Welcome to...

 The
Unique
 Landscapes
      Project

This is our Development Thread IX. If you are interested in becoming a UL modder, if you have ideas for new UL mod or if you already are a UL modder and have a problem with your WIP mod, this is the right place to post in.

Please also visit our current http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1045160. The previous Development Thread can be found http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=931793.

Unique Landscapes (short: UL) is based on the vision of a diversified and beautiful Cyrodiil. Imagine a world where exploring not only means to find new enemies and treasures but to enjoy gorgeous landscapes, a world where every step could lead to a new and unique visual experience. That is the Cyrodiil UL is working on.

To achieve a goal that huge, the UL project consists of multiple single mods. Each mod modifies a part of Cyrodiil, following a single theme. Usually UL mods get developed completely independently from each other. This way each modder has a maximum of freedom to work on his vision, so every UL mod gets its own style and contributes to the diversification of Cyrodiil.


:: UL Map ::
These maps show the location of all released and WIP mods: http://bettercities.free.fr//UniqueLandscapes/Maps/UniqueLandscapesGridMapReleased.jpg | http://bettercities.free.fr//UniqueLandscapes/Maps/UniqueLandscapesGridMapReleasedAndWIP.jpg. Thanks go to worm82075 for the original map PSD resource file, available here: http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=23939.


Content
I: Becoming a UL modder
II: Work-in-Progress UL Mods
III: Planned UL Mods
IV: Unique Landscapes Ideas
V: Modders Resources
VI: The UL Modstitution
VII: The Team

To download our releases or to get more information about this project, please take a look at our current http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1045160!


Section I: Becoming a UL modder

Why should I participate in UL?
To be a UL modder has some advantages, compared to being a member of other big projects:

• The relaxed ambience: There is no haste. UL mods usually get developed independently from each other, so nobody's work depends on your mod getting finished. If you have responsibilities that leave you little time to work on UL, be it the ominous thing called real life or other modding projects, this is no problem. Quality is more important than speed, so take your time!
  
• The fun: In UL you can be creative. Of course your mod has to match the quality standards of UL and there are a few rules regarding the mod's content, but besides that you are free to design your mod the way you like, including fancy ideas and gimmicks.

This shall in no way be a try to poach modders from other big modding projects. We just want to show that it is okay to do an UL mod as a side project, as something you can relax on when whatever else you do gets rough on you.

Are there any special requirements I have to meet?

• You need to have some experience with the CS. Of course you can always ask for help in the threads, but we simply don't have the manpower to teach you modding.
  
• The UL team is much more loosely organized than most modding projects because of its special scope, but you still need to follow some rules. The UL modstitution rules are enlisted in Section V of this post; please take a look at them and see if your plans fit into UL prior to volunteering to do a UL mod.

What kind of Landscapes may I create?
You can either implement one of our mod ideas which can be found below in Section IV or you can realize your own ideas. To get an impression of what can be done within the scope of UL aside from the given ideas, take a look at the descriptions and screenshots of our releases and WIPs. And don't worry if you would like to implement an idea in a different way or want to realize a completely different concept in an ideas location: Those mod ideas are not carved in stone, they are simply proposals. Just check in the UL modding rules (they can be found at the end of this post) if your vision fits into UL.

Okay, I am convinced, what do I have to do to become an UL modder?

• Decide which mod idea you would like to realize. If you want to implement your own concept, formulate a description with a few words, including the location. If you want to implement one of the existing mod ideas, think about how you would like to realize it, what you want to change and describe that with a few words.
  
• Send your plans to the UL council spokesman (currently cthulhu314). He will forward it to the other council members.
  
• If your plans get accepted by the UL council (usually they will ), a few things have to be discussed (an initial cell list for the location, the name of the mod, ...), then your mod will get enlisted here as a WIP mod.

If you wish to get more information about the Unique Landscapes Project, please take a look at our current http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=1045160.


