Anyone feeling to morally support me while I work on a mod?

[Cloen]

I recently started working on a huge mod but I know no one that play this game and I need someone to morally support me. I started working on it 3 days ago, I worked full time on it and I barely have the idea of the layout of the mainland, nothing else. Being alone it is probably going to take me the next four months working on it everyday to complete it but I'm not going to leave because I love what I'm doing.

Just to give you an idea of the mod I'll describe it: It's called Valleys of Neptune, it adds a huuuuuge desert east of Vvanderfell (I'll add NoM as a prerequisite so I'll laugh while your character dies of thirst in the middle of nothing), a really deeeeeep lake (which hides a huge dwemer dungeon at the bottom of it full of scary and strong stuff. It is probably so deep I'll have to add a water breathing potions merchant somewhere), a bunch of akaviri villages around and over the lake, a large city with arabic architecture called Neptune close to the coast when arriving from Vvanderfell, a long mountain chain full of desert wolves, evil orcs and goblins slavers, many little islands full of treasures, no fast travel method: You'll have to walk or download a Guar mount mod, it's full of Guars, 3 players homes: One in Neptune, another on a ship over the lake and the last in a cozy little house in the middle of nowhere and last but not least a bikini for better bodies (Which I've already created... well, in part)

That's it for now. It is going to take me mooonths, just think about it: I worked on it 3 days and I still have to add dunes to my almost infinite desert. The scary part will be adding textures I suppose. The truth is that I'm a noob at modding and this is my first mod. Give me good vibes <3

Edited April 18, 2017 by Cloen

[tonycubed2]

First mod?

[Cloen]

My first huge mod, yes.

[MedicinalFoetus]

Start small with a dungeon or a house mod or something to that effect. Trying to do a whole landmass from scratch will burn you out quite quickly and you'll end up frustrated and abandoning the project.

Familiarize yourself with the tools you're using and keep an eye out for modders resources and the like that you might want to use, as well make sure that you've fleshed out exactly what you want to do so that you aren't running the risk of scrapping earlier work later down the line because it doesn't mesh with your later work.

 

I don't want to discourage you from doing this project or anything like that I just think it's best to curb your ambition for a bit whilst working on smaller projects, giving you the time to develop your ideas and your skills for the larger projects. Hell you might even find yourself incorporating your smaller projects into the larger ones in some way. Say for example you decide you want to make a minor faction on the isle of Vvardenfell (perhaps a group of mercenaries or treasure hunters), when you're working on your larger mod you might have that same faction appear again but in a larger force which would serve to incorporate your landmass mod into the wider world of Nirn.

Edited April 18, 2017 by MedicinalFoetus

[Cloen]

I fear that If I start working on something else I'll quickly forget about this. The landmass is indeed huge already and it is going to take a lot of time adding details but a good 90â is made of desert. I want to add the textures, the 3 cities and finish the map at least. It is going to take me a couple of weeks at max. Adding interiors, dungeons and npcs is going to take a lot though

 

I already found all the textures and models I need in modders resources.

I'm highly motivated, afterall I LOVE deserts

Edited April 18, 2017 by Cloen

[MedicinalFoetus]

If it's something which you're as passionate about as you appear to be then you won't forget it. Just make sure you keep a write up of your ideas for this mod and periodically check back on it, updating and tweaking it until it's as close to perfect as you believe you can get it and then continue to check back on it all the same. One issue that could come with this of course is that you might begin to add more stuff to the document than you could feasibly accomplish but that's where the benefit of working on other mods come into play as you'll be not only expanding your skill set but also learning the boundaries of the construction set and quest scripts (assuming you want to make this a proper, fleshed out setting with quests and the like).

Between planning and the tedium of testing I can't imagine there's actually all that much room for practice when making a large landmass mod.

 

Again, if you want to go right into it then I'm not saying you shouldn't do the mod I'm just saying that you should take a more deliberate approach. Of course perhaps you might prefer to hear the opinions of those with a more illustrious modding background and I totally understand that. I look forward to playing it when it comes out in any event, there aren't very many mods with a desert environment that I know of and I've been after a mod that fully fleshes out the oceans and your idea for a lake with dungeons and the like would fill that hole quite well, to the point where you could take that idea alone, develop it further and then release that as a mod in itself, have something like the great blue hole filled with gribblies for example.

Edited April 18, 2017 by MedicinalFoetus

[Cloen]

You are probably right on scripting, adding details and fully understand what I can do with the tools I have. Finish the shape of the landmass though is just a matter of doing chores, I can easily do that. For the cities I have all I need but I will probably spend some time finishing them, since I have no idea about which npc and quest to add, for a start I'll just sketch them.

 

I know this is my first mod but I want to share the best material possible, I am a perfectionist. First of all though I want to create a land I enjoy to play myself. This is also the reason I'm so excited to finish: I want to play the hell out of it.

 

Anyway, any help is really appreciated, tell me what you'd like to see in it. Talking about the mod is half the work, ideas are the first step when creating anything

[Cloen]

The lake is indeed a great blue hole and it is connected to a river. I completed the shape of it already, I just have to add the dungeon at the bottom, water creatures in the deep of it and ships/japanese clutters over it. I have no idea how the light works so deep though, I am kinda inclined to add floating lights in the form of globes leading to the dungeon entrance, so the player will not get lost while fighting giant slaughterfish Edited April 18, 2017 by Cloen

[Tchos]

I'm not currently playing this game, but I do offer my encouragement and moral support.

 

I would agree that starting small would be better, but I also understand wanting to put out the best possible you can. My last major project was meant to be a quick one, to be done in a month or two, but as I worked on it I changed my mind and decided to put out the best I could do, and it ended up taking 2 years or so.

[MedicinalFoetus]

Fair's fair then mate.

My first recommendation would be in asking and answering the following questions:

• How does Neptune mesh with Nirn? does it even fit into the setting? (remember that it isn't necessary to have it fit into the lore of TES, you needn't feel any obligation to make it)
• Where is it in relation to Tamriel?
• Are there Tamrielic influences and colonies or does it have a culture of its own, totally removed from Tamrielic politics (or more influenced by Akavir than Tamriel)?
• Is it settled?
• Does it still have people living there? (I notice your journey avatar, perhaps you might like to make it a purely exploration driven mod with quests and plot being delivered through environmental story-telling and dungeon exploration, NPC interaction being minimal.)
• If there are still people living there how do they feed themselves? Are they a nomadic people who live off of livestock or a people who rely on fishing as their primary source of food?
• What are the dominant races and cultures?
• How do those cultures and races compare to those of the mainland?
• Do they have a religion? Is it their own pantheon like the Argonians worship of the Hist, the Reachmen of eastern Skyrim worshiping the Old Gods or their own interpretation of the Aedria/Daedra
• What are the politics of the land? Are their multiple religions? Do they come into conflict with one another?
• You mentioned Akaviri influences, are they an invasion force, an occupational force, peaceful co-inhabitants?

Basically just go on from there, asking yourself questions about the setting and answering them as best you can.

I've my own thoughts regarding your proposed setting and some ways you might improve upon it but I'm hesitant to put them forward as this is your project first and foremost but with that said two major points I have are that for one the proposed name of the landmass is with no offense meant, a bit naff and for two I would personally aim more for the Gobi desert cultures with Mongolian tribes and the like over the Arabian desert cultures with your proposed ideas regarding Akaviri influence. The actual landscape of the Arabian desert makes more sense geographically though as well the landscape editor of the construction set is better suited to the dunes of the Arabian desert. Regardless I look forward to seeing it done and wish you the best of luck.

Edited April 19, 2017 by MedicinalFoetus