Happy Build Friday

May 29, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

Okay, here's the new build:
Dark Waters (full - 565 MB)

I've also included a bunch of bug notes, listing the things I've (hopefully) fixed and the things that are still pending.

The good news is that the list of issues continues to dwindle. I think I'm down to the more mysterious ones or the ones that are hard to fix. If I really screw up my courage this weekend, I'll try and tackle some of the High Seas bugs, which are many and difficult to reproduce. There are also a few bugs that fall into the "not my fault" category, such as the crash and reboot ones that seem to be tied to the most recent NWN2 patch.

I managed to test some of my fixes, though there's always the risk that my fixes ended up making things worse (sadly a common occurrence).

I put together a build for the German gaming magazine, minus the Lute Hero songs. I'll see if I can send that off to them soon.

All-in-all, it feels pretty awesome to be in the final stretch of this project. I couldn't have done it without all the help people have given over the years, for which I am truly grateful.

Gearing Up For a New Build

May 28, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I've been slowly fixing bugs and looking into assorted issues. So far the issues are either relatively minor or so completely crazy that I don't know where to start. My favorite weird bug was that in a certain area for a certain play through, Melody ended up with the sky looking like graphical garbage. The picture was quite amusing, though I could never recreate the problem.

Hopefully tomorrow or the next day I can get a new build into everyone's hands.

I think I sorted out the issue with the German gaming magazine. I think they'll get a special build without any of the Lute Hero music. Such is the joy of copyright issues.

Pushing Back the Deluge

May 27, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

The bug reports continue to pour in. It's overwhelming, but I'm thankful for all the reports. I've yet to actually read all the e-mails that came in over the last few days.

Work and life is feeling very full, but I've managed a few bug fixes. A few are still quite serious, but their number is hopefully dwindling.

Back in Business

May 24, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I picked by the offending piece of hardware at the office and put a new build together. The most horrific of the bugs should be fixed, which means that this latest version might be to the point where it's fun to play through. You can grab it here:

Dark Waters (full install - 586 MB)

I put together a list of bug notes, documenting all the things that I've fixed and other things that I couldn't reproduce or have yet to get to. There are one or two things still on that list that worry me, such as a crash when transitioning and the infamous "Heather gets 1,000+ skill points" bug.

My goal for the week will be to work through my pending list, as well as any new bugs that might come in. As it stands, I feel pretty good about the state of the campaign and it's nice to finally get towards the end of this three-year project.

I'm an Idiot

May 23, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I've left the power supply to my portable hard drive at work. Unfortunately it means that while I can touch the drive that contains handy things like my build script, I can't actually get to the files.

For the moment, I'm going to work on polishing up the module and cursing my rush to head home.

I may just have to drive in to work so I can pick it up and make a new build.

Sigh.

Nearly Ready

May 22, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I continue to be deluged with bug notes. It seems that people are generally able to finish the game, but there are enough issues that a few more build cycles are needed before release. On that note, I was up at four-something o'clock this morning, grinding through the issues. Even if I don't finish with everything, I'll put together a build and post it tonight.

I'm working with a German gaming magazine to get the campaign published. The Lute Hero game is a bit sticky, as the copyright issues around the songs are a little nebulous. I tried to be careful and use "okay" songs from Keyboards on Fire. Still, I'm not a lawyer and magazine companies have to be careful. In any case, I sent them off some high resolution screenshots and we'll see how that goes.

Working the Problem

May 21, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I dug in to the list of bugs and I'm hoping to have a new build this weekend with the worst of them sorted out.

The most cryptic is the "Heather gets 1,000+ skill points on level up" bug. I haven't been able to replicate it and for the life of me can't figure out what would normally cause it. There was also a crash bug in the sub area mentioned, which I don't understand. I've had more random crashes with the latest NWN2 patch, typically tied to visual effects.

In any case, I'm trying hard to beg, borrow, and steal time to work on things. Endless thanks to everyone for taking the time to test things out.

