» Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:58 am It is with great joy I can finally reveal more about our project, an expansive story driven mod for Oblivion set for release on 9/9/11.
First, let's watch the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT4JQ4yo8C0!
Quick plot synopsis:
From the modding community http://bloodpact.org comes the prequel to the Darkshines saga for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
A young Necromancer, Akir Rond, steals the Materium Ignis, an artifact of substantial power forged by an order of Summerset Isles priests to combat the Sload, and seeks to use the artifact in Morrowind to take power for himself during the turmoil after the fall of Dagoth Ur and Almalexia.When he arrived by ship in Anvil, Imperial Law had caught up to him and a game of cat and mouse began. Eventually, he was captured by an independent organization of vigilantes and priests called the Heralds of the Fall. Unfortunately, he was no longer carrying the artifact, and had a head trauma during the scuffle leaving him in a deep, permanent slumber.
Instead of turning the captured necromancer over to Imperial law, they secured him in one of their hideouts in an Ayleid ruin network across the border of Hammerfell, where harboring a necromancer or performing necromancy was not outlawed at the time. Eventually, the group secured the assistance of Henantier, who had created an amulet to travel into one's own dreams in the past.
Now, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Through_A_Nightmare,_Darkly, is called to help: You.
A young Necromancer, Akir Rond, steals the Materium Ignis, an artifact of substantial power forged by an order of Summerset Isles priests to combat the Sload, and seeks to use the artifact in Morrowind to take power for himself during the turmoil after the fall of Dagoth Ur and Almalexia.When he arrived by ship in Anvil, Imperial Law had caught up to him and a game of cat and mouse began. Eventually, he was captured by an independent organization of vigilantes and priests called the Heralds of the Fall. Unfortunately, he was no longer carrying the artifact, and had a head trauma during the scuffle leaving him in a deep, permanent slumber.
Instead of turning the captured necromancer over to Imperial law, they secured him in one of their hideouts in an Ayleid ruin network across the border of Hammerfell, where harboring a necromancer or performing necromancy was not outlawed at the time. Eventually, the group secured the assistance of Henantier, who had created an amulet to travel into one's own dreams in the past.
Now, http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Through_A_Nightmare,_Darkly, is called to help: You.
Taking inspiration from adventure games like Myst, we aim to combine combat, story and puzzles in a way that is unique for a first person RPG experience. The mod was originally created to be nothing but a concept for our unofficial Skyrim expansion, currently in pre-production - but evolved to a point where it was decided it should be completed and released. The Darkshines saga will continue in Skyrim, in an episodic fashion with enough content to qualify each one as a full fledged expansion.
We are still accepting team members for our projects. You can http://bloodpact.org/recruitment at our site. We currently need voice actors and modelers the most. If somehow the link doesn't work, you can find us at bloodpact.org
About a month ago, we had a survey up on The Nexus, Bethesda official forums and The Escapist, which had 160 answers. We would like to thank everyone who contributed, and it is going to help us a great deal! Without further ado, let's see the results!
Spoiler
How does a hard puzzle affect your desire to continue playing?
I don't have the patience for hard puzzles and would put the game away. (3 - 2%)
I don't mind/ love puzzles that make sense, and would try to figure it out on my own. (65 - 41%)
If I am stuck for a long time, I would look for the solution online to progress. (91 - 57%)
I don't think puzzles have any place in an RPG like Skyrim. (1 - 1%)
How many hours of gameplay do you typically expect from RPG expansions?
15 hours or less (12 - 8%)
15-30 hours (33 - 21%)
30-50 hours (13 - 8%)
50+ hours (3 - 2%)
It's not the quantity that matters - it's the quality! (99 - 62%)
How big in terms of disk space could a mod get before you would reconsider downloading it?
I would prefer the size to be kept down and would sacrifice voice acting, videos, custom models and music. (8 - 5%)
I would like a low-bandwith option even if it means the mod might take longer to complete. (21 - 13%)
I want the whole package! (131 - 82%)
Would you prefer a more sandbox approach to the mod, a heavily instanced approach, or a mix?
Base game sandbox integration (46 - 29%)
Instancing (16 - 10%)
A mix (98 - 61%)
How much does integration into the base game matter to you?
I wouldn't mind a quick way to start off, even if it somewhat breaks the fourth wall. (18 - 11%)
I would like a more immersive solution, as long as it doesn't tamper with the base game's characters, places or quests. (109 - 68%)
I don't mind either way. (33 - 21%)
Select any amount of options that you think a good RPG experience should contain:
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
High quality rewards (95 - 59%)
A well written overarching plot (142 - 89%)
A sense of urgency in the story (73 - 46%)
Puzzles, investigations and/or other challenging content (94 - 59%)
Scripted boss fights (48 - 30%)
Long and arduous dungeon crawls (72 - 45%)
Short but challenging dungeon crawls (59 - 37%)
More action (47 - 29%)
More role playing (107 - 67%)
More consequence (108 - 68%)
Greatly varied environments (81 - 51%)
Few environments, but with lots of detail (49 - 31%)
'Hidden' content that is not required to progress, but gives an additional layer to the game. (129 - 81%)
Moral choices (77 - 48%)
Character defining choices (113 - 71%)
I don't have the patience for hard puzzles and would put the game away. (3 - 2%)
I don't mind/ love puzzles that make sense, and would try to figure it out on my own. (65 - 41%)
If I am stuck for a long time, I would look for the solution online to progress. (91 - 57%)
I don't think puzzles have any place in an RPG like Skyrim. (1 - 1%)
How many hours of gameplay do you typically expect from RPG expansions?
15 hours or less (12 - 8%)
15-30 hours (33 - 21%)
30-50 hours (13 - 8%)
50+ hours (3 - 2%)
It's not the quantity that matters - it's the quality! (99 - 62%)
How big in terms of disk space could a mod get before you would reconsider downloading it?
I would prefer the size to be kept down and would sacrifice voice acting, videos, custom models and music. (8 - 5%)
I would like a low-bandwith option even if it means the mod might take longer to complete. (21 - 13%)
I want the whole package! (131 - 82%)
Would you prefer a more sandbox approach to the mod, a heavily instanced approach, or a mix?
Base game sandbox integration (46 - 29%)
Instancing (16 - 10%)
A mix (98 - 61%)
How much does integration into the base game matter to you?
I wouldn't mind a quick way to start off, even if it somewhat breaks the fourth wall. (18 - 11%)
I would like a more immersive solution, as long as it doesn't tamper with the base game's characters, places or quests. (109 - 68%)
I don't mind either way. (33 - 21%)
Select any amount of options that you think a good RPG experience should contain:
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
High quality rewards (95 - 59%)
A well written overarching plot (142 - 89%)
A sense of urgency in the story (73 - 46%)
Puzzles, investigations and/or other challenging content (94 - 59%)
Scripted boss fights (48 - 30%)
Long and arduous dungeon crawls (72 - 45%)
Short but challenging dungeon crawls (59 - 37%)
More action (47 - 29%)
More role playing (107 - 67%)
More consequence (108 - 68%)
Greatly varied environments (81 - 51%)
Few environments, but with lots of detail (49 - 31%)
'Hidden' content that is not required to progress, but gives an additional layer to the game. (129 - 81%)
Moral choices (77 - 48%)
Character defining choices (113 - 71%)
A big thanks to everyone who answered our survey, it helps immensely with our end product which we aspire to give the highest marks of production value as possible.
Everyone who have submitted an answer and their alias or name as well are already credited in the in-game Bink credits, and will be immortalized in the read me and on the site. :goodjob:
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Hope all goes well in your modding endeavor 
bliviongate: 