Considering how to create a new dragon mod

[GiulyIris]

Since nobody has read the the mod request I proposed, I copy to you all what I wrote to know If someone has good ideas to develop this project:

"I wanted to start this topic to discuss about NEW dragon models to add into the Oblivion world. I have been looking for much time for a classical fantasy model dragon to replace SaidenStorm one. I saw that Razhkul, the creator of Morrowind mod "Reign of Fire: Attack of the dragons", made "Wogs!" For oblivion, a mod in which some creatures head models look like the ones of dragons in "Reign of Fire". Maybe is it possibile to create a dragon mod for oblivion with the models Razhkul used in his Morrowind mod? Thank you."

I do hope that somebody will be willing to help me.

[DrakeTheDragon]

Your last topic did not go unnoticed either to begin with, it's still on the very same 1st page even as well, but overall interest in dragons in Oblivion, even more so lore-breaking* ones, is actually rather low.

 

(*God, do I hate that term. Never pay it any mind, nor the person who wrote it. Do not allow an ever-changing arbitrary concept not even the game's own developers do stick to to restrict what you use inside your game or not.

But be prepared there's many other people who do so willingly, so don't expect too much support, if your proposal doesn't fit what the majority of them thinks should be their lore.)

 

I know first hand because my own projects have always had only a niche following either, which by now has seemingly completely disappeared as well.

 

 

That said, I already had the thought last time I read your first topic about this, but didn't so far get around to actually post it to you, but simply re-using the models from the RoF dragons in Oblivion as is won't exactly be leading to very visually pleasing results, I'm afraid, because in comparison they are extremely low-poly, fitting quite well into Morrowind's overall design, but will completely stand out in Oblivion's significantly higher-poly game world now.

 

 

 

Don't get me wrong. They can most definitely make for a good start, a low polygon count can efficiently be improved or masked so it doesn't stand out that much anymore.

 

But it will take both time and work, and not exactly little either, because a completely new custom creature such as this will need a completely new creature skeleton for the meshes to be rigged to, along with a whole new set of custom animations created from scratch, for the resources from the Morrowind mod can for the most part not just be re-used as is for this either, the differences are just too severe. (Did Morrowind even have armature, rigging and keyframe-file animation? Or weren't the animations rather mesh deformations baked into the NIFs? It's been several years since last time I looked, so I can't recall.)

 

I haven't seen too many people besides SaidenStorm even try a project of that scale so far. And then the project also has to meet their interests, or their interests have to meet your's, which reduces the number of authors who both can do this and are interested in doing it also to a very small number.

 

 

I myself am only dabbling in modeling and animating still, and my ongoing lack of free time doesn't allow for even my own projects to come along in a satisfactory pattern, or I would have created ridable creatures from my dragons as well already some years ago... or rather I would've tried at least that is. (And I totally got no problem with them not fitting into other people's so-called lore.)

[GiulyIris]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Yes, You are right about the differences between Morrowind and Oblivion. About Razhkul mod for Morrowind, I saw his "Wogs!" mod for oblivion, in which there is a new creature model whose head resemble a dragon's one. Maybe it's possibile to work on that model, adding it two wings, to make it a dragon (since it's similiar to a little dragon, just without wings). It's a pity that there aren't many People interested in dragons, they would make Oblivion fantasy world more various.