Province: Cyrodiil

From the rocky Gold Coast where yellow and orange grass grow from in between jagged, tumbling boulders, to the snowy retreats of the frigid Jerall Mountains, to the magestic, massive Imperial City which sits secure from the dangerous, thick jungles surrounding it, all the way south into the swamplands creviced in between Elsweyr and Argonia, this is the land of Cyrodiil. The Imperial Province. The traditional, simple, hard working Colovians and the colorful, spiritual Nibenese stand under a single banner, uniting all of Tamriel with them.


Province: Cyrodiil (or P:C) is a project focused on the creation of the Cyrodiil province of Tamriel (also known as the Imperial province) for the Morrowind engine and time-frame. Our goal is to build the province as lore dictates through the pocket guides and various sources to be more of a jungled landscape than previously witnessed in TES IV: Oblivion. We are striving to be as lore accurate and friendly within this effort and have done loads of research (and will continue to do more as we move forward) to attain our goal. Having said this there will be several differences between our Cyrodiil and what is seen in Oblivion:
1. Cyrodiil will be much more of a jungle landscape.
2. The towns of Sutch, Mir Corrup, and Stirk will be placed in game as they should have been.
3. Kvatch will be a thriving city as it has not yet been destroyed by the hoards of daedra.
4. The culture of the Colovian and Nibenese peoples of Cyrodiil will be made present.
5. The Imperial City shall be redesigned to fit in with the pocket guide 1st edition.
6. Several new villages and settlements will dot the landscape which is about twice the size of the Oblivion Cyrodiil.

Using these differences as a base and lore as our guide we shall build this mighty province into a worthy rendition that fits in with the story and time of TES III: Morrowind. As we work on this project, and the releases of content for the community to consume, we will be working toward a structured set of releases based on the regions of Cyrodiil. Each release will include new land to explore, towns, NPC's, creatures to battle, and quests to fulfill. With that in mind let me tell you about our first planned release, Stirk.
The Isle of Stirk is just off the coast of Cyrodiil and is a part of the province that was neglected with the release of Oblivion. we will be creating the island and a large town filled with new characters with intriguing and developed back stories. There will be several quests and tons of new models and items to showcase what we will be bringing to the project as a whole. Here on the Isle you will get your first taste of the differences in culture of the Colovian's and the Nibenese as the Mayor of Stirk hails from Nibenay and is the influential minority in a town full of hardworking seafaring Colovian's. New Architecture will abound on Stirk and is just the beginning of the new models that will be enjoyed in P:C as each major city is planned on having it's own unique architecture in the same way as Oblivion, but fitting better with the world of Tamriel as seen in TES III.

FAQ

What will the scale of Cyrodiil be?

One thing about recreating Cyrodiil for Morrowind is that by default we need to address the issue of "scale". Oblivion's Cyrodiil, although actually around six square miles larger than Vvardenfell, it actually has a much smaller "scale" than Morrowind. In other words, it's roughly 1.5 times the size of vanilla MW when it should be more like two times larger.

Therefore, if we tried to recreate Cyrodiil at the exact scale it is in Oblivion, it wouldn't match up correctly with for instance Silgrad Tower or Tamriel Rebuilt. Therefore we have to scale everything up to make it fit into the puzzle of Morrowind's "version" of Tamriel.

This ultimately means that we're dealing with a lot more space than exists in Oblivion, and therefore we have to by default expand upon things-making towns and cities a bit larger and more detailed, and adding places that may have been "deleted" from Oblivion.

How are you dealing with the locations deleted from Oblivion and which ones are you using?

The three "deleted towns" we are adding to Province: Cyrodiil are Sutch, Stirk, and Mir Corrup.

Sutch: The town will be just next to the border of Hammerfell (originally it was intended to actually be IN Hammerfell, but due to the possibility of a Hammerfell mod we had to adjust our idea). The plot behind Sutch will be that it eventually gets annexed to Hammerfell by the time of Oblivion (the geography map be altered somewhat in order to have this make a bit more sense). This is done to adhere to the book in Oblivion which places Sutch in Hammerfell while explaining why some earlier maps show Sutch as being in Cyrodiil.

