Almost There

After the pain of having to reinstall my operating system, every application and put back all data onto my computer, I am almost finished. For those following this blog, you will know that the v1.13 patch caused the initial problem, but, unfortunately, I learned of the solution after I had taken the decision to reinstall everything to resolve the problem instead.

I have not had the chance to do much in between the installs except some web surfing and visit the odd blog. Consequently, I have nothing more to report on my campaign build. I still have about ten small applications left to install, mostly to do with NWN tools, but after that I should be back in the position to start looking at the cutscene or Life Essence drop code as I planned a few days ago. Hopefully, this is the last I will write of this and the next post will be more interesting to read.

I Loathe SecuROM

I found out today (thanks for the head's up Frank Perez) that v1.13 patch has a serious SecuROM problem that gives the exact problems I have been encountering over the last few days. Check out this post.

This is an absolute outrage, as it has caused me to waste many hours trying to resolve an issue that I thought was elsewhere on my computer, as I could see no reason why a patch to a game should have caused this degree of an OS issue. Now that I think about it, I can see how all the problems I had started a day or so after I did the patch. And the subsequent video issues were due to my reinstalling over the top to try to resolve the right-click issues.

Consequently, there was no time for our usual gaming session tonight as I did not have my computer ready in time, and it probably won't be now until tomorrow at the earliest. My fear now, of course, is that I have installed patch v1.13 again, and now I am worried that it will fail again soon.

I am too tired and angry at SecuROM to say anything more at the moment. And so I sign off feeling really frustrated that a company can get away with what amounts to placing legal viruses on someone's computer. Someone must be made responsible.

UPDATE: For those who have not yet gone through many hours of Windows reinstalls and have found this post, you can have an easy fix by running this official repair: http://www.securom.com/support/repair.zip

UPDATE: It sounds like Obsidian have also released a HotFix patch that resolves the problem now, as another Update. (Talk about bad timing for me.)

Dr Watson & A Sick PC

And by 'PC', I do mean my computer and not a player character. A couple of days ago, I started having problems when right-clicking on an icon to make a shortcut. Dr Watson (drwtsn32.exe) would suddenly fire up and crash my computer. After bringing up the control panel and killing off Dr Watson, I noticed my AVG scan process had started. I checked out the AVG forums and it pointed me towards what I already guessed, that it was Explorer that had the fault and that AVG was reacting to that.

Anyway, after trying many other things to try to solve the problem I decided to reinstall Windows over the top of my existing copy (I don't like doing this as I know it can cause some other issues), only to find out it made no difference. Eventually, after I was about to give up and bite the bullet to do a complete reinstall, I decided to give the system one more going over, and I found another system TEMP folder (C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Temp) where I decided to delete everything in it. (You have to change folder settings to "Show Hidden Files & Folders" to be able to navigate to this temp folder.) As soon as I did that, the system stabilised and I was able to correct the faulty shortcut.

This morning, however, the results of my installing Windows over the previous version have come back to haunt me, and now I am unable to do certain Window Updates, and I am also having problems running certain videos. The short of it is, I may have to do a full backup and system restore after all, which means another day wasted. If only I had found the TEMP folder earlier. Mind you, to top all this, I think my VGA card is also starting to play up now, as I had graphics corruption on startup (at BIOS level) today until I rebooted. I guess I am going to have to check its fan in case it's sticking and overheating.

The new dual processor computer is looking as though it will be coming along sooner than later at this rate.

UPDATE: I may have found my solution to the first problem here.
UPDATE 2: I fixed some of my video issues by reinstalling a DivX codec. (May still have a hardware issue though.)
UPDATE 3: I take it all back ... It still has the same problems. :( I'm going to test hardware now.

Invisible PC For Screenshots

I was just reading through AmstradHero's Fate Of A City blog and saw his comment about making a PC invisible onscreen for help taking screenshots. Well, the script below allows the builder to toggle between being invisble (and back to visible again) by running the same script again.

To run this script while in game, you have to have debugmode on: Go into console mode (press the button to the left of the '1' key along the top row) and then enter debugmode=1, which will turn on debugmode. Then type rs nameofscript, where the 'rs' part stands for run script and 'nameofscript' is whatever name you have given the script. I currently have the script called 'SS' so all I have to type is rs ss to toggle the PC between being invisible or visible on screen or not. Anyway, here is the script:

void main()
{
object oPC = GetFirstPC();
int iStoredAppear = GetLocalInt(oPC, "APPEAR");
int iAppear = GetAppearanceType(oPC);

// STORE APPEARANCE FOR RECALL
if(iStoredAppear == 0){SetLocalInt(oPC, "APPEAR", iAppear);}

// TOGGLE INVISIBLE
if(GetAppearanceType(oPC) != APPEARANCE_TYPE_INVISIBLE_HUMAN_MALE){SetCreatureAppearanceType(oPC, APPEARANCE_TYPE_INVISIBLE_HUMAN_MALE); return;}

// TOGGLE VISIBLE
if(GetAppearanceType(oPC) == APPEARANCE_TYPE_INVISIBLE_HUMAN_MALE){SetCreatureAppearanceType(oPC, iStoredAppear);}

}

So Much To See & Do

I have been trying to expand my knowledge of NWN2 over the last few days, from scripting another GUI, to examining the conversation tool more, and even looking at custom content tools. The latter, however, is still evading me at the moment, as I am finding it hard to find any tools that may be "easy" to use or learn. I have downloaded Gmax, but have yet to try that, and from what I have seen and read, it may well be beyond me without a helpful tutorial. I have spoken to Amraphael of Zork fame (who is obviously someone most competent when it comes to custom content creation) and he said he would see what he could do if he got the time. (Thanks Amraphael.) By the way, if you have not done so already, check his site out, it really is an interesting read and the game he is developing (his own variation on Zork) looks like it will be a fascinating module to play.

The New 'Role-Play Test' GUI

This new GUI is part of an idea I had of trying to help players remember certain aspects of the campaign by giving a small test at the end of an "act" of play that rewards the player's PCs according to how many questions they answer correctly. It is only meant to be a bit of extra fun, and the player can choose to ignore the test altogether if they want to. However, if a player has been paying close attention to the game and is able to answer a number of the questions, then they will be rewarded with game XP for the PCs. I have also added the option to "save" the current test for a short while so that they can do extra research before submitting their answers. There are a maximum of ten questions per test, but some may be less. The current reward is 10 xp per character level (main PC) for each question answered correctly.

Combination Chest GUI Update

Geoff Cordery (a.k.a Quillmaster) has also been helping me with a few designs of other background images for the combination chests. Rather than give any screenshots now, I will leave them as a surprise when in-game. In return, I have been helping him with some scripting of his PC death code. It's great when you can return the favour for something like this.

Conversations

Until recently, I have neglected looking more closely at the way NWN2 handles conversations, and I have to say, much to my own loss. Having spent more time looking at them, I can see how many of the more common requirements for a conversation can be handled a lot simpler than the way you had to do it in NWN1: Quest logs have a direct input, nodes have camera selections for easier cutscene development and there are a number of 'common' condition and action scripts already written for a builder to access for each node. Now that I have studied them more, I will try to take advantage of them and have already started to outline one of my 'cutscene conversations' to use as an introduction to the module.

NWN2 Expansion: Storm of Zehir

There was more news about the new expansion due out later this year (so I have heard rumoured), called "Storm of Zehir" posted on the Obsidian Blog. It reads that they have added quite a few interesting differences, including changes to the world map and concentrated more on a party than an individual with companions. From a scripting pointing of view, I hope this does not alter things at all, otherwise it could mean a nasty 'fly in the ointment' for some of the coding I have already done for the next module. There is a Pre-release Forum for the expansion at the Bioware Forums that has some interesting posts about the expansion: The overland map and battle. I also found this Official Website for the expansion.

UPDATE: Here is a direct video link .






Moving Forward - 'Soul Surges'

Many of the main 'mechanics' I wanted in place: death system, vigour & rest system, crafting system, weapon system and Arcaene Lore system are mostly incorporated now, even if only at the outline stage. That is, they work, even if I need to flesh them out a little more. The Life Essence system fits in around many of the mechanics, but also expands on many other elements of the game, including such things as Combination Chests for example, and is something that I am continuing to incorporate and expand as I build.

Another system that I want to add, which I have yet to even start, is the Soul Surges system. Without giving too much away, the new era has some elements of a different magic system breaking through. These breakthroughs take the form of Soul Surges, and allow spell casters to produce spell-like effects by use of their soul rather than other energies.

I have had some preliminary ideas for some time, but have yet to expand on it. However, I can say they are powers that are over and above normal spell use and are powered by something akin to mana (and may still be mana at the end of the design) and can be used alongside the normal spells each day. They are not unlike At Will Powers in the 4e D&D manuals, but at this stage, I only intended them to be for spell casters and I still say they will need a power source of some kind.

As you can see, I have made some progress over the last few days, although not as much as I would have liked due to being distracted with bigger ideas for greater development that have drawn me back to the internet to try to improve my own building skills. It always feels like there is so much to do, and it's difficult deciding what to get stuck into first. I think my next move will be to either to write the code that determines how and where Life Essences can be found, or to try to sort out the first major cutscene.

I almost forgot: I also wrote a couple more books for the module. One was simply designed to give more depth to the current area, and the other was an in-game device (once read) to help the player determine what role they intend to take when playing the game: A Channeler or a Harvester. I will explain a bit more about these two 'roles' in a later post, but maybe the titles give the reader a clue as to what the role may be about.

The Diaries of a Madman? (ADV)

Eighteen weeks later and the group is still playing after nearly 33 hours in total! Game play went smoothly again, considering I have recently had hardware problems with one of my computers (the one my wife's character is stored on). After being switched on, it now wants to reboot a couple of times before settling down, which suggests to me that I have a heat-related problem and may turn out to be the same as it was before when the memory needed reseating. Anyway, that aside, the game went smoothly apart from one small hiccough when Myara's hitpoints suddenly appeared to drop a significant chunk for no apparent reason. I was unable to give any explanation for this, but a simple reload of a slightly earlier position restored her to the correct amount.

Reloading like this is not something I usually recommend with Soul Shaker, due to its use of campaign variables, but if you know what you are doing and needs must, then it can be done. Doing so, did mean I had to live edit the database so that we could all use the latest Soul Orb Prison again, but it was easily done.

Fellow NWN Bloggers

As an aside, I decided to look for fellow NWN bloggers yesterday, and in particular, NWN2 bloggers to see how other are getting along with their projects. After a couple of hours surfing, I found a great bunch of sites that appear to have regular correspondence between each other and have added all of them to my own blog selections. It was good to see many names that I already recognised there as well, and hopefully, I might be able to start getting a little more interactive with them all myself. After all, I know what it's like trying to build a module ... it's always nice to get feedback and encouragement from fellow builders.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 8th) REALM TIME: 32 Hours 40 Mins

"The group found at least six tomes: One read as a Project Diary, another as a book on Denizens, and the final four made a set of volumes that spoke about the planes of existence, entitled, Myria Planus. Each of these larger tomes gave a great deal of insight about the Realm in which they now found themselves, and the Project Diary even revealed one or two plans of the lich and how it hoped to accomplish them. Whether it spoke in truth or madness, it was hard to tell. "  Download the full synopsis here.

It's For You!

I can now show you some of those scroll images that Geoff Cordery (Quillmaster) managed to put together for me. (Thanks Geoff.) He did half a dozen images for me (one special one just for the campaign), but I will only show a few of them here (and especially not the special one) to give you an idea of how they look. The good thing about these scroll images is that they are around 700 x 700 pixels, which means they are already a good size to display on screen, without the need to blow up and cause them to pixelate.

Scroll images are now available at the Vault.





The screenshots show the whole screen so that you get an idea of how big the scroll GUIs are. In the end I had to slightly alter the XML that displayed these GUIs because the close button and text displayed would not quite match up for each type. I think the differences and slightly extra work were worth it though. Of course, I could leave the close button off altogether and just let the player hit the escape key, but I have currently left it in just in case the player has more than one GUI open at the time.







These scrolls, like my Readable Books, allow for a journal entry to be updated after being read, and so they are quite useful to put across plot points for the players. I decided not to attach a number of other events to these for the time being, but there is no reason why they could not have all the events as used in the Readable Books.









PC Background

I have also managed to put together some of the PC background section that is set by players at the start of the module to help set the scene for both them as a player and for their PC. I wanted to allow both players of Soul Shaker and those who come along new to be able to start in this new era of the campaign, and so devised a "Background" GUI that requires one answer from a player that sets the game up for them. Depending on their answer, the player will have their PC know more or less about events at the start of the game. Furthermore, the same answer will steer the player into learning more about the story before they get underway.

Toolset Tip (Companion Compatibility)

During my time putting together some scripts this week (especially to do with Readable Books), I discovered quite a major point when it comes to programming events when the player may be using a companion instead of their Main PC. In particular, GUI responses only ever assume to work through the Main PC, even if the player is using a companion. This meant I had to figure a way to store the companion on the Main PC in the event that I needed to recall the companion object under such circumstances. I got around the issue with a couple of lines of code:

object oMainPC = GetOwnedCharacter(oPC);
SetLocalObject(oMainPC, "PCReader", oPC);

These two lines placed under the line that gets the PC store the PC being played (including a companion) onto the Main PC. Then, in the situation when only the Main PC is returned, I can retrieve the correct PC by using this example code in the script:

object oMainPC = OBJECT_SELF;
object oPC = GetLocalObject(oMainPC, "PCReader");
if(oPC == OBJECT_INVALID){oPC=OBJECT_SELF;}

This is something that I had to do in my released Readable Books and Captured SpellBooks. The Vault versions have now been updated to v1.02 to reflect this new code that makes them companion compatible. And now that I know this, of course, it is something I will keep an eye out for.

