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Deeza
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Deeza's Plan for the Abacean Isles release Reply to this Post Post Reply with Quote Edit/Delete Posts Report Post to a Moderator       Go to the top of this page

With the old Valenwood project now dead, it's good to see people supporting my plan to salvage something from it by releasing the Abacean Isles. I'm hereby forming a new team to make the finishing touches to these islands and see through the release of this mod.

I have asked both drmccoy and Danny to help with the implementation of the islands' quests, and I'm glad to see that both of you wanted to help out. With both of you on the case this should get done even quicker.

The following jobs remain to be done:

1. Adding leveled creature spawning lists to the islands. I don't know if this has already been done, but even if it has, it should be checked to see if it works OK.

2. Creating NPCs for the main quest - I will put up descriptions soon.

3. Creating a new item for the main quest - the Wrecking-Stone, an artefact that's key to the plot, needs a suitable model. This could be a retexture of an existing asset. Also, one of the coral meshes needs to be converted into an item that can be picked up (to make a quest item called "Heart Coral")

4. Creating quest locations. These are:

The Wreck Site: the beach on the smallest island, on the side furthest from the other 2 islands. This is where the Imperial ship carrying the player is wrecked, so the beach is covered with broken wood, barrels, crates and corpses.
The Clearing of Bones: just outside the main Bosmer village, this is where they dump all their rubbish. The clearing floor is bloodstained and it's full of human bones - also used pots, etc.
Volus' Cave: a small cave that's got beds and weapon supplies, the headquarters for the "pirate" faction in the main quest. I think the islands have their own cave tileset which could be used?
The Heart Coral Reef - a large reef made from piled rocks covered with coral meshes deep under water off the island coast. Heart Coral can be harvested here.
The Wrecking Caves - sealed until the conclusion of the main quest. A large cave system, the centre of which is filled with Ayleid-style ruins built by the ancient Aldmer - this is where the Wrecking-Stone is found

5. Scripting and dialogue for the main quest, according to the story (revised edition will soon be posted)

6. Adding in extra quests, as many as we can without making the islands too crowded.

This isn't a very big list as you can see. So, what would people like to do?

THE MASTER FILE, MESHES AND TEXTURES CAN BE FOUND HERE:
http://files.filefront.com/Valenwood+Isl...;/fileinfo.html

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Deeza: 28.01.2009 21:36.

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drmccoy
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I'll claim 2 and 5. I can help out with the leveled creatures , 4. and 6. aswell. What I'll not be able to do is 3. Never have been into those kindof things.

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Deeza
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OK, could you do number 1 (the creatures) first, then start working on the dungeons. Those are the two most important for now.

Please save all your changes into a separate .esp file dependent on the .esm so that I can merge them together with other modders' contributions later.

I think the islands have a new "Spider Cave" tileset to make the dungeons from. Don't make entrances to the dungeons yet, we'll need to decide later where to put them depending on how many in total there will be.

Also, would it be OK to post up screenshots of your progress?
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drmccoy
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Of course it'd be ok. I'm downloading the masterfile and take a look at the LeveledMonsters. If they haven't been created yet, I'll do it and place em. I'll post my progress as soon as I have some to show. I'll probably need a little time to get into the esm.

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Deeza
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Great! That's what I like to see! :)

I just remembered, another thing that needs to be added:

The Ship - this is how the player gets to the islands. You'll need to make two versions:

1. A ship made from the standard Imperial ship tileset at the Anvil docks. It doesn't need an interior, but the exterior has to look like it's stocked up for a long sea voyage.

2. Create a new worldspace and set its weather to constant thunderstorm. Use the Imperial shipwreck mesh, have the ship tilting on its side, crates and broken wood everywhere. Also make an interior, half-flooded with water, everything messed up and broken, one or two corpses floating. This is where the player "wakes up" during the storm in the main quest.

The ship's name is "the Dragoneye"

Remember to save all the stuff you make in a separate .esp file. Good job!
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drmccoy
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Filefront is being a real bitch atm. It's not letting me open the site at all, not at any of my machines, neither at my laptop.Is it, maybe, uploaded somewhere else aswell?

