Crown Port

This is my initial spacial test of Crown Port, or the largest town on the Isle of Sampeatos. Now, I have no idea how well this will bake when finished (especially the docks), as I am not nearly to the point of even looking at the oven. I just wanted to try arrangement and see what I could fit in a 20x20.

Now, I don't by any means consider a 20 x 20 area size small by any means, however, when you throw docks in the mix, things can get a bit needy for space. I've always had a thing for making docks for some reason. I wish I could get even more elaborate than this, perhaps a cicular dock or series of, but this is already larger than I should probably go for use with an overland map.

New Year, New Job, & SoS III Early Partial Beta

It has been far too long since any updates on the Sands of Solvheil series has been talked about. I am pretty close to finishing up an early partial beta that explores the first third or so of the module. With the great cutscene work done by JasonNH, I think this will be a pretty fun little peek at the adventure.

I have also decided that I will be simul-dev a few things at once. I have been spending quite a bit of time on my Isle of Sampeatos overland map, and I am pretty happy about the results. I want to start developing some of the specific areas to be used with it, but I don't want to delay Crusaders of Shalihir that much. I have already been doing enough self-admitted slacking in that area.

So enter a new year, and new opportunities. I recently switched seats at work (what can I say, the music stopped), and took over the Software Engineering program. While I may be busy ramping up the degree program and trying to secure both incoming students, as well as industry partners for class projects; I should have a bit of extra time. Time that could, I don't know, be spent with the toolset?

I mean, technically NWN2 development is pretty close to software engineering with a .NET framework, right? Riiiight. I hope to keep both projects rolling to keep from getting burnt out on either one. JasonNH has done a breathtaking job bringing some of the early conversations to life in SoSIII. I think it only fair that I do my part to finish what I started, and get this trilogy finished.

While I don't plan to continue with part IV, Chasing the Golden Dragon, I think that the story wraps itself up pretty nicely at the end of the current module. That will let me switch gears permanently and work on Isle of Sampeatos, which will be a wilderness adventure (SP or MP) that will feature multiple different levels of terrain encounters. Along with quite a bit of drop-in adventure areas that may or may not be assigned via NPC conversation within some of the more 'civilized' areas of the island.

Interview from Overseas

Well, overseas for me anyway. A few nights ago, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by some Mass Communication students in Singapore who are putting together a project about ameatuer game developers. It was a rather long interview conducted via skype, but all in all it was pretty cool.

They asked me if I knew any other developers from the community, and of course I directed them to a few of my favorite blogs. I wanted to make sure they knew that one of the greatest assets of developing with NWN/NWN2 was the community of developers and players out there. Without the braintrust of my peers, I would never have been able to produce anything (aside from a mass collection of areas).

Anyhow, pretty cool stuff. It's always interesting to marvel at the communication that can happen from one side of the globe to the other. Sometimes we take for granted the global community that has become even seamless with the integration of the internet in our lives.

I will say, that all that talk about NWN/NWN2 development has given me the hunger for human flesh...err...I mean...for firing up the toolset. So without anymore clickity clacking, I'm off to see what can be done on this long weekend.

More Overland Shots

Well of Course I had to make an Overland.

I can't resist. I am so weak. I had to try my hand at Overland Maps. This is an early draft of the Isle of Sampeatos. Not nessasarily connected to the Sands of Solvheil series, but a definate location in the setting. I was thinking about turning this into (after I finish SoSIII of course) a seperate adventure, possibly multiplayer. Think Isle of Dread, original orange cover. Yeah, nothing to do with that, but that cover shot...yeah, that's the feeling.

Finished SoZ, sorta

After much adventuring and exploration, I ended up at the final battle a bit too early. All party members were around 13th level and collectively got their tails handed to them by the final encounter.

I really enjoyed SoZ because of the stark differences between it and previous NWN/NWN2 releases. While I have always had the problem of being either completely open ended such as the Cormyr PW I worked on in NWN 1, or very very linear and story driven such as the Solvheil campaign, SoZ seemed to blend these two elements together.

This does present some problems, as evidenced by my untimely demise (and rather one-sided battle). Without the proper controls in place, it is entirely possible to wander into something that your party is not nearly prepared to handle. While many of the adventures required activation from an NPC conversation, the random encounter tables and overall story arc was completely accessible whether you were ready or not.

This did indeed add the danger that was present by wandering monster tables and other elements of traditional PnP. However, it was without the divine intervention, aka DM discretion, that was there to make sure the gameplay was enjoyable.

Again, I know that many were less than pleased with the latest release. I just happended to find it a bit more interesting than previous. I've always had trouble being guided through a main story without much room for deviation (although I design SP modules the complete opposite because I just want to tell a story). This title gave me a blank sheet to make my mark upon, and retire whenever I saw fit.

SoZ, or, Christmas comes Early

I really do feel like I'm 10 years old on Christmas morning staring under a tree bursting with wrapped presents whenever a new NWN release comes out. I love looking at the new content, be it appearances, placables, scripting functions, weapons, or whatever. The release of Storm of Zehir was no different.

First of all, I have to say that this expansion is indeed a bit different from previous releases. It is much more strategy based and less hand-holding and guiding story than we are used to. Not everyone will be happy with it, while others will welcome the change. Personally, I think it's rather engaging. Although I am sure the toolset bug will overtake my will to complete.

I'm sure I will hit the 'Retire' button long before the module is finished and dive headfirst into the toolset once again without looking back.

Good thing it's a holiday week around these parts, I have lots of game to plow through. Happy Caravan-ing!