It basically sounds like you just want better animation and feedback, which is fine. I think you have to remember the time the game came out though, and the fact games can't focus on everything. If they had spent time making dodge animations or deflect animations it probably would have cost them something else. Also Gamebryo has never been good at animations, even in Oblivion.

In any case agree to disagree on "a hit should be a hit."

I don't think I spent more time with any other game, than Morrowind and Oblivion. I don't know what else to add :) Best memories, alongside Baldur's Gate saga

I enjoyed Oblivion until I realized/was made aware of the flaws in the leveling system. Having to concentrate on minor skills at the expense of major skills is nonsensical. I really hope Skyrim doesn't repeat that mistake.

Not really because what I'm saying is that a miss should have consequences. Either it's a clear miss which would leave you a bit more vulnerable. Or it forces them to react which at the very least means they're on the defensive for that moment.

That would make a huge difference to the combat all by itself.

You say they can't focus on everything, but we're talking about a game with nothing in the way of AI. After all, you can sneak up to someone's face in broad daylight. A game where the majority of NPCs are nothing but place holders fixed to the spot and where most places looked underdeveloped.

So clearly they weren't focussed on everything and still wouldn't have been even with better combat.

I think that the game's main problem is that it wasn't originally designed to be single player. So things like AI simply weren't taken into account until some time after they had a change of heart. Doesn't explain the combat though...

Morrowind:

So I was strolling down the Foyada Mamaca (I think), going to get some guild dues from a fellow mage. Turns out she was reluctant, but a bit of silver tongueing (er...yeah) and purse lining and guild dues were payed. So back to Balmora I go, when suddenly ghastly winds of the volcano kind start blowing, cliff racers everywhere and everything turned dire. Oh, but wait, is that a cave I see? Sure enough, I enter the door, oh, there's some lava here, I'd better go this wa-BLAAAAAURHG-HOLY MOTHER OF AKATOSH A ZOMBIE, OH CRAP THREE ZOMBIES, OH SHIT A CULTIST, AND AN ALTAR FULL OF BONES OH NO- SHIT - JUMPING ON ROCKS OVER THE LAVA TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE, OH GOD I'M ON FIRE!

Quickload.

Oblivion:

1. Play Oblivion on older computer. Like it, with lots of stuttering and such, few mods as a result.
2. Obtain new laptop.
3. GLORIOUS MODS EVERYWHERE.

Bethesda seem keen to stress that they have learned from the mistakes made in Oblivion. Levelling will be more like Fallout 3 insomuch as the world doesn't level up with you, but random encounters might. That doesn't mean they won't make other annoying mistakes. But time will tell. It's still one of my highest hopes for this year.

Lol, I did exactly that too. Good times... Not =P

I played until I completed the second Oblivion gate and realized I'd have to do that a lot more. It's still on my backlog and I want to finish it, but I will wait until I get a PC that can run it maxed out.

As for Morrowind, over 100 hours of playing, and there were still a lot of things I hadn't done, but it was worth it. Bloodmoon was kind of boring, though. Way too many enemies scattered around. And the last mission was one of the most serious difficulty spikes ever.

In Daggerfall, entering Scourg Barrow for the first time and finding King of Worms in, like 2 minutes. That was creepy.
And going through Mantellan Crux without walkthrough. That took a lot of time T_T

And overall, too many hours with this game to count.

I liked all TES games, but 'nostalgic factor' will always make TES2 moments stand out ;)

Daggerfall : Using cheats to finally find the exit of a huge dungeon I had been lost in for days. God I hate daggerfall's labyrinth-like dungeons.

Morrowind- Finally getting the family computer to be able to run it after having to jump through hoop after hoop including getting more RAM and finally getting Windows XP. So much time was spent on that game alone.

Tribunal- The clockwork tower. Awesome dungeon.

Bloodmoon- Just being able to explore a new area.

Oblivion- Other than when I finally got the game in December 2010, going through the haunted ship at the harbor of one of the towns. It was challenging and kind of creepy. Also, visiting the Blades headquarters. Awesome use of diverse architecture.

I never actually managed to complete Daggerfall (partially due to the bugs), but it was such an interesting game that I'll always have fond memories of it.

Have you seen there's a guy remaking the engine? DaggerXL is now on version 0.20, and is already looking quite good. He's also working on using that same engine for Dark Forces and a couple of other games.

http://xlengine.com

I will always treasure the ability to become a wereBOAR in Daggerfall. Fun times :D.

Aaaaaaannnd the Ring of Hircine that allowed you to become a werewolf at will in Morrowind. That's how I finally beat the goddess Almalexia ( I think that's her name...) at the end of Mournhold. Only problem with the werewolf form: if even ONE humanoid in some boonie outback saw you transform then EVERYONE in the entire game world knew about you being a werewolf and you basically had to reload the game because no one wanted anything to do with you.

Oh wow... The whole Dark Brotherhood quest line in Oblivion was and still is my favourite gaming experience.

One quest in particular in which you could drop a mounted animal's head in some poor sod, all the while avoiding his manservant.

I'd cringe every time I heard the boards creak.

So, page 3 but yet a word from our local Morrowind enthusiast?

One of my fondest memories was finishing Tribunal. I loved the expansion, the ending was for me the best of the three Morrowind endings.

Oh, and for Daggefll it was comming out of the freaking starter dungeon!

My history with it was having played around in Daggerfall on my brother's computer. all absorbed in the atmosphere. Getting lost (having missed the bit about the travel map makes the game seem a lot more massive).
Then eventually saw pictures and trailers of Morrowind, was really really blown away and couldn't wait.
Finally got the game and started playing it. Was a bit bothered by the simplistic combat system and the fact that the world seemed so static and unmoving. Pick a flower and the flower's still there, it's just "empty". Got a bit annoyed when told to basically "Go out and grind out a couple of levels, then we can talk about the plotline" quest. so went out, got lost and killed a few times.
after in total about 3 hours play I got distracted by Duke Nukem Manhattan project, then intrigued by Arx Fatalis which had everything I felt Morrowind was missing. never got back to morrowind.