New Beast Races!!!!

[lambtonworm]

I have been playing the elder scroll series for quite some time now, and I have enjoyed the modifications that were created by the community for both Morrowind and Oblivion. But I feel that something must be said about the visual style that has plagued the Oblivion mods for quite some time. These mods are usually focused on appearance. (i.e. races, armor, weapons, clothes, some houses, special animations etc.) And all of them look like they came out of a Japanese comic book. Now I may be touching a few nerves, but hear me out. The individuals who made these mods are obviously some of the most talented 3-d rendering artists that I have ever seen. But there creations seem very out of touch with the game world. I think final fantasy and kingdom heart characters (and the like) are cool. They look cool, they are complex characters, and yes they can kick some tail. But I find that placing them in oblivion seems weird. I do not know what Jauffre would be thinking if an elf that looks like she came out of the Gundam universe tells him she's here to save Tamriel with a gunblade in one hand and whatever that arm weapoon was on Vash from Trigun in the other. Now granted, to each his own. If that is what others want in there mods I have no problem with that, but why is it that those mods are really the only ones of any quality? Most of the artistic modelers out there have their feet planted firmly in continuing to make more girl elves with bigger boobs, bigger eyes, multi-colored hair etc. Now I understand full well the challenges in making really new and creative races. Body meshes must apply to all races and a change in them would be a change in all. And face meshes must be tailored in such a way so that it can be run through the game engine and face gen. But there are excellent mods that do this, though one can count them on one hand (eg. slofs xivilai, soqui race, vexend race mod, Han, skyrim khajiit). These mods are fully unique races without the trappings of a super cute femme fatale.

So my challenge to all the modder's out there is to stop making these hotties and start making monsters. New beast races and daedra. Start making clothes that fit into the elderscrolls lore. Most of Cyrodiilic culture and style in oblivion is taken straight from the late medieval period, and there are good mods out there that already have a good start (though most of them exist as modder's resources), but there must be more advancements in this area. I personally would very much like to play a sload, built from the ground up (though I think that a sload would be the most impossible race to make). Perhaps someone who makes good creature mods could make a sload creature and then attach the nif file to a clothing item that would bip the whole body of an imperial. Then have it set to the tail slot and scripted so the character cannot remove it, much like how the lich mods work. Though I would like to add that anyone who would attempt such a feet please do so knowing that N'Gasta from Redguard wore robes! (that is one mod that should never be made, a nude sload mod. Yuck!!)

Anyway this is my rant and my challenge to all the great modders out there!

PS: If you must make more armor and clothes mods that have the japanese comic book style, I would very much like to see all of the Judge armors from Final Fantasy XII made. The ones that belonged to Zargabaath, Bergan, Gabranth, Ghis, and Drace. That would be very very very awesome (Aren't I a hypocrite).

[TheNick93]

You are thinking the same things as me. I'm tired of the anime, and oblivion being whored up, but enough of that. Great idea.

[blakavar]

I agree wholeheartedly. I'm especially uncomfortable with the rash of childlike anime femmes that are cropping up everywhere in oblivion mods. Its slightly disturbing to say the least. I like working with Dunmer and Imperials myself when I mod.

 

The community itself dictates what is released usually or the current trend. Lets face it nobody wants to release a mod that sits dusty on the virtual shelf of nexus with its 12 downloads.

 

Skin gets downloads though, so I wouldn't outright dismiss a mod that shows a supersexy female wearing a chain bikini immediately. There might be a lot of meat to the mod, the author puts the fluffy pics up just to catch the eye.