themes.
Philosophy
The basic driving mentality of the design. One of the things that's important to TES is the ability to experience a world. They aren't tight, character driven stories with deep plots with twists and turns. TES games are, first and foremost, about the world. The problem is, the philosophy behind design of TES (and most RPGs, for that matter) has become what i tend to call 'Mario Mentality'. Dungeons, Ruins and environments are designed so serve a game-play purpose, some sort of challenge or experience. Make a world, one that makes sense and follows it's own internal logic. Then create a set of tools that allow the Players to define a character and experience that world. Challenges will make themselves.
Emphasis
Similar to the overall philosophy, the emphasis on design should be on the world, and empowering the Player to experience it. It's not about telling a story, it's not about exploration or fighting or interaction. It's about doing what you can to simulate the world, at a particular moment of time, under particular circumstances (typically something bad). The emphasis should be on empowering the Player, through allowing them to experience that world how they wish, by giving them as broad a toolset as possible (that doesn't strictly break the game) and as many activities as possible to experience and engage in.
Stories
This is going to be something of a divisive subject... But i don't like stories with a lot of choices. I actually think that the quality of the story is better served with linearity, and that continuing franchises in particular have shown that trying to accommodate for multiple outcomes leads to sloppy and often forced writing. Games like Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age Inquisition and The Witcher 3 would have, in my opinion, been better served with fewer choices, and better story telling.
As i said, however, stories shouldn't be the primary focus. Build a world, give players the tools to experience it, and then work on scattering stories here and there. For the most part, they shouldn't be shifting stories that change based on your choices. They should be set, linear stories, Plays, which you take a specific role in. As with the overall design, it's more about the world, and us experiencing it, than us controlling it. Choice and control are fine in smaller scale stories that history won't remember... But for the most part, the bigger stories shouldn't try to conform to every little choice a Player has made. It's up to the Player to decide why their character engages in a particular story, not up to the story to change to suit that character.
Paradigms
This is something introduced in Redguard, that has since become more and more prevalent in TES... The world, the universe, is governed by concepts and reflections of concepts, with 3 of the most powerful being the Warrior, the Mage, and the Thief. These 3 concepts have replaced the Magic, Combat and Stealth skill-groupings and come to largely govern the mentality behind the 3 primary approaches to gameplay. Which i think is great. Having this sort of recurring concept allows for some distinct approaches to be examined and inspired, and for a sort of re-purposing of the antiquated and (frankly) sloppy Class systems. You have 3 rather distinct archetypes which would all approach problems very differently, and serve as interesting bases for approaches to various problems.
The Warrior is direct, confrontational and blunt. It's influence is about tackling problems head on, about going through rather than around, and about out-lasting rather than out-thinking. They use close range, melee weapons to deal damage, they rely on their equipment (armour and shield) to decrease the damage they take, and the visual threat they pose to discourage threats.
The Thief is more thoughtful, with a heavy focus on avoidance. They rely on out thinking and out manoeuvring, trying to maintain their distance and avoiding confrontation altogether. Stealth, ranged weapons, and being quick-of-foot are their solutions to combat, and supplemented with a silver tongue and a penchant for various alchemical tinkering.
The Mage can do a little bit of everything. As they say, 'Anything you can do, i can do better'. Practitioners of magic have access to magical solutions to every problem... manipulation, stealth, damage mitigation, close range damage, long range deal dealing, and everything in between. Their limitation, however, is that it all draws upon limited magical reserves, and without their magic, they're basically useless.
Mechanics
Alright. The meat of things...
Character
Race
In general, Race should be a rather minor characteristic. It defines some aesthetic qualities, but beyond that doesn't do much. A Dunmer isn't instantly better with a sword, and an Imperial isn't instantly more personable. There do seem to be some innate, or mythical capabilities, but for the most part Race is a physical thing that doesn't define who you are, nor does it really define what skills or cultures you are exposed to. Race is What You Are.
At most, Race should give you a Power, and a Passive or two.
