|
Post by sleepygirl on May 11, 2017 18:55:47 GMT
Hello everyone I'm new to the forum and I thought I'd tell you a little about my WIP Cyborg mod. I used to love playing Oblivion, but have now returned to the game again after a break of several years. I'm an invalid and I often have to spend a lot of time in bed so that's when I work on my modding projects. It's actually good therapy for me, but on bad days my progress can be slow with this fogged up brain of mine and I make a lot of mistakes. This week I finally learned how to create normal maps in Gimp after a bit of a struggle which really put a big smile on my face.
While looking for something else on Nexus I stumbled on DreadWalker101's Cyborg mod. I hadn't thought about the possibility of cyborgs or machine enhanced folk in Oblivion before and while a quick run about in the game world with a test character did definitely capture my interest it wasn't long before I started to think about changes I could make to the mod. I play with OOO loaded in because I don't really like the whole world levelling up in step with my player character. I use Robert's body for males and the HGEC body meshes for females, but I don't think much of the current crop of outlandish and stupid HGEC female body mods that have little to do with what real women's bodies look like. (put the soap box away SleepyGirl...) Just recently I discovered Set body 1.2 by thumpthing which has to be about the most useful utility I've come across for a while and it is a big help to me when I'm creating body mods.
So enough rambling on here's a WIP picture of 'Dee' my test Cyborg female. There's more work yet to do on her body textures, especially lower down on her body.
I wanted more of a steampunk look to what was fast becoming my own Cyborg race, - though I am making use of DreadWalker101's Cyborg's eyes, abilities, lesser powers and greater power. I'm trialing an ability I've named 'Clockwork Heart', but it's still early days with that. The backstory is that a somewhat deranged Dwarven tech-mage secretly experimented on Elves they'd kidnapped and dragged away to their secret laboratory deep within ancient mountain caverns somewhere presently unknown. His victims have little or no memory of their ordeal and while they are intelligent, their thinking is somewhat concrete operational and not very flexible. I do like to roleplay my player characters so any cognitive nerfing in gameplay is entirely done by me.
I mostly play chaotic-neutral type UnDead characters (not vampires by the way), - so this is somewhat of a departure for me. In effect I feel that these cyborgs of mine have suffered a kind of machine necromancy; - especially 'Dee' whom I made to look like she now has an elegantly constructed brass head instead of her own flesh and bone one, - so I suppose I haven't wandered too far from what I know.
I know not a thing about scripting or custom dialogue so I will just be sticking to creating a race mod for now. I hope this project of mine has been of interest and I would be grateful for your comments and feedback.
|
|
|
Post by naramoore on May 11, 2017 20:09:34 GMT
Welcome to the board. Good luck and skill with your mod.
|
|
|
Post by sleepygirl on May 12, 2017 2:32:28 GMT
Thank you for the welcome and good wishes
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on May 12, 2017 10:59:07 GMT
Another welcome! What is ironic in a way is Dee is a serious improvement on the appearance on the original potato heads of the game.
|
|
|
Post by sleepygirl on May 12, 2017 15:41:04 GMT
Thank you Sniffles Yes the original potato heads were pretty dire alright, just about anything would be an improvement
|
|
|
Post by jgf on May 12, 2017 16:40:51 GMT
Very interesting. At first I was taken aback - cyborgs in TES? (remembering some unusual mods for Morrowind)- but the Dwemer backstory makes it work, and presents numerous possibilities. Are they good or evil? Do they want revenge for their condition? Since there are no more Dwemer, against whom would they seek revenge? Everyone? Or are they benevolent, seeking help, or at least acceptance? As a race perhaps all these would be encountered, so you would never know which you were meeting. Playing one, I would envision abilities and weaknesses similar to the Dwemer constructs in Morrowind, tempered by their biological side. A cyborg companion would be quite unusual, what special abilities would they bring to your partnership.
Pardon my prolix meanderings, but your project fires my imagination. Looking forward to how it develops.
And welcome to the forum.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on May 12, 2017 23:05:05 GMT
Love your reply jgf. So many possibilities and potentials. To keep the bad connotations out of it, it would be best to subtly infer Dwemer connections to avoid people thinking non canon.
