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Post by Faalen »

MowSkwoz and I have been PMing back and forth on this, and he has found an ingenious and extremely functional solution. I am officially back on track with this claim, and will have another WIP with significant progress (think being transported to the pocket realm) in the next week or two.

EDIT: Page 6? Daaaaaamn. I need to do less posting and more working. Srsly.
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Post by Faalen »

WIP 4 is up. Play instructions are the same as before. I know that by now several of you have done this quest several times from the beginning and I apologize for having you do it yet again. However, I have done significant reworking behind the scenes, as well as making later sections dependent on earlier ones, so it's necessary to play it all once more. There are two bugs (one minor, one serious) in this version that I have yet to work out. More on those in a bit.

There are a couple of things that I'd really like a tester to try out:

1) Try approaching Rilamus both with and without his diary in hand. You should get different reactions from him.

2) When you're in the Archives, check out the sinister book on the lectern in the nook in the main room. I'd like it if you try this 3 ways. First, leave the book completely alone and continue playing through the quest. Second, take the book and deposit it somewhere at random (not in the Archives) and continue through the quest. At the appropriate time (you'll know) go back and get it. If it has vanished, I need to know. Third, take the book and keep it with you while you play through the rest of the quest. All of these situations should have distinct outcomes and I need to know if they work for others.

Now, about those bugs. The first one you'll reach is while speaking with Weikal Urenim (only happens in one of the three paths listed above). He is supposed to forcegreet the player after the book you're reading is closed. He doesn't, so just speak with him again to continue the quest. The other bug is much more serious and will require you to quit the game when it happens. When the player is transported to the pocket realm, the screen fades out and will not fade back in. Even if you stop the global script that handles the transport and manually fade in, the screen goes back to black. I am aware of this and am consulting with MowSkwoz via PM on it. For obvious reasons, there is nothing done after the player is transported. (EDIT: This bug has been corrected, but not in this version. And a slight correction--you don't need to quit when this happens; it only requires a load of a prior save. Since it's at the end of this WIP it really isn't a hindrance.)

There are a couple of dialogue exchanges where the player is given only one response as an option. I'd like some feedback on this (i.e. should there be more options, what should the results of those options be, etc.).

This file is slightly dirty. It has a few straggling cells (TR's version of the 72 evil GMSTs) as well as some contaminated dialogue entries. I am aware of these things and will obviously clean them out in a final file of any kind.

Enjoy!
Last edited by Faalen on Fri Nov 21, 2008 8:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Faalen »

I really would appreciate it if somebody could take the time out to give this a playthrough. I realize that Map 2 is looming and everyone is very busy, but I'm at a stage of construction in this quest where things are gradually going to become more and more dependent on prior events in the line so if things need changing I need to know before I proceed. BC, IP, and MowSkwoz, I value your opinions particularly and would be grateful if you gave me your thoughts. Anyone else who has some free time is more than welcome to give this a shot; I want as much input as I can get.

Sorry for the double post.
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

I promise I will playtest this as soon as I can, but that won't necessarily be too soon. Frankly I still (unlikely as it may seem) am on a bit of a break after the Herculean efforts of the Map 1 quested release, and more testing is not something I'm keen on, unless it's very quick and simple stuff. Map 2 is my main interest. Once that's gone, I will be able to spend all my TR time with the questers.

I do promise to playtest this (and all currently Claimed quest claims) as soon as I am ready to, and appreciate the annoyances of a somewhat understaffed questing department.