Ex;
Dunmer
- Power; Ancestor Guardian - Summon an Ancestor Spirit to fight alongside you
- Passive; Increased Fire Resistance
Argonian
- Power; Blessing of the Hist
- Passive; Water Breathing, Increased Poison & Disease resitance
Traits
Once upon a time, TES had these things called Advantages and Disadvantages. Those with a wider RPG background may recognise this system from other games, many of which frankly handle it like total shite. BUT, that doesn't mean the system is worthless. Whereas Race is What You Are, Traits are Who you are. Traits should offer a positive and negative version of the same things, allowing you to influence what your character is good at, what they're bad at, and a limited range of quirks. The problem with this is, particularly on disadvantages, having things that are generic enough that can apply for most of the gameplay, rather than highly specific situations (which unbalances most Advantave/Disadvantage systems).
Ex;
Superior Attribute; Increased max Attribute
Inferior Attribute; Decreased max Attribute
Light Step; Decreases Noise while moving
Flat Footed; Increases Noise while moving
Pious; Increase duration of Shrine Effects
Sacrilegious; Decreases the duration of Shrine Effects
Managing the system is simple enough. You have to maintain a value of 0. Positive bonuses cost points, negatives refund them. So if you take Superior Strength, it costs 1. Which means you then have to take some sort of negative to balance it out.
Birthsigns fit in here as pre-set packages of Traits which allow for quick selection, for those who don't want to go through the more time consuming process of doing it themselves.
Customization
TES's customization has always been wonky. It's high point in control was Oblivion, but that came at the cost of some of the ugliest face models in the history of gaming. Skyrim vastly improved on basic models, but lacked range of options. Basically, we need both.
I could ramble on about visual control for pages, but i'm not going to. Modeling it after games like Eve Online, Black Desert and Chronicles of Elyria is, i think, the way to go. Fallout 4 was a step in the right direction, but one thing that's necessary is maintaining the distinct looks of Skyrim. No more amorphous putty faces like we had in Oblivion.
Attributes
That's right. Attributes. I actually agree with Bethesda's position regarding Attributes which caused the change in Skyrim. The old system was garbage, and competed too much with the Skills in terms or importance. It was also generally nonsensical, and far too linked to Skill Bonuses to represent any sort of character diversity. The system WAS broken, and while i don't think it should have been abandoned entirely, i fully support the change to Perks for most of the variables.
Attributes shouldn't compete with Skills, nor should they really influence those Skills at base. Sword fighting isn't governed entirely by how strong you are, and even a relatively weak individual can be an expert swordsman. Rather, Attributes should be used to cover a wider range of awkward, non-skill interactions. Things like Cary Weight, Drug Withdrawl, how fast your skills progress etc.
There are a few different models that i COULD see being used...
Model A
The Fable Model
3 Attributes.
Body
- Health
- Stamina
- Speed
- Cary Weight
- Power Attack
- Stagger & Stagger Resit
Mind
- Skill Progression
- Critical Chance
- Reading
- 'Secret' sense
- Disposition
Spirit
- Magicka
- Spell Effects
- Spell Resist
- Resource Regeneration
It's the simplest, and frankly, the least interesting.
Model B
The standard-ish model. 6 Attributes, 2 for each paradigm.
Strength
- Power Attack bonus
- Carry weight
- Moving Objects
- Forcing doors
- Staggering
- Labour Rate
Endurance
- Stamina Penalty
- Stagger Resist
- Disease Resist
- Poison Resist
- Breath
- Labour Time
Dexterity
- Speed
- Fall Damage
- Attack Speed
- Stagger Recovery
- Cheating
Personality
- Disposition
- Follower bonuses
- Presence
Intelligence
- Spotting Cheaters
- Reading
- 'Secret' sense
- Critical Chance
- Skill Progression
Willpower
- Withdrawl
- Mental Resistance
- Effect Duration
- Injury Resistance
It gives some decently rounded options.
