Skype Meetings

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Dec 13, 2014 7:22 pm

There have been several Skype meetings between lead developers about various subjects relating to TR since before the project restructure. As the project restructure was being planned, to go along with the general move to make work on the project a lot more transparent, there was a lot of talk about opening up the Skype meetings to the public. The main reason nothing came of that discussion is because we've only had two meetings since the restructure, (three, as of today, all of which have summaries in the [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=326085]applicable thread[/url]), but we plan to have more regular meetings now, (tentatively on a bi-weekly basis), so the topic is once more relevant.

The purpose of this thread is mainly to gauge interest. If you might be interested in taking part in such a meeting, please indicate as much below. If there is enough interest discussion can move on to when the public meeting would take place and what would be discussed, but for the time being a mere show of hands is all that is needed.

Edit: I should add as a note: the Skype meetings are audio and text only. A Skype account is required, some sort of speaker or headphone strongly advised. Other than that, possession of a keyboard or microphone -- or perhaps both -- would rather facilitate participation, though neither is strictly necessary.

klep · Post by **klep** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:42 pm

Post by **Gnomey** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:51 am

From this point on, future Skype meetings will be scheduled and agendas worked out in this thread.

As announced in [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24486]Skype Meeting Summaries[/url], the next Skype meeting will be on Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 6:00 PM GMT/UTC. It will be on the topic of Imperial Guilds.

That being said, I've been on the verge of opening up a larger conversation about the Master Plan and the direction of our project. Not wanting to derail current progress I hadn't brought it up, but I think it's about time I should. I'm not sure whether it would be best to discuss the topic via the Skype meeting or in the forums; if the former, I'm fine with waiting for the next one.

Edit: this thread retains its original purpose of calling for a show of hands; if you want to join a Skype meeting, please do post here. On that note, klep is able to take part in the meetings now, if anyone was wondering; I noticed it looks like his post above was just ignored. As with klep, once interest has been expressed the rest will be handled via PM.

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:45 pm

Can we branch into discussing Andothren a bit during the meeting? I'd like to poll people's thoughts on our yet-to-be-officially-ratified [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24548]master plan[/url] for the city.

And yes, I do intend to attend this time.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:12 am

As far as I'm concerned, yes. I'm not sure how deep we will delve into the discussion of guilds, though.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 5:56 pm

Obligatory reminder that the Skype meeting will start in five minutes.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:10 pm

The Skype meeting has ended. We covered quite a lot of ground; I may not be able to finish the summary today, but we'll see. Hopefully I'll have it posted by tomorrow at latest.

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:27 am

I hope you don't work yourself too hard, Gnomey. I wouldn't want to see you burn out.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:39 am

Eh, I tend to juggle my hobbies to avoid burning out on any individual one of them. It's worked so far, and hopefully will continue to work in future. I'm certainly still viewing doing TR stuff as enjoyable rather than a chore.

---

We might as well already start thinking about the topic for the next Skype meeting, though it may be that a better topic will emerge over the course of the next fortnight. For the time being, I think either Andothren or Almas Thirr or both would be my top choice for topics. I'll have to see how much headway we can make on Andothren; it's a mess, but at least we know the direction we want to go with it. Almas Thirr is more of a question; my proposal still stands, but discussion has stalled. I may get around to kicking it into gear before the next meeting, or I may not. Everyone else is naturally also welcome to take a stab at it.

Tondollari · Post by **Tondollari** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:22 am

I'd like to participate in the next skype meeting, but need two weeks' notice (or more than a week's notice, at least). I often work weekends and need to request schedule arrangements ahead of time.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:25 am

The next meeting will almost certainly take place on March 7 2015, at 6:00 PM GMT/UST.

Edit: it's hard to say how long the meeting will last; the tendency seems to be between one and three hours. Naturally, you can drop in and drop out whenever you need to, though. You'll have to send me your Skype contact address via PM so that I can add you in Skype; I could additionally add you to the Tamriel Rebuilt Skype Meeting group so that you are automatically called in (naturally you can cancel out of it) if there's a meeting and you are online, but by the sound of it you'd probably find the feature more inconvenient than helpful.

Post by **Gnomey** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 4:39 pm

The next Skype meeting will take place tomorrow at 6:00PM GMT/UST, so it's about time we decided on a concrete topic. I'm a little out of the loop due to having been sick for the last week, but assuming no better topic has revealed itself I think we could tackle [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24288]Almas Thirr[/url]. Our agenda to that end could look something like this:

1. Current status. What is the current state of Almas Thirr?

2. Planning document. What is our end-goal for Almas Thirr? What do we want to convey with the settlement? This would mostly be us editing Yeti's planning document in the thread linked above on the fly. Points to address might be:

-Location: this one's rather easy, but worth going over anyway.

