» Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:52 am Article:
1. GIVE NPCS A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT THE THING THEY SAID LAST, AND WHEN THEY SAID IT
You've got so much information going on in your game. Would it hurt to add two small fields to the character database? A tiny integer for Last_Phrase_Uttered, and a datestamp for Whenst_Twas_Uttered? This way, you could prevent that NPC from coming up to me and saying "it's tough to be a woman in Skyrim" again and again. Following me around, telling me how tough my life must be because I chose to be a lady on a long-forgotten character creation screen. Tell you what - my life's awesome. I'm the bloody Dragonborn. Go and form a support group for mopey tools who just want to get general stuff off their chests.
2. HEY, INVENTORY - WHAT'S WRONG WITH A PICTURE OF WHAT YOU'RE WEARING?
By the time you've collected a good wedge of crap, the things you've equipped aren't all visible at once. And sometimes, equipping one item removes another that doesn't necessarily seem logical. Can you wear an amulet, hood and ring? I... I'm not sure. Because Skyrim's done away with the map of your body that RPGs have been using for decades. We get it, you're stylish now. But are you nice to use?
3. STOP COMPARING APPLE PAULDRONS AND ORANGE ROBES
Look, I'm playing as a mage. Stop telling me that heavy armour is the best armour. Stop putting that little "best" triangle next to stuff that doesn't apply to me. I've only got those steel greaves in my inventory because I picked them up accidentally, and your inventory system is so unpleasant to use that I couldn't be arsed finding it to drop it again. How about letting me choose the aspect of armour that I like the most? Having "best in category" markers?
4. BUYBACK
Cool, I've just spent 2000 gold on something I don't need, because I thought I was selling it. Mistakes happen. Oh, there's no buyback option. RELOAD.
5. LOADING TIMES
Look, Jak and Daxter sorted this out before people had even heard of Xboxes. I understand - Skyrim's a shade more ambitious. I don't mind waiting every now and then. I like the distracting horse you occasionally throw at me. But say I want to get to my Arch-Mage's chamber and ponder the awesomeness of my herb garden. Fast-travelling to the College of Winterhold, entering the Hall of Elements, turn left to Arch-Mage's quarters. That's three minute-long loading screens. I could have written this entire paragraph so far in that amount of time, and still had time left over to add this clause at the end of it.
6. LET ME FOLLOW YOU WITHOUT YOU STOPPING
Mission-giving NPCs. I am following you because you are giving me a mission. When I get close to you, simply keep walking. Let's get there. Don't turn around and look at me, like I've got to say something. I'm a player character, I run into people and I run around in circles looking at stuff while you're talking to each other. I'm a hyperactive child, but I'm listening. Don't stop and stare at me like that, you're freaking me out..
7. SORT OUT WHAT THE NORD ACCENT ACTUALLY IS
Sometimes they're Hermes off Futurama, other times they're Arnold Schwarzenegger. These fantasy fiction Americans from low-budget TV dramas are getting a little old. We understand Sean Bean's been done, and Jean-Luc Picard is probably off-limits since War of the Worlds and Castlevania, but the guy doing Ulfric Stormcloak's voice just makes him sound like a whining [censored].
8. IF YOU YIELD, STAY YIELDED
Look, I've read fantasy books. Yielding is a matter of honour. It's a workable system that determines a victor without requiring the loss of life. If I behave with honour in this situation, and decline to deliver the killing blow, it's something of a dike move to get up again five seconds later and fireball my guts out. I may be dead, non-player character. But what you just did was eliminate mercy from the Dragonborn's emotional repertoire. Many will die because of your dishonourable actions today, on this snowy knoll.
9. I WANT TO CREATE MY OWN SPELLS
You could in Oblivion. Was that really unpopular, or something?
10. DON'T CREATE NARRATIVE YOU CAN'T MAINTAIN
I was really excited when I found a note on my would-be assailant's corpse. Birgitte Battle-Born payed for you to rough me up, did she? And after I sorted out her children's bullying issues! Well, I suppose it does make sense. I did do that quest chain for their rivals, the Grey-Manes. Tell you what, I'll pop back over to Whiterun and ask her about it. Maybe cast a rage spell on her husband and make them kill each other. What's that? She doesn't know anything about it? And I don't have a speech option to call her a massive cow?
