Bethesda should get better writers and game engine?

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EndlessInfinity

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#1 EndlessInfinity
Member since 2013 • 231 Posts

All their games in recent years have have nothing but sub par in writing with nothing really interesting filled with mostly boring characters and dialogue. New Vegas was the only one I thought had a more interesting story behind it but that was made by Obsidian which had much better design than Fallout 3 overall.

Also they need build a new engine because from what I read its nothing but an upgraded engine that they used for years. It could explain the terrible animations and shadows that are present in skyrim.

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#2  Edited By Telekill
Member since 2003 • 12061 Posts

More polish time is needed with their games. I didn't even bother with Skyrim due to ask the glitches and game breaking issues that my friends were having. I would have liked to play it. I enjoy the universes they come up with.

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#3 Sharp-Shooter89
Member since 2012 • 128 Posts

@Telekill said:

More polish time is needed with their games. I didn't even bother with Skyrim due to ask the glitches and game breaking issues that my friends were having. I would have liked to play it. I enjoy the universes they come up with.

mods

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k2theswiss

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#4 k2theswiss
Member since 2007 • 16599 Posts

@Sharp-Shooter89 said:

@Telekill said:

More polish time is needed with their games. I didn't even bother with Skyrim due to ask the glitches and game breaking issues that my friends were having. I would have liked to play it. I enjoy the universes they come up with.

mods

You shouldn't have to relies on mods to fix game bugs....

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k2theswiss

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#6 k2theswiss
Member since 2007 • 16599 Posts

like telekill said. There games do needs a lot more punishment work done.

the main story store does also need be worth wild. So much stuff on their games I literally everytime i have ditched the main story and do side stuff, and it ends up more like a chore to do the main storyline

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#7 RealJaysonguy
Member since 2013 • 236 Posts

The problem with game stories, in this instance, Skyrim, is that they're continually written by left-brained programmers and the like. While a few studios like Bioware have been bringing in big name, creative types to write their stories, most math-type people who dominate the game industry believe that they are creative enough to write an engaging story. While we occasionally get people like the two brothers from Rockstar and the team at Naughty Dog, the vast majority just don't have storyteller's genes in them. It's just not what they're wired to do.

But most companies aren't willing to spend money to bring in extra salaries to write the script, instead letting people who have no business writing take the lead. I'm hoping this next wave of consoles is going to see a shift in that trend, but as a professional writer, I've interacted with some of these people and based on what they've told me, I doubt this is going to happen anytime soon.

It's a shame, really.

As for game engines, creating a world that vast and expansive is effing hard; a lot harder than most people understand.

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#8 lundy86_4
Member since 2003 • 61473 Posts

@Desmonic said:

New engine? F*ck yes. The needed a new one as soon as Oblivion came out.

New writting staff? Eh, depends. For me FNV had a better story than F3 but that's not a clear definition of them having bad writers. Granted Skyrim's story was meh too.

This.

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#9  Edited By Nintendo_Ownes7
Member since 2005 • 30973 Posts

I thought that was why they purchased id Software so they can use id Tech Engines in their games.

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#10  Edited By wis3boi
Member since 2005 • 32507 Posts

@Desmonic said:

New engine? F*ck yes. The needed a new one as soon as Oblivion came out.

New writting staff? Eh, depends. For me FNV had a better story than F3 but that's not a clear definition of them having bad writers. Granted Skyrim's story was meh too.

Bethesda didnt make NV, Obsidian did, which is why the writing destroyed FO3's. It's also why NV's game world was terribly bland and empty. Bethesda makes rich detailed worlds, Obsidian writes great stories and characters.

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#12 crimsonman1245
Member since 2011 • 4253 Posts

It's really difficult to make a WRPG with a good story and polished gameplay. They focus on their big open worlds and customization.

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#13  Edited By uninspiredcup
Member since 2013 • 58856 Posts

The problem is the hardware the engine is limited too, not the engine. A modded Skyrim will rival next generation console visuals.

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#14 K1ngd0m4g3rul3z
Member since 2013 • 179 Posts

@crimsonman1245 said:

It's really difficult to make a WRPG with a good story and polished gameplay. They focus on their big open worlds and customization.

