Alex: Hello and welcome to GamersGround TV. I am Alex and today I'm talking to the developers Nico and Johannes.
Both of them work at SureAI, a German modding team which develops mods and mainly total conversions for the Bethesda games Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
They are currently developing "Enderal - The Shards of Order", their total conversion for Skyrim. Nico and Johannes are going to introduce themselves first,
telling you what their job is in the team. Nico - go ahead.
Nico: Hello, I am Nico. I've been with SureAI for almost two years, and my responsibilities are mainly writing dialogues and story,
public work, speaker coordination, level design, music and a bit of 3D modeling, too.
milestone units, organizing milestones and determining what has to be ready on which time, for others to finish their work. I make sure,
our work and structures support each other, so we can make progress. Furthermore, my job is level design, balancing and rough gameplay mechanics,
including experience points and other new systems in Enderal.
Alex: 
That's quite a lot - you sound like quite the busy bee!
In case you've never heard of Enderal before, we're going to explain it in a nutshell. Is it a complete game? Or just a total conversion?
And what exactly is a total conversion, what should you know about Enderal - The Shards of Order in specific?
Johannes: I'll first explain what a total conversion is because I've met a lot of gamers who have never heard of this term.
A total conversion is a complete transformation of the game, you could say we're developing a new game and a new world
	with new gameplay mechanics with the engine of Skyrim. This means, we're not expanding Skyrim with new features, like implementing quest xy or a new armor set
but we really create a new, independent game.
Alex: We spoke of total conversions, but how do you get into this game? Is there some sort of special mood or feeling, which characterizes this game
when you start it? Maybe something you should know of, that happened in the predecessor "Nehrim - At Fate's Edge"?
Nico: Enderal's story is based on Nehrim's plot. The events in Enderal o
ccur about 2.5 years after Nehrim.
After the ending of Nehrim, the world fell - for different reasons - into some sort of chaos. Especially on the small and isolated continent Enderal
strange things are happening. Humans of all age and gender are losing their mind collectively. They become violent and run amok, but nobody knows what's behind this madness.
The player is dragged into this scenario by, let me say, extraordinary circumstances. In the end he finds out what's the reason of these incidents.
Alex: And what are the differences to Skyrim? Because the vast majority of the players interested in Enderal most likely played Skyrim,  
it might even be their first Elder Scrolls, so they cannot know the predecessors, which will surely be related to Enderal. What should I know of them before I start the game?
Johannes: The main difference to Skyrim is the larger focus on story. This is rather seldom in Open-World games because 
Open-World games, especially Elder Scrolls, tend to offer the highest number of playing styles possible - as a result every player can identify himself with his character.
That was the reason for Skyrim's plot being rather flat. We believe that it is possible to write a more staged and complex story 
without taking away the player's identification with his character. In addition we remove the 'learning-by-doing'-system we know from Skyrim.
This means, you don't increase your skills by using them, but you achieve your progress through an "oldschool" Experience-Point-System.
The player gets EP by completing quests or defeating enemies which can be invested to enhance your character.
Furthermore Enderal will have a greater variety of climate zones. There are heathlands, deserts and green forests; as a result you're less fixated on Skyrim's Nordic setting.
Therefore we created aplenty of models for making this look possible.
Alex: This sounds like a whole bunch of important gameplay changes to Skyrim and that is great! We started a call at the community in your forum 
to tell me all their questions for this interview. And here are the results, starting with questions to miscellaneous things.
Afterwards we talk about the main topic, the skill and talent system in Enderal which is quite different to Skyrim's. First question:
'Will there be children in Enderal?'
Nico: Of course there will be children. It would be quite strange, if we didn't use that resource, right? Actually there will be 1-2 major quests with a child playing an important role.  Besides that, we don't wanna talk about this any further.
There are some games, you have to complete multiple times for seeing everything, for example 'The Witcher 2'
Alex: 'Will Enderal feature such groundbreaking decisions for the player, so that you have to play the game again? Or will the decisions be in smaller scale?'
We definitely listened to the critics about Nehrim. In any case, there will be more decisions and it will be rewarding for you to play the game again.
Nico: Certainly, The Witcher is an extreme example, because the decisions were absolutely groundbreaking. Based on lacking man power, we cannot afford such a thing.
As you will understand, designing two different stories is a massive amount of work. But there will be more decisions, and important decisions, mainly at the end.
Alex: The gameworld is essential for the game. You spoke of creating an Open-World game, so will Enderal be really Open-World or are there some areas, which are only accessible later in the game?
Johannes: The gameworld will be Open-World from the beginning, meaning that you can enter any city or area. This is a great difference to Nehrim
because two of three cities were only accessible after completing certain parts of the main quest. Even a whole region, the South Realm, could only be entered in the last third of Nehrim.
