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About this mod
Restore Kvatch to a flourishing and vibrant city, full of unique NPCs and buildings and landscaping, in a quick and straightforward way. An expansion of the original Kvatch Returned mod by BobbyX.
- Requirements
- Permissions and credits
Ever wanted to see Kvatch as a fully functional city without having to rebuild it yourself? Then this might be the mod for you. Kvatch Returned Expansion (which I will be calling KRE for convenience) is an expansion of the mod Kvatch Returned v0.96 - Rerelease, originally by nexusmods user Bobbyx! It is a simple and straightforward rebuilding of Kvatch - there isn't a large questline to do or a huge price tag to pay or anything of the sort.
KRE is NOT COMPATIBLE with the vanilla quests taking place in Kvatch!!! Not only have all the debris and fires and whatnot been cleaned away, but the landscape is no longer burned, the castle has been revamped, and the daedra are gone. To put it another way: don't activate this .esp in your load order until you've already finished all the quests regarding Kvatch - it's up to you to enable this mod's content at the right time! Once you have done so, read the note on the small table next to Savlian Matius' tent to get it started.
What changed from the original Kvatch Returned v0.96 release? Firstly, the .esp was cleaned. Pathgrids were expanded into the greenery areas. Some gates and staircases were added for increased ability to walk around the town. Also added decorations around the town. The Arena and its Bloodworks are now more unique, as opposed to being similar to the Imperial City's. (please see the "known issues" section for more Arena information)!
What else does KRE do? Most obviously, the house interiors were added and expanded upon! Once activated, many of the existing Kvatch NPCs now will move into the rebuilt town and start a new life. (they do actually have to walk there, so give them some time or use the Wait function, lol.) They've all got new AI packages that take them around town so it's nice and lively. The new NPCs added by the mod have likewise received AI packages and have a life of their own. There's also some new lines of dialogue - nothing too fancy, just some flavor text!
I expanded the castle rooms/interiors too, and added some retextured versions of the castle meshes to make them use the same textures as the rest of the castles in the game. (The broken brick sections and such are still there, though. Haven't fixed those yet, lol)! I also went through the castle and re-added much of the misc items - that way, anyone who took anything that wasn't nailed down during the vanilla quests won't walk into a half-empty castle! :')
I've done some more work around the exterior walls of Kvatch in the Tamriel worldspace too - that is to say, not only is the ground no longer burnt, but I added stuff as well. I fleshed out the Undercroft and Chapel Halls, making the latter more look like the others in the game and the former look like a place where people would actually come to pay their respects, with little shrines and offerings and whatnot! There was also a loading screen which reiterated that the original mod was a beta release that now is a fun bit of text about the new Kvatch :) I also added other new loading screens as well.
Finally, there is a player house! It's sold by the new Count for 4,000 septims. The furniture can be bought at Ebony Claws - in total, you'll pay 10,000 septims for a fully decorated house. I was inspired by the style of vanilla buyable houses in Skyrim, where the houses are more or less pre-decorated in an intricate and compact way. That being said, it isn't a very large house, so there shouldn't be a HUGE performance impact or anything.
INSTALLATION:
Because of the cleaning done to the original mod (there were some changes made to some persistent references, something which Oblivion does not like), this is not a replacer .esp, but a brand new .esp. This makes installation a bit more difficult, so I will try my best to explain how to install such a mod if you don't know how - I'm sure there's other ways to do it, but this is what I personally would do! Having it written out in detail like this makes it seem complicated, but I promise it's not :)
That being said, I recommend this be installed using Wrye Bash, as the .esp file's description contains BASH tags that will help prevent conflicts. However, if you have no other mods that alter the existing Kvatch NPCs (or just don't care about any conflicts) then you can install this however you'd like!
REQUIREMENTS: Again, you have to download the original mod to get the necessary resources. Also, KRE has some lines of dialogue that are all unvoiced, so something like Universal Silent Voice (and therefore also a compatible version of OBSE) is useful! However, if you aren't interested in reading the new dialogue, then the mod will work just fine without it.
