|
|
The new heads look great in the game, adding ...
January 31, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 The new heads look great in the game, adding considerable flavor to the Struggle areas.
I've been doing a number of miscellaneous things recently, adding in the demonic weapons that you can train with, adding in some shop keepers, and fixing some bugs. I finally got that pesky Spirit Gem bug fixed. It turns out I wasn't being careful about resurrecting the player before I teleported them. Dead people can't have any actions performed on them.
I think I have the last chunk of the movie finished, with a suitable flaming title. The sunset renders seem to be going faster for some odd reason, though it's still a few days out before that finishes up. I'll size it, add the titles, then turn it over to Magnus to add the music. Great fun.
If I have any time today, I'd like to work on getting the new version of the Demon Card game integrated into the module. It still has my old version, which is a bit buggy and has fairly different rules.
|
permalink| comment
|
More testing and cleanup yesterday, fixing a ...
January 30, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 More testing and cleanup yesterday, fixing a number of little dialog bugs that I didn't notice in some plot-critical conversations. I also added a number of flavor people, having fun with Coulisfu's oriental heads. I worked a bit more on the second Struggle area, getting in the last of the areas. Soon it will be time to put down the npcs and start scripting them, not to mention all their dialog.
I've also worked more on the movie, getting the post-processing done on the first six-second chunk. I'm also working on the title, trying to get the flames just right. The animated version is far cooler, though it's taking awhile to get perfect. The only movie piece I'm waiting on now is the six-second sunset, which takes 4-6 hours per frame to render. At 90 frames, that's a lot of processing time. I think I'm a third of the way there.
Finally, I got a chance to see some screenshots of the Sigil tileset in the game. Batinthehat has done a great job as usual and he's slowly gearing up for an alpha release so I can start getting it in the game.
For those of you wondering what the scoop is with the card game, I'm in the same boat as you. I was working with Papermonk over at CODI to do a production of sorts around it. Unfortunately he hurt his back and hasn't been in touch. One of my "to do"'s for the day is to try to get that organized as it's been sitting around far too long.
|
permalink| comment
|
Yesterday was a day of lots of little things
January 29, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 Yesterday was a day of lots of little things. I did the post-production work on the second six-second movie scene, sizing it to 800X600, putting in the text, and adding fades. I worked more on the characters in the second Struggle area, creating dialog, equipment, and getting them in the toolset. I spent more time on the first fifteen minutes of the module, tweaking the camera and adding in some more flavor. There was also a ton of new items to create for the new store I added, which is often time consuming if the descriptions get elaborate.
I noticed that coulisfu added some Oriental heads, which may find their way into the module.
I still have an annoying issue with the spirit gem not working properly. It seems to work great once or twice, then stops. This screenshot is from my testing this morning. I must have died twenty times, simply reappearing where I fell instead of in my spirit gem. I'm probably not copying variables properly somewhere along the way. In a way, it's nice to move more towards the testing phase, though it's often more frustrating than the development. Lots of head scratching and putting in debug code.
The first chunk of the movie should be done rendering and ready for post-production work today. I'd also like to continue work on the second Struggle area, putting in yet more scripting and such.
|
permalink| comment
|
I'm working on the final six second sequence,...
January 28, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I'm working on the final six second sequence, though I've discovered that the render times are four hours per frame on my fastest computer. It complicates things a bit, and I may end up accepting volunteers for rendering time. I'm also going to be upset if it turns out there's any "flicker" issue like in the first six seconds.
I worked on getting a couple new models in the game. They're monk-looking with the new combat animations. I also snuck in an old friend that people should be happy with.
|
permalink| comment
|
I ran across Ragnarok's custom combat animati...
January 27, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I ran across Ragnarok's custom combat animations the other day and knew I had to have them for my second Struggle area. The NPCs there are martial arts experts, so the new animations look great. I tried cutting out all but the necessary animations so that the creature's .mdl file didn't get too huge. I think it'll work well enough.
The rendering slow continues, cranking out a frame every hour and a half or so. The first twelve seconds should be done in a day or two, though I've yet to set up the animations for the rest of the introduction. Thanks to all who offered up their computers for my mini-rendering farm, but I think I'll get it done in plenty of time.
|
permalink| comment
|
I had a moment of frustration yesterday when ...
January 26, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I had a moment of frustration yesterday when after converting part of the rendered introduction movie I discovered an annoying flickering on an area of the screen. It may be that I'm only noticing because I've been staring at the same few seconds of footage over and over. The render of the first part should be finished today, so I'll do some more fiddling before I start again if I must.
