1.5 is ESL lots of clutter was removed to make it ESL, Screenshots haven't been Updated.
Currently working on improving this mod for the next update, as i'm not completely happy with the end result. At the time of making this mod i was stuggling with life things and my focus and creativity wasn't feeling level, i spent lots of time making this but also getting frustrated with the design, eventually i became fed up with it and just wanted it "done" and released so i could go on to the next project. Having said that i have returned back to this and will be working on it to tweak the design and fix some problems with it, the next version will look very different to this current one, yet still have some overall similarities.
2.0 is out.
Remade from scratch, similar design, yet more cohesive and less messy. important to make a clean install of this mod if you are updating mid game. and re run dyndolod if you use it.
2.0 Features a new design, similar layout to 1.5 however, much more cohesive thematically, and less messy design, i cut the legs off the orc awnings and made a custom orc awning roof, made the design work so much better, plus there's no messy navmesh areas, the towers can be accesed by the trap doors.
-grass patches might not be needed, i used the "no texture" land for most of the area, just looks a bit barren, which makes sense in the mountains. cheers.
F A Q
Q - "Will you make an All in One of your stronghold series?" A - No. it's too complicated, all 4 will be ESL so AIO won't be needed
Q - "Will you add quests to your Stronghold Mods?" A - No, however i would like the Strongholds to be fleshed out, though i don't have the skills or energy to do it
Q - "Will you add High Poly heads to the added NPCs?" A - No, i don't know how. someone else can make a patch if they want.
Q - "Will you be making patches for xyz Mod?" A - No, if i run the mod in my game, then yes, if i don't then no i won't make any patches for random mods. Permission is granted to anyone who wishes to do so.
I put it through sseedit quick auto clean and it mentioned: "<Warning: Plugin contains 1 deleted NavMeshes which can not be undeleted>" A different modder told me before that deleted navmesh can sometimes cause ctd and the only one that can resolve that deleted navmesh is the author itself. So I hope it will be resolved because it does look great. But I'm currently not going to use it on any main playthrough due to possible ctd.
I have to add that your stone stairs navmesh might need improvement as well because the orc npcs can't follow me to the end of both stone stairs.
problem is dawnguard has a deleted navmesh, if i clean it manually like i did in previous versions, i get CTDs. so i left it deleted and had no problems so far.
Hello, DynDOLOD gives me a warning about this mod. Can you check please? <Warning: File not found Meshes\dungeon\imperial\a new stable\impstablenew_walls01.nif. Used by Strongholds - Dushnikh Yal 2.0.esp aaa_11JJ_NewImpStable01 [STAT:FE0F7D95]>
Hello! Just wanted to drop in and give my review on your mods. So i was playing a few hours ago, cleared out Kolskeggr Mine for some of the farmers outside Markarth that had escaped from there. The orc farmer is all grateful, and tells me that he'll send word to all the strongholds so that i may be welcomed whenever i decide to go to any of them. I figured, ok, i havent been to the strongholds in this playthrough, this might be a good chance, especially since i'd gotten this and the other stronghold mods and wanted to check them out. So the nearest stronghold was Dushnikh Yal, i go there, and im absolutely flabbergasted. The massive walled structures, the ramparts, the watch towers, everything looks absolutely gorgeous, and very much like somewhere a tribal people would live. Like dude, it felt like i was playing Shadow of Mordor again XD But seriously, this is probably the best settlement overhauls ive ever tried out, definitely 10/10 from me, and im looking forward to seeing the other strongholds in my game :D Cheers!
Hi buddy, wow thank you so much for the kind words and taking the time out of your day to write a detailed decription of your experience with this mod, i'm really grateful and happy you enjoy it!
i do think that Dush is probably the best one i've done, the others need some more tlc hopefully you like the others, however the other 3 have huge updates in the works, hopefully i can fix some of the issues with them before christmas :D thanks again.
I'm a fan of all orc stronghold mods. I haven't heard this kind of overhaul from you in a long time :) Is there anything you are thinking of or working on? Skyrim forts can especially benefit from your level design :)
Thank you very much. i am currently working on updatating the other 3 stronghold mods to improve upon the original designs and make tweaks for performance :)
The forts in skyrim are very much stuck in 2011 still, and they are indeed on my list "of might do".
Beautiful work here, I have a strong love for Orc Kind.
I have to ask, where can I get some of those Orc Hounds. I have inquired about them from another author but have yet received an answer. Please share them with us, thank you.
P.S. Have the bugs been fleshed out, is this safe to download (Hope I am not being rude in asking), I would like to add this to my order.
I'm not a big fan of how the overhaul for this stronghold turns it into this big sprawling stone fortress with all these additional small towers that extend into the surrounding area. I feel like it makes the longhouse behind the walls that the orcs live in look rather odd and out of place. Since it's strange that they've got such excessive defenses around the stronghold but still live in the same sort of ordinary longhouse that every other orc tribe does. I'd have probably liked this overhaul better if it wasn't for the various parts that extend outside the main wall around the stronghold.
Personally I prefer the simpler approach you took with your Largashbur and Narzulbur overhauls where the new walls around the strongholds didn't have excessive extra parts outside the main wall. Though that's just my own personal taste and I don't necessarily think you did a bad job with this new overhaul. Just that it's a bit too much for me.
I love both approaches. I wouldn't want all or most of the strongholds to be like this one, but I'm really glad that this one exists as it is in its own right. It's perfect for some tribes to feel more successful and to have more vast and expansive strongholds than others.
