Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall (PC, 1996/201?)(Unity remake)
Graphics-7/7.5* Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-8/7.5* Story-5.5
Level Design-7/7.5* Frustration-8/7.5* Fun-7/7.5* Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
*w/ mods
+
Detailed character creation (18 classes as well as custom classes (which are better) or you can create one based on answers to 10 questions, choose between 8 homelands and "races" which also affects the starting location, stats (somewhat) and gives a single special advantage (stat buff), can pick 12 skills to start off as proficient in (3 primary, 3 major, 6 minor), 8 char attributes which also affect how easy it is to increase certain skills tied to each (can distribute the points as you want as well as add some bonus points during creation), custom advantages and disadvantages (kinda like Fallout) which also affect how quickly you level up)
Spell crafting (aka spellmaking; set various parameters and name them, have access to full list from the get go, can combine more than one effect), magic item and potion crafting (via most temples, mage guilds or dark brotherhood; tedious aspects?). When crafting magic items you can add both advantages and disadvantages (10 in total). The former require a certain amount of enchantment points and the latter increase the number of available enchantment points for the item (each item has a default capacity here - for example an Ebony Battle Axe has a capacity of 1050), so there is some consideration involved.
Many spells (8 schools of magic) and you can create combo spells made up of 2-3 existing spells
Near full 3D (mix of pre-rendered and "drawn" character sprites)
Can become a werewolf or vampire (the latter is not recommended for new players though)
Teleport beacon (Recall) spell and teleportation-like fast travel system (pick a location on the map screen and then select between these parameters to affect cost and time taken: speed (cautious or reckless), transport type (foot/horse or ship), rest at inns or outside; you'll then be teleported there and time will have passed off screen; can type in a location to fast travel to if you know its name). Recall can also be used while stealing inside a house to escape without an arrest attempt by the guards (which leads to a reputation loss)
World map with three levels of zoom?
Horse mount and wagon (they're carried with you like an inventory item which is odd but very convenient (press T while outdoors to activate the horse or horse+wagon), the horse speeds up fast travel and in-game movement+can jump and surface swim, the wagon is used as a stash - W or wagon icon in inventory)
Day/night cycle with an effect on gameplay (house/shops/temples are open at certain hours, easier to steal during nighttime, special advantages and disadvantages can affect night- or daytime only, vampires)
Can place markers and input your own notes on dungeon maps (not the top down town maps or town building maps however, in the TD view town maps the game does color code shops, guilds and temples as well as place names at visited ones for you)
Reputation mechanic (quiz-based starting reputation with the different factions in the game+starting gear (optional and it might not affect reputation at all, can also have the game pick for you). It's otherwise affected by crime, number of quests done for a faction, helping rival factions?, more?. There's also a reaction roll by opposite gender which can be increased in rank via the Mara temple
Some interesting skills (flexible climbing skill (can grab walls after jumping into them or while falling, can look around while climbing, can climb down ledges while moving backwards with the slide move (left Ctrl)), upgradeable running speed, upgradeable jump (length and height; can also use a spell for 2x height and athleticism also affects jump height in Unity) and swimming (increased speed and endurance/stamina+ability to hold your breath though there are spells to help with this too), stealth and backstabbing, ) and special advantages (spell absorption - nullify damage spell's damage+gain MP from it, health regen - expensive?, adrenaline rush - fight better at low health, )
Factions (6 different ones; can choose who to work for allowing you to raise your reputation and rank with one which gives you access to better services, they determine what kind of quests you get, ) and you can also join one of 8 temples
Various other interesting spells (slowfall - can be used to glide jump like in Wonder Boy in Monster Land for example, jumping - 2x jump height, levitate - flight (Ultima Underworld; even works underwater here!), invisibility and shadow form (in-doors only version of the former), tongues - understand languages (make some monsters not attack, underdeveloped without mods though), health and stamina steal/transfer, spell reflection)
Some interesting weapons (Wabbajack - turns an enemy into a different enemy)
2D & 3D dungeon and building maps as well as a compass feature (zoomable and rotateable)
Quest log/notebook (active quests, finished quests, dialogue stored in it by the player, in-game messages (any notification, however this one isn't saved after quitting the game!); some issues with some info not being saved in it - see below)
Holidays (discounts, free healing, easier to summon daedras - these provide special quests with unique items as reward)
Can get arrested and jailed but also talk yourself out of a prison sentence (based on streetwise skill; pleading guilty does lower the punishment)
Fast resting with good options (can just start resting (pick until healed) and cancel it when you want to or specify the number of hours). Fast healing (including stamina and MP) from resting with Medical skill
Can buy a house (or be gifted one by a knight faction) and a ship (costs 100k though)
Reflexes setting before you begin (very low-very high, makes enemies attack faster or slower but also makes you advance in levels faster or slower as a tradeoff; can edit the save file to change this in-game)
Some delayed reward aspects to char creation: Forbidding yourself from using Steel or Elven items is worth a lot in terms of the skill advancement slider. If you with lesser metals for longer than usual, you can take these disadvantages
Stealth (passive "always on" skill affected by movement speed and the enemy's stealth skill which lets them detect you easier) - good for backstabbing but seems to have various issues (see below; affected by agility)
Etiquette can let you pacify guards after comitting a crime (including murder; weird but funny)
Being able to pretty easily run past enemies even in narrow corridors allows for exploring dungeons despite not being able to fight your way through them which creates some fun situations
Some magic items let you cast spells (they do deteriorate, can activate being able to repair them in DF Unity but it's pretty OP)
The outdoors music changes depending on the weather (sun, rain, snow) and time of day
An enemy can sense you through a locked door and some will start bashing it open
Different sfx depending on what surface you're walking on
Tall rooms and slopes in 3D dungeons (Ultima Underworld)
Instantly climb ladders
Can stand on enemies
Can bind a non-human creature's soul to an item as an additional form of enchantment, via either a soul gem and a soul trap spell, or via a certain artifact. If the item breaks then the creature is released and attacks (pretty cool)
Basic dialogue trees/options (pick topics and pick between 3 tones (polite, normal or blunt) to alter how you say things - generic sentences rather than a flowing conversation)
Location browser on the map screen gives you a list of similar names if you remember only part of it
Some town-like locations within dungeons and some of the town castles connect to a dungeon
Enemies also take fall damage and can be knocked off of ledges (and collision damage as well - if you knock an enemy into a wall it takes some damage from the wall too)
NPCs will sometimes mention your deeds when asking about news
Some black comedy (cheating lover quest) and some silliness (chairs in closet-like dungeon rooms and sometimes frying pans, the ghosts in daggerfall city, reception desk at the beginning of one dungeon)
Info mode helps with directions as you can look at a building from far away and have the game identify it
Seamless transition between town and wilderness outdoor areas
Some decent switch and spatial awareness puzzles (direnni tower, sentinel dungeon though it's a bit tedious, totem cube, final dungeon's fire room w/ large skulls)
Decent environmental hazard variety in dungeons (water, (non-death) pits, traps that push you off of a platform (one triggers when opening a door and there's a pit on the other side of the door), MP draining floortiles - usually at the bottom of pits, traps that damage you when run into or interacted with, some objects that cast spells on you, very rare poison trap, other door traps?, teleporter traps?; see for example direnni tower)
Sometimes impressive world building (the game reacts to if you confront Queen Aubki about her betrayal of Mynisera during the emperor's courier quest - lowers your reputation with her and Daggerfall+she will send nightblades after you periodically to prevent you from snooping any further, nuanced portrayal of some of the factions (the supposedly good Mynisera isn't really, some royal family members are scheming against each other), can choose who to deliver certain evidence to for different outcomes to some quests)
Factions can start sending assassins after you if you piss them off or if you're carrying the token in the finale
Keep playing for as long as you like after the ending cutscene (not much to do if you've gained the highest rank with a guild though)
Unity:
Fixes many bugs and adds a command console (quest relevant enemies spawning outside of bounds or outside of where you can reach them, having too much loot crashing the game, better hit detection, wagon items don't disappear, better dodging no longer makes it harder to hit enemies, fixed damage and armor info via tooltips, end-game gear appearing in taverns, etc)
Unlimited save slots
New climbing system allows for climbing around corners
Can make the dungeons smaller (SmallerDungeons = True in the settings.ini file under the Appdata path). They're still pretty big
Improved enemy AI (pathfinding - still has some issues though)
Magic item pop-up menu (U)
Optional enemy infighting between different types - fun but also makes the game easier and they can start fighting before you even see them which is weird
Optional magic item repair and instant repair services (can take one or more days in the original) - both make the game easier
Optional starting dungeon (can also randomize it with mods)
Option to choose which quests to take on when requesting them from a faction/guild (still checks your rank)
Optional near death warning
Option for alternate random enemy selection (uses a different seed for spawning enemies so kinda like a randomizer-lite for it)
Click to attack option (random swing direction). Originally you had to hold the RMB and swing, which has some potential but this feels a lot better
Higher res
Can auto-configure fast travel to most locations registered in the quest log (convenient quest log; also makes it easier to browse active quests)
Improved location search function for fast travel on the map screen and you can view adjacent regions through it
Banking info added to the character menu (F5)
Ingredients that were different but had the same name now have unique identifiers such as "northern" and "southern" to make clear which is needed
A message now informs the player when an enemy has been pacified through language skills. Resting and fast traveling are also possible while near pacified NPCs
Acute Hearing, Adrenaline Rush, Athleticism were given an actual function
Personality attribute stat can't be dumped (need about 40+ to get favorable reactions from townspeople rather than 10-15)
Quest items must remain in the inventory at all times when the related quests are active while in the original they could be stored in the wagon and dropped from the inventory. This was done to avoid getting stuck during some quests (could accidentally sell quest items) and you can get around it with a cheat if needed
Travel Options mod (time accelerated travel in the overworld as an alternative to fast travel - pick the fastest option in the FT menu and the game makes your avatar auto-run towards the destination while in-game)
Max loiter (waiting) time slider
Mods for Additional outdoors/wilderness random encounters (warm ashes, includes encounters that lead to new quests) and wilderness NPCs, Added wilderness hills and mountains mods
Inventory search filter mod (type in the kind of item you want to show such as weapon or armor)
In-game tooltips mod, Display NPC (and enemies) health mod
MP regen mod (tweakable)
Convenient clock mod (adds a customizable clock to the HUD so you don't have to go into the Info menu to check)
Lootable dungeon weapon shelves mod (based on luck though)
Floors you're not on become semi-transparent on the building and dungeon map screens
Shield blocking mod (if well timed can stop enemy attacks)
192 hidden skyshards mod (they're all placed in the wilderness, +1 to an attribute in a set order for each one found)
Graphics mods (DREAM, handpainted models, enhanced sky, etc.)