As a further side to this, I now recognise the important distinction when coding between the Main PC and a Companion in other ways too. For instance, journal entries activated by a companion do not show in the companions journal - at least not in the settings I have tried. This is not a problem of course, as long as the player is aware of this and checks their Main PC's journal for updates instead. It is possible to iterate between all the companions to update their journals with extra code as well, but I decided to simply add one entry to the companion journal effectively saying check the leader's journal instead.

There is a point of note for the player here as well, in that while they may play more than one character (via using companions), it is still their Main PC (acting as a sort of leader for the small group) who determines many of the major points for the small group. This is obvious in hindsight, but is still worth mentioning so that players are aware. E.g. If the leader does something to affect their alignment, then the player should note that supporting companions are also said to be "going along" with their leaders choices and have their alignments shifted at the same time. In other words, some actions played by the leader affect the whole group. Furthermore, even acts committed by a companion count as if they had been "ordered" to do so by the leader (Main PC) and so the whole group are affected together. In fact, in this sense, while the PCs may be individuals, some of their actions count as if they affect the group as a one whole.

AME Interview Now Available

The AME group interviewed me about my work and Soul Shaker. The interview has now been posted at the AME forums and is available for viewing from here: AME Interview.

Feel free to leave comments or other questions at the forum if you want to and I will answer where I can.

Deep In The Dungeons (ADV)

Play once again went smoothly with no errors or problems to report. Myara was dispersed once, but that was down to some solo adventuring in a dangerous environment. ;) As followers of the adventure wwill know, the heroes managed to gain entrance to the lich's dungeons last week, and this week saw them enter some deeper chambers. They also learned of the lich's phylacteries and to keep an eye open to destroy any they should find.

As a side bit of news, my boxed set of 4th edition D&D books turned up today. I have had a quick look at them and noticed some changes in particular, like the ways spells and powers are now allocated. I am not sure if I like everything that has been done, but as I only ordered them as a source of inspiration for some ideas for myslef, I won't worry about that. And for those interested, D&D Insider looks interesting and while currently unavailable, does offer some things free for the time being. Let's hope it all goes that way.

I have also managed to get my scrolls working (artwork by Quillmaster) and may add an extra post about them at a later date. Now that they are ready, I can start to add some more details to the next chapter of the campaign. Books and scrolls will play a fair part in the future, and is why I wanted a good GUI interface to play them with fun. I have a few ideas already, but at the moment, they remain simply as ideas until I have the time and energy to put them into something more solid. Hopefully soon.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 8th) REALM TIME: 30 Hours 40 Mins

"Upon entering the eastern chambers, the heroes were confronted with a rune circle etched into the tiles on the floor. It immediately raised all their suspicions, especially Karasten who warned everybody that they may be in for an imminent attack. And sure enough, the moment Myara first entered the circle, imps were summoned to attack the intruding heroes."  

Download the full synopsis here.

Combination Chests

I finished one of the placeables that I wanted to include within the new era today: Combination Chests. Players of Soul Shaker will have already encountered a version of these and so will be familiar with the concept, even though the new era version is completely revamped. For starters, NWN2 allows me to use a GUI interface rather than a conversation box for input from the player - and while programming the XML code is harder first of all, working with the input from a GUI is actually a lot easier than trying to work around a conversation with many tokens. Furthermore, the GUI makes the whole interaction much more visual and fun! I had to design the GUI background myself, and so while the artwork may not be as good as some, at least it is practical and serves well for the job. Take a look at the edited screenshot below to learn more about the way Combination Chests will be played.

Even before the PC interacts with the chest (or any object with a combination lock), they can examine the object to get an indication that the lock users tumblers in a combination lock. They can then either continue to interact with the chest or do one of two other things first:

1) They can try using dedicated Tumbler Picks to force the tumblers open. The chance of success is based upon the DC of the lock, the players Open Locks skill and the quality of the picks being used. There is always a minimum chance of 5% success, no matter who tries to pick the tumblers, but there is also a maximum chance of 95% for success no matter how good the PC or the picks are. Picks only have a single use like normal Thieves Tools, and the combination will lock again after the picked object is closed.

2) If the PC has the Knock spell, then they can cast it on the chest to allow anybody to try to work the tumblers that can only otherwise be worked by a PC with a high enough Open Lock skill to interact with the lock.

Alternatively, a PC can simply try to interact with the lock. When they do, they will be presented with the following GUI:

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

At the top of the GUI is a standard message that the player's PC is about to interact with a Combination Lock. The digits (A) show the current tumbler setting. These change as the player interacts with either the plus or minus buttons (B) above and below these numbers. If the combination is known, the player can enter it via these buttons and then click on the "Try Combination" button (C). If it is the correct combination, the object will open. Extra information about the lock and interaction is provided (D) as the player continues to interact with the lock.

An eye should be kept on the extra information section, as it gives you feedback about the lock and the person trying to interact with it. In the picture shown, the lock is said to have a Tumbler DC of 4 and that the current PC's Open Lock skill is too low to have any feedback when they interact with the lock.

Interaction Feedback

If the PC who interacts with the lock has an Open Lock skill equal or higher than the DC of the lock, then they will receive Tumbler Feedback with each attempt of a combination. The feedback says how many of the tumblers are correct, and so after a few attempts, the lock picker should eventually be able to ascertain the correct combination and open the lock.

If the chest has had the knock spell cast on it prior to any interaction, then the working DC will be zero, which means anybody working the lock will receive the same information as a PC with an adequate Open Locks skill. NB: The knock spell only keeps the working DC to zero for a period of 15 seconds per level of the caster, and the time is constantly displayed and updated in the Information Feedback area. Therefore, time is of the essence when using the knock spell at lower levels. Once the combination has been found and the lock sprung, the knock spell ends.

Along with the Try Combination button, there are also two other buttons: (1) Abandon Interaction. This abandons the current attempt to open the object without testing the current combination setting. (2) Use Life Essence. Note that this button is disabled if the PC does not carry any Life Essences (as in the picture), but if they do, the PC will have the option to use this button to force reveal a pair of tumblers. A maximum of two Life Essences can be used to reveal two pairs of digits, which are always the first four digits. Forced digits remain forced forever.

A couple of final points to note are: (1) There is pop up help reminders for each button if the player hovers over the button. (2) The tumblers can be relocked if the player chooses. (This was not something I allowed in earlier renditions of Combination Chests.)

I like these locks as they act as a kind of mini-game for the player who is prepared to spend just a little time trying to work out the combination if they have the skill or spell. Alternatively, there are a couple of ways to bypass the testing altogether: Either expend a couple of Life Essences to reduce the testing of four digits or acquire a number of Tumbler Picks to bypass it altogether. Of course, the PC could also just try to find the correct code in the first place.

Toolset Tip

During my making of these, I came across an issue that took me a while to discover the answer to. Basically, it is to do with the Default Action Preference button for an object within its properties. When using the chest, a PC with the Open Lock skill will automatically try to lock pick it by default unless this option is changed to USED. I needed to change it to this to allow the interaction to bring up the GUI rather than the PC try to unlock it, which of course would always fail.