Section II: Work-in-Progress UL Mods

KVATCH LOWLANDS - By Ddraiggoch06
:: Screenshots ::
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Kvatch%20Lowlands/UL-KvatchLowlands-01-Well.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Kvatch%20Lowlands/UL-KvatchLowlands-02-Farm.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Kvatch%20Lowlands/UL-KvatchLowlands-03-NecroLair.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Kvatch%20Lowlands/UL-KvatchLowlands-04-Waterfall.jpg
:: Overview ::
This mod overhauls the barren area North of Kvatch. Sightseers will appreciate the luscious landscape full of forests, waterfalls and rivers, whilst skilled adventurers will be rewarded if they stumble across long lost treasure. Small shrines, lost ruins and traces of the mighty Ayleids dot the landscape, making the area perfect for explorers and adventurers alike.
Current Progress: ████████████████████

RIVER STRID - By Carel de Winter
:: Screenshots ::
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/River%20Strid/UL-RiverStrid-01-RiverStrid.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/River%20Strid/UL-RiverStrid-02-AnotherSunset.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/River%20Strid/UL-RiverStrid-03-ALongWayUp.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/River%20Strid/UL-RiverStrid-04-TheHouseontheEdge.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/River%20Strid/UL-RiverStrid-05-AHoleintheRoof.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/River%20Strid/UL-RiverStrid-06-BuildingsamongtheR.jpg
:: Overview ::
River Strid overhauls the southern border river of western Cyrodiil. It elevates the water of the Strid River, improves its surroundings and creates a whole new landscape on the other side of the border. This mod stretches the project definition of UL to the max and is by far Carel de Winters most ambitious mod. It contains two new world spaces, a Castle and the darkest thickest forests yet seen. There are rapids, an underground village on a lake built out of old ayleid bits and pieces, mountain streams, marshlands, and more waterfalls than you could shake a stick at. Carel is teaching himself how to use Nifskope and blender, so there will be a lot of custom meshes and you will be seeing things that oblivion has never seen before.
Current Progress: ████████████████████

SILVERFISH RIVER VALLEY - By DarthSloth74
:: Screenshots ::
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Silverfish%20River%20Valley/UL-SilverfishRiverValley-01-Silverf.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Silverfish%20River%20Valley/UL-SilverfishRiverValley-02-Silverf.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Silverfish%20River%20Valley/UL-SilverfishRiverValley-03-Imperia.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Silverfish%20River%20Valley/UL-SilverfishRiverValley-04-Graveya.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Silverfish%20River%20Valley/UL-SilverfishRiverValley-05-Imperia.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Silverfish%20River%20Valley/UL-SilverfishRiverValley-06-Path.jpg
:: Overview ::
This mod overhauls the Silverfish river, including the island of Fort Grief. The surrounding wood becomes thick fir forest full of broken rocks, with hidden paths and lost clearings. The river itself gets spiced up with a gorge-like area and a large waterfall called Stredria Falls. Above the falls, a large ruined memorial sits atop the hill and offers beautiful views of the valley. Existing content gets improved: Fort Arus gets enlarged, Cadlew chapel has an included graveyard and tomb, with far more obvious signs of necromantic activities, and the Imperial Bridge is now way more easy to find, including a proper stable, a relaxing garden as well as an obvious cliff top path that leads to the end with proper signposting and pathway lanterns. Nenalata gets changed into a much bigger and significant Ayleid ruin with an ancient Ayleid harbour and lighthouse. And finally, there will be additional landmarks like an abandoned ranger camp and the ruins of a very large Imperial fort called Fort Commadrius.
Current Progress: ████████████████████

