Judging by my experiences with ESO it'd be a mistake for Bethesda to ever make a game set in Hammerfell. I played on the side of the Covenant and was a member of some fairly chatty guilds. The only universally loathed area in the game was The Alik'r Desert. Personally when I first arrived there I found the change of scenery refreshing yet by the end of the quest arc I was running through it because I couldn't wait to leave.

I know the desert can be beautiful, but after Skyrim the last thing I want to look at is a bunch of sand. Valenwood or Black Marsh would be the direction I'd go.

I believe that the whole execution of TESO was a bit of a mistake, but that is beside the point. Maybe shouts is correct in the diversity of Hammerfall. Saying that, did no-one dislike the idea of Morrowind before it came out?

To be honest I would prefer Valenwood for a Mer and more Alien province,but the sheer amount of trees and plants would probably be terrible for the frame rate and unless they get climbing in the game they shouldn't do the Province.

My frame rate suffers enough already.

But climbing should be brought back from the death at Daggerfall..

King

My biggest fear is they'd just go 'Amazon' with it. Which is fine, kinda... but so... normal. There's so much more than can be done with the concept of 'Endless Jungle' but everything that's been described about Valenwood (at least physically... the metaphysics are interesting) is so freaking boring.

Apparently the rumor mill is rife with ES6 speculation. Among the juiciest ones:

1. Skyrim 2. That sounds ridiculous to me.

2. Valenwood or Elsweyr. I suppose they're both quite legitimate targets and would each make excellent locations. I'd slightly favor Elsweyr for the weirdness factor but am sure a Valenwood game would be spectacular.

3. The Thalmor story arc will be a major component - perhaps even central. This I believe, and the rumors sound much more substantial in this regard.

For the Thalmor to be central to a Tamriel-wide threat, both Valenwood and Elsweyr offer great possibilities. We've discussed these in the past, but by way of refreshing our collected memories:

Valenwood - the mother of all Wild Hunts, with the Thalmor believing they can exercise detailed control over it, perhaps steering it towards all human lands as well as Morrowind in order to wipe out their enemies.

Elsweyr - the Halls of the Colossus.

Could either of those provinces offer other opportunities for a Tamriel threat, or even one that menaced all of Nirn? I recall discussion regarding the walking trees of Valenwood but don't recall a similar level of threat originating from Elsweyr.

Lorkhaj the Moon Beast, one of the darker aspects of Lorkhan. The southerly position of Elsweyr also offers a potential Maormer angle. There's also the Halls of the Colossus and the broken-time caused by the Numidium. And disease, Elsweyr doesn't have the best history with diseases.

Maybe starting a new play-through our character could start in a different place. A skip tutorial would be a great addition and just add the main quest line later at a higher character level. landscapes, npc behaviour can gradually change over time by a more intricate levelling system. There should be more suspense added to the game. Events and gradually peaking. I liked the way the TES books made out that it was a mission impossible style story against all odds type thing.

I would like to see maybe the next game happen when Palagius was around. He seems an interesting character.

Questions to further the discussion:

1. Lorkhan? For him to be a 'presence' in Elsweyr would suggest that he's not dead, but in some sort of 'powerless' state (since he's missing his heart.) Would that work lorewise?

2. What could the Maormer 'offer' that would constitute a legitimate threat to all Tamriel?

3. Could the Halls of the Colossus menace not just Tamriel, but Nirn in its entirety?

4. Disease - ooooh. Now that's a nasty one. Are you suggesting the Khajiit might have a historical skill that allows them to 'manufacture' plagues? If Yes, then perhaps a group/faction of Khajiit might have the idea to wipe out all non-Khajiit in Tamriel thru such a plague and reclaim the continent for themselves...

