(WIP) Draenei SSE

[Trykz]

So I made this Warcraft race mod for Skyrim LE initially, and

since I need to delay Angels and Demons until I can sort

the wing animations, I figured I'd refresh and update this for SSE

in the meantime.

 

 

The LE version was pretty basic. So this time

around I'll be looking into conjoining the lores

of both Warcraft and Elder Scrolls in some

manner or another. I'm thinking I could "borrow"

some Dwemer tech to help in that department ?

 

 

I also want to give this race a lot of diversity.

That said, I'm thinking I may build a few secondary

plugins that offer differing playstyle capabilities.

IE: Mage, rogue, warrior, with stats, spells, perks, and

abilities that enhance their corresponding classes.

 

 

The race currently has a vampire counterpart, which

I plan to remove because it interferes with the Warcraft

side of the race's lore. In it's place, I'll be adding a second

race from Warcraft lore, the Man'ari. You can read

more about them here. The tl;dr version of that page

is, they're corrupted Draenei.

 

So that's the general plan.....

 

Trykz

[TRX_Trixter]

Wery interesting character. She looks really beautifull. 

[Downlos]

love the idea, though how you implement the idea for rogues intrigues me, considering in WoW, they can't be rogues waiting to see what you come up with.

[Trykz]

7 hours ago, Downlos said:

love the idea, though how you implement the idea for rogues intrigues me, considering in WoW, they can't be rogues waiting to see what you come up with.

That's the thing about lore from two sources converging in one place:

 

the typical rules don't necessarily apply ?

 

Trykz

[Downlos]

True. (Waiting for mod in Corner)

[Trykz]

So now that the Draenei vampire counterpart has

been removed, here's what will take their place:

 

The Man'ari

 

 

 

 

 

These demonic Draenei are born vampires as well.

Though they are NOT related to Nirn's vampires in any

way, their vampirism is a trait they elected to adopt AFTER

their arrival in Mundus. Therefore, they ARE capable

of any and all of Nirn's vampiric capabilities.

 

They also have one more trick. Which I'll reveal

a bit further into development.

 

That said, I made a few structural changes to

the Draenei. The original rendition of the race

had blue tinted textures for the head, hands, body, and

hooves. Those were removed in lieu of base CBBE

textures. All this means is that RaceMenu now

handles skintone. That said, I was quite pleased

with the results:

 

 

 

 

I have a bit of smoothing work to do on the

normal map for the hooves so they transition

to the body better. They currently don't look too

odd, but I'm sure I can make them better.

 

What you see in these shots is essentially

the VERY basic foundations for these two races.

Once I finish the finishing touches, I'll be

converting the plug-in to a master file (.esm)

and start building the plug-ins for their

respective classes, which will contain their

perks, spells, and various class related abilities.

 

Trykz

[dark2121]

Looks amazing! But can u add option with little longer hooves ?) And what about face tentacles ?)

[Trykz]

4 hours ago, dark2121 said:

Looks amazing! But can u add option with little longer hooves ?) And what about face tentacles ?)

The hoof meshes are what they are. And I wouldn't even want to begin trying to alter them for a change that would likely cause even more required work if they don't fit the legs properly (like even further edits to their custom skeletons). As for the tentacles, I'll look into the permissions on them. I believe they're open source resource files, so I'll have a look.

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

So yes......

 

it seems the face tentacles were an open resource

for the LE Skyrim version. So after a little optimization

for use in SSE, here is the result:

 

 

While I like the look (especially with these textures), they

are a static mesh that when at idle, clip well into the character

torso. Also, the horns part of the mesh is somewhat different.

So I'm thinking I may separate the horns from the mesh, and

reconfigure the tentacles as a separate, additional head part.

 

Doing so should allow me to adjust their position

on the head without making changes to the horns. If

I can rotate them slightly, I may be able to eliminate

the clipping into the body. We'll see.....

