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[The Amethyst Dragon]

The World of Aenea

GameSpy category: PW Action
Server name: The World of Aenea
Module name: Aenea PW v100
Direct connect: see website
Required hakpaks:
- CEP 2.4
- Project Q 1.5
- Aenea Haks
Required game version: NWN + SoU + HotU 1.69

Optional downloads:
Community Music Pack
Aenea specific dialog.tlk file
Aenea specific color palette files

Game Type: Mixed Action and Role-Play (Casual D&D)
Difficulty: D&D Hardcore
Treasure/Magic Level: Medium/High
Levels Played: 2-40
Maximum Players: 20
Vault Type: Server Vault
Enforce Legal Characters: No
Item Level Restrictions: Custom ILR script in use
Player vs. player: Limited to one arena area

Web Site: www.amethyst-dragon.com/nwn

The World of Aenea is a PW set in a custom campaign world, with no ties to the Forgotten Realms. It features its own deities and flavor, and the game is intended to have a feel closer to Pen & Paper D&D than a normal NWN game. It's often an action-oriented game, with role-play initiated and controlled by players (although it's nice if players aren't obvious about meta-gaming around others in order to help the immersion of those that do want to role-play).

Aenea is supposed to be a challenging, yet rewarding experience for players. Spellcasters must be careful when casting spells, since area spells could hurt them or their allies as well. Orcs control a vast empire, and even lowly goblins have scavenged enough gear from lesser-skilled people to pose a challenge to most beginning characters.

The world features 124 new spells, new feats (including 12 new bard songs), new monsters, its own pantheon of 20 deities, brand new item types and appearances, and custom content that has won 18 NWVault Hall of Fame awards (including one for the gameworld itself). Aenea has even been the subject of the first of BeyondThePale's Three Hour Tour articles and four NWN Podcasts (episodes 142, 155, 171, and 177).

A list of some of the notable custom content created for the players of Aenea:
* Project Reforged, replacements for every default NWN weapon
* Visible headbands of intellect and eyes of charming
* Colorized Icons and Tranparent GUI
* 1,220,376 New Wands (wand parts)
* 1,243,304 New Rods (rod parts)
* Potion Bottles (77 original creations, now in the CEP)
* Cloaks (40 original designs, some now in the CEP)
* hat of disguise
* tenser's floating disc spell
* Improved Magical Ammunition (new icons that actually look magical in the inventory)
* Item Creation Feats (Enchant Arms & Armor, Forge Jewelry, Enchant Items) for the Player Item Enchantment System
* Granted Spells (for clerics, replacing default domains)
* New cestus weapon type
* New, varied containers (for keeping inventory organized)
* 8 new Aenea-specific prestige classes (Acrobat, Animator, Dragonsoul, Farstep Master, Firestarter, Ironheart, Soulfire Warrior, Warblade)

Almost all scripting done in the game is written specifically for Aenea (save for a modified SiliconScout's Treasure Spawn System, a heavily modified Markshire Portable Persistent Chest System, and a modified version of the CEP Sparky Spawner system).

Besides overhauling spells, scripting has been used to work in several custom systems:
* Rest/Sleep System (with food with various properties, dreams, and items that can affect it)
* Piety and Deity Favor System (PCs can sacrifice items, gold, and enemy remains to earn "points" with their patron deity, use to get favors later)
* Subrace System (custom system with 17 subraces)
* Variable Chat Command System (uses chat bar commands for dozens of different functions)
* Player Item Enchantment System (uses 3 new item creation feats and the chat commands so PC spellcasters can make much more than just wands, potions, and scrolls).
* Selectable Caster Levels for PC-enchanted wands, potions, and scrolls
* Player Crafting System (craft masterwork and enchantable items, modify existing items)
* XP Debt System (PCs never lose levels from death, undead, etc.)
* Player Reward System (dedication to a character is rewarded in-game with xp, gold, minor items, or even custom items)
* Semi-class System (5-level scripted "limited-prestige classes" open to almost any character)
* Ioun Stone System (custom system that uses a conversation-based menu and ioun stone models derived from BigfootNZ's work)
* Tradeskills (various skills that improve with use rather than levels)

Player suggestions are always welcome, and many end up being used to enhance the game for everyone.

