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 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
I liked Brutal Legend, but damn the campaign was disappointing.
You have 1 good fight with the main villain faction of the game and that's it.
You don't even get to retake Bladehenge.

So...my change would be to allow the player to retake parts of the Human lands taken by the demons, and not just end the game after the Sea of Black Tears.
Seeing the effect of

Spoiler:

doviculous's death

on the Tainted Coil would be nice.

This, so effing much. Game was ok, strategy parts were ugh, but alas, and then, the ending....goddamn it! Come on!

 Avatar 720 wrote:
Has the Civil War Overhaul mod been getting updates? Last I played it it was still a buggy mess of a mod. The idea behind it is sound, but so much of it was glitchy or just plain didn't work unless you were lucky.

It's still somewhat glitchy, but it seems like it's been getting updated - last update was about a month ago.

 dementedwombat wrote:
Dante's Inferno (yes, I really liked it): give it another month or two in development for level design. The last 1/3rd of that game was the worst grindfest I have ever seen. Surprisingly, the final boss was actually pretty cool.

I feel like that with a lot of games actually. The final boss fight always feels forced and rushed.

I actually liked it as well, but after the first play through, I couldn't go back for other achievements that I had missed.

Does making UT2k4 popular count as changing?

 Soladrin wrote:
Does making UT2k4 popular count as changing?

I know that feel. Command and Conquer maps, Temple of Boom, Hellbender Races... I miss that assault mode. Favorite experience ever playing a FPS game. I miss the Nachos and Beer server so much :(

 dementedwombat wrote:

 Soladrin wrote:
Does making UT2k4 popular count as changing?

I know that feel. Command and Conquer maps, Temple of Boom, Hellbender Races... I miss that assault mode. Favorite experience ever playing a FPS game. I miss the Nachos and Beer server so much :(

This x infinity. I miss assault so much. There isn't anything today that get's my blood flowing like UT did, so many memories.

We used to do Unreal Tournament and Unreal Tournament 2k4 LAN parties almost weekly. Some of the funnest times I've ever had playing computer games.

System shock and System shock 2.....Getting rid of the clunky interface and streamlining both the endings.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:

 Mr Morden wrote:
I enjoy Skyrim - but find it - especially the towns very empty and not enough happening that I am not directly responsible for.

This is true, especially when you go in to talk to the Imperial General, and he's talking about Legions (plural) but when you're out and about, there's probably, maybe a century's worth of Imperial troops.

I think the best description of Skyrim I have heard is:
'Skyrim has the breadth of an ocean, but is about as deep as your average bathtub'

Thankfully, the modding community is there to pick up the slack.

Speaking of skyrim, they introduced the more domestic aspects (e.g. cooking, marriage, etc), but I wish they had a more meaningful impact on the game.
right now, marriage is basically 'do a quest, do the marriage ceremony, get a free (pointless) meal every day & a sleep buff'. Would be nice if it was more involved, you know, like to get someone to fall in love with you in the game you had to do more than just clear a mine of spiders, and post-marriage you actually need to make a concerted effort to maintain the relationship or it starts to break down.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Heard it was good. But they removed character customization so I never got it. Wish they'd add it back to the series. Maybe I'll buy their next game, if they do.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The sad thing is, it wouldn't have been a problem for me if they just never had it in the first place (I'm still planning on buying Half Life 3 when it comes out in twenty years, even though I know it won't have customizable characters, and I still buy other single player games that don't have said customization). It's the fact that they had the feature, and then willfully took it away from the series, that bothers me and stops me from buying DE:HR.

 Melissia wrote:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Heard it was good. But they removed character customization so I never got it. Wish they'd add it back to the series. Maybe I'll buy their next game, if they do.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The sad thing is, it wouldn't have been a problem for me if they just never had it in the first place (I'm still planning on buying Half Life 3 when it comes out in twenty years, even though I know it won't have customizable characters, and I still buy other single player games that don't have said customization). It's the fact that they had the feature, and then willfully took it away from the series, that bothers me and stops me from buying DE:HR.

Y'know, I think the game would have been cooler had this been implemented but it was still a blast. Maybe when it's free or something give it a shot; has a pretty decent story.

Character customisation? What customisation? IIRC in the first two games you only had the option of changing Denton's skin colour (and in the second sex). The skill trees are still all there, just with different augments on them (being its set how many years before the other games when everyone was full of metal).

