like most people i like my stores to be in one giant group together, and not scatered all over the city and lands. im thinking in the back of my head- "are they really going to put one?" im about 80% sure they will but still you never know. so what do you think of this forum?

Not only do i want marketplaces, but I want busy market-places during the daytime, when you have to shove your way through.

and marketplaces should be in all the cities IMO.

why wouldt you want stores in other cities?

I sure there will be some central market places like the Imperial market distinct, but expect to find stores everywhere.

Considering Skyrim being a cold, mountainous province during a civil war with dragons rauaging through towns, I think the population and mental state of the cities and the citizens are not going to be such to warrant crowded market places.

I;m not really sure what you're asking here. For a start, I don't necessarily think 'most people' like their stores altogether. Personally, I liked that the Mages Guild in each city in Cyrodiil specialised in one of the schools of magic. I thought it added a degree of immersion to have it that way, and I like having shops in places that make sense e.g an emphasis on heavy weapons / armour in Bruma.

That said, I would expect there'll be an equivalent of the Imperial City Market District in Skyrim. I'm just hoping it has a bit more hustle and bustle than the vanilla version in Oblivion. The Market District wasn't really a market (at least without mods), more a collection of stores. The streets of the market district were disappointingly quiet and deserted.

i guess the main market is probably going to be located in Solitude since it's one of the biggest cities in skyrim and a port city.

No, I don't think there will be a "Skyrim Marketplace." The size of the territory makes putting all the stores in one place, in one village/town/city, a bit prohibitive. Traveling from one side of Skyrim to the other every time you need something? Really? I don't see it.

(And I for one don't like all my stores lumped together...nor do I really believe your "most people" claim regarding such.)

I expect there'll probably be something of a marketplace in each city, however.

:P

I agree with the OP. Even in a fantasy setting, it would be unrealistic to have stores spread out because customers won’t be spread out. Stores should be located where they will find most of their customers, which is mostly in the centre of town. As an adventurer, you would walk into the centre of town and you will fight weapons smiths, taverns, rare books stores etc... They will all tend to be in one place because this alone attracts more customers for all the stores, like a town centre.

The only time you will find stores spread out is if they are the same type. For example, it is very unlikely two book stores would be set up next to each other because its not good for business. If there was another books store it would more likely be at the other side of the town/ city. The same with market stores except they are more central.

Yes I think there will be some but I don't expect all stores to be in one spot.

And man, when I first read the topic I thought it was about Bethesda selling in game items for real money like some companies do lately.

Marketplaces make all sort of sense so yes, but that being said, I definitely like smaller back alley shops scattered around,carrying the kind of non-everyday goods that wouldn't make sense to be hawked in the town square.

What I don't want is all the shops illogically placed in one bunch just to make you not have to treck around. Do it in a way that makes sense from a city building/living perspective.

Marketplaces should be in all cities, but be appropriate to the size of the city they're in. That would add for more realism, as you'd expect to find more people in bigger cities anyway, and because more people equals more trade equals more diverse shops; so you'd have to travel to the Capital City to find things like rare bookshops. All cities should sell essentials (armour, weapons, ammo, ect...). However, Cities should also have more shop appropriate to their location on the map, for example, towns to the south should supply 'Colovian' style goods, as they'd be seeing more trade from travellers from Cyrodil. Towns in immesnse forests full of wildlife should be kitted out better to supply the needs of hunters.
I'd also like to see small markat villages on major roads - It's hard to beleive that the village of 'Weye' on Oblivion would consist of only two buildings, when it's on the edge of the ONLY BRIDGE INTO THE IMPERIAL CITY. It should have been full of market stalls and traders.




Unfortunatly, this is were The Elder Scrolls series has shot itself in the foot. By giving each NPC an AI script (basiclly, a realistic life schedual), they'd have to provide housing and such for every charecter they add in. Not only this, but having tons of AI packages running in a small space would lag the game up like hell.

I'd like open air markets with lots of people trading, unloading merchandise, pulling handcarts, all sorts of things that make it feel alive. And the traders should be vocal and ingenious trying to make you buy.

1 huge central market with every type of service in, then in the smaller towns and cities, maybe shops relevant to that area.

If the cities are big enough, I'd like to see a central marketplace where themajority of people go but still a few shops scattered in other places. Mostly just general stores and stuff or the occasional more important shop, for two reasons.

1. the realism of NPCs going to more convenient locations to get things,if I live in the Temple district, I don't want to have togo tothe market district on the opposite side of the city just to get something and
2. the fact that if the shops are too closely packed together with none elsewhere, the rest of the city tends to be neglected by the player, as shops are the main interaction points, also see Imperial City.

The AI script lag may still be an issue (have to see if they've managed to make it work more efficiently), the house issue is solved quite easily by having a larger number of averagemembers per household and maybe more people in inns/on the street.

Well, if they were scattered all over, they'd still be in the same place. Cities aren't exactly huge in these games.

yes but there is one or two, cities that are big, the imperial city was big. you never know.

Something like the Market District? Yes obviously.

Some cities may only have one store due to the size of the city but other cities will probably have more stores.

I think they said that one port city would be the main trading city.

This.

I'm sure they have something like it.

Not for every city, some cities and towns are poorly designed, in real life and videogames. Its more natural to have market areas in the center of the town or near a dock if its a trading hub or near the entrance to a gate to advertise to people just arriving. But I think it will be fine because its one of those things that doesn't have a "too" specific pattern.


I just hope there isn't a shp out in the middle of nowhere. I could believe and Inn on a deserted road going through hard times but a random tailor shop, nah.