Comments:
1. SPANKING. Yes, we can't kill children, but we should sure as hell be able to give the little snots a damn good thrashing, especially when that little brat in Whiterun has followed me into my house, again, just to tell me she's not afraid of me. And on that note
2.1. STOP FOLLOWING ME IN DOORS! Look, random NPC, if I go in my house whilst you're yapping on at me, it means I don't give a stuff and am busy, stop bloody following me just to tell you who you work for I ALREADY KNOW, if you keep doing it, you're liable to get an axe in the mush.
2.2 REACT TO MY BIG CHOPPER!! Yes, if I get my axe out infront of you, I expect a reaction, anything, fear, anger, not just blindly staring at me then continuing to tell me I have bloody Ataxia. And on that note
3. I DON'T HAVE BLOODY ATAXIA!!! Seriously, if something is afflicting me or affecting me, then by all means, mention it, it's a cool little in game way of prompting me, but bloody well get it right, and if I don't have anything wrong, tell me how healthy I look.
4. I'M NOT JUST AN ALCHEMIST. Yes I do alchemy, but my Smithing is also maxed out, its my main skill, so stop asking me to make you a bloody ale just because I happen to make a few potions. Also, how the bloody hell do you know I'm an alchemist? You're in Markarth for gods sake, I do all my crafting in Whiterun HOW DO YOU KNOW???
5. WHY CAN'T I GIVE YOU AN ALE? OK, fine, you've asked me 300 times for an ale, I'm carrying one, for gods sake let me just give it to you. I don't care if I don't get anything out of it, its just a nice little addition, a nod to the player who likes to be able to act on these little prompts. Also, if I stumble across som injured soldiers, why can't I heal them, offer them a potion to get them working again?
6. LET ME USE MY SKILLS FOR SOMETHING ELSE. You get married, your wench asks if you can open a store, so you agree, but there is no store, and she just gives you regular income. Why doesn't she actually have a stall or shop somewhere in town? Why can't I choose what we sell and actually have to stock it? It would, after all, give me a chance to use those 3 and a half thousand bloody potions and 800 iron daggers and hide bracers I have sitting in a cupboard not doing anything because it is too much of a pain in the [censored] to sell them all. These little touches that people can get involved in, or completely ignore at their leisure add so much to an experience, whether its stocking a shop yourself for free, or just paying a regular amount of gold to have it automatically stocked, it would just add a little something to the experience.
7. LET ME AFFECT THE WORLD. Whether its just giving health potions to wounded soldiers or using my powers as Thane to actually make a difference. Let me do something!! Riften. It's a pit. Everyone there complains that its a corrupt pit of hell. Then I'm made a thane, so why can't I actively set out to improve the place? Doing on quest for every 3rd NPC isn't really improving things. give me little things to do to help out and make the place happier and prettier. Hell, Fable was built on this concept, surely an ES game can take the concept and do something with it as well. It doesn't need to be in depth and significant, just simple little jobs that improve places which is then actually reflected in the look of the place.
8. CRAFTING WITH STYLE. So I've spent all that time and money making rubbish daggers, levelling up, hammering points into perks and for what? To make the exact armour I can already pick up on 1 in every 3 bandits? Sure I can improve them further, but I could just nip out to that cave over the road, bop a baddie on the bonce, nick his steel briastplate and come back then upgrade it to legendary with 1 steel ingot and not bother going through the rigmarole of making my own. OK, I grant you, it would take a lot more work to go to a cave to get said armour than it would to just make it, but there is a fair old chance that you already have 16 of these in an end table in your hourse already, and they all look the bloody same. Give us some aesthetic choices PLEASE?!! I know some armours already have different looks to them, but the choice isn't exactly huge, and I'm never giving the option when making my armour over which one I want anyway. I want my armour to look unique, just give us some choice!
9. CRAFTING WITH SENSE. Simple one this, where the hell am I getting all these recipes and designs from? Why do I instinctively know how to make certain potions, certain meals and certain weapons and armour. Sure I have the SKILL, but shouldn't I actually have to learn HOW to do it first? Then, once I do, make it easy for me to see said recipe so I know ingredients/materials I need rather than hiding it just because I'm currently not carrying it.
10. GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO WITH MY MONEY. Anything, make my money useful in some way, Carrying around 30 or 40 thousand gold as pocket change is just plain silly. My suggestion for what to do?
11. GIVE ME PERMANENT ENCHANTS. OK, so we get a plethora of soul gems, but carrying them around is irrtating, and there is nothing worse than having an "Axe of Fiery Immolation and Death with a Side Order of Crispy©" when we know that it's about to become "Axe of Pointless Averageness with a Topping of Meh©" just because it only has one charge left. Instead, let me make permanent enchants. They don't need to be easy to obtain, or hyper powerful, indeed make them difficult to obtain and expensive to make, at least it would make the trouble worth it, and give me something to use that spare cash on (see, it only links up in the end). These enchants don't even need to be as good as temporary ones. I'd rather have a permanent 10 fire damage on my axe than 30 fire damage which is going to run out after 20 hits.
