City Development: Senchal

I know. And no with Sacred East released we will be Morrowind playing crazy!

Oh well. Sacred East can wait for me.

O.o BLASPHEMY!!!

I already played it enough as is. How about the topic at hand? Why don't we get some ideas and concepts out there in the concept section so we can at least have a good visual base for future models? Sound good?

Yup, good idea.

For using placeholders for exterior, we should at least define the size of final buildings to have the general shape of the city.
And did someone made a layout for the city?

I guess...I guess I will try and make the mock up I intended to do. It only uses current models that we have, but it should at least give a good layout for the city.

I've made some models. It's just standard buildings but I'm pretty happy with the style and the textures. I chose pink color instead of orange because I think it could fit better a jungle environment. (And orange/brown is too morrowind-ish I wanted exotism! ) It gives a nice feeling in game that is ideal for a resort.
Let me know what do you think.

The buildings are pratically the same but you have to put the one with a long balcony higher so it looks bigger in game. The arches could be used to put urns or other containers or you could place a door and have a underground entrance. The window is slightly illuminated so it shines at night.
If you have ideas about variations of this buildings, don't hesitate to share them!

I am very pleased! I thought my eyes deceived me when I saw that you had models to share! These look perfect for Senchal.

I must say, these buildings can be used in a very dynamic manner. You could have sky-walks like we discussed connecting the buildings to make a sort of rich family's dwelling, or a business/home dual-property, OR even an apartment complex.

As far as variations go, I can think of a few useful ones. Of course we could have a taller variant with two above-ground levels. Then you could have a variant with only one balcony. Then maybe a less luxurious version with little to no roof over the front deck. I could even see a version that is fashioned into a 90-degree angle to fit in interior and exterior corners, if you understand my meaning.

That stuff looks perfect! As far as suggestables. some stand alone fence pieces like on the balcony edge for exterior and interior work would be great!

Wow, Grim, I'm amazed! That looks exactly as I pictured Senchal.

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like it.
If I make a second floor, should I leave the openings empty, so you can fill them by other statics (for example, you could connect two building with a skywalk) or should I make a new model for each variation?

I think leaving them empty would do the job well enough. But if you wanted to make a new model, same thing.

Now, my idea I mentioned. If we run into size/framerate problems with Senchal, we can make some districts into Interiors Acting as Exteriors. That way, we can put a few "LOD" buildings into the surrounding areas to mimic the illusion of actually being outside still. This is just a quick solution I thought of to help with these common problems.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by LOD buildings. I know what it is, but in an interior...?

Say we have tall buildings in the next district over, well, if they are not visible from across the wall, that hurts immersion. By "LOD" I mean fakes or props.

Oh, I get what you mean. I thought for a sec you were refering to MGE.

I have an idea to fit the description. Black Keirgo could be the core of the city and built like a favela. I could use my models as base and add structures as if they was built on top over the years. As if the city has grown anarchically. It could easily give the feeling of a dirty maze. That also could explain why it was not burn with the rest of the city: only the extern part have been affected by the fire to prevent the city to be contaminated by the virus (it was litterally a firewall ). But that make the Black Keirgo will be the main part of the city.
Look at this video to look what I mean. Forget the modern materials, I just speak about general structure and how houses are built on multiples floors.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fulkMOXKYcU

The other quarters will be build around the Black Keirgo and will be clean and welcoming. It's the parts which has been recently renovated. It could be a wall separating the different areas from the Black Keirgo too. Tourists can travel everywhere in the city around the Black Keirgo through the differents quarters without going in this dirty and dangerous place.

That would be nice. That actually seems like a great Idea.

And here is my idea that would negate the need for an actual hill.
Isometric view


Side view


As you can see, this is one of many ways we can provide access to higher levels in the Black Kiergo District without needing stairs all over the place.

It's the idea. But I think we should also use different buildings to make the different floors and not use only 3-floors buildings because the Black Keirgo will be geometric and it will be boring (I understand the pic is just a concept). In certain part, there will be only the 2nd floor, in others only the 3rd. And the ground shouldn't be flat everywhere. It's true there is no need for a hill but the player should be able to access the 2nd floor or the 3rd in certain place from the ground. And I love the idea too where you have to pass through a house to access certain parts.

Well, what I meant was that this can be in some places. Like the description said, sometimes homes are highways. And I just didn't want to have one huge hill. There can be a few hills to provide access, but we don't have enough space to make a true Favela. That's all I was trying to remedy.

Should I make all houses of the Black Keirgo look like the regular architecture to give a "permanent building" look to the city (even if we add dirt and clutter after) or should I make some parts with wood and clothes to make them look like shacks built on top of other buildings?
The first option give the feeling of Khajiits building their houses anarchically but of a true city, the second give the feeling of a slum where Khajiits temporary crowd before building their house somewhere else. With what we know of the history of Senchal, the two are possible.

Should I make each floor at least ready for a 2x3 interior cells or could I make 2x2 cells for the top levels?

2x3 then we can fit stairs. I'd like to see dilapidated buildings and shacks to go with it. It'll set the well to do sections visibly apart.

as far as making it look favela like we could put shacks on top of larger building and then put boards across to other buildings. giving the streets a tunnel feel. and make it look like a shanty town above. or we could have something like the kowloon walled city if you like that idea