November 21, 2011
Entire Tamriel Landmass built into Skyrim.
I didn’t know if this was posted yet on tumblr, so I thought I’d do it. The landmass of almost all of the provinces in Tamriel, has been put into Skyrim. All which are inaccessible(without console commands) and which serve absolutely no purpose in the game. Why are they there? I personally don’t know. But take a look at the effort Bethesta put into these seemingly pointless landmasses.
At the south-eastern most part of Skyrim lays Stendarr’s Beacon.
If you’ve looked at a map of Tamriel, you’ll know this is the closest place in Skyrim, to Morrowind.
If you travel directly North East of Stendarr’s Beacon, you’ll end up finding a path to your right, in between two huge mountains.
I noticed how beautiful the path really looked. It seemed quite enthralling actually for some reason.
The path is nestled between two mountains, decorated with trees, and at the end of it some type of gateway, or arch.
But, that open archway is the end of the road. The game doesn’t allow you to go any further. I find it strange, that there’s an area like this leading from Skyrim to Morrowind. Nowhere in the lore was this stone wall mentioned. And why would it be an open arch like that? Why not closed? Why is there a space at all between these mountains if we can’t go any further? As you can see there are still trees and foliage beyond this wall, but you aren’t able to access it without console commands.
So, I went into No-clip like the BAMF I am and travelled down this path.
Landmass photos below.
This picture is taken beyond the gate, and beyond the players bounds. Outside of Skyrim. There are still trees and grass, despite no one being able to go here.
Gradually the foliage thins, and the textures become poor. But still, it is very gradual and there’s quite a long stretch between the gate and the texture fading.
In the background of this next picture you’ll see a mountain in the distance.
As you can see below I’m outside of skyrim, and facing North East.
I tried to predict my location on a map of Tamriel to within the large red dot, and facing north east. So, if I’m facing north east, that mountain is actually Red Mountain in Vvardenfell, which is apart of Morrowind! Red Mountain is located within the Middle of Vvardenfell, and can be seen on many other Tamriel maps, and in the game Morrowind.
So, bethesda has made the landmass for Morrowind. The entirety of morrowind. Solstheim is there, the mainland is there, Vvardenfell is there. It’s all there. It’s scaled down slightly however, since the scaling in Morrowind, Skyrim, And Oblivion are all obscured towards each other. But it’s still very large.
Vvardenfell and the volcano that destroyed Morrowind.
Ground view in Vvardenfell.
Morrowind isn’t the only province that has been made in Skyrim. As far as I know the majority of them are there. I’ve only been able to get access to Morrowind, and Cyrodiil since my game loads them slowly, and I don’t have the patience.
Just past the mountains of Morrowind, you’ll find the Cyrodiil landmass. As well as White Gold tower, located in the middle of the Imperial City.
As you can tell, the landmass isn’t perfectly replicated towards each province but they still exist, and for no reason. Below is the Imperial City in Oblivion, and the landmass in the location of the Imperial City in Skyrim. Again, it’s scaled down, certain parts aren’t connected while others are. It isn’t exactly the same but it does have a resemblance.
Eastern Cyrodiil
Biggest question is, why are they here. A reasonable explanation could be is that they wanted your 3D map to be realistic, showing parts of the other provinces peaking through the clouds. These parts aren’t accessible on the map though. The only way you can even see these parts is by no-clipping. Your map won’t scroll down or rotate enough to even get near Cyrodiil, let alone the White Gold tower.
My cousin(who is a huge TES fan. Knows all the lore, read all there is to read about TES) and I assume it was either set as a place holder for future DLC. As in, that gate being an entrance to main land Morrowind. Or, it being there for modders.
In the past TES games, people have attempted to mod multiple parts of Tamriel into the existing game. But making such huge detailed land masses that are true to the lore is difficult. So it’s possible that Bethesda added those since they rely a lot on the modding community. It may seem like wishful thinking, but I can’t think of any explanation for it! Can any of you? You can check out the other provinces on your own in Skyrim if you follow the directions stated, and use the no-clip console command. There is also a youtube video showing someone no-clipping to a few of the provinces.