In the meantime, I'd reccommend that anyone who has ever played Morrowind (i.e. everyone at TR) and speaks English as a native language (so you can pick up on language errors) to at least give some quests a once-over if you have some free time you'd like to spend doing something helpful. It'd really help folks along.
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Post by MMMowSkwoz »

Righty,

That was awesome. I played it through and tried various different options for each encounter. I probably didn't try everything (and I just realised I didn't try it as a member of the temple), but hopefully this might be of some use:

Dral's dialogue:

1. If you click on 'his followers' a second time, nothing happens - presumably there is no entry after the journal has updated - however, the hyperlink is still present in the previous text.
2. 'little task' is quite a likely topic for another modder to choose, which could possibly cause conflicts for TR with other mods. Just a thought.
3. The word "can't" seemed a little out of place for his personality - I thought "cannot" would seem more suitable. Maybe just a personal thing though.
4. If you refuse the task, his response to 'little task' doesn't seem appropriate and no longer hyperlinks to 'Hermaeus Mora'.
5. When refusing the task under 'certain questions', his final response is "Be gone!". Should that be "Begone!"?
6. If you fail the task, response to 'Hermaeus Mora' seems odd. (something like "My questions still need asking.")

Other Stuff:

1. Why have you prefixed all your cell IDs with "TR_i1_Q"?
2. One of the NPCs in the Hermaean cave (Zebbaes?) has a face with eyes. Are they all supposed to be blind or just some?
3. The cave was really hard to find. I gave up and found it in the CS. It's probably because I'm tired and was missing some hint, but all I got from the journal and his dialogue was that there were three rocks somewhere on the east of Gahvan Isle which were affected by light.
4. The prone Hermeans worked perfectly the first time I went into the cave (i.e. they'd fallen over), but when I reloaded and went again, they were standing up.
5. The inventory image for the scrying book is wrong - it's the image for the single sheet instead.

I hope that all makes sense. If you want any further clarification, I may be more coherent in the morning.
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Post by Hemitheon »

OK I tried all three ways. Worked wonderfully if I took the book at the get go and when I took the book afterwards, but when I took the book at the get go and left it somewhere else, then went back and took it, my game crashed.

Fadein trouble in scripting. Why not just kill the fadein part.

Idlos Alen's dialogue for "prove your worth", cut the word "however"

This is a badass quest.
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Post by Faalen »

Thanks very much to both of you.

@MowSkwoz:

All of Dral's quest-related dialogue is supposed to disappear as soon as the quest has terminated at any point for any reason, except for "little task" which has a one-liner "You had your chance" kind of thing that decreases Dral's disposition by one point. If you still have available dialogue, that means I missed one of the failure points (quest failure was originally dependent on journal entries, but I started adding so many failure points that I made Dral's failure dialogue dependent on a global variable instead; I missed an entry while converting conditions apparently). As far as "his followers" still hyperlinking, there's nothing I can do about that. That topic dies there and I don't want to create a filler entry for it. I agree that "little task" is a slightly dangerous topic name, but it's well-suited to this quest, and dialogue, like cells, can be affected by multiple mods concurrently without causing problems. I think my entries are filtered sufficiently that they won't be a problem as long as Map 1 loads first (which it has to since it's a master file). Thanks for the dialogue workout, though; I'll dig right back into sorting out those conditions.

I didn't put that info in my cell names. The TR information is these interiors' respective claim numbers, which I'm leaving in for clerical purposes during merging. The excess information will be removed by the merger and only the actual names will remain.

Not all of the Hermaeans are blind. Those who are still studying need their eyes to read.

My clues for locating the cave (as well as the question it asks) are absolute crap and I know it. I'd really like suggestions to reduce the suckage in that section.

I'm at a loss for the sleeping Hermaeans. Does anybody know a surefire way to make them stay down? This problem has been plaguing me since page 2 or 3 of this thread.

I know the icon is wrong. The mesh I'm using isn't supposed to be a carryable item and as such lacks an icon. One will need to be made before this quest is merged.

If you've got more coherent feedback, I'd love to hear it; the stuff you've already given me is very helpful.

---

@Hemitheon:

Well, a crash is certainly no good. I'll sort through that script and try to find the bug that causes that.

The FadeIn FadeOut stuff has been sorted out. MowSkwoz discovered that the game stores unexecuted Fade commands and executes them whenever possible. It has been fixed by only letting FadeOut be called for one frame in the transport script (thanks, Bethesda, for the completely logical and coherent script language provided with this game[/sarcasm]).

Will do.

