Awwww :wub: You just make sure you be putting that thar mod somewhere stable, and the downloads will speak for themselves Very excited for this! (even though some of the gear is not my style, I will admit it's high quality stuff, especially Slof's work)



SM/Lame are overhauls, Midas is a magic addition.

Regarding companions... I would imagine almost any companion mod should work fine for you. Although any mod that allows you to "recruit" any companion from the world would probabaly break a lot of quests and scripts. Also, there will be quite a few companions that you will find to accompany you within the dungeons (and the Vulgar Unicorn) of The Deep itself, so if you do not want to use any other companion mod, you really don't have to, as I'll be providing them.

An advantage to using the companions that come with The Deep is that they will be voiced, they will bicker with each other (some of them will just not be compatible, personality-wise, with each other), they will give you specific help on certain quest (AND will also open entirely new quests to you), and finally they can provide you with better help in the dungeons than simply being meat-shields. For example, let's say you partner up with a thief-type companion, I'll script him/her to have a chance to spot certain traps and secret doors throughout the dungeons. Or, another example, maybe you convince Zanben to adventure with you; well he is VERY familiar with the underways of The Deep and its current events. He might lead you to treasure you might otherwise miss without him in your company, or he might inform you that you are about to head into territory currently held by deep orcs, and that you two had better find another way around the area. You simply will not get this behavior from external companion mods.

My healer-class companions will also heal you, and also any other current companions during battles. I should be able to get them to heal any CM partner as well through the factions that Blackie used in those companions.

You'll also be able to hire "generic" mercenary companions at the Adventurers' Hall in Charm. These mercenaries will charge a standard flat fee upon hire and a percentage of treasure found during adventuring. Some companions will be with you only until their specific quest-lines are completed while others will remain with for as long as you'll have them.

I've covered this before, but it was always my intent to make a dungeon that was SO tough that you'd need help conquering it (or simply traveling through it). Companions are an integral part of The Deep. That's not to say you won't be able to adventure there alone, but it will be TOUGH, and will be a monumental test of your sneaking skills, as you'll probably be spending most of your time hiding and sneaking around trying to avoid deep elf and deep orc patrols, roaming monster groups and the like. This will be a VERY high-level dungeon. AND the dungeon will be big enough to where once you get to its middle levels and below, you'll be having to spend weeks at a time down below without a chance to quickly and easily return to the relative safety of the surface world. Portable tents and sleeping bags are suggested.

For most dungeons, players don't need to do more than sharpen their weapons, grab some torches, spells and food and then delve directly downward. But when venturing into The Deep, all that changes; planning becomes the crucial element that determines whether a party lives or dies, and how well it succeeds - if it succeeds at all. In the worst cases, a lack of planning can kill even a high-level party of adventurers. The Deep is that deadly.

To make your trip into the darkness easier, consider the pros and cons of these two most common approaches to adventuring in the Deep: raiders and caravans.

The Raider Strategy.
The typical approach taken by a party entering into The Deep relies on a small group of fast-moving people who take full advantage of shock and surprise to overwhelm underground settlements and fortifications. I call this the raider strategy, because it is similar to the raids launched by the Vikings against the rest of Europe. The raider strategy depends on speed and stealth; raiders carry little gear, commandeer supplies as they go, and take no more plunder than they can carry on their persons.

Fighting Blind.
Any raiding adventurers entering The Deep quickly learn that darkness is golden; any source of light is visible from very far away underground, giving early warning to light-sensitive natives. Unless they have some way to compensate for this early warning, most raider groups do without light entirely (using night-vision and magic).

The natural ally of darkness is silence; the deep elves combine the two naturally, but smart adventuring parties adopt the same tactic with magic, high stealth skills and soft boots and minimal conversation. Activities such as mining can be heard miles away by a silent party. Thieves' keen hearing is especially useful here.

Traveling Light.
Raiders can't carry much, because they lack beasts of burden, so proper equipment is crutial. Lightweight essentials such as food supplies and armor and other supplies. Arrows are rarely lost in caves; half as many can be carried. Every pound saved on equipment going in is another pound of gold, gems, mithril and other treasures that can be carried out. In the worst case, adventurers simply may abandon gear once it has outlived is usefulness, rather than carrying it onward.

The best raiders eventually adopt most of the strategies and equipment of the underground races. Not surprising, really, when you consider that these races have honed their skills in underground combat over generations.

The Caravan Strategy.
To conquer completely in The Deep requires what I call the caravan strategy, because it relies on many of the same elements that make up a successful caravan on the surface world: porters, guards, a wealth of supplies and extra gear, native guides, scouts and the tools to deal successfully with the creatures encountered underground, including generous bribes.

