Fallen

It's been a long five months

2009-06-20T12:59:00.003-05:00

I think I'm ready to upload to the vault.
I have implemented a simple death system. No more re spawns, just load game or main menu.
I couldn't get the 'On client enter' script to work so I went back to the generic trigger. The on Client Enter script kept setting the variables back to there original setting. I guess I need more scripting lessons! ha! The pc will load into the trigger, I hope this doesn't cause any problems. It works on my computer anyways! :)

I changed the clerics alignment to lawful good, he used to be chaotic evil and worshipped Try. LOL.
I worked on the Moonwatch hills a little more. I'm going to try to smooth out a few jagged edges first.

I think I have it set up, so towards the end the player should have a good enough idea on what to do and where to go.

After a few minor adjustments, I'm going to upload to the vault as a beta and see what happens.

Moonwatch Hills

2009-06-18T18:57:00.006-05:00

I was messing around with the color pallette. I still have alot of jaggad edges. And some things really don't look right. But I'm still working on it :)

Almost there

2009-06-18T08:40:00.002-05:00

Last night I worked on an on client enter script thats sets some variables and adds the first journal entry (Instead of using a trigger) I just need to set a conditional so it only fires once. I was loosing my sanity because a conversation (all of a sudden) quit working! LOL I think I finally got it working.

I also modified a companions conversation slightly.

I'm getting close (hopefully) to taking out all the debug messages. Removing DeBug man or make him "script hidden". And then putting on the vault.

Oh yeah! Almost forgot. I did some work on an Exterior area. (Moonwatch Hills) Now whether I improved it or made it worse, I do not know. I will test it out tonight and see.

2009-06-16T18:22:00.002-05:00

I got a few things done tonight. I should have a lot more time tomorrow night. Otso had some suggestions that I wanted to impliment.

*Mild spoilers**
Fixed trigger in Thar Underground (arithel convo) to only fire once.
Fixed trigger in Elton (for end game) to only fire once.
Fixed Greel's end conversation so it doesn't loop
Fixed duergar's (in mines) convo so it doesn't loop
****

Now I'm going to carefully go thru my emails and make a punch list.

The Feedback

2009-06-16T10:45:00.003-05:00

I am so fortunate that some people were willing to set there personal time aside and test my module. The feedback that I recieved is awsome! They found some bugs and gave me suggestions. This gives me time to fix the bugs, add a little more polish. The thought of it being on the vault with a lot of bugs while people are steadily downloading and voting, ect . . . LOL well, not good.

The actual bug list is pretty short too. Theres two triggers that start conversations that loop. I just need to set the variable that fires the script to keep it from doing it twice. eg. "MarkAsDone"

Three people said that the interiors are really good but the exteriors need some work. This I expected. Exterior are still not exactly my not my area of expertise, but I'm still going to practice making them.

Depending how soon I can go in and make the fixes, I should be ready to release in about a week or two.

The people that tested this mod are Heroes!! They should have a holiday named after em, and free beer for life!

Testing

2009-06-14T14:43:00.004-05:00

I posted a request on the NWN2 forums to test the mod. Hoegbo, jackkel dragon99 and dwarvendervish were kind enough to try it out. I certainly can't thank them enough. Now I get to be nervous and excited at the same time.

Edit: Otso and Thasic also took up the challenge and gave the mod a test drive!

Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

Please no show stoppers . . .
Please no show stoppers . . . .
Please no show stoppers . . . . .

2009-06-10T12:24:00.003-05:00

Last night I did a very quick run through and didnt have any problems. I also figured out why two of the companions were not getting any xp. It turns out you have to have the "Designer Xp Mod" set to 1. I would have never figured that out in a million years. Thank God for Google and the NWN2 Forums :D

I also have some ideas for chapter 2. I think I'm going to start working on a campaign. Just a little one, to learn how all that works.

Anyways, back to my day job!

