[WIP] Ethas: Embrace of Destiny

[ElijahHouck]

Hey everybody, ModDB is hosting their 11th annual mod of the year competition, and we need your help! If you like what we're doing, head over to our ModDB page and nominate us for mod of the year!

 

While you're at it, nominate our friends at MERP as well. Their hard work and dedication needs needs recognition.

Edited December 2, 2012 by EMH

[jhardingame]

In other news as well, one of our team members, Kevin Eriksen, has posted our first Development Blog! We'll do a few a these throughout the development of Ethas, and they'll go over things such as small updates on what's going on currently, and what's to come. Most importantly though, the blogs will go over different design approaches we're taking in Ethas and how we're bringing the world of Ethas to life. In the future, we'll also be doing some different in-depth tutorials on how we accomplish or did certain things within the development of Ethas. In the first dev blog, Kevin goes over the design approach for the Ethisian Steel Weapon set. You can read it on our moddb page here; http://www.moddb.com/mods/ethas-embrace-of-destiny/news/ethas-development-blog-entry-1

[jhardingame]

Hey everyone!

 

We started our winter update today, which will be split into 5 parts every Thursday up until Jan 3rd, which will be our "big" update.

 

For week 1 of our winter update, I talked about one of the new races in Ethas, the Eldahli. You can read all about them here;

 

http://www.moddb.com/mods/ethas-embrace-of-destiny

 

Also, since everyone likes pictures, here's the pic that was including within said feature;

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/EldahliRaceFinal.jpg

[ElijahHouck]

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Companion06.png

 

We're at week two of our winter update, and this time we're focusing on companions. Companions are quite important to not only our development team, but to RPG fans around the world. Check out the article on ModDB! In addition to the article, we've also added the image above of one of our companions in a tavern in one of our many cities. Stay tuned, we've got another update coming next week!

[jhardingame]

Hey everyone, here's Week 3 of our Winter Update! This week, we took a deeper in look into the actual world of Ethas. You can read up on it in our moddb article here.

 

With said article, we also have a new screen complimenting the content of the article;

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/EthasMaps.jpg

 

Also, we'll be doing another podcast for our big update on January 3rd, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and we may just answer them!

[ElijahHouck]

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/RogueCaptain.jpg

 

Time for week 4 of our winter update! Today we take a look at Ethas's reward system, a system that brings meaningful rewards for quests and dungeon diving. The screenshot above shows off the starting armor after having chosen the Rogue class as your playstyle.

 

Also, there was some confusion on how this will effect such a basic system such as loot. Almost all of the loot in Ethas will be completely random, just as it has been in Skyrim. This system merely changes what type of rewards you'll get for quests and at the end of dungeons. Think of it this way - instead of making it to the end of a dungeon, finding a high priced staff you'll never use, then find that no merchant has enough gold to even buy the thing, you'll instead get a reward that fits your playstyle. And if you're not a fan of this system and instead want completely randomized rewards, we'll have that as an option as well.

 

Check back next week for the final, and most epic, part of our 2012 winter update. We'll have a slew of new screenshots, info, and the second episode of our development podcast.

Edited December 30, 2012 by EMH

[Issa 5]

Massive shame that I haven't looked at this before: this looks absolutely superb! Just out of interest, will the game be balanced for a beginning player or a character jumping between Skyrim and Ethas? Also, would you compare the overall size of the mod to vanilla Skyrim? Thanks for working on the mod, I'm sure it's going to be as fantastic as it seems like it's going to be! :)

 

Also, it's wonderful to see you guys are fans of the Bioware games-their storylines are usually some of the best there are, even if they do drop the ball on occasion.

Edited December 30, 2012 by Issa 5

[ElijahHouck]

Both! We're using leveling systems very similar to Skyrim's, so whether you're starting a new game or jumping in at level 40, you'll be challenged appropriately. And as far as world size goes, Ethas is roughly the size of Skyrim. :)

 

And yeah, the ME3 ending comes to mind when you mention Bioware dropping the ball. The extended cut at least improved it a bit and added some closure.

[ElijahHouck]

And here we are at the final week of our 2012 Winter Update!

 

Along the new screens we've released so far for our Winter Update, we have 6 new screenshots today for you all. The 6 new screens feature the following;

 

-The Great Valley

-The town of Hearthlake

-Combat featuring the Ethisian Steel Warhammer

-A Dwarven Ruin in the Wasteland

-Elven Ruin Interior

-The City of Rilekarth

 

Along side the new screens, we have our 2nd podcast! We go a bit deeper into the world of Ethas, talking about our companions, locations, and story. We also announce the date for our first trailer, so keep an eye out for that.

 

Podcast 2: Ethas: Embrace of Destiny

 

And finally, we have new music. This ambient track, titled "Reachwind", is named for the Reachwind Pass in Ethas, which connects the Great Valley of Virardan, and the Plains of Sorrow in Arelia. The piece combines the majestic views of the Great Valley with the solemn undertones of the war-torn Plains of Sorrow.

 

Reachwind: A track by Justin Hardin

 

On February 7th, the one year anniversary of the Creation Kit, we'll be releasing our first trailer. We can't wait to show you the first in-game footage of Ethas, and are pretty excited for it. Make sure you keep an eye out for the trailer!

 

We hope you enjoyed the 2012 Winter Update, and as always, look back for more information in the future!

 

Here are the images we released, conveniently placed in a spoiler tag for optimum page performance.

 

 

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Elven_Ruin.jpg

Deep within an elven ruin lies Eldahli skeletons and a powerful Elven Wraith.

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Wasteland_Dwarven_Ruin.jpg

An old, ruined dwarven ruin still stands in the ashy Virardan Wasteland. What lies within?

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Rilekarth.jpg

While the city of Rilekarth appears to be beautiful and welcoming, you'll find shady dealings and thieves aplenty within its walls.

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Hearthlake.jpg

As you visit the quaint mining town of Hearthlake for the first time in several months, you come to find it seemingly abandoned. What happened here?

(also, big shout out to zTree for the creation of the two large trees featured in the shot. Thanks a ton!)

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Great_Valley_Pond.jpg

A small pond located within the forests of the Great Valley.

 

http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/21/20603/Great_Valley_Combat.jpg

A very unlucky Bandit receives a blow to the head from an Ethisian Steel Warhammer.

 

 

[Guy97]

The mod looks great! But just out of curiosity I have a question. Why a total conversion? Personally, I would prefer a large expansion type mod where I am transported to Ethas by boat, dream, etc. rather than I have to load something up separately with a different character and non of my mods. I know your making it a total conversion to help redo the orientation? of the game, but what are the other reasons?