The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

This page details pre-release information and/or media for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall.

Concept ArtAn incredible amount of concept art was drawn for Daggerfall, and showcase some differences from the final game.

Trailers#

Watch on YouTubeThis trailer comes from Bestheda's Winter CES 1995 booth. It features a couple of cutscenes not seen in the final version. There's also a different art style seen in the fifteen seconds or so of gameplay.

Watch on YouTubeA preview of Daggerfall, featuring the slightly older HUD seen in the pre-release demo versions and a slightly bigger compass in some sections.

Images#

Unknown Date#

To do: Find out where these images come from and add them to the chronological order of the page. Compare the NPC sprite sheet to sprites in the final game and note any differences and/or cut sprites.

Screenshot	1996 CD Sampler

A somewhat infamous screenshot that showcases mounted combat between two NPCs. This feature never appears in the final game, despite this screenshot being used in magazine advertisements and even printed on the back of the 1996 Bethesda Softworks CD sampler.

Magazine scan of an NPC sprite sheet.

1994#

The enemy sprites, notably the orc, are not rendered in 3D, but are hand-drawn 2D sprites.

Talking to the storeowner, but with a very different dialog box. The portrait is also not present in the final game.

An early shot of the town, with NPCs placed all over.

A very different sky, plus more detailed landscape.

1995#

These two pre-rendered images uploaded to the Bethsoft website were described by Daggerfall artist Mark Jones as partial depictions of the Scrollkeeper's Tower seen in the opening cutscene of the game.

Both of these stills are from the 1995 CES promotional video. In the first image, the ruler of Sentinel, King Cameron (portrayed by developer Julian LeFay), readies his sword.

In the second image are the armies of the kingdoms of Daggerfall and Sentinel readying to battle.

A couple of very old screenshots of the UI. There's no background for the characters. The inventory is in a separate screen and the UI options are somewhat less organized. No encumbrance stat is shown.

The Argonian face is not seen in the final version, and there's also some fish in the water. The fish graphics can be seen in the October 1995 demo, but are completely removed from the final version. There's no compass in the HUD, which is drawn in a much less refined style.

The compass is twice as large as the one seen in the final version and there's some glitching with it.

1996#

Morgiah's portrait lacks the red eyes, but is otherwise the same as the final version. The layout of the talk screen is much closer to the final game, though it does have nuances like a big "AND" button and "Copy to Logbook" rather than "Copy to Notebook".

Music#

A select choice of music tracks from the game was released as a preview in 1995. However, several of these tracks were excised from the final game completely and not present in any of the demo versions.