Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul

[giskarduk]

Hello all.

 

Edit: This mod is being made by Me and my Engineering Guild members. You may see them wandering around in various states of stress helping out.

 

IMPORTANT Information for contributors.

 

If your a modder and have been approached by a member of my enginneering team about using your work with this overhaul. Please read this link below so you know how it will be used and what options you have to ensure your work remains unique if its designed to rare.

 

http://www.mechstorm.net/forums/index.php?...st=0#entry54643

 

Standard Player Thread for this mod

http://www.mechstorm.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4777

 

Quickie info about this mod.

 

Heres the actual info from my website.

http://www.novazone.karoo.net/Cyrodiilupgradeoverhaul.htm

 

Below is outline of how this works and how this effects other modders and mods.

 

About the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul

 

The Cyrodiil Upgrade is a modular upgrade for Oblivion that allows you the user to choose the parts you want. It is designed to add back to the game some of the missing components in a lore friendly or strict lore way. At every turn, you choose what you want not me.

 

Well the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul is designed along the same lines only it comes in two parts.

 

Part 1: The Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul ESM

 

This will be a resource pack and communication center for my other Cyrodiil Upgrade mods to use as a line of communication so they can keep each other informed of events every 5 seconds (thats how often the scripts run in oblivion). Existing factions will be cloned and the cloned factions added to this esm ready for use by addons that need to upgrade various factions in the game. The usual armour and weapons will be added to the esm too and brand new leveled lists created that add the new respawning NPCs to the new cloned factions so these new npcs start with the mods new features right away.

 

Theres a little more too it than that, but im trying to be brief.

 

The ESM will not edit anything from the game at all, it will mearly provide support for the addon esps I will tell you about next. The ESM will there for server as a resource pact for other mods that changes nothing but provides lots of cool stuff, and also track communications between cyrodiil upgrade aware mods. Intend to build a simple method to let mods talk to each other in this esm so i no longer have to use trickry to do these things in my mods in the future.

 

The ESM will work as a stand alone file and support any mod or overhaul that wishes to take advantage of its features. That means you may even find other peoples addons for this esm are better than mine and wish to use theirs. Or you may want to upgrade fcom to use some of this packs new features. That too will work.

 

I am still planning these little details out as i gather the resources so what you can do with the resource pack may expand beyond even my expectations before im finished.

 

Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul Addon ESPs

 

Addons will do the work of changing your game but not all are designed to change the game, some are designed to add missing content to the game without changing a thing.

 

For example, the Dialog addon will be new lines to the cloned factions, this addon esp will do nothing but add the new dialog so will be completely compatible with any other overhaul. This means if those other addons add my cloned factions to their NPCS, their NPCS will get the new lines automatically too. Imagine new dialog in OOO or fcom or any other mod, it would even work for Joe Bloggs sexy companion mod. If it existed :)

 

Some of this dialog will be lore based information written for specific factions like necromancers, so if you have a necromancer faction, adding my cloned necromancer faction to your npcs may vastly improve the dialog your mod offers instantly.

 

Brand new lore locations to explore are planned and im searching for good tile sets to make this really special. I have my eye on a dwemer tile set thats currently in production but the author has not replied to me yet. These addons will use the built in brand new leveled lists (made for these sort of addon) from the main esm and any resources it needs that also got added to that ESM. Meaning they will be available to other mod makers too. So depending on what resources i can get, you may be running around a morrowind style Dwemer ruin soon enough in the Valus mountains. The chances are this will conflict with unique landscapes in some way and patches will be needed.

 

Oblivions own leveled lists will be updated in a separate addon that can be turned off if you prefer other overhauls. Some overhauls do a good job of combat for example and you may want their version. My versions will be lore based and setup to promote lore and immersion first. This will probably not be compatible with other overhauls. Also the changes I make to these will be limited due to the need to remain compatible with other mods. So i cannot delete spawn points, i cannot create 101 new bandit factions and scatter them across cyrodiil in this addon. That sort of stuff can be done in the Lore based locations mentioned above without any problems though. This will conflict with most leveled list editing mods and you will need to choose this or them.

 

Bandits, Leaders and Heros changes to leveled lists.

 

I am keen to make all normal bandits wear cheaper equipment and have it slowly improve as they rise in rank. That means leaders may be slightly tougher than their men and also have slightly better equipment. That equipment will not be assigned as randomly as other overhauls assign them either. I intend to sit full suits of armour to npcs not the mish mash we see today. Any variations are likely to be delibrately designed that way on my part because they look good with cloth pants or something.

 

Also heros will be added, good heros and bad heros, my current thoughts about these are to make them static heros, eg they do not level up with the player but have them randomly appear at any level. This means you may find a weak hero or a super strong hero blocking your path at almost any level. You will not see these often but you will occasionally encounter them. If get enough unique custom armour, i plan to fit these out in rare gems made by this community that will make you want one to appear in a cave or ruin. You will go running in to danger to get the armour or weapons they wear. A little like finding master alchemy equipement in the default game.

