Dragonstar (Sky_xRe_Ds) [roerich]

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Post by Luxray »

That tower is genius!
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Post by roerich »

Indeed, I wouldn't mind seeing more of them! Perhaps add one to Karthwasten?
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Post by Luxray »

Unfortunately the last thing I think Karthwasten needs, or will be getting, is additional interiors ;)
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Post by roerich »

Whaaat? I don't follow. Too ... many interiors?
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Post by berry »

Wow, thanks guys. :D I have to say, these new uniform textures open up some possibilities.

I could try to come up with some interiors for this donjon design, I'm curious how they would look like. You interior guys are likely to get the job done better though. :P

How do you see it in Karthwasten? Perhaps it could work as a guard tower by the gates?
I was unsure about this nearby imperial fortress for a while
I had some doubts myself, mostly in regards to meaningfulness of having two imperial garrisons so close to each other. I think it could work though if we imagine these fort legionaries as a military reserve only, remaining in a stand-by should there be any need for them, and serving extraordinary goals (assisting local Blades? doing some knight-errants/diplomatic stuff?) in a meantime. Justice system could be left to the guys in the city.

Uploading a file with finished fort and some slight progress around the city.
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Post by berry »

I got back to this claim few days ago and I've made some significant progress, so here goes an update. Any feedback is welcome, as always. I'm most eager to hear your opinions on Jarla's manor, especially, as I have some problems in pulling it out in this slope-ish area. Isn't it too small now? Would it be even possible to interiorize this concept? Redguards tileset seems pretty flexible, but I've never worked with it so I wouldn't really know.

Anyway, among other changes:
  • worked on detailing/fixing surrounding cliffs
  • added a natural passages (sloping cliff meshes) up the Scamp's #2 mesa and down the Worsas' canyon.
  • fixed most of terrain issues within the city.
  • got the city walls almost fixed
  • replaced Dragon Fountain Inn with Karthwasten middle class inn, per Yeti's proposal. It still needs to be "de-nordified", perhaps on the interior level too
  • replaced the shop signs in East Dragonstar with Spineinside's nordic ones
  • did lots of detailing and optimizing generally. Dragonstar East isn't far from being finished right now :ugeek:
[detail=Screens]Dragonstar East:
Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image

Dragonstar West:
Image Image Image Image Image Image[/detail]

The thing to consider is don't we have too many various merchants and cultural flavour institutions, especially on Hammerfell's side, and too little housings? The proportion of public/commercial buildings to the apartments is about 1:1 now.
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Post by Luxray »

I think you're trying to hem yourself in with that manor layout? Why not move the wall out like this? There's a fair bit of empty space up to the city gate you can swallow up. Make a courtyard area and then have more room for the buildings? I agree it doesn't look terribly manorish. Maybe try some of the buildings with the balconies. Balconies always look nice and affluent.

I really like that area around the smithy and arena, that anvil by the smith is floating though. Maybe add some stuff behind those ruined buildings on the other side of Dragonstar East, it looks a bit 'odd' to my eyes, maybe make more use of the ruined ground texture?
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Post by roerich »

Looks great! I wonder if there's anything you could do to add some more sketchy alleyways?

The size of Jarla Jonas manor looks fine.
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Post by Luxray »

Also, whilst I think of it: you should spin that cut exterior #14 around by 180, so that comfy terrace seating has a view out onto the plaza, rather than into the back alleys. Much more interesting. :)
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Post by berry »

Thanks for feedback! I'm sorry for replying that late guys, I got hijacked by mean real life stuff and went pretty much offline for these 2 weeks. I'll try to catch up with the boards now. :) The good things is I managed to get some progress done on Dragonstar in the meantime, especially after I saw that DEG's video two days ago (talk about motivation boost!)
Luxray wrote:I really like that area around the smithy and arena, that anvil by the smith is floating though. Maybe add some stuff behind those ruined buildings on the other side of Dragonstar East, it looks a bit 'odd' to my eyes, maybe make more use of the ruined ground texture?
Well, damn, I should have pointed out which areas are still untouched. :P both these areas were still a direct paste from RQ by then (the ruined disctrict of Dragonstar East still is). I'm sorry for the confusion.
Luxray wrote:Also, whilst I think of it: you should spin that cut exterior #14 around by 180, so that comfy terrace seating has a view out onto the plaza, rather than into the back alleys. Much more interesting. :)
And done! Thanks. :) I agree, that makes much more sense.
roerich wrote:Looks great! I wonder if there's anything you could do to add some more sketchy alleyways?
Well, I tried to, and with good results I think, in Dragonstar West especially. I'm thinking about moving southern city walls closer, so they go directly behind Knights of Iron lodge. How do you feel about it? That would make the city feel more condensed for sure.