1; Lorkhan is weird. He'd dead, yes, but still active. Sort of. Killing him seems to have only served to dilute and divide his power, not eliminate it entirely. Shor, the Shezzarines, Lorkhaj, maybe even Sithis... They're all fragments, but very real. Even Talos is Lorkhan, though restored with a new sort of Divinity. Exactly WHAT Lorkhaj is and represents is unclear... But there is definately grounds for its existence.


2: They are fanatical society of seclusionist Lorkhanic Elves who despise anything remotely Aldmeri and are rules by a millennia old God-King rumoured to be an avatar of the Yokudan destroyer God (who is also aging backwards... It would make for an interesting boss to have a 5000 year old Mage in a 12 year olds body). There's a lot in that which could cause problems.


3: The Halls of the Colossus were permanently 'Damaged' when the Numidium was activated there. Not structurally, or at least it's not mentioned to be structural, but rather Temporally. There are 2 places that could be Ground Zero for Landfall... Alinor is one, The Halls are another. What's more world ending than a giant, time stomping God-Robot that rejects reality?


4: I wouldn't necessarily say that the Khajiit are behind the diseases that seem to decimate Elsweyr, but they do seem to get hit particularly badly. If a plague of some sort were to feature in a future game, I'd expect it to originate either in Elsweyr or Blackmarsh.


Another option is to build off the Void Nights and the Lunar Lattice. Make the Moons fall (or risk falling, at least). It may also work well if they decide not to, or run into complications with, the Khajiiti Breeds, because the Void Nights offer a good explanation for a lack of diversity.

I'm pretty sure that the whole landfall thing is just as important for the next Elder Scrolls game as a farting orc .

I frankly doubt that it will ever be important to any game. The point is, it's a story hook, a global threat, and has the potential to be a major moment in history should they ever address it.

Ooooh. The Maormer are indeed weird. They would represent a terrible danger to the Altmer. For them to threaten all of Tamriel will take something new; something we haven't heard about yet.

The Halls of the Colossus are beginning to sound cursed. The danger they represent is, in this light, easily a potential threat to all of Nirn.

The Void Nights and Lunar Lattice open up enormous possibilities. TRULY enormous. We could have crazy amounts of fun in Elsweyr if it included access to the moons!

Elsweyr does seem somewhat of a likely setting for TES VI, though, I'm not sure there is enough established lore, for BGS to tackle Elsweyr. This was supposedly the main reason Skyrim was chosen for TES V. Though, there is a timely conflict in Elsweyr, or should I say Pelletine and Anequina? The divide between the northern warrior-nomads and the southern sugar-lords could be one of the driving forces in the game, with the Mane needing to unite them, or back one and bring the other into submission. There is also a plethora of possible factions and conflicts that could arise in Elsweyr. A questline revolving around the Gold Cat, Skooma trade and Skooma production could be interesting, a conflict regarding the border with Valenwood and the Xylo River and perhaps the Empire's returning the Trans-Niben to Elsweyr.

As for the main quest itself, I believe the Mane would be handled similarly to Martin Septim from Oblivion, though, the player character, being the Baan Dar, shaping the young Mane's decisions as almost sort of a mentor figure. And our course the Rim Men and the Thalmor would be heavily involved, as well as the Maormer. And regarding Numidium, while I think that the Halls offer a good way for Numidium to return, I'm not sure how the Maormer would fit into all of this. What benefit would Orgnum have? Or is he truly the aspect of Satakal, destined to bring the world to an end? In any case, the Numidium is a great foe, and I think it would make a great world-ending threat for either Elsweyr, Alinor or Hammerfell, places where is has caused much devastation, only to return one day, to bring finish the job and break time itself.

Actually, the scarcity of established lore is an advantage - it gives storytellers more freedom.

So we have many possibilities stemming from an Elsweyr game:

1. The re-establishment of a Mane.

2. The resolution of a political split between the northern and southern kingdoms.

3. The rectification of the damage done to the Khajiit by the Void Nights, and the possibility that the Thalmor might have been the instigators.

