Make my mod fit

Well... by all means make something now, just be prepared to update it if an official CMF appears seconds before you release(or seconds after, for that matter). Once its in the CMF loop, its really the responsiblity of those who add things to make sure they are using the latest version, including your mod if its there.

That being said... I dare say I will sound like an elitest bumbaclot, but I have to say this anyway. The shift from 5.0.x to 5.5 was mostly (though certainly not exclusively) about upgrading the quality of what was in the Co8 patch. Hickory Branch is a good example: people enjoyed it, but its graphics (being based on Diablo) noticably jarred with the rest of the game, so Gaear updated them. Ultimately we want everything to essentially be seamless (as much as possible).

Soooo... for future mods to be included in the official Co8 patch, they will have to be of a high quality.

Now, thats a challenge, not a threat: I'm not saying, "don't make stuff unless it looks like Bioware made it!", just be prepared for constructive criticism. And keep in mind there is a lot of talent here at Co8 ready to help out, particularly when it comes to artwork.

 

That was me, using Photoshop essentially, and altering existing ToEE maps to make new ones. I also used World Builder for sectoring and everything else, of course.

To take up Ted's mantle ... the point of using Troika's maps is that they will match the asthetic of the game, and they will be of high quality. I would say that Ultima Online would probably not fit, mainly because the maps will look like Ultima Online and not ToEE.

My rule of thumb as far as map artwork for the Co8 mod goes is that 'new' maps should be made either from existing ToEE maps, taking great care to ensure quality, or they should be entirely original, if you can maintain a high standard of quality in your work.

Now, you've said quite frankly here that artwork is your weak suit. In all honesty, that probably means you won't reach a high enough quality standard with maps unless you're prepared to undertake some Photoshop training and devote a great deal of time to learning/practicing/perfecting. However, there is still hope. The thing to do is enlist someone who's strong suit is artwork. Currently, BigLittleBoy is making quality original maps for KotB. Others have done it in the past - Vampiricpuppy et al. These people may either be busy or just plain unavailable now, so there's no guarantee they'll be willing to help you, but within them and their like is your best hope.

Also bear in mind that we're not looking to add major new expansions to the main body of the game due to the as yet unresolved XP and balance issues that our existing additions have introduced. Hopefully one day we'll actually move Hickory Branch and the other stuff to the end of the game and make it all similar to a real expansion pack rather than an integration. If you want to make a mod geared toward that, fine, but you'd need to focus it on high level adventuring.