Model C
A little more divided and precise, featuring 9 Attributes.
Strength
- Power
- Carry Weight
- Stagger Chance
- Strength Challenges
Vitality
- Endurance
- Stamina Regeneration
- Subsistence
- Endurance Challenges
Resilience
- Resistance
- Exposure
- Stagger Resistance
- Tollerance Challenges
Dexterity
- Speed
- Stamina Impairment
- Stagger Recovery
- Agility Challenges
Personality
- Speech
- Disposition
- Social Challenges
Guile
- Deception
- Presence
Intelligence
- Magic
- Skill progression
- Critical Chance
Willpower
- Resistance
- Magicka Regeneration
- Effect Duration
- Will Challenge
Perception
- Deduction
- Warnings/Compass
- Deduction Challenges
It covers a wider range of interactions, and can be tied into more things more easily, but it's admittedly more to keep track of, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
You then have 2 basic models for increasing them... The standard model, in which you spend points (Perk Points being the most appropriate source) or a dynamic model that has them improve more like Skills.
The Dynamic model has an advantage of being able to accommodate decreases as well, which opens up some additional options in terms of poisons, magical effects and even just plain lethargy.
Skills
I think that, for the most part, Skyrim gets the basic idea right for Skills. A Skill should be distinct enough that it doesn't function in the same way as anything else, allowing them to shape how you play based on the skills you choose to develop. That means none of Morrowind's '4 skills all do the same thing with different items' nonsense. They need to be distinct, fit with the mentality of the Paradigm that drives them, and offer actual functional choices.
As an example; Gold denotes possible expanded options
Warrior
- 1-Handed Weapon
- 2-handed weapon
- Hand to Hand
- Armour
- Shield
- Tradecraft
- Husbandry
- Presence (tenious)
Thief
- Marksman
- Sneak
- Athletics
- Speechcraft
- Security
- Alchemy
- Wayfarer
- Thrown
Mage
- Destruction
- Restoration
- Alteration
- Illusion
- Conjuration
- Enchanting
- Mysticism
- Necromancy
Progression
Once again, i think Skyrim mostly got this right. I'm not a fan of the old system of Class-driven progression and Major/Minor skills (which i think was rather counter intuitive in it's nomenclature anyway). Every skill should contribute to your progression. Where i think Skyrim got it wrong, was that it didn't scale heavy enough. Higher levels should require considerably more 'Experience' and higher Skill-Levels should contribute considerably more.
Items
Items are sort of the life blood of an RPG. There's no way around them. They're both spectacular and terrible, and their something we all love and hate in roughly equal measure.
Basics
Items don't have to serve a functional purpose, per se, but they should server a purpose. Clutter is great, because it's atmospheric, but having equipment, particularly weapons, that doesn't do anything beyond look different is something of a waste of time. Items also need to be able to be categorically grouped to allow for quality of life sorting. I think dividing things into basic 'Categories' and then subdividing them into more refined 'Types' would allow for ease of sorting without an overly complex (or borderline useless) interface.
Equipment
- Clothing
- Armour
- 'External' (decorative things like Cloaks and Robes)
- Weapons/Shield
Materials
Raw
- Ore
- Wood
- Fibres
- Hides
- Meat
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Herbs
- Gemstones
Refined
- Ingots
- Planks
- Cloth
- Leather
- Food
- Drink
- Extracts
- Gems
- Parchment
Goods
- Tablewear
- Tools
- Remains
- Bottles
- Lighting
- Scrolls
- Books
- Keys
- Potions
- Ammunition
- Miscellaneous
Parts
- * More later *
Materials
As with most fantasy settings, TES uses a variety of different, exotic materials for different things. Whereas in the real world, most metal items are made of Copper or Iron alloys, TES has numerous other metals to call upon. Exotic woods, different hides from less conventional sources, etc. Reflecting the more diverse nature of crafting, and the separation of style from the materials used, is something that should be pressed. No more 'Dwemer Armour' all looking the same, embrace the variety of ESO and allow materials to be selected independently of the visual style.