 

Trykz

[Bloodtempests]

Keep up the good work i cant wait to play as a draenei on special edition

[Trykz]

While the following isn't really my thing, it's

always nice to know of potential add-ons that

enhance my races and add new functionality.

 

So before opening the spoiler below, know that

the screenshots within are VERY NSFW, probably

not for everyone, and are NOT

a part of this race mod.

 

So consider yourself DULY WARNED ?:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

I have to say, I wasn't sure it would even work.

But there it is. And YES, it is FULLY functional.

ALL SOS options, hotkeys, AND RaceMenu functions

worked flawlessly.

 

 

So there it is for those who were wondering ?

 

I have a few more things to polish up in

their spells and abilities, after which I'm considering

releasing the base version of the race, which will

be magic based. The other, class focused add-ons will

add and remove spells, abilities, and perks to focus

them on other class archetypes, which I can release as

I finish them. I also still need to do the texture work I

mentioned earlier.

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

So after a little re-scaling and re-positioning, I

was able to eliminate "almost" all of the clipping

between the face tentacles and body:

 

 

 

After reducing the scale, I re-positioned them slightly

higher on the face to give them some separation.

The only thing I found mildly upsetting, was that no

matter what I tried (and I tried everything), there was

simply no way of getting them to use skin tones.

 

So rather than fight with it and risk breaking

everything, I settled on matching them to the

horns. Which got me thinking, perhaps I should

do the same with the tail. I'll give it a look a bit later.

 

For now, It's errand time ?

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

So I just finished working on the hooves

and their textures. The transition of the hoof

texture to the lower leg is much less pronounced

and is much smoother in appearance:

 

 

 

This was achieved by creating a new

diffuse texture just for the hooves using

a color sample from the body texture. I

also re-created the hooves in BodySlide using

the base CBBE body as the reference to 

reduce the size of the area above the ankle.

 

With that out of the way, I can now

put more focus into the base abilities.

The base for both races will be magic

focused. Once I finish that, I'll be working

on the add on plugins that will remove

their magic focus, and add alternative class

based stats, abilities, perks, etc..

 

If all goes according to plan, I should

be able to release the base mod this weekend.

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

Welcome to the Aetherium Breach

 

 

The Aetherium Breach is the point of convergence 

through which a fragment of the Draenei homeworld

of Argus entered into Mundus.

 

 

The scene of a blood soaked battle between the Draenei and

their demonic brethren, the Man'ari, none can explain why

the breach opened and ripped this particular chunk of Argus

through space and time. Some scholars theorize that it may have

something to do with the rich veins of Aetherium that run throughout

it's bedrock, and the fact that this same magical mineral

can be found in rare quantities around Tamriel:

 

 

Upon finding it's place in the cosmos, the breach now hovers

high above Lake Ilinalta. Beneath the husk of the very

time rip through which it entered, which now lies completely

dormant, the Man'ari jumped from the floating islands into Lake Ilinalta

rather than face certain defeat at the hands of the vastly greater

numbers of Draenei with whom they passed through the breach.

 

 

 

No one knows to where the Man'ari scattered. Only that their sworn

animosity toward all Draenei deems their eventual return inevitable.

Crafting tools, armors, and weapons from the very Aetherium

beneath their feet, the Draenei began building this grand, floating isle

in the sky, into a home worth defending.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Built from this abandoned mod's foundation, it struck me as a perfect

location for a Draenei town, while simultaneously giving me a

great convergence point between these races and Tamriel.

As I was adding and changing assets, the story pretty

much wrote itself as I worked.

 

This part of the mod is a separate add-on, to which

I'll be adding Draenei NPCs for the inn, castle, and

blacksmith. I'm also thinking about adding actual aetherium

items and recipes to make use of the forge. I can

use the two unused underground areas already on the island

to place some new, re-spawning aetherium veins.

 

While testing the changes and additions I made, I noticed

that NPCs from this mod found their way onto the island

through the portal. I don't plan on changing that, because

I felt that their presence went a long way toward making the

island feel like a valid part of the environment.

