Love testing new house mods. Not normally a fan of very large places, but decided to download for a look-see based upon comments. I generally concur with WalkingWaffles.
A few specific comments from my test:
1. I was already outside Whiterun and looked for the/a door on outside wall. Didn't see one where it should have been. So fast traveled and was placed inside Whiterun just outside the door. Apparently door is intended as a magical portal to a place that doesn't exist where it should? Otherwise, doesn't make sense in my style of play.
2. The dark brotherhood door is pretty obvious to any and everyone walking by. Not hidden at all.
3. The spiral staircase going down. So long that I placed myself in god mode to survive simply jumping down. Nothing really at bottom, but as you indicate, mod is not finished.
4. Too many Solitude areas, and with their names intact. And I think too much of a contrast between the Solitude areas and the rest of the dungeon.
5. Would never live in a place called "John's" place.
6. It never felt like a home but more like what it is: a dungeon of sorts.
Yes, way too large, had trouble getting back outside, and could never call such a large place home. Might work better as a new dungeon creep? (There are a few castles that I also consider way too large and hard to navigate...even though well done otherwise.)
BTW, just what makes something a "Nordic" home? IMO most homes in Skyrim could be called Nordic. Excepting perhaps the Dwemer and Orc. But if the places in Windhelm, Solitude, Whiterun and Dawnstar - for example - are not Nordic, then what are?
But this is a good attempt and experience at using the CK. Hope to see this and further works by you!
Alright, I downloaded it and checked it out, and here are a few points of criticism worth making: First of all, the entry does not go well with the surroundings as it is literally a door in a city wall, and a brotherhood door at that. You might want to change it into a separate building so you don't just magically go into a huge dungeon.
Secondly, the interior. It is huge, which is nice to some extent, but the fact that there are mannequins all over the place added to the nordic ruin style makes it look insanely repetitive and slightly confusing in terms of where one is.
Thirdly, it's obvious that you aimed for grandeur when you made the building, but the long staircases are simply too long tending towards motion-sickness-inducing when being used, and these huge rooms leading to stairs, leading to corridors, leading to loading doors make for a rather tedious walk when you want to go from the main room to the kitchen or library because you forgot to enchant or cook one of the things in your inventory.
I'd say that you either have to be eerily creative with what you put in there in order to fill the entire thing with objects relating to living there and make the cold ruins seem hospitable, or you might want to consider making it a quest/dungeon mod in stead.
It is still too early to say whether or not this will be good or not, but from what I had seen I would not want to download the finished mod unless you changed some of the very core things in it, specifically the magnitude of it, you don't need several loading screens and a minute long walk where the map is a necessity in order to make a good house mod. Good luck with it man.
thanks, i just had never seen a nordic ruin themed house and thought I would give it a shot. and I am a serial armor mod consumer so the amount of mannequins is a reflection of that. thanks for the comment and suggestions!
You guys are savage af. As the description says, it's a first mod. Also, there's a fine line between constructive-criticism and completely shitting over people's work.
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A few specific comments from my test:
1. I was already outside Whiterun and looked for the/a door on outside wall. Didn't see one where it should have been. So fast traveled and was placed inside Whiterun just outside the door. Apparently door is intended as a magical portal to a place that doesn't exist where it should? Otherwise, doesn't make sense in my style of play.
2. The dark brotherhood door is pretty obvious to any and everyone walking by. Not hidden at all.
3. The spiral staircase going down. So long that I placed myself in god mode to survive simply jumping down. Nothing really at bottom, but as you indicate, mod is not finished.
4. Too many Solitude areas, and with their names intact. And I think too much of a contrast between the Solitude areas and the rest of the dungeon.
5. Would never live in a place called "John's" place.
6. It never felt like a home but more like what it is: a dungeon of sorts.
Yes, way too large, had trouble getting back outside, and could never call such a large place home. Might work better as a new dungeon creep? (There are a few castles that I also consider way too large and hard to navigate...even though well done otherwise.)
BTW, just what makes something a "Nordic" home? IMO most homes in Skyrim could be called Nordic. Excepting perhaps the Dwemer and Orc. But if the places in Windhelm, Solitude, Whiterun and Dawnstar - for example - are not Nordic, then what are?
But this is a good attempt and experience at using the CK. Hope to see this and further works by you!
First of all, the entry does not go well with the surroundings as it is literally a door in a city wall, and a brotherhood door at that. You might want to change it into a separate building so you don't just magically go into a huge dungeon.
Secondly, the interior. It is huge, which is nice to some extent, but the fact that there are mannequins all over the place added to the nordic ruin style makes it look insanely repetitive and slightly confusing in terms of where one is.
Thirdly, it's obvious that you aimed for grandeur when you made the building, but the long staircases are simply too long tending towards motion-sickness-inducing when being used, and these huge rooms leading to stairs, leading to corridors, leading to loading doors make for a rather tedious walk when you want to go from the main room to the kitchen or library because you forgot to enchant or cook one of the things in your inventory.
I'd say that you either have to be eerily creative with what you put in there in order to fill the entire thing with objects relating to living there and make the cold ruins seem hospitable, or you might want to consider making it a quest/dungeon mod in stead.
It is still too early to say whether or not this will be good or not, but from what I had seen I would not want to download the finished mod unless you changed some of the very core things in it, specifically the magnitude of it, you don't need several loading screens and a minute long walk where the map is a necessity in order to make a good house mod.
Good luck with it man.