Solitude bookshelves need rework

nukk3r

Whose idea was to put the books with the text block facing the player? They could use a field trip to a local library.

Cloudtrader

Did you know that was a standard thing in old timey bookcases? Books were stored with the spines in until the late 17th century. In fact, the titles of books were often written on the foreedges, or really, identifying decoration... this all breaks down over the fact that the books pictured aboved are not chained to the shelf.

Still, I do take your point. However! All the other bookshelves in the game have the newfangled orientation of spines out, so I think we can let a few throwbacks slide, eh?

bluebird

I love the top row to be honest. Like somebody started to arrange the books properly.. and then they were like, 'To Oblivion with this, who cares anyway' and just started piling the books into the shelves totally randomly after that.

Maybe you can roleplay that the last proper librarian of Solitude was murdered in the recent Harrowstorm and the rest of the books are now filed by Princess Svana's drunken Orc friend who got shamelessly promoted to 'Groom of the Shelves' or something to keep him around in an official capacity.

nukk3r

Cloudtrader wrote: »

Did you know that was a standard thing in old timey bookcases? Books were stored with the spines in until the late 17th century. In fact, the titles of books were often written on the foreedges, or really, identifying decoration... this all breaks down over the fact that the books pictured aboved are not chained to the shelf.

Still, I do take your point. However! All the other bookshelves in the game have the newfangled orientation of spines out, so I think we can let a few throwbacks slide, eh?

It's a good historical curiosity, thank you. But I don't think it can be applied here because every other bookcase in the game shows the spines of the books. So it doesn't really fit on the overall art direction. The only exception is the Solitude Bookcase, Backless Filled (and its narrow version), and it could probably be explained by the need of access from both sides but if you look closer it has the same book rows. So this looks like a lazy copypaste, it wouldn't take a long time to rotate the prefab 180 degrees.

bluebird wrote: »

Maybe you can roleplay that the last proper librarian of Solitude was murdered in the recent Harrowstorm and the rest of the books are now filed by Princess Svana's drunken Orc friend who got shamelessly promoted to 'Groom of the Shelves' or something to keep him around in an official capacity.

That would be a great quest line, tbh.

Tigerseye

What annoys me more about it is that the books on the top shelf look like regular height and sized books that have been chopped in half.

As opposed to just small books, in general.

Probably because they are!

I tend to let the rest of the chaos go a bit more, as they are the Rustic version.

So, I would only tend use them in a workroom, lab, or kitchen, or some other more casual, work-based location.

Where it's more understandable if someone has grabbed a (for example) recipe book, consulted it and then just slung it back any old way, than it would be with literature in a more polished looking bookshelf, in a formal library, or someone's living room, or bedroom.

Also, old, well-used hardback books can often lose their spines, over time, so you could always pretend it's because of that...

From most angles you presumably can't see it isn't.

Having said all that, I agree with you that it's probably due to a lazy copypaste.

spartaxoxo

I like this, it looks like bookshelf of a non-scholarly adventurer. Every bookshelf doesn't need to be the same.

nukk3r

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I like this, it looks like bookshelf of a non-scholarly adventurer. Every bookshelf doesn't need to be the same.

How does the adventurer know which books are on the second shelf from the bottom?

SickleCider

bluebird wrote: »

I love the top row to be honest. Like somebody started to arrange the books properly.. and then they were like, 'To Oblivion with this, who cares anyway' and just started piling the books into the shelves totally randomly after that.

Maybe you can roleplay that the last proper librarian of Solitude was murdered in the recent Harrowstorm and the rest of the books are now filed by Princess Svana's drunken Orc friend who got shamelessly promoted to 'Groom of the Shelves' or something to keep him around in an official capacity.

I absolutely love this idea. It's something my character would do. He'd start to arrange them, decide he doesn't actually care, and start just tossing the books back in willynilly.

spartaxoxo

nukk3r wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I like this, it looks like bookshelf of a non-scholarly adventurer. Every bookshelf doesn't need to be the same.

How does the adventurer know which books are on the second shelf from the bottom?

Picking them up, looking at the cover, and then tossing it back on the shelf when it isn't the one they were looking for; while they swear that they'll really get around to organizing it next time. They never will, of course, at least not for long. But it's fine because they don't really read much anyway, which kills their motivation.

Syldras

nukk3r wrote: »

Whose idea was to put the books with the text block facing the player?

Nords from Solitude, obviously.

That aside, it's a pity that the arrangement of books always looks the same. I mean, I understand that you can't make a dozen of different models, but it looks a bit strange when you create a library with several bookshelves next to eachother and all are identical. There should be single bookstacks to change the looks a bit. (I know there are single books, but if you place 10 or more of them, you're at the furniture maximum fast).