Artwork & Voice Acting

On a different subject altogether, I am pleased to say that I have been able to acquire the services of Geoff Cordery (a.k.a. The Quillmaster), who provided some great artwork in Soul Shaker, to help out with some more artwork for another idea I have for the new era. It involves some scrolls that will work in a similar fashion to Readable Books, but with scroll artwork rather than book artwork. I hope to have something to show you in a later post.

Geoff has also agreed to help out with some voice acting for me with some of my NPCs. While I may be able to pull off one or two weak personalities, Geoff has quite a flexible voice, which I hope will add to the list of characters players will meet.

On the back of this, if there is anybody else who believes they could contribute towards other art work or voice acting, then please drop me a comment and we can take it from there. Can you help?

The Tower's Secret (ADV)

Week sixteen and all is well! Tonight went smoothly again with no real bugs to report. A typo was noticed in one of the journal entries, which I have now corrected in my own current build, but it was not enough to warrant a public update yet. There was one other issue, which could be more of a problem, but I suspect it unlikely to happen for most people and even then, only likely in a multi-player game: Having the refugee gate guard accidentally lock himself out! I could write some code to ensure this does not happen, but I suspect that it was a one-off and I will wait to hear if anybody else encounters the problem before I do anything more about it. In theory, there is still a work around, but again, I won't divulge that unless I really have to, as it is a bit involved.

I have also decided that I will no longer be doing detailed synopses after Soul Shaker has finished. It takes me quite some time to do, which could be better spent either writing new material or elsewhere in general. Instead, for the new era, I will write brief synopses, but include instead, more information that the PC's might find during the gaming session that can be read online instead of during the gaming session. E.g. If the heroes find a book, I will upload the book information as part of a session write up. This way, a player can still be reminded of what happened, but also have more hot points as reminders of what they are trying to achieve.

I am pleased to report that I have been more constructive this week than I have for a long time. I have also had one or two more ideas that I want to script regarding new era Combination Chests. I liked the way these worked in Soul Shaker, along with the various skills and spells, and I have come up with some similar ideas for the new era, but in a way that fits better with the new mechanics. I have not even started to script this yet, but I am hoping to use some of the scripts I have already written (with some minor adjustments), and that it all works out as planned. I will go into more details about these in a future post.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 8th) REALM TIME: 28 Hours 50 Mins

"It did not take long for Transafin to concoct the potion the heroes required to use against the giant gelatinous creature. After giving thanks to the old wizard, the heroes immediately made their way to the cavern that marked the secret way. Grimbold volunteered to take the potion and use it against the creature. He found that he had to get quite close before he could risk throwing the potion at it. Once he did, however, the creature noticeably weakened and everyone in the group started to attack with either melee or magik. In its weakened state, it did not take long for the creature to fall against the heroes, leaving the way clear to continue."  Download the full synopsis here.

Living v Dead Weapons

I have managed to script a fair amount of the system I want in place to differentiate between the two types of weapons that will be found in the new era upon Althéa: Living and Dead Weapons. The main difference between Living and Dead Weapons is that Living Weapons (from the old era) do not lose quality through use and appear to have a self-maintaining quality about them, whereas weapons of the new era, called Dead Weapons, gradually degrade with use.

The system works differently from any used in previous adventures, and reflects a quality of a weapon rather than any sort of direct damage as such. That said, a weapon used in combat will gradually lose quality if the PC does not maintain it and feedback currently still suggests that a "weapon is damaged". At the moment, the system only relates to weapons, but I may consider expanding on this to cover armour as well.

Dead Weapons can currently be in four states: Poor, Moderate, Good and Exceptional. Their current quality determines how many properties they can hold during enhancing. Poor weapons cannot be enhanced, moderate ones can hold one property and good or exceptional weapons can hold two properties. Only a Living Weapon can hold more than two properties. Furthermore, if a weapon has a property and the weapon degrades through use, then the weapon will lose a property. Therefore, it is wise for a fighter to ensure they keep their weapons in the best condition. This is something they can do themselves with the correct skill (Craft Weapon) or take to a Weapon Smith with the same skill.

There will be different levels of skilled Weapon Smiths around and it may pay the PC to keep track of where the best smiths are as they require better skilled smiths to keep their better weapons in good condition.

If a PC fails to have their Dead Weapon maintained and it reaches a quality score of zero, it will break and become useless. Therefore, it may pay the PC who wanders far into the wilderness to have at least some skill in Craft Weapon, to ensure they do not lose their weapon along their adventures. On the other hand, if they are fortunate enough to find or win a Living Weapon, then weapon degradation is one less thing for them to worry about.

Debut Author AME 2007 NWN Award Winner!

I could not be more proud than to announce that I won the AME Golden Dragon Award for Debut Author for Soul Shaker! I was extremely pleased simply to be nominated from among all the great work that had been produced in 2007, but to then win this category is truly a great honour and probably the most satisfying award I have ever won. There is also a podcast that speaks about the finalists to be found here: podcast.

D&D has been a near life-long hobby of mine, and for many years I have written material for the same group of players. They have always said they enjoyed my work, but I have never known how it compared with other authors. Soul Shaker was my first tentative step for a larger audience and I did not know how well it would be received. The award has made everything I have done worthwhile, as it comes from a group of people who share the same love of a hobby as I do, and to be recognised by ones peers in this way is truly a delight.

Thanks to everybody who supported my work over the years, from the oldest players to the newest. I hope I am able to bring new works to more players in the years to come.

It's All In The Art (ADV)

There was a last minute panic before we started play this week, as I realised that I had not yet updated two of my computers with NWN to v1.69. Thankfully, I had already downloaded the critical patch and so abandoned the "update" method I was using (because the time to start play was approaching fast) so that I could update the two machines in time. The updates went fine and were ready just in time.

I had tested my own computer with v1.69 and everything played OK with Soul Shaker, but the real test would come tonight when we played another session with all computers. Thankfully, again, everything went smoothly, update or otherwise. The only thing I noticed was that if a player joined a multi-player game and was missing a plot item, then they would be given it. This is fine as a safety net against plot items being lost accidentally, but the problem arises when another player may join later who does have the plot item. You end up with two plot items in the game. However, I have decided this is not a major issue as the code does correct for the extra plot items after a quest requiring the plot has been finished. I could add extra code to sort all this out, but I don't think its really necessary. I have, however, made a note about this for future multi-player modules and plot items.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 8th) REALM TIME: 26 Hours 50 Mins

"Inside the small tower, the group discovered a strange device. Myara, the most proficient when dealing with Realm devices took a closer look: It seemed to be some sort of communication device. Myara then decided to touch the device to see if she could discover something more. Within seconds she heard the voice of the Dark King communicating with her by telepathy through the device." 

Download the full synopsis here.