More testing yesterday. I discovered some problems in the sewer area that I'm considering how to fix. My once shiny water is now dark black and I'm not sure why. It used to work, so it may have something to do with the 1.61 patch and the change to placeable environment maps. We'll see.
My "to do" list grew longer after I realistically sat down and tried to figure out what I need to finish up. The second struggle area is an obvious one, as well as integrating the new card game and putting in more multiplayer support. Whew.
Rumor has it that I'll get my hands on an alpha of the Sigil tileset this week. It's one of those key things that's required before I can release the module so it's nice to see development slowly finishing up.
|
permalink| comment
|
I'm almost done with the first six seconds of...
January 25, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I'm almost done with the first six seconds of rendering. One of my computers finished up early so I gave it the task of working on the next six seconds. It's fun to see how it's turning out.
I was a testing maniac yesterday, something that I've been wanting to do for a long while. I spent a couple hours with the neutral path for the Chen Village area. I sure hope someone appreciates it. It's also important to wear the proper disguise as you go from place to place, otherwise the locals get a bit grumpy.
The list of bugs is still long, but a little less daunting than yesterday. It seems to ebb and flow as I test for awhile then switch back to fixing. I'm also discovering how big this module is going to be as going through areas takes awhile even if I know exactly what to do.
|
permalink| comment
|
I've got my little "render farm" cranking awa...
January 24, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I've got my little "render farm" cranking away at the movie. I broke it down into smaller chunks that three computers should be able to do over the weekend. It's just the first of three landscape shots, so this could become a fairly regular weekend activity for my computers.
I put a little more testing last night, fixing the dreaded "player shows up naked" bug. Those are always fun. There's still a long list of bugs, many critical, so I've got a ways to go yet. Hopefully today I can get more testing time in.
I'm planning something a little special for the second Struggle area involving custom animations. I worked on post-climax dialog for some of the commoners. Since everything changes I didn't want them to talk to you in the same way. Slowly getting there.
|
permalink| comment
|
I decided to take a break from scripting and ...
January 23, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I decided to take a break from scripting and such yesterday, instead turning to getting a good intro movie put together for the module. I have a nice 3d scene that I'd like to pan across, but I'm finding that the render times are fairly high. At the resolution and quality I want, it'll take about an hour per frame. I'm also struggling a bit with povray, trying to get it to render subsets of a large animation on different computers. I think I finally figured it out.
I also played some of Stefan's excrucio eternum last night. It's always nice going through a well-polished module, especially one with a very different feel. The writing is quite well done, from the dialog to the journal entries to the various books found about the place. I also really liked the instant-transportation system which really helps minimize the frustration of going from place to place. Not finished yet, though probably this weekend.
|
permalink| comment
|
Endless bug fixes yesterday
January 22, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
Endless bug fixes yesterday. I spent a surprising amount of time with the climax of the game, trying to get it working the way I want. It'll be a challenge for sure, though the really hard part is avoidable for those who choose another path. I'm finding that some of the end areas are still a bit bare. I need some more "flavor" NPCs to liven the place up. Perhaps I can work on that today.
I fixed some major AI problems. I had neglected to update the henchmen AI with the new 1.61 version. I had to touch some of the major AI code in order to get the custom spell casting script working (e.g. "cast fireball on wizard"). It's much better now.
There are still a fair number of pending bugs. The most major is that of respawning and the spirit gem. The way it works is complicated and I need to sit down and carefully go over each step to see what's wrong.
I also put in some of the dialog for the second Struggle area. I'd like to start in on scripting next, though we'll see how that goes. I may also need some custom creatures, though it's of a sort that should be easy to whip up.
|
permalink| comment
|
I spent a bunch of time playtesting last night
January 21, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I spent a bunch of time playtesting last night. It's somewhat daunting how many things are broken. I ended up ripping out most of the henchmen death scripts and I think I have things fixed. The spirit gem isn't working more than once, which probably involves issues copying variables. There's a bunch of other small things like that, and some major ones. I was having serious AI problems with the henchmen, though I'm hoping that's something to be fixed in a patch.
Still, there were a number of encounters and minor scripting things that I think I've fixed now. That part feels good.
I finished up the weapon skill scripting, though there's one minor bug to resolve. It's pretty neat when your skill goes up and all the properties on your weapon change. Hopefully today I can fix some more bugs as well as put more work on the second Struggle area. Should be fun.
|
permalink| comment
|
Well, it turns out I wasn't quite as finished...
January 20, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 Well, it turns out I wasn't quite as finished as I thought. I had forgotten about the demon weapon system I had envisioned, which involves being able to wield certain weapons in demon form for greater effectiveness. Fortunately it wasn't too hard to put together and I got the tricky part done yesterday and this morning.
