2018-02-04 Meeting Summary

Queue: 

Proposed Agenda

  • Old Ebonheart, open issues
  • Old Ebonheart Castle NPCs dialogue, Old Ebonheart bell tower interior
  • Indoril-Thirr, open issues
  • Andothren and cutting it out of Hlaalu-Thirr; as well as cutting Verarchen out of InDev. Some proposed shapes: 1, 2, 3, final
  • Globally rename TR_InDev into TR_RestExteriors
  • The interaction of Tamriel_Data/TR and TES3MP's envisioned mod sync system (P2P distribution a la Garry's Mod/Half-Life).

Meeting Summary

Globally rename TR_InDev to TR_RestExteriors

This has already been completed to a large degree (some documentation still refers to InDev, needs to be fixed when found).

Old Ebonheart

Without access to the section file, it’s not clear what open issues remain or what has already been done.

OE Bell Tower Interior

After some fact-checking, the dimensions of the belltower were hammered out: around six stories, with maybe a 3x3 or 4x4 layout, depending on what the defunct Weir Gate needs.

Gnomey will work out a shell, and will then post the claim with it or make the interior himself.

TES3MP Mod Sync System

TES3MP is looking to set up automated mod synchronization between clients and servers similar to the one in Garry’s Mod, and have asked for TR to allow its inclusion in the synchronization.

It is planned to be set up so that, when a client connects to a server, any files required on that server that the client is missing are downloaded automatically from the players on that server or, if the server is currently empty, from the player hosting the server.  

There would be no centralized mod repository where files are rehosted, and the automated mod sync would only be done via P2P connections between players. Special exceptions can be added for certain files when their creators require that they be downloaded from their own repository instead of from other players.

Any files thus downloaded would be kept in a separate downloads folder and only get loaded when required by a server, not interfering with a user's regular Morrowind installation in any way. Servers running different versions of the same files would not create a problem, as all the versions would be kept separately from each other in that downloads folder, and the correct ones would get loaded for each server based on a checksum comparison.

The hope is that TR and PT would become a standard fixture of TES3MP servers, whereas people currently shy away from it (apparently mostly due to the BSA registration, which this system would handle automatically).

Generally, as with our previous modpack discussion in 2017, upload and use of Tamriel Rebuilt itself in such a system is the purview of the projects leads (which were in favor last time and so have been this time as well).
Tamriel_Data is currently still in question - the most rigid redistribution rights on TR’s side have been cleared up, but PT’s side is unknown.

If no compromise about Tamriel_Data can be reached, David C. of TES3MP has proposed to add a “please download Tamriel_Data manually from <mirror>” prompt into the mod sync process. Alternatively, it could be set to download only from a TR/PT-approved location ínstead of the game server itself.
 

Section File Reshuffling

A working plan has been nailed down, generally to be worked on after Old Ebonheart has been released:;

  • Merging Indoril-Thirr and Hlaalu-Thirr Should be done before quest work starts in the area, but after the appraisal of Almas-Thirr and completion of Roa Dyr (ext/int/npc).
  • Cutting Dres Horak out of Lake Andaram: Should be done before the eventual Lake Andaram release.
  • Cutting Andothren out of Hlalu-Thirr: Must be done ASAP after the OE release. 
  • Merging Andothren into Roryn's Bluff: Can be done after NPCing is finished in Andothren, but before quests are implemented.
  • Cutting Kartur out of Roryn's Bluff: Can be done after Kartur ints are renamed.
  • Adding cells from RestExterior to section files: Verarchen is the last place where RestExterior has dialogue and NPCs, which it should not have. It would make sense to get the village and surrounding cells into a section file. The North-South column of cells is meant to include a road segment to connect Bodrem, and the source of a river (and in general, creating a nicer border).
  • Creating the Armun Ashlands section: Needed to merge finished ints. Could be done later on.