Having received the OK, I am now working on Balmora. Here's some progress:
The Odai Canal:
The Overlook:
The overlook will house the nine or so npc's that need a place to sleep, as well as the Skooma den that Balmora is so notorious for, which also has Balmora Blue.
When I saw your name and "Balmora" I whooped (literally).
Here were some earlier thoughts and dreams as reference.
https://tesrenewal.com/forums/landscaping/wip-balmora-redesign
also: are those ladders climbable or the best choice? I feel stairs of the same material would fit better considering it is a stone dock (and made by the local council or what-have-you of Balmora).
Amazing work, I just wow looking this, because you give to Balmora more life! Thats great, great idea to add boats with fish, containers as well as doors!
So I'll also glad to see any NPC using some furniture in future :D
Nice work!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6QDJVylTJ27bFZ0dFZ5WmM3cGc/edit?usp=sharing
People say: This guy - is genius ;)
awh yiss!
Can you make multi-level streets on north half of the Balmora?
(or may be you already did this, i am not sure from screens)
I think it will be good to make temple with bigger yard and possible with some support buildings in it.
I do agree with Alysander - levelling the buildings in a way that they're poking from behind one another is a cool trick to make the town seem bigger without adding new buildings. And not only does Balmora already have something similar in Morrowind - also the "cliffy" shape of terrain is right for it, I could definetly see some levelling. And it also works with the fact that Balmora lies in a river valley (Odai could've sculpted multi levelled canyons).
Also,
Remember, remember, 18th of September, Alysander, Balmora and post.
He made a suggestion, that's not being questioned, and must never become lost.
Nice work. My only advice is to use more planters.
I had an idea for an easy to make and nice, useful feature for later - add a gondolier that can take you to your Rethan manor if you have it as Hlaalu. Of course the gondolier would only appear after some middle stage of the building is complete - but it would make it so much more convenient to travel there, rather than just running. Who knows, maybe Hul could be that gondolier? She's an Argonian beggar with no role, so de-genericifying her is a possibility.
I know this is thing which doesn't completely exists in game but how about to add sewers to Balmora. We don't need even new assets, they could be vivec interiors. It would add a new cool underground level which could be connected with thieves guild. Of course inside will be place for homeless, thieves and criminals.
I did do some degree of multi-level streets, although there is the issue of space, the cliffs are not to be moved, and so there are some constraints in that regard. However, the challenge of space does help to make it feel less like terra formed landscape, by working with the cliff instead of against it. As a result, some buildings are partially carved into the cliff face. Balmora is quite an old city, contrasting with the new colonial developments, so I do want to make it feel that way in terms of the design of the overlook etc. If I had the assets, I could make something like this climb the cliff-face:
And yeah, I could add a sewer entrance in the canals.
Was it ultimately decided that Balmora would stay in the main worldspace? Judging from the openings in the distant wall in the second screenshot, that's what it looks like.
Yeah, I think it will work fine in the worldspace. I'm pretty sure this is the official consensus, though.
It should depend on how well the game can handle the new amount of detail in the city, if it needs to be brought into a new worldspace, that can be done later in development, but at least for now, it is open, and may remain that way.
First, this is amazing - the central canal thing and the expansion of the town is perfectly executed. Second however, I have some small criticisms regarding the rocks used around the town. The rocks around the town seem a little too reddish in hue. I'm not sure if that's something that can be changed (since Balmora is a town in the West gash afterall) or if yall would even agree with me on this, but I feel like Balmora should be surrounded by more of that sort of dark brownish hued rock like in the original. It really makes the houses stand out more against the environment. Also some of the rocks seem to be awkwardly jutting out of the buildings or sort of give the general feeling that they are sort of growing around the buildings instead of the other way around, idk it just doesn't seem very natural. I don't want to come off as seeming super critical or insulting your intelligence/vision because I understand all the hard work you put into this, and it certainly shows, don't get me wrong, this is absolutely gorgeous, I just feel like some parts of the surrounding/inner landscape could be cleaned up a bit to look a bit more aesthetically graceful and pleasing however difficult that might be. Keep up the good work though man, you ought to make all of the towns.
Trying to figure out a good setup for the Skooma den exterior:
I plan on making the interior resemble this:
Thanks to theminttu for such great artwork
About the rocks, I will fix those spots where they poke out, and the West Gash rocks as a whole could be a little less red, I think.
Maybe you can place a ragged drape/cloth over the doorway?
A drug den wouldn't have an open door like that. Just put a dark cave-like opening beyond the draped entryway (as I assume the inside of the drug den would be dark).
Yeah, I'm still working on the design, but the den itself wouldn't be in the open, there would be a tunnel-alley, where a door in there would house the entrance to the den. I would make the alley in the exterior worldspace, but the cliff doesn't leave room for that.
a sign similar to a shadowmark on the wall could work...
does anyone know if grafitti can be added like a permanent decal on walls in ck?
literally a single plane with an alpha texture, iceflame would place them closely against the wall.
Yes, I believe that could be implemented, the reikling drawings on the inside of the patchwork airship in Dragonborn use decals in the same way.
Here's how it looks right now, with an added door, clutter, and a placeholder decal (tribal markings from giants) that can later be swapped out for graffitti related to the den:
I wanted to make it resemble the artwork posted earlier, but it doesn't really look right ingame without a door, and it seems too out in the open, so I am making adjustments accordingly.
awesome. Ellange did loads of grafitti, I'll get you those within a few days.
