Oblivionauts Release Plan

Release Plan:

The Oblivionauts v1.0 release is going to be staggered through a separation into two parts: the Foundation Release, and the Citadel Release.

The first part of the v1.0 release is planned for completion in May-April. Hopefully it will be complete in May, but I am setting mid-April as the expected release time because software always takes longer to make than expected. More info on a specific release date will be given when it is available.

Foundation Release:

The Foundation Release (v0.5) will include everything required for modders to create maps for Oblivionauts. It will feature a hub, from which the player can travel to other realms of Oblivion by choosing a map from a list. At the hub you can heal, rest, trade and upgrade your equipment, as well as interact with the characters in that hub. The hub will include some pre-written and voice-acted characters that help you progress your character and travel to other realms. A unique background story is included, but you will not be required to learn about or participate in it to use the features of Oblivionauts. The primary goal of the Foundation Release and its hub is not to tell a story and quest, but rather to provide provide a way for modders to make their own without worrying about conflicts and incompatibilities with vanilla Skyrim or other mods.

Citadel Release:

The Citadel Release (v1.0) will be the release of the first complete Realm for Oblivionauts. It will include a new Worldspace for you to explore and vanquish. I don't want to reveal too many details or plans for the Citadel yet. However, we will post an update when we are ready to reveal our designs for the map.

Current Progress:

Currently, the Foundation Release is about 1/3 - 1/2 complete. Before this ModDB page was created, most of our work was conceptual and primarily included drawing up designs and plans. Since the creation of the ModDB page, the more visual work in the Creation Kit has been the center of focus.

Scheduled family visits have taken place on my weekends during the past two weeks, and my work hours have been irregular, keeping me from modding as much as I would like. However, it appears as if I will be able to get back on track in the following weeks.

How to help:

In previous articles I told you to apply on the forums to join the team. I am going write a news article soon detailing changes for the contribution system soon. The article will show you how you can actively contribute to the project with art, designs, and level-designing through the Creation Kit without committing to the project. The biggest barrier to people interested in helping with a project is the committal which they have to make to the team. I want to avoid that need to commit, so I am working on setting up a system that makes our project open-source. This will make Oblivionauts more accessible to modders who wish to contribute their work and time to Oblivionauts without having to officially become part of the team. Details will come soon, so read the following section on how to stay tuned if you want to be updated.

Stay Tuned!

Watch our ModDB page!

Follow me on Twitter!

PCGamer Writes About Oblivionauts!

PCGamer has released an article featuring Oblivionauts and our ModDB page! Be sure to check it out and give your input!

Modders Wanted for Oblivionauts!

In order to create Oblivionauts, our team needs help from you and the Skyrim modding community. If you want to join our team, or know of someone you think would be of help to us, then please read below for more information.

Positions:

• Level-Designers: Current members of the Oblivionauts team are capable of level-creation but do not have the experience that is needed for this project. To create the Realms, we are in need of level-designers who can create Interiors or Worldspaces. Experience in the creation of either one will help us, but a Worldspace designer will be needed for the Realms. Level-designers will work with the artists and story-designers to create the maps, and integrate their details. Dearthwit Spire and the Citadel's (read the Release Plan section of the mod's description) maps, characters, and stories have already been largely designed, but their locations have not been created.
• Artists: Concept artists are of great value to a project like this. They allow writers and story designers to put their ideas into a visual format, and help level-designers implement them into the game.
• Modelers: Like artists, modelers are of great value. New meshes and textures add fresh content to the world that makes it feel unique to the player.

In the future, we may also have positions available for voice-actors, quest-designers, and scripters. We are not quite at the stage where we are ready to recruit those types of moddders yet. When we are, then we will post a news update.

 Apply:

When applying, please provide us with examples of previous work (mods, art, team projects, etc.), your contact information, and some basic information about yourself and your skills.  Level-designers need to have experience with the Creation Kit and example mods to show us.

To apply, please post in our ModDB forums.

If you do not feel like you are qualified or do not have the time to help us directly, then please feel free to suggest modders for us to ask to join our team. If we know of a great modder that we would like to have on our team, then we will invite them. We know that modders have their own projects and ambitions, though, so we will do our best to not pester good modders or interfere with their own plans. 

If we like your work and if you seem like a nice person, then we will send you an invitation to become a member of our wiki. This will allow you to see the hidden development section of our wiki, and to post in the development forum. Because of this, you must make sure to provide us with your e-mail address.

Feel free to apply, ask for more information, or suggest modders. We look forward to working with you and with the community to create Oblivionauts. :-)