Episode 12: The Mega-Dungeon!

Over the last week I have been considering the "dungeons" I intend to include in module two. In my last post I wrote about another area I was working on that acted as a dungeon between areas. It was as I was working on that, that I decided to start looking at the main dungeons that the PCs will have to overcome during module two ... This, in turn, started me thinking about the dungeons we used to play of old in PnP D&D and those of the likes of Ultima Underworld. It started me thinking about the feeling I had when playing them, and what it was that made them memorable. Then it dawned upon me that it was the "scale" ... They would be what we would refer to as mega-dungeons!

THE MEGA-DUNGEON

Now admittedly, I am looking back with "rose-tinted specs" when I consider some of the "dungeons" I played through in the past. However, considering I still remember some of that feeling of immersion and exploration from all those years ago, then I believe there must have been something about them that captured my attention, imagination and gave me the fond memories of enjoyment I have of them today. If I can recapture those elements in my own "dungeons", without compromising expected gameplay, them I believe the effort will be worthwhile.

Thinking about the shared design aspects that these dungeons (or games) had in common, I realised that it is the areas the single dungeon covered (which you were about to explore) were big! You knew the moment you started the dungeon that it was not going to be over in a single gaming session. In fact, for these dungeons, it meant you would probably only have just scratched the surface of what was coming ... and who knew what else to expect other than its mega-size? Note, the other common aspect was that the "dungeon" was (for the most part) self-contained; in that there was an entrance to the dungeon (or game), and you had to move forward to get out! i.e. It was also about survival!

OLD OR NEW SCHOOL?

Now the very thought of a mega-dungeon as I just described may be a delight to one person, but possibly considered an absolute nightmare to somebody else. However, I am not sure a negative reaction should necessarily be the correct response if we consider how the mega-dungeon has changed over the years. For instance, in its original concept (from PnP days), there were no CRPGs, and so the D&D dungeon was the de facto "game" to play to get your fill of exploration and encounters. Back then, size simply meant more to play, and so you felt safe that the game was not going to end any time soon. At the advent of CRPGs, however, this almost "infinite" dungeon would have to be pared down to a finite game to make it viable. Good CRPGs, like the Ultima Underworld series, would do this in such a way so as not to lose the sense of game length and depth of play. Take the concept forward a couple of decades and you pass through some excellent "mega-dungeon" style games such as the System Shock series and more recently, the Bioshock series.

My point is, all these games of which I have enjoyed the most in my gaming life have involved this "mega-dungeon" feeling to them. It is about their presence and challenge to overcome and win through that holds the appeal to the player. It's the "now I am stuck here, what can I do about it" feeling and the need to survive this epic environment and win through! It was not going to be a quick hack a few monsters, loot the gold, maybe answer a single puzzle and be off again to a complete new area any time soon.

THE MEGA GAME

There is (or should be) more to a "mega" dungeon than purely its size. That is not to undermine the importance of size, as that allows the player to get to know their "adversary". However, as the player gets to know their adversary (the dungeon in whatever form it takes), then this is when the builder can add to the dungeon personality, and even (if possible) add new gaming elements that make the whole dungeon memorable. So what else can be done?

MY MEGA DUNGEON

Before I continue, let me first say this: I am a D&D player through and through, with preference to the 3.5E rules. This is why the NWN2 platform is perfect for me to build my campaign. However, I am also a builder of a campaign that has its own personality and game style. For myself, this means if a storyline takes the player into some different angle of mechanics for the game play, then I will do so, but always while honouring the core rules, or giving a good reason for any significant mechanic changes made.

As an example, the most extreme changes to any mechanics I have made to date were with Soul Shaker (a NWN1 Module) when the PCs were gated to a different realm of existence in the Outer Planes. For obvious reasons, my argument for making the game mechanic changes were to help reflect the extreme change of environment in which the PC now found themselves.