I will also send you the doors. rich and poor versions.
While this thread is devoted to exteriors, I feel it is only fair that I make the interiors for any new building exteriors I add in addition to the originals:
Again, the graffiti is a placeholder.
Ald Desroth (Old Hall, may be renamed later), an old alleyway occupied by shady types of people. This alley houses the entrance to the Skooma den.
Good ser, I admire your work. You really have an awesome feel for this, would not even have thought of including a skooma den. What's the relationship between the Skooma Dealers and the Camonna Tong? Perhaps there could be the occasional fisticuffs over territorial dominance? Anyway, can't wait for more of your work bringing Balmora alive!
The Balmora Skooma Den, purveyors of the best Skooma in Morrowind:
Enforcers will patrol the den and alley, keeping it out of law's reach.
you can advance it with cheapest beds on island.
with %chance of being robbed.
This concept art I haven't seen it on this website.
Grafitti
"Veras is a N'wah"
I'm still working on setting these up, right now they only fade in when the player is pretty close to them, and I think they contrast too much with the walls currently.
try red instead of black- red, and yellow, or grey. Not black
they are a tad dark. but we can brighten the RGB channel.
iceflame542Grafitti
"Veras is a N'wah"
I'm still working on setting these up, right now they only fade in when the player is pretty close to them, and I think they contrast too much with the walls currently.
You are missing an opportunity to put your own name or an easter egg here! Why not Ravanna is a N'wah? (because he is)
:'(
Maybe we need some kind of hieratic/cursive for this walls.
Not sure that they need to use precisely drawn letters.
Looks awesome man. But I do have to admit. It would look cooler with brick flooring or something instead of red stone slabs. Or make it more like a brick path or something instead of just a rock floor for the city.
I like the stone for the floor, since it's just a den chiselled into the cliffside, but what I'd really like to see there is some ragged mats and carpets lying around for junkies to sit on ;) If we have such assets of course, but I think I saw those in some thread (alternatively Skyrim and Dragonborn surely has some).
Hmm, now I see there were some mattresses and pillows in previous screenshots, as well as a wooden floor, so something's telling me that it's not the same interior and doesn't have the same function.
The den is the part with the wooden floor and cushions, while the other part is an old alleyway (Ald Desroth Alley) that the den is located within. I do plan on giving Balmora a new road texture that is more faithful to the original Morrowind design, that will come at some point in the future.
i made these for interior tiling floor and for balconies, can this be used for some areas of flooring? or do we need an all new rock tile?
That looks really nice! For the alley, though, I planned on using the same texture as the road. In the Vanilla Balmora, the upper class part of town uses a different road paving, the same as what Caldera uses, so perhaps the Overlook could keep the rounded stones it has, but the main 'districts' have the larger rectangular road stones seen in the original Morrowind.
can u post the originals, both rich and poor, i may give it a go
Yeah, I can do that, I'll send them to you when I get a chance
Also, Ald Desroth Alley update:
This door leads into the skooma den, I'm trying to set it up so that upon trying to open it for the first time, the slot will open, revealing the figure of a Dunmer or Khajiit, and the player will be prompted to respond with a phrase for him to open the door. The design will likely be changed (this is Esbern's door from Skyrim). I want to change the studded look, because it seems a bit too Nordic for Balmora. Anyway, the den viewed from the entrance side:
The back door will lead to the Skooma distillery, and trying to pick the lock/get back there will provoke the enforcers to go after the player.
This is so athmospheric, looks absolutely awesome! I've once seen a mod in Morrowind, that at some point in the main quest, added hidden shrines of Sixth House (as well as their graffitis popping up here and there), to show that Dagoth worship is also going on in towns. If we ever even consider doing something like this, I think this would be a perfect location for their meetings ;)
Password idea- The crystal moonlight runs to the Tenmar.
(Reference to moon sugar)
More detail, and buttresses, because I didn't think it looked Hlaalu enough without them:
If u decided that it will be sewers how about adding sewers drain too? When we have plain roofs you can connected them with bridges too. It would be just cool additional city level.
Very cool work. I thought this was going to be a port / exact remake. Apparently it's going to be stylized. Why Bethesda won't accept it is beyond me, other than the fact that they would hate competition.
NathanielRHamrickVery cool work. I thought this was going to be a port / exact remake. Apparently it's going to be stylized. Why Bethesda won't accept it is beyond me, other than the fact that they would hate competition.
They don't accept it on official sites(and Nexus banned it by choice, not by order) because not every asset from Morrowind actually belonged to Bethesda. Some were just licensed to them for Morrowind and using those assets in other Bethesda games is illegal. So Bethesda doesn't want it on official sites in case the companies that licensed the assets to them get the wrong idea. But most of these assets are being replaced so eventually Skywind should be allowed on official sites.
None of the ported assets from Morrowind will be distributed in the final build of Skywind. Morrowind models and textures that are in the current build are placeholders.
iceflame542More detail, and buttresses, because I didn't think it looked Hlaalu enough without them:
Hey Iceflame, Loving it! I dont want to nitpick so early in development, seeing as i'm just a filthy casual lurker, but just one thing: the area just in front of the stairs seems to slope down very steeply, this at first sight doesn't seem to practical for people to pass by. Of course, i haven't seen the rest of the picture from another angle, so my judgement might be off. Just a headsup :) keep up the good work!
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After seeing Caldera, I can't
After seeing Caldera, I can't wait to see what you do with this. :D