Dragon City Mod

[tyreil829]

me? be difficult? ha not on purpose mate pirate reamber? anyway if it not food or related to rum then its to...erm well mate thats a great hint you given (!)

 

Jack Sparrow

[Triforce1]

Never mind. It doesn't matter anyway.

[Naminea]

Hey did you want the hatchery in the nature preserve? It looks like theres lots of space there for it...

[ihateregisteringeverywhere]

Nice try, but I am afraid it wont work:

It would detect obstacles at ground level, which may not be the same at ship height: (1) The ship would fly thru Dragon City as the creature below would not find any obstacles at ground level (2) The ship would ‘vacilate’ in mid air while the creature below tries to find a way around some ground obstacle.

The dragon city would be the only airbound object in oblivion, therefore you could simply place an invisible colision sphere arround the city (large enough to hit the steering wheel) when the player mounts the airship. Landing could be done by deteceting if it's in a certain airspace, then removing the mount unhiding the static airship and teleporting the player on the deck of the static.

But the main reason is something I found when trying to make an NPC fly his dragons by himself using AI: as soon the NPC/creature rises a few feet above ground, the AI goes crazy. My guess is that the AI detects that there is no solid ground ahead and assumes the NPC is at the edge of a cliff or something like that. So the NPC stops and turns around, trying to find a new path to get to the target. But every direction he turns, he finds the same scenario, so he just keep spinning in mid air, going nowhere. Very funny!

I tried changing the AI packages, checked ‘Allow falls’ and some other things with no better results. At the time it looked like a dead end, so I dropped the idea for a while. I intend to go back and try again with a fresh mind. So far, I think a creature with a large, ship-size collision block is our best bet.

Now that sounds like a big problem, who would've guessed to that the whole vanila engine would be so damn difficult. However, did you try using a virtual path longer than just the small grate that you're using? You could also make it long and sloped so that it would always touch the ground

Another approach:

Make two almost identical objects

(1) The original ship as static with the wheel as an activator

(2) An identical ship as a ridable creature

When not moving, we use the ship-static object. Everything on deck works normally: doors, barrels, whatever…

When the player activates the wheel, the script replaces the objects: out with the ship-static, in with the ship-creature.

The script makes the player mount and off he goes sustained by an invisible, flat virtual road.

Objects on deck would have to be ‘blended’ into the ship-creature (must be a single object)

And no horseshoe mouse icon

 

Theoretically feasible. In practice . . . who knows?

Now there's a great idea. The only botleneck should be forcing the player to mount the ship after using the activator. If you manage to do that then we're all set and ready to have a fully functional airboat.

 

I realy like the way you think. Kudos to you.

 

Oh and contemplating all this airboat stuff.... I think I'll make a a dwemer engeneering tool (a one handed mace for the engeneering crew) and a dwemer gas mask (for entering the baloon) after I'm done witht he boat.

[Triforce1]

IHRE, I'm glad you are holding onto this airship idea. it is going to be really cool.

 

Naminea, here's the deal. i have already finished the inside of the Conservatory. I don't remember what version of the mod you have; perhaps it would be best if I just sent you the most up-to-date .esm . The hatchery is its own building; on the very bottom tier across from the guilds. It is the building with the garden out back. You know; on one side of the bottom level, there is a split bridge and a building on either side. On the other side is one building. That one building is the hatchery. The conservatory is already filled with trees, a farm, a farmhouse, an ingrdient garden, and a rainwater catcher with a filter. if you have any more questions about the location, or you don't have that updated version of the mod, just PM me.

[ihateregisteringeverywhere]

Of course! The idea is too cool to miss out on, besides there were atleast 4 airship requests since I started to contribute to the topic which was 20 pages ago.

 

As far as the portal spell goes - Why are you so insistent on using retuxtured things from vanila? In case I can't make it I bet we could make jaysus interested enough (or ask him nicely) to create a few meshes for us.

 

RIGHT JAY?

[tyreil829]

can someone please tell me what the hatchery is for eh?

 

Jack Sparrow

[Triforce1]

Oh, well I can create new meshes too. At least, I can certainly try. The only new model I have made that is good enough for others to see was that sword I made. but i'm sure I can make a simple portal...

 

I mean, I am trying to make a dragon. Speaking of which, does anyone know of a good bone animation tutorial? Like how they should be placed for the best animations?

[QQuix]

The dragon city would be the only airbound object in oblivion

Player may have UFOs from other mods.

The Imperial City Palace District has some odd collision and wall configuration, when entering from above (not thru the gates)

And there will be Dragons!

 

However, did you try using a virtual path longer than just the small grate that you're using? You could also make it long and sloped so that it would always touch the ground

Problem with a bigger plane is that it would take everything nearby (NPCs and items) with it at takeoff. They fall off pretty soon, but it is weird (if it were a helicopter we could blame it on air displacement. lol)

Never thought about different shapes. Maybe it does not have to go to the ground. Humm . . maybe a sphere. But I couldn’t tilt it. Would have to place it ahead/behind to make the creature climb up/down. Maybe a small plane for takeoff, replaced by a top section of a sphere after a few seconds. The math will be tough, thou.

 

The only botleneck should be forcing the player to mount the ship after using the activator. If you manage to do that then we're all set and ready to have a fully functional airboat.

It is a single script function in the activator script: “RidableCreature.Activate ActivatingActor/Player”. I tried before suggesting. Hope it works in all situations.

But there may be a flaw in the concept: already mentioned static objects losing ‘solidness’ when moved. Just did some additional tests and found that sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Don’t know why or when yet. If a ship-static doesn’t work, a ship-activator should.

I have to explore further. But, at the moment, my first priority is the dragon flight.

 

I really like the way you think. Kudos to you.

Thanks. Likewise. Likewise.

[tyreil829]

Oh, well I can create new meshes too. At least, I can certainly try. The only new model I have made that is good enough for others to see was that sword I made. but i'm sure I can make a simple portal...

 

I mean, I am trying to make a dragon. Speaking of which, does anyone know of a good bone animation tutorial? Like how they should be placed for the best animations?

 

why not use the Akatosh Mount mate? just need persmission thats all

 

Jack Sparrow