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

Sorry I didn't mention this before, but

yes, there ARE male Draenei AND Man'ari

included in these races.....

 

 

 

As is painfully obvious, I have some work to do on

their hooves as well. I'll try to get it all done in time for

the weekend, but no guarantees. I suspect I'll likely end

up doing the same thing I did for the females, and just

scrap the pre-tinted textures and let RaceMenu handle

the skin tones. The end result is simply MUCH better.

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

While I had hoped to get this out this weekend, once

again, work interferes sporadically with my entire weekend.

I did manage however, to get quite a bit done on this.

 

I was able to significantly improve the hooves for

males AND females, AND convert the hoof armors

I made for the LE version to SE. However, I have not

yet updated them for SE BodySlide. So expect a bit of

clipping until I get around to that. I also merged the

hoof armors into the Aetherium Breach add-on.

 

 

Speaking of Aetherium:

 

I also managed to create and add a number of

custom mining nodes to collect this rare resource

both on and IN the Breach. A few are scattered about

the Breach exterior, while the remainder can be found

WITHIN the Breach's mine:

 

 

The majority of the nodes are inside the mine:

 

 

and yield Aetherium Ore:

 

 

Which is then smelted into these:

 

 

While they serve no purpose yet, they WILL

be a required material for armor and enchantments

in the future. But the foundation is there and

fully functional.

 

While I'm at it, it did not go unnoticed

that the earlier shots of the Breach are a

bit dark thanks to my ENB. So here are

a couple more shots of the island during

daylight hours:

 

 

Other than the mine, the island's remaining

interiors are currently inaccessible until I finish

building them. Since the races are a separate mod

which the Breach depends on, I'll be able to

update the Breach add-on without any effect

on the races. Meaning updates to the Breach should

have no negative effect on a current play-through.

 

The Breach is arguably the MOST important piece

of this overall. I'll be adding MANY NPCs to both the

exterior AND interior spaces. While the Breach is

pretty specific to the Draenei race, I'm in the

process of planning out an entirely separate add-on

specific to the Man'ari.

 

Though this weekend's planned release for this was

a bust, NEXT weekend is certainly do-able.

 

So watch this space......

 

Trykz

[walkingfree2020]

hey again tryks. glad to see you working on this mod. i had a discord friend load up a draenei pic and it got me curious about porting a draenei mod. i have one partial success and i was about to test the le version of this i had until i seen this pop up in my searches. i successfully did a port of the tera castanic race minus 2 very small tweeks that will need some minor attention but have no affect on actual play. once i figure out how to fix those couple minor things it'll be solid. i'll be watching and waiting to see how this goes^^b. still a huge supporter of the coldharbour mod too

[Trykz]

So it seems the Man'ari have been busy since

jumping from the Breach and scattering into the

wilderness. Capable wizards and mages, they've

apparently devised some manner of using the magical

properties of Aetherium to open a one-way portal to

Argus, through which they somehow pulled yet another

piece of their homeworld.....

 

 

Divines can only begin to imagine what other horrors

they might be able to summon from that dead world.

 

Stay tuned......

 

Trykz

[Pristbeast]

I was about to start a new Skyrim playthrough the other day. But I guess it can wait few more days.^^
Really looking forward to this.

[Trykz]

So at this point, I have the basic foundation of the

Argunite Portal island complete (Argunite being what the

Draenei and Man'ari call Aetherium).....

 

 

I have a few more additions to make, but most

everything I want on the surface is there. I plan on

placing another Aetherium mine at this location

as well. The Draenei and Man'ari factions are in also

in place, and set as enemies to each other. These

factions will also be applied to the player through an

added perk when the plugin is loaded.....

 

 

Like the Aetherium Breach, the Portal Island will have a

small home for the player's use. I don't plan on making either

home available until BOTH islands are complete and fully

functional. The inns on both islands can be used temporarily

by the player until that time.