Thanks.


I've got Thanksgiving break coming up next week, so I anticipate much progress and bug-fixage. Stay tuned!
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

Re: 'sleeping' Hermaeans resetting, it's possible that their data for being knocked over (as with the ForceRun etc. commands) are reset on a reload. To fix this, a long-winded way is to have a hidden and inacessible NPC in the cell who is set to ForceRun. His script then checks if he is not ForceRunning (GetForceRun or something), and if he isn't, resets him to ForceRun and 're-KOs' the Hermaeans.

For an example of this in practise, check my mod on TESNexus 'Crustacean's Puzzlier Puzzle Canal' (or something to that effect - it can also be found via its ancient thread at BGSF (official ES forums)) and the Hall of Daring.

I think I found the technique originally through MWSFD, so you could check that too.
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Post by MMMowSkwoz »

BC is right, they reset when you load. It's their fatigue resetting though, so it might be easier just to have a script like this:

Code: Select all

Begin TR_m1_q77_PassOut

If ( GetFatigue > 0 )
	AiActivate "TR_m1_q77_Hermaean4" ;doesn't have to be him, just any unique object nearby will do
	SetFatigue -5
endif

if ( OnActivate == 1 )
	return
endif

End
This always makes them fall over, but has the irritating downside that if you load with them in sight you see them fall over. I've tried a few ways around this but I can't find anything that works well. The nearest I got was

Code: Select all

Begin TR_m1_q77_PassOut

Float timer
Short movenpc

If ( movenpc == 1 )
	PositionCell, -181, 458, 405, 190, "Seyda Neen, Arrille's Tradehouse" ;move npc out of sight
	AiActivate "hrisskar flat-foot"
	set movenpc to 2
Elseif ( movenpc == 2 )
	Set timer to ( timer + GetSecondsPassed )
	If  ( timer >= 1 ) ;wait one second
		Set movenpc to 3
		set timer to 0
	Endif
Elseif  ( movenpc == 3 )
	PositionCell, -218, 65, 405, 190, "Seyda Neen, Arrille's Tradehouse" ;move him back
	set movenpc to 0
Endif

If ( GetFatigue > 0 )
	set movenpc to 1
	SetFatigue -5
endif

if ( OnActivate == 1 )
	return
endif

End
[I was testing it on an NPC in Arrille's Tradehouse, but you get the idea.]

This just removes the npc from sight while he falls over and so he just appears on the floor 1 second after you load. It's still realism-breaking though. I even tried have a cloud of steam appear around the npc when he moved so the player wouldn't notice his short absence, but it just drew attention to it instead.

Edit: Just had a thought. You might be able to place a dead body (either one of your own or a similarish one of Bethesda's) at the position to cover the 1 second absence. You could place it at movenpc=1 and have a script so it is deleted when the real npc returns.
Edit2: Just tried the 'dead dummy' thing and it sort of worked, but you'd have to rotate the body to the right angle too. It still looks weird though.
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

MowSkwoz, you are a scripting machine of awesomesauce. I bow to you.


EDIT: One alternative suggestion - see what happens if you give the guys an 'ability' that damages/drains fatigue (through their spell list). That might not reset.

I did something similar (though with a disease, because I intend for it to be cured) with a 'fainted' NPC in Map 2. I think that's working okay. (I did have to use an initial 'kickdown' Fatigue damaging through her script, though - so maybe that also has the resetting issue - I don't know)
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Post by Faalen »

Been almost a month, so I'm posting to say that this is still in the works. It's fallen a little bit by the wayside, since lately I've been extremely busy with finals and stuff, but I've got Christmas break coming up (five weeks off) so there will be significant progress come the new year.
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Post by theviking »

Bloodthirsty Crustacean wrote:MowSkwoz, you are a scripting machine of awesomesauce. I bow to you.
Seconded. Most of the time your scripts are so expansive that I can't see through them. I have a two week vacation coming up as well, which I'm going to revitalise the playtesters, finish Stirk and refuel the quest designing. have a productive Christmas, Faalen!
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

Okay, first up, I really, really like your work here Faalen. Your dialogue work is brilliant, in particular (if a little overly verbose at times, when it's like some shack-guy giving you a three paragraph lecture ;) But hey, it's a big quest, it needs big dialogues). I love what you've done with Dral - he says a lot, but actually doesn't convey very much. Perfect! :)

So, here come the comments.

