I have seen a bunch of people complaining about how Skyrim is all Snowy mountains and how disappointed they are that the next game is taking place there. Do these people honestly believe that Bethesda is going to make a huge open world game full of nothing but snowy mountains? Seriously.. For those who do worry about such things, I can assure you that they will probably make it a bit more interesting than that. Todd Howard has said before that he has no reservations about taking creative liberties with the lands in the Elder Scrolls universe... Whose to say that it takes place entirely in Skyrim anyway?

If I recall correctly, Cyrodiil was supposed to be a vast jungle, right? Look how it turned out xD

They'll probably make it grassy lower to the south and snowy to the north.

Edited for clarification:
I should probably specify that I meant Oblivion turned out to be mostly grassland and bright sunshine, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that Cyrodiil was supposed to be a jungle. Who's to say Skyrim will be all snow?

Did you know that game's name is Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim?

Is it just me, or are these threads becoming very common?

I love winter and Skyrim, so more snow, please!

Plus of winter that it not that graphical heavy as summer, so we may expect more lush forests, dynamic shadows on all objects, better distant LOD, open cities, etc...

Hoping to see something like this in Skyrim:

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/7803/winterlandscape1600.jpg

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3987/winterwonderland1920.jpg

http://omarab.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/winter-wonderland-1-1024x768.jpg

I hope they have lots of diversity.

I hope that the first screenshots we see will be of areas that are not covered in snow, or with only snow in the distance, just to get into people's heads that Skyrim isn't just snow all over.

The beauty... It hurts...

I hope one of the first screenshots we see show a character model in it, I am eager to see what things look like in this game.. But, I would just as well appreciate a scenic shot to show off the land.

Screen from official announcement. Art showing valley without snow and huge lake.
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/851/skyrimart.jpg


Yes, the beauty of winter.

Unlikely since Cyrodiil's North IS snow and mountains, getting to Skyrim is just getting farther North. Maybe there'll be less snow at South-East and South-West, but I think it's very safe to assume it will mostly be snow.

Skyrim has higher elevations in the south and east. It's actually the north and west(Til you hit the mountains again) that is warmer.

Tamriel is a fantasy world so technically it could be anything!


Howerver based on cyrodil (Further north you got the colder it got!) it is the safest bet to say Skyrim will be covered in snow!

Im also expecting lots of mountains hence the name "SKYRIM" plus with the whole dragons traditionally living on mountain thing expecting lots of mountains!


Whilst writing this post thinking about maybe volcanoes and baron landscapes? could also be plausable

If you look at a colored map, you can clearly see it's only the border of Cyrodill that is Snowy mountains. Most of it is marsh and Morrowind type land with grass. Correct me if i'm wrong.

http://members.shaw.ca/rado907/maps/big-tamriel.jpg

I hope they make it more diverse, though.

There's a ton where people just make a new thread about how worried they are that "Oh noes there's snow"

Here is some picture of what Skyrim could look like in the NON-snow areas:

http://www.freewebs.com/areddawn/edoras.jpg

http://www.titen.it/lotr/luo/riddermark.jpg

http://www.lotrcostumedecor.50megs.com/images/lotr_meduseld_entrance.jpg

http://jontownsend.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/9a-meduseld3.jpg

I'm not going to bother with a lengthy explanation why because I know that tomorrow the same thread will pop-up again, going north does not necessarily mean colder, the reason the Skyrim border was really cold and snowy was because it was mountainous, mountainous regions are high altitude and that is why they are very snowy, not because they are North, notice that Morrowind and High Rock reach the same northern length (longitude or latitude, I'm not bothered to try differentiating between them) however their climate is quite varied from Skyrim's. It's the altitude that is mostly causing the snow.

Skyrim actually does have beaches along it's North, as well as forests in the middle, and (possibly) a jungle also. It is not all snow. Period.

Don't use the arena map. That thing got retconned like crazy.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:TamrielMap.jpg. You'll notice the lack of mountains in the Reach to the west(Til you hit High Rock), and the coastal areas to the north.

Where is your source for this image? I can't find it anywhere else.

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i201/Vality7/maps/tamrieltopo.jpg

This map looks more optimistic. Can't comment on the validity but it looks pretty accurate to Oblivion and Morrowind.

Yes Cyrodiil was once a jungle, evidence of this is found in the http://imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-empire-first-edition-cyrodiil:

...It is the largest region of the continent, and most is endless jungle. Its center, the grassland of the Nibenay Valley, is enclosed by an equatorial rain forest and broken up by rivers. As one travels south along these rivers, the more subtropical it becomes, until finally the land gives way to the swamps of Argonia and the placid waters of the Topal Bay. The elevation rises gradually to the west and sharply to the north. Between its western coast and its central valley there are all manner of deciduous forest and mangroves, becoming sparser towards the ocean. The western coast is a wet-dry area, and from Rihad border to Anvil to the northernmost Valenwood villages forest fires are common in summer. There are a few major roads to the west, river paths to the north, and even a canopy tunnel to the Velothi Mountains, but most of Cyrodiil is a river-based society surrounded by jungle.

Also the the ingame book, from both Oblivion and Morrowind, http://imperial-library.info/content/provinces-tamriel mentions Jungles and rain forests to a lesser degree:

....Cyrodiil is the cradle of Human Imperial high culture on Tamriel. It is the largest region of the continent, and most is endless jungle. The Imperial City is in the heartland, the fertile Nibenay Valley. The densely populated central valley is surrounded by wild rain forests drained by great rivers into the swamps of Argonia and Topal Bay. The land rises gradually to the west and sharply to the north. Between its western coast and its central valley are deciduous forests and mangrove swamps.


However MK wrote http://imperial-library.info/content/many-headed-talos to explain the change:

"And after the throne of Alinor did finally break at the feet of Men, and news of it came to the Dragon Emperor in Cyrodiil, he gathered his captains and spoke to them, saying:

"'You have suffered for me to win this throne, and I see how you hate jungle. Let me show you the power of Talos Stormcrown, born of the North, where my breath is long winter. I breathe now, in royalty, and reshape this land which is mine. I do this for you, Red Legions, for I love you.'"

Like many others have said, Skyrim isnt just a snowball, the fact that it is so mountanous screams the fact that there will be varying regional climate types, Beaches to the north, rolling forests, and hints of land types from hammerfell and Highrock.


Search the blasted UESP or Library :brokencomputer:

What a jip. I want jungles... It fits better with the nearby environments of Valenwood, Elsweyr and Argonia as well.

From here.
http://bethblog.com/index.php/2010/12/13/in-case-you-missed-the-vgas/