The New Era and Arcaene Lore

As you may or may not know, the Althéa Campaign has been running for many years, originally starting out as a Pen and Paper game. The campaign continued within its current era throughout the life and course of NWN1. Since then, a number of events, including the release of NWN2, the story conclusion of Soul Shaker and the change to the current group of players all contributed towards my decision that a new era would begin after the Soul Shaker module.

A New Era

The new era is marked by an event that the people will call "The Changing" or "The Darkening". Life will have changed for the new era and it will be a time for old and new players alike to learn of the world of Althéa. Plot lines from earlier years that remain open will be reintroduced in a fashion to appeal to new players as well as remind older players of their current objectives. Even before the player begins, they will be able to select their "background" to represent whether their PC's are supposedly familiar with some of the characters of the world already, or whether they prefer to play as if they knew no-one. Once the player has set their PC's background, they can then begin to explore the world within its new era.

Arcaene Lore

The players will soon learn that The Changing has brought about some differences to the world they once knew (or are supposed to have known). One example will be how people will now refer to objects made from a knowledge prior to The Changing as objects of Arcaene Lore, or "secret knowledge", because the knowledge once used to forge or create such items has been lost since The Changing that marked the start of the new era.

Objects of Arcaene Lore ranges from weapons that were once considered relatively simple smith work to spells that could be cast any number of times without having to learn them beforehand. Basically, any object whose knowledge of creation has been lost since the Changing will be referred to as an object of of Arcaene Lore, or more specifically by a reference that describes it better. E.g. Weapons that survived from the previous age would be refereed to as Arcaene Weapons, and spells would be referred to Arcaene Spells. Both use Arcaene Lore.

Objects of Arcaene Lore work and behave differently to those of the new era, and the player will gradually get to learn about these differences as they play. As an indication, the people of Althéa also refer to weapons made prior to the Changing as "Living Weapons" and those of the new age as "Dead Weapons". This is because the people have learned that the new age Dead Weapons are subject to damage and decay, whereas those weapons that survived from the previous age do not suffer from such degradation.

With the new era comes many changes, and not just to the objects mentioned above. However, the differences already mentioned have an indirect impact on the old order of things, and the new forced social structure upon the world of Althéa will be new to both old and new players alike.

Citadel Survivors! (ADV)

Tonight saw the heroes escape the citadel and find the refugees hiding away in some nearby caves. The timer showed nearly a healthy 25 hours of play as well, and if we take into account the slight error due to WAN traffic, then the module has lasted quite well according to my own original estimates. It will be interesting to see what the final time records for a MP game, especially as most single-player games are normally coming to a finish around now.

Tonight played without any problems at all. There were no errors found and all conversations with the refugees to date have gone well and the logical flow was as good as it could be for a complex setting like this. I just hope the flow continues to hold true and reliable as the game play continues. This is always the hardest bit to test and assume OK, as people approach NPC's and conversations in a different order to what you may expect, and so opens up the largest window for errors to creep in.

Neverwinter Nights IRC (AME)

Today, I was contacted by Tybae of the AME website about my nomination with Soul Shaker and he asked me to be part of an IRC (chat) on Saturday 12th July at 1700 Hrs GMT with other nominees. I said I would be delighted to take part, and so I hope I am able to answer any questions they may ask of me. I will let you know when and where the transcript will appear.

UPDATE: 13th July: IRC chat log can be found here.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 7th) REALM TIME: 24 Hours 50 Mins

"For now, all the group wished to avoid the tower and followed the citadel wall around to the west, along its outer wall. The heroes could see that the citadel stood atop a cliff that overlooked a raging water. And yet, somehow, the citadel appeared too close for comfort in places and they were reminded that this was not the original location where the citadel once stood."  

Download the full synopsis here.

Althéa New Era Differences

I decided to give writing for the New Era of the Althéa Campaign in NWN2 another go today. I have now divided the current work into two modules, but have not yet removed anything from either, which will be the point to the dividing eventually, so that things run smoother than they do at the moment. However, as there are a number of scripts that are used between both modules (Campaign Scripts), I have also been shifting a number of scripts from the individual modules to the Campaign folder. I could see no easy way of doing this other than by copying and pasting the scripts from one section to the other and then deleting the original. If anybody knows of an easier way, then please let me know.

There was also a very scary moment when I went to save the changes and the tool set crashed, and failed to reload properly on a reload. Thankfully, all the scripts had saved to the Campaign folder, and all I had to do was alter one or two objects from a slightly older module to get things up and running again.

Today, I took a closer look at the Enchanter's Satchel. It is a means by which items can be enchanted (while mobile in the field) by using certain essences. The satchel was introduced with MotB and makes the process a bit simpler than it was with the original NWN2, but goes slightly against the grain of how I wanted the campaign to run. I don't mind having the equivalent to a "mobile workbench" for enchanting items, but I believe there should be an additional price for making such in this way. Therefore, I have made it so that using the satchel costs additional Life Essences to enchant an item, compared to enchanting items at a static workbench.

This involved editing the original i_nx1_container01_ci script, but as I don't use the more complex TAG editing styles, I was able to edit my own nx1_container01 script to intercept the spell being cast at the satchel and check to see if sufficient Life Essences were being carried by the caster. It's a simple enough check and works well. It took me a while to work it out though, as it has been a while since I looked at the scripting for the new objects and I was a little rusty.

I also managed to get the Spell Book check in place: A script to check if the wizard or sorcerer is carrying their spell book to be able to learn spells. Resting without one now causes the PC to lose all spells but their cantrips, in the same way a cleric will lose all their spells except Orisons if they rest without a copy of their Holy Book.

The whole basic mechanics of the game is now looking good and working quite well. I obviously still need to test it a bit more, especially over a LAN, but most of the main effects and requirements I was after are now in place. And it was all these scripts that have had to be moved to Campaign scripts so that they work across all the modules I build from now on.

Hopefully, I intend to start working on a conversation or two next and possibly an opening "Background Option" GUI, which allows a player joining the campaign to determine if they are playing a PC who has some background association with Althéa already, and may have some knowledge of some NPCs they meet, or are starting from a background of someone who has never left their home village and knows very little about the world. Depending upon their choice here will determine the kind of options and/or reception they may have with some NPC's.

The Tower Beckons (ADV)

We managed to get back to playing Soul Shaker again this week. And while we have not played, Soul Shaker has continued to rise through the charts and was last seen holding at a healthy position of 6th place. Furthermore, this is also the week that AME will be announcing their Debut Author for the 2007 Golden Dragon awards for which I have been nominated alongside a couple of others. As I said previously, even to be nominated is an honour, and I can only hope for anything more against such excellent competition.

This week I released SSPatchedScripts v1.08 to allow the Spiritualise spell to give the correct number of spirit fragments when used against damaged items. I had done this for the Spirit Disruptor last time, but neglected to alter this script as well. It is not a major fix, but one that I feel needed to be done.

