Forums » Elder Scrolls

Your Biggest TES: 6 Expectation?

    • 122 posts
    October 27, 2018 4:20 AM EDT

    I would REALLY like to see a game world where magic was more widespread. I’d also love to see a bigger world map than was available in Skyrim.

    From someone who went from using mods, to no mods, and back to mods again, there really is a lot of good in regular Skyrim. Magic in the game is limited compared to other ES games, this is true, but when taking into account how massively powerful and accessible Shouts are, I can see why magic was made more limited. Skyrim also did some pretty neat stuff as well with dual-casting. As I recall, magic in all other Elder Scroll games Before Skyrim relied on a single hotkey and rapidly cycling through hotkeys and menus. Skyrim made magic a lot more integrated into normal combat.

    Overall, the UI in general is where I think Skyrim shines the most. I think we can all agree that Skyrim’s combat isn’t perfect, but it’s controls and ease of use were a huge upgrade from the previous UI and control setup. I think they took a long, hard look at the Elder Scrolls Control scheme after designing Fallout 3 and decided to do some much-needed innovating. I wish there were more to the Vanilla Skyrim, yeah, but what is there has held up really well, flaws and all. Seriously, now many times has it been ported and remastered?

    If TES6 beings back classes, I’d like them to look like ESO’s, where class is only one small part of your character.

    • 1467 posts
    October 27, 2018 7:35 AM EDT

    From someone who went from using mods, to no mods, and back to mods again, there really is a lot of good in regular Skyrim. Magic in the game is limited compared to other ES games, this is true, but when taking into account how massively powerful and accessible Shouts are, I can see why magic was made more limited. Skyrim also did some pretty neat stuff as well with dual-casting. As I recall, magic in all other Elder Scroll games Before Skyrim relied on a single hotkey and rapidly cycling through hotkeys and menus. Skyrim made magic a lot more integrated into normal combat.

    Overall, the UI in general is where I think Skyrim shines the most. I think we can all agree that Skyrim’s combat isn’t perfect, but it’s controls and ease of use were a huge upgrade from the previous UI and control setup. I think they took a long, hard look at the Elder Scrolls Control scheme after designing Fallout 3 and decided to do some much-needed innovating. I wish there were more to the Vanilla Skyrim, yeah, but what is there has held up really well, flaws and all. Seriously, now many times has it been ported and remastered?

    Really it was just remastered/ported the once :P I mean sure there is the port for Switch but that was a part of the Remaster as far as I'm concerned (which to be fair, is a lot better than what other games do. You get next-gen support, major graphical changes, minor gameplay tweaks and of course mods...it's a lot to give credit for). 

    But yeah when it comes to these discussions we do kind of hit a lot of the negative points but very few of us would on this site if we didn't (at least) at one point love Skyrim. There's a lot that is good about the game, and to be fair a lot of the flaws are only easy to feel for if you've played other TES games, or have hundreds of hours of play. So yeah, definitely a good point to be made here about the quality of Skyrim, and how we shouldn't forget that it's still damn good

    • 393 posts
    October 27, 2018 7:45 AM EDT

    All the flaws are there, but who doesn't love Skyrim?)))

    • 167 posts
    October 27, 2018 8:39 AM EDT

    Yeah most people here like Skyrim and it is a great game if you ask me not without its problems though. But I think the reason most people like Skyrim iin general is because of its concept and its open world I mean I never heard anyone saying damn I 'm gonna make a warrior or mage just to play their respective questlines and feel like a warrior or mage and that 's it for my character. Most people I 've talked with (not in the site, I have a wide network of people playing games mostly online due to me playing before and due to some work I did quite a few years back) all liked Skyrim a lot but it wasn't for the story it was mostly due to the world and the mods which made the game a few times better that is what I got at least from people who I know play games and rpgs/mmorpgs 15+ years.

    Regarding what Mercurias said about magic, my guess would be that magic might have been like that due to the game being set in Skyrim. Well, I 'll quote Onmund from the CoW I think he nailed it "Magic is shunned by most. If it can't be swung over your head and used to crack skulls, most Nords want nothing to do with it. Magic is seen as something for elves, and weaker races". (lol) Being a mage dude it didn't take long for me to have a "bad taste" about the Nords, the 4th era Nords at least. He also explains later on why that is but still this only shows the very low education standard Bethesda portrayed Skyrim to have, it's all about mead and Sovngarde /facepalm. Thankfully we have mods like Apocalypse spell package and there is a mod for spellcrafting as well which can fill in the gap.