This can be handled in a rather simple way. Dragon Age Inquisition has already shown it. Aplyting texture and colours across otherwise blank models, allowing you to give any armour the look of a particular material. Allowing you to make a suit of Elven Armour out of Orichalum, or Ebony. Separating Material from Shape in this way also adds some more sidewards mobility in equipment, rather than a straight, linear progression we've seen previously.
As an example;
Metals
Flint Iron Dwemer Quicksilver Daedric Ebony
Copper Steel Orichalum Ebony Voidstone
Bone Moonstone Mithril Glass
Chitin Bonemold Adamantium
The same basic principle can be applied to every type of material, offering similar, though slightly different characteristics for each material within a particular tier.
Crafting
This is where TES has an opportunity to dramatically expand it's range and customization. Crafting is becoming more and more popular in games, and there doesn't seem to be much of a limit to how deep people are interested in making things. Having a system that allows both for simple item creation, to hugely in-depth customization the likes of which you see in the Aetlier games. There's a couple of different ways that this can be tackled...
*pending expansion*
Armour
This is going to be a tenuous one. Astute readers may notice that i only put in one Armour skill above. There was a reason for that. I think the Light-Medium-Heavy armour dynamic is, in a word, stupid. That's right, stupid. It's an antiquated, fictitious concept that actually restricts what you can DO with armour as a concept and as a mechanic, which has overflow limitations to Combat, Magic, Mobility etc. By merging it into a more authentic and realistic, unified Armour system, you can dramatically increase both the versatility of Armour Aesthetics, as well as it's function.
Things like mobility hampering can be handled by total weight, noise generation based on the Materials used, and more importantly damage tolerance better diversified instead of relying on flat AC.
One of the biggest advantages that a merged Armour concept offers, however, is customization. Fallout 4 introduced a customization model that allows you to assemble equipable items, that change both in stats and appearance. It was a little limited in it's execution, and didn't expand the customization to Armour, but with a few conceptual tweaks it could easily be applied to expand the possible Armour looks into the billions.
Durability
Durability sucks. As a general mechanic, it's always been handled poorly. Your equipment doesn't break through wear and tear, it breaks because it's poorly made or used improperly. You don't repair weapons by slapping on parts from other weapons (one of the stupidest things i've ever seen in Fallout...).
The best proposal i've heard for dealing with Durability is to use Skyrim's improvement states, and have them degrade. You need to regularly sharpen your sword to keep it razor keen, or tighten straps on armour to keep it fitting well, after all.
In a general sense, the Durability characteristic forms the Warrior aspect of equipment management.
Familiarity
This is a creation of my own, and intended as another mechanism to slow the gear-progression curve. The basic premise is, as you continue to use a particular item, it becomes marginally superior to like-items, as your Character becomes used to it's particular qualities. We're talking about an era of hand crafting, and no matter how skilled they are, a Craftsman cannot reproduce, perfectly, the same thing over and over, so each piece of gear is going to have it's own peculiarities, and as you use something for a prolonged time, you get used to that items particular temperament.
This slows the curve by making switching gear less automatic. That Iron sword you're using may be better than that new Dwemer one you found, though you would know that with some practice the new one has greater potential. It discourages the quick loot-and-swap and trying out new gear instead of plunging head-long into another slaughter. This has an advantage of actually giving a mechanical function to having favourite pieces of gear.
Familiarity would serve as a Thief aspect for Equipment Management.
Enchanting
On the equipment side of things, I think Skyrim got Enchanting mostly right. More structured recipes, rather than the frankly sloppy free-form system previously... But there definitely needs to be greater variety in those enchantments. More of this in Crafting above.
Enchanting, of course, serves as the Mage component to Equipment Management.
