Old Post

[spoiler]Hey everyone. I've been lurking the project for awhile, mostly while being blown away by the amazing dedication I've seen from the people on board so far. The fact that this project didn't even exist 12 months ago, and is marching towards a realistic beta now (or even a public release) is incomprehensible to me. Watching Interkarma and the rest of you work, doing in a few hours what takes most people weeks, is still incredible to me.

Before I begin, I did want to say something to Interkarma. As one of the outsider people starting to speak up, I hope you understand that your work has been phenomenal from the beginning to now. I don't know if anyone could really ask for anything more, with the project at its current stage. Saying it all at once, I hope you don't feel pressured to get a public release out ASAP. A fun project can become frustrating and boring when you start to push it for X deadline. If you're worried that people will come, lose interest, and go because there isn't anything playable yet, I'd say we should wait on that thought. Once this is working, there are going to be promotional videos; there are going to be Let's Plays; there are going to be Reddit posts, forum announcements, and people who loved Daggerfall, or who always told themselves "I would love to play that if they fixed X about it" are going to come back. What I'm saying is that I hope you don't push too hard and burn out to try to keep people interested. For the sake of this project, I really would prefer a tortoise over a hare in this instance. Now, I could be entirely off-base and misreading the situation, and if I am, you have my full permission to tell me. And if that's true for any of the developers, it's just as well.

Now then, for the real substance of it. There are two sides to this post, but I didn't feel like they merited two threads, per usual forum rules. My first is a general "I'd like to request X" list, based on things that I believed were more or less broken in Daggerfall and could lift the gaming experience if modified. This is [u]not[/u] meant to be a list of demands or high-priority requests. These are merely things I've thought of that may be agreeable to the community, which someone may feel interested enough in implementing (my OS doesn't let me install Unity, and I don't know that I'd really be capable of helping if it did. I feel more like a content writer than a programmer), and whether they get implemented in 6 months, 18 months, or at all whatsoever, I'm just spreading them out to the community to see if they garner any interest at all. If anyone sees an idea they like and decide to alter/offshoot it into something else, you are absolutely free to; I'm just adding more possible content here. I consider myself a Daggerfall purist, who wants to expand on and improve the original gameplay, making it more what Bethesda was trying to implement to begin with. In order of priority, it's as follows, with my own thoughts in quote boxes:

1. Remove the nudity.
[quote]Daggerfall has always been [i]the game[/i] for me; an experiment in creating an enormous new world where you are free to do [i]anything[/i], which it actually achieves in large part. I want others, be they friends, spouse, or kids to be able to play Daggerfall, but the last thing I want is to have happen is that someone finds a Daedra Seducer, smacks it with a sword, and suddenly has a meltdown and a quick uninstall. I don't even care if somebody goes into the sprite editor and puts big black boxes over the inappropriate parts. As long as it works, that's really enough for me. I did notice that in the Direnni Tower demo the Seducers remained clothed, and to me that's a step forward.[/quote]

2. More quests.
[quote]Quests are more-or-less the meat on Daggerfall's bones, and more, with more variety, always seems good to me. Imagine if, when clicking on a peasant out in the street, there's a 4% chance they'll pop out a quest invitation: "My good %playername, my name is %randomnpc. My sister has been dishonoured by a noble from another province, and I need a warrior capable of restoring honor to a broken household. Will you go to my sister in %randomtown and ask her what must be done?" [yes] "Thank you! Please hurry to %randomtown, you'll find her in %randomgeneralstore. I told her I'd find someone within %time days, please hurry there!" Or when you're opening someone else's private property in a tavern, a quest pop-up appears: "You find a note, conspicuously marked with the seal of %region. 'To %randomnpc1: I agree with your proposal. Get your men to the Palace in %randomtown within %time days. Once my niece has been abducted, my brother would give anything, even his inheritance, to see her return safely. I will ensure the doors are open after the stroke of midnight. Do not tarry. Lord %randomnpc2' Do you want to intervene in this abduction plan? [yes] [no]"[/quote]