Sutch will be something of a "city of sin" with a Redguard criminal syndicate called the Kali Mes (sharp knife) playing a key role in the plot surrounding the town.

Stirk: Another location that appears on earlier maps of Cyrodiil but is not seen in Oblivion. Many may recognize it from a mod produced by Tamriel Rebuilt for Oblivion but we're taking our own unique approach to the location since there is no lore specifically stating what the place is like. However, like TR (and with the blessing of the head modder behind Stirk for Oblivion), we are planning on producing a stand-alone Stirk as a showcase of our talent and to help gather interest and support for our mod.

Mir Corrup: A location mentioned only in books, one of which we consider to be a work of fiction (Paula). It used to be a resort town for the wealthy but has sense fallen into being a shadow of its former self. There are still a few manors and at least one bathhouse that is still in business.

Unlike with Sutch, we are not providing an "explanation" for Mir Corrups exclusion from Oblivion. That's because Sutch's exclusion is somewhat explained already by a book in Oblivion saying that Sutch is in Hammerfell. It also would be a bit too strange to have every one of the new locations "explained away" with some kind of storyline. Stirk is sort of easy since it's an island - for whatever reason the player isn't able to reach it in the game. Mir Corrup's "disappearance" can only be explained by saying that it simply wasn't included in the game even though it is actually still there in the "real" version of Cyrodiil.

How will Cyrodiil be presented in this mod?

In addition to the requisite expansion, we're also trying to adhere more closely to building Cyrodiil more the way it was described in the First Edition Pocket Guide to the Empire, with more jungle-like elements and an Imperial City that is more reminiscent of Venice. We'll still be largely lifting the "look" of things such as architecture from Oblivion but at the same time we'll be adding our own unique ideas to it.

It is our view that Cyrodiil in Oblivion is simply a "representation" of the "actual place". This is a valid conclusion to reach since as mentioned earlier the scale between the Elder Scrolls games has always been inconsistent. For instance the first game Arena covered the whole of Tamriel but had a fairly small world space whereas its sequel Daggerfall covered a smaller area of Tamriel but was radically larger in scale and still remains one of the largest world spaces in any video or computer game.

Despite the fact that some lore was added "on the side" to explain away why Cyrodiil wasn't a jungle in Oblivion, we are choosing to more or less ignore that in favor of creating a more diverse, interesting and unique landscape.

We also believe that by now almost everyone is probably able to play Oblivion in some form (either on their computer or a next generation game console), so there really isn't a need to recreate it exactly as it is in that game anyway.

Will this mod require either or both of the expansion packs?

Yes, we intend to require both Tribunal and Bloodmoon.

Will this mod require any external programs such as MWSE or MGE?

Presently, I don't believe so. While we might incorporate some optional features but I think we'll be mostly relying on vanilla features from Morrowind and its expansions.

We do strongly recommend that player's get the Morrowind Code Patch, however, since it allows the map to be extended beyond its regular borders and I believe it also fixes some glitches that crop up with landscapes that are too far away from the center of the map.

Will my computer be able to run this mod?

Since Morrowind is an older game, the short answer is "probably yes". Of course, if you're asking "Will my computer be able to run this mod WELL", that's of course a different matter.

The biggest factor is obviously going to be whether or not you'll be using Morrowind Graphics Extender (MGE). If you are-then it also depends on how many of its bells and whistles you tend to use. If you use MGE regularly without many issues you should probably be fine.

One thing to note however is that Province: Cyrodiil will in general have quite a bit more detail than vanilla Morrowind-some higher resolution textures, higher quality meshes, and so on. Also, the BIG thing is that we're going to have some dense areas such as jungles with a lot of plants and such in them. If you're used to running MGE without any major visual enhancement mods that add things like grass and trees-you may have some trouble.

However, we aren't presently intending to required MGE to experience our mod, so if you're system specs aren't quite up to snuff you can adjust the resolution and draw distance and such and you probably shouldn't have too many issues.

We are considering at some point putting up some sort of "Recommended System Requirements" chart.

