Mod sounds great, cant wait.

But can you kill the Emperor?

No, the Emperor will be an essential character.

Hey
How's the progress?
Question for ya:
How are you handling compatibility with other post-destroyed kvatch mods like rebuilt, rising and aftermath?
Is it simply enough to disable the esp after kvatch is destroyed? or do have a built in compatibility for this?

@ schtan

Honestly, I've been slacking when I first started working on the Elder Council characters. But things are looking good at this point. I made some of the characters per your suggestion and found some more important figures from Tamriel's history. I'm currently working on a throne room for the Emperor and Prince Geldall to sit in. I will post update screenshots when I'm finished with this part of the mod.

As for Kvatch rebuilding mods, it is not necessary to remove OPK's esp after Kvatch's destruction. In fact, I highly recommend not to do so, since OPK is also an alternate start mod. I am not entirely sure of the effects of removing alt-start mods after the player has already started, but the results may be bad.

Alright, update time!

So I finally finished creating the characters for OPK's Elder Council. I created the council mainly for aesthetic purposes. The characters do have simple schedules but they do nothing else but sit around and wander, no quests involved. Maybe as an add-on in the future, but not now.

Here are some screenshots of the Council:
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-26-02-12.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-27-54-26.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-39-08-39.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-39-08-39.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-39-08-39.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-28-12-54.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-28-21-70.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-27-32-82.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-39-58-26.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-40-22-50.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-39-44-03.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/Oblivion2010-05-0419-42-22-20.jpg

http://s311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/

Great stuff so far. Glad to see this mod progressing!

Awesome idea I'm gonna keep an eye out for this. I would love to be able to play it. Any way I can put off doing the main quest for a longer time is all ways fun. The last time I played my 360 copy I had over 200 hours invested in the game and only part of the main quest I touched was to get out of the sewers. as soon as I exited the sewers I did everything else before touching the main quest.

If this mod also allows Kvatch to be re-built after it's saved and stays fairly Vanilla-flavored, it will be my new favorite mod!

What I mean by the flavor is that certain Kvatch mods kinda pushed me away. That one with the Necromancer's Guild just didn't blend well with the rest of the game. Another (or maybe it was that same one) adds a tavern with background music and dancers. A fun idea, but that's the only place in all Cyrodiil where it happens, and it breaks the blending.

Any news on this mod?

Sorry for not making an update. It's been a month since I mentioned anything. Right now I'm working on the mega-dungeon under Kvatch. The first level (comes in two sections) are complete. I'm currently on the second level (also comes in two parts) and it's progressing well. Will post screenies when I can.

Sounds nifty. Thanks.

Thanks for the update.

Alrighty, update time!

Edited OP. Added a link to the Alternate start demo video. It's not new, but I just forgot to add it before. Also added a new WIP album for the mega dungeon. Took out the links to the old albums because I'm going to organize and update them.

So I've finished half of the second dungeon level, the East cavern area. They're mostly tight and winding claustrophobic tunnels that lead to a cavern. The cavern consists of many deep chasms, where one fall could mean death to anyone and anything (yes, even essential characters). Next up on my plate: tweaking a bit of the city interiors then it's on to the West cavern, which will be even bigger than the East cavern. Expect Ayleid ruins on both sides, and a major questline involving such ruins. I've planned to tie in the existence of the ruins to the main Kvatch quests as well. Will explain a small plotline when I finish the West caverns.

So for now, screenshots!

http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-22-51-39.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-10-33-40.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-10-42-00.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-13-19-57.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-14-46-43.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-15-01-89.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-53-22-64.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-51-50-76.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1614-58-18-39.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1615-01-23-43.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1615-02-43-39.jpg
http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk447/xcentric_14/OPK%20Mega-dungeon%20WIP/Oblivion2010-06-1615-07-19-04.jpg

Looking great!

I do have a question though, and I apologize if you already answered this, but how do you plan on starting the main quest ? Will you just have it where the main quest starts the first time you are arrested in the imperial city?

No worries. I'll be glad to answer this one:

I plan to have different ways of starting the MQ. One way is the one you just mentioned, in prison where you meet up with the Emperor and continue the quest the vanilla way. I do plan to cut out the long dungeon crawl however, and let the player follow the Emperor and the Blades all the way through.