The Bugs Pour In

May 20, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

The bugs are starting to pour in, both in the comments and in e-mail. A few of them are very mysterious, including the "Heather gets 1000+ experience when leveling up" bug. I don't think the "irolltwenties" is the cause of it any more, but I'm currently at a loss as to why some people would have the problem.

There are a bunch of typical problems, from scripting issues to typos. The really good news is that some people are able to finish the game. Still, there are a few cases where people can get stuck and a bit more polish is definately needed.

Every time I do a big release, I get a little tense, some odd version of stage fright. I'm trying hard to focus on working the problem and getting things to a state for general release.

Cry for Help

May 19, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I got e-mail from a couple brave souls who volunteered to test things out over the weekend, as well as a few people in the comments. Two of them quickly ran into strange problems, though fortunately I don't think they're due to problems in the module.

In one case, I think it was due to the "irolltwenties" cheat resulting in thousands of skill points for Heather when leveling her up. In another, I think continuing from a previous save caused weird behavior and crashes. Unfortunately save games seem to hold on to old campaign scripts, which can cause bizarre behavior and crashes.

I also had one person (Hild), who managed to finish the module, which was very exciting. They reported a couple issues, which I want to look into in more detail.

I thought I'd put out the call to others, hoping to swell the ranks of these brave men and women. It would be great if a few others could join in the testing.

I still want to putter around with the epilogue some more myself. There are so many variations that it's challenging to test them all. I think there are some character-specific mentions that are dropped under certain circumstances.

Still, it's very exciting to get things out there and at least get one person to finish.

Beta Test

May 15, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I managed to get Chris' new sound clips in the game. As usual, his outtakes were loads of fun.

And now for the big moment.

Here's the link to the current build: Dark Waters (full Windows install - 566 MB). Note that this is really a beta. I think you can finish the game, but there are likely a number of issues and problems that you'll run into along the way. Only try it out if you're one of those brave, kindly souls who likes to punish themselves for the greater good.

There are some semi-known issues with this build, such as random problems with the High Seas game and some issues I need to research with the epilogue and some dialog that flashes by too fast on occasion. I'm hoping the big issues are fixed, though.

In terms of playing the beta, here are the instructions:

• Export your character if you haven't already.
• Uninstall your current Dark Waters
• Install this full version
• Start a new campaign with your exported character
• In the first dialog, choose to jump to DW3

Voice Recording, Magazines, and Beta Testing

May 14, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I think I worked through the majority of PJJ's bugs last night, getting the final part of the module a bit more polished. Chris Serani just sent me more of Daniel's lines, so I'll be working on getting that integrated into the game today. It's been wonderful working with him and the other voice actors. They really bring the game to life.

I also got an offer from a German gaming magazine to put the game on a DVD. I'll probably need to gather up some high resolution screenshots to send their way. Since the full installer will clock in at a little under 600 MB in size, that might end up being a preferred way of distribution for some folks.

Finally, the beta test is coming very soon. I'm going to see if I can get comments working on the site today. Hopefully tonight I can put together a new build and get it posted for the world to see.

Just a Wee Bit More

May 13, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I was busy slaving away last night and this morning, trying to fix the last of the bugs. The typos were easy, and the extra dialog and voice recording is pretty done. Now I'm left with the cryptic bugs and things I've yet to be able to reproduce.

Hopefully over the next few days I can deal with these final issues and get things ready for public testing.

Just About Ready

May 11, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

For the first time, PJJ got to the end of the game.

He did find some bugs along the way, though, and I'd like to try and address them before throwing the gates wide for all to download.

Over the weekend I threw together a preview video. Nearly every promo requires a video or screenshots or something.

Not much longer.

Lookin' Good

May 07, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I did a bunch of testing and fixing yesterday, taking care of the most serious of problems that were discovered. I think things are looking pretty good so far. I might try a little more testing and tweaking tonight, assuming I have the time, but I think I'm ready for the hopefully last weekend of alpha testing before we go to beta.

