35 réponses à ce sujet

[M. Rieder]

I was looking for information on GUIs yesterday and came across another website that hosts NWN2 mods.  Most of the files were pretty old, but one, titled "The Moonlight Path" had a news update that was only 1 month old.  I looked at the screenshots, art, and length (25-30 hours!) and got curious.  There didn't seem to be much going on at the site (moddb.com), so I was wondering if anyone here knows anything about the project called "The Moonlight Path".  It seems to have been under development for some time. 

[kamalpoe]

http://nwn2forums.bi...19355&forum=111



I'm not sure how a project with such a scope as they say could happen without more involvement in the forums.

[Krozam]

Haha... Leave it to us Finns to start something as crazy as this. XD

[BartjeD]

I've seen their page on modDB and it does seem pretty genuine.
Considering that they've existed in solitude they probably haven't needed any active community involvement.

Keep in mind that doesn't mean that they won't be using models, scripts or "solutions" etc. from the NWN Vault.

What a pleasant surprise! It still seems like a long way off though.


It's not that weird if you think about it, I've personally built a lot of things which I never released to the public just for myself. Granted it wasn't anything of this scale (25+ hours.. wow!)
For example, I once made a system of voice activated magic, complete with working spells and all. At the end I had some 150 spells and an AI that could use them.
Lot's of fun shouting "Avar" and watching a fireball streak off only to be blocked using a shield charm. (forgot that spells name but there were six of them)

That system never got released but it was made completely without community involvement, just for the fun of making something.

The point being that in a lot of project community involvement isn't actually nessicary because it's a product of the builder's imagination. A way to live out the fantasy. (I was very much inspired by H. Potter at that time)

To me community involvement means the possibility to have more resources and solutions but you only need that if you have a problem you can't solve.

These people don't appear to trying to do anything extraordinarily difficult with the game, other than the scope of their project.

Ofcourse when they release it it will be probably be announced here, otherwise almost no one would know about it. That would be a waste if you bother releasing something!

Modifié par BartjeD, 26 décembre 2010 - 05:11 .

[M. Rieder]

The thought that initially sprung to my mind was "What if they releae it an no one knows". I was close to opening an account at moddb just to make sure they knew that NWVault was here, so they could get some exposure.



@BartjeD,

Wow! A voice activated magic system. That must have been really fun to make and use. Did it work off of memorized spells in the same way as the standard one? Did you have a gui interface or something like that?

[BartjeD]

Haha, no it was pure chat based. Some spells had level requirements, most of them scaled. You also couldn't use spells until you had "learned" them which was done through variables. Eventually it could have been done through spells or feats but that was too much work to add for me. (imagine 150 * 2 TLK entires as well as another 150 2da entries.

I had 6 elemental spell trees (for the damage types) each with their own blocking spell. In addition to that there was Divination with some protection and utility spells. Also there was Cursing and Enchanting. Curses were H. Potter inspired, pretty bloody and nasty. (I had one that made you levitate, froze you halfway and then did some greusome effects to kill you)

In essence the strategy of the system was that you had to counter with one of seven specific defense charms or a special one which covered two or more areas of magic. (so Fire + Acid or simply ALL except Non Elemental Magic, oh those were all abjuration spells)

The system used listeners from the chat capture package by DMFI. Originally I developed it in NWN1 along with a special module but I lost interest. Then I started it again in NWN2 but had a complete system crash which wiped it.

The main nag with NWN2 is the lack of suitable VFX's for the spells. I really miss Sunjammers Tile Magic and such. You could make blue fireballs of immense size in NWN1 just by using the engine without ever having to create your own custom VFX's. (that was actually a final level spell - A mega fireball that took like a second to pass you in its entirety.)


Given that these people have it on ModDB I'm assuming they will try to announce it to the community. Else almost no one will play it, that's a waste if you bother releasing something.

Modifié par BartjeD, 26 décembre 2010 - 07:27 .

[M. Rieder]

That sounds awesome! What a shame that you lost it all! I especially like the sounds of the spell that levitates you and then freezes you there. That sounds like a neat bit of scripting.

[BartjeD]

I did it through a "fly-up" animation which I froze using the freeze animation VFX. (after a small delay so you'd be off the ground)
Can't remember if I got this spell to work in NWN2, it should if the falling-in and flying-up animations still work.

After that you looked something like Christ on an invisible cross. Perfect for macabre spells. (NWN1 memory)
I tried to make a reverse gravity spell with this as well, I stopped before that one was working though.



[edit:] These would be the effectAppear and Dissapear effects in NWN2 so it should still work. 

Modifié par BartjeD, 27 décembre 2010 - 03:55 .

[Eguintir Eligard]

Not telling anyone about your product and just throwing it on the vault after years is almost as bad as not using the vault period. As people hear less and less about mods coming out, they leave the community, assuming its had its time. Sure t hey check back here but since there is no news they stop checking.