Critical Hits fix mod (without it the critical strike skill actually increases the chance to hit instead; note that enemies also get a chance at critical hits though you can tweak it to give yourself an advantage as well as tweak the damage modifier)
Can have converted enemies follow you around in a beeline with the language overhaul mod (can trade with them, ask where you are and tell them to stay/follow)
Can sort spells and change their icons
+/-
Non-linear structure (can take on multiple quests at once and choose from a list at guilds or temples (Unity ver.), more of an open-ended fantasy life sim than a handcrafted sandbox; the main quest is also a partially non-linear chain of quests (four paths that eventually join as well as three shorter optional ones), sometimes there's an alternate path to a quest objective in a dungeon; can buy/make pretty much any spell from the get go if you save up some money for it, can choose between 7 factions to give the totem to in the end though there are only 4 different proper endings following the final dungeon)
Some ability gating (climbing, optional slowfall (or higher jump spell or skill) use to reach some platforms sooner such as during a bounty hunt quest in a dungeon early on, levitation spell to reach some platforms (optional when it's not given to you temporarily via interactive objects in dungeons though), lockpicking or open spell (can use bash instead which is lock strength-based), optional (?) water breath/walking spells (levitate also works) to get away from underwater threats or further into larger underwater areas)
Save anywhere outside of dialogue
Enemies can respawn (or spawn out of the blue near you when in the wilderness) while resting
The Mages' Guild always restores your SP (MP) for free
"Skill advancement for class" slider mechanic (an overly advantaged character levels up more slowly). Dungeons scale to your current level without mods so while it can be tempting to be able to level quickly it can make the game harder (it'll still be easier to beat most enemies at higher levels but some are hard at any level)
Action-based skill and spell leveling (can also make use of a skill trainer but only up until 51% proficiency, cheaper at lower levels, it progressively takes more uses to level up a skill that you're better at). The sum of your primary skills+two highest major and one highest minor skill also determine your chance of leveling up the character itself
Randomized HP and attribute point gain on level up (level up when resting, can save before doing it) - can be removed via a mod and another lets you tweak the values manually (also lets you increase skill points beyond the default max and gain more hp and attribute points than normal if you want)
Dice rolls affected by stats affect if you get hit and if you hit enemies - not just player skill (see Diablo or Secret of Mana). Going back and forth to physically dodge attacks is still very useful however (but otoh your Dodging skill trains slower if you do this)
Huge world (41 provinces w/ 100+ towns, dungeons and temples each; mostly procedurally generated but the towns are still relatively well designed and some dungeons are pre-built with randomized loot instead; see below for problems)
High elves' paralysis immunity is OP in the early game (until you gain reliable access to magic items or potions via the factions system). Note that you can no longer give yourself a critical weakness to paralysis while retaining it giving you more leeway when giving yourself advantages here - it was considered a bug and changed so that you'll go back to the default 50% resistance if you pick it, while picking low tolerance puts you at 75%
Immunity to disease (can kill you over time and traveling to where you can heal can take too long) and poison are also kind of OP
Breton's 30% magic resistance is also very good (especially combined with high intelligence and willpower) however it no longer defends against disease, paralysis and poison in the Unity version
The predefined classes aren't well made (warrior types tend to have multiple weapon types in major and primary skills which makes leveling up tedious and expensive, magicians tend to have every magic type in their primary and major slots which leads to crippling underspecialization; Only Nightblade or Assassin are passable))
Each skill has a 6 hour (6*5 mins real-time so 30 mins) cooldown period that affects when it can be increased again. Skill increases occur after resting, waiting/loitering or fast travel.
Destruction and Restoration as primary skills+the spell absorption advantage+fireball spell=easy mode since if you cast spells on yourself you'll pretty much always absorb the damage+MP (so you can ignore MP, but increased magery (mp boost) makes it even better). Unity does limit it to damage spells at least
Speed spell is pretty OP (also makes you swing much faster)
Custom reputation settings for custom classes during char creation however the total has to equal zero
9 different language skills is kinda cool but makes each more situational - they could've been grouped into a few categories since there is a general spell for it
Running, Climbing, Jumping and Swimming could've been weaved into Strength, Agility and Endurance or grouped together more. And/or turned into cheap spells added to one or two schools of magic. Melee weapon skills could also have been grouped (into one- and two-handed for example)
Some resource management (fatigue mechanic, limited air underwater, encumbrance/weight mechanic - can be edited with a mod, gold has weight)
Leather and chain as forbidden armor is OP without mods?
Stealing by night is OP, especially since you have access to your cart while indoors
Text box tutorial messages
Blunt weapons being better vs skeletons only matters in the early game?
