Project planning thead:

(I'm really sorry if this thread gets doubled! Something weird happened when I tried to submit it before...)

Explanation for newcomers: A while ago I sent out a call for help with putting together a small quest mod set after the MW MQ (see http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1600560-anyone-interested-in-co-authoring-a-post-mq-quest-mod/). I've been lucky enough to have some people express interest in helping, for which I am both surprised and grateful! So this is a thread for people involved in the project to organise, discuss, share files etc. For everyone else, this thread is useless and will have major spoilers for the mod in question. So if you like quest mods served without spoilers, steer clear! If you don't care, and you're really bored, you can read onwards, but I don't see what you stand to gain...

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Project stuff:

Link to the draft project outline: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0ss6y_pJT86al95Y1E4VzNENGM/view?usp=sharing (editable)

Link to the chatroom thing (if we come back to it): http://www.chatzy.com/59678642669575

I think before we can start mod-making, we need to settle what we're going to do. So if anyone has any ideas about: 1) changes or suggestions (everything is fair game!); and/or 2) suggestions about specific stuff they would like to do (out of the lists on the draft outline), that might be a good place to start.

And I'm serious about the suggestions! I think anyone involved should have their own say in what we end up making together. I'd like to steer clear of the "I am the boss and other people are doing stuff for me" setup, if at all possible...

I've made some sketches of a project plan at the end of the https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nxWwVfZynJDk660qftC0ff3cn6sKGKNAHh1T6xv1-mg/edit?pref=2&pli=1. Feel free to leave some feedback, make additions and comments.

We should probably make some individual research about npcs, cells and then find a time where we can discuss these together.

A collaboration thread posted after people have already signed up to help? Insanity! Power of the sixteen voids to you all.

I have a suggestion

First of all I apologize for my English, it's not my mother language.

The first stages of the mod seem to be mainly focused on the athmosphere, while the quests are few. Instead of using time conditions for the transition from one stage to the following, we might use simple quests. We could make some kind of "Tour of the Nerevarine", where you have to visit different places and talk to some people, attend public events (pretty much the things written under "stage one" in the draft).


You visit the Ghostgate for a cerimony for the fallen, you meet the Dreamers you saved (maybe each one gives you a gift and tells you his story), you have different dinners with the leaders of each house, you take part to some Ashlander celebrations... We can also use time conditions between one quest and the following (for example "come back in three days and we'll talk").

In this way the player gets the general athmosphere of celebration, gratitude, trust, and he has something to do. The story goes on as you do quests.

Let me know what you think

I edited some stuff on the planning document and tried to upload a new version, but something really weird is happening with my internet connection, so I'm not sure if it worked... I'll come back to it tomorrow, and reply properly to your ideas then! Gah, internet woes...

Edit: Argh! I don't think it uploaded! I'm sorry guys. I will try again tomorrow...

Ok, I've re-uploaded a new version which is comment-only unless you log in via email (I think it sends out email invitations to edit automatically -- let me know if you haven't gotten anything). I put your planning list on the top and started adding some stuff for section 1... was that what you had in mind, or am I going into too much detail for each part? I'll try to add more tonight.

Edit: Also, not sure if I ever got your email address... if you want to be able to edit the draft planning document, PM me your email address and I will add you to the "can edit" list!

I like it! I think it's a good way to get the "atmosphere" part while still having some kind of quest sequence to it. Especially if there are time sequences between each individual quest -- that still gives the player plenty of time to go around and talk to people on their own. So maybe we have the "major" functions like the ceremony at Ghostgate and celebrations at Ashlander camps as 'quests' while having smaller encounters like NPCs stopping to thank the player and tell their stories as randomised unquested things which the player can just walk into at different parts of Vvardenfell?

Some suggestions -- the player has the option to refuse these invitations as well, so they aren't forced to go to X or Y?

Also, I was thinking about how the player is going to get all of these invitations. Doing it by rumours seems a bit unwieldy. So I was thinking, maybe people start using the shrine to St. Nerevar at High Fane as a way of contacting the Nerevarine? Eg. commoners might leave letters, flowers etc. at a bowl placed by the Temple staff near the shrine? And official folk could leave letters of invitation there as well? It would be easy to script them to appear at different time points and stuff, and later on when people have turned on the player, it could be filled with the MW-equivalent of hate-mail... thoughts?

