Devilish and Divine, (including modder's block) Options

[ghastley]

Because I was getting writer's block on wrapping up the Rumple mod quests, I started to make a new mod as a distraction. This would give me a chance to try two things I hadn't done in a mod before - a permanent companion, actually two of them - and a new worldspace built from scratch.

However, all this has achieved is completion of one quest (the Malandil one) in the first mod, and now I've got stuck in the backstory on the new mod as well, so I currently have a nett loss.

The mod details so far, in my usual "fake wiki" style, are here - warning, demonic nudity!

I just can't decide on whether to make their father a Dark Brotherhood assassin who decided to kill the petitioner instead of the contract victims, or else he rescued them by taking out the DB guy. If it's the latter, then he needs a bit more story of his own. I also need to decide where the Vampire brother of the merchant is hanging out, as well as a plausible reason for his not simply travelling at night, such as being (b)locked in a ruin.

If the father killed the DB assassin, then the merchant has gone to find his brother, and become a vampire too. This is the more satisfying path, but gives the most extra work providing a past for the father. I need to find a reason for his taking up with the two mothers (who we presume were happy together before he arrived) if he wasn't simply sent to kill them. Or rather, their reason for letting him into their existing arrangements, which would most likely have happened before the assassin turned up.

The non-standard three-way relationship (especially involving a very foreign new "beast" race) here is reason enough for them to flee to the island instead of expecting local support. The brother exists to create a lingering threat to the family, (and to keep the quest line going!) even if the DB contract ended with the merchant's death. Tracking him down should provide enough side-quest action for the party, whichever past I go for.

You'll also notice that I haven't mentioned the father's race, because that detail is undecided as well. With TES genetics, the girls are just like their mothers whatever race he was, so I'm putting that decision off until there's a good reason to tie it down.

Votes either way? Suggestions?

[ghastley]

Voice acting would be nice eventually, but I'll need to find two female voices once I have all the dialog written. I can't even do one!

The nice thing here is that neither voice needs to be similar to any existing voice. Angeline may be based on the Breton but she has a separate race just for the companion mechanics, and Diablita is obviously not a standard race. There's very little dialog for anyone but the sisters, and that can be left silent, or in the case of the Argonians on the Island, I may even be able to edit that from existing voice files.

I'm also using Vilja as a model for this, and it works well to have the companion with a distinct voice, especially where it's not always face-to-face dialog. You can easily tell when it's Vilja talking, because you can recognize Emma's voice.

[mALX]

Voice acting would be nice eventually, but I'll need to find two female voices once I have all the dialog written. I can't even do one!

The nice thing here is that neither voice needs to be similar to any existing voice. Angeline may be based on the Breton but she has a separate race just for the companion mechanics, and Diablita is obviously not a standard race. There's very little dialog for anyone but the sisters, and that can be left silent, or in the case of the Argonians on the Island, I may even be able to edit that from existing voice files.

I'm also using Vilja as a model for this, and it works well to have the companion with a distinct voice, especially where it's not always face-to-face dialog. You can easily tell when it's Vilja talking, because you can recognize Emma's voice.

You sure can recognize Emma's voice, lol. I think if she was talking anywhere in the world I would spin around and say, "Hey, you must be Emma!" Lol.

I have been very aggravated for a long time about how silent my character was in a world of talking NPC's. What fascinates me most about Vilja is her ability to chat as she walked around with the player.

The idea of being able to even just bring up gossip with the NPC's, (even if it is as banal as "I saw a mud crab the other day..." or "Have you heard anything from the other Provinces?" etc.) or walk alongside your companions and make the occasional comment or observation has been something I've wanted for a long time.

It may be considered a boring mod to most, but I would love something like that to add to the immersion. I have downloaded some of the available "Player Voice" mods (and finally got them working - YEAH !!) - And am absolutely LOVING the difference in just being able to hear her say something every now and then.

This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 8 2011, 05:43 PM