SHRAC0802 "Mithril Quarry Mine" [Old discussion Deeza]

[Deeza]

This looks interesting. I have two questions though:

First, has somebody actually made a mithril ore piece, and if so what does it look like? I had a concept for Mithril ore over at the external Summerset Isles project (which is run entirely by Beyond Cyrodiil modders so we'd probably be willing to share if we get it done).

Second, what is ST's official position on the abolition of slavery? I heard a very interesting discussion over at TR that they've decided that it's more like the South of the US after the Civil War, with the slaves technically free but still have to work in the plantations for minimal wages to survive (which makes even more money for their former owners as they no longer have to pay for their food and accommodation). What has ST decided on this issue lore-wise and what are your thoughts on this?

I know that in Black Marsh we were planning to have new villages made up of freed Argonian slaves, fighting hardcore House Dres traditionalists who've fled the new anti-slavery laws and set up in Arnesia.

[sandor]

Originally posted by Deeza
This looks interesting. I have two questions though:

First, has somebody actually made a mithril ore piece...

No, we don't have a model in our assets.

Originally posted by Deeza
Second, what is ST's official position on the abolition of slavery?

What has ST decided on this issue lore-wise and what are your thoughts on this?

I consulted bob196045 and we decided to discuss this further with the other Core members. We'll post the outcome of the discussion asap (prob. in a new thread).

[Deeza]

OK. I'll wait and see how that discussion turns out.

But I'd be happy to claim the dungeon. As regards the mithril ore... if it gets done, I'll see what they say regarding sharing it. For now I will use the silver ore seams, renamed and possibly with a slightly altered texture if I can manage it. How does that sound?

[sandor]

Originally posted by Deeza
But I'd be happy to claim the dungeon.

That's great!

Originally posted by Deeza
For now I will use the silver ore seams, renamed and possibly with a slightly altered texture if I can manage it. How does that sound?

Why not? It's a good alternative for the time being.

@Ibsen's ghost
What do you think?

[Deeza]

OK, I've thought about this and here's my concept for the mine:

Mithril is a very rare substance in Morrowind (it's the kind of thing you'd more expect to find on Summerset Isles). This mine was abandoned quite a while ago for some reason which is darkly hinted at but never fully explained (to keep a bit of mystery).

It's now infested with all sorts of wildlife, but that hasn't deterred a group of Dunmer and their mage friend from going there with a bunch of recently-freed Argonians (read: minimum-wage workers). The mage has translated a Dwemer text which appears to be the recipe for one of the alloys which allow their machines to be corrosion-resistant over the millennia. The catch? It requires mithril as an ingredient. The top layer of the mine is mined out, but they are hoping to use the workers to break through into the lower levels which still contain rich seams.

Basically, this is my idea for one of the "deeper dungeons" some people have talked about - you can either charge in and fight everyone, if you want to, or you can join the people there in exploring the dungeon. If you do it yourself you get lots of valuable mithril ore, if you help out the mage and his friends you get some of the alloy, which you can give (perhaps) to a smith in Steadhelm and get a special sword or axe.

What do you think? I'm afraid I would need help with the questing this would involve, as I'm incompetent at scripting.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Originally posted by sandor
@Ibsen's ghost
What do you think?

That sounds great to me :goodjob: . I'm also absolutely delighted that Deeza has chosen another one of my little Steadhelm babies.

@ Deeza - I don't think the scripting for this would be too taxing. Hopefully, it would just be a case of assigning a suitable trader for the use of the mithril ore in Steadhelm. However, I'm not sure what the implications are for the 'deeper dungeon' idea. Are you suggesting two very distinct ways to play through the dungeon that would involve scripted sequences according to the choices you made about how you wished to proceed?

If so, this could be problematic. I've worked with Lingwei (an old ST associate) on mods of this nature and, despite the wondrous level of interactivity on display, his latest efforts with the 'Blackwood Company' mod have been fraught with errors. I'll need to check on his progress actually, but I do know that his earlier work (of a similar nature) worked well and was well received.

[Deeza]

Nothing that complex, don't worry! By "deeper dungeons", all I understand it to mean is "sometimes you get an option other than killing everything in sight." The Mythic Dawn cave is the best example I know - you can charge in, or try to use subterfuge... Then the game forces you to choose between killing an innocent and blowing your cover. Awesome! But I don't want to do anything as ambitious as that, I don't have the skill and there's too many things to go wrong.

I was thinking more of a simple choice when you enter the dungeon, to keep it as uncomplicated as possible. The guards approach you when you enter and order you to come with them or die. If you refuse, you fight them and no quest starts, you just go over the dungeon as normal. If you agree, all the dispositions of the characters in the dungeon are set to neutral, and the short quest starts.

Can you see that working?

[Ibsen's Ghost]

It sounds fine to me...but I'm not the best one to ask about quest stuff. I think TID is generally considered to be our main quest-master. I'm sure either he or sandor will turn up soon to give you a more definite 'yes' or 'no' on this.

The idea is very close to my heart. I'm an old 'Thief' series game fan where the emphasis was on stealth. If you could 'ghost' through a mission i.e. complete the mission without leaving a trace or alerting anyone, then that was the goal of every thief. Some fan missions wouldn't let you 'win' unless you'd totally ghosted the whole thing =) .

[Deeza]

Hmm... that gives me some interesting ideas. I was always a big fan of the Oddworld series, where you're so outnumbered and outgunned that stealth is the only way you can possible survive...

I had a plan for the Black Marsh thieves' guild questline that worked along those lines actually. You can look at it here if you're interested:

Black Marsh Thieves' Guild Main Quest

Basically the idea was, yes, you could fight if you wanted and were tough enough, or you could use your cunning and complete it without a drop of blood being spilt.

[sandor]

Originally posted by Deeza

I was thinking more of a simple choice when you enter the dungeon, to keep it as uncomplicated as possible. The guards approach you when you enter and order you to come with them or die. If you refuse, you fight them and no quest starts, you just go over the dungeon as normal. If you agree, all the dispositions of the characters in the dungeon are set to neutral, and the short quest starts.

Can you see that working?

That's certainly doable.

It's not always necessary to use scripts, a lot can be done by using the result scripts executed through to the infos and the quest stages.

EDIT
You could analyze OB's quest The Potato Snatcher (SQ1), its shows you how the handle the quest stages and how to trigger the next stages. It's a good example of a find and retrieve quest and not too complicated.