The terrain of Skyrim : The Elder Scrolls Series Discussion

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:26 am

These pics sum up what I hope the ice environments look like.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/guilleavalos/2139201845/sizes/l/in/set-72157603555712743/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aluytenuk/372354226/sizes/l/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37373154@N08/3852791038/sizes/l/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/guilleavalos/2139208615/sizes/l/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vandango/2348759208/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19787726@N03/2479801062/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/428125271/sizes/l/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcml/249547204/sizes/l/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaldhanko/3780194272/sizes/l/

» Thu May 26, 2011 6:42 pm

I would like something like: Scandinavia meets Solstheim.

» Fri May 27, 2011 1:05 am

Skyrim would be filled with mountains and it would probalby have snow everywhere. You can infer this because the top top or Cyrodill and even solthiem. Also one thing I though Morrowind's landscape was a lot more interesting than Cyrodill.

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:31 am

Skyrim would be filled with mountains and it would probalby have snow everywhere. You can infer this because the top top or Cyrodill and even solthiem. Also one thing I though Morrowind's landscape was a lot more interesting than Cyrodill.

Not everywhere. The western half of Skyrim is temperate forests and river-valleys, and the northern coasts aren't too bad either. The south and east are predominantly mountainous regions, though.

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:31 am

Does anyone have a thought that the non-cold areas should look like
And not i mean none COLD areas, not "no snow and ice" i really mean aras where you don't constantly need a coat... i sure hope those DO exist and not just "solstheim x 100"

» Thu May 26, 2011 7:21 pm

I imagine the top of Skyrim to have beaches from the central shore to the eastern shore, further south you start moving in to a sort of tropical jungle.

Just my creativity at work

» Fri May 27, 2011 10:21 am

Does anyone have a thought that the non-cold areas should look like
And not i mean none COLD areas, not "no snow and ice" i really mean aras where you don't constantly need a coat... i sure hope those DO exist and not just "solstheim x 100"

Well the southern end of solstheim wasn't entirely covered in ice, right? It did have its thawed out grassy patches. I imagine its going to be somewhat like dark dirt, dark (ever)green grass/trees and lots of grey stones.

» Fri May 27, 2011 12:43 am

I'm hoping it's more than snow and ice. I'm also hoping for mountain ranges with pathes that are marked so that we can go up and through the ranges without having to find our own way.

» Fri May 27, 2011 5:11 am

Well the southern end of solstheim wasn't entirely covered in ice, right? It did have its thawed out grassy patches. I imagine its going to be somewhat like dark dirt, dark (ever)green grass/trees and lots of grey stones.

Well read my post again, i said NOT just "no snow and ice" but an area that doesn't feel like it's constantly cold. I at least hope those areas DO exist.

» Fri May 27, 2011 2:45 am

Skyrim would be filled with mountains and it would probalby have snow everywhere. You can infer this because the top top or Cyrodill and even solthiem. Also one thing I though Morrowind's landscape was a lot more interesting than Cyrodill.

Cyrodiil is shaped like a toilet bowl, with its northernmost reaches being very high elevations. Not all of Skyrim is like that - there are plenty of lower elevations within the province itself. Take a look at Skyrim as it is portrayed in http://www.imperial-library.info/maps/arena_skyrim.shtml. It can be assumed the larger more populous settlements are built in the warmer lowlands.

People have to stop using Oblivion as a reference point for what Skyrim will look like. I mean, it turned Cyrodiil into a forest. Is it really a credible geographic source? :lmao:

» Fri May 27, 2011 5:54 am

Cyrodiil is shaped like a toilet bowl, with its northernmost reaches being very high elevations. Not all of Skyrim is like that - there are plenty of lower elevations within the province itself. Take a look at Skyrim as it is portrayed in http://www.imperial-library.info/maps/arena_skyrim.shtml. It can be assumed the larger more populous settlements are built in the warmer lowlands.

People have to stop using Oblivion as a reference point for what Skyrim will look like. I mean, it turned Cyrodiil into a forest. Is it really a credible geographic source? :lmao:

You have to remember that they change the Pocket Guide and rewrote the thing for Oblivion so as to make Oblivion's Landscape coincide with the Pocket Guide. I would guess that they would have to keep it similar to what's in the new Pocket Guide so as to keep in line with the "New Lore".

» Thu May 26, 2011 6:45 pm

Well read my post again, i said NOT just "no snow and ice" but an area that doesn't feel like it's constantly cold. I at least hope those areas DO exist.

Well in that case, I don't believe thats going to happen. Unless there are some super warm valleys we don't know about. We can only hope!

» Thu May 26, 2011 10:46 pm

I'd like a rainforest type of environment in the southeast/southwest, cold freezing temperatures in high north and south, tundra in the east, and plains in the west. Maybe in the center of it all a huge evergreen forest, miles and miles in diameter.

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:00 am

Reading all of this, I do wonder where most people base their utterly ridiculous ideas on.

But I wanted to add on my http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?s=&showtopic=1037526&view=findpost&p=15035807:
As worshippers of the wind, the Nords should have prayer flags (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Tibetan_Prayer_Flags.JPG http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/1c/c8/9c/prayer-flags-at-tashi.jpg http://media.photobucket.com/image/prayer%20flags/headphones-on/Tibetan_Prayer_Flags.jpg) in the mountains.

» Thu May 26, 2011 8:37 pm

Reading all of this, I do wonder where most people base their utterly ridiculous ideas on.

