Summerset architecture.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

Carbonised wrote: »

You guys really need to chill down a bit. We saw 30 seconds of gameplay action, and already you're pulling everything apart down to the last atom.

Could we /at least/ wait until it is on the PTS so we can actually see it for ourselves in its entirety before bringing on the sour grapes, hm?

The issue with this is that it's likely to be a closed beta again.

Mind, even right now it's probably too late to change anything. So we'd better hope they're leaving the good stuff out of the trailers, but I'm not holding my breath.

Vimora

Romanticized notion of high elves we get in-game:



Distasteful reality:

gepe87

Well. We have Summerset now, but that don't mean we won't have Summerset on tesVI. Anvil and Kvatch appeared on DB dlc and in Oblivion. Maybe Bethesda will set future single player games on 4th era. You know, architecture evolves along the time.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

gepe87 wrote: »

Well. We have Summerset now, but that don't mean we won't have Summerset on tesVI. Anvil and Kvatch appeared on DB dlc and in Oblivion. Maybe Bethesda will set future single player games on 4th era. You know, architecture evolves along the time.

But we won't have Crystal-Like-Law, because that got knocked over at the end of the Third Era.

gepe87

Indeed, but SI is not all about Crystal Tower. Even it takes decades to settle tesvi, Bethesda will not disappoint

Ashamray

Disney thingy...
Where is crystal? Charming textures? Something unique and unexpected? It looks a bit boring.

psychotrip

gepe87 wrote: »

Well. We have Summerset now, but that don't mean we won't have Summerset on tesVI. Anvil and Kvatch appeared on DB dlc and in Oblivion. Maybe Bethesda will set future single player games on 4th era. You know, architecture evolves along the time.

The whole point of Summerset is that it’s impossibly ancient and well preserved. I don’t expect it to look radically different in future games. This is Summerset now. After all these years. This is the strange, advanced, thoroughly inhuman culture we’ve been waiting to see. This is the “ancient land shrouded in mystery”.

No more varlines. No more giant orrery in the sky. No more elemental slaves tending the land. Those were just “exaggerations”. Even though all that stuff is from datamining and not unreliable narrators, it’s still just “exaggerations”. Even though they told us years ago we can consider that datamine “mostly canon”. I guess the devs were exaggerating too.

I’m so sick of this consistent “toning down” of the elder scrolls world. Everything I loved about this series is a transcription error.

gepe87 wrote: »

Indeed, but SI is not all about Crystal Tower. Even it takes decades to settle tesvi, Bethesda will not disappoint

What makes you think this? Do you think Zenimax didn’t coordinate at all with Bethesda on this? According to a recent interview with Todd Howard, the different teams get together at least once a year to share what they’re working on. At the very least none of this came as a surprise to Bethesda.

Come on, man. You know what Bethesda did to Cyrodiil in Oblivion. Do you really think Behesda isn’t 100% on board with this version of Summerset? I’ve played this song and dance and been burned too many times. This is The Elder Scrolls now.

inespeloazul

I 100% expected something like this from Bethesda, and for some reason thought Zenimax was above it. Sure, the vanilla game was underwhelming and kinda ugly, but Wrothgar and Hew's Bane made it seem like they were getting the hang of it. That they had such an amazing concept for the Province pre-launch and then decided to toss it out and model the entire island after a city that should have influenced the architecture in High Rock instead of here kills any faith I had for them.

It's Oblivion 2.0.

(I mean, true, the lore and story that we get might actually be pretty cool and to be fair the architecture is pretty rad, but it's horribly obvious they took the safe route, technical limitations or no. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence.)

Faulgor

inespeloazul wrote: »

psychotrip wrote: »

Come on, man. You know what Bethesda did to Cyrodiil in Oblivion. Do you really think Behesda isn’t 100% on board with this version of Summerset? I’ve played this song and dance and been burned too many times. This is The Elder Scrolls now.

I 100% expected something like this from Bethesda, and for some reason thought Zenimax was above it. Sure, the vanilla game was underwhelming and kinda ugly, but Wrothgar and Hew's Bane made it seem like they were getting the hang of it. That they had such an amazing concept for the Province pre-launch and then decided to toss it out and model the entire island after a city that should have influenced the architecture in High Rock instead of here kills any faith I had for them.

It's Oblivion 2.0.

(I mean, true, the lore and story that we get might actually be pretty cool and to be fair the architecture is pretty rad, but it's horribly obvious they took the safe route, technical limitations or no. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence.)

Wrothgar, Hew's Bane and even Gold Coast which I felt salvaged some of Oblivion's blunders really made me hopeful.
The only thing that keeps me interested in Summerset now are the Psijics. The architecture on Artaeum actually seems pretty interesting, what should have been on Summerset proper.

Numerikuu

Ashamray wrote: »

Disney thingy...
Where is crystal? Charming textures? Something unique and unexpected? It looks a bit boring.

Ah well, at least we'll get to see more Raz

Balamoor

Vimora wrote: »

Romanticized notion of high elves we get in-game:



Distasteful reality:

Okay this one made me laugh....

