http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=746#content

It has three versions:
No NPC Greetings
Reduced Distance NPC Greetings
Slightly Reduced Distance NPC Greetings

I use the middle one. I have to basically run into an NPC for them to say anything. The silence is bliss!

Or it's poor management, which is even scarier to think about.

That's my concern. Were they lazy, or is there really bad management, where the guy in charge thinks the quality of rock #436 is more important than the quality of Belethor as a character? I hope it's not the latter.

Open Quests. Turn off quest tracking. No longer have markers. All you do is highlight the quest and press A. OR you can keep a quest with no markers active alone.

I like it. It's everything I expected. Beautiful combat, and a world that isn't nearly as bare bones as Oblivion. There's ACTUAL FLESHING OUT OF CHARACTERS AND PLAYERS

Nothing wrong with it IMO. Working on a perfect Mass Effect Vanguard right now tho for the ME3 release.

This. Can't wait to see what the modders can do wtih this gem in the rough, after a few months of creative frenzy.

Still play and enjoy it. The best game I have played in years. I've put more time into playing Skyrim than I did Oblivion, Morrowind, Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas (although FO3 is a close second) and it's only been out a few months.

I think it rates right up there with my all time favorites like Half Life 2, Neverwinter Nights and Diablo 2.

I enjoy it enough to learn to use the CK to make my own content.

But there's not enough information in the dialogue to turn off the tracking. Hell of a lot of quests just say stuff like "fetch me X" - no clue as to where it is or even where to begin looking?

Despite its numerous flaws and odd design decisions, Skyrim is still a much better base game than Oblivion ever was. The perk/skill system is far more dynamic and natural than what Oblivion had. The world is much more better built than Oblivion's generic high fantasy world with copy-paste forests. Dragons are nowhere near as annoying as closing repetitive oblivion gates over and over again. People no longer look like they have some genetic defect. And now that the CK is released, it'll only get better. The base game's flaws will quickly be fixed by the unofficial skyrim patch (it's already in the works and fixes nearly 110+ bugs), and many great mods will come (same like it was for morrowind and oblivion, only better because Skyrim has a much larger user base now).

Best game ever made.

Some of the quests are just items that are in a random dungeon. It's more like "if you can find it bring it to me"

All the major quests have enough information in dialogue to not track them. Only miscellaneous quests are information short. And they'e not quests so much as requests.

Oh I'd totally agree, Oblivion was dire.

Skyrim still doesn't touch Morrowind for me though, only the combat and graphics are superior,

Sorry but I've played many a given quest where there's not been anywhere near enough information for you to play it through without using the compass.

Every quest from a main questline that I've seen has pointed me to whatever place I wanted to be at (and generally the journal listed the dungeon name too). It marks the location on your map so it isn't like morrowind where you have to get detailed directions. Just say "hey this is where I need to go"

Hell I should just go through and list which ones DON'T have dialogue explaining where my target location is. Anyone wanna do it for me? Takes too long >.>

Which kills about half the fun when you're desperately running after a compass and a nice arrow instead of following explanations and fooling around. I prefer to search for stuff myself, but since the game is built up around the compass, you can't do that....

Sadly this is becoming the trend in most modern games. Skyrim is nowhere near as annoying compared to most of them though. You CAN turn off the compass and search, even though that makes many quests nearly impossible (like radiant quests). It's not like you don't have a choice. I distinctly recall playing many FPSes and sandbox games that had huge flashing "GO HERE" arrows everywhere... :/

Mine hasn't changed, to me its still a a mile wide depresssion only 2 feet deep that could have had so much more in the Quests/Factions/Lore/ everything other than Graphics. no Modding won't change that outlook for me because its Modders doing it, that is when Modders earn the points, not the game. my only heart for Beth is that they made another TES game and continued to release Editors at no expence to those who want it.

Well the simplest is to turn off that arrow. Now fix where that dungeon is supposed to be in your mind from the map and go. I've done that a number of times. I've also preemptively or accidentally finshed quests without ever using the marker.
The radiant quests are brokenly difficult to complete yah. Other quests though are possible, you're given a name and a location as well as a general objective. Ususally with enough recorded in your journal to manage.

I'm not saying it's perfect but it's better than oblivion and a lot of games that have started using the quest compass mechanic.

Edit


You're actively attempting to ignore mini lore in dungeons and ignoring EVERYTHING going on lorewise in game. It may not be as rich as morrowind but it's pretty close.

8.5

- Lacks of choices or multiple endings of quests.
- Dialogs, npcs, and quests are plain boring
- Dumbed down gameplay.
- Doesnt give me that viking/norse feeling that I thought it would.
- Doesnt feel like a "true" rpg.

