This is just a placeholder for future reference for the moment. I am still hoping to paste in here a sample template of an ST claim that we can use as a model for posting up future claims that people can pick and choose over and just get on with at their leisure. I'm still trying to persuade sandor to let me have one of my old write-ups but he's worried about the basic form being confused with ST.
Nevertheless, I will need some information from people before I do this. Obviously, I don't need them super-quick or anything, especially as I probably don't have the authority nor the experience of BM to handle the whole thing completely. Written below is that information. It might be best to PM with this but I'll leave it up to the core to decide. Anyway, here it is:
* How to find and use the overall esm and, if necessary (as happens with ST), a bsa featuring the extra resources.
* A brief overview of what needs to be done on each scale, beginning with region claims, then landscape claims, then city claims, then dungeon claims and then interior claims. It seems that modellers, on the other hand, are a law unto themselves 
and tend to do things differently.
For each of these, a default template would need to be created with some parts of that template marked out for alteration according to the specifics of the claim and featuring, as a default, the following:
If it's a region or landscape claim, I think that:
* Textures, landscape items including flora and trees and an overview of the area is needed together with what cannot be used.
For other claims:
* What tilesets are available for the thing in question.
* What models, clutter and other features can be used or are advised to be used.
* Where these items can be found in the CS itself.
* Whether there are any example sets or completed claims that would serve as a good reference point for new modders to see how it's done.
Once we get the claim system remodelled then we can look at defining the area we'll focus on for the beta release (that's already present elsewhere) and then looking to recruitment and promotion by contacting old members and head-hunting whilst publicising the new website and announcing ourselves at Bethesda and TesNexus and the like.
Sorry to do this as a mere non-core guy but I felt that the shake-up would be welcome!
To get things moving, here are my ideas for claims, to be ratified and expanded on by the Core:
SOULREST
Claim type: City
This is actually several claims' worth. As far as I know this city has not been made, so we need to make a dev. thread on it to decide on what we're going to put here.
Naga Camp
Claim Type: Camp
Tilesets/resources: Koniption's Naga tents (not turtle hut). Imperial and Dunmer clutter (loot taken by the Naga).
Inhabitants: Variable number of respawning, hostile Naga.
Description: The base of a group of Naga bandits. Their tents and the area around the camp are full of the loot taken from Imperial and Dunmer caravans, most of it scattered around carelessly.
Mosquito Bay
Claim type: Landscape
Tilesets/resources: Senten's mud huts, imperial clutter and illegal cargo
Inhabitants: Khajiit and Imperial smugglers
Description: A small of stagnant water, this is a place nobody wants to go, making it an ideal place for smugglers to operate. They have a few small ships and boats which have been dragged inland and hidden among the trees and undergrowth, as well as some camouflaged huts. They can either be hostile or trade in illegal and stolen goods with the player.
Barsaebil
Claim type: Ruin
Tilesets/resources: Mossy Ruin tileset. Ask Senten for it.
Inhabitants: 15+ non-hostile Argonians
Description: A large Marsh Elf ruin which has almost completely sunk into the marsh. All that remains on the surface are a series of walls and towers. It is the home and last refuge of the Hixinoag tribe, who were driven from their village by the Blackwood Company, who dug up their Hist tree and transported it to Cyrodiil. They are one of the joinable Argonian tribes. There is very little underground in the ruin - just a few small chambers which the tribe use as houses. (I have only invented the location - all the rest of this all comes from one of the old dev-threads, though I've mislaid the link for now).
Glok-Chuba Paatru Stump Village
Claim type: Dungeon
Tilesets/resources: None. Need to be created by whoever accepts the claim.
Inhabitants: Paatru. Need to be made, either as creatures or NPCs.
Description: Needs discussion about implementation.
Stormhold Undercity
Claim type: Dungeon
Tilesets/resources: Mossy Ruin tileset. Ask Senten for it.
Inhabitants: Argonian beggars, Thieves' Guild
Description: "Stormhold never had any sewers. There's no point, with all those ruins underneath the city that do the job just as well." - Inhabitant of the city. The remains of the Marsh Elf city on which Stormhold was built - a sprawling network of tunnels, ancient halls and caves. Almost completely flooded, it has a few dry areas, which serve as the city's slums. It can only be entered by diving into the pools outside the city walls, or down into the city drains. Most of the inhabitants are the poorest Argonians, who can live easily in the flooded tunnels, but the Thieves' Guild also hangs out here, using water-breathing potions to enter, leave and move around the city unobserved. The alchemist who makes the potions is the point of entry to the guild for players.
Gideon Sewers
Claim type: Dungeon
Tilesets/resources: Imperial City sewers tileset with Black Marsh flora and Mossy Ruin tileset.