Normally, it's a fairly clumsy weapon. If you switch to demon form, the penalty goes away and you can improve your skill with it over time. Eventually, it becomes quite powerful, possibly even better than other magic weapons you'll find in the game. It was my first time playing with item properties, which turns out to be a fairly powerful set of functions. The weapon's abilities change if you equip it, unequip it, or change form. I'm also setting the "no drop" flag when you're wielding it so you can't just turn around and sell it for large amounts of money.
I also got the new version of the Oriental tileset in the game, hoping to start fleshing out the second Struggle area shortly. I also did some general cleanup, running a full build on the game and getting rid of any garbage that showed up.
|
permalink| comment
|
I spent some time yesterday bug fixing and fi...
January 19, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I spent some time yesterday bug fixing and fiddling with cameras. Some of the bugs are huge ones, so it'll take awhile for me to get through the game. I'm also hoping that I can get the Sigil exterior to play with soon, as Omelas just doesn't have the proper impact with the traditional city exterior. I added some henchmen comments for each time they die. Unfortunately I can't test it properly as resurrection only works once. More things to fix.
I think I've settled on having a second Struggle area using the Oriental tilesets. I need to work the newest version and the interiors into the hak pack and do some general planning. I think that'll be the last new area in the game, with the possible exception of duplicates to support multiplayer. Slowly getting there.
Finally, Magnus updated his site with a download for the new asian theme. Give it a listen to if you're interested.
|
permalink| comment
|
I continued playing with the camera a bit yes...
January 18, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I continued playing with the camera a bit yesterday, trying to get the hang of things. I think I'll look through Gestalt's scripts as well to compare the two. There's a few things that Gestalt's seems better at. I also added some dialog for a familiar face. Demon has sort of turned into a "This is Your Life" module, bringing back a fair number of people from Shadowlords and Dreamcatcher.
All the module of the year voting has made me want to actually play some of the top rated modules. I tried Twilight again from the beginning, but ran into some problems with the Time Trial. I don't think I'm doing the cheat quite right, so I'm going to make my nephew do them again for me. When I left off, I really started to get into it, so I'd like to start up again. Some of the henchmen control inspired me to fiddle with similar systems in Demon.
I instead downloaded elegia eternum and played through it. I've been wanting to see some of Stefan's work and it was a nice little introduction. Very story-focused and moody, there were some nice elements in it. I really liked the voice acting, which adds an extra flavor to things. My son got a little creeped out, though, so I'll probably have to play the sequel solo.
|
permalink| comment
|
I came to a very odd place in the development...
January 17, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I came to a very odd place in the development yesterday. I ran out of important things to do. That's not entirely true, but I think I have most of the big things done. I worked on Chen Village yesterday, getting the disguise kit scripting in there. I even started in on things like flavor text and henchmen comments. Before anyone gets too excited, most of the stuff I've written hasn't been tested, not even once. I need to do some serious bug testing, which can often take several times as long as writing the code. No need for external testers yet, either. I just need to hunker down and run through some areas.
I spent a little time with custom content this morning, cleaning up some "sparklies" that were plaguing the Plane of Air tileset. When there are small gaps between meshes, you can see through to the fog below. This ends up creating sparkling lines. Should be fixed now, which was bugging me for a long while.
This morning I started playing with the new camera controls. All of the existing camera movement controls use Gestalt's scripts, which are flexible but have some problems. I'm seriously thinking of switching over, though I've got some learning to do.
Finally, it's looking that Dreamcatcher is going to win Module of the Year. It reminds me once again that the modules are what they are due to folks like Danmar, CODI, Gestalt, Lisa, Eligio, and countless others in the community. Thanks all.
|
permalink| comment
|
Amazingly, I did get some time to work on the...
January 16, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
Amazingly, I did get some time to work on the Struggle area. The Neutral path is quite complex scripting-wise. I still haven't worked in the disguise functionality yet, though I think I have most of the dialog in place now. With luck, I can finish that up today and perhaps work on more henchmen dialog and flavor text that's not plot-critical but makes the story so much nicer.
I figured a workaround for a shadow issue that's been bugging me. I made some Interior tiles for the Omelas area, but there were gaps in the shadow next to the walls. It turns out that if I simply made the area bigger, the nearby tiles would cast a lovely shadow and it looked normal again.
I also worked a bit with Papermonk over at CODI to get the Demon Card game rolling. We're going to try to put together a little "marketing" thing, getting the anticipation up while final testing is done. I'm thinking a Card of the Day or some such thing. Shouldn't be long now.
