Relto Pages and Linking Video

 In Uru, there are hidden items you can find called "Relto Pages." Once taken, these pages can be activated/deactivated to turn features on/off in Relto. Today I have successfully added this type of feature to Relto For Skyrim! I'll be using this for Skyrim-specific items for Relto. The easiest to obtain will be the crafting stations, since those are something most players want at their player homes (but they'll still have to find them!). I have lots of ideas for other Relto Pages, but I won't be listing any out here at this time so it doesn't spoil for anyone who wants to find them and be surprised.

Also, this isn't new, but here is a video to show Linking in action:

Happy Exploring!
Katelin

Overview

Introduction

Relto For Skyrim is a player home mod for Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is a tribute to Relto Island from Cyan Entertainment's Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. The premise is that the player owns a book that, when interacted with, acts as a portal that sends the player to an island home.

I am a huge fan of Uru, and I especially love the concept of Relto Island. I also love to play Skyrim, and for a long time I wished to roleplay my Uru persona in Skyrim. I felt that the closest way of doing that (aside from pure imagination) was to have access to Relto from Skyrim, so I decided to make a mod that does just that. By no means will it be an exact replica of Cyan's Relto Island; the final product will be a mix of my own interpretation of how my Relto would look, and what I am actually capable of producing from scratch and from what's available in the official Skyrim modding tools.

With Relto For Skyrim, players can roleplay that their Uru persona is now exploring Skyrim; maybe Yeesha requested it, maybe they wrote Nirn themselves, maybe they just found the linking book somewhere in D'ni. Alternatively, players can roleplay that their Skyrim persona discovered a mysterious book that takes them to an unknown, abandoned island in the sky.

Relto For Skyrim is a portable player home mod. The Relto linking book is carried in the inventory, so the player always has a teleport to their home island, which will contain all the amenities that a true Skyrim adventurer needs. However, in the spirit of exploration, many of the features will need to be discovered in the form of Relto pages, which can be found throughout Skyrim and other locations in the vanilla game.

Current State of the Mod

Relto For Skyrim is still in an early alpha state, meaning I won't even make it available for testing for quite some time. Everything currently in the mod may change drastically before it even reaches beta, so don't worry too much if something is not that good of quality yet or missing (but please feed free to give feedback/criticism/suggestions, because I may very well overlook things, and there are plenty of creative ideas that I won't think of on my own).

The following sections detail the current development stage of various aspects of the mod. 

Complete

These items are 100% complete and working as intended after testing. No other changes are planned or expected.

• None yet.

In Testing

These items are complete and working as intended for the most part, but changes are planned or expected as testing commences.

• None yet.

Incomplete

These items are still in development and have many changes planned before they are released for testing.

• Relto Island: the main landmass is in, but it will change drastically as I add more to the island. The areas with the most work done are the mountain/pool area and the docks. The mountain/pool area is coming along well. The dock area I am unsure what to do with to make it more interesting. There is one weird bug where giant squares of LOD water are loading in the distance behind the island (although it might not matter once I figure out how to add a fog under/around the island).
• Portable Relto linking book: currently, this teleports the player from their current location to the 0, 0 coordinates on Relto when the book is opened/read. It includes a linking sound, a fade to black when linking out, and a fade in from black when linking in. I might add a message box asking if the player wishes to link or not, but only if people tend to open it on accident. I might also add a script to save the player's current location when not in Relto, so that when the book is used in Relto the player is returned to that previous location instead of re-linking in Relto (the Black Books in the Dragonborn DLC have this function somewhere in their script). The portable Relto linking book is working wonderfully so far, but there are many scenarios yet to be tested; for example, I haven't yet tested to see if followers will link with the player or not.
• Static linking books: links between Relto and Skyrim are working great. I plan to retexture the book models and move their locations. I would like to place one Skyrim-to-Relto static linking book somewhere inconspicuous (as it is only intended to be used in case some issue arises with the portable Relto book, so that players can get their stuff from Relto without worrying about console commands). The Relto-to-Skyrim linking book is currently on a table at the docks, but I'll eventually move it to a pedestal, probably inside the Relto hut (once the hut is made).
• Firemarbles: firemarbles are textured with a color that matches the color of light they cast. Currently available colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and white. Firemarbles held by the player cast the correct color light, but the model loads at the player's feet rather than in the hand, so I will be looking into this to see how to fix it. Firemarbles that load with the world cast the correct color light, but when picked up and dropped they sometimes lose the light, although it seems to return upon reloading the area (this may be an issue with the Skyrim engine that I have no control over).
• Kadish butterflies: a Skyrim Monarch butterfly is retextured to resemble the Kadish butterflies in Uru. They can be captured for their wings for use in alchemy. I haven't decided yet on the four alchemy traits; currently they are Resist Magic and Fortify Heath/Magicka/Stamina. One suggested alchemy trait is Waterbreathing instead of Resist Magic. (Now that I'm typing this, I think maybe I should use mercantile/speech related effects.) Bethesda chose an interesting way to do their butterflies/moths. It seems that the Luna Moth model/texture is used as a base for the two butterflies, but the Monarch leaves off the tail on the live model but keeps it for the wings in the inventory. And for some reason, the texture is flipped upside-down on the live model. So, I think I'm going to re-do it and use the Blue Butterfly as the base texture, instead of the Monarch, and just let the Kadish butterfly have a tail.