I would suggest using a more in theme word for Dee. How about Replicant? Use both cyborg and Replicant but parenthesize (Cyborg) in the mod info.
This is so rife with possibilities. I immediately envisioned her as a companion. Somewhat alike to M'rissi in Skyrim. Trying so hard to act humanesque but little quirks and foibles keep sneaking in. Like standing on the shore of Lake Rumare with the objective on the nether shore she casually, unthinking, enters the lake and walks across on the bottom.
Or bringing her into a shop proves to be a mistake as in the span of a minute or two everything in the store gets knocked onto the floor.
Other little quirks could make their presence known like she is able to carry a seemingly untheme amount of weight and her equipped weapons get broken very rapidly. The NIF scope folks could have a field day with her as she isn't too up to speed wearing clothes or armor. Helmet on backwards, classic sweeping floor length dresses occasionally get turned into shreds of rags as attempts to put them on.
|
|
|
Post by jgf on May 13, 2017 1:09:32 GMT
I don't see her/them as clumsy; consider the Borg in Star Trek. I do picture them as rather heavy, so not good swimmers and possibly with little endurance in/under water, and very powerful, so can easily wear the heaviest armor and swing the largest weapons with little fatigue, while carrying all your loot. A permanent Nighteye power which can be toggled when needed (there is a mod allowing this) seems reasonable, as does the visual zoom function of a master marksman (even if not a marksman, though this would probably require scripting to accomplish).
In Morrowind the Dwemer constructs were immune to poison and almost immune to fire and shock, but were quite susceptible to frost and water. That seems applicable here, though their biological side would mediate these strengths and weaknesses, so not fully immune to poison, fire, and shock, but less affected by frost and water.
A great mechanical aptitude would also seem appropriate; for example they could pick any lock almost instantaneously, and would be expert armorers. Offset by poor personality and stealth.
Canon is an arguable point. Nothing in Morrowind indicates the Dwemer did or didn't conduct such experiments; indeed very little is known of them, and most of their surviving machines are a mystery (I used this hypothesis in a never finished mod for Morrowind). Since the PC destroys Dagoth Ur's hideout - old Dwemer facilities deep in Red Mountain - in the course of that game, perhaps as a result these cyborgs were freed from some deep secluded chamber where they had been kept for ages and made their way to Cyrodiil. (For all we know some may still be wandering around, or settled in, Morrowind.)
I think sleepygirl has a winner here; though it may take the assistance of someone with scripting ability to realize the full potential (which leaves me out, lol; complete lack of aptitude with scripting and dialog called a halt to several of my mods).
|
|
|
Post by sleepygirl on May 13, 2017 2:02:30 GMT
That was my thought too when I first saw the mod that set me off on this path to creating a mod of my own. 'Surely this could never be canon', was my first reaction, but the more I thought about it, the more possibilities began to show themselves. During an experimental role play walkabout with Dee I did my best to put myself in her place. Being attacked by a bandit greatly alarmed Dee because the whole concept of someone wanting to steal from her was totally outside her quite simple view of the world. Likewise buying goods in a shop had her puzzled at first, - though that was compounded by the fact that she didn't really know what some things were let alone whether or not they would actually be useful to her. Plainly food and drink as we know it aren't one of her needs, - though some of the stronger alcoholic beverages did prove to be useful. Injuries really do need to be taken care of by a skilled blacksmith, though perhaps with some guidance from a healer who is able to think outside of the square. I found Dee to be very focused when given a task and she doesn't get distracted from carrying things through to their conclusion. This is mostly a good thing, but it can lead to misunderstandings and other difficulties due to Dee not exactly being a flexible thinker. Oh and Dee has already taken the direct route across Lake Rumare a couple of times already Sniffles. I'm not at all certain if this is a good habit for Dee to get into. She doesn't need to breath, but I'm not sure if her