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[Eguintir Eligard]

Good advice Dan, but don't you have a #1 most retarded voted D&D monster to be custom  building? 

[Frosty44]

Sorry I've been MIA - I  moved, RL got in the way, and I forgot about the thread until somebody mentioned it to me recently.

 

Why a Mac? Because since 1985 we have never had a virus or a worm, we never had to read a book to learn a program, and the graphics are great! Not to mention that they last for years! I'm just sorry we didn't buy shares in Apple back then!

 

In any case, when it comes to games, I don't know why but it seems that names work best if they're kept between 28 and 32 characters. As already mentioned, very big haks , especially ones with long names, can play havoc with Macs - yet I can play 95% of the the campaigns with or without lots of haks. Nobody seems to know why these problems pop up for sure. That said, I haven't had one "Mac" problem with this campaign - everything is going very smoothly.

[Tchos]

Why a Mac? Because since 1985 we have never had a virus or a worm

 

I hear people say that a lot, but this isn't the first.

http://www.ibtimes.c...-reddit-1699227

[Eguintir Eligard]

Yes people do seem to share that delusions rather widely. Guess it shows they really did need a book to operate a computer.

I don't oppose using them but using them to do what a Pc does seems like a roundabout way to accomplish something.

[Tchos]

Well, I wouldn't go that far.  It's no delusion to say that I (or we, as in one's own household) have never been troubled by a virus, and I don't doubt that statement from a Mac user.  As a Windows user, I have gotten the occasional virus, though those rare occasions have never required any drastic action like reformatting the hard drive, and I never bother with those resource-hog antivirus packages anymore, except for an occasional installation and scan to make sure I am indeed still virus-free.  I was just saying that one should not think any system is unhackable or immune from viruses.  If people are motivated enough to do it, they will.

[Frosty44]

Wow - I had no idea! I never heard about either attack and really didn't think it was possible, so thanks for the info. I'll still stick with my Mac though!

[Eguintir Eligard]

Yes I was about to say her statement sounded like a statement of fact not personal experience.

 

Anyway I want people to know something about this campaign that sits quietly in the wings.

 

It is EPIC. It might be the yardstick for any other campaigns made.

 

I'm a tester so I am getting an early look. It's big already in chapter 1 alone. I've seen , bad, okay, and great works put on the vault... but nothing had the width and non linear operation of this campaign. It definitely follows the BG 2 recipe, and is what I was hoping to see all along in a user made campaign.

 

Areas designs are unique and quite technically strong as well.

 

Finally someone gets it... a d&d adventure. Not a short story, not a tight little group of quests out of some swamp village, but a full, fleshed out game.

 

Put this on your watch list as a must play...and I don't mean must maybe play after doing your own campaigns for years. This is truly a drop everything and try it type of campaign.

[andysks]

Three years I am working on this, and these good words bring the feeling of accomplishment.

 

The testing of these chapters will be over soon, before I upload a fixed version, and make an update on this journal. I just want to say that, as I said when this test started, I had a lot of stress. But getting good words from my testers, gives me power to go on. Makes me feel like I'm doing something here. And most important, I feel great that the testers see the things I was planning while building. That my vision of this work didn't get lost somewhere in battles or placing loot, and everything I wanted it to look like, it did.

Seeing the name BG2 mentioned in my campaign, as a followed recipe, is probably the greatest honor for me.

 

On the technical side, there were bugs to be found. Numerous. And still getting discovered. But I will get to all this once the test is over.

 

Until then,

Andy.

[Eguintir Eligard]

And combat challenge and loot balance. Let's not forget those, the former rarely done to any consistent success and the latter tends to go too far one way or the other. This is a nice middle.

[Frosty44]

Agreed - the balance is very well done and the areas look really good!

[andysks]

Journal Update

 

 

One tester, Karen, is over with these first chapters and the content I wanted tested. She played 34 hours... something I really didn't expect! Although a big ammount was going back to get a fix, or using some console to do something etc. But still, even with such things I think the time could be 24ish. The other, Eguintir, I had to pause because I got lost in the bug updates and it would be confussing for both of us if he were to continue.

The words I heard, were not expected. I knew that friends of mine who have taken glimpses of this work said it's good and that they like it, but for the first time I hear such good words from some third person.

I really need to thank these two testers for all their recomendations, most of which I implemented. Say sorry for the typos ( ), which as time goes by get less and less, and also thanks for the numerous bugs they helped me fix.

 

 

Once I fix all the remaining bugs, an updated version will get uploaded and I already have two more testers wiling to play it.

This new version will hopefully not have many thing to report, since some of the bugs were completely follish of me.

Examples:

Setting a variable on an object, then asking it from another object.

Having a door which requires a key, but the quest giver never gave the key.

Companions had no option on their dialogues to "Nothing, let's just move on", after their initial greeting, causing them to leave the party if you even talk to them accidentaly.

 

I think that such bugs, are not so bad to be honest. They can break a game, but they don't matter so much in a test version. I prefer to find such things, than things not appearing, or game crashing when we travel the map. Bugs that require a small fix in general are better even if I feel stupid when I find them.

