put simply - bethesda have A LOT of different areas and climates to choose from. hell, they could have chosen it to be in a desert/marsh setting, so im pretty sure that they have HEAPS of ideas on how to make skyrim diverse

Uuh... deserts in Skyrim? I can imagine pine forests, tundras, snowy mountains, rocky cliffs, forests, icy lakes, icebergs, and snow wastelands but not deserts or marsh.

True, though I still doubt they would, because firstly Skyrim is mostly mountainous and secondly it is supposed to be distinctly Norse based. IMO I think that deserts are posssible, but rocky ones, not sandy ones, jungles, almost totally impossible, but I think they may have some swampy and alienish places in the East near Morrowind and some variation of vegetation style (ie. having deciduous trees in some areas rather than just pine).

At this time, we don't know what Skyrim will look like, since we've yet to see any in-game screenshots. and even once we do see them, one screenshot is probably not indicative of the entire world, but there are two things I feel safe in saying. We WILL see snow in Skyrim, and the game will not ALL be snow. Obviously, Skyrim must have some snow, it's the furthest north of all provinces, and it seems obvious that in Tamriel, the further north you go, the colder it gets. Plus, when one thinks of Nords and Skyrim, one cannot imagine a place without snow. But still, as some of pointed out, in lore, Skyrim is not supposed to be only that, and while Bethesda has proven that they are willing to change how certain provinces are portrayed in lore if they do please, I think they understand that a game with only snow and ice will get boring, especially considering how Oblivion has been criticized for a lack of variety in landscape, and yet that game is still more varied than some seem to expect Skyrim to be. In conclusion, no, I do not think we will see only snow in Skyrim, more than that, I won't say until we have more information.



While this is true, the terrain of Cyrodiil at least seemed plausible to me if one ignores previous lore and only looks at the geographical location of the land. This is not to say I approved of the decision to turn Cyrodiil into what we got in Oblivion, because I don't, and I feel that Bethesda's "explanation" for the change feels like a half-hearted handwave. But putting aside personal preferences and previous conceptions of what Cyrodiil might look like, based on old lore, Cyrodiil seems plausible enough. On the other hand, while I could certainly see Bethesda defying players' expectations of Skyrim to an extent, I can't see it having tropical jungles or anything.

My big complaint with these threads is that in my opinion, even the best possible outcome is not so great. It's NOT going to be all snow...but it's not going to be much more than Oblivion was in terms of variation.

Unless the devs get creative. Here's two things we didn't have in OB. Ice fields...all the snowy regions were mountainous. I want a flat, arctic tundra punctuated with rock or ice outcroppings.

Brackish tarn or moors
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/544244
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrian5000/3374194250/

Same here, I want ENDLESS BLIZZARDS!

Global warming.

Problem solved.

Wow.

I agree.

And by the way...You know it's Dragon Born, right? Just making sure.

I'm going to agree with that Skyrim map: http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr298/messiah_07/SkyrimMap.jpg

Reason is, I don't think Skyrim will follow the common "The more north you go, the colder it gets". Although in Oblivion, the pale pass obviously shown snow. But that's to be expected near high mountains touching rainy regions. What happens is cold winds come from the sea and sweep across the land. They bring clouds and precipitation with it. Since the the top of mountains are cold, clouds cool and that causes snow. Following that, you could have snow in the mountains, with cold forests connecting, and temperate coasts. Remember there are weather patterns that could give us hot area to the North, and cold snowy area near the mountains.

And as far as we know, Tamriel isn't the only continent. Considering that, we can't say Skyrim is near a pole or cold region for sure. Or maybe I'm ignorant.

We already know what Skyrim is going to look like. Remember the VGAs?
http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/7874/vgac.jpg

One region in Skyrim ... Also, I'm thinking that in isolated grottoes and valleys you could find almost anything. Unique conditions (magical or natural) could produce unexpected environments. Ocean currents like the Gulf Stream can also have major effects on climate.

[quote name='NoSympathy' timestamp='1293128232' post='16863335']
http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr298/messiah_07/SkyrimMap.jpg

Does anyone know where exactly tht came from? Whoever made it did a good job, IMO that could easily pass as the in game map made by beth.

Anyway, I find it highly unlikely that Skyrim would just be a snowy wasteland. When the Nords first arrived, they'd have never been able to fend off the native elves without a decent amount of farmland and natural resources. Ever tried growing a crop on some ice? How about making a weapon out of snow? They would have failed horribly and when the next load of settlers came, they would choose a more hospitable environment.

Here in Canada where snow and mountains reign supreme, we have marshes galore. Wetlands, marshes, sloughs, and lakes. Many, many lakes. Ponds too. And peninsulas, islands, inlets, coves, and bogs.

I believe Bethesda said it's more like Canada. Which means not all snow.

Skyrim will certainly have non snowy areas. The mountains to the south were snowy because of altitude. If you look at the world map Bruma is south (and a bunch west) of Balmora. The Islands off the top of VVardenfel (dagon fel area) didn't have any snow. The bottom of Solstheim (which was the same latitude as Dagon Fell area) did have snow. Going by Morriwind's climate, only the top coast will be snow-covered at sea level. I cant imagine the central valley of Skyrim would be snow covered.

Its got a big mountain on top of other mountains? :\

It will mostly be snow of course with small patches of plains and greenery here and there in some regions.

Southward will definately have more greenery.