Where are all those "big open worlds" WRPGs except from TES?

And there's of wrpgs with great story, ex. Witcher 1, 2.

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#15  Edited By crimsonman1245
Member since 2011 • 4253 Posts

@k1ngd0m4g3rul3z said:

@crimsonman1245 said:

It's really difficult to make a WRPG with a good story and polished gameplay. They focus on their big open worlds and customization.

Where are all those "big open worlds" WRPGs except from TES?

And there's of wrpgs with great story, ex. Witcher 1, 2.

Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Kingdoms of Amalur, Dragons Dogma, games built like those make it almost impossible to polish or to have a memorable story. The closest thing i've seen is Xenoblade.

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#16 Stevo_the_gamer  Moderator
Member since 2004 • 49568 Posts

I hope they continue their streak of working on and along side amazing games. Fallout 3, Skyrim, and New Vegas were in my top five favorite games of last generation.

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#17  Edited By deactivated-5d78760d7d740
Member since 2009 • 16386 Posts

New engine? Yes please. New writers? Definite yes. Skyrim was a good game, but improvement over Oblivion, but they need to do a couple things in order to actually live up to their potential:

1) Make a world that feels dynamic and alive. You're making progress here and I like the direction that it's going in, but I still don't see why I can't make a living by being a blacksmith and making awesome armour, or actually influence the economy in a city. Seriously, if I decide to get drunk in a city and make the wheat fields burst in flames, then there should be consequences. Also, allow me to get drunk and burn down wheat fields. This is a fantasy game, don't limit what I can do with my magic powers.

2) Have creativity. It says that this is a fantasy game, so why are there only medieval grey-brick cities? You can do much better Bethesda, show me what you got. Make me a floating city of gold if you have to.

3) Make a proper combat system. No, whacking a mace around like it's a wooden stick is not a proper combat system. Look at Dark Souls, take notes, and start working. Tone up the magic too, I can already shoot a stream of fire out of my hands at the start of the game in Skyrim. Making it bigger won't make it satisfying. Make me a freaking fire god as I go through the game and I'll feel better.

4) Make proper enemies. There is no challenge in the boss fights, it's literally just spam all you got then pause, drink potion, and then continue spamming. Again, look at Dark Souls, take notes.

5) Don't skimp on features. I have no idea why Betehsda included a colosseum in Oblivion then took it away in Skyrim. Terrible decision, especially since everyone liked the colosseum in Oblivion. Bring back good features, make them better.

6) For the love of god, please make a better story. You have literally no limitations on what you can do in this world, make it feel like a full scale medieval world. Big battles should be like the freaking Lord of the Rings, not 5 Knights and a Dragon.

7) My decisions should influence the world. They had a bit more of that in Skyrim, but not nearly to the level that it should be. If I want to be a dark lord and make cities crumble, then I should be able to do that. I want the greatest warriors of the land to come and try and kill me for my bounty. Then, if my bounty is high enough, and if I'm feared enough, I should walk into a city and get fearful respect from it's king and citizens. Same goes for if I want to be a good guy, make it known and make NPC's react logically.

8) Fix the dang AI. You were bragging about Skyrim AI for a long time. For gods sake Bethesda, within my first few hours of Skyrim I shot a soldier right in the face with my arrow and his comrade who was right next to him got up, looked around, then sat back down while saying "must've been the wind". Yeah, totally, the wind summoned an arrow and headshot your friend in the face. Makes sense. (Not to say that transforming into a wind creature should be ruled out in future elder scrolls games). And stop making barbarians rob you regardless of level. At some point in the game I had a full set of the best armour in the game, with a freaking massive sword that's on FIRE. And then a naked barbarian with a wooden club comes up to me threatening me for money. It didn't end well for the poor lad.

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#18 ReadingRainbow4
Member since 2012 • 18733 Posts

Bethesda should get better everything.