12. GIVE ME MY DISMEMBERMENT. OK, so you gave us decapitations, and that is cool, but it begs the question WHY? Its the only example of dismemberment in the game, but the plain fact that it is in there tells us that you're not adverse to including it (not even taking into account Fallout 3/NV limb happy explosions and slightly creepy ability to butcher peoples arms and legs after you've killed them), so why haven't you? I can just about accept the logic of not always letting us use those funky killing blow animations, but when you do, and I clearly see my axe burying itself in that pesky mages shoulder, I'd greatly appreciate seeing the silly cow's arm come off. I think its a fair trade to say that we can have more dismemberment, but limit it to only on those kill animations.
13. MORE COMBAT CONTROL. Combat is vastly improved, yes, it feels heavier and meatier, but at its crux, its still the same combat from the last 2 ES games. I'm still mashing my attack button, I just happen to throw in the occasional block too, which occasionally allows me a slight tactical advantage to start mashing the attack button again. As much as it looks and feels better, it really isn't all that much different, it' still a case of light attack heavy attack (which, frankly, became redundant last generation) so give us MORE. I'm not asking to make the game Assassin's Creed, but the AC games have shown us that a block and counter system makes for great dynamic combat. I'm not asking for the insta kill abilitiy of Altair, but surely a simple sytem where we can either just pin down the block button to deflect lots of damage or try timing a parry would be very simple to implement and add so much to the experience. It's nearly there as it is, just bring it out more, play it up a bit, and let our successfull parrying moves lead to special counter attacks that look and feel different to just swinging my weapon as normal. You could even bring the skill tree and perks into it. If we have a high block skill, we should be able to inflict greater damage from a counter attack and recover quicker when we are parried or deflect a powerful blow, even allowing us the opportunity to block and counter our opponents block and counter. That sort of back and forth combat against a skilled opponent, blocking, parrying and countering each other, trying to find an opening creates a very real but very fair challenge where your skill as a player is the deciding factor, as it really should be.
14. MORE CREATURES. What I loved the most aobut Oblivion was being able to wander through its forests and be attacked by Minotaurs, Goblins, Ogres and Trolls, real High Fantasy creatures. Now, I'm not expecting that much, after all, Oblivion was Bethesdas stab at a colour-by-numbers traditional High Fantasy game, this,whilst still High Fantasy, is meant to be different. Even so, as astonishing as the Dragons are, having my creature quota filled by Giants and Trolls really seems a bit lacking. Sure we get Hag Ravens but they're just witched basically, nothing really cool, the Draugur are just zombies, the Falmer are basically Goblins (which is cool in a way, except they're underutilized). The rest are just dangerous animals. Give me more creatures to fight with. As much as I would like it, you don't NEED to bring back proper Goblins and Minotaurs and Ogres, just find other High Fantasy creatures you haven't used yet, or create some of your own. Morrowind was full of unique and brilliant creatures. I miss Guar. And on that note.
15. MORE CULTURAL ANOMALIES. In the ES history, after the events of Morrowind, the Dark Elves largely fled from their home province, many heading north into Skyrim. Great, it's in the story, and they're in the game. But surely they didn't leave all their native beasts behind as well did they? The Guar, for example, were a tame pack animal, surely at least some of them made the journey with their Elven keepers? What about the Silt Striders? I should imagine that a lot of the Dunmer escaped from Morrowind by actually riding them, so where did they go? Even if they just turn up in little camps that hug the borders between Skyrim and other provinces, let these little cultural tidbits spill over as just a tease or a spoiler for us.
16. WHY JUST WHITE CHILDREN? Do the Redguard not reproduce? I've never seen one of their children around. But, admittedly, I could just have missed it, so what about Elven children? Where are they? Khajiit children...Kittens....whatever, where are they? Orc babies in pushchairs? Anything at all instead of all these 10 year old Nord/Imperial/Breton brats.
I was reading an article about how to make skyrim a better game. I will list the things stated in the article and some from the comments. Would be interesting to see other peoples opinons.
Just to add, about the permenent enchant thing. I do think its kind of silly that a black soul gem is kinda the same thing as a grand soul gem. Couldnt a black soul gem be very rare and offer permenent enchanting?. Its not overpowered because its the same enchant weither you refill it or not.
