Denina's Morrowind Forums

[Denina]

Erengard Mines by Graphite

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AUTHOR'S DESCRIPTION:

For quite some time I've been rather annoyed at the fact that there were hardly any legal ways to earn money other than going out and killing monsters for their loot. Therefore I decided to try build a mod that would allow the player to run a single mine, buying equipment, hiring miners, providing food and drinks, hiring guards and building installations.

The results of these efforts are what you see here... the Erengard mines.

[Denina]

This review is based on long-standing use and not a one-time test. I've had it in my games for quite some time now.

CONCEPT: Excellent. Why shouldn't a person be able to invest money into a business and make it operational?

LORE ACCURACY: Excellent. Nothing here that fluffs with lore. It's a diamond mine set on the hillside of the rocky, lava-ravaged ravine in the Bitter Coast between Seyda Neen and Hla Oad. Given that the area had been decimated by lava, it's quite possible that precious stones like diamonds could have formed there...that is, if you want to take geology into account too.

DESIGN: Very good. You can tell by playing the mod that the author thought things out and scripted accordingly. Without giving too much away, you basically go through all the steps of operating a mine, from first acquiring ownership to achieving a prosperous business that would make even the greediest Hlaalu green with envy.

ATTENTION TO DETAIL: Excellent. The author achieved say almost flawless is because there are one or two typographical errors in the dialogue. That's it. And I just went into the CS and fixed those myself to achieve a flawless mod.

Graphite took several things in account: Acquisition of the mine, employees: miners, guards, foreman; employee accommodations (a meal provided each day, bedrolls, picks, etc.), morale of the workers; possibility of theft, the possibility that some owners want to just come collect the profits and leave again and let the foreman handle the day-to-day details or the player can do that...and even potential dangers of working in the mine.

TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT: Excellent. The scripting for this mod works flawlessly with no hits to frame rate and has several scripts that work together. There is also that part of the mod operates similar to how the strongholds are built in that things sort of happen in stages. If you have one employee, the accommodations show up only for 1 employee. If you hire two more, then there's accommodations for the two more, etc. While it's not exactly the same as how the strongholds are built, the process reminded me of that and I thought the technicality of that alone was well-done. The mod author clearly understands the scripting of the game and achieved a business mod that worked very well.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

This mod is one of my favorites. There are several things that I would change according to personal preference as well as to enhance this mod but I lack the modding know-how and patience to achieve those things. But on its own as Graphite made it, it's a great mod. Its simple design and straightforward process is part of its charm. While a player really does not need more ways to earn money in game, this provides an alternative for those people who roleplay characters who are not going to wade headlong into a daedric ruin to slaughter the residents for their incredibly expensive weapons. It's also perfect for those Hlaalu characters who like seeing to business.

For me, this mod is a must have even if I have a character who isn't inclined to own/run a business. I just think it fits in with the game, especially in the vicinity of the mine, very well.

I'm just sorry that Graphite no longer seems to be part of the community. I would have liked to tell him just how much I enjoy his mod. I hope maybe someday he comes back, but after all this time...well, it doesn't seem likely.

[Graphite]

I'm surprised your review didn't mention how unbalanced the mod technically was. The only way to make the place remotely profitable was by spending so much money it'd take you ages to earn it back. I really should've spent a bit more time balancing that part

As for your final remark. I doubt I'll be returning to the morrowind modding community. Real life, other games and other online activities are now competing for my attention, which gives me little time to create content for a game I haven't played in ages (though I really should install it some time... see how good my muscle-memory is as I've played it for ages). Though I released only a few mods, I'm content with how those came out atleast. It's only a pity I didn't end up finishing a few more concept I made, as I still had some interesting things to show to the world.

[Denina]

I actually never thought about how balanced/unbalanced it is. I just enjoyed playing it.

I am sorry to read that you won't be sticking around the community, but I am glad that you made an appearance, no matter how temporary.

[Drac]

Indeed... talented modders are in short supply, there seem to be rather fewer of late.

[WolfHawk]

I tried this one time and broke it. I took the money out of the cash box. After that I couldn't put any money back in and the mines never progressed.

[Arakhor]

You probably encountered a rare glitch, Wolfhawk, where a script error generates too much money in the chest and then breaks if you take it all. That happened to me once and I just put it all back and left the hut alone for three days, which of course reset the place.