So, this is a long one, but I hope to convey this in a clear, constructive way, so that it can serve as a good point of reference. I'm also super-bored and I feel like writing.
I got Skyrim on my PC and it's awesome. I am really amazed at what the development team accomplished! I am extremely pleased with the Morrowind-meets-Fallout kind of balance they seem to have struck. I find the game is generally more fun and more realistic than past titles in the Bethesda library. I am also really happy to see that this game appeals more to a mature gamer as opposed to a teenage market which seems to dominate these days.
But one thing I was thinking about was DLC. I was picking out perks, and it reminded me of how in Fallout 3 they released DLC that increased the level cap, which was great, but I basically had to restart my game because I couldn't really take advantage of the new perks without restarting, and I never fully maximized my character in the end. There was a way to get a perfect character using the new perks if you were starting over, and I'm a bit of a completionist, so it was kind of a pain to have to restart because of the new content.
I know some of you will say that it's not even necessary to play like that. That's true, to an extent. But this is a game that is supposed to allow you to play the game any way you want! Hoarding as much as possible and achieving the best possible character is how I enjoy the game. So I think it would be a shame if some people were penalized because of new DLC.
So, having said that, I love DLC and I love to expand my game even more. I'm really interested to know what most people want in DLC and I hope that Bethesda can see what we're talking about to better inform them. I'm going to list some things I'd personally like to see in upcoming DLC or patches, and some things I don't want, and I hope you guys can list off some things too.
Please don't think I'm trying to nit-pick, because I really do love this game the way it is. I'm just listing things off the top of my head that could possibly be constructive in some way. I think most of you can agree with my list:
DO WANT:
-New areas and enemies and quest lines; basically some type of expansion for people who are maximum level and need more things to do or new items to collect
-DLC that BUILDS and IMPROVES on the already established game in some way, not things that you can only take advantage of at earlier points in the game
-For the love of the Nine, please improve the PC user interface. It's workable right now, but I remember Morrowind having better PC controls than this. Sometimes I click things and it clicks the wrong thing (or nothing at all) because for some reason it's like this game wants me to use strictly my keyboard, or a freaking controller. This is not why I own a PC and in a recent Bethesda poll it said that just about half of Skyrim players are on PC, so this should really be addressed. I don't think a few more UI options would take a lot of effort. As a basic rule, I think an improvement would be to focus more on using mouse control, instead of focusing on using the keyboard.
-Add areas that have new colors and flavors to the original areas. This was done really well in the Point Lookout and The Pitt DLC for Fallout 3. I'm not a big fan of being stripped of all your gear, though
-Additional achievements are always great, and maybe add a few that are actually pretty tough to get
-New perks and an increase level cap is fine, just as long as it is done in such a way that allows someone who has invested time and points into their character to improve on what has already been accomplished, or make the new abilities retroactive. Please do not add perks that are only best utilized when you are early in the game. This may not be limited to the perk's bonus in itself only, but how it can be used in the world. Please be particularly careful with any perks that alter enchanting or smithing etc.
-Things that appeal to end-game players who have basically beat the game and done everything in the main game
-A WAY TO CHANGE YOUR APPEARANCE AND SHAVE/HAIRCUT
-Political and/or realistic side-plots that are interesting and sensical. Stay away from drama (not that The Elder Scrolls has in the past, except for maybe in Oblivion, but hey, look at Blizzard and Lucasarts nowadays) Just sayin
-A bit more variety in voice acting. It's okay to use one voice actor for many different NPCs, as long as they are at least attempting to change their voice. Maybe even add new voices to random characters in the main game, just to spice the world up that much more. I don't even care if it's unknown talents. Variety > quality in games such as this, in my opinion
-A survival option could be cool, where you have to eat once a day or something in order to not starve
-Fix how dual wielding displays only one weapon sheath in third person, when there should obviously be two
-Kill move control? Not sure if that's a good idea but if it could be implemented in a constructive way then sure, if not then leave it the way it is
-General UI or animation improvements, where needed
DO NOT WANT:
-Anything that punishes me for having played the game early before DLC was released. No early-game content unless it's something my high level can go back to complete, even if it's too easy
-Overly crazy or unrelated additional content. Like Mothership Zeta. I mean, Mothership Zeta was great, but it was pushing the envelope a bit--even in terms of the Fallout universe.
-Broken or overpowered weapons. I know there are always going to be ways to break the game's difficulty, but please do not add weapons that make current gear utterly obsolete. Do not add gear that blows everything else out of the water for no good reason, and if it is added, then make it accordingly difficult to get. Focus more on unique and interesting effects as opposed to just being better and more powerful
-Radical changes to the core flow of the game
So that's that. To put it simply, add end-game content but don't add things that take away from what's already there. My character is special. I want to be able to level the crap out of him and work to a goal, not have to worry about making mistakes or additional DLC that will make me have to take steps backward. I think this is really important.
As I said, I love the game and anything that can be improved is always good, but I'm not saying the game is bad and I am still thoroughly enjoying it. It would just be nice to know that I'm not wasting effort on things that could possibly change in the DLC. I honestly think that increasing the level cap and adding new perks is unnecessary. I would want to see new questing areas, generally speaking.
What do you guys think? I am interested to know what others are expecting and it would be nice to get constructive thread going.