The point I am trying to make is that while my campaign is core 3.5E D&D, I will change, add or remove different mechanics if an environment encourages or demands it. In the case of a mega-dungeon (and I would say any mega-dungeon), I believe such an environment necessitates the need to do something with this aspect of play to ensure the player does not become despondent, overwhelmed or even "bored" thinking about the task ahead. I believe this is of paramount importance if we intend to build a large levelled dungeon with which we hope to engage the player without giving them the same old experience that they may have had in many other dungeons in their gaming life already! (I know some may argue that is exactly what they want, but in my experience, that would eventually become tedious. Sometimes we need to have our familiarity jolted, even if just a little.)

So, that is my aim for any mega-dungeons moving forward. If you want a comparison to something I have done already ... It will not be as extreme as Soul Shaker, but more akin to the "Ancient Crypt" dungeon in The Scroll, which introduced the new gaming aspect with runes. However, I am talking less about puzzles, and more about introducing new PC skills and abilities specific to that mega-dungeon, which the player becomes involved with for their PC to enable them to succeed. Couple this new (and I hope exciting experience) with a mega-sized dungeon to explore, and I hope I have a winning formula to keep the player interested to see the task through.

MEGA INSPIRATION

I won't deny (and have admitted in the past) that I am heavily inspired by such works as the System Shock series (Bioshock series in later years), and to which I will now quickly add the Ultima Underworld series. Therefore, do not be surprised in you recognise certain aspects of those games in the new ideas and concepts I hope to introduce and use in my mega-dungeons moving forward.

In all fairness to myself, I believe I am simply taking various game mechanics ideas but using my plot to make them work in a D&D environment. However, I am grateful to the designers of these games who have helped bring a fresh feel to all mega-dungeons since their first inception!

What Lies Beyond The Collapsed Dungeon Wall?

Episode 11: Property of The Empire!

A well placed motif is always a reasonable way to mark ownership of an object on which the motif is found. Be it a simple wax printed insignia sealing a scroll, or a metal embossed plate attached to a crate, the symbol it illustrates is often associated with ownership of a person or organisation. The Empire has its image too: The Dragon! In the last few updates I have been working on for module two has included these and a few other visual illusions that I hope will add an extra dimension to the campaign.

VISUAL EFFECTS

When I speak of visual effects, I am NOT just talking about the VFX effects we can add to the NWN game via scripting, but also "illusory" effects that help give a feeling of interaction. By this I mean careful coding of placeable objects that when interacted with give the appearance of movement.

MODULE ONE SPOILER ALERT: A specific example of the effect I am talking about can be found in the quest called "Poor Communication" in module one. In the Fairchilds' residence, the PCs learn they have to move a carpet to reveal a trap door. When the player interacts with the carpet, the coding in place works with the objects to give the illusion of having rolled back the carpet.

A more generic usage of such code is with respect to the way I have implemented Secret Doors. Until a PC finds a secret door, the PC cannot interact with it in the game. However, once the secret door has been detected, the PC can now interact with it, and when they do, coding has been added (adding both visual and sound effects) to give the effect that the door has been opened or closed.

Moving forward with module two, and now that I have ensured the code works reliably, I hope to employ more visual effects this way, to help immerse the player within the game environment. To this end, I have already used such in two places in latest building.

HOME BREW VFX (BILLBOARDS)

A personal favourite effect of mine is the ability we have to build "billboards" in the NWN toolset. This is basically a VFX that allows us to bring in any image file we want, and display it within the game. In the past I have used it in module one to good effect, and is seen implemented in such things as scrolls on display (notice board etal) and the mysterious cave text in the Dimension Vortex area (floating text) or even the floating image displayed within the Ancient Crypt if the rune control object is successfully worked.

For module two, as well as hopefully bringing similar aspects as I have done in module one into play, I have also just used it to create the  Empire Dragon Insignia, which The Empire uses to mark their property. This weeks screenshot shows it in demonstration.

THE PLOT THICKENS

As I have been writing the plot in the last couple of weeks, some of my thinking has been diverted to factions and other aspects that a player may wish to explore. Whether I fully develop this area of play or not will all depend upon how easy it will be for me to implement, as it can cause havoc if done wrong. That said, the framework for such is already in place within the campaign code, and so if I do venture down that route, I am hoping it will add yet another interesting depth to the campaign.

