Why can't different Dwemer regions have different architecture? Look at the Hlaalu buildings compared to the Telvanni! They are completely different from each other. Why can't the Dwemer in one place such as Skyrim be different then the ones on Vvardenfell? It makes sense to me.

Edit: Basically what Sleign said

Well it was worse for wear and Markarth Side wasn't even one of the 5 main cities that were considered because it was a lesser known city compared to others. For all we knew, Markarth Side had been abandoned in the past two centuries or destroyed in the war. Also, the label Markarth could also mean it was near the area of Markarth Side, it didn't mean it was it.

When was it said that there would only be 5 cities? I might have missed it. Was it in the magazine?

There are way more than 5 cities... it's just that 5 in particular were called "massive" I don't even remember where it came from now...

Thanks, but does anyone know where it was actually said? It would be good to have it up here anyways.

By the way, what is this speak of Markarth? It was probably mentioned already but this picture here is labeled: Markarth021.jpg

http://static.zenimax.com/bethblog/upload/2011/01/Markarth021.jpg

On page 49 it was said that there was 5 "massive" cities which is what most people tried to guess. As for there are more than 5 cities, we can't be sure of that at all and there is definitely not way more than 5 cities, there are only 7 major cities in Skyrim and when they say 5 "massive" cities, it is implied that there are only 5 major cities seeing as how it would be logical to say how many cities there were. Now there are many nice sized villages, there aren't a lot of cities in Skyrim, which is fine of course.



Markarth Side is a city in Skyrim.

I was about to point that out. People keep thinking this is one of the 5 biggest cities, but all he said was "major", which doesn't mean that. For all we know (though this is probably exaggeration) there are 15 or so cities but only 5 are "massive".

There would only be a max of 7 major cities if there is going to be more than 5.

You don't actually know that, though. I mean it is 200 years later. Anyway, I seriously doubt that Markarth Side is one of the top 5. On the map we got, every (unless they changed it's location extremely dramatically) place that could be Markarth Side took up 4 blocks, while some other cities took up 9. The towns also take up 4 blocks, so it is difficult to say exactly what size it is (I guess everything just over 1 is 4, and everything just over 4 is 9), but it would seem to at least not be one of the biggest.

Yeah but the scale of the block map isn't fact of how big it really is.

Gratz on Disciple btw, where is your Zim avatar!?!? Deathnote isn't as good as an Invader Zim avatar!

Yes, it is. It's better. L is cool. I was tired of Zim's manic personality and wanted to adopt a cooler, calmer style (I dunno, but when I read people's posts, I imagine it from the perspective of their avatar if they have one).

Anyway, the only reason they would give them those block sizes would be because to the nearest square (of blocks eg 1, 4, 9, 16), it's how much space it takes up. It's possible they changed it later, but I think it's a pretty good indication. By the way, there are actually 8 cities. I just checked. Solitude, Dawnstar, Winterhold, Windhelm, Markarth Side (or Karthwasten in some maps), Falkreath, Riften and Whiterun.

cites the size of daggerfall cites would be good

Markarth Side was a little hamlet suburb of Snowhawk in Arena.

Map based on Arena
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1641/skmapxyzpoliticalif7.jpg
As you can see, Bethesda moved a lot of things around.

Maybe this isn't actually a Dwemer ruin we're looking at. Or maybe Bethesda *gasp* used a different design for the Dwemer ruins in Skyrim! Oh no! Unthinkable! You know, the way things look can change between games at times, especially when you're dealing with archetecture, which would naturally be influenced by where a structure is built. No one said all Dwemer ruins across Tamriel need to look exactly the same, in fact, the Dwemer ruin in Tribunal looked different from the ones on Vvardenfell, despite also being a Dwemer ruin.

I didn't expect that to be a major city, though, I had assumed it was just a ruin, if it is a city, though, I hope the reason for the lack of people there is because Bethesda had just designed the location and not finished populating it at the time the screenshot was taken, because it looks pretty deserted as it is.



I somehow doubt we're going to see that, especially since the map isn't going to be as big as Daggerfall's, do you really think Bethesda would make such large cities on a map that might not be any bigger than Oblivion's?

Doesnt look like a city to start in or even a city at all I would rather Riften I think its called? But that seems more appropriate

It does look like a city (carved in stone, like some ones from http://melstravel.com/img/turkey/CliffDwellings1.jpg), only in a Nordic/Dwemer? fashion, of course.

