Jennifur68 Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 (edited) So recently I thought it might be pretty if the drab tundra of Whiterun were to be a little greener and spring flowers started to bloom so I began doing simple texture replacers on some of the plants and altering the color/mixing my own variations of vanilla ground textures. So far I've altered all four tundra grasses, that yellow bush thats everywhere, the three tundra shrubs and remixed the tundra land textures and the dead grass texture inside Whitrun itself. I wanted the flowers in the fields to look more like spring here and this is a work in progress so I may end up changing the flowers entirely again. Anyway...what I'm looking for is feedback from other users. I've also added some subtle flowers to the generic forest grass that you see near Dragonbridge and other forest areas like Riverwood and Falkreath, I think these flowers look great and just add a little splash of color and life without being distracting. Whiterun:http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00001.jpg http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00003.jpg http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00002.jpg http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00004.jpg http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_WhiterunTundraWIP2.jpg The four exterior Whiterun gound textures:http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00005.jpg Forest Grass with flowers:http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00008.jpg http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/th_2012-11-21_00011.jpg Edited November 21, 2012 by Jennifur68 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidzebra Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 (edited) The screenshots could be a little larger :geek: but the idea is great. So you're changing the "potential grass" sets of land textures, adding things like Elinir's spring flowers?(if you're not, it's a great resource) Edited November 21, 2012 by acidzebra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifur68 Posted November 21, 2012 Author Share Posted November 21, 2012 Sorry about the screenshots they're actually full 1920x1200 but Photobucket has reduced them to something like 1024 wide. Its just the texture sets for the potential grass without any CK editing at all, I wanted to keep it simple. ;) My thoughts were since it just textures people can use it as a mod if they want to green up the Whiterun area or use the textures in their mods if they credit me. I kinda thought after dragon attacks, vampire attacks and a civil war battle fought over their city maybe the residents of Whiterun needed a break to just stop and smell the flowers. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LargeStyle Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 The pics look very good, but obviously the most important things are if you like it (or not), and if you're doing a mod for yourself, the community, or both. Ultimately I'd say carry on with it providing you're "enjoying" the modding process. Now Skyrim's a year old, providing others with a choice of variety for environments (especially Whiterun) is no bad thing at all. The only constructive thing I'd say, or more the point ask yourself is: has this been done before (in similar mods) and if so, how can I make it "better" than similar mods? I only state this as there is already a Whiterun green grass mod, and a few general Whiterun overhaul mods out there. FWIW: (Just for examples sake) my current setup looks like this... http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/3941/tesv2012112120203523.jpg Also, have you considered technical aspects of your work / mod? This would mainly be: which resolutions of textures would you use (normally standard, double, and quadruple resolution textures), and how much you are going to add to Whiterun - it's probably the most CPU hogging environment within the game, so it's easy to overload the area for some peoples computers, rendering your work potentially unusable. Please don't think I'm being deconstructive or negative to you or your work in any way, but I've just been open and honest about my feedback. Like I said, your pictures look good and I'd recommend carrying on as you have been. Good luck with it all and I for one look forward to your progression with your work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifur68 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 So far its something I'm doing for me but I'll probably release it so other can try it if they like. My main goal is to improve my game and if other like what I've done thats fantastic. I've always been creative when I can and like to experiment and learn new things...its just fun to me. I'm not really planning to add any new meshes...its just all textures and right now the ones I'm using are vanilla Skyrim sizes just to see if I like it. If I release it I'd do as least another set thats twice that size...if there's interest in larger I can do it but I've always tried to minimize texture load times and resource usage by using the smallest texture that gives me the the best balance of detail and performance. I've worked in 3D for six years understand that a 1024x1024 texture is the same as loading four 512x512 textures...it maybe be double the size but its four times the area. I built my PC two years ago to handle pretty much anything I threw at it but I know from my experience on Second Life a lot of people are using PCs with specifications a lot lower than mine and I try to keep that in mind whenever I create a mesh or do textures. As far as reinventing the wheel...I've seen some of the mods and I'm not going into this trying to figure out if I can do it better, but I also feel choice and variety are always good thing. And I know some people will love it and