    • 393 posts
    October 27, 2018 8:50 AM EDT

    Well, I personally like Skyrim for the freedom to roleplay and for the lore, and also the open world of course. The mods also add a lot. The story and the quests feel like something basic, a skeleton of sorts, a foundation to build your own story on. And while some might see it as a flaw, it's one of the reasons I like Skyrim more than most other games. It leaves enough empty space to put something of your own in. To me it's not a flaw, it's the greatest feature. However I totally wouldn't mind if they added more tools to into that basic skeleton, like expanded magic, additional quest choices and such.

    • 1467 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:01 AM EDT

    Yeah most people here like Skyrim and it is a great game if you ask me not without its problems though. But I think the reason most people like Skyrim iin general is because of its concept and its open world I mean I never heard anyone saying damn I 'm gonna make a warrior or mage just to play their respective questlines and feel like a warrior or mage and that 's it for my character. Most people I 've talked with (not in the site, I have a wide network of people playing games mostly online due to me playing before and due to some work I did quite a few years back) all liked Skyrim a lot but it wasn't for the story it was mostly due to the world and the mods which made the game a few times better that is what I got at least from people who I know play games and rpgs/mmorpgs 15+ years.

    That's true, Skyrim isn't really great for it's story and quests, but the freedom in the game (especially from a Gameplay perspective) is really something worth talking about. The only game that I really think is all that comparable is probably Paths of Exile, which has a similar concept of player freedom with perk direction and build customization.

    • 1467 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:03 AM EDT
    Well, I personally like Skyrim for the freedom to roleplay and for the lore, and also the open world of course. The mods also add a lot. The story and the quests feel like something basic, a skeleton of sorts, a foundation to build your own story on. And while some might see it as a flaw, it's one of the reasons I like Skyrim more than most other games. It leaves enough empty space to put something of your own in. To me it's not a flaw, it's the greatest feature. However I totally wouldn't mind if they added more tools to into that basic skeleton, like expanded magic, additional quest choices and such.

    True that, the roleplaying options are really only limited by the mediocre quests, or at least the lack of options within quests outside of player created RP. Other then that, it's entirely free which is nice. 

    • 167 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:08 AM EDT

    That 's why a big part of the people like Skyrim me included and if that skeleton/foundation were to be improved it would be so much better of an experience.

    • 393 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:23 AM EDT

    Absolutely true. But I fear that instead of making the "skeleton" more detailed snd expanded, they will turn it into shackles. Even less options too choose, less lore diversity, even more one-sided perspective. Skyrim can be interesting both to 14-years-olds and to old hags like myself. But they might easily discard all the complex parts and make it an open world Korean shooter.

    • 122 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:37 AM EDT
    I sort of hope Bethesda borrows some of the writers and voice actors from Zenimax also. ESO has a slightly generic feel in places, but hot dang their voice acting was a big jump in quality for the most part. There are also a whole lot of characters who are there just to be flavorful. Two of my favorites are the Nord twins in the Thieves’s Guild. One is a mimic and method actress who infiltrates groups and gathers intel, and the other is a cantankerous and exhausted accountant who tries to keep the books in line in an organization of criminals.
    • 70 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:44 AM EDT

     

    more Voice Actors would be fantastic. hearing guards change voices mis conversation is weird :D

    • 393 posts
    October 27, 2018 9:51 AM EDT

    Sounds cool. I definitely can relate with an exhausted accountant)) I can only hope that they won't hire Kirkbride back. While he does know how to write interesting and complex stuff, it would be much better if that stuff was less human-centric. When I read his texts, I can't shake off the same feeling that I feel when some fanatic "patriot" is trying to convince me that Americans are evil.