The other method involves the OPK main quest that deals with the political crisis within Kvatch, and you get to choose sides. Finishing that MQ leads to two ways of starting the Oblivion MQ: finding a dead (or dying messenger) or going through the Kvatch invasion.
The OPK MQ may also be skipped so the player may choose to go directly into the dead messenger or invasion scenarios.

Great update! This mod is rocking my socks off!

This is going to be the must-do option first time 'round.

Hey

How's progress? Do you have a planned or estimated release date?

some compatibility questions for ya:

is it possible to rebulid kvatch with kvatch rebulild mods such at kvatch aftermath, rebuilt or rising?
How about the elder council mod by giskard? (most probably incompatible, but I hope not as it reworks the entire government, not just the council)

Progress has stalled a bit for a few reasons:

I am employed again so I'm not able to devote full time on this project.
And I'm currently refreshing my modding batteries a bit by working on a new mod project.

That does not mean that I am abandoning this mod. Uh-uh. No way I'm giving up on this since I devoted a lot of my time on this project.

As for a release date, I don't exactly have one since it's very difficult to gauge. Hopefully by late fall, if I manage my time correctly.


Ok, to answer rebuilt mods and compatibility:
Yes it is possible to use rebuilt mods. The only issue would be the exterior landscape area. Since OPK has altered Kvatch's land at the gate to accommodate two farms, rebuilt mods may have floating or sinking trees or architecture. I can confirm that Kvatch Rebuilt will have floating trees at the area east and southeast from the gate. But the stables are placed just fine. As for the city interior, there should be no conflict.

For the Elder Council mod: If you have more info on how that works, please do tell. I did d/l that mod to test its inner workings in the CS, but I realized it was dependent on DRCP I believe. D/Ling at least an extra 40 resource packs just put me off the moment I saw that. So for now, technically I would consider that mod incompatible with OPK.

Just a note on Caius Cosades and duke dren

First.. The Nerevarine does become the Grandmast of Hlaalu in a certain quest.. So to have him say that he is make little sense

Also, I noticed Caius Cosade's head is a bit over sides on the top part, its not so in Morrowind, maybe tone it down a bit?

Ok, I checked UESP to verify. Actually, the Nerevarine becomes the Hortator for House Hlaalu, not Grandmaster. Yes the Nerevarine can become both Hortator and Grandmaster. But it requires him/her to be in House Hlaalu and does Vedam Dren's requests. Since joining House Hlaalu isn't a requisite to complete Morrowind's main quest I still consider Duke Dren as Grandmaster of House Hlaalu. I hope that makes sense.

As for Caius' head, what do you mean by "bit over sides on the top part"? Do you mean his forehead's a little too big? Too wide?

Will you add a recommendation quest for Kvatch to join the Mages guild because it would be a bit odd otherwise.

I decided not to add a MG recommendation quest for Kvatch because I didn't want to tamper with the vanilla MG questline.

So to remedy that issue:

Please forgive me if this has been covered & I have missed it. How will you 'model' the "power-hungry factions". In other words, will there be a dynamic political subsystem, or will all quests be scripted with set outcomes?

Thanks

I've only read the first few pages of the thread and I can't wait till this is finished. I'm doing my first PC play through and haven't tried any alternate beginning mods yet. This one sounds very interesting.

There will only be one "power-hungry" faction in play for OPK's main quest. That faction will be up against Kvatch's court and city guards. The player has a choice of following one of these two opposing factions. The quests will be scripted and have set outcomes, but I do plan to have branching plotlines for each of them. I've planned to keep this mod as simple as possible from the start so no dynamic politics and such. Trying to do something like that is too much for a one man team.

I used the "power-hungry factions" phrase just as a general description of the parties involved in Kvatch's ongoing crisis.



For now, when you finish your first PC playthrough, take a look at Alternative Start by Robert Evrae, Alternate Start Revamped, or M.O.E. Main Quest Delayer. I modeled some of my alternate start elements after the first two. The last one was where OPK got its inspiration from (and made me realize it was indeed possible to keep Kvatch from being invaded at game start).