Ratagos should be less forthcoming in his answer about the Hermaeans. At least a disposition buffer.

The alterations you make to the RR temple cause doubling issues with the corner piece and the door to Ratagos' room (at least, with the new version of Map 1 they do).

Don't use 'enter/return' in normal dialogue. Only when being poetic. (e.g. - not when Fedaves is talking about 'Hermaeans')

Give directions to, and 'ShowMap "Bahrammu"' Bahrammu from Fedaves.

Please give the cells normal names. It's confusing and weird with them still having TR_ names. Remember to update all the scripts.

In the RR Temple Archives entrance, don't call the urn thingy 'urn' (because then you get 'Urn to Temple Archives' which sounds weird). Call it 'covered trap door' or something like that. (And I'd say replace the urn in the actual archives with a real trapdoor)

Bahrammu man should ShowMap "Isle of Arches" and give directions.

The entrance to Ansura Heramas is officialy impossible to find. No way anyone will ever get it. First, remove the thing about 'Telvanni settlement to the south' or whatever (it sounds like that, anyway), which is highly confusing. Second, I'd move it off that hillside. You'd need to be mad to think you had to look there. I'd move it on to one of the flatter areas.

In Ansura Heramas, one guy in the room with the 'guide' guy is in a perpetual fit - he starts to faint, then stops mid animation, and then starts to faint in the other direction, infinitely. Is this intentional (if so, it looks bad), or a scripting bug with the fainting thing (it was a guy with a beard and top-knot in the room with the shrine - sorry I didn't get his ID)?

Pseudographia is eternally Faded out. If I fade in with the console, it immediately fades out again.

Give blokey in Pseudographia some dialogue.


That's it for now. Once I work out how to fix the fade out thing in the CS, I will be able to continue testing.
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Post by Faalen »

Re: The fading and the fainting bugs-
Both of those problems have been fixed in my internal version. If you read the post I made when I uploaded the most recent file, I mentioned a couple of bugs that I had yet to correct; most of them have since been ironed out. There is nothing in the Pseudographia section to test due to the bug you mentioned. The current file ends there.

I left the TR info in front of cell names because Haplo told me to do so a couple of pages back. I'm inclined to follow his instructions unless he comes back here and tells me otherwise.

I initially left directions and map markers out of my Isle of Arches dialogue because at the time I didn't know how to get there. Now I have the code patch map fix, so instructions will be in the next version.

There's very little I can do about the Ranyon-ruhn Temple. It needs to be modified for this quest, and doubling is a possibility. After this quest is a part of the master file, I suspect doubling will disappear because no conflicting data will exist for that interior.

The Archives and their entrance were given to me ready-made, and I didn't alter them in any way. I'll look into changing the name of the entrance urn.

The location given to me for Ansura-Heramas was "east of Port Telvannis", and the little nook I put the entrance in is the only suitable place I found. I'm leaning more towards clarifying the directions rather than moving the entrance. I've been mentioning for my past several posts that my directions suck, and that hasn't changed. I'd really appreciate input to make them clearer.

I realize that the villager in Bahrammu is a bit long-winded, but he has a lot of information to convey that really can't be much condensed.

Thanks for testing it, BC. The new file will be up and ready to go hopefully by the end of January.
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

Well, with the cell name thing (with all due humility), when it comes to quests, it's me and Viking who know the ropes around here. Having done several quests with new ints made for them, I can tell you that it is perfectly safe (and entirely sensible) to rename interior cells to normal names as soon as you get them.

You also have permission to replace the urn on the Archive side of the trapdoor with an actual trapdoor (in case you're worried about that).