others will say its awful...you can't please everyone. Feedback is always good thats why I wanted to ask what others thought. ;) Its like when I make an outfit for Second Life, sometimes I'll ask my customers what they think it needs or what they'd like added/changed...I don't always agree but its good to hear their opinions and they feel part of the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidzebra Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 (edited) Well, it inspired me to do a quick texture/grass change for my own amusement, not release. I wanted to figure out how textures are applied to landscape objects and how grass settings work anyway. Flowers! Flowers EVERYWHERE! lolTurns out the settings are quite subtle and it's REALLY easy to overdo it :thumbsup: I feel like my horse should have a pink bow on its tail now.http://i46.tinypic.com/35d11s0.jpg Edited November 22, 2012 by acidzebra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LargeStyle Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 @ Jennifur68: I'm glad you took my post well, I was concerned after submitting it that I came across a bit too "constructive", so I'm glad you weren't offended. So far its something I'm doing for me but I'll probably release it so other can try it if they like. My main goal is to improve my game and if other like what I've done thats fantastic. I've always been creative when I can and like to experiment and learn new things...its just fun to me.This is exactly my attitude and approach too, and quite frankly I think it's the best way to go about it, so I can totally understand and respect you viewpoint. I built my PC two years ago to handle pretty much anything I threw at it but I know from my experience on Second Life a lot of people are using PCs with specifications a lot lower than mine and I try to keep that in mind whenever I create a mesh or do textures.The reason why I mentioned tech specs myself was seeing people on this forum (particularly within ENB threads) stating their tech specs. I have a 2.4Ghz Quad-Core and a GTX 260 which I consider to be clinging of for dear life performance-wise, but I've seen plenty of lower specs than this, hence my concern raised to you. Obviously you're on top of this too! As far as reinventing the wheel...I've seen some of the mods and I'm not going into this trying to figure out if I can do it better, but I also feel choice and variety are always good thingYeah, I may've come across a little competitive in my previous post, I'm just sad like that :whistling: And I know some people will love it and others will say its awful...you can't please everyone. Feedback is always good thats why I wanted to ask what others thought. Its like when I make an outfit for Second Life, sometimes I'll ask my customers what they think it needs or what they'd like added/changed...I don't always agree but its good to hear their opinions and they feel part of the process.I'm about 2 weeks away from releasing my first mod myself, and I'm already embracing myself for the feedback I may get. With all due respect to Nexus moderators, I just hope the new moderation policies will help control any non-conforming behaviour on this site. As for your mod, specifically with bringing spring into Whiterun, I really like your picture of Breezehome. Changing the grass alone obviously makes the world of difference in demonstrating some natural life within the area (the brown dirt was perhaps that main culprit for making Whiterun look a miserable mess). I once added a stack of flowers outside of Breezehome, but I think I over-did it as although it was pleasing to the eye it didn't quite look right somehow. I also definitely agree with adding more flora to the area of grass immediately near the Gildergreen tree - as the story and lore states the importance and emphasis of life that this tree provides. Again, I'm glad you weren't offended by my previous post, and I apologise if I overstepped the mark. Good luck and progress with your mod, and I hope you carry on enjoying the modding process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifur68 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 @ Jennifur68: I'm glad you took my post well, I was concerned after submitting it that I came across a bit too "constructive", so I'm glad you weren't offended. Again, I'm glad you weren't offended by my previous post, and I apologise if I overstepped the mark. Good luck and progress with your mod, and I hope you carry on enjoying the modding process. I'm pretty easy going and typically hard to offend and do I try to avoid drama whenerver I can. I think thats why my Second Life shop does so well...people see me as likeable and approachable which isn't always the case with big shop owners. This is my fun stuff that I get to do and give away so I want this to stay fun...Second Life is work, customer service, running a business and all that since its how I make my real world money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifur68 Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 Well, it inspired me to do a quick texture/grass change for my own amusement, not release. I wanted to figure out how textures are applied to landscape objects and how grass settings work anyway. Flowers! Flowers EVERYWHERE! lolTurns out the settings are quite subtle and it's REALLY easy to overdo it :thumbsup: I feel like my horse should have a pink bow on its tail now. Yay you're having fun with it too. ^^ Pretty flowers! Oh and I helped fix your horse...http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z215/Jennifur68/PinkBow.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidzebra Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 LOL I'd totally use that if it were an actual mod. IT'S MANLY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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