-History: this requires some updating.

-City Characteristics: this one's very important; I'd argue our main issue with Almas Thirr is in how to present it in-game.

-Role in Tribunal Temple: I feel as though this is often taken for granted, but could use some attention.

-Role in Thirr River Conflict: it's hard to say how much we'll be able to figure out here, but it's worth trying.

-Population: this also needs some work.

-Gameplay Characteristics: very important; several people have pointed out the gameplay imbalance through the number of merchants, for instance.

-Religion: going off of the history, how would we go about protraying the settlement's religious side?

-Commerce: what role should commerce play in Almas Thirr -- if any -- and how should we present it?

3. Implementation. How do we start implementing the above plan?

As far as Andothren and Master Planning stuff is concerned, I'd wanted to make more headway on both, but haven't, so for my own part I'm not sure if there would be much to discuss there.

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:45 pm

Cool. I'll make sure to prepare for this.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 5:28 pm

Obligatory reminder that the Skype meeting will take place in half an hour; topic and (rough) agenda as above.

Rats · Post by **Rats** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 6:59 pm

I'm not in a place where I could skype right now, but I sure am looking forward to what you propose for the (religious/mythical) history behind Almas Thirr! (edit: hopefully something involving Almalexia)

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Mar 07, 2015 11:45 pm

May have to disappoint you on the Almalexia bit, but most of what we discussed isn't completely set in stone, so there's still room for discussion. We mostly created a solid framework for future work on Almas Thirr, but a lot of the finer details still remain to be filled in.

On that note I may take a while on the Skype Meeting Summary again, as the meeting went for three hours again and essentially involved tossing together an updated planning document for Almas Thirr as well as some additional topics.

The next meeting will probably be on March 21 2015, at 6:00 PM GMT/UST. As far as topics are concerned, I'd default to House Indoril and its planning document, as some new content in that direction should get posted to the forums within the coming week, but we shall see.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 5:20 am

Currently, I think the most likely topic for the next Skype meeting would be the Indoril planning document. To that end, I suggest anyone planning to take part in the Skype meeting next Saturday reads through the two documents Klep posted in the [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24011&start=40]House Indoril Brainstorming[/url] thread. (March 14) It's quite a bit to read, which is why I'm posting this so far in advance.

klep · Post by **klep** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 3:18 pm

I have in mind a few Indoril planning related topics that, among others, I'd like to see discussed during the coming Skype meeting. These are based on the Indoril Planning document: (I hope to be able to attend myself, but can't say for sure yet)

Geography
- Saint Llothis - Will it happen? Where? How?
- Inlet Bog - What will happen with this rather boring area and with Seyda Vano?
Almalexia - Obviously needs its own planning, but a general view of the city's structure and presence of important NPCs would be useful for Inodril planning

Political culture
- Law and justice - Currently the Indoril document mentions punishing the Indoril or their retainers with flogging and even suicide. I personally strongly object this; suicide was a one time thing in Indoril history, is rarely spoken of and should not be part of Indoril culture
- The decay and geopolitical distribution - Several groups that illustrate the instability of House Indoril have been mentioned, and possibly more will come. Where are these groups located and to which extent does this affect these locations?
- Foreign relations - Pretty much nobody likes House Indoril, how will this be demonstrated in game?

Economy - It's a short chapter because it requires much discussing and planning. What do we have to say about it? (St Llothis comes to mind)

Demographics
- Education - Where and how are the Indoril educated? (Again, St Llothis comes to mind)

Player interaction
Quest line - The general structure of the quest line is set, and this topic deserves its own dedicated discussion, but we should still go into this
- Dialogue - It hasn't yet been implemented in the document as there isn't much to implement. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve started a thread about generic Indoril dialogue a few weeks back, but it hasn't seen any activity yet. Determining a dialogue style for the Indoril could contribute to this moving forward

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Mar 14, 2015 8:31 pm

Not sure if we want to get into geography yet, though I'm not against it either. If we do discuss it, I'd consider discussing Akamora as well.

Especially as regards education, remember that Velothi settlements are not Indoril; St. Llothis would not necessarily have much or anything to do with Indoril education. I suppose we ought to figure out how much we want to tie Velothi culture into the Indoril document, as they are related, but they should not be treated as the same thing.

