Episode 56: Being Made Aware of the Details

There have been a number of updates and additions made to the campaign over the last week or so. Hopefully, you will already be aware of the new TASK GUI, which helps reduce reliance on in-game TOKENS. Well, now I have added a few other features to the mechanics, a couple of which are to do with the default game colours, which I hope will be especially helpful for the colour blind among us. Read on ...

Continued Improvements

Split Gold GUI

As regular readers of this blog will  know, I have been reworking key campaign mechanics to improve efficiency for the multi-player (MP) game. This has ranged from area load times optimisation to general code tweaks. This week, upon request of a player, I also "fixed" the splitgold.xml, which is very frustrating to use in its default state. First, it does not provide an immediate focus to the editable text box, and secondly, it leaves old data behind that has to be deleted before a new gold amount can be entered. Not only did I fix both of these issues, but I also added functionality allowing the player to use the "return" key to complete the transaction (rather than have to return to the mouse to click the OKAY button), or use the "escape" key to back out and cancel via a keyboard shortcut too.

Enemy Counter

Affecting both SP and MP games, I have now also added a monster counter for the immediate encounter that tracks how many creatures are in the current combat. It can go both up and down, subject to whether new enemy creatures enter the fray, or the heroes kill an enemy. This week's first screen shot shows a combat where the counter is displayed. Note, in this screenshot it shows 9+, which is the highest it will show for encounters where there are more than nine creatures. Once the number drops below ten, the counter updates one for one. An encounter with more than nine creatures is a rare one.

Turn-Based Combat Showing The New Enemy Counter (Top Left)

The Important Details

Only recently was I made aware of some aspects of the game mechanics that I did not know were there. This was due to my colour-blindness and either not seeing a colour at all (positive attribute bonuses) or finding it very difficult to see (on some unidentified items). It also made me think how easy it is to pick up an item and lose it somewhere among all the other items you may be carrying.

I try to go out of my way to keep the player informed of every stage of the story and where they are in it. However, if they should miss an important scroll or book among a treasure they looted, then it is possible for the story to stall if the player forgot they had acquired such an item during the distractions of the adventurer's life. For someone like myself, who struggles to note "new" items among "old" due to the subtle colour background, it can be quite difficult to locate new items among the many items we have collected.

So, to overcome this issue and the issue of not being able to see attribute benefits on a character sheet (in a light blue apparently), I was able to track down where the  default NWN2 colours were referenced (NWN2_Colors.2da) and alter them to be a much more vibrant and obvious blue colour. Furthermore, I added a system that made important unread reading materials flash this prominent blue when opening the inventory or when switching tabs; and to remain "unidentified" with said blue colour until fully read. Note, these books and scrolls (to which the system applies) are so low in gold value that anyone can identify them and they become properly identified (normal icon) once fully read.

Additionally, I have the same vibrant colour briefly flash on unexamined items (the equivalent to newly found items) to draw attention to the player that they have not yet been examined. Unlike essential reading material, they do NOT remain blue after flashing, allowing a player to click on them as normal to clear down the "new" status. Hopefully, this second screen shot of the week helps demonstrate ...

More Vibrant Colours For The Colour Blind

 

Furthermore, if an important reading item is discovered upon opening the inventory, the player also receives some Notice Text and a small sound to indicate they have something important to look at. For someone like me, or for the player who just likes a little more clarification of items, this makes a big difference.

And Finally ...

I have continued to alter areas for both module one and two, allowing more room in areas for larger parties. One point that became clear to me as I test in a MP environment is that while the idea of tight twisting corridors sounds good on paper and may even look quite good in game, nevertheless, it does not make for easy controllable gameplay.

I have also been continuing work on module two conversations. I believe I have finally reworked all the logic to ensure conversations work correctly for both SP and MP games. Now, I am adding to them as I find the time, and continuing to make slow but sure progress plot wise.

Unfortunately, to prevent spoilers, I cannot discuss these as much as the mechanics. However, I will see if I can come up with any teasers next time.