Something like that won't happen in Enderal. You could theoretically explore the whole world without even starting the main quest.
Nico: However, it will be dangerous for a level one character to explore the high level content. But it will be possible, maybe with some sneaking. Really depends on the player.
Alex: After confirming that you build an Open-World, this world will surely be quite large. Although, you don't like fast travel systems with a 'click&there' mechanic like in Skyrim.
How do you get fast forward? Is there a teleport or a carriage service?
Nico: Of course there is an alternative travelling system. Instead of fast traveling via clicks on the map, we offer two new methods of travelling.
First, there are huge tamed predator-like birds, called Myriads. You can travel on their back from tower to tower, with several towers all over the map.
Secound, you'll learn a teleport spell later in the game. With this spell, you can travel even faster from point to point, because the network is tighter than the Myriads or the teleports in Nehrim.
Alex: As Enderal seems well connected, will there be some sort of trading system, which is affected by demand and supply, like buying iron in a miner's town 
As Enderal seems well connected, will there be some sort of trading system, which is affected by demand and supply, like buying iron in a miner's town 
Johannes: If we would intend such trade by a quest, then it would be possible to sell the iron with profit.
In general, there are restrictions in the normal trading menu making different prices in different locations not possible, because the trading system is hardcoded.
But except the cases we want the player to make a profit with trading via a quest, like your iron example or a city under siege, which gets delivered by you with food, 
we do not intend to implement different price lists.
Alex: What about the visuals and the sound? Will you recreate all graphics and textures or will you recycle most of the textures, like in Nehrim?
Johannes: What about the visuals and the sound? Will you recreate all graphics and textures or will you recycle most of the textures, like in Nehrim?
In Oblivion we were able to recycle most of the textures because the settings were quite similar.  But building a town with Skyrim's Nordic texture would result in a Viking town.
We try to avoid that, this is why Enderal uses a vast greater number of new textures and meshes than Nehrim.
On the other hand, there is not much sense giving a new texture to any fern or leaf, so we recycle some of the textures and meshes.
But the majority of the textures and meshes are new ones, I estimate their ratio about 60%.
Alex: Time for another community question! 'How do you intend to sell Enderal - via Steam Greenlight or another Indie-Game portal?'
Johannes: Unfortunately, we cannot sell Enderal at all. This is why we're not programming an Indie-Game, which is completely independent,
but Enderal bases still on the Creation Engine and is therefore judicially viewed a mod.
Alex: Couldn't you alternatively use at least the Steam Workshop as download portal for Enderal - The shards of order?
Nico: The Workshop will most likely not work due to its technical limitations. Enderal is simply spoken just too 'big'.
But we'll code a special launcher which makes it easy to install, play and update the game.
Alex: Do you change the interface as well? SkyUI is still one of the most popular Skyrim Mods, which improves the very console-like interface of Skyrim. 
Johannes: We utilize modifications and optimizations for Skyrims' interfaces. Our community suggested very often to adapt the interface to a fantasy setting,
because many players found Skyrims' interface too futuristic. This is one of the points, which is on a 'nice-to-have' list,
as we have to keep free some features, we want to integrate, but can cancel to react on delays in production. Sadly, we are no company and are dependent on our staff.
Plus, it might happen that our employees have no time for Enderal anymore due to private reasons. A lost member simply cannot be replaced immediately. 
Hence we need some features, that we can cancel to produce Enderal with its core features still in time. To the point 
we want to integrate a better UI, but it depends on how well Enderal is progressing during the next months.
Alex: Another point that's really important for the community: Skyrim has often been criticized for the fact that its quests had some sort of navigation system.
There was an arrow showing you exactly where to go. Will you do the same in Enderal or has the player to read and find his own way, like in Morrowind?
Johannes: You cannot answer this question generally, because a part of our NPCs have randomized daily routines. As a result, they might be in different places every day. 
But if you visit a NPC during a quest, you'll have to know his approximately position. When you have no chance knowing where a NPC is, there will be a quest marker. 
However, the quest marker aren't going to be used as inflationary as in Skyrim.
Alex: In Skyrim, the player had a wide range of houses to buy. From a dirty farm to a huge mansion in Solitude. Will there be similar options in Enderal?
The player has been granted a whole castle in Nehrim for example. Can we hope for similar things in Enderal?
The player will have the opportunity to buy and furnish a house in Enderal. We even gave him the possibility of affording a whole mansion in the noble quarter
which consists of multiple buildings. Furthermore, you are able to use and move in the property of mainquest-relevant factions. But there won't be a gifted castle in Enderal.
Alex: Let's start with the main topic now. First of all, I'll ask the developers to explain what's different in Enderal's skill and talent system compared to Skyrim.
