Hiding the otherlands

[arkraven]

Ok so the project is going great so far! I can't believe you guys are half way there and all, but as you guys are getting to map 4 (Maybe your already there I don't know?) how are you going to hide the border lands? are you going to use mountains like oblivion did? But what about the map 6 near the edge of the black marsh, how are you going to hide borderlands/the sea?

[Katze]

We're adding mountains along the borders with Cyrodiil and Skyrim, and along the Argonia border, jungle that gets gradually more dense until you cannot pass any further.

[arkraven]

What if they use a levitate spell or increase there acrobatics to a point where they can get pretty high? The mountains will work for the most part, but I think it would be harder to hide the background with just trees unless you guys make them really really tall!

[Nemon]

We'll have a decent amount of generated, less detailed land south of the Morrowind border. If people want to levitate above our increasingly difficult to traverse jungle to get to no man's land then they are welcome to do so .

[RelinQ]

@Arkraven, even on the Skyrim side, you'd be suprised how steep the mountains are on on the borders.

You don't really notice a huge amount of massive height transistions in the game because the exterior modders have hidden/built it up well, but its incredibly high in areas. the only major exceptions are the paths.

There were parts I remember working on, that even with a hacked 500 acrobatics and 100 strength (with no Inventory), you still wouldn't reach parts; real steep jagged cliff faces and fissures <3

and anyway, real fans would want to see TR's content not fly away from it

[Scamp]

even with a hacked 500 acrobatics and 100 strength (with no Inventory), you still wouldn't reach parts; real steep jagged cliff faces and fissures <3

I highly doubt you aren't able to jump over our mountains with 500 acrobatics. It's quite a lot.

Also, why would anyone be interested in seeing the void? Everyone can go beyond our borders, but there's really nothing they can gain from that...

[TheUnending]

Maybe you guys should use those invisible walls that are currently in use throughout Morrowind already to further deter those pesky people that like to hop the border. The invisible walls are already in use at the beginning of the game when you get off the ship to keep you from jumping into the water and swimming away and are used to hold Tarhiel up so he doesn't fall until you walk near the place where he is.

They could be put so that even with a hacked 1000 acrobatics you can only see whats beyond those trees and not go over them. You guys could also make it so theres a sort-of ceiling just above the trees using those invisible walls, or make the illusion that the canopy of the trees is so thick that it stops you and maybe put in a message that pops up saying something like "the canopy of the trees stops you as you hit it..." or something like that when you hit the invisible wall (like they did in Mournhold).

Just tossing some ideas around...


-TheUnending-

P.S. I really like the idea of a canopy blocking you as it would give a more realistic feeling than just an invisible wall.

P.P.S. You could also somehow script the invisible wall so you can drop down onto it and fall through but you can't jump back up through it(that way people couldn't jump up nto it and run all the way acrossed it and out of the game).

[Katze]

Considering other mod projects might want to continue the terrain by making the other provinces compatible with ours (such as Province: Cyrodiil and Skyrim: Home of the Nords) I don't think invisible walls would be a good idea at all.

We're just making the border terrain very difficult to traverse apart from at the mountain passes (which have border forts with locked exit gates to prevent player access to the void).

[Myzel]

Nor is an invisible wall really necessary. I don't see why those 'pesky people' who deliberately hop over the border would be our problem. If they are so desperate to see the void and break immersion then I say let them.

[TheUnending]

Cathartis, you guys could also make it so the trees created a sort-of canopy by themselves and you couldn't jump through there leaves and limbs and jump above the canopy. You are completely right that invisible walls would effect other peoples ability to create a mod for Black Marsh, but they would have to cut out much of you guys' border area anyways since they would have to make it pass-able.

Myzel, some people inadvertently do bypass the borders you have purposely put in thinking that the hard to pass trees was just a mistake by the mod creator or just another one of those places you have trouble getting past (like certain rocks or other things) and may just jump over the trees, taking away from the realism of the mod.

You guys are right that invisible walls are kind-of more trouble than they fix but there are many other ways to go than to simply make the forest just to dense. For instance, for about a cell length before the dead-end too dense point you could put in thicker canopy trees that people can't jump through, possibly adding to the tropical rainforest-y feel.

Once again, just throwing my ideas out there .


-TheUnending-

[Myzel]

Myzel, some people inadvertently do bypass the borders you have purposely put in thinking that the hard to pass trees was just a mistake by the mod creator or just another one of those places you have trouble getting past (like certain rocks or other things) and may just jump over the trees, taking away from the realism of the mod.

I doubt people will accidentally stumble on the void with the way we handle the borders. When players bump into this hard-to-pass wall, I have faith that the thought 'oh right, this is where the map ends' will come before the instinctive 'I must fly over this!'

[TheUnending]

I doubt people will accidentally stumble on the void with the way we handle the borders.

I happened to somehow walk right off the southern border of Antediluvian Secrets in my exploring mood, course that may be just me (BTW, incase you missed it, I said it was just an idea that popped into my head, you gotta admit its a pretty good idea if a Black Marsh mod wasn't going to ever happen).

When players bump into this hard-to-pass wall, I have faith that the thought 'oh right, this is where the map ends' will come before the instinctive 'I must fly over this!'

In my mind, I always think of how to get over an obstacle before I think about why its there , course thats just my keep moving forward kind of brain!

In Morrowind there are many places where there are hard to pass things like mountains or doors that can occasionally not be opened (I reported such a case as a glitch elsewhere on the forums here) and some may attribute the hard to pass forest as another one of these times, but whatever, you guys are probably right.

As I was saying, just an idea, take it if you wish.

[Thrignar Fraxix]

The south border of AS is not supposed to stop you. We aren't going to create natural barriers in the landscape that aren't supposed to be there for the sole purpose of keeping you in the area we have released.

[TheUnending]

The south border of AS is not supposed to stop you. We aren't going to create natural barriers in the landscape that aren't supposed to be there for the sole purpose of keeping you in the area we have released.

Thrignar, you made me laugh so hard dude! I didn't say or mean it is/was supposed to stop me LOL, I meant it as an example of how people sometimes don't notice these obvious borders on maps and those sudden drop-offs when they are running around reading signs and fighting monsters.