Its been a productive 2013, all credits to those that contributed to the project last year.
2014 is going to be the quintessential year for Skywind. Sounds ambitious, but we will be aggressively aiming to finish it.
We will need more contributors and greater output from those already working on it, with the exception of those that have already busted a nut in producing the goods.
I know the aim is to have as much fun as possible and in theory it can only be "finished when its finished", but some set goals will always keep it on track, and set some focus to team members.
Spending too much time on releasing a product has its dangers. Motivation, momentum and even losing contributors. You can't expect us all to be here years (months?) from now, so its about striking while the iron is hot.
Some first quarter goals:
3D Modeling and Texturing
If you look at the work flow of what is better to get finished first, certainly modeling is top of the list. We can better add collision, havok, nav-meshing, potential bones and rigging, animation and testing with completed models and get a better idea of optimization, as well as assets to inspire world building. Testing quests is better enabled when the world they are based in is more completed.
With this in mind we need more developers with these skills. So we should look to aggressively recruit. Sorry its just not going to get done with the current team, and we live and die on Ravannas contributions. This has to be balanced.
With this in mind, interiors have been in most part completely ignored. It is still the plan to leverage as much as possible from work already done by Sligrad Tower modelers. But conversions to Morrowind tilesets and Skyrim format takes time. Anybody with basic NifSkope knowledge can help here. Doing interiors means that nav-meshing and adding clutter can be more full proofed for testing.
Landscaping
Completion of Environmental assets, so that landscapers can finish the world. As long as the foundations of the bulk of the Mountains and Rocks are laid, then we can look at world nav-meshing.
I see world landscaping as a series of steps to getting a rich believable world. Clutter and Flora can always be added throughout the project. Lets make sure we got the base of everything done so that paths are set and nav-meshing can be laid out for creatures and potential quests.
Pelagiad is an example of many people working towards a finished product. It was first level designed by user Veltoss. Then happychappy, Vincent Steinkopf, then ArchieVision. All building on the last to have a much more believable and exciting area. What I'm saying is that don't be afraid to get stuck in or "stepping on people toes" when doing an area. You know when its finished when it looks f*cking awesome. Pretty simple way of organizing landscaping. However we are working towards better communication/organizing of landscaping as we narrow down on areas of need/interest. Will post when we have a better system running. Even though we are trying to get things done quickly, we still want to concentrate on quality, not quantity, Morrowind needs a lot of tender love and care.
Anyway looking forward to the coming year, I really hope people get stuck in, really focus on tasks and enjoy yourself obviously, but lets also consider the scope of the project. Lets try and keep to a tight schedule of completing tasks. I for one lost focus towards they latter part of the year, so this is by no means directed at anybody (bar myself). I for one cannot wait to play this game!!!
Fantastic words. Everyone
Fantastic words. Everyone here needs to read this. This is the year for Skywind and we all need to remember how far it's come and how rewarding it will be when it's finished. Incredible work has been done this past year, and this has possibly become the most ambitious modding project in history. Time to step up our game. Hopefully with a few more quality videos and showcasings, we can really start bringing in volunteers. Everyone needs to contribute their time and talents in order to make this a success.