It might be a nice counter against a Dragon. After seeing all those Dwemer Ruins where the futuristic is as the cold statues of dead empires i think Airships etc could still feel old and ancient. Kind of like the story "A TALE OF TWO ROBOTS" from ROBOT CARNIVAL where these futuristic giant robots looked very antiquated and not like something out of a sci fi story-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdOieEsk918

well I think that ancient left over technology is fine but I am not so sure I want to see advancement. I think that it would be pretty fun to see some wizards out there trying to cast magical spells on old dwemer technology though and having it blow up in their face or something.

Nords are too dumb to effectively advance technology.

On a more serious note, the empire is practically in shambles and has been in decline ever since the events of Oblivion. There won't be much progress as a result, and likely things will remain stagnant, if not progress backwards somewhat. This is why when Dragonborn consumes Alduin, he/she will become the tenth divine and new emperor of Tamriel, ruling all with an iron fist.

With the Empire a hollow shell of what it was in Oblivion, a significant advance in technology over the last 200 years is not too likely. With the exception of melee weapons, armor and magic techniques. There has probably been A LOT of fighting going on.

On another point: Hasn't some Dwemer technology been confirmed? In that "Sounds of Skyrim" interview on the G.I. website? Those sentries or whatever they were called?

I hope not. With the power of magic, there is no need to "advance" in technology.

Maybe if there was some advancement in metallurgy and smithing to make stronger, lighter armour and weapons...alloys?

I would expect some advancement in brewing in 200 years...

maybe glass...to make lenses for an early telescope?

If the bows are more powerful in game as has been stated, there must have been some advancement in bowyer/fletcher professions.

I dont want to see gunpowder type stuff....unless it is a quest to stop the development of such things...or to stop an invasion.

Horse and cart/carriage is as far as I want it to go.

I do like the glass for a telescope idea :foodndrink:

I'm not sure about anything too modern, but I would like to see lore/era-friendly tech that could reasonably be expected to be in TES, which was left out in the past for tech reasons. Windmills are a good example. There are plenty of things that would be nice to see -things that couldn't really be implemented in the past- that could now be put in the game. It'll be interesting to see what Beth puts in.

- Windmills
- Watermills
- Dwemer remnants, should be fun
- But why would they need technology? Just light your oven with a Fireball spell, no expensive auto-lighting ovens!

In The Talisman by Stephen King, one of the characters mentions in passing that, in other worlds, they develop magic like we develop technology. I think that's a pretty reasonable way of looking at things -- I mean, what do they need better technology for? Traditionally, advances in technology are only used for extending our lives and more easily ending other people's. Both of those functions seemed to be covered pretty well by Tamriel's magic and alchemy.

Even if that weren't true in this case and a parallel to our universe's technology is advancing to some extent in the TES universe -- which I don't think can be true, with their constant threat of monsters, gods that keep in physical contact, and the aforementioned magic -- but if it is, it seems like Tamriel is pretty much torn to shreds, or at least in crisis, during Skyrim. I don't think building a car is the current priority.

Also, when I think of "technology moving forward" in an RPG, my mind springs immediately to Fable. Do we REALLY want to invite that comparison?