At one point during play, I did think my Realm Soul Sword was not working as it was meant to. i.e. I thought that using its abilities was supposed to drain a charge like the magik versions, but realised after checking the code that Realm Weapons are only supposed to lose integrity if a miss-hit is made. In other words, it is supposed to be one of their major advantages over the other weapon types by not losing integrity so often. Anyway, I was glad that I did not have to do anything there after all.

Finally, I think I may be having problems with my computer, as it appears to be getting slower over the last few days. At the moment, I am suspecting overheating of some kind, possibly the graphics card, as I even had some display corruption at one time. I guess I will have to open it up and check it out at some point. That new computer is definitely looming closer ... ;)

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 7th) REALM TIME: 23 Hours 20 Mins

"Stepping onto the balcony, the heroes were sheltered from the rain by the walls of the citadel. Through the pouring rain ahead of them they could see an ominous looking tower beyond the reaches of the citadel itself. Was this the lich's tower? Was Terrell being held captive here? The heroes current search of the citadel had proved futile up to now, and unless Terrell was being held somewhere on the top floor, then they would have to extend their search to the outer areas, and very likely the tower as well. Whatever the situation, the tower was not a welcoming sight and somehow appeared out of place here."  

Download the full synopsis here.

Bunny Bo (Another New Family Member!)

You may recall that on the 24 May, Jennifer and I took in a bunny, Daisy, that had been rescued by a friend of ours. Daisy has been settling in over the last few weeks, and like us, she was surprised to learn that we were soon to acquire yet another bunny.

This time, we have welcomed "Bunny Boy", renamed "Bunny Bo". He is a bunny that belonged to a neighbour of our friends, Phillip and Jenny. I had once met Bunny when Jenny called me to come and help her with him, after he had escaped from their neighbours into their garden. I ended up spending the whole day waiting with him until the owners got home. He was such a delight to stay with, and I said that if they ever thought of giving him up, we would take him in. That was before we had Daisy, and so when I received the telephone call today, you can imagine the situation at home with Jennifer and myself.

The short story is that we agreed to take him in, even though he will need to be neutered before we can let him run free with Daisy. How easy it will be to bond Daisy and Bunny Bo, only time will tell. In the meanwhile, you can visit PhotoBucket, where you can see Bunny Bo's first pictures in his new home. (Select slide show in the top right hand corner for a show.)

Soul Shaker Enters Top Module Listings

I am pleased to announce that Soul Shaker received its 10th vote today and enabled its current average score of 9.47 to help it become listed in the Top Modules for NWN. It is currently listed as #11, and considering how different it is to the standard game that people might be expecting, I am very pleased with how well it has been received. It is a really great feeling to now have two projects recognised in this way. As I may have mentioned before, my Readable Books is listed as the #1 NWN2 UI interface. However, considering the amount of work I placed into Soul Shaker, I am glad that it is receiving recognition.

The success of these projects does help to encourage me to do more work with the current module. I suppose I will have to take the plunge and buy a new computer soon, or simply try to continue with what I have.

Reaching A Limit

Now that the number of areas I have outlined for the next adventure has increased, I am finding my computer starting to take longer and longer when working with them in the tool set. And while I am reasonably patient, I am finding the slow loads and manipulation quite difficult to work with and may have to consider getting a faster computer sooner rather than later to help alleviate the problem. I know I could work on areas individually and import them, but I do not like to work like that, as it can cause me other issues later on.

The main computer that I use the NWN2 tool set on at the moment (AMD Athlon 64 3500) was built back in March 2005 and is beginning to show its age when running this sort of thing. However, my finances are a bit all over the place at the moment and so I may have to put designing on hold until things settle down. (After all, I have just bought a new camera as well.)

In the meanwhile, I have been making very slow progress, and have managed to achieve some results that I was after. Take a look at the night and sunrise screenshots. (I hope they don't give too much away.) I am probably about 15% of the way through designing the next adventure. However, I would also like to flesh out a few ideas I have to go along with it (as side quests or additional mechanic ideas) that will have to wait until I can build more efficiently. Hopefully, if a new computer does speed things up significantly, then I may be encouraged to open up the tool set more often than I have done of late.

SOUL SHAKER UPDATE: There was no D&D played tonight. I hope to play again when we are back to a full complement of players, which I hope will be in the next week or two.

Countering Evil Magik (ADV)

It was a battle intensive session this week as the heroes continued in their current task of countering corrupt magik rune circles throughout the ground floor of the citadel, which, in turn, were being defended by automatons called Alatrons. The game ran smoothly enough, and I noticed only a couple of minor issues:

1. The Spirit Disruptor was not returning the correct number of fragments for damaged items.
2. Corpses would not always turn hostile after being disturbed.

I have brought out patch v1.07 to deal with the first problem, but am uncertain what is causing the second. It could be down to a slower network connection on the offending computer and for the time being I have changed my LAN connection for the computer with the problem from 10 to 100. (I have put the netmeeting on the slower connection as the network card only supports 10 anyway.) I have only been able to do this since removing another computer from the network that had been on the only other 100 connection. I am hoping this action will also deal with my slight delay I experience when playing. Furthermore, this may also deal with the timer difference we have been experiencing. Time will tell.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: 7th) REALM TIME: 21 Hours 05 Mins

"The group went up the stairs and found they led to a large library area. The area was dark, but the group could see mushrooms and spider webs were scattered about the area. Grimbold set about clearing the region of mushrooms with his bow, while the others kept watch for spiders. They did not have to wait long, as suddenly, out of the shadows, groups of spiders came to see what had disturbed their nests."  

Download the full synopsis here.

Daisy (A New Family Member)

As followers of this blog will know, my wife and I lost our dear little rabbit, Anakin, two months ago. The last two months have been very hard for both of us. In the last two weeks though, we have been trial "parents" for another rabbit that had been rescued by our friends from someone who treated her with cruelty. Our friends already have a number of pets and were fostering "Daisy" until they could find a permanent home for her. As they knew we had just lost Anakin, they had hoped we might be able to take her in. I agreed to a trial period only, simply because I find the grief of losing a pet to hard to bear, and having just lost Anakin, I found the whole aspect of caring for another pet too difficult. My wife, however, longed to fill the empty space in our home, and suffice to say, the two week trial ended in a new family member.



Daisy is a dear rabbit, about ten months old. Initially, she was very reluctant to human contact (understandably) and would often growl and wave her front paws in defence if you went to stroke her. In the last month since being rescued, she has come leaps and bounds (if you pardon the pun) and now wants to be stroked, and will often come up to you for the attention.

I bought a Canon D400 digital camera (I have gone digital at last), so that I could start to take more photographs. Photography has always been a hobby of mine, but prior to now, it could also be an expensive one. And while the new camera was an initial cost, all photos taken since have been for next to nothing in cost. Daisy was, of course, the first subject of my attention, and while she was afraid of the shutter clicks at first, she now loves all the extra attention and is now an obliging model. Check out my first lot of pictures of her at PhotoBucket. (You can look at the pictures as a slide show using the option in the top right hand corner of the page after selecting the album you wish to see from the left.) Hopefully, I will add more albums as I get the time.

