Wakey wakey!

I can't believe I've left this alone for so many years.  It's been a struggle being a single Dad, to the point that I've had to have a minor operation.    Having to spend a couple of weeks resting, and now mobile enough to exploit my free time... so I started up the toolset and found myself dabbling again.

As anyone who's played Chapter One will know, I'm a stickler for detail, and atmosphere is one of the most important tools at your disposal for creating it. It's all about immersion. Immerse your player in the story by setting the scene, both visually and auditory. One trick I like to use with sound is I'll note the background noise of an area and place a much quieter version of it near the transition point of an adjoining area.

I also check the description of anything that can be clicked on, including NPCs, tailoring them to observations the player can make.

If you haven't played Chapter One, I urge you to do so, and if you have, I urge you to play again.  Were you aware that the confrontation that occurs in the mines has a game changing consequence if the Half Orc survives?  The consequence being that you encounter him later and he has conveniently made an area combat free. 

There are many things that are easy to miss, ranging in complexity, including but not limited to:

• Multiple reward possibilities dependant on how you're viewed by Anath.
• It's possible to get Gailin to like you.  Hard work, but possible.  There are several range bands to how he views you, altering his conversations and reactions to storyline in the process.
• There's an optional quest in Oasis involving a burnt note.
• Translating a book can gain another companion.
• Lore in all books is original and can contain clues.
• Lore on all armour is original, from dog collars to chainmail.
• In fact the lore of everything pertains to the setting

So... having rekindled my interest, I'm having another look.  No promises, but knowing someone wanted to play Chapter 2 could make all the difference.  Happy gaming people :)

Disaster Averted!

Okay okay, I confess I haven't been around of late, or even building come to that.  That nasty thing called real life is still demanding lots of my attention, particularly on the job seeking front, and I had a major disaster... two in fact, with regard my computer.  I suffered a particularly nasty virus attack that locked the PC and disabled safe boot mode.  The first time it struck took me a couple of days to sort out.  The second time merely a couple of hours since I'd remembered how I got round it.  You can't be too cautious people.  I actually have a good virus checker that deals with files in real time, yet it missed this one twice.

Having thought the worst was over, I was horrified to discover that it had somehow messed with two of my games, being Neverwinter Nights and World of Tanks, somehow assigning them to the creation of further viral attacks and rendering the programs unusable.  Fortunately the virus checker caught the files they kept creating whenever I tried to run them, but I was unable to fix the problem and make the programs run.  This was quite a disheartening moment for me.  World of Tanks I could manage without, but the loss of Neverwinter meant that work was unnaccesable, and that I'd never be able to witness my son enjoy my creations.

Fortunately I'm a patient fellow, and I decided to persevere and tackle the problem.  Several days later, having uninstalled both programs then re-installed them (a somewhat painful task with NWN since it meant having to remember how I got it to run on my system in the first place, plus having to find the critical rebuild patch that Bioware no longer have available), I was relieved to find I'd fixed the problem, and especially pleased that I'd made backups of essential files.

So... fingers crossed, I'm now back in business, and quite excited about building again having overcome the initial sense of loss.

Right now I need a rest though ;)

Hobby Holiday

As some of you may know, life has been a bit hectic lately, and I needed to get away from it all.  I did try opening the toolset a couple of times, but I was always disheartened by the monumental task ahead, and would end up closing the toolset to leave tackling it for another time.  In the meantime I'd end up feeling a bit guilty having proclaimed the Relbonian Chronicles to be a series, particularly when Chapter One was welcomed so warmly.

Sometimes your hobbies can run away with you, ending up so big that you can't imagine finishing them.  In such a situation myself, I was in need of turning my attention to something more manageable in an attempt to remind myself that finishing a project was possible, in the hope that completing something smaller would encourage me to return to something larger.

Having arrived into roleplaying from a wargaming background, modelling has always appealed to me, particularly if it was something that could accompany my collection of fantasy figures, and with my eager 5 year old son showing an interest in his collection of knights, it seemed only natural that I turned my attention to an old unfinished model of a mediaeval tavern I'd started a long time ago...

