Hello! I am currently working on a mod for Morrowind in which the main quest ends with the player getting a house (put simply) and I'm trying to see what people like or don't like about Player-Owned Houses in order to make it worth the trouble of playing through the storyline. Please leave your thoughts on houses and any comments or suggestions about how I could make it better.

The houses I like most are the ones I'd most like to live in. More often than not, it's because the person who made it wanted to live there themselves.

For example, Korana's Ascadian Rose Cottage is based on a real cottage she's been in. I also adore Castle Vianden by ReflectioN, which is a near-replica of a real-life castle.

It doesn't have to be real, though. Grumpy's Asgard and Korana's Pearl Palace are very much in the realms of fantasy.

What's important is that whoever made it sat down and thought about what they would want and need in a house. It goes beyond the merely functional to something genuinely homely.

For example, the player housing (quarters on the spaceship) in Mass Effect 2 is vastly better than Mass Effect. This is because in Mass Effect they clearly thought, "Hmm. They'll need quarters, so let's just stick a room with a bed and a desk in it, and that can be their quarters."

That, frankly, is just not good enough.

For Mass Effect 2, you walk into the captain's cabin and on the right is a desk with an interactive personal laptop, a photo of your loved one, a pet hamster (if you purchased one) and assorted clutter. On the left as you walk down is a giant fish tank and then by the bed is your wardrobe, a music player, and of course the bed.

Much better.

It doesn't matter that you're dealing with fiction and fantasy here, the point is that someone sat down and thought about all the things that make a difference between a house and a home and included them. You don't have to have it all scripted to be interactive, but you do have to be clever in any way you can. It can either cleverly blend in with its environment ... or you can cleverly stand out through use of unusually-placed statics, clever scripting, etc. etc. A great example of the former would be Vivec Redoran Condo, which neatly and cleverly fits in with what you'd expect to find in the Redoran waistworks. A great example of the latter would be Japanese House by SniperDaria, which is highly unusual for Morrowind but remains a favourite of mine because of the simple, elegant innovation of its use of everyday items from the construction set.

Thanks for posting!

What I'm aiming for is a proper mix of practicality and novelty; I've already started work on a special ring of crystals in the atrium that cast stat-restoring AoE spells on themselves when activated by the player. It heals, but in a fairly interesting way. I'd also like to add some pure entertainment objects, though I haven't gotten any good ideas for this yet.

You have a good point about a making a house that one would like to live in. My main concern is that this house has no exterior; I can explain more if you want, but it's sort of a long story. Therefore, I feel like I have to make up for it by making the interior even better. Would it help if I explained the lore behind the house a bit more?

I agree wholeheartedly. Every home, from the Dome Home to the castles, were such that if I had that kind of dosh, I would live in. The Balcony Home that was in Balmora had an excellent view of the city, Too bad that it conflicted with the DomeHome removing the front door. It was kind of neat having a balcony that I can ask a companion to stay at, so that when you come home, they are waiting on the balcony in view.
Yet, every time I remember the great Tel Nechim mod, and the "gift"one earns at the end, I kept thinking to myself I was glad that I took the weapon of mass destruction with me (asked my companion to hold onto it for me). That "gift", had me wanting to set it off in the nobles' home (chuckling).

Funny though, even though as the Nerevarine you primarily save the Dunmer as a whole (barring outcast and Mabrigash), it always seemed odd that the Ashlander camps would offer the "my yurt is your yurt", but I would think that such a hero would have had a yurt made for him. Also, depending on the player's gender, they would probably insist that he marry one of the Ashlander gals or Gulakahns. You save everyone, as the Blight is universal, but you know, kind of that typical Hyborean fantasy..."You have saved our people. I offer you this fine home, and the chance to share your bloodline with ours till the end of time."

But love the homes, just not too large where I get lost in them. There was a castle mod that was so huge, I actually had to call Bentil of the Ascadian Rose Cottage to rescue me from all the turns, twists, long hallways, and towers.

what i like on houses mods is quite simple: one cell, no npcs, no uber, no loot. i like a nice decoration and lively feeling like a hearth or at least a fireplace, rooms should be not too big. and it does not need to be shelves all the way, i prefer to put my clothes in a drawer and buy mannequins by myself.

but i already noticed, that my taste seems to be quite special.

I don't know what mannequins you're talking about, but besides that, I gotta agree.

The thing that makes this house kind of hard to work with is the fact that it's alien...Trying to make that lively is proving to be more difficult than I had expected. Oh well, that's half the fun!

What I want most in a player-owned house (or castle or whatever) is that it shouldn't be available without spending a solid chunk of cash, and maybe some effort in the form of a quest. For me, getting something for nothing spoils the game.

Again, thank you for your posts!



