Is The Elder Scrolls setting actually regressing?

[Fifty-One]

Keep in mind that the Dwemer were the only civilization on Nirn that were truely devoted to technological advancement. And even that was achieved through a blending of magic and science. The only acception to this appears to be Sotha Sil and his Clockwork Tower, or any other mage that delves into researching the Dwemer.

That being the case, Nordic culture in Skyrim shuns magic, which is essentially a pursuit of knowledge. So it makes sense that any pursuit of knowledge is treated with fear and contempt.

Off Topic: I'd love to see Elsweyr or Black Marsh. Morrowind was easily my favorite Elder Scrolls game, though I didn't play Arena or Daggerfall. I loved the alien landscapes and I feel that Elsweyr and Black Marsh have more to offer in that regard. If they do run with Summerset Isles, I'd really like the art direction to make a leap and go for something otherworldly. Playing it safe (boring) might work for a bit, but you eventually will find yourself on the wrong side of the curve.

 

[Gatx]

I don't think technology is necessarily regressing so much as it is just at a standstill. My theory is that in a world with magic, no one really bothers to advance technology. So instead of creating steam engines and lightbulbs, you just do stuff with magic, like how Morrowind had a transportation system based around magic. That stuff isn't fleshed out as much though unfortunately since they've been focusing more on streamlining gameplay for gameplay's sake (which isn't a bad thing to do per se) rather than having gameplay reinforce the setting (instant fast travel as opposed to Silt Striders or carts).

So why are there no crossbows in Cyrodil? Why are there no spears? Surely there would be a need for spears in a place where horses and mounted knights are present?

Sometimes you have to step back and separate gameplay from the lore. According to the lore Imperial City has several thousand residents. In game there's more like a couple dozen. You don't see crossbows and spears but that doesn't mean that they don't exist.

 

[Darrosect]

I chalk it up to the decline of the empire mostly. When Morrowind was hit and the volcano eruppted that probably set Tamriel back a few centuries and then the death of the Septims would have caused a power vacuum which would have caused even greater chaos.

 

[RandV80]

How about magic?

Think about it. If a significant proportion of your population has the ability to create fire, levitate objects and so on, you don't have much of a reason to develop technologically. Hell, the reason it is often thought that the Romans didn't industrialise at least a bit is because they had access to such vast amounts of slave labour as to make civic labour-saving devices just not worth developing. Why design a complicated steam pressure-driven mining contraption if you can just send in a few more slaves, or, in Tamriel's case, just blast open the rock with fireballs?

Yes regardless of the medium when it's a fantasy settings some do a good job but there isn't always much thought about how the existence of magic could advance a society. Or even regress one, for example if you mages that can toss fireballs around on a field of battle then their may not be much incentive to invent/innovate on guns and cannons. Also a despotic magic regime would probably be better suited at crushing any dissent or rebellion which could prevent any sort of Renaissance era from occurring and stagnate a culture for centuries.