Why do caravans require bribes? Because they are too big a target to fight their way quickly past large settlements. What do caravans use as bribes? Gold, food, or even - surprisingly - wood. After all, wood is extremely rare underground; the pulpy wood of giant mushrooms doesn't have the same grain, beauty, strength and luster. It is both a novelty and status symbol for dark dwellers. These bribes are the caravan's "trade goods," but their purpose isn't to make a mercantile profit; the caravan's goods are carried just to ensure its safe passage to its target. News of the caravan will travel through the passages much faster than the caravan will; surprise isn't possible.

What is this slow, lumbering strategy good for? A long-term presence in The Deep, a major expedition to haul out literally a kingdom's worth of loot, a trade expedition to garner riches from underground cities, long distance exploration and mapping, or a military-style strike against an entrenched enemy are all possible with the resources a caravan brings to bear.

Players will have ample opportunities to travel with various caravans throughout The Deep. In fact there is a major caravan that runs back and forth between the underground city of Khare and the surface.

Tactics.
Defensively, bribes and sheer numbers are only part of the picture. When camped, shield walls or magical barriers or knowing natural "well defendable" hot-spots are a crucial component of the caravan's encampment; they provide camouflage and they deflect the initial rush of an enemy's charge. In fact, walls of stone spells can create such a safe encampment that the whole caravan can get some rest; when it's time to move on, a simple dispel magic spell brings the whole wall down. Groups of sentries are also important. Although they are vulnerable to being charmed, enspelled or poisoned before they can shout a warning, and this can spell death or slavery to the whole caravan in the hands of raiding deep orcs or deep elves.

Sending scouts ahead makes good tactical sense in this system; caravans are big enough that they can't respond to threats with a raider-like ambush. If the scouts don't return, at least you are warned, giving the caravan time to prepare a defensive position, perhaps even to withdraw.

Caravans can't stand and fight often, but when they do they can overwhelm many smaller outposts, mining settlements, monster lairs and even small towns by sheer numbers. the greatest threat to a caravan is the loss of its porters; if they are slain when the caravan is deep underground, the best choice for a low-magic group is to split up into raider-style bands, because the group as a whole won't be able to carry enough to get back where it started from.

Getting In and Getting Out.
Regardless of what strategy you use, every visitor to The Deep usually faces the same problems.

Terrain.
Though the inhabitants of the underground are deadly, the varied and difficult terrain makes adventuring there a challenge. Don't expect to cover lots of ground quickly. you'll have trouble negotiating through the often dark, cramped, rough goings of the underground environment. Raiders, can move much faster than caravans.

Drop-offs, deep pits and bottomless chasms are a constant hindrance. There are also large bodies of water deep underground that parties will have to contend with crossing.

Reconnaissance.
Accurate reconnaissance can save resources and lives. How do you get the best, most current information about routes spanning dozens or hundreds of miles underground? One of the most frequently overlooked resources available underground are the indigenous races. These creatures and peoples don't just cross the tunnels once in a while on some great quest; they live there. Who better to ask for information about potential dangers, food sources, equipment and treasure?

But not every underground region has well-informed, helpful natives; some of the most dangerous regions are actively avoided by intelligent creatures.

Not all recon comes from guides or questioning; maps of underground trade routes and landmarks can be bought in some places. How accurate they are is another matter; the more paranoid races might deliberately sell false maps.

Loot.
Given that The Deep is such a pain to get into, survive, and get out of, why would anyone bother? In four words: the loot is incredible! Exotic metals. Powerful and bizarre new spells. Some of the most powerful weapons and armors. In the oldest, deepest caverns, the wealth of entire civilizations is there for the taking. Big treasure hoards are common in a place where gold and gems line the very walls.

In fact, the size of the treasures involved is sad news in a way. The real trouble of an adventure into the Deep begins when your party scores a big hit and discovers a massive treasure trove. How do you get it back to civilization? Remember all those crevasses, rivers, lakes, vertical tunnels and narrow passages? How do you haul all that loot back past all the obstacles you crossed to get it?

Well, it's not hopeless. the treasure got there somehow, didn't it? and even if it got there a little at a time, you can still take it out the same way. Adventurers have several options when carting off treasure: you can take less, take it apart, take it later or take an alternate route out. And there are yet other ways open to smart players.

A Final Warning.
With careful planning and companions to help you, your underground expeditions can be not just exciting, but also very profitable. Respect the dangers of the mixed environments, and choose the strategy you think suits you best. Then head underground into the Deep.



So there you have it. You WILL need companions! I've show-cased a couple of possible companions already, and I'm revealing two more in this post.

Two possibilities you've already seen are Zanben and Winger...
http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/Zanben_01.jpg
http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/Zanben_03.jpg

http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/Winger_02.jpg
http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/Winger_05.jpg

http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/Winger_and_Zanben_02.jpg

And here are two new possible companions whom you will first encounter in the cityport of Khare. They are a husband and wife team who run a band of pirates on the Shimmering for the crime-lord called the Black Widow. They are pretty much good-hearted rogues, whose crew goes out of their way to avoid bloodshed in the taking of ships and vessels on the big lake (compassion being a rarity in the underground, especially among the pirates of the Shimmering). Unfortunately I don't have a name for them yet. Perhaps you all would like to help me out and offer some suggestions?
http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/TheUnknowns_01.jpg
http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/TheUnknowns_02.jpg

And last, but not least, I'm going to share a shot of the new armor that Slof is making for me. I had not wanted to show off the armor until is was completely done and completely ready, but I figured I'd a least give you a quick glance. Will show more when Slof has completed work on them. ^_^
http://evolution.paynereactor.com/temporary/Snow_Elf_Armor_01.jpg

Interesting read...