Shields don't let you block - they just increase your general armor rating (which apparently makes you get hit less rather than lower damage taken; can be changed with a mod)
Gender/sex has no effect on NPC interactions
Nearly all quests have time limits while you're doing them (can be modded away) but you can do whatever you want between quests
No seamless transition between outdoors and indoors in towns (means you also can't view the rest of the town through windows - also can't enter or exit a house through these though some houses do have balconies or mini-courtyards, this does let you despawn guards however)
Superfast upwards movement in steep slopes
Skeleton key artifact (open any locked door including magically locked ones)
Strength has no effect on bashing
Escorted NPCs are handled like an inventory item (you see their portrait on screen but they're not there in-game)
Unusually hostile NPCs (sometimes makes for funny moments but it's also inconsistent at times, even mid-conversation even if you didn't change your tone). Some NPCs also make racist comments towards you however their reaction is all based on reputation, personality and enchantments that affect reactions
Some spells are too expensive to cast without the Magery advantage or the MP regen mod
Can't use teleport/recall on something or someone else (would be cool if you could use it like telekinesis in System Shock)
Open and Lock can only be cast on yourself (it's like a buff that makes it easier for you to open locked doors or vice versa)
Can turn down some guild quests and re-accept to get a better gold reward (pretty minor difference however)
The dungeon maps show hidden doors (wall doors)
There are torches but they aren't necessary as the game doesn't get that dark
Can only 100% one primary skill (the others will be capped at 95%; however you can 100% multiple major, minor and misc. skills IF you don't 100% a primary skill first)
Fall damage
Melee weapons all have the same range (can be changed via the combat overhaul mod but it changes a bunch of things) and there are no spears or halberds (there are staffs however)
Can relock doors only with a spell
Water walking makes you swim faster underwater instead of letting you walk on water like the description says. It only works as expected when moving through marshes
Quests generally yield the same amount of reputation (5) regardless of complexity or challenge but a few do give more (10). You also gain half that rep with allied factions, rounded down. The numbers are lower for failed quests: 2 and 1, respectively. Some quests also increase rep with one faction while decreasing it with an opposed faction
Some hidden world map locations which you can find via random enemy drops
Non-solid trees and plants+small rocks in the wilderness
Some dark themes (Dhurnam)
Have to not be running to trigger jump mode quickly (also can't do it while slowfalling unless falling into a wall)
Some delay when equipping a weapon via the inventory - can be bad during combat
Can train magic schools via magic items but not the jumping skill while riding a horse
No mid-air control while slowfalling/gliding (can't change direction)
Level cap at 32 and that's if you're patient and fulfill some requirements (based on skill sum mentioned above, if you're patient this means that slower leveling but more HP per level is better?)
Becoming a werewolf is part of making the end-game much easier?
Unity:
Arrows no longer ignore walls
More nuance to guild membership - a character can be demoted to a lower rank within a guild when the character's guild reputation drops below the minimum threshold for the character's current rank.
Persistent dungeons mod (without this the dungeons reset when exited, spawning a new layout with new items etc.; ). Two issues: Recalling into or out of a dungeon isn't supported; oors and action objects (levers, platforms etc) are saved while in motion, so it is possible to leave a dungeon while they're moving and come back later and they will start where they left off
Guild quest access change (not sure if good or bad): Mages' Guilds and Knightly Orders would originally offer quests based on guild rank or character level, whichever is higher. The other guilds would use rank alone. In Unity, all guilds use rank only.
Could also climb ceilings (hanging mode) in an earlier version but it was removed due to bugs
-
Pretty brutal beginning if you don't go for a warrior-type build (I got killed several times by the third enemy even though I had nice stats (462 roll)+I kept missing it over and over and it was immune to one of my weapons, enemies do a lot of damage since you can't reduce damage taken (until later with spells) but it works both ways if you have decent starting stats). The early quests in the first town you can reach (gothway garden) are also pretty uneven in difficulty and you're not always warned about more difficult quests - For example I took on a bounty hunt from the Z'en temple and it led me to a dungeon with a bunch of werewolves (which were immune to my best weapon) and monster fish
Some control/interface issues (jump mode won't trigger if holding down jump when touching the wall (which makes you keep jumping automatically), the game doesn't show you what happened after using a switch in a dungeon - becomes a problem in direnni tower for example, the default attack controls are pretty bad - movement freezes while you slowly swing your weapon by dragging the mouse across the screen (cool how you can stab or swing but doesn't seem to change anything) and if you let go too soon then you quickly look in the direction you were swinging instead so it's very hard to use hit and run tactics, spellcasting is odd in that you have to first arm the spell by selecting from a menu and then rearm after casting as well with a hotkey - smoother with hotkey bar and readied spellcasting hands mods, clunky inventory interface in some ways (have to click icons to switch interaction method and the tooltip feature doesn't show item stats, have to select "remove" and left click on loot to move it into your inventory), dungeon walls facing the camera often aren't shown at all on the 3D map making it harder to navigate (top down view has a similar issue in that you can't tell the difference between an unexplored path and a wall for some of the walls), when asking for directions to something that's in another town and storing the info in the notebook you only store the response so you won't see what you were asking about!, some spells use the same thumbnail - can change it but the selection is kinda bad, can't talk to an NPC you've received a quest from until it's completed or failed - this includes vendors, no mini-map and can't move while viewing the map, can't quickly tell if a weapon you're looking at is better than the one you have equipped or if it's forbidden to you, advantages and disadvantages are under History in the character sheet menu, can't edit or sell back a created spell after exiting the spellmaker shop, can't say "ask me later" when a random NPC offers you a quest, can't add own notes to the quest log and some main quest relevant dialogue isn't saved there (such as medora direnni's location or the underking agent's location during the The Ancient Watcher quest - have to double check the letter for the latter), sometimes you're not told how long you have to finish a quest before taking it on - can save before doing so and reload though, can't combine jumping and slowfalling while the spell is active - have to cast it mid-jump instead, can't cancel a slowfall or levitation spell, jump mode sometimes takes longer to activate (when I was getting out of a dungeon by jumping up towards a shaft (was the only way out there) it would sometimes trigger more quickly), a teleporter anchor/beacon isn't displayed in-game or on the map screen, )
Some trial & error (small skull room in final dungeon, a teleporter beacon/anchor stays even if you go to a different part of the world - no warning, can get stuck by turning down a main quest, Nulfaga's throne room's locked door "riddle" (no clue that what she's talking about has any relation to opening the shortcut+can't talk to her again nor add her dialogue to the notebook), can't swim if you're carrying more than 50kg - can still use levitate underwater however, what to pick during character creation, you might not know that you've contracted a disease unless you have a high enough medical skill, finding some quest items and switches in dungeons, in darkness means nighttime+indoors+in dungeons - you'll spend most of your time "in darkness", strength doesn't affect hand-to-hand or blade skills, the differences between Spell Absorption/Spell Resistance/Elemental Resistance: Magicka (the latter doesn't protect against elemental magic which is about half of destruction magic), various mechanics and stats unless you read the manual and/or guides before char creation - some attribute descriptions are rather vague for example and how long a round is isn't mentioned (5 sec), don't have to be undetected to train backstabbing - just hit an enemy from behind, some spells like shock are a bit weird in that you can't cast them unless in range of an enemy target (they get readied and then you have to get in range), quest givers only sometimes tell you about the reward before accepting (and sometimes it becomes something else after completing the quest), rep rewards from quests aren't shown in-game, every 112 days your rep with any NPC or faction moves one point closer to zero, some traps, if you're sick you don't get a warning when resting (you do when attempting to fast travel and periodically while moving around) - instead happens after waking up at which point you might die)
Enemies can detect you through walls and line of sight isn't that relevant (rather the game checks your stealth skill if in detection range) - makes stealth tedious as you need to crouch or sneak and have very high Stealth or it's too unreliable (combining sneak and crouch has no effect). It also takes too long to get your skill up in a regular game so by the time you do you could be one shotting enemies with other methods and without sneaking. Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood also don't involve much sneaking around. However, a decent invisibility true spell can work pretty well for a "fighter/mage" build as even if you're detected you can just circle strafe and various enemies will lose track of you again so that you can keep attempting to backstabbing them
Some tedious aspects (the opened shortcut door to nulfaga in shedungent doesn't stay opened and all dungeon maps are forgotten after a certain amount of time even for the ones with permanent layouts, backtracking through direnni tower to medora - could've opened a shortcut after first finding her, level gated main quests (can reach medora in direnni tower but then not be able to get the next quest from her, soul of a lich quest won't trigger until reaching level 7), too many NPCs not giving you directions even at around average personality and neutral reputation, sometimes can't ask NPCs about the person you're looking for regarding a quest rather than the one who gave you the quest, sometimes can't have the exact location of an NPC or house marked on the town map when asking for directions (in this case you only get vague directions like E or NE), dead space and dead ends in dungeons+empty rooms here and there - made better with dungeon size set to small in Unity ver. (.ini file), some empty rooms behind locked doors, some dead space and boring backtracking in towns as well, sometimes there are several paths leading to the same spot in a dungeon (though sometimes you'll find some loot on the way), can only sell armor to armorers or pawn shops and some towns don't have one, door switches can blend in with the environment at times, sometimes you'll find a gate tied to a switch in a dungeon but finding the switch is pointless since you can get around it anyway, can be tedious to find the skill trainer for a specific skill without a guide, various fetch quests without interesting twists to them, kinda slow elevators overall (some are fast, some are very slow) - makes the switch puzzle in the sentinel castle dungeon tedious, the orsinium dungeon has too many dead ends+is a bit too big+doesn't have enough trap variety, gauntlets are oddly rare)
Even NPCs that you've recently done quests for can turn hostile all of a sudden (even though you don't have negative rep or very low PER). Sometimes NPCs also refer to you having committed some crime when asking about directions as an excuse not to help you, even if you don't have negative rep and it's a new town.
