Ask the DarkRider

[WhoGuru]

Sooner than we all realize, Reclaiming Sancre Tor will be released and once it has we'll finally be able to ask DarkRider all those questions he couldn't (or wouldn't) answer before without giving away the entire mod. Now is your chance. We'll be doing a Modder Interview with him after RST's release and we would like you, the players, to submit the questions he will be given.

LadyFlcn and I will choose from the questions submitted here to form the interview, tape a pen to Rider's hand, and make sure he gets them answered. So, post your questions! Ask anything you'd like to know about Reclaiming Sancre Tor, her Author, or Collaborators and get the story straight from the Rider himself.

Note: This is meant for a Modder interview that will likely grace the Bethblog and certainly TESA Blog. Please post serious questions and keep the silliness elsewhere in this forum. Thank you!

Questions Collected So Far: Caution! Spoilers!

• How and where did you come up with the idea for Sancre Tor? Was it disappointment with the way the main quest ended or something else?
  
  
• Three and a half years is a long development time for the average mod, what sort of highs and lows did you encounter along the way?
  
  
• Piggybacking off the last question, a lot of modders find it difficult to work on any project for so long, how did you manage it? Is there a secret?
  
  
• Where did some of the ideas for the various quests come from?
  
  
• Are you up for doing something of this scale again in the future, or did you learn your lesson?
  
  
• What's the the part of modding you dread the most? Landscaping? Endless random clutter? Pathgridding? Or do you thrive on those little red pyramids.
  
  
• The NPC's in RST seem very "alive" and full of personality, did you use anyone you know as a template for any of the NPC Blades you created? If so, who and why.
  
  
• Throughout RST you tie up a number of loose ends from the vanilla Main Quest. Was that one of your goals from the start or did it just sort of happen?
  
  
• What was your inspiration for the Five Elements Stones we collect in Reclaiming Sancre Tor?
  
  
• Throughout the story, the Element curse gets worse and weakens the player significantly, did you worry that would be unpopular with players?
  
  
• What's something about you that most people wouldn't know?
  
  
• What projects can we hope to see from you in the future?
  

Edited October 14, 2011 by Ladyflcn
Editing in Questions

[lonewolf_kai]

This is exciting news indeed.

I guess the biggest thing to come to mind is compatibility. Will there be a list of known compatible mods available? What about incompatibles?

I know you can't get into specifics, but I'm thinking more along the lines of the more popular ones, such as Better Cities, Unique Landscapes, etc.

[WhoGuru]

I know Rider is going to great lengths to keep RST compatible with the UL's and other big mods with help from Arthmoor.

But the point of this thread is to ask questions you want to have answered Post Release. Where did the idea come from? How long did you work on it? Why didn't you add underpants gnomes?

That sort of thing.

[_echo]

Coke or Pepsi?

=)

Edit: What I meant to ask was a serious question. For example, what got you through the late nights and long hours of working on RST?

Edited March 10, 2011 by WhoGuru
making a frivolous post in a serious thread.

[Brozly]

Why didn't you add underpants gnomes?

What No Gnomes???, How could That be??

**Or is that Nude Gnomes??

Edited March 11, 2011 by Brozly

[WhoGuru]

Ok obviously I need to add some to the first post. Since no one but me and LadyFlcn seem to be getting the point here.

[Arion]

How and where did you come up with the idea for Sancre Tor?

Was it disappointment with the way the main quest ended or something else?

[Sealwarrior]

Just looking at these screenshots shows me the time and effort you have put into making this.... This is some truly awe-inspiring work Darkrider! I have a lore question regarding the first Imperial Battlemage, Zurin Arctus, or the Underking. After trapping the spirits of the ancient Blades, he apparently just vanishes, leaving Sancre Tor and the cursed warriors to their fates (according to Oblivions lore.) The world lore, however, mentions the Underking numerous times and in numerous incarnations (like in Daggerfall), but it still makes me wonder about the Battlemage's fate regarding what happened at Sancre Tor. Does your mod offer a revelation and/or insight into the Underking and his history after this point? Does he come back? Or is he just left out for the sake of lore accuracy?

