Happy Holidays! | 12.24.10

Ho-Ho-Ho-ld the updates! I've finally found extra time to update Almraiven and Shadewood. Small bugs and tweaks for the most part, as well as updating each module to the latest 1.69 patch. Cosmetic changes here and there, as well as addressing some of the pain points in both modules that have been commented on more than once by players. These updates will be repackaged when Fate of the Auren is released in one large trilogy collection, for anyone who has not played the modules as they were released, allowing them to download all the haks and modules together and play right through Almraiven, Shadewood and Fate of the Auren as one single play. You'll also be able to enjoy these updates in the individual Almraiven and Shadewood module before the trilogy is released. Unless any new major concerns are raised in either module, this will be the last update as focus on Fate of the Auren moves forward. I've done my best to offer as many updates over the years to support the suggestions of players and fix any bugs I've come across, as well as those that have been reported since the last update. You can read the updates to Almraiven here. - Text Version. You can read the updates to Shadewood here. - Text Version. Wishing all readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! - Link to a YouTube video for any fans of Ultima, my favorite game series of all time. By far, the best musical theme for a game. MP3 version of recording available here.

Shadewood Latest Patch | 12.17.10

. . .Liftoff! Here are the revisions Shadewood has gone through since the last update in May 2009. ----- * Shadewood Hakpak updated! * Patched module to 1.69.    * does not include changes to ambientmusic.2da - Removed removed Robe of Velsharoon from the Temple and placed it in a more suitable area. ! Fixed fixed the trigger around placeable crystals to make sure SpeakString fires only when entered by the player. ! Fixed fixed a bug that caused Lost Soul not to spawn if player returned Astrid first and followed it with Olav. Worked fine if player returned Olav first and then Astrid. ! Fixed fixed some spelling module wide. ! Fixed wandering spirits have now had footstep sounds removed as well as added a new cosmetic change to their appearance. + Added miscsmall/thin for spell components to stack within player's inventory. This should lower the amount of space and reagent bags required for lugging around so many reagents to cast spells and brew potions. Items now stack to 10 before creating another inventory icon.    [requested by a number of players over the years] + Added changing Auren Society Robe description when player levels letting player know what powers the runes are giving when the robe is worn. Robe also changes description when the robe is removed and the runes no longer are active.    [requested by CheeseshireCat] + Added changing Auren Society Staff or Bracers description when player equips Quarterstaff/Bracers, letting the player know what powers the runes are giving when used. Description also changes when the Quarterstaff/Bracers is removed and the runes no longer are active.    * Bracers are offered to Gnome/Hafling characters ONLY!    [requested by CheeseshireCat] + Added added automatic auto load of Fate of the Auren at the end of Shadewood. Fate of the Auren will start only if player has downloaded it and included it in their \modules directory. ----- Weave the weave, brothers and sisters!