2009-06-08T14:22:00.002-05:00

I got the very last conversation to fire today. Unless I decide to add a side quest or something, I'm pretty much done. Tonight I'll do another quick run through and take some notes. Hopefuly I'll notice some things.

I might put it up on the vault as a beta and not allow voting or comments. Maybe I'll get some feedback. From what I'm reading on the forums and other peoples blogs, It might be harder to find a tester then I thought.

I guess I'll find out soon enough.

2009-05-31T21:21:00.002-05:00

I'm finishing up the background dialogs of the companions and NPC's. I'm still working on the end fight and a few bugs. I'm getting very close to beta testing. I wonder how that will go. I wonder how I will go about it? It's 4 hours + long so it has to be tested before releasing to the vault. I really don't want to have to scramble at the last minute to fix bugs.

I wonder if anyone will even be interested in testing this creation of mine? One can only hope. Now! Back to more important matters! Alas! My tankard of ale grows warm with each passing moment! Onward, I say, to the hang over that awaits me on the morrow!

Mondays at work are always the best! :D Goodnight!

Another run through the Dungeon

2009-05-28T13:16:00.003-05:00

I got the final fight close to being done, so I decided to do another run through. Got to the same place where the last show stopper was and BLAM!!!! Cutscene didnt start! I almost cried in my beer.
So today, I went in and started to look at it. Turns out, after adding a journal entry, That particular node of the convo wouldnt fire because the entry it was looking for had already progressed.

Well, another frightening episode has concluded. Just getting that far produced a long 'to do' list. Mostly conversation spelling and re wording.

So until next time . . .

Getting Closer

2009-05-20T07:13:00.000-05:00

Monday I did a test run through but found a show stopper about half way through. This was a little un-nerving and bothered me all the next day at work. I was afraid it was going to take for ever to find bug. Fortunately, it was a waypoint with a duplicate tag in another area that was keeping a cutscene from firing.

So now, All I have left to do is dream up the final battle, then start testing for polish, and spelling, ect. I need to review and probably add some journal entries, so no one is standing around going, "what am I supposed to do again?"

Then I get to look for a beta tester. The final mod should be at least 4 to 5 hours.

On a side note

2009-05-09T01:30:00.000-05:00

My son and I went to see Star Trek tonight at the Movie Tavern. This place is pretty cool. Instead of regular seating you have an office 'compfy' chair and a little bar with a small light. They give you a menu and you can order drinks and food.

The tickets are $2 more then the regular theater and the food and drinks are a little high. I don't go the movies very often so this didn't bother me. I'm more of a "wait till the DVD comes out" kinda guy. But this is Star Trek! :D

Now, on to the movie! *Spoilers Alert*

Zachary Quinto (from heroes) does a remarkable performance of Spock! I really liked Scotty! Remember the guy who does Shaun of the Dead! he he.

But. What is with Star Trek and time travel? That's the only problem that I had. It was done to death with the Tv series Enterprise (which I liked very much) But geeze, what is it with Star Trek and time travel?

Other then that, great movie! Awesome effects, great acting, nice one liners that bring you back to the old days of the original tv series.

I really cant wait for the sequel that they better make!

2009-05-09T01:19:00.000-05:00

2009-05-08T07:23:00.000-05:00

I havn't posted in a long time. It's not due to lack of progress on my module. I think it's safe to say that I'm about 2/3 the way done.

In other news, Star Treks comming out today! I might have to stop by the Movie Tavern tonight and check it out! :D

2009-04-23T07:10:00.001-05:00

I finally finished up the ogre lair last night. And devised a way to transport to the next area. Also, I have created a few more Npc's, cut scenes and story driven conversations.

I'm getting close to looking at how I'm going to do the End Fight. Right now I have know idea what so ever on how I'm going to do this.

This weekend I will pray to the God of Beer for guidance!

2009-04-16T18:59:00.000-05:00

Finishing up Thar.