Its worth the money, but becomes boring and repetetive.

IMO, Skyrim when compared to previous TES games falls into the Bethesda's looks great, less filling trap. Been that way through the whole series Daggerfall - Morrowind - Oblivion - Skyrim, each one flashier the previous with a little less depth.
As for the OP stating that Oblivion was a failure, well I never did understand why so many felt that way. Maybe it's because the MQ is so true to life. I mean, you're called to perform a job. You're told how important it is and how only you can do it. You run around doing all the dirty work, saving everyone's bacon. Serfs and peons recognize you as a hero and champion. But, in the end you're given a nice set of armor (gold watch), they build a statue in your honor and some council you've never met before pats you on the back (knife in hand), thanks you for what a great job you've done and tells you, 'Oh, by the way we'll be taking over now'. Then they shove you out the door. How true to life is that?

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course, but I don't think we're playing the same game. When I walk through town, the NPC"s are constantly prattling on about my accomplishments; defeating Alduin, killing the Glenmoril witches, being Harbinger of the Companions, heck even just doing the first two thieves guild quests and the town guards are already talking about "The Thieves Guild are Back, be careful..." I enjoy the fact that weapons and armor I custom make for my own pruposes are better than random junk I find. I'd be upset if I spent time and resources crafting gear, just to find better stuff laying on the ground.

I actually regret taking the damage+% perks, because even on Master difficulty, with un-enchanted weapons, I'm slaughtering Deathlords and dragons in seconds. Deathlords don't even get to use their shout against me much of the time. To each their own, but in my opinion, your largest complaints are flat out false in my play experience.

I give Skyrim a 8/10. The bugs don't annoy me as much as some of the game mechanics and repeated enemies. After a while(500 hours, 9 characters over level 50, one at 81) you get tired of fighting the same combination of Bandit or Draugr.

Also, I really dislike the inconsistency in crafting weapons and armor; I understand that Nord Hero armor should be special, but why the heck can't I upgrade Imperial Studded armor? Why not SIlver Swords? Why can't I upgrade a Nord Hero Bow? Why can't I craft arrows with the 100's of random ingots I've got laying around? Doesn't make sense. Yes, I know mods fix this. Point is, mods shouldn't have to.

It wasn't well received because of how overall shallow it is. It was very bland in design and it completely missed the point of becoming a world saving epic hero.

Skyrim is one of my favorite games period. But, you know, I'm in the exact same situation, playing Xenoblade along with Skyrim I always thought "Sorry Skyrim, you are awesome, but THIS is the GOTY." Well it wasn't, as there was no international release, it couldn't even compete.
But I think they are two totally different games. Xenoblade has one of the best stories in gaming history (imo) while Skyrim has an awesome, open game world. Of course Xenoblade has that too, but it's a very different thing. Oh and for exploration, there's kind of a problem with Xenoblades world [Don't read if you aren't level 70+ yet]:
Anyway, both games are awesome, although very different imo.

One word...Mods..That's why I rated the replay value so high. I've put a few THOUSAND hours into Oblivion with all the new content I Created/Downloaded, much more than with DAO due to it's finicky SDK, and waning mod support.

10/10, never wanted a second morrowind.

My husband and I have been Elderscrolls fans since Arena and we absolutely hated the souless-ness of Oblivon, to the point where we weren't even interested in seeing what the modders could do to turn it around. We just moved on. After playing Morrowind to death, it felt like I was playing a game that took ten giant steps backwards as a roleplaying game and became more of an action adventure with lite rpg elements.

This time around, we are enjoying the hell out of Skyrim. I really can't understand how anyone could call it dull because I'm always finding things to do and my husband has been hard pressed to get to bed before 3am to get some sleep for work. We have 300 hours in between the two of us and now there's the CK which probably means another 300 more hours! easily. Its still an action adventure but the rpg elements seem a bit more substantial this time around, especially in comparison to Oblivion.

I really love Skyrim, but I have to agree with your point here. Most quests do not give you enough information to complete without turning on quest markers. My solution is that I turn on the quest marker once (and only once) at the beginning of the quest and get a bead on where I am going on the map. I pretend that the NPC just pointed to that general location as his best guess as to where I should go to find X. Then I turn the quest marker off and never turn it on again until after I find X. It is not ideal, but it makes it a little more Morrowindish. It would be much better if the game gave you hints about where yuou were supposed to go and you could figure it out, like Morrowind and had the quest arrow as option for those who want it but not a requirement to paly the game.