Campaign Setting Progress and Crazy 2DA Lines

Alright, how did I miss the fact that a line number in the Placeable.2DA repeats itself, thereby throwing the rest of the entries off? That one took me a few hours a couple of nights ago while I was getting all of the 2DA files SoZ complient (although the third module will still only require MotB). What a mindbender...what a blunder!

Anyhow, doing really well on the whole Campaign Setting Sourcebook thing. I'm at about 37 pages and still plugging away and putting additional content and details in here and there. I'd be happy to have anyone give it a look and see if it is organized correctly, clear, interesting, etc. Although, you know me and my perpetual boredom...I'll finish it whether it ever gets read or not :p

Well, quickly approaching 5 a.m. and time for me to wander upstairs for a bit of shut-eye. This weekend I will try to write a bit more for the sourcebook and get several areas of "Crusaders of Shalihir" prepped for cutscenes. I've been setting the cameras, laying down triggers, and placing waypoints so they are all ready for the onenter scripts to check the journal and work the timed magic.

Driders

Need I say more?

Big Huge Thanks to Jonny Ree and all of BouncyRock for releasing the meanest looking thing on eight legs.

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2Models.Detail&id=181

I've taken this awesome occasion to update my Sands of Solvheil haks (content and 2DA) to not only include Driders & Beholder, but also bring the 2DA files inline with changes from SoZ.

Looking forward to seeing these both in the toolset and ingame.

Elrithorn Campaign Guide

I have decided to start assembling the various texts and information from over the years into a working guide for my custom campaign setting. While I really just started to start clacking away at the keyboard a few nights ago, it is already over 20 pages long, without images. I'm actually enjoying getting all of the various information, lore, geography, etc organized. I must say I think it is coming together really well.

Know any aspiring artists? I don't really want to fill this book with photoshoped ingame screenshots, and would love to have some traditional print art to compliment the text. Also, if you know anyone that enjoys being a brutal editor without regard to feelings, please let me know. I would like some outside eyes to take a menacing read through and look for conceptual, communication, and grammatical errors.

Beneath the Hearleforne Reviewed

SOSII: Beneath the Hearleforne: Review

Big thanks to the NWVault Reviewers Guild for doing an outstanding job, and an extra special thanks to VPJ/Phantom Joker for the kind words and taking the time to complete/review the mod.

I'm really happy with the review and the results. No shockers into which categories didn't get the highest marks, but definately scored high where I was aiming. The reviewer also took the time to check out the documentation, design doc, etc. I think that's really cool.

Anyhow, part of my new gig as faculty allows me next week off (Spring Break), so it looks like I'll be back at the toolset again. I had a bit of trouble with the toolset on my laptop since installing the Windows 7 Beta (which is awesome btw). The desktop is fine though, and even moved my digital download of SoZ over to it to overcome the required disk annoyance.

SoSIII: Crusaders of Shalihir will still be MotB only requirement, not SoZ. As tempting as it is to go back and revisit all the areas and update with new content...it's really a bad idea at this point. As close as the module is to complete area wise, I really should focus on conversation, encounters, and scripting.

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.