Your choices (don't) matter.

[RedHeadAngel]

One thing that's always annoyed me about most games where you get to make choices is that they always say "your choices matter." However, more often than not, they don't matter. For example, in Skyrim. Your choices mostly don't mean a fucking thing outside of their respective quests. You might get some unique dialogue from NPCs, but besides that, it doesn't really matter. You still get to fight and kill Alduin, which also doesn't mean a damn thing. The only game where I felt like my choices actually mattered was in Baldur's Gate 3, because I always felt the weight of my decisions.

[CaptainJ03]

You want a rant? You've got a rant.

 

What about ending the Civil War and hoping it would change Skyrim?

 

The few times I actually played the Civil War questline, I was underhwelmed.
You win it, just for the satisfaction of killing Ulfric, and then... nothing changes.
An Imperial patrol an the road. "This doesn't concern you, citizen" - uhmm, really? As a Legate, I'd expect a proper salute from you, private. And let that kid go. He made the wrong choice, but you cannot get any information out of him that we don't already have.
Same with Thalmor. I expect some polite "You'll understand that we won't share classified information, Legate" but it makes no sense still escorting Stormcloak soldiers. We've won the war, you morons!
Now back to the cities. Everyone is complaining about the hardship of war and high prices. Bandits everywhere because the guards are busy playing soldier.
What about a small celebration now that the war ist over? Lower prices, everything you need in abundance, and I'll give you some soldier's armour for free.
Bandits? Which bandits? We just smoked out Whiteriver Watch, want to join us taking Valtheim Towers tomorrow?
High Queen Elsif suggesting a parade, and Falk Firebeard telling her to wait until the war ist over. It is over, you twit! Stop eating Thane Brylings pussy and take a look out of the window! (and leave Brylings pussy for me)

 

[Antuan_Phoenix]

Money and time determine everything. Skyrim was released with tons of bugs, what say about complex dialogue...
And both of your examples aren't entirely accurate: Skyrim is a modding platform with a storyline, so you can always customize the dialogue with Alduin however you want. BG3 was initially built on the D&D system, which allows for variability and some freedom. But when it comes to mods, Skyrim offers much more freedom of choice. In these two games, everything is determined by the community's enthusiasm. Overall, a branching dialogue system isn't necessary for everyone, but it requires a huge development effort, since, for example, when killing a character in dialogue, you have to create two different scenarios: with and without that character. I think it's obvious that the more options there are, the longer the development time will be.
In strategy games, pro players typically use and practice one or two strategies @ the meta, although they can use all the units and play unconventionally, but efficiency is more important. That's why big companies create simple dialogues that most players will skip anyway, and waste time developing other things. Everything's already been decided for you, so either eat what you're given or reinvent the wheel.

[Dorabella]

I'd like to add to what was said by @CaptainJ03

 

Civil War

1)  If WE don't go and get that damn Hooked Crown, they won't be able to get it

2) If WE don't go and take the forts, they won't be able to do a damn thing

3) If WE don't go and take over the camps (which, by the way, they also have right under their butts) , they won't be able to do a damn thing.

4) Ambush on a weapons convoy . Without WE , they aren't even capable of taking a cart escorted by four soldiers

5) Assault on Solitude/Whindelm . Without WE , they won't capture the enemy's capital

6) For there to be a civil war, with enemy camps located even near enemy cities (Whiterun with a nearby Stormcloak camp), There aren't really any combat sequences, aside from a few occasional encounters while exploring Skyrim. That's a bit sparse, don't you think? 

 

Winterhold

As soon as we get the Magnus Sphere back, here comes the usual idiot with delusions of world domination, and would you believe it? It’s up to WE to solve the problem.

We become Archmages, they give us the room, and that's the end of it . Don't you think that's a bit too little?

 

Alduin

1) Whiterun Watch Tower

We arrive at the meeting place with Irileth, and what does she say? " So far, there's no sign of any dragons " . Next " Let's split up; we need to figure out what we're dealing with "

"We're dealing with a dragon", bitch. Good thing you just said that.

 

Let's slay the dragon (who knows why, but it's only WE who slay it), let's file a report . What does that jerk Balgruuf the Great say?