SKINGRAD OUTSKIRTS - By GrandDukeAdense
:: Screenshots ::
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Skingrad%20Outskirts/UL-SkingradOutskirts-01-Road01.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Skingrad%20Outskirts/UL-SkingradOutskirts-02-Road02.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Skingrad%20Outskirts/UL-SkingradOutskirts-03-Road03.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Skingrad%20Outskirts/UL-SkingradOutskirts-04-Creek.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Skingrad%20Outskirts/UL-SkingradOutskirts-05-Slope.jpg
:: Overview ::
This mod redesigns the surroundings of Skingrad. It adds a small river as well as lots of cliffs and in general, the vegetation gets densified and more detailed. In addition to the landscape improvements, Skingrad Outskirts adds new farms and overhauls the existing ones. It also implements ruins of farms, abandoned by their owners for unknown reasons and reconquered by nature.
Current Progress: ████████████████████

SNOWDALE - By Verganon
:: Screenshots ::
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Snowdale/UL-SnowDale-01-Canyon.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Snowdale/UL-SnowDale-02-WinterForest02.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Snowdale/UL-SnowDale-03-CloudRulerTemple.jpg | http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k140/cthulhu314/Snowdale/UL-SnowDale-04-Road.jpg
:: Overview ::
Snowdale overhauls the Jerall Mountains around Bruma. It creates a rough, but beautiful snow landscape with cliffy mountain sides. At the east, an idyllic dale including an icy lake is surrounded by dense conifer wood. At some places, the civilization has left heavy signs: The wood around Bruma is lumbered at many places and in the mountains there are still remains of camps built in ancient wars.
Current Progress: ████████████████████


Section III: Planned UL Mods

These mods are assigned to a modder, but not yet started.

ALPINE MOUNTAINS v1.0 - By Carel de Winter
:: Screenshots ::
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j190/Carel_de_Winter/On-the-ice.jpg | http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j190/Carel_de_Winter/Glacier.jpg | http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j190/Carel_de_Winter/Jerall-Mountains.jpg
:: Samples ::
http://www.bigfoto.com/themes/nature/landscapes/mountains-snow-j4vd.jpg | http://www.du.edu/clipart/mountain.jpg
:: Overview ::
This plugin adds an Alpine Mountains Region to the Jerall Mountains. It has been started but is currently on hold due to common problems with LOD.


Section IV: Unique Landscapes Ideas

Sorry, currently we don't have any mod ideas to present.


Section V: Modders Resources

6 DESERT LAND TEXTURES & 8 DESERT ROCKS - Modders Resource - By addiktive
Includes 6 Land textures & Meshes and Textures for 8 Rocks
:: Download ::
Link: http://www.4shared.com/dir/2151648/5eb8319e/Modders_resources.html

48 BLACKWOOD ROCKS - Modders Resource - By IAMTHEEMPEROR
Includes Meshes and Textures for 48 Blackwood Rocks
:: Download ::
Link: http://www.4shared.com/dir/2151648/5eb8319e/Modders_resources.html

CYRODIIL 'MODDERS RESOURCE' CELL GRID MAP:
This is an Oblivion Cell Numbered Grid Map of Cyrodiil, designed for Modders to utilise. It is in very high res to enable easy viewing.
http://server6.theimagehosting.com/image.php?img=OBOriginalCellGridMap.jpg

MODDERS RESOURCES RECOMMENDATIONS: http://www.gamesas.com/bgsforums/index.php?showtopic=668546


Section VI: The UL Modstitution

History: v1.0: 2006-Nov-19, v2.0: 2006-Dec-29, v2.1: 2007-Mar-10

Part One: Council Rules

1.) UL is led by a council that has the purpose to control the development of the UL project. The council members declare one of their own as the council spokesman whose job it is to organize votings and announce decisions that have been made.

2.) A vote by the council may be done in two ways:
- If a possible decision has been discussed upon and a majority of the council member unambiguously agree on it in the thread, the council spokesman announces that decision, by which it gets official.
- Otherwise the council spokesman organizes a voting by formulating "voting ballots" which get sent to the council members. He also counts the votes and announces the result.

3.) New council members have to be voted upon by the council. This includes both new modders and other people that help with aspects of UL. Council members can be removed from the council for cogent reasons by voting so.

