phayze81 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Hi all! I have a little mod that I call Phayze's Dwemer Artificer Mod (PDAM for short) that I've been working on pretty much since day-one of Creation Kit availabilty. In short, my mod allows players to build special dwemer automata that follow them around and kill things. Neat, right? I know, I know - Dwemer Certified does that, too, and so do several other mods, but mine takes a slightly different approach to the theme in what may be a hopeless struggle to stand out. Anyway, the reason I'm posting here is that I want for my next update to include some unique visual elements, but sadly I'm too busy bashing my brains out over learning papyrus to have the time to develop the artistic skills that I would need to create that sort of thing on my own. So, basically, I'm putting out a general call for support from texture and model artists who might be interested in helping me add a little visual juice to my mod. I'm currently using vanilla dwemer clutter items as place-holder meshes for things like specialized upgrade components and automaton repair kits, and relying on magic FX shaders to differentiate the types of upgraded units. Unique meshes and textures for these things would really help this mod to stand out and reach new level of appeal! I'd also really love to have some completely original automaton types to add to the mod - even vanilla creatures retextured to look mechanical would be really great! An over-sized mechanical wolf for mount, maybe? Metal torchbugs that follow you around and light your surroundings? A Dwemer "android" race with metallic skin? If you're interested in helping my mod out with your skills, please please please reply here, or send me a PM. I feel like Dwemer Artificer has a lot of potential, but I'm just not a one-man-band sort of a guy when it comes to this sort of thing. If nothing else, I'd be eternally grateful for a mechanical chicken texture. What? No, I'm not joking. I really want one! Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this far, and thanks in advance to anyone who considers actually contributing! -Phayze Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyZ0G Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 custom meshes for upgrade components and new automata is a great idea but I think you would be better using the vanilla textures so that, although different, they look like they were made by the same people who made the centurion, sphere and spider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phayze81 Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 Hi Zog, I thought about that, too, but I know that there are a lot of really talented artists here on the Nexus who could come up with unique textures that maintained the vanilla dwemer aesthetic. The trick is going to be convincing them to help me out. ;) Also, within the context of my mod these craftable automata are considered "not lore friendly" by certain characters in-game, so I don't think diverging from the vanilla look would really be bad thing, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phayze81 Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 I just typed up a list of ideas that I had for models and such that I'd like to see added to my mod for a PM to Zog, and I thought I'd post it here as well in case anyone came along, interested in helping out or just generally looking for a project to do. If you want to contribute, PM me! PDAM needs your help!! --- Unique world/inventory items for - Repair Kits. I'm picturing something like a basket or leather satchel stuffed with gears and things. Probably pretty simple. - Combat Dynamo. Maybe something like this, but with one of these for the center ring of the gyro? Too much? - Warrior upgrade unit is a bit harder to represent . . . The basic idea is that the upgrade reinforces armor plating and enhances the strength of the limbs used for attacking. I'm open to suggestions on this one. For unique automata I have these:- I was thinking of something like the little spherical remote that followed Bao-Dur around in KOTOR2, but bigger, at least as big as a human head, and possibly with two or three little helicopter rotors to keep it flying (picture them at 10 and 2 o'clock when looking at it straight on, and a third poking out the back). Basic models would basically be a hands-free light source, but they could be upgraded with dynamos to shoot lightning bolts - I think more than anything I want to have a mount included. I don't have specific ideas for it, except that I want it to be something a little unusual, if at all possible. I found this interesting riding bunny and a mechanical cat for general ideas. Maybe even something like a lizard or dinosaur? I'm pretty open, really. It doesn't really have to be based on an animal, either, those are just somethings I saw while looking. Here are some cool steam walkers and a monocycle. Just google "steampunk walker" for all sort of weird stuff. A flying mount would be awesome for the future, but I have to do some research into how to script it. - I'm working on adding in a bi-pedal smart-bomb that's going to use the vanilla chicken as a place-holder mesh, but it'd be even better to have something of similar size that walked like a chicken and kept with the dwemer/steampunk aesthetic. - A little weird, but what about something like a flying fish? It could use rotors like the sphere, or if that looks too silly I could come up with some kind of ancient anti-gravity device needed for crafting. Unlike spheres, though, these would be real fliers that could dive and strafe like dragons do. If the fish a little too off-beat, then birds are good, too - I'm also setting up what I'm calling a Mechanthrope - a dwemer android, basically. They're full blown, craftable NPCs that will dynamically get certain skill bonuses based on which upgrade modules are in their inventory. It'll take a lot of time to get the scripting right, but when I do I'll be looking for a suitable texture. I'm picturing dwemer metal-colored skin with panel lines and designs etched in. New Items: - I'm working on a rebuild kit that will resurrect a downed automaton when placed in its inventory - the script is bugging, but I think I know how to make it work. For a model, it would be something like the repair kit idea, just pigger and with more parts. - Repair "weapon", like a sonic screwdriver or something, that you hit the bots with the restore their health. Maybe a fancy wrench? - A new model for the control wand isn't really necessary, but it would be nice to have something a little smaller, and gripped closer to the head, like some of the other staves in the game. I don't have specific ideas for this, just brainstorming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d4em Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Quick retexture I couldn't resist...Lemme know if you like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phayze81 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Quick retexture I couldn't resist...Lemme know if you like it 0_o Awesome. Simply. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d4em Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Download it here Good luck with your mod ;p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phayze81 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks so much! I really appreciate the help. :D This is going to be loads of fun to play around with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d4em Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 While you're at it, try to make it a deadric god. Just do it. We need an evil dwemer chicken godof death and despair, I've found it the only thing lacking in skyrim ;D Joking aside, imma take a look at some more of these, see what I can do. No modelling untill proper blender nif scripts come out though , my setup is too messed up to try modelling through the methods described in the tutorials ;l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phayze81 Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Fabulous! Anything you could offer would be greatly appreciated! A few more ideas that I had, if you're interested: -Armor cladding for spheres and spiders in the vanilla armor types -Blast Furnace upgrade that adds fire-based abilities -Coolant Tank upgrade that adds frost-based abilities. -I'll work on the Daedric Lord of Cock-a-Doodle-Doom. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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