Holds

[Galandil]

December Update;

I have just finished my last exam and I now have three and a half weeks of Christmas break. I will do my best to spend this time as productive as I can though I should press certain advancements to the mod which may change development from here on out.

 

During my time studying for my exams I just couldn't help myself, the sections of the Solitude sewers that I wanted to finish before the first iteration release are now finished. The remaining portions of the sewer system will be implemented in future patches along with the two factions that dwell down there, will update the guild feature on the frontpage with some information concerning these. I have also finished navmeshing the Whiterun Water Canals and after allowing a fellow developer from the Nexus to test out the mod, I have been given plenty of feedback which made me carry out a few changes to the Solitude Entrance tunnel. The changes are merely superficial and made to make it a little less confusing and perhaps a bit more of a representative entrance for the richest city in Skyrim. I have also slimmed down the Solitude walkway, essentially the extended city area outside of the entrance to Solitude which was previously too open. It is now a little more huddled together at one point making it look more natural and better at using the space. While I did not agree with all of the feedback I was given, I was given enough to make me confident that the level design process of this mod is finished.

 

I will try to finish up creating the LOD meshes for the new buildings, which will in the first iteration be rather simple, square and triangle shapes to form somewhat of what the building looks like and yet cost as little as possible on your system. I will, or rather have already started working on the three new outfits for Holds. I also wish to devote some more time to writing books and notes that I will scatter around the world. I also wish at sometime during this break from school to release the final trailer for Holds which will feature the new district in Windhelm.

Merry Christmas :smile:

Edited December 16, 2015 by Galandil

[Imatelevision]

epic new!

good on ya

 

I know your struggle man my very final exams of school are right ahead as well ^^ THE PRESSURE! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!

[Galandil]

epic new!

good on ya

 

I know your struggle man my very final exams of school are right ahead as well ^^ THE PRESSURE! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!

I'm sure you'll do fine :) Besides, study now, relax later.

 

Good luck with your exam.

[Galandil]

Short update:

Hope everyone have had a nice Christmas. I know I have :smile:

I have spent the last week creating LOD meshes and approximately fifteen minutes before writing this update I got a hold of Tes5LODGen and implemented my LOD. It works almost perfectly!

I do have to fix a few vanilla LOD meshes and add them to the Solitude resources that I have used so as to not stand out wrong but beyond that I think we now have a proper and working LOD. I guess I will have to add the LOD as a BSA when released in case people uninstall my mod and finds odd distant objects in Skyrim. I have also written around 10 - 15 new books that can be found at the bookstore in Falkreath and the Great Library in Solitude, I do intend to write more. The stories themselves are greatly inspired by the Poetic Edda as well as other works on Nordic mythology and culture. I have also written some original work on my own which in large part focuses on a hero or heroine who either dies by her flaws or overcomes by her strengths. Tomorrow I will start working on the outfits that I have talked about and hopefully have them ready before the end of my Christmas break.

I will on Sunday allow testers to stress test the mod and hopefully we will now have it in an optimized and releasable state.

If I fail to update this forum with further updates or manage to release before its back to school then I hope everyone has had a Merry Christmas / God Jul :pirate:

Edited December 25, 2015 by Galandil

[Galandil]

Another short update:

Okay. We got LOD which I've tested and improved upon. We have dynamic guards who react to the civil war in the same way that the original guards and Jarls do thereby avoiding any problems in your game regardless of your choice of preferable faction ruler of Skyrim. We have new improved windows in Dawnstar which are no longer dark all day around but react to the lighting outside with a cold overtone to mask that its in an interior, we also have the same open lighted up sewer grate for the exits from the Whiterun Water canal thereby properly representing the exits from the tunnels. I have spent most of this early morning properly making sure that doors and locks work correctly and characters who should be able to come and go and own that particular door have keys to use. I have also made sure to fix a few minor bugs (Like Maul the Blackbriar bully properly now lean against the walls in the Riften Docks). I have also made sure to make that certain NPC's who previously are up and awake 24 hours a day now have a sleep cycle but yet retains their intended and important functions, like for an example innkeepers. We now have properly working navmesh that doesn't create hiccups. We have a load of new books, letters, notes, Easter eggs, new unique items, as well as other goodies available in the world. We have more guards and other faction related characters who react to the civil war and take upon vital roles in the society and thereby provide new challenges, an example: Warehouse guards who you must avoid if you are to get your hands on unique items or other treasurers. And finally, we have proper dragon compatibility for attacks in the new city worldspaces == Dawnstar and Falkreath (Actually a load of fun), no longer will dragons dive underground and poof up from the ground when it suits them; almost like gophers. They now fly properly and can make attacks, an experience that can get quite intense especially in narrow street alleys.