-I'll pickup on the ship while i'm waiting for filefront to stop being a meanie. It doesn't have to be dependent on the VW.esm, does it?

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 28.01.2009 22:12.

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Deeza
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No, it uses only vanilla assets, so it should be OK.

I will try re-hosting the file a megaupload
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drmccoy
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Alright. Erm. Should there be any NPCs on the ship? If yes, any dialogue added to them? Or any scripts? Shouldn't there be an interior if there is in the "at sea"-scenario?

28.01.2009 22:36 drmccoy is offline Send an Email to drmccoy Search for Posts by drmccoy Add drmccoy to your Buddy List
Deeza
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AW5MB24D

Just uploaded it to megaupload.

Yes, yes, and yes to all your questions. I am in the middle of writing out the details you'll need right now. :)
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drmccoy
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Great. I'm already done with the ship at anvil. It's full of crates and barrels, all ready to take off I guess, just waiting for a special passenger to arrive :)

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simonp92
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A NOTE:
please dont place the ship in anvil habour.. it will conflict with SOO many mods,,

ever played daggerfall memories- Cybiades??
the author solved the conflicts with other ships, by placing his ship on coast north of anvil..

A thing I would say if my blender computer worked:
"I claim number 3"
sadly I cant make it...
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drmccoy
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Foxtrott Uniform ...... I placed it in the habour. Alright, the ship will be cut out and copied once deeza gives me the destination where to put it. Until then, I'll lay my hands on the storm scenario. Enjoy the work as far as its done I guess.

Photobucket
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simonp92
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looks good..
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drmccoy
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Erm, yeah. About the sea scenario. I have a problem here, which would be like .. what if the player simply jumps off the boat? Should I use blockers? Or death trigger zones? Or should I simply leave the player in an empty worldspace?

second, the shipwreck mesh has a hole in it, showing its ugly inside. I could paste it with a black door, not letting the door lead anyway. Still, if the player should anyhow discover the hole in the side, the illusion of the interior (where there's no hole in the side) is gone =/

EDIT: problem 2 would be solved aswell by using blockers. Just asking. Did you have anythign in mind for that?

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 28.01.2009 23:22.

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simonp92
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cant you just lay the ship on that side where the hole is?

you know, horizontal..
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drmccoy
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He told me to tild the shop, not to completely turn it over. Problem would still exist though. It's already tilted the way you want. The hole cannot be seen while you're ON the ship. As soon as you jump off, you'll be easily able to spot it. Just like when you completely turn it the way you proposed. All the player's got to do is dive underneath the boat. No, I think I'm gonna wait and hear what Deeza has to say about this, if he's ok with it, I'll use a simple blocker wall.

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Deeza
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The Anvil problem had occurred to me... I think we'll need to put it on the coast near the city as simon suggested.

As for jumping off the ship - I should have explained: my plan was that the player has no choice but to abandon ship and jump off (would it be possible for the player to hit some sort of blocker that's scripted to teleport them to the island?) This would mean they can't see the hole???

As promised, here is the list of NPCs for the ship. I will write dialogue for them later (remember, you'll have to make three copies of each NPC, one for the Anvil ship, one for the wreck and one for the island itself, unless you can think of a better way of doing the transition).

Town Crier - young man who runs up to the player in Anvil and gives them a note about the ship
Olurion - a High Elf who's standing on the Anvil docks, and sells the player the ticket for the journey to Valenwood
The Captain (need to invent a name) – old Redguard, experienced seafarer, obsessive about tidiness on his ship, possibly a smuggler
Boldur – the first mate. A Nord almost as old as the Captain, he was a sea raider in his youth and has many a story to tell. A nautical expert, what he doesn't know about ships isn't worth knowing.
Craelius Marcus – young, neurotic, stammering Imperial company administrator. The trip to Anvil was his first outside the Imperial City, and he is terrified of the sea his boss has made him cross.
Sammanul – a hard-as-nails Ashlander from Morrowind. Left his tribe to see the world and earns a living as a mercenary. Basically your typical Ashlander but a bit more outward-looking. Head of the escort guard for the trip to Valenwood.
Vuldon gro-Murlok – toughest of the orc mercenaries hired to act as an escort guard. Resents being placed under Sammanul's command.
Rugg and "Jawbreaker" gro-Ghazul - two orc mercenaries who are hired as guards for the ship

Edit:
Did the download work this time?