With the entrance to Heramas, I really would move it. As I say, no one is gonna search some fairly obscure (and seemingly inaccessible) hillside. Unless you clarify the directions to self-defeating levels, it's probably easier (and better for player's sanity) if you move it to somewhere where the 'three fingers' are slightly more of a landmark. (But again, not so much that it's self-defeating)


One other thing that came up, that I forgot to mention - I think having a double version of the Eshuhara Ancestral Tomb is a bad idea. Just enable/disable vamps as appropriate within the normal tomb. As it stands the player can loot the whole place twice, etc., which will be very weird.

And when you get to Pseudographia, make sure you give the guy some very basic hints as to what to do. It took me about twenty minutes to work out that the opening area is essentially pointless. :P (Apart from the glowy gate)

Finally, I wonder if TR has any voice actors from the Oblivion side of things who'd be willing to do good ole Hermy? That would be a perfecting touch.
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Post by Hemitheon »

sidenote: there is a candle in the Archives in the 1st lower level cell that bleeds into the door when its opened. Could you delete it or move it.
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Post by Gez »

Bloodthirsty Crustacean wrote:Well, with the cell name thing (with all due humility), when it comes to quests, it's me and Viking who know the ropes around here.
I'm gonna back Crusty here for one reason: if you have a cell that is ShowMapped, GetPCCelled, PositionCelled or otherwise targeted by scripts -- in other words, quested -- it's a pain to go on and update all parts of dialogues and scripts that reference the temporary name.
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Post by Faalen »

@ BC -

Like I said, there is nothing done in Pseudographia in this file. Due to the FadeOut bug (now solved) I did not include anything in that section. Obviously there will be dialogue when the area is accessible. Also, there is no loot in the Vampire-Infested Tomb. I cleared out absolutely everything the player can take. I went with a cloned tomb for two reasons. Number one, theviking told me to, and number two, adding vampires would mean not only enabling them, but also disabling a dozen leveled creatures which is getting a little messy IMHO. The door won't switch back until the player has been away for at least a period of time that it would make sense for the tomb to be restocked with goodies and creatures.

Ansura-Heramas is supposed to be impossible to find. The Temple has been looking for it for decades, and they're not bad at finding things. If you have a recommendation for a different but equally challenging location, I'm more than happy to entertain it.

@ Hemitheon -

Will do.
Last edited by Faalen on Wed Dec 24, 2008 6:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by MMMowSkwoz »

Bloodthirsty Crustacean wrote:One other thing that came up, that I forgot to mention - I think having a double version of the Eshuhara Ancestral Tomb is a bad idea. Just enable/disable vamps as appropriate within the normal tomb. As it stands the player can loot the whole place twice, etc., which will be very weird.
A bit of a tangent, but does anyone know if this causes issues with the minimap (two entrances on top of each other)?
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

Re: Pseudog, that was just a suggestion for when the time comes. Not a criticism or anything. :))

Anyway, Ansura-Heramas: if you head three cells east from the current location, then on the border with the cell to the south, there's a little rocky spar seperating two beaches. (See picture)

That makes quite a good spot for it. It's still blending in very much, but someone trawling the island would actually find it. (But only someone looking for three big rocks)

I'd also suggest increasing the size of the 'fingers' a bit (this would require changing the movement scripts to get them fully sunk), if you want, and then (just to make things a tad less obvious) change the name of the 'named' rock to being just 'Strange Rock'. That, or (I think this is better, actually) remove the name, and use Morrowind's 'spell detecting' scripts to make it so that when the player's using detect enchantments and is near the rock formation, then the message box pops up. That way, no one other than those on the quest will ever find this.

(One note: you need to do some tiny landscaping to cover the back of the cave entrance a bit if you put it here)


EDIT: Oh, one last thing! Make it impossible to sleep in Pseudographia, or any Pocket Realm. If you do sleep, the DB can attack you in there! :P
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Post by Faalen »

@ MowSkwoz -

Yes it does, but almost imperceptibly and only while the second door is enabled. I'll make it a point to check that out on my next playthrough, and if it's bad I'll make the extra door an activator or something. I don't expect it to be a problem in this case.

