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Elder Scrolls IV Will Fit On One Disc
Gamespot is reporting that, despite earlier reports, the much-anticipated Elder Scrolls IV will fit on one disc for the Xbox 360. 1up is running a preview of the game, slated for a March release. From the article: "This game aims to let the player feel not only immersed in the game world, but also tied to it in an integral way. Your actions will determine future events, and have lasting impacts. For example, during the demo, we learned that the character had accidentally set a villager on fire earlier; after that, when he tried to go join a guild that he had joined in every previous demo, the guildmaster told him he was not welcome. There's a way to fix this, of course -- you can pay a fine, or do something to rehabilitate your reputation so that other villagers will think more kindly of you."
Yes its visualls are stunning especially if you had a proper PC. It was also EMPTY. If you leave early on new years day and see the entire city before you devoid of live that is what Morrowind was like.
Lots of it came from too ambitious plans and too weak hardware. If you saw concept art of Vivec, you'd understand. It would be a big challenge for nowadays gfx cards to render such thing at more than 10FPS in 800x600. Back then - forget it. They just had to cut down on the number of characters and objects...
If you ever played a more focussed RPG
Read: Linear RPG.
you will know that at stages you will encounter shops wich sell you goods that are oddly enough at your current level. Weird eh? Morrowind designers didn't know what shop you were going to encounter when and I ended up stealing the best bow very early on in the game. (Yes I am a thieving basartd) I probably shouldn't have done that but I wandered into the city saw it and stole it.
And you missed the great Daedric Longbow which kicks ass of any bow you can find in a town. Usually stealing/getting expensive stuff early on is damn difficult. If you want, go visit nearest daedric ruins, it's near. Win against a daedra, and there you are, a piece of daedric weapon/armor. Cool? No. The daedra will kick your ass.
I challenged a Frygian Hag really early on in the game. Lost about 30 health potions I had kept just in case, and quite a few others. Barely survived. Got the cool dagger which I used for next 5-6 levels until I got something stronger and could beat shit off a hag without sweat. But in the meantime the dagger was a well deserved reward for the hard battle. You were a good thief, you got a good bow. Congrats. Stealing the one that comes with the "archery" mod is pretty much impossible without cheating or at least killing the shopkeeper...
Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
I've installed this game about 7 times and I keep on uninstalling it after about 5 hours. It's not easy being an impatient guy who loves RPGs. You're absolutely right that a degree of hand holding is necessary. The Knights of the Old Republic series is the best paced, best balanced series I know that is broken up into definable levels but still feels open-ended since you can do them in any order and must occasionally revisit them. In Morrowind I just feel lost.
Maybe there isn't enough of a population to resemble real towns, but I got very frustrated talking to every guard and serf with a pitchfork looking for Blaz the Breadbaker and Captain Dingus.
Don't get me wrong - I love story based games with a sandbox to play in. The GTA series since the very first has always been the grand champion in that department and I think it's great to see so many games using those games as a template. But a degree of linearity is required to keep the player aware of the track, if not on it. The Ultima Underworld games were perfect for this. The first game was split into levels, on on top of the other, and the second game consisted of alternate dimensions that were introduced 1 or 2 at a time. You could revisit any area you wanted eventually, but the games eased you into the water instead of popping your water wings and shoving you in the shark tank.
RPG designers are like a teenager's parents - give them too much freedom and they'll end up at a cock fight on skid row, but give them too little and they'll lose respect for you.