In Morrowind I heard a gut that said that Cyrrodill is a jungle. However, in Oblivion: It's a forrest. Can you guys give me an answer that was quoted from Bethesda. If you cant then guess?

Talos used Thu'um to change Cyrodiil.

I see.. Still.. I think it would be interesting to play in a jungle in Oblivion..

That is some impressive knowledge/research. Wow and thank you! :foodndrink:

I actually knew the answer to this one, though admittedly from having seen reference to it in other forum threads rather than research of my own.

I sanction the terrain change. I've always been pleased by Oblivion's version of Cyrodiil, with its often wide-open sun-drenched landscapes where, from certain locations, on a clear day you can see from one end of the realm to the other. Unlike some I also rather enjoy the "sameness" of it all. Oblivion's Cyrodiil is a rather small province when all is said and done. Too small, in my opinion, to support a multitude of drastically different landscapes. Those differences that do exist are realistic and welcome. In a perfect Nirn I'd of course prefer a much much larger Cyrodiil, measured in the hundreds of square miles. One could justify more variance between locales with a province that big, though change between one sort of landscape to the next would tend to be gradual ... with exceptions.

-Decrepit-

My question pertains to why they went from a forest to a jungle. In Arena (which predates Morrowind), Cyrodiil was a forest.

Isn't a jungle a kind of forest? Like, a rain forest..? (See dictionary.com)

Many people in the US think that Canada is nothing but a frozen wasteland. You can't put much stock in what you hear in casual conversations.

That guy was an imperial in the Imperial legion..

So? Maybe he grew up in Leyawiin and never ventured far from there. It is pretty much jungle around that area after all.

Cyrodiil is also described as a jungle by the 1st edition of the Pocket Guide to the Empire, which was published during the reign of Tiber Septim. Here is a link to the chapter on Cyrodiil: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Pocket_Guide_to_the_Empire,_1st_Edition/Cyrodiil





There was a big lore reboot between Daggerfall and Morrowind. Specifically, the reboot came already with Redguard. The most notable change of the reboot is the introduction of the Imperial race, before that the Imperial Province was described as having no native race.

That book is highly unreliable as a source for hard facts. In its pages you will also find these passages:

"It was in the rain forests of the Nibenay Valley..."

"Between its western coast and its central valley there are all manner of deciduous forest..."

"...a mass exodus of golden-clad dwarves, trudging through the Cyrodilic forests..."

While the book is indeed considered to be full of Imperial propaganda, I would still think that a guide written by the Imperial Geographical Society would get the climate and vegetation of Cyrodiil right.

And I don't see anything problematic with the quotes you mention.

Well I hate to break it to you, but the book was written by a fiction writer. There's no such thing as the Imperial Geographical Society, it's all made up and make believe. And if Bethesda wants to change the terrain of their imaginary world in order to better suit a game setting, what difference does it make? Just make up any justification you want to explain the change, it doesn't matter.

Well, I hate to break it to you, but I do realize that the book is fiction and was in fact written by Michael Kirkbride and not the Imperial Geographic Society. It's called speaking from an in-game perspective.



There seems to have been a misunderstanding of sorts. The only things I have claimed is that Cyrodiil being a jungle is not just a Morrowind rumor, it has been mentioned in lore books as well. That's it. I have until so far not expressed any sort of judgement of their decision to change the settings.

So I suppose this would be a good time to actually go ahead and express my judgement. ^_^ To me Elder Scrolls games are primarily about exploration and for that they require an interesting setting. And I think that a jungle Cyrodiil would have made for a more interesting setting and therefore a better Elder Scrolls game. The vast majority (maybe over 90%) of all fantasy settings are placed in a temperate pseudo-European medieval world so it's always refreshing to experience one that isn't. And that is what difference it would make.

But I understand that different people have different preferences and what I would call boring someone else might call familiar and what I might call exotic someone else would call weird.

Well that wasn't actually directed at you but at the OP. I should have been more clear, my apologies. I'm not sure why I even bothered posting in this thread, I think the whole issue is pointless.

Can't find any quote on it, but I wouldn't be surprise if Bethesda scaled back Cyrodiil's jungles to regular forest, just so the machines at the time of Oblivion's release could run the game smoothly.