Bring back quest descriptions.... pretty please? : V - Skyrim

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:38 pm

I'm all for more information in the journal! I understand that some people like the questmarker and indeed, i do use it myself. There is no need to remove it totaly from the game since a lot off people seem to love it.

But i still need more info into the journal. I seem to have a problem with staying focused on 1 quest at the time. See, i start my quest, say in Whiterun, and have to head out to a specific dungeon to clear some bandits. I head out and start walking towards the dungeon. Then i see another path that leads somewhere. I'm wondering what lays behind the hill and start following that path. I find a bandit camp, or something simular and clean up the area. But then i'm seeing another "dungeon" on the radar and start traveling towards that.
By the time i ready to go on with the quest i set out for, i have found a few new locations, grabbed some loot so need to head back to town to unload my backpack and have collected a few more quest.

So my journal keeps filling with quests, i seem to have trouble remembering what the older quests had me doing. So yes, a bit more information into the log would be nice and i guess not that difficult. Maybe Beth can even do this with a patch or as an extra with the first DLC they bring out. In any way, i hope they consider restoring the journal so that it make a bit more sense.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 1:06 pm

I dunno about you guys but I actually listen to the quest dialogue when it's given to me; the journal is purely an aide memoire.

Which it fails to do even that. After several weeks (real time) of playing, you're not going to remember the most important thing: why. Why am I doing this quest? Or more accurately, why didn't I do this quest? Did I want to do it later, or did I not want to do it at all? Thanks to Skyrim dumping quests on you with no way out of them, the only option you have for a great number of quests is to ignore them, but after a while you're not going to remember why you haven't done them, and the quest log offers very little in the way of clues.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:42 pm

Which it fails to do even that. After several weeks (real time) of playing, you're not going to remember the most important thing: why. Why am I doing this quest? Or more accurately, why didn't I do this quest? Did I want to do it later, or did I not want to do it at all? Thanks to Skyrim dumping quests on you with no way out of them, the only option you have for a great number of quests is to ignore them, but after a while you're not going to remember why you haven't done them, and the quest log offers very little in the way of clues.

Which is why you go UBER Roleplaying style (Which this thread is pretty much about) and write it down on a piece of paper. Why not make ur own journal ya lazy buggers.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:02 pm

I dunno about you guys but I actually listen to the quest dialogue when it's given to me; the journal is purely an aide memoire.

Do away with quest markers and journals altogether!

Thank you for living up to the english speaking stereotype!

How about those 'dictionaire players' for non native speakers in smaller countries were skyrim is only available in english, I fail to see anyone thinking of them. Journals are a great way to actually help kids learn a language, when they browse through it and try to understand the story. Just for this purpose alone, longer journals are worth having. Just saying.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:09 pm

whoa... I don't even feel that strongly about it.

It not just this issue, not saying Skyrim is not great it really is but part of the soul seems gone to me.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:19 pm

And i would like all the verbal dialog as you are talking to the quest giver in my journal. Finally get around to the quest a couple weeks after being given it and who remembers. Also some of the dialog is very funny and I would like to reread it later after the quest is finished.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:24 pm

i agree with the d00d that created this..

there are gamers out there who doesnt want to have their hand held during their gameplay, but they are forced to, they are chained to the quest marker.. there is no chance in hell that you can complete the bigger quest lines without the questmarker.. this game is fun and all, but the quest journal is stupid.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:08 am

At the very least they should include a person and place name in the short description. i.e. Retrieve the thing from X cave for Y from Markarth, or Talk to X for Y of Solitude regarding her shipment. That would jog my memory enough to know if I show care at all about that quest.

*edit* An example of the wrong thing to do is:

Retrieve Wylandriah's Ingot
Retrieve Wylandriah's Soul Gem
Retrieve Wylandriah's Spoon

I can remember where Wylandriah is from, but I have no idea where those items are without a marker. A better line would be:

Retrieve Wylandriah of Riften's Ingot from the inn in Winterhold.

That takes barely any additional investment to include.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 12:02 am

I miss my journal

Skyrim will most likely be my last TES game unless Bethesda do a complete u-turn.

For me too.
I want my numbers back.
I want spellmaking back.
I want a real journal instead of a minimalist shopping list.
I want choices back.
I want NPC disposition back.
I want guilds back. Real guilds, that interact with each other and the world and arent just an excuse for a questline.

I want TES6 to strive to be as good as Daggerfall and Morrowind were.
I do not want to follow the road of simplicity and action/ adventure taken with Oblivion and continued in Skyrim.
I want the greatest RPG of a generation, not a very pretty but extremely shallow game that Im done with after two playthroughs.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:52 pm

Indeed. The instructions in the quest log don't even include directions, which makes it even more difficult for modders to sort out. If they were to take away the compass, remove minor locations from the "map", you would be completely lost without a proper description of what you need to do.

I would very much like to have the journal back. It was much more than just a quest log.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:29 pm

I'm aware not everyone needs this, but it would be completely optional and easy to implement so please bear with me...