4.) Before a mod gets the status of a "UL WIP mod" it must be voted upon by the council. The council also may deprive a mod of that status. If a UL WIP mod gets finished without becoming deprived during beta stage, it automatically gets an UL mod.

5.) Finished mods that were developed independently from UL may be voted upon by the council to make them UL mods. This includes formerly deprived UL WIP mods.

6.) Everybody may suggest mod ideas in the threads, but the council decides if a mod idea gets added to the OP and it also has the right to remove ideas.


Part Two: Modding Rules

1.) UL mods must be conflict free with all other UL mods.

2.) UL mods must not break any Vanilla Oblivion quests.

3.) UL mods must be lore friendly. They do not need to be cited in the lore and they do not have to explicitly follow the lore, but they must fit into the Elder Scrolls world.

4.) UL mods may not use outside resources without the owner's permission.

5.) UL mods shall focus on landscaping. Buildings, Quests, NPCs and/or creatures are allowed to be part of an UL mod only if they are essential for the credibility or the atmosphere of the mod.

6.) UL mods are allowed to edit cells outside of Cyrodiil only if this is needed to create a consistent landscape that also edits cells inside of Cyrodiil.

7.) When the mod is finished, a short description of the mod must be written to be posted in the release section. If any help is needed, contact any of the council members for assistance.

8.) UL Mods shall only use Shivering Isles resources if they are located in Sheogorath's Realm.


Section VII: The Team

The UL Council: Arthmoor, cthulhu314 (spokesman), Vorians (user name "display name is already in use")
The currently active UL modders: Apallo, Carel de Winter, DarthSloth74, GrandDukeAdense, Verganon
German Translations: ThreeD
French Translations: Roi_liche
Russian Translations: DJk
Patch Makers: Arthmoor, Vorians (user name "display name is already in use")
OMOD Manager: Kerghan55
UL teaser video: Egger3rd
Wiki pages Manager: MiSP
Thread I to XX Manager: addiktive
Thread XXI to XXXII Manager: Yzerman19
Thread XXXIII to ??? Manager: cthulhu314
Founder of UL: addiktive
Special Credits go to our Beta Testers and all Forum Posters!

2 mods close to being finished, hope they come soon, the both look great

Hello UL team !

I've got maybe a little tackling job for you guys. I've found an incompatibility (nothing major though) between Barrowfields and Crypt of Decay ( http://www.tesnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=8943 ) The entrance of the Crypt is right in the middle of a Sheep keep in the Barrowfields.

I'll check first if there is a load order solution, if not, i'll post pics with the floaters later.

EDIT : Ok, with Crypt of Decay loaded after , it's even worse, the cave entrance is well placed, and got almost no floaters, but everything else near it is messed up.

PICS :
http://s532.photobucket.com/albums/ee325/Conker343qc/UL%20incompatibilities/?action=view¤t=Oblivion2009-07-2011-34-31-71.jpg (the cave camp)

http://s532.photobucket.com/albums/ee325/Conker343qc/UL%20incompatibilities/?action=view¤t=Oblivion2009-07-2011-34-38-26.jpg (tent badly placed)

http://s532.photobucket.com/albums/ee325/Conker343qc/UL%20incompatibilities/?action=view¤t=Oblivion2009-07-2011-34-55-09.jpg (tent inside a rock)

http://s532.photobucket.com/albums/ee325/Conker343qc/UL%20incompatibilities/?action=view¤t=Oblivion2009-07-2011-48-46-93.jpg (location + infos)

Hope it helps you all ! If you need more stuff, i'll do it Keep the good work guys ! :thumbsup:

Bump for the conflict report...

I went through a period of testing out many many independently made dungeon mods so familiar with this conflict.

You cannot fix this with load order. With Barrowfields after then the entrance is buried with this after then you get floating stuff as you report.

Not all mods are going to work together. You could put a request in for a patch but I'd do that in the RELZ thread not the WIP thread. Where this should have been reported anyway.