Most importantly, Aenea has very friendly and helpful players that make the game something to look forward to. Each unique personality helps to shape the world and keep it alive and growing.

If you think you might be interested in experiencing the World of Aenea, stop by the web site to look around and learn more. If you haven't visited in a long time, a lot has been added and changed over the 7 years the server has been online..  Both the main site and the forum are filled with useful information (including a buried clue to get through the Trackless Path!).

We look forward to seeing you there!

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 25 octobre 2013 - 05:13 .

[QNecron]

You know Amethyst I've always wanted to stop by Aenea and play around, just always seem so busy on my own NWN projects
I always wondered are you hosting the module yourself, and if so what are your bandwidth/server specs? I just ask cause I noticed the 20 plater limit.

Modifié par QNecron, 14 juillet 2010 - 05:48 .

[The Amethyst Dragon]

QNecron wrote...

You know Amethyst I've always wanted to stop by Aenea and play around, just always seem so busy on my own NWN projects
I always wondered are you hosting the module yourself, and if so what are your bandwidth/server specs? I just ask cause I noticed the 20 plater limit.

Yup.  I host the game on a machine Aenean players donated money to purchase.

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.40 ghz
Memory: 3 GB
Connection: Cable
Operating System: Windows XP Professional, SP 2

As for the 20 player limit, that's a throwback to when I first started out, hosting the game on the family desktop PC (the same machine used for general family use, and for building, and for playing).  I've just never changed the limit with the new machine simply because I haven't had to yet.  The most people I've had online at the same time was 16, with more regular "highs" of 6-9 players.

[Eric_of_Atrophy]

Yes, yes! Aenea is a beautiful and lovingly-crafted world that will pull you in and not let you go! I'm a longtime player and sometimes DM, and I have to tell you that Aenea feels like a second home to me - and once you've experienced all of the custom niceties that The Amethyst Dragon has to offer his players, you may have a hard time readjusting to playing in other places or modules (and certainly the OC!)

Modifié par Eric_of_Atrophy, 15 juillet 2010 - 03:58 .

[QNecron]

Eric_of_Atrophy wrote...

Yes, yes! Aenea is a beautiful and lovingly-crafted world that will pull you in and not let you go! I'm a longtime player and sometimes DM, and I have to tell you that Aenea feels like a second home to me - and once you've experienced all of the custom niceties that The Amethyst Dragon has to offer his players, you may have a hard time readjusting to playing in other places or modules (and certainly the OC!)

Yeah I've noticed all the stuff hes contributed to the NWN community via the Vault.
-
Though the main reason I was asking about the limit was to offer my server should you need it, I've noticed all the things you've given to the community and I have spare power and bandwidth should you ever want to setup a #2 server.

Server Specs:
 - AMD Tri Core 2.4ghz
 - 4gb of 1024ghz RAM
 - Roughly 1.5 TB of HD space (Hehe)
 - Linux OS (Ubuntu Server 64)
 - DSL ~1.7 down & ~640 up (Static IP / Business Line)
 - Backup power supply that lasts around 30min with server/modem.

Basicly if you ever wanted a login (SFTP/SSH) I can create you one and with my soon to be QoS (NWN will always be top) to keep my server as smooth as possible when I host it. I also host a chat server with Mumble (cross OS support) to which a channel could be setup fairly easily.

Along with NWN it also runs LAMP and could run more should it be needed. Projects like yours are why NWN is one of the greatest games out there so the offering should stand should you ever need it.

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Thanks for the offer, QNecron. Not something I'd likely take you up on though. I'm the sort that likes to keep everything where I can keep an eye on it...I don't even have a "team" of builders/scripters/writers/modelers/etc. since I like to do it all myself literally "in-house".



