The incredibly ambition Skyrim mod Enderal: The Shards of Order is coming together nicely. A new trailer from the team shows off some of the progress they've made thus far.
Enderal is a total-conversion mod. It uses the same engine for Skyrim and was built with the official toolset but otherwise it's an entirely new game. The world and story are new. The team estimates it could occupy you for 30 to 150 hours.
"You, a fugitive from Nehrim, find yourself aboard a ship heading for Enderal," explains the mod's website. "Accompanied by strange circumstances, visions and dreams you get involved in a mystical conflict whose roots may be found in Enderal. All to soon this conflict rises to a phenomenon of global impact set rolling by the events on Nehrim. The remains of an ancient civilization long lost and forgotten that vanished mysteriously from the surface of Vyn are to be explored, the memories of the dead to be ventured. Enderals deepest wilderness needs to be roamed in search of salvation."
Players will be joined on their journey by two NPC's. You can talk to them to learn more about their personalities. They'll gain or lose sympathy for your character based on your decisions. Their attitude toward you will affect the story.
The tone of your long term relationship is dependent on the amount of sympathy you gain from your companions. What is more, the actual outcome of Enderal´s story and your options to choose from may be changed by the way you interact with them.
The team is also making some big changes to the gameplay. They describe Enderal as a mix between Elder Scrolls and Gothic
"Enderal will use Skyrim´s combat system in its basic terms. Other parts, such as the skill system are being changed and rebuilt completely. We will use an experience point system instead of Skyrim´s skill-based leveling system - By using experience points the player can be awarded for many different actions(decisions, exploring, combat, quests). So you really get to feel to the progress your character is making much more, it motivates constantly."
"By leveling up you gain learning points which you may use to train your abilities in exchange for money. (Costs do not increase with higher level, so you may save your learning points for later training). Skyrim´s skill trees are exchanged for class specific skill trees(disciplines) which will merge Skyrim's various skills into class specific bundles. "
The team behind Enderal also made the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion mod Nehrim: At Fate's Edge. Because they're working on this project in their spare time, it's tough for them to give a firm timeline for the mod's completion.
"We won´t name any dates until we are sure that we can fulfill the timetable. Instead we´ll inform you regularly about developments and the progress we´re making."
