Fallout 3 was Bethesda's last title before Skyrim, and thus, "set the bar" for Skyrim. Yes, New Vegas technically set the bar too, but it was developed by a different company and to be fair, also developed fairly late in Skyrim's development, so stealing ideas from New Vegas might not have been possible due to time restraints. I'll be comparing Skyrim to all previous Bethesda titles, but with specific attention to Fallout 3.

Having said that, this is a list of some things that Bethesda highlighted and decided to hold onto, as well as a list of things that didn't see a return. I'm simply listing these off so people can get a feel for what direction TES (and Fallout) are going in, for better or worse. While obviously not conclusive, I do believe there's a message behind what they held onto and what they scrapped. What that message is exactly and whether it's positive or negative is up to your own interpretation.

Things that saw a return in Skyrim after Fallout 3

-Kill cams (in Fallout it's VATS, but essentially the same)
-Random encounters
-Perks
-"Explosives" (runes essentially act as mines)
-Ruined books (yes the misc item, Morrowind and Oblivion never had these, Skyrim has them to an equal extent as FO3)
-A sense of purpose in exploring (Fallout 3 had bobbleheads and skill books, as well as the occassional unique weapon. Skyrim has word walls and dragon priest masks)
-The lockpick mini game
-Children
-Scripted dialog as opposed to randomly generated dialog (aka Oblivion)
-Decapitation
-Companions
-The standard damage resistance system and formula since forever (80-85% damage redux is the cap)
-Essential NPCs (Morrowind and New Vegas lacked these, everything else had them)
-Level-scaling
-Long ass introduction/tutorial (morrowind made you get off a boat, Oblivion gave you a brief dungeon, FO3 makes you hit puberty, Skyrim has you watch a movie)
-"Stupid Evil" (evil acts that make little to no sense, but rather a character is being evil for the sake of being evil.)
-EXP/money bugs (one makes it into every Bethesda game somehow...)
-Weightless ammo (arrows had weight in Oblivion and Morrowind, bullets had none in FO3, bullet weight was optional in FO:NV)
-Food (not alchemy or medicine ingredients, but a category of their own. In Oblivion and Morrowind, everything was an alchemy ingredient)
-Xbox timed exclusive (Again relates to New Vegas. New Vegas had a timed exclusive for Dead Money)
-The compass (showing nearby enemies as red blips on the compass. Oblivion had a compass, but no red blips; red blips were a Fallout mechanic tied to the Perception stat)

Things that did NOT reappear in Skyrim after Fallout 3 (or Oblivion in the case of a TES theme)

-The repair system
-Attributes
-End game weaponry/armor balance (both Fallout 3 and New Vegas have weaponry where "the best" is subjective, whereas Oblivion and Skyrim definitely have a "best" weapon that's hardly disputable)
-Randomized dialog
-Multiple dialog responses (FO3 and NV feature various ways to respond based on potential character personalities, Oblivion and Skyrim typically have yes/no responses or even yes responses exclusively)
-Hit recognition for different body parts (arms, legs, head...)
-Consequences for player actions (obviously some, but to a much lesser extent in Skyrim; Fallout 3 let you wipe out entire communities...)
-Quests with multiple paths/endings/rewards (again, obviously some but to a much lesser extent. Almost every FO3 sidequest had multiple solutions, endings and rewards (perhaps EVERY?))
-Crashes to desktop (typically, can't speak for everyone obviously but I rarely have this problem with Skyrim)
-Giving misc items a purpose (being able to use ruined books or calipers or whatever extensively in crafting or questing; both FO3 and NV offer crafting and repeatable questing purposes for misc items, Skyrim does not)
-Definitive endings (Obviously Broken Steel ended this too, just adding this to the list to make note of it)
-Fallout's EXP/Leveling system
-Fallout's RPG mechanics (in Fallout 3, you not only need to complete the lockpick minigame, but you need at least 50 lockpicking skill to even ATTEMPT opening that lock)
-Auto-attempt for lockpicking (you now have to play the minigame)
-Skill-based dialog responses (being able to respond to dialog certain ways if your character excels in a skill or attribute)
-Breath meter for underwater
-hardcoe mode (this one IS New Vegas, but I include it simply because it was by far the largest request of a feature to include from New Vegas, and therefore I doubt the devs missed the requests)
-DLCs instead of Expansion packs (unconfirmed, but both Todd Howard has suggested they intended to release "bigger content like Shivering Isles" and the wait for Dawnguard (the length of time) suggests this is true)
-Spell-making
-Karma/Disposition/Reputation (FO3, Oblivion and New Vegas respectively, though all three generally effected people's opinions of you)
-Unmarked quests (could be wrong, but ARE there any unmarked quests in Skyrim? Don't think so...Even if so, to a far lesser extent than all previous titles)
-Certain spell types (Armor/Weapon disintigrate, chameleon, several summons)
-NPC schedules (obviously Skyrim has these, but they've been severely cut down. Whereas Oblivion and Fallout 3 NPCs would visit bars, chat in town squares, go shopping, have affairs and sleep like clockwork, Skyrim NPCs tend to have one activity during the day, then they eat dinner and sleep)
-Racism (Oblivion had specific racial relations and racial responses and interactions for your character, Skyrim lacks a disposition system altogether and very RARELY acknowledges the player's race)


Things completely new in Skyrim, never seen in previous titles

-All dungeons are circular. There's ALWAYS a shortcut back to the start of the dungeon.
-Walk-in doorways to dungeons.
-Being able to exit dialog at any time
-Being able to move the camera during dialog
-Dual-wielding; left and right mouse buttons control left and right hands, combos like dual-casted spells
-Adjusted vision (your "eyes" adjust to the light)
-Designed for Xbox (?) (Not sure if this is true, but I don't recall a previous title being such an obvious console port; think others were designed on the PC)
-Sprinting
-Bounty-by-town
-Animals (as in not enemies. Oblivion had deer, but that was literally it)
-Marriage

Things returning from way back when

-Realistic fast-traveling (silt striders in Morrowind)
-Radiant quests/story elements (believe Daggerfall had these? By story elements I mean features such as hired thugs attacking you for stealing)




Feel free to mention anything you feel is missing from the list, or give your opinion on what you think of what's returned and what hasn't; what you think of Bethesda's priorities and if they're correct or not, what new ideas you'd like to see die or what old ideas you want to see return.

The lack of npc routines was staggering, I agree. I remember stalking npcs in oblivion, seeing their secret lives. Also, inns all cost the same amount of money in skyrim, another little fun rp detail removed. I remember getting rich in oblivion and entering the tiber septim hotel with pride knowing I could finally afford to stay there for weeks on end. A hardcoe mode, with options that can be individually turned on and off would be amazing and add so much to the rp element of skyrim, and the need for food, water and shelter would give your adventuring a new purpose, turning your loot into a sort of income.