Magic
Casting
Spell Effects
Summoning
Spellcrafting
The World
Environment
Factions
People
Creatures
Leveling
Quests
Interaction
Mobility
Combat
Dialogue
Items
Work
Stealth
Other
Effects
Afflictions
Disposition
Resources
New Stuff
Settlement
Management
Breeding
Economy
*** I'll add to this soon, but i need to sleep, and my computer is likely to reboot because of an update while i'm out, and i don't want to lose what i've already typed...
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So, funny thing... In 5th grade i was heavy into this comic series called Elf Quest (still love it, but that's not really here nor there... in hind sight, definitely not appropriate reading for a 10 year old...) and for a Christmas History presentation, decided to do why Elves have pointed ears... Also in hindsight, not really good Christmas material...
Anyway, the earliest visual depictions i've ever seen of Elves, Faries and other 'feyfolk' having pointed ears stems from the middle ages, and Christianity, seeking to visually distinguish various sorts of sprites, spirits and demons as distinctly non-human. Pointed ears and horns were used to symbolically distinguish good, wholesome Humans from unnatural and evil forces, and Elves fell into this category. For most of Christian history, Elves were mischievous trouble makers who plagued humanity, stole children, and did nasty things like cause houses to collapse.
That said, i've never seen anything to indicate that they were visually represented in art in such a way until the early 19th century. The rise of the middle class and leisure saw a dramatic increase in publications and publicly available art, and 'Fantasy' art saw a huge increase in popularity. This is where you started to see a lot of the Faeries, Elves, Fawns and other creatures who, while not as evil as their historical counterparts in the glory days of Catholicism, were still viewed as dangerous and inhuman.
And the pointed ears represented that.
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I do have to argue a bit for Hannibal´s sake here: the war in Iberia´s holdings of Karthago was unimportant in the grand scheme of things compared to Hannibal attacking Rome directly, or rather ravaging their main land.
Most scholars actually attribute the war in Iberia, and the resounding Roman dominance therein, as the reason Hannibal was eventually forced out of Italy and never took Rome. The constant pressure on Carthaginian holdings elsewhere, and constant victories, helped maintain the support of Rome's allies (Hannibal had counted on them abandoning Rome) and also ensured that Hannibal received none of the promised reinforcements from Carthage. Because of his need to remain constantly mobile to resupply, Hannibal was reliant on those reinforcements to replace heavier siege equipment lost over the Alps, which would have allowed him to assault Rome-Proper. In addition, it was the eventual collapse of Carthage's territories in Ibera which allowed Rome to pressure the city-state its self, and force Hannibal's eventual withdrawl. The Iberian side of the Second Punic War was what decided the entire conflict, whereas Hannibal, though he could win every battle and is the most famous element, was something of a sideshow.When Rikke says they´re going to attack Whiterun, Tullius dismisses her and says the cloaks dont have the numbers. In turn the Legion has no problem marching an army to Whiterun. So I dare say: the Imperial Legion far outnumbered the Stormcloaks at the beginning of the war.
There is definitely an element to gameplay to be had here, but the numbers may not be as skewed as you think. Consider, we know Windhelm has been sacked at least 3 times in history. It's a relatively low altitude city with multiple landward approaches. It's heavily fortified, yes, but not impregnable.
Solitude, on the other hand, has only fallen once that we know of. After a month long siege. It's location alone is far more difficult to approach, and while it would be very vulnerable to sufficient explosives, Tamriel really lacks a way to threaten the city's foundation.
Conventional military theory holds that you need between five and ten times the number of the defenders to take a city. And that's not considering rather weird geologic advantages like being hundreds of feet in the air.
The Stormcloaks would not have the numbers to storm Solitude. The losses would have been catastrophic, particularly considering that doing so wouldn't really diminish the Empires ability to counter attack from Cyrodiil. If we assume that a single legion held the city (so, approximately 6,000 men... Probably less, though, as the Imperials don't seem to use Auxillia) then Ulfric would require between 30 and 60 THOUSAND to storm it. It's only after bleeding the Legion, and capturing all it's supply and support lines, that Ulfric risks storming it.