4. The existential dangers lying dormant in the Halls of the Colossus.

5. The political and military ramifications of Elsweyr's membership in the Dominion, and the interests of the Thalmor, Imperium, Maormer and perhaps even other parties in the status of that membership.

The province is physically not very large, but adding the Twin Moons in makes it large enough and then some.

The geography is more varied than I think most people would give it credit for.

Also, the Khajiit are clearly not just 'cat people.' The 'subraces' create the potential for stunning variety.

Finally, the history of the Khajiit not only awaits discovery, but is likely very deep - deeper, in fact, than possibly any other race in Tamriel. After all, they allegedly roamed freely on the continent well before any Men or Mer even knew of the place.

Given how many thinks TES started with Skyrim, it sadly isn't I wouldn't be surprised if a Skyrim 2: The return of Alduin actually would sell heaps And given the huge damage ESO did to the Elder Scrolls name my biggest fear is Beth doing the "easy way out" and rushing a Skyrim 2 on us to rebuild the TES name

"A man must rebuild with his hands what the machine stole away from him, if he is to rebuild his home"

I suppose that is one way of looking at things. Still, the fact that Skyrim was chosen because of the already established lore makes me believe either Hammerfell, Valenwood or Black Marsh are the more likely settings, due to the vast amounts of lore established through the games, the Pocket Guides, in-game lore and the Greg Keyes books, though, Elsweyr was also featured in those books, so, I suppose Elsweyr has some chance of being TES VI. The largeness of the province isn't really an issue, the number of cities is. In the north, we have Riverhold, Dune, Orcrest and Rimmen, while in the south, we have Senchal, Torval and Corinth. There is also the city of Alabaster, though, the status of that city is unknown. One could argue for Leyawiin to be somehow included in the game, perhaps as a conquered territory or jumping off point for a Nibenay-based DLC.

As for the Moons, I think they will appear similarly to the Demi-Plane of Jode in ESO, a Blackreach-like region set on one of the Moons, perhaps giving us a look at one of the possible futures, if Numidium is reactivated. Elsweyr would be very interesting, and with the subraces, I think there is indeed potential to remove the whole "it's just going to be cat-people" stigma, given the fact that there are elf-like and human-like Khajiit with some feline features, such as the Ohmes and Ohmes-Raht. There will still be cat-men in cat-faced armor, riding on top of giant gorilla-like cat-men, just that there might be a good number of more human-like and elven-like Khajiit as well, which I believe were partially invented to explain away their appearance in past games, but also to have some more "familiar" faces, given the fact they are mostly found in their province.

I did not mention any specific game regarding unrealistic weapons. I just hope they will make the weapons more believable in future installments. Also, with Morrowind such things can be easier forgiven (not that I like it) than with Oblivion and Skyrim. The more realistic the games become, the more will be demanded of them in terms of realism, obviously.

the recent games are not much more realistic than Morrowind, a more fluid battle system does not more realistic make..




also, this is somewhat off topic, but this made me laugh enough i knocked my mouse off the desk (not meant offensively or anything towards you personally, fyi).. a group of extremely vocal people on these forums (who i don't fully agree with personally) constantly say how Morrowind was the best game in the series, the pinnacle of RPG gaming, and that all future games should strive to be more like it.. so the fact someone said that a mechanic is forgivable in Morrowind, but isn't afterwards really just makes me chuckle.. but hey, I have a somewhat odd sense of humor at times

It baffles the mind. I was referring to mesh shape, not game mechanic. No one was talking about fluid battle systems. That's the second time you put words into my mouth.

And yes, the recent games are more realistic in many ways. NPC schedules, general AI, physics, and voiced dialogue for one make them more realistic in the sense of immersion. When I say realistic, I mean in terms of becoming more like real life.

I many ways Morrowind is the better game. It certainly has more depth to it. Though it is not as polished and "fun" as Skyrim is.

Happy New Year Everybody!

In the interest of keeping things fresh, I think the Summerset Isles, now renamed to Alinor, have a good chance of being one of the future settings, if not immediately TES VI. Skyrim was chosen because there was enough established lore about the province. While Alinor is not as fleshed out as say Valenwood or Hammerfell, or even Black Marsh, ZOS did a lot of worldbuilding, particularly in an early draft for the Alinor zone, where they introduced the Varlines Network, an ancient network that regulates the flow of magicka throughout the Isles with the use of Varla lenses and a great floating Orrery that channels magicka from Aetherius. Tampering with the network could drastically affect regions, empowering or depowering those found in these regions, polluting the landscape with raw magicka and causing all sorts of magical mechanisms to go haywire. The control of such a network would surely allow the Thalmor too keep the various Aldmeri Kinholds in check. Furthermore, the loss of control, even if only partial, could have disastrous results for the Aldmeri Dominion, sparking infighting between the Kinholds, an uprising against the Thalmor and the Isles being polluted by raw magicka, perhaps awakening creatures driven underground long ago?

If I remember correctly, the Thalmor evicted/purged/slaughtered all non-Mer from the Isles? That'd be a bit problematic for character creation.

If the current story arc (lasting 2-3 games?) is about the Thalmor, the Summerset Isles could be a great location for the first game of the next arc, after the Thalmor have been overthrown and the Isles reopened for everyone. The Aldmer rebuilding their society, trying to improve their relations with the rest of Tamriel, some of them shameful about the Thalmor, some remembering them fondly... there's a lot you could do with that setting, but I have no idea what the main story could be about.

I personally think that the Summerset Isles would be an optimal last entry in the current story arc revolving around the rise of the Thalmor and the further decline of the Empire. The Altmer's culture has been shaped by a history of conflict with outsiders and a rigid sense of traditionalism, forever bogged down in mindless ritual. Selective breeding between the bloodlines to maintain a sense of purity. And of course, infighting. Auridon, the shield of Alinor, has suffered many wars between the kinholds of Firsthold and Skywatch. It is no different in Summerset, where the historic rivals of Lillandril and Alinor have clashed many times through history. The south, encompassing Sunhold, Dusk and Isque, is shaped by continuous conflict with the Maormer of Pyandonea, only ceasing after the loss of Orgnum's Coffer in the War of the Isle.

So far, Alduin has been the main antagonist of the first installment of the new story arc. We've had the Time God, what else is there? Well, Hammerfell or Elsweyr could provide an antagonist in the form of the Missing God, Valenwood could provide an antagonist in the form of the Earth Bones, and again, Alinor or Elsweyr could provide an antagonist in the form of the Brass God. After a catastrophic loss of power, perhaps due to some crisis in Valenwood or a failed invasion of Hammerfell, the Thalmor would be weakened, perhaps weak enough for factions in Alinor opposing the Thalmor, perhaps traditionalists that view the Thalmor as upstarts, corrupting the purity of the Altmer and their culture, or radical reformists, or the Psijic Order, could take a shot at overthrowing the Thalmor and restoring the kinhold system, or gaining dominance.

Certain situation and crises could also result in other non-mer races being allowed in the Summerset Isles. Mercenaries, merchants, diplomats, agents and allies of the Thalmor, and of course, servants or slaves. A failed Tamrielic invasion of the Summerset Isles could result in this for example. A massive fleet, headed up by Redguard anc Colovian galleons, burned north of the Cape of the Blue Divide by a massive flying superweapon of the Thalmor - a Sunbird of Alinor. The player character - a survivor, is captured, but set free by the Beautiful, a terrorist organisation working against the Thalmor.

Actually, that's pretty firmly not true. The northeastern portion of Hammerfell is actually pretty heavily forested, once you get passed the Dragontail Mountains. Going beyond that, Beth is by no means beholden to really uphold anything ESO has done aesthetically either.