...so, above is pretty much how it started out.  Polyboard cut to shape, then selotaped together with the additional strength of pins (later substituded for cocktail sticks) holding it all together to aid the gluing process.  I'd also made a start on the roof, which was just thick cardboard, and thin balsa wood strips for the tudor styling.

Another week down the line and I had pretty much finished the balsa wood application and made a start on the roof tiling, which was made from small cut up squares from a cereal box glued from the bottom up so that they'd overlap each other.  Once finished ready for painting, the walls were painted with a textured paint that would later be dry brushed, and the balsa wood painted dark brown.  The roof was painted black then dry brushed in grey (after a failed attempt at painting the roof red which I'd decided didn't work), and the windows painted blue and having the criss cross affect applied with a black felt tip pen.  

I hope you'll agree the final outcome is quite good.  My son certainly thinks so!  The good news is it felt something of a relief to be able to say I'd finished another of my projects, which did indeed culminate in me opening the NWN toolset once more.  It was still daunting, but I have this very evening sorted out a major glitch with the opening cutscene which was threatening the entire module.  I have a day off tomorrow, so dare say I'll be tackling it some more. :)

Yes, I do still exist!

Just a quick note to let people know I'm still around.  As always, real life keeps taking a bite out of my creation time, (I'm still a single parent, and still looking for work... anyone got any offers?) hence the lack of posts as of late. It's hard to get incentive with a hobby, particularly when you know there's conversation work to be done which is always time consuming, and unfortunately, I think I set the bar quite high with Chapter One.  As always, if anyone feels they might be able to help in any way drop me a line.  I'll be trying to spend some time on it soon so my next post can be more interesting.

Here We Go Again!

Well, I managed to step away from Skyrim and opened the toolset to have another bash at Chapter 2.  It had been worrying me a while as whenever I opened the toolset to have a look, I realised what was waiting for me was quite daunting and would end up shutting it down again.  This time I perservered, and decided to crack on with the opening cutscene that will greet the player.  Since I started dabbling with the Gestalt cutscene system I haven't looked back.  True, for a perfectionist like me it's making a rod for my own back, but I feel quite strongly that the inclusion of cutscenes does much in the telling of the story and moves it away from a simple monster bash.  As expected, problems arose.... camera positioning was never quite where I wanted it... NPCs wouldn't run where I wanted them to... camera wobble made text unreadable... all the usual stuff that had me cursing at the keyboard, but I got there in the end.  The cutscene intro now sets the scene nicely, meaning I'm ready to move on to what takes place within the city where the first part of the module will take place.  As I enjoy making areas, some of that has already been done.

No pictures for now.  I think I've got flu coming on and need bed!

Oops!

I guess an apology is in order, for not only has work on part two ground to a temporary halt, but I also failed to post my usual well wishes for Christmas and the New Year.  To some extent personal life has taken the usual toll, and certainly wasn't helped by the uninsured driver who crashed into the back of my car while I was stationary.  My oven blew up on Christmas eve, I've not been well, and I attended a couple of job interviews, but I digress... the real reason things have ground to a halt if I'm completely honest with myself is the recent acquisition of Skyrim on the X box.  Quite simply, it's the best game I have ever played.

For those of you unfamiliar with Elder Scroll games, they are fantasy based role playing games that have acquired a reputation for high quality.  Morrowind certainly deserved such a reputation with its vast scale and attention to detail.  Oblivion certainly looked promising with the same mammoth scale and extremely high quality graphics, but the story driven requirement to keep entering portals ended up feeling very repetitive, to the point that despite nearing the end, I felt bored and ceased playing.

Skyrim is far superior. You can venture as far as the eye can see in a landscape that will have you pausing simply to take in the view.  The superior graphics extend to your inventory items, allowing you to zoom in on them and view them from any angle, making them feel much more solid and real, improving game immersion vastly as a result.