I'm not sure whether we should discuss the questline and dialogue yet either; we might want to see a bit more progress on the forums first. I also wouldn't really be against this, though. That would probably come at the end of the meeting anyway, though, so I suppose we can get into it if we have time.

Theminimanx · Post by **Theminimanx** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 2:03 pm

A few things I hope we can talk about during the Skype meeting:

Indoril's power How much do they have? They're supposed to be on the decline, but are they only just beginning to descend, or have they already reached the bottom of the slope? Also, we need some way to showcase Indoril's power from when they still reigned supreme.

The role of ordinary Indoril We've established that Indoril rule from their castle-estates, but that's a very limited number of lords. What do their family do? More importantly: what do the Indoril living in Almalexia do?

Indoril's relations with other factions Currently, House Indoril is defined almost entirely by their relationship with Hlaalu. We have almost nothing about their relationship with Redoran, Dres and the Temple.

Ranks within House Indoril Sload made a list of ranks within House Indoril, and while the names are fine, it's not very clear what their roles are. Lay Elders are only described as being different from the Temple's Divine Elders, and three of the ranks (three!) are described as participants in a House War. How would people reach those ranks when Indoril isn't in a House War?

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 1:19 am

Theminimanx wrote:Indoril's power How much do they have? They're supposed to be on the decline, but are they only just beginning to descend, or have they already reached the bottom of the slope? Also, we need some way to showcase Indoril's power from when they still reigned supreme.

Definitely not the later. Closer to the former.

Theminimanx wrote:Indoril's relations with other factions Currently, House Indoril is defined almost entirely by their relationship with Hlaalu. We have almost nothing about their relationship with Redoran, Dres and the Temple.

Pardon my asking, but where did you get that impression? We've defined the Indoril based on their own distinct values, which just happen to be opposed to the Hlaalu's worldview. We've already made their relationship with the Temple a central, overwhelming component of their identity, and the general idea of how they get along with the Redoran, Dres and Telvanni has also been sketched out. If we haven't been clear on communicating this, then we should definitely address it in the next Skype meeting, just so everyone is on the same page. I also wouldn't mind expanding these blurbs from klep's document.

Dres - Indoril and Dres get along well. They have longstanding trade arrangements, and while the Dres arenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t as focussed on Almsivi, instead practicing a lot of ancestor worship, the Indoril respect them for it. The Dres donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t necessarily feel the way, and are a bit more
ambivalent towards the Indoril, but all things considered theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re good neighbours.

Hlaalu - Disliked for their intimate relationship with Imperial power, geopolitical disputes at the Thirr River, and their gradual abandoning of traditional Dunmer values. They are inviting Imperial trade and customs into Morrowind.

Redoran - Indoril has fought alongside the Redoran in many major battles since the formation of the Houses. The two houses are very much alike and get along well.

Telvanni - Seen as the dissidents who didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t want to work with the other Houses.

Theminimanx · Post by **Theminimanx** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:34 am

Most of the discussion I've seen about House Indoril has been about their House War with Hlaalu, and how that showcases Indoril's inability to accept the post-Armistice situation. I've barely seen any discussion about how this is shown in their own territory, let alone how other aspects of their identity are shown. Though I admit this could just be because I haven't been around that long, and the focus has been on the Thirr River Valley for most of the time I've been here.

About the other factions, the fact that the blurb you just posted is the only information I've been able to find kind of proves my point. These relationships could definitately use some fleshing out. Just of the top of my head:
Redoran Do they have a history of shared military operations? Is there conflict over which House Nerevar was part of? Is Indoril dragging Redoran down with them, or are they seeking a new path of their own?
Dres How does Dres' mercantile nature fit in with the Indoril ideology of 'everyone should serve us and be happy doing it'? Does Dres even care about Indoril law, or do they only cooperate because it gets them lots of money? When Indoril was in charge, they were they easiest way of getting Dres goods to as many people as possible. Now that Indoril is less relevant, is Dres looking for a new trading partner (?Hlaalu?) to get their goods to reach the largest customer base possible?
Temple Where does Temple law end, and Indoril law begin? Does the large Indoril presence in Temple ranks affect the decisions made by the Temple big-wigs? Does the Temple have any checks in place to prevent conflicts of interest, or was this left to the Tribunal themselves?
Telvanni Telvanni has been taking a lot of Indoril territory. How do the Indoril respond? If they choose not to, why do they prioritise Hlaalu over Telvanni?