COMPATIBILITY: This will likely be incompatible with any mod that changes the areas in and around Kvatch, of course. This includes other Kvatch rebuilding mods as well as mods which alter Kvatch-related NPCs and cells. The Unofficial Oblivion Patch's relevant changes have been carried forward, but I would still make sure to load KRE after UOP anyway, just in case! I had KRE fairly late in my load order as I was making the mod.
Similarly, if you have any other mods which edit the vanilla Kvatch NPCs, it would be wise to have that before KRE in your load order.
This mod makes a single change to the NPC-only KvatchSoldier class - it makes it into a "guard" class. I don't know of any mod that affects this class, but if there is one, make sure KRE loads after it of course!
This mod's meshes have built in AWLS compatibility! The lights will turn on at night, either with flickering or no flickering/solid light versions.
This mod is technically compatible with Rooftop Rewards by Chaos_ian7 - I believe some of the reward chests are now inaccessible and one is now floating haha, but the mods will still work together! If the floating chest bothers you, just use the console to disable it.
Integration: the Stranded Light adds a book in Castle Kvatch that is now left floating. Just nudge it and it'll fall down, same as anything else would!
KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES/WARNINGS/GENERAL HEADS-UP:
The Arena is not currently functional. Some NPCs' dialogue implies that it is, but currently that's just flavor text! You can go inside the Bloodworks and up to a viewing box, but nothing will ever actually happen there.
The refugee camp at the bottom of the hill won't be removed. This is intentional - I'm not sure whether or not I should get rid of it, so I left alone for now!
In the buyable house, there is a basket labelled "Wastebasket". It is a respawning container, and so are the wine barrels in the kitchen! The idea being, you can put any items you don't need in the wastebasket so that when the container respawns, it'll be empty again - thus removing the items within and "taking out the trash"! So obviously don't keep anything you don't want to lose in there, because it will disappear eventually, lol. An NPC explains this, but I figured I would reiterate it anyway.
The original vanilla Kvatch NPCs (both civilians and guards) will still say their sad lines. As in, the lines like "How could the Divines let this happen" "do the Nine hate us" etc. This is because these lines of dialogue is connected to the various Kvatch factions and I wasn't sure if there would be any adverse affects if I removed them all from these factions.
ANY FUTURE PLANS FOR THE MOD?
Yes! Normally I just implement ideas when I have them, but these ones haven't been included yet because I still need to learn how to do them correctly but are otherwise features present in vanilla cities, which is why I want to mention them specifically. They are the following:
CREDITS:
Bethesda for creating the game and the CS, and for allowing us fans to create and share mods for their wonderful games! I am not affiliated with Bethesda in any way and am making no money off of this mod. Same thing applies to this mod as applies to any other mod - that I am not responsible for your computer or your save file so install responsibly!
The TES4EDIT team for creating TES4EDIT - this mod was cleaned with TES4QuickAutoClean 4.0.3!
Nifskope, which I used for the new castle meshes/textures
nexusmods user Bobbyx AKA Bob Smolders for the original mod and resources! In the original mod page's comments, the project was stated to be free to finish, however I also obtained permission to create this expansion in a PM from Bobbyx!
nexusmods user Dispensation for help with testing!
the idea to use a respawning container as a wastebasket was something I first saw in a house mod by nexusmods user Emma! Credit to Emma for the original idea :)
KRE is NOT COMPATIBLE with the vanilla quests taking place in Kvatch!!! Not only have all the debris and fires and whatnot been cleaned away, but the landscape is no longer burned, the castle has been revamped, and the daedra are gone. To put it another way: don't activate this .esp in your load order until you've already finished all the quests regarding Kvatch - it's up to you to enable this mod's content at the right time! Once you have done so, read the note on the small table next to Savlian Matius' tent to get it started.
What changed from the original Kvatch Returned v0.96 release? Firstly, the .esp was cleaned. Pathgrids were expanded into the greenery areas. Some gates and staircases were added for increased ability to walk around the town. Also added decorations around the town. The Arena and its Bloodworks are now more unique, as opposed to being similar to the Imperial City's. (please see the "known issues" section for more Arena information)!