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#19  Edited By uninspiredcup
Member since 2013 • 58856 Posts

@XVision84 said:

New engine? Yes please. New writers? Definite yes. Skyrim was a good game, but improvement over Oblivion, but they need to do a couple things in order to actually live up to their potential:

1) Make a world that feels dynamic and alive. You're making progress here and I like the direction that it's going in, but I still don't see why I can't make a living by being a blacksmith and making awesome armour, or actually influence the economy in a city. Seriously, if I decide to get drunk in a city and make the wheat fields burst in flames, then there should be consequences. Also, allow me to get drunk and burn down wheat fields. This is a fantasy game, don't limit what I can do with my magic powers.

2) Have creativity. It says that this is a fantasy game, so why are there only medieval grey-brick cities? You can do much better Bethesda, show me what you got. Make me a floating city of gold if you have to.

3) Make a proper combat system. No, whacking a mace around like it's a wooden stick is not a proper combat system. Look at Dark Souls, take notes, and start working. Tone up the magic too, I can already shoot a stream of fire out of my hands at the start of the game in Skyrim. Making it bigger won't make it satisfying. Make me a freaking fire god as I go through the game and I'll feel better.

4) Make proper enemies. There is no challenge in the boss fights, it's literally just spam all you got then pause, drink potion, and then continue spamming. Again, look at Dark Souls, take notes.

5) Don't skimp on features. I have no idea why Betehsda included a colosseum in Oblivion then took it away in Skyrim. Terrible decision, especially since everyone liked the colosseum in Oblivion. Bring back good features, make them better.

6) For the love of god, please make a better story. You have literally no limitations on what you can do in this world, make it feel like a full scale medieval world. Big battles should be like the freaking Lord of the Rings, not 5 Knights and a Dragon.

7) My decisions should influence the world. They had a bit more of that in Skyrim, but not nearly to the level that it should be. If I want to be a dark lord and make cities crumble, then I should be able to do that. I want the greatest warriors of the land to come and try and kill me for my bounty. Then, if my bounty is high enough, and if I'm feared enough, I should walk into a city and get fearful respect from it's king and citizens. Same goes for if I want to be a good guy, make it known and make NPC's react logically.

8) Fix the dang AI. You were bragging about Skyrim AI for a long time. For gods sake Bethesda, within my first few hours of Skyrim I shot a soldier right in the face with my arrow and his comrade who was right next to him got up, looked around, then sat back down while saying "must've been the wind". Yeah, totally, the wind summoned an arrow and headshot your friend in the face. Makes sense. (Not to say that transforming into a wind creature should be ruled out in future elder scrolls games). And stop making barbarians rob you regardless of level. At some point in the game I had a full set of the best armour in the game, with a freaking massive sword that's on FIRE. And then a naked barbarian with a wooden club comes up to me threatening me for money. It didn't end well for the poor lad.

Pretty much everything listed here has been modded in.The visuals as well look incomparably superior on pc. My friend, it's doubtful even the next generation incarnation will match the visual argumentation introduced by pc gamers unhappy with shitty console ports.

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#20  Edited By deactivated-5d78760d7d740
Member since 2009 • 16386 Posts

@uninspiredcup said:

@XVision84 said:

New engine? Yes please. New writers? Definite yes. Skyrim was a good game, but improvement over Oblivion, but they need to do a couple things in order to actually live up to their potential:

1) Make a world that feels dynamic and alive. You're making progress here and I like the direction that it's going in, but I still don't see why I can't make a living by being a blacksmith and making awesome armour, or actually influence the economy in a city. Seriously, if I decide to get drunk in a city and make the wheat fields burst in flames, then there should be consequences. Also, allow me to get drunk and burn down wheat fields. This is a fantasy game, don't limit what I can do with my magic powers.

2) Have creativity. It says that this is a fantasy game, so why are there only medieval grey-brick cities? You can do much better Bethesda, show me what you got. Make me a floating city of gold if you have to.

3) Make a proper combat system. No, whacking a mace around like it's a wooden stick is not a proper combat system. Look at Dark Souls, take notes, and start working. Tone up the magic too, I can already shoot a stream of fire out of my hands at the start of the game in Skyrim. Making it bigger won't make it satisfying. Make me a freaking fire god as I go through the game and I'll feel better.