And here goes another update. The most importantly, I finished jarla's estate and I'm damn proud of how it turned out. Here's an overview:

[hsimg=]http://i.imgur.com/Zxmappx.png[/hsimg]

There is also a secret passage hidden somewhere here, but I'm not showing it not the spoil the fun for project's followers; just look for "in_com_traptop_01" in -113,13 cell, or watch out for it in-game 8-) Regarding it's purpose, I thought it could be:
  1. a secret tunnel out of (and into) the city. It could date back to the times of Redguards, and Nords might be oblivious of it. The Resistance would not, however.
  2. a hidden treasury
  3. a secret site for some sinister cult, in which some influential courtiers are involved
Anyway, among other changes, I basically finished the poor quarters in both towns, and get the western streets largely detailed. The walls should finally be fine, too. :)

Looking forward to hearing your opinions. I'll reply to them faster this time, I promise. :?
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Post by Luxray »

Do you think it would be possible to place the Nord and the Redguard gallows opposite each other beside the wall, by moving the Redguard one to where that house is? It strikes me as a neat idea, that the Redguards and Nords would try to instil discipline in their half of the city, by trying to out-execute their criminals (more noisily, maybe) compared to the other side. You could have some town lore snippet, saying that they are always competing.
Or maybe that's a terrible idea :D

Jona's manor is looking quite cool now but rather than that shack for #6 I think one of the Redguard slant-roof houses might be more fitting. Roerich and I were discussing some heraldry for Jona in the IRC the other day, I'd like to see that up where you have put the existing tapestries, maybe.

Nice progress anyway!
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Post by worsas »

That makeshifted stables with the cow in it has conquered my heart. This whole town already feels very polished, even though there are quite a few floaters around.

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Post by roerich »

Great stuff berry. Jonas manor came out nice indeed!

I love the little balcony in DS West, the one between the tavern and another house. Stuff like that really gives the city some character and the alleyways as well. Perhaps have a door to the tavern as well, connecting the houses on multiple levels. Something that could be repeated in the rest of the city.

The entrance to the closed off FG is now obstructed by two trees. Now you'll need some ninja skills to get there, or jump down from the walls. Either way, I approve! I wonder what we could use the location for. Perhaps the Dark Brotherhood inhabiting the cellar? I'd like to see the upper floors dusty and full of webs. With signs of the inhabitants having to move in a hurry, perhaps evidence of fighting. Damn, I already feel like putting up a claim for it so I can snatch it. :twisted:

I feel like we could cut down a bit on the services, in exchange for commoner housing. Perhaps having apartments in some buildings. There's the bazaar in DS West as well, so lot's of places for buying already. Perhaps cut 2 services in West and 1 in East. And I know this is on me to begin with.

You've done a terrific job so far, keep at it! And do change the walls if you want to, I think you have great judging. :D
worsas wrote:This whole town already feels very polished, even though there are quite a few floaters around.
A lot of those can probably be attributed to me, when I set up the RQ and changed the landscape a bit afterwards :P And I love that makeshifted cow shack as well!
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Post by berry »

It turns out I messed up with the site I marked court's balcony on on the map above, so don't be surprised in-game. Well, I had 50% chance to screw up I guess, math is cruel. :D

Thanks for feedback and compliments guys, I appreciate that!
Luxray wrote:Do you think it would be possible to place the Nord and the Redguard gallows opposite each other beside the wall, by moving the Redguard one to where that house is? It strikes me as a neat idea, that the Redguards and Nords would try to instil discipline in their half of the city, by trying to out-execute their criminals (more noisily, maybe) compared to the other side. You could have some town lore snippet, saying that they are always competing.
Well, the problem is this house covers some real bad texture tiling, plus I fear that area in DS W would feel too empty if I take out the house. But if you draw the mirror axis diagonally through imperior garrison, they are kind of mirrored now, too. :P I will see about it, though, I'm not quite buying that location of Redguard gallows too.