Elloa

If you are looking for being disapointed and feeling negative, there is always ways to find reasons for being disapointed;
I personaly prefer to be happy, and rejoice. It doesn't matter what it could have been. It is what it is. And I decided to be happy with that.

Feel free to continue to ruin your mood though. You certainly will feel a lot happier after this discussion.


Peace!

TheNuminous1

To reiterate since my thread has been bombarded with people that dont like What Summerset has been shown to be. I love it. I think its stunning and beautiful and 10000 times better then auridon

opaj

I'd be curious to see what percentage of the game population are hyped for the architecture and how many were disappointed. I mean, I'm a little disappointed, even though from a lore standpoint I think this interpretation is reasonable--I just really would have liked to see some far out alien-elf business.

That said, there may be a legitimate concern about alienating TES fans who aren't quite so steeped in the weirdness of the lore. ZOS is generally pretty good about walking that line, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Valkysas154

I will admit seeing the image for Shimmerene CITY OF LIGHTS

i see more lights in skywatch




Dose that look like a city of lights to you?

Jhalin

The whole place looks like vaguely gothic/roman architecture built up in white and gray rocks. It's not even the least bit impressive. You pick any of the other races and their architectural style is as good as or better than what we're seeing in Summerset.

luen79rwb17_ESO

Summerset looks more like Disneyland's Magic Kingdom.

This time I won't be impressed by the tall buildings like I was with telvanni towers in Morrowind only to find out they were simply 2 floors and a room for each floor lol.

Rouven

One thing that pops into my eye right away ... how come we already see ruins, half broken pillars? Not just on their own but right next to the town.

To me that does not jive with the notion of proud elf at the height of civilization.

Casowen

I think the architecture needs a more organic touch, rather then the more or less gothic style. Organic more along the lines dunmer architecture is organic, which is what I thought the style would take given their roots and origins. Indeed it looks good and sophisticated, but I just want a little less of a late renaissance look, so try and think more "space age" in that respect, without actually being spacey.

Vimora showed a great image above in more the manner I am referring too.

Recremen

The fact of the matter is that the in-game world is limited by the game engine and what computers (consoles in particular) can handle. Remember that nothing in game is a perfect representation of what the lore implies, and I don't mean that in an "unreliable author" kind of way. I mean things like how more than 90% of the population is violent and lives in an underground cave of some sort, and how the entire world is fed from the handful of tiny farms that exist in game. The tiny farms aren't meant to show the canonical agricultural prowess of Tamriel, but to evoke the idea that yes, farms exist, they're important in peoples' lives, here go save a handful of them for these quests we made.

So is Summerset filled with giant glass and crystal towers that look like insect wings or whatever? Well, the version of Summerset WE see won't be. It would be nice if there was at least one building like that to evoke, as best as possible, the general idea, but we might not even get that due to the game engine limitations. Doesn't mean the other description can't be better represented in some future game with a more powerful engine for more powerful computers, but this is what we have to deal with in the Now. Besides, I would absolutely believe that the light-refracting towers is at best a description of a small but important portion of Altmer cities. Most of the common buildings for the common folk would more than likely be made of stone and such, since we know that stratification of wealth is a real thing among Altmer.

psychotrip

Recremen wrote: »

The fact of the matter is that the in-game world is limited by the game engine and what computers (consoles in particular) can handle. Remember that nothing in game is a perfect representation of what the lore implies, and I don't mean that in an "unreliable author" kind of way. I mean things like how more than 90% of the population is violent and lives in an underground cave of some sort, and how the entire world is fed from the handful of tiny farms that exist in game. The tiny farms aren't meant to show the canonical agricultural prowess of Tamriel, but to evoke the idea that yes, farms exist, they're important in peoples' lives, here go save a handful of them for these quests we made.

So is Summerset filled with giant glass and crystal towers that look like insect wings or whatever? Well, the version of Summerset WE see won't be. It would be nice if there was at least one building like that to evoke, as best as possible, the general idea, but we might not even get that due to the game engine limitations. Doesn't mean the other description can't be better represented in some future game with a more powerful engine for more powerful computers, but this is what we have to deal with in the Now. Besides, I would absolutely believe that the light-refracting towers is at best a description of a small but important portion of Altmer cities. Most of the common buildings for the common folk would more than likely be made of stone and such, since we know that stratification of wealth is a real thing among Altmer.

The "in-game engines can't handle it" argument falls apart when you see what they did with Artaeum. Or what they did with Valenwood (which isn't perfect but a hell of a lot more interesting than anything in Summerset). It's not a matter of engine limitations, but creativity.

Either way, if ZOS couldn't handle it, they shouldn't have done it, because now this is canon. This is the supposedly super-advanced culture we've been waiting to see. It's a just a minor step above Cyrodiil.

It's laughable that Khajiit get more lavish, fancy architecture than we get. It's laughable that all the amazing things they were working on in the early datamines, with all the crazy advanced magic, is now just in the garbage can. So much for the Altmer being able to back up their snobbishness. Now they're just delusional hypocrites. I guess everyone hates them for a reason.