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Mar 21, 2015 1:59 pm

The Skype meeting will take place at 6:00 PM GMT/UST today, so in five hours. The topic will be House Indoril planning, and we'll probably heavily reference Klep's and Swiftoak's planning documents posted [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24011&start=40]here[/url] on March 14.

As far as the agenda is concerned, I personally think we should just work our way down Klep's document and address any concerns as they pop up. Naturally we should remember to draw in Swiftoak's document and the various issues and topics pointed out above as well.

If Yeti's still up for it, he can take over keeping notes and writing the summary this time around; I doubt I'd be able to write a summary this week either in a timely fashion.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Mar 21, 2015 5:11 pm

Right, anyone observing daylight savings should keep in mind that the meeting will take place an hour later than usual. (So in 48 minutes).

Theminimanx · Post by **Theminimanx** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 12:23 pm

We're about one day away from the meeting, and from the looks of it we don't have a subject yet. I'd like to tentatively propose we discuss House Hlaalu, as most of the discussion from the past two weeks seems to be focused on it. I personally think that we've reached a point in the discussion where we could really benefit from some real-time conversations.

klep · Post by **klep** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 1:35 pm

I won't be able to attend. Travelling until Thursday. Looking forward to read the summary!

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 4:30 pm

I'm open to discussing House Hlaalu. We could base our discussion on reviewing Swiftoak's planning document for the Hlaalu (for convenience, I've attached it below). If possible, I would also like to look over Swiftoak's Indoril Master Plan document and discuss which aspects of it we want to incorporate it into the final framework (we've already adopted his proposal for the area around Akamora). By the end of the year, I think it would benefit the project to have at least tentative master plan documents in place for each of the Great Houses.

I volunteer to write the summary.

Post by **Gnomey** » Fri Apr 03, 2015 8:12 pm

I approve of the topics and approach suggested by Yeti.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 5:02 pm

The Skype Meeting is starting. Feel free to drop by if you have time.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:42 pm

The Skype Meeting is over. Considering that the meeting went on for three hours and a half, the summary may take a while in coming. (As above, Yeti will be taking care of that this week).

klep · Post by **klep** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:38 am

Any progress here? I'm eager to read three and a half hour of Hlaalu

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:17 pm

Won't have time to start writing the summary until tonight or Saturday. My apologies for the wait.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 12:26 am

The Skype meeting has crept up on us again. I'm still catching up on the discussions I missed, but my general impression is that the Ashlander faction has seen the most discussion lately. I think we could either discuss it or just have a short meeting with no particular topic, just discussing whatever topics have been on peoples' minds. In either case, the meeting may end up being relatively short, which isn't always a bad thing. That is, of course, assuming that there isn't a better topic to discuss that I'm missing.

Either way, I expect the meeting will start at 6:00 PM GMT/UST as usual. I'll probably take a turn at taking notes again, unless someone else volunteers.

Theminimanx · Post by **Theminimanx** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 8:48 am

Ashlanders sound good to me. I could probably do the summary too, if you'd like.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 1:59 pm

That would be good. If I'm not lazy, I might toss together a rough agenda for us to follow, but, frankly, I'll probably be lazy.

Yeti · Post by **Yeti** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 2:59 pm

Is this happening today? I won't be able to attend, if that's the case, so I wish you guys a productive discussion. Also, I still need to finish the last meeting's summary. These things take longer than I had thought.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 3:32 pm

They do take pretty long, yes, but it also ended up being an unusually long meeting. And the meeting will indeed be today.

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:08 pm

A rough agenda:

Who are the Ashlanders? What sets them apart from other Dunmer?
What role does Alandro Sul play for the Ashlanders?
What role does Veloth play for the Ashlanders?
Where do they live? In what parts of Morrowind?
How do they live? How do their settlements look like?
This would be a good place to discuss various groups within the Ashlanders, like the Mabrigash, specific tribal camps, the role of cults...
We could finish up with discussing their presence in the mainquest, though I don't really see a point for the time being.

I think one broader topic we should tackle, either near the start of the meeting or near the end, and once again I'll link to the first [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=326085]Skype summary[/url], is what role the Ashlanders should play in our project. Where do they fit in our vision of Morrowind?

Post by **Gnomey** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 5:02 pm

The meeting is starting now.

Theminimanx · Post by **Theminimanx** » Sat Apr 18, 2015 5:53 pm

Well, we accomplished very little of note this week. We decided we had too few people to tackle any of the big topics, so we just called the meeting off after a while. Congratulations Yeti, you get a two week extension on your deadline