I do get some really good ideas (and have even gotten a few area maps and NPCs) from Aenean players and DMs....gotta give those folks credit, too (especially for their work on the demonic Dark Realm and suggestions/bug reports that help constantly improve things).

[QNecron]

Alright, the offer still stands even if you just want to backup any of your stuff.



I promise one of these days will make a day to play Aenea. Just recently got a raise that gives me Friday off so I'll have more time for whatever I want (means more NWN!).

[Elhanan]

I am off every day; just some days I have to work....

[Eric_of_Atrophy]

Elhanan! Nice to see you here, too!

[The Amethyst Dragon]

A few updates from the last couple of months:

Now Online:

Aenean Epic Magic System: This is now online and running after months of work.  Epic casters can now research up to 40 (or 50 if a wizard) of their own epic spells, picking base effects, area of effect, target limitations, saving throw adjustments, and more.  Epic casters can have up to 8 epic castings per day at 40th level, picking one or more of their researched spells.

Undead Animation: Spellcasters able to cast animate dead (and similar spells) can now have up to 20 such followers at a time.  Bring on the undead armies!

Gambling Devices: Now found at Fishhead's Tavern in Macedone, PCs can take care of some of that extra gold with the brand new "slot machines".  Yes, complete with spinning wheels and different odds of winning.

Cursed Items (update): Instead of being limited to certain known loot items, item curses can now show up on almost any random treasure (a 1 in 1000 chance).  There are 20 different basic curse types, each with 1 to 6 "levels" of properties.  The remove curse spell will now remove one such item from a creature's inventory, so long as that item's curse hasn't been activated yet (and bound to the creature).  The temple of Lysis (goddess of fate) in Macedone can still remove any and all cursed items at once.

In Progress:

Player Item Enchantment System (update): I am currently working on an update to this system to allow casters to select caster level for scrolls, potions, and wands, while also openning more potion/wand options for enchantment.  I'll also be adding the option for PC spellcasters to permanently enhance most items with additional properties.  This one is a work in progress, but will be rolled out in stages as code is completed.

New Underwater Areas: Additional underwater areas will be added soon after the next hak update (which will include Lord of Worms' excellent undersea tileset).  Some older underwater areas will get rebuilt after that.

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Just finishing up a new underwater section before updating the module itself, but the updated hak files are now online for current and new players.

Included in this update:
- worm's undersea tileset
- maxam's versatile dungeon tileset
- vfx shoulder parrots (from the monthly cc project)
- mops
- redone main loadscreen and loadscreen "branding" images
- more new potion icons
- magic staff overhaul (replacing BioWare default bulky staves with better looking ones, adding a few more options)
- internal hak reorganization (removing redundant content that has been added to CEP since it was added to Aenea haks, such as the 100MB of models hardpoints' dragons, moving material from the "updates" hak into a regular hak)

Just a little preview image, showing off 1 new staff top (large blue crystal) , 1 new staff middle (wood staff with brown and white feathers), and 1 new staff bottom (it's "blank", so you can't really see it).



Edit: Adding a few more preview images.

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 09 octobre 2010 - 04:39 .

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Some of this past month's additions/alterations:

- Updated hak file with a couple of new minor model changes and 2da modifications.

- Changed lizardfolk models from strange BioWare ones to versions heavily based on the DLA/Ossian lizardman model included in CEP.  Modified tail and wing node locations, changed wing/tail scale, and created an all new tail that matches the new lizardmen.

- Added models for primitive weapons (spears, daggers, warhammers) from Nexorcist.

- Changed many trigger-based encounters to randomized ones, using modified coding from CEP's Sparky Spawner system. Many NPCs and creatures throughout the module now appear in random places in each area, some chosen randomly from encounter tables, some appearing only during certain times of day or night, some appearing only during a full moon, some not spawning in 100% of the time, and quite a few areas getting much more variety in encounters.

- Added new player status information to the main Aenea webpage...see who's online anytime without logging in! Shows player names and character names.