    • 321 posts
    October 27, 2018 11:21 AM EDT

    Mercurias said:

    I sort of hope Bethesda borrows some of the writers and voice actors from Zenimax also. ESO has a slightly generic feel in places, but hot dang their voice acting was a big jump in quality for the most part. There are also a whole lot of characters who are there just to be flavorful. Two of my favorites are the Nord twins in the Thieves’s Guild. One is a mimic and method actress who infiltrates groups and gathers intel, and the other is a cantankerous and exhausted accountant who tries to keep the books in line in an organization of criminals.

    As a student undertaking professional accounting, I can totally relate to that guy. :D

    Also, I find it funny since I have a character with an exact similar concept.

    Justiciar Thorien said:

    Sounds cool. I definitely can relate with an exhausted accountant)) I can only hope that they won't hire Kirkbride back. While he does know how to write interesting and complex stuff, it would be much better if that stuff was less human-centric. When I read his texts, I can't shake off the same feeling that I feel when some fanatic "patriot" is trying to convince me that Americans are evil.

    I'm surprised you managed to think that way, Thorien. Because all I got from reading MK's texts (apart from a few I can somewhat grasp) were mindfucks and confusing terminologies.

     

    • 393 posts
    October 27, 2018 11:28 AM EDT

    I also have one such character))

    A-Pocky-Hah! said:

    I'm surprised you managed to think that way, Thorien. Because all I got from reading MK's texts (apart from a few I can somewhat grasp) were mindfucks and confusing terminologies.

    Well, since I myself happen to be a big fan of mindfucks, that aspect of MK's writing doesn't bother me, quite the opposite. However I absolutely cannot stand his one-sidedness and apparent certainty that his view of things is the only one possible.

    • 275 posts
    October 27, 2018 4:23 PM EDT

    Dragonborn2021 said:

    Spell Scaling is something that I think is fairly difficult to do well, because on one hand you don't want to overpower anything but you also don't want to make spells as weak as they were in Skyrim's late-game. I have to say that the easiest method I've seen for spell/ability scaling is in a lot of MMO's where you just use weapon damage to act as the primary damage indicator. Dragon Age: Inquisition or Paths of Exile are particularly good examples where even your early game spells are viable late game (In DA:I I used the first two Shock Spells as my primary spells for the entire game), and they use that system. I'd personally prefer something a bit different, but it seems like the idea of 'Spell' does 150% of Weapon Damage (which means that all boosts would effect that weapon damage, and thus spell damage) is the most consistant form of Spell Scaling.

    Anything more specific you'd like to see regarding Spell Scaling?

     

    Basically take away the system of "these spells are just better than the older ones" and instead make it so that "these spells have certain advantages over older ones but doesn't completely overshadow them". A good example of this are the apprentice projectile spells compared to their expert alternatives: Incinerate was just plain better than Firebolt, for instance. I think the Destruction stages of Novice, Apprentice, and Adept were perfect examples of good scaling for a time. Using another Pyromancy example, we have Flames as our novice spell, which is a good utilitarian spell for close quarters combat, then you got your Apprentice spells Firebolt and Fire Rune: the former could reach into places where our Flames could not but it cost a lot of Magicka at the time so Flames still had a usage, and the latter was situational but did a lot of burst damage on an approaching enemy so it had it's place as well, when you moved to Adept spells you got Fireball which further expands upon your capabilities: you have the range of a Firebolt and an AOE attack, making it incredibly useful against groups but it cost even more Magicka so it was to be used sparingly. After that you just got "these are plain better than what you used before, so stop using that shit".

    I think on top of a continued system like I mentioned above they could add in a bit of skill scaling so that the effect (damage, level effected, etc) continues to scale with your magic school level like weapons do, but they should also balance the initial damage stats to make lower level spells still not useless, as when you had enough Magicka Firebolt would still far overshadow Flames.

    • 393 posts
    October 27, 2018 4:31 PM EDT

    I really hate the master spells. Mainly because of the fact that you have to use both hands to cast them. I like to use spells in combo and that makes casting frustratingly uncomfortable. So Incinerate and Fireball stay with me until the end.

    • 1467 posts
    October 27, 2018 8:05 PM EDT

    I sort of hope Bethesda borrows some of the writers and voice actors from Zenimax also. ESO has a slightly generic feel in places, but hot dang their voice acting was a big jump in quality for the most part. There are also a whole lot of characters who are there just to be flavorful. Two of my favorites are the Nord twins in the Thieves’s Guild. One is a mimic and method actress who infiltrates groups and gathers intel, and the other is a cantankerous and exhausted accountant who tries to keep the books in line in an organization of criminals.