3. More variable and specific quest rewards.
[quote]It seems Daggerfall used a static rewards system, based in variance on PC level and guild rank. However, the rewards, once calculated, were all the same: you'd get 122 gold for killing a grizzly bear inside the nearest General Store, or 122 gold for saving the noble's daughter from the Dark Brotherhood in the 18th basement below an abandoned castle. Once the player realizes this, it's obvious there's no reason to go dungeon-diving again, unless for roleplay purposes. A system using gold multipliers makes more sense: for example, in the reward formula, for a bat-killing Fighter's Guild quest we can make the multipler (goldx0.5), and for stealing a Daedric scroll from a Fire Daedra in a dungeon we can make the multiplier (goldx4). Furthermore, the rewards could be categorized. It's cool to get a magic object as a quest reward, but I don't know how many more Slowfall-casting Candles I can really take for saving ensorcelled mages during their meditation. A warrior should be motivated by a warrior-based enchantment, such as a war axe that casts Damage Agility On Strike, or a shirt that casts Regenerate While Held. Thieves should get thieving enchantments, such as short blades that increase backstabbing skill, or cloaks that increase stealth, or gloves that improve lockpicking. In fact, at the end of extremely complex and difficult quests, even a house deed could be in order within some other town in the same region.[/quote]

4. More monsters.
[quote]Daggerfall actually has a fairly good range of monsters. The problem is that once I reach level 11 and am covered with Daedric plating, my paralysis-immune High Elf with spell absorption and 100 speed is virtually invincible. With a few very rare exceptions there's absolutely no challenge left, and I can walk into Ancient Liches who kill themselves, outrun Vampire Ancients and batter them to pieces, and fight off Daedra Lords without breaking a sweat (on my most recent playthrough I actually had to install a utility to increase the monsters' health and defense, because Daggerfall was just too easy). There has to be something more (besides the near-immortal leveled humans, who don't really gain difficulty other than health points). My idea is to just take some palette-swaps (legal territory? I don't know, maybe Unity has a way of passing certain objects through color filters to change their appearance without actually altering the base component) and create new, more powerfully scaling monsters from them. Rats can be re-colored and become Plague Rats, which start to spawn at level 9 (not to replace the normal Rats, which spawn from level 1). Zombies can gain some red coloring and become Controlled Zombies, spawning from level 12. In addition there can be new types of level-scaling humans; nearly all human opponents in Daggerfall wear green hoods or capes, which we can recolor to be red, purple, blue, or any other color to create a new variety. These new varieties can still scale attributes with the player, but at a multiplier: red-clothed humans can spawn at level 10 and be (health*1, speed*1.3, strength*1.3); blue-clothed humans spawn at level 18 and be (health*1, speed*1.6, strength*1.6), and so on with others. Imagine what a fight with a level 20 nightblade would be like that. This also opens the way for more advanced quest prospects: once you're at Rank 8 in the Mage's Guild, the guild could send you to stop a former student (a red Spellsword) who's holed up in a Mage's Guild in %randomtown. Once you reach Rank 10 in a knightly order, they can send you on a [b]real[/b] adventure: going into a dungeon to eliminate a blue-clothed Barbarian, a former champion who's sworn to destroy the region that turned its back on him.[/quote]

5. More effects and spells.
[quote]This can join in to the previous point. Imagine if a Plague Rat, with each bite, had a run-slow effect on it that lasts for 2 tics. It won't really bother you after the fight, but if you're trying to get away, you'll find it practically impossible while it keeps attacking you in the back. It's not as hopeless as getting surrounded by giant scorpions and paralyzed to death, but it still adds variety and new challenges. Or Hill Giants having a 15% chance to stun with their swings, rendering the player incapable of making any action for .75 seconds.[/quote]

6. Fix lockpicking.
[quote]A Baldur's Gate-style system sounds reasonable to me: you get to pick a door as many times as you like, and each time, you get a percentage based on your current skill. "This door has nothing to fear from you... (4%)" That way I can keep trying as much as I need to. Magically locked doors is a question I'll leave for some other circumstance. A bad lockpicker will attract attention, particularly in town (this may already be a fact and I just don't lockpick enough to know it).[/quote]

7. Fix dungeon obstacles.
[quote]I think we've all had that experience in a dungeon where we climb to the top of that shaft where we know, without a doubt, that dumb merchant's friend has been hiding this entire time, and once we reach the top, our head butts up against a closed wooden horizontal portcullis (and this is just one of many dungeon obstacles. Sometimes it's a cage blocking the door to that Gorgon Snake). Some of us concluded that the dungeon's just broken and used the Cheatmode warping to get around. A few others may have actually persevered enough to try to find a switch in the dozens of corridors we already passed through. Whatever it is, I really think the ability to just push on the object and move it that way really should be a valid plan B. Maybe it would require a certain amount of strength, or pushing it in the correct direction, but I feel like this is at least one ragequit we can really cut out from the game. While I think most, if not all, Daggerfall dungeons are actually solvable as a non-caster character, this is one aspect of 90s CRPGs that I still think we can lay to rest.[/quote]