More expensive spells don't level you up quicker (example: casting a Restoration spell with a cost of 5 will increase the Restoration skill by the same amount as casting a Restoration spell with a cost of 50)
The wilderness areas feel very old school procedurally generated (meaning pretty bland and repetitive) though this can be helped some with mods
Some skills and spells suck (lockpicking sucks without mods (bashing (attacking a door to open it) kinda makes it redundant (does damage the weapon somewhat but only as much as regular combat and it's cheap to repair) and isn't quiet; also have to level it up after failing to pick a lock to be able to try again), pickpocket/shoplift (F1) sucks, acute hearing not worth it?)
Some races aren't as good to play as (Dark elf chars have the same race bonus as redguard only slightly worse, Nords' resistance bonus to frost isn't that useful nor is the climbing and swimming bonuses of the Khajiit and Argonians respectively?)
The enemy AI can't jump so you can cheese it with jumping or climbing in various spots
Repetitive in some ways (not enough monster variety for most of the main quests, various repeated quests and some repeated dungeon and building layouts, kind of spongy enemies in the late game main quest dungeons (unless you do a lot of faction side quests which eventually lets you buy better gear as you gain access to better materials at higher levels - various side quests are identical and you have to use your leveling-related skills constantly so it's basically grinding (and even when I did I didn't reach very high levels throughout the main quest - my highest skill was long blade at 64% and the next was jumping at 57%, I got restoration to 47% as a primary skill but mysticism and thaumaturgy as major skills only reached 33%), more lenient with gear drops but materials above your level are rare and you can't find the best material gear at level 3 or something))
Can't play as an Imperial or Orc
Only two kinds of ranged weapons besides spells (longbows and shortbows and the latter are simply worse)
Long blades are better than the other melee weapons throughout most of the game
The background quiz during creation sometimes only gives nonsensical responses considering your character build (I couldn't pick a weapon type I had specialized in for example)
Endurance only affects the ease of increasing the swimming skill (no other skills)
Some plot/world building oddities (Nulfaga reacting with "I despise your kind" right after beating the game (empire ending), the royals you helped don't act differently after beating the game, no one reacts if you kill the guards in daggerfall castle, NPCs randomly think you're beng rude when you're politely asking questions, weird how some know who you are when you reach the first town (you haven't been in that part of the world before afaict from the intro), have access to various subjects that it seems like you shouldn't when just starting out such as various guild/faction names, someone can say "come in" when entering a house but then it's empty, weird how you can be in a guild's base but if you ask about it then the NPCs there don't know anything, weird how the guy you're supposed to protect acts clueless and the woman who gave you the quest can't be talked to when in their residence during the assassins quest in Tamwick (also weird how they spawn in the middle of the room), the book thief in Whiteton is just an enemy that hangs out in a store - would've been more interesting if you had to search or if there was more complexity to it, NPCs sometimes don't react to immediate danger or you having disposed of it - haunted house quest for example, weird how prince Lhotun in Sentinel doesn't just talk to you directly when you're in front of him in the castle (instead sends a letter), no reaction from Gortwog after getting the letter from his dungeon, at times you can end up in an occupied tavern room when renting a room and resting (and there's no reaction) - rare though)
Can be detected while checking an item container in someone's house without anyone seeing you - this spawns city guards very close to you (they will despawn if you go outside of the house however, also if you got caught and saw the surrender prompt it means your reputation will go down)
Can't swing both one-handed melee weapons at once or alternate between them if you have two equipped
A dungeon can appear to have two+ entrances on the outside but upon entering they lead to the same single entrance inside
Regarding materials, Orcish gear is uselessly rare and Silver's only advantage over Steel is having better enchanting capability (by the time you're enchanting stuff you'll have moved way past Silver; note that Silver or better is required to harm lycanthropes, ghosts, wraiths, mummies, and standard vampires)
Can sometimes see enemies through walls
Some races aren't properly visually represented among the non-story relevant NPCs (bretons, redguards, and "sort of" dark elves are the ones you can meet however some can be of a different race even if looking like one of these before entering dialogue)
Can't upgrade the jumping spell to 3x+ jump height
Can't lay traps or trap spells
Some quests are too tough considering the reward (haunted house w/ ghost quest - might be easy with the right spell though (I was lucky to have a magic item with a fireball enchantment), ) or simply not worth the time investment
Can't hit indoors NPCs
Inconsistent effects from having your weapon readied around others - NPCs don't care but enemies you're trying to pacify with language skills do!
Water breathing+water walking combo spell makes the swimming skill redundant unless you have no MP
Non-seamless/dynamic music and horizon transitions between evening and night, night and morning, etc.
Can't go underwater in the sea
Can't check faction reputation in-game
Climb speed can't be increased (tried speed and strength boosts) - can use the jump spell and jump while climbing to climb faster though
Being able to get levitate so soon makes some level design redundant and lessens the sense of ability progression
Most of the daedra lords in the sword and crossbow room didn't use their spells against me
Pretty easy Orsinium dungeon. Fairly easy final dungeon if you have the right spells (beat it at level 10 with speed and strength boost, levitate, spell absorption in darkness, fireball item, shield, reflection and an adamantium weapon)
One corpse sprite for all human and vampire enemies?, No backside sprite for various NPCs, Sometimes an NPCs skintone changes between their in-game model and the escort portrait or dialogue face
Critical strike lagged behind my main weapon skill (long blades) by over 10% even though I switched to a blunt weapon quite a bit in the late-game
No real bosses
Unity:
No "quit to launcher menu" option
Notes:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall_Mod:Daggerfall_Unity/Gameplay_Differences
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall_Mod:Daggerfall_Unity/Character_Creation_Differences
More including bug fixes: https://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1662
-Not enough contrast on the 2D sprites when using the graphics mod (DREAM)
-Buoyancy=Water walking but is considered a thaumaturgy and frost element spell? (UESP guide)
-A skill turning grey in the character sheet menu means it had leveled up since you last looked at the sheet
STR=encumbrance (max=str*1.5), weapon damage+ease of increasing climbing and jumping, axe and blunt
INT=mp+increasing medical
WIL=spell resistance (=offensive spell resistance incl negative status spells like paralyze and silence)+increasing magic school skills
AGI=to hit and avoid getting hit+increasing archery, backstabbing, critical strike (=to hit without mods), hand-to-hand, long and short blade, stealth
END=hp and max hp gained per level, healing rate, poison and disease resistance, fatigue, holding your breath+increasing swimming
PERsonality=ease of increasing etiquette, mercantile and streetwise (so mainly npc reactions and shopping; no other effects). Changed in Unity so don't go below 40
SPD=movement rate, weapon swing speed, missile reloading time+increasing dodging and running
LUC=modifies some action takens, doesn't affect loot. "Luck isn't used in many places. It's definitely used for chance to hit and climbing"
Bugs:
-During the assassins quest in Tamwick only one of two enemies spawned at one point and this made the quest unfinishable
-Same thing happened during the gothway garden ransom quest
-Sometimes quest log entries are duplicated
-Some enemies can't go up very steep slopes (skeleton warriors) and some kinda get stuck halfway
-Encountered a bug that made Silence stay active on my char after supposedly wearing off - had to reload the save
-In one dungeon a cage was placed right in front of the only door leading forward - I could glitch through it but not back again, had to teleport out
-Didn't receive Medora's vision (dust of restful death, maybe I just clicked past it by mistake but that's also an issue) but could continue the quest by visiting Gortwog
-Level Up Adjuster mod didn't work for me
Tips:
Zaric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp1TstKeuLE&t=725s
Dominic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaIqWdOslV0
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Leveling_and_Skills
https://www.reddit.com/r/Daggerfall/comments/onp2wu/daggerfall_unity_character_creation_guide/
Dungeon navigation guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Daggerfall/comments/3oeln1/how_do_you_stay_motivated_to_finish_this_game/cvwrz0b/?st=isayf5hq&sh=676e6f96
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Daggerfall/comments/57sjy3/the_best_build_for_a_total_beginner/
-"The highest roll I have seen is 470 total. The lowest I've seen is 420"
Level Design-7/7.5* Frustration-8/7.5* Fun-7/7.5* Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
*w/ mods
+
Detailed character creation (18 classes as well as custom classes (which are better) or you can create one based on answers to 10 questions, choose between 8 homelands and "races" which also affects the starting location, stats (somewhat) and gives a single special advantage (stat buff), can pick 12 skills to start off as proficient in (3 primary, 3 major, 6 minor), 8 char attributes which also affect how easy it is to increase certain skills tied to each (can distribute the points as you want as well as add some bonus points during creation), custom advantages and disadvantages (kinda like Fallout) which also affect how quickly you level up)
Spell crafting (aka spellmaking; set various parameters and name them, have access to full list from the get go, can combine more than one effect), magic item and potion crafting (via most temples, mage guilds or dark brotherhood; tedious aspects?). When crafting magic items you can add both advantages and disadvantages (10 in total). The former require a certain amount of enchantment points and the latter increase the number of available enchantment points for the item (each item has a default capacity here - for example an Ebony Battle Axe has a capacity of 1050), so there is some consideration involved.