In Progress: Magic spells scripting overhaul - Rewriting all spell scripts and spell functions to enable potion, wand, and scroll enchanting with selectable caster levels and to open up other new options for affecting magic in Aenea.

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 31 octobre 2010 - 11:39 .

[The Amethyst Dragon]

In Progress: Still working on the all-spells scripting overhaul.  The first few updated spells have helped iron out the kinks in the new system, and now work is accelerating on the rest of the hundreds of available spells.

Metamagic Staves: Spellcasters can now purchase special staves that affect spells whenever they are held during casting, allowing an extra (though initially very expensive) layer of metamagic on each spell.  Effects range from Maximize, Empower, and Extend effects to Heightened effective spell level, school-specific DC bonuses, Energy Substitution (for many spells), and even a Widen effect for spells with a circular area of effect (such as fireball).  These function for any spells that have had their code updated to the new system.

New Spell Visual Effects:
blade barrier - rising/falling blades replaced with a deadly spinning fan of blades, new spell projectile
cloud kill - new red fog VFX with fills the area of effect and doesn't cause as much visual lag
acid fog - new green fog VFX
stinking cloud - new green-yellow fog VFX
cloud of bewilderment - new multicolored fog VFX
mind fog - new blue fog VFX
incendiary cloud - new orange fog VFX
wall of fire - new wall of flames VFX (instead of mist on the ground)
fireball - new spark spell projectile
gust of wind - new wind spell projectile, new "burst" VFX
cone of cold - new cone snowflake VFX (less "white mist spray")
delayed blast fireball - removed AoE trigger, turned into PnP "delayed bomb" spell with visible timer object
flesh to stone - new "medusa" projectile
fear - new skull projectile
Phoenix's various spells - new phoenix projectile
drown - new watery wave projectile
tripgust - new wind projectile
...other new burst, duration, impact, and projectile VFXs are planned as the spells are updated and the spell list is expanded.

Scrolls: New coding for scroll scribing with caster level selection has been created and tested successfully.  Once all the spells have been re-coded, this function will be available for any caster with the Scribe Scroll feat, expanding on the scope of power a scroll can hold.  Wands and potions with selectable caster levels will follow once work on the scrolls is finished.

Lots of behind the scenes work being done all the time.  Who knows what will develop next?

Maybe it's that shiny new Hall of Fame award being delivered in the next few days (for the Colorized Spell Icons: Generation 2).

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 30 novembre 2010 - 06:56 .

[lordofworms]

Hey amethyst dragon, I have actually a improved underwater tileset (backwards compatible with old version) it just has themultiple rise/lower terrains and all features,etc available.

I havent posted it yet as it aslo was gonna be part of my own PW.

but seriously if you want it reply here or shoot me an email

[ jgiroux@bhs1.org ]

and I will send it your way.

[The Amethyst Dragon]

[Elhanan]

New game semi-installed, and hope to visit kinda soon. I have to recall all the Tech/ Build/ NWN related things, plus remember to set aside the time for the needed downloads.

I will *wave* if I see you there!

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Elhanan wrote...

New game semi-installed, and hope to visit kinda soon. I have to recall all the Tech/ Build/ NWN related things, plus remember to set aside the time for the needed downloads.
I will *wave* if I see you there!

Looking forward to seeing you back in NWNland and Aenea.  Have fun!

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Some additions/alterations since the last update here:

- New evil snowman creature added to the game (that's what the picture above was from).

- Several new desert threats (such as the spiked cactus) and other model additions coming with the next update hak release (coming in a matter of days).

- New area cleared to make room for more player housing closer to the starting town.

- Added small xp bonus for identifying tracks that are found.

- Added the ability for PCs to change their voiceset from within the game (and added a reference to the website).

- Updated generic dye pots to properly work on cloaks (just like the magical dye pot that's been in-game for ages).

- Several other additions

- Updated polymorph other and shapechange spells to get rid of the conversation-based menu and replace it with VC commands to set options anytime (even in the midst of combat).  Full listing of possible forms are available on the website and ingame via VC command.