Almraiven Latest Patch | 12.11.10

Countdown. . . Here are the revisions Almraiven has gone through since the last update in August 2008. ----- * Almraiven Hakpak updated! * Patched module to 1.69. * does not include changes to ambientmusic.2da - Removed the scripted quill written by Leon (a.k.a. strannik). With new SetName() functions now on every NPC, the Naming Quill is no longer required. [revised from September 15, 2006 update] - Removed the only two alignment shifts in the game to be more consistent with the rest of the module and the choices the player makes. [requested by Vetch and Alabore] ! Fixed The High Tower to make it match more toward what the Auren Society of Weavers are. * Cosmetic changes only. ! Fixed a few journal entries. [reported by Casz & CheeseshireCat] ! Fixed a few spelling issues module wide. [reported by Casz, fire&ice, The Smiling Knight, Taltamir & Calgach] ! Fixed a report of trigger not firing if player has summoned creature with them when exiting the sewers with Falis Goodmane. * Applied trigger fix from Shadewood. [reported by BernUnit & Miara`Lei] ! Fixed a conversation loop crash on Rilari when returning her stolen goods during the day outside of The Diving Dolphin on The Villa. ! Fixed dinar reward sink on Ulip which allowed player to quit the conversation, start it up again and receive the reward over and over again when helping Ulip out. [reported by Calgach] ! Fixed all door names that used the TAG of the door, as well as added descriptions to all doors that did not have any. ! Fixed script on waitress of The Everburning Log not to open the door where Flaux meeting takes place. This would cause events to occur that the player may not want if they closed the door as per the instructions given by Flaux. [reported by CheeseshireCat] ! Fixed all glowing mushrooms in the Old Ward to non-useable placeables and used updated glow script from Shadewood. This will prevent the mushrooms appearing when the player hits TAB and still retain their illumination. + Added comments by Purdee if player goes on a tour of Loom Avenue and returns home with Purdee, for whatever reason. + Added transition fix to keep Creepy Creep inside player's home rather than following player into the street and killing the NPCs. [reported by Miara`Lei] + Added the ability to pass time/rest to midnight and noon on beds. [requested by Taltamir] + Added miscsmall/thin for spell components to stack within player's inventory. This should lower the amount of space and reagent bags required for lugging around so many reagents to cast spells and brew potions. Items now stack to 10 before creating another inventory icon. [requested by a number of players over the years] + Added OnExit script to Medusa Lair to destroy all remaining creatures once player completed task. + Added reaction for showing Fade's Calling Card to specific NPCs who mention this particular NPC in conversation. [requested by CheeseshireCat] + Added changing Auren Society Robe description when player levels letting player know what powers the runes are giving when the robe is worn. Robe also changes description when the robe is removed and the runes no longer are active. [requested by CheeseshireCat] + Added changing Auren Society Staff or Bracers description when player equips Quarterstaff/Bracers, letting the player know what powers the runes are giving when used. Description also changes when the Quarterstaff/Bracers is removed and the runes no longer are active. * Bracers are offered to Gnome/Hafling characters ONLY! [requested by CheeseshireCat] + Added script to OnSpawn of Almraiven Residents who walk the street to keep them from bumping into each other and stopping. + Added automatic auto load of Shadewood at the end of Almraiven. Shadewood will start only if player has downloaded it and included it in their \modules directory. + Added bonus experience at the end of the module for those players who got through Almraiven without drawing attention to themselves as a member of the Auren Society of Weavers. [requested by Rosie] + Added check to NPCs on Horseshoe Lane regarding Demon of an Old Man quest to see if player already met Sila on Caravan Run. If so, journal updates and player can skip the entire investigation on Horeshoe Lane to learn where Sila now resides. [requested by GerbenS] + Added the ability to pass time in the Blood Runner if player happens to get caught on board when the crew returns. [requested by GerbenS] + Added reaction to worn Silver Necklace on Gewia the Wererat found inside the Diving Dolphin during the evening on The Villa. [requested by GerbenS] + Added reaction to Jaer once Werefolk Lair has been cleaned out as she was hunting and guarding a home they used as a hideout. [requested by GerbenS] + Added reaction to Kalum, Velho and Venda once player has learned how to use the orbs in the Chamber of Thought. [requested by GerbenS & Vetch] + Added variable check on Wundra's Home to check if player has Belladonna and Remove Curse scroll before the Werefolk attack. If so, player no longer has to enter the home, speak with Falis and exit to trigger the Werefolk attack. * This does not change the events of what happens next! [reported by OliverH & Taltamir] + Added a few more conversation options to drive player choices. + Added fix to alley windows not being illuminated. + Added snakes to the floor of the Medusa Lair that now slither across the floor during the chase. ----- Weave the weave, brothers and sisters!