Quests used to be fully defined as in you had actual journal entries. They would explain who you met, whay they wanted you to do and why, and how you should get to the objective. Oblivion still had them (sort of) but they've been further minized in Skyrim.

Now quests are just one or two lines saying nothing more than:

Go kill X at Y

Go steal X at y

Etc.

You can deactivate the quest-marker and look up the location on your map. But it isn't the same experience. I prefer a fully developed journal entry that has you then search for the location. With Skyrim's high level of detail it shouldnt be hard to follow instructions on how to get somewhere.

And the great thing is, Bethesda doesn't have to choose. They can still include the quest-marker for those that prefer it. Just make it optional in the option menu. But right now it isn't, and quest objectives arent always clear enough to just ignore the quest-marker. So I still use the quest-marker and as a result the way I experience the world is less fun for me.

This is just something I experienced in Oblivion and Skyrim, and again I know this isn't an issue for everyone. If it was a hard thing to implement than I wouldnt complain about it. I'm aware Bethesda needs things like the quest-marker to stay profitable these days. But since it is easy to implement, I dont see why Bethesda can't please both the new and the old fans.

Ergo: we all benefit.

Thank you for your time.

P.S. I'm not talking about adding it to Skyrim, Skyrim is done and a great game. I'm talking about bringing it back in future installments.

Yes, the journal in Skyrim is a complete joke and completly broken. As an RPG you should have MORE information, not LESS.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:53 pm

Definitely agree that more detailed Quest descriptions would give the game play a little more depth. Also would like to see more detailed item descriptions.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:21 pm

Yes, the journal in Skyrim is a complete joke and completly broken. As an RPG you should have MORE information, not LESS.

Well, i wouldn't say that. It gets the job done.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:50 am

As much as I'd like to look to the sky, shake my fist, and bemoan the average attention span of the typical casual gamer, I believe the reason for the lack of a quest journal and complete reliance on the arrow markers is because of the Radiant quest system.

Think about it. If quests are being dynamically created and tailored depending on how any given user has played the game up until that point, colorful flavor text in a quest journal is almost an impossibility. Sadly, it is the "hand crafted" quests that seem to suffer from this the most, as they must share the same journaling system as the automatic quests.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:31 pm

They should definatly bring back quest descriptions. But im afraid the "average customer" have no interest in such and just want the simplified version we have now

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:56 am

I think the question what apple would do if thy encountered this issue was not right regarding the journal.
I listen to every thing the npc say and i try to follow only one quest line, but with my "incredible" memory i forget things i used the journal in oblivion and any other RPG game in order to fill the gaps here all i see is the bottom line.
Quest markers doesn't bother me, i can always deselected the quest or just ignore them.

None misc quest have a description, there (at least) quick description and detailed description (just like in http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Quests) can be aded.
misc quest can use the target location name as suggested here before.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:15 pm

Well, i wouldn't say that. It gets the job done.

It might get the job done, but that doesn't mean it's not broken. I can get the job done opening a jar by throwing it on the ground and breaking it, but that doesn't mean it's not a broken and flawed concept of doing it.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:48 pm

would never happen, because then the target market gamer will have to stop and read something.

It's a game, not a book. You play games, you read books. See the difference?

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:40 pm

It's a game, not a book. You play games, you read books. See the difference?

I don't know if I should laugh or cry. :ermm:

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:30 pm

It might get the job done, but that doesn't mean it's not broken. I can get the job done opening a jar by throwing it on the ground and breaking it, but that doesn't mean it's not a broken and flawed concept of doing it.

Those scenarios aren't comparable, come on. You break a jar on the ground, goodbye jar, jelly or sauerkraut or Vegemite is all over the floor and the walls, you can't spread that [censored] on your toast, it's a big mess. Skyrim quest descriptions are just lacking information, like cigarette packages in the US.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 11:13 pm

The game can certainly use more quest description, shouldn't be so hard to mod quests descriptions here and there.

Enter Falkreath, listen to the guard talking about a disappeared dog, all you get is a "Talk to Lod" entry in the log. If you don't talk immediately to Lod you can bet you are going to forget what was all that about in no time.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:29 pm

It's a game, not a book. You play games, you read books. See the difference?

The ghosts of Origin Systems Inc. will haunt you forever.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:01 pm

Something else (pretty simple) that I miss in the quest log is the in-game date. Along with descriptions of the quests, the quest log in past games was a really great way to reflect on your character and get a feel for progression. Right now it's essentially a list of check marks.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:51 pm

Something else (pretty simple) that I miss in the quest log is the in-game date. Along with descriptions of the quests, the quest log in past games was a really great way to reflect on your character and get a feel for progression. Right now it's essentially a list of check marks.

Yes, definitely. Couldn't agree more.

» Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:55 pm

i would love that very much. i think that the interface was a big step backwards from oblivion although the old interface wasn't perfect either.