So if this is beta now, is the next version going to be gamma? :hubbahubba:

Seriously though, this is my favorite part of the Imperial Isle.

I am embarassed to say it, but I used to count myself in the OBSE phobic crowd. But then I saw the light...and can't live without OBSE!

Just so everybody knows I'm still around and haven't forgotten the mod.

I didn't have time to work much on it, though, so no news.

Regarding the voices, I know I'll be using Elys while modding because it's the easiest way; but before releasing I'll probably generate the empty voice files and distribute them after all. Depending on how big they get, maybe as a separate download... dunno. What's considered a big mod these days? 100 MB? 500?

Those silent voice files compress really well when you pack them into a rar. I had 100MB of them and when packaged they came down to less than 1MB.

You could upload that as an Optional extra file for people who don't use Elys.

That's good to know, thanks.

In the meanwhile, the mod has been translated to Russian (thanks, Julia!) and can be downloaded from http://mtes.ru/files/imperial-city-suburbs/.

I have to say I completely love this mod. It blends extremely well with the existing architecture as well as with Verona Bay which is just a stone's throw down the shoreline. The suburbs don't feel out of place or overdone, it's just right. I'm also very impressed with your custom loading screens. Details like that are just fantastic.

I really hope a patch can be worked out for your Suburbs and UL: Imperial Isle. I found two sizable land tears and one floating tree, but other than that the two mesh very well and together they turn the whole island into a worthy place to invest some time and effort exploring. http://i690.photobucket.com/albums/vv269/gfh110/Bureau%20of%20Tamrielic%20Sightseeing/suburbs.jpg picture I took doesn't really do much justice to the rest of suburb, but it's my favorite spot... mostly because it reminds of a small-scale medieval version of http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/124325.jpg.

Thanks for the excellent addition to my game. I'll be eagerly anticipating your next release!

While this mod is still labelled as "beta" I will not be looking into patching for UL Imperial Isle. Once it is no longer a beta, I will investigate how patchable it is.

As far as voiceovers go, I really feel they're necessary for mods like these. The mod itself is immersive, but if you then walk into an npc who talks to you using their telephatic gifts, it pulls you back straight into reality :shrug:

i would prefer not voice overs, as i find the architecture/cluttering/scripting to be much more important. Maybe its just becuase im a morrowind veteran but i really don't give a [censored] about voices.

Wow...

Keep it up!

When something as trivial as rotating your head through 75 degrees has the same effect, one wonders why silent voiceovers are so "immersion breaking".

I like voice overs, as long as they are done well and really fit with the game voices. I've seen/heard mods that dont, and to me having a gruff orc suddenly change into a teenage boy is more immersion breaking having to read lines.

anyways, the mod looks great i especially like the ayleid ruins, a good throwback to the city's past.

Because people are oddly picky? I mean, no offense, but fireballs and talking lizards don't really lend to a realistic environment in my eyes. Hell, Telepathy is less insane then Pyrokinesis. Anyone argue with a guy who can light the city of Toronto on fire with a simple flick of the wrist? No? But a guy who can talk to you without opening his mouth? Why is he fair game?
/insane off-topic

Unvoiced Voice overs are pretty alright. Sure, they leave a bit lacking, but quite frankly, I find it better to have dialog without voices then to have no dialog. And isn't something better then nothing? Thus, wouldn't silent voice overs be better then no voice overs?

Well, I guess everyone is entitled his/her/its opinion But I do agree with the fine points you've brought up.

In any case, my own opinion reflects Lady Nerevar's - If you plan to do it, do it well. If not, stick to 8 second long, kilobyte big silent voice files.

If the lack of lip movement bugs you, grab a copy of Gecko. Have it generate silent voice files. They'll be more or less the right length of time for the lines spoken, and the lips will move. Seems a decent enough middle ground to me.

I would love it if this mod was expanded to the underwater area having an entrance to a lost ayleid crypt.

I've just come across this mod today and I love it. I really hope Lady Olivia comes back and adds some dialogue to it. Even if she doesn't, this is still one of the best mods I've ever seen in terms of quality.
And I don't really like voices in game. Silent dialogue would be just fine. Maybe do it as you planned to do the Beta with the LOD stuff. Release without voices first, and then try to get together a team of voice actors. Try TesAlliance. I've hear they have a pretty good voice acting guild thingy over there.

Ravin

This is a very, very good i love it, thanks for this mod Lady Olivia, i only have little problems with the MOD Natural History Museum ( http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=7593 ) but this is a very good mod, keep up the work!.

Thank you all. It was a nice New Year surprise, seeing how this thread sprang to life without my help.

In all fairness, I haven't been working on this for about two months. I kind of burned out when I got the release out and despite my hopes, writing dialog tired me quickly. Right now I'm trying to finish a project for another game, and then when I get tired of that, I'll get back to the Suburbs to do all the things I promised. In other words: I'm not giving up, just taking a break.


Since nobody has reported any problems or errors that don't relate to compatibility with other mods, I'd say the current release is actually quite stable, so I might as well declare it version 1.0. In any case, I don't think I'll be doing any further landscaping in the near future. As far as I remember, the conflict with UL is in the height of terrain in one spot. I have no experience merging mods with such conflicts, so I'd be more than grateful if you could indeed look into this.

@display name is already in use: Many of us UL users will be more than happy if you could make a patch for UL Imperial Isle and Imperial Suburbs to be compatible! I hope you can take a look at this possibility.

Cheers!
:foodndrink:

I have moved the museum to Arboretum, if you want to I can send you plugin (I'll have to check if I still have it since I've merged it). If you're interested PM me.

Hello again!

ICS still lives. I've been working on adding two new suburbs: "Old Bridge" to the north of IC and "Hrol's Terraces" which connect the Old Bridge to the Hylon Fountain. The exteriors are more or less complete, and I kind of started working the interiors, but it's going slow. Here are some http://olivia.aob.rs/oblivion/oblivion-screenshots.html of the new settlements. Hope you like them.

The things I said I'd be doing - quests and dialogs, unique NPCs... well, at the moment, that bores me and I don't even have a guesstimate at when I'll start, let alone finish that aspect of the mod. The way things are going, I'll bring the new areas to the same state of completion in which I released the first suburbs, and then see what I'll do next.

When done, the new stuff will double the area covered by the mod and the number of houses/NPCs. It will cover, I'd say, a fifth of the Imperial Island. So yeah - I might finish it whole in a decade or two.

Another thing I've been thinking about is compatibility. Jokes aside, I do fully intend to populate the entire island some day, so ICS will continue to conflict with all other mods that touch the same areas. Even if I make the current version compatible with these other mods, chances are that the future versions will break the compatibility again, and in ways that can't really be remedied. So if you've been hoping for compatibility patches for ICS, don't hold your breath.

Add bridges to all sides, like Arthmoor did in his mod, but make sure it does not mess up with LET THE PEOPLE DIRNK'S aqueduct. Please?

Yeah, I wouldn't want that. It's one of my favorite mods.

That looks great.

And on the subject of bridges, what about having some run through/over the suburbs and districts? Make them multi-level and tiered.