I'll try and find the interview, but there are actually 5-6 types of dungeons in Skyrim. Of course, they'll all be unique since they are all customized by hand, but there are probably going to be times when you're in a dungeon thinking it looks familiar to other dungeons you've been in. Just wanted to clear that up because I've been seeing posts saying that all the dungeons are very different.

Anyone have the link to this interview? Thanks. I think it listed the actual types as well.

If all of the dungeons WOULD be very different, those 6 people making them would need another 8 years.

Exactly. This wasn't intended to be negative, and I have no problem with 5 or 6 types of dungeons, because everything inside should be customized.

Well obviously there are going to be dungeon types, they can't create entire new tilesets for each dungeon. But that doesn't mean 2 dwemer ruins have to look alike at all.

Oh I agree, but I think that its possible that a lot of the layouts MIGHT look similar. I know I'm just guessing here, but it really wouldn't surprise me if the dungeon layouts are more similar than has been implied in the PR so far. Again, just thinking out loud here

I apolgise for my outburst. I have to agree povuholo. I theres a handfull of archetypes such as 'imperial fort' and stuff. But each dungeon is deffernt then the rest in the archetype

Hopefully they'll mix the tilesets up a bit sometimes. It was awesome in Morrowind when a cave tileset would be mixed with the daedric one, or when an ancestral tomb would lead to a cave, or when an egg mine led to a dwemer ruin.

I think they'd have to do this if they hand-made a bunch of unique dungeons. Just another reason November can't get here soon enough.

As long as there's a big difference in spacial use, like 50 ft ceilings, areas you havr to crawl through, etc, they'll be able to make them much more varied, even if the textures are "damp and dingy cave"

That should be ovious, no game with over a hundred different dungeons is going to be able to have every single one use a completely unique tileset. But even so, there's certainly room to make dungeons which use the same tileset feel distinct from each other, through creative use of the resources available. It helps a lot too if you put interesting things in dungeons, and mix up tilesets on occassion. Having a cave lead into a forgotten ruin does a lot to make the cave feel more memorable than just a plain cave. With Skyrim's larger number of dungeon designers, I expect the dungeons to be more varied than what Oblivion offered. Obviously, they won't all be completely and utterly unique, but I do hope to be moe satisfied with the ones in Skyrim than it's precessor.

I know. I was ever expecting all 120+ dungeons to be 100% unique. I'm just hoping that they do mix up the layouts sufficiently, and I hope that I'm not going into a dungeon that looks similar to 25 other ones I've been in, just with different loot.

My main point is I guess, I just hope that by "Handcrafting" the dungeons, they don't just mean customizing the loot, or enemies by hand, but actually customizing the layout of each dungeon within the 5 or 6 "archetypes".

From memory, vanilla Oblivion had 5 sets (6 if you include Mehrunes Dagon's realm), but only really used 3 (caves/mines, Ayleid and ruined fort).
Iirc, vanilla morrowind used 5 (caves, Dwemer, Velothi, Daedric, Velothi fort).

What really matters is how the sets are used.

There are different tile sets that function as bricks to make dungeons, then there are a lot of other static items that can be used to fill and stylize each part of a dungeon, like rocks, hangings, cobwebs and the like.

Then there are clutters and story related items like notes, a table with food placed on that, the remains of a slave pen, and the like to add back story and life to the dungeons, and most important of all, the selected population that might fill the area with events and schedules and so on...

The possibility to make unique dungeons is almost limitless in such a big game, and only it requires time, effort, and different designers with different mind sets and tastes.

As long as they aren't total copy & jobs like over half the buildings, caves, landscapes, roads etc. in Fallout: New Vegas (Yes I understand New Vegas was not DEVELOPED by Bethesda) I should be fine with it.

I don't think any (sane) people expect them to be all completely different in every respect. Obviously they can't all have different tilesets, that's why they're called tilesets, becasue they're sets used to tile multiple places.

this

1 of the best in Oblivion was the one where a cave system led to an Ayleid ruin. Somewhere on the Imperial Isle.

edit: That was actually supposed to be a reply to post 8, also by povuholo :blush:

Do you really expect them to have 150 different sets of dungeons?

Why don't you read the thread first? I've stated multiple times that I didn't. What I am discussing is the effectiveness of the dungeon customization. They could easily do a crappy job with this, or they could do a really great job with it. The potential is there. I'm just worried about the amount of customization each dungeon will have.

i.e will every "Imperial Fort" have rooms and hallways surrounding a lower middle room with a table in the corner like in this screenshot

http://cms.elderscrolls.com/sites/default/files/tes/screenshots/DraugrCrypt02_wLegal.jpg

6 artists instead of the 1 artist on oblivion dungeons , im pretty sure the uniqueness is more diverse than cryodiil dungeons

I have to ask.. who honestly expected a unique tile set for each of the 100+ dungeons?

Put it this way - How much did Oblivion Forts stick out from each other? And Oblivion, to my knowledge, only had 4 types.

Actually I think its 8

This is what I'm saying

i.e will every "Imperial Fort" or whatever dungeon/cave type this is have rooms and hallways surrounding a lower middle room with a table in the corner like in this screenshot

http://cms.elderscro...pt02_wLegal.jpg

Will the only difference be whatever loot or notes are on the table? Or will the layouts inside likely be customized?

I read or listened to the same interview as the OP and what I took away from it was that every dungeon would be unique, but there were, I thought, 6-8 base types. Each of those types would then get hand crafted to create variety within the type. For example I would expect one dungeon type is probably an ice cave. This doesn't mean there will only be one ice cave in the game, there will likely be 10-25 ice caves, but that doesn't mean each ice cave will have the same layout, the same stuff within it, the same creatures, the same quest type within it etc.

I am highly confident from what Todd has said that the dungeons in Skyrim will be much, much more varied than Oblivion's.