 Wyrmalla wrote:
Character customisation? What customisation? IIRC in the first two games you only had the option of changing Denton's skin colour (and in the second sex).

Yes, and that was unnecessarily taken away, making me not care for the third.

I think the Halo series should have had more levels allowing you to play as the Covenant.

Funny y'all should mention Skyrim as it is the game i have certainly applied this idea to the most. I've fixed a few things with mods but these remain.

Things that would make skyrim Perfect:

-First up we have the setting itself, i only ask for one change but quite a radical one. Keep the worldspace the same but refer to it only as 'Northern Skyrim', all flavour text refers to it as 'the sparsely populated lands in the shadow of the Throat of the World', or some-such. Give some narrative reason for the small 'Holds' and the tiny TOWNS that act as their capitols, maybe they are nine ancient Nord families vying for power of North Skyrim etc... Never again will Whiterun be referred to as either A) a city or B) the center of trade in Skyrim.

-Second lets go ahead and add a sprint jump and Mantle/vault for the character and NPCs.

-Add ladders and an animation for increased verticality and a nice further physical connection to the world.

-Add the cover system from Far Cry 3, while crouching in cover you're not visible, you also can't draw your bow.

-Make crouching actually part of the gameplay, as in you actually have to crouch under stuff also you can crawl in ye olde ventilation shafts etc.

-The lock-on mechanic from Xeno Clash, in fact the game could learn a great deal about first person combat from that game.

-The ability to revive companions and grant them the ability to do likewise for you.

-A 'help me!' button akin to Dragon's Dogma for companions. If you press it they'll either aggro whatever's wailing on you, Heal you, cast a buff on you or throw you a potion.

-Potion is a Hotkeyed item akin to an Action RPG, i also liked the potions from Path of Exile, maybe just throw those in wholesale . I don't use potions in skyrim as i hate going into menus.

-You can pick up bodies and certain objects like barrels and throw them at enemies.

-Bashing people close to ledges will trigger them to fall off them, same for you but maybe you get a chance at saving yourself. You can also knock them back with a well timed bash. They'll be loads of wall-spikes etc to bash them into for big damage.

-If you get caught sneaking by an enemy he'll be staggered in shock for a split second, you can still sneak attack for the duration.

-Silent roll,sprint and Whirlwind sprint can all be performed backwards, however you can only sprint backwards for a short duration, A dodge if you will.

-Swinging your sword in Confined spaces will cause the strike to fail if you hit a wall.

 Perkustin wrote:

-First up we have the setting itself, i only ask for one change but quite a radical one. Keep the worldspace the same but refer to it only as 'Northern Skyrim', all flavour text refers to it as 'the sparsely populated lands in the shadow of the Throat of the World', or some-such. Give some narrative reason for the small 'Holds' and the tiny TOWNS that act as their capitols, maybe they are nine ancient Nord families vying for power of North Skyrim etc... Never again will Whiterun be referred to as either A) a city or B) the center of trade in Skyrim.

That's exactly why it's implemented this way. From Elder Scrolls 1-5, Skyrim, and Nords, have been based on Viking culture. They live in small villages in a rugged landscape. The only reason Solitude exists the way it does is because of the Legion.

Changing that would require changing established lore, and would mean that Skyrim is no longer Skyrim.

Furthermore, the Jarls are families.

As for Whiterun, it is the size of the cities in Oblivion, barring the Imperial City.

Hmn, on the subject of Skyrim's cities, they could be a tad larger. The Nords, whilst based on the Vikings, are hardly those from the earlier periods of that culture's existence. Rather, with the Nine Divines, I think they're more in line with the latter Vikings that were Christian. So, yeah, larger settlements would be nice. Playing other games where an average town isn't four buildings and an inn make me feel that those in the latter Elder Scrolls series are a bit inadequate. Its down to what the consoles can handle however, as, at least in Oblivion, there was mods which increased the size of settlements. As has been said, the series has lost a lot of its depth unfortunately, and whilst the world's are rather large, don't go about expecting to feel rather immersed unless you put in the effort a bit.

