Can we do anything to change Elder Scrolls 6?

[Dootslayer]

Let's face it, the procedural generation is not fun at all, it lacks the charm of older Bethesda titles and it's barely better if any than the ones small games have like No Man's Sky.

Bethesda tried and thats fine, but would it be possible to make them drop the whole generation thing for Tes 6 and go back to the classic everything is handcrafted method, or the game is probably too late in development for that to happen?

[mario43]

I like Bethesda

[oak]

Originally posted by Dootslayer:

the game is probably too late in development for that to happen?

^ This.

There would have been parallel development occurring on the title. It would have started before they (prematurely) gave us the teaser title screen to it years ago. I can't imagine that during the intervening years, or in the future, they'll pull the rug from under themselves to make a drastic shift away from how the engine builds things.

However I think even if their course is set, using procedural (and for all we know further AI inclusions), then perhaps what we should hope for is more and deeper use of it. I have to hope that they're listening to feedback from players/reviewers on this and it gives them the motivation to add more.

If I play devils advocate and for a moment take sides with the whole "empty planets and cells killed the game" position, I can also see that if BGS made the content heavier - more POI's, more frequently generated, random encounters not just POIs, etc - so that traversing gameworld space didn't feel quite as empty (and I know that's subjective), then I think critics would probably enjoy it more, regardless of whether it was procedurally generated or not.

The 'radiant quest' system introduced in Skyrim was a form of procedural generation, primitive by todays accepted standards, but still. Walking from Solitude to Windhelm we would experience a lot of encounters that weren't placed or pre-ordained. Minecraft does procedural generation with it's seeds as basis, and generates worlds with high peaks and deep oceans.

Procedural generation in and of itself isn't the problem. IMO it just needs to be used more effectively. Bespoke crafted content is great, but as we demand bigger game worlds, we're going to rely more heavily on procedurally generated content.

[Ruin]

You are aware Skyrim utilised procedural generation for it's landmass and much of it's vegetation, right? Bethesda then went back and added unique land marks, and touched up hidden POI's, just like they did with Starfield...

Funny how no one complained about it in Skyrim, yet there are just as many hand crafted locations in Starfield, they just happen to be across multiple worlds is all... No one is forcing you to explore every inch of every planet, just visit the fixed markers and move on if the random locations are getting dull...

And yes, TES6 will use the exact same technology as Bethesda have been using some form of procedural generation for their landmasses since at least TES2 : Daggerfall...

[Xhaiden]

In fairness to Bethesda I don't see a use case for proc gen in TE6 over handcrafting the world. The world size doesn't require generating endless miles of barren terrain like Starfield. You would have a handcrafted world with fixed locations. I don't see any real reason to change that.

I could see them using proc gen during development to make base terrain to build on but active proc gen in the game? I would question why that would even be needed. TE6 doesn't need to fill 1000 planets and they would have to come up with a pretty stupid story reason for why the game is actively generating new terrain.

[SkunkPlaysGames]

Nah. It's gonna suck. TES8 will probably be alright.

[nordmeyerx]

Yes! If you have enough Money!

If I won the lottery I would fund development for a ES6 where Khajiit all become zombies and the player has to seek a cure to make them all cured.

[Ruin]

Originally posted by Xhaiden:

I could see them using proc gen during development to make base terrain to build on but active proc gen in the game? I would question why that would even be needed. TE6 doesn't need to fill 1000 planets and they would have to come up with a pretty stupid story reason for why the game is actively generating new terrain.

This was literally how Daggerfall used procedural generation to generate the "wilds" between key locations as you traversed the area... *shrug*

[Dootslayer]

Originally posted by Ruin:

Originally posted by Xhaiden:

I could see them using proc gen during development to make base terrain to build on but active proc gen in the game? I would question why that would even be needed. TE6 doesn't need to fill 1000 planets and they would have to come up with a pretty stupid story reason for why the game is actively generating new terrain.

This was literally how Daggerfall used procedural generation to generate the "wilds" between key locations as you traversed the area... *shrug*

You used “ * shrug * ironically right?