Inhabitants: Ghosts, evil spirits, anything scary that you can invent.
Description: Under development. See the Gideon dev thread.
Hixinoag
Claim type: Village
Tilesets/resources: Llamaranger's Argonian Huts, Imperial tents, crates, sacks and clutter.
Inhabitants: Blackwood Company mercenaries
Description: A village captured by the Blackwood Co. during their attempt to return the wilderness areas of the province to Imperial rule. It was here that the found the Hist tree that the player encounters in the Fighter's Guild quest. The village is now occupied, and closed off to avoid any suspicion about what they are doing to the Hist. In the centre of the village is a crater filled with roots, marking where the tree stood. Very unfriendly guards will make anyone who approaches leave.
Phomolo
Claim type: Village
Tilesets/resources: Llamaranger's Argonian Huts
Inhabitants: A suitable number of Argonians
Description: A fairly typical small tribe lives here. They escaped the attacks of the Blackwood Co. by closely aligning themselves to Stormhold, whose governor's protection they enjoy. This is a plantation village, which grows crops in the swampy soil to feed Stormhold. The inhabitants resent the Imperial presence, but know that they have no choice if they wish to continue to be protected.
Edit: There is an Imperial-style chapel here, where a couple of missionaries live, trying to convert the Argonians to the Nine Divines. The villages' Hist tree has become withered as a result.
Tenmar Wall
Claim type: Village
Tilesets/resources: Mud huts OR Dunmer shacks, senten's retexed Black Marsh mossy rocks
Inhabitants: Freed Argonian ex-slaves
Description: Tenmar Wall is named after the enormous rock wall, made from huge lumps of rock and meshes together with living trees, that encloses is in three sides. As the site of the Battle of Argonia, when the Argonians lost the war with the First Empire and first became a province, it is a symbol of resistance and defiance. After slavery was banned in Morrowind, slaves escaping back to BM settled here, because of this history. They were born in Morrowind, so they live in a Dunmer/Imperial style and do not share the customs and traditions of the older tribes. Revolutionary radicals, the ex-slaves shelter freedom fighters who resist the imperial occupation.
Sloughpoint
Claim type: Village
Tilesets/resources: Mud huts, some Imperial assets
Inhabitants: A mixture of pretty much everthing
Description: A fairly typical border village. The population is mostly composed of people entering or leaving Black Marsh, and there is a very large inn to accommodate them. Here the player can hear lots of information and tips about surviving the marsh, much like the Tradehouse in Seyda Neen in Morrowind. There is also a shop in the village, and a border checkpoint with a few Imperial Legion guards, who take records of people passing through the village.
The Vaults of Gemin
Claim type: Dungeon
Tilesets/resources: Mossy ruin tileset
Inhabitants: the Ghosts of the Marsh Elves
Description: An epic dungeon. Much of it is collapsed or flooded. Needs story development - here the player will learn the truth about the history and disappearance of the Marsh Elves.
So I gues we get to pick one form that list?
I'm afraid I don't understand. Pick only one???
This is MUCH easier to do than our previous claim system.
I've already commented on
Soulrest.
I'll build the
Gideon sewers, and allow someone else to populate them.
And I'd like to claim
Tenmar Wall.
Vaults of Gemin is going to be in the next installation. I want it to be part of the main quest in Part 2.
As for Blackwood Co., we'll have to implement the destruction of Cyrodiil's IF the player has completed that quest. Making the BWC members either attack you, or resent you strongly.
Paatru Stump City, can be made from SI Elytra caverns, or Amber trunks. I can take the amber, retexture it, and turn it into a door seperate from the stump model. Then it acts as a water tunnel. We could also use this method for the transportation system talked about in (Forgot the name of the book).
We should use the Dunmer Dres Smuggler's ship in Mosquito bay, along with Dunmer pirates. Also it'll need Nord, Redguard, and possibly a few Orc smugglers as well, weeing as how all of them are known for piracy.
I'd also like to claim this, or at least populate it once it's built. I've got some MAJOR ideas for this place.
All of this sounds wonderful, Tlo! I'm hoping I can introduce Anaster Marrowmir somewhere around Mosquito Bay where he may have arrived from his various acts of piracy. His basic goal is to revive the ancient traditions of Stros M'Kai, though. He sees the influence of Cyrus the Great as being largely negative because this is when the Redguards of his homeland began to rely overmuch on the Empire and forget about the magical traditions that once bound them together. To that extent, he will seek a link between his own magics and the voodoo of Argonia. So this could be a fitting starting point, if that's okay with you...
