12-30-2007, 06:40 AM
I've been thinking on and off for a long time that ultimately, I'd like Reich Parkeep to have a different house style. It made sense to use Cheydinhal when I started because modelling for Oblivion was in it's infancy at the time and people had barely begun using the Civ4 exporter. Not that I would have had the skill to make an acceptable house two years ago in either case so it was kindof a moot point, and to add to that I wanted to get started right away.
But it's a different ballgame now, not only is the exporter nigh-on perfect but I feel I have the skill to make a medieval house that looks close to Bethesda quality. I would be rather daft to think I have the skill of someone who models for a living, but still, I think I can make the houses look nice enough. In any case the Cheydinhal style is just... wrong for the city. Perfect for the serene paradise in Oblivion that uses the style, but not for the domestic branch of an Imperial fortification like Reich Parkeep.
If you've modded a claim in Reich Parkeep I want to assure you your work won't be lost. I'll make every effort to keep your modded work, only adapt it to the new architecture models and maybe update some stock models to Imperial stuff we've created along the way.
So I've been mulling the matter for awhile to try and draw up some inspiration. The city's name is pretty original for being an official Elder Scrolls city, sounding distinctly German. Maybe we could play into that theme? Making the houses look like they did in medieval Germany. Another idea I thought of was that maybe it would be logical to make the houses tall and instead have a smaller base area, since space is hard to come by in the districts. They can't very well make the hills larger or move the fortifications, so what they have is what they get. I don't mean to make them so stretched that they wind up looking like towers, because that would look pretty bad and be hard for the player to navigate. But maybe the standard house size would have three floors, not counting a possible basement.
The next idea is a bit more... out there. Maybe I could make artificial ground for a whole district in 3D Studio Max and then in each interior cell build up a rudimentary exterior with ground, house exteriors and other basic decoration. Then - :idea1: - I'd make the windows in the interior transparant! They wouldn't be clear as glass since the player could then easily tell that he wasn't really looking outside, but they'd be clear enough that he could see the perspective change in 3d and recognize house shapes, but tinted enough that he wouldn't think so much about the fact that there aren't people outside or mountains in the distance. I don't know if the idea would work in practice, but it could be a pretty cool effect if it did. As long as it works technically then whether the idea flies or not would depend on how much work it would be to create the fake ground. But the fact that the windows would be tinted would help, because I wouldn't have to be exact - just exact enough that no-one would notice. Unless they like stared out the window for half an hour and ran outside and back again over and over and took notes, but heh, what player would. Well, I'll know when I start working on it if it will work or not.
Ok so those were my thoughts on the new Reich Parkeep. I'm looking forward to your comments, if you have them
But it's a different ballgame now, not only is the exporter nigh-on perfect but I feel I have the skill to make a medieval house that looks close to Bethesda quality. I would be rather daft to think I have the skill of someone who models for a living, but still, I think I can make the houses look nice enough. In any case the Cheydinhal style is just... wrong for the city. Perfect for the serene paradise in Oblivion that uses the style, but not for the domestic branch of an Imperial fortification like Reich Parkeep.
If you've modded a claim in Reich Parkeep I want to assure you your work won't be lost. I'll make every effort to keep your modded work, only adapt it to the new architecture models and maybe update some stock models to Imperial stuff we've created along the way.
So I've been mulling the matter for awhile to try and draw up some inspiration. The city's name is pretty original for being an official Elder Scrolls city, sounding distinctly German. Maybe we could play into that theme? Making the houses look like they did in medieval Germany. Another idea I thought of was that maybe it would be logical to make the houses tall and instead have a smaller base area, since space is hard to come by in the districts. They can't very well make the hills larger or move the fortifications, so what they have is what they get. I don't mean to make them so stretched that they wind up looking like towers, because that would look pretty bad and be hard for the player to navigate. But maybe the standard house size would have three floors, not counting a possible basement.
The next idea is a bit more... out there. Maybe I could make artificial ground for a whole district in 3D Studio Max and then in each interior cell build up a rudimentary exterior with ground, house exteriors and other basic decoration. Then - :idea1: - I'd make the windows in the interior transparant! They wouldn't be clear as glass since the player could then easily tell that he wasn't really looking outside, but they'd be clear enough that he could see the perspective change in 3d and recognize house shapes, but tinted enough that he wouldn't think so much about the fact that there aren't people outside or mountains in the distance. I don't know if the idea would work in practice, but it could be a pretty cool effect if it did. As long as it works technically then whether the idea flies or not would depend on how much work it would be to create the fake ground. But the fact that the windows would be tinted would help, because I wouldn't have to be exact - just exact enough that no-one would notice. Unless they like stared out the window for half an hour and ran outside and back again over and over and took notes, but heh, what player would. Well, I'll know when I start working on it if it will work or not.
Ok so those were my thoughts on the new Reich Parkeep. I'm looking forward to your comments, if you have them