Many spells (8 schools of magic) and you can create combo spells made up of 2-3 existing spells
Near full 3D (mix of pre-rendered and "drawn" character sprites)
Can become a werewolf or vampire (the latter is not recommended for new players though)
Teleport beacon (Recall) spell and teleportation-like fast travel system (pick a location on the map screen and then select between these parameters to affect cost and time taken: speed (cautious or reckless), transport type (foot/horse or ship), rest at inns or outside; you'll then be teleported there and time will have passed off screen; can type in a location to fast travel to if you know its name). Recall can also be used while stealing inside a house to escape without an arrest attempt by the guards (which leads to a reputation loss)
World map with three levels of zoom?
Horse mount and wagon (they're carried with you like an inventory item which is odd but very convenient (press T while outdoors to activate the horse or horse+wagon), the horse speeds up fast travel and in-game movement+can jump and surface swim, the wagon is used as a stash - W or wagon icon in inventory)
Day/night cycle with an effect on gameplay (house/shops/temples are open at certain hours, easier to steal during nighttime, special advantages and disadvantages can affect night- or daytime only, vampires)
Can place markers and input your own notes on dungeon maps (not the top down town maps or town building maps however, in the TD view town maps the game does color code shops, guilds and temples as well as place names at visited ones for you)
Reputation mechanic (quiz-based starting reputation with the different factions in the game+starting gear (optional and it might not affect reputation at all, can also have the game pick for you). It's otherwise affected by crime, number of quests done for a faction, helping rival factions?, more?. There's also a reaction roll by opposite gender which can be increased in rank via the Mara temple
Some interesting skills (flexible climbing skill (can grab walls after jumping into them or while falling, can look around while climbing, can climb down ledges while moving backwards with the slide move (left Ctrl)), upgradeable running speed, upgradeable jump (length and height; can also use a spell for 2x height and athleticism also affects jump height in Unity) and swimming (increased speed and endurance/stamina+ability to hold your breath though there are spells to help with this too), stealth and backstabbing, ) and special advantages (spell absorption - nullify damage spell's damage+gain MP from it, health regen - expensive?, adrenaline rush - fight better at low health, )
Factions (6 different ones; can choose who to work for allowing you to raise your reputation and rank with one which gives you access to better services, they determine what kind of quests you get, ) and you can also join one of 8 temples
Various other interesting spells (slowfall - can be used to glide jump like in Wonder Boy in Monster Land for example, jumping - 2x jump height, levitate - flight (Ultima Underworld; even works underwater here!), invisibility and shadow form (in-doors only version of the former), tongues - understand languages (make some monsters not attack, underdeveloped without mods though), health and stamina steal/transfer, spell reflection)
Some interesting weapons (Wabbajack - turns an enemy into a different enemy)
2D & 3D dungeon and building maps as well as a compass feature (zoomable and rotateable)
Quest log/notebook (active quests, finished quests, dialogue stored in it by the player, in-game messages (any notification, however this one isn't saved after quitting the game!); some issues with some info not being saved in it - see below)
Holidays (discounts, free healing, easier to summon daedras - these provide special quests with unique items as reward)
Can get arrested and jailed but also talk yourself out of a prison sentence (based on streetwise skill; pleading guilty does lower the punishment)
Fast resting with good options (can just start resting (pick until healed) and cancel it when you want to or specify the number of hours). Fast healing (including stamina and MP) from resting with Medical skill
Can buy a house (or be gifted one by a knight faction) and a ship (costs 100k though)
Reflexes setting before you begin (very low-very high, makes enemies attack faster or slower but also makes you advance in levels faster or slower as a tradeoff; can edit the save file to change this in-game)
Some delayed reward aspects to char creation: Forbidding yourself from using Steel or Elven items is worth a lot in terms of the skill advancement slider. If you with lesser metals for longer than usual, you can take these disadvantages
Stealth (passive "always on" skill affected by movement speed and the enemy's stealth skill which lets them detect you easier) - good for backstabbing but seems to have various issues (see below; affected by agility)
Etiquette can let you pacify guards after comitting a crime (including murder; weird but funny)
Being able to pretty easily run past enemies even in narrow corridors allows for exploring dungeons despite not being able to fight your way through them which creates some fun situations
Some magic items let you cast spells (they do deteriorate, can activate being able to repair them in DF Unity but it's pretty OP)
The outdoors music changes depending on the weather (sun, rain, snow) and time of day
An enemy can sense you through a locked door and some will start bashing it open
Different sfx depending on what surface you're walking on
Tall rooms and slopes in 3D dungeons (Ultima Underworld)
Instantly climb ladders
Can stand on enemies
Can bind a non-human creature's soul to an item as an additional form of enchantment, via either a soul gem and a soul trap spell, or via a certain artifact. If the item breaks then the creature is released and attacks (pretty cool)
Basic dialogue trees/options (pick topics and pick between 3 tones (polite, normal or blunt) to alter how you say things - generic sentences rather than a flowing conversation)
Location browser on the map screen gives you a list of similar names if you remember only part of it
Some town-like locations within dungeons and some of the town castles connect to a dungeon
Enemies also take fall damage and can be knocked off of ledges (and collision damage as well - if you knock an enemy into a wall it takes some damage from the wall too)
NPCs will sometimes mention your deeds when asking about news
Some black comedy (cheating lover quest) and some silliness (chairs in closet-like dungeon rooms and sometimes frying pans, the ghosts in daggerfall city, reception desk at the beginning of one dungeon)
Info mode helps with directions as you can look at a building from far away and have the game identify it
Seamless transition between town and wilderness outdoor areas
Some decent switch and spatial awareness puzzles (direnni tower, sentinel dungeon though it's a bit tedious, totem cube, final dungeon's fire room w/ large skulls)
Decent environmental hazard variety in dungeons (water, (non-death) pits, traps that push you off of a platform (one triggers when opening a door and there's a pit on the other side of the door), MP draining floortiles - usually at the bottom of pits, traps that damage you when run into or interacted with, some objects that cast spells on you, very rare poison trap, other door traps?, teleporter traps?; see for example direnni tower)
Sometimes impressive world building (the game reacts to if you confront Queen Aubki about her betrayal of Mynisera during the emperor's courier quest - lowers your reputation with her and Daggerfall+she will send nightblades after you periodically to prevent you from snooping any further, nuanced portrayal of some of the factions (the supposedly good Mynisera isn't really, some royal family members are scheming against each other), can choose who to deliver certain evidence to for different outcomes to some quests)
Factions can start sending assassins after you if you piss them off or if you're carrying the token in the finale
Keep playing for as long as you like after the ending cutscene (not much to do if you've gained the highest rank with a guild though)
Unity:
Fixes many bugs and adds a command console (quest relevant enemies spawning outside of bounds or outside of where you can reach them, having too much loot crashing the game, better hit detection, wagon items don't disappear, better dodging no longer makes it harder to hit enemies, fixed damage and armor info via tooltips, end-game gear appearing in taverns, etc)
Unlimited save slots
New climbing system allows for climbing around corners
Can make the dungeons smaller (SmallerDungeons = True in the settings.ini file under the Appdata path). They're still pretty big
Improved enemy AI (pathfinding - still has some issues though)
Magic item pop-up menu (U)
Optional enemy infighting between different types - fun but also makes the game easier and they can start fighting before you even see them which is weird
Optional magic item repair and instant repair services (can take one or more days in the original) - both make the game easier
Optional starting dungeon (can also randomize it with mods)
Option to choose which quests to take on when requesting them from a faction/guild (still checks your rank)
Optional near death warning
Option for alternate random enemy selection (uses a different seed for spawning enemies so kinda like a randomizer-lite for it)
Click to attack option (random swing direction). Originally you had to hold the RMB and swing, which has some potential but this feels a lot better
Higher res
Can auto-configure fast travel to most locations registered in the quest log (convenient quest log; also makes it easier to browse active quests)
Improved location search function for fast travel on the map screen and you can view adjacent regions through it
Banking info added to the character menu (F5)
Ingredients that were different but had the same name now have unique identifiers such as "northern" and "southern" to make clear which is needed
A message now informs the player when an enemy has been pacified through language skills. Resting and fast traveling are also possible while near pacified NPCs
Acute Hearing, Adrenaline Rush, Athleticism were given an actual function
Personality attribute stat can't be dumped (need about 40+ to get favorable reactions from townspeople rather than 10-15)
Quest items must remain in the inventory at all times when the related quests are active while in the original they could be stored in the wagon and dropped from the inventory. This was done to avoid getting stuck during some quests (could accidentally sell quest items) and you can get around it with a cheat if needed
Travel Options mod (time accelerated travel in the overworld as an alternative to fast travel - pick the fastest option in the FT menu and the game makes your avatar auto-run towards the destination while in-game)
Max loiter (waiting) time slider
Mods for Additional outdoors/wilderness random encounters (warm ashes, includes encounters that lead to new quests) and wilderness NPCs, Added wilderness hills and mountains mods
Inventory search filter mod (type in the kind of item you want to show such as weapon or armor)
In-game tooltips mod, Display NPC (and enemies) health mod
MP regen mod (tweakable)
Convenient clock mod (adds a customizable clock to the HUD so you don't have to go into the Info menu to check)
Lootable dungeon weapon shelves mod (based on luck though)
Floors you're not on become semi-transparent on the building and dungeon map screens
Shield blocking mod (if well timed can stop enemy attacks)
192 hidden skyshards mod (they're all placed in the wilderness, +1 to an attribute in a set order for each one found)
Graphics mods (DREAM, handpainted models, enhanced sky, etc.)