8. Re-balance spellmaker.
[quote]I'm the first of anyone who loves to powergame Daggerfall to its knees, and I'm just as happy creating a damage or heal spell that scales exponentially based on my PC level... But it really has to be rebalanced. Initial spell power should cost far less than scaling spell power (that Shock spell every caster is born with should cost much less). Spells like Shield should also be more meaningful, and I remember an early guide for Daggerfall suggested you'd be able to create different element Shield spells to combat certain monsters more effectively. Slowfall should cost far less than Levitate. Light should do more than stick a candle one meter in front of you. Recall should cost money when you Spellmake it. Likewise, the ability to create spells at more precise durations: I could use a (Speed+40, duration 3 seconds) Burst spell to get away from dangerous situations in an instant for 20 spell points, which is a versatility that I can't find in Daggerfall.[/quote]

9. Fix character/actor spawning.
[quote]Now we're deep into sundry territory. You've all seen it happen: you're paid to rescue the merchant's child from the house. The 8-year-old jumps up and joins you, and suddenly you've got the portrait of Nulfaga in the corner of your screen, waiting to go home. Or the merchant man who needs to leave town, who suddenly changes skin color and gender after joining with you. And finding Baltham Greyman in a house attic, who enters battle pose and is a woman. This is really the low-priority stuff, but it's on the list.[/quote]

10. Fix the economy.
[quote]Once you get your first pair of Daedric Boots to sell, the entire world is at your fingertips. I can buy 2.5 small houses with those boots, or a full set of Mithril if I care to. Really, the economy has to be repaired so prices are at least in some way relative to each other. Houses, on the other hand, should stay expensive, as a large goal to reach. Also, bank loans should be reduced. Rather than 50,000xPClevel, it should probably be 5,000 or 10,000. Repercussions for overdue bank loans should spill into other regions, with real consequences. An impact on your guild membership, perhaps? Or just red-paletted debt collectors who find you every time you sleep in an inn?[/quote]

11. Furniture stores.
[quote]Houses will be sold empty, without furniture. Fixed locations within each home will allow the placing of an object, permitting the player to create the home of their choice with furniture they decide on. Furniture will likely be expensive, to keep some economic motivation going.[/quote]

12. Cooperative AI.
[quote]This actually exists in Daggerfall, in one single example: Sanguine's Rose. So it is possible to have cooperative AI objects. Once pathing gets worked out, there's no reason Baltham Greyman can't fight alongside you in your search for the legendary treasure of Direnni Tower, or any number of cooperative quests with a companion.[/quote]

The second part of this, and a continuing project I believe, is a series of quests I want to offer as content material for anyone who'd be interested in modding them into Daggerfall. Several Daggerfall quest hacks have been created across 20 years, and while I've never made one myself, I feel like I have some grasp of how Daggerfall works. I believe it's a very easily scaled and implemented system. It's not like TES3, 4, or 5 where you have to pick an exact location for every single quest object and ensure they align on x, y, and z all the time, while watching for other mod conflicts. In Daggerfall you just have to plug in the variables, make a meaningful text around it, and plan the rewards (this is all my perception of the process). Therefore, I have a few ideas for some quest lines for various guilds and other situations, like the cabinet-quest I wrote about in point 2. Unless anyone minds or prefers that I start to post them somewhere else, I'll probably start accumulating them here in this same topic using subsequent posts. Some of the ideas I have in mind:

Mage's Guild quest:
[quote]An insolent new wizard needs a lesson in manners within this Mage's Guild building. Knock him down and earn (goldx0.5).[/quote]

Thieves' Guild:
[quote]A valuable artifact is within the %randomresidence in %randomtown. Find it and bring it back here, but killing the armed guards within the home will fail the quest. Should the player alert (maybe hit) the armed guard, more will appear.[/quote]

Blade's Quest: (in progress, 3 missions written thus far)
[quote]A new storyline built for players who have reached level 20 and have finished the Mantellan Crux. The player receives a note from Lady Brisienna, who asks to meet in Ykalon to discuss a major new threat to the Iliac Bay: a former advisor to Tiber Septim, an extremely powerful practitioner of necromancy and other magical arts, who was betrayed in life and death by Zurin Arctus and now seeks to destroy the entire Bay for being "followers of the Underking." There will be at least two ways to solve this questline, the King of Worms' route and the Emperor's route, with different rewards, paths, and levels of difficulty. I'll try to be extremely lore-harmonious, and it'll probably require a lot of feedback to make sure I don't mistake minor details. Programmed encounters will begin with the use of red mummies and red zombies (see point 4 above), and we'll see what happens from there.[/quote]

Like I said, my only aim in posting is to contribute. I realize that at this point the project is really about nuts and bolts than painting and organizing, so this may not be what everyone's looking for, but I want to get the content out there so we can have more opportunities for collaboration, if anyone else has a like mind. Whether there's any interest around for now or not, I'll leave this post here, and let interest build as it will.