Academy For Modding Excellence (AME): Debut Author Nomination

I am honoured to say that I have been nominated for the Debut Author category of the NWN1 2007 AME awards. After all the years of writing D&D adventures, this is a real honour to have a recognition outside of my own immediate group of players (which is still very much appreciated) and a great encouragement to continue writing for a larger audience. There is even a YouTube Video with some of the gameplay from the Soul Shaker module. (You may have to switch to high quality viewing to make the video playback work.)

I have always been interested in writing. As well as writing adventures for D&D, I also wrote a novel about my campaign, entitled "Deep Within". Therefore, recognition of this kind is greatly appreciated. Hopefully, I might be able to continue giving more work back to the community as time goes by. I am already working on the new era of my campaign (NWN2), which is aimed at a wider audience than previous works.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those supporters of my work over the years, of designing and making material for NWN1 and NWN2 and still have great respect for the testers who have helped me iron out problems to make the modules play as smoothly as possible: Herrjeff, Mike9215 and Phantasma. Thank-you.

Perversions (ADV)

This was another session free of any problems, which lasted for a good two hours with much happening in the way of combat and puzzle solving. As before, while the timer showed two hours play, I think we probably played just over that. I had an idea to make the timer more accurate, but as it was a guide to Realm time only, it does not matter.

I have been struggling to concentrate over the last few weeks, and so this session was quite a refreshing change to be able to enjoy the game without too much effort. Hopefully, as time goes by, I will feel more in the mood to get back into designing the next set of adventures. For now though, I intend to try to relax and enjoy a few games and playing about with my new Canon 4ood camera. You may even see some pictures uploaded from it soon ... we have taken in a new rabbit: Daisy!

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Sixth) REALM TIME: 19 Hours 30 Mins

"Apart from the strange circle, the chapel appeared empty. There were some heavily barred windows along the west wall that could not be breached, although the heroes could hear the sound of heavy rainfall outside." Read the full synopsis here.

The Mushrooms Are Served (ADV)

Week ten of playing Soul Shaker saw the group of heroes finally escape the lower levels of the citadel and reach the ground floor. And while the in-game clock reports 17 hours 30 minutes of play, I suspect it has been nearer 19 or 20 hours after the slight delay in the counter for networked play has been taken into account.

There were no further issues due to any coding (as such) this week. However, I think the area sizes of the module are placing a strain on the computers when it comes to heartbeat checks, as I noticed some of the "growths" did not always disappear as they were meant to. They, like some other aspects of the module, have heartbeat scripts to help govern their behaviour, and while the visual effect is not critical, I noticed the lack of response all the same.

Heartbeat scripts have often been the cause of minor issues in past modules and I have decided that while single player modules appear to handle these scripts OK, it seems multi-player games (where computers are trying to work in synchronisation across a WAN) are less forgiving and throw up these kind of minor issues. Because of this, I have decided to reconsider module area sizes in future designs to help alleviate strains on heartbeat scripts in a multi-player game. This may mean either reducing area size designs, or simply reducing the number of scripts that use the heartbeat hook.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Sixth) REALM TIME: 17 Hours 30 Mins

"It was not until Karasten drew close to the water plants that he realized that these too were part of the hostile environment. Suddenly, tendrils from the plants reached out and grabbed him, sticking their sharp barbs into him. Finding a target with normal weapons was not easy in this situation, but Grimbold found that a well placed fire or acid grenade helped release the plants grip on those trapped within their binds."  

Download the full synopsis here.

The Heart Of The Problem (ADV)

This evening went well again, even though I did encounter a handful of minor bugs. There was one that had been introduced with an earlier fix that was supposed to drop a hint to those who may have become locked behind the force-field with no way out. However, the code made the numbers appear on all bookcases and cabinets on other levels, which was not the desired effect. This, along with the following fixes have been addressed in patch v1.06, which has already been uploaded for other players of the module:

1. Bless Water can now be cast on stacked water bottles without destroying them all.
2. A water fountain will no longer run dry.
3. A mushroom explosion has had its radius reduced.
4. More code has been added to try to make a creatures target more random. (MP)
5. Bookcase/cabinet numbers removed. (As detailed above.)

We managed to play a good two hours in this session and the game was otherwise quite stable throughout. We may have even played slightly longer than this, but once again, the in-built timer had about a 15 minute discrepancy. That said, I did pause the game occasionally and so that may have had an impact on the final count.
I did also notice one other minor issue regarding the backup deployment of "plot items". I had coded some fail safes into the module to ensure a player could not leave themselves in a position without vital plot items. However, in hindsight, some of the code checks only really work well for a single player game. It's not that the plot item is not checked in a multi-player, but more that the item may be given in error due to the check being made when not all players are in the game. Therefore, the code assumes the item is missing and recreates it accordingly. This has happened for one plot item I have witnessed already - and to be fair, the circumstances of this happening may not have always come about. If, however, I find this sort of thing too damaging for the multi-player game (due to giving even more plot items), then I will have to address the issue.
SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Fifth) REALM TIME: 15 Hours 15 Mins
"Beyond the illusory wall was a small alcove, which in turn had another illusory wall that hid the way to a long passageway filled with bunk-beds. After a few moments, the group realized where they were: They had found a secret way to the north wing."  Download the full synopsis here.

Interior Design

Today, I took my first steps at using tiles to design interior settings. I wanted to take a break from the scripting I have been doing and try to do something that would help inspire me back into design as a whole since being demotivated at the loss of my pet rabbit, Anakin.

I started by making a passage for one of my locations and, almost straightaway, found that the walkmesh allowed a PC to walk through a wall if I used one of its variant designs. I tried all sorts to stop the PC from being able to walk through, and then after applying a bake for about a fifth time, the walls worked as they should! I have no idea why this should have happened, but I am glad it resolved itself.

Next, I set about trying to set some of the lighting for atmosphere. In the process, I wanted to make a prefab that allowed a light source to be attached to an existing prefab. This was not as intuitive as I thought it first would be. After grouping the objects together, I then exported the group, which saved in the prefab folder. However, to make the prefab available to use, I had to copy the exported file to my override folder and reload the module before I could access it. At one point, I tried to redo the prefab while the existing prefab was in my override folder, and this time the prefab appeared. Something strange is going on with these, and while I can get them to work ... eventually, I hope Obsidian intend to make these work a little more smoothly in the future.

Anyway, after messing around with some of the lighting options, I decided to allow the passage that I designed to appear more "accurate" according to available light sources than allow what I would call "studio lighting" (Directional Light) to be used. It does mean the passage appears darker than if I had used Directional Lighting, but I think the overall atmospheric effect is more desirable in the end result. I have included a couple of screen shots to show some of the lighting effects in place for this first interior design. One shows the darker basic torch lighting and the other, brighter magical lanterns:

Escape From The Sewers (ADV)

This week went smoothly with no faults to report. The only thing I did have to correct this week, was where I had used the name "Helden" by mistake instead of "Karasten" in some of the synopses. These have now been corrected. (Both PCs are played by the same player, but Helden is not played in this adventure.)