Area Design V | 07.16.10

Building 101 - Area Design Part 5 PART 4 RECAP Long ago ... in the last entry, placeables was the discussion and a long one at that! We examined the STATIC CHECK BOX and how important it is to make sure it is checked if you're going to use a lot of placeables. This helps with pathfinding but also makes sure radius wide spells don't create LAG while it calculates the amount of damage that the placeable receives. With the STATIC CHECK BOX checked, placeables can't be destroyed and cause LAG in this fashion. For the full review of the article, click here. So what's next? Well, it's lighting of course! ILLUMINATION An area that is populated with some placeables can still draw the eye if those placeables are in the right spot. In this article, we're going to expand on our previous entry with placeables and how lighting can add some extra illumination to the area. I'm going to touch on a few tricks to give your area that POP when you're fiddling around with lighting and just how important and quick it is to give an area that special feel you're going for. DAY vs. NIGHT It's very important to realize the changes in an area between day and night cycles. Day time Dusk begins to set Night time When designing an area, it's much easier to see the colors of a tile at night than it is during the day. So start to design your area in BLACKNESS! EDIT - AREA PROPERTIES - VISUAL - RESET TO BLACK. Click APPLY. Also make sure the TOOL TAB has the little light clicked on. It's the fifth icon from the right nestled between the FOG icon and the PLAY AMBIENT SOUND IN AREA icon. You're now in the working environment of adding color to your area. Know where this icon always is when adding color to your area because you'll want to toggle it as you move about your map. This is how you're going to start to create the lighting for your area. You should already know the weather patterns or the mood you're trying to set for this particular area. It is cold or hot? A desert or forest? Using the theme we've selected, the area is a swamp. Hot, humid and very wet. This is the theme and what will define the color of the area. Area Lighting Off Area Lighting On ENVIRONMENT COLORS vs. TILE COLORS There are two ways you're going to want to add color to your area. We've already defined the environment colors by setting the entire area to - RESET TO BLACK. Our second step is to now add color to the individual tile itself. CLICK on a tile within the area you've built so it creates a box around the tile you've selected. RIGHT CLICK! Select TILE PROPERTIES and CLICK! A new window will now open revealing MAIN LIGHT 1 and MAIN LIGHT 2, your individual TILE COLORS. By playing around with this when your entire area is pitch black, you'll get a better idea of how that color will work off placeables and tileset additions. Too dark, choose a brighter color. Too bright? Reverse. The same is for the ENVIRONMENT COLORS which offer a much more wider selection but it defines the entire area, not a tile in the area. AMBIENT vs. DIFFUSE AMBIENT color illuminates the tile vertically while DIFFUSE color illuminates the tile horizontally. AMBIENT colors are great for illuminating the full tile as well as rooftops, treetops, open fields or just the ground. DIFFUSE colors are great for illuminating walls of buildings, windows, tree trunks, boulders or edges of the ground such as cliffs and rocks. DIFFUSE lighting DIFFUSE foreground; AMBIENT background This is also the case for adding color for each TILE COLOR as mentioned above. Main Light 1 = AMBIENT Main Light 2 = DIFFUSE When combined, you can create some very well illuminated areas that go well and beyond the default settings made available. THE HUMAN EYE In Neverwinter Nights, the Human has the worst vision when night falls, so it's a good way to test an area's lighting by using a test character that is a Human. This will allow you to see if there's not enough ambient lighting to allow a Human character to walk through the area without needing a light source. Remember, a black night doesn't have to be just that. There's light in even the darkest places. Stars glitter and the moon shines. Windows flicker and ponds sparkle. Appreciate the colors of dark blue, cyan and green for an area with an open or slightly cloudy sky. DARK BLUE to add a touch of light reflected off the atmosphere from distant stars. DARK CYAN to sprinkle as a diffuse. DARK GREEN to brush across bushes, forest edges and placeable vegetation. Placeables as well as the tile of the area will seem to glow slightly and with added tile colors, create a visual rainbow that illuminates just enough for the player to walk around in even though night has fallen. FOG AMOUNT Fog is defined as part of the ENVIRONMENT COLORS. EDIT - AREA PROPERTIES - VISUAL - CUSTOMIZE ENVIORNMENT - SUN/MOON FOG COLOR. The MOON - FOG COLOR should be darker than the MOON - AMBIENT COLOR and be