    Yeah I'd love more Voice Actors, I know it's time consuming and all but it'd be absolutely great to have a world that just feels move alive.

    • 1467 posts
    October 27, 2018 8:23 PM EDT

    I really hate the master spells. Mainly because of the fact that you have to use both hands to cast them. I like to use spells in combo and that makes casting frustratingly uncomfortable. So Incinerate and Fireball stay with me until the end.

    I like the concept of the Master Spells, but really the only one that I think is worth anything is Dragonskin, and even that's not great (it's just the easiest to boost to make it worthwhile). They'd be a bit nicer if they had a bit more power to them, or had secondary effects that made them a bit more unique...I just like the idea of overwhelmingly powerful spells, but they need to be worth it when you take up two hands for them.

    • 1467 posts
    October 27, 2018 8:46 PM EDT

    Basically take away the system of "these spells are just better than the older ones" and instead make it so that "these spells have certain advantages over older ones but doesn't completely overshadow them". A good example of this are the apprentice projectile spells compared to their expert alternatives: Incinerate was just plain better than Firebolt, for instance. I think the Destruction stages of Novice, Apprentice, and Adept were perfect examples of good scaling for a time. Using another Pyromancy example, we have Flames as our novice spell, which is a good utilitarian spell for close quarters combat, then you got your Apprentice spells Firebolt and Fire Rune: the former could reach into places where our Flames could not but it cost a lot of Magicka at the time so Flames still had a usage, and the latter was situational but did a lot of burst damage on an approaching enemy so it had it's place as well, when you moved to Adept spells you got Fireball which further expands upon your capabilities: you have the range of a Firebolt and an AOE attack, making it incredibly useful against groups but it cost even more Magicka so it was to be used sparingly. After that you just got "these are plain better than what you used before, so stop using that shit".

    I think on top of a continued system like I mentioned above they could add in a bit of skill scaling so that the effect (damage, level effected, etc) continues to scale with your magic school level like weapons do, but they should also balance the initial damage stats to make lower level spells still not useless, as when you had enough Magicka Firebolt would still far overshadow Flames.

    So really it's just changing the spells a bit at Expert? I mean it's a shame Walls aren't that great because otherwise they'd fill that purpose in a way, I mean they're similar to Runes but have a DoT effect that makes them a bit more unique and interesting, they just suck...Maybe if they acted as obstacles or something...Eh anyway, I can't disagree with that concept. Though to be fair Flames is broken as shit with the right equipment/perks (in my opinion it's the best Destruction Spell in the game, though obviously doesn't work for all builds). 

    • 275 posts
    October 28, 2018 12:36 AM EDT

    Dragonborn2021 said:

    So really it's just changing the spells a bit at Expert? I mean it's a shame Walls aren't that great because otherwise they'd fill that purpose in a way, I mean they're similar to Runes but have a DoT effect that makes them a bit more unique and interesting, they just suck...Maybe if they acted as obstacles or something...Eh anyway, I can't disagree with that concept. Though to be fair Flames is broken as shit with the right equipment/perks (in my opinion it's the best Destruction Spell in the game, though obviously doesn't work for all builds). 

    And change the damage stats up a bit to be more balanced. Flames should have the DPS of a Firebolt spam at the range it can reach, and in exchange for the fear of having a mage in close quarters you get less magicka consumption. Fireball I think should also do similar damage but cost a lot more magicka because it's an AOE spell, do the same with the Lightning and Frost spells. And yes, while Flames is OP, it does require very specific tech that was probably not planned for in the creation of the game. You can't balance a game around exploits.

    I think the Expert Destruction spells should be changed to have more versatility: I like the Destruction Master spells for the most part (except Lightning, just trying to be a better Sparks). Firestorm is an AOE centered on yourself which has a lot of situational usage, and Blizzard does very similar except it adds the slow effect to enemies for a time and instead of doing high burst damage it focuses on DOT. I think Lightning Storm should be switched out for a Call Lightning sorta thing. In Expert Destruction I'd suggest keeping the walls as they do have situational usage for adding a deathfield down hallways and maybe give them a bit extra damage and duration so that if you prep a hallway beforehand and lure enemies through so that, between your onslaught of magic and the damage of the walls, by the time they reach you they will be dead or very nearly so. I also think they should add some "combination" projectiles in Expert Destruction that combine the effects of different elements (which I will go into detail below).