Yeah, I feel the same way. The alien questline will make the player fight several clockwork bosses; Vengeant, Widowmaker, and Paldarkuma, along with a very powerful Argonian named Zatone (the alien and Tamrielic players' storylines intersect at one point, where the Tamrielic player will have to fight a replica of my alien test character, and the Alien player will have to fight a replica of my Tamrielic test player). The questline ends with the player becoming the new Vanguard, the highest rank available to the combat aliens. As a reward, the player is allowed to enter the Sanctum of the Vanguard, which off-limits to the player until the end of the questline.

The Sanctum of the Vanguard is essentially a house for the Vanguard (therefore a house for the player). Maybe that'll help.

i mean armor mannequins
many houses provide them by default but i like the "living" mannequins from the mannequin factory more, that's why I don't use (or won't use, i make them on my own) houses, that provide armor mannequins.

That's part of the reason I only really live in houses I've made myself. Even if they're technically a lot less sophisticated than other ones that people make, it feels better for me because I'm not living in someone else's house. There are exceptions, though, usually where the modder's tastes fit my own, as with the aforementioned Vianden Castle.

And AGAIN, thank you for your posts...I'm getting a lot of good info here. VICTORY POKE :poke:



Oh, I see what you mean. I've made something like that before, but it caused a lot of problems I wasn't sure how to fix. I hadn't planned on adding mannequins, but I am thinking about making an armor holder for the Vanguard's armor; It's something like the armor-holding pod thingy in the Mausoleum of the Arbiter, for anyone who's played Halo 2. I'll leave room for extra objects (like mannequins), too. EDIT: I also plan on adding a special armor holder for my custom (and extremely rare) armor sets: Occult and Fortune.

As for you, turns-the-page, I agree to that too; and alien is just my taste. I'm not a great modder, but I do prefer to make my own homes, just because they're so perfect for me. I once made a house that used the same models and layout as the Redoran Manor District in Ald-Ruhn; the player had to choose what type of rooms to have constructed and could hire servants. It was very expensive (something for all the rich players to spend their money on) but it was pretty awesome.

This is sort of off-topic, but what is everyone's favorite house? Mine is the Factor's Estate in Raven Rock.

Mine would have to be Mormegil Manor: Good location plus tons of space for my stuff...and I collect ALOT of stuff.

alakazars lamp by westly is awesome, really. to many cells for my personal taste but who doesn't care, should check this out. it just beautiful.
there is a german house mod - very popular in the german community - that has everything i would want: one cell, no loot (the decoration are statics), no npcs. it's very nice. (it's called luciens waldelfenhaus - lucien's wood elf home) it just has one mistake: it's next to the pawnbroker in balmora. i don't like balmora and i hate this special place.

these two homes i can heartily recommend to everyone that seeks for a cozy little home.

what i made for me on my own and use: first i lived in a very big http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc288/SisterV/meinhaus.jpg in sadrith mora. then i moved to caldera to live in a rich nice common house. for my pirate girl there is a http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae224/mwscreen/nork007.jpg in suran, very http://i974.photobucket.com/albums/ae224/mwscreen/galleere3.jpg. and now i live in a very high wizard tower. caldera again. i love this place. i always try two things: first the house should look like houses around, same style (no hlaalu building in ald'ruhn!) and the outer and inner size should at least look equal. so no little house and a palace inside

this is just for input. i don't say this is the way you should do it - or everyone should do it - it's just to say this is way i like it and so i do it

Thanks for your posts.

Windclan, is Mormegil Manor part of a mod? If it is, could you post some screens? I've gotten most of the info I need, but I'm just curious as to what it looks like.

One last question to anybody who reads this: Do you prefer custom or existing meshes in your houses?

I prefer existing, unless there's a good reason for the custom, or unless it's used to good effect. There are lots of housemods that cram tons of new stuff into them, making them a huge download and a major FPS drain, and in the end, the same feel could have been gotten just as easily with standard things. And, there are lots of houses - many of Princess Stomper's come to mind - that use standard objects in lovely and innovative ways, so the house feels cozy and doesn't stand out from everything else in the game. That said; if you want them, go for it! At least for me, it's not going to make or break whether I use the mod.

Agreed. For instance, I love this newly released mod by SKC:

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=8329 :thumbsup:

Perfect size, creatively decorative, and just the right amount of illumination to set the mood...

Mormegil Manor is by Calislahn
http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=6603

it and the Balmora River House are always loaded in my game along with a few other Calishan Mods

Do you have a link for that house mod by Lucien? I tried to google it with next to none results. My german is severly lacking these days, it went from rather poor to non-existing =P

my fault i wrote his name wrong it's luthien. erm. sorry

http://www.morrowind.hierher.net/index.html?pro_l.html it is

the meshes-question: if the meshes are really new and well made i have nothing against new meshes. but it's if it's only an esp i don't care a lot

Guess I don't need to get screenshots now

The place looks even better (My opinion) with the Mournhold Texture Replacer

http://planetelderscrolls.gamespy.com/View.php?view=Mods.Detail&id=3042

It makes all the display tables and pedestals a very nice blue color.

^
Thanks

i'll have to try that! i haven't been to Mournhold in ages so i have never though of a texture replacer!

thanks