As an aside, it looks like Dreamcatcher is up for Module of the Year and doing quite well so far. I have funny feelings about these sorts of contents. They tend to make me jittery as if I now have to work extra hard to earn everyone's feelings about me. I just need to remind myself that I'm doing it because it's fun.
|
permalink| comment
|
Slowly getting there
January 15, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
Slowly getting there. I worked more on some plot-critical dialog and scripting, just a snooty doorman, but something that had to be done. I also managed to get some testing for the climax last night. I worry that the dialog is going to be a bit on the vastly huge side. With any dialog that big, I did find a few problems that I've hopefully fixed. More testing will be needed down the road.
With luck, I may even get to start in on the Struggle area today. I've been wanting to finish up the Neutral path for the area. It's extremely diplomatic and requires lots of dialog, as well as some disguise parts. I'm thinking that if I do a second Struggle area (and I'm sorely tempted to), it's going to have a much shorter Neutral path.
|
permalink| comment
|
It was a day of many little things yesterday
January 14, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
It was a day of many little things yesterday. I finished up three more dialog pieces. I also started the ball rolling on getting the Demon Cards game out the door.
Magnus has been quite busy, sending me yet more themes. The latest is truly great, an ambiance piece for the asian-themed Struggle area. I also put together a mini-module that lets him test the music volume in relation to various other sounds in the game. Hopefully I can get that to him today.
|
permalink| comment
|
I'm to the point where I want to call the car...
January 13, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I'm to the point where I want to call the card game done and get it out there. I've got a last round of testing to do and a little coordination, but I'm feeling that it's fairly feature complete at the moment. The multiple deck code seems to be working okay. I ended up assigning random tags to each deck, then doing a check before each game to ensure it's complete. Hopefully it'll work.
I spend a good chunk of time yesterday working on a mystery person's dialog. It comes basically at the end of the game and I could have just kept it brief, but it seemed to cheat the player if I did. So, it's fairly lengthy. I've got a few more like that, which I'm hoping I can start on today.
It feels nice to get these plot issues out of the way. I'm not quite there yet, but it's getting closer. After that, there's the Struggle areas and finally testing.
|
permalink| comment
|
Well, I worked hard on the latest version of ...
January 12, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
Well, I worked hard on the latest version of the card game. I got things up and running again, but found that there was a fairly significant bug. It turns out that the multiple deck support is broken. I'm mulling over a couple different approaches to fix it. One is easy, involving different tags for different styles of decks. This is limiting, however, and introduces some risk if someone's carrying around two decks with the same name. The other is much more elaborate and involves creating dialog for choosing decks at the beginning of every game. Hmm. Decisions.
Actually, there may be a third option that involves setting unique tags for each deck.
|
permalink| comment
|
The kids woke up way too early this morning, ...
January 11, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
The kids woke up way too early this morning, so I didn't manage to get much done. The major changes to the Demon Card game appears to have broken things, so I'm busy bug testing. The change involves setting the card variables on the item rather than the PC. This lets the cards be transferred via a player's inventory. If they go from server to server or game to game, the deck should work properly. Of course, that's the theory. We've got to get it working first.
|
permalink| comment
|
I slaved away on the different henchmen yeste...
January 10, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I slaved away on the different henchmen yesterday, working again this morning to test things out and make sure they really work in the game. There's a tremendous amount of dialog associated with each one and there are four main sets to do (Anera, Teira, and good/evil Nooble), so it takes quite a bit of time to flesh it all out. Still, it's always been my opinion that the henchmen are critical parts of the story, so it's nice to get that taken care of.
There are still a few bugs to work out, such as some odd camera movements, but it generally has worked out quite well. I did have some comical moments this morning when Nooble started spouting Anera's lines, but I think I got all that sorted out.
I also received another update to the scripting parts of the Demon Card game. I want to get them in there and do some testing this weekend. I think we're getting ever closer to actually releasing this thing. It's almost become comical how I keep saying "two more weeks", which evidently translates to never. Okay, I'll say it again. I'm hoping to release the thing in two more weeks.
|
permalink| comment
|
I was very productive yesterday, working hard...
January 09, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I was very productive yesterday, working hard at getting the henchmen dialog in the game. I actually had quite a bit of fun with it, being reminded yet again how much fun it is to write for the evil Nooble. I'm hoping that today I can work more on their dialog, or perhaps start in on the dialog for some unmentionable, interesting characters.