Saturnana

psychotrip wrote: »

It's laughable that all the amazing things they were working on in the early datamines, with all the crazy advanced magic, is now just in the garbage can. So much for the Altmer being able to back up their snobbishness. Now they're just delusional hypocrites. I guess everyone hates them for a reason.

You keep repeating this, but how can you be so certain that what was datamined is no longer part of the chapter? Since ZOS already said that the teaser yesterday was only a tip of the veil, there may be a number of things included in Summerset that we have no idea about - at least not based on what was shown to us yesterday. Maybe they were just able to hide the varlines, orrery and such from us in those couple of clips that we got to see? To keep the suspense?

psychotrip

lnsane wrote: »

psychotrip wrote: »

It's laughable that all the amazing things they were working on in the early datamines, with all the crazy advanced magic, is now just in the garbage can. So much for the Altmer being able to back up their snobbishness. Now they're just delusional hypocrites. I guess everyone hates them for a reason.

You keep repeating this, but how can you be so certain that what was datamined is no longer part of the chapter? Since ZOS already said that the teaser yesterday was only a tip of the veil, there may be a number of things included in Summerset that we have no idea about - at least not based on what was shown to us yesterday. Maybe they were just able to hide the varlines, orrery and such from us in those couple of clips that we got to see? To keep the suspense?

Because I've been burned so many times by that sort of thinking. I thought the same thing when they first revealed Auridon. I really don't think it's reasonable to assume they're hiding all the cool stuff in their reveal trailer, when they already showed off Artaeum, Alinor (where the orrery is), and the Crystal Tower. It's just wishful thinking at this point.

But let's make a friendly wager (without money of course). I'm betting that all that stuff was thrown in the garbage in favor of this boring nonsense. I truly hope I'm wrong. Let's see who "wins" the bet in the end.

Faulgor

lnsane wrote: »

psychotrip wrote: »

It's laughable that all the amazing things they were working on in the early datamines, with all the crazy advanced magic, is now just in the garbage can. So much for the Altmer being able to back up their snobbishness. Now they're just delusional hypocrites. I guess everyone hates them for a reason.

You keep repeating this, but how can you be so certain that what was datamined is no longer part of the chapter? Since ZOS already said that the teaser yesterday was only a tip of the veil, there may be a number of things included in Summerset that we have no idea about - at least not based on what was shown to us yesterday. Maybe they were just able to hide the varlines, orrery and such from us in those couple of clips that we got to see? To keep the suspense?

Yeah I wouldn't rule out everything from the old datamine. For all we know, this might actually be the map they originally designed, just with entirely new questlines (the pretty lackluster model/texture resolution of the rock formations, which is behind even Hew's Bane and Gold Coast, makes me suspect these are largely recycled assets).

inespeloazul

You can clearly see what looks like a huge constellation in the sky above Artaeum, and at first I was hopeful about it but the main island is missing anything that points toward the old concept. There's a good chance we get a downscaled version of it though, at the very least within Artaeum.

Anyways, I agree with @Recremen
I wouldn't be worried about this being what any future TES game set in Alinor follows. One need look no further than Windhelm to realize that what we see in this game will definitely not be what we see in another. For a main game example, see Bloodmoon's Solstheim vs Dragonborn's. Of course, this is assuming Bethesda would want to bother trying anything more interesting with it lol

red_emu

Seems they didn't have time to make any new assets. They picked a few buildings from Stormhaven, copy - paste and change the colour. Oh and the majestic Crystal tower? Let's copy paste White Gold Tower, make it flat and put a corset at the bottom of it. There. Chapter done. Now just throw in some fetch quests from copy paste NPCs. I think I actually like auridon better than this. At least it had a distinctive style, not Disney world vibe.

grizzledcroc

People need to check there eyes if they see a copy paste

LittlePinkDot

Royaji wrote: »

To be honest, I'll take fancy castles over morrowind-shroom-extravaganza any day. I prefer high fantasy over creations of shroom-induced imagination. Different strokes, huh?

I'll definitely eat the mushrooms then go look at the castles.

psychotrip

inespeloazul wrote: »

You can clearly see what looks like a huge constellation in the sky above Artaeum, and at first I was hopeful about it but the main island is missing anything that points toward the old concept. There's a good chance we get a downscaled version of it though, at the very least within Artaeum.

Anyways, I agree with @Recremen
I wouldn't be worried about this being what any future TES game set in Alinor follows. One need look no further than Windhelm to realize that what we see in this game will definitely not be what we see in another. For a main game example, see Bloodmoon's Solstheim vs Dragonborn's. Of course, this is assuming Bethesda would want to bother trying anything more interesting with it lol

I want to believe this, I really do. But I honestly can't see Zenimax creating this whole-cloth without any coordination from Bethesda. At the very least, if this Summerset is completely non-canon, then that will just confuse things even more. Imagine what'll happen when a singleplayer game is set in Alinor, and people complain that it looks nothing like the "real" Summerset in ESO.

I honestly think this is canon now, but I hope I'm wrong.

luen79rwb17_ESO

I prefer castles too but I can perfectly understand why people are mad at what was shown.

I think the buildings are pretty but definately not close to what have been described since... Forever?