" I knew I could count on Irileth " . WE killed the dragon , not that bitch or her little soldiers . 

 

 

 

 

[CaptainJ03]

21 minutes ago, Dorabella said:

Winterhold

As soon as we get the Magnus Sphere back, here comes the usual idiot with delusions of world domination, and would you believe it? It’s up to WE to solve the problem.

We become Archmages, they give us the room, and that's the end of it . Don't you think that's a bit too little?

Ha, yes! "You've set things in motion that cannot be stopped" says the Psijic Order. Hmm, what about turning back? What about killing that Ancano guy beforehand?

And after we've become Archmage - it all ends. I have no reason to ever visit that darn college again, even during the TG questline I'm meeting with Enthir in the inn.

 

The Thieves guild is the same, over again. Mercer Frey in Snowveil Sanctum... Don't ask me how often I've killed Lydia because that girl has a knack to run into my blade/shot. No, not Mercer, Mercer is essential. Karliah says "I've never got a clear shot" regardless of what you're doing. Pushing him in front of you, whirlwind sprinting into the room - nope, to no avail, it's always us who gets the arrow.

[RedHeadAngel]

4 hours ago, Antuan_Phoenix said:

Money and time determine everything. Skyrim was released with tons of bugs, what say about complex dialogue...
And both of your examples aren't entirely accurate: Skyrim is a modding platform with a storyline, so you can always customize the dialogue with Alduin however you want. BG3 was initially built on the D&D system, which allows for variability and some freedom. But when it comes to mods, Skyrim offers much more freedom of choice. In these two games, everything is determined by the community's enthusiasm. Overall, a branching dialogue system isn't necessary for everyone, but it requires a huge development effort, since, for example, when killing a character in dialogue, you have to create two different scenarios: with and without that character. I think it's obvious that the more options there are, the longer the development time will be.
In strategy games, pro players typically use and practice one or two strategies @ the meta, although they can use all the units and play unconventionally, but efficiency is more important. That's why big companies create simple dialogues that most players will skip anyway, and waste time developing other things. Everything's already been decided for you, so either eat what you're given or reinvent the wheel.

If you need mods to make the game tolerable, then that's just laziness on the developer's part. The reason BG3 doesn't have as many mods is because it doesn't need as many as Skyrim does.

 

59 minutes ago, CaptainJ03 said:

Ha, yes! "You've set things in motion that cannot be stopped" says the Psijic Order. Hmm, what about turning back? What about killing that Ancano guy beforehand?

And after we've become Archmage - it all ends. I have no reason to ever visit that darn college again, even during the TG questline I'm meeting with Enthir in the inn.

 

The Thieves guild is the same, over again. Mercer Frey in Snowveil Sanctum... Don't ask me how often I've killed Lydia because that girl has a knack to run into my blade/shot. No, not Mercer, Mercer is essential. Karliah says "I've never got a clear shot" regardless of what you're doing. Pushing him in front of you, whirlwind sprinting into the room - nope, to no avail, it's always us who gets the arrow.

Or, in the civil war quest, both options just suck. Don't even get me started on the Dark Brotherhood. You either kill everyone after Astrid kidnaps you, or you join them, and everyone except two die later on anyway, you kill the emperor (who no one gave a fuck about, anyway), get the money, spend it all on a new sanctuary, and that's it. As Metallica once said, nothing else matters.

[Grey Cloud]

11 hours ago, RedHeadAngel said:

The only game where I felt like my choices actually mattered was in Baldur's Gate 3, because I always felt

You jest, surely. BG3 is one of the most railroaded games of recent years.

 

WH40K Rogue trader has choices with consequences.

 

 

15 minutes ago, RedHeadAngel said:

The reason BG3 doesn't have as many mods is because it doesn't need as many as Skyrim does.

Nothing to do with game engine or anything technical then?

I played BG3 with mods in EA. They were mods for making the game abide by DnD 5e rules rather than Larian's silly homebrew rules.

 

 

[Dorabella]

16 minutes ago, RedHeadAngel said:

Dark Brotherhood.

What about the hitman you happen to run into from time to time? Let's kill the hitman, read the message it's from Astrid and when we're at the  Dark Brotherhood , Absolutely nothing happens. There's no mention of the attempt to kill us. In fact, they're even recruiting us . 

