Funny that Bethesda claimed they had 250-300 dungeons or areas to explore, yet they failed to mention that nearly half (if not more) are only accomplished in a mere 2 minutes or less..

such as a clearing with a few enemies? a single cylinder tower with 1 stair case? giant camps? random lumber mills which serve no purpose other than aesthetic ...random statues?? really bethesda?... this has too much of a fallout 3 feel, Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the game thoroughly, but I cant help but think that they took too many aspects from the fallout games they've released. Im sick of getting excited when I see a new marker on my map, only to realize it's something random like a hunters shack with no roof. Does anyone else feel the same way or am I going crazy? I almost feel that although Skyrim has some of the most GORGEOUS dungeons I've ever seen, they are more linear than ever, and what Oblivion may have been lacking in the graphics department, their dungeons had a lot more ways of navigating, and each destination you found had a prolific experience which not only consumed more than several seconds to several minutes, but also made you think "well should I go this way? or this way?

on another note, I really REALLY miss ay-lee-ed ruins (spelling)

:(

Okay you really just said you miss Ayleid ruins now i KNOW your not a true fan.

I like smaller places along with the bigger ones. It just feels more authentic to me if not every hole in the ground is a deep hole.

+1

I also noticed the linearity of the dungeons and think that could definitely be improved upon
however not knowing whether that door you just entered holds a single room with a bunch of bandits or a massive ruin for you to "explore" is really a good thing IMO

While there are a FEW caves that are very small, so far most of mine have taken like 15-30 minutes. I've also been in one or two that took well over an hour so I think they did a fine job! There is great variety in dungeon difficulty, length, and apperance. They did a fantastic job with them...

That's what I was thinking. I see what OP means - going over a crest maybe hoping for an epic ruin and finding an abandoned house or woodland clearing, but that makes the world seem more lived in to me. It would be odd if there was no signs of life other than dungeons, and the biggies are still definitely in there (I just went in to a Dwemer ruin, came out but apparently I didn't clear it. It's bugging me that I wandered for ages in there but still managed to miss a hallway somewhere!).

I miss them too, though not the same reason as him, i thought the Welkynd Stones and Varla Stones found inside them were cool =P, although i never used any, just stored them away for some huge future battle that i knew would never come, same with potions.

I guess its just me than, I've only encountered a handful of large areas to explore that took anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes complete, yet my world map seems very cluttered, with small things I mentioned above.

looking at the skryim locations list on the wiki, the amount of ruins and dungeons seem quite a bit smaller comparitive to the same list of dungeon type locations in oblivion, maybe its still just me though?

Gah, I'm a potion hoarder too. But I keep most of them on my person, and they just end up adding a ton of weight to my inventory.

Somewhere, the guy charged with creating every Oblivion dungeon is smiling.

You're kidding right?

If you went in a cave/ruin/sewer in Oblivion you'd been in them all.
There was never anything special or interesting to find.

I like the new dungeons! Just yesterday I found a spider cave, at first it seemed to be very small and just one room, until I noticed a small button (yes, button, not lever, I was confused too) that lowered a portion of the wall and revealed a vampire den that consisted of an actual house INSIDE the cave! :blink:

Go in the dungeon after Karliah! see if u can do that in under 5 minutes hahaha

AND! that last part of the theives guild quest, is epic. my first time through that dungeon took around 2-3 hours. its huge, epic, and badass.

if you want a diverse dungeon look no further than the Dwarven ruin's. :intergalactic:

its sad ayleid ruins where never truly there i mean there where no living quarters no furnishings no artifacts besides welkynd and varla stones nothing at all except maybe a throne.