This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by Deeza: 28.01.2009 23:36.

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drmccoy
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About the ship: How about the player finds a boat? You know, with a rowder (the paddle thingy? idk if its called that way?^^). Would that be an option? Then we could simply use this as an activator and also use the blockers. I think simply jumping off the ship and being teleported is a little fast. I'd like the player to have to look around the ship, having to look for some way to escape. Swimming won't get him very far in that kindof weather.

I'll put the ship somewhere around Anvil, it shall be done.

I will write the dialogues for the following NPCs:

-Town Crier
-Olurion
-The Captain

don't worry, we won't have to place the NPCs 3 times. a simple moveTo order will do all your needs.

I'll leave the rest to you, I think the other characters are the once that'll add more depth to it.


Now, about the interior of the ship: Where the hell is he waking up? His cabin? Dead people: from the npcs one?


Edit: DL works, its at 82% =D (I'm living in like a small ass village in bavaria, germany. while internet's actually a very high rated thing in germany, small ass villages don't seem to profit from a high bandwith yet. We're only using 2000kb. gay -.- )

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 28.01.2009 23:43.

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Deeza
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Thats a much better idea than mine. Making the player search for a boat takes longer, it's a great idea, do it! Good job!

I've already written the note that the Town Crier gives you (so you can just paste it into the game):

“This is an official announcement on behalf of the South Seas Company that due to the unfortunate illness of the Company Factor Jurius Gavillans Esquire, there will be one additional berth on the vessel “the Dragoneye”, which has been chartered by the Company for the purposes of transporting staff to Valenwood. In light of the fact that no other suitable individual is available to replace Mr. Ovillans at this time, and the refusal by the Captain to leave port until the vessel is fully booked, the decision has been made to sell the surplus reservation at the reduced price of three hundred septims. Potential buyers are reminded that as soon as it is fully booked the “Dragoneye” will depart from Anvil and make landfall at Southpoint approximately three days later. The South Seas Company does not accept any legal responsibility for seasickness, loss of property, health or life whilst on this voyage. Exclusive liability is reserved for the Captain of the vessel. Applicants should present themselves to Mr. Olurion, Company Bursar, who is at this present time waiting at the docks.”
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simonp92
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possieble name for the reguard captian.

Alusan

EDIT.. when you say "crier" do you mean "courrier"?

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by simonp92: 28.01.2009 23:50.

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Deeza
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Captain Alusan... not bad. :)
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drmccoy
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OH MY GOD! Why!! Why god, whyy?? Why did I volunteer for this awful job?! Alright, joke's on me. The boat interior's are a BITCH to build. They're not calculated whatsoever, so forget the snap to grid function. That's gonna take a while.. Anyhow, where was I. Oh yes, Thank you for the note! =D


Edit: alright, I guess they're calculated on somewhat. Still it's gonna be weird. I took a look at some vanilla cells, so it shouldn't be too hard. I can build a boat Mad

Final: Alright, the boat is really gonna take some time. But that's fine. I'll make it rather good and take a long time than making it fast but really crappy. However, I will have to leave you for tonight. -doc out Wink

This post has been edited 2 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 29.01.2009 00:11.

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Deeza
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I had no idea the boat tiles were so bad... strange that should be so when the others work so well. Good luck with that!

It's more important to take your time and get it right, as you say. In the meantime I will modify the original story (I wrote it without seeing the finished islands, so some parts need to be changed now) and rewrite the dialogue for the characters.

I just thought, we could make a joke out of the ship not being docked at the Anvil docks, Olurion could say something about the Captain not wanting customs officers to look at his ship... turns out he's smuggling skooma in the hold or something.

As for the player waking up, I guess the bottom of the ship would be best, next to a bed (that way they have to walk past all your work on the way out :D ) The bodies could be one of the orc mercenaries, or maybe a sailor you could add to the ship.