part of the same color scheme. This is an excellent way to create different degrees of placeable silhouette as well as blend in shapes which gives the illusion of depth and distance. During the day, fog can be a little more forgiving. A lighter SUN - FOG COLOR reflects the SUN - AMBIENT COLOR choice and bounces light all over the place. This in turn creates a more brighter atmosphere for the player exploring the area during the day. SKYBOX Using a skybox also creates depth and adds color to part of an area that you cannot change by using the AMBIENT or DIFFUSE TILE or ENVIRONMENT colors. Keep in mind what skybox you are using for your area when creating it. For our swamp, we're using a cloudy and dark skybox which fits or even sets the tone for our color choices. Skybox day with fog Skybox dusk with fog Skybox night with fog CUSTOM COLORS Do not let yourself become limited by the pallette of colors that are given to you as predefined options. Creating your own colors for AMBIENT, DIFFUSE and fog can bring out the best of an area when mixed and matched to your own desire. For customizing your own area using these values: EDIT - AREA PROPERTIES - VISUAL - CUSTOMIZE ENVIRONMENT CLICK on a color. CLICK on DEFINE CUSTOM COLORS. Move your cursor around to what color you want. Additionally, you may enter colors via the RGB fields. Once your color is selected, CLICK OK! CLICK APPLY! Either your AMBIENT, DIFFUSE or FOG color has now been changed to your custom setting. Here are the settings for our swamp. SUN - AMBIENT COLOR RED: 5 GRN: 19 BLU: 2 SUN - DIFFUSE COLOR RED: 50 GRN: 50 BLU: 100 SUN - FOG AMOUNT 5 SUN - FOG COLOR RED: 90 GRN: 114 BLU: 109 SUN - SHADOWS [OFF] MOON - AMBIENT COLOR RED: 34 GRN: 46 BLU: 47 MOON - DIFFUSE COLOR RED: 57 GRN: 58 BLU: 41 MOON - FOG AMOUNT 15 MOON - FOG COLOR RED: 5 GRN: 19 BLU: 2 FOG CLIP DISTANCE (m) 45 SHADOW OPACITY 50 WEATHER - WIND POWER 50% SKY BOX GRASS_STORM WRAPPING IT UP! Here is the description snippets from previous entries that describe what it is we wanted for each area the player is meant to explore in our swamp, along with a screen shot of the finished product. 1. This is the arrival location of the player, who will come to this part of the swamp via a raft. So it's a wise choice to offer these visuals for the player to relate to on their journey. A coil of rope has been added as a useable placeable, tied down to the STATIC placeable raft. When the time comes for the player to leave this area, the useable rope is their means of exit. This exit point is always in the same location, allowing the player to know what corner they need to return to so they can move forward. As well, we've taken the time to add placeables along the tile's edge but also taking care not to place them on the hill where the player will move their character. Lighting Day Lighting Night 2. The rock fissures are certainly not easy to see but as the character moves to these two locations, they will enter a trigger which will fire a conversation description alerting them to a cave entrance that dives down into the earth. Once again, a direct route is made available, placeable free, to keep the player from getting stuck while exploring these sections of the map. We also keep the majority of placeables to the very edges of the map, where the swamp is the thickest. Lighting Day 3. This is the location of our petrified villager, surrounded by three pillars and two scattered swamp cypress trees. Once again, we're going out of our way to avoid massive placeables in this part of the map because it is a focal point for the player to find and thus, have to move through. Lighting Day Lighting Night 4. The second hilly region that the player can explore offers a ruined boat tipped on its side. A few barrels and debris scatter the edge of the hill but is otherwise open for the player to explore. A conversation will fire here, offering a description of the location they've stepped into. Lighting Day ?. During the creation of the area, two question marks were created due to not knowing what would go in these locations. As the rest of the area has come together, the choice here was for one question mark to be home to a set of ruins from an old cabin. Lighting Day The second simply has debris and floating barrels the player can explore and possibly find some helpful items. Lighting Night FULL VISUAL EFFECT Color should never be left behind because it's quick, it's simple and it's easy to create an area with some ambience and atmosphere without having to go overboard with hundreds of placeables. Such care can make or break an area! Do your best to stray away from the predefined settings and experiment. Know what feeling you want to present to the player when they're exploring and make it happen. Neverwinter Nights may be aging but with the right techniques applied, you can update it to the games of today. Next update? Screens from Fate of the Auren!

