Ok so we all realize by now the next Elder Scrolls after Skyrim wont be on this Gen. & considering what they did this gen it woudn't surprise me if they used the entire continent of Tamriel in the next game since the next gen consoles & PCs would have a MAJOR computing power boost. I mean heck Pentium is making Hexa-Core Processors now! Imagine a few of those in a console lol.

That nearly an impossibility friend. Most people don't have the kinda cash to afford machines that could even begin to process such a project, I know for one I can't, my computers new and I KNOW it won't handle Skyrim to any decent degree. To handcraft the entire continent would mean littearlly years of tedious work and countless sums of cash, and even then, no one would be able to play it. They've done it once already with arena, but it was 99% randomly generated, and it was nothing in terms of the detail demanded for today.

They could used Skyrim's graphics engine & just focus on the game world for all I care. We all agree it looks beautiful anyway. & thats only on the 360! Imagine a console with 3-4 Hexa-Core Processors in it! It'd be insane the amount of things it could handle with that much processing power.

Can you afford a PC with that much processing power? issue is its an impracticability and a massive strain on anyone computer that doesn't have the cash to buy the ultimate gaming system. No doubt it would be awesome but that only if they were able to give every aspect of the game the same amount of detail and excellence, which they wouldn't.

You noticing a trend here? I keep saying Console which are inexpensive & not in need of a yearly upgade to be able to play that years hot games & yet you all keep saying PC. Besides it would be possible when the price of such processing power drops.

I think its safe to say that the Elder Scrolls got their start on the PC and I doubt they would drop probably their biggest group of players and focus solely on the console. How can you suggest that they come out with a game that doesn't include the PC? that ludicrous to even suggest. The consols likewise are limited to technical limitations, and again, the more powerful the console required the higher the dollar price.

Plus should I really need to point out the fact that oblivion was released 4 years after Morrowind & its been 5 years since then & we are just getting Skyrim? In those 5 years we went from Dual-Core Processors to now Hexa-Core Processors. In another 4-5 years Hexa-Core Processors will probably be as cheap as Dual-Cores are now.

By the way, Tidus, did you know that both Oblivion & Skyrim were both BUILT on the 360 then PORTED to the PS3 & PC?

Did you know that PS3's and Xbox 360's are computers? Neither game was meant solely for the consuls. What you fail to see is that the amount of work and limitation of personal computers to render a world that massive is simply not going to happen in a five year time frame less our tech takes such leaps and bounds that it blows the past fifty years away, not to mention the ability of consumers to be able to afford such machines. Your either going to have to shrink the continent completely, or take it a piece meal size, which is better in the long run given it gives the devs more time to fine tune and create a detailed and vibrant world.

Honestly, it just seems unfathomable that in such a small time frame we will see the entire continent. It just doesn't appear logical or practical, in my opinion.

In those 5 years we went from Dual-Core Processors to now Hexa-Core Processors. In another 4-5 years Hexa-Core Processors will probably be as cheap as Dual-Cores are now.

For those of you who cant count.

Dual-Core Processor = Better then Single Core Hyper Thread Pentium 4

Hexa-Core Processor = Dual-Core Processor times 3 which DOES blow away the past 50 years of PC Processing Advancement

Also considering that leap was only in 5 years in another 5 we might even have 8 or even 10 core processors.

You went from two, to five, in five years, don't be snotty about it. You think maybe four cores will be able to generate an entire continent when three still only generated a smaller provience than from Morrowind?

edit: apparently I can't count because hexa means five not three.

Your apparently very confused. Maybe you should go lay down..Oh & by the way 2 x 3 = 6. Oh & there were only single core processors around when Morrowind was released. Processor Cores go 1, 2, 4, & now 6. There is no 3 cored processor. Also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexagon.

NOW GTFO OF MY THREAD & LEAN SOME MATH!

How is laying out doubtful speculation in a discussion being a troll? pray tell? and perhaps you shout go lay down, and learn to spell. As I said, I made a goof, I didn't mean three I meant five, and I still goofed up, as stated when I said apparently I cant count. So again, I disagree with you, I don't forsee being able to generate the entire continent as we've not seen the capability yet. Learn some manners.

5 years. 2+, by then only a few hundred dollars, 6-core processors in one machine be it PC or Gaming Console would easily be able to render an entire continent. Thats 12+ cores working simultaneously at 2.5-3 GHz for each core. Right now that would be imposable but in 4-5 years it would be a Cake Walk. You're thinking about Todays Technical Limitations. I'm thinking about Tomorrows Technical Possibilities. If Skyrim is capable of running beautifully on a computer with 4 cores imagine that same graphics engine with 3 times the processing power possibly 4 times even.

It's not a matter of power, it's a matter of human work-hours and design. The provinces are scaled down ridiculously already, I'd rather have one province 9 times the size of Skyrim than 9 provinces the size of Skyrim.

BioWare did it with SW: TOR. All they would have to do is put a loading screen between each country as well as Cities like usual. Granted SW: TOR is an MMO but it still makes my point. In fact WoW is the same just without the mass Voice Actors.

I'll say it again.

You're all thinking about Todays Technical Limitations. I'm apparently the only one thinking about Tomorrows Technical Possibilities.

I'm talking 5 years into the future where computing power will be tripled or more. We went from 2 core processors to 6 core processors in the last 5 years. Imagine what will be possible after the NEXT 5 years.

Using Morrowind as the base I'll give an example.

4 years after Morrowind = Oblivion had double(if not more) the surface area

5 years after Oblivion = Skyrim, while having close to the same square mileage as Oblivion, has close to double the Surface Area because of the excess of mountains & hills.

Give them a few years & Tamriel will be a reality. Maybe in 30-40 years we'll be given the entire Elder Scrolls world as our playground. Did you know that supposedly in about 20 years Computers will work as fast as the human mind. Anyone here ever hear of a Blue Box or a Quantum Computer? They are right around the corner.

That's totally baseless. Adding a few more mountains would not DOUBLE the surface area, and they still only have to populate the same area, you don't have twice as many buildings or trees because the incline is doubled. And Morrowind was 11 square miles, Oblivion was 16, so again, not doubled or even close. Also, Morrowind had more content in it's world than Oblivion. And like I said, but you people seem to be too stupid to understand, it's not a matter of technology, it's a matter of simple human effort. Daggerfall was thousands of times the size of Oblivion, so how does that fit into your idea? Making a large world is easy, anyone can do it, they can create entire galaxies (literally) using today's technology. The challenge is filling it with meaningful content.

Random Level Generation doesnt count. Also Skyrim is mostly Mills & Mountains which increases surface area. Also Oblivion was over 20 square miles I believe. I remember hearing somewhere that either Oblivion of Skyrim is 40 miles actually. As for Meaningful Content filling a massive world I refer you once again to WoW & SW: TOR. It seems to me your the one who is lacking imagination. My idea may not be possible in 5 years, due to only the manpower thing, but at the same time it might be. All I have to say is We Will See. Now stop whining about an IDEA that may or may not even happen. Your all complaining like they are actually doing it. It's just an Idea I had.

I'd like to point out a couple of things:

The Xbox 360 has an IBM PowerPC tri-core Xenon processor with multiple hardware threads so the games on the system have access to six processing threads.

Most modern games aren't limited by the CPU but by the GPU.

Map size is not dependent on computing power but production costs and disk-space.

It would take far too long and be far too expensive to create a TES VI: Tamriel.
Only god knows how many threads have been made about this.