@simonp92
Yes I do mean town crier. Believe it or not, it was a real job in the middle ages before they had advertising billboards, getting some poor guy to go round shouting about what you wanted to sell
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Well, I got the interior outlines, they are working. What's not working are the walls the part the body of the ship into several rooms. I'm thinking about also creating a lower deck, depending on wether I get to fit everything in the one deck.

As for the ship: I will set it noth-west of the docks, out on the sea, and little paddle boat on the shore including the ticket guy, which will take you to the main boat. I suggest to teleport the player aboard the Ship in anvil and start the journy once he activates the cabin door or something like that. Gives him freedome to talk to some of the passagers onboard and to look around first (this solution would also allow me to spare the not-wrecked ship interior)

The player will wake up at the front of the ship interior, having to make his way through the ship's body, at the back of the ship, there'll be a door leading to the captain's room, and from this one you'll be able to enter the exterior.

I'll keep on working on it as soon as I come home :)

Edit: Alright, slight change of plans. I realized that the outside model of the wrecked ship has the captain's room door destroyed, so coming out of there would be highly .. not possible. The ladder leading up to his room is now blocked by something heavy, probably by the mast piece that crashed into the cabin. Another ladder leading to the deck has been created in the middle of the ship. I'm using a slight blue, dark color for the ambient light, no other lightning resources. It's tipped and filled with water, sounds of thunder rain and wind have been included. Looks surprisingly good. I'm about to clutter the interior, but I don't want to overdo it. Anyhow, I came to hate the ship tileset. If you have another ship in plans, I'm so not gonna do that :D

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 29.01.2009 14:46.

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Deeza
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No more ships, don't worry :D I'd very much like to see this when it's done at last!

I will post up the revised main quest tonight.
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Take your time. I'm taking an off time of the ship atm and corrected the position of the ship in anvil. It's out on the sea now, a rowboat including the ticketseller NPC is on shore. The note will lead you to him via quest targets. If you pay the ticket price (I would at last need some dialogue ideas. How much is it gonna cost and where's the ship heading?), he will take you to the ship and, if you're not ready to go yet, back again. Talking to the captain or entering the captains cabin will result in the ship departing.

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simonp92
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its good to hear some progress is made!!
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Deeza
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I guess the ticket would be quite expensive (at least a few hundred gold pieces), this is why I wanted to make it an item (just a rolled-up scroll called "Passage to Valenwood" as a quest item in the player's inventory). This way the player could haggle over the price with Olurion.

The ship is going to Southpoint, which (I've just made this up) is an Imperial colony in the south of Valenwood, the headquarters of the South Sea Company, who trade Bosmer goods for Cyrodiil wood (its against the Bosmer religion to use wood from their own trees, so they have to import it all). The ship is mostly carrying supplies and Company staff.
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drmccoy
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Your note says, it'll be 300 gold. Want me to stick to it or create an item and have the player trade it?

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Deeza
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I reckon we should create an item you can trade, that way gamers won't complain that you can't start the quest without being rich.
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quote:
Originally posted by Deeza
I guess the ticket would be quite expensive (at least a few hundred gold pieces), this is why I wanted to make it an item (just a rolled-up scroll called "Passage to Valenwood" as a quest item in the player's inventory). This way the player could haggle over the price with Olurion.


I like that idea, plus its easy to implement Tongue
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drmccoy
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Alright, it shall be done.

Here's your ticket:

quote:
<div align="left">The South Seas Company hereby grants you transportation to Valenwood.<br><br>The trip to the amazing Valenwood will be done fast and save, accomodation, food and supplies are being offered free-of-charge aswell.<br>Please keep in mind that the South Seas Company strongly forbids the import of Skooma and/or other goods prohibited by federal law. Before boarding and after the arrival, your luggage might be checked by our personal to ensure you've been following the guidelines.<br>Please mind the gap between the vessel and the rowboat.<br>


This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 29.01.2009 23:11.

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InsanitySorrow
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quote:
Originally posted by drmccoy
Alright, it shall be done.