 

Stuff for modders.

 

I trust youve seen my work ?

 

All those modders resources I have used to great effect, well im adding a selection to the esm for you to use in your mods and my future work, other game like Neverwinter nights 1 has standard resource packs that players use to improve the default game so why doesnt one exist for Oblivion yet ?

 

Well, we are going to fix that right now.

 

You do not need to activate any of the addons or accept any changes i make to the game to use the resources in this overhaul. Your mod may require the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul ESM but that doesnt mean you must use my overhaul features if you just want a new sword.

 

Also i will be only using resources where permission to use them in other mods has been granted. So everything will free to use with the odd except thats marked as RARE in the editor. These are usually items the mod maker has told me he doesnt want to see on every NPC in the game and believes the item should be a one off or very hard to find. I tend to agree with them completely and feel too much common glitter ruins the immersion and cheapens the item when found.

 

Anyway, i found the cool looking stuff to be less useful than a simple window resource and will be focusing on stuff that modders will actually use to make better mods rather than adding the things that glitter and look all shiny.

 

The addons i make for the overhaul will I hope be organized so game changing things are put in one esp and upgrades that dont change anything but add more are adding in a different esp. So you can still use some of the overhauls addons if you wish. Eg recommend the dialog addon be turned on for example.

 

The effect of that would be to make your mods look like some of my other mods with lots of audio :)

 

These little additions are additions i usually add to my own mods, this overhaul will I hope allow all of you to take advantage of some of the things i do in your mods all the time without knowing how to create them your self. How hard is adding a faction to an NPC compared to creating all the dialog your self from scratch ?

 

See my point :)

 

And when players say your a mod god and nobody else can beat your work, me and you can lay back and smile and enjoy watching them give you lots of Kudos without ever knowing you just dragged a fake faction across to your npcs faction list and thats it hehe.

 

Hay I will not tell if you dont :)

 

Other Overhauls

 

If you look at my website

http://www.novazone.karoo.net/

 

You will see the words "Where Compatibility is part of the design", I did not add those words idly. The reason why my mods suffer with so few incompatibilitys dispite dealing with some very hot areas that should be by rights massive conflict zones, eg the palace in TEC, the Arcane university, Kvatch, is because i sit down and consider what will break when i start modding and when I have got a list. I design my mods to NOT break those things, thus completely avoiding the problems other mods would walk blindly in to due to a lack of early planning.

 

The planning behind this mod focuses on 3 areas.

 

1) Modders resource pack.

 

2) Upgrades to Cyrodiil

 

3) Edits to Cyrodiils current features.

 

The first 2 should work with anything, only the last 1 may have compatibility problems and that means i must separate the last 1 from the rest so it can be turned off and this is how i intend to achieve compatibility with other overhauls like OOO, Francos and Fcom.

 

The resource pack and Upgrades to Cyrodiil will be the ones that require all my skill to achieve and offer the biggest challenge. The Overhaul part that most overhauls like OOO do as their main task is actually the simple but tedious and boring part. Getting that done will be a test of my willpower not my brains.

 

Seriously try setting up some leveled lists some time...ARGH!!!!! not hard but incredibly dull.

 

Final words.

 

I plan to upload this mod to nexus only assuming its not too big and Dark0ne lets me. Also i will be supporting mod makers who want to use this pack as a resource esm here on Nexus and answering some (not all) questions as time permits here on nexus too. Do not look for me on any other site, you will not see me. I use nexus and my own website exclusively these days.

 

Also any arrogant hostile edge posting and I'll just leave, I wont bother replying or reading the rest of the post, i'll just go and leave everybody to choke on their own hostily. Remember, im making a mod and its a lot of hard work, nobody says i must share it with you, so when i do remember i could have kept it for my self and act accordingly.

 

I dont want a repeat of past events when i agreed to support stuff in public. If it happens i'll just stop!

 

Also all developement for this mod is taking place on my own forums.

http://www.mechstorm.net/forums/index.php?showforum=81

 

Permission to start new threads is limited so i recommend looking at the pinned threads and using one of those. EG Feedback is a good one for most people.

 

PS remember im actually making this mod so my priority goes to the editor not to this forum thread.

 

Giskard

[buddah]

*Moved by Request of OP*

 

I wish you well with this my friend, sounds quite intriguing.

 

Buddah

[giskarduk]

Thanks for moving it so fast Buddah.

 

And yes it is, it should provide a good resource pack for everybody in its most basic form and be a good overhaul for lore and immersion fans in its full form. And inbetween it will run my own mods very nicely indeed :)

 

Giskard

[tnu]

incredible Giskard. you never fail to amaze me. i was wo ndering if you ever plan to make the Necromancers and Cyrodill,ic Vampire Clan playible factions. i do Clan Raelu but its just not Lore Friendly enough.

[worm82075]

awesome possum! :banana:

 

Split archives will let you upload any size file here and Dark0ne has denied no one with original work that I am aware of.