That is partly directed to me i guess, well i know it's supposed to be swampland there followed by moors, but i feel a beach and tropical rainforest would contrast quite well with the more mountainous regions to the south of Skyrim, sort of like alps to the south, beaches to the north (huh reminds me of france)

» Fri May 27, 2011 10:54 am

Does anyone have a thought that the non-cold areas should look like
And not i mean none COLD areas, not "no snow and ice" i really mean aras where you don't constantly need a coat... i sure hope those DO exist and not just "solstheim x 100"

I have, I'm hoping for something like this:

http://www.fotothing.com/photos/59a/59a3be0de4ed20a4c5f53db42db60853_1a9.jpg

http://www.ninisworld.com/imagesandwords/desktops/the_desktops/summerwood.jpg

http://www.visitsweden.com/ImageVault/Images/conversionFormat_13/id_201/ImageVaultHandler.aspx

http://the-cruise-specialists.co.uk/pix/Geiranger%20Fjord%20Norway.jpg

http://api.ning.com/files/AuFkA38qvS1k08IUJB-lu3R*2KF6ixReRezX-ax0XHlvfcIC47KQUmMTPuQEVSiG5ZrHLt87Gj9yXaTmDKGYke4P9CnBKHl8/The_Pine_Forest_by_pheelfresh.jpg

» Fri May 27, 2011 9:39 am

wow, just wow, thats beautiful

» Fri May 27, 2011 6:31 am

I have, I'm hoping for something like this:

http://www.fotothing.com/photos/59a/59a3be0de4ed20a4c5f53db42db60853_1a9.jpg

http://www.ninisworld.com/imagesandwords/desktops/the_desktops/summerwood.jpg

http://www.visitsweden.com/ImageVault/Images/conversionFormat_13/id_201/ImageVaultHandler.aspx

http://the-cruise-specialists.co.uk/pix/Geiranger%20Fjord%20Norway.jpg

http://api.ning.com/files/AuFkA38qvS1k08IUJB-lu3R*2KF6ixReRezX-ax0XHlvfcIC47KQUmMTPuQEVSiG5ZrHLt87Gj9yXaTmDKGYke4P9CnBKHl8/The_Pine_Forest_by_pheelfresh.jpg

Those looks great.
You know one reason i'm kinda worried about climate are Argonians, after all in Solstheim there was only ONE at the docks and even he just served to spit out a funny line... They could easily say "argonians couldn't live in that climate" and either fully leave them out or have so few they don't even matter.
That's why i'm hoping for warmer areas (or even a different province) so that won't come happen.

» Thu May 26, 2011 11:39 pm

Those looks great.
You know one reason i'm kinda worried about climate are Argonians, after all in Solstheim there was only ONE at the docks and even he just served to spit out a funny line... They could easily say "argonians couldn't live in that climate" and either fully leave them out or have so few they don't even matter.
That's why i'm hoping for warmer areas (or even a different province) so that won't come happen.

That would be a great loss, I can see why Argonians wouldn't wanna live in a cold climate, but even so, that just means they wont make a settlement in the mountains. Not to say that they couldn't make a settlement in the mountains really, I'm sure you've heard of hot springs, I could totally see an Argonian settlement in/around a hot spring.

» Fri May 27, 2011 10:05 am

That is partly directed to me i guess, well i know it's supposed to be swampland there followed by moors, but i feel a beach and tropical rainforest would contrast quite well with the more mountainous regions to the south of Skyrim, sort of like alps to the south, beaches to the north (huh reminds me of france)

Yours just made me laugh, but I assumed you knew it was quite a long shot from what it is supposed to be, so no, it wasn't aimed at you, since you were aware of your "eccentricity", unlike others.

» Fri May 27, 2011 12:49 am

I want mountains.

It won't work if they don't create the land by hand. The cliffs would look especially ugly (oblivion mountains)

Gothic 3 has a beautiful landscape (hand made model, not some computer generated sorry excuse of a world) The caves and houses are also open in that game.

» Fri May 27, 2011 8:06 am

I do think they can adjust the generator to include more of that. It was just a choice to go with softer curves in OB (the edges are all neatly tucked away under those giant stones scattered about -- yes, that's the only reason those boulders are there)

» Fri May 27, 2011 7:14 am

I do think they can adjust the generator to include more of that. It was just a choice to go with softer curves in OB (the edges are all neatly tucked away under those giant stones scattered about -- yes, that's the only reason those boulders are there)

Honestly i really hope they do more corners again, there's a reason i call Oblivions landscape the "melty cheese mountain land"...
they should take a look back to Gothic and how they did the landscapes. Hell "FarCry" did the landscapes very similar only using higth maps but they set them up so well and added so much rock and vegitation that the landscape simplicity didn't matter too much.

» Thu May 26, 2011 6:54 pm

I made a map to include possible vegetations, with a bit more respect to the relief (though not nearly as much snow as some hoped).
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/iceco_lfkd/SkyrimHight-1.png

» Fri May 27, 2011 10:20 am

I made a map to include possible vegetations, with a bit more respect to the relief (though not nearly as much snow as some hoped).
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/iceco_lfkd/SkyrimHight-1.png

I think that looks quite will, besides there could be seasons so the climate and temperature changes so some areas are some times really warm and sometimes really cold with only mountains being perma frozen and deserts/jungles permenently warm.