Murkwood Concept art

[Morsyth]

If it's going to be that tall it should be half sunken in the swamps or placed somewhere (in a valley) where it's not going to stick out on the Black Marsh skyline.
If these are to be full trees, it's gonna take a massive poly hit ingame and the tree will be so high that you'll be able to see it from Hammerfell!

Remember its a inhospitable swampland that survives on subsistence farming. This will have to be a stronghold where the surrounding settlements goto when there are wars.

[Rickious]

So the exterior is half the height, and the interior is effectively half sunken below ground level.

Im happy with that!

[Morsyth]

Sorry I edited my post there. Might need to confirm what we're agreeing on.

Tree stump? or Tree?
Looking at the renders I did before, same height but twice as deep on the inside?
with a tree inside?

[Rickious]

Right then, i say a swamp valley shrouded in mist this inside it. The outer ring is a ring of trees planted centuries ago and grown into one solid wall. The inner is the same but a smaller circle of trees.

[Morsyth]

Just remembered... There is in lore another landmass that broke off the Black Marshes, this could be a better place to host massive hist cities.

[Rickious]

Well, heres a plan of how a sunken valley, mist hiding this Argonian Santuary may look!



This works well for the 'Sanctuary during wartime' thing

[Morsyth]

Holy moly, you might wanna check this thread.

clicky

It supports your idea of a massive tree, in lore from Arena (i think that's TES2, pre morrowind) That is sitting right where Murkwood is.

anyway I've got a new render, might have to redo this depending on what is decided.

[Rickious]

Yep and that tree icon is bigger than the imperial city icon too... lol

Something we need to remember with this is we are creating the illusion of a ancient ring of trees with another inside. These will be large physically, but illusion is the operative word when it comes to poly count etc.

Barring people cheating, nobody will ever go up to the tree tops and the distance away lets us cheat to make them look vast. A flat alpha-channel texture or two, layered and blowing in the wind waaaay above your head, with a thick mist at ground level. Darkness shrouding the entire area (can we change the weather etc like when you go near an oblivion gate? but to a dark grey sky and foggy, but also have a perminant layer of fog too)

YOUR MODEL: but the inside and out side are all full size trees with no tops. Also the indide needs buttress roots too. If your thinking of re-modelling though could you try this...

• A solid rod for the inside, a thick tube for the outside. All the same height and just solid, smooth.
  
• Then create 1 buttress shape the height of the solid models but only thin and short (x and z axis)
  
• Copy this buttress shape around the central, and the outer, just randomise the distances a little like in my plan drawing. Also dont get the angles perfect, and make sure you inset these shaped into the main solids a little so there are no seams.
  
• Then extrude the entire angled edge of several buttresses from the bottom to make them different.
  
• Resize a few too x and y.
  
• feel free to bury a few a little further into the solid shapes so the buttress starts lower down the trunk.
  

ALTERNATELY I still think this is possible with the CS but still waiting on my DELL... At very least if youcan make 2-3 different buttress shapes, just the buttress and this can be used to make a solid circular wall into a line of tree roots. It can easily be resized and sunken in on CS too. Collision I cant remember.

what do you think? If you think this is workable i can do plan drawings for several buttress shapes (remembering that they extend underwater too.

[Morsyth]

We could do a massive tree, by making it in sections each section with a far and near model.

I know my model isn't right, I'd just finished it then saw that pic of the big tree.
Looks like I'm starting from scratch.
I'm not going to model it off the Imperial City, I'll just make it and scale to suit.

I'll use the Arena tree pic as a guide. lol.

[Rickious]

Ok but that effectively scraps my idea of the tree-fortress... but so long as the Black Marsh core all agree. Think we need their opinion before spending more time. :goodjob:


Oh and Morsyth, looking at that last design, particularly in the light grey shades. Skyrim ice fortress? :bananarock: