Silgrad Tower from the Ashes

The images below shows my current concept of Reich Parkeep's Imperial District as I think could be a good idea to mod it in Silgrad Tower: Oblivion. Feedback and opinion on the plans welcome.
[blockquote]It is an iconographic map and only intended to convey information.
It is not intended to look awesome.
The textures have no bearing on the final appearance. They are only intended to be used on the concept map.[/blockquote]

The concept map can be downloaded, if you have 3d studio max v8.

The first screenshot shows an angled shot of both hills.
The second shows a top-down overview of the south hill, and third a similar view of the north.
The fourth... well... hrug:

Razorwing have attached these images (downsized versions):


[title]1. Not complete![/title]
This concept does not show the whole district. I haven't added the Imperial buildings outside the wall to the concept yet, but I plan to. Also, the much larger Redoran part of town (seen here in the original layout from the TES3 mod) hasn't been added yet.

[title]2. General.[/title]
2a. The "Legion Keep" is now two keeps, tying in with the par-keep (pair of keeps) analogy in the town's name. There's one on either end of the connecting bridge.

2b. The layout of the wall system will probably not end up looking too closely to the way it is laid out on the concept map.

2c. There are four guardtowers along the wall on the south hill and five on the north hill. However they aren't populated or something like that, they would function more as entrances to the fortifications and as emergency supply rooms (arrows, swords etc) in case of a prolonged attack.

2d. The gates to both hills close during nighttime, which is why there are so many shops in the south hill - it would be quite hard to get in there to thieve.

2e. Everyone needs a home this time around; for instance shopkeepers can't stand around their shops 24/7 anymore. So you need to take into account that any character like that you mod has to have a home somewhere in the city as well.

2f. I'm pretty strict when it comes to names. If it's very important to you to have a character be named a certain way then it can be ok, but it has to be an exception to the rules of racial naming conventions. Most importantly only Redguards ever use English-sounding names.
This is the main reason why I haven't referenced that many characters in the buildings brought over from the old mod. I don't mean to imply that I think those characters should be eradicated, just that they should be renamed before being brought back.
The other reason is that the old game invited modders to add a lot of NPCs because they could be stuck in the same place 24/7, but this time they need homes, so I erred on the side of caution, otherwise we might have to make a hundred homes in the town. Which I wouldn't mind but it would be fun to leave room for wholly new characters.

2g. Thanks to Rodan for supplying the Arena names!
I'm using a lot of them. Three are used customized;
Gold Griffin = The Golden Gryffin
Rare Merchandise = Llethri's Rare Merchandise
Vanikien R?is?s Provisions = Enchantment Shoppe the shopkeeper who owned this store in the old mod was named Vanikien



[title]3. South Hill.[/title]
From top to bottom and left to right.
Row1, a) Legion Keep South, the somewhat lesser important of the two keeps from a strategic point of view. It might have been used as an office for Imperial Guards before the Imperial forces withdrew. Any suggestions on what its currenty used for?

Row2, a) Pig pen, holding pigs, chickens or other Imperial animals. It's an outdoor installation.

Row2, b) A Stables installation, like the ones in the game. Not sure how they look, but it'd be very similar I imagine.

Row2, c) The Golden Gryffin. (SCR)
This three-story tavern was named after a striking statue that decorates the place. It wasn't populated in the old mod. It'll be a straight-forward bar this time, which doesn't offer beds for rent; you can rest your bones at the Screaming Helm instead.

Row2, d) Screaming Helm Inn
The name of this inn (hotel) is taken from Arena. It would be up to the claiming modder to set it up as he likes, going from the general idea that it's a "hotel" where the player and others can spend the night.

Row3, a) Guild of Traders (SCR)
The local branch of this guild. I'd appreciate ideas on what it would be like since I wouldn't know what to tell a modder who'd like to claim it.
Lasour Veru [ DM / LVL 11 / Battlemage / Traders Guild Handy Person ]
Talsi Catanius [ IF / LVL 10 / Publician / Traders Guild Storekeeper ]
Hagan Salor [ DM / LVL 16 / Trader Service / Traders Guild Storekeeper ]

Row4, a) Guild of Mages
This is a new building compared to the old mod. The local branch of the guild.

Row4, b) Enchantment Shoppe (SCR)
A magic shop owned by Vanikien Oram, who isn't known for his tidyness (see here). Oram is a member of the Guild of Traders, which helps to explain why a Dunmer would set up shop in the Imperial district. The shop is conveniently located next door to the Guild of Mages.
Vanikien Oram [ DM / LVL 35 / Enchanter / Traders Guild Storekeeper ]

Row4, c) Unearthed Equipment Store
The name of this store is taken from Arena. Could be a general store, pawn shop, or something like that.

Row4, d) Cyra Catella's Books (SCR)
A bookstore, operated by an Imperial lady.
Cyra Catella [ IF / LVL 3 / Bookseller / Traders Guild Storekeeper ]

Row4, e) Home.
A place for someone to live. Probably best to make it one of the storeowners.

Row5, a) The Village Accouterments
The name of this store is taken from Arena. The meaning of the word is "the devices and equipments worn by soldiers.". So, here you would be able to buy Imperial armors and weapons.

Row5, b) The Elite Gear Store
The name of this store is taken from Arena. Top-o-de-line weapons, armors, scrolls and other gadgets for the discerning shopper.

Row5, c) Garreth Manor
A familiar location from the old mod, home to a noble Imperial male.

Row5, d) Guild of Fighters (SCR)
The guild is run by an imposing Nord warrior. Several other NPCs od varying races work in the guild as well.
Svein Bloodaxe [ NM / LVL 35 / Warrior / Fighters Guild Guardian]



[title]4. North Hill.[/title]

? Remember, the Imperial forces have withdrawn from Reich Parkeep in Oblivion's timeline.

? Therefore the only building on the north hill which would have remained intact as far as operations and characters go would be the Nine Divines church.

? The Dunmer have probably made good use of the prison and taken over its operation.

? The Governor's Mansion is what used to be domestic part of the Main Keep. It could certainly be modded as a lavish Imperial mansion, and it could still be privately owned by Baron Remo and his wife Ylwonne despite them having lost their status as governors. If you were to own a mansion like that you wouldn't just leave it unless the Dunmer wanted to kill you, which I'm sure they wouldn't. But it could just as well be home to wholly new people who are given a similar setup, i.e., the owner used to be the governor when the Imperials were in charge.

? But as for the rest of the buildings, their use is up to suggestions. They would have been stripped bare as the Imperial forces withdrew, as they took their supplies with them.

[title]5. In closing[/title]

I'm looking forward to any and all comments.

hmm... so this is Reich Parkeep itself?
not the Redoran village that it was built in?
okay, as long as we understand... this looks great!
however, I always had the idea that the Redoran town was built between two hills and the Reich Parkeep built on the two hills and connected via bridge... hrug:

Quote:Originally posted by KuKulzA
hmm... so this is Reich Parkeep itself?
not the Redoran village that it was built in?
okay, as long as we understand... this looks great!
however, I always had the idea that the Redoran town was built between two hills and the Reich Parkeep built on the two hills and connected via bridge... hrug:

Thanks, and sorry for the confusion

The concept above just shows the Imperial part of town at the moment. The Redoran settlement will flow around it, similar to the layout in the old mod but most likely a bit bigger:
Original Layout

Edit 060226, 05:54 CET: I edited the initial post for clarity. In hindsight I definitely see how it would be confusing.

Hey Razor Nice work and i must say nice thread on the Elderscrolls forms boredandtired says hi

Quote:Originally posted by Ebonyknight
Hey Razor Nice work and I must say nice thread on the Elderscrolls forms boredandtired says hi

Thanks! Yup I figured it was you *waves*

Nice to see my old design back... :yes: Some basic comments and curious questions.

The stables in OB are all outside town, because horses can't go through loaddoors. Can be changed with a script probabaly (will look into it when the game is out...would love to see riders in big towns).

I wouldn't design the town much bigger then in the old mod. Parkeep is suppossed to be a small town. Cram the houses into a small space to give it a mediaeval feeling.

How do we know the Empire gave up everything in MW? Don't we have to wait for the new pocket guide to see what is written..? And what happened to the Baron and his household then? He had his own Nord mercenary force in the old mod.

Quote:Originally posted by Zarkis
Nice to see my old design back... :yes: Some basic comments and curious questions.

The stables in OB are all outside town, because horses can't go through loaddoors. Can be changed with a script probabaly (will look into it when the game is out...would love to see riders in big towns).

I wouldn't design the town much bigger then in the old mod. Parkeep is suppossed to be a small town. Cram the houses into a small space to give it a mediaeval feeling.

How do we know the Empire gave up everything in MW? Don't we have to wait for the new pocket guide to see what is written..? And what happened to the Baron and his household then? He had his own Nord mercenary force in the old mod.

It's possible that limitation of horses has changed since you read it, as the new GamingSteve radio interview says "They vary on speed and hitpoints (since horses can and do get attacked by wolves when you're in a dungeon, for example)" Then again that wouldn't necessarily mean horses can enter towns, just dungeons... hmm... but wasn't there a horse rider in town in the 'burning city' part of the Oblivion E3 video? But sure, we could move the stables outside the city, either way would work. Or maybe have two of them, one outside the Redoran village and one in the Imperial district.

Rodan mentioned the other day (link) that he was planning to play Arena again and note which settlements where designated as being village, town or city. Presumably the designation is a sign of the settlement's size. We could then use the Arena designation to gauge how large Reich Parkeep should be? But apart from that I personally think it should be pretty big since there really isn't any other major Redoran town in the area.

The idea that the Empire is withdrawing its forces from Morrowind is something which I think both Blacklight and Vvardenfell is using to some extent as well, and it ties in well with the developments in Cyrodiil in my opinion. Those forces are desperately needed to protect settlements and citizens at home. If it should turn out that that isn't substantiated by lore then I imagine we would have to think of a different approach.

If you want to mod back Baron Remo and Ylwonne then I'm certainly open to your ideas regarding the developments in their lives. :yes: Do you have something in mind already now that you'd like to do with them?

I would think that the empire would not give up MW so easily. As far as i know OB plays only some years after MW, so the Empire should be still in control of all Tamriel. They may pull back legions from MW to fight the oblivion threat, but that would be after the game started, not in the years before. What will happen after the invasion is defeated? Will the lost son become Emperor? Will he give up Morrowind or any other province? Too many not yet answered questions. Heck, we don't even know if the inflood of demons from Oblivions is restricted to Cyrodiil or affects all Tamriel (what has then to be portrayed in the ST mod too).

Horses: They can't go into dungeons and towns. They are outdoor only. That was stated several times, and I doubt they changed it.

Town size: Just don't get overboard...

In the old mod I was thinking about a story about Remo and his wife, but never got to do it (Deus was always pressing me to rework all the exterior cells...lol). His wife would fell victim to an old vampire (kind of a Dracula story...the vampire would come in secrecy at night or even only through her dreams) and the Baron would ask the player to save her. As the hideout of the vampire I would have used the ancient gate (which makes a good hideout for anything evil...). The background story was, that several hundred years ago the whole baron family was subdued by vampires. The Castle was burned down by holy empirial orders, when this was discovered (that's why there is a hero tomb of the Knights of Dibella near RP). That old vampire is in fact the old Baron, who survived the massacre and now seeks revenge...or whatever.

They wouldn't want to give it up, no, but even back in TES3 there were many hints that the Empire is crumbling, and that might very well happen even if the Emperor's son is saved in Oblivion's main story. The world is saved from the Daedric threat and a new Septim inherits the throne, but the Empire's grasp recedes... could happen.

But to be on the safe side, maybe we should suspend planning in either direction until we have the game and know for sure what happens. If it turns out to contradict the idea of the Empire's forces withdrawing from Morrowind, don't worry, I'll budge.

I have a couple ideas of changes I'd like to make in the concept and will upload a new one soon.

Not a bad story at all. The Ancient Gate won't be abandoned next time around though, it'll be a waystation on the trade route to Skyrim, but hopefully still looking kinda like it did in the old mod. Just thought I'd mention that.

I'm not in charge of this thread by any means, but to elaborate on what Razorwing said about the Legions:

1) One of the main parts of the Nereverine prophesy was that he would drive the outlanders from Morrowind. This was never declared to be the right interpretation of the prophesy, but I believe that the possibility was left open. As a sequel to TESIII set in the same area, I think that this would need to be addressed. Either the Nereverine supported an Imperial withdrawal in the years following his rise to power or he turned against those who believed that he would.

2) In TESIII one of the perpetual rumors was that trouble in Cyrodill was forcing a scaling back of troops in Morrowind. That was before the Daedric invasions, so there are obviously destabilizing problems besides the Oblivion gates which require more troops in the capital. This is also evidenced by the assassination of the Emperor at the beginning of TESIV.