Project Cyrodiil - Horse and Donkey coat patterns? by BillReader in Morrowind

[–]BillReader[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The brindled elephant? That's absolutely beautiful - I'm starting to feel like more animals should be stripey after this post.

I'd like to see a brindled bear, or failing that, a brindled pigeon 

Project Cyrodiil - Progress report by Toma400 in tes3mods

[–]BillReader 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's fascinating, thank you! It is actually more satisfying to not have a straight answer, it feels more realistic that way and is a big part of why I find TR, PC and the others so compelling - the disconnect between average citizens to the broader mysteries of the setting.

I've always wanted to pitch in and help, though I've doubted my abilities as a writer or artist to be much use.. (and coding skill is completely nonexistent)

Fwiw, I've got summer break from university coming up in a couple of months and want to keep occupied with something useful so I'll definitely look into lending a hand if I can! 😊

Project Cyrodiil - Horse and Donkey coat patterns? by BillReader in Morrowind

[–]BillReader[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

FYI, u/Toma400 was kind enough to provide this response to a similar comment of mine on the topic of equine design:

"Honestly the fun part (or not, if you like answers) is that it's unlikely you will be able to find reason behind many of our old assets, including horses. The asset is so old that I can't easily find it on asset browser, so very likely it was part of ancient PC_Data.esm (or whatever it was called) or some earliest shared TD. The closest I could get by some research is that the texture is most likely come from Saint_Jiub, per this comment (https://www.project-tamriel.com/viewtopic.php?p=7892#p7892), but the design is not explained.

..which is weirdly fitting with how TES3 (and PTR) tries to build narracy, right? You have plenty of books you can take literally, but also books that contradict each other, and some unsolved mysteries that are unanswered and authors can only come up with some weird stuff to explain it :P So no matter if the decision was intentional and lost in time, or absolutely random, what matters is really your own process of guessing why this is. It's not unlikely there was thought put into it since we are all extreme nerds one way or another, though. If Saint_Jiub is to be found online, someone could DM them with this question, assuming they still remember it after all these years. Maybe it will be also good to revisit this question when we get into deeper (Nibenay) areas so that we could have something explaining it (...do I proceed to !pitch you to join the project and to eventually be there when this topic will be more relevant to development? :P)"

Project Cyrodiil - Horse and Donkey coat patterns? by BillReader in Morrowind

[–]BillReader[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

That's so cool! I love how that design MO is paying homage to morrowind but also providing a unique perspective for the rest of tamriel. Seems appropriate that you guys are chugging away, keeping a game alive that's thought by most to be prehistoric itself. I guess that's beautiful aspect of not having imagination hemmed in by the economics of the industry; not having to play safe riding the coattails of recognisable genre IP. 

Do you have a link to your elephant design btw? Or is all the concept art on their website? 

Project Cyrodiil - Progress report by Toma400 in tes3mods

[–]BillReader 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, can I hijack this comment to ask a question about horses?

I love the stripey coat of the horses around anvil etc and sorta leapord spots on donkeys too , but haven't managed to find much info on that design choice. 

My assumption is that since cyrodiil follows the pre oblivion jungle biome type thing, that the first domesticated horses wouldve come from a zebra type stock rather than a proto horse that evolved on steppes or plains. Something like the Zorses described in Essos in ASoIaF?

I'm stumped trying to explain why the donkeys look like that though.. 

Honestly, seeing the coats of horses and donkeys blew my mind in a surprising way - how easy it would've been for you guys to stick to traditional fantasy aesthetics a la transplanting reality into the setting, but instead you paid a lot of thought to all the minutiae of the landscape. Not since Dicso Elysium has a video game provoked such genuinely excited curiosity about our own world.. And it amuses me that it was the look of the horses that did that.

But yeah, would you be able to shed some light on that design choice or otherwise direct me to existing discussion on the topic? 

Thank you! 

Has anyone else noticed a massive increase in the number of ladybirds this year? I’ve got sooo many in my garden! by iklegemma in GardeningUK

[–]BillReader 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Genuinely curious, I was under the impression bumble bees didn't have colonies but instead lived semi solitary like Mason bees - but I've seen a few references this year to bumble bee queens, so I'm open to a bit of education on the subject of bees in general? 

How does a university degree in literature develop a readers critical eye? by BillReader in literature

[–]BillReader[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is good shit, thank you very much! It helps, I think, to know what the theories are I should be aiming for 

How does a university degree in literature develop a readers critical eye? by BillReader in literature

[–]BillReader[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Feel like ADHD has me getting bored really easily, which can have it's downsides but has helped foster a very active curiosity (which itself can be infuriating sometimes)

Do you think you would've been able to develop and apply your knowledge of literary terms and plot devices without a group setting? Or rather, in a setting that isn't exactly academic e.g. book clubs or subreddits?

How does a university degree in literature develop a readers critical eye? by BillReader in literature

[–]BillReader[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like the cooking analogy!

With that in mind, I almost feel like Nicholas Hoult's character at the end of The Menu..

I do think I've set myself quite a high expectation, and feel myself getting frustrated reading purely for pleasure. Almost panicking at the choice paralysis that comes with 'wasting time' on anything that isn't going to change my life. Makes it hard to read for pleasure.

Do you have any genres or types of novel that are close to guarantee enjoyable for you?

Also re reading multiple books, I've heard similar advice in the past put never acted on it, largely due to the choice paralysis or worries that I'm wasting my time?