Nico: We published a first devblog about our talent system a few months ago which is linked in the description below. But to break it down:
We removed the dragon shouts from Skyrim and rebuilt the perk system. There are nine disciplines, each one representing 1-2 skills from Skyrim.
There are 15 memories in each discipline to be unlocked which I will call simplicity perks. Two of them are active talents that replace the dragon shouts.
Everything is visually explained in the devblog by the way. You gain a so called memory point with each level-up for unlocking one of these perks
Alex: Is there a limited number of talents, that you can unlock per character or is it all level limited? Additionally, do I gain memory points only via level-ups or are there other chances as well?
Nico: Is there a limited number of talents, that you can unlock per character or is it all level limited? Additionally, do I gain memory points only via level-ups or are there other chances as well?
You cannot buy them. We pursue the player to specialize himself in some disciplines, but of course he has the freedom of choosing them.
I guess a high level character will have about 2.5-3 maxed out disciplines. As a result, it's not possible anymore of becoming a complete allrounder.
Alex: Do you need more memory points to unlock stronger perks/talents, or is it just the high number of talents in every discipline, that limits the player?
Nico: The last perk of a disciple costs as much as the first one: one memory point. But considering the ranks, you'll end up with about 25 memory points to invest until the discipline is maximized. 
Alex: Fine. You level your character via EP, but you increase your skills, like Onehanded, by using it. Can I increase them only by using them, or will there be trainers which I can pay for training?
Johannes: Neither, Alex. I have to correct you a bit. The skills in Enderal don't increase by using them.  It was the case in Nehrim but we cancelled the feature for several reasons.
Hence, you need teachers to improve a skill but the system is more comfortable than in Nehrim. The costs of training are not effected by your level
so that it doesn't matter if you buy a skill at the beginning or at level 20. Furthermore, you can buy educational books from your teacher. 
This way you can get educational books before starting a long journey and when you level up you can pick your new skills immediately.
Alex: That sounds really great! So, it's really not possible to increase skills by use. After talking about skills, let's get back to the talents.
Nico, would you describe the rough structure of a discipline and what I can do with it?
Nico: Well, there is espionage. It consists of the skills sneaking and pickpocket. In specific, all these perks are related to these two skills, in doing so we compacted, modified or even deleted
the original perks from Skyrim. I'm getting through this skilltree step by step and unlock memories, which fit in this discipline, like sneak attacks that deal more damage or a roll forward.
Plus, I got memories on two points which unlock these so called talents; the shout replacers you could say. For example, you can learn the talent 'Ghostwalk' at the end of the espionage discipline, 
which teleports the player undetected behind an enemy. We hope for these talents to make combat more vibrant.
Alex: That sounds pretty cool, especially you just explained an active talent to us. Johannes, could you describe another new passive talent?
Johannes: One of the new mage disciplines we called "Sinistra" would be a good example. This discipline includes numerous spells and skills which are able to manipulate objects and enemies.
One of the new mage disciplines we called "Sinistra" would be a good example. This discipline includes numerous spells and skills which are able to manipulate objects and enemies.
killing them with the object. Therefore, we use Skyrim's physic engine in our gameplay.
Alex: To get this straight - I can damage my enemy with telekinesis? 
Johannes: That's right. 
Alex: That sounds awesome. Are there any further talents or skills, which come as quest reward?
Johannes: We've included several skills, especially the crafting perks that were stand-alone skills in Skyrim.  We didn't consider them equally worthy to skills used in combat because the value of a perk
that increases the power of an enchantment by 5% is not equivalent to a perk which directly increases your damage by 20%.
Thus, there are plenty of passive skills to be acquired that don't have to depend on a certain discipline. You can find these enhancements, but they can be a quest reward as well.
Alex: Speaking of acquiring. Can I buy spells in spellbook-stores like in Skyrim? Or is there another way of getting my 'Fireball' or 'Ice Spear'?
Johannes: Enderal you can buy spells in as spellbook at a merchant just like in Skyrim. 
Alex: Overall that's the skill system. Time for a surprise topic! We're going to talk about the capitol of Enderal, the crown jewel of the whole country, called "Ark".
And my first question is: How big is Ark, compared to Nehrim's capitol Erothin?
Johannes: The stunning fact about Ark is that Ark is split. First, there is Ark at the surface. Ark at the surface is about as large as Erothin.
Alex: Is Ark under the surface considerably larger?
Johannes: Ark divides under the surface in to further areas. We already announced one area and published a screenshot, the so called "Undercity", which is a slum of poverty and affliction
under the city. The Undercity was raised on ruins, on which the inhabitants built Ark later. But there is a much deeper area - the Forbidden City.
