LE Better Cities?

[vaknathi]

The towns in Whiterun Hold should be made out of sod or sunken into the ground,

 

Wasn't there concept art of a sod-built longhouse, like the ones reconstructed in Iceland?

 

Nope, just checked, it's stone-built and thatched (pic here http://images.uesp.net/a/a4/SR-concept-Longhouse_Cutaway.jpg), but one imagines that a similar thing could be done with sod walls and grass roof. I've probably got some pictures lying around.

 

This is a good page on turf/sod construction, not the best pics, but a good place to start

http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/daily_living/text/Turf_Houses.htm

Edited January 30, 2012 by vaknathi

[AssyMcGee]

You know I also thought there were concept pictures of some sod houses, I guess I was wrong too. And yes, that's exactly how the villages in Whiterun Hold should look. They don't have many trees to build from, and it's not like they'd have the money or resources to import wood from another hold. In that day in age, with limited transportation options and bandits all along the roads importing lumber to build a village would be very, very expensive.

[Scribblesix]

Excellent and exiting ideas here. If I might add a suggestion of my own; dark age/medieval dwellings where much more communal than the contempory houses Skyrim models. (12-16 people in a single story manor/hut would be unexceptional) perhaps adding servants quarters and servants to the 'noble houses‘ would be an easy and quick way to add NPC living space. Likewise upping the number of workers in and around the various lumber mills and mines.

 

I agree that that is definitely missing is a sense of regional identity but aside from a unique style of architecture the holds also lack economic definition. why is that settlement there and what purpose does it serve? Malacath is obviously mining but given the only mine in town is a prison I feel thats a bit lacking. Adding a second mine and large scale smelter would do wonders here particuarly if the warrens could be expanded upon. a look at the Edinburgh Vaults might provide inspiration here. Solitude is a trading/ administrative center but has few bureaucrats and a tiny port. Whiterun is a farming/trading hub but again has little of either. more farms, a cattle market and grain depot would definitely help. I don't know the rest wel enough to comment.

[BadMaker]

I tried to make some maps of Whiterun by going way high in the sky and looking down, but it turned out so bad that it doesn't really work.

 

If I could find a decent detailed map of whiterun, like the google maps styled zoomable maps that came out for Oblivion, I could outline perfectly how I would lay out another 'ring' to the city.

[Mystra007]

Here is a map of Riverwood with possible expansion zones:

 

 

 

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc177/PSCrystalmir/Skyrim/riverwood.jpg

 

 

Yellow: current walls

Black: current and future roads

 

Upper Purple Zone: good zone for a potential mining area and mine.

Island in the middle: Estate for a rich NPC. (owner of the sawmill closer to the waterfalls)

Green zone: Trading area with a warehouse - incoming/outgoing caravans stops here

Left half of red zone: Jarl (the player) area with barracks, training areas and "dragon bunker". The area

is area elevated in the game, so the guards can have a better view of the surrounding and the player

can see the place they own.

 

Right half of red zone: small farm and lumber camp + moved sawmill

Blue zone: Riverwood herbalist + fishing camp

 

Riverwood

=======

Population: ~50

Number of Dwellings: 22 + 5 for future expansion

Exports: lumber, wood products, pelts, game meat

Imports: weapons(whiterun), armors (whiterun), magic items(winterhold, whiterun), alcoholic beverages(whiterun, riften)

Self-sustenance: metal products, food, fishes, alchemy

 

Philisophy and special features

=======================

- Respect original geographical major features

- Recruitable troops: Imperial/Stormcloak/Player Faction, can be trained(over time) and equipped as you wish

- City management: you decide what to expand and when to do it, since you have to pay to equip the guards and "upgrade" the shops it's a way you can spend money in the late game.

Defense:

- 2 rings of walls

- Magic towers powered with soul gems

- Guard towers, can be upgraded to towers with more cover

- Stables

 

Generalt:

- A mine can be eventually be built after discovering ores and expanded

- Trading contracts with surrounding cities

- Fishing can be further developed

- Nature around the city will be degraded as you expand : this will reduce your revenues from the sale of wood

- Upkeep to pay (wages/seeding fishes/etc)

 

- Initial troops when the population elect you as the Jarl:

- Riverwood Militia: sword/shield/light armor

- Riverwood Warden: patrol the nature around Riverwood (sword/bow/light armor)

- Riverwood Charlatan: newbie magic user

 

- Modular design so that support for mods can be added in the future

 

 

What I need

=========

1) I can do interiors, but I cannot do exteriors without flattening everything

2) A good writer, English isn't my first language

3) Someone who can do dialogues and quests quickly (ie: already done them before and know how they work)

4) Comments on this proposal

Edited February 6, 2012 by Mystra007

[Throren94]

Here is a map of Riverwood with possible expansion zones:

 

 

 

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc177/PSCrystalmir/Skyrim/riverwood.jpg

 

 

Yellow: current walls

Black: current and future roads

 

Upper Purple Zone: good zone for a potential mining area and mine.

Island in the middle: Estate for a rich NPC. (owner of the sawmill closer to the waterfalls)

Green zone: Trading area with a warehouse - incoming/outgoing caravans stops here

Left half of red zone: Jarl (the player) area with barracks, training areas and "dragon bunker".

 

Right half of red zone: small farm and lumber camp + moved sawmill

Blue zone: Riverwood herbalist + fishing camp

 

Exports: lumber, wood products, pelts, game meat

Imports: weapons(whiterun), armors (whiterun), magic items(winterhold, whiterun)

Self-sustenance: metal products, food, fishes, alchemy

# of buildings: 22 + 5 buildings for future expansion

# of NPCs: ~50

 

Philisophy and special features

=======================

- Respect original geographical major features

- Recruitable troops: Imperial/Stormcloak/Player Faction, can be trained(over time) and equipped as you wish

- City management: you decide what to expand and when to do it, since you have to pay to equip the guards and "upgrade" the shops it's a way you can spend money in the late game.

 

 

Why would Riverwood have its own Jarl? Its part of Whiterun hold and under the rule of Balgruuf

[huntsman2310]

How about instead of becoming its Jarl, you are just the de facto leader because you have the title of Thane.

[Mystra007]

How about instead of becoming its Jarl, you are just the de facto leader because you have the title of Thane.

 

Getting it as an additional reward for becoming Thane of Whiterun sounds good.

Edited February 6, 2012 by Mystra007

[jack254]

i Was going to make a mod that allows the player to rebuild and own helgen

[AssyMcGee]

Those are all interesting ideas. I do like the idea of building a town and running it and being given choices on how to best develop it. I actually had an idea myself for one at the cross roads in Falkreath Hold, where the roads to Whiterun, Falkreath and Markarth all intersect. As soon as that CK releases I'm going to get to work.