Actually, at 14, I thought the world was lovey dovey. Now at 25, I have seen enough to learn that, sometimes, an dumb opinion, an illogical one or one based on dogma alone can be extremely harmfull to a lot of people.

Actually, you can go mountain-hiking off the paths just about anywhere in Skyrim. Have you even really tried? Because god knows I have done quite a lot of it.

So what you are saying is: you want a way to complete the game without fighting.

Because otherwise everything will always "essentially become a tool for hack n slashing NPCs". Pickpocketing? Nope, its to get better items to kill ennemies better. Crafting? Nope, its to make better weapons to kill ennemies better. Healing? Nope, its to let you live longuer to kill people better. Sneak? Nope, its to steal items that makes you kill ennemies better, or to assassinate ennemies.

See where I am going with this? So your grip with the game is that you cant play a "behind the scene" character, one that solves everything with diplomacy and wits. Well then that is a legit concern. But it has nothing to do with the game being linear, and throwing in that word every time you can't do exactly what you would like to do just makes you look like you are throwing a temper tantrum.

Here's another example of a real quest with millions of choices in Skyrim:

I found a map once. It told the location of some treasure somewhere. It took me around 3 hours of arduous "questing" and adventure to find it. It was non-linear the whole way.

You can go up the Mountains...you "can" actually jump up all of them, even when it looks like it's straight up and down...but...that is how the land is...
It's less "Linear" than all other games...

Oh look, you added "defense force" to a word to make it look as if people were just mindless lashing out at anyone who disagrees. How quaint.

There are alwasy a couple of exceptions 98% of the quests in Skyrim ar elinear and always play out the same each play through.

Umm they are just look at tsome of the pathetic responses in this thread alone, speak for themself.

'Nuff said.

Skyrim is sandbox, and some of the quests are linear. All the dungeons, are also linear.

The quests that don't give you any choices on how to complete them does take away a lot more than they add.

But can I be upset? No. Because it's an Elder Scrolls game. There have never been a wide range of options for completing quests in the series. When they do give you choices, they are AWESOME choices though.

The linearity of the dungeons is easily overlooked by the spectacular design of them. I would rather have every dungeon be unique, but linear than having every dungeon look exactly the same and be a labyrinthine mess.

Everything I do on the way to achieve my quest has to do with it. You're saying that everything Frodo and Sam did before they reached mount doom was not part of their Quest? You're saying that only the second they walked into Mount Doom did their quest begin?

You're crazy.

Very few people are arguing about about the OP's second point, and it's really his fault or expecting it to be like NV, anyway, because it was developed by Obsidian, and not Bethesda. His first point isn't even intelligible, much less valid.

The Elder Scrolls is not an ideal roleplaying game?

Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. This my friend Skyrim excels at. You can create anybody you imagine, you can craft your own story and history and set your person in the game world of the Elder Scrolls.

New Vegas lacked that special spark that any Elder Scrolls game has invoked with the of the lore and history and the unparalled depth.

Are you suggesting that playing only as a blakcsmith is a valid and fulfilling way of playing the game? I get what you are saying about being able to craft your own gear and all those things isn't a gameplay mechanic found in linear games, but it sounds like you are exxagerating a bit.

Bullcrap. It's the other way around. Nearly all of my quests that I have, including the ones not in my journal (maps, notes, books, etc) DO NOT have map markers, or compass points to follow.

You must have only played through the main quest.

I don't see WHY people keep bringing up The Witcher 2 as a GREAT game for Role-Playing. It's an AMAZING game, don't get me wrong, I think it's definitely in my top 3 BEST PC RPG's EVER. But it's not a great game for role-playing, open world freedom. You have exactly one character, who is exactly one kind of person (a witcher), and you cannot change how he looks (pale skin and white hair, although you can change hair styles), and combat works pretty much the same way no matter how you play it, not to mention that the story follows one general plotline, and doesn't have very many side-quests (definitely not many VARIED side quests, they almost all involve killing off some new monster).

TL;DR version: Witcher 2, awesome game with awesome story. Not many actual chances for real role-playing, unless you like roleplaying white haired master witchers... and that's it.