Regarding the judicature, that's probably a talk for city planning thread, but I thought that could lie in hands of imperial garrison. That would certainly save us some headache, as we would have to place just one prison marker in the city then. Or maybe the armistice's resolutions transfer just the incomers, including a player, under imperial judicature?
Luxray wrote:Jona's manor is looking quite cool now but rather than that shack for #6 I think one of the Redguard slant-roof houses might be more fitting.
Yeah, I can see the reasoning behind it, but personally I think it works here, with all the woodwork you can see in exterior Dragonstar. But I won't be that sad if we decide to let it go :P
Luxray wrote:Roerich and I were discussing some heraldry for Jona in the IRC the other day, I'd like to see that up where you have put the existing tapestries, maybe.
Yet another "yes, but..." from me here. :D That's obviously a fitting proposal, but I like how these current royal red tapestries look here, so I'd try to keep at least few of them. Jona's banner itself wouldn't be red, as Karthwasten already got the colour, right? I'm sure it would look nice either way.
worsas wrote:there are quite a few floaters around.
Successively working on them and trying not to cause any more, I hope. :)
roerich wrote:Perhaps have a door to the tavern as well, connecting the houses on multiple levels. Something that could be repeated in the rest of the city.
Ah, you meant the Dragonstar East, right? Yes, I could see the doors there would make a lot of sense, I will get that done. I tried to follow that suggestion as it would apply to Dragonstar West and ended with this. So not a bad result of the misunderstanding. :) By the way, I'm in the process of adding some more backyards and balconies to the town, so there will be many things like that here.
roerich wrote:I wonder what we could use the location for. Perhaps the Dark Brotherhood inhabiting the cellar? I'd like to see the upper floors dusty and full of webs. With signs of the inhabitants having to move in a hurry, perhaps evidence of fighting. Damn, I already feel like putting up a claim for it so I can snatch it.
That's a good stuff. And I say go for it if you feel like, the shell should remain as it is so no harm done anyway. :ugeek: I know I would like to try to make an outline at least for Jona's estate's interior, myself. :P

--

I'm making a steady progress on this, I think we will have the city area finished in few days top.

edit: roerich, is there perhaps a map somewhere of late RQ, or in fact any other indicator telling which house uses which interior? I would like to match them and that would make it a lot easier. :geek:

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Post by roerich »

edit: roerich, is there perhaps a map somewhere of late RQ, or in fact any other indicator telling which house uses which interior? I would like to match them and that would make it a lot easier.
There should be a collision box inside each RQ house, with each collision box being named after the interior number on the Karthwasten map. I hope you haven't deleted those :D
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Post by berry »

roerich wrote:
edit: roerich, is there perhaps a map somewhere of late RQ, or in fact any other indicator telling which house uses which interior? I would like to match them and that would make it a lot easier.
There should be a collision box inside each RQ house, with each collision box being named after the interior number on the Karthwasten map. I hope you haven't deleted those :D
Ah, that's great! :) Nah, they're still here, I just didn't assume the numbers relate to Karthwasten map. That's excellent, thank you.

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Post by berry »