This is the progress I have so far on the Blade's Quests. I've attempted to write them out in a fashion as close to Daggerfall code as I know of, in case someone were interested in adding them in at some point. I haven't decided on the name for the villain yet, but that could get decided with time. His name will be % until then. As I said, this'll probably have to be refined to become more lore-friendly, but we have the future to do that.

[quote]BQ0000

Requirements:

Mantellan Crux completed
Playerlevel >= 20

Init:

Note given to player, any outdoor settlement
Event: "A heavily armed page, bearing the crest of the Empire, stalks toward you with a note. He waves as he departs, ignoring your inquiries."
Note: "%playername, this is Lady Brisienna. The Emperor has been informed concerning a cataclysm being planned within the Iliac Bay, with repercussions that could shake the whole Empire to the core. Please meet me at %randomtavern1, %randomcity1 in Ykalon as soon as you are able. Lady Brisienna Magnessen"
Add journal_entry_BQ0000: "Lady Brisienna has contacted me again, to the effect that some new threat to the Empire has surfaced. She will wait for me in %randomtavern1 in %randomcity1, Ykalon."

*spawnobject Lady_Brisienna in %randomtavern1, %randomcity1, Ykalon.

interactobject Lady_Brisienna: display text "%playername, I could not be more relieved to see you here. With the false information and petty factioning at work in the Bay it's nearly impossible to know who will remain loyal after an extended stay here. Please don't make me regret relying on you this last time.

This may come as no surprise to you, but the Empire has had its share of foes since the time of Tiber Septim until now. I need remind you but little of the Underking and Jagar Tharn, some of the more well-known examples of late. Yet there are others whose pages have been wiped clean, whose history has been entirely forgotten over centuries. I speak to you of just one of these: %, the successor to Zurin Arctus. A brilliant and gifted mage since childhood, % became one of Tiber Septim's advisors at an exceedingly young age. His ability to control magic with such ease as you and I control our fingers gave him some measure of fame throughout Cyrodiil, and his magical research was without peer, even to exceed that of Arctus.

Yet Tiber's court was tumultuous as a rule, and Arctus, the one we now call the Underking, sought to suppress %'s brilliant achievements. His actions, though not justified, were certainly understandable, as % would have no doubt eclipsed him as Tiber's head advisor in a space of very few years. Arctus engaged in waves of private and public opposition against %, attempting to show to his Emperor and the people the flaws of the younger % through arranged third-parties, in some cases by planting evidence and paying false witnesses. His greatest victories were made in exposing %'s practice of necromancy, as the prodigy had begun to win the public over to the idea gradually. Whatever credit Arctus deserved for this and some other moral victories, we may also attribute to him our current crisis, for he could not rest until % was unjustly executed and humiliated under false charges.

I will say this plainly, %playername. The Emperor has seen that % has arisen after centuries of sleep, or death, or whatever it may be. After the raid on Lord Woodbourne's fortress, the Blades have no agents able to investigate this matter. If what the Emperor believes is true, this could be the start of an enormous uprising throughout the Bay, if not all of Tamriel. Please, %playername, we have no one left to rely on. Will you be our champion, to save the whole of the Empire?"

Yes: displaytext "By the %swear, we may yet be free. The Emperor himself thanks you, not only for resolving the matter of Lysandus' death, but for your continued loyalty to Tamriel itself. Once this matter is through, you will find fame beyond imagination in every realm of the Iliac Bay.

To be honest, we don't know where to send you. Our attempts at intelligence have failed, and what few spies we have sent out on haphazard searches either do not return or bring no news of any kind. Our only thought at this time is of Scourg Barrow, the lair of the King of Worms. As powerful as he is, the sorcerer bases a great deal of his works on prior, and forbidden, research by %. Should anyone know where a great and dead sorcerer, even a necromancer would hide, it would likely be another necromancer.

Tell the King of Worms that, if he truly desires power over this continent, it means nothing should another take it from him first. He should not be difficult to persuade, for while we doubt he has any love at all for the Empire, he knows we are a stable, unmoving threat to his aims, unlike whatever % could conjure. Please, %playername, head to the Barrow. I will wait for you in %randomtavern2, %randomtown2 in this same region, anxious for the news you bring."