With so much focus on the PC as Nerevarine do you plan on having this be the trigger for Tribunal's start? If I were Helseth I'd want to put down the upstart before things got out of hand. It would make for a nicer segue to Tribunal than waking up at level 1 with an attacking Dark Brotherhood assassin looming above you.

This might be interesting.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/0f5f3bb5a5ad8d61fe30cb36f899ffa8/tumblr_inline_nu8q3pVmIx1r0g3h6_540.png

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Dreamwalkers

(More than in Dreamwalkers, I'm interested in the Priests of Vaermina and the potion they use to enter dreams).

EDIT: I've just sent you my e-mail, HangHimHigher

edit: spelling

Great additions to the project plan! I think we can go into even more detail. I'd venture and say that the best project plan goes all the way down to concrete instructions so that it turns into instructions which if you follow them, the project simply strolls along until it's done. When we have done our separate research and discussed it together it can be added into the project plan so that we have some thing like:

Write dialogue for Tholer Saryoni containing the following elements.

- wondering about what happened during the main quest

- discussing the dissident priests

- thanking the PC

Add the dialogue from the dialogue document to the CS

In the dialogue, include the results

update journal x to Y

Add the meshed V and Q as activators to cell T

add script J to each mesh

Ohh and about using a chain of quests. I completely agree that the PC should be able to decline the invitations. If the PC happens to speak with any of the NPCs related to this phase, I guess they should also be able to invite the PC in person. How about a courier system similar to Skyrim? I don't know how hard that would be to implement. About leaving messages at the shrines, I think it is a really nice touch. This means that the player will need to 1. Think about where the shrines to st. Nerevar is located. 2. Giving a simple yet effective way for the player to know what to do in order to progress in the quest line.


About giving note during the later phases: When the crisis reaches a critical point, wouldn't the population revert their opinions into that the PC is a false incarnate? As this is what has been proclaimed earlier by the temple I guess this would be the most plausible thing for the everage dunmer to do. As Nerevar has been a saint for roughly 2600 years, actually blaming Nerevar strikes me as unlikely.

It haven't been brought up yet but I should be taken into account. Especially since the mod will try to change the rather bland way the game handles how the people of Vvardenfell reacts to the PC completing the MQ. Even if the current goal is to do that in a qualitative rather than a quantitative way, an attempt (or several for that matter) on the Nerevarine's life should have some kind of effect which should probably be discussed further during the project

I'm personally still kind of hesitant to using ESO as a source since it's not even confirmed at Bethesda if it will be canon in the single player instalments.

Vaermina would though possibly find some interest in the events which unravels through out the mod. This would be a great thing to discuss further together.

A couple of days ago I tried to make a short list of characters that might have additional dialogue in the 1st stage, and I realized that each character would need different dialogue depending on some events. It's a lot of dialogue in the end ^^"


Fellow blades (if your still member or not)

Leaders of Great Houses (if you're member or not, or if you're leader)

Leaders of the Temple (if you're member or not, or if you're leader)

Ordinators in the High Fane

Ashlanders (if you're still member or not)

Dissident Priests (if you killed any or not)

Vivec (before or after the Tribunal MQ)

Divath Fyr (If you killed Yagrum Bagarn, or any of his daughters, or not)

Yagrum Bagarn (If you killed Fyr or any of his daughers, or not)

Orvas Dren/others who didn't dislike Dagoth Ur? (Some kind of "Sorry" or something more like "We still don't trust you").

Random dialogue specific for Pilgrims (class)

Random dialogue specific for Temple (faction)

Random dialogue specific for Dunmer (race)

Random dialogue for everyone

Latest rumors?

Some kind of "thank you" topic?

Dialogue for Imperial Legion/other guilds?

This is just some kind of "example"

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As for the Shrine of St.Nerevar, an NPC might tell you the first time to visit it (and where to find it) so that we make sure the player visits it. Then, depending on scripted events/quest, you might get a journal update "I should check the Shrine". This should also work for invitations, although I don't think an official invitation for the saviour of the country would be left by the Shrine.

Well there's a http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Waking_Nightmare where people have nightmares you enter a dream, that should be canon.

Yeah, there will be several scenarios that we'll have have to cover.

Ohh I was not really thinking about the Vaermina part, rather the dreamwalkers.

Or maybe the new character you're planning HangHimHigher is actually a dreamwalker? I guess the whole concept is open for debate and could be explained in various ways in relation to Vaermina.