- Updated all polymorph options (via spells or Wildshape variants) to properly merge properties from worn armor, shields, and other equipped non-weapons onto the polymorphed form's creature skin.

- Updated polymorph forms and module so that changing into a demon shape means no penalties when in the Dark Realm.

- Updated NPC perception scripting so that a Bluff check combined with a magical disguise (via hat of disguise or polymorphing) can make similar NPCs non-hostile.

- Updated Planar turning to properly take into account the new Demon and Celestial racial types and the location of the turning (harder to turn demons in the Dark Realm, where they are natives).

- Multiple updates to existing spells.

- Added 11 new spells (and replaced 2 existing ones), many for clerics and druids:
Circle of Light Healing
Area effect cure light wounds (replaces healing circle).
Bard 5, Cleric 5, Druid 5
Circle of Moderate Healing
Area effect cure moderate wounds.
Bard 6, Cleric 6, Druid 6
Circle of Serious Healing
Area effect cure serious wounds.
Cleric 7, Druid 7
Circle of Critical Healing
Area effect cure critical wounds.
Cleric 8, Druid 8
Circle of Great Healing
Area effect heal (replaces mass heal).
Cleric 9, Druid 9
Grabthar's Hammer
1d8+1 bludgeoning damage, ranged touch (x3 damage on critical hit).
Sorcerer/Wizard 1
(yes, the spell's name is a small bit of humor added to the game, kind of like my wands of invisibility that are actually invisible in inventory)
Jade Moon
slashing damage in a path away from the caster
Cleric 7, Druid 7
Crashing Wave
water does bludgeoning damage along a path away from caster
Cleric 3 (Harcorth/Aquar), Druid 3
Earthen Fist
rock and dirt does bludgeoning damage along a path away from caster
Cleric 3 (Terris), Druid 3
Bone Throw
bone boomerang damages an undead target
Bard 1, Cleric 1, Druid 1, Paladin 1, Ranger 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Water Throw
ball of water inflicts bludgeoning damage, extra damage against fire elementals
Cleric 2 (Aquar/Harcorth), Druid 2
Frostfall
a single target is turned to immobile ice
Druid 8
Tornado
conjures a tornado that moves around destroying things
Cleric 9 (Borzig/Typhis), Druid 9

In Progress:

Magic spells scripting overhaul - Still working on recoding all of the spells in the game in between bugfixes, additions, updates, and...oh, yeah...raising 4 kids (AD be a stay at home dad/dragon).  I figure I'm somewhere between 50% and 75% done with the spells, and will be revamping the Player Item Enchantment System once all the spells are done (so that scrolls, wands, and potions can have true assigned caster levels).

On the horizon...
- Updated quest system for streamlined scripting, better bookkeeping, and faster quest additions.
- Updated item appearance crafting system.
- Additional areas for exploration/adventure.
- Additional new art resources (creature/item/vfx/tileset/placeable models, icons, etc.)

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 24 janvier 2011 - 06:47 .

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Aenea is still growing and evolving. Real life has been interfering with adding a lot of new things, but the last month has given Aeneans:

- an improved Icereach, with icicles, icebergs, huge pieces of ice looming overhead, and even (thanks to a new tileset) icy caves cut and melted directly into the glacier (instead of in the rock under it).

- continued updates to spell scripting system

- new market area in the starting town, from a player suggestion

- multiple bugfixes

- minor random encounter adjustments

- a new island in the demonic Dark Realm to explore

- a change so that magical AC bonuses on most weapons are now considered shield bonuses (rather than deflection)

- lots of other minor updates and changes

- a spiffy new Hall of Fame award for the Scroll Icons: Colorized (Generation 2) package.

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 01 mars 2011 - 07:15 .

[The Amethyst Dragon]

Lots of behind the scenes code work going on, with bugfixes and some encounter adjusting. No major features added in the last month, so here's some screenshots of some features of Aenea.

The first shows off some of the nice Aenean wizard staff parts and the two moons of Aenea (which move across the sky and change phase as game time progresses).

