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NWN Contest: The DRM Monster and the Treasure of GOG (posted OCT 27/2010. Contest ends Nov 24/2010)


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#101
Eat2surf

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Say, Cheeseshire, would you like to join me in finishing our mods and kinda making a community module with all the entries .. at least with those that agree?



We could make a common area that connects to each person's mod... That way those of us that released before we wanted to would get a bit of redemption and the community would get one cool, eclectic way to experience all of our efforts.



Those that finished in time wouldn't have to do any more work (except agree and submit).. and those of us that wanted to finish would still have to do the work to finish..



I dunno.. It seems like we all had fun making these things.. I think this might help us all leave this awesome event with a feeling of satisfaction.



... and without something like this.. I'm likely to leave my mod in it's roughshod state.. which would be a shame..

#102
Tarot Redhand

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FUN!!!! With all those restrictions and a deadline I had as much fun as having a 40 kilo Halibut squashed up my left nostril :sick:. Fun indeed. Harumph!  :D

On a more serious note (A# actually), I intend to wait until after the results before I decide what to do with my entered mod.

TR

#103
dickloraine

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I like the idea of merging the mods, but it coul be difficult in many regards. Just one thing of the top of my head: My mod is created around the provided character. Her fighting abilities, her name, her gender and of course her equipment :)
Maybe there are ways around (spawning in the required equipment, level ups and downs), but it depends on all the other mods and the characters for them. If I remember correctly, you need a character with magical abilities for CheeseshireCat's mod etc.
Maybe there is a way to host all entries on one vault entry or they make at least a news with links to all the mods. Much depends on the additional work, each of us is willing to put into such a mod.

So the long and short of it: Just let us wait and see :)

Modifié par dickloraine, 26 novembre 2010 - 11:06 .


#104
Tyndrel

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I thought that cheap halibut was too good to be true!

#105
Tarot Redhand

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@Tyndral - if you don't fancy the Halibut, beware the cod. Ye gods! I'll never try that again!



TR

#106
Eat2surf

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Ah... but did you try the poached salmon in white wine sauce??

#107
CheeseshireCat

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Maybe it would better be a kind of an "N-pack" -- because my mod, for example, strips you down to nothing on start, and then gets around by fake inventory and NWN mechanics... Like, it does depend on you gaining a level at a specific time, and being restricted in some ways (not to mention it messes with item creation and spell casting scripts).



But I am definitely open to see what can be done.

#108
CheeseshireCat

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Banshe wrote...
How much of a change is necessary? I did receive a query about giving someone more time for their module and I did say "no" as it would provide an extra benefit to the contestant and I like to keep things fair and simple. 

However, what you seem to be asking for is a fix to a very critical bug which, if not addressed, effectively eliminates you from the contest.

So, perhaps you can outline the problem in more detail. Is it a script that is broken?


Yeah, a script.

Well, in detail, the things which were fixed are:

1) As I mentioned, I had a problem with crashes, so I had to restore the mod from backups a few times, and one of the include scripts got lost in process (a fix making Color Spray actually trigget target's OnSpellCast event which it just doesn't by default for some reason);
2) A "x = y" instead of "x == y" in one if check (not quite used to programming in the languages having it different, not the same "x = y" format); (edit: this one wasn't critical, either, IIRC, it was just causing the pirate to supply you with blank scrolls ad infinitum, not just once);
3) Possibly (not sure whether I did it before or after) a messed up capitalization of a stored variable's name in one more script making some things go odd in some cases, depending on sequence things are done, but it wasn't interfering with the completion of the module, just making stuff less fun. If following the walkthrough, it shouldn't have mattered.

Edit: And yeah, as I stated right away, I dunno if it's ok, if not, the original submission should do, obviously. But what is broken there is the puzzle opening the vault itself, though there's another odd bug that still allows to open it -- if you have a spell on quickslot, ran out of those spells, then try to use it again (I don't recall whether using a click on the quickbar or an F# key), then just *USE* a spark, it seems to still cause it to trigger the sparks sometimes, though it's apparently quite random...

Modifié par CheeseshireCat, 28 novembre 2010 - 05:45 .


#109
Banshe

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Ok. Thanks CheeseshireCat. I'll give that info to the judges so they are aware of the bugs. :)

#110
CheeseshireCat

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If you use the unfixed version, point 3 still could be overcome by, once you finish scribing the scrolls, enabling the debug mode and issuing both "##SetVarInt Counterfeit 1" and "##SetVarInt counterfeit 1" at the resulting scroll stack.

If the puzzle opening the vault itself doesn't work, teleporting past the doors still would show the treasure.

Also, I wanted to point out that the main thing in the module is readables. Read every R-Click/examine description, including on the DRM monster itself, pay attention to the map notes, and to what the character is saying when you do stuff (chat pane is better kept open to at least 6-8 lines long).

#111
Banshe

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Ok. And we have your walkthrough if we get stuck. :)

#112
CheeseshireCat

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By the by, were there any submissions to the model part of the contest?

I tried to get one friend to do it, but she didn't have the required tools right away, and with the limited time (I kinda learned of the contest halfway through even myself, talked to her a couple days after) didn't wanna bother.

#113
Banshe

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Yep. There was one submission. Very funny and cool looking. Hellfire made it and, by default, won the three free games.



I will submit it to the vault as the contest winner when I get the module contest under control.



You'll get a huge kick out of it. ;)

#114
Eat2surf

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Yeah... it's looking like a group mod for this contest isn't really a good fit.



But, a future one designed to be a group deal in the beginning might be fun later. .. eh?

