[WIPz] Announcing The Elder Scrolls: Archipelago

[Deeza]

THE ELDER SCROLLS V:

ARCHIPELAGO

"To kill Man is to reach Heaven, from where we came before the Doom Drum's iniquity. When we accomplish this, we can escape the mockery and long shame of the Material Prison.

The Ysmir line is dead and so is His stranglehold on the mythic.

We're coming for you in every one of your quarters, Sons of Talos. None shall survive."

Introduction

Six centuries ago, after years of warfare and skirmishing, Tiber Septim launched his final, devastating assault on the Summerset Isles. So overwhelming was the attack that the Islands surrendered in less than an hour, finally uniting Tamriel under a single ruler. Bards in the human kingdoms still sing tales of that day, whilst the Altmeri Phonocrafters weave bitter crystals of tears and curses at the devastation of their ancient homeland.

But what they do not sing of is what the soldiers could not have seen. They know nothing of the unseen battles, of the numiditions and the Crysalides, and the true reason why the Altmer were so quick to surrender. The repercussions from the Siege of Alinor in time and space stretch outwards from the Merethic Era to the dwindling days of the Fifth.

And they are not over, even to this day.

This project will see your Dragonborn pursue a new and relentless enemy across the face of Tamriel, from a storm-tossed rock off the Northern coasts of Skyrim, to the gentle landscapes of the Iliac Bay, through to the lush tropical rain forests of the Valenwood Isles, all the way to the mystic shores of the Summersets and even the mazelike halls of Direnni Tower, at the heart of the Isle of Balfiera. You will battle against ageless Altmeri wizards, treacherous Breton politics, Sload soul snares, Bosmer cannibals and, of course, pirates. You will uncover ancient secrets, solve arcane mysteries, and break the boundaries of time and space.

Prepare to embark on your farthest voyage yet...

What is this mod all about?

This mod will add a series of islands to Skyrim, in their own separate worldspaces and accessible as part of an ongoing quest line which will ultimately link together all of the islands in a single story. Players will be led on an epic journey across the oceans of Tamriel in pursuit of a deadly enemy and the artifacts that enemy seeks. It will strive to be as lore-accurate as possible. The separate nature of the islands will allow me to release the mod episodically, with each new episode revealing more of the story and taking the player to new islands.

What is this mod all about?

Since I started modding in 2008, I have been involved in numerous projects which sought to add new, lore-friendly landscapes to Oblivion. These included the legendary Silgrad Tower and the still unreleased Black Marsh and High Rock. Ironically, what inspired me most about such projects was also what frustrated me the most - their sheer scale. Magnificent though the thought of being able to wander across High Rock or Hammerfell is, when it comes down to it, I have learnt from much experience that what you actually end up spending most of your hobby time on is boring landscaping and tree-placing grunt work, and far less of it on the quests, settlements and exciting new stories that got us all into modding in the first place. In my opinion the sheer amount of grind that a province mod requires is the number one reason why almost no province mods get off the ground (the two Elsweyrs, Black Marsh and Silgrad Tower being honourable exceptions). This mod, therefore, is a response to these difficulties. It will allow you to travel to unseen regions of Tamriel and experience new cultures and locations, but on a much smaller, more achievable scale. Islands are, in a sense, miniature worlds, and my ultimate plan is to allow players to visit each province in miniature, experiencing a little of the lore and background of each area through interactions with new characters, whilst still fitting in some good old fashioned story telling and dungeon crawls along the way.

What's with the name?

An Archipelago is an ocean studded with islands. Whilst the islands of this mod aren't all continuous, nevertheless I hope to give players the feeling of traversing a great ocean, hopping from island to island and following a complex story which links them all together as part of the same world.

Concept art:

Direnni Tower

The Isle of Betony

South Sea Islands

Screenshots:

South Seas Heightmap

Iliac Bay Heightmap

Isle of Betony

Betony House Mesh

Akatosh Shrine

Cypresses

Valenwood Map Sketch

New Valenwood Architecture Overview

Valenwood Tropical Palms

Valenwood Architecture Interior

Note: These were taken using the TES4: Oblivion engine. However these meshes will be ported/updated to the new Skyrim engine.

Videos:

Note: these were taken using the TES4: Oblivion engine. However these meshes will be ported/updated to the new Skyrim engine.

F.A.Q.S:

When will this mod be ready?

At the moment, the Creation Kit has not been released yet. Although the mod is already planned, there could be unforeseen difficulties involved with implementing the heightmaps, mesh transfer to the new engine, and so on. Consequently I will not be committing myself to a release date at this time, though I will of course post updates as I work on the mod and the times involved become clearer.

Why aren't you working with Onra's heightmaps?

This mod is a spiritual successor to several of the Beyond Cyrodiil mods for TES4: Oblivion. Consequently I will be using the assets from those projects, and already have heightmaps finished and ready to port to Skyrim. In any case, this mod will use separate worldspaces for each group of islands, meaning it will most likely be completely compatible with many mods based off Onra's heightmaps.

Are you planning to do the rest of mainland High Rock/Valenwood/Summerset?

For the reasons I outlined above, I am reluctant to embark on a full-scale province mod due to the huge amounts of landscaping grunt work involved. However, were enough other people to help out (and I'm talking significant numbers of committed and skilled modders here), I might possibly be persuaded to change my mind. Alternatively, I may try expanding the mod in the future to add even more islands off the coasts of other provinces.

Can I help?

Absolutely! I would gladly accept any offers of assistance with anything other than plot writing (since that is the only thing that's finished). If you want to help out, please head over to the Dark Creations forums, where a subforum devoted to this project will come online in the next few days: Dark Creations While you're over there, make sure to check out the Black Marsh for TES4 and Elsweyr for Skyrim landscape mods that share the forum (not to mention our gracious hosts, the Dark Brotherhood Chronicles).

Credits:

The Old Ye Bard for numerous High Rock meshes and hours of lore research

Noirgrim for the original Iliac Bay Heightmap

Windsurfer for the original Valenwood Islands mod and cave tileset

Morcroft for the coral reef meshes

Mormacil and the old Beyond Cyrodiil: Valenwood team

Braggi and the old Beyond Cyrodiil: High Rock team

Silgrad Tower website and forum for hosting both those projects

[grond]

Splendid, fascinating idea! Best of luck to you!

[Deeza]

Thankyou for your interest! I'll be updating my post as and when I have more to show you.

[Amaranth]

From what you wrote it appears to be something I'll add to ym game. Will definitely stick around.

[Deeza]

Cheers!