NWNCQ v1.2 | 04.04.10

What game is that?! So on April 1, Chico400 of the Neverwinter Nights Community, released the ever popular and anticipated update to the already popular NWNCQ v1.1 release. Additions that expand on an already popular gaming platform are always welcomed by the community but Chico400 has taken a giant leap forward with the decorations made available in the NWNCQ package. NWNCQ v1.2 comes in three different flavors. Basic Override Recommended to those who do not wish to alter the dynamics of downloaded modules but still enjoy the benifits that NWNCQ has to offer. Meaning, you will not receive additions that cause obstructions with objects, no terrain deformations, no added trees or other extras that can hide important items or placeables that a module builder added. This is especially useful for playing older modules. Almraiven and Shadewood is fully supported with the Basic Override of NWNCQ v1.2. Extended Override Some obstructions with objects, terrain deformations, trees and extras. Almraiven and Shadewood is not supported with the Extended Override of NWNCQ v1.2 due to known terrain deformations and obstructions that make it difficult to locate important placeables and items. Builder HAK Recommended to those new builders who wish to add the full impact of NWNCQ v1.2 to their module. Almraiven and Shadewood does not make use of the NWNCQ v1.2 Builder HAK. NWNCQ v1.2 Visuals I've taken a moment to show off NWNCQ v1.2 using Almraiven, Shadewood and Fate of the Auren. The most notable difference will be the ceilings, which do add a lot to the game. They even reflect light properly, so vast corridors display depth and height, as do shadows and animated reflections. It's a nice touch to an otherwise aging game. Inside the Green Drip The infamous Medusa Lair Chamber within Springwine Jones Estate Cave exploration An underground Laboratory Bustling common room Reaching ceilings of the Grand Library If you haven't grabbed it yet, I suggest you do. The Basic Override is your safest bet if you'd like to inject some stunning visuals to some of the older modules without causing issues with obstructions, terrain deformations or added goodies that could otherwise get in your way or even hide items and placeables of importance.

