Cyrodiil is a lush and humid valley akin to a jungle and IC is a spiderwebs conglomerate extending out unto the island itself with brigdes interconnectng the various districts


oh wait

According to the official map.

Solitude = Imperial Capital
Windhelm = Rebel Capital

Remember, there is a civil war going on. There's going to be two capitals.

I believe it was also mentioned that there would be a cultural capital, one that would serve as the main unified capital, but I can't remember where...

Did you guys notice from Arena that Markarth side was a tiny town, and the big town in that region was Snowhawk? Does anyone expect to see the massive ruins of Snowhawk?

Well if we have five "massive cites" than the capital has to be even bigger. Maybe 4-5 times of the IC?

What if no single town served the role or reached the size of Oblivion's Imperial City this time around? If I was inclined to pull things out of my... head, I'd say maybe each of the five main cities will be noticeably bigger than Oblivion's seven towns were and will provide enough services and activity by themselves to make a centralized capital unnecessary. That's what would make the most sense from a resources allocation perspective if they want to fulfill a "massive cities" promise. As long as they don't go the Fallout route where towns were 2-3 shacks or rooms inside a building with a vendor, I'll be happy.

I find that odd, (though I too saw the map) since it said in one magazine that Windhelm was where all the Imperial guards hang out.


WHAT? What makes you think that the capital city is not one of the "massive" cities. "Massive" means "really big", not "big, but other things in the same area are bigger".

I also doubt we will have cities with 400-500 buildings. Very much. There's just no way they have enough resources.

EDIT: I think my post sounded a little flamish. I didn't intend it that way if you got that impression. But just to put it in perspective, that one major city you are proposing would be about the same amount of buildings as every city in Oblivion combined. Yes, they have double the resources, but still, it seems improbable when you take into account that there are supposedly 5 massive cities and 20 smaller settlements containing at least 10 buildings. And the fact that the map is roughly the size of Oblivion.

I think this is a good possibility. I wouldn't rule out an IC or larger sized city, but from the look and sound of things, they will all be more similarly sized.

I also think is quite likely.

It would fit the independent nature of the Skyrim holds and the divisiveness of the political situation as well.

Ahh ok i wonder if they will use Karthwasten Hall in the game as well as the College of Winterhold

Yeah thats what I been wondering. There was also a vague mention of Snowhawk in Oblivion, during the Dark Brotherhood quest line.

Perhaps Snowhawk was destroyed by dragons.

I have a feeling it might be Whiterun not exactly sure though

Whiterun sounds good.

5 Major cities, and some Minor cities... So, yeah...