Province: Cyrodiil Links

The P:C Website http://www.provincecyrodiil.com/
The P:C Forums http://www.provincecyrodiil.com/index.php

How to join Province: Cyrodiil

Building a province is a lot of work. To successfully pull it off you need a team of modders with experience in various aspects of modding; from interior and exterior modders to questers and modelers. Knowing this we are opening up this project to help from the community in much the same way as Tamriel Rebuilt and Skyrim - Home of the Nords. To join simply go to the Province: Cyrodiil forums and find the Showcase thread. In there and post up a sample of your work.

Here are some guidelines to follow.

For Interiors: A two story home using a modular tileset and de_p furniture. Make sure it can fit an exterior shell and has a northmarker and proper light settings. The best tileset to use is Hlaalu from the vanilla game. We require de_p because it shows that you have good rotation skills and no matter what is thrown your way you will be able to create a working interior with items matching to the surface properly.

For Exteriors: A six cell showcase of new land with proper shading and a good layout of statics and textures. We are striving for a realistic province that will fit in with the rest of the TES III world as well as the other province mods being created. A showcase showing off your ability to create a more forested area would be beneficial.

For Quests: A sample quests showcasing your ability to write dialogue and a script of two. We want dialogue that fits the feel of The Elder Scrolls and scripting is an important part of questing that we will need to see.

For Models: A sample of your modeling work. A new mesh you have created (preferably a couple meshes) that fits into the TES world and hopefully the province of Cyrodiil. Look around the concept art for the project and creating a mesh that fits that would be a wonderful way to introduce yourself as a modeler for the project.



SCREENSHOTS-(NEW)
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil7-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil18-3.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil17-4.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil16-4.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil15-4.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil14-4.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil13-5.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil11-5.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil10-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil9-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil7-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil6-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil5-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil3-6.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil2-5.jpg


SCREENSHOTS-(OLD)
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil25.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Cyrodiil22.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Untitled-39.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Untitled-41.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/MGEScreenshot30-1.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/MGEScreenshot33-1.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/MGEScreenshot34.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/Untitled-20.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/MGEScreenshot11-5.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj265/zackgwin/ZackGs%20Cyrodiil/MGEScreenshot6-10.jpg


VIDEOS (OLD)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mPUzlrxjr8&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUlDbqJ0U-k&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4_vWuNJaow&hd=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v4xKtXe2Rc&hd=1

Looking good ZackG! I'm glad we finally made this post, since our move to the new site things at the forums have been a bit quiet. I hope many of you out there in the community are interested in this project and will lend your various expertise to see it completed. We are striving to create the Cyrodiil that is described in the pocket guides and bring the diversity found in Morrowind (culturally) to Cyrodiil with it's two main factions the Colovians and the Nibenese.

awesome and this is why I prefer morrowind over oblivion...the culture


one question though how will you implement it ? are you going to go by the tr morrowind team and implement the mod in chunks that deal with certain themes ? just wondering since this sound like a even bigger project then tamriel rebuilt.

also from the looks of it we will have the entire tamriel continent when all these projects are finished which will be AWESOME !

anyways keep up the good work.

Well we will certainly be close to having all of Tamriel completed when the current province mods are finished. As far as your question on whether or not it will be TR style releases the answer is yes. We will be releasing content in large chunks, based off of the geographic regions of Cyrodiil (ie. Gold Coast, Colovian Highlands, West Wield, etc.) the first being the release of Stirk which some of you may recognize from an earlier TR mod for TES IV. Our Stirk is nothing like TR's, the similarities end at the fact that it is named for an isle belonging to Cyrodiil according to lore and it's placement on the map.

Looking good so far. I take it most of those screens are of Stirk?

I'll definately consider helping out future, when I have more time to mod :icecream:

Yup, those are basically all Stirk with the exception of some of the old screens. I'll be glad to have you Yeti. Right now there isn't much to do interior wise, but we will get there fairly soon i imagine.

Wow I'm interested in this.
I would help but my motivation for modding is non-existant until I can somehow squash a bug that has been plaguing me for a very long time.
If I can get Morrowind working I might finish a beefier daedroth model I started a long time ago. I miss being a helpful kitteh.