    I also think Destruction spells should be further focused on their particular effects: Pyromancy based around taking out an opponent as quickly as possible through the primal power of flame, Cryomancers prefer to keep their enemies away through slowing effects but lack the killing power of a Pyromancer so they whittle the enemy down, and Electromancers should be long range projectile users who have a knack for taking down mages, lacking the overpowering force of the Pyromancer or the ability to keep enemies at bay like the Cryomancer, they instead strike from extreme distances suddenly with their hitscan projectiles.

    I'd go over the other schools here but that would very likely take up a whole page. Hell, it'd probably work as it's own discussion.


    This post was edited by Ebonslayer at October 28, 2018 12:41 AM EDT
    • 1467 posts
    October 28, 2018 1:47 AM EDT

    And change the damage stats up a bit to be more balanced. Flames should have the DPS of a Firebolt spam at the range it can reach, and in exchange for the fear of having a mage in close quarters you get less magicka consumption. Fireball I think should also do similar damage but cost a lot more magicka because it's an AOE spell, do the same with the Lightning and Frost spells. And yes, while Flames is OP, it does require very specific tech that was probably not planned for in the creation of the game. You can't balance a game around exploits.

    Fair point, that and it's a bug that gives it the largest power boost so it's hardly a great example.

    I think the Expert Destruction spells should be changed to have more versatility: I like the Destruction Master spells for the most part (except Lightning, just trying to be a better Sparks). Firestorm is an AOE centered on yourself which has a lot of situational usage, and Blizzard does very similar except it adds the slow effect to enemies for a time and instead of doing high burst damage it focuses on DOT. I think Lightning Storm should be switched out for a Call Lightning sorta thing. In Expert Destruction I'd suggest keeping the walls as they do have situational usage for adding a deathfield down hallways and maybe give them a bit extra damage and duration so that if you prep a hallway beforehand and lure enemies through so that, between your onslaught of magic and the damage of the walls, by the time they reach you they will be dead or very nearly so. I also think they should add some "combination" projectiles in Expert Destruction that combine the effects of different elements (which I will go into detail below).

    I think there's something insanely fun about Lightning Storm, sure it's not entirely fitting with the other Master Spells but it's still really, really fun. So I have no issue with it, but I think if it had a Chain effect and was a bit weaker, it'd be a bit more balanced. Not sure though, it's hard to really say for Skyrim's spell scaling.

    I also think Destruction spells should be further focused on their particular effects: Pyromancy based around taking out an opponent as quickly as possible through the primal power of flame, Cryomancers prefer to keep their enemies away through slowing effects but lack the killing power of a Pyromancer so they whittle the enemy down, and Electromancers should be long range projectile users who have a knack for taking down mages, lacking the overpowering force of the Pyromancer or the ability to keep enemies at bay like the Cryomancer, they instead strike from extreme distances suddenly with their hitscan projectiles.

    I'd go over the other schools here but that would very likely take up a whole page. Hell, it'd probably work as it's own discussion.

    Hah that's true. It'd be a damn fun conversation to have in full sometime soon.

     

    • 700 posts
    November 2, 2018 11:09 PM EDT

    I bet they'll bring back spell crafting in the style of FO4's weapon modding. They won't have to devise an entirely new crafting system which saves time, and announcing that spell crafting is back would create a collective sploosh big enough to sink California. 

  • Mr.
    • 763 posts
    November 3, 2018 4:53 PM EDT

    1. No voiced protagonist.

    2. A new lead writer.

    3. More faction quests not connected to the main quest and more "standalone" and "independent" quests, catering to various playstyles and builds.

    I think Bethesda can manage the rest.

    • 33 posts
    November 4, 2018 5:11 PM EST

    Depends on what you mean by expectation.