Critical Hits fix mod (without it the critical strike skill actually increases the chance to hit instead; note that enemies also get a chance at critical hits though you can tweak it to give yourself an advantage as well as tweak the damage modifier)
Can have converted enemies follow you around in a beeline with the language overhaul mod (can trade with them, ask where you are and tell them to stay/follow)
Can sort spells and change their icons
+/-
Non-linear structure (can take on multiple quests at once and choose from a list at guilds or temples (Unity ver.), more of an open-ended fantasy life sim than a handcrafted sandbox; the main quest is also a partially non-linear chain of quests (four paths that eventually join as well as three shorter optional ones), sometimes there's an alternate path to a quest objective in a dungeon; can buy/make pretty much any spell from the get go if you save up some money for it, can choose between 7 factions to give the totem to in the end though there are only 4 different proper endings following the final dungeon)
Some ability gating (climbing, optional slowfall (or higher jump spell or skill) use to reach some platforms sooner such as during a bounty hunt quest in a dungeon early on, levitation spell to reach some platforms (optional when it's not given to you temporarily via interactive objects in dungeons though), lockpicking or open spell (can use bash instead which is lock strength-based), optional (?) water breath/walking spells (levitate also works) to get away from underwater threats or further into larger underwater areas)
Save anywhere outside of dialogue
Enemies can respawn (or spawn out of the blue near you when in the wilderness) while resting
The Mages' Guild always restores your SP (MP) for free
"Skill advancement for class" slider mechanic (an overly advantaged character levels up more slowly). Dungeons scale to your current level without mods so while it can be tempting to be able to level quickly it can make the game harder (it'll still be easier to beat most enemies at higher levels but some are hard at any level)
Action-based skill and spell leveling (can also make use of a skill trainer but only up until 51% proficiency, cheaper at lower levels, it progressively takes more uses to level up a skill that you're better at). The sum of your primary skills+two highest major and one highest minor skill also determine your chance of leveling up the character itself
Randomized HP and attribute point gain on level up (level up when resting, can save before doing it) - can be removed via a mod and another lets you tweak the values manually (also lets you increase skill points beyond the default max and gain more hp and attribute points than normal if you want)
Dice rolls affected by stats affect if you get hit and if you hit enemies - not just player skill (see Diablo or Secret of Mana). Going back and forth to physically dodge attacks is still very useful however (but otoh your Dodging skill trains slower if you do this)
Huge world (41 provinces w/ 100+ towns, dungeons and temples each; mostly procedurally generated but the towns are still relatively well designed and some dungeons are pre-built with randomized loot instead; see below for problems)
High elves' paralysis immunity is OP in the early game (until you gain reliable access to magic items or potions via the factions system). Note that you can no longer give yourself a critical weakness to paralysis while retaining it giving you more leeway when giving yourself advantages here - it was considered a bug and changed so that you'll go back to the default 50% resistance if you pick it, while picking low tolerance puts you at 75%
Immunity to disease (can kill you over time and traveling to where you can heal can take too long) and poison are also kind of OP
Breton's 30% magic resistance is also very good (especially combined with high intelligence and willpower) however it no longer defends against disease, paralysis and poison in the Unity version
The predefined classes aren't well made (warrior types tend to have multiple weapon types in major and primary skills which makes leveling up tedious and expensive, magicians tend to have every magic type in their primary and major slots which leads to crippling underspecialization; Only Nightblade or Assassin are passable))
Each skill has a 6 hour (6*5 mins real-time so 30 mins) cooldown period that affects when it can be increased again. Skill increases occur after resting, waiting/loitering or fast travel.
Destruction and Restoration as primary skills+the spell absorption advantage+fireball spell=easy mode since if you cast spells on yourself you'll pretty much always absorb the damage+MP (so you can ignore MP, but increased magery (mp boost) makes it even better). Unity does limit it to damage spells at least
Speed spell is pretty OP (also makes you swing much faster)
Custom reputation settings for custom classes during char creation however the total has to equal zero
9 different language skills is kinda cool but makes each more situational - they could've been grouped into a few categories since there is a general spell for it
Running, Climbing, Jumping and Swimming could've been weaved into Strength, Agility and Endurance or grouped together more. And/or turned into cheap spells added to one or two schools of magic. Melee weapon skills could also have been grouped (into one- and two-handed for example)
Some resource management (fatigue mechanic, limited air underwater, encumbrance/weight mechanic - can be edited with a mod, gold has weight)
Leather and chain as forbidden armor is OP without mods?
Stealing by night is OP, especially since you have access to your cart while indoors
Text box tutorial messages
Blunt weapons being better vs skeletons only matters in the early game?
Shields don't let you block - they just increase your general armor rating (which apparently makes you get hit less rather than lower damage taken; can be changed with a mod)
Gender/sex has no effect on NPC interactions
Nearly all quests have time limits while you're doing them (can be modded away) but you can do whatever you want between quests
No seamless transition between outdoors and indoors in towns (means you also can't view the rest of the town through windows - also can't enter or exit a house through these though some houses do have balconies or mini-courtyards, this does let you despawn guards however)
Superfast upwards movement in steep slopes
Skeleton key artifact (open any locked door including magically locked ones)
Strength has no effect on bashing
Escorted NPCs are handled like an inventory item (you see their portrait on screen but they're not there in-game)
Unusually hostile NPCs (sometimes makes for funny moments but it's also inconsistent at times, even mid-conversation even if you didn't change your tone). Some NPCs also make racist comments towards you however their reaction is all based on reputation, personality and enchantments that affect reactions
Some spells are too expensive to cast without the Magery advantage or the MP regen mod
Can't use teleport/recall on something or someone else (would be cool if you could use it like telekinesis in System Shock)
Open and Lock can only be cast on yourself (it's like a buff that makes it easier for you to open locked doors or vice versa)
Can turn down some guild quests and re-accept to get a better gold reward (pretty minor difference however)
The dungeon maps show hidden doors (wall doors)
There are torches but they aren't necessary as the game doesn't get that dark
Can only 100% one primary skill (the others will be capped at 95%; however you can 100% multiple major, minor and misc. skills IF you don't 100% a primary skill first)
Fall damage
Melee weapons all have the same range (can be changed via the combat overhaul mod but it changes a bunch of things) and there are no spears or halberds (there are staffs however)
Can relock doors only with a spell
Water walking makes you swim faster underwater instead of letting you walk on water like the description says. It only works as expected when moving through marshes
Quests generally yield the same amount of reputation (5) regardless of complexity or challenge but a few do give more (10). You also gain half that rep with allied factions, rounded down. The numbers are lower for failed quests: 2 and 1, respectively. Some quests also increase rep with one faction while decreasing it with an opposed faction
Some hidden world map locations which you can find via random enemy drops
Non-solid trees and plants+small rocks in the wilderness
Some dark themes (Dhurnam)
Have to not be running to trigger jump mode quickly (also can't do it while slowfalling unless falling into a wall)
Some delay when equipping a weapon via the inventory - can be bad during combat
Can train magic schools via magic items but not the jumping skill while riding a horse
No mid-air control while slowfalling/gliding (can't change direction)
Level cap at 32 and that's if you're patient and fulfill some requirements (based on skill sum mentioned above, if you're patient this means that slower leveling but more HP per level is better?)