In the meantime, back to the claims. I still haven't heard from sandor so I'm sure it's okay to mention that most claims are displayed as separate threads within sub-forums. Therefore, there is a file structure that goes something like 'Claims-Type of Claim (
e.g. Dungeon)-Region (
e.g. Murkwood)-name of claim (usually a ref ID along with the name of the claim itself
e.g. "Murk0105VeryScary Place")
Then the basic information is displayed, preferably along with a pic and goes something like this:
Tileset: Mossy Ruin
Exterior cell coordinates: (00,11)
Cell Name: Murkwood0101lvl1, Murkwood0101lvl2 (needed for quick referencing interiors and dungeons)
Claim Difficulty: Medium
Creatures: Marsh Elves - about 7 or more.
Amount of Loot: Medium.
General Info: (might feature links to things like maps or a sample mossy ruin).
You'll then need guidance on where to find stuff, advice on what to include and so on:
* General Description
* Modding Advice
* Tileset to use
* Recommended objects, clutter and flora
* Other items (perhaps pertaining to quests)
* Lighting (if necessary - or maybe AI if the place is marked out as the home of an important NPC)
* Enemies
* Other advice / guidance (often passed on from the previous 'modding layer'
i.e. someone who completes region claims may want to pass on more specific advice to a landscape modder, and a landscape modder may want to pass on dungeon info and so on)
Bear in mind that the specifications of taking the claim should be made clear and a fair balance of tasks should be kept in mind. For example, you can't expect new modders to do everything that you don't want to do nor can you expect them to do all of the 'grunt work'. Although we want a mod that is carefully constructed and controlled, it's always best to leave a degree of open-ness to a claim so that modders can 'do their thing', show their skills and gain a sense of ownership and pride over their work. But the 'grunt work' has to be at least part of the deal or it's unfair on the person from the previous 'modding layer'.
Quote:Originally posted by Ibsen's Ghost
All of this sounds wonderful, Tlo! I'm hoping I can introduce Anaster Marrowmir somewhere around Mosquito Bay where he may have arrived from his various acts of piracy. His basic goal is to revive the ancient traditions of Stros M'Kai, though. He sees the influence of Cyrus the Great as being largely negative because this is when the Redguards of his homeland began to rely overmuch on the Empire and forget about the magical traditions that once bound them together. To that extent, he will seek a link between his own magics and the voodoo of Argonia. So this could be a fitting starting point, if that's okay with you...
In the meantime, back to the claims. I still haven't heard from sandor so I'm sure it's okay to mention that most claims are displayed as separate threads within sub-forums. Therefore, there is a file structure that goes something like 'Claims-Type of Claim (e.g. Dungeon)-Region (e.g. Murkwood)-name of claim (usually a ref ID along with the name of the claim itself e.g. "Murk0105VeryScary Place")
Then the basic information is displayed, preferably along with a pic and goes something like this:
Tileset: Mossy Ruin
Exterior cell coordinates: (00,11)
Cell Name: Murkwood0101lvl1, Murkwood0101lvl2 (needed for quick referencing interiors and dungeons)
Claim Difficulty: Medium
Creatures: Marsh Elves - about 7 or more.
Amount of Loot: Medium.
General Info: (might feature links to things like maps or a sample mossy ruin).
You'll then need guidance on where to find stuff, advice on what to include and so on:
* General Description
* Modding Advice
* Tileset to use
* Recommended objects, clutter and flora
* Other items (perhaps pertaining to quests)
* Lighting (if necessary - or maybe AI if the place is marked out as the home of an important NPC)
* Enemies
* Other advice / guidance (often passed on from the previous 'modding layer' i.e. someone who completes region claims may want to pass on more specific advice to a landscape modder, and a landscape modder may want to pass on dungeon info and so on)
Bear in mind that the specifications of taking the claim should be made clear and a fair balance of tasks should be kept in mind. For example, you can't expect new modders to do everything that you don't want to do nor can you expect them to do all of the 'grunt work'. Although we want a mod that is carefully constructed and controlled, it's always best to leave a degree of open-ness to a claim so that modders can 'do their thing', show their skills and gain a sense of ownership and pride over their work. But the 'grunt work' has to be at least part of the deal or it's unfair on the person from the previous 'modding layer'.
Definately Ibsen! :goodjob:
I can't wait to get Anaster into the game, it's going to be fantastic! We could make his quests continue with each chapter of BM, if you want to.
This is going to be a HUGE part of Black Marsh.
Quote:Originally posted by Tlo1048
Vaults of Gemin is going to be in the next installation. I want it to be part of the main quest in Part 2.
So do we just place the entrance on the surface for now? The Vaults are quite close to Stormhold, to the south of the city limits. We could have it locked, and only to be opened by a special key the player gets in part 2.