Your character can be taken in any direction you wish, with skills improving as you use them.  I've been having fun with a stealthy character that favours two swords and dabbles with fire spells.  They're also a dab hand at creating potions, poisons, and even their own magic items.  It's been great fun, but I'm seriously considering starting again with a pure mage, which is testament to how good the game is.

There are bugs, but the beauty of it as a whole far outweigh the trivual annoyances that can crop up, and let's face it, in a game this big, it's no surprise that the odd quirky little thing will slip the net.

The storyline is great... no.... fantastic if you're into Dragons like me.  A real epic story that delves deep into the lore of the Elder Scrolls.  What's nice is that even the side quests have great attention to detail, often resulting in you wandering far from your intended path where something else gets the better of your curiosity.

Quite simply, it's awesome. 

Inspirational Fuel

I believe I've mentioned in the past that I've been labelled a "Regressive Achiever".  We're very rare (so I've been told).  Most people when getting from A to Z conclude that they best go to B first, whereas I'd argue that since Z is where I want to be, I'm going to need to get to Y at some stage so spend my time working out how to get there.  Regressive Achievers tend to tackle things backwards.  As a result they tend to be slow and methodical, perhaps taking longer, but usually achieving a superior result far closer to the desired requirement of their chosen task.  Ever since I was told this, I have to chuckle at the amount of times I subconciously work like this without realising I'm doing it.  It's most obvious in the manner in which I draw.  I have an unusual style that my art teacher used to criticise me for, yet I find it is the only way I can work.  When I work on an animal portrait, I have to see evidence that I am achieving what I want, or I lose interest, so I'll finish part of the portrait (I usually do the eyes first, as that's the most important feature to get right) before moving on to another section.  If you were to photograph progress of one of my drawings, you'd get the impression a jigsaw was being made.

It recently occured to me that even Neverwinter can't escape the way I work. 

Having encountered many a thread in the past requesting building tips and advise, I thought perhaps I should elaborate on my own methods.  True, they may be long winded, but, like my drawings, by finishing the finer details before tackling the bigger picture, I find I am provided with the inspirational fuel required to take the project further.

So, for your own enjoyment, here is the thought process involved in the latest piece of  "The Relbonian Chronicles - Chapter Two" that I've been working on...

For the introductory cutscene, I need a conversation to take place between the player and an NPC who is the leader of the local Thieves' Guild.  I work on the location where the conversation will take place until I'm happy with it in terms of content, lighting, and most importantly, music.  I say music is most important for two reasons.  One, it helps set the mood for what will happen in the scene, and two, it helps put me in the right frame of mind to capture the essence of what I want in the characters that will inhabit the scene.  Having got this far, I'll start working on the NPC, taking care that the location he will inhabit is visible to me during the creation process, and that the music can be heard.

Players of my previous works will know I pay great attention to detail, taking the trouble to have an NPC match their chosen portrait as closely as possible.  With the help of the music and the setting, it occurs to me that the head I've selected, although close to the portrait, doesn't portray the intimidation I want to convey so I return to browsing through the head models until I find something more suitable.

Having found something more suitable, I find a description of the NPC comes more naturally, and am able to move on to the inventory.  By far the most important item is the clothing, as again, I want it to tie in with the chosen portrait of the character.  In this instance I am fortunate that not a great deal of the clothing is visible, so the main things I need concern myself with are the colour scheme and the fact that he shouldn't be showing off his chest.  Rather than spend ages looking for something that fits the bill, I just copy what he's wearing and edit it to my personal taste, eventually culminating in the outfit shown below.  Note that while I work on the outfit, I keep the NPC details visible so that I can still refer to the character portrait as reference.

Now, at this stage it occurs to me that as an actor in a cutscene his equipment isn't that important.  I don't let that stop me however, as there's no reason I can't use it elsewhere (perhaps even a later chapter) for whatever reason, and so I set to work on giving the armour both properties and a description...

"Armour of Wrist Whistling is the apt name given to this armour by the maker, a famed tailor called Vence Volderberg, who is rumoured to have created the original Runner costume favoured by the Druids.  This outfit is for an entirely different type of customer however, with urban camoflage as opposed to rural clearly evident in the expensive dyes used to colour the garment.

