I was curious if there was a way to represent keeping important notes during gameplay; the journal has a notes section, but it doesn't update by itself. In the example I envision, a companion would have a small notebook and would be keeping notes on the general events and experiences that occur during the game. I assume this would either bring up a custom GUI or change the localized description of a custom book when the player wants to read the notes.
Thoughts?
Method of Keeping Notes during Gameplay
Débuté par
UltimaPhoenix
, févr. 10 2011 03:03
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#2
Posté 10 février 2011 - 03:54
M. Rieder
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What you describe sounds very similar to the journal system. How do you envision this differing from the current journal system?
#3
Posté 10 février 2011 - 04:49
dunniteowl
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The Journal System is underutilized by most builders. Then again, it is a lot of extra work. You can use it to make all sorts of story-like additions to your adventures and while the notes section doesn't update automatically ( hence the reason they're called notes,) you have to make them - it makes a wonderful way to keep logs of things going on in-game.
I use Journal Notes as a way to catalog bugs, typos and occurrences when I am play testing for someone else. It's easy to do and it keeps a log of your actions in the notes section, even if you go back to an earlier save point, the notes seem to persist. It has done so on at least two Alpha Run Throughs for Misery Stone and Legacy of White Plume Mountain.
The automatic updates take place with Journal and Quest entries and you have to specifically "tell" the journal system when an addition is to be made (via the convos and quest updates.)
I think most builders are focused on making the game playable and fun and so less attention goes to the Player's Journal in terms of using it like a Journal instead of a relevant catalog of quest states. The deeper aspect is more of a storyteller concept and is a lot of additional text for very little gain on the part of the playing experience overall. And I say this as a "wall of text" storyteller myself.
dunniteowl
I use Journal Notes as a way to catalog bugs, typos and occurrences when I am play testing for someone else. It's easy to do and it keeps a log of your actions in the notes section, even if you go back to an earlier save point, the notes seem to persist. It has done so on at least two Alpha Run Throughs for Misery Stone and Legacy of White Plume Mountain.
The automatic updates take place with Journal and Quest entries and you have to specifically "tell" the journal system when an addition is to be made (via the convos and quest updates.)
I think most builders are focused on making the game playable and fun and so less attention goes to the Player's Journal in terms of using it like a Journal instead of a relevant catalog of quest states. The deeper aspect is more of a storyteller concept and is a lot of additional text for very little gain on the part of the playing experience overall. And I say this as a "wall of text" storyteller myself.
dunniteowl
#4
Posté 10 février 2011 - 04:57
painofdungeoneternal
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The notes you keep are saved to a text file with the same name as that of your character. If you need to print it out, look for it in the folder where your character is saved, note it's always locally stored. ( i've actually kept notes i needed to follow in game to reproduce a bug ( or notes on cheat codes and waypoint names), i set that up prior to creating the character and if the name matches the characters i can refer to it in game. )
To monitor what is going on with these notes i actually have a chat command for DM's that allows you to read the players notes and their description.
To monitor what is going on with these notes i actually have a chat command for DM's that allows you to read the players notes and their description.
Modifié par painofdungeoneternal, 10 février 2011 - 04:58 .
#5
Posté 10 février 2011 - 05:11
Lugaid of the Red Stripes
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While the journal is mostly used to just to tell the player what they need to do next, I've also taken to using it as a sort of plot-summary. The easiest way to do it is to create quests in the journal editor that aren't tied to a specific quest, but rather update as the overall plot moves along. You could even name a quest "Henchman's Diary" or something like that, and record the henchman's personal observations as the story progresses.
You should also look into custom tokens, and the dynamic journal system floating around on the vault somewhere. It gives you more flexibility when writing journal entries, variable-based mad-lib style rather than the simple quest state.
As stated above, the journal updates when a script tells it to.
You should also look into custom tokens, and the dynamic journal system floating around on the vault somewhere. It gives you more flexibility when writing journal entries, variable-based mad-lib style rather than the simple quest state.
As stated above, the journal updates when a script tells it to.
#6
Posté 10 février 2011 - 05:42
UltimaPhoenix
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Ultimately, I suppose there is no real difference between what I envisioned and the journal system already present. I had conceived of a notebook that a companion finds and writes in as events progress, detailing all sorts of information about the module. As it reads from said specific companion's perspective, it's a chance to further draw the player into the experience.
Beyond the journal, I was really just interested in how this has been handled by other story-tellers. The one major problem with my story-telling is how complex my stories tend to be. This one module I am building draws upon elements of at least three different on-going stories, but I would never expect the player to automatically know anything about them - the fun should be in experiencing whatever amount of detail the player wants to experience (from playing Metal Gear Solid, I know how frustrating it can be when the action is interrupted too often with cut-scenes, no matter how important to the story they may be).
On another note, how do each of you feel about combat in scenarios? Is it your main focus, or does the aspect or RP'ing mean more?
Beyond the journal, I was really just interested in how this has been handled by other story-tellers. The one major problem with my story-telling is how complex my stories tend to be. This one module I am building draws upon elements of at least three different on-going stories, but I would never expect the player to automatically know anything about them - the fun should be in experiencing whatever amount of detail the player wants to experience (from playing Metal Gear Solid, I know how frustrating it can be when the action is interrupted too often with cut-scenes, no matter how important to the story they may be).
On another note, how do each of you feel about combat in scenarios? Is it your main focus, or does the aspect or RP'ing mean more?
#7
Posté 10 février 2011 - 09:26
MokahTGS
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NWN2 offers all sorts of gameplay options for builders and AS builders we should not be afraid to use all of them. I use the journal extensively to fill in backstory in Jabberwocky and also to give the player hints and clues about creatures they may face in combat.
As an example, you can find books that give you zoological information about known creatures, and possible weaknesses they might have. These aren't really quest updates, they are just flavor information that gives the player a better feel for the module setting. What exactly does a bandersnatch eat anyway?
I value combat and roleplay equally in any module. Combat is a story telling tool. I use the battles the player goes through as a way of telling them what is going on.
BM, I had no idea the notes saved to a text file. That is awesome! Thank you for that little nugget, as it will make bug checking so much easier.
As an example, you can find books that give you zoological information about known creatures, and possible weaknesses they might have. These aren't really quest updates, they are just flavor information that gives the player a better feel for the module setting. What exactly does a bandersnatch eat anyway?
I value combat and roleplay equally in any module. Combat is a story telling tool. I use the battles the player goes through as a way of telling them what is going on.
BM, I had no idea the notes saved to a text file. That is awesome! Thank you for that little nugget, as it will make bug checking so much easier.