2009-04-15T09:31:00.000-05:00

I changed the texture of Thar to a gray cliff texture. The black moon rock stuff really didn't look right. I think I'm on the right path now. It's a 16 X 16 area so filling is going to take some time. So far, so good, though.

2009-04-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm starting work on a new area. Thar. I used the texture that looks like moon rock. I got the bare bones done last night. Just need to add placeables and encounters. I don't have to worry about color too much, it's called the Great Gray Lands. A lot of rocks, boulders and fallen trees though.

I think after that, I'll just need one more interior with a Big Boss fight.

Maybe only a month to go? I hope.

Whew!

2009-04-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday the power went off for about 2 seconds and then came back on. I had the toolset open and an area open at the time. I said my prayers and hit the power button on the box. Whew! I lost about 5 minutes of work on a convo but nothing else.

That was scary!

2009-04-09T07:36:00.000-05:00

I went through all the conversations that referenced location and changed them. It didnt take as long as I had thought.

Location, location, location!

2009-04-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

If you ever go to Faerun, you might want to stop by this place. They have the best BBQ!
Burtons Bar & Grill!!!
Directions:

The small town of Elton is located in the Moonwatch Hills along the trade route between Phlan and Melvaunt. The Hills are south of Thar, a rocky broken land, filled with hordes of Ogres, Orcs and Goblins.

Now I get to go re-write about 20 convos! LOL Thats alright, I dont have to work Friday, so I'll have time! :D

Traps

2009-04-07T08:58:00.000-05:00

Last night I was laying down traps in a cavern area. The Pc and Companions are level 3. So I go in to test to make sure the Rogue can handle them. It turns out, I accidentally set down EPIC electrical traps! LOL Instead of Minor. Poor Rogue, he got pwned. he he. I guess that would be considered a "show stopper".

2009-04-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

I'm getting close to having the "pre Boss fight" completed. At least the hard parts are done. With my limited coding ability that is. Sunjammer's Conversational Visual Effect Scripts : http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2Scripts.Detail&id=32088&id=221 Are really getting put to use.

Also learning how to use variables for Generic Triggers has really helped a lot.

2009-04-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

Finished a cutscene last night. And also created another "book", That will be found and give little tid bits of info. The cutscene took about 3-1/2 hours. Then I did an entire run through.

I got an idea for a small, mini quest, in the Wizards Tower. Wouldnt it be funny if a Wizard told you: "Dont touch any of my personal things", and you did. And then . . . he he, well, we'll just have to see how crazy that old wizard is! he he

A little break.

2009-04-02T13:15:00.000-05:00

But I did manage to get some things done last night. I blame my lack of progress on beer! He he. I think I over did it this weekend.

Finished reading Elminster, Making of a Mage, the other night. I really enjoyed it. I'm having a lot of fun reading all these books about Faruen. Next up is The Crystal Shard, by RA Salvatore. This will be my 5th (I think) Drizzt book.

I think I'm going to go to the FR Wiki and look at the timeline and maps etc. Then I can add dates to diaries, books and journals. I can also do a better description of the location of Elton.

Well that's it for now. Does anyone read this stuff? It doesn't matter, I think it's helping me stay focused, plus a little time away from the job during the day :D

2009-03-23T13:25:00.000-05:00

I've been making pretty good progress. Mostly right now I'm just working on the mechanics. Cut scenes, small scripts and such, to make things work.

Yep, I'm a newb! I just recently figured out how to set variables on NPC's and actually make them do stuff!! I also figured out how to get the merchant to buy stuff from the Pc. Just some little things that I discovered along the way.

So progress marches forward. If I can put around 3 to 4 hours into it everyday I should be done in a couple of months. Hopefully this will lead to about 5 hours of game play.

Which leads me to a question. Why is this so addictive? I suppose it's the satisfaction you get from building (creating) something. It's also solving the mystery of "Why doesn't this work!!" But mostly , the biggest reward, I think, is if you tell a relatively good story and people like it.