The only other thing I noticed was the elapsed time was slightly less than the time we actually played, by about 15 minutes. I do, however, already have this noted as a known issue for the module, as the timer appears to only be approximate, especially when used in a MP game where one player is accessing from a distance rather than in a LAN game. I also believe if there is a slower computer being used on the network, then this too has an impact on the timer.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Fifth) REALM TIME: 13 Hours 15 Mins

"Eventually, the heroes made it back to storage chamber one and Karasten entered the combination code they had acquired earlier to gain entrance to the room. Inside, there was a bookcase and a number of crates. The bookcase contained a number of procedure manuals, which Karasten made note of, and all but one of the crates held spare parts to the sewer pump system. The crate that was supposed to hold diaphragm seals was empty, and it turned out from a note in a nearby desk that the workers had been salvaging old seals from manual pumps due to lack of supplies."  Download the full synopsis here.


As a side note, I finished the NWN2 OC yesterday. I found the last battle extremely hard to do and had to replay the Merdelain (I reckon that should be "Murder Lane") area due to running too low on party resources by the time I reached the three Shadow Reavers.

Controlling that many PCs was also extremely hard, and I learned from this experience how not to (in my opinion) make a combat, grand finale or otherwise. Maybe its just because I am not a good player, but I simply felt overwhelmed and had to make a lot of use of save and load to get to the end. Overall though, I found the experience good fun and I believe I did prefer it to NWN1, simply because of the ability to have more control. It just felt like too much at the end. ;)

Sewer Pump Failure (ADV)

Sometimes I wonder if NWN code decides to do its own thing on occasion. For while the game went reasonably smoothly tonight, there was, however, one incident when a Citadel Exterminator appeared to be set as indestructible and not take any damage. Why this happened, I am still not certain. Fortunately, as DM I was able to ensure the problem was fixed, but not after it caused some problems with attacking the PCs. In hindsight, I wonder if it may have been something I did as a DM, but I don't recall doing anything in particular. I also went through the scripts after the session and found one script that would set anything that passed through it as "plot". Why I had this I have no idea, but I have since removed the code and made it an update in patch v1.05. I also ensured that if a PC carried more than one of the same type of bag that they could no longer take advantage of an exploit whereby items would not be removed from a second or third bag (plus) of the same type.

The heroes have managed to make gradual process through the sewers and have finally gained access to the Pump Control Station, where they have now recognised that fixing the Access Control Panels must be their next priority.

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Fourth) REALM TIME: 11 Hours 30 Mins

"There was one other feature they quickly came to recognize in these tunnels, and that was small caged access elevators that lead to lower sections of sewers. As they continued to explore this region, they found a number of them that led to other sections, and others that had failed, which meant the heroes had to find other ways to reach the various sections. In all the sewers were a maze of tunnels and everywhere required time to search properly."  

Download the full synopsis here.

Toolset Crash

I was working on adding some spell components today and the tool set crashed as I went to save it. It's a pain when that happens, especially when I have been demotivated of late. I was trying to get involved again, and instead, found I had to go back two modules and redo a couple of things I had already done. Fortunately, there was not too much to do (as I have not been doing much lately) and furthermore, in the process, I made a discovery. The bit I had done tonight was easily recoverable, as I had saved the work within the campaign folder, which meant all work was saved independent of the module. The work I had to redo involved the section where I had amalgamated my new Captured Spell Books (still awaiting final beta testing before being released) with the main module. While it did not take long for me to get the files back in order, I discovered in the process that one of my edited OC XML files required special placement for the module to work properly.

To date, every other XML file I have worked on, appears to work fine if placed within the Campaign folder and not placed anywhere else, including my own and altered OC files. However, I discovered fontfamily.xml required being placed inside the custom UI folder for the text in my readable books and spell books to even show. My guess is that because the fontfamily.xml file is used by the readable books and spell books XML files, it needs to be placed in a higher priority than even the Campaign folder. Hence, the module only worked after I placed the file in the higher priority custom UI folder. I will have to ensure people are aware of this when they use this module.

Even though I still have a handful of mechanic scripts to write, I can say that I have been encouraged by the feedback I received from an earlier post to start work on the actual scenario instead now. I have already outlined the scenario, and have decided that I will start designing and coding the adventure prior to finishing off surrounding mechanics, and will get back to that side of coding as and when I feel the need. The final few areas that I am putting to one side include:

1) Finishing spell components and foci requirements.
2) Finish the rest system and wiz/sorc spell book requirements.
3) Complete creature drops surrounding alchemy and special drops.

For those interested, the working title for the first adventure in the new era is, "The Devil You Know."

Toxic Gases (ADV)

I had to step in and play a character this week, as one of the players has had to stop playing due to other life commitments. Unfortunately, it meant he also missed out on some more custom content, which I am sure would have appealed to him as a fellow builder. Actual play went smoothly enough, although Grimbold (the character I took over) did get dispersed once (died), which probably does not say a lot about my ability to play. I did manage to kill the creature as it killed me though, so that is something.

There were a few very minor issues, the first of which I have addressed in patch v1.04: If a player has their PC click on a Lore Tome to learn it (but does not need it), it is supposed to be left on the ground for other players to try for their own PC. However, there was a variable that prevented this from happening, which I have now addressed.

The other two issues are old ones, which I thought I may have cured, but still come back to haunt us now and then. The first one is "mixed tokens", which basically has the players see each others stats when clicking on a menu at the same time. However, this only appears to occur if one player is playing remotely rather than on a LAN, and I believe it is to do with the speed of the Internet connection and the passing of data. The simple quick fix is to simply reopen the Main Menu, but it is something to be aware of when playing such a game. If I do ever find a definite solution, I will add it. The problem is, I can add a variable that checks between each player accessing the conversation, but I am worried the conversation could lose the variable in network traffic and prevent the Main Menu from opening altogether and so I don't want to go down that route if I can help it. The second issue is to do with monsters appearing "friendly" when first encountered. Again, I have checked the code, and I cannot see any reason why this is happening, and it appears to correct itself after a short while anyway. The quick easy solution to this one for the time being, is to right click and select attack. Hopefully, these minor glitches will not show themselves too often anyway.

Otherwise, the group handled the toxic areas well, even under the added stress of combat. They also finally managed to gain access to the sewers and locate the elevator and discover what the problem is. Now, they just need to fix the problem so that they can reach the ground level!

SYNOPSIS SNIPPET: (REALM LEVEL: Fourth) REALM TIME: 9 Hours 40 Mins

"There were many bodies in this area, many mutilated and left as bloody corpses throughout the area; one had even been left on a table.... Just as Karasten reached the farthest point within the chambers, a sudden known cry echoed all around the group, "Give me flesh!". In that instant the group realized more Death Walkers had tracked them down and combat was engaged. There was nowhere to run from here and the heroes had to stand or fall."  

Download the full synopsis here.