 

 

The overall mod will be released as follows:

 

The base mod/master file will be released this weekend

(barring any RL or technical issues) along with The Aetherium

Breach plugin. The two files will make up the entirety of the overall

mod, with the Aetherium Breach plugin being used as the only

file to be altered by future updates. So I STRONGLY advise against

making ANY modifications to the plugin, as any changes will

get wiped with each update I make.

 

Anyone wishing to create anything for this mod, should

do so in a NEW plugin based on the Master File containing

two races. At this point, I'm considering cancelling the class

plugin idea. Given the way Skyrim is built, with it's class system

being readily accessible to any race, it's beginning to make

less sense to me to "pre-build" class specific plugins.

 

As stated above, I'm currently still on track to release this

over this coming weekend. I'm shooting for Friday

evening, depending on what I have left to do by that time.

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

So a slow day of work really helped with pushing this

forward. I'm by no means done, but I am a lot further than

I would have been on any normal work day. I spent the better

part of it navmeshing the Man'ari Portal island. All seems to

working as intended since this guy managed to make his

way up through the teleporter:

 

 

The navmesh was the majority of the work (six hours) I

needed to finish before release, so with it out of the way, I

can now concentrate on polishing things up, and adding

the appropriate faction to the player at startup, depending

on which race they choose to play. Keep in mind

that these races are sworn enemies, and opposing NPCs

will think nothing of killing you on sight. While not

essential, they ARE leveled AND "protected". Meaning that

ONLY the player can kill them. I went this route because I

eventually want to add NPC battles between them

scattered around Tamriel.

 

 

Again, while the inns on both islands can currently be

entered and explored, they are NOT yet fully functional. They

WILL respawn until I add the innkeepers, barmaids, patrons, and

other various NPCs in future updates. For the time being, I

would suggest NOT using them for anything but sleeping.

 

That's it for now......

 

Trykz

[Trykz]

And the final touch is now in place:

 

 

This is the entrance to the Aetherium (Argunite) mine on the

Portal island. The mine, like the Aetherium mine

at the Aetherium Breach, also has a secondary entrance

inside of the island's inn. These entrances are in place for direct

access to the mines for the npc miners I intend to add later, from

their quarters in the inn basements.

 

That said, I'm pretty much finished with what I initially

want to release. The plan at the moment, is to run both of

my test characters through both islands to insure everything

is working as intended, and that I didn't forget anything.

Their racial resistances are in place, and applied at character

creation as intended, and also serve to add the player to

their proper faction. I'll also need to test the opposing

faction reactions to the PC of each opposing races' NPCs.

 

Once that's done, I'll package everything up and add

it to the downloads section sometime after work

tomorrow evening.

 

On that note, I want to touch on one last issue:

 

I WILL NOT support any alterations to the body or skeletons

used in this mod. BOTH are fully compatible with both RaceMenu

AND SOS. The skeletons are HIGHLY modified to give the proper

proportions to everything, such as the hooves and tails. Nearly

everything is adjustable in RaceMenu, including the scale and length

of their tails. Given these factors, I CANNOT assume any support

to anyone tampering with the mod in ANY way.

 

Use it as it is, or sort any issues that arise from tampering

on your own. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this. Ever.

The body is CBBE, and fully compatible with BodySlide, and

I will be adding the BodySlide files to the mod for the purpose

of reshaping the body to your preferred shape, and for

fitting armors and the like.

 

Trykz

[chevalierx]

we will never get this mod ........... until 2300

[Fedora86]

This looks amazing!  Unfortunately I run UNP so I can't play with this until I've finished my current playthroughs. But I'll be keeping track with anticipation.

[Trykz]

5 hours ago, chevalierx said:

we will never get this mod ........... until 2300

22:59 maybe..... literally just got in from work. Yesterday's "easy day" came with an unforeseen cost..... a loooooong day today. ?

3 hours ago, Fedora86 said:

This looks amazing!  Unfortunately I run UNP so I can't play with this until I've finished my current playthroughs. But I'll be keeping track with anticipation.

No worries. It'll be here waiting when you're ready ?

 

Trykz