@ BC -

Thanks, I'll check that place out.

@ Anyone reading this thread -

My clues suck. Bad. I need recommendations and contributions to make them not suck. I don't want such a prominent and otherwise cool questline to be diminished by my utter inability to write cool and cryptic directions.
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Post by Faalen »

Here's a New Year's progress report from the Telvanni Master Quest front (I know I'm early, but I'm out of town the next couple of days):

After all the headaches it's caused, I have eliminated the passing out script from this questline, though my decision was not actually influenced by the buggy attempts I've been through. I decided to get rid of the unconscious NPCs because, upon reflection and based on my recent experiences in Pseudographia, my reason for them to be unconscious was flawed and nonsensical. In case you haven't read my final outline (and who can blame you, it's a freaking novel), supposedly only a person's "soul" or "spirit" or "consciousness" or whatever went to the pocket realm while their body stayed put. This is stupid for two main reasons: number one, the player is able and in fact required to take physical objects back and forth between Nirn and Oblivion; and number two, at the end the player returns to find all the Hermaeans in Ansura-Heramas slaughtered by mercenaries and if the player's body was there, they'd be dead too.

Other than that change, the real news is about the pocket world itself. I've spent a sizable amount of time perusing the area, and my plans for the realm are coming along quickly. I've basically finished with populating the realm with "Silent Worshippers" and a very few "Enlightened Worshippers" who are blind (don't panic when I say "populating"; in total there are around 20 NPCs in all of Pseudographia, and they represent all Hermaeans in Tamriel). I'm not completely happy calling them "Worshippers" though; I think a name that implies "student" is more appropriate. I'm open to suggestions. I have placed guides (clones of Ildos, the Hermaean leader) at strategic points throughout the region to help the player get to Hermaeus Mora, but the areas and items that are meant to be hidden remain so. I am at a point where I will begin writing Herma-Mora's dialogue very shortly, and I'll be asking for a lot of feedback. Please do your best not to get annoyed with me :-D.

At this point my plan of attack is to make this quest playable all the way to the end, and then go back and change, add, and fix things as needed. If no one else, it's annoying me that all of my WIPs have been pretty much the same thing. While I will be posting a couple of files specifically for feedback on navigating the pocket realm, expect the next "real" file from me to contain the line to its conclusion.

Happy Non-denominational Winter Solstice Holiday(s) and the Greatest of New Years to all!

-Faalen
Q1-77-Tel current progress:
[url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=266462#266462]Journals 100% done.[/url]
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Post by Hemitheon »

How bout calling them: Initiates; Ascetics; Adepts; Novices
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Post by Faalen »

Brief update on this claim:

I have decided to rebuild my esp from the ground up. I'm starting from the beginning with a blank slate, being far more organized and methodical than I was the first time around. My old file had a lot of little problems and idiosyncrasies, and I chose to start anew rather than try to salvage my old WIP.

This does NOT mean that I have flushed months of work. I am using the old file for reference and for parts, and I'm making a lot of copy-pasta from the good sections of my previous work. Rather than slowing me down, I believe this move will allow me to work much faster and finish much sooner than I would have had I continued mucking about with my first attempt. I've learned an awful lot about proper modding practices these past few months, and it's knowledge that's not going to waste.

I will have this quest ready for final review before the anniversary of my claiming it, and I hope to burn through a good chunk of Map 2 quests this summer, provided MowSkwoz and BC don't keep draining the Unclaimed forum as fast as it fills.
Q1-77-Tel current progress:
[url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=266462#266462]Journals 100% done.[/url]
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

:shock:

Ok, well - whatever helps you go faster!

But don't lose too much of the good work you did do last time! I was really impressed.