The city part of this claim is now completed. :geek: Some points to take a notice of:
  1. As you can see, there are some areas that feel a little empty and could use an extra rock, vegetation or a piece of rubble. I think I would employ some road railings here and there too. But all of that will have to wait until I'm finished with the wilderness around the city and grass generation, so we can see how heavy this area is; I would like this city to be as fps friendly as possible.
  2. Likewise, the majority of balconies are still untouched. I need to visit each house after another as well and add missing windows, fix the door and the steps, so ignore any errors you might see in that field. Redguard double iron gates are bugged too, for the time being.
  3. The most of KW interiors are now joined with their exterior shells, though I still have to fix north markers in some cases. One house somehow got MIA, so I will take care of it later on.
  4. I think I got carried away with the Crown Palace, so I'd appreciate your opinions on that subject in particular. :P They way I see it, these two top planters might be redundant, but otherwise it looks fine to me. The beams creating balcony steps will have to be hidden within the walls too, of course.
  5. Regarding jarla's elite guards - I gave them parts of Companion armour set to differentiate them from regular guards, and well, because it looks damn badass, so it was meant as a placeholder, but then it got me thinking: how about we make these grim guys really recruit from the famous Companions? As far as I can tell, it would fit Jona's personality and give us an opportunity to use this awesome asset sometimes sooner than when we got to the northern counties.
  6. We totally should have a master acrobatics trainer in this city, as it would be a heaven for one. How about placing the man in the southwesternmost house, instead of this Clothgen character? I myself like the cliche of a master of some arts living in modesty, and this trope sounds very Hammerfell-ish to me.
  7. Apart from the city, I added some signs of Reachmen activity in both canyons - in the small canyon between Dragonstar and Scamp's mesa (#1), and around the way leading down to the Worsas' canyon.
So if you have some free time, get the proper music playing and dive in the city. 8-) I'd appreciate the feedback, as always. Cheers!

edit: as a bonus, there's also this "Castle Dragonstar, dungeon" cell which was my early attempt at creating a spooky cell of some kind that could be used behind that hidden trap door by Jona's residence.
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Post by Luxray »

This has come together a lot! I am very impressed berry. It is nicely laid out, and I like the different levels with the walkways. It would be very cool to have a scripted 'walkway chase' for a quest where you have to escape the guards 'Assassin's-Creed' style after stealing some item or something for the TG (probably a nightmare to script though :twisted: )

Also your current iteration of the fountain in the Redguard-half is very clever and I like it.

I'm looking forward to your continued work on the surrounding landscape, as I certainly think that will really 'ground' the city and make it look even better. Regarding that canyon caused by the cliffs with Scamp's mesa and the Dragonstar one, I can't help but think that tiny strip of land looks a bit weird (and with the massive scaled textures of the cliffside could be a bit weird to walk through)? But I don't know if that's a good suggestion or even if this particular piece of landscape is weird-looking to anyone else. Exterior people to comment please! My idea might be to fill it in with rocks and avoid that (see here http://i.imgur.com/qXC4Pz0.jpg)
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Post by worsas »

Regarding that canyon caused by the cliffs with Scamp's mesa and the Dragonstar one, I can't help but think that tiny strip of land looks a bit weird (and with the massive scaled textures of the cliffside could be a bit weird to walk through)?
In the cs it's looking weird, indeed. Ingame it looked less problematic to me. But I don't like to have the last say on keeping it or not.

I noticed that the interior cell of the orc smith that used to be in the poor quarter of karthwasten, didn't get transferred yet. It was one of the coolest, small interiors in that area. Would be sad, if it went lost on the transfer.

As you pointed out, some of the double doors are not correctly rotated yet. It's a bit of a fiddling around for those doors that are not intially at 0° rotation on the z-axis, but it's definitely possible. We still have to fix them in Karthwasten aswell.

That inner courtyard with open roof in jonas palace is one of the coolest things, I have seen done with this redguard set. I was also delighted to come across Tuskfaced Ushuga in her destroyed house. Lots of small things to be found here. There is much love put into every spot of the town.

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Post by roerich »

This is really impressive! Not to mention how much you've done in a short amount of time.:shock: I hope you get the sleep you need!

You've managed to give the city the sort of feel I hope we could achieve with this. The many creative details, small streets and dark alleys give the city an interesting urban character, as well as the slightly paranoid feeling that we'll be able to expand upon in dialogue. You never know who's watching you when you're walking through the alleyways. I really like the many little stories you've put into this exterior. I hope we'll be able to add plenty of thief and agent quests to this city, it is most certainly deserving those.

Some general comments as I look through this:
- The chicken coop next to RQ#4 is the perfect mix between something simple and something brilliant. That basket next to it is floating though. :P And I'd hate to walk right into a bee hive every time I exit my home.
- The Bazaar is just delightful, what a busy and exotic vibe it has.
- The home of Tuskfaced Ushuga. Again, brilliant makeshifting.
- Every little alleyway and backyard. Beautiful, each and every one.

I have some points that needs to be fixed, and some that's more of a personal taste.