Early Development

Some work has begun on these items, but they are still mostly conceptual. Significant changes are expected.

• Firemarble fabricator: a firemarble crafting device. The player places raw materials into a feed box. Specific recipes yield a corresponding color of firemarble, which can be taken from a product box. I am still working on the design, but it will consist mostly of existing Skyrim Dwemer items (I do quite like those animated gears). I am still determining what the recipes should be for each color of firemarble. I haven't yet looked into how to make a new type of crafting station (although I might be able to modify the Spider-Scroll crafting station from the Dragonborn DLC...boy that DLC is full of useful stuff :-D), so I'm sure I'll run into days of hair-pulling frustration once I do.
• Relto hut: I have created a basic model in Blender, but I am still learning how to texture it and export it to NifScope etc. to get it into the Creation Kit. I will need many chocolates before this is all over.

No Work Started

These items are concepts that are planned to be in the mod, but no work has begun yet.

• Catherine's robes: retexture an existing Skyrim robe model to resemble Catherine's robes. Still debating on potential enchantment/trait.
• Kadish robes: retexture an existing Skyrim robe model. Still debating on potential enchantment/trait (probably mercantile in nature).
•  Rivenese dagger: make a new model and texture for a dagger than can be used as a weapon. Still debating on potential enchantment/trait.
• Squabbie the pink Mudcrab (Quab) follower: retexture a Mudcrab to be pink and  set as an essential animal follower that can do a little bit of damage to enemies and carry some items for the player. I have successfully created this for fun in the past so I know I can recreate it. I'll probably make a standalone mod for Squabbie as well. If I am capable, I would like to one day make a an actual quab-like model.
• Custom Relto climate/sky: create a new climate and sky specifically for Relto. Day, night, and possibly rain; I want to keep it simple. It currently is using the Sovengarde climate.
• Fog/clouds and forced teleport:: keep the mystery of Relto by adding clouds/fog below/around the island so that the player cannot see below, and force a teleport back onto the island if trying to jump off.
• Hawks: add a couple of default Skyrim hawks circling in the sky. Maybe include a nest atop the mountain for anyone who can climb it.
• Firemarble lanterns: lanterns on Relto with firemarbles as light sources (new meshes/textures).
• Relto pages: Hide various Relto pages throughout Skyrim, Soltheim, etc. that add Tamriel-specific things to Relto. Best use would be for adding crafting areas (blacksmithing, enchanting, alchemy, maybe also the firemarble fabricator since it will be made of Dwemer items).
• Continued overall improvements to Relto: continue to add foliage, more finalized landscaping, static items, storage, etc. Add some of the "plantable" locations a la Hearthfire where you can plant flora to harvest. Add a more "liveable" area, probably below the Relto hut accessible via trapdoor, with beds, dressers, etc., with room for spouse, adopted children, and followers.

On Hold

These items were in a higher phase of development but have been put on hold indefinitely.

• None yet.

Scrapped

These items were in a higher phase of development but are no longer being considered for the mod.

• None yet.

Suggestions

Following are suggestions given for the mod which are up for consideration:

• Dwemer style boat at the Relto docks as a method of travel between Relto and Skyrim.
• Waterbreathing alchemy trait for Kadish Butterfly Wings.

Screenshots

Portable Relto linking book

Firemarbles

 

Firemarbles in inventory

Kadish Butterfly

Kadish Butterfly Wings in inventory

Mountain/pool area

Dock area

Squabbie! (old image, I have to re-make her)

Closing Thoughts

Updates and mod progress will be slow, but hopefully steady, as I do work a full-time job and adamantly refuse to miss out on daily exercise time (among other things), so this is entirely done with what little free time I have. However, I am quite determined to finish this mod, and so far I am loving working on it. I hope other Uru players who also play Skyrim will enjoy this, and I also hope that it can bring in some interest to Uru (and MOUL) from people who haven't played it before.

Again: suggestions, feedback, and criticisms are welcome and encouraged! And remember: "The ending has not yet been written."

Regards,
Katelin

Test Post

The Test Post

Test post so I can see how this blogging stuff works...

Figure 1: A large toad.

Toads are nice because:

1. They say "ribbit."
2. They allow me to test lists.

Yay for toads and test posts.

The End of the Test Post

Goodbye!