Init BQ0001

Erase journal_entry_BQ0000

No: displaytext "Then I know we were fools to have trusted you. Go your way, %playername. We will find a hero to save Tamriel."

Erase journal_entry_BQ0000

removeobject Lady_Brisienna[/quote]

[quote]BQ0001

Add journal_entry_BQ0001

Journal entry: "Lady Brisienna has sent me to inquire with the King of Worms in Scourg Barrow, Dragontail Mountains, whether he knows about this %, who the Emperor believes has come to life. I am to return to Lady Brisienna in %randomtavern2 in %randomtown2 in Ykalon with whatever word I am given."

*spawnobject Lady_Brisienna in %randomtavern2, %randomtown2, Ykalon.
*spawnobject King_of_Worms in Scourg Barrow, Dragontail Mountains.

interactobject King_of_Worms: displaytext "So Uriel has finally caught on? I suppose such a delay is to be expected in a pretender such as he. Yet his reasoning is agreeable. I will tell you what little I am able.

I have felt %, so far as his presence can be discerned, and I can sense the power welling up in him. The centuries have done nothing to dull his intellect. Were he to begin some manner of attack against the Bay, as I believe he might, the whole land would be scoured by the unliving. A beautiful sight, to be sure, but not what I desire. Such should be a means to an end rather than a full purpose.

I can say no more than to search the region of Glenpoint. There is a great power rising and ebbing there at intervals, unlike any other I have perceived. Tell Uriel to do his own work in finding his enemy, for I can see no further than this.

To you, however, I will make known a small, yet valuable, detail, of which you will tell the Emperor nothing. Few find within themselves power sufficient to revive and sustain their own life, particularly after centuries. % was brilliant, but he was no god. I suspect his unlife is bound to some object of great power, some ancient thing he has found with the ability to maintain him here. Find this thing. Whatever mean feats you have tallied will not prepare you for %'s wrath, his power, in his rising state. Go now, %playerclass, for %'s power is nearly upon us."

interactobject Lady_Brisienna: displaytext "I see. To think that the King of Worms could fear a necromancer... He will not say it, but his actions betray him. I will tell the Emperor what you have learned. By week's end we will have spies throughout Glenpoint. Thank you, %playername. Let this small token show the Emperor's appreciation for your loyalty. I will contact you as soon as we find anything of interest."

inventory reward gold(x5)

Init BQ0002

Erase journal_entry_BQ0001

removeobject Lady_Brisienna[/quote]

[quote]BQ0002

after_time_elapse 14 days

Note given to player, any outdoor settlement
Event: "A messenger puts a note into your hand during a moment of distraction. He hurries away while you regain your composure."
Note: "%playername, we have news, and ask that you conduct an immediate investigation. Please go to %randomtemple1 in %randomtown3 within Glenpoint. We are informed that some disturbance has arisen relating to % within the temple. I will meet you in %randomtavern3 in %randomtown4 within the same region afterwards. Lady Brisienna Magnessen"

Add journal_entry_BQ0002: "Lady Brisienna has asked me to go to %randomtemple1 in %randomtown3 in the region of Glenpoint to uncover some sort of disturbance. I may then find her in %randomtavern3 within %randomtown4, also in Glenpoint."

*spawnobject red_mummy in %randomtemple1 in %randomtown3

upon_object_hit red_mummy displaytext "Follower of Arctus... Witness your fate..."

upon_object_kill red_mummy displaytext "The creature topples to the ground. It seems you have no more evidence than what you heard."

upon_load_cell_outdoor_settlement (repeat) spawnobject red_zombie

upon_object_hit red_zombie displaytext "Follower of Arctus... Witness your fate..."

interactobject Lady_Brisienna displaytext "Oh, my. And you say the creatures are now following you? This is dire indeed. But are they rising from the ground around you, or could % actually have servants patrolling the land, doing his bidding? This is far worse than we had supposed. I hope the Emperor's vision was not too late...[/quote]

This is as far as I've gotten until now. We'll see what else comes up in the future. So long as I'm not vetoed, I'll also write in some of the various quest ideas I've thought up until now in separate posts. The idea rising at the end is that red zombies and/or mummies will spawn each time the player loads an outdoor cell in Glenpoint during the duration of this storyline arc (maybe a 60% chance of spawning, in case the constant attacks are a real bother), having now been branded an enemy by %.[/spoiler]