Also, because of the Radiant Story and AI system, many quests are different each time you play. There are different monsters, different NPCs, different destinations, and different goals. This is common knowledge, where have you been?

You are looking at the issue in the wrong way. In the LOTR example you give, Frodo had unlimited choices at his disposal since he had in his pocket the entire journey a ring that bestowed on its wearer power to control the very wraith lords that persued him. Frodo made the choice not to wear the ring and become master of all the other rings, he choose to destroy the ring instead so noone had that power. That is a classic case of choice and consequence, why Frodo could have ruled the entire world if he was so inclined, one of the companions of Frodo made that CHOICE even sauroman made that CHOICE but not Frodo. I only mention FO NV in my post because that game give a CHOICE and that is what I define as non-linear

Are you at the edge of the map or are you trying to climb steep cliffs. I've been going up/down mountains all the time and when I can't go up I move to the side a little and boom up I go.

As long as you're not at the edge of the map and aren't trying to climb near perpendicular cliffs - there is a path.

You didn't get those choices with generic raiders you only got those choices with named characters. Everyone and everything in the Mojave was trying to kill you just like it is in Skyrim.

I ran into a NPC that had an attitude and wanted to talk (bleep) if I would've humbly accepted it I could've continued on my journey. I didn't.

He drew his sword and died. An option, right?

A NPC ran up to me and gave me some stolen goods telling me to not snitch on him or he'll kill me. Isn't that an option?

If it's one thing about TES there's usually another option. Maybe you just didn't figure them out.

I have no idea why you just gave us all a synopsis of the Lord of the Rings. Thanks Einstein.

What's your point?

Thank you.

The new game set up is a masterwork, I must agree.

I was skeptical about this game at first reguarding so questionable design choices in Oblivion. I do have to say this game reminds me a lot more of Morrowind but I feel it has a grander scope than that game and that my friend is amazing. Skyrim is one of the most detailed game worlds ever created.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNaXUoqMRdQ&feature=related

No! I mean, it really depends on what you're looking for.

Elder Scrolls is a good combination of deep story telling with lots of real-time action; but it doesn't really do either one as good as games that focus on one or the other.

I love the series; I love the lore, I love the dialogue (well, in most of them. Oblivion was written by chimpanzees IMO) and I love the game play.

But would I consider it the ideal RPG? No. I much prefer the dynamics of tabletop (IE True RPGs) games to any CRPG out there.

Maybe in the future when hardware isn't as limiting in what can be done with software, we will have true RPG experiences that we can play on our computers and game consoles.

You brought up LOTR first I am using your own example. You also said it was your journey on Skyrim quests that made the game non-linear to you so I used your LOTR example to make my case that it is not the journey but the decisions on the journey that makes anything really non-linear. I can use any example,

We aren't saying the game is perfect, and that Todd Howard is a god. We are merely disagreeing on a complaint that evidently, most players find invalid, including myself. I often am overwhelmed by the amount of content, and questioning myself where to go. Linear games don't have that feeling. For instance, Final Fantasy 13, the you're not asking yourself where to go for the first 20 hours, because the first 20 hours is a straight line. Which is the definition of linear. Non-linear games such as Skyrim, have an immense amount of variables that affect gameplay, and the experience itself. These variables create a plethora of branches among the activities within the game world. Basically, the game is linear if you choose one option. The argument that the mountains make the game not as "open-world" confuses me though, the mountains aren't strategically placed to make you go in a specific path, there are areas on the mountains, on the sides, ways to bypass it without exploiting bugs as well. I don't see how this makes the game less open.

In term of what we have today on any entertainment system, I feel Skyrim and Morrowind are the two best choices out there closer to being the ideal RPG.

My friend I beg and will jump for joy when they bring pen and paper mechanics and stats to The Elder Scrolls. I,ve been wanting that since I can remember but that day is not today and as I've said above I feel Morrowind and Skyrim are the two closest things to that.

no the game is Elder Scrolls 5, not scrolls
bethesda did say that people would confuse the 2 and the elder scrolls I palyed was one of the most open world games I have played