What else does KRE do? Most obviously, the house interiors were added and expanded upon! Once activated, many of the existing Kvatch NPCs now will move into the rebuilt town and start a new life. (they do actually have to walk there, so give them some time or use the Wait function, lol.) They've all got new AI packages that take them around town so it's nice and lively. The new NPCs added by the mod have likewise received AI packages and have a life of their own. There's also some new lines of dialogue - nothing too fancy, just some flavor text!
I expanded the castle rooms/interiors too, and added some retextured versions of the castle meshes to make them use the same textures as the rest of the castles in the game. (The broken brick sections and such are still there, though. Haven't fixed those yet, lol)! I also went through the castle and re-added much of the misc items - that way, anyone who took anything that wasn't nailed down during the vanilla quests won't walk into a half-empty castle! :')
I've done some more work around the exterior walls of Kvatch in the Tamriel worldspace too - that is to say, not only is the ground no longer burnt, but I added stuff as well. I fleshed out the Undercroft and Chapel Halls, making the latter more look like the others in the game and the former look like a place where people would actually come to pay their respects, with little shrines and offerings and whatnot! There was also a loading screen which reiterated that the original mod was a beta release that now is a fun bit of text about the new Kvatch :) I also added other new loading screens as well.
Finally, there is a player house! It's sold by the new Count for 4,000 septims. The furniture can be bought at Ebony Claws - in total, you'll pay 10,000 septims for a fully decorated house. I was inspired by the style of vanilla buyable houses in Skyrim, where the houses are more or less pre-decorated in an intricate and compact way. That being said, it isn't a very large house, so there shouldn't be a HUGE performance impact or anything.
INSTALLATION:
Because of the cleaning done to the original mod (there were some changes made to some persistent references, something which Oblivion does not like), this is not a replacer .esp, but a brand new .esp. This makes installation a bit more difficult, so I will try my best to explain how to install such a mod if you don't know how - I'm sure there's other ways to do it, but this is what I personally would do! Having it written out in detail like this makes it seem complicated, but I promise it's not :)
Spoiler:
Firstly, download the resources the original Kvatch Returned mod page (and give kudos as well of course!) Then, unzip the download. You should see something like this in the Data folder:
DistantLOD
Kvatch Returned V0.96 - rerelease.esp
Kvatch Returned V0.96 - rerelease Readme.txt
Meshes
Textures
Now, delete the original Kvatch Returned V0.96 .esp file. Personally I'd also delete the DistantLOD as well - since I have edited some things, I'd recommend regenerating it yourself. But I won't explain how to do that here, lol
Now, download KRE and its resources, and unzip it as well. In the Data folder, you should see something like this:
Docs
Kvatch Returned Expansion.esp
Meshes
Then, just cut and paste everything in this folder into the first downloads folder! It should prompt you to overwrite some files - say 'yes'! These are just the meshes that I retextured. If you've now got this in the Data folder:
Docs
Meshes
Textures
Kvatch Returned Expansion.esp
Kvatch Returned V0.96 - rerelease Readme.txt
Then you're all set and can install like you would any other normal mod, including manually :)
Show
Firstly, download the resources the original Kvatch Returned mod page (and give kudos as well of course!) Then, unzip the download. You should see something like this in the Data folder:
DistantLOD
Kvatch Returned V0.96 - rerelease.esp
Kvatch Returned V0.96 - rerelease Readme.txt
Meshes
Textures
Now, delete the original Kvatch Returned V0.96 .esp file. Personally I'd also delete the DistantLOD as well - since I have edited some things, I'd recommend regenerating it yourself. But I won't explain how to do that here, lol
Now, download KRE and its resources, and unzip it as well. In the Data folder, you should see something like this:
Docs
Kvatch Returned Expansion.esp
Meshes
Then, just cut and paste everything in this folder into the first downloads folder! It should prompt you to overwrite some files - say 'yes'! These are just the meshes that I retextured. If you've now got this in the Data folder:
Docs
Meshes
Textures
Kvatch Returned Expansion.esp
Kvatch Returned V0.96 - rerelease Readme.txt
Then you're all set and can install like you would any other normal mod, including manually :)
That being said, I recommend this be installed using Wrye Bash, as the .esp file's description contains BASH tags that will help prevent conflicts. However, if you have no other mods that alter the existing Kvatch NPCs (or just don't care about any conflicts) then you can install this however you'd like!