This is a mysterious place the people of Ark shy away from. Actually, it's illegal to visit this area. The whole puzzle around the Forbidden City will be solved during the main quest.
Alex: Speaking of the mysterious Forbidden City, are there more extraordinary buildings in Ark any visitor should have seen?
Nico: Wellů We did our best placing some eye catchers in Ark. For example, there is a theatre and a bathhouse in the noble quarter. 
In return there are many angled alleyways or dirty dens of thieves in the Undercity. You called Ark 'the crown jewel of Enderal' earlier, 
I would say the crown jewel of Ark is the Sun Temple. We already published Concept Art of it. This huge temple is enthroned above the capitol and will play a central role in the main story. 
So yes, there a lot of sights which can be visited by the player.
Alex: Ark sounds like a large city, and exactly that was a major problem in Erothin. The performance in Nehrims' capitol was rather bad - caused by engine issues -  
so that even strong computers couldn't break the 30 fps mark. Did you manage to improve that in Ark? 
Johannes: Yes, we have improved that. The Creation Engine features many different technologies for optimization, for example Occlusion Culling. 
This technology kicks not visible objects out of the rendering process, resulting in better fps. In Erothin everything was calculated, even if not visible for the player.
By clever positioning of objects at critical locations we achieved an increase in performance in Ark, so that Ark is the more fluid than any other place in Enderal
because we got every single frame within the possibilities of the Creation Engine.
Alex: Good to hear that you optimize the game as much as possible. What about the liveliness of Ark? Although Skyrim improved a lot, Oblivion seemed quite liveless due to the lack of children.
Furthermore, there were neither many animals nor people with a daily routine you would really notice. Will it be better in Enderal?
Nico: Furthermore, there were neither many animals nor people with a daily routine you would really notice. Will it be better in Enderal?
These chats are well thought, interesting and funny as well. We hope, that the city becomes livelier by these chats. Furthermore, the chats aren't random generated. 
Alex: One last question about Ark. Where is Ark located in Enderal and what climate can you expect in Ark?
Johannes: Ark is located in the central region called "Hearthland", where a temperate climate dominates. But Ark is constructed more or less horizontally at mountain
so that there is a colder setting in the upper areas with conifers instead of broadleaf trees, resulting in a minor graduation of climate even in the city.
But it's still in the temperate zone.
Alex: So, that was a lot of information. We talked about Enderal in general, asked community questions, specified the skill and talent system and even got many news about Ark.
Now it's time for a really personal question at the developers. Nico and Johannes, why do you think Enderal is a very good game or what do you like about it in particular?
Nico: Personally I believe Enderal is a good or even great game for some folks because until now it appears like we'd be able to combine the strengths of an Open-World game with 
the complexity and intensity of a story driven game like Mass Effect. Of course, within our limitations. 
So far it really looks like we can make it. If that's the case, Enderal is going to be a unique experience for the player.
Alex: Johannes, what's your opinion? Why is Enderal going to be amazing?
Johannes: Nothing much to add here because I mostly agree with Nico. I am incredibly proud of hitting that narrow path of doing our best, resulting in the best possible game we can create
without overworking ourselves. Overwork would lead to a massive list of futures nobody is able to implement. This is the great challenge, which a lot of mods fail.
but without being hard to comprehend. The multiplicity of settings creates an immersion which allows us to keep the core features of Nehrim and to 
It is quite usual that modders want to built a larger mod than their resources allow. Instead, we found a pretty good middle way
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combining the Open-World aspects with the story and complexity of the skill system. As a result, the skill system is even bigger than in Skyrim
improve the points that were criticized by people. This is why we hope to even surpass Nehrim in quality.
Alex: One last question, then we're done here. As always, the interview took longer than planned. And I believe I already know the answer but I have to ask anyway.
When are you going to release Enderal? After telling us so much interesting stuff about Enderal - When can we finally can play it?
Johannes: It's going to be released when it's done. This might sound chaotic to you as if we don't dare to announce the date. But there is a very specific release date we aim for
but I already told you that we're no company. As a result,we cannot replace people if they leave SureAI. This means we're at our valuable staff members' mercy.
If only one of them decides to go we'd be lashed back by several weeks. Hence it is very hard for us of telling you a release date because we don't want to change it again if we
have to delay the release. I'm sure you understand that. Furthermore, we don't want to get under time pressure either which could result in cancelling features.
As already said, there is a planned release, there is a concrete project plan, there are concrete milestones and we work hard to keep these guidelines.
But, as we're no company, we're literally at fates edge and we won't announce a release date until it's 100% sure that we are able to keep it.
Alex: Thank you very much for the interview. I had a great time and I hope we'll talk again. Dear listeners - Nico and Johannes from SureAI. Bye!
Johannes & Nico: Bye!