We have already seen the map, and there are many more than 5 cities. There are around 23-25 multicell settlements/major locations scattered across the map. Pete didn't say anything about the 5 major cities and he didn't even indicate the screen was a city, hecwas just asked how large the cities would be and he suggested looking at Makarth and thinking for yourself. Basically, he means that the cities will be way more impressive, dynamic, and interesting. Even if that's just ruins, it tells us how the locations are better and if it's just a ruin it's actually better to hear since if that's how ruins look the major cities will be way more impressive.

We know it's not a major city, because Makarth Side is not one. We don't know if it's Makarth, the ruins, or Makarth Side, the settlement. Or if Makarth Side is ruins or Makarth is a settlement. We don't know much other than whet they already told us.

We do know that they already said the Makarth pic is ruins. He's just insinuating that because those ruins of a Nordic settlement are so impressive and dynamically interesting compared to Oblivion that the still inhabited and recently constructed Nordic settlements themselves will be similarly impressive (as seen in sick concept art).

There is no reason to release a screenshot of an unpopulated city when even towns that weren't completely traced into the map we've seen have been demoed to the press and screenscapped. Let's not be silly over a vague comment. It won't even surprise me if he throws in a group of bandits/hermits/goblins/archeologists/plane crash survivors at the last minute to mess with us. It would explain how the roof looks so good if it's a badly durable form of tile, though.

The thing about Twitter is that nothing on there is a press release or set in stone, they can give details they normally wouldn't give just as they can be vague or misleading to put us into hissy fits.

in one of the GI intevieuws of Todd Howard he said that nords where living inside old dwemer cities

I think your judging too early.
The fact that its just a still pic,should tell you that.
There is so much you cannot see in that picture,the place could be way bigger than that,you cant tell just from that pic.
I think it looks quite big from what i see i also think it looks good.
We will know more when we see gameplay footage.....you cant judge from a still pic with one perspective.

I know that but what I was asking is what makes you think that the city is Markarth Side?




Not a dwemer ruin?

Hnnng I'm confused!

Firstly, I'm not quite sure what to make of the architectural style in the setting. I do see some elements that would strongly imply they're built by the Dwemer, such as the (copper?) roof shingles. It's possible that their settlements in Morrowind were more akin to facilities than actual living quarters, and we'll see some actual steampunk areas in the deepest reaches of these new ruins. Of course at the same time, the Dwemer ruins in Morrowind had desks and beds (something the Ayleid counterparts in Oblivion sorely lacked) so the metal structures still have merit as settlements.

Personally, this doesn't look like a city to me either. If it is, the Nords haven't been taking very good care of it. There's still debris everywhere (notably at the bottom), and the overgrown shrubbery and dead trees are quite a mess. I know that the Nords aren't quite as prudish as the Dunmer and Imperials, but it doesn't look like this area has been inhabited for very long in its current state. Plus, all the cool vertical elements (such as that mysterious door up in the cliff face) just scream "Morrowind Daedric ruin" to me.

The other possibility is as some stated, this is just a part of, perhaps the outermost reaches of the proper settlement. Markarth Side may have been named after the Dwemer ruins in close proximity, and Pete is just confused.

Hate to break it to you but Markarth Side is one of the 7 major cities shown on previous maps. Also, Pete said look at the first screenshot and decide for yourself, meaning that it IS a city. As for "they have already said the Markarth pic is ruins", where does it say that they were ruins? Because I've never seen or heard anything about them being ruins.

Edit: Also, even if somewhere they were mentioned to be Dwemer ruins, it has been stated before that the Nords moved into Dwemer ruins and turned them into their own cities.
@Mankar The screenshot is labeled "Markarth" and since it has been revealed to be a city, it would be Markarth Side.

Bear in mind there is a massive difference between major cities and settlements. That means there will probably be a load of smaller settlements of town size scattered around. It's not just going to be bam: five towns. I'd have thought Beth would have learned from all the tiny hamlets they placed in Oblivion. They weren't particularly interesting, and usually had no function save a singular quest that went through them (Umbra, for example). So yeah. Unclench, and stop getting your knickers in a twist.

I'll be pretty impressed if 5 massive cities = 5 Vivic/Imperial City size cities.