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87 comments
1) The voice actress for Eris disappeared. I'm not blaming her for this, namely since I had long gaps between requests for new lines related to the quest dialogue. While I did get most of her common lines done and could put her in as a more customized basic vampire follower, that completely defeats the purpose behind this project. So I would essentially have to find a new actress that sounds remarkably similar to the first, or just start over, both of which are highly unlikely.
2) What I wanted and what I could actually do at the time never happened. Requests for help from other modders who were better at scripting and other things just didn't come together.
3) This mod was meant to offer a very complex follower with an engaging story that questions morality. In this respect, it was overly ambitious for my ability at the time.
4) Eris had a moral mirror character called Gavriella, which added...complications. Aside from doubling the size of Forever Darkness to TWO complex follower/quest mods, I could never figure out how make sure no one could download both parts of the mods and have both these characters being buddy-buddy with their dragonborn character. I looked at factions and a number of things, but I never really found a good way to KEEP them separate (console commands could also undo a wide range of potential roadblocks I set up). They're mortal enemies and from a story perspective, it would be unacceptable to recruit them both.
5) I didn't have the time. I'm a full-time graphic designer who works a day job and free lances in order to pay the bills. I also met a girl, dated for a few years, got engaged, it fell a part, etc.
6) I lost interest. I enjoy writing and creating characters, so naturally I'd like to move on to other things, namely more original work since this is basically a modded fanfiction for Elder Scrolls.
7) Technical issues. I've always had issues getting my computer to run the game. I've probably had to reinstall it over ten times during this period, but I always struggled with CTDs, severe video lag (I'd be lucky to get past the teens with FPS when moving), etc. I didn't have the money for a top of the line machine, and hell, I'm still using most of the parts I built up for my rig back in 2011. This kind of stuff requires a lot of play testing, and I could barely play the game for "fun", let alone do some testing.
8) Armors. This mod had custom armors that I mashed together in nifscope. I have no means of correctly assembling the armors in a 3D program, and often cheated using alpha layers in the texture files to hide pieces rather then actually removing them with a 3D editing program.
9) Permissions. I know some people don't care about this, but I do. I was friends with many of the talented armor designers back at this game's modding peak. Many of them gave me permission to use their armors mixed in with mine and to have those parts retextured as well. But that did not include EVERYTHING, and unless I had full permission to use every piece, I wasn't going to release it.
10) Sex Mods, old community I came in with was long gone, etc. Now this was more of a personal issue than anything else, but during the latter years of Skyrim Nexus modding, detailed sex mods were getting more and more...well, real. In fact, I log into the Nexus now and within the last couple years to see that story-driven followers were far outpaced by sexy, HDT clones. That made me concerned that A) what people would be doing with my characters and B) if the crowd that truly liked the more complex followers, quest mods, etc. had long moved on. I don't think the latter is true and is probably better attributed to the ease of making new sexy follower skin with the default voice and response options. But...the idea of my characters being put into some kind of sex mod animation, screenshots being uploaded, etc. - none of that I can stop by just saying "please no." I really don't care what people do in private, but if you've seen what I've seen at other Skyrim mod sites...well, I'm sure you're already aware of that side of Skyrim modding. And yes, I know anything can basically become porn, but this likely would not have stopped me from completing the project - it just discouraged me from diving back in after the above roadblocks.
I also lost contact with the old community, who moved on because I dragged my feet. I like the idea of newer people or "generations" if you will appreciating the mod, but I also wanted my old friends to see it without me having to hunt them down and tell them to fire up the game again to try it out. A few of these people were also armor mod authors that hadn't given me the go ahead, so ya, it was a bummer.
So that's the story, long post I know. I still lurk about, but I moved on from Skyrim long ago. I know I've explained the issues in the past, but not everyone getting interest in this mod after all these years will read those comments spread out among various images I uploaded in the past. I'm sorry it never got done, but I would like to entertain the idea of carrying it forward in VI (if Beth doesn't kill the modding community as we know it altogether whenever they release it.)
until today without any warning at least.
really frustrating and a grand promise like this mod back drawer.
so we have left and continue waiting.
Do you guys even realize that a mod like this which has a brand new story, new characters, voice actors, new armors and weapons (I think), new powers, etc... requires a LOT of work and resources to even to start creating. A project of this scale WOULD definitely take more than just 1 year to complete.
It is now 2016 and I know this was probably promised 2 or 3 years ago... But like a full game It. Takes. Time. If he still hasn't released it, it would mean that it is not in a state to be playable yet, nor should it be (no one wants an incomplete game with only half of the content done). I am pretty he is working his back off to give us a full amazing game content to enjoy and I applaud him for that, he doesn't need anyone ranting to him about not releasing anything (frankly anyone would be annoyed by the constant bickering) and IF he decided to stop working on it, he must have had a good reason to do so.
SO plz guys, stop bickering about getting nothing and wait patiently for the release or IF possible, help him in any way you can if you guys are fellow modders.
This started as an armor mod, why not just release that as a taste, like Beyond has been doing?
If they haven't bothered getting permissions for those at least, by now, it isn't going to happen unfortunately, especially with so many modders dropping from the scene entirely. :/