Anyway, keep up the good work! :)
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Post by Faalen »

Don't worry. The new file will be nearly identical on the surface; it's mainly behind the scenes crap that I'm talking about. Basically, I didn't keep proper backups, did a bunch of trial and error testing in the main file without fully cleaning up after myself, made up journals and dialogue as I went along, and just totally flew by the seat of my pants far more than is necessary or even remotely good. I am keeping the good stuff, but I am transplanting it to a nice, clean, shiny new home. The primary difference in my approach this time is that I'm going to have the entire journal tree and most of the dialogue written out in its entirety before I put anything in the CS. I started to do that last time, but I was impatient and plowed ahead before I was ready. I also plan to stay a lot more faithful to the quest outline, which believe it or not I haven't really read since I wrote it (I thought I remembered the important bits; I didn't).

In a nutshell, I've learned from the wealth of mistakes I've made and this quest will be the better for it. Besides, unless q1-56 miraculously jumps to 90% in the next couple of weeks, I'm pretty safe on time so I'll take the time I need to do it right. Like I wrote way back on page 2 or somewhere, I am not going to half-ass this, and that's what I've been doing so far. It's time for me to step up and do it right, and that's the plan from here on out.

EDIT: And thanks for the kind words, BC. It's good to know I'm appreciated. :-D

EDIT2: This is completely unrelated, but since I've made a post anyway I'll just piggyback this little sidenote onto it. Do we have any idea what happened to the rest of the questing team? Neither Ivan nor pacificmorrowind have logged in since the middle of December, and they both have pretty important claims tied up. I know it's theviking's place and not mine to make those calls, but it would be good to either hear from them or untie those quests. [/backseat moderating]
Q1-77-Tel current progress:
[url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=266462#266462]Journals 100% done.[/url]
Practical implementation is now underway.
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

Good stuff. :)
Faalen wrote:Do we have any idea what happened to the rest of the questing team? Neither Ivan nor pacificmorrowind have logged in since the middle of December, and they both have pretty important claims tied up. I know it's theviking's place and not mine to make those calls, but it would be good to either hear from them or untie those quests. [/backseat moderating]
Welcome to questing at TR. :]

It's possible those guys may turn back up, or they may not - it's unclear, and it rarely is. If people really start chomping at the bit to get their hands on more quests (with truckloads of stuff in Design, I see this as unlikely for a while), then Viking might take a harsh line. For now, not much will happen, I'd guess.

As for the TR 'questing team' (I love this concept: for me, it's almost always been a practical one-man show after the first four months or so :P) that's really you and MowSkwoz. I suppose you could put me on it, but right now I'm not working hard enough to warrant a place. :] More just making insightful/snarky comments from the sidelines. :P But soon (I hope) I'll be ready to get down to some proper in-earnest questing work.
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Post by theviking »

I gave Ivan a warning that he should update regularely and if he doesn't respond soon, I'm gonna revoke his claim. The same goes for pacificmorrowind but I still got the idea that he's working on his claim. But don't be concerned, things are actually progressing very well compared with times in the past.
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Post by Faalen »

Don't mind me. I'm just posting a copy of the journals for this quest as far as I've gotten them because I'm going home this weekend. If you take a peek, be warned that the format got screwed a little bit between file types.
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Post by Faalen »

Been almost a month, so here's the obligatory "I'm still working on it" post.

When I first joined the team, I swore to myself that I wouldn't turn into that guy who just posts "plz dont revoke" every few weeks without accomplishing anything, but school and real life have had other plans. I am finishing this claim, and it will be fantastic. Y'all have my word.
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Post by Stryker »

Great to see you back, Faalen. :) I was getting worried about your absence.

Do you have any WIP that needs some testing? I'll be happy to get to that quickly as I can't really work on my own claim right now.
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Post by Faalen »

Unfortunately, no. I still haven't sat down and just finished the journal entries, although tonight or tomorrow is looking pretty good for that. All of the WIPs at the top of the thread are totally obsolete because I'm starting a new ground-up build; I was careless and rushed on my first attempt so I'm doing it right this time around. I'll post the journals when they're finished, and my first playable WIP will be a complete (if sparse and imperfect) run-through of the entire questline. I expect a minimum of six or eight weeks before that shows up on here, though (the WIP, not the journals).