I just saw the add image button, maybe I'll post some screenies.

2009-03-13T07:57:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to work on balancing combat. This is rather difficult. Is it too easy for melee? Too hard for the caster? I would like this to be a caster friendly mod. I suppose a lot of this will depend on the companions.

I may have to ( at a certain point ) give the player a choice on which companions to use. Trade a tank for a caster if your playing a fighter. Or keep the tank if your playing a caster.

Also, last night, I was able to get a few enemies to cast spells at the PC. It didn't really increase the difficulty (yet) but it made the fight more interesting.

2009-03-11T14:48:00.000-05:00

Tuesday: Nearly lost my medium sized main outdoor (town) area. Thankfully I work off a fresh copy everyday and was able to restore it without too much loss. That wasn't my first crash, but it was my scariest one!
Wednesday: Drank some beer and worked on adding placeables to areas. Actually, I got quite bit done but there's still a lot more to go. I want each area to be full of detail and a certain degree of realism.
Tonight: Hopefully add encounters to the new outdoor area and begin work on the caverns.

2009-03-09T10:26:00.000-05:00

I got quite a bit done Saturday. I created a short side quest that helps the main story line.

Did a lot of work on the town exterior.

I took Sunday off so I could finished the OC and started MOTB. I already have -6 influence with the half hagg shaman, what the hell was his name again? Oh well.

I have an idea for another small side quest that will coincide with the main story as well. I need to think up ideas for at lease two more unrelated side quests.

2009-03-05T10:41:00.000-06:00

The past two days have been spent working on one cut scene. It involves effects and timing. I got the major bugs worked out of that but need to polish it up.

Worked on the main exterior area. Still lots more to do there. I put a stone wall around a wizard tower.

I'm going to start working on the final area tonight. I want to get all the big stuff that's in my head outta the way, then start on all the little details. I have a really good idea for the end. I hope my imagination doesn't exceed my skills.

2009-03-02T12:38:00.001-06:00

This weekend I was able to create one quest. It still needs to be polished, but the functionality is there. I need at least two more side quests before I start working on the main one.

Tonight I think I'll download Storyteller01's Adolescent NPC's Pack to help fill out the village.

Npc's

2009-02-28T08:34:00.000-06:00

Last night I added one line convos to npc's. Each one has 3 different possible responses. I also created another small outdoor area. And I drank beer. Alot of beer. Thank God for coffee! He he!

Interiors

2009-02-27T08:25:00.000-06:00

Last night I worked on an Interior area. It's quite the task finding placeables that make a habitat look livable. I think it looks ok. Not the greatest, but passable. Of course I will return to it and add/tweak ect.

Tonight, I'm hoping to drink some fine ale (Bud Light) and work on some more convo's. They seem to come a bit easier after a few beers. lol. Of course they'll be broken and not work right, but at least the words will be there.

I also need to create more commoner/towns people and add one line convos to them. That's also kind of a tedious process. Everyone has to look different.

2009-02-26T13:01:00.000-06:00

Last night I spent about 3 hours working on a heartbeat script for one npc! lol. Only about 10 or 15 more of those to go! LOL

Also added a farm to the town area. The cow ended up stuck 1/2 way inside of a hill. hehe.

2009-02-25T10:54:00.000-06:00

Saturday I created some areas. Mainly worked on the outdoor village/hamlet area. Still a ways to go there but i think it looks ok.

Tuesday:
Worked on two conversations to introduce some npc's and update the journal. I also got an effect to work in a convo that I was happy about.

In the beginning . . .

2009-02-19T14:50:00.000-06:00

Very soon I will begin work on a project that is loosely based on a PnP adventure written by Ramon Arjona . Here's a link: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030629a

I've started working on the first area and a few conversations.

I have a full time job so my time is limited. This endeaver will take at least 6 months to a year to complete.

Ok, time to get to work! :D