4) Make proper enemies. There is no challenge in the boss fights, it's literally just spam all you got then pause, drink potion, and then continue spamming. Again, look at Dark Souls, take notes.

5) Don't skimp on features. I have no idea why Betehsda included a colosseum in Oblivion then took it away in Skyrim. Terrible decision, especially since everyone liked the colosseum in Oblivion. Bring back good features, make them better.

6) For the love of god, please make a better story. You have literally no limitations on what you can do in this world, make it feel like a full scale medieval world. Big battles should be like the freaking Lord of the Rings, not 5 Knights and a Dragon.

7) My decisions should influence the world. They had a bit more of that in Skyrim, but not nearly to the level that it should be. If I want to be a dark lord and make cities crumble, then I should be able to do that. I want the greatest warriors of the land to come and try and kill me for my bounty. Then, if my bounty is high enough, and if I'm feared enough, I should walk into a city and get fearful respect from it's king and citizens. Same goes for if I want to be a good guy, make it known and make NPC's react logically.

8) Fix the dang AI. You were bragging about Skyrim AI for a long time. For gods sake Bethesda, within my first few hours of Skyrim I shot a soldier right in the face with my arrow and his comrade who was right next to him got up, looked around, then sat back down while saying "must've been the wind". Yeah, totally, the wind summoned an arrow and headshot your friend in the face. Makes sense. (Not to say that transforming into a wind creature should be ruled out in future elder scrolls games). And stop making barbarians rob you regardless of level. At some point in the game I had a full set of the best armour in the game, with a freaking massive sword that's on FIRE. And then a naked barbarian with a wooden club comes up to me threatening me for money. It didn't end well for the poor lad.

Pretty much everything listed here has been modded in.The visuals as well look incomparably superior on pc. My friend, it's doubtful even the next generation incarnation will match the visual argumentation introduced by pc gamers unhappy with shitty console ports.

Oh yeah, PC mods are very cool and add a lot of great new features. I played it on PC too and loved all the different mods available. But, sadly, before I played it on PC I played it on PS3 first. Bethesda can't rely on gamers to make their games better, they should ship with the features I mentioned on all available platforms.

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#21 WitIsWisdom
Member since 2007 • 9531 Posts

I don't care as long as the game is as good as or better than Morrowind or Oblivion.... just steer clear of that Skyrim crap.

As far as writing is concerned... I would love a job writing lore, missions, and tales.

Have not finished my degree yet, and they probably have people doing it for next to nothing... doubt they pay a premium for top notch writing... that is a MAJOR flaw with a lot of gaming companies. I never thought the narrative or writing was even decent in ANY of the fallout games (outside of the first hour or two). Oblivion had very good writing at parts and other parts were laughable at best. Skyrim... god what a joke...

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#22  Edited By Gargus
Member since 2006 • 2147 Posts

Elder scrolls and fallout 3 aren't about story. Its about exploration and discovering things. So for me the writing is fine, to me its just a vehicle for me to explore their worlds with.

Their engines on the other hand are god awful turds because Bethesda thinks they are game engine creators and they aren't. They cant code an engine to save their lives. They cant also debug, optimize, trouble shoot or test their games worth a damn either. From a technical standpoint Bethesda is a joke.

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#23 kemar7856
Member since 2004 • 11783 Posts

their games aren't the linear crap that your used to its complex involves multiple npcs ,a huge open world and you expect it to be perfect with high end graphics on 7 year old hardware the games have way more variables to work with then almost every other game on the market I can forgive some glitches with bethesda to be honest as long as its not game breaking or reoccurring. Now that they have better hardware to work with they should have no excuse on building a new engine

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#24  Edited By uninspiredcup
Member since 2013 • 58856 Posts

@kemar7856 said:

their games aren't the linear crap that your used to

Sonny, they are linear, Yes, they have a large environment but this serves mainly as a sight seeing tour to hubs that feature linear level design. Very rarely in a Bethesda titles content will it actually not be linear. Games like Dues: Ex, Thief and dishonored are nonlinear.