If we could travel all of Tamriel

[furzball]

Been hearing rumors about the next coming Elder Scrolls, however I'm guessing it'll be yet another block of the Tamriel map. Now I know the timelines are different and that elder scrolls online exists. However if it could be sorted out and there was a way to get a solo game of ElderScrolls across all of Tamriel, would you play it? What if there was some sort of trade off, because the obvious one would be to make a game with an estimated 60gb of content (based off the 6gb of skyrim times regions on map). Another could be lesser graphics. Finally my favorite thought is just the developers send out a very basic Tamriel with a construction kit and leave it up to fans to create the content (I would guess not since they'd want to sell on console to). IDK what do you all think?

Side note: Still on my first cup of coffee, at crack of noon, after coming home from work at midnight and playing games till 5am. Furzt day off on a monday lol. But if my mind / post seems muddled, that'll be why.

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/6/62/Tamriel_Map.png

[ScrollThief84]

It's an awesome idea... ...and has come up from time to time. The one major problem would be the amount of time and people needed to create such a game. I don't know the exact amount, but the team that worked on Skyrim was huge and this is what they created with the time frame they had. See where I'm going with this :) But if they did decide to undertake such a huge project and the game came out, I would so play it. Don't get your hopes up though.

[Lachdonin]

but the team that worked on Skyrim was huge

 

It was actually pretty small, by modern standards. Bethesda has a team of about 200 people (i think it got up to 211 with Skyrim) whereas other AAA games often have teams of at least a thousand, across multiple offices. Assassins Creed, for instance, is a team comprised of developers in 3 different studios (In Canada, USA and France) and consisting of an average of 2000 people, 10x what Bethesda uses for its game.

 

That said, the smaller studio is beneficial in terms of consistency and control. Large studios have a tendency to produce overly repetitive or generic products, because trying to coordinate that number of people comes with challenges.

[CaptainPatch]

1) What if there was some sort of trade off, because the obvious one would be to make a game with an estimated 60gb of content (based off the 6gb of skyrim times regions on map).

 

2) ...and leave it up to fans to create the content (I would guess not since they'd want to sell on console to).

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/6/62/Tamriel_Map.png

First, using your formula of 6 gb per province, you would be looking at 54 gb. (@60 is a reasonable rounding)

Black Marsh, Cyrodiil, Elswyr, Hammerfell, High Rock, Morrowind, Skyrim, Summerset Isle, and Valenwood.

 

Second, ain't never gonna happen. Each contributor would most likely want to introduce some cute twist that by its very existence affects Elder Scroll canon. Bethesda really can't let go of control to that extent. Things that are introduced now WILL affect everything that comes later.

 

Many authors (e.g. Clive Cussler) have created worlds which are anchored on a very specific chain of events. (a.k.a., "History"). They have opened up their franchise enough to allow a very limited few up-and-coming authors to introduce new content. Such arrangements require A LOT of babysitting to assure that the peripheral authors don't contradict earlier canon or create conflicts with future canon (works in progress of the central author).

 

Here's an example: Suppose some contributor introduces some new and unusual magical items because, well, they're neat. Wannabe Dungeon Masters have been creating stuff like that going all the way back to D&D. Introducing such items immediately poses several questions: Why haven't we seen something like this before? Is the item too potent; so potent that it unbalances the conflicting powers of future planned expansions? Does the item make the player character too overpowered? Etc.

 

Even though most of the work is being done by people outside of the studio, the people inside the studio would need to allocate nearly as much time doing QA, integration, and plot conflict resolution that it would amount to more man-hours than if the studio instead just did ALL the creation work itself. (Keep in mind that opening the doors to allow such user input would result in a veritable tidal wave of submissions for consideration.)

 

From the studio's perspective, the current model works just fine. The studio creates and releases the vanilla game and THEN users can make mods to their hearts' content. And all mods come with the warning, "User accepts that there are no guarantees how well this mod will integrate with the base game."

Edited March 1, 2016 by CaptainPatch

[Moksha8088]

Using FO4 as an example, TES6 will be able to pack much more detail into a smaller geographical area. For instance, the Greater Boston area is supposed to be four times the size of Skyrim. There is no need to create vast areas of emptiness. Some place like Atmora would work just fine.

[Shivala]

there is a mod in the works that features all of Tamriel

[LeddBate]

Are you referring to Beyond Skyrim? Yeah, that's an ambitious one.

[Boombro]

Who cares about a big map if it was lacking?

I understand the want, but the smaller map, means more quests, less bugs, more well done landscape, more everything. The only good thing about a big map is that it big.

 

Maybe another one as DLC, like from a past title.

[Spacemunkey79]

I would love to be able to choose where my character was from, and that's a huge benefit of having the entirety of Tamriel available. As awesome as it sounds I don't think it will happen. I do however feel they might go with more than 1 province in the next TES game, like Hammerfell and High Rock.

[Lachdonin]

I do however feel they might go with more than 1 province in the next TES game, like Hammerfell and High Rock.

 

I for one hope not. If they have any hope of recovering the cultural depth and interest of Morrowind, the last thing Bethesda needs to do is split their attention between two provinces. Not only would it be a design disaster, it would diminish the mythic significance of at least one of the races in question. It's just a bard idea.