 

Jurgen Windcaller's Horn

They're sending us on a mission that's doomed to fail from the start. Who's to blame? That bitch Delphine. Yeah, that's right, her. That slut who, when we first arrived in Riverwood, said to us, “Hey, you're the stranger who's sticking his nose into everyone's business.”

 

Even worse, Gerdur . " Are you looking for a job? Why don't you bring me all the firewood you can split? "

" I'm not looking for a job, bitch " . Instead of sitting there whining, chop your own wood or, since he’s not going to fuck you anyway, send your husband over.

 

Faendal/Sven 

Instead of acting like kindergarten kids and picking on her, why don't you just take Camilla and fuck her hard? A woman doesn't want a man who acts like a child, but a man who acts like a man.

 

Falkreath 

As we entered the city for the first time, the guard asked us, “Have you seen a dog out there?” He sends us to the blacksmith to get a piece of meat to feed the dog

You piece of shit, if that was all it took for a dog, couldn't you have figured it out on your own? Too busy doing nothing? Too busy pretending to work?

 

Escape from Helgen (Imperial faction)

Once we've left the cave, what does Haldvar tell us? " I knew you weren't supposed to be on that wagon from the very first time I saw you "

And when would he have seen us for the first time? On the wagon, you idiot . 

 

Still on the wagon: Ralof “Quiet you're talking to Ulfric Stormcloak.” 

Warning: We're shitting our pants . Ralof, if your boss is here, ready for the gallows, it means he's not the genius you'd have us believe he is.

 

 

 

 

[RedHeadAngel]

1 hour ago, Grey Cloud said:

You jest, surely. BG3 is one of the most railroaded games of recent years.

 

WH40K Rogue trader has choices with consequences.

 

 

Nothing to do with game engine or anything technical then?

I played BG3 with mods in EA. They were mods for making the game abide by DnD 5e rules rather than Larian's silly homebrew rules.

 

 

Dude, if you’re just here to start with your stupid bullshit, then I suggest you go somewhere else. No one here gives a fuck about your horseshit.

[RedHeadAngel]

1 hour ago, Dorabella said:

What about the hitman you happen to run into from time to time? Let's kill the hitman, read the message it's from Astrid and when we're at the  Dark Brotherhood , Absolutely nothing happens. There's no mention of the attempt to kill us. In fact, they're even recruiting us . 

 

Jurgen Windcaller's Horn

They're sending us on a mission that's doomed to fail from the start. Who's to blame? That bitch Delphine. Yeah, that's right, her. That slut who, when we first arrived in Riverwood, said to us, “Hey, you're the stranger who's sticking his nose into everyone's business.”

 

Even worse, Gerdur . " Are you looking for a job? Why don't you bring me all the firewood you can split? "

" I'm not looking for a job, bitch " . Instead of sitting there whining, chop your own wood or, since he’s not going to fuck you anyway, send your husband over.

 

Faendal/Sven 

Instead of acting like kindergarten kids and picking on her, why don't you just take Camilla and fuck her hard? A woman doesn't want a man who acts like a child, but a man who acts like a man.

 

Falkreath 

As we entered the city for the first time, the guard asked us, “Have you seen a dog out there?” He sends us to the blacksmith to get a piece of meat to feed the dog

You piece of shit, if that was all it took for a dog, couldn't you have figured it out on your own? Too busy doing nothing? Too busy pretending to work?

 

Escape from Helgen (Imperial faction)

Once we've left the cave, what does Haldvar tell us? " I knew you weren't supposed to be on that wagon from the very first time I saw you "

And when would he have seen us for the first time? On the wagon, you idiot . 

 

Still on the wagon: Ralof “Quiet you're talking to Ulfric Stormcloak.” 

Warning: We're shitting our pants . Ralof, if your boss is here, ready for the gallows, it means he's not the genius you'd have us believe he is.

 

 

 

 

Skyrim is a clusterfuck of pointless shit and confusing plot points.

The thing that gets me is how no matter what you do, the game ends all the same. At least BG3’s ending has variations, depending on the choices you make (The Good Ending, Bad, Mind-Flayer Ending, secret endings, etc).