 Wyrmalla wrote:
Hmn, on the subject of Skyrim's cities, they could be a tad larger. The Nords, whilst based on the Vikings, are hardly those from the earlier periods of that culture's existence. Rather, with the Nine Divines, I think they're more in line with the latter Vikings that were Christian. So, yeah, larger settlements would be nice. Playing other games where an average town isn't four buildings and an inn make me feel that those in the latter Elder Scrolls series are a bit inadequate. Its down to what the consoles can handle however, as, at least in Oblivion, there was mods which increased the size of settlements. As has been said, the series has lost a lot of its depth unfortunately, and whilst the world's are rather large, don't go about expecting to feel rather immersed unless you put in the effort a bit.

I could see this... Make the towns/cities more populated/dense, but at the same time, remove even more people from the wild areas... Seriously, I think 3/4ths of the population of Skyrim are bandits, they are EVERYWHERE... And outside of the Forsworn, there probably shouldn't be near as many of them on the continent.

See, the thing is about Skyrim is that it's a province that has suffered from the Great War; it's mentioned several times by various sources that a great deal of Nords fought and died on behalf of the Empire.

It's strange to me that the only city that seems well taken care of is Solitude. Even Windhelm (which was once the capital of Skyrim back in 'the day') looks decrepit and poorly maintained. I get that it's all feudal and stuff, but I figured the sense of pride and honor the Nord show as a people would translate into taking care of their ancestral cities.

Falkreath and Morthal seemed well designed and filled with varying arrays of npcs and at times seemed 'crowded' to me. The rest of the towns/cities/villages I visited seem more akin to ghost towns, or places that had only recently been settled, even though these places were 'hubs' of trade or other nonsense.

It's telling that modders took the time to increase the overall quality of Skyrim through various little additions or reincarnations of previous gameplay. I think that Bethesda set a fantastic groundwork for a truly amazing title in Skyrim and it really is an improvement in overall quality when compared to it's predecessors. But playing on my 360 and playing on my PC (with the many mods) I notice a distinct difference in the feeling I get when playing. The vanilla version of Skyrim seems lacking, like the developers when 85% of the way with the grand idea they had and then stopped.

I think you guys are missing my point a bit. It really comes down to an age old criticism of Fantasy settings, the question 'What do they eat?'. Skyrim is totally unbelievable as a self contained setting. I proffered the easiest, arguably most elegant, solution; simply don't make it a self contained setting.

Vvardenfell was only a part of Morrowind, it did not pretend to be a self-contained setting. The rest of Morrowind could be a proliferation of urban conurbations amidst thousands of acres of rich agricultural land for all we know.

Vvardenfell was a FAR more believable setting.

Short of Making Skyrim the size of the UK, like High Rock was in Daggerfall, you can't make it believable without shortcuts.

Also don't try and bring established lore into it, Skyrim was originally the size of a real world country in Arena. Also the lore still talks about cities that are nowhere to be seen in TESV, like Sunguard.

Also i nearly always discount Oblivion when discussing this point. Oblivion is a total train-wreck that is sometimes quite amusing, that's about it. It did start the trend of unbelievable settings though, as it too tried to feed you the BS that it was a whole province.

There's a good mod which expands Windhelm to resemble a proper city other than the half dozen houses which they call a "city". I mean I can get that perhaps the old buildings were destroyed and so the locals built some wooden huts to replace them, but still, the city looked a bit crap. That mod adds the remains of a city wall and the remains of homes littered all along the cliff face and sea bed. Not something which was particularly hard to put together mind, and it makes the idea that there was once a city there more believable (as as it stands there was hardly any remains at all to show this).

There's probably mods out there which expand the settlements now ( I stopped played the game a couple of years ago). I do find it a pity that Bethesda limits the size of their game worlds for the consoles though. There's some great mods out there for the other games in the series which do the same thing at least (though IIRC, not so many for Fallout, at least well implemented ones). For some reason when people think "I want to add more to this game world" the first thing they do is just add a load of over powered monsters instead (...I hate those mods. Good ideas, but mind and not have level 1000 zombie unicorns spawning in the starting zone?), or spend their time making busty anime models. =P

There is a mod on the nexus I believe that adds more random encounters, like you could be walking to a bandit camp and Draugr attack, or you sleep outside and a lone bandit or something attacks you, add that to civil war mods and that immersive patrols mod and suddenly a lot more seems to happen. give me 10 mins and I can have the name of the mod I mean (saw it on gamespots show about skyrim mods).

I admist I have only ever played vanilla skyrim, but when I have walked from one City to another, and all that happend was one wolf attack, skyrim is rather empty...