Wednesday, April 28, 2010

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

9 comments:

Amraphael said...

Hi,
I've been caught up in various strange things lately but even if I've been silent I've been butting a couple of hours in the your first test release. Mostly I've been running around checking stuff and areas (from a builders perceptive) and I have to say it looks great. More and more, I think SoZ-style adventures is my style of playing. In depth roleplaying is fun and challenging but the core of it was always exploration, action and development of the character.
So far I have not found any big bugs. Some tricky walkmeshes, a door that can't be reached (or shouldn't be useable) some small dialogue flaws.

Are there updated files in this new post? I though I should run around some more and then start over again to really play it.

Take care!

Wyrin said...

Hey!

Thanks glad you've been enjoying it!

Yeah there's a fair bit of new stuff and fixes. New encounters on the overland map, fixes to area transitions in the side quests. As there's module transitions in this you should be able to put in the new files and see the changes kick in on reloading

Lance Botelle (Bard of Althéa) said...

Hi Wyrin,

Great blog title. ;)

I have to agree with Amraphael that I too also prefer the SoZ style of play. And, like you, I am also getting a buzz out of my own overland map as it starts to take shape. :)

I do hope to have a bash at this at some time, but I seem to be a little distracted of late and my NWN time hampered because of it.

I'm still following this project with attention and will get a look at some time. :)

Lance.

Wyrin said...

Thanks Lance. Yeah, as much as a love a strong story, theres something abouit the old school feel of wandering across the plains and being thrown into a dungeon that appeals to me, and i'm hoping that comes across

Lance Botelle (Bard of Althéa) said...

Hi Wyrin,

.... wandering across the plains and being thrown into a dungeon ...

That is it exactly!

There is a simple delight in just adventuring and discovering afresh. And while a story is needed to keep the PCs heading towards a certain goal, there is nothing that replaces the pure pleasure of exploring for exploring sake. :)

This is what I call "old school" and definitely sends tingles of excitement down my spine when I consider it for play. I just hope I manage to include enough of that feel and style in my own adventure, although it is extremely difficult to do at times. Perhaps Iam just getting too old. ;) The brain gets tired.

But onwards we shall go!

Lance.

EC said...

Sounds great! I'm playtesting the Caravan Club right now, but looking forward to trying this out when you integrate the WPM quest line. The assault on the stronghold sounds like fun.

Kasira1 said...

Hello,

thought I would give this a test run and see how it is. I have only just started and ran into two things. Not sure if this is the place to post some possible bugs.

1. The chest where you get tithing boxes in order to recieve aid; with the Silvanus tithe box, when I tithe, I get alignment shifts for Lawful (2), and Evil (2). I play a neutral good Druid.

2. When the cutscene ocurrs (detailing the quest for the three stolen items and trip to Plume Mountain), the conversation goes by so fast that I need to hit pause throughout the entire cut scene in order to read what is being said. Maybe slow it down some for us non speed readers please? : )

3. Not sure if this is compatible with the spell fixes offered in the vault located in the link below;

http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2Scripts.Detail&id=99

, but none of them are working nor are the custom spells showing up.

Well thats what I have noticed so far. Oh and the campaign looks great so far, like the battles with Zentarim wizards.

Wyrin said...

Hi Kasira1 - thanks for playing!

1. Tithing to Silvanus will move your alignment closer to neutral on both axes (1-100). DO if you druid is listed as NG they may still see a shift if both their scores aren't exacly 50:50

2. You should have the lip flappers in the campaign folder to get the mouth movements and slow down that cutscene - check there are wav files in your campaign folder, and I'll look into this

3. It isn't compatible with the spell fixes but will look into implementing

thanks!

Kasira1 said...

Thanks for the explaination on the alignment shift, for some reason I thought Silvanus was NG. Anyways I have some more things to report;

1. My original download did not have any wav files so I redownloaded the Campaign folder and now the files are in. Now even with the wave files, the cut scene is still too fast. I figured "maybe it's all the overide content in my overide folder so I created a new nwn 2 files and still no luck.

2. Now, I am not sure if this is part of the game, except with Mag in starting area, I cannot find another place to rest and replenish spells. This includes places where my character says it's a safe place to rest, I still can't. This includes the battle map areas and Overland maps as well as a house in the swamp in the north. All I get is the fallowing one right after the other;

Resting.
Resting.
Cancel Rest.
Cancel Rest.

3. I can't seem to get into various places like Plume mountain, and ***SPOILER** petrified snake. I click on the entrances to transition into them and I get nothing. There are other places too, but I forgottheir names, I'll make sure to note them next time.

Well, that's what I got so far.