Cool story...

You know... They make a mod for this...

All the NPC'S talk too much and say the exact same lines far too often. It's my one major gripe about the game. It's especially bad when I'm forced to walk along with an NPC for a quest and they keep repeating the same two or three lines every few seconds. I actually find myself telling them to shut the hell up just because it makes me feel better.

I play with the sound muted and subtitles on so I don't have to hear ''I work for Belethor.....''
I didn't mind the guards commenting on my armour or sword, race (what do you want elf) etc but comments to do with skills or guilds is usually so rubbish it's really irritating

I actually like them, but you're right that they need some fixing with triggers and such... they also should stop commenting with low-ranked stuff in guilds.. like "do you fetch the mead or something" while you're the harbinger of the companions... stuff like that is indeed game-breaking.. also the skill-comments should be uplifted to lvl 70 just like in Oblivion, besides that it makes sure you really are focused on the skill, it also makes the comment more of a nice reward

What I find more annoying are the citizins who constantly keep greeting you with the same stupid line over and over when you simply walk past them... that's by far more annoying, because most of the time they interrupt a conversation I'm trying to overhear (and those are actually cool)
I find myself walking circles around NPC's in cities quite often lately... such a shame.. If Bethesda per se wants greetings at least let them just say "hi" instead of "I work for my mother at the ma... BLAH BLAH BLAH"

JUST SHUT UP YOU CRIMINAL SCUM

Nazeem. He's dead in my game because...just [censored] that smug asshat. Heimskr is dead too. I like to sit under the tree sometimes and his ranting destroys the peace.

Bur seriously, I like the fact that the guards comment like they did. IRL ppl talk, and others even heckle, and there is little you can do about it without being an a*hole. It adds a touch of realism to the game that most games are missing. How about the fact that ppl don't get to choose their nicknames IRL and often don't like them? But I digress. The point is it adds to the feeling of realism.

But on the flip side, if they put these comments such as "is that fur growing out of your ears?" they should've also cancelled those remarks when the Lycanthropy (pardon me if I got that term wrong) was cured. It's like once the remark is triggered, there is no cancel for said remark. But this is trivial to me.

You know what I love about Bethesda games? Sometimes they are like cheap, creeky old B-movies
There's so many quirky little flaws, glitches, little or no attention to facial animation etc.
But it just doesn't affect my enjoyment of the games.

I agree. They're stupid. Very few of them make sense.

The sweetroll one is moronic and makes zero sense. The arrow to the knee is fragging stupid.
They should never have been there in the first place.

Very few of the lines make sense or are in the right place.
You're Harbinger, they act like you're a low rank. They comment on your lowest magic skill. Guards holding 2handed swords comment on how they like one handed weapons.


One that pisses me off most is the hands to yourself sneakthief one. When you ar'nt even stealing anything! Just walking through town and they accuse you of stealing.

They don't even say stuff that makes sense! How about Hello, Hello Thane, Hi, Greetings, just normal things.
If they wanted immersion, they should have made them say stuff that was logical.

How do you know I have the star of azura?! You can't even see that artifact! The visable ones you use or wear, yes, makes sense, but a soul gem in my bag?!

The NPCs talk too much, in general.

You have to wonder if they spent the time programming badly placed guard comments, when they should have been making proper quests.

You mean the line that became an internet phenomenon and one of the most recognized lines in video game history?
Yea, Bethesda really shot themselves in knee with that one (no pun intended)

I am annoyed that every guard in skyrim knows I am a member of the dark brotherhood.
I am worried by the fact they all say "I know who you are.... HAIL SITHIS."

You're complaining?

Ohh.....Let me guess, someone stole your sweetroll?

Internet phenomonon, my ass. Anything can become a internet phenomon, literally anything.
Cats playing the piano, dancing dogs, any old trash can become internet phenomonon.
The internets full of stupid crap.

If it had'nt taken hold on the stupider parts of the internet, it'd have been shown for how stupid it was. The only response would have been 'Seriously, bethesda, that is a a line?!'

It makes no sense ingame or logically.

Todd Howard has said that line was intended to give the guards more personality - it's their idea of 'characterisation'. They didn't intend what happened and it is of course virtually impossible to engineer that sort of meme. it probably became an internet phenomenon precisely because it's such a stupid line. Anyone with any common sense would realise making such a specific line about personal circumstances a random comment a whole bunch of NPCs would say at random was going to sound very odd. The meme got going because the amount of times it was said got exaggerated - but obviously if you play for a long time, you are going to keep hearing different guards saying it.

Eh, just like in real life, people say stupid stuff that's worthless.
Constantly.

So, just like in real life, just make a stupid comment back to them or ignore them and be on your way.

Typing this response in the forums took more effort than it does to ignore in-game comments.

Try harder and you might find something else to complain or nitpick about in the game.

The problem is that Bethesda have a sense of humour, and many people here that play their games don't.
It's actually one of the better "internet phenomenons" to occur in recent years; spawning from a beautiful, spiritual, intelligent and thoughtful game.

Complaining and picking holes in video games is one of the most annoying phenomenons on the internet right now.
There is no pleasing anyone.

"So you can cast a few spells am I supposed to be impressed?" My magic skills are in the 80s

Yeah great - people say stupid things in real life, so dialogue in computer games should be stupid, badly written and poorly implemented.
Great point.

The guard comment are actually quite nice.

The issue is how absurdly low your stats can be for them to trigger. (Playing my lv 30 arch-mage last night I got told not to be sneaking around...........my sneak is 22)

A skill should have to be...at least 40-60 before guards start commenting about it.
As it is now, it makes no sense at all.

Yeah they need work.

Nothing beats the Ordinator's "We're watching you... scum."

I swear Nazeem has to be , the most, annoying NPC ever created in a game.

Actually I think the guards say some of those things bc they want to feel superior (or less inferior anyway) to you (putting psychology to the fictional characters), they want to assert that they control (limit) what you can do. It just makes sense ppl.

That explains a lot

Oblivion has a similar system if I remember correctly. Although I think it took much longer for comments to appear. I remember hearing "You look like a smart one" when my character had high intelligence. Or the funny "Look at the muscles on you" when strength was high. Granted I don't recall the comments happening unless the stats were above 60 or 70. Skyrim does seem to have a much lower trigger.

Also in Oblivion I believe the guards and others would say simple things like "Greetings citizen" I prefer that over everyone in Skyrim telling you their life story every time you walk by.