My bit for this week is discussion of the stickies and checking what’s done, plus updates on the to-do.

Stickies

• Concept Art guidelines are essentially done, would like one last round of feedback before I post it.
• Does anyone think we need to update the main forum guidelines?
• Is Guidelines to Writing for TR done? it looks ready to go to me.
• What else needs to go into About TR? What is the purpose of this sticky?
• Asset Development has a new outline in the sticky thread, which needs feedback and work.
• Showcase guidelines has a new outline in the sticky thread, which needs feedback and work.
• The quest guidelines sticky has not been written yet, but if anyone has ideas or thinks we should include information from any old or current stickies, say so in that thread.

 

Are there any other stickies that need to be made, updated, or unstickied?

 Implementing the sticky thread suggestions here:

http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=330119#330119

(run down the list and either implement the changes now, or mark what needs to be done before sticky can be changed)

 

To do for Dec 8 Maintenance Release updates

• Anonytroll has got an esp together for the traveling, this mod needs some people to run through it and test it and make sure it’s working right. Basically just bounce around the travel network and make sure it functions.
• Kaziem finished the first round of texture updates for TR_Data (renaming, organization). The second round (doing basic fixes: alpha repairs, resizing) is up next and may get done in time. The third round (uv fixes, actual texture appearance edits) will not be done for the next release, but I am always looking for suggestions for improvements to any current assets in the texture/uv department. Post any suggestions in the appropriate thread.
• For publicity, we have a new round of screenshots provided by Kaziem. Ironed Maidens offered to start posting these screenshots around the internet to boost interest in the project.
• Kaziem and Ironed Maidens have begun work on the video (it’s being planned, and screenshots and footage gathered.) We would like suggestions on areas we can say are being updated for this and our previous release, including anything behind the scenes we want to talk about.
• Also, if anyone knows someone in the project with either a sweet rig to get cinematic quality footage or video editing capability, let us know.

 

Misc

We need a better way to make meeting minutes. Is it possible to get someone to be the secretary and type the notes as they happen? Trying to type them after the fact seems to keep getting delayed. Maybe we can just designate or pick someone, whoever is in the meeting?

 

Kaziem is trying to put together a PDF of all the Morrowind textures for modder/texturer reference. When the TR textures are also sorted out she will make a PDF of those also.

 

Yeti’s Topics

 

Discuss Overarching Themes For The Region - Though tranquil on the surface, the Thirr River Valley is a political fault line between colliding cultures, including the Indoril vs. the Hlaalu and, to a lesser extent due to the presence of Old Ebonheart, the Imperials vs. the Dunmer. It highlights differences between ways of life, from the peasant villagers of the eastern bank, to the plantation owners and yeoman farmers of the western bank. Agriculture and trade come into play here heavily.

 

Thirr river valley: the river area is mainly important for geographic and political regions. it is fertile, but not especially suited to farms. It is a friendly place, but covered in tree cover and is somewhat alien, but not too alien. It is a rocky place and the thirr river has carved away at the rocks to make its current path.

 

Exterior Changes - What touch-ups does the Thirr River Region require to finalize its exterior? Do we want to move forward with replacing the region's trees with new Corkbulb versions to diversify its appearance compared to the Ascadian Isles? How is the region's settlement density? Does it accomplish making the region feel densely populated, safe, and settled?

 

Tree changes:

Ndib’s trees: could make the foliage less dense, and some general texture improvements to the leaves and bark to make them a little more alien.

Orangey-green coloring in the trees,

new textures for rocks(?) and the grass/dirt to reflect this

 

A new model for the trees in the Thirr river valley, possibly deleting a few leaves. Possible use of corkbulb trees or an entirely new tree type instead of the NDIB models.

 

Make a new concept art thread for this, then move the thread as necessary.

 

Put a few more trees around Old Ebonheart to ease the transition, not too close to the city walls but around the edges, maybe St. Seryn’s Infirmary.

 

Fix those ferns!

 

Name Changes - Finalizing the region, settlement, major NPC, and other important names. Some changes I've been mulling:

 

Thirr River Valley -> Fields of Thirr - This is one of Swiftoak's more recent suggestions. The current name sounds to technical to me, while the replacement suggests a feeling of fertility and prosperity that I believe the region should exude. Though it would be a stretch to describe the region as a "field" in its current form, the name works on a figurative level due to the abundant farms.

 

Thirr River Valley may sound awkward, but it’s okay. There are no fields. Maybe Thirr Valley. The Middle Thirr.

Upper/Middle/Lower Thirr

Dondril -> Dondrit - Having a village in Indoril lands that ends with "ril" strieks me as a bit too unsubtle. Using "rit" instead would lend the village a less ornate name, I feel. It also sounds more rugged and rural.  

We seem to be fine with this as it is now, named Dondril.

Old Ebonheart -> Ebonheart - I'm in favor of finally nixing this logical fallacy. No one changes the name of a settlement simply because a "New" one has been founded elsewhere. York didn't suddenly become "Old York" because of New York's existence. Naturally, we'll need to decide on a new name for the Vvardenfell Ebonheart, which might be beyond the scope of our discussion this week, I admit.  

Issues with renaming Ebonheart and Old Ebonheart:

Renaming Vvardenfell’s Ebonheart would break dialogue, because dialogue filters run by cell names.

Renaming Vvardenfell’s Ebonheart would be incompatible with other mods that edit Ebonheart and the cells and things in it.

It is suggested that calling one old and the other not is not actually that unusual in terms of how people name cities and towns.

One idea is to rename Old Ebonheart to Ebonheart, but that would be confusing for players, since they’re far apart.

Another idea is to explain better why one Ebonheart is “Old” and the other is not; that Old Ebonheart is the administrative center for the mainland and Ebonheart is for Vvardenfell.

Or, it was an administrative decision, or error.

Another idea is to rename Old Ebonheart instead. Maybe like Ebonheart on the Thirr. (Frankfurt am main, Frankfurt an der Oder) Or maybe give Old Ebonheart a fancy name. Maybe Greater Ebonheart instead of Old Ebonheart.

Consensus: renaming Ebonheart on Vvardenfell is too much work, we should either rename Old Ebonheart or find an explanation for why it’s named as it is.

Maybe: refer , on the mainland, to vvardenfell’s ebonheart as “ebonheart on vvardenfell” or something

Grand Ebonheart

Yscaadia Ebonheart (vvardenfell) vs Xanth Ebonheart (mainland)

 

Major Characters - This topic might overlap with faction discussions for the Indoril and Hlaalu, along with the Empire.

 

Dialogue and Quest Reviews - I would like for us to take time to discuss and review the format and content of my Indoril-Thirr Dialogue Document. Do the current entries paint a compelling narrative picture for their settlements and characters? We can also discuss the current quest plans for Dondril and Vhul (I also might post a few initial ideas for Almas Thirr and Roa Dyr quests in the meantime). We can also take a look at the current dialogue proposals for Old Ebonheart, along with the partial NPCing performed on Hlaalu-Thirr.