Light yet well padded, it has been designed to allow swift movement of the arms (hence the name), allowing the wearer to block potential sword swipes with the bladed forearm attachments.

It is rumoured that some in Relbonian high society oppose the open production of such garments arguing that they are favoured by criminals and that anyone wearing them should be treated as such."
 
Satisfied that the description tallies with the properties I designate to it, I then place it on the NPC to see if the final look fits the bill.
 

Now I'm happy.  He looks the part and suits the music I'm listening too perfectly.  I create a one line conversation file and assign it ready for working on later, and browse through a few voice sets until I find the one I feel best suits him.  With that done, I place him in the scene, look at the clock, and realise I should be getting to bed!

Rest assured that work continues, but the perfectionist in me can be a little demanding of my time.  Hopefully that's already clearly evident to those of you who played Chapter One.

Bedtime again... lol... night all. :)

Skyrim

I made a start on the opening cutscene last night.  It's tough getting the camera to do what you want.  Guess the Director in me will slow things down a little.

Decided to have a break and browse for a while.  I remembered The Elder Scrolls were due to release Skyrim soon, so decided to check out their site which is where I've been the last hour.  I have to say everything looks awesome.  True, I thought that about Oblivion but ended up disheartened by the repetitive combat in the gate zones, but Skyrim looks so much better.  Just take a look at this Dragon Combat in game footage.

All Elder Scroll games have paid high attention to detail, and Skyrim is no exception.  It's worth watching the other videos available to get a sense of how far this goes ( The puzzle and key scene is a particularly good example.).

This looks to be a dangerous game to buy for kids who need to do homework, or even adults come to that... hmmm... perhaps I'll add it to my Christmas list and let fate decide ;)

Chapter Two Underway

I realise it's been a while, but a rest was both needed and much deserved after the completion of Chapter One.

The good news is that Chapter Two is now underway, and I'm setting out to include as much attention to detail as the prequel.  NPCs will match their portraits as closely as possible, have voices and conversations that give them real personality, and descriptions too.  Area designs have carefully placed items that sometimes require use of the "Adjust Location" tool to ensure I attain the look I'm trying to achieve, and also have careful consideration given to both lighting and sound.  As in Chapter One, no item should feel out of place, and will have in depth lore unique to the world of Relbonia..

As a teaser, here's a few screen caps of the areas I've been working on.  You can click on the pictures for a larger view.  Hopefully you won't have to wait so long for the next update...

This will be the home of the player character and where the game will start.  I hope to start on the opening cutscene soon...

Here's a weapon shop that will have a major role in the story...

And these are the nearby docks.

That's all the news for now.

All the best.
Quillmaster.

So What Happens Now?

Well... I must say I'm a little disheartened, primarily I guess because the following for NWN1 has shrunk to such a degree that I feel creating a new mod for the "community" may as well have meant creating a new mod for my neighbours. The feedback I've had, while generally good, has been a lot smaller than I had hoped, and this has left me wondering whether or not making the sequels might be a waste of time. That's not strictly true, as I enjoy the creation process and love story telling. If nothing else, I believe I'm making something my son will enjoy playing in later years, provided of course whatever computer I have at the time can still run it.

I have made a start on the areas for chapter 2, but the speed at which I tackle it will largely depend on further feedback. So I guess this is a warning to you all, If you want to see a sequel, get more involved. There is a project page for this over at the Bioware boards where you can start a discussion if you so wish.

So, with that said, what are the plans for Chapter 2? Well this time round the main character will be a Thief, with the intention to start a little higher in level than the main character of the prequel. It will be a human female struggling against the prejudice of the male dominated Thieves Guild, but she'll be a strong willed woman who regards most men as a means to an end. They'll be a henchman again at around the halfway stage, but this time a very unusual one... an Ancient! You'll just have to play Chapter 1 if you don't know what one of those are ;)