The rest of the pictures are showing off some of the additions made to the Icereach areas in a recent hak update.

[NWN DM]

Anyone who is a custom content junkie should try this place out, if the screenshots are anything to go by.

[The Amethyst Dragon]

June 4, 2011 (going to start adding dates to my posts, since this forum doesn't)

Here's some updates from the last month (or two).

NWN Podcast, Episode 142: The World of Aenea is featured in the latest episode of the only Neverwinter Nights Podcast. {link}

Poison Items: Poisons now have their own item type and brand new icons, so they will no longer all look like the same tiny green vials with a little skull on top.

New Plant Creatures: Coming soon, the topiary guardian models have been added to the hak files, so some more plant creatures will soon be added to various encounters and druids will be able to summon a few plant-based creatures with several of the summon creature spells.

Soulfire Warrior Update: Rather than just the previous blue, the sword and armor of Soulfire Warriors is now alignment-based.  Good characters will still summon the blue blade and armor, while neutral Soulfire Warriors will get green and evil ones will get red.  The color of the glowing eyes changed as well.

Masks: The commands to add facial veils have been updated, and two new masks have been added for PCs (the tiki mask and the skull half-mask).

Magic Missile: Spellcasters (both PC and NPC) now have 116 options for the appearance of their magic missiles.  PCs can pick their desired missile appearance and projectile path (straight or arcing ballistic), while NPCs and spellcasting items have theirs set in the toolset or determined randomly.  This change has been in for several months now.

Background work: Still working on lots of stuff in the background (bugfixes, script optimizing, laying out frameworks for quests and various items/NPCs/areas).

Modifié par The Amethyst Dragon, 04 juin 2011 - 07:41 .

[TSMDude]

The Amethyst Dragon wrote...


Magic Missile: Spellcasters (both PC and NPC) now have 116 options for the appearance of their magic missiles.  PCs can pick their desired missile appearance and projectile path (straight or arcing ballistic), while NPCs and spellcasting items have theirs set in the toolset or determined randomly.  This change has been in for several months now.

 Wher eyou able to change any other spells like that? i am working on seeing how to do a Spellsemitacs thing so a player can choose to have thier spells look like snakes or what not...

Would love to see this and would gladly trade anything i have if anything i had I had not stolen from you already...unless you want my dog...I will send her poste haste!

[The Amethyst Dragon]

TSMDude wrote...

The Amethyst Dragon wrote...
Magic Missile: Spellcasters (both PC and NPC) now have 116 options for the appearance of their magic missiles.  PCs can pick their desired missile appearance and projectile path (straight or arcing ballistic), while NPCs and spellcasting items have theirs set in the toolset or determined randomly.  This change has been in for several months now.

 Wher eyou able to change any other spells like that? i am working on seeing how to do a Spellsemitacs thing so a player can choose to have thier spells look like snakes or what not...

Would love to see this and would gladly trade anything i have if anything i had I had not stolen from you already...unless you want my dog...I will send her poste haste!

I have not changed any other spells to behave in this way.  In my PnP game, I've always had it so a caster could pick their magic missile projectile appearance when they learned the spell, so this was the only such spell I altered for my PW (for my personal taste, the default projectiles are too flashy for a 1st level spell).  It involved edits to both spells.2da and the magic missile script (and the making of multiple new vfx models).

Other spells I may have altered the projectiles for (such as fear or flesh to stone), but PCs don't actually decide on those changes, as those are made at the 2da level.  I didn't feel like altering each individual spell script in the game just for this cosmetic functionality.

As far as the dog...no.  I've got one already, and wouldn't want the extra work (and property maintenance, and vet bills) that would come with another.  Plus, if it's one of those little yip dogs, my cat would probably just eat it anyway.

[TSMDude]

How dare you Suh...insult my doggie. I play Stouts not elves so would never have a small doggie. I have vicous pit bull named Bella who has killed several small stuffed animals and contuines to rule over any lap unlucky enuff to appear in her presence.

Who just walked by and my daughter painted Bella toe nails green again....sighs....