IDEA: A large-scale Pirate mod. Will outshine all others.

[DrunkenGamer]

I've had this idea going on in my head for a while now. I've found a couple of pirate mods, but they're really just, well...badly made. I've had an idea going on in my head that will change pirate mods forever, adding lots to the game with new quests, features, perks, etc. This large scale mod would probably include the following:

A ship that you can use to transport to Anvil, Bravil, Leyawiin, or the Imperial City Waterfront.

 

A new island for Pirates; a pirate town, similar to the one in The Pirate Isles mod.

 

More than one ship at a time. If you own a small fleet of 3 ships (which would differ in size), all three would follow you out on a mission.

 

Different ship sizes. Frigates, corsairs, dreadnoughts, etc.

 

Battles in ports and out at sea between the pirates, merchant ships and/or Imperial navy ships.

 

A couple of new islands to explore, with a chance to find new treasures, battle undead hordes, conduct a sting operation on a pirate hideout, or raid Imperial Navy ports and island/coastal towns. These islands would be pretty durn big, about 1/6 of the size of the Shivering Isles. They could contain several towns for exploring.

Or a single, BIG island can be used to contain all of these things. Each operation would merely take place on a different part of the island.

 

The option to fight AS a pirate, or AGAINST the pirates in the sea.

 

Working cannons. This is a completely optional thing, as I have no idea as to whether it could work or not. A simple spell could probably do it, as all it needs to do is send somebody flying unless they got a direct hit.

 

Short storyline establishing your making as a pirate or a naval officer. I'll be willing to write something for it, if you wish.

 

Now, for the finer details:

 

In the actual battles, you would start out on your own ship, unable to board the other ship. You would engage cannon fire (mostly cosmetic probably - nobody would really get hurt) until you activate a couple of switches to lower the boarding planks, at which point you would board the other ship while cannon fire continued. No topside cannons, just from the hull. That way, it's automatic.

 

If you finish a fight quickly enough, you have a chance to salvage the current ship and do either of two things: sell it, or keep it and add it to your fleet.

 

Keeping your fleet together would drain your money, either automatically or manually. A good idea I think would be to have your first mate come to you occasionally to collect the shares for the fleet.

 

I realize that having mutliple ships would create a problem, but think realistically here: Would a pirate captain really want to be jumping from ship to ship, helping to clear out the opposing forces? The same applies to a Naval captain. So yeah. Of course, you could do it.

 

At first, you would recruit pirates by yourself. If you decide to be a naval captain, you would be given a small force of sailors to work with. Any people you first get will be ill-equipped, not very skilled, and will generally suck at fighting, leaving you to help them out. As you advance in position, you would recieve or recruit better sailors/pirates who, when you're really high up, would be able to fend for themselves.

 

For size problems, I think a decent crew should be around 8-10 people per ship. You could probably have up to 15.

 

Naval officers will find that they can manage their ships for free. However, their men will be less well equipped and less skilled than if you decide to fund your own operation.

 

Pirates do not have the option of managing their ships for free, but they have a wider selection of fighters to choose from and will earn more money than an Imperial Naval Officer.

 

As for Leyawiin, Bravil, and the IC Waterfront, a new port or something would need to be added to each. I can imagine the Waterfront working well, but Leyawiin and Bravil might not work, which is okay.

 

And that's basically it. Let me know if it's a good idea or not, and whether it could be done or not.

I've always wanted to see something like this happen. It would be absolutely epic to see this done. I might add more to this long list.

[Deleted1848331User]

This sounds awesome, but its beyond my skills... lol. Otherwise I'd do it.

[godsmann]

lol you should try out PIRATES OF THE BURNING SEA. great game, and you can do everything you just described, and alot more.

[DrunkenGamer]

That sounds good, but it's an MMO.

I'm not looking for an MMO.

[DrunkenGamer]

I wonder really if anybody is willing to take this up.

I've tried the Pirate Isles Beta, but apparently that thing died a long time ago, and it has so much potential if one simply put enough time into it.

 

It's times like this that make me wish I could mod well.

[Ferryt]

If, like me, you installed "Thieves Den" (Dunbarrow Hollow) you were probably rather underwhelmed. I expected, although I really don't know why, to get control of a "real" pirate operation once I had it fully upgraded. What do you get for that? Some sassy pirates who seem to think you're dirt under their feet, that you can tell to go out and plunder, and then, later, you can go collect your share of the booty out of the chest in your private quarters (seldom worth the trip to go pick it up). No ship ... no immersion. I'd love to play Oblivion as a real pirate captain on a real ship that could sail from Anvil to the IC Waterfront (requires a mod along the way to actually connect the Niben to the ocean, since Bethesda somehow managed to landlock it). Indeed, just being able to take over the pirate ship that's already there on the Waterfront, once you bump off the captain in the associated quest and either kill the rest of the crew or convince them to join you, would be acceptable.

 

Fleets? That's how pirates actually did it, but you really don't want a fleet of ships following you around. I can see that dragging many computers to a dead stand-still. The game engine just wasn't designed for large, complex moving objects, but individual ships can be made to move and there are a couple of mods that do this. Yes! I want naval battles, with a real chance that your ship can get damaged (and need time and money to repair) or even sunk and rendered unsalvageable. An island for a hideout, where your fleet can be safely kept when not in use, would be an almost necessary addition to this mod. That's the way a lot of real life pirates did it, too. There would have to be merchant ships to challenge and plunder, which could be worked into some sort of shipping line and trade/import/export feature that might even affect the economy of the world.

 

I'd love to see someone tackle this, although it would be a pretty big undertaking. I just hope we won't be seeing our best modders, who could actually accomplish something on this scale, abandoning Oblivion for ES-V when that becomes available.

[Razakel]

Have you tried Golden Crest? I'm playing through it now and though it's not quite as piratey as you're looking for it's pretty cool.

[DrunkenGamer]

Yeah, I've played through the Golden Crest, and yes, it was a pretty decent mod. But as you said, it's not as piratey as I was hoping it would be.

The Pirate Isles BETA had the right idea. Only the guy who made it didn't decide to finish it, apparently.

 

And, well, yeah Ferryt. I HATED the Dunbarrow Cove DLC because it was completely useless.

 

As for fleets, I wasn't exactly expecting moving ships. I realize how hard that is in a game where, as you said, large complex objects weren't really meant for moving. I wanted to borrow from Pirate Isles again and do it that way, just more polished. In where, you would decide to move somewhere, and along the way you would meet a fleet of pirates/Imperial ships, almost like sleeping.

 

I don't think scripting it would be very hard.