When you are an Apple pie shop, people expect apple pies, when it is a sweet roll shop people expect sweet rolls.

It's a bakery, they even have bread.

Oh I don't know, maybe show a contrast between the Nibeneans and Colovians? Or maybe show a contrast between Daedric cults and the Nine Divines beyond the shallow black and white morality we got? How about giving the Mythic Dawn actual depth and backstory instead of making them card-carrying villains?

Why couldn't Cyrodiil live up to the world of Vvardenfell? Even the dragons in Skyrim had more depth to them.....

There was a difference. The colovians are more rustic and are more devout worshippers of the 9 Divines, whereas the Nibeneans are more materialistic and self-centered. The difference in personality between Chorrol and the Imperial City was immediately noticeable if you actually talked to NPCs, but it was subtle, like the difference between the modern American midwest and New York City. At the end of the day, they're both Americans.

Daedra worshippers vs. Imperial cult? The priesthood was pompous and arrogant, swollen with their own authority as representatives of the gods, despite very small evidence of the influence of the Divines in everyday life. The Daedra worshippers were initially wary of me, but once I proved myself a kindred soul and showed my worthiness they were more than kind to me. What black and white morality are you going on about?

As for the Mythic Dawn, to cast off the yoke of a corrupt theocracy based on the worship of dead gods and be reborn in a lush paradise surrounded only by the strongest and best, who have been tempered in the flames of Oblivion? Doesn't sound like a bad gig to me. But you know, you'd be required to pay attention to the words on the screen to catch that.

Hard to pay attention to words when the voice actor for Ruma Cameron, the other Mythic Dawn agents, and Necromancers were all "Mwahahaha!! We're so evil!" in their tone of voice. (this is another reason why putting voice acting everywhere was bad)

And uhh...why were the Counts sitting on their asses with an imminent succession crisis? Should'nt they be maneuvering to take advantage of the power vacuum, given the talk of corruption in Morrowind? Oh wait, they didn't even bother including the Elder Council, much less any actual political intrigue.

Of course they sounded evil to you, you're their enemy, the personal lapdog of the greatest living threat to their ambitions and you were personally acting against them! They treated you like an enemy because, oddly enough, you were. Not to mention, by the time you ever have a real conversation with Ruma or Raven, you've already murdered both of them.

As for the counts, it's no secret that a massive political subplot got cut due to deadlines, which is why Sutch and the Elder Council are missing. Disappointing, but that's the reality of being in business. Doesn't say anything about Bethesda except that they are, in fact, human.

Stop defending Oblivion. It's not a real TES game!

I'm gonna assume that was a joke (hard to tell sometimes when it's just text). Because, speaking as someone who's played this series since 2003, Oblivion has the most subtle and realistic world design and culture of any TES game except perhaps Daggerfall (just due to sheer scale) and it's hands-down my favorite in the series.

I don't see how the landfall should upset Morrowind fans; Bethesda weren't going to set another game there and we still have a rich, interesting Morrowind in TES history. And now there's a new one and presumably a new diaspora culture too, bearing in mind that the dunmer are a proud people who would cling to their traditions. Well, except House Hlaalu, naturally. It is a pity we never got see House Dres and they were the first in line during the argonian invasion.
What would have been dreadful was if they retconned it and said that the entire province was like http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Cheydinhal all along. Judging by the 1st pocket guide, Cyrodiil was a much greater casualty from the player's point of view even in the tragedy for the in-game people was in Morrowind.

I could still see this as a "Morrowind is GONE, deal with it" from the devs. Personally, I would like to have a DLC or even a future TES to let us go back to Morrowind now even more because it'd be interesting to see it how it's now. Chaotic, new nature and smaller, young settlements on the shores of Vvardenfell. Maybe they even tried to rebuild places. and the best thing: all cliff racers dead now!

