[WIP] Darkshines - The Lonely Journey

[runway]

Darkshines - The Lonely Journey

 

It is with great joy I can finally reveal more about our project, an expansive story driven mod for Oblivion. First, let's watch the trailer!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT4JQ4yo8C0

 

Quick plot synopsis:

 

From the modding community Bloodpact comes the prequel to the Darkshines saga for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

 

A young Necromancer, Akir Rond, steals the Materium Ignis, an artifact of substantial power forged by an order of Summerset Isles priests to combat the Sload, and seeks to use the artifact in Morrowind to take power for himself during the turmoil after the fall of Dagoth Ur and Almalexia.When he arrived by ship in Anvil, Imperial Law had caught up to him and a game of cat and mouse began. Eventually, he was captured by an independent organization of vigilantes and priests called the Heralds of the Fall. Unfortunately, he was no longer carrying the artifact, and had a head trauma during the scuffle leaving him in a deep, permanent slumber.

 

Instead of turning the captured necromancer over to Imperial law, they secured him in one of their hideouts in an Ayleid ruin network across the border of Hammerfell, where harboring a necromancer or performing necromancy was not outlawed at the time. Eventually, the group secured the assistance of Henantier, who had created an amulet to travel into one's own dreams in the past.

 

Now, the one who helped Henantier when he was locked inside his own dreams, is called to help: You.

 

 

 

 

 

Taking inspiration from adventure games like Myst, we aim to combine combat, story and puzzles in a way that is unique for a first person RPG experience. The mod was originally created to be nothing but a concept for our unofficial Skyrim expansion, currently in pre-production - but evolved to a point where it was decided it should be completed and released. The Darkshines saga will continue in Skyrim, in an episodic fashion with enough content to qualify each one as a full fledged expansion.

 

We are still accepting team members for our projects. You can apply at our site. We currently need voice actors and modelers the most.

 

About a month ago, we had a survey up on The Nexus, Bethesda official forums and The Escapist, which had 160 answers. We would like to thank everyone who contributed, and it is going to help us a great deal! Without further ado, let's see the results!

 

 

 

 

How does a hard puzzle affect your desire to continue playing?

 

I don't have the patience for hard puzzles and would put the game away. (3 - 2%)

I don't mind/ love puzzles that make sense, and would try to figure it out on my own. (65 - 41%)

If I am stuck for a long time, I would look for the solution online to progress. (91 - 57%)

I don't think puzzles have any place in an RPG like Skyrim. (1 - 1%)

 

How many hours of gameplay do you typically expect from RPG expansions?

 

15 hours or less (12 - 8%)

15-30 hours (33 - 21%)

30-50 hours (13 - 8%)

50+ hours (3 - 2%)

It's not the quantity that matters - it's the quality! (99 - 62%)

 

How big in terms of disk space could a mod get before you would reconsider downloading it?

 

I would prefer the size to be kept down and would sacrifice voice acting, videos, custom models and music. (8 - 5%)

I would like a low-bandwith option even if it means the mod might take longer to complete. (21 - 13%)

I want the whole package! (131 - 82%)

 

Would you prefer a more sandbox approach to the mod, a heavily instanced approach, or a mix?

 

Base game sandbox integration (46 - 29%)

Instancing (16 - 10%)

A mix (98 - 61%)

 

How much does integration into the base game matter to you?

 

I wouldn't mind a quick way to start off, even if it somewhat breaks the fourth wall. (18 - 11%)

I would like a more immersive solution, as long as it doesn't tamper with the base game's characters, places or quests. (109 - 68%)

I don't mind either way. (33 - 21%)

 

Select any amount of options that you think a good RPG experience should contain:

People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

 

High quality rewards (95 - 59%)

A well written overarching plot (142 - 89%)

A sense of urgency in the story (73 - 46%)

Puzzles, investigations and/or other challenging content (94 - 59%)

Scripted boss fights (48 - 30%)

Long and arduous dungeon crawls (72 - 45%)

Short but challenging dungeon crawls (59 - 37%)

More action (47 - 29%)

More role playing (107 - 67%)

More consequence (108 - 68%)

Greatly varied environments (81 - 51%)

Few environments, but with lots of detail (49 - 31%)

'Hidden' content that is not required to progress, but gives an additional layer to the game. (129 - 81%)

Moral choices (77 - 48%)

Character defining choices (113 - 71%)

Edited April 13, 2011 by runway

[Telyn]

Thanks for publishing the results of your survey. I am surprised and pleased to see so much interest in character defining choices. If you can do a good portion of what your respondents want, this is going to be an amazing addition to the game. Best of luck with your development.

[runway]

Thanks for publishing the results of your survey. I am surprised and pleased to see so much interest in character defining choices. If you can do a good portion of what your respondents want, this is going to be an amazing addition to the game. Best of luck with your development.

 

Thank you, and we will do our very best! :)

[Deleted1848331User]

Trailer looked good, keep up the great work :thumbsup:

[runway]

Trailer looked good, keep up the great work :thumbsup:

 

Thanks :D

 

Although someone sent me a PM on YouTube and said they would rather not have to fight spiders :rolleyes: :tongue: :biggrin:

[runway]

Just to show you all what we're working on... Some screens!

 

http://files.enjin.com.s3.amazonaws.com/68015/module_gallery/original/121242.jpg

Summerset Isle in the spring, overlooking an imperial chapel

 

http://files.enjin.com.s3.amazonaws.com/68015/module_gallery/original/121241.jpg

Many dark secrets lie within the Necromancer Akir Rond's dreams and memories...

 

As you can see, we have taken under our wing several of Mr_Siikas amazing tile sets. This man has certainly cut our development time in half! So kids, if you're looking for a role model, this man is certainly someone to look up to! :biggrin:

[Telyn]

Oh, a significant number of people have such a strong phobia of spiders that there are mods that remove spiders from games, including Oblivion. Here is the mod the person can use when the time comes to play. No Spiders

If the person who wrote you uses that, it should turn spiders into scamps with the same stats. It's a very strong phobia for many people, strong enough to actually cause them not to be able to play a game. That's a good mod to remember in case someone else writes to you after release.

[runway]

Oh, a significant number of people have such a strong phobia of spiders that there are mods that remove spiders from games, including Oblivion. Here is the mod the person can use when the time comes to play. No Spiders

If the person who wrote you uses that, it should turn spiders into scamps with the same stats. It's a very strong phobia for many people, strong enough to actually cause them not to be able to play a game. That's a good mod to remember in case someone else writes to you after release.

 

We have made plans to make several builds of the mod (low bandwith download version for example) so I'm not ruling out we could make an arachnophobia-friendly version as well. As good as our mod is, we want it to be accessible for as many as possible. But I do admit, we do want to push players to the edge of their seats with this one.

 

Heck, sometimes I get startled myself!

[DariusMoranda]

I am thrilled to see a big project like this for Oblivion! I haven't been here for quite a while and this is sure a refreshment to see. Screens are awesome and the trailer caught my attention immediately, the story is very interesting.. I wish you the best with your mod, it has a big potential, use it at the maximum and you'll combat with the legendary mods on here, I have no doubts in that. :thumbsup:

 

Moranda