Image
First off, we need to have the city walls blocked off from one another. This already happens in the southern merge, but we need the same for the northern merge, next to the castle. Perhaps just a make-shifted barricade. It should not be easy to get from one side to the other. The 'Imperial wall' needs to be disconnected from either side as well, as it should be able to protect one side from the other and the opposite. Say, if there's a Nord riot wanting to storm the western side, it's no good having a staircase right next to the gate, like in the picture. It's like we need three walls; a Crown wall, a Nord wall and an Imperial wall. Each temporarily disconnected from one another.

Image
Secondly, I'm not really sure if the material of the Redguard roofs are suitable for walking upon. I would have half a mind about stepping onto that dried clay/mud or what it is. But it would be a shame to lose all the balconies. Perhaps you could make some terraces and walkways out of the usual Redguard wood pieces? And put on top of the roof. I'm sure it can work in a few places, with just a pillow, a hookah and a great view of the city. But using it for furniture and storage would be a no-no to me.

And some minor points:

Image
The Reachmen statue near the Orc smith could be changed to a Trinimac one. I mean, there's no reason an Orc smith couldn't worship the Reachman version of Mara, but I feel like a Trinimac worshipper would add more to storybuilding and connection to the politics and religion of the rest of Tamriel.

Image
This area looks really cozy, but when I was walking around there I thought perhaps the blatant skooma smoking right next to where Jarla Jona and her nobles enter the area might be a bit too obvious. :P Perhaps a little makeshifted wall or some railing? But really, this is nitpicking.

Image
I'm not really happy with all the plants on the Crown palace, but that might be a personal taste. Also, how are you gonna water those bad boys? Pull out Ye Olde Nord Ladder every time? But if the rest of you think it's fine, I have no objections.

I hope you're not taking this as too much criticism, I'm overly excited about what you've managed to do here!
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Post by Luxray »

Ye Olde Nord Ladder is a cultural phenomenon adapted from the invading Nords and a case of the Redguards using their enemies' technology against them...

I have a nitpick with the palace as it is as well; if you look at it from a distance (e.g. from on top of the mesa), the silhouette / profile of the palace is so markedly different than the rest of the 'square' Dragonstar buildings due to the usage of the extra sloped roofs. I think the planters would be fine, I am just not sold on the planter/sloped roof combination.
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Post by berry »

Thank you guys, I'm happy you like it as much as I do. :)
Luxray wrote:It is nicely laid out, and I like the different levels with the walkways. It would be very cool to have a scripted 'walkway chase' for a quest where you have to escape the guards 'Assassin's-Creed' style after stealing some item or something for the TG (probably a nightmare to script though :twisted: )
That one would be nice, but probably the engine would limit us here mercilessly. You remindend me another job that's ahead of me that I forgot to point out - making a functional path grid system. It's a necessity in such city, but I'm not quite looking forward to making it. :lol:
Luxray wrote:Also your current iteration of the fountain in the Redguard-half is very clever and I like it.
I'm quite happy with it too, simple yet functional. We could perhaps have locals call it "the new fountain" and say the old one got stolen by Skyrim forces? It could had been Jona's homage to the king - I imagine the ruined parts of it (eventually made from Reign of fire/Melchior's dragon, per roerich's suggestion) would make a fine addition to IAS museum or a royal treasury in Markarth.
Luxray wrote:Regarding that canyon caused by the cliffs with Scamp's mesa and the Dragonstar one, I can't help but think that tiny strip of land looks a bit weird (and with the massive scaled textures of the cliffside could be a bit weird to walk through)? But I don't know if that's a good suggestion or even if this particular piece of landscape is weird-looking to anyone else.
As worsas said, it doesn't look that bad ingame. I wouldn't mind making a cave-in passage here though, similar to the one between two valleys of my first claim. I was actually looking for a way to mask that ugly gap between the cliff meshes, so it would be perfect for that.
worsas wrote:I noticed that the interior cell of the orc smith that used to be in the poor quarter of karthwasten, didn't get transferred yet. It was one of the coolest, small interiors in that area. Would be sad, if it went lost on the transfer.
roerich wrote:The Reachmen statue near the Orc smith could be changed to a Trinimac one. I mean, there's no reason an Orc smith couldn't worship the Reachman version of Mara, but I feel like a Trinimac worshipper would add more to storybuilding and connection to the politics and religion of the rest of Tamriel.
I actually own the Mer an apology, I stripped him of his exterior forge and put a shrine to Mara in it's place. :P I had no idea we have an owner of this house already conceptualized. I will make some amends to his yard fitting interior's character. And fear not, the cell is still somewhere within the main exterior file, I just somehow missed it when I was cutting those interiors out.
roerich wrote:You've managed to give the city the sort of feel I hope we could achieve with this. The many creative details, small streets and dark alleys give the city an interesting urban character, as well as the slightly paranoid feeling that we'll be able to expand upon in dialogue. You never know who's watching you when you're walking through the alleyways.
Great, that's the feel I'm aiming for. I think it would be cool to have this mirrored on the interior level too, with some secret passages and half buried underground corridors between the houses. Personally I still believe those TES 2-style "residences" would fit here too in some places.

