jhamil on 7/1/2006 at 07:03
I'm expecting that when Oblivion comes out there will be a lot of people making mods for it just as they did for Morrowind.
A lot of the mods entail creating new quests or making the current quests harder or easier.
I have an idea for a mod that would basically be a tool. It wouldn't change any quest but would be something to take along that is useful.
In the new Oblivion as well as the current Morrowind a tent that folds up and is carried by the PC or a companion would be helpful. This could be dropped on the ground and the party could step inside and rest even in territory that has hostile NPCs nearby. Maybe it could be restricted so the PC couldn't deploy it during battle but could deploy it under conditions where resting is not permitted otherwise. Maybe it could be restricted so that it could only be used outside of city limits. There would be no storage in it except maybe a sleeping bag. That way it would not be tempting for players to try to store stuff in it. Maybe it would have to be like Snoopy''s dog house, bigger on the inside than the outside. That way large parties of companions could fit inside. In functionality it would resemble a standard house mod on the inside, of course with only the one furnishing, the sleeping bag. On the outside it would be just a movable/selectable object. To make it more balanced it could slowly wear out and be unrepairable, or repairable only with certain materials found along the way while completing quests. Once the materials have been found it must be taken to an Outfitter to be repaired. As I said this would be a good addition to Oblivion as well as Morrowind. I think it would be cool if the exterior/interior looked like one of those big canvas military tents. That would be easier to justify the size on the inside. One additional feature could be that it is subject to temperature. So if you were in a cold climate you would have to set out lamps to warm it up. In warm climates you would be limited to how long you could stay inside due to the heat, unless there were some sort of fan you could purchase. Or you could ignore heat altogether since tents can be vented easier than they can be heated. This would be a great place to ride out one of those dust storms but what would be really nice is if it also shook and popped like a real tent would in the wind. That way you could wait inside during a storm and know when to come out. Maybe restore health potions could work better inside a tent so there would be a motivation to carry a tent. Each potion could have a random increase in potency.
Players would have to remember that there may be unfriendlies outside when they exit.
A proposed menu for this would be:
A: If it were still in inventory:
Drop?
No
B: After it is dropped on the ground:
Deploy?
Pick up?
No
C: After it is deployed:
Enter
Fold
No
D: While inside:
Listen to external sounds?
Ignore external sounds?
Hang lamps?
Vent?
Exit
No
There could be a warning if the player tries to fold it while there are lamps still hanging or items still inside other than the sleeping bag.
Thanks,
Jesse
Pisces on 7/1/2006 at 08:13
That is alot more complex than it sounds. There is a bedroll mod for morrowind but I'm not sure how well it works when you put it on a sloped surface; though oblivion having havoc physics will hopefully fix that, even if you had to mod it in an abstract manner (like shoot arrows/pegs into the ground to then work out the angle of the tent). But to be honest I don't think it is something I would love to have, to be balanced you'd really need to spend ages making it (so you can't use it as an air bubble underwater) and then the player would have to take it out just to do a minor part of the game.
jhamil on 7/1/2006 at 09:18
You're probably right about some not wanting to mess with this for such a small part of the game.
However, it occured to me that traveling during a dust storm was probably not a good idea.
And I hate it when I'm trying to rest to heal and I'm inturrupted by some creature.
Then you have to fight it off and then resume your resting.
Maybe this could be just cheap enough to be worthwhile but just expensive and troublesome enough to make you have to be sure before you bought one.
The only programming I know is old Atari Basic and AutoCad lisp.
But I am a great idea man. {chuckle}
So that's why I made the suggestion.
I'd be interested in any good alternatives, too.
The bedroll seemed like a good idea but could you protect a group of companions during a storm that way?
Pisces on 7/1/2006 at 23:21
Kinda supprised somebody made one but modders these days:nono: *Wonders if you can set the tent up under/on water too*
jhamil on 8/1/2006 at 09:27
I wouldn't suggest restricting someone's use of it if that's what they want. My suggestions were more for keeping it realistic. My first motivation was to give a player somewhere safe to wait out a dust storm. If someone wanted to make it work on/under water that would be up to them. I can think of a few variations to make it realistic. I suppose you could use potions on the tent to make it work on/under water. You could magically charge the tent with a certain minimum number of potions. Say 10 water walking potions and it would float. You get in and it floats until you exit. Then the potions would be used up. Same way for under water. You could charge it up with 10 water breathing potions and get into it. Or there could be a scale. So many hours (or partial hours) floating/submerged for each potion (or # of potions) used. Then it would still have some "realism" as far as it is known in the game. As for keeping items in it. If you wanted a portable place to sleep and still carry lots of heavy items I suppose you could make a "travel trailer" type of device pulled by Lulu. But if you parked it you would have to unhitch Lulu and bring her inside with the rest of the party to be protected from the storms and roving creatures. Otherwise you might wake up the next morning to find Lulu was killed or lost. I guess the question is whether you want realism or ease of use. If you want ease of use you could make this hold all the weight of the world and still be able to lift it. If you want realism then you would want something resembling my idea. I'm not going to tell people which way they should go. I just know what I would enjoy. I'm going to check into that Ranger Tent. It sounds like what I'm looking for. Thanks for that info.