Dancing Banana

Do you know how to set up options for batering if the player has the ticket?
29.01.2009 23:17 InsanitySorrow is offline Send an Email to InsanitySorrow Search for Posts by InsanitySorrow Add InsanitySorrow to your Buddy List AIM Screen Name of InsanitySorrow: InsanitySorrow
Deeza
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lol, I like the "please mind the gap" part :D

I just made a couple of changes to make it sound more like a "legal document", read it through and see if you like them:

<div align="left">The South Seas Company hereby grants the bearer transportation to Valenwood.<br><br>The Captain of the vessel has signed a contract guaranteeing journey to the amazing Valenwood will be both fast and safe, and that accomodation, food and supplies are included in the price.<br>Please keep in mind that the South Seas Company strongly forbids the import of Skooma and/or other goods prohibited by Imperial law. Before boarding and after the arrival, your belongings might be checked by our personnel to ensure your compliance with all relevant laws.<br>Please mind the gap between the vessel and the rowboat.<br>

@IS

I'm not quite sure what you mean?
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InsanitySorrow
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quote:
Originally posted by Deeza

@IS

I'm not quite sure what you mean?


Ok so from what I understand you want to be able to barter with the captain if the player has the item. As far as I can tell the only way to do it is as follows:

You have your main topic:
-Travel

Under that you could have a set price:
-Travel
- 300 Gold

If the player has the letter then more options become available, you could then check the players speechcraft skill against the NPCs speechcraft skill to determine batering. IE the player has 70 skill and the NPC hs 40 skill, then the player would suceed.

Your options could end up like so with the item in the PC inventory:
-Travel
- 300 Gold
- 200 Gold
- 100 Gold

The options could require a higher skill on the players part to ensure batering sucess.

Hope it helps Tongue
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Deeza
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Alright, first part of the revised main quest:

Quest One: Passage to Valenwood

The player “wakes up” on the trashed ship in the middle of the storm. Journal updates:
“You are thrown from the bed by a terrible jolt. The ship seems to be tilting wildly and you can feel water lapping at your feet. Something has gone terribly wrong.”
Sammanul runs up and tells the player:
“You're alive! I thought there was nobody left down here. The ship is holed and sinking fast – we have to get up on deck!”
Player: What happened?
Sammanul: A huge storm, the most powerful I've ever seen. It came from nowhere out of clear skies, and ran us straight onto a reef!
Player: Do you have a plan?
Sammanul: We have to cut loose the rowboats, before they are dragged down with the ship. We are miles from land – that will be our only chance of survival.
Player runs up through the ship with Sammanul, seeing one or two other NPCs panicking, screaming “We're all going to die! etc.” Once the player reaches the rowboat, touching it will set off a script that teleports the player to....

Player “wakes up” on the beach of the small island. They see Sammanul right in front of them, fighting off a swarm of giant spiders! After the player charges in and kills the last of them, player has a talk with Sammanul:
“You fight well, considering you were unconscious a moment ago. I'm impressed. It seems not all Cyrodiils are as soft as I thought. We should see if there are any other survivors.”
The player explores the small island, soon finding the beach with the main wreck site, where Boldur, Craelius and Vuldon gro-Murlok are waiting around. Craelius has gone crazy due to the trauma of the shipwreck, and is now walking around the beach half-naked saying bizarre dialogue along the lines of “I am the king of the turnips, fear me!” and so on.
The player talks to Boldur:
Boldur: “You made it! I was afraid we were the only ones.”
Player: “Where are we?”
Boldur: “That storm must have blown us far of course. By my estimation from the sun's position, we've ended up on one of the Abacean Isles. Nobody ever sails here. I don't know if they are even inhabited.”
Player: “So what do we do?”
Boldur: “The Captain is missing, so I am assuming command. Follow my orders and we'll soon get off this island.”
Player: “And how do you propose to do that?”
Boldur: “You see the trees? There's wood everywhere on these islands, enough to make a dozen rafts. The mainland isn't far away, it's possible to sail there if we're lucky.”
The player goes to talk to Sammanul, who isn't impressed:
Sammanul: “Boldur is a fool. Building a raft and sailing to the mainland will take days, and in this heat, without fresh water we would be dead long before then.”
Player: Do you have a better idea?
Sammanul: “Come with me. You seem to be a sensible person. Let us leave Boldur to build his boat, and go to find water and food that will keep us alive.”