Yes, very interesting to read. Thanks Straton :foodndrink:

And for the pirate names, what about Sakher and Nadia?

that armor looks awesome, way to go slof! I'm really anxious to see just how big this dungeon is going to be. :ahhh:

That is some nice armor, kudos and :wub: to Slof (not that she really needs them, but she gets them anywhos ).

Question for you Straton, how many/what types of books are you planning on including. Your descriptions are already noteworthy, I'm sure you have some excellent stuff for books.

That's what I'm talking about - companions that are worth taking along with you. :goodjob:


How will this compare with FCOM? I'm sure all the spawns are static-levelled, right?


Khalid al-Beir (pronounced al bay-EER) and Almah.


Slof makes awesome stuff, and this is no exception.

First off, keep the names coming for the husband and wife pirate team.

Second, I had hoped to get the new snow elf video up today or tonight, but I've ran into some scripting problems that have eaten up most of my weekend. :banghead: And it's back to work tomorrow, so probably no vid until next weekend.



I DO want include quite a few books. In fact, there are some that I HAVE to make, as the plan is for clues to be imparted by them for certain quests. I'm thinking of doing something along the lines of what I'll do with the voice-overs... asking the community to help. I'll probably ask for those who are interested to send me some examples of their writing talent, and the better ones I'll send off a basic description of what information a certain book/books should impart to the player, and then let them go from there. And then, however they write that story is up to them, just as long as they somehow include the information that the player needs to glean from the story.



I've never played FCOM, so I really cannot make a comparison. But I have used OOO and MMM in the past, and I'd say that The Deep is something like an amalgam of those two, with a LOT of its own unique stuff thrown in. There will be a TON of characters that are hand placed and are NOT leveled. So, some of the bosses might give you a beat-down if you take them on before you are ready. And for the characters that ARE scaled, I'm going to have them scale more intelligently that vanilla Oblivion, and they'll start out tougher than vanilla characters. For example, underground goblins are a bit tougher than their surface kin, although nowhere near a challenge for a high-level adventurer... BUT, unlike vanilla oblivion, where you only might fight 3 or 4 goblins at a time, you could end up fighting over a dozen at a time in The Deep, with more called in as reinforcements. Also, many of my hand-placed characters will be heavily scripted with unique abilities. For example, a deep elf party that fights as a UNIT, supporting each other, healing each other, casting BUFF spells on one another, retreating behind their partners when their health gets too low. Stuff like that. :laugh:

I got to looking at the videos of this on youtube. Very, very cool! I like the acting of the NPCs when entering the area with the Goblins. It made me laugh when the guy says, "You gotta be freakin kidding me" or whatever he said. The areas look very large and epic. Not like the cramped caves of Vanillabilivion.

One thing I thought of when I read your original description was some kind of randomized game play with randomized dungeons like Angband, Moria or Tome. Then I thought it would be awesome to generate game play that way either internally or externally.

Anyway, this mod looks very interesting and expansive. Can't wait to see where it goes. I will take the Red pill please.

They both add a crapton of new spells. It's close enough for government work.

The reason a lot of people (like myself) don't like MM is because it's overpowered. When CorePC included some of xilver's monsters in MMM (uberhulks and balrogs), enough people complained that he added optional esps to remove them from the levelled lists. Some people like being able to blast an entire city block to smithereens with a single spell, and that's fine... I just don't happen to be one of them.

Hmm... I've done a fair bit of creative writing, though I'm better at technical writing. It might be a chance for me to flex my writing muscles.


From the description, it sounds a lot like how FCOM works (FCOM is built around OOO). I'm just wondering if the the creatures might be TOO powerful with a full FCOM build.


Intelligent AI? Say it ain't so! :drool: I've been getting a little of that with FCOM... I like to jump onto rocks and shoot enemies with my bow if they're too powerful to take on toe-to-toe, but I've been surprised more than a few times when they run around the rock and climb or jump up on it with me. This usually ends up with me either dead or running for my life.

Well, if they're too powerful, you should level up before going into the Deep

In my opinion, it would only be more fun, when the Deep is harder then the outside world. Gives you a reason to think twice about entering it :hubbahubba:

This looks fantastic. It is coming along well.

Well, yeah.


He DID say it's for very high level characters.... I suppose by the time I hit L40 or so in FCOM, I should be strong enough to handle things down there.

New thread is http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1109504-wipz-the-deep/