The Illuminated Order: A mod in progress

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 2:31 am

The mod I've been discussing in this thread now has the entirety of the first guildhouse, the quest to join the guild, and all quests in the first guildhouse implemented. It can be downloaded here

This version can be played through as-is, covering the first six quests. Later versions will pick up where this one leaves off. Should you wish to play around with this version, to start it off ask for rumors in Balmora until you hear about the crazy dark elf who thinks he's a liche.....

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Sun Dec 22, 2002 11:44 pm

A couple of teasers from, respectively, the second and third guild houses. I -hope- to have a version of the mod with both these guild houses and all associated quests up within a week.

rnrules · Post by **rnrules** » Mon Dec 23, 2002 1:19 am

Nice, I like that lady in the tapestry behind the vampire guy. She's hot!

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Wed Dec 25, 2002 2:04 pm

Spent the last couple of days building needed cells: the dreugh colony of Imboca (an underwater city), the shipwreck of the Plutonia , a mysterious island that rose from beneath the waves, and the interior of the structure that squats unearthly upon it..... I still have to build a lighthouse, the last guildhall, and one more dungeon.

Ran into a snag. I'd been meaning to do something at the very end that involves swapping out PC body parts, similiar to how the PC's face changes when they become a vampire. Discovered that the TES editor cannot perform this function; the vampire switch is actually hard coded into the executable and isn't a scripting function at all. Pity... I even had the models of the new body parts lined up :/

Anyway, I -think- I've come up with a workaround, but I'm going to have to teach myself skinning before I know for sure. It's not going to be the effect I had in mind originally, but I think visually it'll still be okay. This is going to slow things up a bit, at least as far as having the final, completed version.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Fri Dec 27, 2002 9:49 pm

It looks like a very talented skinner in the community may be lending a hand with that problem I mentioned. I'm certainly hoping so.

All of the second guild house's quests are complete and tested.

Third guild house quests are about 50% complete -- all new cells needed for these are completed as well.

Fourth guild house's quests are 0% complete, but all new cells needed for these are completed as well.

Fifth -- and final -- guild house's quests are 0% complete, all cells but three dungeons are completed as well.

Every single script except the very last one is complete and working.

Assuming my skinning problem is solved and that last script isn't too much of a bear, a complete mod shouldn't be more then a week away.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Sun Dec 29, 2002 6:50 pm

Heh heh.... got around my skinning problem

YES, you will be able to become a liche in the mod

In other progress.... fourth guild house has been cut. The fourth guild house was really Arvs Drelen, the Velothi tower of Baladas Demnevanni in Gnisis. Baladas was intended to be a member of the Order and a quest giver, but he's already involved in: telvanni quests, a legion quest, a mage guild quest and peripherally included in the main quest. I decided I didn't want to muck about with him, for fear of breaking something else he's integral to.

No worries, though -- the quests from Baladas have been moved between the third and fifth (now, fourth and final) guild houses, with the exception of two that I cut as being somewhat redundant.

Everything related to the third guild house is complete, all quests and dialogue is taken care of. Have barely begun on the NPCs for the fourth guild house, though. Still, I'm genuinely hoping to get this out -very- shortly.....

rnrules · Post by **rnrules** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 3:26 pm

I talked to everyone outside in balmora, with their disposition raised and asked about all the: latest rumors, little secrets, ect.. ect.. (and yes I made sure that the mod was loaded) and still nobody would talk to me. So I kind of cheated and found your script and made it so I could get inside. Could you tell me where to get the key, so I don't spoil all of it? Or maybe just where the rumors start?

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Tue Dec 31, 2002 3:39 pm

The rumor is a general one in balmora; anyone within balmora's confines has a chance of telling it to you if you ask for 'latest rumors'. Still, sometimes you have to ask a -lot- of people. For some reason when I test it, I get it almost like clockwork every time from Ranis in the mages guild.

Where'd you go inside, Demnevanni manor? If you did, then you missed out on almost the whole thing included in that file. I'd suggest going back to before you did and checking for the rumors again, but if that fails open up the console and type:

journal OR_join 10

...which will add the journal entry you get when you hear the rumor, and you can take things from there.

Still, you might want to wait... I really expect to have the finished mod within the next few days.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:43 pm

Just FYI, here's the entirety of my remaining "to do" list:

Dialogue for selrach, eats crow, Imaginos, Elijah
Script for entry to liche caves… can be based on journal entries?
Liche/licheskull script

I expect to finish either today or tommorrow, then spend one more day on testing and bugfixing. After that, it'll be released. So expect it anytime between thursday and saturday

[Updated the to-do list. It's gettin' smaller all the time.]

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Thu Jan 02, 2003 8:01 pm

I'm in the final stretch. The to do list is down to:

Dialogue for Elijah
Liche/licheskull script

I should be able to finish up tonight and even begin testing. Look for the mod tommorrow

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 5:21 pm

The mod is done, but I'm doing testing right now. Still hoping to have it ready for release later today. Ran into a major headache with a script involved in being a liche, but I've got that 75% solved. One thing I want it to do it isn't doing, but it's doing the most important things so I may end up releasing without that last, missing thing in.

De_Priester · Post by **De_Priester** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 10:57 pm

Hey dude I take it your really good at this (dunno really) but if you got it finished why not let bethesda have a look at it maybe they will make it an official plugin and host it on their sites

would be kinda cool ?

Anyway the screenies look wicked and after I finish playing most of the quests I'll make sure to play your mods

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 11:23 pm

Hey dude I take it your really good at this (dunno really)

Nah. When I started on this about a month ago I knew next to nothing with the construction kit. I could edit very, very simple things, but I had no knowledge of scripting, building, skinning or the dialogue functions. I've just been learning as I go.

but if you got it finished why not let bethesda have a look at it maybe they will make it an official plugin and host it on their sites would be kinda cool ?

It'd be cool, but I doubt it's the sort of thing that would happen

There's something like a thousand mods for morrowind, and while very few of them deal with quests and even fewer with new factions, Bethesda has never shown any interest in "adopting" any of them as official.

While I'm at it.....testing is about 85% done. I have five more quests to test and one location, then I can release. I still hope to this evening, within the next few hours.

[edit: oh, and my scripting headache is solved. Everything to do with that script now works as intended.]