Becoming a werewolf is part of making the end-game much easier?
Unity:
Arrows no longer ignore walls
More nuance to guild membership - a character can be demoted to a lower rank within a guild when the character's guild reputation drops below the minimum threshold for the character's current rank.
Persistent dungeons mod (without this the dungeons reset when exited, spawning a new layout with new items etc.; ). Two issues: Recalling into or out of a dungeon isn't supported; oors and action objects (levers, platforms etc) are saved while in motion, so it is possible to leave a dungeon while they're moving and come back later and they will start where they left off
Guild quest access change (not sure if good or bad): Mages' Guilds and Knightly Orders would originally offer quests based on guild rank or character level, whichever is higher. The other guilds would use rank alone. In Unity, all guilds use rank only.
Could also climb ceilings (hanging mode) in an earlier version but it was removed due to bugs
-
Pretty brutal beginning if you don't go for a warrior-type build (I got killed several times by the third enemy even though I had nice stats (462 roll)+I kept missing it over and over and it was immune to one of my weapons, enemies do a lot of damage since you can't reduce damage taken (until later with spells) but it works both ways if you have decent starting stats). The early quests in the first town you can reach (gothway garden) are also pretty uneven in difficulty and you're not always warned about more difficult quests - For example I took on a bounty hunt from the Z'en temple and it led me to a dungeon with a bunch of werewolves (which were immune to my best weapon) and monster fish
Some control/interface issues (jump mode won't trigger if holding down jump when touching the wall (which makes you keep jumping automatically), the game doesn't show you what happened after using a switch in a dungeon - becomes a problem in direnni tower for example, the default attack controls are pretty bad - movement freezes while you slowly swing your weapon by dragging the mouse across the screen (cool how you can stab or swing but doesn't seem to change anything) and if you let go too soon then you quickly look in the direction you were swinging instead so it's very hard to use hit and run tactics, spellcasting is odd in that you have to first arm the spell by selecting from a menu and then rearm after casting as well with a hotkey - smoother with hotkey bar and readied spellcasting hands mods, clunky inventory interface in some ways (have to click icons to switch interaction method and the tooltip feature doesn't show item stats, have to select "remove" and left click on loot to move it into your inventory), dungeon walls facing the camera often aren't shown at all on the 3D map making it harder to navigate (top down view has a similar issue in that you can't tell the difference between an unexplored path and a wall for some of the walls), when asking for directions to something that's in another town and storing the info in the notebook you only store the response so you won't see what you were asking about!, some spells use the same thumbnail - can change it but the selection is kinda bad, can't talk to an NPC you've received a quest from until it's completed or failed - this includes vendors, no mini-map and can't move while viewing the map, can't quickly tell if a weapon you're looking at is better than the one you have equipped or if it's forbidden to you, advantages and disadvantages are under History in the character sheet menu, can't edit or sell back a created spell after exiting the spellmaker shop, can't say "ask me later" when a random NPC offers you a quest, can't add own notes to the quest log and some main quest relevant dialogue isn't saved there (such as medora direnni's location or the underking agent's location during the The Ancient Watcher quest - have to double check the letter for the latter), sometimes you're not told how long you have to finish a quest before taking it on - can save before doing so and reload though, can't combine jumping and slowfalling while the spell is active - have to cast it mid-jump instead, can't cancel a slowfall or levitation spell, jump mode sometimes takes longer to activate (when I was getting out of a dungeon by jumping up towards a shaft (was the only way out there) it would sometimes trigger more quickly), a teleporter anchor/beacon isn't displayed in-game or on the map screen, )
Some trial & error (small skull room in final dungeon, a teleporter beacon/anchor stays even if you go to a different part of the world - no warning, can get stuck by turning down a main quest, Nulfaga's throne room's locked door "riddle" (no clue that what she's talking about has any relation to opening the shortcut+can't talk to her again nor add her dialogue to the notebook), can't swim if you're carrying more than 50kg - can still use levitate underwater however, what to pick during character creation, you might not know that you've contracted a disease unless you have a high enough medical skill, finding some quest items and switches in dungeons, in darkness means nighttime+indoors+in dungeons - you'll spend most of your time "in darkness", strength doesn't affect hand-to-hand or blade skills, the differences between Spell Absorption/Spell Resistance/Elemental Resistance: Magicka (the latter doesn't protect against elemental magic which is about half of destruction magic), various mechanics and stats unless you read the manual and/or guides before char creation - some attribute descriptions are rather vague for example and how long a round is isn't mentioned (5 sec), don't have to be undetected to train backstabbing - just hit an enemy from behind, some spells like shock are a bit weird in that you can't cast them unless in range of an enemy target (they get readied and then you have to get in range), quest givers only sometimes tell you about the reward before accepting (and sometimes it becomes something else after completing the quest), rep rewards from quests aren't shown in-game, every 112 days your rep with any NPC or faction moves one point closer to zero, some traps, if you're sick you don't get a warning when resting (you do when attempting to fast travel and periodically while moving around) - instead happens after waking up at which point you might die)
Enemies can detect you through walls and line of sight isn't that relevant (rather the game checks your stealth skill if in detection range) - makes stealth tedious as you need to crouch or sneak and have very high Stealth or it's too unreliable (combining sneak and crouch has no effect). It also takes too long to get your skill up in a regular game so by the time you do you could be one shotting enemies with other methods and without sneaking. Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood also don't involve much sneaking around. However, a decent invisibility true spell can work pretty well for a "fighter/mage" build as even if you're detected you can just circle strafe and various enemies will lose track of you again so that you can keep attempting to backstabbing them
Some tedious aspects (the opened shortcut door to nulfaga in shedungent doesn't stay opened and all dungeon maps are forgotten after a certain amount of time even for the ones with permanent layouts, backtracking through direnni tower to medora - could've opened a shortcut after first finding her, level gated main quests (can reach medora in direnni tower but then not be able to get the next quest from her, soul of a lich quest won't trigger until reaching level 7), too many NPCs not giving you directions even at around average personality and neutral reputation, sometimes can't ask NPCs about the person you're looking for regarding a quest rather than the one who gave you the quest, sometimes can't have the exact location of an NPC or house marked on the town map when asking for directions (in this case you only get vague directions like E or NE), dead space and dead ends in dungeons+empty rooms here and there - made better with dungeon size set to small in Unity ver. (.ini file), some empty rooms behind locked doors, some dead space and boring backtracking in towns as well, sometimes there are several paths leading to the same spot in a dungeon (though sometimes you'll find some loot on the way), can only sell armor to armorers or pawn shops and some towns don't have one, door switches can blend in with the environment at times, sometimes you'll find a gate tied to a switch in a dungeon but finding the switch is pointless since you can get around it anyway, can be tedious to find the skill trainer for a specific skill without a guide, various fetch quests without interesting twists to them, kinda slow elevators overall (some are fast, some are very slow) - makes the switch puzzle in the sentinel castle dungeon tedious, the orsinium dungeon has too many dead ends+is a bit too big+doesn't have enough trap variety, gauntlets are oddly rare)
Even NPCs that you've recently done quests for can turn hostile all of a sudden (even though you don't have negative rep or very low PER). Sometimes NPCs also refer to you having committed some crime when asking about directions as an excuse not to help you, even if you don't have negative rep and it's a new town.