Slowly Getting There

May 06, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I sunk in some more testing time last night, resolving a couple more issues that were bugging me. One involved a conversation that was cut short, with the fix being to remove the "on abort" script for the dialog. The other was a misbehaving NPC that joined the party. It turns out that if I added him to the party and waited a half a second before starting a dialog, everything worked great.

Hopefully I can manage more testing tonight and get a new and beta-worthy build out the door this weekend.

Climbing Towards the Summit

May 05, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I spent some time testing this morning, squashing the most serious of the bugs. I tried to get my children to playtest the module for me, but they instead wanted to play the Plants versus Zombies demo. Ah, kids these days.

I think I'm down to non-critical but annoying bugs. I still have one really mysterious one that's easy to work around. Basically an NPC joins and then just stands there until you tell him to follow you. No other NPC behaves the same way, so I'm a little mystified.

In any case, I'm hoping I can get things a little more polished by the end of the week and then humbly submit the latest build to PJJ's critical eye.

I'm Crazy

May 04, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

I worked hard over the weekend on PJJ's latest list. Most of the issues were "nice to haves", with the exception of the one impossible fight. I still have some typos to fix and other little details, but as I was testing the ending of the game, I got to a certain point and stopped.

A certain event, which was supposed to be big and epic and jaw-dropping, ended up being rather dull and silly looking. Something had to be done.

So, I spent much of Saturday and Sunday making a new GUI, writing AI, and coming up with a proper epic ending. It's fun and a little silly, more a visual treat than something particularly challenging. I tried really hard to avoid the "super hard ending you'll never beat" syndrome.

Anyway, I'll stop talking about it, fix the last of the bugs, double-check some things tonight, and get a new build out the door.

And So It Ends

May 04, 2009 by Adam in NWN1

My son and I finished our adventures over the weekend, ending the long trek through all my old Neverwinter Nights modules. I enjoyed the father-son bonding and it was a treat to have an excuse to play through my old work.

Demon was a tricky beast, and I remember how unsatisfying the ending was until I rewrote it and added on. Grand finales are tricky to pull off, giving the player something memorable and interesting, but not too hard. I spent much of the weekend reworking part of Dark Water's ending, so it was a timely lesson.

It does seem a little sad that it's over, though maybe my daughter will want to play them in a few more years.

Once More Into the Breach

May 02, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

Once again, PJJ has proved he has the patience of a saint. The final combat area of the game was pretty badly broken, with the start point moved to a weird debug area and an impossible fight right around the corner.

The impossible fight has since been fixed, hopefully adjusted to the right level of difficulty. I also uncovered another issue involving loading a save game from this area. It turns out that if you reload, your non-PC controlled character jumps to where the player is, which breaks everything. Fortunately I have a script for this, as I had a similar problem in DW1 for the war area.

Hopefully I can fix these and the other issues PJJ reported. I keep thinking we're very close, and maybe I'm actually right this time.

Finally, I'd just like to say that I love Firefox. NWN2 has a nasty habit of causing a blue screen of death when I'm switching between windows, causing a reboot. Fortunately Firefox saved this post and I only lost half a sentence.

Sigh

May 01, 2009 by Adam in NWN2

Well, PJJ has reported more bugs, including some show-stopping ones. He's so close to the end that I can practically taste it, but I've got some more work before you can actually complete the module.

As usual, there are a bunch of typos and weird issues I need to work through as well.

Not much further.

To Infinity and Beyond!

May 01, 2009 by Adam in NWN1

My NWN1 adventures continue, exploring the planes of existence with my son. I had forgotten about some of the places I made, such as the Elemental Plane of Air and the Elemental Plane of Fire. Both were highly entertaining and a nice mix of combat and puzzles.

We've also continued the main quest, going through a couple extremely tough fights along the way. Being able to repeatedly die was almost a requirement in a couple places. We've also worked around some issues with multiple players. In order for me to get my experience back, I had to go into his spirit gem, grab the soul prison, and talk to the workshop guy myself.

It's strange being so incredibly powerful after spending most of the game at second level. There are a few more things we can do in town, and then it's off to the grand finale of the game.