dylanbperry

Weekly Update (12/15/17) -- Missives, Hearth Craft, & Ultimate Skyrim Beta Access

Added 2017-12-15 22:46:57 +0000 UTC

Welcome back to another weekly update my friends!

I've got a lot for you today, but before we get into the nitty gritty, please give a warm welcome to our newest Patrons:

Alex Eggers
Hilman Ali Jafar
Ian Sinnett
João Victor Oliva
Matías Matteucci

First: a quick reminder that this month's Patron stream will take place on December 22 at 11:00 AM PST! I'll post more reminders as the event approaches, both on here and in the subreddit.

Second: In an effort to reward Patrons and gather feedback, Goodie Bag Patrons can now access pre-release versions of my project files. This includes beta builds of Ultimate Skyrim, and other works in-progress!

These files will be available over the next few days, as I finalize the first beta releases. We've also added a beta-testing channel to the Discord to facilitate beta feedback.

(Disclaimer: These project files are experimental builds, provided as-is, with little installation support. Interested Patrons should be proficient modders, and willing to rely on other testers for troubleshooting.)

Now, onto the update proper!

The Notice Board has been officially removed from the installation, and Missives has been integrated in its place.

TNB was a valiant effort with great ideas, but its execution was unfortunately buggy and inconsistent. Missives builds on TNB's foundation to create a frankly wonderful mod that I believe will greatly enhance how players make their living and move about the world.

Each of the 9 Hold Capitals now contains a Missives board offering quests for those in need of coin, supplies, or a good adventure. These quests range from incredibly simple to moderately difficult, with proportionate rewards.

The quests are localized to the hold in which the quest was received (save for Courier jobs intentionally designed to send the player to a different Hold), and each quest can be cancelled anytime -- both features sorely missing from TNB, and executed brilliantly in Missives.

I've also edited the mod so it doesn't use inappropriate NPC's from other mods, or send players to certain locations they cannot/should not access. (The mod's author, IronDusk33, made this process incredibly simple with his thoughtful mod design.) I've also adjusted the locations of several boards for compatibility with mods like ETaC and Dawn of Skyrim.
With 4.0's emphasis on Crafting and Player Housing, I've integrated Hearth Craft for a truly seamless "craft anywhere" experience. Players can now utilize the Builder's Workbench to craft a huge variety of furniture, decorations, and even entire Player Homes -- all placeable with Campfire's placement framework. You can craft this workbench anywhere with the player crafting ability, or craft it at a Forge.

HC's recipes all use pre-existing resources from Hearthfire and the rest of the mods in the lineup, so you now have even more reasons to collect that phat loot!
As I've mentioned in previous posts, Shrines are very important in 4.0. Religion players can worship at shrines to garner favor with the Divines/Daedric Princes, and Death is Highly Overrated turns each Shrine into a potential respawn point.

In keeping with these mechanics, and to give even more utility to Player Homes, I've integrated a custom version of Campfire Shrines so that Shrines are now purchasable and craftable.

Priests will often sell Shrines applicable to their deity, and you might find a shrine or two at your local pawn shop. Craftsmen can craft their own Shrines, provided they have the Arcane Craftsmanship perk and the appropriate materials.
I've integrated a slightly-customized Farm Anywhere to allow players a simple way of growing basic ingredients anywhere in the world, a la Hearthfire's soil plots. Just purchase/craft a Farming Hoe, and get to work!
Finally, Cobb Positioner has been integrated to round off "crafting anywhere" functionality. The Campfire placement framework functions well enough, but CP's brilliant system allows players to easily customize the exact placement of their spoils and crafting creations.