And no worries, I try to have my statutory 8 hours of sleep a day. :P It's just I had lots of vacant time these past few days.
roerich wrote:First off, we need to have the city walls blocked off from one another. This already happens in the southern merge, but we need the same for the northern merge, next to the castle. Perhaps just a makeshifted barricade. It should not be easy to get from one side to the other. The 'Imperial wall' needs to be disconnected from either side as well, as it should be able to protect one side from the other and the opposite. Say, if there's a Nord riot wanting to storm the western side, it's no good having a staircase right next to the gate, like in the picture. It's like we need three walls; a Crown wall, a Nord wall and an Imperial wall. Each temporarily disconnected from one another.
That's a good point, I wanted the city to be easily crossable to a player, but it probably already is, with the gate, gateway tower and that semi secret hole in the wall. It would be cool though if the walls would remain an alternative route around the city, so I'll try to make that northern Imperial fortifications passable too.
roerich wrote:Secondly, I'm not really sure if the material of the Redguard roofs are suitable for walking upon. I would have half a mind about stepping onto that dried clay/mud or what it is. But it would be a shame to lose all the balconies. Perhaps you could make some terraces and walkways out of the usual Redguard wood pieces? And put on top of the roof. I'm sure it can work in a few places, with just a pillow, a hookah and a great view of the city. But using it for furniture and storage would be a no-no to me.
Another good point and not a big deal to take care of, too. :) Same about the skooma den.
Luxray wrote:Ye Olde Nord Ladder is a cultural phenomenon adapted from the invading Nords and a case of the Redguards using their enemies' technology against them...
Yeah, seriously, roerich, it's like a commonly known fact of TES lore :roll: :P But regarding the palace controversy, I think I was subconsciously inspired by the Forbidden City look; the sloped roofs were supposed to be just a decoration, not marking the actual heights of interiors. I wanted the palace to be an unique construction, as grand as Jona's residence, on this limited space. The upper planters are probably a step took too far. :P

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Moritius
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Post by Moritius »

Luxray wrote:This has come together a lot! I am very impressed berry. It is nicely laid out, and I like the different levels with the walkways. It would be very cool to have a scripted 'walkway chase' for a quest where you have to escape the guards 'Assassin's-Creed' style after stealing some item or something for the TG (probably a nightmare to script though :twisted: )
Probably doable but, as you pointed, would be pain in the ass.

Also, as always, you done great work, Berry :D.
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berry
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Post by berry »

Thanks, Moritius! Glad you like it. :)

--

A minor update, at least compared to the last one. I implemented all roerich's suggestions, added some needed detailing to the arena's area and restored the smith's interior. Apart from that, I always considered the devotee of Satakal to be the weakest part of bazaar, just bland in comparision to other folks there, so I decided to make him a stylite. The idea here is he embodies the nature of Satakal that way - we have the bustling crowd of people under his feet, a straightforward allegory of living, and at the same time a void up there, that's symbolized by his isolation. He climbed that pillar few years ago and has been there ever since; every second day or so some good folks from Mages Guild levitate some charity provided food up there. Local Crowns would serve him either respect or adoration, but other locals - especially Nords, Reachmen and Orcs - would be far from that. I also added "The Monomyth" book to the local bookseller, who could direct curious player to it when asked about that strange men or Satakal in general. The holy man uses one of Antares' animations (from his Alternate Tribunal mod), that's ok to use, under proper credits. I plan to make a script for him (the eremite, not Antares :? ) too, so that he wouldn't respond to any actions the player takes, even if he starts killing him for some reason. Currently he uses the nopickup script as a placeholder. I'm curious about your opinions here ;)