#115
The Fred

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CheeseshireCat wrote...
...she didn't have the required tools right away


Hey, I was seriously considering making a model out of existing ones using only re-skins from the Vault and Notepad! My main reason for not doing was more the fact I wouldn't have been able to test it.

Ah well, congrats to Hellfire, anyway, whose model is probably awesome.

#116
CheeseshireCat

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The Fred wrote...

CheeseshireCat wrote...
...she didn't have the required tools right away


Hey, I was seriously considering making a model out of existing ones using only re-skins from the Vault and Notepad! My main reason for not doing was more the fact I wouldn't have been able to test it.

Ah well, congrats to Hellfire, anyway, whose model is probably awesome.


She is a professional modeller, has a render farm in her basement, literally, but NWN needs a rather specific and pretty outdated software, so go figure :) *MAYBE* if that was made available for the contest, it would have worked.

Eat2surf wrote...

Yeah... it's looking like a group mod for this contest isn't really a good fit.

But, a future one designed to be a group deal in the beginning might be fun later. .. eh?


Do we need a contest to make one?

#117
Banshe

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Ok. Folks...

We have reviewed all the modules and agreed upon a list of four finalists:

Tyndrel
Dick Loraine
Tarot Redhand
Oliver Leroux

These are not in any particular order. Mostly because the three judges all had a different order of preference but interestingly all chose the same ones.

As for the one's that didn't make it, some were very close and some not as close. One particular submission which was quite enjoyable suffered from such a simple problem as a misplaced "starting point". It had been placed in the final area instead of the starting area and therefore, only the last third was playable. I won't name names so I'll leave it to the party responsible to figure it out. Our best guess was that the author was testing the final area and did not move the starting point back to it's original location.

In other cases, there were some design decisions which weren't such a great idea. And in many cases, there was simply more of a particular element in the chosen modules than in the modules that were not chosen (i.e. more story, stronger plot etc.). 

If any of you would like specific feedback on your module, PM me. I enjoyed all your mods and would be happy to discuss them with you. 

As for our standing right now, all of you should be very proud of yourselves. Ten submissions is a good number. To be honest, I would be more than comfortable putting any of these ten modules  up against the GOG stuff.
 
Thank you guys for taking part.


And in response to the putting these modules together, I'm not sure if that can be managed. There is great strength in the NWN1 community and it's levels of creativity. Of the ten modules, none of the DRM monsters or GOG treasures were the same.  

#118
Tarot Redhand

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Unacustomed as I am to winning anything... Thank you. Couple of quick questions. Weren't there supposed to be 5 winners? I only count 4 in your list.



And what happens now?



TR

#119
Banshe

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There will eventually be five winners. The above four are not actually winners (yet).They are finalists.



What happens now is that we will give the four finalist modules to the GOG folks and they will give us their four finalist modules. Then the GOG judges and the NWN1 judges will decide on four of the five winners. The remaining four modules will be put up on the vault and there will be a poll on the GOG.com website. The community (both NWN1 and GOG) will vote for their favorite module (of the four left). That module will get be the fifth winner.



Put another way, there are eight finalists (four GOG and four NWN1). The judges will choose four winners and the community will choose the fifth.

#120
Tarot Redhand

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Heck, being chosen, by my peers as the saying goes, as one of four finalists still feels like winning :). Congrats to the other 3 by the way ;) and commiserations :( to the other competitors.

Out of curiosity do you know how many people entered on the gog side?

TR

Modifié par Tarot Redhand, 01 décembre 2010 - 02:39 .


#121
Banshe

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Yep. There are five contestants. So only one of them will be eliminated. The other four will be finalists.

#122
Eat2surf

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I figured an hour to put all the stuff into my mod wasn't going to be enough ;)



Congrats to the NWN entries! I'm relieved that mine didn't make it... because it would be very sad if that thing I cobbled together was actually seen by the GOG side :)



Regarding the idea of a community mod done by multiple builders... No.. it shouldn't be a contest .. How about something for April's Fools Day?

#123
Banshe

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Eat2surf wrote...

I figured an hour to put all the stuff into my mod wasn't going to be enough ;)

Congrats to the NWN entries! I'm relieved that mine didn't make it... because it would be very sad if that thing I cobbled together was actually seen by the GOG side :)

Regarding the idea of a community mod done by multiple builders... No.. it shouldn't be a contest .. How about something for April's Fools Day?


You only put an hour in? Wow! It was a pretty decent mod. You did one thing that I liked and one thing that I didn't.

Your execution of the DRM monster was simple yet captured the essence of "DRM" so well. He stood on a bridge and you could not pass nor defeat him. However you could "circumvent" him by luring him off the bridge and going around him.

To me, the cleverest ideas are the ones that convey the point you are trying to make in the simplest and most straighforward terms. IMHO it is actually easier to make something complex... So that impressed me a lot.

The thing I did not like was a design decision that I thought was a bad idea. Aside from the DRM and the Treasure of GOG story, you were also telling the story of "how I didn't have enough time to do this module the way I wanted". The second storyline basically broke the first storyline because it pulled the player out of the game and back into reality. I think that you forgot that your target audience was playing your module to be entertained first and foremost. So next time, just make your module as per the guidelines and leave that stuff out. I can see why you thought it might help but it actually has the opposite effect. ;)

#124
_six

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CheeseshireCat wrote...

She is a professional modeller, has a render farm in her basement, literally, but NWN needs a rather specific and pretty outdated software, so go figure :)


My copy of 3dsMax 2010 is outdated? Daw...

:bandit:

#125
Hellfire_RWS

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not to mention Gmax is free