Much has been said of past elder scrolls games where time stops and the person youre talking to stares non-stop into your eyes...your cold...heartless eyes.

One of Skyrims new way of doing things is of course to allow life to go on even if youre locked in verbal combat with someone.

I heard a great example after work today of the practical reality of such a change.

"Grab your video camera and point it at someone while they talk about many things and do some minor tasks with their hands...now have someone else come up to you out of shot and bark some inane trivia at you so loudly that you cant hear you target anymore...now have another person walk into you so youre pushed away from your target and have to break off...re-position...and start filming again...only your target assumes because youve broken contact you heard all they had to say and are now waiting for an answer...even though you missed the important bit".

Sums it up really!

Do you like this new soloution to a problem that never really was one?

Or would you prefer things back the way they were?

Honestly, I did like the new system, but I did wish they fixed a few things. For example, I wish they would toggle off random npc dialog directed towards you, background dialog is fine. I wish they also made creatures non hostile until the dialog was over. Once I was talking to a guy, when a dragon attacked, but this was important dialog that I did not want to miss, so I had to sit through it while the dragon was killing off guard members. Infuriating.

I love how it is in Skyrim.

With the new system, on one hand, makes Skyrim feel like it's going on without you, a good thing, on the other, it can intrude on the storytelling in annoying ways. Pick your poison I guess.

Even though I really hate the way they do them in most games I would really like some cut scenes when having important conversations with NPC's. Not every conversation that takes place just the ones where you really need to know what is being told to you and able to be skipped of course. Also so many people complained about how NPC's need to do more than just stand around but now they just are annoying when interacting with the player. They may have some great conversations with each other but like you said if you get them in the wrong angle it sounds like they are shouting in your ear. I feel sometimes like I just wish everyone would just stand up against the wall and pretend like I do not exist. Or just a Hey every now and then until I initiate the conversation will do.

Even when the above happens?

Doesn't happens to me

Even though its much more realistic, i really wish that everything else other than the music would shut their damned skeever mouth up when im talking with someone else. Im lucky enough not to be in a dialogue when someone attacks me though.

"important plot dialogue"
nazeem walks over and screams "HAVE YOU BEEN TO THE CLOUD DISTRICT? OH WHAT AM I SAYING, OF COURSE YOU HAVENT YOU SKEEVER BAIT "
.......
*drags dagger across nazeems throat*