Sotha Sil (the city), and handling the borders of Morrowind

empyreanunseen · Post by **empyreanunseen** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:33 am

Hello--this is my first post on the forums as a member, and I had a couple of questions I wondered if you guys and gals had decided on or debated about yet.

I did use the search form and check the most recent posts for these subjects and found nothing on them--hopefully I avoided at least one forum-newbie vice.

1) In Tribunal, the PC was able to visit the innermost part of the city of Sotha Sil, where they discovered his unfortunate end. This inner part was blocked off from the outside due to rubble. From an early official concept map (http://www.imperial-library.info/maps/concept_morrowind.jpg) from Bethesda, back when they were planning on making all of Morrowind, the city of Sotha Sil is located on the southernmost section of the landmass, right in the middle of what Map 6 will be. I looked at all of the maps and photos of Map 6, and found no indicator that the city of Sotha Sil was on the map. Is Tamriel Rebuilt planning a Clockwork City, probably with the inner part of the city--the palace--blocked off? I know from lore that the city is hidden and mysterious, yet there are many hidden and mysterious things in vanilla Morrowind that the PC was able to find.

2) How is Tamriel Rebuilt handling the borders of Morrowind with Skyrim, Cyrodil, and Black Marsh? From looking at the maps on this website, it appears that most of the borders are compromised of mountainous regions. Are the borders going to be done Oblivion-style, with invisible walls and landmass created beyond the borders, to give the area a "real" feel? Or is Tamriel Rebuilt going to make Morrowind's borders an endless ocean, treating it as an island?

Thanks in advance for your answers--I'm sure whatever Tamriel Rebuilt does will be top-notch, judging from what I've already seen and played of the project.[/url]

Thrignar Fraxix · Post by **Thrignar Fraxix** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:44 am

1: The city is deep underground and not accessible.

2: Neither. The land will simply end as it does on the borders of our existing maps. Natural borders are generally in place so that only people determined to see the void will see it.

empyreanunseen · Post by **empyreanunseen** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:00 am

Thanks for the quick response!

So then Sotha Sil will not be made at all, just referred to as "unfindable?"

And by "determined," do you mean determined as in casting a very strong levitate spell and going high-high up?

Thrignar Fraxix · Post by **Thrignar Fraxix** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 3:08 am

won't always be that hard, especially on the argon jungle border. People will know that they've reached the border though.

zacmanthedamned · Post by **zacmanthedamned** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 4:20 am

That's a pity... I'd love to see the Clockwork city in all it's glory... Actually... *Fires up the CS*

RelinQ · Post by **RelinQ** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:33 am

It is a shame in a way because the Sotha Sil Tileset is quite nice to play around with, but as Thrig mentioned we arent going to make anything like it due to it being hidden and also a multitude of issues/concerns/etc that the board discussed a while back.

MMMowSkwoz · Post by **MMMowSkwoz** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:23 am

Main reason: it would require a shedload of new models which would only get used for one city.

Andres Indoril · Post by **Andres Indoril** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 8:48 am

MMMowSkwoz wrote:Main reason: it would require a shedload of new models which would only get used for one city.

Necrom much?

empyreanunseen · Post by **empyreanunseen** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:45 pm

RelinQ, you mentioned that there was a discussion a while back on the Clockwork City? Do you have a link, or is that member-only stuff? Cause I found nothing using the search terms.

Hmm, the Clockwork City would be awesome--maybe I'll work on that myself in my spare time. What are the official books/information/lore that detail the subject? Having a lot of accurate Bethesda information is always a good place to start.

Sload · Post by **Sload** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:34 pm

The search is broken. Whatever particular discussion RelinQ is referring to, its been decided since before I even joined this project (as you can see nearly 5 years ago) that Sotha Sil's city will not be made.

The Magus himself [url=http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/sotha_sil.shtml]says this[/url] about his city:

You ask where my Clockwork City is? Some say in the swamps of Black Marsh. Others claim it is deep in the ground beneath Ebonheart. I have even heard it told that my city is contained within a jar on the Lady Almalexia's mantle. These are all true, and false. My city is where I live, and I live in my city. Its location is unimportant, as I am its only citizen.

Some believe that the player is actually inside (the now deceased ruins of) Sotha Sil's mind.

empyreanunseen · Post by **empyreanunseen** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:26 am

Thanks, everyone, for all the responses.

I have another question that perhaps the lore-enthusiasts would know. After searching through the Morrowind and Tribunal esm files and also the Imperial Library, I found a lot on Sotha Sil and his Clockwork City, but most interestingly, I found this file: [url]http://www.imperial-library.info/obscure_text/sotha_sil.shtml[/url]

Is this considered solid lore? It seems to contradict itself, with Sotha Sil claiming he is the only inhabitant of the city, and with Divayth Fyr holding a different view (shown later). The article's only note by the Imperial Library was brief: "These posts, made shortly before the release of Tribunal, were taken from the "Dwem, little dwemer of me..." thread on The Official Forums. It is unknown whether the person using the "Sotha Sil" alias was a developer or not, but we suspect it was."

If it it lore, then the comments by Divayth Fyr are very interesting for my idea of rebuilding the Clockwork City: "Just a note on Sotha Sil my friends....

That was not the entire City. No indeed. It was Master Sil's main hall within his hidden city of Clockwork madness. Just as, outside of the pearly gates in Mournhold, exists a crawling area of numerous homes, citizens, and vendors. Sotha Sil is quite expanse and houses many more inhabitants. I have seen them in person, and my, what a sight! In the case of the Nerevarine, I hear tale that when he was teleported in by Almalexia, the machina lift door behind him was caved in. For whatever reason (did Almalexia do it or did Sotha Sil?), this barred him from venturing further. Where the Nerevarine actually was, is Sotha Sil's workshop/lair.

Think about it though.... if this were a city, who could possibly call this place home? More intelligent fabricant type inventions? I dare not tell, although I have seen it with mine own eyes. Perhaps one day, the location will be openly known, and visitors can venture forth into the Clockwork City entire."

I'm assuming this is where you got your quote about the clandestine location of the Clockwork City, Sload.

Sload · Post by **Sload** » Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:48 am

It is lore.