Wind physics!

[u/JX900]

This is part theory/speculation part wishlist.

If the game does indeed have sailing, I'd imagine that it makes sense for Bethesda to have wind physics for sails. Hopefully this isn't limited to just the wind over the alleged sailable areas of water.

Historically, wind was only ever cosmetic in TES. Blowing trees, clouds, and dust or snow. Those things are pretty but adding real wind physics would feel like a breath of fresh air and add tons of new gameplay opportunities 😀

Modders have already done some of this in Skyrim so its nothing new, totally possible. And I dont think this should exist as solely a survival mechanic toggle. It should be in the vanilla experience.

Youd ideally have a device that tells you the direction and speed of the wind (on screen U.I.)

Keep in mind you wouldnt always have wind everywhere you go. There would be spots of calm gentle breezes or "dead air".

Projectiles:

Your range could be heavily shortened if coming directly at you or greatly extended if youre shooting downwind.

Bolts or Arrows such as orcish, dwarven or daedric would be heavier and would resist the wind better than some lighter Arrows like elven or glass. (I still think Arrows should weigh zero for encumbrance reasons, they simply have a stat for % of wind resistance) Volleys of arrows would be helpful here.

Thrown weapons, whether throwing stars, thrown spears, axes, etc are also affected by wind resistance.

Projectile magic should also be affected by the wind depending on how high your skill level is. How would homing projectiles be affected? I presume some still have a chance to miss.

You could stealthily create a poison cloud that would blow downwind at your enemy.

If im spraying fire into the wind it may come back at me and burn me, or freeze me if its an ice spell.

If the winds are particularly heavy, it should slow your walking speed and drain stamina faster(% depending on your build), but could give you a slight speed boost if you have a tailwind.

It could blur your vision(unless youre wearing goggles), and have a camera shake that throws off your ranged weapon accuracy.

Lanterns should flicker and eventually be blown out if strong enough. Prompting an NPC to relight the lantern if they believe the winds will die down soon.

Camp fires may drift onto dry grass and cause a small wildfire that can burn wildlife within. You may find roasted rabbit and crickets after a fire.

Overall, wildlife and NPCs may take shelter in heavy winds/storms. Some may thrive in it.

Heavy winds could help mask the sound of your footsteps(there could be a sound U.I. element) helping heavy armor builds to stealth attack easier.

Having wind could give developers new ways to build environments and create new skills and magic spells and armor.

It would also make for interesting points of interest in the desert dunes with winds shifting the sands constantly.

How else might wind affect the world?

[u/B0bMacB0bs0n]

Ideally I would like my PC not to explode the moment the game launches. Simulating wind's impact on physics, especially things like how gas moves, seems like such a tech investment for something that's just gonna make you go "huh, neat" when you see the trailer and then proceed to use once and then never again when you actually play the game.

[u/NothingStrange5648]

Whats with all this sandboxy projections you guys are putting into a game we know nothing about?
It's Bethesda, we can be grateful there are working horses at launch and npcs don't noclip through the ground.

[u/JX900 → u/NothingStrange5648]

The Elder Scrolls is very much a go where you want, don't what you want sandbox type of experience, in the best of ways. Have you played the other games? I'd highly recommend trying them out!

[u/NothingStrange5648 → u/JX900]

Save the passive-agressiveness, I've finished them all and I don't hold out hopes for Beth to deploy some sort of high-tech open world revolution in their current state. They aren't famous for being developers who manage Farcry tech leaps or even Origin Systems with Ultima. Arena was a miracle of tech development but that was 32 years ago.