Episode 15: Making Progress!

It's been a little while since I last posted on the progress of module two of "The Scroll", but there is good news: It continues to be written and I am still making progress. One of the reasons I have not had anything to say is because it would involve discussing a lot of spoilers. That said, here is what I can say to bring you up to date ...

ALL SYSTEMS GO!

I finally finished the new GUI that the player will pick up towards the end of module two, designed specifically to add a dimension to the mega-dungeon on which the second module will climax. Well, it may not be quite the end for the module, but close enough that I am currently assuming this to be the last dungeon a player will play through before module three! (God willing.) The GUI itself works like a charm ... well, not literally being a D&D game ;) ... but I mean to say works well.

Now that it is in place and working, I can now refer to it as a game mechanic and start to increase the amount of material that works alongside its inclusion, which means I can start shaping the conversations, items and placeables required in the module to make the whole thing come together. To this end, I have written the first conversation required for Kiri-Dor, of which I took a screenshot for this post.

OVERLAND MAP

Alongside working the new mechanics and conversations for the mega-dungeon, I have been going over the overland map code, ensuring encounters work and general player interaction is intuitive. In testing, I found exploring the map quite fun! For those that don't know (which I guess may be everybody), my own overland map exploration assumes the PC in the party with the best skills when hiding from a creature or searching for something. This means the player is not penalised on an overland map just because their main PC did not have the skills that the overland map makes use of. Basically, as long as somebody in the party has the skills, then the whole party benefit. This is a premise I work to with respect to all party skills. In this way, as I explored the overland with my own party, I discovered various hidden objects and was able to decide (mostly) which encounters I would face. All ran smoothly and made the whole exploration process quite a delight.

Another aspect I have been working on is also to allow players to be able to "shop" at locations they have previously visited without having to enter the areas with them again. For example, the player may click on the object representing New Edgeton to be able to purchase items from there as if they were in the New Edgeton area.

MODULE COMPARISONS

I thought it might be worthwhile to give some comparisons between my first and second module to help explain its current state of development. Module one was very much designed as an introductory module for the world of Althéa and the many new mechanics. A player could join the game either knowing nothing about the campaign or having come from its "pen and paper" background, which was necessary for my own players. The course of the adventures that followed was crucially about removing the barrier from around the village of New Edgeton so the heroes could continue their journey towards Boran, the capitol city.

In the second module, the heroes will learn more about the main story irrespective of their background. Events that have transpired over the last two years are now learned as the heroes are no longer trapped and isolated within New Edgeton. This liberation means a player can run headlong towards the action, all restraints removed, in the hope of either learning more about the world and its influential characters, or simply getting on with the job that needs to be done (subject to the background chosen). Needless to say, in module two, it is not long before all players are brought up to speed with their own destiny within the world of Althéa.

Module one comprised a number of quests, small, medium and large. By comparison, module two will have probably fewer smaller quests, but rather medium, large or much larger ones, simply due to the importance of the quest in which they find themselves involved. However, I am aiming to design the second module in such a way that may break these larger scenarios into more manageable chunks, so that the player does not feel either overwhelmed, nor left wondering what is required of them.

One of the major differences of module two (and the more difficult to design), is that events are more linked than those of module one, or appear to me as such at this point in design. The problem is, they may start off as isolated events, but end up becoming associated with one another as time goes by. This does add a layer of difficulty in the overall design, but one that will play well if I pull it off ... or so I believe anyway. That all said, I still hope to put in the odd independent scenario or two, as I believe they can make for some interesting side events.

What this means in development terms is that I am having to write different sections at the same time, going from one part, then to another. It makes it easier to ensure all variables are correct for each possible path taken by the player. At this time of writing, I have managed to start 75% of the larger dungeons, and completed only one smaller dungeon. Personally, I would like to achieve at least 5-10 small dungeons/quests, but am keeping my options open on that subject to how long the main quests take to write up. For even though I have started 75% of these larger quests, I would say I have probably only written around 10% of each, of which there are at least 4-5 overall. Time will tell.

EXCITING

The one thing I can say with respect to everything to date is that I am finding it all exciting. Especially as I am now working with a new module where I can work from a background of knowing what has worked or not worked in the past. To this end, even module one has benefited from some of the upgrades of module two, including the ability to stack craft items and trap kits. (This is already available in module one since v2.91, which is already out for download.) i.e. Continued work with module two has given improvements to module one where possible.

Module two has the benefit of better area design ... or perhaps I should say, more practical area design. In that I am doing my best to keep areas free of clutter to enable better PC movement, especially when encountering other creatures for combat.

For myself, it is just great to be able to write conversations that develop the story further. It is frustrating knowing how it all ends, and not yet being able to deliver it to the players. I just hope I am around long enough, as well as the NWN2 community, to be able to deliver it!

From Simple Ideas, Great Stories Grow!