Home Stretch

Well the module is getting some last minute magic. The last battle/cutscene has been spruced up and bugfixed, and now it is a matter of looking a few things over before a final test. I have reloaded my laptop with a fresh version of NWN2 + Expansions and it seems to have done the trick. I can now build/test modules again.

I had forgotten that I had an old extended RC on there before. The desktop, I'm still not sure of the error, but at least one of my machines runs NWN2. Interesting as I look between the two toolsets side by side for the first time. Funny the strengths between the two and what of each I wish I could cherry pick.

It shouldn't be long now before I'm asking for the vault FTP login information for the first time in a long long while.

Beyond the Shivering Pines (Intro)

Since SoSIII is pretty much in the bag (or at least as much of one as I can put it into), here is the rundown of my planned DA:O project. Same setting as the trilogy, almost completely removed from that story arc (as in, let's pretend most of that didn't happen).

This is about as spoiler free as I can make it. I'm going to put together a complete rundown for those who may be interested in joining in as I have most certainly run out of solo-team-steam. Things are so much better in a group...that's why most RPGs let you make a party!

Anyhow, here goes:


BEYOND THE SHIVERING PINES

In the far reaches of Harrn, beyond the Shivering Pines, lies the small region known as Lontharvia. It is ruled by Baron Dra'ithkyrn from his castle in the Caspez Peaks. The territory was claimed by the Baron's ancestor, a Nalassian prince, long ago before the flood.

King Ulivon maintains the long tradition of allowing Lontharvia to operate nearly autonomous from the crown of Harrn in Jarldorf. Because of this, the Baron has been able to continue the enforcement of Lontharvia's embargo on silver as he suffers from the same allergy to the metal as the rest of his bloodline.

After the end of Dalreon's war with Harrn at the surrender of Storneth, a new initiative arose to reforge the kingdom and access its nobility's commitment to the crown. Two emissaries were sent from Jarldorf to Lontharvia to meet with Baron Dra'ithkyrn and discuss his loyalty to Harrn.

Their badly mauled bodies were found a few weeks later in the Shivering Pines forest. As news of this grim discovery reached Jarldorf, it was decided that an investigation needed to take place without the stigma of acting as agents of the crown. Suspecting lycanthropy, an outsider is recruited by the court to travel to Lontharvia and look into the deaths, as well as any possible corruption in Dra'ithkyrn Castle.

Beyond the Shivering Pines takes the player into the cold reaches of northern Harrn as they travel through the frigid evergreen forest to reach the territory of Lontharvia. The village beneath the castle is home to mainly farmers and completely devoid of clergy. It also serves as a waypoint for gypsies who transport gems and goods from the dwarven kingdom.

Once there, they discover a culture far removed from the daily life of Harrn. One that lives in constant fear and subservience of their surroundings. With constant peril wandering out of the woods and the shadow cast on them by their local regent, they consider everyday survival a success.

Dark secrets await in the Dra'ithkyrn family crypts as they search for the source of the scourge that plagues Lontharvia. Taking advice from some gypsies, as well as some pages from the local history books, they find themselves on a quest South for an elven artifact to counter the ancient curse of blood.

Will their efforts save the land, or will they simply become another corpse that the locals fear rising from the grave.

A Little Spit and Polish

Thankfully, the module release will have to wait about a week or so. This is actually great news because JasonNH is using the time to take a look at a few cutscenes. Honestly, his cinematics are truly the best part of the adventure, so the time is well worth it.

I've been shuffling my time between writing out the complete story/details for my next project, and trying to learn a bit about the new toolset. I decided (after giving area/level design a quick try) to start with facial morphs. Here's a few of the early ones that I have put together by tweaking the properties a bit here and there.

A Bit of a Snag

It appears that even though the toolset runs on my laptop, I cannot actually launch/test the game. I'll have to rely on the previous beta tests and double-check that I set all of the new conversation pieces correctly.

I've also noticed that I am unable to save to a mod file. The ole lappy seems to only work in directory mode. I don't suppose there is any kind soul out there that wouldn't mind taking a directory and saving it as a module for me?

Sigh, I'm pretty sure I couldn't return to NWN2 development even if I wanted to. The gods of hardware/software don't will it.

SoSIII: Released This Weekend

No joke. After looking at this directory sitting in modules folder for about half a year...its time. I blew the dust off and finishing up the final battle that has been undone for too long.

Now that most of the interest has shifted toward Dragon Age, it will go out with a whimper instead of the original intended bang. In other words, the quality of the final battle and cutscene(s) will not be on the same level as the rest of the module. A comprimise I know, but the time has come to ship.

NWN2 toolset doesn't play nice with my Windows 7 64bit install, and I haven't had much of a chance to do finish this off. I still have the toolset on my laptop though and can at least get the last part working. Honestly, I need to get this old business taken care of so I can focus on new business.

New business will start right after this weekend release. I will follow up with details of my planned DA:O module: Beyond the Shivering Pines.

A Game to Finish

I don't often finish games. Especially those that include a toolset.
DA:O is an exception. I stand on the savegame before the end and actually surprised that I made it this far. The story has been pretty darn good so far. The companions are engaging, the ambience pretty stellar (and funny all too often), and the backdrops are rather eye-catching.

Anyhow, just wanted to say a quick kudos to Bioware for coming through on a great SP adventure (or OC as we like to call it). I know this means that I am about to dive into dangerous waters with a toolset that has yet to see a patch, but as I charge the arch-demon sword drawn, I'm shocked that I not only lived this long, but that I kept logging in for more.

DA Toolset Released!

Remember how lost you were in the Electron (NWN2) toolset the first time?
"This isn't anything like Aurora...why did they make it so hard?"

Get ready for that overwhelmed feeling all over again. The new Dragon Age toolset is a completely new animal that befuddles and amazes all at the same time. Some intial thoughts as I have only been able to toy with it for one evening:

1) Complex as all get out...but reassuring that it can do so much more than previous toolsets. The learning curve is much higher, but so is the ceiling of what is possible.

2)Levels vs Areas. Here is one of the first things a new builder must grasp the difference between. Terminology in this toolset is completely different. Levels are landscape, decoration, basically all of the static elements of what we are used to calling an area. Areas, on the other hand, inherit the elements of a given level, and allow you to add the in interactive elements. Bioware basically split area design into two facets: static and dynamic.

3) Um what are these models again? The organization of the models used to create levels and areas is far from intuitive. They are put together in folders that prefix the first three letters of th model, relating to what area of the SP they were used.

4) Thank the Maker for the Wiki. Serioulsy, without the hard work, effort, and screenshots of the beta testers that has been documented in the toolset wiki, this might be a mission impossible. Beerfish went through and snapped shots of many of the models. JasonNH went through and put together cheatsheets of the textures. This is truly a community learning effort.

I have many more thoughts on this but I hesitate to follow the rabbit trail too far before I get some more time logged. I am once again experiencing the exciting feeling of curiosity, terror, and power all wrapped into one.