Shagret - A NWN2 Module Project: A strange weekend

Declaration of Principles & Promises:

1) There will no brooding dark lord masterminding to take over the world.
2) There are going to be many endings, but not all at ‘the end’.
3) You can meet the ‘last boss’ in less than 5 minutes of the module starting.
4) Many, many custom monsters not from any manual. Have fun learning their ticks and avoiding their nasty traps. Custom AIs will be written for most of them.
5) There will be ‘über-bosses’, opponents so dangerous as to warrant tutorials just how to beat them. If you’ve ever played Final Fantasy VII, think of the Ruby and Emerald weapons. They will be beatable, but *unbelievably* difficult.
6) Hundreds of secrets, ranging from the mundane to the obscure(maybe resting near a faerie ring has a point…). Many, if not most, are not explicitly stated. They’re secrets, after all, and should be like that. I doubt you could find them all.
7) A three module campaign, with expected length, doing everything, of roughly 15-20 hours. Go anywhere at any point—nothing is stopping you…except, I guess, for the dangers which lurk around every corner. Since the cast of characters is relatively small, they will react to your actions more. Don’t screw with people just for the fun of it, you might want their help.
8) 'Silent Storytelling'--the plot is not talked at you.
9) There are major choices to be made. I know everyone says that, but I mean it. No, I really mean it. Even if you think there hadn’t been a chance for a choice, there probably was and you missed it.
10) Custom descriptions for every creature. Yes, this even means Bears. Check every creature you find—I wonder what oddities might be discovered by reading?
11) Skills will be used in interesting fashions. Lore tells you more about certain creatures(changes their description), Survival helps prevent monsters from attacking while you rest and Spellcraft alerts you to powerful artifacts. Experience Points are handed out accordingly.
12) Experience points will be received for finding points of interest(caves, ruins) too.
13) Certain classes will have bonuses. Spirit Shamans might receive signals from their spirit guide, Barbarians/Druids/Rangers can ‘sense’ if monsters are lairing nearby and Warlocks are tied to supernatural energy, allowing them to access magic residing in the air. I can’t get rid of sword and board, but I can make other classes more interesting to play.
14) There are many one time only events which don’t give you a chance to mull it over. Also, many things are determinant on time taken—if someone says, “Help my friend quickly” you cannot wait forever.
15) There is no ancient curse/amnesia plot/princess/other cliché that is a MacGuffin for orc killing.
16) Speaking of which: there are no, and will never be, orcs in this campaign.
17) A great deal of custom content will be used. Visual effects, GUIs, AIs, monster skins and the like will make the world uniquely interesting.
18) This is *not*melodrama. You are not right because you are right.
19) Dialogue will have many options in it. I don’t plan on having thousands of words everywhere, so what is there will count.
20) Non-linearity is the defining attribute of this module. Go where you want when you want. Want a challenge?—go into the “Tower of Death” early and save goblins for later(just an example). It’s your choice, and the whole of the campaign circles around it.
21) That said, you are not a hero or ‘the chosen one’. Get that out of your head now. Away with it—shoo! There will be no God complexes here.
22) Single player, starting on level 8(I believe, just like Countless, that this is a good place to start). Your max level, I plan on anyways, is 15/16.

Monday, August 9, 2010

A strange weekend

To summarize: never let someone who professes to be "technologically bad" use your computer to get "the new music". They'll certainly contract a virus and, well, things go from bad to worse very quickly. Luckily, I managed to solve it over the course of...a few hours(and after I got back from work). Point being, that not much got done over this particular weekend.

But, wait, it's been a while since my last update!--what have I been up to since then? Well, it's partially a secret to everyone, but it's also the fact that I've been working on conversations like no other. I avail myself to make sure that all characters have a "unique" conversation(not necessarily long, but certainly more than a single line of dialog). This means that the PC, should they wish to accept the problem, can interact in semi-meaningful fashions with the disparate entities in my virtual world. I hope, at least, that somebody reads them, as there has been quite a bit of work put into this(and, for a certain reader, I have 12 different rabbit conversations, so you should be happy).

Besides that, I can report that the music is almost completely done(40+ tracks) and I hope to showcase some pieces on here soon. I'm starting a new job relatively soon--tutoring students in philosophy--and I'm not quite sure how much time that will take up. Hopefully, I can get some more definite points to you all soon enough. I do love writing and reading, but I know that it can become a bit pat over time; I'd like you all to see some cool stuff.

3 comments:

Lance Botelle (Bard of Althéa) said...: Yeh Bunny chats! Great stuff! ;)

Will one have to play a druid or ranger for these chats or will they be available to any class?

I also look forward to the new music.

All the best with your new job! Philosophy eh ... not enough time eh ... could be a philosophical moot point here. ;)

(I never let anybody use my computer without me supervising. I don't take the risk.)

Lance.; August 10, 2010 8:33 AM
Chaos Wielder said...: You don't have to be a druid or ranger. For that time in the mod, you'll have a friendly guide helping you. I hope people like him. :o

Thanks for the support Lance. I always appreciate your comments(even if I don't drop by your place often enough).; August 11, 2010 12:42 PM
Lance Botelle (Bard of Althéa) said...: I think support is important, even if it just to say I'm reading. ;) After all, modding can feel like a lonely and unrewarding task if you don't think anybody is really showing any interest ..... so ... yeh!, drop by and add a comment when you can. ;)

I just hope I finish my own project while I still have an interested audience.. ;)

Lance.; August 29, 2010 2:47 PM

Websites of Note

Noble NWN2 Modders

Contributors

Followers

My Vault Submissions

Blog Archive

Declaration of Principles & Promises:

Monday, August 9, 2010

A strange weekend

3 comments: