Velothi/Valus Mountains and the border forts

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(Reply #1) Posted on Fri, 2016-06-17 21:47
Atrayonis's picture
Atrayonis
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This is a conglomerate topic. It involves two distinct problems the TR and PC borders have.
While not in the actual release, TR InDev has moved its western border to meet up with Province: Cyrodiil’s eastern border.

Valus Mountains and the Marshes of Mir

This topic came up just after the map was moved west and the northern border of Black Marsh was hashed out.
It’s relevant for TR both because of the heightmap implications as well as the implications towards Stormhold, which is one of the biggest trading cities related to Narsis in our current plans. It should sit on an outlier of the Velothi mountains which curves east and divides Shipal-Shin’s canyons from Black Marsh proper.
Currently it doesn’t, at least not per regions.

We had an informal discussion in #cyrodiil (with pictures, which I’ll just quote underneath the spoiler.

 

I believe this has never gone anywhere officially, but “we’ll see how TR does things” is not going to cut it when TR is trying to see what PC wants to have in this region. We can reduce heightmap reworking on both ends if we agree on a common border height at least, and properly plan TR’s southern border.

See also the attached images for how Gnomey pictured the border could go in either case.

 

(Reply ) Posted on Fri, 2016-06-17 21:48
Atrayonis's picture
Atrayonis
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Border Passes

I’m quoting Gnomey here, since I don’t have associated maps to point out the problem (zooming in the UESP map might help?)

Currently, we have three passes between Cyrodiil and Morrowind:
1. Narsis Pass near Narsis
2. Shadowmoth Legion Fort/Shadowgate Pass near Kragenmoor
3. Septim's Gate Pass near nothing at all
Additionally, there are less direct routes through the neighbouring provinces:
4. via Cheydinhal->Riften->Kogotél, a Redoran city located a bit further north
5. via Mir Corrup(?)->Stormhold->Narsis

Now the crux of the matter is that we'll probably be removing Septim's Gate Pass, which is in the middle of nowhere. It's possible we won't completely remove it; perhaps it will be an abandoned pass, maybe blocked by an avalanche, maybe a little-known pass used by smugglers or something, whatever. Maybe it will be a classified Imperial-controlled pass used for covert operations. The point is that it won't be an operating public pass.
In our timeframe, Shadowgate Pass should probably be the main pass. (As a note, we'd probably move the current legion fort somewhere else and instead use the current exterior of Septim's Gate Pass for this pass).
Narsis Pass, which will probably inherit the name 'Septim's Gate Pass', has largely been of secondary importance to Shadowgate Pass though that may have changed more recently. http://provincecyrodiil.project-tamriel.com/viewtopic.php?f=225&t=71&p=2... However, that only applies since the Third Empire was established. Before then, Narsis Pass was the most important pass, which is how Narsis gained its size and importance in the first place. A major source of its wealth came from the Khajiit slave trade, which Septim naturally outlawed. By that time Narsis had established itself as the capital of House Hlaalu, and House Hlaalu had spread its influence as far as Kragenmoor, so it was no inconvenience for them to shift most of their trade north to Kragenmoor and give Narsis a more administrative as opposed to trade focus.

(Reply ) Posted on Tue, 2016-06-28 11:23
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Infragris
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Hey, I didn’t notice this discussion before. Mir and the eastern jungles are probably going to be one of the last regions we will work on, so most designs for it are still very much speculative. In itself, I don’t object to TR doing its thing with these regions, as I don’t want to impose restrictions based on designs that might not be implemented in their current shape.

For the P:C side, I am in favor of the first of Gnomey’s designs. The Mir is conceived as a kind of transitional region between the upper Valus Mountains and the mangrove swamps of Blackwood, which is alomost entirely at sea level. As such, the Mir itself is still quite elevated and rocky in places. The region forms a large caldera surrounding Lake Canulus.

One thing about the height of these mountain ranges: preliminary designs for the Valus Mountains (which are supposed to be the same mountain range as the Velothi Mountains in Morrowind) describe them as low and eroded, to set them apart from the northern Jerall Mountains (which are the foothills to the Snow Throath massive in Skyrim). How high/sharp, relatively speaking, is TR planning to make these mountains?

About the border forts: Cyrodiil will almost certainly have a number of Imperial border forts on their side of the passes, dating back to the Reman and Tiber era border wars. Wouldn’t want those violent dunmer getting ideas, after all. The area of Cheydinhal will also feature some refugee settlements for Dumeri dissident exiles and political refugees.

(Reply ) Posted on Wed, 2016-07-06 11:43
Atrayonis's picture
Atrayonis
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Sounds good, the first design looks more real to me as well.

The current rough heightmap in InDev has a height of 8700. I’d say thereabout. The actual shape and slope is pretty much how the picture looks: a general roundish shape at the same level then sharp drop-offs into canyons.
 

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