Quest Two: Water of Life

Sammanul follows the player over to the larger islands. Several Bosmer hunter NPCs have scripts to wander around the islands and initiate talk with the player when they meet:
Bosmer hunter: “Halt! You are not native to these isles and we don't like strangers. If you want to live, come with us!”
The player can either agree, and follow them to the Chief's house, or fight them. Either way, the player will eventually arrive at the village (all the Bosmer NPCs refuse to talk to the player until they have spoken with the chief).

Chieftain: “I bid you welcome. From your looks you are not here by choice. How did you come to our islands?”
Player: [You explain your story]
Chieftain: “A familiar story, all too common in this part of the world. You were fortunate to survive.”
Player: [Ask about taking the boat to the mainland]
Chieftain: “Quite impossible. The boat is the only one we have. How could we ever be sure you would return it? Forgive our distrust, but outsiders have done nothing to earn our favour.”
Player: Then may we build our own raft?
Chieftain: “You... dare to suggest you would harm a... a... plant? Cut down... a tree?”
Player: I don't understand you.
Chieftain: We are the Bosmer. The sap-people. We obey the Green Pact, and we shall not allow anyone to harm so much as a leaf of these Isles. If you have broken the Pact you must die by our bows.”
Player: But this is ridiculous!
Chieftain: “We are not like our brethren on the mainland. We do not pick and choose from the Green Pact as we like. The mainland has trees to spare, so perhaps they can be lenient in their dealings with outsiders. Here, our trees are few, and any who would harm them must die.”
“How could we have known?”
“Perhaps you are right. Maybe outsiders cannot be expected to understand the.... relationship we enjoy with the herbs and flora. Perhaps, there is a way to atone for your first offence.”
“And what would that be?”
“The heart coral of the sea, despite appearances, is not a plant but a creature. Break its fronds, spill its blood, feed it to the trees. Put back what was taken, and we shall put this infringement behind us.”
“What must I do?”
“You think you can survive? You are mad for sure! But I like this about you. It shall be most entertaining to watch you try. Go with our shaman – she knows the rituals you will need.”

The shaman talks to the player, unable to conceal her disgust.
“Let's get going, herbivore (she says it like an insult, as a human would say “murderer”),”
Quest marker activates and the player follows the shaman towards it out of the village.
If the player talks to Sammanul he says:
“You certainly handled those Bosmer well. I'm thinking I made a good decision to stay with you. Go with them, but be careful. Watch for tricks. I will remain here and find out what I can.”

Quest Three: Keeping the Pact

The shaman leads the player to the beach closest to the heart coral reef, and casts a constant effect spell of water breathing on the player. She orders them to:
“Swim out as far as you can then dive. The rituals have been completed. The heart coral lies deep on the sea bed – you will recognise it easily for it glows. Now hurry!”
The player does as instructed and finds the Heart Coral item (it's at the bottom of the reef, with a source of light behind it so that it appears to glow). Once the player picks it up, the water breathing disables and several sharks spawn behind the player and attack! The player must either swim away or kill them (they carry the item “shark's teeth” - use daedroth teeth as a base item). Then get back to the shaman, who seems shocked:
“You... survived. This was.... unexpected. By spilling your own blood and that of the heart coral, the Pact is restored. You and your friends may roam freely across the Isles – but remember not to harm plants of any kind.”

Quest Four: There Are Others

The player heads back to the village, picks up Sammanul, then heads back to the other survivors (by this stage, they have established a small camp a fire, which could be scripted to enable once the third quest is finished).

On the way back, a new character, Volus, spawns behind the player and engages them in conversation:
“People! Real, civilised people! I can't believe my eyes. Thank the Nine I got to you before those Bosmer did.”
“Who are you?”
“I am Volus Mesperides, Captain of the good ship Prosperity. Or I was, before I was wrecked on this island's reefs by a sudden storm. Exactly as you were.”
How did you know that?
“It's no surprise. They lure the ships here, and they wreck them. How else do you think their homes are made of wood, when they refuse to cut down trees? Strip the ships down for timber, eat the crew. That's their way.”
But how can they do that?
Now is not the place. If others survived from your ship you must warn them. It may not be long before the Bosmer start feeling like a snack. Meet me at [insert location name here], and hurry.”