More expensive spells don't level you up quicker (example: casting a Restoration spell with a cost of 5 will increase the Restoration skill by the same amount as casting a Restoration spell with a cost of 50)
The wilderness areas feel very old school procedurally generated (meaning pretty bland and repetitive) though this can be helped some with mods
Some skills and spells suck (lockpicking sucks without mods (bashing (attacking a door to open it) kinda makes it redundant (does damage the weapon somewhat but only as much as regular combat and it's cheap to repair) and isn't quiet; also have to level it up after failing to pick a lock to be able to try again), pickpocket/shoplift (F1) sucks, acute hearing not worth it?)
Some races aren't as good to play as (Dark elf chars have the same race bonus as redguard only slightly worse, Nords' resistance bonus to frost isn't that useful nor is the climbing and swimming bonuses of the Khajiit and Argonians respectively?)
The enemy AI can't jump so you can cheese it with jumping or climbing in various spots
Repetitive in some ways (not enough monster variety for most of the main quests, various repeated quests and some repeated dungeon and building layouts, kind of spongy enemies in the late game main quest dungeons (unless you do a lot of faction side quests which eventually lets you buy better gear as you gain access to better materials at higher levels - various side quests are identical and you have to use your leveling-related skills constantly so it's basically grinding (and even when I did I didn't reach very high levels throughout the main quest - my highest skill was long blade at 64% and the next was jumping at 57%, I got restoration to 47% as a primary skill but mysticism and thaumaturgy as major skills only reached 33%), more lenient with gear drops but materials above your level are rare and you can't find the best material gear at level 3 or something))
Can't play as an Imperial or Orc
Only two kinds of ranged weapons besides spells (longbows and shortbows and the latter are simply worse)
Long blades are better than the other melee weapons throughout most of the game
The background quiz during creation sometimes only gives nonsensical responses considering your character build (I couldn't pick a weapon type I had specialized in for example)
Endurance only affects the ease of increasing the swimming skill (no other skills)
Some plot/world building oddities (Nulfaga reacting with "I despise your kind" right after beating the game (empire ending), the royals you helped don't act differently after beating the game, no one reacts if you kill the guards in daggerfall castle, NPCs randomly think you're beng rude when you're politely asking questions, weird how some know who you are when you reach the first town (you haven't been in that part of the world before afaict from the intro), have access to various subjects that it seems like you shouldn't when just starting out such as various guild/faction names, someone can say "come in" when entering a house but then it's empty, weird how you can be in a guild's base but if you ask about it then the NPCs there don't know anything, weird how the guy you're supposed to protect acts clueless and the woman who gave you the quest can't be talked to when in their residence during the assassins quest in Tamwick (also weird how they spawn in the middle of the room), the book thief in Whiteton is just an enemy that hangs out in a store - would've been more interesting if you had to search or if there was more complexity to it, NPCs sometimes don't react to immediate danger or you having disposed of it - haunted house quest for example, weird how prince Lhotun in Sentinel doesn't just talk to you directly when you're in front of him in the castle (instead sends a letter), no reaction from Gortwog after getting the letter from his dungeon, at times you can end up in an occupied tavern room when renting a room and resting (and there's no reaction) - rare though)
Can be detected while checking an item container in someone's house without anyone seeing you - this spawns city guards very close to you (they will despawn if you go outside of the house however, also if you got caught and saw the surrender prompt it means your reputation will go down)
Can't swing both one-handed melee weapons at once or alternate between them if you have two equipped
A dungeon can appear to have two+ entrances on the outside but upon entering they lead to the same single entrance inside
Regarding materials, Orcish gear is uselessly rare and Silver's only advantage over Steel is having better enchanting capability (by the time you're enchanting stuff you'll have moved way past Silver; note that Silver or better is required to harm lycanthropes, ghosts, wraiths, mummies, and standard vampires)
Can sometimes see enemies through walls
Some races aren't properly visually represented among the non-story relevant NPCs (bretons, redguards, and "sort of" dark elves are the ones you can meet however some can be of a different race even if looking like one of these before entering dialogue)
Can't upgrade the jumping spell to 3x+ jump height
Can't lay traps or trap spells
Some quests are too tough considering the reward (haunted house w/ ghost quest - might be easy with the right spell though (I was lucky to have a magic item with a fireball enchantment), ) or simply not worth the time investment
Can't hit indoors NPCs
Inconsistent effects from having your weapon readied around others - NPCs don't care but enemies you're trying to pacify with language skills do!
Water breathing+water walking combo spell makes the swimming skill redundant unless you have no MP
Non-seamless/dynamic music and horizon transitions between evening and night, night and morning, etc.
Can't go underwater in the sea
Can't check faction reputation in-game
Climb speed can't be increased (tried speed and strength boosts) - can use the jump spell and jump while climbing to climb faster though
Being able to get levitate so soon makes some level design redundant and lessens the sense of ability progression
Most of the daedra lords in the sword and crossbow room didn't use their spells against me
Pretty easy Orsinium dungeon. Fairly easy final dungeon if you have the right spells (beat it at level 10 with speed and strength boost, levitate, spell absorption in darkness, fireball item, shield, reflection and an adamantium weapon)
One corpse sprite for all human and vampire enemies?, No backside sprite for various NPCs, Sometimes an NPCs skintone changes between their in-game model and the escort portrait or dialogue face
Critical strike lagged behind my main weapon skill (long blades) by over 10% even though I switched to a blunt weapon quite a bit in the late-game
No real bosses
Unity:
No "quit to launcher menu" option
Notes:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall_Mod:Daggerfall_Unity/Gameplay_Differences
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall_Mod:Daggerfall_Unity/Character_Creation_Differences
More including bug fixes: https://forums.dfworkshop.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1662
-Not enough contrast on the 2D sprites when using the graphics mod (DREAM)
-Buoyancy=Water walking but is considered a thaumaturgy and frost element spell? (UESP guide)
-A skill turning grey in the character sheet menu means it had leveled up since you last looked at the sheet
STR=encumbrance (max=str*1.5), weapon damage+ease of increasing climbing and jumping, axe and blunt
INT=mp+increasing medical
WIL=spell resistance (=offensive spell resistance incl negative status spells like paralyze and silence)+increasing magic school skills
AGI=to hit and avoid getting hit+increasing archery, backstabbing, critical strike (=to hit without mods), hand-to-hand, long and short blade, stealth
END=hp and max hp gained per level, healing rate, poison and disease resistance, fatigue, holding your breath+increasing swimming
PERsonality=ease of increasing etiquette, mercantile and streetwise (so mainly npc reactions and shopping; no other effects). Changed in Unity so don't go below 40
SPD=movement rate, weapon swing speed, missile reloading time+increasing dodging and running
LUC=modifies some action takens, doesn't affect loot. "Luck isn't used in many places. It's definitely used for chance to hit and climbing"
Bugs:
-During the assassins quest in Tamwick only one of two enemies spawned at one point and this made the quest unfinishable
-Same thing happened during the gothway garden ransom quest
-Sometimes quest log entries are duplicated
-Some enemies can't go up very steep slopes (skeleton warriors) and some kinda get stuck halfway
-Encountered a bug that made Silence stay active on my char after supposedly wearing off - had to reload the save
-In one dungeon a cage was placed right in front of the only door leading forward - I could glitch through it but not back again, had to teleport out
-Didn't receive Medora's vision (dust of restful death, maybe I just clicked past it by mistake but that's also an issue) but could continue the quest by visiting Gortwog
-Level Up Adjuster mod didn't work for me
Tips:
Zaric: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp1TstKeuLE&t=725s
Dominic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaIqWdOslV0
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Daggerfall:Leveling_and_Skills
https://www.reddit.com/r/Daggerfall/comments/onp2wu/daggerfall_unity_character_creation_guide/
Dungeon navigation guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Daggerfall/comments/3oeln1/how_do_you_stay_motivated_to_finish_this_game/cvwrz0b/?st=isayf5hq&sh=676e6f96
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Daggerfall/comments/57sjy3/the_best_build_for_a_total_beginner/
-"The highest roll I have seen is 470 total. The lowest I've seen is 420"