YET ANOTHER ONE!

On a final note for this report, I have to confess to building yet another area! (Vagueness follows to prevent spoiler.) Originally, the connection between one area and another was going to be handled by a simple conversation once the criteria was met. However, when quizzing my wife about her favourite area in module one at one time, she mentioned an area build of a tileset that I had not yet built for module two. Therefore, in thanks for all her hard work testing module one, I bit the bullet and decided to build an area of the same tileset ... with some interesting changes.

Adding the area also allowed me to be able to further develop another plot line that was currently "looking for a home" in the run of things. It also allowed me to add a whole new approach to the storyline, which obviously I cannot discuss! ;)

So, that's all for now, but as module one is now "closed" to further fixes (unless something really bad turns up), then I should be able to give module two my full attention in the weeks to come. I honestly do not know how long it is going to take, but I am encouraged by the fact that the campaign code is robust and in place, but a little nervous about all the conversations that require writing and the handling of all those variables.

Property of The Empire!

Episode 10: Into The Big Wide World!

I had some slow down in the last fortnight due to poor health. However, I am starting to pick up a little again now, and have returned to the core conversations I was working on previously. I did also try fixing a duplicated message text from the official campaign code with respect to Sequencer items, but was unable to do so without potential consequences. More on that later. The screenshot this week is for the Overland Map load screen.

THE STORY

The main story continues to be developed through the conversations the PCs can have with NPCs they can meet along the way. As I stated in previous posts, I am aiming to have these conversations give the player as much background as they are prepared to follow, but without overloading them. Using cutscenes whenever possible, certainly appears to make such learning curves easier to follow, especially as I am also ensuring journal entries also keep up with the information for the player. Compared to module one, in my design of module two, I am leaving five steps between each current journal entry to allow me to add any other steps that I think may help the player as I continue to build. I did not do this with module one, and found some difficulties complementing journal entries at later stages. This is definitely a lesson learned from hindsight.

SEQUENCER ITEMS

As part of my increase in items to be found, I am considering sequencer items. I won't go into detail about their usage. Although some readers may already know what they do, I prefer to leave their description to allow any potential "surprise" for when players find them in the game (for players who have not encountered them before). However, that said, in my preparation of them, I discovered that an Official Campaign (OC) "include" script has a minor "bug" that duplicates any message meant for the player when the sequencer item is used. It's not a game-breaking bug, just an annoyance.

At one point I managed to fix this problem, but had been left with concerns: after editing the official include script, it did NOT compile properly! I hastily add, it was NOT due to the alterations I had made, as that was simply changing a variable to prevent message duplication. However, I was not prepared to risk leaving the updated script as the default one to use, as it may have other dire consequences with other associated scripts throughout the game. So, in the end, I reinstated the original OC script from a prior build (with all associated scripts), and only altered the scripts related to the sequencer property that were not part of the OC include script.

OVERALL IMPROVEMENTS

When I work on module two, I often see things where the new code highlights a potential problem with the first module. That's why I still provide updated files and folders for Module one. As an example for the latest update to date, I noticed that some plot items were correctly being moved to my PC after I had left them in an area. (I was only testing and so had not bothered to search a body for all items.) However, I also noted that a journal update for acquiring said item had not updated with its "forced" acquisition. Therefore, I "fixed" this area of code in case a player ever accidentally or inadvertently left a plot item behind. For while this is unlikely to be the case with an active and attentive player, if it should be required, then associated journal updates upon such acquisitions are just as important as having the plot item itself!

LOADSCREENS

I also spent some time preparing some more load screens. Normally I leave these until last, but I grew tired of seeing the "missing file" image when testing and so updated the screens for the areas I was currently building. Below is the overland map load screen, which shows a much larger map that even the overland map covers, but its supposed to be an indicator that the player is about to enter the overland map. However, it does also help to show that the World of Althéa is actually even bigger than the parts that the player may currently know or is able to explore.

Loading Screen For Overland Map Travel