[Eguintir Eligard]

Checking out their one thread, it looks like they could have used some forum tips when it comes to terraining in the toolset. The areas are decent but literally everyone has that Vertical axis stretching bug going on.

[BartjeD]

Perhaps you can sent them a tip in a comment on MOD-DB maybe they will then also use the forums?

[M. Rieder]

That's not a bad idea.

[Eguintir Eligard]

Upon reading the same thread though someone had already asked why they dont use the forums and they said something to the effect of:



We checked there a few times but they dont give us anything we want.



So they've been here. Rule use out 3 years ago.

[kamalpoe]

We checked there a few times but they dont give us anything we want.

I guess they don't want publicity or anyone to be interested in their mod then.

[M. Rieder]

Well, I sent them an email and PM on ModDB, so we will see if they turn up. Either way, I'll probably bee checking on progress of their mod as it looks pretty excellent. The screenshots were really nice and it seems they've been working on this for a really, really long time.

[Eguintir Eligard]

Actually that too was addressed Kamal. They said in the same thread they dont care if anyone uses their project, that it was just a means of gaining experience for their team. Strange I know.

[dunniteowl]

It takes all kinds. If we don't give them anything they want, it's hard to imagine they'd be producing anything everyone else might have an interest in. At least, I guess that's how they see it. Oh well, some folks aren't interested in impressing anyone with their prowess, just experimenting.

Think of it, pure academic and research related interest in using NWN2. What will they think of next?

In any case, I do hope they come back and revisit. If they still don't like or have any use for the forums, then that's their call to make.

dunniteowl

[Markus_E]

Well, it seems there's been a lot of speculation concerning The Moonlight Path and what the team is currently even making. To enlighten you about all this, let me do the talking.

Currently the project is in temporary halt, due to the problems of my primary PC and otherwise busy life I need to uphold. But things are evolving despite the problematic PC and I am making materials ready to craft out when I get it all fixed.

A new member joined in to the team, and luckily for me and him, he lives here in Finland, thus we are able to make things more easy. He handles both scripting and 3D-art, also 2D-art and high-quality music composing. Together we will work closely and start to make the mod more vivid than ever before!

We are trying to get a first trailer done in the coming months as well, for it's been something that was supposed to make ages ago.

Other than that I am not sure if there's anything more to add. Hope this sheds some light to all of you. Feel free to contact me if anything arises at weltanschlauung@gmail.com ,
Also I was pretty happy and glad to see this fiery conversation going on in here, most inspiring!
New update is coming to the ModDB site on the following month.

- Markus E. - Lead Designer / Developer of The Moonlight Path

PS: Meanwhile, check this nice preview about the mod I found randomly plunging through internet:
http://usercreated.o...moonlight-path/

Modifié par Markus_E, 25 janvier 2011 - 10:08 .

[Damien Jnr]

It's ALIVE!!

Thanks for the update and welcome to our little world Markus.

Cheers

Damien Jnr

[M. Rieder]

Great to hear! Can't wait to see it out.

[Markus_E]

Oh yes, and big thanks to M. Rieder who messaged me about the social network and suggested I'd share the module here as well. I replied to you on ModDB actually, but it seems you haven't been around there since the beginning of January ;p .



And of course, big thanks to all you other enthusiasts!

[M. Rieder]

Are there many other NWN2 mods on ModDB? I mainly hang around here and the vault, but I may go there more if there's more stuff. It seemed sort of deserted.

[Eguintir Eligard]

I thought you didnt care about anyone playing it? I certainly wouldnt waste a project that big by hiding it from an audience but your forums did say that.

[Markus_E]

Eguintir: Wait, what? I really don't recall writing nor commenting anything like that. And if I have done such, I must've been mentally disoriented or heavily drunk at that time, hahah. The lack of exposure around various forums and places has been due to lack of community commenting or noticing the module or the call for aid (like the very, very old Bioware NWN forums where I posted something 2 years ago).

I am more than excited to see the fanbase at ModDB growing and seeing the popularity growth here in Social Network as well. I am making this mod for others to enjoy, as well as making it for my very own amusement, as the NWN Toolset allows me to do something vivid for everyone experience that comes from my very mind. I hope everyone enjoys the adventure as much I have done creating it!

I might sometimes write some incoherent sentences or comments that can be understood wrong, but my intent was not to make people feel that I wouldn't care a flying crap about the audience/players. Making this adventure just for my absolute sole amusement would seem more or less insane, I'd say. I am more than in to publicity for this module, for so much I have done for it and sacrificed to make it what it is today and what it will be in the future. So, just you wait .

Modifié par Markus_E, 25 janvier 2011 - 10:09 .