[_echo]

Ok obviously I need to add some to the first post. Since no one but me and LadyFlcn seem to be getting the point here.

"Ask anything you'd like to know about Reclaiming Sancre Tor, her Author, or Collaborators and get the story straight from the Rider himself."

Valid question is valid. Plus its fun when an interview ends on a completely unrelated note.

[Ysne58]

Where did some of the ideas for the various quests come from? I recognize some of them but others I had never heard of.

[Lady_Nerevar]

Are you up for doing something of this scale again in the future, or did you learn your lesson

[Ladyflcn]

Some interesting questions so far. Guru maybe we should post the questions in the OP?

[Cydonian_Knight]

What's the the part of modding you dread the most? Landscaping? Endless random clutter? Pathgridding? Or do you thrive on those little red pyramids.

[lilith]

The NPC's in RST seem very "alive" and full of personality, did you use anyone you know as a template for any of the NPC Blades you created? If so, who and why.

[Ladyflcn]

Great questions gang keep em coming!!! I have a couple myself but they are super spoilery since I'm in the know, so I'm not posting them until the actual interview

[lilith]

Did you do all the writing yourself, in that I mean, the storyline and associated dialog for all the relevant NPC characters?

Edit: I've thought of another.

How much work on the mod was completed before you announced it with a WIPz thread? Were you still in the early concept stages or did you already have some work to show off?

[Johnn123]

What part of RST did you enjoy making most? Any parts stand out to you as a favorite? Did you anticipate as much work as was involved before you started? Did you anticipate as much help as you've received throughout the project?

[Ladyflcn]

Since Rider announced he's trying to release within the next day or so, I thought I'd bumpy bump my question thread. Have question? Ask away and help us fill up our post RST interview!

[lilith]

Please note: I grabbed my questions from above and incorporated them here. (My post #16 and Johns post #17 have/had not made the list in the OP).

~*~

Reclaiming Sancre Tor has a distinctly traditional Eastern Martial Arts ambiance; as does the Blades Order in the vanilla game. How much of RST’s ambiance was influenced by what was already in place? How much did you draw from your own knowledge and experience? How easy or hard was it to work with or around the preexisting flavor to obtain your vision for RST?

Children it seems are an integral part of Reclaiming Sancre Tor and with their inclusion helps to create a more balanced society, not only in quests, but Sancre Tor Village as well. From where did you draw the inspiration and how important was it to achieve this apparent goal? Were children included from the beginning concept stages or were they added in during the course of building the story?

During the course of playing Reclaiming Sancre Tor there are many marvelous scripted events; how difficult was it to implement them without using OBSE? Did you shelve any ideas due to over complexity to achieve the desired results?

Were there planned items (places, people, things) removed from Reclaiming Sancre Tor before its final release? If so, how much did you cut from your original concept and were the cuts made due to time constraints, lack of materials and/or resources, eventual diversion from the main story-line or something else altogether?

Did you do all the script writing for Reclaiming Sancre Tor yourself? In that I mean, the storyline and associated dialog for all the relevant characters? How much of the story was written before you began work on the esp?

How much work on Reclaiming Sancre Tor was completed before you announced it with a WIPz thread? Were you still in the early concept stages or did you already have some work to show off?

How much of a learning experience was Reclaiming Sancre Tor for you? How much modding experience did you have prior to beginning work on RST?

Do you have any words of wisdom to share with others who may want to take on a project of this size?

Were there challenges or benefits to running the TES Alliance website and creating Reclaiming Sancre Tor at the same time? Did they lend each other help or hinder one another?

Edit: Heh, I probably will think of more... When's the cutoff date for questions?

[lilith]

While spending so much time in the Construction Set, you must have run into instances where you wish it behaved in a different fashion; how would you change the CS if you could?

Some of the side-quests take place in areas the main-quest touches; were those side-quests planned from the beginning?

Counterpoint to my earlier question about what might have been cut from the final RST; was there content that was conceived and added along the way?