[giskarduk]

  tnu said:

incredible Giskard. you never fail to amaze me. i was wo ndering if you ever plan to make the Necromancers and Cyrodill,ic Vampire Clan playible factions. i do Clan Raelu but its just not Lore Friendly enough.

 

Actually I have not yet considered playable factions in that sense, im still thinking along the old lines seen in my old mods only on a grander scale. But it is an interesting idea so i'll look in to it.

 

Worm

 

Thanks mate, i was wondering how that worked out.

 

Giskard

[giskarduk]

Hello again.

 

Time for an UPDATE.

If youve not been following developement, you can read a summery of work done so far on my websites news page. I have been posting reports most days since things started to come together.

 

At the time of writing, report 9 is the current report. Its out of date because it fails to mention ive finished updating the leveled lists now for the CUO Unleveled ESP.

http://www.novazone.karoo.net/

 

All reports are about different things so no two actually talk about the same feature because its all stuff ive worked on that day.

 

Version 1 of the Resource Pack side of the mod will be about 200meg if I use 7zip (7z) to pack it, 300meg if i use Zip. So 7z is likely to be used as a packer.

 

7Zip website.

http://www.7-zip.org/

 

I use that for zip and other archives too so its an all in one type packer which I do recommend and its free too.

 

Okay, time to start a Revolution :)

 

I have called this a Revolution several times now so I had better explain.

 

The resource pack in this overhaul differs from all the others in that it is a standalone download that can be used with other overhauls or even used BY other overhauls to add new content to their games too. All other overhauls require you to make their overhaul a requirement for your mod if you use their resources. I do not, this resource pack can be used on its own. Everything released for this later is entirely optional.

 

Also EVERY SINGLE ITEM in this pack was added with full permission of the creators. Any item that did not specifically have permission granted in the docs was added after i contacted the mod maker and explained this is to be a modders resource and others would want to use their work too but would not nessessarily want to track down every mod maker individually (based on a formID number) and they needed to know permission was granted for them to do what ever they wanted with the stuff too.

 

ALL either agreed, or wrote in their docs this was ok.

 

That means you mod makers do not even need to ask because I already asked for you.

In fact, I pointed all the people I asked at this thread below so they could see what I had in mind.

http://www.mechstorm.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4722

 

As for credits, nobody reads the docs it seems even so I decided to use a credits page that I KNOW people will look at. You see it also contains direct links to the original files so its not just a Credits page, it is a link to a wealth of new modders resource material too and this will be a handy list to have even when your not interested in credits. So those who need to be credited, will indeed get credited for being kind enough to make their work Modders Resources.

 

This is the WIP credits list.

http://www.mechstorm.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=4721

 

The actual finished credits list will go here eventually.

http://www.novazone.karoo.net/Moddersresources.htm

 

So you will always know who made what, where the original is, where screenshots can be found and who to send the kudos too. Usually I get them, now those who earned them can get them. Not that I do not earn them of course, but sometimes I am thanked for models others created and its kind of annoying considering i do credit people in my docs.

 

Now once youve gotten to grips with all that, this is what I believe will kick it all off, I am going to be using this pack for ALL my mods and my mods are used by thousands. Now you see what I mean :)

 

My other mods will be using the Resource Pack too

 

This resource pack should help lots of modders use modders resources directly in their mods without needing the skills to set them up. Some of my own ideas will be available for use in any mod via this pack too since I will be adding them to the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul esm. But the resource pack side of things will allow me to remove commonly used resources from my older mod and place it in the one resource pack.

 

This will mean Kvatch Aftermath, Origin of the Mages Guild, The Necromancer, The Elder Council and other mods by me should start getting smaller in size after the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul esm is released.

 

Like wise, cool new features in the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul esm will be available for use by my mods without adding too much to their own file size. For example. Those sheep behind the church in Kvatch may be joined by a Chicken, Rooster, Cow, Pig or even a Fox. The Counts desk may get a Globe of Tamriel added to it, the necromancer areas could get bats added to them and better cobwebs. Theres a lot of material here that is currently unused that will dramatically improve older mods. So im not just saving space, im adding new features too right across the board.

 

Progress.

I very close to releasing an Alpha version of the Cyrodiil Upgrade Overhaul and including some actual Overhaul esp files as optional addons too. After these have been released, additional support files will be created for it and older mods will start getting updated to use it.

 

So expect some rapid progress after the release of the Alpha.

 

In case your wondering, I could release it right now and I want to add the last of the resources to it first, the esm will be updated several times until everything is working or added but I do not want too many downloads of 200meg if i can help it.

 

Giskard

[giskarduk]

V1 Alpha of The resource pack for this has been released tonight.

 

http://www.novazone.karoo.net/Cyrodiilupgr...esourcepack.htm

 

Private testing of the overhauls optional parts will start tomorrow. Further tweaking is going to happen because all this is WIP and still under heavily developement. The resource pack it self will at this stage be of interest only to other mod makers and my testers.

 

giskard