    If you mean "what you THINK it will have", it will probably cater for Skyrim's fans, having a more fluid combat system at the cost of a good story, probably only having a scant few RPG elements; it will most likely have infinite leveling, and a very developed crafting system (which might actually take cues from Fallout 4 and allow us to create our own fort or something, since that's a brahmin-mammoth they love to milk). It will likely take place in High Rock (at least from what we've seen on the trailer, plus they known most of their current fanbase has never even heard about Daggerfall) slightly after the events of Skyrim, with loads of references to this loud shouty viking person back East who is very famous and yet nobody knows their name, gender or even race, and the bad guys will be those evil nazi Thalmor with their hatred for inferior humans and also kittens and rainbows. Also, a DLC based around a Daedra (probably a fun Daedra, like Sanguine. I like Sanguine.)

    On the "what I would like for it to have", going by the same theory that it will take place in High Rock, and with all the Skyrim hype, it would be buttchuggingly cool if it took place in Tiber Septim times, and we were a regular dude who always gets involved in these big battles and has to hear all about how cool this Hjalti guy is and how we just missed him, sort of a Life of Brian vibe. The guilds (there's gonna be guilds, let's not beat around the bush on that one) would also reflect on High Rock's culture; a Thieves' Guild that's even more into diplomacy and bribery than even Riften's branch; a Mages' Guild-type questline where you literally have to find the Schools of Magic before you are given the good juice: the Direnni for Illusion, the Chirurgeons for Restoration, the Reachmen for Conjuration, and two other locations (I'm not as much of a scholar as some of you guys) for the other schools. The Dark Brotherhood will of course be heavily connected to the Thieves Guild, and they will take contracts from them sometimes to take out important political figures; while the Fighters' Guild (whatever it'll be called this time) could be one warrior clan just like Hjalti's, or maybe a mercenary company made by Nords or Redguards.

    • 1467 posts
    November 4, 2018 7:02 PM EST

    If you mean "what you THINK it will have", it will probably cater for Skyrim's fans, having a more fluid combat system at the cost of a good story, probably only having a scant few RPG elements; it will most likely have infinite leveling, and a very developed crafting system (which might actually take cues from Fallout 4 and allow us to create our own fort or something, since that's a brahmin-mammoth they love to milk). It will likely take place in High Rock (at least from what we've seen on the trailer, plus they known most of their current fanbase has never even heard about Daggerfall) slightly after the events of Skyrim, with loads of references to this loud shouty viking person back East who is very famous and yet nobody knows their name, gender or even race, and the bad guys will be those evil nazi Thalmor with their hatred for inferior humans and also kittens and rainbows. Also, a DLC based around a Daedra (probably a fun Daedra, like Sanguine. I like Sanguine.)

    I had meant more "What you Think it will have" but we've going both ways, so both is good :D That's a pretty logical expectation though, I'm not entirely sure if Bethesda will make a change that the more hardcore followers (us folk around here) of the game will enjoy, and will probably just go a bit further down the same route they have so far.

    On the "what I would like for it to have", going by the same theory that it will take place in High Rock, and with all the Skyrim hype, it would be buttchuggingly cool if it took place in Tiber Septim times, and we were a regular dude who always gets involved in these big battles and has to hear all about how cool this Hjalti guy is and how we just missed him, sort of a Life of Brian vibe. The guilds (there's gonna be guilds, let's not beat around the bush on that one) would also reflect on High Rock's culture; a Thieves' Guild that's even more into diplomacy and bribery than even Riften's branch; a Mages' Guild-type questline where you literally have to find the Schools of Magic before you are given the good juice: the Direnni for Illusion, the Chirurgeons for Restoration, the Reachmen for Conjuration, and two other locations (I'm not as much of a scholar as some of you guys) for the other schools. The Dark Brotherhood will of course be heavily connected to the Thieves Guild, and they will take contracts from them sometimes to take out important political figures; while the Fighters' Guild (whatever it'll be called this time) could be one warrior clan just like Hjalti's, or maybe a mercenary company made by Nords or Redguards.

    That's a fascinating idea that I straight up haven't thought about... The idea of the game being set in the past is really, really interesting to me. Okay I could rreally get behind this idea (the Life of Brian aspect really finished it for me :P) just really, really interesting mate :D