 

Good thing is, and I don't know if the testers noticed it as well, that bugs got less and less as story progressed. Meaning that I get more experienced and fixes won't take too long time in the future, for there will be less fixes to do. Of course, who can know... we all had our share of headaches while building .

 

All in all, I think the campaign is getting the character I want, and the course is quite clear in my head and sheets.

 

I will go on a small break now, until the first days of the new year due to... well, it's holiday . All the above will happen after that, together with working on the next chapter. Until then, I wish you all nice holidays and new year .

[Eguintir Eligard]

We will get back on our project horses after holidays then. I really think given the play time revealed we can make these early chapters all one campaign and the next ones a sequel.

[andysks]

This is a possibility I also thought of. Though it has to end with a cliffhanger I think... unless I think of some alternative.

[andysks]

Journal Update

 

I'm back on working on this campaign after the small break for the holidays. I expect to be done with the things I want to do before I ship the fixed beta version to people who are willing to play it by the middle of this month. I already have a couple, plus the ones who already played the more bugged version who I don't know if they are willing to replay it so soon after the completion. In any case, if there is anyone who wants to download it and try it out, just send me a message and I'll let you know.

 

There is another thing I wanted to say though. The Keep on the Borderlands, a mod using the ToEE game and the Co8 modpack is complete. It is a mod which took many years to complete, and I followed it on and off, and from what I got the version that's out is quite playable at the moment. Give it a shot, as fellow builders . I am certain that it's worth the time.

[PJ156]

I think I tested the keep on the borderlands?  You're right if it the one I was thinking of. Good luck with the last push on your mod.

 

PJ

[Frosty44]

I played Keep on the Borderlands quite some time ago. Is this a remake or another version?

[Tchos]

The version he's talking about is a mod for Troika's Temple of Elemental Evil game, not the NWN2 version of the same name.  Both were based on a pen & paper module.

[Frosty44]

Thanks Tchos!

[andysks]

I noticed that I haven't uploaded any screenshot for a while, and so for this update I'd like to share my current ambitious project. Still in work, as you can see from the emptiness and lack of placeables, I want to build a huge library. It is some short of extraplanar place, filled with knowledge and answers for the ones who know the questions.

I would be OK using a prefab for this, but I found nothing which fits my goals so I decided to let my imagination work.

I'd like to know what you people think of the screenshot so far, and if possible any ideas for fillers for such a place. Given that English is not my mother tongue, sometimes I miss out on nice placeables simply because I don't know which key word to use in order to find them or even see if they exist (See easel...). And with the amount of CC I have now, it is quite impossible to see them one by one .

 

Anyway, here's the picture.

 

[kamal_]

Misery Stone has a giant library level, it might give you some ideas.

[rjshae]

It looks good to me; I think just needs some better lit reading areas. But you probably already have something in mind. Maybe some dusty cobwebs in the upper corners...

 

I had some open and closed books in this set (more than is shown in the screen shots). They were mainly intended to serve as magic books, but would probably pass as other works.

 

These NWN models could be ported. Not sure how good they would look in NWN2.

 

See also the RDS Flying book and the Netbook of Books.

[andysks]

I haven't played Misery Stone yet and the reasons to download it become more and more.

 

As for the webs, good call. Somehow webs is the only thing I always forget to add in my areas. Maybe because I found them quite hard to work with in order to make something noticeable. And the city state project, I thought it's still in development. Didn't notice that volume one is out. Will take a look.

[rjshae]

I usually scale up the webs by x2; that makes the texture a lot easier to see. There's some non-glowy spiderwebs available in Amraphael's placeable pack.

 

I wanted the City-State project to come out as a series of volumes so that it can be used right away (and in case I get run over by a bus). I'm about 50-60% of the way through the second set.

[Tchos]

Given that English is not my mother tongue, sometimes I miss out on nice placeables simply because I don't know which key word to use in order to find them or even see if they exist (See easel...).

Add to that is the problem that even when you know the word for something, sometimes a placeable is listed in the blueprints with several different words, such as "chest", "trunk", and "footlocker" (prompting me to make copies of those blueprints to rename them to be grouped together).

 

I recommend Misery Stone.  It has many systems in it that I know you like.

 

The glow of the cobwebs is fine at bright illumination levels, but for dimly-lit rooms, where cobwebs are more likely to be used, the illumination strength of the cobwebs should be adjusted downward, which would make them more useful.  A subtle enough glow would look like they're just catching the light as gossamer strands are wont to do.

[PJ156]

I haven't played Misery Stone yet and the reasons to download it become more and more.

 

As for the webs, good call. Somehow webs is the only thing I always forget to add in my areas. Maybe because I found them quite hard to work with in order to make something noticeable. And the city state project, I thought it's still in development. Didn't notice that volume one is out. Will take a look.

 

All the excellent city state work to date is in the cornucopia update no 5.

 

If you want to lift the bonnet (hood in the US) on Vault of the Damned you will find a great library there but I think that will be but a side area for the one you seem to be building.  It also has a piece of music attached to it which I was really really pleased with. There is also a great library section in *Last days of the Raven" inside the copper temple which might be of use?

 

I know this is not a discussion about music but that piece, Kyrie by James Wilson, and flow my tears from "From this come Strength" I was very proud of using in Fantasy set pieces like the libruary and the burning pf the inn.

 

PJ