A lot of things wrong with this post above. My counterpoints:
There is a lot more wrong with yours, my friend.
1; That's not what happened. The Nordic Legions, under General Ionna, linked up with the Hammerfell Legions, under General Decianus, and served to cut off the retreat of the Dominion forces at the Red Ring. The actually attack on the Imperial City was led by Titus Mede II, and comprised of the forces that had withdrawn from Cyrdoiil a year before. The Nords did not give Mede time to regroup, they prevented the enemy from running as the Cyrodiilic Legions beat the ever living s#*! out of them.
2; No, Ulfric doesn't. He's thoroughly blunt and overly direct through the entire Civil War. His ONLY moment of subtly is looking to the Bretons for aid, and that amounts to nothing. In fact, he also has limited control or oversight of his own supporters, one of which is entirely useless and another is using him to gain sovereignty. Ulfric's overly honorbound approach to things is a severe detriment.
3; Oh man... where to begin here... True, i don't think Ulfric would willingly aid the Thalmor in any way, but everything he has done has served their agenda, indicating that he's either under their sway, or easily manipulated. Either way, that makes him a pawn.
A; And was captured, and gave up crucial information during torture. That the Imperial City had already fallen and the information was no longer needed is beside the point.
B; He raised a fuss about something that wasn't even being enforced, directly drawing the attention of the Thalmor and allowing them access to Skyrim for the sake of treaty enforcement. And they attack Stormcloaks on sight because they are TRYING to rile up the Nords and encourage civil unrest.
C; The note does not, it states that he was hostile and that direct contact was to be discouraged. It also states that his whole 'Talos' thing was very useful and has assisted the Dominion's agenda.
D; He gave up information, and was convinced that said information was used in taking the City. There is no indication that he currently believes otherwise. In other words, he STILL likely thinks he's responsible for the Imperial City falling (and a guilt trip may explain some things). That type of information, because he believes it himself, is incredibly dangerous to his credibility as a leader.
E; Absolute fantasy. Why would a note in the possession of the Thalmor's top commander in Skyrim, inside her heavily fortified base of operations, be a fabrication to potentially throw off spies, when the Imperial and Stormcloak spies have already been shown to basically be incompetent. One might as well assume that the Dossier on the Dragons is entirely fabricated as well, and that the Thalmor ARE behind Alduin's return.
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Studding more supple things like boots and gloves would be uncomfortable, and a studded leather helm just sounds painful.
I like to think the people of Skyrim realise just how stupid Studded Leather is, and what we see in-game are just remnants of an attempt to make cheaper armour that has since been abandoned because it's basically garbage.
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We are told that not only are they being forced to recruit locally (not exactly abnormal, as the Legion has always accepted recruits from its provinces) but that they are unable to go through the normal recruitment and training process. That's why you get sent to clear out a fort when you join.
It's very similar to Rome's war against Hannibal. The Legions that they kept throwing up against Hannibal and his forces were barely trained recruits, given quickly commissioned equipment, and led by some of the remaining officers. They were, technically, true Legions, but nothing compared to properly trained and supplied Legions which were whipping Carthaginian ass in Iberia during the same time. They were a holding mechanism while Rome fought the real war elsewhere.
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I always promise myself I won't fast travel. Then I start that main quest and damned if I'm walking around that stupid mountain to get to Ivarsted again.
A no fast travel run gets boring after the 1000 hours mark.
Kinda like actually walking around in real life. I would sell my soul to be able to actually fast travel.
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The Civil War is just too buggy, even with mods.
I have never experienced a single bug in the Civil War Questline, on either side.
Even then, the mechanics don't really enter into the discussion.
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D&D Class Perspectives are... overly simplistic. There's a reason Skyrim dropped Classes. Even in D&D settings, most Clerics, most of the time, wear robes and attend religious ceremonies. They aren't constantly decked out in plate, toting shields and maces.
Do you plan to switch to Skryim remastered/special edition?
in Skyrim LE
Posted