[Dootslayer]

Originally posted by Ruin:

You are aware Skyrim utilised procedural generation for it's landmass and much of it's vegetation, right? Bethesda then went back and added unique land marks, and touched up hidden POI's, just like they did with Starfield...

Funny how no one complained about it in Skyrim, yet there are just as many hand crafted locations in Starfield, they just happen to be across multiple worlds is all... No one is forcing you to explore every inch of every planet, just visit the fixed markers and move on if the random locations are getting dull...

And yes, TES6 will use the exact same technology as Bethesda have been using some form of procedural generation for their landmasses since at least TES2 : Daggerfall...

I mean it wasn’t noticeable at all in skyrim

[Xhaiden]

Originally posted by Ruin:

Originally posted by Xhaiden:

I could see them using proc gen during development to make base terrain to build on but active proc gen in the game? I would question why that would even be needed. TE6 doesn't need to fill 1000 planets and they would have to come up with a pretty stupid story reason for why the game is actively generating new terrain.

This was literally how Daggerfall used procedural generation to generate the "wilds" between key locations as you traversed the area... *shrug*

I know that but Daggerfall had a HUGE map.

[Ommamar]

No Bethesda will develop ES6 the same as they have developed all the other games with a mix of procedural generation and hand crafted content. The formula has worked for 25 years so why would they change it?

The only thing I can agree with is it will be a much smaller area then Starfield so it will likely play similar to Skyrim, hopefully they come up with a way to implement the settlement/community building from FO4. It is funny to hear all the doom and gloom being projected on to a game in development that has several examples of previous games in the series based on what they did with a brand new IP.

[GoldInfinit7]

So, anybody learn their lesson about being skeptical or are some people going to pull a "they lied to us!!!!!" regarding Elder Scrolls 6 when it doesn't meet their crazy unrealistic expectations?

[Xhaiden]

Originally posted by Ommamar:

No Bethesda will develop ES6 the same as they have developed all the other games with a mix of procedural generation and hand crafted content. The formula has worked for 25 years so why would they change it?

They changed the formula for Starfield. Which is sort of the problem. They need to go back to the formula for TES6.

[Ruin]

Originally posted by Dootslayer:

Originally posted by Ruin:

This was literally how Daggerfall used procedural generation to generate the "wilds" between key locations as you traversed the area... *shrug*

You used “ * shrug * ironically right?

Why would I?

Originally posted by Dootslayer:

Originally posted by Ruin:

You are aware Skyrim utilised procedural generation for it's landmass and much of it's vegetation, right? Bethesda then went back and added unique land marks, and touched up hidden POI's, just like they did with Starfield...

Funny how no one complained about it in Skyrim, yet there are just as many hand crafted locations in Starfield, they just happen to be across multiple worlds is all... No one is forcing you to explore every inch of every planet, just visit the fixed markers and move on if the random locations are getting dull...

And yes, TES6 will use the exact same technology as Bethesda have been using some form of procedural generation for their landmasses since at least TES2 : Daggerfall...

I mean it wasn’t noticeable at all in skyrim

And it's no more noticeable in Starfield, outside of the recycled POI's, but Skyrim constantly reused the same dungeon and cave layouts so often that I didn't feel Starfield was any worse in this regards...

Though I agree there absolutely should have been a greater variety of random POI's...

Originally posted by Xhaiden:

Originally posted by Ruin:

This was literally how Daggerfall used procedural generation to generate the "wilds" between key locations as you traversed the area... *shrug*

I know that but Daggerfall had a HUGE map.

No, no it didn't... It artificially created the impression of one via procedural generation...

[oak]

Originally posted by GoldInfinit7:

So, anybody learn their lesson about being skeptical or are some people going to pull a "they lied to us!!!!!" regarding Elder Scrolls 6 when it doesn't meet their crazy unrealistic expectations?

There will always be people, usually vocal & usually a minority, who build up unrealistic expectations in their head for a game. Any game. By any studio. The story repeats over and over and over. Their unmet expectations are no more valid for the next game, than they were for the last. Hype, whether self induced, built by influencers for clicks, or delivered by a company, is ultimately something the end consumer is responsible for whether they fall for or not.

ed: in fact, extend that unrealistic hype in the internet age to any entertainment media at all.