Suave?

Needing a break from the continuous debugging of Dead Gnolls EYe Socket (pinned down crash to corrupted triggers, but its time consuming and repeptitive to delete each, test, repeat)... So I dropped into Alpha Protocol. Fun game with very nice ideas for roleplaying. But this, suave...?

Bond, and i'm going to stick my neck ou and say that Roger Moore is the definitive James Bond, would never type that email. if he'd just been given a cover identity inn an arms manufacturing plant ha may have stretched to a "I don't suppose you'd mind cleaning my rifle" with a raised eyebrow, but this...

still, fun game

But back to the debugging...

Building a head of steam

It was great to finally feel I've settled in the new house by setting up a (disturbingly clean, at least for me) computer desk, and to sit back and have the toolset open. Usually that desk is also piled high with D&D books and scribbled notes - my mind is no way near as organised as that desk. Its slow going at first, getting back into the toolset, but I liked going back to the scripting and refreshing my memory. And after feeling my way round over the first day, reacquainting myself with just what needs doing, I'm starting to pick up speed on the bug quashing and polishing.

So far I've been working my way through the bug reports and the list as transposed over to the Bioware Social Forums. Most are fairly easy, and I've finished scripting a Geminator as a way to lighten the load for all the gem loot drops you pick up out in the field. That list has almost halved, which is a great feeling. Annoying the real time sink has been going into the game to test things out, but that's good in itself to keep me testing the gameplay.

Some screenies from a testing jaunt down into the bowels of Bright Mountain - also to serve as a reminder of the great custom content I'm showcasing from the community in the campaign. Here's hoping the move to the new forums will maybe bring in new/returning NWN2 players.

SomethingAwful : White Plume Mountain

Stopped by the Something Awful site for the first time in ages and randomly noticed they had one of their WTF, D&D! articles on White Plume Mountain! Might not be to all tastes, but a bit of an insight into the module nonetheless! Plus an omen maybe..?

Finally moved in, and just managed to get computer up and running before the World Cup Final started. So hope to get an update out soon. Got quite a backlog of updates/fixes to work through (on top of the inevitable time to reacquaint myself with the toolset after the few weeks break).



I've had one report of a tester reaching the fane (heart of the volcano, see above screenshot) of White Plume Mountain, meaning completion of two of the module conversion segments, and about as far as its possible to go in the current test version. Next up would be the final showdown in the Arena of Devastus on the Plane of Shadow where Keraptis awaits (below). Also glad to hear the miniquest of obtaining the Holy Avenger was working.



Then there are the bugs (mistyped waypoint tags) and the BUGS (beholders that are immortal despite there being no valid reason why they should be so) to iron out. bugs I am happy dealing with, but the illogical BUGS can be incredibly infuriating. With somethign teh size of WPM, i'm fuilly expecting bug reports to trickle in post release, but as long as I can solve the BUGS, I'm hoping I can get this out by August. And then , finally, to enjoy playing some of the other projects nearing completion (see blogroll, which I've been reading but not commenting on due to limited internet access - hope to make amends). Seem to be quite a few exciting sparks in the embers of NWN2, which is nice to see.

RPGMaker software

Anyone tried this? A generic RPG making software.

seems like a neat idea. Torchlight is on my list to check out too - any played that and dabbled in the mod making?


Tho maybe I'm getting ahead of myself...

Agonising wait

Work is busy, and home-life hectic as we wait to finally move into the new house. And the biggest frustration of all is that I've managed about 3 hours on the toolset in the past month. Not just because i'm keen to get bug fixing and working on the polish for WPM, but its made me realise how much modding (and computer gaming) had become part of my routine and a means for me to switch off from external stresses and relax. And that lack of relaxing isn't healthy for me (mentally or physcially, I'm the worlds worst fidget in mind and body), tho I am trying to use things as an excuse to get to the gym more.

But the agonising wait on the house has hopefully crested the hill today, and latest estimate is end of the month to be moving. What's made it all the more irritating is that the house we're moving into has been empty the whole time - just sollicitors and red tape holding up what should have been a simple transaction.

Meanwhile, testing reports have been thankfully positive on the style and content of WPM which has been great to see. I've a slog through SpellPlug ahead of me, and some niggling bugs to fix (immortal creatures that shouldn't be, spurious area corruption), but on the whole it's seeming playable. The main issue is the size - to cover everything would take too many people too long, and it's a lot to expect. But I'm thinking, with a good debug system in place, there may not be too much more to do before this can be released in a workable form.

Thanks to all who've fed back comments so far - I really appreciate your efforts on this. Reposting links to files below; if I'm lucky I can get an update done in the next day or so:

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
WPM conversion module folder (25Mb) - put in modules directory - new download

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.

White Plume Mountain: Final Testing

Just posted call for full and final testers on the forums. Due to a house move that will keep me busy over the next month, I wanted to get this out first so reports can trickle in, and i will update in the spare moments I have computer time. All content is there, just a few dialogues needing finishing in the last two chapters of the White Plume Mountain conversions (Return to WPM, and Ex Keraptis Cum Amore). I'll finish these dialogues soon and post when the files are updated. Jumping between modules should see the updates kick in. It's soooo close... so bear with me til I have these done. It's almost there and my paranoia levels about file corruption are through the roof knowing how much work is at stake! Had to reinstall NWN2 and made more back ups of the campaign than you could imagine!

Right, now I need to convince my wife that the computer is the absolutely last thing to get packed up into boxes....


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
WPM conversion module folder (25Mb) - put in modules directory - new download


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.

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!



----------------------

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)?