T is for Testing

(download details reproduced at bottom of post)



Testing is still underway, though the forums and community seem a little quiet generally and in terms of playtesting. From my own testing, I've been really enjoying playing on the overland map, which is getting me quite psyched about the eventual release. Bugs seem relatively minor so far - couple of stupid things like me setting doors to static - but no game breakers so far. I'm updating the files in the links below as I go so they should always have the most recent version.

Last night I tested the assault of a Zhent stronghold which was great fun for mass combat play. The battle set-ups worked quite well; as I ran the gauntlet towards archers, manticores and Zhent Skymages peppered me with spikes and spells from the hills to the side. Talos bless Chain Lightning is all I can say.

This weekend I focus down on the White Plume Mountain module itself and bringing that up to scratch - there's a few subsystems that I implemented later in development I need to go back and include in these areas, some quest scripting, and a final battle to script. I'm hoping its a good indication the buzz I'm getting seeing this get so close! And hope that entusiasm will hook the players too!



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Hak file 1 (78Mb) - put in hak directory
Hak file 2 (176Mb) - put in hak directory
Campaign folder (21Mb) - put in Campaigns directory
Sidequest module folders (216Mb) - put in modules directory
Overland map module folder (70Mb) - put in modules directory

Brief walkthrough for sidequests including recommended party level can be downloaded here (Word doc) . Quests range from level 7 to level 16-18, so try any PC group you like and dive in.

A Readme can be found here - please bear in mind my design goals when giving feedback.

Please use the following format for reporting bugs - feedback form

Testing - Part 1: The Sandbox

Well, well. Here goes!

As mentioned before, I'm opening up the sandbox portion of the campaign for testing, and would be really grateful for any and all help and feedback. Not just reporting bugs but also mentioning gameplay elements that do/don't work or could be improved. In particular let me know about combat balance and variety, treasure/weapon/armour balance and variety, areas that feel empty or needing a little more attention. And of course the numerous spelling errors that will no doubt creep in.

I've uploaded the overland map, and all the sidequest areas for testing. The main plot (White Plume Mountain itself) is deliberately missing, and I'm finishing off that whilst this test is ongoing. Overland encounters are currently placeholders and will be changed (made more thematic to each area).

Hak file 1 (78Mb) - put in hak directory
Hak file 2 (176Mb) - put in hak directory
Campaign folder (21Mb) - put in Campaigns directory
Sidequest module folders (216Mb) - put in modules directory
Overland map module folder (70Mb) - put in modules directory

Brief walkthrough for sidequests including recommended party level can be downloaded here (Word doc) . Quests range from level 7 to level 16-18, so try any PC group you like and dive in.

A Readme can be found here - please note, I try and set out my design philosophy in it, so don't test this expecting a tight plot and varied romances; and please bear in mind my design goals when giving feedback.


Please use the following format for reporting bugs - feedback form

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help with this!

Joyous sight to behold

My notepad checklist - full of ticks. Felt damn good checking that last box off today!
What does that mean? I now have a functioning overland map with ~25 sidequest locations ranging from 1 to 6 linked areas each. Checking my loadscreens.2da, and adding on the main quest areas, that's ~95 areas in total across the campaign. This looming testing phase is starting to scare me...

Dungeon of Swords loadscreens

I'm at that stage where there's no real new content to add (barring something I plan to do whilst waiting for bug reports), and I'm left to go back through the content so far and polish off all the blanck conversations I left as placeholders swearing I'd finish later, and tidy up the journal, then tackle the overland map and all its intricacies. It's all getting there but this last stretch is a bit of a slog - plus trying to complete it on top of work and the looming spectre of moving house is leaving me a little frazzled!

The last sidequest area I finished was the Dungeon of Swords - the loadscreens of each area involved in this overland map location are below. It started off as a mid-level dungen crawl, but then I got kinda vindictive and threw in some higher level beasties with tricks up their sleeves to spice things up a bit, including a half-balor half-dragon I thought would be fun!


Back to it - and hopefully some clear time over the weekend to focus. Been starting to think how I'll handle hosting the campaign for testing; any good reccomendations for hefty filesizes (haks total ~250Mb compressed, and modules more) with stable connectivity (had too many clunk out on big downloads)?