One of the things I'm trying in this module is the ability to shape your henchmen's future. They'll start out as the class that you're familiar with, but you'll have the option at the beginning to choose another option when they level up. Anera can become either a cleric or a paladin, for example. In the case where the PC is a spellcaster, having her as more of a tank may be prefereable. We'll see how it goes.
|
permalink| comment
|
I find that as I start finishing up my tenth ...
January 08, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I find that as I start finishing up my tenth module, I'm having a hard time coming up with a final scene that is neither anticlimactic nor typical. Sure, it has surprises and some unique scripting, but I'm never sure if I'm completely happy with it. Well, more testing required, I suppose.
I snuck in another vow option yesterday, this time a big one, as well as assorted scripting. If I'm up to it, I'd like to start working on dialog, especially that of the other henchmen.
|
permalink| comment
|
The hot water is back, after a half hour with...
January 07, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
The hot water is back, after a half hour with a blow dryer melting the ice in the pipes to the gas heater. Ah, luxurious showers once again.
I spent a little time working on the climax to the module yesterday, though I'm not sure I'm happy with it so far. I'm trying to work in something a bit more lengthy and unique. Hmm.
I also worked more on the Demon Cards game, which continues to be polished. The holidays disrupted the testing schedule a bit, but I think we're back on track again. There may be some changes to the way multiple decks are handled, but otherwise I think it's generally working.
I have a bunch of things I'd like to work on today, though I'm not sure I'll get the chance.
|
permalink| comment
|
It's been a bit slow the last couple days
January 06, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
It's been a bit slow the last couple days. I continue to spend a lot of time providing support for the modules over e-mail. I'm thinking it's the winter break and a lot of people are getting back into the game after HotU. I've also been dealing with weather related issues. No hot water this morning. Sigh.
When I get unmotivated or only have little snippets of time to work on things, I often turn to working on items. I like the variety, trying to come up with a back story in the description that ties nicely with a title and abilities. Bards in particular should be happy with some of the musical instruments that show up in the game.
|
permalink| comment
|
I finally updated the Dreamcatcher hak packs ...
January 04, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I finally updated the Dreamcatcher hak packs for HotU. Get 'em while they're hot.
Other than that, I didn't do many module things. I did a bunch of computer stuff, mostly having my dad help me move two computers into another room and set up a wall-mounted control panel, complete with LCD monitor, switches, bright blue LEDs, and fancy dials. The nerd cave is complete.
|
permalink| comment
|
I was a very good boy yesterday
January 03, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
 I was a very good boy yesterday. All the plot critical dialog for the spirit gem is finished. In fact, all of the plot critical dialog is done, though only for Anera at the moment. The other henchmen have some of their dialog in place, though it's still not quite complete yet. I even managed to test and tweak this morning, mostly because I woke up with a headache and couldn't get back to bed.
That doesn't mean the module is done by any stretch of the imagination. I still haven't gotten the final climax scripted as well as the dialog for a number of important characters. The Struggle areas are, well, struggling. The neutral path is quite dialog heavy and complex, so I've put it on hold for the moment. I also want to add lots and lots of finishing touches, from flavor text to camera movement. Still, it's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Oh, and I'll try to get cracking on posting the HotU-compliant hak packs today.
|
permalink| comment
|
I did virtually nothing with the module yesterday
January 02, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
I did virtually nothing with the module yesterday. I spent an hour answering NWN related e-mail this morning, which is a bit more than usual. My guess is that lots of people got HotU for Christmas and were looking for other things to play over the break.
It's also looking like the latest batch of hak packs are going to do the trick, so I'd like to get those updated today. Hopefully then I can get cracking on finishing up Demon.
|
permalink| comment
|
Happy New Year! It's snowing here in our nor...
January 01, 2004 by Adam in NWN1
Happy New Year! It's snowing here in our normally warm valley, so I'm going to take the boy down to the local part for some sledding fun.
I got a fair amount done yesterday, mostly dialog and a little scripting. I'm working on the climax for the module, which is a bit on the chatty side. My to do list is still formidable, but hopefully I can get through it over the next month, giving me plenty of time to fix all the bugs that I'm sure lurk in the game.
My testers earned their keep yesterday. A key creature in Dreamcatcher 4 was messed up in the hak pack, so I've gone ahead and fixed it. Hopefully I can get them released soon for all your HotU people. Eventually I'd like to go back and do a big bug fix pass for Shadowlords and Dreamcatcher, though it's a bit of a major undertaking.
|
permalink| comment
|
Older Posts
|
Links
Dragon Age
Dragon Age Central
Interviews, etc.
Why We Fight
About Me
I've won multiple awards for my Neverwinter Nights modules, which I've been working on since the year 2000.
In the real world, I'm a web developer for a healthcare organization. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
|