Cliff racers were already gone before the Red Year. Jiub got to them first.

velorien lol. u and your profile pic i swear. i always love hearing your input because your expansive knowledge,input,and profile pic have this odd crazy effect that could be described as CHIM like. haha

IMO, the only reason they destroyed morrowind was to make skyrim easier, so they didnt have to involve lore on the Great Houses, what happened in the post tribunal upheavals, morag tong etc. I think this is also why they decided to make skyrim 200 years after oblivion, so they didnt have to think up the aftermath of the oblivion crisis etc. Its good to have a fresh start, and the work put into skyrim is phenomenol, but its kinda sad that huge events seem to get forgotten and kicked under the carpet

If Morrowind wasn't sacked, then there wouldn't have to be a load dunmer refugees in Skyrim and the developers wouldn't be obliged to explain any more about them than they did in Oblivion. What they've done now begs more questions than it has answered with "They died out,".

@OP: Dood, this was forshadowed in Morrowind itself. If bathesda didn't do this, they'd be betraying their own lore, and we'd be yelling at them for it. Get off your high horse and actually consider the lore before you make claims like this.

Besides, Morrowind Post-Eruption is now open for exploration. All we need is an expansion pack to explore what Morrowind and Vvardenfell look like now. I'd be all over that. Stop whining and instead lend your support behind an Morrowind Expansion for Skyrim.

Bethesda did not write the books.

Yes it's the illuminati mayan hammerite roswellian conspiracy! The dark consortium forced Bethesda to ally the voracious reptilians and consume the heart of the ashlands.

Which is what pisses me off so much about that damned book! I took that "Nerevarine chosen one" stuff to heart! My character for some reason went totally against the way I played him for the entire game to take a vacation to Akaviir?! I would rather he died defending Morrowind than have that happen! Does this mean that no matter what I do in Skyrim, the people there are going to think of me as "that [censored] who let Skyrim be destroyed" when it turns out nothing I do there matters either? If so then I start to question my own dedication to this series.

This is why I hate moving settings forward in time! It makes everything my character has done redundant!

...The Nerevarine went to Akavir sometime between Morrowind and Oblivion. That had nothing to do with the books.

Or he didn't. It is, after all, only a rumor. If your personal canon says otherwise, then that takes precedence.

It creates for amazing history. And when they create TES 6, think how awsome that would be for the new players. A dead land in their game is actually an explorable world.

I think it shows a good cause and effect in the series, when you think about it. When you remove Vivec's powers at the end of Morrowind, I knew something bad was going to happen, I just didn't know what, and now I know...

If I had known that the big bleeping rock hovering over the High Fane had been hurled at Morrowind like an asteroid, and would maintain its velocity once Vivec's power no longer kept it at bay, I would've seen the destruction of the province coming a mile away. Like, before I even finished the MQ around nine years ago. It's that kind of omission of accurate information on Bethesda's part that annoys me about their lore.

oh great another fallout game.

From Sermon 33 of the 36 Lessons of Vivec in Morrowind:

"Lie Rock, however, used the confusion to launch his own attack on the city-god, Vivec. He was hastened by all three of the black guardians, who wanted him swiftly gone, though they meant no hostility to the lord of the middle air.
The citizenry of http://uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Vivec_%28city%29 screamed as they saw a shooting star come down out of the sky hole like a toll-road of hell. But Vivec merely raised his hand and froze Lie Rock just above the city and then he pierced the monster with Muatra.
(The practice of piercing the Second Aperture is now forbidden.)
When Nerevar returned, he saw the frozen comet above his lord's city. He asked whether or not Vivec wanted it removed. 'I would have done so myself if I wanted, silly Hortator. I shall keep it there with its last intention intact, so that if the love of the people of this city for me ever disappear, so shall the power that holds back their destruction.'"

Pretty much this. I did not kill Vivec in my game though as I had an inkling of what would happen, I had read all 36 lessons. Why could I not just kill them all and usurp the heart? I had the Tools dammit!! Lol