Thank you AtiopeApollonia :) that's the idea i had in mind, different tribes have acess to different amounts of rescources as well as different areas, like lack of trees or more stone etc, Dushnikh has multiple routes to get to it so i thought they'd have better defences etc it's nice to make them look different to each other.
I agree with Valmiria. Largashbur and Narzulbur both fortify their respective strongholds without disrupting their overall aesthetic, enhancing it rather than completely changing it and look quite different from each other without losing the "orc stronghold vibe". Dushnikh Yal, however, has too much stuff going on with all the towers, spikes and nirnroots. Since there are a limited number of assets you can use, a smaller and "sparser" approach fits better than something big and crowded, imo.
It's your project tho, and you should follow your own vision with the mods. I love the series and am looking forward to Mor Khazgur.
thanks for the feedback realisticdinosaur, as i wrote in the sticky, it's finished not perfect, i can see where you're coming from with it being "too much" i did get carried away, though i also wanted to try something different.
i will probably keep coming back to it and tweaking it by removing some things, i just had to call it done and upload it to stop me trying to "perfect" it.
"Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away" - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Personally I have nothing but praise for the new redesigned version. It does a really great job of making the stronghold look fortified and prosperous without losing the orc stronghold vibe. Also, the extra parts extending out beyond the main walls feel much less out of place now and better fleshed out with the other additional stuff added outside near them.
Based on your newer showcase shots, it seems your Strongholds series is compatible with 4thUnknown's Welwas and some other orc-related creatures as well? I've been wondering about the Welwas since you first shared these, so it was nice to see. Might want to add to the description's list of compatible mods, if so!
183 comments
1.5 is ESL lots of clutter was removed to make it ESL, Screenshots haven't been Updated.
Currently working on improving this mod for the next update, as i'm not completely happy with the end result. At the time of making this mod i was stuggling with life things and my focus and creativity wasn't feeling level, i spent lots of time making this but also getting frustrated with the design, eventually i became fed up with it and just wanted it "done" and released so i could go on to the next project.
Having said that i have returned back to this and will be working on it to tweak the design and fix some problems with it, the next version will look very different to this current one, yet still have some overall similarities.
2.0 is out.
Remade from scratch, similar design, yet more cohesive and less messy. important to make a clean install of this mod if you are updating mid game. and re run dyndolod if you use it.
2.0 Features a new design, similar layout to 1.5 however, much more cohesive thematically, and less messy design, i cut the legs off the orc awnings and made a custom orc awning roof, made the design work so much better, plus there's no messy navmesh areas, the towers can be accesed by the trap doors.
-grass patches might not be needed, i used the "no texture" land for most of the area, just looks a bit barren, which makes sense in the mountains.
cheers.
F A Q
Q - "Will you make an All in One of your stronghold series?"
A - No. it's too complicated, all 4 will be ESL so AIO won't be needed
Q - "Will you add quests to your Stronghold Mods?"
A - No, however i would like the Strongholds to be fleshed out, though i don't have the skills or energy to do it
Q - "Will you add High Poly heads to the added NPCs?"
A - No, i don't know how. someone else can make a patch if they want.
Q - "Will you be making patches for xyz Mod?"
A - No, if i run the mod in my game, then yes, if i don't then no i won't make any patches for random mods. Permission is granted to anyone who wishes to do so.
"<Warning: Plugin contains 1 deleted NavMeshes which can not be undeleted>"
A different modder told me before that deleted navmesh can sometimes cause ctd and the only one that can resolve that deleted navmesh is the author itself. So I hope it will be resolved because it does look great. But I'm currently not going to use it on any main playthrough due to possible ctd.
I have to add that your stone stairs navmesh might need improvement as well because the orc npcs can't follow me to the end of both stone stairs.
problem is dawnguard has a deleted navmesh, if i clean it manually like i did in previous versions, i get CTDs. so i left it deleted and had no problems so far.
EDIT : The stairs have been redone in version 2.0
i do think that Dush is probably the best one i've done, the others need some more tlc hopefully you like the others, however the other 3 have huge updates in the works, hopefully i can fix some of the issues with them before christmas :D thanks again.
I'm a fan of all orc stronghold mods. I haven't heard this kind of overhaul from you in a long time :) Is there anything you are thinking of or working on? Skyrim forts can especially benefit from your level design :)
Thank you very much. i am currently working on updatating the other 3 stronghold mods to improve upon the original designs and make tweaks for performance :)
The forts in skyrim are very much stuck in 2011 still, and they are indeed on my list "of might do".
Thanks again :)
do you mean for me to have a go at revamping the added strongholds in that mod you linked?
i guess it depends on permissions and wether the authour and myself would feel comfortable redoing the origional design :)
The doggies are from Welwas SE mod :)
Yes bugs are pretty much gone in this new version.
Personally I prefer the simpler approach you took with your Largashbur and Narzulbur overhauls where the new walls around the strongholds didn't have excessive extra parts outside the main wall. Though that's just my own personal taste and I don't necessarily think you did a bad job with this new overhaul. Just that it's a bit too much for me.
and nirnroots. Since there are a limited number of assets you can use, a smaller and "sparser" approach fits better than something big and crowded, imo.It's your project tho, and you should follow your own vision with the mods. I love the series and am looking forward to Mor Khazgur.
i will probably keep coming back to it and tweaking it by removing some things, i just had to call it done and upload it to stop me trying to "perfect" it.
"Perfection is achieved when there is nothing left to take away" - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry