[WIP] Unofficial Aleswell Expansion

[Vereta]

Somebody over in the official forums requested for an expansion of Aleswell. (Link)

I'm going to take on his request as practice and my first mod to be released into public. Some other guy is apparently doing it as well, but I'm going to go on and do it anyway. Any suggestions for the expansion?

~Vereta

[grond]

If you could twist the road so it goes through the little plot of crops it will pass the Inn.  Then you could move the two houses back a bit, move the crops ( watch for the sowing farmer - you'll have to tweak the package he uses ) flatten the hill below Fingerbowl Cave and set a row of houses there.  You could probably leave the road where it is but I like an Inn that's on the Road.  That's just me.  

Be careful if you do change the road -- reset the pathpoints!

And check the AI of every NPC living there, whatever you end up doing.  

Best of Luck!

[Vereta]

Well.... I already started on the mod and decided to leave the road alone. But! I'm not sure if I like what I'm doing with it. Would it be more trouble playing with the road? Right now It's basically just a perk up in looks. Screenshots will follow in a moment.

[grond]

Basically the more things you change the more things you'll have to check.  Lots of unforeseen connections in the game.  But don't be nervous - that's what Betas are for!  I'll happily run through whatever you end up with.

[Vereta]

Here are some screens of what I've done on the hip:

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Also I added a [WIP] thread to the official forum. Link

[DarkRider]

It's cool that you've decided to take this on as your own! It's always good to expand on or improve existing things, that's what makes a good mod! I'll be watching your progress, it will be interesting to see what you do with it!  

[Vereta]

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It's cool that you've decided to take this on as your own! It's always good to expand on or improve existing things, that's what makes a good mod! I'll be watching your progress, it will be interesting to see what you do with it!  

Response:

Thanks for your support Dark Rider. Can anyone voice act an old women? Cause I have a quest idea for the mod.

Quest Idea:

Have a cottage a ways up the hill across the road next to Aleswell. The people of Aleswell believe the person living their is a witch and want you to investigate.

Suggestions?

Update:

The landscape that is around the farm house has been smoothed out more so that the grass texture doesn't stretch as much. Comparison: (before) (after)

Unexpectedly, when I loaded the .esp up again to work on the mod some meshes seemed to go missing. Any ideas why? (i.e. 01 02)

~Vereta

[grond]

Man O man, that little hamlet sure gets into some trouble...first somebody turns them all invisible, now there's a witch down the road.  

That actually might be something you could use for a questline - why is Aleswell getting dumped on?  Could there be something buried below the hamlet?  A ruin perhaps?

EDIT ~ Those missing meshes - do they come from another esp, or are they stock meshes?

[Guest]

Missing meshes seems to be an occassional trait for mods, i tend to not worry about them too much, aslong as i don't find any bugs or crashes ingame everything should be fine, that goes for the CS aswell.

It's always worth having a look into it though.

[Ladyflcn]

This looks like a very nice little mod, Vereta! I'm eager to play it when you're finished!  

[BretonGuy]

if you are adding any new npcs and need VA im your man

[Vereta]

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if you are adding any new npcs and need VA im your man

I was already going to contact you for voice acting. I'll be gone for a month so don't expect any updates starting tomorrow.

[Vereta]

I've decided to scrap this and probably won't be coming back to this out of frustration. I had made a large amount of progress and the CS crashed on me. A.K.A. my data is gone and now I'm left sad and confused. I'm so pissed off. All that work. GONE. DarkRider if your reading this go head and lock or delete this thread.

[Guest]

Oww, Vereta, i'm sorry to hear that.

We all hate it when that happens, and myself i have been spending more than 9 hours on a conversation problem, and i just got it working.

My strongest advice to you is to keep going at it, i'm certain that you would get it finished and it may even get better now.

I know you may feel like just giving up right now, but hang in there, take a break from it for a day or two and then start slapping the CS aftersome rest. I'm certain that you'll get it working somehow then.  

[Vereta]

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Oww, Vereta, i'm sorry to hear that.We all hate it when that happens, and myself i have been spending more than 9 hours on a conversation problem, and i just got it working.My strongest advice to you is to keep going at it, i'm certain that you would get it finished and it may even get better now.I know you may feel like just giving up right now, but hang in there, take a break from it for a day or two and then start slapping the CS aftersome rest. I'm certain that you'll get it working somehow then.  

