The Hunt for Blackmane (WIP)

[Northborn]

Sounds awesome so far. I really like the fact that it will be non linear. Good luck.

 

Thanks! The branching paths is something very important to me. Obviously, for the sake of story, the paths will all close in on one specific locations, but how you get there, how much you explore, and who you encountrer, it will affect your progression, what you see, what you learn. You will learn more about the lore via certain paths. Will you encounter a specific group and deal with them right away, or will they come up behind you later to rain on your parade? Will you go the obvious and brutal route, or find the hidden route? Sneaking might be to your advantage. It might not. Are you an argonian? Or a mage with waterbreathing? There might even be a path for you!

[Deleted1308005User]

Have you thought about actual puzzles btw?
There seems to be some nordic areas, so they would make sense.

Or traps?
Traps are always fun!
New pictures look absolutely amazing.
Can't wait to get in that cave!
Also:
"Been in talks with a few individuals who will help me develop new enemies, weaponry and armor."
That, sounds really nice.

I love the multiple path idea.
In vanilla Skyrim it wouldn't work, as people want to search every area and every inch of it.
But as a mod it's perfect choice.
Gives people reason to do it again later, maybe even with different character!

[Northborn]

Have you thought about actual puzzles btw?

There seems to be some nordic areas, so they would make sense.

Or traps?

Traps are always fun!

New pictures look absolutely amazing.

Can't wait to get in that cave!

Also:

"Been in talks with a few individuals who will help me develop new enemies, weaponry and armor."

That, sounds really nice.

 

I love the multiple path idea.

In vanilla Skyrim it wouldn't work, as people want to search every area and every inch of it.

But as a mod it's perfect choice.

Gives people reason to do it again later, maybe even with different character!

 

I definately aim to have puzzles, but I'm still debating exactly how to approach them. Puzzles and traps definately fit the theme and the location. Without spoiling too much, there are interesting discoveries await beyond Blackmane's den.

 

For puzzles, I'm currently tilting towards more archeological puzzles, like deciphering a journal and a wall drawing (custom textures, obviously) more than the more obvious spin the pedestal to match the symbol on the wall puzzle. More subtle, requiring thought. There will also be simpler puzzles but something that require a good eye. For example, there's a fairly extensive jumping puzzle built already. I will test various concepts and ideas to make sure I strike a balance between complexity and playability. I don't want people to be bored to death while struggling to solve riddles. This is where my beta testers will come in.

 

I think you'll be able to explore the entire cave, all paths (bar a few affected by choices). As a matter of fact, I suspect some players will suddenly find themselves in a room they've already visited, but this is all intended. Again, I'm trying to strike a balance between complexity and playability. Various paths converge on different levels, so you may opt to go one way rather than the other. In the end, it'll depend on how much the player explores. As a matter of fact, how much he learns depends on how much he explores. And what he knows may well affect his final decision.

 

In the end I'm gunning for an organic experience.

 

And indeed, I do want to reward players with new weaponry and armor for completing my questline and for exploration. I've already recieved permission to use the Omesean's Einherjar armor, to which I will give a new and unique texture job. Its more than likely that I will include a special version of my own Fur Hood into the mod also.

 

It's an ambitious project, but I'm making sure that it remains a doable project. I also intend for this to be a fully voice-acted venture. I could never release a mod with subtitles only. (I'm a bit of a quality-nazi when it comes to my own projects. The bar is set very high.) :P

 

Hopefully, as time goes and I make progress, I'll be able to bring other talents onboard.

[abarcan7]

Vanilla Skyrim really does not utilize jumping puzzles well (or at all?) as well as water breathing. I can't remember once being happy for having a water breathing potion or for being an argonian and being able to use the water breathing ability, so I'm really looking forward to that.

[Deleted1308005User]

I'd say that things like jumping puzzles and just-a-bit-too-complex-underwater-puzzles were scrapped because of two boxes, one black, one white.
One edged, one with round icon on it.

But aye, utilizing waterbreathing and jumping? Awesome!

Also, it's Omesean who made the Einherjar armor :biggrin:

And it's good to keep quality bar high!
By doing so, you are surely getting downloads, support, and possibly support for projects later.

[Northborn]

Righto. Omesean. I am terrible at names, and the worst part is that its not the first time he and I contribute! (I made the fur hood for his Einherjar armor in the first place! :P)

I can understand why Bethsoft did't use much jumping puzzles, but if anything, it's their own fault. I'll be the first to say it, the jumping mechanics and the collision detection in this game is pretty horrible. If you jump to soon, you can end up stuck midway on the ledge, unable to jump. I'm getting better at it, but it's a reality players will have to live with. I'm trying to reduce the likelihood of this as much as possible of course with the angle of platforms and the height/distance needed for jumps, but if I want to keep a minimum of challenge in the jumping puzzle, its something players will have to learn to play with. (And it's probably me being a stickler for quality that makes it seem all the worse for me, because it's my work.)

 

But yes, I'm very much a stickler for quality. I actually redid an entire part of the dungeon last night because I thought it was boring. But I gotta say, its coming along real well if I do say so myself. Right now I'm having just one big issue: the water plane I use is too big and disappears (bugged), and if I have two planes meet, either edge to edge or overlapping, the water effect disappears momentarily when crossing the border between planes, and the character takes a breath underwater. I'll find a solution I'm sure, its just a mild drawback.

 

I've decided to expand the dungeon a bit to give the water area an extra kick. It now opens up an alternative path deeper into the dungeon, and actually rewards the player with a nice little easter egg.

 

I also picked out a few puzzles last night, and without spoilers, I'm going to try something I didn't see much of (if any) in Skyrim: Item-based puzzles. Using the right items on a specific puzzle piece to activate it, like the adventure games of old. Ie. Place the missing skull on the headless skeleton, or insert dagger into socket, etc. Still working on the mechanics, but they should be fairly simple. But it's going to require players to think, pay attention, rather than just activate say a pedestal and have the character use the right item for them. (Not a big fan of current-era gaming's insatiable obsession for handholding).

[frankdema]

wow this looks amazing :) i would be glad to make something for your project in the free time :), like some new creature or weapon or armor..... if you need some models just let me know :D i've used your mesh and textures so much times that is is the least i can do :D

[Northborn]

Frank, my friend, I'd be all over that. Not only did I enjoy our past collaboration, but I'm a big fan of your work, particularly the Stormcloak Explorer and the Nordic Hunter. (I use both regularly on my Stormcloak character (My favorite character to boot))

I'm going to get my thoughts down on paper, concepts I have for enemies, armor and weaponry, and I'm going to get you in on this project! Expect a message soon!

[Deleted1308005User]

This thing is getting more and more epic in every message :biggrin:

[Northborn]

You should see the mock up frank just sent me of one of our first enemy concept. ;)