electro-mechanical workings are entirely waterproof. The two clockwork hearts mounted on her chest should be fine provided they are kept oiled, but I do know that she has some kind of powerful electrical device inside her because that's how she dealt with the bandit. Other bodily systems seem to involve steam under pressure which might not be good to immerse in large bodies of cold water either. One of Dee's clockwork hearts. And yes clothing! - Dee doesn't like wearing shirts at all because they tend to get jammed in the small gears in her hearts and bits of lint and threads get caught up in the mechanism. As for actually putting a shirt on without ripping it, - well that's another subject entirely. Folk sometimes think she's being indecent when she wears little or no clothing, but the simple truth is she doesn't really have anything left in the way of 'naughty bits' I love the ideas and concepts that you've both come up with for these bio-mechanically interfaced folk of mine. Please feel free to speculate away as much as you like. 'Cyborg' really is too much of a modern Sc-fi name. 'Golem' isn't really the right word either. 'Replicant' is a possibility in so far as quite a lot of Dee's metal parts are replicating the appearance of a human being, but those parts are also attached to flesh, blood and bone parts too. More thinking might be needed. Too much thinking! - now I'm wondering if Dee's brain is similar to a Babbage differential engine! Yes I agree that Dee and her kind are highly likely to be very strong and well able to carry a large amount of adventuring equipment. I gave her strength 70 right out of the box. I see her, as well as her fellow bio-mechanical folk, as being nice gentle kind of people. Whatever traumatic things were done to them is something that they now have no real memory of. They are simple folk and they very much live in the present moment. If Of course there might be an individual 'out there' who does remember and that could lead to all kinds of unpleasantness. Because these folk do find the world to be a bewildering place at times I think they really do need to be a part of an adventuring party and not left to wander on their own. A companion role would be absolutely perfect for them. Breaking stuff could be a problem. I would think that sometimes they might not know their own strength. I tested Dee out with hand to hand combat and electrical discharges as being her specialty. Discharges of hot superheated steam could be another 'weapon' for her, but I think both would need to be balanced to take into account the fact that steam and electricity wouldn't be limitless and would need to be generated again in between 'outbursts'. In an adventuring party they would be great for powering lighting in darksome caverns provided enough of those strange Dwemer lighting globe things can be found. Brewing tea? - the possibilities are endless. Though as you both have said the human aspect must not be forgotten as this lost refugee group of very different people try to find their place in a strange new world that doesn't always understand them. So many great ideas, - my mind is bubbling over Thank you too for your nice welcome Jgf Edit: Oops we crossed posts; - I'm such a slow typist!
|
|
|
Post by sleepygirl on May 13, 2017 2:21:23 GMT
I put together a male version too, but the body textures are only placeholders until I can get my imagination steaming away nicely.
Basic 'tank' stats for an 'I can carry everything' type man.
|
|
|
Post by sleepygirl on May 13, 2017 4:13:48 GMT
I'm not ignoring your last post Jgf I'm just having a think about it before I reply. Every test character needs somewhere to stash their stuff and have a nap if they need to. This can be tricky to set up if you're a new character so that's where friends come in. In this case it's wee folk in the very much long term WIP Pixie Caves mod I've got out there in the game world. There's a secret entrance, but I told Dee where it was so that's Ok. I'm not sure if exciteable wee Fae folk are the best sources of advice on adventuring in Tamriel, but they have been very kind to Dee and have let her have free run of all their storage chests so she can suitably equip herself. Considering there are quite a few items of weapons and armor in those storage chests with some very peculiar enchantments on them i think Dee managed very well. She's about to start off on the Kvatch quest poor kid and stopped off to get some arrows and a bow. Dee is an 'Acrobat' class as I wanted to try out the agile quick machine side of her nature.