The player goes back to Boldur:
“You look like you've had a rough time. What news?”
Player: [You fill Boldur in on the recent events]
Boldur: “They have a boat, and the bastards won't let us use it! I think this Volus may be right, they have something sick in store for us. We must find out more. Go to meet him, but be careful.”

The player goes to meet Volus:
Volus: “I realise my story may seem a little far-fetched. So I will show you proof. Come with me.”
He takes the player to the Clearing of Bones then says:
Volus: “This is all that's left of most of my crew. Half of us survived the wreck, and the Bosmer seemed friendly enough at first. But they were just putting us off guard. Those who couldn't hide fast enough were eaten within a week. Now do you believe me?”
“How did you escape?”
“We have a secret place. The Bosmer think it's sacred or some nonsense like that, so there's no chance of finding us there. I will show you.”

Volus leads the player to Volus' Cave, where you meet his surviving crew – all very heavily armed and not very friendly. Amazingly, the Captain is also there, having been found on the beach by Volus' men.
Volus: Now that you're here we can talk safely. I don't want to run the risk of the Bosmer realising that I've figured out their little scheme.”
“Go on.”
Volus: “Since ancient times, these islands have had unnatural weather. Ships going missing, even whole fleets. Storms and walls of water appearing out of nowhere. And after spying on the village for months I think I know what's causing it.”
“What could possibly...”
Volus: “They call it the Wrecking-Stone. It manipulates the weather, crushing any ship that gets too close to these islands. Even the Altmer Dominion was never able to conquer the place. It's the perfect defence.”
“So this was what wrecked our ships?”
Volus: “And more. The Bosmer may have forgotten its real name, but its fame has spread even to Cyrodiil. That stone is nothing less than a fully working Falaithrun Laidrul.”
“A what?”
Volus: “An old sailor's legend. Or we thought it was. The ancient Aldmer made them, placed them on islands all over the world, controlling the weather so their ships would always have safe passage. Only two were known to survive, and are kept by the Altmer.”
“So a third stone is somewhere on this island?”
Volus: “Yes, and it gets worse. Even if we were to steal the Bosmer boat and escape, they could summon up a storm and kill us anyway. We cannot escape from the islands unless we can destroy the Wrecking-Stone.”
“How can we find it?”
Volus: “I already have. It's in a cave on the largest island, but it is guarded. With the survivors from your ship, we finally have the manpower to storm the village and escape this prison. Are you with me?”
Player: “Let me discuss this with the others.”

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Deeza: 30.01.2009 02:03.

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drmccoy
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Hahaha! Love the part "I am the king of the turnips, fear me!"
Other than that, it's a really neat quest!

About the ship: Should I really include the screaming NPCs? It could cause a few problems, the ship as become pretty stuffed, plus: I don't have any "we're all gonna die" soundfiles :D

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Deeza
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OK, I hadn't thought of crowding issues. Perhaps we can have a dialogue line that suggests everyone else has already abandoned the ship, and Sammanul just came back to look for survivors (after all, he's being paid to keep the passengers alive)?

As for soundfiles, once the quest is completed we have a very experienced resident voice actor, Ibsen's Ghost, who I'm sure would be very interested in adding voice acting to the quest.
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drmccoy
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The Dialogue line won't be an issue. And for Ibsen's Ghost, I'm happy he's doing it, so he's kindof checking my writing :)

Should I have the ship in anvil disappear after the takeoff?

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by drmccoy: 30.01.2009 10:47.

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Deeza
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He's pretty busy with Black Marsh right now, but once we've finished with the islands, I shall ask him. I'm sure this project will interest him.

By the way, someone mentioned that there's a quest on the islands already. Could you tell me what it is? I remember there being one about a cursed bow discussed...

Edit:
I've also found that we have a full set of Valenwood music! It was composed for the project years ago, but you can still download it on this page:
This is Solar Rain
The quality of the music is extraordinary, you really should listen to it.

This post has been edited 1 time(s), it was last edited by Deeza: 30.01.2009 10:56.

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