Lol, slapping it. That's what it needs, a fat slap in the cheek. Maybe I'll come back to this. Is just that Aleswell is so hard to mod because of where it is. It's up on the edge of a freakin' hill.

[DarkRider]

Don't give up Mate, it happens to every modder at some point.

Once early on in Sancre Tor, I spent couple hours carefully hand placing dozens of floor and ceiling tiles in the parts of Sancre Tor's interior where there is no floor or ceiling. Then I tapped the F key to drop a piece, but it was too far up and the CS CTD. I just stared at the screen, stunned, at first couldn't even believe it was happening. Then I realized I hadn't saved and would have to start that whole project over again. And there have been at least a half dozen other examples, too painful to rehash!!!  

I know exactly how you feel and you have my sympathies. But, it's a risk we assume when using the CS; it is a crashy beast by nature. The best advice is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start again. Save often, and always before making any major changes you haven't tried before. If your PC can handle it the CS also has an auto-save feature that can save every few minutes in case you are forgetful!

You can also search the wiki for examples of things that cause CTD in the CS so you know what moves to avoid (like hitting the F key to drop an object from too high!)

I don't think I'll lock this thread just yet, there may still be work for you to do in Aleswell!  

[Vereta]

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Don't give up Mate, it happens to every modder at some point. Once early on in Sancre Tor, I spent couple hours carefully hand placing dozens of floor and ceiling tiles in the parts of Sancre Tor's interior where there is no floor or ceiling. Then I tapped the F key to drop a piece, but it was too far up and the CS CTD. I just stared at the screen, stunned, at first couldn't even believe it was happening. Then I realized I hadn't saved and would have to start that whole project over again. And there have been at least a half dozen other examples, too painful to rehash!!!   I know exactly how you feel and you have my sympathies. But, it's a risk we assume when using the CS; it is a crashy beast by nature. The best advice is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start again. Save often, and always before making any major changes you haven't tried before. If your PC can handle it the CS also has an auto-save feature that can save every few minutes in case you are forgetful! You can also search the wiki for examples of things that cause CTD in the CS so you know what moves to avoid (like hitting the F key to drop an object from too high!)I don't think I'll lock this thread just yet, there may still be work for you to do in Aleswell!  

QFT...

I will be coming back to this, but will be working from scratch.

[WindmillTilter]

Always sucks when you loose wokr like that. But if you do decide to stick with it, you'll probably find it much faster the next time through.

I lost everything 3 monthes into the mod I'm working on, it only took me about 3-4 weeks to recreate the work, and some parts got better the second time through.

I hope you decide to go back to it, but either way we all feel you're pain.  

WT

[DarkRider]

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I will be coming back to this, but will be working from scratch.

Glad to hear it!  

And I'm looking forward to seeing some screenshots of your renewed efforts!

[Vereta]

Alright, guys. I want you guys to check out the layout of the mod. I want it to feel 'enclosed' and a feel that the small hamlet's people rely on each other. I want it this way because I plan to build a quest that engages you into their lives. I plan to get the old quest 'zero visibility' re-voice-acted, which will 'initiate' you into their lives. You will become part of Aleswell. You will build friendships and maybe even rivalries. Eventually, it'll lead to an event that will change Aleswell forever. You decide it's fate. Whether it be mild, good, or bad.

So, I've decided to let you guys have a look at Aleswell's layout yourselves, so I uploaded the file to 4shared. Here's the link: Aleswell

[Guest]

Loading it in the CS now!

[Vereta]

Criticism is welcome. Tell me what needs to be added/fixed. Thanks.

[Guest]

Well, i just checked it out. I don't remember much from the actual quest. But i think i saw pretty neat improvements!

I'm not an exterior level designer, so i don't have any criticism really, other than to say that it's nice!  

[Vereta]

The .esp has been updated. If someone could go ahead into Oblivion and take a few screen shots it'd be much appreciated. My computer is to crappy. Also, can anyone report bugs/if you can fix them up? I'm a total newby when it comes to Oblivion modding.

(link)

[Vereta]

Alright, so I need to get more accustom with the CS. I've been wondering whether or not I'd want to make this a full blown story mod. So, I'm asking any experienced (or at least someone who has made two mods or so.) modders here whether it's a good idea. Should I go with that or should I make a few short quests to go with it?

Oh, by the way I'll be going to school starting tomorrow. (A.K.A. less time to mod.)