|
|
|
Post by sleepygirl on May 13, 2017 20:21:24 GMT
I don't see her/them as clumsy; consider the Borg in Star Trek. I do picture them as rather heavy, so not good swimmers and possibly with little endurance in/under water, and very powerful, so can easily wear the heaviest armor and swing the largest weapons with little fatigue, while carrying all your loot. A permanent Nighteye power which can be toggled when needed (there is a mod allowing this) seems reasonable, as does the visual zoom function of a master marksman (even if not a marksman, though this would probably require scripting to accomplish). In Morrowind the Dwemer constructs were immune to poison and almost immune to fire and shock, but were quite susceptible to frost and water. That seems applicable here, though their biological side would mediate these strengths and weaknesses, so not fully immune to poison, fire, and shock, but less affected by frost and water. A great mechanical aptitude would also seem appropriate; for example they could pick any lock almost instantaneously, and would be expert armorers. Offset by poor personality and stealth. Canon is an arguable point. Nothing in Morrowind indicates the Dwemer did or didn't conduct such experiments; indeed very little is known of them, and most of their surviving machines are a mystery (I used this hypothesis in a never finished mod for Morrowind). Since the PC destroys Dagoth Ur's hideout - old Dwemer facilities deep in Red Mountain - in the course of that game, perhaps as a result these cyborgs were freed from some deep secluded chamber where they had been kept for ages and made their way to Cyrodiil. (For all we know some may still be wandering around, or settled in, Morrowind.) I think sleepygirl has a winner here; though it may take the assistance of someone with scripting ability to realize the full potential (which leaves me out, lol; complete lack of aptitude with scripting and dialog called a halt to several of my mods). Jgf, I'm fast coming to realise that I've sparked off an idea that might grow into something wild and huge if I don't watch out If this does go further I will most probably need the aid of someone clever to help with scripting, but for the present time I'll concentrate on finishing the body and head textures so these refugees from Red Mountain will have a proper shape and form which is an important point to start from.
I like some of the points you raise Jgf. It would be highly likely that these machine chimera folk....... ......would have a knack for working on or with mechanisms which would make them expert at picking locks and skilled armorers. I find it easy to agree that they would more than likely have not very good personality stats. Not for any malevolent reason, but simply because what might be left of their organic brains has been repurposed by those who constructed them. When it comes to agility I'm not so sure. I'm considering making two versions of these folk in the one mod. One would be a heavier, larger and strong type and they would be the heavy lifters, the expert armorers and able to wear the heaviest armors as well. The other type would be smaller and lighter built, highly agile and finger quick. The heavier built folk would have lower agility as their offset and the lighter finger quick folk would be offset by lower endurance and strength.
Your reference to the Dwemer constructs is useful Jgf. As they still have biological components (I suppose I can call them that) poison, fire and shock would still have some effect on them, but perhaps not to the same degree as it would to Human, Fae and Mer folk. Cold and water would have some effects on them; - cold would be moderated by them not being entirely made up of mechanical parts, but water may need some clever scripting as longer periods of immersion are highly likely to affect their internal thermal (steam) and electrical systems. Nighteye toggling would be good and I think entirely appropriate for them to have. Visual zoom? - sounds good to me, but I wouldn't even know where to start with scripting that.
Progress from me might be a little erratic as one of my symptoms is hypersomnia which can put me into a very deep sleep with little warning for lengthy periods of time. But despite that I'm very keen to keep on with working on this mod as I would very much like to see these cyborg/chimera/replicant folk being played out in the Oblivion gameworld.
|
|
|
Post by naramoore on May 13, 2017 20:53:14 GMT
I am not strong on lore but wouldn't these creatures be vulnerable to shock since it would potentially blow out their circuits. The fleshie portions of their bodies would also prevent heavy duty shielding of those circuits.
|
|
|
Post by Sniffles on May 13, 2017 21:58:17 GMT
This would be a nice subtitle for the mod: Refugees from Red Mountain.
BTW Yagrum Bagarn makes an airtight case for a part living part machine entity. Additionally, lore and divine intervention is already documented in canon. Could be a nice little irony. The dwemer sought to create life and succeeded. Then poof, they vanished and a few centuries later out pops Dee and Co. And no Prozvec, Sorted Silt or LLamasexia around to help make sense of things.
|
|
|
Post by wotan on May 13, 2017 22:27:49 GMT
I am not strong on lore but wouldn't these creatures be vulnerable to shock since it would potentially blow out their circuits. The fleshie portions of their bodies would also prevent heavy duty shielding of those circuits. This is the age of steam. Their clockwork bodies have no circuits because the Dwemer never invented those. Instead look at them as mechanical wonders of a lost age. And anything can be done with magic, as you well know. Shock would be ineffective, but a combination of heat and cold would likely be devastating.
|
|