Winterhold & the College

[xXSoulessWandererXx]

I don't know if this is on topic or not, but check out the Frostcrag Reborn Mod for Oblivion? It's not the whole Mage Guilds but it's a Wizardry wonder. And a whole new map right underneath. I guess you could check it out and get some ideas?

Mod Link: http://www.tesnexus....ile.php?id=9769

Edited January 6, 2012 by xXSoulessWandererXx

[havefunwilltravel]

I'll refer you to the suggestions I posted more than a month ago.

 

Don't get me started on the Mage College.

 

* Students of magic should be hustling and bustling their way through the hallways and corridors (be they court mages-in-training for the Jarl or Imperials looking to apply their skills when rejoining the army.)

* The teachers should have their own homes off campus, not sleeping in their small rooms like a sleepy-time village.

* The students should have to sleep in those cramped facilities.

* NPCs should be randomly giving lectures, demonstrating magic, and generally experimenting with spells (basically what's been going on during your quests but practiced by others.)

* Conjuration students should be walking with Atronochs or their Dead Thralls.

* Destruction students should be practicing their spells on Restoration students using Wards.

* Illusion students should be turning invisible, provoking guards, and calming them again.

* Alteration students should be practicing their Skin spells with Conjuration student's Bound Weapons.

* Tests should be handed out by facility or student-to-student quizzing Players on random spell names/facts and are awarded skillpoints for passing (or decay for failing.)

* The Nords should be petitioning the Mage against abstain from raiding their burial grounds, this could lead to conflict and high quality quest material.

* The researchers should be launching excavations to ancient Dwemer ruins, Nord burial grounds, and sites of interest.

* The researches should be tasking students to hunt local animals (or Werewolves and Vampires) for their projects.

 

Yes, massive suggestion, but right now the Mages College doesn't feel like a College -- it's more like a hospice for practitioner's of magick.

 

 

Yes, very massive overhaul. But I think the school should be more like a small private academy than a major university. More like Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, 40 - 60 students. Just add some more non interactive students, for starters.

[gretzky99]

I like the ADD NEW QUESTS idea. The Thieves' Guild has a lot of quests...wish they would have done the same for all the other guilds.

[SMDmcmuffin3]

What about the learning aspect of it ? It's suppose to be a college after all ??? And the only thing I learned from the vanilla version was the fire bolt and that shield thing . There should be apprenticeships and all that I mean like this is suppose to an RPG after all isn't it ??? Cause I find that aspect of it to be a big let down . Where's the role playing aspect of this game ? I fought for the Imperial and yet the other faction was still fine with me and everything ? In bethesda's other game (fallout new vegas) if you joined a faction then you're in that faction . someone should come out with a mod for that . But anyways, back to the main point, there should be some role playing involved in this like apprenticeships attending classes and having to actually learn the spells like everyother NPC in the game . Not just picking up a tome and absorbing it ..

[Deleted1572091User]

I agree, the College could stand to see some changes. Having only 3 novitiates seemed a bit silly, trying to track down the correct mage to buy spells from in their little cubby holes was annoying (going in circles 4 times to find the right mage isn't fun). Beyond that, the facility is simply small. Any of the castles in Oblivion were much larger.

 

Frankly, I'd like to see more of what's already been suggested; things like the little learning environment you get at the start of the quest-line with Tolfdir lecturing, practicing spells, and even going on a research trip. As has been said, the main focus of the college isn't a Hogwarts-esque classroom, but these kinds of things should never the less be present. So you'd have some beginner mages being instructed by master wizards, slightly more experienced mages would probably work in groups of 5 or more to practice spells on each other, or go check out a dungeon to uncover magical secrets. And then the upper ranks would probably be a bit more inclusive, having groups of 3 or 4 to research specific advanced magic. The master wizards then, aside from the occasional teaching, would typically work alone, but now and again collaborate with another master wizard if need be. ALL of these groups would want to make extensive use of the library. As it is, I've only rarely encountered a mage in the library, and I'm not even sure if they were ever reading while in there.

 

At least, that's how I'd imagine the place to be if I'd never been there in-game. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of the OP, so concerning architecture/layout. I think I agree mostly with the OP. Library should be a separate building (and larger than the current one), dormitories should be... different. Perhaps something more like the circular guard towers in the imperial city for the lower ranked mages? Masters should have rooms on the scale of the archmage's. Middle ranking mages could just have small rooms (bigger than the cubbies they all have in vanilla, but smaller than the archmage's quarters). I also agree there should be a kitchen/dining area of some kind, with at least a couple of cooks. Mages need to eat too.

 

In line with the OP's reasoning that there would be plenty of unused areas, some of those areas should contain things like what you see in the Middan. With the daedric gauntlet, summoning circles... Evidence of experiments gone awry, hidden passageways, neat stuff like that. I'm rather of the opinion that there should be a tall tower in the middle of the college. Whether it be the archmage's quarters, a dwemer observatory, or whatever else. Maybe I just like tall towers. I'm out of ideas for now though. Hope there's something useful in all that above stuff.

[Grumpen]

Here's a photo of Winterhold. Ideally I would like to place the college on this mountain, flattening out the top and extending the right side to the ocean with maybe a sheer cliff. Was wondering if anyone's had any experience editing the landscape in any of Bethesda's titles.

 

 

http://i1089.photobucket.com/albums/i357/Grumpen/Winterhold.jpg

 

Edited January 6, 2012 by Grumpen

[Sunnie]

In previous games, we weren't able to redo worldspace LOD, and until we get the toolset we won't know if that issue still exists.

[Grumpen]

In previous games, we weren't able to redo worldspace LOD, and until we get the toolset we won't know if that issue still exists.

 

Scary stuff. That goes for the Fallout games as well, I assume?

[Sunnie]

In previous games, we weren't able to redo worldspace LOD, and until we get the toolset we won't know if that issue still exists.

 

Scary stuff. That goes for the Fallout games as well, I assume?

 

Yes, this issue goes back a ways.

[Grumpen]

In previous games, we weren't able to redo worldspace LOD, and until we get the toolset we won't know if that issue still exists.

 

Scary stuff. That goes for the Fallout games as well, I assume?

 

Yes, this issue goes back a ways.

 

Just to clarify the capabilities of past CK's, we are able to place certain items into the world, but are completely unable to delete buildings, dungeons, etc? Or you are referring to the terrain only?

Edited January 7, 2012 by Grumpen