We like kittehs

Very impressive Zackg! :foodndrink:

Well it isnt just me, not by a long shot. We also have SamirA, DJGamer, StarWarsGuy, Osidian, and myself are all active. ZXT contributed an enormous amount before his passing. And QuixoteUgly, Boethiah, and Sabian are no longer active but they did a lot of the work already.

Very impressive everyone! :foodndrink: This is certainly one of my most anticipated mod projects, especially since it appears to be trying to keep with the original intent of Cyrodiil.

That's the goal Dahrk. You are more than welcome to drop by and register on our forums and look around. Post if you see an area you would like to contribute to, or heck, even join the team. We need to generate some more traffic around P:C. We have a set of very capable individuals, but the more the merrier (and the quicker things will get done )

BTW ZackG, you may want to edit the link in your sig to reflect the new website, it currently leads to nowhere

Then good work to everyone! :thumbsup:

This looks and sounds so much more interesting than what we got in Oblivion. :tongue: I wish I could help, but I'll be busy with another mod for at least the next few months.

Any help at anytime is more than welcome Helena. Drop by the new forums and see what you think :wink_smile:

I am currently in the middle of transferring pertinent threads from our old forums to our new spiffy digs. I hope everyone likes the changes, it is a much improved interface in my eyes.

Hmm, mabe its time I actually focused on something. Definitly looks interesting and I know I have the skills to actually help with something like this, just never been dedicated(or spend time) enough to bother. Perhaps I will stop by and see about helping.

beautiful! I love that you guys are taking your own approach to this. playing a cyrodill that looked exactly like TES4 would bore me. Can't wait to see a real jungle and new architecture!

I feel like I have been working non-stop, transferring pertinent threads from our old forums to our new ones. This is a very time-consuming task, but perhaps by the end of today the new Province: Cyrodiil forums will be up do date with all the most useful information and pretty pictures made by ZackG.

I have to ask, you couldnt just transfer the info in the forum DB?

There are many things that need to be left behind. I am moving only items of relevance and I am not the person in control of these sites, that is DJGamer, who is taking care of other aspects. Many of the older posts are way out of date and simply are being left behind. There are still tons of relevant posts however.

Yeah, ZackG's sig unfortunately links to the "News" page on the old P:C website- http://cyrodiil.deejaygamer.com at least has a proper redirect page on it-with a spiffy artistic image on it too. We also need someone experienced with adding mods to phpBB3 "styles" with Board 3 Portal-I'm wanting to add an Image Gallery mod but unfortunately our current style doesn't entirely fit together with the way the instructions explain how to alter the theme (based on the default styles) to get it to work with the mod. It's the big feature I want to be able to add to the site-a downloads feature comes in second place but we could also do that through a combination of FTP access and attachments probably if all else fails.

Just dropping by to say how much I enjoy the screens you guys have posted. The meshes and textures are very nicely done.

Very best of luck! :tops:

-Swiveller-

Thank you Mr. Swiveller For those of you who find it interesting, the new forums are currently up-to-date on all important posts. That means you may now peruse them and perhaps find some are that intrigues you. Maybe you would like to post some suggestions, or perhaps a showcase is in order? All help is welcome at P:C and we would love to add any of you to the ranks of our modders.

Just a note that currently our forums are divided into a "public" section and a much larger "private" section only available to approved staff members. Most of the screenshots that have been posted are, unfortunately posted in the private forums. This will be remedied for certain once we figure out how to implement a proper image gallery and it's possible that in the meantime we'll at least see about creating a thread or threads in the public forums showcasing the best screenshots captured from the mod so far. The blog sections are public for viewing as well and ZXT's Memorial Blog in-particular has some very nice screenshots in a few of the posts.

One thing I'm considering right now is looking for a specialized Image Gallery CMS -which may require a separate log-in however I think only a few key staff members would actually be in charge of uploading new screenshots anyway so that might not be a big problem.

Yeah, if you haven't made such a thread already DJ, I'll go compile a bunch of shots and put them in a public thread.