You're welcome to play through the posted files if you're bored, but properly testing them would be a waste of time.
Q1-77-Tel current progress:
[url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=266462#266462]Journals 100% done.[/url]
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Post by Bloodthirsty Crustacean »

As long as you're keeping the quality you gave last time man, I don't think there's a problem. :)

It also has to be said that TR's quest department never used to be famed for its speed. ;)

No worries.
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Post by Faalen »

Journals are done. If anyone cares to give them a proofread/complain profusely about their contents, please feel free to do so. I strongly advise you to read the quest outline earlier in the thread to prevent confusion. The outline is a little inaccurate concerning my current plans, but the layout is still the same. I'd really appreciate any feedback I can get on these.

(This is the closest you're getting to a WIP for a while, Stryker, so dig in! :-P)
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Practical implementation is now underway.
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Post by Hemitheon »

I found a couple grammar/logic issues. Here it's fixed


According to Fedaves, the Temple does not know the current whereabouts of the Hermaeans. An Ordinator dispatch attempted to disband the cult in the wilderness of Gahvan Isle many years ago, and the ensuing battle caused heavy losses on both sides. In the mayhem, several cultists escaped.

[B4 – Low- or no-rank Temple] The Temple confiscated a journal from Rilamus but were unable to make sense of its contents. It is stored in the secret Temple Archives beneath the Ranyonruhn temple. The key to these Archives is hidden in Ratagos' room in the temple's basement. CUT.

TENSE SHIFTS:
I have told Rilamus that I took his journal from the Temple, and that I need his help to find the Hermaeans. Once I convinced him that I mean no harm to his fellow cultists, he became very calm and spoke a riddle:


When not the title, don't capitalize 'treatise'.


[This entry is the first after the player returns from Pseudographia] Ildos Hlen is dead. After I spoke with Hermaeus Mora, Ildos transported us back to Ansura-Heramas where we found Fedaves Teran waiting with a band of mercenaries. I killed Fedaves, but Ildos was killed by a mercenary before I could reach him. As he died, he told me that the stolen book I must return to Hermaeus Mora was entrusted to Rilamus Salenim before Rilamus accepted exile in order to seal Ansura-Heramas.


edit:

remove "since I am one of his peers" from [B2]. They being peers is already understood because of the faction.


One question: I thought the ghosts of Aranyon Pass are around all the time. Is that going to be changed?
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Post by Faalen »

No, they're only around at night. I was actually quite surprised to see them on one of my playthroughs because I had never tested the quest at night before.
Q1-77-Tel current progress:
[url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=266462#266462]Journals 100% done.[/url]
Practical implementation is now underway.
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Post by Faalen »

Spring break + no social life = progress on this claim

I've put together a thorough (but not exhaustive) list of the NPCs, items, scripts, and dialogue topics necessary for this line; I'll spare you the boredom and not post it here. I've started work on some of the more complex scripts and will be asking for debugging help at some point I'm sure. I've started work in the CS, but only in test esp's. I intend to have most of the trial-and-error work out of the way before creating a file that actually contains the playable quest.

In other words, more of the same and snail's-pace progress as usual. I'll be around.
Q1-77-Tel current progress:
[url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?p=266462#266462]Journals 100% done.[/url]
Practical implementation is now underway.
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Post by Hemitheon »

I was thinking about the 3 questions. Why not write them in Dunmeri to increase difficulty? Or perhaps Dral can explain that in order to speak to HM, he must use an ancient and archaic dialect not used since the Velothi Exodus. Or that he figured out th mystery of the First Book of Dust which explained how to communicate on the same level as a Daedra lord.

some idears.
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Post by Faalen »

I would love to have some Dunmeri questions for this. If you've got ideas, please don't hesitate to share them. I need all the help I can get on the creative front of this.
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Practical implementation is now underway.
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Post by Hemitheon »

Well there's the thing. We wouldn't need real questions because no player will be able to decipher them.
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