The dungeon isn't all that great imo. Another issue with these older dungeons is that if you have a darkness mod (darker dungeons or let there be darkness) then these dungeons really stick out because they won't be near as dark as the vanilla ones.

What I would wish for is that a project would be started to take all these dungeon mods and add them to the ULs through a series of releases. 'The dungeons of UL' it would be called and then we can finally see a dungeon behind the II doors near sideways cave or longsmans barrow (or whatever it is called). The dungeons could then be cleaned and darkened and not forgotten.

Since I'm not going to mod - it won't be me. Just an idea though.

1. thanks @ all for the nice feedback to my last screenshot-update

2. new Screenshots

PRE-Alpha Screenshots of the Everwinter Valley!
This Area will become the heart of my UL-Part. It's nothing for an intensive-adventure or something like this, but some secrets are still inside^^
it's for the people who like it to make screenshots, from the area, panoramas or just to have a new place to pose with their charakter. and now someone tell my, empty exterrior-cells are not atmospheric :flamethrower:
this place is a gigantic experiment, so i edit it maybe every day... i can't say something about what it becomes finaly.

http://pic.leech.it/i/53ab4/45180ae9doppelalph.jpg
http://pic.leech.it/i/bceb9/faa332f8a01.jpg
http://pic.leech.it/i/8f306/202e7c8c97d2.jpg
http://pic.leech.it/i/24cef/6ca3352619b3.jpg

Ah yea. This will surely look very nice. While i write this, i think that there's no real valleys in vanilla. This will be a very good addition.

Valleys and cliffs are welcome ANY DAY!

Hi.

I think the hard work on Cheydinhal Falls is now completed !
All the landscaping is done. There are just some thing to adjust, and the passgrid to do.

Here is some screenshot from the last work:
http://perso.orange.fr/jppenava/UL-CheydinhalFalls_20090730235117.jpg
http://perso.orange.fr/jppenava/UL-CheydinhalFalls_20090730235147.jpg

J.P.

Looks great

Congrads Meg! Now UL is finally going to be legal! (I mean 21, for those who are confused)

Looks really cool, Meg., I will play your mod when it's out.

Do any of you know if it's possible to create an actual water current? As I went through the UL mods, I constantly thought 'This river is great, but it would be cool to simply jump into it and have it calmly carry me down that deadly waterfall'.

Yes, with the right scripting it would be doable. You'd need activator boxes which trigger scripts to move the player in the right direction, and then place a new box each time the direction changes. Now you just need to find someone to create the script!
The force would need to be weak enough to allow the player to move against the current (perhaps only when running upstream) otherwise they may get pushed into a location they cannot get out of.

well, are there any UL modders that would be willing to try this out? I would, but i'm just getting started in modding and i have a feeling that it would be just a tad to complicated for me to do.

I don't try it out^^ In my area is much water, but only as snow and ice. :wacko:


Oh: News about Snowdale!

Finally i found enough time to make the Second Teaser have fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEab7Ra7ij0 (from 16. August 2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zm3Ed8_zJ0 (from 15. August 2009)


greetings
Verganon

Verganon: Great work, very beautifull ! :thumbsup:

J.P.

What more can I say, but...BRING ON THE GIRLS!!!

There's only one thing to say: Well done .

Goob job Verganon !! Can't wait to try this baby out

Snowdale is going to rock the house...keep up the good work!

Hi !

I have a litlle probleme:

Some entities are moved from exterior cell to interior cell.
How to move them back to exterior cell ?

Thank you.

J.P.

If cutting it from the interior cell and pasting it back into an exterior cell doesn't work, you'll need to fix that by using TES4Edit and removing the object this happened to.

Is Snowdale the only UL mod being worked on right now? Are all the other ULs in progress on hold?

Snowdale, Cheydinhal Falls, River Strid, Silverfish River, and Aspen Woods are the ones I've seen activity on recently. Other stuff is still being worked on but at a much slower pace than the others. I wouldn't worry about it really. There'll be plenty more to come as time goes on.