I started playing with an idea for the "bloodworks" of Dragonstar arena, too. I can pick up that claim, if you like that concept. :)
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I will be pretty much AFK this week, so please take no offense with any lacks of responses from my side that might occure. When I return to modding next weekend I think I will pause the work on this city again and get those wilderness claims finished first. :geek:
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roerich
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Post by roerich »

I haven't had time to properly check out the update, but I like your screens and it looks like you fixed my former complaints. :-)

The idea for the stylite is very creative. I do think the platform he's on should be smaller, just enough room for him to lay down really. And the placement of the pillar looks a bit weird to me, but I'll have to check out the file and see how it plays with the surroundings. Perhaps putting him in front of the Redguard temple would be better, but I'm not really sure what to do here. Another solution could be lowering the pillar a bit.

As always, great work berry. This city is in great hands.
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Post by Yeti »

Great work on this berry. I'll try to find time to give this a look in the CS and post my own comments.

I probably should have pointed out earlier that NPCs should not be added during the exterior-making stage. But adding them now shouldn't pose too many problems. At the very least, I'll need to tweak their AI settings, inventories, and levels, but otherwise I'll definitely try to use the current ones as a guideline.

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berry
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Post by berry »

My apologies for disappearing abruptly once again. I discovered Arcanum last month, so some of you understand it truly was an imperative to go offline, until the game is beaten :D (twice in row, in fact - as a mage and as a technologist. :roll: :ugeek: )
roerich wrote:The idea for the stylite is very creative. I do think the platform he's on should be smaller, just enough room for him to lay down really. And the placement of the pillar looks a bit weird to me, but I'll have to check out the file and see how it plays with the surroundings. Perhaps putting him in front of the Redguard temple would be better, but I'm not really sure what to do here. Another solution could be lowering the pillar a bit.
Thanks, I thought that's something we have never seen in TES modding before so it was worth a shot :) I like how it turned out, but I'm fine with toying with his hermitage too. I'll see about your suggestions when I'm back to working on this claim.
Yeti wrote:Great work on this berry. I'll try to find time to give this a look in the CS and post my own comments.
Great, I've been eager to hearing your opinions on how the city is turning out. :) And of course, take your time. I plan to get Vorndgad finally finished first, before I return to this one.
Yeti wrote:I probably should have pointed out earlier that NPCs should not be added during the exterior-making stage. But adding them now shouldn't pose too many problems. At the very least, I'll need to tweak their AI settings, inventories, and levels, but otherwise I'll definitely try to use the current ones as a guideline.
I blame roerich on starting this. :twisted: But seriously, I think it's a great custom for an exteriorer, as long as we treat these NPC dummies as the way to present his thoughts, "developer notes", to the rest of the team. It's not a big deal for a NPCer to remove these instances, and it could aid him in developing a vision for a claim, a guideline, as you said. Apart from the hermit and the dancer none of these NPCes is developed in any way, too.

___

To sum up things up, here's the current plan of the city, as well as a blank screenshot for anyone feeling like sharing their suggestions. Most of the smaller houses have their interiors finished already.

Image

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Post by Luxray »

Looking forward to some Dragonstar interior claims coming soon! That city really is good. Hopefully we can expect the surrounding wilderness polished off soon. :)
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Post by Scamp »

I do believe that you should keep these cells in your file: -112,11; -113,11; -114,11; -115,11
However, please remove: -113,10; -112,10; -112,9; -113,9

As for those cells you keep, scaling down the trees to 1.0 or similar will be enough, the rest can stay as it is. You might want to fix this though:

Image

Not sure what happened there. I guess you dragged down some terrain on the other side of the cliff.

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berry
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Post by berry »

Alright :)

I don't think I've modified these cells at all. I'd say it's because of the cliffs receiving revised meshes along the way. I've seen a plenty of jarring issues like that because of this.

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