Total Realism Overhaul

[Mansh00ter]

I can just support the whole thing, and back up the two previous posts regarding armor deterioration.

Smithing has become interesting in a way, and less useful in another way, just because they removed this degradation effect.

And if rarely a piece of armor can break ... perfect ^^.

 

A question though: do you have a first ETA ? ^^ I'm asking, because as much as I already like this game, if I knew your mod could be out soon, I would refrain from playing too much :D

 

Well right now I can't do anything but make plans and schedules for mod production, as the official Creation Set isn't out yet. As soon as the CS is out, I'll get to work, first on items which only require variable shuffling, then on items requiring scripting (pending necessary scripting support like the script extender) and finally items requiring custom graphical assets.

 

So the first stage will probably be out a week or so after the CS is released.

[CyanRaven]

I'd like to show my support for this mod again and second the suggestion of dead bodies sending enemies into alert mode. It's more than a little stupid that a bandit will walk right by his friend who's sprawled dead on the ground with an arrow sticking out of his eye socket and think nothing of it. If this could be done, it would make being a stealth character MUCH more dynamic and interesting.

 

Again, I love your ambition and attention to detail on this idea! It's easily my most anticipated mod for Skyrim.

[Mansh00ter]

I'd like to show my support for this mod again and second the suggestion of dead bodies sending enemies into alert mode. It's more than a little stupid that a bandit will walk right by his friend who's sprawled dead on the ground with an arrow sticking out of his eye socket and think nothing of it. If this could be done, it would make being a stealth character MUCH more dynamic and interesting.

 

Again, I love your ambition and attention to detail on this idea! It's easily my most anticipated mod for Skyrim.

 

Well thanks, I'll do my best to deliver. :)

 

Dead body detection is something I'd love to have in, but there is a big IF - whether dead bodies can be flagged as detectable items for purposes of alerting NPC's. I know Oblivion and Fallout games allowed NPC's to detect dead bodies for purposes of looting them (haven't seen such behavior in Skyrim yet), but whether this can be expanded/altered so that the NPC's go into alert mode when seeing a corpse is something that requires a bit of research. Come to think of it, I remember guards and civilians reacted to dead bodies when I killed the captain of the guard in Solitude and threw him off the wall down to the street (heh heh), so there is likely something to work with.

Skyrim stealth and detection is a bit better than in previous games (see the bucket exploit), but it can be improved for sure, so thanks for all the suggestions.

 

One thing regarding stealth and archery I am thinking about doing is removing massive critical bonuses for shooting from stealth - the mechanic is a bit gamey anyway and with lethal archery you won't need them (besides it may easily lead to being able to one shot everything and make stealth too easy). The bonuses should still be in, to simulate the fact that you can take your time aiming for soft spots, but not as big as vanilla.

Edited November 16, 2011 by Mansh00ter

[AlteredAgain]

hey man :) in addition to removing fast travel can you add in an option to remove the magical current location marker on the world map? it feels like my character is carrying around a GPS :psyduck: Edited November 16, 2011 by AlteredAgain

[MetalMaschine]

Ideas:

 

- Evict people, doesnt matter which (young or old) ones and torcher them in dark brotherhood.

- Bow + Arrows and dual one handed weapons can be equipped at same time but difirent buttons to active - lets say R for one handed and Q for bow.

- Herds of animals - more then 10 - Mamoth's, deer, wolf pack, etc... roam the world.

- Herd if big (5+) can attack you - Speacly like Mamoth and deer (Strenght in number).

- Pack of bandit's, where wolf's, etc.. Something like they are on hunt. (More then 10).

- Assassinations/kiling are almost everyday occurrence.

- Pickpocketing are almost everyday occurrence.

- Brawls on the street or in bar - randoms and almost everyday.

- 10x more alive open world (generaly random ideas).

- Removing character lvl's.

[HiddenRanger]

I fully support this, especially the archery part. Nothing like having an enemy with two arrows sticking out of his face and still running full speed at you. :wallbash:

 

Basically what I really want (which you have included already) is for sneaking to be more realistic and challenging but pay off with more realistic archery.

 

And yes if I drop the bandit's buddy he shouldn't notice and go back to what he was doing. He should be alert for a good while so sneaking becomes extremely difficult.

 

Looking forward to this :thumbsup:

[Mansh00ter]

hey man :) in addition to removing fast travel can you add in an option to remove the magical current location marker on the world map? it feels like my character is carrying around a GPS :psyduck:

 

I can certainly look into it. Would be great for immersion, since you'd actually have to orient yourself to terrain features.

[kuro1n]

This is something i am very interested in and would enjoy helping out with developing, im a 3D artist (modeling, sculpting mainly) specialized in games. So just send me a pm if you need any help with items or characters etc. : )

[urgumflux]

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.)

full dismemberment

-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....

?figure out what to do with dual wielding; parry/evade mechanic

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. =[

 

archery skill overhaul; archery skill to affect combat accuracy (less skilled you are more you "weave" with your aim)

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.

 

?selectable (combo) finishers

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.

Edited November 17, 2011 by urgumflux

[Beriallord]

Its an interesting idea, but what if someone wanted to implement just a couple of the said things, and not really the others?