Maar Gan

[Dave_91]

Update 25/03/07

---

black[/HR]

New features:

-Added NPC's and started basic pathgridding
-Added region with more dynamic weather
-More 'natural' look, with grass textures
-Much improved lighting

[1ST]M[/1ST]y main concern right now, is getting the feeling right, like nerbod mentioned in a thread. I've messed around with various lighting effects and fiddled with texturing, and feel that the town is really starting to live up to TES3's version.

I've took the lighting and weather ideas by nerbod straight into consideration after reading his post. The idea I came up with, was to create a region (I named it 'AshlandsMaarG'), and change the weather a bit. The results were great, made quite a difference indeed, especially the foggy and cloudy weather effects; scroll down for screenshot link.



The lighting too was something of a concern, it's not as easy as it looks, the CS shows lighting differently to that in-game (or so I believe, anyway). I had to switch in and out of the CS and game itself to get the best results. I still think that the Redoran textures are too orange looking, but hey, that's not priority right now.

I also added two NPC's, these are purely cosmetic, and serve no purpose other than adding a little 'life' to the town.

Screenshots Page-

Click
Weather/lighting screenies

[KuKulzA]

looking GREAT! :goodjob:

[Dave_91]

Thanks.

It still needs a lot more attention to detail though, but that'll have to wait till tomorrow, it's bedtime for me (3:30AM!).

[Local]

Awesome work there looking great!

===local===

[Dave_91]

Cheers. :goodjob:

I might release it for testing soon, it has a few bugs though that make it unplayable atm.

[Dave_91]

Almost done! I'll probably be releasing it for alpha testing within 1-2 days... I'll get an update with screens later today. It's much better than what it looked like from the previous update...

One thing though- KuKulzA, what can you tell me about the Gudu-Ma Mine, Hetman Julu-Ban, the Hetman Hut and the Ashlander Trade-post?

[SACarrow]

If you need simple TES3 screens and stats, I can do that. Deeper lore is way beyond my pay grade.

Steve

[Hector the Hooded]

Hey, Dave, how much texture blending/tree adding did you add to the area were Maar Gan?

Not as much as Khuul, and I'll tell ya what Khuul is a bitch! That nice little slope we had goin in TES: 3 has turned into a pain-in-the-ass cliff in TES: 4.

Edit: I'd also be VERY happy to set up the AI's in Maar Gan, as that is one of me strong points! Also, be careful with pathgrids, those tend to be dirty little mothers......

[Dave_91]

Tell me about it. :yes: Well I'm not too good with AI yet, I can get it to work fine and stuff, but I'm still learning the key parts like NPC's wandering into the towns from their houses, and eating in different places. If my NPC's AI turns out to be a disaster, I'll let you know, maybe you can give me a hand.

The two hills with the stairs in Maar Gan were the hardest part so far for me, it took so much tweaking it was unbelieveabl, every little click I made when landscaping seemed to muck it up completely, and I had two of them to make. Luckily though, they've fit nicely, but it wasn't easy getting them right.

I'm okay with the pathgrids, most houses have them set up, and I have a working one in town that seems to be working okay... it's a bit of a struggle though when you have stairs that the NPC won't climb up (well, they will try to, but usually just get stuck in some glitch).

It's all looking good. Expect new screens, possibly an early release within a few hours. (I still have a few NPC's to tweak, bits of dialogue to add, and a few interiors quickly need doing but that's shouldn't take too long.)

how much texture blending/tree adding did you add to the area were Maar Gan?

Well, it might be a bit hit-and-miss really... people without SI might get a few little mishaps because I may have used a SI ash texture. Other than that though, texturing is now fine, it has swaying grass in some areas, and varied 'Ashland' type textures throughout. The lighting is much better too.

[KuKulzA]

Originally posted by Dave_91
One thing though- KuKulzA, what can you tell me about the Gudu-Ma Mine, Hetman Julu-Ban, the Hetman Hut and the Ashlander Trade-post?

Gudu-Ma Mine:
This mine is essential for the town for two reasons. There are a few small clusters of emeralds and rubies here and there which provide an occasional financial boost when clusters are found. Also, miners have found an underwater pool which provides clean water for the town.
Hetman Julu-Ban:
- He's just an average villager who has the managerial skills to help run the militia, the mine, and keep order in the place. I'd say he's middle aged and soft spoken. He has the distinction of owning a fine guar mount. His job is to manage the ordinary affairs of the town and carries out orders from the Morvayn Clan which owns the town
Hetman Hut:
- This is the Hetman's hut, no different than anyone else's. He has a Redoran watchman armor/uniform at home. He's religious so maybe he has a tapestry of one of the Saints or books from the Temple at home.
Ashlander Trade-post:
- This is a place where a settled Ashlander makes his living as a mediator and translator between Ashlanders and Redoran. He manages the small trading post just outside of Ald-ruhn and advocates peace between the people.

feel free to change my ideas