REQUIREMENTS: Again, you have to download the original mod to get the necessary resources. Also, KRE has some lines of dialogue that are all unvoiced, so something like Universal Silent Voice (and therefore also a compatible version of OBSE) is useful! However, if you aren't interested in reading the new dialogue, then the mod will work just fine without it.
COMPATIBILITY: This will likely be incompatible with any mod that changes the areas in and around Kvatch, of course. This includes other Kvatch rebuilding mods as well as mods which alter Kvatch-related NPCs and cells. The Unofficial Oblivion Patch's relevant changes have been carried forward, but I would still make sure to load KRE after UOP anyway, just in case! I had KRE fairly late in my load order as I was making the mod.
Similarly, if you have any other mods which edit the vanilla Kvatch NPCs, it would be wise to have that before KRE in your load order.
This mod makes a single change to the NPC-only KvatchSoldier class - it makes it into a "guard" class. I don't know of any mod that affects this class, but if there is one, make sure KRE loads after it of course!
This mod's meshes have built in AWLS compatibility! The lights will turn on at night, either with flickering or no flickering/solid light versions.
This mod is technically compatible with Rooftop Rewards by Chaos_ian7 - I believe some of the reward chests are now inaccessible and one is now floating haha, but the mods will still work together! If the floating chest bothers you, just use the console to disable it.
Integration: the Stranded Light adds a book in Castle Kvatch that is now left floating. Just nudge it and it'll fall down, same as anything else would!
KNOWN BUGS/ISSUES/WARNINGS/GENERAL HEADS-UP:
The Arena is not currently functional. Some NPCs' dialogue implies that it is, but currently that's just flavor text! You can go inside the Bloodworks and up to a viewing box, but nothing will ever actually happen there.
The refugee camp at the bottom of the hill won't be removed. This is intentional - I'm not sure whether or not I should get rid of it, so I left alone for now!
In the buyable house, there is a basket labelled "Wastebasket". It is a respawning container, and so are the wine barrels in the kitchen! The idea being, you can put any items you don't need in the wastebasket so that when the container respawns, it'll be empty again - thus removing the items within and "taking out the trash"! So obviously don't keep anything you don't want to lose in there, because it will disappear eventually, lol. An NPC explains this, but I figured I would reiterate it anyway.
The original vanilla Kvatch NPCs (both civilians and guards) will still say their sad lines. As in, the lines like "How could the Divines let this happen" "do the Nine hate us" etc. This is because these lines of dialogue is connected to the various Kvatch factions and I wasn't sure if there would be any adverse affects if I removed them all from these factions.
ANY FUTURE PLANS FOR THE MOD?
Yes! Normally I just implement ideas when I have them, but these ones haven't been included yet because I still need to learn how to do them correctly but are otherwise features present in vanilla cities, which is why I want to mention them specifically. They are the following:
- A stable in front of the main gate
- A Kvatch-specific dungeon/jail (currently, you are sent to Anvil if arrested)
- Patrolling guards as opposed to just static guards
CREDITS:
Bethesda for creating the game and the CS, and for allowing us fans to create and share mods for their wonderful games! I am not affiliated with Bethesda in any way and am making no money off of this mod. Same thing applies to this mod as applies to any other mod - that I am not responsible for your computer or your save file so install responsibly!
The TES4EDIT team for creating TES4EDIT - this mod was cleaned with TES4QuickAutoClean 4.0.3!
Nifskope, which I used for the new castle meshes/textures
nexusmods user Bobbyx AKA Bob Smolders for the original mod and resources! In the original mod page's comments, the project was stated to be free to finish, however I also obtained permission to create this expansion in a PM from Bobbyx!
nexusmods user Dispensation for help with testing!
the idea to use a respawning container as a wastebasket was something I first saw in a house mod by nexusmods user Emma! Credit to Emma for the original idea :)