I'll admit that I have spent most of the day today trying desperately to make a courier system work where the courier will deliver letters to the player before heading towards the nearest courier headquarters or inn before staying there and drinking and sleeping before he or she is sent to deliver new letters to the Dragonborn. I am quite sad to say that the courier system functions like this; after a courier has delivered a letter he will shortly afterwords be disabled thereby disappearing and will not reappear before its time to receive a new letter. I have tried to make this work but every time he arrives at a headquarters he is terminated from existence. I do wish to continue trying to make this system work, as it really takes me out of the experience to see the courier standing aimlessly in the middle of the road waiting to be deleted from existence before my waking eyes rather then act naturally and retire to a place that I have conveniently made so that he or she will go there. I fear I must be frank though that there may be a chance I may not be able to make this work before the actual first release in which case that feature will have to be implemented in a future patch.

Aside from the courier system and creating new outfits, perhaps writing a few more works and making sure they can be readily available in the world I feel as though this iteration is finished. I assume I should make it respond to radiant quests as well but that should not take me too long. I have uploaded a version of my mod for some friends and acquaintances who've agree'd to test out my mod and give me feedback on the experiences and issues they've encountered. Should the feedback be majorly positive along with little to no issues in the crash department then you can expect this mod to release very soon. I will try and follow-up with a brief synopsis of the feedback's and post them here and if they inquire about anything important then I hope people will share their views.

[WBizzyW]

Just wanted to say that I was "amazed" when I discovered this project, really looking forward to testing it out. :turned:

[Galandil]

Just wanted to say that I was "amazed" when I discovered this project, really looking forward to testing it out. :turned:

Thank you, I really hope the project will not disappoint when it is released :)

[Galandil]

Mid-January Update;

We now have 59 books, I have also distributed a good deal of letters and notes around the new interiors, I have made some fixes to the mod like bad spawns, bad animation collisions and some faction related fixes. I have added relationship packages and I have made it possible for radiant quests for the thieves guild to send you to some of the new locations.

I have spent some time trying to figure out how to make the courier system work but I have so far been unable to do so. About a week ago I contacted a modder here on the Nexus asking if I could use his his script as a resource in the mod which I think he declined as he read the mail but did not respond. I will keep trying of course but it may take some time. I have started today working on the outfits for the mod and I am sure I will with time start showcasing some of them as I complete them.

 

Only a few have had the time to actually test the mod out and feedback has been positive and has helped me fix a few minor issues around the mod, at least for those who've tested the mod seems very stable so that at least is something I don't have to worry about.

If you are a modder who have some idea how to edit the courier and wouldn't mind giving me a run down it would be very appreciated :)

[WBizzyW]

If you still need a tester, I would happily do it, wheter with a modded or unmodded game or both. I use mods since ages, know basic tools like TES5Edit and I am fairly good into TESLore.

 

So no "special knowledge".

 

But I would be highly motivated, the represantation of the Cities and the nordic society in Skyrim always bugged the hell out of me, not as bad as the Imperial in Oblivion, but sill could be so much more. So I would be happy to help, since this is the first mod that really seems to be a major attempt.

[Galandil]

If you still need a tester, I would happily do it, wheter with a modded or unmodded game or both. I use mods since ages, know basic tools like TES5Edit and I am fairly good into TESLore.

 

So no "special knowledge".

 

But I would be highly motivated, the represantation of the Cities and the nordic society in Skyrim always bugged the hell out of me, not as bad as the Imperial in Oblivion, but sill could be so much more. So I would be happy to help, since this is the first mod that really seems to be a major attempt.

While I appreciate the enthusiasm for the mod I think I have enough testers for now, I am however very open to other forms of help if your interested. I have uploaded videos and screenshots of the various cities and I would appreciate some feedback on the design, where have I gone wrong, where could I have improved.

 

I was also bugged by the representation of the cities in Skyrim, that is why I started working on this project. The fact that half of the cities were not very memorable, had the same architecture as Riverwood and in some cases was even smaller then Riverwood, I felt it needed to be diversified. I have gotten very mixed feedback on the design of the cities, some really like Falkreath, while others really dislike Dawnstar. While I am sort of finished with modding the design already and just got some nitpicking details to solve before releasing I am very open to opinions on the design, after all the design on the earlier version of Falkreath bugged the heck out of me until someone let me know what was wrong with it, and hopefully I improved it enough so that that person was satisfied.

 

I hope the mod won't disappoint when it is released :)