Area Design IV | 03.19.10

Building 101 - Area Design Part 4 PART 3 RECAP In our last entry, we took the time to define the area and broke it down based on the use of sounds and their play sequence. We touched on avoiding random sounds playing within a defined radius due to the spike it can cause to an area. "The main reason for this is it can cause a noticeable hiccup when the player enters the area. Each time the sound is played, the engine needs to determine from what random location within the specified Volume Distance it will fire from. It will then determine how near that sound is from the player, which then needs to determine the volume of the sound before it fires." We also touched on the atmosphere you're going for and how good sound placement can really add to an area, so much so that at times, music is not required. Good background sound will make any area come alive when placed properly and with care. CREATING A VISUAL ORGASM Placeables! "Too many will cause lag." "Too many will ruin pathfinding." "Too many gets my character stuck!" Alright, we've all read about it and know that it's true. Each point is valid but it's how one goes about placing a placeable that matters. First of all, let me discuss the first point. Lag. In a single player module, which is my primary focus, lag exists. It's not just the stuttering one can experience but the load times. Really, it's lag because you're left waiting. That's where nice looking loadscreens come into play but that's another entry altogether. So yes, lots and lots of placeables can cause lag but it's how you create those placeables that matter. The STATIC CHECK BOX is your friend. You do not need to have the static check box unchecked for any reason unless there is some form of animation you want the placeable to apply. This is known as the ACTIVATED selection on a placeables PROPERTIES -> ADVANCED -> INITIAL STATE option. Otherwise, leave it static. As BioWare has also made claim to, try to avoid putting a placeable that sits on the + section of the grid. How do you go about checking this? ENVIRONMENT -> DISPLAY GRID I'm unable to find the original post regarding this, so if you have the message available, let me know so I can update this section. I've read it enough times on the official Neverwinter Nights forum from many builders that it seems like a good rule to follow. The second and third point go hand in hand. Do your best to avoid dropping placeables in the walkable zones. Of course, it's difficult to define this but from my point of view, it's simply playing your module and walking through your created masterpiece that will allow you to determine if that tree, rock or bush is in a location that a player might take a shortcut through or happen to get stuck on while moving in a straight line. Much of placeable design comes from edges of an area, the part of a tileset where a player simply can't walk along due to having a lack of a walkmesh to begin with. Sadly, this does not stop a player from attempting to walk there who then becomes stuck on the placeables you've placed. In any well designed and beautiful looking area, a player will attempt to cross a boundary they were never meant to in the first place. With 1.69, there is now a friendly placeable that can help you make sure no one can go there. STANDARD -> MISCELLANEOUS -> INVISIBLE WALL Create your well defined area with your placeables and follow up by adding a few of the above mentioned placeables and anyone attempting to walk there will receive the typical "NO" click sound. It's a quick and easily solution to keep players from getting stuck. So, with some of that in mind, it's time to deliver the placeables for our area. PLACEABLE DESIGN With the few points that have already been mentioned, it's time to dress up the area we've been creating. Looking back to the Area Design II entry, each corner did have an interest for the player to explore, which helps define what placeables are going to be in that specific location. The rest of the area then becomes filler for whatever catches your mood. PART 2 RECAP Let's recap what we had in mind for each location and follow it up with a shot of all the placeables to bring the entire area together. 1. As already noted, we want the player to start here. During the creation of the area, we want to make sure the player is drawn to location 3, either when they first come to the area or eventually by exploring all four corners of the area. At one point or other, they'll have to cross the middle of the map. 2. The rock fissures are small and do not stick out unless the player moves close enough to learn that information. Having two of them allows the creation of the caves and caverns below to either connect or not. Even if they do connect below, we're giving the player a choice on which side they enter from. 3. Here is the location of our petrified villager and it's the most important location in the area for it brings truth to what the villagers were speaking about. As noted, with three of the four corners of the map exploration locations, the player is bound to find the villager before anything else. Plus, a petrified villager will stick out like a sore thumb when players hit TAB. 4. Remember that other hill in the top right corner? This is where a boat crashed at one point, grounding itself on the hard rocky surface, cracking its hull and eventually sinking. The remains of the boat still exist but its contents are long gone. ?. These are up in the air design choices. The question mark in the bottom right isn't a bad place for an encounter of some kind as it is out of the way and secluded but the encounter should have nothing to do with what's turning the villagers to stone. The second question mark could be much of anything. Perhaps a small container that floated away from the broken hull of the ship or an item one of the villagers dropped while trying to flee. FINAL DESIGN So how does it end up looking based on the information provided? 1. This is the arrival location of the player, who will come to this part of the swamp via a raft. So it's a wise choice to offer these visuals for the player to relate to on their journey. A coil of rope has been added as a useable placeable, tied down to the STATIC placeable raft. When the time comes for the player to leave this area, the useable rope is their means of exit. This exit point is always in the same location, allowing the player to know what corner they need to return to so they can move forward. As well, we've taken the time to add placeables along the tile's edge but also taking care not to place them on the hill where the player will move their character. 2. The rock fissures are certainly not easy to see but as the character moves to these two locations, they will enter a trigger which will fire a conversation description alerting them to a cave entrance that dives down into the earth. Once again, a direct route is made available, placeable free, to keep the player from getting stuck while exploring these sections of the map. We also keep the majority of placeables to the very edges of the map, where the swamp is the thickest. 3. This is the location of our petrified villager, surrounded by three pillars and two scattered swamp cypress trees. Once again, we're going out of our way to avoid massive placeables in this part of the map because it is a focal point for the player to find and thus, have to move through. 4. The second hilly region that the player can explore offers a ruined boat tipped on its side. A few barrels and debris scatter the edge of the hill but is otherwise open for the player to explore. A conversation will fire here, offering a description of the location they've stepped into. ?. During the creation of the area, two question marks were created due to not knowing what would go in these locations. As the rest of the area has come together, the choice here was for one question mark to be home to a set of ruins from an old cabin. The second simply has debris and floating barrels the player can explore and possibly find some helpful items. FINAL STEPS Our final steps will include lighting as it too can create a wonderful experience for the player. Color that bounces off of placeables can even bring them more wonder and awe and make your vision POP!