What should we do with Othrensis?
Continuing discussion from [url=http://tamriel-rebuilt.org/old_forum/viewtopic.php?t=24560]Indoril Settlements Thread[/url]:
Gnomey wrote:one stands out like a sore thumb: Othrensis, the only significantly large Velothi settlement in Indoril lands. Why does it exist? Unless it has a good reason to exist in its current size and tileset, I'd suggest either shrinking it into a Velothi hamlet (perhaps still on the larger end) or changing it to MH architecture.
Yeti wrote:Othrensis isn't that large once you cut away the MH architecture. If we're going to build the Alt Orethan up as a densely populated area, having a larger village at the center of a large tract of fertile land doesn't seem out of the place to me. It should stay Velothi to be a nice change of pace from the overabundance of MH architecture in central Morrowind, and because it's a nice underutilized set.
Gnomey wrote:Othrensis is the third largest Indoril city after Akamora at the moment going by interior count. And that's not counting the MH buildings. It currently has 28 Velothi interiors. The thing is that Indoril buildings are so imposing that towns made with the set look larger than they are, while Velothi buildings are so unassuming that cities look smaller than they are. The fourth largest city is Roa Dyr, which currently has 21 interiors not counting the shacks and 25 with the shacks. The others don't reach 20 interiors.
And changes of pace for the sake of being changes of pace usually don't work well in the grand scheme of things, in my opinion. If we establish that rural serfs live in Velothi buildings and city-dwellers live in MH buildings, Othrensis comes off as confusing things for no good reason. Unless, again, a good reason is supplied.
Edit: it may be possible to break Othrensis off into several large-ish hamlets scattered around the valley, though, which would remain consistent with the convention of Velothi buildings in Indoril lands while still providing a reprieve from MH towns.
I personally think there needs to be more Velothi villages on the mainland, seeing as the set is supposed to represent traditional generic Dunmer architecture. Breaking Othrensis into Hamlets could work, but we should keep a significant gathering of them at the current site, including the service interiors and the Temple, as a centerpiece of the area's rural peasant farming.