For the record, I am currently under a lot of real life pressure to help in a family situation, and so I am not as far into stage three as I hoped to be at this time. That said, I am still chipping away at the final stage as time permits. Furthermore, testers have been continuing their feedback to help make the experience with this second module as pleasurable as I can make it for you all. Let's now talk about what has been done.
Along The Coastland!
The second module has turned out bigger than I first expected it to be. As regular readers will be aware, I had considered removing this third stage of the module, and use it as the opening part of the third and final module instead. However, when put to the vote, there was a slight leaning towards having this third stage included in the second module, and so I concluded to stick to the original plan of including it. If it had not been decided to be included, then this second module would be released already!
So, the design decision made, I continued to bring the module forward with consideration on how this third and final stage was to play out. As you can see from this month's screenshots, we find our hero at a new coastal location, the beginning of an important area that has the hero nearing their end goal at last. Except, the adventure is not yet over, far from it, and a whole new gaming experience awaits both the hero and player alike. For this new stage is where I have shaken things up a bit, and the player will find themselves in a new and challenging situation... which I am NOT going to say anything more about, because it would spoil the experience.
Suffice to say, I have tried to employ a whole new mechanic that will have the player reconsider some of those things that they had previously taken for granted. The main code for this is already up and running, as are any new GUIs I have in mind to use. The point is, stage three of this module moves up a gear with respect to gameplay, and may require new tactics having come this far. Some balancing of the system remains, but I am pleased with the results so far.
Retreading The Path
Much of my current module building involves me having to replay various paths through the current material to remind myself whereabouts I was with regards to material already completed. It was a good year ago since I concentrated on this section, and the paths available are as complex as those I have already finished in the first two stages. I have to have a complete recall of how events can unfold before I can continue from where I last left off.
The added complexity of balancing the new system with respect to a few areas, as well as finishing a number of conversations related to such, all require careful consideration. To date, I have tried taking a look at (a) the first of these areas, from which the screenshots come, and (b) some of the later areas that have more NPCs involvement and PC interaction. Unfortunately, these later areas require my full attention, which, sadly, I have not been able to give to of late. So, instead, I have been doing the simpler things, such as add lip-syncing and animations to conversations that have already been added.
Therefore, while I have not been able to make as much progress towards finishing the final steps involved, I have instead, been doing those basic things that are needed prior release anyway. I can continue with these basic "monotonous" steps until real life has settled down a bit, and then I can get back to the nitty-gritty of finishing off final conversations and plot events that require more of my concentration.
Latest Campaign
I have just released v1.39, which mainly addresses some Dominate and Charm spells that could add creatures to the party, which I did not want. The new adjustments now prevent this, and apply the paralyse effect now instead, if successful. I.e. The PC dominated creature cannot do what they want to do due to the effect.
As far as another release, not much more has been added or fixed, as the latest versions have been pretty solid of late. Therefore, unless you use charm or dominate spells, or have the Expert Mapper Feat, then you may only notice a basic leg animation fix. So, I don't foresee any other campaign updates for the foreseeable future with respect to the first module.
 |
| Enjoying The Coastal Breeze ... |
 |
| ... Of A Quiet Coastal Retreat! |
