A manor or two would be a very good idea. We were at one point planning to add several Imperial (or foreign)-owned plantations somewhere in the beta, which give lots of scope for storytelling and lore. Certainly, beyond the beta area, there will probably be a massive plantation at Longmont.
As for the theme: I don't think it's entirely accurate to call it a straightforward horror theme. Certainly there will be some horror elements, particularly the haunted ruins of Glenbridge and the Gideon sewers, and the supernatural elements of the mainquest. But more generally (as I understand it) the mod is more of a tragedy focused on the inevitable failure of the Imperial project in Black Marsh. You have this hubristic dream on the part of the Empire to turn BM into just another part of Cyrodiil, which is doomed to failure due to the impossible nature of the land and its inhabitants. For their part, the Argonians just want to keep other people out of their affairs, but we should be careful not to sentimentalise them. Sure, they're the victims of imperialism, but that doesn't make them nice. So we have a shades-of-grey moral situation that's inevitably sliding into the war and secession that comes a decade later. The hero may try to preserve the status quo, but in reality they can only temporarily hold off the unavoidable.
I'll try to answer a few things here whilst I'm still under the influence and (just a little) jet-lagged but let me know about any other pressing matters.
RE: the storyline. Yes, I sent a rough draft to Deeza a while back but it needed tweaking. It's all in hand but the main idea was to characterise the land as opposed to tell any particular story. Therefore, creative development in terms of narrative is very, very much non-linear. The PC for Oblivion had very little identity as the game encouraged a sense of developing this person for the individual gamer. For the likes of Deeza and myself who are firm followers of the Bethesda this all makes sense as there is more a sense of 'world-building' as opposed to the more literature-inspired ideas that were, at least at one time, being developed under the guise of the graphic adventure. As jb3 and I know, the Thief series was possibly one of the most intimate experiences of the a modern 3D game with an individual character and their own storyline in recent history. With the introduction of recurring themes and characters e.g. Anaster Marrowmir, I had hoped to bring a little of this flavour into the very open-ended structure of Oblivion questing. Success is therefore dependent on keeping up with the state of play and building up a head of steam.
This way of doing things fits in with the way Oblivion mods are developed. If you want object A to complete sub-mission 3 and end up with a reward called object B then how are you going to do that if you need modellers to create objects A and B before you've even started? You basically just need to know what's available and use what's there. Sometimes you have to ditch stuff altogether and adapt. That's where the storytelling becomes exciting and challenging. You may not do what you wanted to do but there is a strong likelihood that you learned something even more important in the process....
Suffice to say that I need to get the basic synopsis of the MQ storyline finished and available on the forums for those who need it.
RE: developing other areas. A mansion would be fine but, again, it's a case of using what's there. I would tend to think that this idea would be perfect for Rock Grove which is classed as a Darkmoor settlement but this is (I think) Northern, rather than Southern, Darkmoor. However, interiors for Rock Grove could be claimed that affected areas of Southern Darkmoor. Of course, I have no objection to having a (small) mansion within this region but the emphasis is on creating the wilderness and the caves exteriors. Take a look at the cobwebs and the tarantula creatures and I'm sure that a spider cave will suddenly become a little more appealing!
RE: Chasepoint and Rock Grove. They both need developing in terms of interiors. Other than Gideon, these are the settlements we most need to develop right now.
I'm getting on to Gideon this week. What needs doing with those other two? I thought they were already done? Blast these Arena names all sounding so similar...
Interiors, basically. They're all mini-claims though. I'll get stuff posted. :yes:
Good idea. If it's just mini-claims to do, it really shouldn't take long.
No point waiting for JB. I'm taking this one too.
Awesome! You're inspiring me to get cracking on those unfinished interior claims...
Quote:Originally posted by Ibsen's Ghost
RE: the storyline. Yes, I sent a rough draft to Deeza a while back but it needed tweaking.
Could I have a look at it?
I've needed to extend the work on this landscape as I'd noticed that the part of the mangrove region that lies just below has not been totally completed. Mangrove trees are added but the trees and flora have not been corrected. I'm hoping to get everything that lies directly to the south of this claim totally completed so I'm working from the top up. This should also make future work on polishing off the Parchlands a little easier.
@ Xae - I'll have to dig it out and polish it up a bit. Give me a nudge a little later when I have some more free time and I may be able to take you through it.
So will this mean the Mangroves are done when you've done this?